28 Day Healthy Eating Challenge

As most of you know, I have made the commitment to eating healthier by eating a lot more whole foods and eliminating as much added sugars, dairy products, and processed foods from my diet as possible.  While I was looking through the Whole Foods (the store) website, I found a 28 day challenge to eating healthier and I thought I'd share it with you all.  I'm not sharing this as a "diet", but in hopes of initiating a healthier "lifestyle".  

I know some of you already live a healthy lifestyle so cheers to you! Please share any tips and suggestions that you might have for those of us that are new to this.

For those who might have more of a challenge trying to figure how to start eating healthy, the link below to the Whole Foods page will give you tips and pointers on what to start shopping for and how to batch cook for the week, etc.  It also includes a 28-day meal plan, which I think is fantastic and is an awesome way to shift our mindset towards healthier ways of cooking and eating.  It takes away the guesswork and frustration from trying to figure out what to eat and not to eat. 

Who You Are

Do you know who you are? That you are the daughter of a King...the most high King? Really take a moment to think about what that really means!   Your value is higher than any precious and very expensive jewel or gem in the world.  Jesus specifically thought of YOU and wanted YOU.  He loved YOU SO much and thought the world of YOU...So much so that He paid the highest price that could ever be paid just for YOU.
To give a little more perspective, it's like this:  The major league sports teams pay millions and millions of dollars to have the best players on their teams.  They specially recruit and select the best athletes and then pay the price to get these very talented individuals.
Well Jesus specially selected YOU and hand picked YOU and paid the price to have YOU on His team!

Renewing Your Mind

5 Steps To Renewing Your Mind

1.     The Word of God/Spending time with Jesus  (2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”)

-       The Word of God has the ultimate power to renew our minds and to transform our lives.  As you spend time daily with Jesus, you WILL be transformed.

2.     Confessing your sins to God and to accountability partners in your life, so that you can bring it to light and be set free.

3.     Commit your day and your ways (include your thoughts & your direction) to the Lord each morning (Prov. 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths"). 

Offer your body as a living sacrifice each day to God; you can say something like, “I belong to you God, I surrender my will for yours; use me for your gain and your purposes…” This IS an act of worship!  (Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God; this is your reasonable act of worship.”)

4.     Obey God quickly!  As you lay down your will and seek God’s direction; There are things He will ask you to change or remove (including people)  from your life and there will be things He’ll ask you to do.  As you hear those things, obey Him right away.  Don’t act like you didn’t hear it, or argue with Him, or challenge it…just do it, because there are amazing blessings behind your faithfulness and obedience to Him. 

5.     Memorize Scripture.  Write it on note cards or sticky notes and stick them by the shift gear in your car, or on your bathroom mirror where you can see it everyday to help you memorize the scripture.  Hiding the Word of God in your heart is a powerful weapon to tearing down strongholds and to bringing our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:4-5)

      As we surrender our lives each day to the One who loves us more than we could ever imagine, we will be transformed day by day and we'll never be the same!

The Strong One

'El' is one of the Hebrew names of God, meaning 'The Strong One'.
Prayer:
"Thank you Lord that I can depend totally on you and lean on you, my Strong One and that You will overcome all obstacles in my way.  I don't have to worry about anything because You are in complete control.  You are 'Adoni', The Lord my Great Lord.  You are in total authority and are master over all things. Amen"

Cling to God

"...that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and length of your days..." Deut. 30:20
Friends, cling to God for dear life, for it is a matter of life and death...Choose life today!

 Benefits of Juicing

by Fruitful Provision

Anyone and everyone can benefit from juicing. So if you are one of the many people wondering if juicing is right for you; stop wondering and give it a try. I like to describe the effects of juicing by saying it is like restarting a computer. Our bodies and its internal organs get reset to a degree with juicing. The amount of nutrients in raw fruits and vegetables are numerous, and by juicing we allow our bodies to consume more nutrients all at one time. When we cook food there is automatically an enzyme breakdown due to heat which is avoided with juicing. I'm not suggesting or implying that there is not nutritional value when we cook our food just that we have the ability to optimize the health benefits of certain foods when we choose to juice. 

Some of the many health benefits of juicing are strengthening of immune system, weight loss, detoxification without energy depletion, helps stabilize blood sugar levels (diabetes), cancer fighting phyto-chemicals are found in juice, and  fresh juice stabilizes inflammation internally. Juicing gives our bodies healthy energy and allows our body systems to function at optimal levels. Again, these are just a handful of benefits from juicing. Juicing for healing and medicinal purposes has been around for ages. Some commentaries even suggest that the “fruit with seed in it” from Genesis 1:29 refers to the fruit as a whole, including the juice. And it was to be “yours for food”. 

It doesn't matter if you want to juice every morning or commit to a juice fast, the benefits are countless. Do not be discouraged or intimidated by big expensive juicers or health gurus, juicing is just another way that you can utilize the power of food for what it was intended. I'm confident that once you incorporate juicing into your lives you will feel the benefits and love them. Please keep in mind that when you begin juicing you may feel the effects of detox. These may include body aches, headache, or frequent bathroom trips. I promise this phase does not last long. For some it is only a few days, for others it may be up to a week. 

For those that do not own a juicer there are many options in stores and online. The only one I've ever owned is one of the Jack LaLanne juicers and I've had it for 4 years and use it on a very regular basis. I made a hundred dollar investment and my juicer is still going strong, and I have had no issues with it. Another great option is one by Black and Decker, and this one can be found online or in Target or Walmart stores. This is a thirty dollar investment and for the price it works great. This would be great if you wanted to try juicing without spending too much money or if you will be juicing for just yourself. It is a smaller juicer so it is perfect in the amount it makes for one person. I hope my personal testimony helps when you are deciding on which to buy and how much to spend when it comes to juicers.

Another benefit is that surprisingly enough drinking your veggies can actually taste good! I've included a recipe to help get you started. The ingredients in this recipe help the body to rid itself of toxins, stimulate digestion and immune system, optimize liver and kidney function, and increase hydration. Enjoy!

My First Green

1 Fennel stem
1 peeled Cucumber
5 Kale leaves
Leaves of 5 Parsley stems
Ginger, peeled and cut to sugar cube size
1 cup Spinach, roughly chopped
5 stems of Dandelion Greens
1 Lemon, rind removed & cut in half (keeping as much of the white area on the fruit as you can)

For additional information and for more juicing ideas, check out Fruitful Provision's blog & website at: 

http://fruitfulprovision.blogspot.com
http://www.fruitfulprovision.com

"Choose To Be Joyful" Devotional

Choose To Be Joyful

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in my Savior.  Hab. 3:17-18

Do you feel stuck, like you’re not moving forward in life; everything seems dry, and nothing is budding…you’re not seeing the fruit of your labor or faithfulness?  “…Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vine…”

Or do you feel like a failure because certain things seem to never work out for you? “Though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food…”

Does it feel like you’re alone and no one loves you? “…Though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls.” 

In all these things we have to learn to praise God and rejoice during these times.  It’s so important that we remain joyful in Christ our Savior despite our feelings and circumstances.  It’s not about how we’re feeling or how things look around us…we have to be focused on Christ and choose to walk by faith and absolutely not by sight.  Everything you may be hoping for and that has been promised to you may appear hopeless and unpromising; but as you walk by faith and intentionally choose to remain joyful in the Lord, He will show Himself faithful; for His words never return back void without accomplishing what He has said He will do. Trust in the Lord with all your heart!

http://injoynlife.blogspot.com/p/spirituality.html

Our Beauty Faves Of The Month

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Summer Beauty & Fashion Trends

Some of our most favorite summer trends! 

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"Desert Days" devotional has now been posted!

Desert Days

“In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.  And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it.  For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 40:3-5

Sometimes in life we go through different experiences or what I like to call environments, which are pretty much seasons of life.  One environment is the desert wilderness place, which is a place of dryness, fruitlessness, parchedness; a time when it seems like nothing’s happening and/or that God is not moving or working your behalf.  It’s those really difficult times when you’re waiting desperately for something to happen…but there seems to be so many different obstacles and hindrances in the way preventing a breakthrough and you’re quickly losing hope.   

In these times we must “prepare the way and make straight in the wilderness a highway for God”, so that He can move, work and operate in our lives.  In the midst of difficult circumstances and trials we must make a way to watch God work.  We must expect for God to move and work on our behalf despite how things look and feel.  The valleys that we find ourselves in, He will raise it up.  The mountains and hills that are in the way blocking your vision and hindering your progress will be made low.  Those rough grounds that do not make it easy to navigate through so you can get where you need to quickly will become level.  The rugged places that do not allow you to see things the way God wants you to, will become plains so you can focus and understand what God is showing you during this time.  God’s glory will be revealed in your life and all will see it.   

To create the environment for God to operate and move during those dry, rough seasons in your life, keep your focus and attention on Him.  Play worship and praise songs in your car and if possible keep it on inside your home.  Set aside a designated time each day to meet with Him, talk to Him (about Everything!), read His Word, and to hear from Him.   Then develop an expectant attitude and behavior; expect and wait each day for Him to do the things He says He will do.  He will begin to speak to you and shift things around and literally move mountains in your life.