Spirtual Lifestyle: Great Plans for You 

By Pastor Frank Riley

For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future! So reads Jeremiah 29:11 and so comes a reminder as you head into a new year. Have you ever thought about it? The Lord has plans for you! No matter how chaotic or by chance the world around you seems, the Scriptures give you the great comfort of knowing that God has a specific path for you. Yet so often as we go through life, we give little thought to a specific plan and direction for our life. As a result, we often move from month to month and year to year just listlessly floating along. But get this, if as believers we buy into God's promise that there is a plan, then for us, we are empowered to look to the future and to seek His guidance and will for each day and more than that into the future of all the days God has given us.

So as you move into 2012, here is the challenge, look ahead and pray for wisdom from the Lord to make plans for the year. And this year, as you do, begin each objective seeking to make God a part of the plan in full faith and confidence that you are already part of plan far greater than you can think or imagine, a plan authored and dreamed for you by the Creator of the universe Himself!

Spirtual Lifestyle:  Prayer 

By Deacon Aaron Wessman

There you are, facing only about ten solid minutes where you know you can enter into some good prayer.  You close your eyes, breathe, and begin resting in the Lord.  And almost like clockwork the distractions come: bills, your kid's activities, a fight you had with your spouse, the deadline for your project at work...  Then there's discouragement, frustration, doubt.  You almost give up. 

At that moment, the moment where prayer is the most tedious, is the moment of sure grace.  Oftentimes it is at that moment where we want to give up that we truly enter into our prayer.  Because here is the moment where prayer stops becoming an action that we accomplish, but rather, an action that God accomplishes through us.  At this moment, we begin to realize that all of those distractions actually were our prayer.  That the people, activities and worries that were coming into our mind as we attempted to pray actually were our prayer.  As each person and idea comes into our mind, we bring them to the loving presence of our Lord, who holds them and cares for them--just as He is caring for us.

Spiritual Lifestyle:  Making Time for Worship

By Tony Guerrero, (Former Dir. of Worship & Creative Arts, Saddleback Church, Orange, CA )

By Dr. Deb Peterson

As we get ready to start 2012, most of us create New Year's resolutions that may include taking better care of ourselves. With that in mind, here are a few health tips to think about as we start the New Year.

1.   Remember the hierarchy that God wants us to follow: God first, self second, spouse third, children fourth and others fifth. 

Putting God first means taking daily time alone with Him in His Word.

2.  Take care of your physical self. This means taking time to exercise for 30-45 minutes at least 3 to 4 days per week. If you can't afford chunks of time that large, then try 20 minutes 5 to 6 days per week. This means getting 6-7 hours of sleep each night, drinking plenty of water (at least 64 ounces per day) and watching your caloric intake (for most women, no more than 1500-1800 calories daily and for most men, 1800-2200 calories daily). Take time for family meals.  

3.   Repetition helps build healthy habits and makes them feel "natural". Hang in there if changes are hard to make initially.

God wants us to be our best selves so that we can live our "Best Life" for Him! Happy New Year!

Yours in Health & in Him,

Dr. Deb 

 Healthy Lifestyle:  Embracing Creativity  By: Dr. Justin 

 When I think of living your best life I think of one word, MOTION. In today's society, being sedentary is almost a stable. If it is at work, at home watching TV, or what we choose to do on the weekends, it seems that we are continually being sedentary.   To live our best life this new year we need to put our lives and plans into motion. Get up and take a walk around the office, go outside and play with the kids, or actually use the gym membership we all pay for. Exercise decreases painful joints, works as an anti-depressant, and most of all lifts ones spirits. Individuals who exercise regularly choose more appropriate snacks and activities, and in the long run, live longer, healthier lives. So lets live our best lives in 2012 and add a little motion to our days.

Yours in Your Best Health,

Dr. Justin Hildebrand, DDC
 

 Healthy Lifestyle:  Eating Healthy By:  Josh Garland 

In a world of fast food, drive throughs, TV dinners and prepackaged meals, it can be extremely easy, and convenient to eat large amounts of unhealthy food. However, with a little bit of planning, and some creativity, cooking healthy meals at home can be a relatively easy and fun task. Likewise, it can be budget friendly, and fast. Eating healthfully not only benefits your body, but it fuels your mind, makes you feel good about yourself, and improves your overall, long term health. So do yourself a favor, eat right.

I personally recommend Dave Ramsey's "Debt Snowball Method"

1)  Don't worry about interest rate and stop using credit cards

2) Create a budget and find some areas for cost savings. ($100)

3) Take the card with the SMALLEST BALANCE  & pay minimum monthly payment (say its $200) + the extra $100. Pay the $300 towards that card until it's paid off. Still pay the minimum monthly payment on the higher balance card during this time.

4) Once the 1st card is paid off, apply that $300 that you are paying on the low balance card PLUS the minimum monthly payment of the high balance card (say its $400) and pay it every month. You will be applying $700 a month until it's all gone.

5) Take that $700 and start applying it to the minimum car payment that you have. Pretty soon you will have your car paid off and you can start focusing on other loans or your mortgage.

End result: Debt free except for your mortgage, all because you found an extra $100 from doing a budget and cutting expenses! Be committed and disciplined and you can achieve financial freedom from debt!

Meditate & Memorize These Scriptures to Help Break Strongholds Over Your Heart & Mind  

1.      Negative Attitude~ Proverbs 15: 15 "A miserable heart means a miserable life; a cheerful heart fills the day with song."

2.     Poor Choices ~Prov. 5:1-2 "Dear friend, pay close attention to this, my wisdom; listen very closely to the way I see it.  Then you'll acquire a taste for good sense; what I tell you will keep you out of trouble."

3.     Overspending~ Proverbs 13:7 "A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life."

4.     Resentment~ Proverbs 13:12  "Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn life around."

5.     Running late~ Prov. 10:5 "Make hay while the sun shines-that's smart."

6.     Gossip~ Proverbs 11:13 "A gadabout gossip can't be trusted with a secret, but someone of integrity won't violate a confidence." 

7.      Critical Spirit ~Prov. 10:31 "A good person's mouth is a clear fountain of wisdom.

8.     Self Absorbed~ Prov. 11:28b " A God-shaped life is a flourishing tree."

9.     Greedy-Prov. 11:24  "The world of the generous gets larger and larger."

10.  Lazy~ Proverbs 12:24 "A lazy life is an empty life, but "early to rise" gets the job done."

All scripture from The Message