what's inside 05
All Things New
07
Money Mindset & Your Financial Future
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Understanding The Relevance of Your Potential
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Financial Focus
15
Let's Live a Balanced Life: Make an Appointment with You
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Are You Appreciative
ALL THINGS NEW BY KENYA L MORRIS In preparation for this article, the first thing I did was ask a few friends what they would want to know about health and wellness. From their answers, I was able to gather a few topics and discussions that will be mentioned in upcoming articles but for now, I will introduce myself and reveal my story to you. I am a 43-year-old living in Charlotte NC. I am an experienced case manager (over 22 years) and a successful entrepreneur for over 14 years. I’ve battled weight for my entire adult life. Over a course of 20 plus years, I’ve tried most diet trends and pills. After having complications with high cholesterol and my life insurance policy not being approved, I knew I had to make a change. My two children motivated me to change my lifestyle. The thought of them living without me was unbearable, especially when I knew I had the power to change my situation. In 2017, I was so ashamed of my weight (242.6 pounds), I used my daughter’s College Degree to hide myself in her graduation picture (truly all mental because I couldn’t hide at all) My eating habits changed as a result of having a sleeve gastrectomy June 6, 2017. Immediately after surgery, I started using Herbalife products for maintenance and they are currently used in my daily maintenance program. I also invested in weekly meal prep from my personal chef that keeps me on track with making healthier choices. I also incorporate juicing, and phone reminders to drink water. My personal trainer for almost 3 years, Dequarius Dawkins continues to keep me inspired-when I have days where I’m not motivated, he reminds me of where I was compared to my life now. My workout plan consists of 3 days of training (cardio plus strength training) and 2-3 days of running with my run group! My biggest accomplishment so far in this journey was completing my first 15K race in February of 2018 followed by numerous 5K’s and most recently another 15K in January 2019.
Seeking professional counseling has been one of the major components in my success! Obesity doesn’t start in the kitchen, I feel our minds trigger us to engage in unhealthy living which spills over to continuous spells of unhealthy eating. Staying positive and associating with people who bring positive energy has also been an important factor in my wellness survival. I will also share that I’ve invested time, money and gained skills that have certified me as a professional coach, health and wellness coach, and an interscholastic coach-Track & Field. As a result of weight loss surgery and a new mindset, I’ve lost a total of 107.6 pounds and 65 inches! I’ve maintained a total weight loss of 105 pounds over the course of 21 months. The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that you have the power to control your destiny; however, everyone needs help! Reach out for help, no matter what it takes! Your weight loss journey is simply yours-figure out what works for you and fight every day to maintain. If you need to start over, it’s okay-Celebrate where you are! Everyone has their opinion on your life but remember they aren’t living it. Stay active, drink water, eat clean, detox, go to therapy, invest in yourself, listen to your doctor, nutritionist, have a support system that really supports, pray, and celebrate your accomplishments-big or small, most importantly find a motto for where you are and own it!
Thank you for allowing me to share a portion of my journey; As you can see, ALL THINGS NEW in my life is something I had to live in order to see the transformation. Stay tuned for my next article as I discuss how I coach people daily to their T.H.I.N space. Follow me on social media: Facebook: Kenya L Morris Instagram: 3xalady Twitter: @3degreez Email: chatwithkenya@gmail.com -5-
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MONEY MINDSET & YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE By: Keri "Dream Catcher" Williams Today we hear so much about ‘cleaning up your credit’ that we tend to place our focus there and not on the overall picture of our finances. Yes, credit is part of that picture. However, also included in your total financial picture are retirement accounts, all insurances (life, health, disability, etc.), income, assets, liabilities, household budget, and your money mindset. Now knowing what is included in your total financial picture, how secure is your financial situation? Are you setup to win by the time you reach retirement? Will you leave a legacy of financial security? What will your next generation and the generation after that say about you? Will they know your name because you place the family on a solid financial platform?
For many, wealth and financial freedom are concepts that are believed to be unattainable or are only attainable for others. However, there are some of us who know that wealth is acquirable by all because scripture tells us we were given the power to obtain wealth by God in Deuteronomy 8:18. If God said it then it must be so. And since this is the truth, we must walk in that truth. Yet, admittedly there can sometimes be a gap between knowing what God says and believing it to fuel our actions towards actually attaining that promised wealth. That is why we must seek wise counsel as instructed in Proverbs 19:20. We must reach out to those professionals who understand money – how to acquire it and how to retain it. -7-
Wise counsel can assist you with understanding where you are financially and how to reach your financial goals. As previously mentioned, there is an additional step necessary to truly reach financial freedom, and that is addressing your money mindset.
Additionally, did you grow up with your family living in poverty, extravagance or somewhere inbetween? This can impact your money mindset as well. Have you ever heard the phrase “robbing Peter to pay Paul”? Do you find yourself saying things like “I’m always broke” or “there’s more month than money”? Are you living paycheck to paycheck? You see, all of these thoughts construct your money mindset, and directly impacts how you utilize money and your financial situation.
How we think and feel about money has a great impact on our current and future money situation. It is most challenging to be fiscally fierce if you do not deal with your assumptions, superstitions, familial patterns, and experience of money. For example, when you think of rich people what type of person do you think they are? Do you assume they are greedy or mean or selfish? Do you think they kind or giving or honest? How you answer those questions indicates how you think and feel about money or your money mindset.
In order to be fiscally fierce, we must have a healthy relationship with money. We must face what holds us back from properly handling money. In many cases there is not a quick fix to reaching your financial goals, but it is possible with consistent effort. Once you have decided to build a healthier financial future, reach out to a financial professional and change the legacy attached to your name.
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UNDERSTANDING THE RELEVANCE OF YOUR POTENTIAL By: Shirley Vinson There are territories all around us that we can conquer. There is spoil within our grasp that we are failing to retrieve. There is power within us that is going unused and lying dormant. We are like a man who sits in the middle of a wheat field and cries for bread. These conditions are persistent among us because we don’t understand how to operate with the potential God has given us. If we learn to operate within our potential, we will discover what makes us relevant as Christians, as the church, and as the Body of Christ.
Guard against the fear of embracing an opportunity because of the possibilities of mistakes. Learn from mistakes and use them to add dimensions to your wisdom. Mistakes don’t displease God. He has built-in corrective measures.
First, let’s define potential from a kingdom perspective. Kingdom defines potential as " the power to develop or create ". You were born with it. It is in you right now. You are not too old or too young to use it. It is not reserved for an elite few. It is not dependent upon your pedigree or your socioeconomic status. Your environment does not limit it nor does your past mistakes kill it. It does not discriminate against any gender, culture, or religious preference. It can be just as effective in a high school dropout as it can with a recipient of a doctorate. The issue is not whether you have potential; the issue is how to use it.
Do not succumb to the dread of facing a challenge. Challenges builds your stamina and gives you endurance. Tackling a challenge opens an avenue of strength that will carry you in the roughest of times (I Cor. 15: 58). Now that you understand how to recognize potential, let’s understand how to use it. Potential has three purposes: to help us become fruitful, conquerors, and rulers (Gen. 1:28). You were created to be fruitful. Therefore, potential gives you the power to produce. Productivity will occur when the potential inside you is released. You were created to conquer. Therefore, potential gives you the power to subdue. The scriptures teach, “we are more than conquerors…” This is true when the power in you connects to the power of God. There will be nothing that will stop or hinder you.
Before potential can be used you must have the ability to recognize it. It reveals itself in two distinct components: opportunity and challenge. Opportunity exposes potential, while challenge unlocks it. These components work together to exhibit the power that lies within you.
You were created to rule. Therefore, potential gives you the power of dominion. Dominion denotes your area of influence. There is an audience waiting for what you have. Polish it. Prepare it. Present it. You have the potential to do great things!
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LEMUEL
Nakia@ruachlifenetwork.net
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Let’s Live a Balanced Life “Make an appointment with you” When was the last time you made an appointment with yourself? Don’t you think it is time? You have been so busy that you forgot to place yourself on your schedule. I am talking to you however, I am talking to myself as well. You usually minister to others about the same things you are going through. You see it is so easy to get caught up with the concerns of others that we lose site on our well-being. My job is to remind us how important we are and to make sure we are on our daily schedule. Let’s try our hands at putting together an action plan. First what are your needs to becoming a balanced person? What tool would allow you to become successful and balanced mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically? Let’s start with the physical. When you are physically unhealthy it is very hard to concentrate on other areas of the table of life. When you are sick due to chronic illness, fatigued, lack of energy, aches and pains those issues are constantly on your mind and need to be addressed to reverse, treat or even prevent. Let’s start with a list of problems you deal with physically and plan to address them. Have you gone to see your physician? Have you looked for a quality, qualified fitness trainer? Have you looked for a quality, qualified holistic biblical nutritionist? If not start your plan right here.
God came a third time and changed or added meat to the diet due to the flood because water covered the earth and vegetation was not readily available. It had nothing to do with us needing extra or animal protein. If we would change our mind set and thought process and go back to plant-based eating none of these diseases would come upon us because food is our medicine and medicine is our food. According to Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, stated that “Disease does not occur unexpectedly. It is the result of constant violation of Nature’s laws. Spreading and accumulation of such violations transpire suddenly in the form of a disease – but it only seems sudden.” Because of our unhealthy eating habits, it takes disease approximately 10 years to rear its head as stage 3, stage 4. Nothing happens suddenly it brews, and we feed the disease for 10 years. And because of our bad habits our body has very little to fight off the enemy. Today, evaluate your health, start a food and exercise journal to track how you are fueling your body for any attacks they may show in the form of disease. Need help reach out. As the scripture states “No weapon formed against me shall prosper” Isaiah 54:17. Let’s bring that scripture to life in response to our heath in all areas. If we feed ourselves the word, proper and healthy food, prayer, and positivity the weapon has no choice but to dissipate and retreat.
Before you can become balanced you have to first know the issue, acknowledge and move forward to change it. Above you see I referenced a biblical based nutrition consultant. One who follows the true clean eating instructions for the Kingdom. There are many nutritionists out there. However, few follow true clean eating the way God created. God created us to be plant eaters, herbivores. In the beginning plant-based eating was the diet. God changed the diet only after Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden.
Love yourself and become your priority. Make an appointment with you today! “Coach D” Your Holistic Health and Wellness Consultant Donna Nealy, MS CFT CNC CLC MHFA, Minister, OCB, NPC competitor Esteem, A Total Transformation, Owner and Executive Director www.esteem-att.com
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ARE YOU APPRECIATIVE? By: Tabbetha A. Watts, MS As I began to pray and ask God what it is that He
We take for granted the things we see them do
had for me to share with you, my heart was full of
every day because we begin to "expect" it. Now
gratefulness. Why? Because I felt blessed
that will preach right there but I will save that
because He awarded me this opportunity to be
topic “expectation” for another time. For
able to share with you what it means to have a
example, if you cook daily or take the trash out
great marriage and be a wonderful wife.
wouldn't you like to hear the words "thank you?" Here are few ways to show your appreciation:
So…Let's take a moment and think about how many times we actually tell or show our spouse
1. Write a simple note saying "I love you and
how much we appreciate them.
appreciate you for just being you." 2. Hug and kiss them - my husband and I kiss
I'm not speaking on when they give you a gift or
before we leave each other as well as to greet
when they do something for you. I'm speaking in
each other and other times too...LOL! Affection is
terms of letting them know how much you
always a great way to show your appreciation.
appreciate them for loving you with all your
3. Take the time to LISTEN - we are busy with
flaws (yes you do have them), for being the
work, kids, church, etc. But when your spouse
spouse you need them to be and being a part of
and/or significant other wants to tell you about
your life. We as humans tend to forget that the
their day or something that's on their mind...sit
words "thank you" are very important in any
and actually listen. Don't listen to respond but
relationship...especially marriage.
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actually listen.
4. Spend quality time with them - My husband
6. Actions speak louder than words - Are the
and I are strong believers in having "date
words you speak expressed in your actions?
nights." A night without kids and acting as
Do you say things to insult them? Even if you
though you are dating again. It doesn't have
don't mean what you say...words are hurtful. If
to be expensive or extravagant but just some
you love them and they are important to
alone time together to reconnect
you...ACT LIKE IT!
5. Surprise them - Do something for them that
7. Lastly, say "thank you." Thank them in
they may have mentioned previously without
private and in public. Those two words are
them asking.
just as powerful as "I love you."
Now let’s begin showing appreciation and gratefulness for the one God has sent just for you.
Tabbetha A. Watts, MS
Elder Patrice Craig Green, Founder of SaltShakers Magazine -18-