I am commonly asked what is my “Pre-workout drink” of choice and my opinion of some of the more popular “energy drinks”. So, as always, I am willing to help, thru my experiences. I going to assume that anyone reading this blog is very familiar with the main ingredients of the popular energy drinks, which is Caffeine, and a Sugar, or another type of sweetener. Listed below is the amount of Caffeine contained in the more popular drinks such as Monster, Red-Bull, Bang, & Coffee. According the Nutritional Facts label, Red Bull & Monster brand has the largest amount of sugar per serving. It’s undebatable that processed sugars isn’t the best ingredients to consume, which leads me to choose the lowest amount of processed sugars. In addition to choosing the lower processed sugars, I prefer to consume coffee, which is a drink that has been consume for hundreds of years. So the long term affects are more visible than which the other energy drinks available. In conclude this is Only my opinion, so research your own data and decide for yourself.

The COVID pandemic is definitely a household term today. Everywhere, we are encouraged to wear face masks, wash hands & the distance ourselves from one another. Not saying all these precautions are unnecessary however one precaution seems to be neglected or not mentioned. It’s amazing how well the human body can protect itself from multiple illnesses & ailments when it’s fueled consistently with nutritious food & regular fun exercise. Think of it this way, if we know a Boxing match is coming up, & I fell to condition my body for the match then the gloves, trunks or boots provides very little help in the match.

Naaman, a mighty man of valor, that was also a leper. A girl that worked for Naaman’s wife. She said to her, there is a prophet in Samaria that would cure him of his leprosy.” The man’s name is Elisha. So Naaman stood at the door of Elisha’s house. Now Elisha sent a servant to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean. But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leprosy. However Elisha did not come to the door himself. But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? He gave you a accurate way to be clean from leprosy. So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored. He was clean.

Now in the modern day. We have a physical need. We are told of a certain doctor that can cure us. We arrive at the doctor’s office, the nurse gathers the information & lab results. The doctor sends word to alter to food intake & activity level. We get angry, because we expect a big in-depth exam, along with a list of medications, surgeries, or a combinations of them all.

See Any similarities?

Please God in give us wisdom & self-control.

There is

A debate in Christian circles today whether a blood-brought, Jesus loving Christian should practice the martial arts. We will look at the big three views today and try to gather some light on the subject.

First, some people’s opinion is because of its origin places where several man made religions are dominate. So their opinion is, no martial art form should be practiced by Christians. However, only thinking that an non christian is enough grounds for rejecting the martial arts creates a mental hang-up.  This logic of  the origin of  the practice was wrong, we should also are forced to reject several other things such as, medical advancements, astronomy, and chemistry.  Because they stem from man made religions. As a general rule, is better to try to learn how much of an influence how it aligns with the God breathed Scriptures before prematurely discarding it.

The Second view argues that as long as the Christian divorces the religious aspects  man made religions from the martial arts, he or she may practice them. For example  Aikido, which means “the way to union with the universal force.” This Universal force also known as “Life-force” is known as “chi.” The objective of Aikido is to control both self and environment. In other word Meekness and avoidance of violence,  as with regards the teaching of Christianity, however it is unalterably steeped in man-made religion.  Another Martial art is Jujitsu which involves many techniques of grabbing and throwing of the body to the floor. Also techniques Jujitsu concentrates on applying stress on the human joints maneuvering “Off your feet” procedures. Both of these forms have a very low spiritual emphasis.  Karate is a martial art that does involves meditation, which stresses of emptying the mind from surrounding distractions. This usually the hairy point of the debate due to the word meditation,Nevertheless, since Karate is primarily a physical martial art, the meditation aspect can be divorced from it OR controlled.  Kung Fu is a “melting pot” of different styles. The majority of the traditional forms stick close to their Buddhist philosophical roots, while the less traditional forms concentrate more on the physical traits. Ninjitsu. is the martial art the was a huge crazy when I was a boy. The Ninjas try to assimilate themselves with nature in order to be more sneaky in their tasks. The Ninjitsu’s spiritual view is pantheism (all is God), which is a huge contradiction to Christianity’s view that God is the Creator of the universe (Gen. 1:1-2).  Probably one of the more known martial art is Tae Kwon Do. It is the martial art that has grown to be more sport-oriented form of the martial arts.

So, Should a Christian practice Martial Arts?  My Answer is “It depends!”Ultimately, it depends upon the instructor. IF the instructor promotes ANYTHING other than Jesus being the Sinless Son of God that die and rose again to paid OUR Sin debt, then, my Christian brother you should avoid that school. IF, the instructor divorces the practice of the martial art from the philosophy behind it, then the Christian may, in good con­science, participate.

In conclusion the debate of that the martial arts should be avoided because of its violent nature. Jesus DID NOT SAY combating was morally wrong (Matt. 8:5-13). Moreover, Jesus instructed the disciples to take a Defensive sword with them as the time of His arrest by the authorities approached (Luke 22:36). The apostle Paul speaks of a legitimate use of force by the government in punishing wrongdoers (Rom. 13:1-5).  Please note that the  above verses here have led us to see the  Christians can conclude that the Bible does not condemn self-defense and that the use of force is sometimes justified. Please recognize that the issue of self-defense is one that must be determined by each individual believer’s conscience.  WE must be careful not to cause a weaker Christian to stumble by attempting to force against their conviction(Rom. 14). Finally, We Christians should pray, and examine our own conscience and listen to the Holy Spirit guidance.  This will insure our motives and actions are of  proper alignment to God’s Will.

It’s amazing how well we all are influenced by other people. Complete strangers can walk by us on the street, beach, shopping mall, grocery store, & anywhere!, Are miraculously endowed with superpowers of making us feel insecure of our clothes, shoes, jewels, bodies, without speaking a single word. Especially if it’s a member of the opposite sex.

This could be a awesome tool when used Wisely for the right purpose. A pleasant smile or a cheerful good morning without a hidden agenda will Linger in someone’s mind longer than you may think. Give it a try and watch the Holy Spirit work!

Knowing the path and walking are sometimes two very different things. For example many of us are quick to offer advise about HOW to lose weight, however the one step in front of the other implementation of losing weight may enough give google search a challenge. I can sympathize all too well we anyone facing this issue.

 

Tipping the scales at 340 lbs. along with being over 42 years old. I learned A Path to walk down. I stress A path because in hind sight my path is NOT the only path to travel however the principles are the same.

Principles of Eat as nutritiously as you can, Find an activity that YOU enjoy, whether basketball, calisthenics, even roller skating. Then do it Consistently!!!

Consistency is the common denominator across ALL the paths to Fitness. After all consist UN-healthy lifestyles led most of us to our present situations. Keep training and have fun!!