(Volume 39)  August 2009

Inside This Issue:

Welcome

Who is New Beginnings 

What’s New-

    August 2009 Feature Article-

     Monthly Fitness Tips-

     Monthly Physical Fitness Article-

      Monthly Devotional-

      Team News/Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

      What Have you Been Reading?

          Book Recommendation

          Your Recommendations Related to the Monthly Topic

Upcoming Events- 

Reminders-Church Link

Word of Encouragement           

New Beginnings Scripture for August

Our Mission Statement

 Welcome-

Welcome to the New Beginnings Holistic Fitness Ministries family. We consider it a privilege to support your fitness efforts. We welcome your suggestions and ideas, so please let us know if there is anything we can do to make your experience with the monthly newsletter, website, weekly messages or message board more beneficial. We can be contacted at contactus@mynewtemple.org. It is our prayer to bring you words of encouragement and inspiration to motivate you to become fit physically, emotionally, spiritually and relationally. This is your New Beginning and we want to make it an awesome experience for you. As you begin this new adventure we are praying for you.

 Who are we?

New Beginnings is a fitness ministry established in 2003 to offer a holistic approach to fitness that includes mind, body and spirit. A fitness ministry also serves to help people help themselves through physical and spiritual exercise. At New Beginnings we believe good health is a gift from God and can be obtained by following biblical principles as we lead a balanced life physically, mentally, spiritually and relationally.

 What’s New?

For the last several months we have been working on bringing up two brand new fitness communities. We hope that one of them will work for you and help you to accomplish your fitness goals.

Check out our new websites. Our free site is set up to allow you to encourage each other and blog www.mynbfitnesscommunity.com. If you have made progress in the area of physical fitness on the mynbfitnesscommunity site you are a personal trainer.

Are You Ready For More of The Fitness Angel? Check out the free preview of his new site

www.justlikemefitness.com

This new paid site www.justlikemefitness.com is one that will give you more access to him and isn't that just what you want? It will also give you the ability to see new videos, participate in conference calls, set up grocery lists and your own personal training program with His Royal Highness The Fitness Angel leading you. He is very excited and looks forward to providing all the support you need to achieve your weight loss and fitness goals. The only thing you have to lose is weight and inches and the promise of getting more physically fit so join one of the sites today. (The Fitness Angel promised to make a donation to New Beginnings for every referral we make to the paid site, so please sign up today. But if — due the economy — this just does not fit in your budget, join the free site and be encouraged there until you are able to upgrade.)

 Monthly Feature Article-

The Golden Rule of Relationships-
4Give and U Will B 4Given
By Angela Willingham

I feel like my spirit has been in a position of automatic forgiveness this week. Nothing seemed to bother me or be able to get me engaged in behavior or an attitude that would force me to have to seek forgiveness for not forgiving someone else and it was a rough week.

• Car accident
• No available rental cars
• Missed meeting with my pastor and his wife
• Poor directions to an offsite meeting
• Unreturned calls to my business partner
• Crazy situations at work and then it happened.........another test from one of my biggest foes

The people and the situations are not our enemies. God is testing, training and equipping us. I did not get to this point in my life by accident, I have been through God’s boot camp on this one.

Forgiveness was necessary for Jesus to fulfill His purpose of salvation and it is necessary if we are going to fulfill our purposes as well. It is necessary for us to be good:

• Christians
• Spouses
• Parents
• Friends
• Co-workers
• Witnesses for Christ

You might say, but I am not Jesus. You don’t know what happened. You don’t understand what they did to me. You don’t know how much it hurt. You don’t understand-they did it on purpose. I know. I do understand, but better than that God understands. In Matthew 18:33-35 the bible says, 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters[a] from your heart.”

If you want to be forgiven, forgive. In your eyes they may not deserve forgiving, but if we look at some of the things we have done we may find that we don’t deserve forgiving either, but God has chosen to forgive us. Our perfect example is found in the example of Jesus. His purpose is to provide salvation for us. Did we deserve His sacrifice? No! He went to the cross for our sins, yet as the pain was shooting through His physical body, He said (Luke 23:34), “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”[a]

Everything that was done to Jesus was done on purpose, they knew what they were doing, they may not have really known, who they were doing it to. Your children, spouses, significant others, co-workers, family and friends, may not really understand who you are either. The people that have mistreated you may not know what they are doing either, but if you want to fulfill your purpose you are going to have to forgive them.

• As a pastor, who was sent to shepherd the flock and cover them in prayer, you will have to forgive them if you want to fulfill your purpose and be a good pastor.
• As a pastor’s spouse, who was sent to encourage and speak life to the body of Christ he or she is overseeing, you have watched your spouse mistreated, by unreasonable demands and expectations on your family, if you want to fulfill your purpose and be a good, supportive spouse to your mate and also remain an encouragement to the congregation you have been assigned to you will have to forgive them.
• As a parent, who provides protection, shelter and food and clothing, you have been rejected, ignored, talked back to, embarrassed and disrespected, but if you want to fulfill your purpose and be a good parent you are going to have to forgive them.
• As a spouse, who loves, encourages, ministers to and prays for your mate, you have been cheated on, spoken down to, neglected, emotionally and physically mistreated, watch them spend all the money, you know he or she is the man or woman God called you to, if you want to fulfill your purpose as a spouse you will have to forgive them. If you want to reach the place God called you to as a kingdom couple ministering to other couples that are going through the same mess you are, you are going to have to forgive them.
• As a co-worker, sent to encourage and pray for the company, to share your creative ideas and suggestions, you have been gossiped about, lied on, reprimanded for things you did not do, talked down to and treated as if you were clueless, but if you want to fulfill your assignment in that place, to be elevated to the next place God has for you, you will have to forgive them.
• As a business partner, things may not always go your way, you may find things not moving at all based on one decision or another, but if you know that is the business and the partnership God has called you to, you are going to have to forgive to fulfill your purpose.
• As a Christian and a witness for Christ, you will experience some things that are just plain unfair to the human mind, but knowing that all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose, you are going to have to forgive them.

You may be saying, you still don’t get it, they keep doing the same thing over and over and over again. My question to you is what about you? Is there a sin that you have had to ask God for forgiveness for more than once? Is that any different than what you are describing? You knew it was a sin, but you did it anyway. The question was asked how often should we forgive? The biblical answer is found in (Matthew 18:21-22), 21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone[a] who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven![b] What is your personal answer? How often do you want to be forgiven?

Forgiveness does not mean the person or situation you are dealing with is correct. It means that you have decided not to hold resentment, to let it go, to pardon them, just like God has done for you.

Take a minute and think of somebody that you are in relationship with that you know you are holding a grudge against. Somebody you need to forgive. You have not forgiven them and you need to. Maybe it was:

• The spouse that cheated on you or divorced you. Maybe they left you for someone else.
• Maybe it was the family member that molested you.
• Maybe it was the child that never showed any appreciation after all of your sacrifice.
• Maybe it is the person at your job that lied and cheated to get your position or have you fired.
• Maybe it is the parent that gave you up for adoption.
• Maybe it is the person that took advantage of the love you had to offer, knowing they did not love you in return.
• Maybe it is the person that left you to raise the children alone with no help.
• Maybe it is some past experience that keeps playing over and over in your head that needs to be released. Maybe you need to forgive yourself. Forgive yourself for some past sin or bad attitude. Forgive yourself for doing what you did because you thought you had to have whatever it was by any means necessary. Stealing someone else’s spouse, making money to support your family, maybe you were the one that lied and cheated or used sex to make it to what you thought was the top.

You need to release yourself and release them, just like you want God to release you. Take a minute to pray for yourself in this area. God may not reveal everything to you today. Forgiveness is a process. First you have to realize that there is a problem, then decide to forgive, finally work through the feelings with the help of the Holy Spirit and seek His guidance to release them. You may not feel like it is released automatically, so don’t beat yourself up if you don’t. Some of the stuff we have gone through and dealt with is deep rooted and through the love and ministry of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, prayer and the loving fellowship of other believers we can overcome.

Scripture:

Matthew 18:21-22

 21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone[a] who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven![b]

 Monthly Article For The Family-

Learning Through Loss II
By Kimberley A. McNeil

A few months ago, I spoke of the difficulties some people were having reaching out to a woman who lost her husband through suicide. Little did I know that in a few months, my family, friends and I would be facing this issue personally due to the suicide of a good friend.

As people learned of and discussed his death amongst themselves, there was a sense of disbelief that someone whom we perceived “had it all together” would kill themselves. We all questioned how we missed the signs. Personally, I attempted to replay every conversation we had from the last six months to the last time we spoke, which was two weeks prior to his passing. I could identify nothing.

As others shared of conversations days before his death, they spoke of tasks to be done in the immediate future: days, weeks or within the next month. Not a single person could recall a conversation which indicated or implied that he would not be around to see the fruition of the plans or dreams that were shared.

Although most knew that he was experiencing difficulty overcoming the loss of a loved one, and may have asked the question from time to time how he was fairing with the grieving process, most presumed that the healing process was moving steadily as our companion functioned with the same spirit of excellence and service that was done prior to his loss. He masked his pain and continued in his normal routine so well that no one really suspected or questioned a thing.

The more and more that people shared, the more and more I realized that although he knew a great deal concerning those who were in his circle, not many people knew much about the real him, his hurt or his pain. This became even more evident as most people reacted in surprise upon hearing that he was having difficulty dealing with his loved ones death. Most thought that because our friend was a Christian, loved the Lord, and studied God’s word daily, although he would grieve, he would be okay, because of his relationship with God. No one ever thought that someone who was so dedicated to the Lord would take his life into his own hands. The life God had given to him. A life that brought joy to the hearts of so many.

The truth is that our friend like so many others in the Body of Christ was wearing a mask. Covering up his pain for the sake of those around him and because maybe, just maybe he thought that was what was expected of him. The question we all have to ask and answer is a very real one. Are we wearing a mask? Do we really want to know what those around us are going through or would we rather they keep it to themselves? I heard it said once that people would rather we look right than really be right. Being right will cost something. Being right will cause us to look at the things that really hurt and deal with them and not sweep them under the rug or cover them up with our jokes and funny stories.

The truth is our friend was always telling funny stories and making people laugh. As we sat at his memorial service it became quite evident, that is who we knew him to be. But who was he really? Who are you really? Who are the people around you really? He committed suicide and we had no idea he was at that point. What is that saying to us about those who are in our immediate circle? Maybe we need to be asking more questions and not just taking the quick answers even though they are more comfortable for us.

My issue with the situation did not stop there. I needed to understand how a Christian friend of mine, that knew the word of God found himself in this place. As I struggled, and sought the Lord through prayer and His word to make sense of this, and to provide answers to many questions, why did He let this happen, the Lord kept saying to me, “My permissive will versus My perfect will.” This did not make sense to me until hearing my friend’s final words; from a letter he had written that explained how the choice to end his life was made. Through his own words he shared although God clearly revealed and provided glimpses of the greater things that would be done through him, his mind was made up, and as such, he went about executing a plan that would end his life.

Additionally, his letter attempted to “theologically justify” his actions by using several churchy or religious phrases. These types of phrases have been repeated in the church so much that those who have attended any church for even the shortest length of time could nod in approval when they are said (because they just sound holy). The deliberate words and poetic flow of the letter gave the impression that his decision to end his life, so he could be with the Lord, was not an act of disobedience or sin, but an act of honor and righteousness. As I drove home in silence with his last words echoing in my mind, God said again, “My perfect will versus My permissive will.” And I understood.

No matter how beautiful the explanation, my friend made the decision to step out of God’s perfect will for his life, which was to live, continue to minister, and help those in need. As a result of his faithfulness and obedience, God was going to provide him with an increase in everything he needed to fulfill this purpose, God’s purpose. However, my friend chose not to do what God wanted and took (not gave) his life, leaving not only family and friends to mourn his death, but a countless number people who were supposed to receive the love of Christ through him.

As I sat on my bed after returning home from his memorial service, I found myself crying uncontrollably. I cried for those who heard the letter and believe that suicide is okay if you have noble intentions, that you have done all you can on this earth. I cried for those think that being a Christian is ineffective because God could not help him overcome whatever it was that made him take his life. I cried for those whom he was currently working with who now feel a sense of abandonment. And finally, I cried for the loss of the life of my friend, who died not because it was God’s will, but because of his own desire.

It is my prayer that you and I recognize that God has a perfect plan for our lives and a perfect will and that we will choose to accept His perfect will. Let Him do what He wants to do with your life.

For further discussion contact Minister Kimberley McNeil at contactus@mynewtemple.org or write to us on the message board http://mynewtemple.org/aMessages.html

 Monthly Fitness Tip-

Join one of our new website communities www.mynbfitnesscommunity.com for free or www.justlikemefitness.com for a small monthly fee.!

Check out the New Beginnings Message Board for more tips that will benefit you under the Physical Fitness Category. www.mynewtemple.org. If you would like to add your own tips and suggestions please feel free to do so. If you have forgotten your password submit a request to have it sent to you or reset through the message board sign in screen.

As always we encourage you to see a physician before beginning any exercise program. Take the first step by getting up and doing something to take care of your most valuable resource, Your Health.

 Monthly Physical Fitness Article-

Excerpt from Get Fit-Fitness Angel Newsletter

The Missing Link for Motivation
Motivation is a key element to success in any area of our lives. If you want to be successful in a relationship, financially, educationally, your career/business or in getting fit it will take motivation. It takes motivation to get off the couch and work out. The truth is I am good. I know I have the ability to motivate and encourage people, but if they have no self motivation there is really nothing I can do. I would have to be with you 24 hours a day 7 days per week and by the way I can, check out my new website www.justlikemefitness.com. If you've ever wished that you were more motivated to experience life at your full potential then keep reading this is for you.

Most of us set goals in different areas of our lives and work hard only to find our motivation fizzle out after a couple of weeks. But there are little tricks that will help you harness the power of your mind and propel you toward achieving your goals.

The Two Motivators
When you boil it down, you're motivated by two simple things:

1. To avoid pain (fear of failure) The truth is that failing is painful, it hurts.
2. To gain pleasure (promise of reward), Success.

You are naturally geared toward one of these motivators, we all are. To figure out which, think of the last time you accomplished a task and then ask yourself the following: While doing the task were you thinking about what would happen if you failed to finish, or were you thinking about what you would gain when you finished?

Take note as to which motivator works for you - fear of failure, or promise of reward.

Set Your Goal: The first step towards unstoppable motivation is to determine your goal. You know you're unhappy with your body, but what exactly do you want to change? Think about it and be specific. If you set a general goal when you attempt to reach it anything will be acceptable. Make it specific and measurable. Do you want smaller hips, abs and thighs, to be more fit and toned? Why is it important to you? Remember it has to be important to you not to someone else. What are you willing to do or sacrifice to achieve the goal? The truth is that reaching any goal will cost something.
 
Perhaps you can relate to one of the following goals:

• You need to lose weight for your health. Your doctor scared you straight or maybe you've had a recent health problem that landed you in the hospital. It scared you. The idea of spending the rest of your life on medication is not acceptable. You are willing to do something to change your situation. Your goal is to move away from the pain of sickness and the possibility of a shortened life. You want an active healthy lifestyle.
• You want to look and feel incredible. You've always wanted to feel vibrant and attractive. The idea of having more energy really excites you. Your goal is to move toward the pleasure and reward of a fit body. What is a fit body to you? Be specific. Does it mean toned, down a few sizes? What? Again be specific. If I did not already say it, get a little notebook and write these goals and thoughts down. You might as well start a weight loss diary so you can keep track of your progress.
• You're worried about your kids. They don't eat enough vegetables, they drink more soda pop than water and they play video games constantly. Chips and soda are one of the basic food groups in your home. They learned this from you. When you were a child you spent time outdoors playing with friends and family and your children have no concept of doing anything beyond watching TV, talking on the phone and playing video games. You have decided to model a healthier lifestyle and to encourage your kids to participate. Your goal is to move away from the risks of a sedentary lifestyle and to propel you and your kids toward a healthy future. Plan some activities, how about a family hike, bike rides or some other forms of activity that get you out of the house and also get everybody moving. You remember your childhood and it was not like this. You want something better for your children than what you see right now. It will take a sacrifice on your part and it will also get you moving. Don't just take them, participate.

Visit one of our new websites to see the newsletter in its entirety or to signup to get it sent to your personal e-mail address. www.mynbfitnesscommunity.com or www.justlikemefitness.com. (Newsletter dated August 1, 2009).

New Beginnings Team News-
We are just very excited about the work that is being done on the new websites and looking forward to your participation. Praise the Lord. Thank you for your prayers.

 What Have You Been Reading?

Many of you have read some awesome books that have really ministered to you, spiritually, emotionally, relationally or physically. Let us know what you have been reading by writing to us on the message board. Your recommendations might help someone else. Please let us know if you have read some good Christian fiction as well. Many of those books have awesome messages contained within them and we want to encourage people to grow spiritually any way they can.

The Ministries’ Monthly Book Recommendation-From The New Beginnings Team

This month we are recommending “Steve Harvey’s Act like a Lady Think like a Man
What men really think about love, relationships, intimacy and commitment.

In this book Steve talks about: The Mindset of a Man. Why Men do the Things They do and How to win the game.

In the mindset of a man Steve Harvey talks about what drives a man and what a man needs. As far as why men do the things they do he tells us about how men know the difference between the marrying type and the playthings, mama’s boys and why men cheat. In how to win the game: Steve goes into to having standards, getting the respect you deserve and how to get the ring.

I would encourage anyone to read this book. For the ladies it definitely provides some insight on how men process things differently than we do as women and why they do the things they do. For men it may clarify some things for you and explain how women think about the things you do. There is so much information you can take from this book whether you are in a relationship, have ever been in a relationship or are thinking about a relationship. Steve really breaks it down plain and simple. He does not have a magic formula on how to get and keep a man. What he does have is some good information on what a Good man is about.

We encourage you to write to us on our message board and let us know what you think. We are also encouraging you to give us suggestions for books that you have read related to our monthly topic and to share stories that will help others that are going through what you have been through.

If you want to do some reading for fun- We have read books by Francine Rivers (Atonement Child), multiple books by Jacquelin Thomas, Victoria Christopher Murray, Terri Blackstock and many others. You can get many of these authors at your public library. They are excellent books and they all have a message that could be a blessing to you without being self-help books that tend to be boring too many. They deal with real life issues and you can actually see yourself or people that you know in the characters. Tell us about fiction books that you might be reading that might bless someone else.

Let us know what you have been reading by writing to us on the message board http://mynewtemple.org/aMessages.html or sending us a message at contactus@mynewtemple.org.

 Monthly Book/Bible Study Blog

The book blog is on hold while we focus on making changes that will make it easier to post. Feel free to write about books you have read or to comment on the ones the New Beginnings Team suggests by going to our message board.

 Upcoming Events-

Watch for-

Watch for the Sister Girl Chat-Sisters just hanging out talking about the things that are on their minds.

Watch for an interview with a Breast Cancer Survivor-We are looking forward to doing a joint interview with a Breast Cancer Survivor, who survived a double mastectomy. How did she handle it, how did it affect her mentally, how did it affect her family? If you have questions write to us at contactus@mynewtemple.org so we can get ready to ask your questions as well as our own.

Watch for the Why Do You Work Out Question to be answered-We were thinking it might be fun to get some snip-its from people in the park or at a gym to find out why they work out. Why do the personal trainers do what they do? What kind of satisfaction does a personal trainer get out of your success?

Watch for Health Tips-As part of our desire to help individuals become holistically fit we are presently working to incorporate health tips into our website. This information will assist by giving individuals basic information on such topics as diabetes and high blood pressure. These segments will be short but informative.

Relational Focus-Watch for upcoming podcasts and articles focused on our relationships, beginning with our relationship with God. If we get our relationship with God right our other relationships will also be better.

Divorce From the Male Perspective-What do you say when you think everything is okay and your wife comes home and asks for a divorce? What do you do? Normally this is the story we hear from women. We blame it on a man’s midlife crisis. This time we are going to hear it from the side of the man. The series will allow a man to share his feelings and struggles.

If you have suggestions for upcoming articles or New Beginnings content please write to us at contactus@mynewtemple.org.

 New Beginnings Reminders-

The Fitness Angel’s Fitness Community and Newsletter-
You can create your own personal free account and sign up for the bi-monthly newsletter. Remember the newsletter is only a help to you if you open it so we encourage you to open it and read the articles that are included. If you have a spam filter on your e-mail account your copy of the newsletter may have been blocked. Check your spam folder and then set up the Get Fit Newsletter in your mailbox so you can receive it bi-monthly uninterrupted. Remember it is free, so don’t keep it to yourself. www.mynbfitnesscommunity.com or the paid site www.justlikemefitness.com.

Church Link-
We have added a couple of churches to our church link. Please take the time to check it out and see if yours is there. If it is not already listed add it to our list by clicking the link below. Is there a church near you that does an outstanding job of promoting spiritual, emotional, relational and physical fitness? If you're looking for a church, check here to see if our members have recommended one near you. If you know of a church that should be on our list, please add it to our list.

If you want to ask for additional information or would like to have some one from our team contact you regarding the churches on our church link contact us at churchlink@mynewtemple.org.

 Currently on Women’s Faith Stories (WFS)-
We are collecting articles about women who have survived cancer. If you have a faith story you would like to share send it to us at contactus@womensfaithstories. Your story might be a blessing and an encouragement for someone else.

We are still collecting pictures and stories for our Women That Have Gone Before Us Quilt. In an effort to honor her grandmother who passed away on January 11, 2008, Angela has decided to create a quilt. If you would like to submit a picture and brief tribute on behalf of a woman that meant something to you and helped you get to where you are today send it to us at contactus@womensfaithstories.com. Include their birth date and date of death. Maybe it was your grandmother, a school teacher or a female family member. It does not matter who she was, we would just like to take this opportunity to honor them. Check out last month’s newsletter for more information.

Contact us if you have a woman’s faith story you would like to share for the Women’s Faith Stories Website www.womensfaithstories.com. Send your comments to us at contactus@womensfaithstories.com

 Word of Encouragement-

Trust The Lord. He knows about your situation and He loves you. Leave it in His hands. He promised and He will work it out.
 Proverbs 3:5-6:
 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
 do not depend on your own understanding.
 6 Seek his will in all you do,
 and he will show you which path to take.

 New Beginnings Scripture for August 2009

Matthew 18:21-22
 21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone[a] who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven![b]

 Our Mission Statement

Our Mission is to draw individuals to Jesus Christ through the Ministry of Holistic Fitness and to see the Body of Christ become fit in all areas by providing tools and information to empower you to succeed. New Beginnings is dedicated to helping you gain personal, spiritual, physical, mental and relational fitness by developing the courage and confidence necessary to set and achieve goals based on biblical principles. Most people encounter difficulty reaching goals, sticking with a diet or completing a task by trying to make an outward change without having made any inward spiritual changes. In other words, all improvements in your life begin with a change in your mind and spirit.