“Never give in. Never, never, never, never–in nothing, great or small, large or petty–never give in, except to convictions of honor and good sense.”  Winston Churchill

On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you score your overall level of persistence?  Examples?  Are you satisfied with that score?

Preach the word of God. Be persistent, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.  (2 Tim. 4:2; NLT)

Yesterday, I saw a Tweet from Max Lucado (many of you will be very familiar with that name).  Yes, Max is a very active tweeter.  If you’re so inclined, you can follow him at http://twitter.com/MaxLucado.

Anyway, Max tweeted “This is an inspirational clip. Best viewed with tissue at hand:).”  So, I followed the link and am glad that I did.  The clip that Lucado was recommending is today’s Link of the Day.

It’s been a while since I’ve written a Daily Gram about an overcomer.  It seems that there was a real string of them for a while last year.  While this one is not quite as amazing as some that I’ve featured in the past, this is still a magnificent story of overcoming incredible odds to achieve a goal.  Persistence is such an important character trait.  Giving up is so easy any more.  It’s almost expected these days.  Here’s a video you might want to keep and watch again during those hard times when you’re fighting the temptation to toss in the towel.

In any event, grab a tissue as Max Lucado suggests and enjoy the story of D. J. Gregory — Walk On!!!

BTW, there’s more on D.J.’s blog at http://www.pgatour.com/2008/r/dj.blog/index.html.

Prayer Power
Father, we are so blessed and grateful that You never give up on us.  Thank You, thank You, thank You!

Link of the Day
Walk On

Blessings on you as you resolve not to quit.

Sharon has just had three articles published by EzineArticles — her first.  You may want to check them out.  Here are the summaries:

5 Simple Health and Wellness Activities That Anyone Can Easily Implement
How many of you get ideas when taking a shower?  I’ve heard a number of people say that creative ideas come to them when they’re “all wet.”  I’m no exception.  I’ve realized that people enjoy short, doable bullets that they can easily begin to implement when making changes around their health and wellness.  So, last week I had a few bubble to the surface while in the shower.

Importance of Eating Healthy During Hard Times
Most of us have realized that our food dollars aren’t stretching as far as they did in the past.  However, that is not a valid reason (or excuse) to compromise on feeding our families and ourselves in a healthy manner.  We can continue to eat high quality, nutrient dense foods and not “break the budget,” or resort to boxed macaroni and cheese, or a fast food burger.

Take Control of Your Wellness With 5 Simple Steps
Wellness is a “hot” topic nowadays! We’re hearing about it on the news, at the hair salon, and in the grocery store. People are seeking to walk in wellness, yet many are unsure of what that even means. There are also many ideas, thoughts, and opinions about what constitutes wellness and how one should go about obtaining it. I’ve compiled a few simple steps.
Oh, and at the risk of being just a bit presumptuous, while you’re viewing the articles, it would be a blessing to her if you would take the time to rate them. Just go to the bottom of the page and you will see a 1-5 rating scale.

“Life purpose [destiny] is the energy of passion, channeled through experience and design, in the service of a greater calling.”  Tony Stoltzfus

What is your destiny or purpose in life?

But you know what I teach, Timothy, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is.  (2 Tim. 3:10a; NLT)

The last couple of DGs have focused on life purpose or synonymously, destiny.  Some dictionaries define destiny as synonymous with fate or predetermined outcome.  To me that’s a bit too gloomy.  In fact, Webster’s 1828 Dictionary says that our “destiny is happily concealed” from our view.  But like so many words, the strict dictionary definition has morphed over time, and one dictionary I’ve seen comes a little closer to the way we’re using the word today.  It says that destiny is “your overall circumstances or condition in life (including everything that happens to you).”

You know, this search for one’s destiny has gone on forever — I like to say, “is older than dirt.”  At one time or another, we all have wrestled with seemingly unanswerable questions like “Who am I?” “What is my purpose?”  “Why am I here.”  “What is life all about?”  So the way most have come to view destiny anymore is basically the answer to the question that adults used to love to ask us as kids — “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

But, I’m sure that as you have observed, the answer to that question changes multiple times over a person’s lifetime.  Circumstances change.  Things happen.  It almost seems that we are victims as life swirls around us.  But, I don’t believe that that being a victim is God’s intention for us.  I find that most Christians strongly believe as Max Lucado wrote, “You weren’t an accident. You weren’t mass produced. You aren’t an assembly line product. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly placed on earth by the Master Craftsman.”  So, this purpose that the Master Craftsman had in mind for us is what we now call destiny or life purpose.

I especially appreciate the way Tony Stoltzfus, the guy who taught Sharon and I virtually everything we know about coaching, defines destiny.  He says, “Life purpose is the energy of passion, channeled through experience and design, in the service of a greater calling.”  That single sentence seems to say it all.  That sentence includes the elements of your design (i.e., who you are); your life experience (i.e., what life has prepared you to do); your passion (i.e.,  what gives you energy and motivation to act); and your calling (i.e., your commission from God to serve others.)

As I mentioned a couple of times last week, I’ve been asked to be a guest expert on Lynne Lee’s Christian Life Coaching Cafe to discuss the topic “Discover Your Life Purpose.”  The interview is tomorrow (4/21) at 3p EDT.   Lynne is an experienced and widely published life coach who resides and practices in the United Kingdom,  Lynne and I would love to have you register at the link below and join us for that free teleseminar.  Even if that day and/or time doesn’t work for you, go ahead and register so that Lynne can send you a link to the recording.

Prayer Power
Father, we are often awed by the notion that You created us for a particular purpose.  Guide is as we take steps to get really clear just what that purpose is all about.

Link of the Day
Christian Life Coaching Teleseminars

Blessings on you as you take steps to define and live out your life purpose.

For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled. There’s a battle outside and it is ragin’. It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls, for the times they are a-changin’.  Bob Dylan (over 26 years ago)

When is the last time you were frustrated with a product you had purchased because of poor quality or poor service?  What did you do about it?

It is better to be patient than powerful; it is better to have self-control than to conquer a city.  (Prov. 16:32; NLT)

Sunday morning I received a blog post from Seth Godin that really caught my eye.  I’m passing it along to you as today’s Link of the Day.  I was so much in agreement with what he wrote that I posted his link along with a recommendation on both Facebook and Digg.  By late afternoon, I had received a couple of comments from the Facebook post which tells me that the article is resonating with lots of folks.  That’s what motivated me want to share it with you.

I had just finished reading a book written by Godin the night before in which he made the point that the rules of commerce are changing, and that you can’t rely on the old tried and true techniques to work any more.  The driving force behind the shift is Web 2.0, an innovation to the Internet that allows us as consumers to engage in conversation with the manufacturers and marketers of products.  This may sound relatively insignificant on the surface, but the implications are proving to be mind-boggling.

Now if the consumer doesn’t like a product, feels it’s a rip-off, receives poor (or no) service, the consumer can step up and essentially tell the world via the Internet.  Smart manufacturers had better respond quickly or they will find themselves out of business in short order.  These new rules also eliminate the “gatekeepers” from arbitrarily (or for payola?) promoting a particular product while killing another just by ignoring it.  The gatekeepers I’m referring to are primarily the media, e.g., newspapers, radio, TV, et al.  For example, it is becoming irrelevant that some newspaper food-columnist dude, who thinks he is an expert, writes about his experience in a particular restaurant and thereby causes that restaurant to rise or fall accordingly.  The power is rapidly shifting to where it truly belongs…to the consumer.

As you might expect, the large manufacturers, Madison Avenue advertising firms, media moguls, etc. are resisting this power shift with everything they can muster.  This will require them to make major changes to adapt to the new rules or be left behind.   Think about it…newspapers are not as important as they once were; the three major TV networks are no longer calling all the shots as they once did; large manufacturers are no longer defining all the products as as in the old days because now consumers are going to the smaller manufacturer who can quickly adapt to what the consumer wants to buy.  This is a seismic shift of incredible significance.  Careers and fortunes are being made or lost accordingly.

But back to Seth Godin’s blog post that generated my little tirade.  In his blog he points out that trade associations or guilds, in their attempt to serve their constituency, are actually impeding the advent of a greater good to satisfy a few who don’t want the rules to change.  This is definitely worth a read.

These are truly interesting times to be alive.

Prayer Power
Father, we are so grateful to be living in times such as these.  Change is indeed uncomfortable for all, but we celebrate Your continual grace and presence to be a ready help and encourager as we take each step, one at a time.

Link of the Day
Beware of trade guilds maintaining the status quo

Blessings on you as you step up to make your voice heard.

“Drugs never cure chronic diseases.”  Lorraine Day, MD

Have you contemplated cutting back on your personal health goals?

Folly delights a man who lacks judgment, but a man of understanding keeps a straight course.  (Prov 15:21; NIV)

We’re hearing it everywhere we turn…people are cutting back on their spending.  Shifts and changes are being made in how and where people are spending their money.  Financial crunches can create stress among families and in the body itself.  Stress creates inflammation and inflammation brings cellular and tissue breakdown resulting in illness and dis-ease.

I’ve had clients wanting to cut back on their personal health goals by reducing their gym memberships, stopping their coaching commitments or cutting back on their vital nutrient supplementation.  Don’t be tempted to think that cutting back on these crucial areas of your life will bring any benefit.  What may seem like a short term economic “fix”, could well end in disappointment and even tragedy down the road.

Daily, I read articles proving how necessary certain supplements are for our health and well-being.  A nutrition newsletter that I read last evening stated how critical anti-oxidants and fatty acids are in the prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease.  Nutrition Journal published a study showing that people who take multiple supplements have fewer health problems than those who do not.  NutriNews devoted an entire publication to the worldwide epidemic of Vitamin D deficiency.  On and on it goes.  Probiotics are needed for any type of normal digestion and elimination.

So, in looking at your overall health and well-being, why not look at ways that you can insure yourself with the best nutrition and care so that you can remain in optimal health.  Taking care of your physical body is not an option, even though many people act like it is.  How many times do you eat out in a week or a month?  Could some of that money be spent on taking care of your “temple?”  Prepare a simple meal at home for much less than eating out, freeing up funds to maintain your health goals.  May I challenge you to seriously examine your health priorities?  What is standing in the way of you taking the best possible care of the only body you will ever have?

Prayer Power:
Father, we thank You that You are our provision and we thank You for our amazing physical bodies.  May we do all that we can to take care of them in a way that brings glory to You.

Link of the Day
From Farm to Table: Nutrient Losses in Fruits and Vegetables

Blessings on you as you look for ways to support and care for your body.

“When your value system and corresponding actions become congruent with the call of God on your life, you will become unstoppable!”  Sharon Graham

How does the “rhythm of your life” coincide with your values?

To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding,  (Prov. 1:2; NKJ)

What do you do every day that’s part of your daily routine?  Do you call your children each morning?  Or perhaps you call your parents every evening?  Maybe it’s just a short, “Hi, how are things going?”  Maybe you have a special grandchild that you stay in touch with routinely.

One friend of mine packs lunches every evening for her husband and other family members for the next day.  Another couple who we’ve known for years spends time together each evening in prayer for their friends and family.  It’s like clockwork for them.  Hopefully, you’re flossing and brushing your teeth at least once a day (at least the teeth you want to keep).

Many of you have a daily discipline of spending time with our Heavenly Father, perhaps reading a daily devotional or motivational book along with reading Scripture.  Life develops into a rhythm and for the most part certain actions are performed every day.

May I propose to you that exercise can also be a part of that daily rhythm?  For many of you, it is.  For others, with some effort, it can become that.  Jerry writes a great deal about how our thinking affects our actions and outcomes.  May I challenge our non-exercisers to not think of exercise as something “I have to do!”  Exercise is something we GET to do.  It’s a privilege.  We’re granted only one physical body.  And as the saying goes, “Where are you going to live when your body wears out?”

Having spent time with my mother over Christmas, I again wasn’t able to do my normal exercise routine.  I was so eager to return home and get back to the gym.  My body really missed the exercise.  After a couple of days of once again working out, I realized how much this is a part of me.  It’s part of the rhythm of life.  It’s something I GET to do and my body rewards me by working more efficiently and staying strong.  What can you do to make your body sing with happiness?

Prayer Power
Father, thank You for our amazing physical bodies and all that they can do.  May we seek You for how to give them the best possible care that we can.

Link of the Day
The Benefits of Daily Exercise

Blessings on you as you learn to include exercise into your “Rhythm of Life.”

“We can see a thousand miracles around us every day.  What is more supernatural than an egg yolk turning into a chicken?”  S. Parkes Cadman

How familiar are you with the real truth about eating EGGS?

Is tasteless food eaten without salt, or is there flavor in the white of an egg?  (Job 6:6; NIV)

I know I’ve written about the health benefits of eating eggs before.  However, a recent conversation with a friend prompted me to address this issue once again.  The friend actually said that they ate “Eggs Beaters”, thinking that was a good thing.  I flinched and began my discourse on why eating whole eggs is good for us and that they don’t cause high cholesterol levels.  As Dr. Diana Schwarzbein says in her book, The Schwarzbein Principle; The Truth About Losing Weight, Being Healthy and Feeling Younger, “You can eat eggs every day, as many as your body wants.”  How’s that for a show stopper?

Dr. Joseph Mercola says that “most people generally don’t eat enough protein, and organic free-range eggs are one of your best sources. Remember, you can easily eat one dozen eggs per week, as they will NOT cause your cholesterol to increase.”  Eggs are one of the highest quality sources of protein along with being a very good source of iodine, a necessary nutrient for healthy thyroid function.  Eggs yolks contain lutein, an important nutrient for eye health.

Today’s link is from The Weston A Price foundation.  It’s an excellent article (pun intended) on “Good Egg, Bad Egg, How to Know?”  It gives some good tips for purchasing eggs.  Dr. Mercola also offers articles on his site about what eggs are the best ones to buy.  Use eggs for your healthy holiday baking and enjoy some homemade eggnog!

Prayer Power
Father, we are so grateful to You for all of Your wonderful creations.  We thank You for creating chickens and eggs…which ever came first.

Link of the Day
Good Egg, Bad Egg — How to Know?

Blessings on you as you enjoy some eggs during this holiday season.

“Love is what we were born with. Fear is what we learned here”  Unknown

How do you respond to doubt, fear, and anxiety?

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18; NKJ)

Three weeks ago now I said that I was going to do an extended series of DGs on the human brain.  Right now, I’m thinking that this will be the last in the series–at least for a while.  If you missed the introduction to this little series, I encourage you to take a couple of minutes and go back and read that introductory material. (Access “Your Amazing Brain” by clicking here.)

The amygdala is “an almond-shaped mass of gray matter in the front part of the temporal lobe of the cerebrum that is part of the limbic system and is involved in the processing and expression of emotions, especially anger and fear,” according to the American Heritage Science Dictionary.  I don’t want to get too technical with this series on the brain, but there is this one part of the brain, that has a Latin name, but which you must understand to be able to avoid the kind of thinking traps we’ve been warning you about throughout this series.  (BTW, amygdala is simply a Latin word based on Greek that means “almond.”  As you might suspect, the amygdala is shaped like an almond.)

This paranoid little guy has awesome power over your perceptions and actions because it senses real and potential stress and causes the release of chemicals into your system triggering feelings of doubt, fear, and anxiety.  The amygdala stores the emotional perceptions that occur each time a memory is built.  Memory and emotions are inseparable.  The amazing thing is that the amygdala stores all the emotional perceptions you have developed while building memory from the time in the womb until today as you read this DG.

Now, anytime you grow and move to another level in anything in life, you are obviously stepping outside of your comfort zone.  The doubt, fear, and anxiety that the amygdala triggers because of real or potential stress is perfectly normal.  When you understand that this is absolutely the way it’s supposed to work, and that the brain is doing exactly what it is supposed to be doing, you can use that understanding to make rational decisions, rather than misinterpret the feelings to mean that you should stop the activity. 

Even the most successful people you can name have those same feelings of doubt and anxiety, but they make the choice to push on through rather than bow to them.  This understanding of how the brain is supposed to work puts a whole new perspective on doubt and fear.  Now you can see that the absence of doubt and fear is a warning signal of status quo, i.e., there’s no growth going on.  That’s OK for a season, but should not be what we strive for on a steady basis.

Prayer Power
Lord, we thank You for this understanding of what the signals of doubt, fear, and anxiety really mean.  We ask for the courage to step through that False Evidence that Appears Real.

Link of the Day
Emotions and the Brain: Fear

Blessings on you as you face your fears and step out of your comfort zone.

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“The Journal is a powerful journaling and writing tool that can help you take control of your life.”  David Michael

What is the lead domino for YOUR life?

Now go, write it before them on a tablet, And note it on a scroll, That it may be for time to come, Forever and ever. (Isaiah 30:8; KJV)

As I mentioned last Friday, Dr. Randy Peck and I are teaming up to do an online journaling course designed to move you closer to discovering your destiny.  The following is from Randy’s daily devotional (http://yourdailyblessing.com/blog/) of last Friday.“As mentioned in yesterday’s devotional, I have come to the conclusion that God wants me to coach people in groups of 15 and 1,000 to journal in UNCOMMON ways to experience breakthroughs and for LIFE Focus. Dr. Jerry Graham, my top mentor for the past year, has agreed to partner with me in this endeavor.

“Before my ‘UNCOMMON Journaling for Breakthroughs’ webinar yesterday, I prepared a PowerPoint presentation. That will serve as the basis for my upcoming devotionals. Here is the basic outline of what I cover in my introductory journaling webinar and what I’ll be covering in this series of journaling devotionals:
Why journal? (Benefits)
How do you journal? (Styles)
Why journal ONLINE? (Power)
History of Dr. Peck’s journaling
Demo of Dr. Peck’s journaling
Fruit of journaling
Testimonies
So What? Now What?

“It’s amazing how when you take a step in the direction of your destiny, God takes 10 steps toward you. Today, Jeff Bernstein, founder of Gates of Zion, called me out-of-the-blue. He told me that he recently started journaling using outstanding software that he downloaded from the web. There’s a 45 day free demo if you are interested. To learn more, visit today’s Link of the Day.

“Take a step toward discovering and fulfilling YOUR destiny and REGISTER TODAY for one of my FREE webinars titled ‘UNCOMMON Journaling for Breakthroughs!’
Wednesday, June 11, Noon – 1 pm
Thursday, June 12, 4-5 pm
Thursday, June 12, 8-9 pm

“I like what Bill Gates (Microsoft) says, ‘If we don’t act on a good idea within 24 hours, we are less than 50% likely to ever act on it. If we haven’t acted on it inside of days, then we are less than 2% likely to ever act on it.’”

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, we praise You as the God of HIStory. You told Your people in the Bible over and over to “Remember!” One of the best ways to remember what You’ve done and to discern what You are doing is to journal. Bless my readers to comprehend the significance of journaling. May many of them choose to learn more by participating in one of my upcoming webinars. May they refer their friends to do likewise. Thank You Jesus. Amen and hallelujah!

Link of the Day
The Journal

Blessings on you as you step out to explore the topic of journaling in depth!