{4} ISSUE
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philosophy believe in miracles
on the COVER
"God will keep putting you in situations that stretch your faith, and as your faith stretches, so do your dreams, and it won't get easier: it'll get harder. It won't get less complicated; it'll get more complicated. But complications are evidence of God's blessing. And if its from God, then its a holy complication.” -Mark Batterson – The Circle Maker
Model : Carol Persons Photographer : Alexa Nikol Curran
from the EDITOR
I
f I had my wish, it would be for everyone of you who reads this letter, to retain this message. It’s short simple & to the point… “Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.” Never allow your past to dictate your future…everyone makes mistakes and its most important what you learn from the mistakes that will impact your future. Forgiveness can be one the hardest, yet most fulfilling gifts you can give not only to yourself but to others. Over in the gospel of Luke it says. ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” I’d like to follow this with one of my favorite passages in Mark, “ Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” Imagine all the amazing blessings just waiting to be poured out onto us, if we just simply take the time for forgive others the way Christ has forgiven us… even when it’s the hardest thing imaginable.
eliza
Eliza Beerbower, Editor in Chief eliza@magazine-grace.com
the CAUSE
Where is God?
By Melody Hawks
New Town, Connecticut. Boston. Oklahoma. There have been Shootings, Tornados, Floods, and Bombings and that’s just in the Continental United States. As each of these places bring a tragedy to mind, some might sit back and look at all the chaos and ask “Where is God and why does He let these things happen?” There have been Shootings, Tornados, Floods, and Bombings and that’s just in the Continental Untied States. It is not hard to imagine a God who is supreme over the entire universe who loves us beyond our wildest imagination. The hard part is to understand that God is also a fair and just God. A God who allows choices. A God who, through our triumph in difficult situations, grows us in perseverance and character and hope. Using the Word of God as our authority, let’s try to glean some understanding of who God is and how he tends to strengthen us through tragic situations.
the CAUSE One thing that we have to wrap our heads around is that although God is the I Am, Worthy of Praise and Honor and Glory and the owner of the cattle on a thousand hills, He loves us enough to give us choices. In Matthew 23, Jesus says a prayer over Jerusalem. At the end of the prayer He says, how He longed to gather Jerusalem’s children, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but they were not willing. The people had a choice to follow Christ while he was there with them. . We all have that same ability to choose. No matter who we are or what we believe, the fact of the matter is that we live in a world filled with sin. Some say that people are inherently good. I would submit to you that good is not what comes natural to us, but sin does. We are born into sin because we are descendants of Adam who sinned in the Garden of Eden. It is because of that sin that the individuals who enacted the horrible events in Connecticut and Boston made the choices that they did. Putting aside beliefs or Illness, these men made a choice. These choices changed the course of countless lives forever. Could God have stopped them? I believe yes. Then why didn’t He? The honest answer is that I don’t know. But I have to wonder, If there were never adversity, how would we grow in our faith? How could we overcome and realize just how important we are to God? We might not realize how other’s inspire us or how we might grow to help someone else who experiences the same tragedy in their lives?
In the book of Genesis Joseph was thrown into a pit by his brothers, sold as a slave to Egyptians and imprisoned for many years.
But in the end, through his relationship with the Pharaoh of Egypt, his family and in fact, the entire nation of Israel was saved from certain death. Joseph’s statement to his brothers was “What you intended for evil, God intended for good”. God didn’t stop working back in ancient Egypt. I believe He still works to grow us through tragedy today. In the book of Genesis Joseph was thrown into a pit by his brothers, sold as a slave to Egyptians and imprisoned for many years. But in the end, through his relationship with the Pharaoh of Egypt, his family and in fact, the entire nation of Israel was saved from certain death. Joseph’s statement to his brothers was “What you intended for evil, God intended for good”. God didn’t stop working back in ancient Egypt. I believe He still works to grow us through tragedy today. How many stories do you remember after 9/11 of heroes, of mentors and amazing stories of survival? The people in New York and even the entire country bonded together and this bonding continues in Boston and Joplin and Moore and it will continue to happen. Are these recent incidents tragic? Of course they are but just because we don’t see God working, doesn’t mean that He has abandoned us. The recent tornados that ravaged the mid-west are not God’s wrath being poured out on these communities. It seems to me that general weather patterns and regional characteristics have been the same since the Great Flood. California has always had earthquakes, the Northern states have always had snow in the winter, the Midwest get’s tornados in the spring and fall and the south is dry and hot in the west and humid and prone to hurricanes in the east. We shouldn’t blame God for the continuing weather patterns. But rather ask Him to show us who He is and what we can do or learn when adversity rears its ugly head.
the CAUSE Still, we tend to be angry about tragedy. We think, “Why can’t God just make things better?” let me assure you. God doesn’t treat us like little ants. He’s not some mean kid sitting in Heaven with a proverbial magnifying glass burning us just to see what we do. We may not have all of our “why?” questions answered this side of heaven. The apostle Paul said, “Now I know in part; then (speaking of when he goes to heaven some day)I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Paul knew that there are things he will not know while he was here on earth. The music group Reliant-K sings, “The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair” how poetic. Many times in our lives, We don’t deserve grace, yet Christ offers it to us anyway. It seems unfair that some people die while others live or this house stands while that one is destroyed. The Bible says that it rains on the just and the unjust. So just because I’m a “good person” doesn’t mean that I’m going to escape adversity or even tragedy. It’s God’s ultimate goal to shape us into His likeness, to mold us into something beautiful. When we encounter the ugliness of this world whether it is through natural disasters or human choices, we must look toward Heaven. We must ask God, “What do you want me to learn from this?” and then pray for strength, endurance and faith. Where is God? Why does He let these things happen? We may never have answers that we understand, but we must remember that God sees the whole story, from beginning to end and if God has begun a work, Philippians 1:6 says that He will be faithful to complete it.
happiness is
summer nights
.
marvelous things allthemarvelousthings.blogspot.com
the WORD
Photographer | Dana Danely
You
seeing is believing… By Millicent Garrenger
“I want to win in life and see others be successful.” As an acting coach, voice over artist, producer, actor, writer, mother, daughter, and encourager, there are so many things I've learned just about our mindsets and the way we view ourselves and others that cause negativity or issues in our life that can simply be changed by changing the way we see things, ourselves, and interact with others. I love working on myself to grow and encourage and see others excel in their lives and families. Knowing that all things are possible and even in our darkest hours through tears of pain knowing that greater days and success lies ahead because God is the God of the impossibles, miracles, and wisdom. He has supplied us with answers to every problem we have, as well as answers for us to help in our world and community with the solutions and strength to provide positive influence everywhere we go. Knowing that most of all happiness comes from within. Being at peace with who you are, what your true desires are and following those! Above and beyond what you see in the natural its growing in your gifts and talents gaining confidence and knowing Gods blessing us upon you. And you are accepted in the beloved no matter what desires dreams you have God's backing you up as you step out and go for it. Truly I have lived a life of answered prayer. I am very specific on how I view and value the power of Gods word and how much He loves me. I have decided to live in the faith that Jesus did it all at the cross therefore I have influence in all circumstances and God is so gracious at backing me up when I press in with His Word and faith. Its daily a challenge and a work on my mindset since we live in a world of negativity. It takes a constant view of our lives and seeing others through Gods eyes. Seeing and believing the best of others and especially of ourselves.
LIGHT THE WORLD
WINTER
your Father knows what you need before you ask him Matthew 6:8
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the WORD
join us this month As we begin a journey of a 40 Day Prayer Challenge, in faith believing, trusting that God is going to do BIG things in our lives. Big prayers yield bigger results. Based on a famous story from the Biblical era, The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson is a valuable guide that will help take your prayer life to a new level. In this four-week church-wide experience and small group video study, participants will gain a deeper understanding of prayer and, in turn, make a more consistent practice of prayer.
GLOSSYBOX w w w . g l o s s y b o x . c o m
the WORD Â
ANSWERED By Alisha Avila Since I last talked to you, God has decided that it was time to do some major healing in my life. I was working in the teen discipleship program. We have meetings with our leaders every Friday and he was talking about where addictions come from, obviously the only example I had to relate it to was my own sexual addiction so I was able to trace back things later in private and out came the buried issues. I realized that the reason I needed sex was because I was seeking power. In the moment of having a man wanting me sexually I had the power. So I had to ask God, why do I need this power? What makes me seek that? Which is when he revealed to me the little girl who felt powerless in helping her mom and herself and brother
prayer
the WORD Â She had to watch her mother get beaten by her father. Unable to protect her mom, herself or her younger brother. She felt powerless. The little girl was me. God had revealed to me that he has kept her hidden behind me without even realizing it, and everything else bad that had happened to me or that I did happened to that girl. By this point she was broken and bruised with open sores all over her body. I held her close so no one would see her. But now Jesus was standing in front of me arms held out asking me to give her to him. I was terrified. I knew that this was what she needed, she wouldn't survive much longer. But I also knew what he would have to do. Dig into every little sore and scrape the dirt and grime and infection out so it could heal properly. It was going to hurt. Bad. Possibly even worse than the initial hurts. I held on to the little girl for dear life. He was a gentleman he didn't force or push or snatch her away, just stood, patiently with arms wide open. Finally, very cautiously I started to hand her to Him. She was scared. At the slightest motion towards her she would flinch in pain. She started kicking and fighting. But soon calmed as she had no more fight left in her and his perfect soothing comfort. He one by one allowed me to heal and process things that had happened. Things that were done. As that little girl would. I used to draw when I was really young. I stopped when things started getting bad and as I got older. So he told me to go and draw. I didn't know what to do, a starred at the page for a while then finally started scribbling. As I realized what I was drawing I quickly stopped and put it away for two days. I wasn't ready to look at her yet. Once I finally went back to it I couldn't stop, it was so soothing to be able to finally get it all out of me and on to this piece of paper. Then there she was. The little girl. Staring at me. I was free. She was free. He had healed me.
REST ‌then you will find your joy IN THE LORD.
Isaiah 58:14
the WORD
fragmented
thoughts…
By Jen Ko
Today was the first day in two weeks that I actually made an effort to put together an ouTit. I’ve been grabbing a top and boWom from my heap of clothes on the ground, and frankly my energy and outlook on life matched my wardrobe efforts. This doesn’t apply to everyone of course, but I know I’m not doing well when I can’t remember the last 9me I combed my hair or put on a liWle mascara. A friend came over the other day while I was working from home, took one look at me and asked, “Did you eat yet today?” (it was 4pm). I couldn’t remember. And then it dawned on me that I had only had three crackers, and not because I was starving myself, but because it didn’t occur to me that I should sit down and have a real meal. I needed to take care of myself. Self care is one of those areas that can easily be pooh-‐poohed, and almost seen as selfish pampering. But really, what good was I to anybody these last two weeks running on almost empty? I was barely able to hold it together emo9onally on a day-‐ to-‐day basis, and because of that, I couldn’t be the wife, daughter and friend I wanted to be. Have you ever had days like these?
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Have you ever wondered if God is listening? Let me tell you. I have. I have been in life situations where I prayed and waited and then prayed and waited and I would look around me and think that God was never going to answer my prayer. But upon further examination, I realized that my prayer was answered, just not how I had imagined it. Let me give you an example. My husband works in the construction industry. When the economy was great several years ago, life was awesome. We'd get up in the morning, I'd pack his lunch and send him on his way. We purchased our first home in a good neighborhood in the school district I wanted our kids to be in and we had a great church family. Live still had is struggles, but all-in-all life was good. And then the economy tanked. < Que: Screeching Tires> Construction in our area of southern California seemed to just dry up and, my husband was laid off of his job. Work was hard to come by and little jobs that would last just a few weeks or even days became scarce. I began to pray for our family. Prayed that God would take care of us; to help us somehow find a way to pay the bills until my husband got another job. I imagined that God would allow us to wait for a bit, after all, the Word says, "Trials build perseverance, and perseverance character and character hope and I knew God well enough to know that He was growing our faith. so we waited and we prayed...so far, it's been 7 years. I'm still praying.
N E V E R ByFMelody A IHawks LS.
the WORD A little more than 2 years ago I had to have a basic surgery. I was unusually nervous about it. I'd had surgery before, it was never any big deal. I spoke to a long time friend and Deacon from our church who is also a surgeon. I told him that I knew it was just a basic hysterectomy but I was nervous this time. He reassured me that women have this surgery every day and that although he didn't know my doctor that he was confident that everything would probably be just fine. So, off to the "Big City" I went. I remember waking up in the recovery room with my brother by my side. I said, "Oh, look! I'm alive". I went home the next day sore and took it easy. but as the next few day went by I became sicker and was notably weaker. I wasn't getting better. by the 4th day, my husband was on the phone with my doctor far away asking about my symptoms and following suggestions to alleviate my pain. Since nothing was working, I decided that I would try to sleep through the night and go see my primary doctor in the morning. I prayed that my pain would be relieved and that we would be able to figure out what the problem was. Then, at nearly 11pm, I was overcome with panic. I became agitated and restless. I exclaimed to my husband, "If you don't call someone, I'm going to die! Call 911!" When the medics got to my home they couldn't find my pulse. I clearly had one as I was talking to them the whole time but it was quite weak. They couldn't get a blood pressure and when they lifted my blanket from me they found my abdomen distended. I was taken immediately to the local ER where they were having trouble putting in an IV. After a couple of tests the ER doctor decided that surgery was going to be required. I asked who the surgeon on call was and I heard a familiar name. The same doctor - deacon - friend who had tried to reassure me just days earlier was on his way. My husband called my Pastor and in a few moments, the doctor came in. He explained to me that I would have surgery to see what was wrong. I assured him that I trusted him with my life apologized for getting him out of bed and thanked him for coming. I began to get nervous and tried to recall any scripture that I had memorized. the only thing I could think of was "the fervent pray of a righteous man avalieth much" which is the last part of James 5:16 (one word "effectual" omitted. I don't know why, I just forgot it.) Next I saw my Pastor. Our good friend who loves my family and looks out for us. When he asked me if I wanted anything, all I could say was, "Just pray Pastor Dale, pray for me." and again I thought of that verse.
the WORD "You got it." he answered, It bothered me that I couldn't recite to myself John 3:16 or The Lord's Prayer or even the 23rd Psalm. I knew that I had memorized each of these passages. So, I recited what I could remember, over and over to myself in my head, and then I kissed my husband and said see you later. "Don't forget to pray!” I said and the next thing I knew, I was in the ready room telling nurses to "just put me under" because I knew the pain would go away when I went to sleep. Our doctor / friend explained to my husband that I was almost completely septic. My kidneys were failing, my liver was shutting down and I was experiencing congestive heart failure due to the fluid that had built up in my body. When I told my husband that I was going to die if he didn't call someone, it turns out I was right. The doctor prayed with our Pastor and my husband and the surgery began. The next several days are sort of a blur I woke up with my hands tied down and I was connected to a ventilator, in and out of sleep. It wasn't clear if I would pull through. Our Pastor shared with our church what my situation was. Prayer began. A group from our congregation came together on a Monday and prayed, pastors at other churches shared my story with their congregations and they prayed. My children prayed, and my family prayed. It was 17 days later when they removed me from the ventilator I prayed that God would give me the strength to breathe on my own and He did. After 10 more days in the hospital I finally went home. There were things that had happened inside and outside my body that I learned much later.
the WORD How do I know prayer moves the hand of God? Because I've seen it. In the immortal words of the beloved commentator Paul Harvey, Now here's the rest of the story. While I was in and out of consciousness the first 17 days I had fought off a high fever. My doctor later shared that in more than 30 years of medicine he'd never had a patient with a fever of 108 who lived. But I did. I don't know how and it's nothing I did. God did it. No brain damage no ill effects. Prayer was answered "yes". On day 14 when the doctor tried to take me off the ventilator, I couldn't breathe on my own. I couldn't do it. So people prayed, I prayed on day 17 - the day that I was to have a tracheostomy (a hole placed in my neck to allow me to breathe by machine) I prayed that God give me the breath because I couldn't do it on my own. Prayer was answered again "yes".
the WORD Soon I realized the pain in my side wasn't just from recovering from the surgery but that my intestines had been basically re-routed and a temporary colostomy had been placed in my side I asked God to heal it, to make it so I wouldn't have to leave the hospital with it. After all, I'd been there 27 days, He could heal it. I knew he could. Prayer was answered yet again. But this time the answer was "No." I was scared and ashamed. How was I going to live with this? The truth is, I felt sorry for my self day after day but just 60 days into my recovery, a good friend had a severe medical problem and had the same surgery. I visited him in the hospital. he didn't want to even look at his own situation let alone talk about it with me but I was able to assure him that it was doing OK He later told me that if I could do it so could he. Just 2 weeks later another friend had the same surgery. (what are the chances right?) she didn't know how she was going to live with the colostomy, what would her husband think? what about her teen-aged boys? As we talked and cried and talked some more i realized, the "No" was for a reason. I didn't like my circumstance but I was finally understanding it.
Then, just before the 6 month mark, I had surgery again. This time to reverse the temporary colostomy and put everything back in the right order. The following Sunday, my doctor shared with me that when he opened me up the second time, that the amount of healing that had occurred was not normal the healing was nothing short of miraculous So it turns out that my "No" answer wasn't "No" after all. I asked for healing and that's just what I got. Yes, it played out differently in my head. But none the less God's hand moved. During my darkest days my family had come from out of state. By God's grace I have family that came to know Jesus Christ as Savior during that time. Glory to God! I would do it all again just for that alone!
This is just a glimpse of how the hand of God has moved in my life. I cant explain it, and I cant deny it. But I've seen it. In my life and in the lives of others. Oh, what about the 7 years that we have been praying for God to take care of us while my husband has been in and out of work? It's interesting. After 5 years and a really bad experience with trying to modify our home mortgage our home was foreclosed on. But we found a home just one block away that we could rent and move into. The kids didn't have to make new friends, they didn't have to change schools, coincidence? I think not! Two years later when it became clear that the landlord was never going to fix things around the house, God provided a new home to rent, literally twice the size of the first and for the same money! My kids have clothes and shoes, there are groceries in the fridge and we continue to be taken care of. Did I win the lottery? No. Do I sometimes have to be creative with budget dinner ideas? Yes. But we continue to be OK These things don't just happen. The hand of God continues to move. My husband will find work again. But until then, we will continue to depend on God and He will continue to grow us through this season. His hand will move again. I know it!
#graceTRENDS
the TREND
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the TREND Just Ruby Clothing is a clothing line created by Celestial Williams, out of a need for modest clothes for her 14 year old niece. Her niece lived with their family for a while, and during that time, we would go shopping for clothes. My niece is beautiful, tall and slim. We went to all the popular clothing stores and we couldn't find anything that was modest. When we did find something, it was so expensive, it was out of the question! After posting my frustration on Facebook, several of my friends posted that I should create my own line. Those posts made me start sketching. Now, at the time, I was already very busy. I have a husband, 4 kids, Celestial Makeup Artistry, signed with FORD/ RBA and was very involved with church service. I really couldn't take on another project. So I prayed about it. I had an overwhelming feeling that this was something I needed to do. Things just fell into place within a very short amount of time and I was in business! When it came time to choose a name, I just knew it had to have my daughter's name in it. I also wanted it to say modesty, without being too obvious. So I thought of "Just" meaning virtuous. Just Ruby Clothing was born.
meet the D E S I G N E R
the TREND Â 1. What drives you as an individual to impact the world? The force that drives me, is knowing that God has given me certain talents to serve others. When I was a teenager, I thought I didn't have any talents. I had friends that had amazing singing voices, that could dance or could play musical instruments. I felt like maybe God had forgotten to give me something! When I was about 16, I was talking to my dad, and I told him I didn't have any talents. He laughed and said, "Of course you do!" He told me that I had a talent for making friends, being a leader and for serving others. After that conversation, my perspective changed. As I got older, I focused on the talents that my dad told me were mine. I know that as I serve others, I will be blessed with the things I need in my own life. I'm a big believer in Karma! I try not to get so self-absorbed with my own life, that I forget to serve. I get that from my mom. Watching her, has taught me how to serve. 2. How do you incorporate your faith into your life? My faith is what gives me hope. It makes me happy. Not just worldly happiness, but real peace. My faith is a protection for me and my family. My faith gives me perspective, so that I can make better choices. As a family, we read the scriptures daily, pray daily and attend church on Sundays. That may seem like overdoing it, but living my life that way has brought me more happiness than I could ever imagine. My testimony has enabled me to get through really tough trials, because I know I'm never alone. 3. Explain how you see God working in your life on a daily basis? I see God's hand in my life everyday through the continuous blessings and direction that He gives me. Not a day goes by, that I forget to get on my knees and thank Him for all that I have. I know that everything I have and am is because of Him. I know that every opportunity that I've had professionally, is to lead me to where I stand today. Life is hard. We can't do it alone. It's tough to know which direction our lives should go sometimes. Daily prayer has guided me to know which way I should take my life. I'll have to admit, sometimes it's not the direction I want it to go, but I have faith that He knows what's best for me to reach my potential. I know that as I pray daily, live a clean life, serve others and am honest, I will have the guidance I need to be successful. When I need to be corrected or humbled, I'm given a trial to teach me what I need to grow. Every trial I'm going through, I always ask myself the same question, "What am I suppose to learn from this?" Then I act.
the TREND Â 4. What does feeling beautiful and confident mean to you? Have you ever known someone that wasn't the traditional standard of worldly beauty, but that was just absolutely gorgeous? There was just something about this person that radiated beauty. What was it? I believe being truly beautiful comes from the light within you. True beauty is someone who is selfless, giving, loving, forgiving and hopeful. There's nothing more beautiful than a girl or woman who is also virtuous and lives her life serving others. That beauty that flows from within, I believe is the light of Christ. Someone who has the light of Christ exudes both real beauty and real confidence. I know some very attractive people in my business. Some of which, once I got to know them, weren't so attractive anymore. Some of these people put off an air of confidence, but really, when it comes down to it, they're very insecure. I believe that we have a loving God who wants us to be happy. He wants us to feel beautiful. I think we should try to look our best, but just not get so obsessed that we loose our perspective. I don't think your dress size has anything to do with how beautiful you are. What matters is that you're healthy. What matters is that you love yourself. All of yourself, even the flaws, because God made you.
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Spicy shades of
SUMMER
With summer here, its time to spice up those wardrobes with extra little shades of color and contrast on your fingers & toes. Bright shades like pinks, oranges and yellows are all the rage this season and should be to compliment or contrast the majority of the summer lines that are out. Don’t feel obligated to match your manicure with you pedicure. Summer is a season of fun, and so mixing up shades, colors & patterns is becoming a trend we are seeing more & more. For fun nail tutorials check out our favorite YouTube stylist, JessicaLee422.
the GUIDE Â People often think of meat when they think of summer grilling. However, the grill is a great place to cook veggies, fruits and more. Stay on track with your health goals this summer and keep the house cool while doing it. Prep: Wash vegetables and fruits. Smaller pieces of food cook faster, so be sure items are cut about the same size or place them on different parts of the grill. Lightly coat veggies in olive oil or another heart healthy oil. Also, add herbs for additional flavor. Oil (or spray) the grates (fruit easily sticks so be careful).
summer grillingâ&#x20AC;Ś By Anna Shlachter MS, RD, LDN
Tools: Make sure to separate raw foods so that there is no risk of crosscontamination. Start with a clean grill and grilling tools. Oil (or spray) the grates (fruit easily sticks so be careful). Use skewers, grill pans or even wrap the veggies in foil. Grilling recipes usually have good instructions for those newer to grilling.
Grilling: Be careful not to use too much oil or you might have some flame flareups. Make sure pieces are large enough not to fall through the grates. Watch the heat-if it is too high, it may char the veggies on the outside and they may be cold/raw on the inside. You can cook almost any veggie on the grill so have fun and think outside the grates. Fruits are fun too. Grill over medium heat- pineapple, banana, strawberries, apples and pears tend to do well. Just make sure you clean the grill between uses or you may have a less than desirable flavor added to your fruit. What an awesome dessert! Never char items (meat or others on the grill). One final fun thing to try on the grill is PIZZA! Top it with plenty of veggies!
the GUIDE
Never to late to reach a goal
It’s
By Meghan Dorn
We are fast approaching the halfway point of 2013. How many of you can honestly say that you have stayed true to the goals you set for yourself on January 1st? How many of you can say that you will reach your goals for this year? If you set some short-term goals and reached them, well, I congratulate you for hitting the milestone. But what about the big picture? What about the long-term goal? The biggest mistake that most people make is that they don’t have the right goal in mind. They focus on the short-term goal, such as losing weight, but don’t look at the long-term goal of living a healthy lifestyle. Most people treat weight loss like a traditional diet: reducing the intake of food while increasing the output of energy for a designated period of time to reach a specific weight. There is nothing wrong with doing this. This is the fundamental equation of how the body works. It’s science. If you eat less than what you were eating before and move more, you will lose weight. But will you keep it off? Living a healthy lifestyle is so much more than losing weight. It’s about recognizing why we do the things we do; it’s about reducing or eliminating stresses in our lives; it’s about building a support system; it’s about getting the right amount of sleep; it’s about finding meaningful and fun ways to workout; and it’s about choosing healthier options when it comes to food. Eighty-five percent of people who go on a diet without behavior support gain the weight back within two years.
the GUIDE Do you know how to identify these behaviors? When you started your journey, did you address why you had gotten to your current state? Did you ask yourself why you wanted to lose the weight? Did you address your current behaviors that were hindering you reaching your goal? Did you identify the behaviors that were supporting your goal? You see, if you don’t clearly define what you want, why you want it, and how you will get it, how to you expect to reach your goals? If you aren’t willing to change your habits of unhealthy, you will never be able to fully adapt habits of health.
Don’t let this mid-year mark deter you from your ultimate goal. There is no time like the present to change your life. Take a moment and ask yourself these questions: What do you want? When was the last time you were healthy? What does being healthy look like? How does that make you feel? When create life of health, what does that mean for you and your family? Really dive into these answers. When you think you’ve answered them, keep writing. No dream is too big; no feeling is too strong. It’s important to paint a very
what are you trying to achieve
clear picture in your mind of what you are trying to achieve. This will be your motivation for when things get tough, because they will. This will be your foundation when you want to waiver, because you will. And when you reach your goal, you will be able to reflect on this vision of yourself that you saw and feel that sense of accomplishment.
the GUIDE Â Meghan Dorn is a certified, independent health coach with Take Shape For Life < http://bit.ly/ Explore_TSFL> She lost 75lbs and has kept it off for over two years. Results will vary. Typical weightloss is 2-5lbs during the first two weeks, and 1-2lbs per week thereafter. Meghan has been helping people all across America chose a life of health by helping them identify their goals, create a plan for wellness, and live a longer, happier, healthier life. Meghan was born and raised in Michigan, and has called Scottsdale, Arizona her home for almost 20 years. She spends her spare time supporting her alma mater, Arizona State University < http://alumni.asu.edu/>, the Susan G. Komen for the Cure of Central & Northern Arizona < www.komenCANaz.org>, and the Phoenix Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sports Association <www.phoenixwomenssports.org> .
www.kimmiecarter.com
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