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Religion and Spirituality
The Love Issue February 2017
Finding Love in the Scriptures There can be no doubt that when the month of February rolls around, our hearts and minds naturally turn towards the virtue of love. It's naturally so because it is the month where Valentine's Day reminds us that love is something to be desired and expressed. Whether you have a significant other or are hoping to find that one person you can call your own, love becomes the driving factor. It's not hard to find love in the scriptures. From Genesis to Revelation, it is God's own personal love letter to His creation of just how much He loves us. There are 66 books in which to find God's love. Genesis shows us His love when He created the heavens and earth and all that is in it. He created people who are a physical expression of Himself just so that He would have someone to love and that His creation would love Him back. The Songs of Solomon reveal how a man found the love of a woman that he could not help but write about it in true poetic flair. The Gospels of the New Testament reveals how much God loves His creation by sending His own son into the world to live, die, and rise again to restore a fallen humanity back to Himself. Revelation reveals the culmination of the plan of God to restore humanity and all of creation back to it's rightful and perfected state in relationship after all the tribulation that has been experienced. is not selfish, is not provoked, and does not keep a record of wrongdoing. Love also finds no joy in unrighteousness , but rejoices in truth. Paul concludes by saying that love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.
He says that love never fails.
During this month where people are looking for ways in which to show love to their loved ones, there can be no greater expression shown than to express the kind of love that God Himself showed the world; one which is unconditional and of great sacrifice. You don't necessarily have to lay down your life, although Jesus told his followers that there is no love greater than that. You only have to show a love that reveals a heart that is for that other person. That may come in the form of giving blood that might save someone's life. It could be visiting a sick friend. It might be adopting a child or becoming a mentor. It might be helping a friend to move from an apartment into a home, or helping a stranger from spending one more cold night outside. Whatever form that gift of love comes in, do it with a heart that merely wants to see the light go on in face of whomever you've shown love to. You'll find so many more example when you seek to find love in the scriptures.
Written by Brian Taylor, Senior Writer Check out more of Brian’s work at www.apreachaskid.wordpress.com
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Empowerment
February 2017
Falling In Love with Love
Love is the most open and vulnerable emotion and action. This was a hard topic for me to express and write about since I was holding onto past hurt and pain. I had to move on; move forward in a way which challenged me internally as well as externally. In some cases, I had to keep the happy face on in order to not bring others down and drag them with me through my pain. I had 2 kids to think about so falling apart over love was not an option. Even still being hurt by love, it did not stop me from loving love. I am not good at being defeated and even being defeated by love in the past, I still had to keep going. There were people who needed me so I had to embrace love even when love didn’t embrace me. After my divorce, I thought love was not an option and I was going to exist and not embrace love at all. This left me feeling empty inside and I know I am not the person who would not show love. It was like I turned into a different person when approached in a way that showed anything but loving care. The criticisms sounded like personal attacks but maybe they were supposed to help me? Maybe it was meant for me to learn something or, maybe the things said to me weren't criticisms at all.
In any case, I still snapped; cursing, yelling, crying - but it sure felt good. I still search for answers as the alternate reality of this madness was taking control. What got me through was putting it all in context, which took some time. I first had to love myself and embrace myself and know I had to keep going in life no matter what challenges were in front of me. Love to me is taking care of myself and for many years it was hard to find the balance. Getting knocked down over and over again and letting the F word – Fear – hold me back was huge and I had to get out of my own way to make this happen. When my father passed away in 2010, things were colliding in my marriage and it seemed like love was eluding me. How could this happen all at the same time? I sought grief counseling and the sessions revealed where I was lacking the love for myself. I needed to walk away from situations where love was not the center focus. The grief counseling quickly turned into personal counseling about why I was this person who felt the need to love everything and everyone even in unhealthy ways. Was what I was going through was some variation of love?
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I’ve thought about this from time to time and finally came away with my trials and tribulations forced me to seek the help I needed and it was up to me to take it forward and not be afraid of what love would do for me. Once I realized what was holding me back, it was at that moment I fell in love with love all over again. Now, it was not overnight but progress was certainly being made and I felt this internal to my soul and spirit. Proceeding freely and embracing love, accepting and knowing I am still here and I have a heart made me fall in love, with love. For you, find the balance for where your love sits – whether it is seeking counseling, bonding with a friend or family member or taking the time you need to sort through anything you may be going through. Don’t discount love; instead, love strong, love with confidence, and most of all, love you.
Written by Lynda Mallory, Contributing Writer Check out her blog at www.alifewithaviewblog.net
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Beauty
February 2017
When You Look Good, You Feel Better! My name is Shawnie Russell. I am a wife to my loving husband of 7 years. A mom to two beautiful boys 2 years old and 4 years old, going through quite the personality differences. All while balancing the life as an woman entrepreneur. No one said the journey would be easy but no one said It Couldn't Be Fabulously Done! Almost 2 years ago I accepted my entrepreneurial transition from "Behind The Chair to Beyond The Chair" with an amazing Bio-Tech Age-Defying Skin Care Company called Nerium International. As with most entrepreneurs my family and I started our venture looking for Financial Freedom but most importantly Time Freedom! If this journey has taught me anything its that, what you are seeking answers for someone carries a solution! It was something about the expressions a client would give after feeling their very best that I loved about owning a salon and doing hair. Rather it was the experience of getting to know my client and making them feel better than they walked in. I was hooked I knew I could never leave the beauty world!
I never wanted to be just another success story. So I began a journey of studying successful people and this was the idea of Success! What surprised me the most was that not only was it no such thing of success over night, but most successful people were successful Intentionally! I developed a new found respect and outlook on MLM and Small Business Ownership. More times then few we only hear about the success stories. We don't hear about the persistence and constant "Grind" every successful person had to put in to Be Where They Are! And Stay Where They Are!
I decided to title this article When You Look Good! You Feel Better! Because while on my journey in studying successful people. I've learned a lot and actually had countless opportunities to speak to So my family and I decided to try our adventures somewhere else woman and share with them products that has partnering with an incredible company as independent brands. truly changed my life. t turns out these products That still allowed me to apart of this beauty world making people this company Nerium was producing was having feel good one conversation or one skincare party at a time. Ripple effect that was out of my mind! Have you ever wanted to do something but the mere idea of NOT From the relationships I was building! knowing HOW scared you from making any further action? To the confidence change both men and woman Have you ever thought you could actually have an impact on a were experiencing as a brand partner and most world that tells you to be opposite of everything We Feel? importantly as customers! It made me think about What If Failures Had No Existence? what we were really bringing to the table. Finally, These were the questions I asked myself when I was becoming products that work. Real People. Real Results. inquisitive to the moment my family and I had Its Not Only a statement it's Fact! When You Look Good! You Feel Better! began our journey! It And More Than Happy To Share Your Experience! was exactly what we were looking for not even knowing it! We partnered with one of the fastest growing companies in the world and because their history of success and its trusted
Written by Contributing Writer, Shawnie Russell Nerium International Independent Brand Partner srrussell.nerium.com
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February 2017
Christian Living
All Things New New love is so amazing, especially when it is assigned by God! It’s exciting, it’s spontaneous, it’s fun and it feels good. New love gives you hope. New loves puts you on cloud nine. New love will make you believe that you’re going to stay in love forever. That you’ll be able to love effortlessly and selflessly, that you’ll love as the Word of God tell you to. That everything will be all good all of the time. Then reality sinks in. The person that you loved oh so much now gets on your everlasting nerves. You’ve dropped from cloud nine to the ground. The two of you forget how to communicate and you eventually forget why you fell in love with each other. You stop being kind to one another. You become impatient. You become selfish and some of you even begin to dishonor and disrespect your spouse. The relationship becomes tainted and the new, amazing love that was once shared has now been buried under bruised emotions and fragile egos. When things get to this point, the relationship begins to fall apart and both people involved aren’t fulfilled anymore. So many times people find themselves in relationships that are unfulfilling because they forget why they fell in love in the first place. People tend to place blame on their spouse rather than take responsibility for the role they play in a failing relationship. Not taking responsibility turns into someone moving on from the relationship to another, only to end up in the same unfulfilling situation. I’ve learned that people can get so caught up in the shallow aspects of relationships that they tend to forget that love is the glue needed to keep the relationship together. Not looks, money or other tangible things. When you forget what keeps the relationship together, you’ll end up making choices and decisions that could possibly ruin a good thing. One of the issues with a lot of relationships in this generation is that one or both of the people involved do not know or understand what true love is. People create their own definitions of love and therefore never get their expectations met. They leave one relationship bruised and broken only to carry those emotions into someone else’s life, eventually leaving that new person bruised and broken as well. This can be solved by learning what true love is.
True love is described and explained in 1 Corinthians 13. The Word of God says that love conquers a multitude of things. This includes unfulfilling relationships. Sometimes moving on isn’t always the answer. Sometimes all that needs to happen is those involved needs to take a step back, learn what true love is all about and allow that love to do what it’s supposed to do: make the relationship new again. How can this be done? By reminding yourself that love isn’t boastful, it isn’t proud and it isn’t envious. When you allow other aspects of the relationship to overshadow its true purpose, you’ll miss out on the positive aspects of being in a loving relationship. We have to find new ways to trust, protect, hope, and persevere in love. True love makes all things new. If you truly want to live a life of delight, hope, trust, and joy you’ll have to apply that 1 Corinthians 13 kind of love into your relationship. It’s not too late to turn things around in your relationship. Be humble, patient, and forgiving and before you know it your relationship will be brand new and all good!
Written by Author Jessica Lee Ann Check out her website www.jessicaleeann.com
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Edible Fruit I’m starving for your love Hungry for your love I can eat you all day long knowing that your love will once again purify me All of me Not wasting a drop of your unconditional love I want to taste you and drink you up Fill me up Into my love cup I have a hungry migraine when I smell your love next to me I can smell you like a vampire from thousands of miles away A dose of your love is all I need It’s all I crave for It’s all I want to eat I’m starving for your love
Written by Lyrical Passion
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Celibate Love My love awaits for you like a drug wanting to get a final taste Can you picture me in bed with dressed in your favorite black lace? LOL yeah you wish you was by my side To caress my body To protect me from harm and danger But the long distance love You may even be with a stranger Your love can wait I think about you night and day I need your love right now With pure silence our lips aren’t even making a sound Physically I want you Mentally I can’t stop thinking about you Your love can wait I’m here for the long run I fantasize about your love between the sheets In my heart, your love I will keep Your love is celibate to me I breathe you into my soul I couldn’t imagine having another lover Your protection is long-lasting and my natural cover I will wait for your return And cherish your love
Written by Lyrical Passion
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Sing to me a New Song Pick me up and gaze into my eyes of paradise as new horizons drawn together Allowing passionate moments to renew the love Sparked and renew the flame Sing to me forever promising that your love will last forever Wine and dine me Different ways Different days Surprise me with your words of promises A new way to romance me To sustain our love Save our love Enhancing it to the next level I listen quietly as you tell me the ways to love me again The comfort of your hugs to the creativity of your heart Vanishing into thin air and gazing into the promising future You take me by your hand and continue to sing me that new song Our love still continues to burn a new fire
Written by Lyrical Passion
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If you love me I prefer for you to whisper it in my ear so I can feel my body tremble in the likes of you Make me feel loved all over again and erase my pain from a past hurt Love me tenderly so that I can create new memories of our love that’s molded into both of our souls Hug me and never let me go. I rather sleep in your arms every night and inhale your aroma of a real man To dream about forever where I live in the moment of your love Tell me I love you a thousand times while watching the dimples on my face rose upon your heart Don’t ever leave me Never leave my side If you love me prove it with your actions Tell me I’m beautiful as we both watch the sun set together Making sweet memories together and always .
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A healthy diet and lifestyle are your best weapons to fight cardiovascular disease. It’s not as hard as you may think! Remember, it's the overall pattern of your choices that counts. Make the simple steps below part of your life for long-term benefits to your health and your heart. Heart disease is a killer, but you can do plenty to reduce your risk and prolong your life. Research shows that making lifestyle changes can lower your risk for heart disease. Adopting heart-healthy habits over the next 12 weeks will start you on the road to better health and a longer life.
Week 5: Improve your cholesterol levels. Make sure your daily menu includes plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and low-fat dairy. Choose fish and skinless chicken instead of fatty cuts of red meat. Add beans (legumes) to your diet, and use soft (tub) margarine, canola oil, and olive oil in moderate amounts. Limit sweets and sugar-sweetened drinks.
Week 6: Eat less salt (sodium). The average 12-week plan American age 2 or older has twice the recommended amount of sodium per day. Most sodiWeek 1: Commit to getting fit. The American Heart Association um comes from salt added during food pro(AHA) reports that a large number of deaths each year result from cessing. Salt added at the table and in cooking is not getting regular physical activity. Try to start exercising 3 times only a small portion of the total sodium that a week. Be sure to check with your doctor first if you haven't been Americans consume. The AHA recommends that exercising regularly. Build to 150 minutes weekly of moderate acall Americans limit their sodium intake to 2,400 tivity. The more you can exercise, the greater the benefit to your mg per day. Leave the saltshaker off the table health. and eat fewer processed foods. Week 2: Stop smoking. You can have the most positive impact on your heart health by quitting smoking. It's also one of the hardest changes to make, so sign up for a smoking cessation program. If you don't smoke, make an effort to avoid secondhand smoke. Being around smoke can increase your risk for heart disease. Week 3: Eat less fat. Fat is the most concentrated form of energy and calories. Cutting back on fat helps you lose weight and reduces your risk for heart disease and some forms of cancer. Week 4: Limit how much saturated fat you eat. Lowering the amount of saturated fat in your diet is one of the best ways to lower your LDL (“bad�) cholesterol. Saturated fats are a main contributor to heart disease. Aim for getting no more than 10% of your daily calories from saturated fat. If your daily calorie goal is about 2,000 calories, saturated fats should make up no more than 200 calories of that total. Choose lean cuts of meat and low -fat dairy, and use oils instead of solid fats. Limit baked goods, processed meats, and fried foods.
@she_naturally_rocks
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