August 30, 2013 - Energy Creates Energy!

Believing God for a great holiday with family and friends - how about you? I am heading to the grocery store in a few to gather some yummy food choices so as to "not fall into temptation." I found a great recipe that I am beginning to play with sounds great. It is called Crockpot Salsa Chicken and utilizes 2 lbs of chicken breasts, salsa, diced tomatoes (I am using Rotel with chilies) taco seasoning, onions, celery, carrots (I am using baby bella mushrooms instead) and sour cream. Cook on low 6-8 hours. I will add a thin layer of mexican cheese and plan to serve with meat skins as my chips. YUMMY!!! That makes me hungry just to type it. :) Hope this new recipe helps you with Sunday lunch. I am headed to the pool for water aerobics shortly and the water does something for my soul and spirit like none other. While I was working out last night, completely surrounded by water, I began to concentrate on how the water has so much to offer. It holds my body, cools my body, helps shield my joints as I run, resists my running when needed, allows me hang suspended without fear.....on and on. To me it's almost the perfect situation for healthy movement. Then I began to think - this works for me, but others are being successful as they exercise in various ways too. My Bubba, Rocky, is really finding great results with bike riding. In fact he rides 13+ miles each time he exercises. Shelly, finds great success with a combo of tapes, walking, and daily squats. She tries to work out daily and gains points due to this. Whatever you do - move those muscles. Whenever we begin exercising, fluid is released into the joints and that really keeps them from becoming stiff and brittle as we age. Being creative with our workout time is challenging for most of us who are busy, but critical to our long-term physical and mental health. Sometimes when we are stuck along our health journey and we need to boost our energy level, we need to throttle up the movement. I told you about being with mom last week. At the age of 78 she is making some health changes so that her life's journey is more positive. Mom had not felt well for a awhile (some of which is the response to all the surgeries she's had) but I started exercising and she wanted to try. She informed me that she would do a segment, sit down, and talk to me while I finished. Check it out - once she started, she sat for 10 minutes ONLY and got right back up. In the twinkling of an eye, she completed four fast miles. The next day, she didn't sit at all. By the third day she was asking me when we were walking. YEA! Here's a TRUE, scientific principle: energy creates energy. Are you tired? Consider getting in the pool, riding your bike with the kids, or walking and jogging. Each of these could easily be family activities. Remember - we are modeling health for our families and teaching our children the correct way to live life to the fullest. How about this challenge: Family exercise PRIOR to family cookout on Monday. Now that will really be a challenge. But I can make you a promise...if you start moving, it will create a desire to move. IT'S THE SAME WITH WATER...IF YOU START DRINKING YOUR NATURAL THIRST WILL BE RESTORED. Headed to the pool and starting my hydration cycle for the day. Enjoy your holiday fam and move those muscles. Our BEST health days are ahead! PK

August 29, 2013 - Monday's Punching Bag

Good morning to everyone, I am really glad that it is Thursday. LONG week - how about you? I am so thankful for Labor Day is right around the corner with one extra "sleep in." YEA! I pray that you are planning your meal well and remembering that everyone at your gathering NEEDS to be healthy. It's amazing that age plays no favorite in our journey. Just recently my mother has decided to really work on getting healthy and she is 78. I was so pleased while on vacation to shop with her and have her read labels and choose differently from the menu. Normally our trips are FILLED with sugared products and tons of salty things. This time she would pick something up and realize how much salt and sugar it contained and we would put our heads together and start talking thorough alternatives for her card club. I told her that as soon as she starts taking healthy things, she will be amazed at the results! People are more likely to eat healthy if taste is a priority and it SOOOO can be. We know that - right? Just takes some effort, some creativity, and lots of dedication to be healthy regardless. Being with mom proved to me that no matter our age, choosing health is definitely an option. Being healthy is like our faith sometimes. I have found it's easy to be healthy or trust God on the mountain top. When all the days activities line up, the healthy components are easy to tackle. When life is "being good" trusting God and standing on our faith is no problem. But how many of you know everything gets tested? Our resolve and commitment sometimes endures daily testing. True that! WHY? Because when tested it has an opportunity to grow and strengthen. It's like working out. None of us particularly enjoy running miles or lifting weights daily, but our muscles respond to being "torn" during this procedure. They immediately jump to the process of strengthening within hours. This is often true of our resolve. Being healthy is never going to be easy for those of us, like me, who were food addicts. I sowed many years into a bad journey and when my resolve is tested, occasionally my flesh wants to "offer" a solution from my past. At that point I have a choice. Choosing to fight for the truth of being healthy NEVER means I won't be tested again. I wish it did. However, I find that the "answer" offered from my past becomes less attractive the longer I walk this health journey. That voice from my past becomes ever so faint. Saying "no" gives me an immediate boost of faith and confidence. How about you? Saying "yes" to those cravings and obstacles on the path never brought me to the place that fighting for the NO did. As you approach the holiday, be prepared. Testing is on the way. Plan ahead to not let excuses of age, past failures, "it's just one meal," or any other obstacle force you into a place where regret will be your Monday evening punching bag. Let's punch this bag ON THIS SIDE and prepare the chicken breasts for the grill with all the veggies and watermelon we want. And, instead of baking the brownies, how about we decorate the watermelon basket in something fun that will bring an "ahhhh" from the crowd. The punching bag is up...hit it now and not Monday night. Love you, PK

August 28, 2013 - Voices, Pt. 2

Good morning, I pray you rested well. I did not - had a lot on my mind. But today is another day that God created and I will listen for His voice throughout my journey. I wanted to do a different kind of blog today. As I was studying in Psalm 5 preparing to teach tonight, several voice-related things jumped out at me. I have highlighted all that relate to wind and voice: Psalm 5 New Living Translation (NLT) 1 O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. 2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to no one but you. 3 Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. 4 O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked. 5 Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence, for you hate all who do evil. 6 You will destroy those who tell lies. The Lorddetests murderers and deceivers. 7 Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house; I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe. 8 Lead me in the right path, O Lord, or my enemies will conquer me. Make your way plain for me to follow. 9 My enemies cannot speak a truthful word. Their deepest desire is to destroy others. Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with flattery. 10 O God, declare them guilty. Let them be caught in their own traps. Drive them away because of their many sins, for they have rebelled against you. 11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them sing joyful praises forever. Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy. 12 For you bless the godly, OLord; you surround them with your shield of love I love this! David describes different voices and what emerges from them. Let us all use our voices to praise God, infuse others with hope and encourage ourselves with the fact that all who love God's name will be FILLED WITH JOY. (that's a different kind of infusion - but I love a good pocket of JOY) Let's begin our morning connecting with our Eternal Father in both praise and prayer and end our day knowing God has blessed us and surrounds us with His shield of LOVE. WOW! PK

An Oxygen Infuson

Hey, hey.......I'm back! Great time in the mountains with my family, but so glad to be sleeping in my own bed. :) I love the mountains and I love to camp, but after 8 days in the woods - hello city. (wink) Remember - no Life Group this Sunday due to the holiday, but we will meet next weekend on September 8th at 6:00pm. Please let me know if you can attend. Many of the days while on vacation it rained. Those of you who have traveled long seasons with me know I love the rain, but camping in small quarters and sitting around the campfire in the showers means a lot of smoke to infiltrate one's hair and burn one's eyes. Only TRUE camp people are not bothered by the effects of rain while camping - that would be my husband! Me, not so much. However, as I was sitting one night around a smoky fire, waiting for the heat to dry the wood enough to burn and not smoke (reminding myself all the while that "I am a city girl"), I began to stare intently into the flames of the fire and really concentrate on the burning action of the wood and the coals. Then I began to hear the "voice" of the fire and I began to contemplate how different voices burn (speak) within us and their affect. The fire would meander in and out of consuming flames and smoky pockets where too much water on the wood affected it's ability to burn well. Then, my husband would add OXYGEN and the fire would erupt and the smoke shift. I'm going somewhere with this, I promise. You see each of us burns calories daily - that is a metabolic principle. Now we burn calories differently depending upon a large number of factors. However, we all burn. There have been times when I was operating at peak capacity and burning well and others when I was merely smoldering. That's when I needed an oxygen infusion. The Lord began to remind me that we often associate "voice" with oxygen and wind. Often when smoldering, Terry would get the bellow and gently infuse the fire from the bottom with LIFE. I wonder how many of us have had others speak into our smoldering seasons with life-giving words and cause our resolve for health to catch fire again? How many of us have been encouraged by the voice of the Holy Spirit who ignited our journey again and reminded us that poor health is not God's best plan? How many of us have encouraged ourselves more times than we can remember? After watching this principle acted out in front of me, I was once again encouraged that God sees and God knows. Always! Here's the truth I see - the more oxygen we added to the fire the brighter it blazed. There are times when all of us need someone to breathe freshness into our journey. We are all going to have seasons. STAY in the burning zone with great food and health choices and trust that God, who loves you more than you love yourself, will bring the right "voice" (oxygen infusion) to keep you at maximum capacity. Question for the day: do you need the Holy Spirit to infuse your fire today or a friend to come along side as your bellow? Ask the Lord to send the voice/wind/oxygen infusion to ignite your health journey. Then remember it's easier to keep a fire going as opposed to starting from scratch. Stay to the journey. Much love, PK PS - my book is finishing the first edit stage. I am beginning the journey of soliciting speaking engagements, preaching opportunities, book signings - etc - as I prepare to go and share about FREEDOM as God sends me. If you have somewhere that you would like me to come and share - please let me know. I am planning to launch Freedom Connection Ministries, Inc. in early 2014. I am moving in God's timing and direction.

August 16, 2013 - Lessons From The Dirt Dauber's Nest

Rounding out the week with some of my favorite, A-team folks. Good morning, and praying that you are finding a reason to rejoice this morning. Sometimes the issues of life are simply overwhelming and it seems that everyone BUT us can rejoice. I understand; but Jesus is really kind to offer to come into those issues, get into our yoke and make our burdens more pleasurable. That is a reason to rejoice. If we invite Him into the things which are most affecting how we view life and ourselves, often His perspective and His carrying of our yoke makes the issues not as difficult. Jesus says His yoke is easy - ours, without Him, is often not. I am watching the dirt daubers outside my living room window - I know you are thinking, "another science lesson" - build their nests and throughout the past few months add layer after layer. Some of them are almost 8 inches long. Have you ever explored inside the cones? I have...and with eighth grade students using microscopes. Fabulous! Inside the cone we discover that the dauber has a well planned and crafted plan for survival. They know the key to great planning and that without it - life could end, and not end well. I want us to see something here today. Inside the catacombs we find sections of offspring and sections of spiders. The adult dauber prepares the catacomb, gathers the fresh spiders, tucks them away and seals the end. Then, their offspring are placed in the next catacomb and again sealed for protection. This layering occurs in a pattern for several months until the nest is completed. When you examine the nest and the catacombs (depending upon which season you dissect them), a picture of planning is unfolded. If you pull the nest down in the fall, you will discover more of a "dormant, not-so-many babies emerging" scenario. You will, however, find more spiders who have been captured and sealed for the winter's food supply. In the early spring, however, as you dissect the tube you will find evidence that great planning works. The babies are growing as they have fed off the spiders and in some sections the spiders are soft, as they have not fully been consumed. However, in other catacombs, the spiders are brittle and only certain sections remain. This indicates that the babies have enjoyed food for the winter which has given them an opportunity to live. Let's use this picture as a planning spark. You know the season of life that you and your family are in. Start planning and storing away those healthy things - now - because you know the summer fruits and veggies are decreasing in abundance. Canning and freezing are great options, although I am not certain how to do that with watermelon. :) Planning to keep my pantry and fridge stocked with healthy items for my family when a late night "let's grab something fun to eat and watch a late movie" occurs is critical. This will happen - I have teenagers! I am amazed at how often my grandchildren open the pantry doors and check. How about at your house? Can you imagine the baby dauber checking the cell for spiders and there is none - no food supply to give them any hope of life. UGH. I always want my family and friends to find life in my house, my lunch box, and party invitations. I can do that - we can do that. Right? Let's restock our "catacombs" regularly. Let it be said of us - we are life givers! Talk again on August 27th - I'm on vaca until then with no internet or cell phone. YIKES! PK PS - Next LIfe Group is August 8th at 6pm at my house. Let me know if you can attend.

August 15, 2013 - God's Strength

Yea - vacation on the horizon! Not sure how I feel about no internet and no cell phone for 8 days, but that's what I have starting Sunday. I am, however, looking forward to staring at the mountains, lake, and skies and just sitting quietly before the Lord. I can only imagine coffee, toes in the lake, my Bible and some worship music. Love it! I wanted to bring a passage of scripture this morning from Isaiah that I know is familiar. However, I find that sometimes when life's issues are constant we can tend to forget that God is present in the good and the bad and that He really wants us to accept the offer of His strength. In my own might, I can survive 3 seconds. How about you? But with God's strength, the joy and energy of my youth comes alive again. We need that! More and more the challenges with food costs, health care costs, availability of whole foods, preparation time for meals that are healthy, understanding what REAL truth about our food is........these get wearisome. It's not designed to. Read this: Isaiah 40:29 The Message (MSG) 27-31 Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying, “God has lost track of me. He doesn’t care what happens to me”? Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? God doesn’t come and go. God lasts. He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything,inside and out. He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind. I love this passage! The Hebrew rendering for the word wait is "to wait, look eagerly for, hope, expect." There is an expectation and then God responds with strength. Come on fam - Let's expect that God can give us all the strength we need to be healthy REGARDLESS of the variables this life tosses our way. I know my strength has limits - I look eagerly for His. How about you? PK

August 14, 2013 - "I Really Need That!"

Good morning to you all, I wanted to quickly say that I will be on vacation next week and I will not have internet service on the mountain where I will be staying. So, tomorrow is my last blog until Monday the 26th. I also feel a change is coming in my blog season. I am not certain exactly what that means, but will unfold that in the next several weeks. :) Remember as kids when you were getting disciplined? (whatever that looked like for you) How many times did you comment after being punished, "thanks, I really needed that." Oh my goodness, if you did, you have now become my hero. Being disciplined, for me, has never been something I looked forward too or celebrated upon completion. As I was reading this morning Hebrews 12:6 and Proverbs 3:12 about being disciplined by the Lord, I was reminded that He disciplines BECAUSE of His great love for His sons and daughters. If God never challenged us or corrected us, I am more than certain we would venture into our own journey and become bratty. Maybe just me. Have you ever been around a child at a store who is acting in a "not so pleasant" manner and pitching a fit? Have you ever seen Tiaras and Toddlers? I happened to stumble upon that a couple of weeks ago and got so agitated at the child's behavior I was upset for several minutes. I cannot blame the child - the fault lies with the parents. Keep going, PK. Let's bring this to our daily journey. We are born with a sin nature that wants what it wants, when it wants it, and with no restrictions. This behavior is not limited to simple toys. This behavior is the root of most adultery, sexual sin, criminal actions, etc. But let me venture to say, it is also the root of unhealthiness. I feel strongly about this. Perhaps your parents disciplined you for breaking the rules and that has helped you as an adult to contain your fleshly appetites. Perhaps it's keep you from lying, stealing, and killing others. But if no one ever taught us that eating beyond the boundaries could create havoc in our lives, we probably have no place of discipline to serve as a reminder. Being healthy has only come into a place of great focus in recent years. However, today, we cannot be "bratty" about our health and win. We need to embrace the discipline of our fleshly appetites BIG TIME and add this layer of discipline for our children. Not as a punishment - but as a means of offering LIFE! That is exactly what God is saying in Hebrews and Proverbs. Although disciplining my flesh when I smell pizza baking is easier than it used to be, it still takes work. Not complying equals disaster though. I cannot allow my flesh to win. Bratty kids who "win" in the store, never truly win. Neither does our flesh. I would rather discipline my flesh and say "NO" to the pizza and brownie than suffer the consequences of ill health as a senior. I wish there was another way, but I am not certain there is. Discipline anyone? :) PK

August 13, 2013 - The Voice Of An Earthquake

1 Kings 19:12 The Message (MSG) 11-12 Then he was told, “Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by.” A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper. I want to speak briefly this morning from this passage. I don't know about you, but I need God's help to stay on the "straight and healthy path." (like that?) Sometimes when I don't think I've heard from God; then I am more apt to continue down a wrong path. I live close to Peachtree City, which is famous for it's 93 miles of golf-cart paths that wind throughout. I tell you - to me they are sooo confusing. But to those who really know them well - not so much. The worst part for me while driving one day enjoying the fall sunshine was that I got lost (there are no directional signs posted.) I needed a LOUD voice to give me directions. That would have been easy. But none was available. So I had to slow down, stop, ask the Holy Spirit for help, close my eyes, and listen. Then, from a quiet place I was able to find my way back to my friend's house. Hope you see how this illuminates our health journey. I want us to see that on our health journey there are times when we need a LOUD voice, but God has us in training. He is always speaking, but often not as we think. Today, as you bless your meals, ask the Holy Spirit to speak clearly about the food provided. Is this the best "building material" we can use today as we are strengthening and reinforcing this bodily temple? Let's not let the lust of our eyes be the "voice" we adhere to. It could be the voice of an earthquake. God help us to hear that gentle whisper this day and respond well. May your Tuesday be filled with the strength to say "NO" to Taco Tuesday. (unless it's the skinny tacos that are made with Mahi Mahi and wrapped in romaine leaves - yum!) PK

August 12, 2013 - The Hummingbird Perspective

What a great start to a great week - spending time visiting with friends. I look forward to touching base with you daily. I hope you enjoy reading my blogs. If at any time you don't, let me know and I will change your status. No hurt feelings. I have heard so many comment over the weekend as to how our perspective and our confession affects so much of our lives. And that is true. However, I am certainly NOT advocating that everything we claim happens will happen. I know that God, who is a loving Father, watches over our crazy statements. Say amen. It's like a child who wants to only eat chocolate - a good father would never allow it. Nor does our health allow it. We can claim all day long that "chocolate is a good and perfect gift and that the milk is a good source of calcium and the cocoa has been proven to be a powerful purifier of the blood," but that doesn't make eating chocolate as our main, daily staple a great health plan. Sorry, but that was a good dream. :) We can claim that we are healthy and confess the goodness of health all day but if we are not feeding our bodies food in alignment with that confession, we are simply wasting our breath. How do I know these truths??? I have stood in the bathroom and confessed them only to journey to the closet and be unable to zip my pants. Battling for our health is a daily journey and those who see (perspective) their quality of life as being affected by this journey are usually those who commit to the journey long-term. Our health cannot be seasonal like our shoes. OUCH! I have been studying the hummingbird feeder as of late. About this time the hummingbirds start fighting over the food. This is serious business for them! They swarm and chatter at each other and fight for their spots on the feeder. Their time of departure is near and only those who "fuel their bodies properly" will endure the long flight over the water to the winter destination. Proper nutrition, for them, means life or death and I tell you - they fight for LIFE. As their activity is increasing, I have always studied those stubborn guys who zoom down and scare the others away in order to secure THEIR food. It appears their mothers never made them share their toys. :) At first I was angry that they were so aggressive. However, I have come to applaud their diligence to live. Can I encourage you this day to view your health with such passion and conviction? Each of us has a personal journey and it is critical for us to be determined that no obstacle will keep us from proper nutrition and a chance to live. I feel that hummingbird spirit rising up. You? Choose life and eat to live! PK

August 9, 2013 - Will The Real Me Stand Up

Today's devotion is shared from one of my devotionals this morning by Billy Graham. TOOO good not to share. It really ministered to me - maybe you too. We are three people - yikes! The Real You by Billy Graham It is significant that our first astronauts, while being trained for their moon flights, were required to give twenty answers to the query, "Who are you?" Take the same test yourself. When you have made your list and run out of things to add, ask yourself if you have truly answered. Do you really know who you are? Scientists agree that our desperate search leads all humans to seek heroes and to imitate others, to "paste bits and pieces of other people on ourselves." We make love as some actor would. We play golf in the style of Jack Nicklaus. Part of this process is natural, for we learn by imitating others. The tragedy is that the person we assemble is not genuine. "Who am I?" you cry as you roam the world looking for yourself. Consider this: there are three of you. There is the person you think you are. There is the person others think you are. There is the person God knows you are and can be through Christ. I don't know about you, but I want to be the person God knows that I am. The other 2 have human reasoning and emotion mixed into their character base. "God help me to be the best I can be today and the person you designed me to be!" And, I really need to hear from you if you're coming Sunday evening at 6. Have a great day, PK

August 8, 2013 - A Simple Girl

Good morning to everyone. I can really tell the change of a season is near. What an interesting summer this has been! We spoke awhile back about our muscles having memory (current, scientific research) and I know that for many of us we lose weight successfully to a certain point. (remember, weight is not our only measure of health, but it's critical to keep our weight at the bottom end of normal) One of our group emailed yesterday and said she finally broken through a weight that she had maintained for many years. KUDOS! I forgot that I did the same thing several times on my journey. It can be a real fight. I weighed a particular number (+ or - 15 pounds) for almost 20 years until I started my MARCH toward freedom with a resolve to never be in this category again. My previous weight was certainly much higher than the doctor wanted and I was by no means healthy! I was at the top end of obese for my height and age. But my weight was "stable." UGH. Let that encourage those of you who feel stuck. I believe this is one of the tricks of the enemy to get us to give up and declare failure again. NO - our bodies are NOT THE BOSS of us! This is mortal flesh, and while it may "feel comfortable" at this weight, our spirits are stronger and we determine that we will be healthy! When you get close to a set point on your downward journey - be prepared. Your weight will bounce around, sometimes, for days. STAY ON YOUR HEALTH PLAN! This also happens, or it did to me, around those 10 pound goals. It seemed that the closer I got to the NEXT ten pounds, the longer it took to make it and pass it. How about you? My encouragement is....if you are following the healthy eating, hydration, and exercise plan...relax. You have a lifetime to be healthy. It may take a minute to reach the normal range. Give yourself a break, especially if you know you are not making excuses and cheating. Just being real with you. :) Also this morning, I wanna talk through a situation that one of the fam is having that could be affecting others. Starting back to school can be stressful enough, but one of us has found that it has interrupted her water and re-fueling schedule and she has gained for the past couple of days. My encouragement to us all is 2 fold: 1) fight for your water 2) and food. YOU MUST eat whole meals that include protein, fruits and veggies. Grabbing a "quick bite" often leads to picking and that usually leads to "I didn't eat much today, so I need.........." Even at work I try not to snack. I try to use my 30 minute lunch break to sit at a table, away from my desk, and eat on protocol. These are basics I know, but sometimes just reminding each other of the basics helps me. I am a simple girl with a simple plan. Praying for God to give each of us wisdom as we embrace our new lifestyle and new body........PK Coming Sunday evening? Please let me know, PK

August 7, 2013 - Talking Apple Skins

Just finished eating a beautiful apple. I wanted something different, but apples (with their dense skin) are so packed with exciting things. Yum! My mom was at the doctor's office recently and connected with a 93 year old man who was amazingly healthy. She said he looked so young and full of life and she couldn't stop from asking, "how?" Of course we know most of what he said - unlimited veggies and fruit, limited meats, and an apple each day! I SOO believe the "apple a day" regime. But isn't it amazing that he went on to say that he doesn't eat any sugar or white stuff and when he gets the chance, more often than not, he adds additional apple SKINS daily. He said the skin carries the nutrition and fiber. After eating his one apple to satisfy his sugar craving, the extra skins add a nutritional punch. How cool is that? I love the natural goodness that each of us has available daily. Apples are plentiful and need a place in our daily plan. Just sayin. Sometimes I think it's good to take stock of what our grocery cart, refrigerator, and cabinets are filled with. Have you done this lately? Offering healthy choices for our family, as well as ourselves, often rests with us. Most of us venture to the grocery store and few can deny that the contents of our buggy reflects the heart of our health. OUCH! Tonight when I wanted something different, let's be honest I did, my choices were apples, peaches, and watermelon. I had watermelon earlier and had not eaten my daily apple. SO, apple it was. My choice, however, was not difficult as I was not fishing over the pound cake and Hershey's kisses to find my healthy, power packed apple. No, no - it was on the counter with it's animation, "K-A-T-H-Y...you know you need me." Yikes, talking apples. But how many of us know that sometimes we need the fruit to scream and drown out the voice of the "not-so-healthy" choice. I have been studying John 10:10 in preparation to speak tomorrow night and there are some COOL truths lodged in the Greek text around this verse. Let us never forget that Jesus came to give us LIFE. No matter how difficult our journey, as we fight for our health, Jesus' plan includes abundant life. As people look at your health do they see abundant health such as my mom witnessed a couple of weeks ago? I want that - how about you? Good nutrition needs to start long before we determine the years are moving along....it needs to start now and it needs to be our constant companion as we "grow old gracefully and healthy." 93 and eating apple skins - sign me up! Praying you feel NO condemnation but encouraged to keep making those great choices moment by moment! We ARE free to choose.............PK

August 6, 2013 - The "D" Words

College football starts for me August 31st. Can you imagine??? I am already counting the days! Go dawgs! I need to plan for Sunday evening, can you let me know if you plan to attend? As we have Labor Day coming up, let's concentrate this meeting on sides for our grilled items. Can you send me a note to let me know you'll attend? In September we won't meet on the first Saturday again (sorry) as it falls the evening prior to a holiday and I will be out of town. :) Let's do September 8th. October - back on schedule! I was talking with someone recently about how the enemy of our soul targets certain people and it seems they become EASY prey. Have you ever felt as if your life went from one calamity to the other while folks around went in an out of seasons? We all face trials, but it seems some more than others. We then discussed how certain types of people can actually fuel the attack of the enemy. Some "d" words come to mind....discontent, discouraged, downcast, depressed. Sometimes these "d" words attack us all on their own, but sometimes we allow them more liberty than we should. Sometimes...right? I want to use that and talk about our journey for a moment. In my life, I have been a yo-yo with my weight management. (those of you who know me KNOW this is true!) During years when life was "perfect," it was easier to control my weight and make fairly decent choices. BUT WHEN THE DARK CLOUDS CAME.......fighting for my health went out the window. Eventually I lost the will and the desire to fight for anything. I accepted defeat and comforted myself with BAD excuses. I actually fueled the fires of failure. On the inside I was CRYING for help and hope, on the outside I was simply being the yo-yo. I knew that God had plans for my life and some days I could grab that well - others not so. Somedays I could make great choices and some days not. WHY? I honestly believe that being desperate to LIVE is the key and not simply accepting existence. That's good! As I spoke with this person they said, "well, I'd be okay if I could slow down on the sugar. I really try hard and do good sometimes, but then the sugar wins." I looked at this person and said, "then you are not desperate to live. Statements like that simply FUEL THE FIRES OF FAILURE." They responded, "Is that like being desperate to get saved? Like when you know you have no hope and turn to Jesus and you make every effort to live in the truth? I remember being desperate to be free and needing Jesus." YES! YES! YES! Being desperate to be free from sin and born again - DESPERATE enough to never look back - is what I'm talking about. I know all of us have days of struggle, but let's not fuel the fires of failure. If you're starving, EAT.......but eat something on plan. Don't reward bad behavior. Be aggressive with your fueling - refuel your cells, refuel you body with fluids, refuel your spirit with the Word daily. If we are refueling fires, let's refuel fires that give us light, hope, and health by making wise choices daily as opposed to refueling fires of failure by making excuses. Fire it up today and choose life! Much love - PK

August 5, 2013 - Stop And Help

Good morning and salutations, Starting this week a little tired as we had a busy day at church yesterday, but it was glorious. I LOVE being with God's people and in His presence. Pastor Mike said yesterday, "we cry out to be in God's presence - LONG for His presence." He responds, "look around - my presence abides in those around you. You're in my presence." His point was that we do the religious thing by commenting that we want to be with him, and won't stop and really be generous with our time, talent, touch and treasure when people like the man in the Good Samaritan story have needs. I was reminded of another parable in Matthew 25 - the sheep and the goats. When we have attended to the cares and needs of others, we have recognized God's presence in their brokenness and have given sacrificially as unto the Lord himself. Very impacting message. For those not attending New City Church, you can hear it on our website by tomorrow. Mike Servello. Powerful and challenging! Let's tag off that today. I absolutely know that when you are fighting for your own survival and health, grabbing others or pausing to help someone "along the side of the road" seems impossible. But I really think when we help others gain their health through our modeling appropriate food choices at functions and lunches we have "paused to help another." When we bring a word of encouragement and a bag of apples, "we have paused to help others." Sometimes obesity is JUST LIKE being beaten and left to die on the side of the road. People pass by daily and never stop to show they care. Comments like, "if YOU COULD STOP eating, you could be healthy." "You really eat too much and that's why you're fat." "Those people - no one opens their mouth for them." If real people weren't saying these things to me - I was REALLY saying them to myself. People passing by, handing me doughnuts and cheeseburgers and never offering a real, long-term answer. Then one day, my doctor talked to me about HCG and planted a seed. My brother called and in a state of desperation suggested a possible solution that we could do TOGETHER. In other words, "let me help you out of the ditch." And the rest is history or "HIS STORY." So the moral today is - we don't live our healthy lives simply for us but for everyone who needs encouragement. Look around today - who's in the ditch? Don't simply pass by them, don't condemn them, help them up, take them to the inn keeper and pay their bill. (go back and re-read the parrable....fabulous) Then you've given someone, including yourself, HOPE and LIFE. Praying for you this day fam, PK

August 2, 2012 - The Sleeping Giant

My girls and I were looking through old movies the other night and I found my case for Pearl Harbor. I love the story, even if it is fiction. It's a movie of sacrifice and commitment. Anyway...I remembered a specific line from the movie that I want to share this morning. If you have seen it, remember after the harbor was bombed the Japanese were celebrating and the commanding officer turned and looked at his leaders and said, "I fear we have only awakened a sleeping giant." Yikes! Here's what I want us to keep in the center of our choices today - while eating 2 cookies, or a McDonald's hamburger, or a candy bar may not show up too terribly on tomorrow morning's weigh in, the greater picture is the awakening the "sleeping giants" of heart disease and diabetes and other weight-related issues (I could make a list.....) These are not possibilities - these are definite issues that bad food and living choices awaken. And no one forces us to make those choices. BUT......we CAN choose the correct refueling items and leave those food-induced diseases sleeping. Just because my family struggles with cholesterol issues, doesn't mean I will. My family lived for the next gathering and eating ritual of seeing who could "out cook" the other. The more decadent the better - the more unhealthy the better! We would laugh and pat each other's bellies after stuffing ourselves and make jokes about how fat we were. (all while our children watched) And yes, I awakened "sleeping giants" and found diabetes, arthritis, reflux, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure had "bombed" my life and were destroying me. BUT GOD whose spirit is bigger than any "sleeping" giant gave me the courage to fight back. Today, the sleeping giants are dead in my life. Loosing weight and keeping it off - choosing to eat right DAILY - keeps these sleeping giants SLEEPING. We are bodies of flesh and these enemies lurk and wait......come on fam, let's choose health and keep these giants from stealing our lives. We CAN win! But, we can't be asleep and look the other way while eating that doughnut and not expect these giants to position themselves for destruction. They will bomb our harbor. Choose well and eat to live, PK

August 1, 2013 - Turn Up The Stove

Good morning to you all, Thursdays are my Fridays, as I work Sunday-Thursday. So, I am a happy girl realizing that at 5PM today I have my weekend sitting ahead of me. My days are packed with activities and commitments, as I am certain yours are, and I try to de-clutter my off days. I so love sitting with coffee in the cool morning and meditating on God's goodness. I will be traveling tomorrow to Cashiers, NC for a day and will actually get that "coffee experience" Saturday morning while sitting at Lake Glenville. YUM! Nothing more precious to me than a hot cup of coffee, God's Word and a body of water. Right? Today, let's review something to help alleviate storing fat, especially around our mid-section. As many of you know, I am the "sugar nazi" and have known for years that sugar (101 various names for it) that is not metabolized within a short period is stored as fat. I found out why on Monday as I was in the doctor's office waiting and reading a medical journal: "Fruit is the most healthful way to eat sugars and satisfy the natural craving for sweets. In addition to sugars, fruits also contain: 1) Vitamins and minerals that facilitate the metabolism of sugar - converting it into energy. 2) Fiber, which slows the absorption of sugars. For this reason, less insulin is required when eating fruit than when eating sugar alone or sugar refined products lacking fiber. The less insulin secreted, the less fat is produced, as one of insulin's effects is the synthesis of lipids or fats in the body." Several things to see here: 1) eating sugar and sugared products slows the metabolism of sugar, and it STORES as fat. I never ate much fruit as a child - only Kentucky Chocolate Cake - which could account for my cute, chubby body in all my school pictures. :) 2) High insulin secretion (from high sugar ingestion) = high fat content stored in the body. And as we get older, we are generally less active and less activity means the "stove" isn't turned up as high and year after year we continue to add fat to our bodies. You seeing this? Those are the scientific facts - plain and simple. Can you look at your frig, cabinets, fast food orders and ask if these foods taken in are storing life or fat? How about your lunch today? Eating, whole natural fruits (with the skins for fiber) is giving more benefits than just taste. Grab an apple today. :) Choose life today family - and let's all eat correctly to ensure a healthy future. PK