You read it in books. You see it on the big screen. All characters have a backstory and we do too.
How Do You Show Gratitude?
Murmuring
ComplainingUngrateful……Don’t let that be you! God has done so much for you. So how can you show gratitude? By saying THANK YOU!Did you know that your gratitude is actually a gateway for entry into His presence. Look at what the Message Translation says in Psalm 100
On your feet now—applaud God! Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence.
3 Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.
4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him.
5 For God is sheer beauty, all-generous in love, loyal always and ever.
You see that? Enter with the password THANK YOU! What do passwords do? They grant you ACCESS! Access to God. Access to the throne of grace. Access to His love, joy and peace. Access to His blessings and favor. Access to His protection and provision. So be sure to offer Him the sacrifice of praise with your THANK YOU!
How can we show God our thanks?
In addition to saying THANK YOU and blessing His name you can show Him you are thankful by:
- Obeying what He tells you to do
- Serving others
- Honoring your temple through proper nourishment, rest and exercise
- Giving of your time, talent, spiritual gifts and financial resources
In ALL things, give thanks to the Lord. This is His will concerning you (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
The Lies We Believe
What you believe is greatly influenced by what you see and hear daily.
And what you constantly rehearse in thought or in deed becomes your truth.
So what do you see and hear daily regarding your health?
- Trash masquerading as food
- Fast food advertising on billboards, magazines, and mail inserts
- Fast food on every corner
- Vending machines
- Marketing that entices you to eat more and more and more
- Drugs to make concession for all the indulging you’ve done
- Holidays that are built as gluttony monuments
- Keep working, keep hustling, grind, grind, grind
We must be discerning as to what we see & hear lest we believe and perpetuate the lies. And it would behoove us to take it a step further and ask questions and to search out what’s masked, veiled and not overtly put on display.
Because the lies we believe are killing us.
We don’t see that:
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The bottle of soda will cause our blood sugar to be elevate not just for the moment but for days to come
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The amount of sodium in that one fast food meal is more than recommended for two whole days
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The added hormones in dairy are actually causing our bones to become more porous not stronger
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All this multitasking and hustling culture in the name of productivity is increasing our levels of anxiety and depression
Our enemy is the father of lies and there is no truth in him. His M.O. is to perpetuate lies, to operate in deceit and to keep God’s people blind to the truth. But I declare that we shall know the truth.
Ask, Seek, and Knock for our God is faithful to answer!
If you’ve been asking, seeking and knocking, He WILL answer. The question is are you open and clear to receive?
Often we cannot see and we cannot hear because we are so clogged up. Our hearing is dull and our vision is blurry because of all the clutter, congestion, constipation, inflammation in the body. It literally dulls all the senses both physically and spiritually.
Let us make this declaration that we will no longer believe the lies. Let us declare that we will remove the cataracts from our eyes and the impacted wax from our ears. Let the lie be dismantled.
The lie that you can continue eating whatever you want, not exercising, not breathing, not fasting, and not praying fervently
The lie that there’s any one magic pill to getting healthy
The lie that you can do anything you want to your body and it will be just fine
The lie that disease is ok and there are pills will fix it
The lie that it ran in your family so you’re bound to have it too
The lie that you are powerless
May the light of truth shine brightly in your heart.
Remember that the Spirit of Truth guides you into all truth (John 16:3).
Let us transform our believing and our behavior.
Let us present our bodies a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God.
Before the holiday season’s debauchery of eating anything and everything with no self-control, no restraint, and no regard, let us pause and examine ourselves and challenge the lies we believe.
Let us walk in truth and in self love. Because we know the truth and the truth shall make us FREE! And whom the Son sets free is free indeed.
As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
Is There Any Good News?
Come one, come all listen to the pronouncement from our Lord and Savior, The Christ.
I am your Herald and have been sent with Good News.
Have hope! The Lord of all Hope, The Sovereign One reigns.
Hear Ye, the Word of the Lord.
“Though calamity abounds, so much more does My peace abound.
Though sadness abounds, so much more does My joy abound.
Though disease abounds, so much more does My healing virtue abound.
Though evil abounds, so much more does My love abound.
Fear not, for I have overcome the world. Have eyes to see and ears to hear My truth.
Be still and know that I am God.
I am He who was and is and is to come.
I am the First and the Last.
And as such I have seen the beginning and the end.
And I am causing ALL THINGS to work together for your good and even for the good of those who don’t yet know me because they are coming. More sheep are coming into the sheepfold. I welcome them with open arms and I beckon you to do the same.
Remain in me. Be anchored. Be rooted.
Be swift to obey and heed my commands.
I have full need of you at this hour. Yes, all the preparation was for a time such as this and that time is now.
My Kingdom come my will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Blessed are you who hear and apply His word.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Juneteenth… A reckoning or a pacifier?
On Thursday, June 17th President Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth a Federal holiday. You can read more about that HERE. Juneteenth commemorates the day that slaves in Galveston Texas were told of their emancipation (albeit 2 years after Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation).
But is the enacting of Juneteenth as a federal holiday a reckoning or just a pacifier?
This weekend Juneteenth celebrations will abound across the country. Lectures, food, dancing and other celebrations of community and culture will take place all across the country. I am even a speaker for one such event, Juneteenth Freedom Fest NYC. I’ll be teaching on the subject, “Health Is Your Heritage”. And while we are all in a celebratory mode, let us not get distracted. The fight against injustice rages on.
Yes, a day to commemorate our freedom may seem like cause for celebration but where is the legislation protecting Black and Brown peoples from police brutality? Where are we in the fight eradication systemic racism from the workplace? What about closing the divide in education? Surely in this past year and a half we have also seen the critical need for equity in the health sector.
Communities of color do not need to be pacified with a holiday. I personally do not want to see this holiday reduced to cute marketing campaigns sporting red, black and green. Nor do I want to see a slew of cheap apparel, jewelry or other trinkets being hawked on every street corner the week of 6/19. What we need is authentic overhaul of deep rooted beliefs and practices that keep communities of color oppressed.
Let us continue to press forward vigilantly as work remains to be done. Let us have the heart of God which cries out and demands justice. Let us continue to speak up for those who’ve been silenced.
Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. Isaiah 1:17
Let us each examine ourselves. What area(s) of influence has God called you to? One of the single greatest things we can do to be a change agent is to FULLY walk in the call God has on your life. God needs each of us in position carrying out His will. And that’s why I am here. I am here to do the will of the Lord in equipping you with practical strategies for living fully holistically so that you are strong, able-bodied, edified in spirit and mentally capable so that you can RUN the race set before you. And because I want to see you succeed, I am gifting you $5 off anything in my shop by using the code BV2US3JX
Continue to fight the good fight of faith. Obey the Lord completely. His kingdom come, His will be done.
As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
5 Simple Ways to Thrive
You ever have days where you barely feel like you’re surviving? The issues of life: children, work, marriage, caring for aging parents, health challenges and the like all have a way of sucking the life right out of us if we’re not careful. But that’s not God’s will for us. Jesus came that we would have LIFE and have it to the FULL! His desire is for us to thrive.
THRIVE
/THrīv/
To prosper, flourish.
So make no mistake about it friend, it is God’s desire that you thrive and flourish in EVERY area of your life. Your mental health, your emotions, your physical health, your spiritual life, and your relationships can all reflect the health and vitality entitled to you as a Kingdom citizen.
We serve the TRUE and Living God, el Chay. el Chay is our source of life. We live because He lives. We don’t serve a false God made of wood or stone, but the True and Living God whose Spirit raised Jesus from the dead and who resides inside you right at this very moment.
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Ruach—if indeed the Ruach Elohim dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Ruach of Messiah, he does not belong to Him. But if Messiah is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Ruach of the One who raised Yeshua from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised Messiah Yeshua from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Ruach who dwells in you. Romans 8:9-11
So here are 5 simple ways to allow the Ruach, Spirit of God to flow in and through you so that you are LIVING FULLY every day.
BREATHE
Most people breath way too shallowly. Every cell in your body requires oxygen in order to survive. If you want to feel alive and nourish your cells you must breathe. And not just any type of breathing either. You want to be sure to breath from your diaphragm.
EASE YOUR MIND
The Lord doesn’t want you carry and harboring things. He invites you to cast your cares, your worries, and your anxieties on Him because He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7). So nourish your mind by not harping on the past and not stressing over the future. Jesus said today has enough cares of its own. So bask in the beauty, majesty and joy that is found here in the present moment.
MOVE YOUR BODY
When we don’t ease the mind, that gets stored in our bodies. In his book, The Body Keeps The Score, Bessel A. van der Kolk says, “We have learned that trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on mind, brain, and body. This imprint has ongoing consequences for how the human organism manages to survive in the present.” Because the body keeps record of all we experience it is importance that we not only ease the mind, but that we also move the body so that we release. When we move we release environmental toxins, trauma, we activate the lymphatic system which is responsible for removing waste from the body and more. So go for a walk, get on the trampoline with your kids, or grab a jumprope and get to moving.
MEDITATE
The enemy is persistent in trying to present us with lies. We must be diligent to store God’s word in our hearts and to meditate on that word day and night (Psalm 1:2). Having that word in your hearts and on your lips enables you to have victory over the enemy. I challenge you to memorize 2-3 new scriptures a month and meditate on them all day long. Your spirit man will grow stronger and stronger as you meditate on the word.
PRAY
Pray is your primary gateway for communing with the Father. When we pray we literally merge heaven and earth. Jesus said what you bind on earth is bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth is loosed in heaven (Matthew 16:19). And remember that pray isn’t just a monologue. It’s also an opportunity for you to get quiet so that God can talk to you. The Lord longs to spend time with you and one of the ideal opportunities for that to happen is in prayer.
These 5 simple ways to thrive will yield great rewards when you practice them consistently. And because I am wholly committed to seeing you FLOURISH, I’m inviting you to attend my upcoming FREE virtual conference, Nourish to Flourish. During the conference my speakers and I will share key strategies on how you can manage your emotions and nourish your mind, body and spirit so that you are flourishing in prosperous health.
Click the image to register for the conference today.
As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired to Live Fully!
Benefits of Sprouting Grains
Y’all know I’m the salad queen but occasionally hubby likes a good sandwich for lunch and the kiddos do too. But all breads are not created equal. Most breads on the market today have unhealthy dough conditioners, bad for you oils, genetically modified grains and harmful sweeteners.
No good.
But not to worry. Silver Hills’ organic sprouted breads have NONE of those harmful ingredients. Their breads have only good for you ingredients that you can actually identify and pronounce.
I feel good knowing I’m feeding my children and husband food that support good health. And not only that, their new loaves are chock FULL of fiber, protein, iron, selenium, zinc and more, providing key minerals and vitamins that your body needs to run optimally.
And let’s not forget that Silver Hills’ breads are made from sprouted grains. What’s so special about sprouting? I’m glad you asked. There are immense benefits to sprouting grains. Sprouting:
- Unlocks more of the foods nutrients
- Helps your body more easily and readily absorbs the nutrients
- Make food more easily digestible
Desiree Nielsen, Registered Dietitian shares “Sprouted grain breads are higher in filling plant-based protein and fiber than standard whole wheat breads. Sprouted grains, being intact whole grains, will have more nutrition: sprouted grain breads have on average 12 grams of plant-based protein per two slices, and a whopping 10 grams of fiber. Compare this to 7 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber for an average supermarket whole wheat loaf.”
To learn more about the benefits of sprouted bread CLICK HERE.
Now grab your Silver Hills Sprouted Bread and give my new sandwich a try.
Smoky Tempeh Sandwich
Steam tempeh for 10 minutes. In a separate pan, heat 1 tbsp grapeseed oil on medium. Fry tempeh until golden on both sides. Season tempeh with 1 tsp coconut aminos and ½ tsp maple syrup. Splash a little water in pan and let sizzle to carmelize. Grill your Silver Hills Wheat & Greet Sprouted Bread. Take one chipotle pepper in adobo and mix with 2 tbsp vegan mayo. Slather on the bread. Stack lettuce, tempeh, red onion and avocado. Enjoy!
“And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer, and put them into a single vessel and make your bread from them. During the number of days that you lie on your side, 390 days, you shall eat it.” Ezekiel 4:9
As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
I received this product to review. Opinion expressed are here are my own.
5 Tips for Living In The Present Moment
Urgency. Immediacy. Insistency. Life has a way of trying to choke out your ability to live fully in the present moment.
Kids always need something. Your boss always needs something. Even your past tries to haunt you playing scenes over and over again in your mind like Groundhog Day.
But God doesn’t want you living a slave to urgencies nor does He want the past to rob you of the present. In fact, Jesus addressing this saying:
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:33-34
Jesus is urging you to not worry about tomorrow but to seek the kingdom. And finding the kingdom isn’t difficult. From the time after His temptation in the wilderness thereafter He preached where to find the kingdom. He said it was AT HAND!
At hand, in the present moment there is perfect love. At hand we have an opportunity to bask in what IS. Yesterday is a memory and tomorrow yet exists but the present moment is ripe and bursting with God’s tangible manifest presence if we would just avail ourselves to experience it.
So just how do we lean into the present of His presence? Here are 5 practical tips for living in the present moment.
1. BREATHE – Friend are you oxygen deprived? Don’t feel bad, most people are. Be intentional about your breathing. Are you breathing shallowly? When you focus your attention on your breath, it forces you to slow down and draws attention to the present. As you inhale deeply, expanding your diaphragm, give thanks to God. Thank Him for the Pneuma (breath, wind of God) and ask Him to fill you afresh.
2. BODY AWARENESS – Right now bring awareness to your body. Are your facial muscles tight? Are your shoulders hunched? Is your jaw clenched? Drawing attention to your body brings you into the moment and extends to you an invitation to relax. As you draw awareness to your body and relax, thank God for creating you fearfully and wonderfully. Commit to using all your members as instruments of righteousness for helping to build His kingdom.
3. ENGAGE YOUR SENSES – God created you with a physical body that has senses so that you can engage with all of creation. Fully utilize your senses. Look and BEHOLD all the beauty before you: the blue sky streaked with cirrus clouds, buds on the tree, the wrinkles on the hand of your grandpa and even the crooked grin of a two year old. Listen to a bird’s mating call, the lap of the ocean and the hum of the air conditioning unit. Utilizing your senses is a powerful way to connect with what is happening now. Habakkuk 2:1 says I will stand on my watch to see what He will say. When our eyes are open we can hear from God. Did you catch that? Isn’t God amazing?!
4. BE A NOTICER – Jones, in the book The Noticer by Andy Andrews has the uncanny ability of seeing things others miss. When we lean into God, we can sharpen our discernment, catching things that we may have otherwise missed. Again when we are inundated with the cares of the world, we can miss many God moments. Let us pump the brakes and slow down enough to be a noticer.
5. GIVE THANKS – My, my my! Gratitude is a game changer. Your heart beating in your chest, running water, shelter, provision, creative genius, cognitive function, love, I can keep going and going. One of my children has been struggling lately with serious quarantine fatigue so I had them start a gratitude journal. It’s been going well so far and has been a way for this child to redirect the energy of harping on the past or trying to predict when life will return to some semblance of normal; and turn their attention to giving thanks for what is.
I’ll leave you with these words from Brian Courtney Wilson in his song Already Here. I love how this song affirms where we find God. Be blessed as you embrace living in the present moment.
“We watch and we wait, Lord, anticipate the moment you choose to appear. We worship, we praise until there’s no debate. And we recognize you’re already here. YOU’RE ALREADY HERE!”
As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired to Live Fully!
20 Powerful Bible Verses On Healing
Make no mistake about it, the Lord wants you well. Let these 20 powerful bible verses on healing stir your faith. But before we get to those, let us reflect on the earthly ministry of Jesus. One of the major hallmarks of Jesus’ earthly ministry was healing. Jesus himself tells us the reason He came: that we might have life more abundantly (John 10:10). We see Jesus perform all manner of healing: healing for the mind, healing for the body and healing for the spirit.
And healing is not just something I’ve read about in my bible. I have experienced 1st hand the healing power of God.
I have been healed of childhood wounds
I have been healed from emotional eating
I have been healing from an autoimmune disease
My faith has made me well!
Even science confirms the role that faith plays in healing. It has been demonstrated time and time again that spiritual practices such as prayer are associated with better health outcomes. From decreased rates of stroke to lower death rates due to cardiovascular disease and lowering depression, people of faith fare better in their health.
I am touching and agreeing with you that you walk in complete healing and wholeness. We know that God‘s word does not return void. So activate your faith and declare these verses over your life.
20 Powerful Bible Verses on Healing
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. Matthew 9:35
O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. Psalm 30:2
But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. Jeremiah 33:6
Saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.” Exodus 15:26
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3
Then Jesus said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well!” Luke 17:19
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy. Psalm 103:2-4
Lord, your discipline is good, for it leads to life and health. You restore my health and allow me to live! Isaiah 38:16
For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord, because they have called you an outcast: ‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares!’ Jeremiah 30:17
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. James 5:14
I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him. Isaiah 57:18-19
He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. Psalm 107:20
The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health. Psalm 41:3
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Proverbs 3:5-8
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. James 5:16
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22
Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3 John 1:2
My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Proverbs 4:20-22
Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise. Jeremiah 17:14
Now be sure to partner with these verses through your daily actions. Make a point to get sunshine, fresh air, to pray, and to eat foods that nourish. Any wellness plan must be a holistic one nurturing the mind, body and spirit and give thanks to Jehovah Rophe, God our Healer.
As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired to Live Fully!
One Simple Way to Get Healthy
For the fourth straight year in a row, U.S. life expectancy has yet again declined.
How is it that the one of the wealthiest nations on the planet has the poorest health? How is it in a world with access to money, food, and medical care that poor health is on the rise and life expectancy is on the decline?
