Mrs. Ann Marie Dillashaw is a homeschooling mom to two adorable daughters, Anna and Sarah Grace, as well as a loving wife to her husband Chris, who is the youth pastor at a vibrant San Antonio church.

She is also a hard-core athlete.

I remember vividly the first day Ann Marie ever came to CrossFit. She appeared to be a trifle unsure about what she was getting into (as most beginners do!) as she watched the other ladies beginning the day’s warm-up routine. Her typically sunny countenance took on a nervous pallor, accentuated by premature beads of perspiration popping up across her brow.

One minute into the warm-up, she began apologizing for pausing between lunges and high-knees to catch her breath. “I can’t believe I’m so out of shape; I’m so sorry!” she said, wiping the sweat from her forehead. “Is it okay to drink water?”

I assured her that no apology was necessary, that hydrating is never frowned upon, and encouraged her to continue at her own pace. She took a deep breath, one that restored her bright visage, then proceeded with a potent combination of humility and determination to complete the morning’s workout of running intervals and 100+ modified push-ups as the others cheered her on.

In fact, Ann Marie’s favorite part about CrossFit is “the intensity of the WOD (Workout of the Day).”

“I thrive on the determination to keep going,” she says. “I find myself pushing harder, faster, and doing more than I thought possible.  Honestly, if I were to do the same workout on my own, I would not get the same results because I wouldn’t be giving it all I’ve got.

“I was instantly impressed by how encouraging everybody was,” she continues, “all laughing and cheering each other on to work harder, do their best, and challenge themselves. Having the accountability of teammates during the workout really helped push me to see what I was capable of doing.”

Ann Marie joined CrossFit the very next week, eager to make a complete lifestyle change that would positively affect her roles and responsibilities as teacher, mom, youth leader, and wife.

“Plain dieting had failed me,” Ann Marie says. “I had a membership at Life Time Fitness, but with no accountability, I literally never went. Personally, I was miserable with how I felt and looked and knew I was in need of a change.

“Before CrossFit, I tried working out and dieting on my own, and I did it all because I wanted to be skinny.  Things have changed so much over the past six months. I work out and eat well to be healthy, in shape, and to feel good. The way I view food and fitness is just so different now.”

CrossFit has created a ripple effect throughout every area of Ann Marie’s life. “It’s added discipline to my routine. Not only the daily discipline to make it to my workout, but an added discipline because of the things I accomplish during a workout, the things I’m able to push myself to do because of new-found mental strength, as well as physical. My family has benefited from a new level of focus, energy, and discipline in all areas of my life.”

Ann Marie’s lifestyle change didn’t stop with CrossFit; she’s also renovated her diet, a change that has also made a positive impact on her family. “We’ve swapped our usual processed foods and fatty restaurant meals for a diet full of whole, natural foods. We don’t drink sugary drinks or have daily ice cream treats. Above all else, we try to be gluten-free.”

Chris, once an avid soda drinker, has given up his favorite beverages, and even spoken to his congregation about his dietary makeover.

“I really was never interested in making a lifestyle change, especially regarding what I liked to drink,” Chris says. “However, as my girls have gotten older, I’ve realized that they cannot make healthy changes unless I first commit to changing.  So, the real motivation for change is rooted in being a father.”

Ann Marie shares her family’s secret to their nutritional transformation: “We don’t stress about perfect adherence and we do not obsess about being ‘Paleo’ all the way. This has helped us make the most of our health, mood, and physical fitness.”

When Ann Marie began, she, like many people, had trouble lifting our lightest barbell of forty-five pounds. (Prospective beginners, take heart—we now have thirty-five-pound bars, too!) She was doubtful that she’d ever be able to add steel plates and lift the amount of weight she saw the others seemingly pressing, squatting, and deadlifting with ease. Today, Ann Marie uses strictly shoulder strength to press 75 pounds above her head. She can deadlift 150 pounds, last I checked. She doesn’t do modified push-ups anymore. Her endurance and stamina have improved tremendously, nixing the need for frequent breaks during workouts.

I asked Ann Marie for any advice she might have for anyone reluctant to try CrossFit because they surmise it’s too tough for them. She immediately replied, “Don’t give up! You get out of it what you put into it. The community at CrossFit 925 is something special, and if you stick with it and listen to your coaches, great things will happen!”

Actor and martial artist Bruce Lee said, “If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them.”

CrossFit isn’t a magical key that unlocks the door to an enchanted kingdom of size 4 dresses, 150-pound deadlifts, delicious Paleo meals, and nary a soda can in sight.

If you want to change your lifestyle, pick a fitness path that interests you and wholeheartedly commit yourself to following it—be it the CrossFit path, Pilates path, Zumba path, Richard Simmons tapes path, what have you—and combine it with a healthy nutrition plan.

Stay consistent, enlist others to hold you accountable, and be patient with yourself. Enjoy every step of your journey. Celebrate every milestone. Don’t let setbacks or slip-ups drag you down. When goals are achieved, create new ones to prevent complacency and the dreaded plateaus Mr. Lee spoke of.

Above all, take Ann Marie’s advice and don’t give up.

“Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed.” – Proverbs 16:3 (NLT)

Diana Anderson-Tyler is the author of Creation House’s Fit for Faith: A Christian Woman’s Guide to Total 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.

For the original article, visit .

A man asked, “I have faith … but how do I become a true godly man? How do I become a true disciple of Christ? I want to burn with desire for Him and lead others to Him.”

Isn’t that the meat of the coconut? A clear, simple statement of the Christian mission is “becoming and making disciples.”

Personally, I have never known a man whose life has changed in any significant way apart from 1) the regular study of God’s word on his own and 2) active participation in a small group.

So build the “becoming a disciple” part of the mission around three practical goals: attend a weekly worship service, join a small group, and read the Bible for yourself (e.g., four or more times a week). Obviously there are other spiritual disciplines too, but these three are simple, easy to grasp, and if you do these three you will likely find yourself doing the others.

And from the beginning, a big part of “becoming a disciple” is to get equipped for service and “to make other disciples.” So part of the mission is to find training opportunities to make disciples (e.g., how to lead a small group), and for the other service and ministry opportunities in your church.

Think of it as a progressive process that you ease into over the next couple of years. For anyone who has faith but yearns to be “all in” you have to start somewhere, so start here. And no matter how wise and mature you become, that true man of God will never stop doing these things.

Patrick Morley is founder and CEO of Man in the Mirror. After building one of Florida’s 100 largest privately held companies, in 1991, he founded Man in the Mirror, a nonprofit organization to help men find meaning and purpose in life. Dr. Morley is the best-selling author of The Man in the Mirror, No Man Left Behind, Dad in the Mirror, and A Man’s Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines.

Pssst! (Leaning in.) To be a man other men want to follow, you have to look like someone they want to follow.

Form follows function. Men are visual creatures. We notice form, both in men and women. And whether you like it or not, men make judgments about people based on their appearance.

I’m going to break this down for you and shoot straight, because our message of hope and love is going to be received much better if we look like we are taking care of the body God gave us. It’s human nature to be attracted to physical health.

In 2 Corinthians 5:20, the Bible says, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” In other words, you represent me, and we need to consider getting fit for Christ’s sake. It’s a touchy subject, so let me tell you what I mean. 

Notice we are “ambassadors” of God. We are spokespeople of His truth. If we speak of obedience but can’t keep our diet and exercise consistent, how will others accept our message of discipline and working with the Holy Spirit to produce the fruit of self control?

God tells us to treat our bodies at “temples.” First Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.”

How do you treat a temple? With reverence, keeping it clean and holy. Of course, this passage is also speaking of spiritual health, but I believe our physical health is also a key to helping our message being received. I know this for fact with men.

Until only recently, when Mexico surpassed us, the U.S. was the fattest country in the world. Our society has gotten more flab than fit. But I’ve always told new pastors that to be a leader, you have to look the part.

Here’s the Kenny Luck prescription to physical health:

1. Start eating more vegetables. Stop eating junk. Vegetables are nutritious and delicious (no smirking). Seriously, you should try them sometime. Instead of listing all the food you should not eat, just do what Daniel and his three amigos did in the first chapter of Daniel, and eat vegetables. We also need protein for good health, so select lean protein sources like eggs, chicken and fish, and eat 4-6 ounces per meal.

2. Start exercising regularly. Stop wasting time. Just put the remote control down and get on the floor and do some pushups, sit-ups and deep-knee squats. Go for a walk. Mix in some intervals of high-rate or fast-paced jogging or running. Don’t be afraid to lift weights. Strength training will build muscle and help your form fill out nicely.

It’s easy, really. Eat right. Move often. I’ve learned that physical—and spiritual—health is more of a marathon than a sprint. Take it day by day, and keep running the race.

As it says in Hebrews 12:1, “So we, too, should run the race that is before us and never quit. We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall.”

Kenny Luck, founder of Every Man Ministries and the men’s pastor at Saddleback Church, provides biblically oriented teaching and leadership for men and pastors seeking relevant, timely material that battle cultural, worldly concepts threatening men and God’s men. Follow Kenny and Every Man Ministries now on Facebook, Twitter (@everyMM) and YouTube.

For the original article, visit everymanministries.

My wife and I have experienced a lot in 12 years of marriage. Good, bad, exciting, sad and everything in between.

We’ve witnessed many friends’ marriages end in divorce. We have friends who knew us “way back when” who would have never imagined us together—or still together.

I always wondered why and how we made it when our peers didn’t. Now I believe I’ve discovered it, and I’m certain if it worked in our marriage, it will work in yours. Two ideas served as the glue to keep us together and the inspiration to push us forward.

We Said No

While taking a class on marriage a few months after getting married, we learned God hates divorce and to never let it be an option in our marriage. So we said no to divorce once and for all in our marriage. It was never to be considered, joked about or mentioned in our marriage whatsoever!

Was that easy? Not by any means. There were times we both felt trapped. Times we questioned our decision to get married in the first place. But we remained true to our agreement for the most part. There were times we let emotions and anger—and stupidity—get the best of us. But it didn’t last long.

Taking this stance put our backs against the wall and forced us to make our marriage work.  Our choice was to remain married unhappily or find a way to remain married happily.

We Said Yes

More recently, we have come to understand that our marriage is being watched. Other people, beginning with our children, are watching how we act in marriage. How do we talk to one another? How do we handle ourselves when not in each other’s presence?

We realized our marriage provided a great way to minister to others. We have the opportunity to share our marriage with others.

Realizing this and having witnessed up close and personal the devastation that happens when a couple divorces, we were encouraged to be even better than just saying no to divorce in our marriage.

Our prayer is that we encourage marriages, that we relate to their struggles that are typically similar to ours, and that we show them they can still make it and be happy through it all.

Will you say no and then yes?

Your marriage is a ministry too. Who and what you are ministering to is up to you. It can be a ministry that shows how to make it and give hope that other couples can make it too.

Related Resouce: Forgiveness in Marriage

Will you work to say no to divorce and yes to giving hope to other married couples?

Mark Merrill is the president of Family First. For the original article, visit .

In my last article on the unique roles between Israel and the church, I spoke of the analogy of a wedding and emphasized the pandemonium that so often can precede the ceremony itself. It is actually this time and during this hour that before Christ is to return to the earth as the bridegroom that He wants His bride to focus upon.

We need to fully address the relationship between Jew and Gentile to bring forth healing and reconciliation to the many issues that keep us separate, including much of the divide that the enemy himself is also fueling to keep us apart from our roles. Please click here to review part 1 and part 2 to gain a fuller understanding of the roles of Israel and the church in the last days.

The Prodigal Son Through Jew and Gentile Brothers

To continue, let us take a look at the story of prodigal son, reflecting upon the Jew and Gentile sons through the New Covenant thus far. (See Luke 15:11-31.) The Gentile has mostly received it first, who in this analogy is the older son and has been faithful to oversee His Father’s house (the church). However, at this time and the time coming, the Jewish son now returns in full repentance, as is prophesied through the word of G-d, thus fulfilling G-d’s covenants and promises to Israel, as they must come into a spiritual awakening and cleansing, which has been written and foretold despite their resistance. For Yeshua has said that He will not return until they say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the L-rd.”

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be … great” (Zech. 12:10-11, NIV).

For G-d’s words and covenants must be fulfilled, please also read Ezekiel 36:22-28 to fully understand this context from the Scripture. For while G-d has always planned to restore Israel spiritually so that they actually come in at the end to redeem His Jewish family, the emphasis on these Scriptures makes clear to us that it is not only for their sake, but rather for the sake of His holy name that His words, promises and covenants to restore them must be fulfilled.  

This in itself is crucial for us to comprehend at this time, because His plan is to show His glory to the world through their rebirth. Therefore, if we truly want the L-rd to be glorified upon the earth, we must come into agreement with Israel’s spiritual awakening, making it our top priority. Because it is this plan as well as our association to it that will help to usher in the end time outpouring upon the earth along with the L-rd’s return. For what does Scripture tell us that Israel’s reconciliation will be but resurrection power! (See Romans 11:15.)

Referring back to the prodigal story, let us reflect upon the different reactions here between the father and the son to fully see this picture between the heart of man through the brother and the heart of G-d through the Father. Because only operating in the Father’s heart will enable us to fulfill our role to love Israel as our own. This must take place first within us through the Spirit in a family reconnection that can only come through faith.

What a dramatic difference here in the way in which the father and the son respond, and we will never be able to love Israel through the heart of the brother, which has so clearly reflected the church’s response to Israel through the ages as well as the weaknesses of our own humanity. I address this issue in its entirety in my new book The Ezekiel Generation (on bookshelves this month), which I would encourage you to read.

Has Our Bloodline Been Affected From the Past?

I know this is a difficult, delicate and sensitive matter for us to process from our past, for we cannot undo what has been done. While we are not responsible for anybody’s actions other than our own, this does not necessarily remove the influence of our ancestral past if it has not been properly renounced and repented of, as the sins of the fathers travel to the third and fourth generations and can still influence us and our actions (Ex. 20:5).

Sometimes in our own walks, do we not have to overcome or renounce our own ancestral influences (the sins of our fathers or mothers)? I know I have done so with things my parents or grandparents moved in. And so it is the same with anti-Jewish sentiment, which has unfortunately been very strong in the bloodline of the church from the past. Just look at racism, for example, and how it had its effects on all believers.

As a result, I believe the enemy has been using this against us without our knowledge, which I am bringing to light at this time. For the devil can only attach himself or his strongholds to some form of disobedience, which in this case has been keeping us veiled and separate from our own role to love Israel as ourselves and to provoke them to jealousy (Rom. 11:13-15). I believe it is this generational bloodline issue that has been clouding and blinding our spiritual sight regarding Israel to the unity that the Father is looking to bring now amongst His family, so that He may work His will through us so the end may come.

I ask you in all honesty and sincerity and only raise these issues for the sake of G-d’s healing and reconciliation, because there is no condemnation in Christ. However, I believe that our bloodline needs to be cleansed from the past, and it is preventing us from coming into the great role to help G-d release His breath and life back into His first born child (Ezek. 37:9-11).

But how can we honestly expect to have clean and pure revelation and understanding regarding Israel and the church and end-time theology when our own church history has been so dark toward the Jewish people? When our own ancestral actions toward them have been in complete contradiction to our calling to release G-d’s mercy back to them, to draw them to jealousy through our own intimate relationship with their G-d, who is now our G-d? After all, whose vine are we grafted into? And is the family of G-d complete without Israel’s awakening? (See Romans 11.)

This is why I believe the church has not yet gotten the full download from G-d regarding Israel and the end times, because the enemy has been using the bloodline to keep us apart. He has been using the actions of our ancestry against us. I call this generational anti-Semitism, and one does not necessarily have to be anti-Semitic to still be affected by it—although when this is in our bloodline, it is much easier for us to be anti-Semitic.

Alternatively, when generational anti-Semitism is in the bloodline, I believe it allows the enemy to cloud and confuse, so much so that we can even love Israel and yet still be confused regarding our theology. This so easily explains why in our modern day, amongst many of our evangelical groups as well as many other believers, there is almost a romantic association to the land and yet still no real connection to our unique role, which is to help give them life. We seem to be more concerned about the land than we are to reach the people, which is of much greater significance.

If the enemy can keep us separate from this calling, which I believe starts in prayer and repentance, it enables him to keep dominion. He knows when Israel comes in, he is finished, because the L-rd is coming back! Just think for a moment of those churches located in more heavily populated Jewish areas. How can they not have a special focus and burden in wanting to somehow reach the Jewish people? And yet this is so often not the case. Could there be something wrong with this picture?

Up to this point in our theological positions, we have not yet seen any personal connection between the church and Israel in the end times, that G-d is going to redeem them all by Himself. However, as I have already pointed out in earlier articles on this subject, I believe this is in great need of correction, as both the Father and the Son are waiting for our earnest intercession that can only come through a spiritual reconnection in His family—through us receiving the Father’s heart for Israel.

I believe now is the time for us to address these delicate issues and to allow the Holy Spirit to break off any ungodly influences from the past that this generational bloodline issue is still causing. For certain, this is a most sensitive subject but one that we must be willing to face, because judgment always begins in the house first (1 Pet. 4:17). Please earnestly take this matter to prayer, whether you agree with it or not.

To be continued …

Grant Berry is a Jewish believer in Yeshua/Jesus and author of The New Covenant Prophecy and The Ezekiel Generation. He has founded Reconnecting Ministries with the specific focus to help the church reconnect spiritually to Israel and considers it vital to the kingdom of G-d in the last days. His message focuses on the unity, love and healing that the Father wants to bring between Jew and Gentile yet clearly points out the differences and misunderstandings between the two groups. Now is the time to look more carefully into this mystery to make way for healing and reconnection in the Spirit. For more information, please visit .

A diet most doctors and even the government frowns upon helped Jimmy Moore lose 180 pounds in one year and keep it off for the last nine years.

Success stories like Moore’s are why this diet is gaining in popularity among doctors who can’t argue with the positive results.

Moore grew up an overweight child and put on even more pounds in college. After marrying, he ballooned to 410 pounds.

‘I Was a Mess’

“I was wearing size 62-inch waist pants, I was wearing 5XL shirts, I was on three prescription medications for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, breathing problems,” he confesses. “I was a mess.”

His wife, Christine, was concerned that Moore’s weight would send him to an early grave. But she was powerless to stop his poor eating habits.

So she gave it to God.

“I was scared because I didn’t want to be without him, and I loved him so much. So it took God taking control of the situation, and it’s been wonderful,” she says.

Moore said God led him to give up carbohydrates—and the pounds melted away. 

“And the big thing,” he adds, “[I] came off the cholesterol lowering medication, came off the blood pressure medication, came off the breathing medication, all within six or eight months.” 

Weight-Loss Success

Moore is not alone.

Dr. Eric Westman, a nationally renowned obesity expert, heads up the Duke Lifestyle Medicine Clinic. When his patients follow Moore’s diet, they lose weight and don’t need their medicine any longer.

For example, Lynne Daniel Ivey lost 185 pounds following Dr. Westman’s advice. Ivey outlines her life-long struggle with weight and how she ultimately found victory on her website.

“Here at Duke, we use mainly the low carbohydrate, ketogenic diet to treat diabetes and obesity,” Westman explains. “And all the other problems that come with obesity—hypertension gets better, heartburn gets better, fatty liver, the list goes on and on.”

Key to Burning Fat

Carbohydrates give us energy. When we eat more carbohydrates than our body’s energy requirements demand, those extra carbs are turned into body fat.

Body fat is simply fat that is being stored for later use. When we eat fewer carbohydrates than our energy needs require, such as in times of famine, our body gets its energy by burning the stored body fat.

Westman points out that Americans are good at storing the fat. The only problem is, there is such an abundance of food that we never have the need to use that fat.

“I went to the mall, and there was a gentleman,” he says. “I calculated he could live for a year without eating, he was carrying around so much extra energy. We look at that, it’s fat, but it’s just extra energy.”

The good news is we don’t have to go without food to burn the stored body fat. We just have to go without carbohydrates.

Westman recommends keeping carbs down to about 20 grams a day. That’s not much. A cupcake is already too high; it has 26 grams of carbohydrates.

But carbohydrates aren’t just desserts. They include whole grains and fruit. For example, a piece of whole wheat bread has 20 grams of carbohydrates, and one banana has 27.

“I separate out fruits and vegetables,” Westman explains. “I’ll never say them in the same sentence. Fruits are high in sugar. Vegetables have much less sugar.”

“So we want people to have vegetables,” he says. “Fruits are an ‘every now and again’ treat, like candy or something that you wouldn’t have every day.”

Curing the Carb Craving

The key to giving up carbohydrates is replacing them with some protein and a lot of fat. That includes monounsaturated fats like nuts, avocados, salmon and olive oil.

It also includes saturated fats like eggs, cheese, butter, coconut oil and bacon. However, stay away from vegetable oils, also known as omega-6 fats, and steer clear of trans fats, both of which cause inflammation.

Moore says that like many Americans, he couldn’t imagine living without carbohydrates. But he says eating fat cured those carb cravings.

“Before I started, I was a carbohydrate addict,” he recalls. “I was eating two boxes of Little Debbie snack cakes a day, 16 cans of Coca-Cola a day.”

“When you feed your body those really healthy fats, you don’t get those cravings for those foods any more. I know it’s hard to believe,” he says.

Don’t Fear the Fat

Many doctors, and even the government, tell us to avoid saturated fat because they say it causes heart disease. But Westman joins a growing number of physicians who say saturated fat is good for you.

“I tell my patients not to fear the fat. Eat lots of fat. Fat makes you feel full. There’s no problem with fat,” he says. “In fact, saturated fat, the fat that we’ve been taught not to eat, raises your good cholesterol best of all the foods you can eat.”

Not only is saturated fat the optimal fuel for your brain, but it also provides building blocks for cell membranes, hormones and hormone-like substances.

• It acts as carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.
• It is required for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A and for mineral absorption.
• It acts as an antiviral agent.
• It modulates genetic regulation and helps prevent cancer.

In their new book, Cholesterol Clarity, Westman and Moore explain why we need to rethink what we’ve learned about fat and carbs. They point to new scientific evidence showing inflammation as the main cause of heart disease and other problems.

Inflammation comes from eating too many carbohydrates, not from high cholesterol. 

“Knowing your total cholesterol is like knowing the end of a baseball game is 25,” Moore says.

Cholesterol Numbers

The book goes further, explaining that some cholesterol can be good for you. HDL cholesterol is good, as well as some LDL cholesterol, but only the large, fluffy particles, known as Pattern A.

On the other hand, the small, dense LDL cholesterol, known as Pattern B, does indeed cause heart disease. Those small, dense LDL particles come from eating a diet that’s high in not saturated fat but carbohydrates.

Most people get blood work at their doctor’s office that reveals their HDL and their LDL cholesterol levels. The problem with that is that knowing your total LDL number is not helpful. You need to know the number of your small, dense particles.

Fortunately, you can know, and it’s easy. You just have to ask. 

Tell your doctor you would like to have the NMR lipoprofile test. That test gives you the total LDL number and also how many small particles you have.

You want the small particles to be 20 percent or less of the total LDL. It’s easy to get, and all major labs offer it, including LabCorp and Quest.

Most insurance policies cover the test as well. Best of all, even if your doctor were to refuse to order it, you can order it yourself via a third-party like Direct Labs, or you can order the test online and get blood drawn locally.

The Right Tests

What if your number of small, dense LDL particles is greater than 20 percent of your total LDL number? You need to make changes in your diet.

Remember, those small dense particles are caused by eating too many carbohydrates, trans fats, and industrialized omega-6 fats, found in cooking oils like vegetable oil, soybean oil and corn oil. So eliminate those harmful fats, drastically reduce your carbohydrate intake, and watch those small, dense LDL particles disappear.

You will be amazed how fast it happens.

While we are on the subject of tests your doctor runs, make a note of your triglycerides and your HDL. According to recent research, a high triglycerides number combined with a low HDL number is a predictor for a very high risk of cardiovascular disease.

Your triglycerides should ideally be under 100 and optimally under 70. Your HDL cholesterol should ideally be over 50 and optimally over 70.

Consume less carbohydrates in your diet to drop your triglycerides enough and eat more fat, especially saturated fat, to raise HDL.

High sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP for short) is a simple blood test any doctor can have run to measure for inflammation. Your target for this one is under 1.0.

Low-Carb Doctors

If you feel your doctor is not right for you because he or she is against a low-carb diet, here is a list of 300 doctors who are in favor of such an approach: List of Low-Carb Doctors.

Moore is living proof that a diet low in carbs but high in saturated fat is good for the heart.

“I had a heart scan score, where they just do a CT of your heart to see if there’s any calcified plaque in there. Zero. None. Eighty-five percent fat in my diet and no clogged arteries,” he says.

A low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet is controversial among doctors and goes against conventional wisdom. But a growing number of doctors say success stories like Moore’s are making them take a closer look at how a low-carb, high-fat diet might help their obese patients.

Jimmy sums it up by saying, “All those years that I was dealing with the obesity, I knew God was hearing my prayer and that some day I was going to find the answer that was right for me. And I have. And now I’m trying to share that with other people and be an encouragement to them.”

For the original article, visit .

It can be so easy to put off what you can do today until tomorrow. The process, as easy as it sounds, can be very frustrating. I think you know exactly what I mean.

Personally, it feels like a strange force is opposing me. I picture myself standing at the bottom of a large wall, trying to push it. Ah, yes, and it goes nowhere.

Other times it feels like driving a car that has wheels but the tires are missing. You know what the problem is, yet you continue to keep moving along. At a very slow and uncomfortable speed, I might add. That actually sounds quite terrible.

So, how do you get past the knowing and get to the doing?

I’ve asked myself this question many times—every day, in fact. I have a suspicion you have also asked yourself this question, or something similar, as well.

So, here is my process, if you want to call it one:

1. Decide what’s holding you back. Fear? Time? Family? Friends? Technology? Work?

2. Talk to God about it. This is absolutely critical. In days past, I would get nowhere when it came to resolutions. These days, I go to God first. Don’t take this for granted. God wants you to go to Him, and He can help you in many ways.

3. Weigh the outcomes. After discussing the situation with God, play with some possible outcomes. What are you trying to accomplish? Why are you holding back? Have faith that the outcome will be what’s best for you. Keep in mind that not all outcomes are positive, but you will learn from the negative.

4. Set a goal. What is your realistic time frame to start doing? Are there things you could start doing today? I have learned that doing small things over a long period of time can yield great results. Set a goal today, set another goal tomorrow, and keep working toward it.

God has great plans for the things you know you want to do. What are you waiting for?

What gets you motivated to move past the knowing and gets you doing? Share your comments below.

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As you are working on your weight, I recommend you start your day with prayer for these three things every day: wisdom, courage and patience. You’ll need wisdom to discern the right things to do for your health, courage to do the right thing, and then patience to keep doing the right thing until you reach your ideal size and then beyond to maintain it.

 “The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty; but those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty” (Prov. 21:5).

Asking for help through prayer gives you an edge, in that you won’t have to just rely on your own human strength. Take advantage of your access to God through Jesus Christ, and you will reach your wellness potential more quickly, easily and joyfully.

Once you’ve got your day anchored in prayer, then you’ll need to plan. Think about your routine and how you might fit healthy eating and physical activity into your day. Can you pack a healthy lunch? Check out a restaurant’s website for good nutritional options if you are going out? Go for a walk after work? Don’t leave your day to chance. If you do that, you’ll likely fall back into old habits, and you all know where those lead!

So every day, be diligent in planning your day so that you will be successful in being healthy for that day. Put all of your focus and energy to staying on target for just that day. If you find yourself wanting to return to your old habits, then go back to your vision. Really see yourself as if you’ve already reached it and yourself practicing healthy habits to reach it.

Consider this: You can’t go anywhere unless you have already gone there first in your mind. So make your vision more real than the memory of practicing the unhealthy habits, and that is the direction in which you’ll go.

Physical Freedom Tip

Let’s start adding some fruits and vegetables into your diet, because eating more of them is the simplest and fastest way to achieve better health. Now, I’m not talking about fruits covered in sugar or vegetables drenched in cream sauce and fat. I mean keeping it simple and as close as possible to the way God made them.

A good place to begin is to add two fruit snacks per day, one in the morning and one in the evening. I recommend sticking with the higher-fiber fruits, like apples, pears, oranges or a cup of frozen berries.

For vegetables, I’d recommend adding at least two servings of green vegetables for lunch and dinner. This can be a salad, some steamed broccoli, spinach, stir-fry vegetables or turnip greens. These vegetables provide tons of vitamins, minerals and fiber to fill you up but with little calories. They will become your best friend in your weight-loss quest.

Physical Freedom Assignment

Check out the following website: World’s Healthiest Foods. Under the fruit and vegetable listings, choose a few that you like. Start planning how you can include those in your daily diet as recommended above. If you want to start with adding one fruit or vegetable, that’s OK. Just work your way up, and stay the course.

Kimberly Taylor is the author of The Weight Loss Scriptures and many other books. Once 240 pounds and a size 22, she can testify of God’s goodness and healing power. Visit and receive more free health and weight-loss tips.

Our world, in big ways and small, gives a wink and a nod to dishonesty. This makes it difficult to bring up children who are fully committed to truthfulness.

So, how do we teach our children to tell the truth even when it’s hard? There are lots of ways, and they all start early:

1. It’s never cute. There’s a great temptation to overlook the dishonesty of preschoolers because we’re a little charmed and amused by it. But it lays a foundation that will be hard to undo down the road. Save yourself the extra work by catching the lies of little tykes and correcting them immediately.

2. Watch the back door. Often, dishonesty in our children doesn’t come barreling in the front door with a big whopper of a lie. It starts small, with a little fudging of the facts or an omission of key information. But it’s intentionally deceptive—and they know it. When you’re talking with your children, listen intently. It’s the only way you’ll pick up on the telltale signs of a misleading story and be able to blow the whistle and correct the habit.

3. Practice what you preach. The only way to teach a life of honesty and integrity is to live one in front of your children. They hear every word you say on the phone and to your spouse, and they’re as able to spot deception as you are. If your children find you rationalizing how your dishonesty is OK, they’ll do the same. So before you say, “Tell them I’m not home,” think again.

4. Explain the impact it has on relationships. Honesty is important not just because it’s the officially sanctioned right thing to do. God’s laws always have our best interest at heart. It’s important because good relationships are built on trust, and trust can’t exist without honesty. If you catch your children lying on Monday, how can you trust them on Tuesday? Help them understand the long-term consequences of dishonesty by letting them suffer some of those consequences now.

5. Stop them when you see it coming. You know those situations where your child will be tempted to play with the facts: when they’re explaining their actions or faced with the possibility of being disciplined. Before you even ask for the explanation, remind your child what the standard of honesty is in your home and that they will only create a greater problem by lying now.

6. Don’t let the details dictate whether the lack of honesty is important. Parenting is hard work, and sometimes we’re tempted to overlook dishonesty in our children if the lie doesn’t involve something of obvious importance. But a total commitment to honesty in all things only comes about when there are no small lies. Take the time to correct your child, even when the deception seems immaterial.

What are some ways you teach honesty to your kids? Please share them below.

Mark Merrill is the president of Family First. For the original article, visit .

Do you believe that it is possible for your circumstances to be transformed?

Without this belief, you will easily give up when faced with the slightest challenge in maintaining good health habits. You are going to need all the faith you can muster to stick with this process long term.

“He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform” (Rom. 4:20-21).

Once you are fully convinced on the inside that achieving your ideal weight is possible, then it is only a matter of time before your changes show up on the outside. Strengthening your faith and following through on what you say you are going to do makes it happen.

I heard a story the other day that illustrates this point. Two farmers prayed to God for rain. However, only one prepared his fields to receive it. Which farmer do you think showed greater faith?

If you believe that you will release the excess weight and have prayed to receive greater health, then ask yourself: What am I doing to demonstrate that I’m ready to receive it? Whatever it is, take action on it right now. Give God your best, and He will handle the rest.

Physical Freedom Tip

To lose weight, maintaining a stable blood sugar is critical. How often you do you eat currently? Are you eating breakfast? If not, then it’s recommended that you start.

Statistics show that those who eat breakfast maintain a lower weight than those who do not. Otherwise you stay in starvation mode, and in that state your body wants to hold on to as much fat as it can because it doesn’t trust it will be fed regularly. If you are used to skipping meals, then that will need to change as well.

Adjust your eating pattern so that you strive to eat three smaller meals and two snacks each day, if needed. Pay attention to your hunger level to determine the right eating pattern that fits you. Again, the watchword is smaller because you won’t lose weight if you are eating this often but your meals are large.

If you eat smaller meals in which you are comfortable but not stuffed, then this keeps your blood sugar stable. It also helps you avoid overeating in the evening, when your body is less likely able to handle an excess of calories.

Physical Freedom Assignment

Write down your vision of better health, and review it each day. First thing in the morning is a good time to do it. Keep it by your bed and read it. Take a few moments, close your eyes and see the vision in your mind as if it already exists. This will strengthen your faith and give you an edge in following through on your eating goals. Also work on your physical freedom tip. Using your food journal will also help you assess how often you eat as well as what you are eating. Knowledge is power! 

Kimberly Taylor is the author of The Weight Loss Scriptures and many other books. Once 240 pounds and a size 22, she can testify of God’s goodness and healing power. Visit and receive more free health and weight-loss tips.