Remember when you and your wife were dating?  It was really difficult to keep your hands off each other.

You wanted her and she wanted you. That felt so good. It was awesome. There’s no better feeling than being desired. After marriage, and particularly after having kids, things have a way of changing.  You are still ready to go every night, but she’s not.

What happened? You feel like you rarely have sex anymore and when you do it feels like she’s doing you a favor. 

You workout, you look good, but it doesn’t make a difference. You’re lost. This whole married sex thing was supposed to be different. Couples counseling might be something to consider for deeper insight. However, these 5 reasons why some wives don’t want sex will help you understand and show you what to do:

1. She doesn’t feel connected to you. While we feel more connected to our wives by having sex, our wives need to connect first. You may have talked with her about daily logistics or superficial things. She needs more. She wants to be seen, heard, and known.  The disconnect causes her loneliness. It’s like she’s trapped in a dungeon alone. You need to free her.     

Action:Talk to her about her. Find out how she is feeling, her insecurities, fears, and struggles. Also share how you are feeling.  Look at her–no distractions.  Get tunnel vision on her.  “Clear the mechanism.”

2. She doesn’t feel sexy. Her body has changed since having kids. She knows it and she probably thinks about it all the time, constantly comparing herself to other women. Even when she returns to her pre-kid body, I guarantee she’s still comparing–desperate for affirmation. The best place she can get it is from you. 

Action: Affirm her. She needs to feel your passion for her in your words, body language and eyes. Tell her she’s sexy and why—particularly when she makes a negative comment about herself.  When you get home from work, greet her with a long hug and kiss before you greet the kids. Look into her eyes and don’t be in a hurry to look away. When you’re out, direct your eyes to her rather than other places. Give her a look that communicates, in a room full of people, she’s the only one you want to talk to.

3. Her sexual appetite is naturally not as strong as yours. Studies show that over the course of a relationship, a woman’s desire for sex decreases while her desire for tenderness increases. The problem is that our desire for sex stays just as high as always.  Even at its highest state, her appetite might not have been as high as yours and probably never will be.        

Action:Recognize this reality and be patient with her. Reach out to her with physical and emotional tenderness. That’s what she wants and needs. Try to meet her needs before your own.

4. She is tired, stressed, or depressed. Motherhood is exhausting, emotionally draining and stressful. Once again, depending on the depth of her anxiety and/or depression you may want to seek counseling. 

Action: Give her some rest. Take the kids out for a day, run some errands for her, or clean the house. If she is stressed or depressed, rub her shoulders without her asking you. Give her a foot or full body massage. Tell her to kick back and relax. Give her music to listen to and light some candles. Take her tension away.      

5. She’s focused on being a mom, not a wife. Women put a lot of pressure on themselves to be the perfect mom–to have it all together. They beat themselves up for every little mistake or lack of knowledge. They compare and can obsess on eliminating imperfections. Sometimes our relationship as husband and wife gets lost. That’s not good.  Your intimate relationship is important and needs her attention too.

Action: You need to talk to her about how you feel. However, make sure you are not prosecuting or pressuring her. Encourage her about how amazing she is as a mom. Let her know though that you miss her, want her, and desire her. It might even be okay to use the word jealous here. Your biggest concern should be for more intimacy–a significant need for each of you.

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Dear Mr. President,

Can you please tell me which world you were referring to, when, just the other day, you declared to Tumblr users (I am assuming that Tumblr is not a drug) that the world “is less violent than it has ever been?”

I find it very confusing, because on the one hand you claim you learned about the IRS scandal and the Veteran’s Affairs wait-list scandal from the media, and on the other hand, it appears you don’t even pay attention to the world news.

Not only is the world not the safest it has ever been, it is the most dangerous it has ever been! And much of the downfall has taken place with your White House in deeper denial than the former Information Minister of Iraq—aka Bagdad Bob! (Remember him? “There are no American infidels in Baghdad. Never!” Well, you are starting to sound like him.) While you and Mr. Kerry claim, “Peace and safety!” the world is falling into chaos.

Cairo Speech
It was just over five years ago, a freshly inaugurated Barack Obama confidently marched into Egypt to give your “A New Beginning” speech to the Muslim world. You should have called it the “I’m Not Bush” speech, because we all know that was its real purpose. That day you boldly proposed “a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.”

How’s that working?

Not even the fact you gave your very first post-inaugural interview to the Arab cable network, Al Arabia, (instead of NBC, ABC or CBS) won you any lasting good will in the Muslim world.

I don’t believe the silly rumors that you are a secret Muslim. You are a humanist. And you were convinced that your human powers of charm and persuasion would cause the Arab world to lay down their weapons. Surely once they see that America is not all ‘cowboys clinging to their guns and religion.’ But you see Mr. President, it takes two to tango, and I don’t think Muslims are allowed to dance.

Nobel Peace, yet No Peace

For all your rhetoric you were richly rewarded, as if you actually changed something on the ground—but your reward did not come from the Arab countries seeking peace and repudiating radicalism. Instead, the Nobel Peace Prize folks crowned you the Prince of Peace 2009, and gave you a million dollars. How does their press release from 2009 sound now?

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples … Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics … Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future.

My goodness, it’s like they were declaring you Messiah! Sounds pretty funny now, right? If only Al-Qaeda had as much faith in you as the Norwegians.

Let’s just take a look at what has happened in “Obama’s World” since you were awarded for your “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy.”

There was an attack by Al-Qaeda on 9/11/2012 on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that left an ambassador, a staffer and two Navy Seals dead—two Seals who were protecting U.S. diplomats, while they awaited help that never came. It was followed by, what many see, as a cover-up by your administration. You, Jay Carney and, who can forget, Sunday Morning Susan (Rice), emphatically and repeatedly declared—even after all the evidence was pointing to a coordinated terror attack—that it was merely a spontaneous uprising because of an anti-Islam YouTube video. (As if people getting so angry over a video that they kill American is so much better than terror.)

Civil war has erupted in Syria, resulting in more than 150,000 deaths of innocent noncombatants, creating a refugee crisis of nearly 10,000,000 people. Even chemical weapons have been used to kill innocent children.

Egypt, the Middle East’s largest country, went through a revolution that propelled the terror group, The Muslim Brotherhood, into power. While they systematically persecuted their own people, trampling their democratic freedoms, your administration stood by them because they were “democratically elected.” When the military responded to the pleas of the people, your team stood with the Hamas-aligned Brotherhood.

Also in Egypt, we continue to see the systemic persecution of Christians by Islamic groups. Read this harrowing account of the murdering a young Christian woman by an angry horde of Muslims.

Meanwhile in Iran, human rights are denied to citizens, and Christians are persecuted. Iran continues to make advances in their efforts to build a nuclear bomb, while John Kerry makes deals with the devil and declares triumph.

Mass shootings in America are becoming a regular occurrence. I remember when a mass shooting was shocking. Now it is just news.

In Nigeria, nearly 300 schoolgirls were kidnapped and could be sold as child brides. (Yes, in the least violent time in world history, little girls are forced to marry older perverts.) The Nigerian terror group Boko Haram has continued to attack Christians in Nigeria, killing over 12,000 people.

Putin, thumbing his nose at you and the west, marched into Crimea and took sovereign Ukrainian territory by force. In a city where my family and I lived for a year, Odessa, 42 people were killed on May 4^th. Putin’s actions are reminiscent of the Cold War and many analysts (not in your White House, of course) are convinced he wants to return Russia to her former glory—by force.

And this week, even as you proclaimed with the tumblrites, with your head fully entrenched in sand, that the world was the safest it has ever been, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group known as The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, (ISIS) is taking over Iraq one city at time. This group is so violent, that even Al-Qaeda considers them radical! You were so eager to be the anti-Bush and get our troops out of Iraq, that you left the nation vulnerable. Whether for or against the Iraq war, one thing is now clear: it was for naught.

Reports of Iraqi policemen laying down their arms and deserting are a clear sign we had not finished the job. Today we see thousands of Iraqi soldiers have been executed by fellow Muslims. How in the world did your intelligence agencies not see this coming?

I could go on and talk about North Korea, Cuba, the three teens kidnapped by Hamas this week in Israel, and the spread of Islamic nationalism in Africa, but I know you are enjoying your vacation and don’t want to bring you too close to the depressing reality, lest it affect your golf game.

My focus is on ministry. I write about faith. But every now and then, something happens in which I feel compelled to use this platform to speak out.

Your administration sought to befriend the Muslim world. It earned you a million bucks and a trophy, but resulted in zero change on the ground. In fact, the world is in its most perilous moment in history. Never has there been so many radicals on earth with weapons of this , quite the opposite of your utopian view.

With the handing over of five terrorists for a deserter at best, and a traitor at worst, (without any counsel from Congress or the intelligence community), you have set the stage for American travelers—innocent men, women and children—to be kidnapped and held for ransom by the most vicious, evil people on earth. Two weeks after you released these killers, an American (and two Israelis) have been kidnapped by Hamas. While they may have been wanting to kidnap Israelis for some time, I can imagine that there were encouraged by your reckless, autonomous behavior.

No, Mr. President. You are dead wrong. The world is not the least violent it has ever been—it is the most violent. It is powder keg ready to explode—and this is your foreign affairs legacy.

Ron Cantor is the director of Messiah’s Mandate International in Israel, a Messianic ministry dedicated to taking the message of Jesus from Israel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Cantor also travels internationally teaching on the Jewish roots of the New Testament. He serves on the pastoral team of Tiferet Yeshua, a Hebrew-speaking congregation in Tel Aviv. His newest book is Identity Theft. Follow him at @RonSCantor on Twitter.

For the original article, visit .

Last week I wrote about two of the most common excuses I hear people give to explain why they don’t exercise on a regular basis, despite knowing that consistent workouts provide a host of benefits.

The reasons I expounded on were categorized under the heading “Personality Blame,” because they come from individuals who feel they are—perhaps on a biological level—inherently averse to exercise and are convinced that working out is something they will never feel motivated to stick with; therefore, it is a lost cause.

This week, I’ll be addressing Personality Blame’s opposite, but equally specious counterpart, “External Blame.” This term refers to those who point at people and things outside of themselves and claim that they are responsible for their out-of-shape state.

External Blamers claim they want to exercise, but simply can’t because of X, Y and Z.

Below is one of the two (the second will be the subject of my next article) External Blame excuses I hear along with what I hope will be helpful suggestions for how you can overcome them for good:

“I used to be in shape. Then I got married/had kids/got a full-time job/went back to school …” I often hear people hearken back to their physical fitness “glory days,” if you will. That was the time period months, perhaps decades in the past when they were young and free, more energetic and less tied down, and therefore easily able to maintain a consistent workout schedule.

But, then, life got busy.

Marriage, children, a new job, added responsibilities, and dozens more activities sadly sent “Exercise” to the bottom of their priority list. What people often fail to realize is that when exercise loses its prominent place in their schedule, it’s not just their outward appearance and wardrobe that takes the hit (consequences people usually learn to adjust to and accept); overall health begins a downward spiral as their risk factors for disease go up.

Here are a few of the potential effects of neglecting to exercise:

Muscle Atrophy: This means that your muscles waste away because you are not using them. When you lose lean muscle mass, your metabolism slows and weight is gained.

Osteoporosis: A lack of weight-bearing exercise plays a role in osteoporosis, or brittle bones. Your body responds to the demands you put on it, so if you don’t exercise, your muscles and bones weaken, slowly but surely, over time.

Increased Risk of Diabetes: Many people consume too many sugar-laden and processed junk foods along with sitting the majority of the day. Excess blood sugar from high-sugar foods can cause insulin resistance, which leads to Type 2 diabetes.

Circulatory Problems: When you don’t get regular exercise, the heart muscle weakens. Your lung capacity and efficiency also diminish when you don’t exercise, which mean means a walk up the stairs can start to feel like a trek up Everest.

Your blood pressure can also increase and blood vessels stiffen when exercise is infrequent or nonexistent in a person’s life.  Consequently, plaque buildup is promoted and sets the stage for potential strokes and other health emergencies.

Mental Health Decline: Not exercising can affect your sense of wellbeing. This is often attributed to the fact that as muscle tone is lost and excess weight is gained, people often tend to feel self-conscious, lose confidence, and their self-esteem plummets. Non-exercisers also miss out on endorphins, which are the body’s natural painkillers and mood-boosters released during high-intensity workouts.

The truth is, we’re all busy. And while some inarguably have more on their plate than others (figuratively speaking), all of us are given the same 168 hours a week.

Laura Vanderkam, author of 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think, writes that “If you work 50 hours a week and sleep eight hours a night, that leaves 54 hours for other things.”

Henry David Thoreau wrote, “It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: what are we busy about?”

All of us must make the time to exercise. According to the American Heart Association, 75 minutes of vigorous exercise is all you need each week if you want to improve your health or maintain your current level of wellness.

Look at your calendar today and find one pocket of time in which you can fit just fifteen minutes of vigorous exercise. A fifteen-minute heart-pounding workout can be just as, if not more, effective than an hour-long stroll through the neighborhood. Quality > Quantity.

Ask a friend to do a few running sprints with you before lunch. Sprint 100 meters, then rest for 30 seconds, and repeat ten times. That’s it, hit the showers—you’re done for the day!

Now plan a fifteen-minute weight-training or bodyweight-focused workout for tomorrow. For example, put fifteen minutes on the clock and repeat the following circuit as many times as you can within that time, resting as little as possible:

• 15 Barbell Back Squats (using a comfortable weight for you)
• 10 Walking Lunges (no weights)
• 5 Plyometric Box Jumps (no weights)

Again, a workout like the one above is it takes to challenge your muscles, elevate your heart rate and release those coveted endorphins!

Five 15-minute workouts a week will equal the 75 minutes the AHA recommends. It truly isn’t difficult to achieve. The secret is scheduling it, sticking to it and showing up with a plan.

Should you feel guilty about taking even 15 minutes away from your family or other responsibilities to exercise, remember that the healthier you are, the better able you are to love and serve them, and the happier and more confident you’ll feel in your role as mother, father, student, friend, boss, employee, etc. Not to mention, the longer you’ll be around for them.

Also remind yourself that if you are a believer in Christ Jesus and have made him Lord of your life, then your body is a temple of His Holy Spirit; it is no longer your own, “therefore honor God with [it]” (1 Cor. 6:20, NIV). When you eat well and keep your body fit, you are respecting His dwelling place, setting a wonderful example of discipline and self-control for others to see, and glorifying your Maker (1 Cor. 10:31).

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.” (Rom. 12:1), NLT

Stay fit, stay faithful.

Diana Anderson-Tyler is the author of Creation House’s Fit for Faith: A Christian Woman’s Guide to Total Fitness and her latest book, Perfect Fit: Weekly Wisdom and Workouts for Women of Faith and Fitness. Her popular website can be found at , and she is the owner and a coach at CrossFit 925. Diana can be reached on Twitter.

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Replacement Theologian, Dr. Gary Burge, states regarding Acts 1:6, which reads: “Then they gathered around him and asked him, ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?'”

[The Disciples] have it exactly wrong. Or as Calvin said, “This question has as many problems as it has words. [Scattered laughter from the audience]”

Burge says that the disciples had it wrong, but that is not what Yeshua says. Yeshua was never afraid to rebuke his disciples when they ‘had it wrong.’ Who can forget, “Get behind me Satan”? Or when he came down from the mountain and his disciples were struggling to cast out a demon, He cried out, “You unbelieving and perverse generation … how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you?” (Matt. 17:17)

Now that is a rebuke!

So if indeed as Dr. Burge claims “they had it exactly wrong,” surely the no-nonsense Messiah would have rebuked them.

Burge gives his interpretation without even reading the next verse! But we will.

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1:7).

He doesn’t rebuke them for still not getting it. He doesn’t say, “How long must I put up with you boneheads?” He merely says, “Not yet.” He obviously says it will happen when the time comes. He states indirectly, but clearly, that the Father has set the time and date. That is far cry from saying, “It’s over boys. The church is the new Israel.” (Of course, they would have asked, “‘s the church?”

Dr. Michael Brown makes a great analogy:

“For example, if the disciples had said to Jesus, ‘Lord, is this the time for us to take up swords and behead our enemies?’ He would not have replied, ‘It’s not for you to know the time for beheading that the Father has determined. You just concentrate on preaching the gospel.'”

Hardly! Instead, He would have rebuked them in no uncertain terms.

But that’s not what He did here, despite the fact that His words are constantly interpreted as if He had said, “You idiots! Don’t you know that I’m through with Israel? Don’t you know that the church has replaced Israel? Have I been with you so long and you still don’t get it?”

Instead, He simply told them it was not for them to know exactly when the Father would restore the kingdom to Israel (something that Jesus and Peter and Paul affirmed; see Matthew 19:28; Acts 3:19-21; Romans 11:28-29; 15:8); their mission was to be His witnesses.

Yes, Yeshua implores them to focus on the task of taking the gospel to the nations (Acts 1:8, but in it there is no hint that God’s promises to natural Israel are mysteriously transformed into promises to the church, instead of Israel. But Burge erroneously concludes emphatically that Yeshua will not rebuild Israel. (Of course, the fact that Israel was rebuilt and miraculously survived an attack that was meant to ethnically cleanse the Middle East of every Jew, from five Arab nations, presents a very real problem to his theory.)

Indeed if this mysterious transfer from Israel to the church had already taken place at the cross, why then did they go to Jerusalem for Shavuot? Why did God choose a Jewish feast day, in the Jewish capital, to pour out His Spirit?

Moreover, after Shavuot (Pentecost), after the Jewish Revival had already begun, after Yeshua’s supposed rebuke to the disciples regarding Israel in Acts 1:6, Peter declares in Acts 3:17-21:

“Now, fellow Israelites (he is speaking to Jews!), I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.“

I don’t know if v. 21 could be clearer. And it lines up perfectly with Acts 1:7. There, Yeshua said that the Father has set the time for Israel’s restoration and here Peter says that the time will come for God to restore everything. Speaking to a Jewish crowd in Jerusalem about Tikkun HaOlam (World Restoration, a phrase that comes directly from the prophets), leads us to conclude that he was reaffirming God’s promises of Israel’s restoration from the prophets.

Of course the mystery that is revealed in the New Covenant is that anyone, from any nation, regardless of race, gender or status, can come to the Messiah and receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

In the Kingdom there is no second class, but that doesn’t negate the fact that God will keep His promises to the people who brought His Messiah to the nations—Israel.

Ron Cantor is the director of Messiah’s Mandate International in Israel, a Messianic ministry dedicated to taking the message of Jesus from Israel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Cantor also travels internationally teaching on the Jewish roots of the New Testament. He serves on the pastoral team of Tiferet Yeshua, a Hebrew-speaking congregation in Tel Aviv. His newest book is Identity Theft. Follow him at @RonSCantor on Twitter.

For the original article, visit .

There is an epidemic of obesity in America, and I see the signs in my office every day. But what many people don’t understand is that excess girth is not only uncomfortable, it also translates to a huge rise in diabetes, which, in turn, goes hand-in-hand with higher incidence of heart disease.

Diabetes doubles the rate of heart disease in men and triples it in women. And the cause of his spiraling public health problem is 100 percent resolvable: It is entirely due to Americans’ tendency to eat too much and exercise too little.

In today’s blog post, I will examine the relationship between obesity, diabetes, and heart health, and give you three easy steps to prevent and even reverse the vicious cycle of damage caused by these conditions.

The Epidemic Is Spreading
To understand the scope of the diabetes epidemic, you need only look at the numbers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 15 percent of Americans were obese in 1980. Today, that number is 30 percent.

And if you add in Americans who are not obese, but are just moderately overweight, the number jumps to an eye-popping 61 percent. The increase in diabetes even exceeds that level. In 1980, there were 5.5 million people with diabetes in the U.S. Today that number stands at 25 million—and it is still climbing.

But that’s not even the worst news. In 1980, only 5 percent of children were obese. That number has tripled, and the age at which people are becoming diabetic is getting younger and younger.

These numbers threaten to wipe out all the progress our country has made in the fight against heart disease. It doesn’t have to be that way. Like heart disease, diabetes is preventable. Also like heart disease, it can be reversed. The key to beating diabetes is to drop that excess weight, once and for all. By the way, when using the term “diabetes,” I am referring to what is called Type 2 diabetes, formerly known as “adult onset” diabetes.

This form of diabetes accounts for 90 percent of all cases, and it is this type of diabetes that fuels heart disease. Type 1, or juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease in which the insulin-manufacturing abilities of the pancreas is gradually destroyed. This type of diabetes also can cause heart damage, but unfortunately it’s not preventable, and is much more rare.

Keeping your sugar in check can help to prevent diabetes

What Is Making us Obese?
Twenty years ago, the average bagel had 120 calories; today, it contains 350. Back then, a plate of spaghetti and three small meatballs had 590 calories. Today, if you order such a meal, it will be twice the size and twice the calories. The food industry certainly isn’t helping either. For instance, one fast food restaurant’s current advertising campaign urges Americans to add a late-night “fourth meal” to our diets. We’re in the midst of an obesity epidemic and we need to add another meal? Not a good idea.

But portions are only part of the problem. A consistently lazy lifestyle is also contributing to the spread of diabetes. According to a recent report by the CDC, fewer than two out of every 10 Americans get the recommended 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each week. The report even found that 25 percent of Americans don’t exercise at all.

This means no golf, gardening, or other leisurely physical activity. These people don’t even go for a walk around the block! If you are overweight, the likelihood that you will become diabetic increases so much. To put it into perspective—obesity even trumps genetics as a cause of diabetes.

Should You Be Tested for Diabetes?
You should be tested for diabetes if you are over the age of 45 and you currently have one or more of the following risk factors:

• A history of cardiovascular disease
• Persistent inactivity
• Overweight or obese

• Immediate family with diabetes
• An ethnicity that is African American, Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic/Latino or Pacific Islander
• Gave birth to a baby weighing more than 9 pounds or have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which is a temporary form that occurs during pregnancy
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol or triglycerides (specifically having an HDL, or “good” cholesterol below 35 mg/dL, or a triglyceride level above 150 mg/dL
• Polycystic ovary syndrome, also called PCOS
• Have other conditions associated with insulin resistance, such as acanthosis nigricans, characterized by a dark, velvety rash around the neck or armpits

How to Beat Diabetes in 3 Steps
Diabetes puts millions of people at risk of blindness, stroke, heart disease, and more. But, once again, it doesn’t have to be that way. In a study published a few years ago in the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers asked 4,883 men and women 65 and older about lifestyle habits such as:

• Physical activity
• Diet
• Smoking
• Alcohol use
• Body fat

The subjects were then divided into low-risk and high-risk groups for diabetes, and were followed for 10 years. At the end of the research period, the scientists found that eliminating all five of these lifestyle risk factors would result in a whopping 90 percent reduction in the number of diabetes cases.

Step 1: Lose Weight. Getting down to your ideal weight is a sure-fire way to beat diabetes. Even as you lose weight, you will see dramatic changes in your blood glucose levels and blood pressure—proof that you are fighting diabetes.

Step 2: Eat to prevent diabetes. Fortunately, you don’t have to undergo bariatric surgery to lose weight; you can do it yourself with just your knife and fork. And you can do this the same way you can prevent and reverse heart disease— by following my recommendations to stick to a plant-based, whole foods diet. This means choosing your foods from around the perimeter of the supermarket, where the fruits, veggies, and dairy products are stocked, and avoiding the processed foods, which are located in the middle aisles.

Step 3. Exercise diabetes away. How does exercise work on diabetes? When you exercise, your body uses insulin more efficiently. In fact, your body creates temporary insulin receptors, which can eventually result in helping you eliminate diabetes altogether.

Remember, diabetes is one of the most deadly diseases out there. But it’s also one of the most preventable. Whether you fall ill with diabetes or conquer it is entirely within your control. Losing weight, eating right, and exercising can make the difference between your being a victim and living a long, healthy life.

Chauncey W. Crandall, M.D., ., chief of the cardiac transplant program at the world-renowned Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., practices interventional, vascular and transplant cardiology. Dr. Crandall received his postgraduate training at Yale University School of Medicine, where he also completed three years of research in the cardiovascular surgery division. Known as the “Christian physician,” Dr. Crandall has been heralded for his values and message of hope to all his heart patients.

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I can’t remember very much of my early childhood. There are faded glimpses of memories, a picture of playing near a stream in the back of the house trying to catch tadpoles, playing football in the field across the street, falling asleep in the barber’s chair, stubbornly refusing to eat peas because my hypersensitive sense of smell repulsed at their pungent odor.

One memory stands out with vivid clarity. It was the moment that my mother called my brother, my sister, and me into her room so that we could talk to our father on the phone. My father traveled a lot in his position as a purchasing agent for General Electric. We would talk on the phone occasionally; however, this call was different. The look on my mother’s face was pity and sadness. I knew something was wrong.

My older brother took the phone, and within seconds he burst into tears. I couldn’t imagine what was happening. My sister was next to put her ear to the phone. Tears began to silently drip down her face. I remember seeing her eyes glaze over, as if she were in a fog.

Then it was my turn.

As I took the phone, my father’s deep baritone voice spoke matter of factly. “Son, your mother and I are not going to be married any longer. I won’t be living at home. I love you little buddy.”

I can’t remember any more. At five years of age, I couldn’t grasp what this would mean to me or how it would define me.

The next few years are a blur. The time frame is baffling.

My mother began to date a man who was once a business associate of my father’s. Obviously, I was too young to understand the dynamics of adultery, only to find out some of the distorted details later in life. For a child, everything was out of sync. It was as if the rhythm of my life had been interrupted. I would spend my childhood seemingly out of step with everyone, confused and dazed by the whole thing.

One instance seems to define my childhood experience. My mother had been to the grocery store. She treated us with single-pack Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I knew that Reese’s normally come two to a package, so after I enjoyed one cup, I asked for another. The strange man firmly interrupted my mother’s “Yes” with a harsh tone and said, “No.” He intimidated my mother, and she agreed with him. I didn’t get to eat the second Reese’s.

I was confused. Who was this guy? Who was he to determine my diet?

My mother married him. He was a strange man, but all of a sudden, he was supposed to be my father. I couldn’t understand that.

He forced my mother to stop calling me by my given name, “Gary,” and started referring to me as “Neil,” which is my middle name. Then he dropped my name “Kennedy,” and gave me “Roberson” as my last name. In one swift move, my identity was lost.

Every school year on the first day of class, my new teacher would call roll. “Gary Kennedy.” I remember the embarrassment of walking to the teacher’s desk each September to explain the stupidity of my life.

This identity theft impacted me more than you can imagine. My thoughts were constantly, ‘Who are you?’

I had no heritage. I had no baseline. I had no father to tell me of his past and direct my future.

This confusion was only exacerbated by the constant strife in our home. Alcohol abuse, occasional physical abuse, and daily (if not hourly) verbal assaults were the norm.

My biological father remarried and focused his attention on raising his new wife’s five children. I saw him only a few times during my childhood and on two occasions as a teen. My mother and grandparents implied that I was disloyal to my mother if I showed any admiration or love toward my real father.

I have rarely talked about this part of my life, but it serves as a metaphor for how a boy can struggle with his identity to become an authentic man. I am only one of millions of boys who have a similar story or even worse family dysfunctions.

Somehow I inherently knew that all of my training was wrong. I knew deep within me that I would have the same life that I’d seen modeled before me, unless I did something different. As Einstein famously defined insanity as, “to do the same thing repeatedly and expect different results.”

I left home, just me, a 1966 Chevy pickup, a tank of gas, and $35 dollars. I called a friend of a friend for my first job that lasted 6 months. I worked on a pipeline for another six months, then landed a job pumping water out of a strip coal mine for 12 hours each night, seven nights a week.

Within four years of manhood, I discovered that I was already a failure. I was repeating the pattern. Relationships were immature and destructive. I was utterly alone and depressed.

In my desperation, I came to Christ.

The first relationship I repaired was that with my father.

We meet at the local malt shop. Over a good greasy burger and fries, we reconciled. He told me about his life—his wife, their children, and his achievements since leaving me. He had become successful.

He had rebuilt his life from a disastrous year in which he lost his family to adultery, he lost his job at General Electric, his father died, followed by his mother.

It was at that moment that I calculated how old he was when all of this occurred. He wasn’t much older than I was sitting at that table. I suddenly and somewhat profoundly understood him. I understood his naivety. I understood his failed dreams. I understood him on a level that I could never had imagined. He was me and I was him—a sad young man who was struggling to make a life that mattered.

I looked across the table and simply forgave him. I also forgave myself. I began to shape my future from that table at the malt shop.

A few years ago, my father took down some old notes that he had gathered—notes that he had written over a lifetime—notes that would become the seeds of his novels. To date he has written 20 historic western novels under the pen name of Dusty Rhodes (I know the name is corny but it worked for him). He is an outstanding writer. He found his greatest success in writing.

I recently sat down with him on his porch in the mountains of Arkansas. We talked about life. We talked about a few memories. We talked about being a father.

As I was leaving, I took his hands into mine and spoke a blessing over him, “I acknowledge that you are my father and I am proud to be called by your name.”

This Father’s Day, I challenge you to deeply consider the man who is called your father.

As difficult as it may be for some, I hope that you can find the resolve within your heart to give him honor. For others, you may be able to easily show gratitude and honor. For those who simply can’t for various reasons, my heart is heavy for you. May God help you.

FivestarMan was founded in 2008 by Neil Kennedy. Kennedy has passionately promoted God’s Word for 25-plus years of ministry. He is known for practically applying biblical principles that elevate people to a new level of living. As a business, church, ministry and life consultant, Kennedy has helped others strategize the necessary steps to reach their full potential.

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Breakfast at dawn—that’s what my dad’s barn cats enjoy each morning. Babycakes and Muffin come running for their kitty chow when he calls. (Yes, their names even sound like breakfast foods.) Dad wouldn’t dream of letting his feline friends miss breakfast for even one day.

Yet across America, about 25 percent of adults make a habit of skipping the morning meal. That’s too bad, because breakfast serves up a bounty of benefits that contribute to good health. When your mom said breakfast is the most important meal of the day, she wasn’t kidding!

Studies show that eating a healthy breakfast:

1. Helps you maintain a healthy weight. Research consistently shows that breakfast eaters tend to be slimmer than breakfast skippers. Skipping breakfast has been linked to a higher prevalence of obesity. Eating a higher percentage of your daily calories at breakfast is linked with lower body mass index (a measure of obesity) and lower weight gain over time.

2. Revs your metabolism. As the name implies, the morning meal breaks the overnight fast. Your metabolism slows down during a fast to conserve energy. Skipping breakfast just extends the time your metabolism is in low gear. Eating soon after rising helps fuel your body and get it ready for burning calories throughout the day.

3. Improves mental performance and productivity. Regular breakfast consumption in children has been linked to improved academic performance and psychosocial functioning. Eating breakfast may also improve cognitive function related to memory. It’s just common sense that feeling hungry won’t help you perform at your best – in the classroom or at work.

4. Ensures more adequate nutrient intake. It is hard to take in the recommended amounts of fiber, vitamins, and minerals in only two meals per day. It is especially difficult to get enough calcium without a source at breakfast. Studies show that children who skip breakfast don’t compensate for the missed nutrients at other meals. And overall, breakfast eaters tend to make healthier food choices all day long, which adds up to more nutrients.

5. Sets a good example for your children and grandchildren. The role of the family in promoting good breakfast habits in children is well-established. Having parents who eat breakfast is one of the most significant factors that determine whether or not teenagers follow suit.

Why do People Skip Breakfast?

Breakfast skippers give reasons like “I don’t have time,” “I’m not hungry in the morning” or “I don’t like breakfast foods.” If time is an issue, try getting up ten minutes earlier or assemble your breakfast at night and put it in the fridge. For low appetite, start small—maybe a glass of 100 percent juice for a few days, then add a slice of toast. Try not to snack after supper the night before so you feel hungry by morning. If cereal isn’t your thing, it’s okay to enjoy nontraditional foods for breakfast.

What Makes a Good Breakfast?

Let’s look at another “breakfast at dawn” to shed some light on this question. In John 21, the disciples had been fishing all night when the risen Jesus called to them from the shore where he was cooking over hot coals.

“Jesus said to them, ‘Come and have breakfast.'” (John 21:12).

Can you just imagine the disciples gathering around the burning coals, relishing the savory smell of roasting fish? Jesus didn’t bring a dozen honey-glazed cakes. He took the time to cook a nutritious morning meal so His friends could energize their bodies for the day ahead. Jesus prepared a healthy breakfast of fish and bread—protein and carbs! 

We can learn two things from this biblical breakfast. First, the disciples had the honor of starting their day with Jesus. While they refueled their bodies with food, their spirits were refreshed by being in His presence. We can start each day with the Lord, too, as we pray a blessing over our meal. What a joy to take it a step further and meditate on Scripture while we eat.
 
Second, Jesus fed the disciples lean protein and whole grains, two foods that satisfy hunger for hours. So when planning a balanced breakfast, try to include items from several of the food groups. The traditional cereal with milk and fruit makes a healthy combination. Or dish up an egg, yogurt, and 100% fruit juice.

Breakfast doesn’t have to be traditional, though. I enjoy half of a turkey sandwich on whole grain bread in the morning. My son prefers a baked potato with fruit and milk or dinner leftovers like pasta salad, chicken, or chili. Yes, chili.

To create an endless variety of healthy breakfasts, choose a food from three of these food groups each morning:

• fruit (100 percent juice, fresh fruit, dried fruit, canned fruit in its own juice)
• dairy (milk, yogurt, kefir, low-fat cheese)
• carbohydrates (whole grain bread or bagel, oatmeal, whole grain/high fiber cereal, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, baked or boiled potatoes, dried beans, high fiber muffin, whole grain waffles or pancakes)
• lean protein (eggs, chicken, turkey, lean beef)

For example, mix dried cranberries with brown rice and drink milk with it. Or reheat leftover spaghetti sprinkled with parmesean cheese and add a bunch of grapes. You’re limited only by your own creativity and taste buds.

The bottom line on breakfast? Eat it every day. It’s a wise choice for weight control and overall good health. Whether you rise at dawn to eat with the barn cats … well, that’s up to you.   

Beth Bence Reinke is a registered dietitian who writes about food, nutrition, and health topics. She is a mom of two sons and the author of numerous magazine articles for adults and children. Beth and her husband have been CBN partners since 1998. Visit her at .

In 1816, a group of students of the Vilna Gaon, Rabbi Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman Kremer, led by Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Shklov, moved to Jerusalem and revived the Ashkenazi community there. In 1840, the community invited Rabbi Moshe Rivlin to serve as its rabbi.

This group of immigrants played a key role in establishing an important Jewish center in Jerusalem’s Old City, as well as in founding Jewish neighborhoods outside the Old City’s walls. The Vilna Gaon’s students made the eternal city their home and put our hold on it as Israel’s capital for generations to come.

It is very symbolic that, two centuries later, a descendant of this group of immigrants was elected as the independent State of Israel’s 10th president and will live in the presidential residence in a complete and united Jerusalem. A Rivlin family member becoming president represents the fulfillment of an age-old dream.

The election of Reuven Rivlin as president marked the end of a shameful and painful chapter in Israel’s politics. Never before in Israeli history had there been such an embarrassing and ugly presidential campaign. Now that a president has been elected, the events of the past two weeks should be thrown into the recycling bin of history and forgotten. There is no doubt that the best candidate won. The people of Israel now stand behind Rivlin, viewing him as the country’s No. 1 citizen.

Rivlin faces a daunting task. He must restore honor to the institution of the presidency, which took grave blows recently. Rivlin will have to lead Israeli society, which has innumerable divisions, wisely and prudently. Jews and Arabs, the religious and the secular, leftists and rightists, all of these groups are supposed to look up to the president as a representative of what we all share, the right to live in peace, security and equality in a Jewish and democratic nation. The president must manifest all of the wonderful things that are happening in Israel. The country has many great accomplishments, and it is the president’s job to highlight this.

Rivlin’s political views have been known since the time he joined the Herut movement. He never hid his fairness and faithfulness. In Rivlin’s new role, he will have to avoid turning the president’s residence into a venue for independent policy management, unlike his predecessor.

Today, Israeli society is undergoing a vital process of reshaping itself. It is thus important that the president be a completely clean individual who can restore the status and relevancy of the presidency. The president must be able to hold a mirror up to Israeli society and watch as it morally elevates itself.

The unity of the nation is the president’s responsibility. There is no doubt that Rivlin will be able to meet this obligation. He knows how to talk to all people eye-to-eye, respect everyone regardless of their opinions and exude the Beitar spirit of togetherness. Spirit is a trait of a leader.

Dr. Haim Shine writes a regular column for Israel Hayom. For the original article, visit . For the original article, visit .

As the years roll by, most hope each year is that their marriage will continue to improve. That is easier said than done. The best way to ensure your marriage improves is to be intentional.

If you don’t say and do things intentionally, then you’re putting your marriage at risk. You shouldn’t take a chance with your most important relationship.

When your words and actions are intentional, the hope of a better marriage becomes reality. While there are things you should do for her daily and weekly (see No. 1), here are 10 things to do for your wife at least once every year:

1. Pray continually for her and with her.

a big deal about her birthday.

her a weekend away.

dressed up (suit and tie) and take her on a date.

a trip alone with her.

her to the place of your first date.

her a week off from “mom duties.”

her to a show.

a love letter to her.

her a head to toe massage without expecting anything (this should be done at least monthly, actually).

For the original article, visit .

Men who carry a cellphone in their pants pocket may harm their sperm and reduce their chances of having children, a new review warns.

The research team analyzed the findings of 10 studies that examined how cellphone exposure may affect male fertility. Among men with no exposure to cellphones, 50 percent to 85 percent of their sperm had a normal ability to move towards an egg.

That fell by an average of eight percent among men exposed to cellphones. Similar effects were seen for sperm viability, which refers to the proportion of sperm that were alive, according to the study published June 9 in the journal Environment International.

The effects of cellphone exposure on sperm concentration (the number of sperm per unit of semen) were unclear, the investigators noted.

Most adults worldwide own mobile phones, and about 14 percent of couples in middle- and high-income nations have difficulty conceiving, the researchers said. They also noted that previous studies have suggested radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation emitted by cellphones can harm male fertility.

“Given the enormous scale of mobile phone use around the world, the potential role of this environmental exposure needs to be clarified,” study leader Fiona Mathews, of the biosciences department at the University of Exeter in England, said in a university news release.

“This study strongly suggests that being exposed to radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation from carrying mobiles in trouser pockets negatively affects sperm quality. This could be particularly important for men already on the borderline of infertility, and further research is required to determine the full clinical implications for the general population,” she said.

While the study found an association between cellphone exposure and male infertility, the study was not designed to determine a cause-and-effect relationship.

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