Feel the Burn!

At some point or another we have all had to gain “stamina” in some aspect of the development of our physical bodies; some more than others. Stamina is simply defined as enduring physical or mental energy and strength that allows somebody to do something for a long time. Whether you have had to prepare to run a marathon, played organized sports, or simply shot hoops in the neighborhood park, in order to have been effective you had to have the stamina to perform the task at hand. I can recall a few years ago, as a body building enthusiast, during one of my intense “back day” work-out sessions having a revelation that was a direct parallel to the challenges of life. On this particular day I was lifting heavy as I often did on back days doing some dead lifts and I remember feeling a burning sensation in my lower back and hamstrings that I never felt before. The burn was so intense I almost threw up right there in the gym. I had already done 30 minutes of an intense cardio routine, quite a few sets of rows, bent-over rows, weighted pull-ups, back crunches, etc.

I was so fatigued at this point that I was just about to quit. But at that moment I recalled to mind the picture of my preferable future which at that time was to have a massive physique like that of 4-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman. What was I to do? I could have stopped short and clocked out for the day but then I would be no different than the guy next to me who seemed to be struggling with 225 lbs on the bench press. No, ordinary is off limits! I had to push beyond the burn until I accomplished my pre determined workout plan for that day. I learned quickly that pushing the body to the point of muscle failure (not muscle fatigue) adds a great deal to muscle volume and strength. In short, it produces muscle stamina through perseverance. Perseverance is an interesting term that we use quite frequently but few of us actually maximize its benefits. Simply stated, perseverance means “endurance”.

On the other hand, just as continued and prolonged strain on our muscles causes an increase in muscular girth and strength, so do trials and tribulation produce our spiritual musculature. Moreover, as in the case of physical exercise, trials and tribulations produce endurance and perseverance when we exercise faith during difficult times. This gives us a new perspective of looking at the challenges that life may bring our way. Instead of choosing to be shaken when the vicissitudes of life come our way, as they often do, we can rather be encourage that what is actually happening is that our spiritual muscles are getting worked out which in turn leads to spiritual growth. Spiritual growth, like muscular growth is not an easy thing to accomplish. If it were we would have a lot more spiritually mature people walking the face of the earth as we would Mr. Olympia’s. The fact is that spiritual growth only comes about through the testing of your faith trough trials and tribulations which in turn produce patience and perseverance.

     “My brother, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing.” -Jas 1:2-4

Though it maybe unpleasant, such faith has its inherit rewards.

     “If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us.” -2 Tim 2:12

The bottom line is that our ability to endure and ultimately persevere is directly proportional to our willingness to be faithful and committed to the process. So the next time life throws you a curve ball, instead of getting upset and distraught, simply celebrate the opportunity that God has allowed for your spiritual growth to take place. Don’t stop short of the intended target; fight your way through the burn! If you do, in time, you certainly shall receive the benefits of your faithfulness.

     “And let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” -Gal 6:9

Remember also, that faithfulness is not only being faithful in your belief of what God says about you, but also it is being faithfully committed to the process of success. So now for all of you who are un-athletically inclined, now you know why some of us get so revved up about spending hours in the gym pounding our bodies to the point of muscle failure, even muscle paralysis. It’s all about the Burn. The burn is the evidence of growth. Don’t run from it; run to it. Without it, you can be sure no growth is taking place. Think about it!!!

God Bless

Why Do We Need to Eat?

This question, though seemingly simplistic in nature, is one that actually is very complex. That is to say, it is the most fundamental of all questions surrounding health and nutrition. However, many of us really do not have a real good concept of why we eat. The evidence of this fact can be found in our lack of knowledge (or concern for that matter) about what we should or should not consume as a part of our diets. Once we gain a better functional definition of why we eat then we will be better equipped to take control of our eating habits. The sole designed purpose of ingesting food is to nourish (supply) the body with the raw materials that it needs to function and do work. In short, food is our fuel source. Without it, we cannot function normally and therefore cannot do what we were created to do, which is to discover and to live out our individual destinies. Why then if food or the lack there of, is such an important part of our destiny, do we neglect to take the art of eating more seriously? For the majority of us, when we eat, we are simply trying to satisfy our primordial palate. We never really take the time to stop and think about what we are actually putting into our bodies. If we did, we wouldn’t consume many of the items that we push off as food in this fast paced modern society.

Food, if consumed properly can be the building block to unlocking all of your un-tapped potential. On the other hand, improper food consumption can be as deadly as a loaded double barreled shotgun with a hair trigger. Due to our lack of restraint concerning our eating habits, we have eaten ourselves into a myriad of health problems. These include but are not limited to diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and even cancer. The fact is that each of these diseases are not diseases at all, but rather conditions that result largely from prolonged abuse and misuse of our bodies due to our poor eating behaviors. However, there is some good news in having said all of this. If we can eat our way into poor health then we can conclude that we can also eat our way back to good health! It all starts with behavior. We must first endure a shift in our eating paradigm. We must unlearn everything that we learned as being healthy and proper eating habits. We need a new way. That is why I have personally invented a brand new eating concept called “Cooking with Love”. Cooking with love is my approach to preparing tasty yet “healthier” meals using a few basic and fundamental concepts.

First of all, the very first thing we need to do is to begin to do away with many of the bad eating habits that have been engrained in us since childhood. We’ll do this by consciously and diligently forming new habits that will help break the bondage that food currently has over us. God declares that He is a jealous God and that we should place no other gods before Him. Unfortunately, many of us have resulted to idolatry through our eating habits. What do I mean by this? Simply put, our failure to regulate and exert control of our eating indicates that something other than God has rulership over us. This phenomena is more prevalent in some of us more so than others, but as a rule we have all had our bouts with food. Whether we struggle with weight issues or not, to some degree we all have allowed food in some form or another to control our behavior. This my dear friends is idolatry.

Click here to test your success!

Featured CDs are coming soon!

Featured Health CDs:

Related Links:

Link 1 Link 2 Link 3