Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the slave born in your household, and the alien as well, may be refreshed. —Exodus 23:12 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Refreshed! Boy that's often hard in any time, but it's especially hard in August, isn't it? It's either the dead of summer or the dead of winter depending on which side of the equator you find yourself. Either way, we need to hear God's desire for all of us to be refreshed and to allow those around us to be refreshed in his presence, his grace, and his rest. My Prayer... Forgive me, God, for being so busy being busy that I don't intentionally take time to be refreshed in your rest. Teach me gently, Father, that I need this weekly rest in your presence and with my family to be all that you want me to be, and all that I can be. Restore my soul, O God, and fill me with your restful joy. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
1. Eat plenty of fiber, including brown rice and organically-grown fresh fruits and vegetables. Beets, radishes, artichokes, cabbage, broccoli, spirulina, chlorella, and seaweed are excellent detoxifying foods.
2. Cleanse and protect the liver by taking herbs such as dandelion root, burdock and milk thistle, and drinking green tea.
3. Take vitamin C, which helps the body produce glutathione, a liver compound that drives away toxins.
4. Drink at least two quarts of water a day.
5. Breathe deeply to allow oxygen to circulate more completely through your system.
6. Transform stress by emphasizing positive emotions.
7. Practice hydrotherapy by taking a very hot shower for five minutes, allowing the water to run on your back. Follow with cold water for 30 seconds. Do this three times, and then get into bed for 30 minutes.
8. Sweat in a sauna so your body can eliminate wastes through perspiration.
9. Dry-brush your skin or try detox foot spas/foot baths to remove toxins through your pores. Special brushes are available at natural products stores.
10. What is the most important way to detoxify? Exercise. Yoga or jump-roping are good. One hour every day. Also try Qigong, a martial-arts based exercise system that includes exercises specifically for detoxifying or cleansing, as well as many other exercises with specific health benefits.
In him [Jesus our Lord] and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. —Ephesians 3:12 Thoughts on Today's Verse... In Christ we are given so many freedoms — freedom from law, sin, death, etc. But one of the greatest freedoms we have is to boldly come before the Creator of the universe, the God of all time and creation, and speak openly and confidently with him. Incredibly, we mortals can enter God's world with our problems and be confident that he hears us and cares about our concerns. My Prayer... Almighty and most holy God, I know that without your grace and attentive care my requests to you would go unheeded. But I also am confident that because I am your child, my requests matter to you. Thank you for hearing my prayers each day. Thank you for caring about my concerns. Thank you for being patient with my impatience and tender with my frustrations. Most of all, Father, thank you for the freedom to do what I have no right or power to do — to invade your world with my concerns and be welcomed by you there. In Jesus' name. Amen.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. —Galatians 5:1 Thoughts on Today's Verse... We have been set free! We are delivered from law, sin, and death. We have been set free to serve God and share in his grace eternally. So how will we use that freedom? My Prayer... God of freedom and grace, please give me your Spirit of wisdom to understand more fully all the ways that you have blessed me. Please help me use those blessings to share your grace with my family and friends. May I never take for granted your gifts or abuse my freedoms won at such great cost. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
We have sinned, even as our fathers did; we have done wrong and acted wickedly. —Psalm 106:6 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Sin is nothing new. The candor of Scripture allows us to see the stupidities and rebelliousness of God's people in the past. We can be convicted by their lost opportunities and the disasters they brought upon themselves. We can also be reminded how little difference there often is between them and us. My Prayer... Father, I know my sin, my rebellion, and my unfaithfulness have hurt you and your cause today every bit as much as the sins of those in the Bible hurt in the past. Please forgive and strengthen me as I seek to live a life holy and pleasing to you and a blessing to those around me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Ouch! Ughhh! Cramps can be so painful and annoying. Lucky for you, a little stretching can go a long way in relieving cramps. Light exercise during your periods can help ease the heavy, bloated (puffy) feeling you sometimes get while on your period. Workouts that stretch your body are best. Here are a three awesome stretches that are great for relieving PMS cramps:
1. Wide Leg Forward Bend Start by sitting on the floor with your legs out in front of you, and then separate them as far apart as you can get them. Reach out each arm to the coordinating leg, keeping your back upright and straight, and hold on to your toes, or clasp your ankles lightly. Breathe in and hold your diaphragm (the muscle under your ribs) up and in. Holding this position, take a few deep breaths. As you breathe out for the last time, bend forward toward the floor and exhale. 2. Butterfly Stretch Sit on the floor with your knees open and bent at the sides, with the soles of your feet together in front of your groin. Clasp your hands under your toes, or hold your ankles. Press the soles of your feet together and breathe in, deeply expanding your chest and lifting your diaphragm, as described above. Raise your head a little, and feel your stomach expand. Breathe in and out deeply into your stomach four or five times. 3. Knee to Chest Stretch Lie on your back with one leg stretched out, and pull the other knee up toward your chin. Clasp your knee with your arms to ease the strain and then hold the posture, relaxing for a few minutes.
I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. —Ezekiel 36:23 Thoughts on Today's Verse... Ever wondered what would happen if all of God's people from every nation would humble themselves in repentance and ask God to reveal his holiness to the nations? My Prayer... Almighty and holy God, I am so sorry for my sins that have tarnished your witness through me to my friends. I am sorry for the sins of my nation and how we have turned from your way. Please forgive us and move in a mighty way to reveal yourself in our day, in all your holiness. In the name of Christ Jesus I pray. Amen.
Teenage girls who don't like to exercise is hardly big news. No matter how many times you're told how important physical activity is for good health and overall fitness, the number of girls who remain inactive is astounding. Maybe it's because we associate exercise with the games we were all forced to play in elementary school...hopscotch, jump rope, kickball and (worst of all) dodge ball. Or maybe there are other factors at work. If we asked you why you don't exercise more, what would you say? Is it that you have no time? Or you're too tired? Or you don't like to sweat and mess up your hair? Is it too hard to make the school team? Are you afraid of developing big muscles? Or would you just rather go shopping? In one more attempt to motivate you to incorporate more exercise into your lives, see how many of the following statements you think are true.
1. A recent study found that many girls, ages 11–17 said they don't play sports because they get tired of being involved in specific sports or physical activities. 2. Researchers have found that adolescent girls are gaining weight because they are consuming more calories. 3. Girls form 40% of their bone mass during adolescence. Calcium has the strongest effect on growing bones during those years. 4. How much she weighs determines how most girls feel when they look in the mirror. 5. Teenage girls have never liked to exercise. Not much has changed through the years. 6. Exercise might develop greater muscle strength and stamina, but as far as mood is concerned, it's all about hormones.
Would you be surprised to learn that every statement above is false? 1. That study found sadly that girls say they don't play sports because they don't feel skilled or competent enough, and they are embarrassed that their bodies don't look good in exercise clothes. 2. What researchers found was that it was the steep decline in physical activity during the teenage years, not a sudden increase in calories that was largely responsible for the weight gain commonly seen among adolescent girls. 3. Exercise, not calcium, may have the strongest effect on growing bones. The more a teen girl participated in sports, the stronger her bones were, no matter how much milk she drank. 4. Girls who are physically active are more satisfied with how they look and how much they weigh, regardless of their actual weight. 5. The American College of Sports Medicine found there is an 83% decrease in the amount of activity in girls 16–19! These girls had plenty of sleep and just as much free time as those kids who found enough time to exercise. 6. Aerobic exercise, like walking, jogging, swimming and most sports, increases the flow of oxygen to the brain as well as the heart, so you think clearer and faster. Exercise increases the brain's production of endorphins, the anti-stress hormones that not only relieve pain naturally, but help make you calm and happy. This improved mood might be why people who exercise regularly eat less junk food! So take the stairs. Stretch while standing in line. Walk wherever you can. Hide the remote control. For your body and your mind, your mood and your confidence, today and in the future, upgrade your activities and schedule some exercise into your life!
