Thankful for What?

"Into every life a little rain must fall"...no really? In the world in which we find ourselves, it is easy to think that we are "under the circumstances", after all we are in a recession, financial woes affect us all, the pressures of this old world are nipping at our heels, and none of us are getting any younger.

Depressed yet? That's not my intent. To elevate our attitude to one of gratitude one needs only spend a few moments reflecting on the counting of blessings received. That's not to say that will make the bad times disappear, but it does make the balance a little more truthful.

We are blessed beyond measure when we consider that "every good and perfect gift comes from above". Life, health, joy, happiness, everything we find enjoyable and precious is a gift from a loving Heavenly Father who wants to shower His children with joy. The trouble is we are living on a sin-infested world that filters the love and joy at times, and tries to distract us from the knowledge or the appreciation of the wonderful things we have been given.

This Thanksgiving, I hope you will take some time to stop and count your blessings. This year I am thankful I still have the opportunity to spend time with my parents, my brother and sister and their families, and have all my family alongside me.

I am thankful I have a wonderful group of friends that treat me better than I treat them so often. I am thankful that God has chosen me to be a minister of His precious Gospel, heaven only knows what He was thinking when He chose me, but I'm glad He did.

But most of all I am thankful that it's not all about the here and now. "I have a future in heaven for sure, there in those mansions sublime". I thank God for the glorious gift of His only begotten Son Jesus, who came to earth in the form of a baby, lived a sinless live, suffered a death He did not deserve, was laid in a borrowed tomb, then was resurrected three days later triumphant over death, hell and the grave, and who now sits at the right hand of the Father waiting the instructions to come gather to Himself all those who have trusted Him as Savior and Lord.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I love you!

I love you and want you to live a happy healthy life!

Ok, you might think this is a commercial and I guess in the strictest of terms it is BUT...

I have found something that makes so much sense it's almost a no-brainer and I want to share it with you.

Back in February I was having a particularly low day so I had to make a decision, go drown my sorrows in a sack full of chocolate-filled donuts or go check out the new gym in town that my wife and I had been talking about. I'm happy to say I chose the latter.
I drove into the parking lot and found the door locked so I called the number on the door...no answer. I drove off thinking I should have gone to the donut shop. Then my phone rang. That was the first time I spoke to Ryan. Ryan Parker owns and manages the local Anytime Fitness franchise in Jacksonville and is one of the coolest guys I've ever met. He invited me back in to look around and hung a U-ey and went back. That's one of the best decisions I've made.

I looked around at the clean, complete facility and joined up immediately. This is not the first gym I've ever joined but I've been faithful to workout 3 to 5 times a week every week since that day.

Ryan is a very well versed health professional with degrees in Kinesiology and Nutrition and lots of impressive experience as a bodybuilder and MMA fighter. Plus, he's a heck of a motivator. He's interested...no passionate...about the health and wellness of others and works very hard to help them attain both. Toward that end he introduced me to Kangen Water. The word "Kangen" means back to origin. It's a Japanese word developed by a Japanese company that uses electrolysis to literally reconstruct water molecules separating water into acidic and alkaline (ph), filtering out the bad chemicals, additives, and pollutants while preserving the necessary minerals and vitamins present in tap water.

Wouldn't it be easier to just drink bottled water? Easier maybe, but think about it. How expensive is bottled water? Who is monitoring bottled water with regards to quality control, truth in advertising, and basic consumer safety...answer, basically no one! Most bottled water is just tap water in a new container. Reverse osmosis water is actually unhealthy and some brands have actually been banned in Europe. This "dead water" actually leeches minerals, calcium and other nutrients out of your body! Then there's the problem of the plastic containers leaching (if I use both spellings one has to be right!) chemicals out to the plastic into the water. Did you know that the plastic that water bottles is made of begins to seep Dioxin and other chemicals at 88 degrees, what are the chances that bottle has been kept under 88 degrees from bottling plant to retailer? Yeah none! Plus, the pollution from all these water bottles is staggering. Google the "great garbage reef" and watch with amazements the size of these things!

Long story short. The water is awesome, it tastes good, it's easy to drink, and it's great for you! Please come to my Water meeting, my "Hydration Education Celebration". It's this Saturday, Nov. 7th, in the dining hall of Faith Baptist Church. 109 Tanglewood Dr. North Little Rock (56th & Camp Robinson) at 9:00. You'll be amazed at how important the right water can be for your life, your health and your wellness!

Change your water, change your life!