“When you really think about it, you’ll realize that your health is your responsibility, not your mother’s, not your spouse’s, not your insurance company’s, not the government’s…and not God’s.”  Dr. David Ajibade

How much physical activity is a part of your average day?

Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important, for it promises a reward in both this life and the next. (1 Tim. 4:8; NLT)

Friday, we were excited to announce our coming e-book and seven-part webinar series on one of our most impassioned topics — wellness!  To review, Dr. Randy Peck, MD (we felt it good to have a doctor along for a wellness series), Sharon (who is a RN), and I have teamed up and will be conducting an interview-style weekly webinar to lead you through the six major factors that determine a person’s wellness.  This first webinar will be an overview of the entire series and is open to all who can attend for no charge whatsoever.  You simply need to be at your computer so you can participate in the roll out.  The big day and time is tomorrow, Wednesday, April 1, at high noon EDT.  Put it on your calendar and reserve the hour.  To register for the webinar, Click Here.

The second major factor to wellness is exercise, or as one of my exercise-phobic friends prefers, “activity.”  I bet you already guessed that one, didn’t you?  Yep, God designed our bodies to move.  Not to sit behind a desk only to go home at night and sit on the couch in front of the resident cyclopes.

Here again, I’m not saying you have to exercise so many times a week for so many minutes doing such and such exercise.  No, I’m just saying move more this week than you did last week.  For some of you, you didn’t move much last week, so a little improvement will be a fantastic breakthrough.  For others of you, the situation is entirely different.  Again, it’s your call to decide how much more is reasonable.  Better a little more that you do consistently, than a lot more that you find excuses to avoid doing.

Bottom line, folks, exercise is not optional!  If you want to get the expert view, check out Sharon’s 10/11/07 DG entitled, “You Knew It Was Coming.”  Don’t let yourself get intimidated, though…just move more this week than you did last.  Pretty simple, isn’t it?

Lest you get spoiled, the third simple factor is a little more challenging than the first two, but I believe when you hear it, you will agree that it is pretty simple as well.  See you on tomorrow.  Oh yes, before you head out for a little exercise, don’t forget to register for tomorrow’s Webinar at the link below.

Prayer Power
Father, we thank You for the ability to move and be active.  We thank You too for the technology that will allow us to share all six of the major wellness factors with all who tune in to our wellness webinar tomorrow.  Bring us those who are eager to learn how to attain wellness.

Link of the Day
Registration link for Wellness Webinar

Blessings on you as you purpose to move a little more today than you did yesterday and also as you register for tomorrow’s Webinar.

“We have made the mistake of assuming that because water is freely available and costs nothing, the body cannot possibly fall short of it. I believe that most physical pains are signals that the body needs rehydrating-and that we ignore these signals at our peril.”  Dr. Fereydoon Batmanghelidj

How much water do you drink on an average day?

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.  (Proverbs 18:21; NKJ)

Friday, we were excited to announce our coming e-book and seven-part webinar series on one of our most impassioned topics — wellness!  To review, Dr. Randy Peck, MD (we felt it good to have a doctor along for a wellness series), Sharon (who is a RN), and I have teamed up and will be conducting an interview-style weekly webinar to lead you through the six major factors that determine a person’s wellness.  This first webinar will be an overview of the entire series and is open to all who can attend for no charge whatsoever.  You simply need to be at your computer so you can participate in the roll out.  The big day and time is next Wednesday, April 1, at high noon EDT.  Put it on your calendar and reserve the hour.  To register for the webinar, Click Here.

The first major factor to wellness is to drink more water than you already do.  How’s that for simple?  Notice that I didn’t say how many glasses or ounces of water you need to drink every day, although there are some guidelines that the experts suggest.  But we’re into simple here.  And to keep it simple, just drink more.  Drink more this week than you did last week.  I didn’t even say how much more.  You decide.  It’s really up to you how fast you want to reach your desired wellness goal.

So, if you’re only drinking one glass of water a day on average, make it two this week-or even one and a half.  I’ll guarantee you that’s a step in the right direction.  Just keep doing those little steps on a consistent basis, and before you know it, they will have added up to a giant step or two.

Why water?  Well, if you really want to know, go read Sharon’s 11/1/07 DG entitled, “Elixir of Life! and then read the link.  And for further reinforcement, read her 11/8 DG and associated link.  It’s all good information, but to simplify all that great advice, just drink a little more water than you did last week and you’ll be on your way to great health.

The second major factor?  Tune in tomorrow.  See you then.  In the meantime, have a drink on me (of water that is).  And don’t forget to register for the Wellness Webinar at the link below.

Prayer Power
Father, we’re truly excited about the webinar that is now just two days away.  We pray that those who will register to come are the very ones who will be most excited about wellness and are actively seeking answers.

Link of the Day
Registration link for Wellness Webinar

Blessings as you reach for another glass of water today while you register for our Webinar.

“The way we live is directly attributable to the sky rocketing costs of health care.”  From a recent RAND study

What would you like your health to be like in six months?

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.  (Rom. 12:1; NIV)

Yesterday, we were excited to announce our coming e-book and seven-part webinar series on one of our most impassioned topics — wellness!  We promised you additional details today that would allow you to register for the overview webinar to which you are invited to attend at no charge.

To review, Dr. Randy Peck, MD (we felt it good to have a doctor along for a wellness series), Sharon (who is a RN), and I have teamed up and will be conducting an interview-style weekly webinar to lead you through the six major factors that determine a person’s wellness.  This first webinar will be an overview of the entire series and is open to all who can attend for no charge whatsoever.  You simply need to be at your computer so you can participate in the roll out.  The big day and time is next Wednesday, April 1, at high noon EDT.  Put it on your calendar and reserve the hour.  To register for the webinar, click Register Here.

Thinking about wellness is not something many people do…unless they are sick.  Even then, they aren’t really focused on wellness.  In fact, they are actually focusing on how to make their illness go away so that they can forget about their health once again.  Begins to remind me of that oft quoted definition of insanity.

I suppose it’s human nature, but we don’t think much about our toes, unless one or more of them is sore.  We don’t think about how much we need and use our thumb, unless it is sore.  Then it sticks out like a….  So I guess it’s natural to not think about being healthy, until we’re not.  That’s really tragic, though.  It is really so simple to dramatically improve our health if we would just practice a few (six actually) simple steps.  But more about that later.

Have you ever thought about the value (i.e., payback) of good health or wellness?  Probably not…for all the same reasons as above.  We’ve all got more important things to think about, right?  Well, I would like to propose that health adds value or brings benefits to every moment of our lives.  Beside to ourselves, health adds value to our families, to our friends, to our work, to our community, and to our country.  Overstatement?  Hype?  To answer that, turn the thought over and ask what are the consequences of not having good health? How about the consequences to your family?  To your friends.  To your work?  To your community?  And finally, to your country?  Something tells me that the consequences would feel far more significant if we were not so used to living with them on a daily basis.

First of all, what is wellness to you?  It’s probably different for you than it is for me.  A great coaching question is to ask yourself, “What would I like my health to be like in six months?”  To be valid, your answer must describe what you want to be or do…not what you want to be free from.  For some it might be to run a marathon.  For someone else, it might be to be able to walk to the mailbox to get the mail without getting winded.  There are probably as many short-term health goals as there are people to ask.

Then ask yourself, “What would I like my health to be 20 years down the road?”  Think about how old you’ll be in 20 years and what would you like to be able to do when you’re that age.  Here again, everybody’s answer is going to be different, although there is likely to be some commonality, such as energy, stamina, mental acuity, flexibility, etc.

Register for the webinar on April 1 at noon EDT and we’ll begin to discuss this and a lot more.

Prayer Power
Father, we thank You for the technology that will allow readers from all over the globe to be with us as we introduce our e-book and webinar series.  It absolutely boggles the imagination to think about.  Guide us to use this amazing gift in a responsible manner and in a way that glorifies You.

Link of the Day
Registration link for Wellness Webinar

Blessings on you as you adjust your schedule to be with us as we roll out our wellness e-book and webinar series.

“Let us be about setting high standards for life, love, creativity, and wisdom. If our expectations in these areas are low, we are not likely to experience wellness. Setting high standards makes every day and every decade worth looking forward to.”  Greg Anderson

What value do you place on wellness?

He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.  (Psa. 103:3; NLT)

We’re finally going to do it!!!  This is the first public announcement of our new e-book and seven-part webinar series on one of our most impassioned topics — wellness!  More details will be available in tomorrow’s DG (yes, we know it’s a Saturday), and through the beginning of next week.

Bottom line, Dr. Randy Peck, MD (good to have a doctor along for a wellness series, don’t you think?), Sharon (who is a RN), and I have teamed up and will be conducting an interview-style weekly webinar to lead you through the six major factors that determine a person’s wellness.  The three of us are so excited to finally be doing this.  We’ve been talking about doing something like this for almost two years and we’re finally about to give birth to the idea.  The big day and time is next Wednesday, April 1, at high noon EDT.  Put it on your calendar and reserve the hour.  Again, more details will be forthcoming tomorrow.

Wellness!  What’s all this fuss about wellness?  What is wellness anyway?  If I’m not sick, I’m well, right?  What’s the big deal?

Great questions.  Wellness is quite a broad term, and unfortunately, most people probably have never really experienced wellness in their lifetime — or if they have, it was so long ago that they’ve long since forgotten what it feels like to be well.  And no, just being “not sick” does not mean you’re well.

World-renowned economist, Paul Zane Pilzer, writes in The New Wellness Revolution (Second Edition), “Modern medicine tells them [us] to accept headaches, stomach distress, body pain, fatigue, arthritis, and thousands of other common [emphasis mine] ailments as inevitable symptoms that afflict an aging population.”

Wellness is a pretty far-reaching term.  Wellness includes issues such as:

• mental clarity, focus, alertness, and memory
• consistent energy, endurance, and stamina
• overall sense of well-being
• positive mental outlook, i.e., better attitude
• body weight/shape/lean-to-fat ratio
• active libido without performance limitations
• good sleep, awakening refreshed
• flexibility, agility, freedom from joint/muscle pain
• problem free digestion and regular elimination
• unrestricted breathing, greater endurance, and rapid recovery

Come be well with us.  Remember, this is all about “coaching you to care for the only body you will ever have.”  Watch for the details tomorrow.

Prayer Power
Father, we are so excited to announce the imminent birth of a dream and vision You placed within us years ago.  We pray that the information that will come from this webinar series and e-book will lead multitudes to pursue new levels of wellness.

Link of the Day
Wikipedia’s View of Wellness

Blessings on you as you ponder the significance of wellness to the fulfillment of your destiny.

“Dietary fiber is undoubtedly one of the most talked about nutrients for health promotion and disease prevention.”  George Mateljan

How conscious are you of the amount of fiber you eat in day?

He who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe. (Pr. 28:26; NIV)

How many times have we read and heard, “Eat more fiber!”  What picture do you conjure up in your mind when you hear that statement?  Should I eat All-Bran for three meals a day?  Fiber offers many health benefits to our bodies.  Not only does fiber help to support healthy bowel function, it also helps the body to maintain normal cholesterol levels and normal blood sugar levels.  Fiber is also a great friend to those wanting to shed some extra pounds.  People who eat more fiber consume less total calories and lose more weight than those who eat a diet deficient in fiber.  High-fiber foods add more bulk to your meals without adding extra calories.

For someone who is diabetic or suffers with blood sugar issues, fiber helps to slow the absorption of glucose, which will help regulate blood sugar levels. Without fiber, carbohydrates enter the system quickly, causing a sudden spike in blood sugar. Insulin levels rise to accommodate the high blood sugar levels. High insulin levels signal to the body that it should start converting food into body fat. Then blood sugar levels drop dramatically, which can cause sugar and carbohydrate cravings, lethargy, and foggy thinking. Eating fiber with each meal and snack can help prevent this cycle of food cravings and weight gain.

So, how much fiber should we be eating?  Most sources recommend an intake of 20-35 grams of fiber per day.  Interestingly enough, most Americans consume less than half that amount.  Foods which are high in fiber tend to be healthier choices in general. For instance, a glass of fruit juice can contain twice as much sugar and none of the fiber provided by a piece of real fruit.  It’s always best to eat the whole fruit instead of the juice.  Raspberries and blackberries are some of the highest fiber fruits.  Black beans, lentils and split peas are some of the highest fiber foods that we can eat.  Beans and vegetables are great fiber sources.  So, if someone is eating a diet of God-foods, aka as superfoods, they’re getting many good sources of fiber in their diet.

There are a number of resources available that lists the amounts of fiber content in foods.  I’ve chosen one today from a book called The World’s Healthiest Foods.  May I offer you a challenge to begin to take note of how much fiber you eat in a day?  What one thing can you do to increase your fiber content this week?

Prayer Power
Lord, we thank You for all of the wonderful, fiber-filled foods You have created for us.  May we take advantage of these foods thus making our bodies healthier

Link of the Day
The World’s Healthiest Foods

Blessings on you as you increase the amount of fiber rich foods in your diet.

“Work skills are highly refined while life skills lay behind.  Relationships and work output fall behind, creating gaps in relational and global performance.”  Ben Stewart

How important are relationships to you?  What evidence can you show that would back that up?

And the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him.”  (Gen. 2:18; NLT)

About a year ago, I was given the honor to be asked to serve as field mentor on the Doctoral Dissertation committee for Rev. Pat Bopp (D.Min. Candidate at Regent University).  As I write this, I am reading through his magnificent dissertation which he will be defending in the coming days.  He has one short section within his literature review that moved me so much I am led to quote it in its entirety.  (I pray I’m not breaking any protocol in doing this, but I feel the following is a message we all need to hear.  Thanks Pat, for your research that led to the following thoughts.)

“Dr. Will Miller is a psychotherapist, a campus minister at Purdue University, and the author of the book Refrigerator Rights.  The central question and thesis of his book follows:

“‘How many people in your life right now have refrigerator rights in your home?  How many of the people you encounter everyday see you unshaven or without makeup? How many people hear you express yourself in that blunt, unguarded way you do with your family.  How many can talk to you at a deep, intimate level.  And how many people grant you refrigerator rights? How many people confide in you — tell you about the things that really matter to them?

“‘It’s our belief that modern life has been profoundly affected by the loss of refrigerator rights relationships.  We’ve lost them through three major social changes: increased mobility, heavy social emphasis on individualism, and emotionally numbing distractions.’ (Miller 2007, 20)

“Miller believes that isolation ‘is the ongoing story — perhaps the headline — of the modern age.’  The author continues:

“‘I’ve slowly come to the conclusion that the core emotional problem of modern life is this: a pervasive personal detachment and aloofness from other people…We no longer live in physical or emotional closeness to the people who helped shape us, including our family of origin, friends, neighbors and the acquaintances of our childhood.  And we have failed to replace our social network with new people.  It’s not just about moving away.  It’s about being away, being apart, being isolated, and being too alone.  It is about the loss of refrigerator rights with others.’ (Miller 2007, 39-40)

“Relational living varies among cultures around the world.  The pragmaticism of American society tends to produce programmatic living.  Author Scott Boren offers the following:

“‘The condition of individualism — along with that of pragmatism — forms the operating system that shapes life in America…We are a people who breathe the air of programmatic life.  We live each day according to a set of predetermined and proven steps that promise greater success…The programmatic drive to produce fruit (numbers) undermines the very essence that causes fruit to grow in the first place (relationships)…In third world countries in South America, Asia, and Africa…cultures breathe a different air than we do in North America.  They never learned to breathe the air of pragmaticism.  They never learned to measure their lives by what they produce…Instead, they measure their lives by the life they live with others.’ (Boren 2007, 25-29)

“The problem of relational isolation is clearly a cultural phenomenon in the United States.  Author Gary Kinnaman cites Ralph Keyes from his book We the Lonely People on the subject of community in America.

“’Community’ is a national obsession.  But we want other things more.  Not getting involved with neighbors is worth more to us than ‘community.’…It’s this confusion, this ambivalence that confounds our quest for community.  We yearn for a simpler, more communal life; we sincerely want more sense of community.  But not at the sacrifice of any advantages that mass society has brought, even ones we presumably scorn.’ (Kinnaman 2003, 112)

“The desire for community in the United States is certainly lower than the desire for other things.”

Thanks for this powerful (and painful) reminder, Pat.

Prayer Power
Father, I thank You for the relationships with which You have blessed me over the years.  I also thank You for the occasional times You use people like Pastor Pat Bopp to remind me how important relationships really are to all of us.

Link of the Day
A Tip on Cultivating Refrigerator Rights

Blessings on you as you purposefully cultivate refrigerator rights with someone.

“Food historians tell us the history of soup is probably as old as the history of cooking.”  www.foodtimeline.org

How are you doing with the health goals that you started at the beginning of the year?

We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost — also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.  (Nu 11:5; NIV)

How well do you like French Onion Soup?  Is it one of your favorites?  I can still remember of going out to a restaurant as a teenager and having my first taste of this “rich, can’t stop at one bite” soup.  It was one of my Dad’s favorites so I began experimenting with various recipes a number of years ago.  And there are so many variations to this recipe.  Many recipes call for the use of wine.  I’ve not used much wine in cooking so I developed this recipe without it.  Feel free to use about 4 ounces of red or white wine if you’d like.

Many recipes call for beef broth instead of the chicken broth that I use.  It’s difficult to find organic beef broth, especially in the cartons.  And most of the commercial, canned beef broths contain additives and MSG.  One could always make their own beef stock from beef if time wasn’t a factor.  I’ve used the organic chicken broth many times and am pleased with it.  The addition of organic Tamari and a bit of unsulphured molasses brings out the flavor and deepens the color of the cooked onions.  The rich flavor of the soup actually comes from the caramelized onions.

Caramelization is the process in which onions are cooked very slowly at a low to medium temperature until the onions cook down and become brown. This can be accomplished within half an hour, but many chefs allow for hours of cooking to bring out the complex flavors of the onions’ sugars.  I’ve also read of a recipe that called for cooking the onions in the oven for several hours to enhance the flavors.

Another key ingredient to the soup is melted cheese.  Gruyère cheese is traditionally used.  It is a hard yellow cheese made from cow’s milk, named after the town of Gruyères in Switzerland.  Gruyère is sweet but slightly salty, with a flavor that varies widely with age.  I used to use this cheese exclusively for French Onion Soup.  However, in recent years I use whatever organic cheese I have available and the soup still tastes great.

Prayer Power
Father we are so thankful to You for all of the wonderful foods that You have created for us to eat and enjoy.  Bless our readers with health and strength for this day.

Link of the Day
French Onion Soup

Blessings on you as you enjoy some French Onion Soup.

“Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.”  John Howard Payne

How do you react when your train of thought is interrupted with a message you have no interest in?

But the king interrupted him and said, “Since when have I asked your advice? Be quiet now before I have you killed!”  (2 Chron. 25:16a; NLT)

We’re back home again after our magnificent ten-day trip to cowboy country (Texas and Oklahoma).  As great as our time away was, and as great as we were treated everywhere we went, I still have to say, “There’s no place like home!”

For the last couple of days, I’ve been wondering what message to bring you as we start our Daily Grams once again, and I’ve felt more and more compelled to share just a bit of the message I had for the Master’s degree students at the Southwestern Christian University Graduate School.  The Assistant Dean, John Chasteen invited me to teach a group of his coaching degree students a course entitled, “Career Coaching.”

While a number of our loyal DG readers are lifestyle coaches, I’m sure the rest of you are wondering what part of a course on making a business of coaching could possibly be of interest to you.  Well, hang in there with me just a minute and let me offer a message that I believe has direct application to almost anybody that has any kind of a position that would benefit by finding and attracting a broader audience to hear your particular message, whatever that might be.

For example, if you’re in the ministry, I’m sure that one of your driving passions is to reach more people with the unique message God has given you to share.  If you’re an author, one of the challenges you’re always dealing with is how to tell more people about your work and what you have to offer.  If you’re in the marketplace in virtually any capacity, you’re almost always seeking ways to let more people know that you exist and learn about your particular offering.  This is true whether you’re trying to reach interested people in your local community or people anywhere in the world.

Did you catch the phrase “interested people?”  That’s the bottom line of the message I want to leave with you.  The world of marketing is changing right  before our very eyes.  No longer do we want to interrupt the masses (most of whom could care less about what we have to say) with our particular message, but we do want to make sure that those who are looking for what we have to say or offer can more easily find us.  And the exciting thing is that when someone who is looking for what you have to offer finds you, they are excited to find you and very interested in what you have to say.  How cool is that?

This new approach to marketing is called attraction marketing by some, relationship marketing by others.  I’ve heard it called permission marketing and social marketing.  it seems that the more exposure it gets, the more names it gets.  I believe the more it becomes the norm the more it will replace the interruption marketing techniques most of us have grown up with and will become the new definition of marketing.

Mike Klingler, a good friend and colleague of mine has put together a short presentation of attraction marketing that is today’s link.  Please let me know what you think.  Just submit a comment and share your opinions and wisdom with the rest of the DG readers.

Prayer Power
Father, we thank You for a wonderful time away and are truly excited about all the things we learned and are now eager to share with our friends.  Bless each and every one of them through the coming weeks.

Link of the Day
Better than Google

Blessings on you as you consider how attraction marketing can facilitate your destiny.

By the time most of you read this, Sharon and I will be flying high!  Actually, we’ll be on our way to Dallas for the annual conference of the wellness company we work with.

Then, on Sunday after we leave Dallas, we fly to Oklahoma City where we’ll be staying with the parents of one of our good friends, Kathy Stoltzfus.  While in Oklahoma City, I have been asked to teach a class regarding the business of coaching to a group of students at Southwestern Christian University Graduate School.  I’m really looking forward to sharing some of the amazing social networking technologies that I’ve been learning over the past couple of years.

All this to say that Sharon and I have decided to not try to write DGs the whole time we’re gone.  So, here is a break for you.  If either of us get particularly inspired to do one or two over the next week and a half we may surprise you.  But, it is likely that the next DG will be 3/23.

“There is nothing like soup. It is by nature eccentric: no two are ever alike, unless of course you get your soup in a can.”  Laurie Colwin,

How are you doing with getting more vegetables into your daily diet?

Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.  (I Kings 4:20; KJV)

I realize that we’re coming to the end of the cold weather soup season, at least here in lovely Virginia Beach.  However, minestrone soup is one of those favorites that really can be served in any season.  It’s easy to make and also quite economical.

Minestrone is one of the cornerstones of Italian cuisine, and is just about as common as pasta on Italian tables.  In Italian, minestrone means, “the big soup”, the one with many ingredients.  Minestrone is a variety of thick Italian soups made with vegetables, often with the addition of pasta or rice.  Common ingredients include beans, onions, celery, carrots, stock, and tomatoes.

There is no set recipe for minestrone, since it is usually made out of whatever vegetables are in season.  It can be vegetarian, contain meat, or contain a meat-based broth.  The word “minestrone” has become a synonym for “hodgepodge.  Homemade chicken or beef stock can be used.  However, organic chicken and beef stocks are available in cartons, making the soup-making process one of ease and convenience.

I’ve been making minestrone soup for years…and never really make it the same way each time nor do I really measure the ingredients.  So, after reading many recipes and attempting to remember what I usually do, I’ve created one for this week’s post.  The amounts don’t have to be exact and other vegetables can be added.  Dark greens such as spinach or kale can be added toward the end of the cooking time adding more color to the soup.

Various types of beans can be used.  Many recipes call for kidney beans.  I like white kidney beans or even great northern beans.  Again, dried beans can be soaked and cooked instead of using canned beans.  Canned, organic beans are one of those conveniences that I take advantage of on busy days.  Garbanzo beans tend to go with Italian cuisine so I enjoy some of those in the soup as well.  And even though most minestrone soup recipes call for pasta, the soup is still great without it.  I used a small amount in this recipe.  Spelt or whole wheat elbow macaroni or rotini work great.  So, look in your refrigerator and in your vegetable bin and round up some soup.  Your family will thank you!

Prayer Power
Father, may we be ever grateful to You for this glorious day that You have made, and may we seek You for all that we are to do on this day.

Link of the Day
Minestrone Soup

Blessings on you as you enjoy some homemade soup.