(Volume 32)  January 2009

Inside This Issue:

 Welcome

 Who is New Beginnings 

 What’s New-
         January 2009 Feature Article-
         Monthly Fitness Tips-
         Monthly Physical Fitness Article-Ms. Lindia Personal Trainer
         Team News/Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

         What Have you Been Reading?
              Book Recommendation
              Book Blog

 Upcoming Events-

 Reminders-Church Link and Newsletter Signup  

 Word of Encouragement

 New Beginnings Scripture for January

 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?

We have completed another year. We are entering the year of 2009 full of renewed focus and determination. The number 9 represents divine completion from the Lord so we are looking forward to God doing some awesome things and providing us with new opportunities. We at New Beginnings are starting this year with a new focus. Our focus is on Relationships. Hang in there with us and share some of your relationship challenges and opportunities with us. Always remember to start by focusing on your most important relationship with God.

We pray you have a blessed new year.
From the New Beginnings Team

Monthly Feature Article-

Fitness Focus for 2009-Relationships!
By Angela Willingham

For 2009 the focus for the New Beginnings Ministry is relationships. Why, because our relationships are the root of both good and bad in many of our lives. Why, because we serve a God that is relational. He thought so much of each one of us that in John 3:16, the bible says, 16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. If He is so relational and loves us that much He must be concerned about our relationships with Him and with one another.

That does not mean that we will turn our backs on everything else, because our emotional, physical and spiritual fitness are all tied to our relationships. Ultimately, our greatest and most important relationship is our relationship with God. If we can get that relationship right it will impact all of our other relationships. Throughout this year we will be working on increasing and strengthening our relationship with God and improving our other relationships as well.

Before we can really get into this we have to first figure out what a relationship really is. Movies, books, soap operas, TV shows, and on talk shows everybody is talking about them and trying to figure out how to define them and how to fix them, how to make them healthy. Everybody talks about how difficult they are.

Webster’s dictionary defines a relationship as the state of being related or interrelated. So I looked up related and it was defined as, to be connected. So in relationships we are connected. Different relationships are connected by different attributes. Maybe it is by blood as in family relationships, maybe it is by culture, education, place of employment, by love, but whatever the connection, it exists and we are in relationship by necessity or by choice every relationship requires effort on our part. Honestly, the relationships that are the most meaningful are have the greatest impact on our lives will be the ones that require the most from us, the most patience, the most effort, the most understanding, the most prayer, the most wisdom to do the right thing.

Some of our challenging relationships we need to let go of, others are God ordained and we need to use wisdom in dealing with them.

Some of our relationships require reconciliation and God has called each one of us to be ministers of reconciliation. This year we will pursue reconciliation and restoration of those relationships that God ordained and desires for us to keep whole and healthy. The first step is to be prayerful and use wisdom to know the difference. Letting go is sometimes seen as being the bad guy, but sometimes the one who realizes the need to let go is the hero, because of their decision many lives are saved.

Walk with us this year as we deal with topics like marriage, dating, adoption (from both sides), parenting issues, issues with co-workers, bosses, parents that now need your complete support and attention due to some health challenge and we assure you it will not stop there.

As we change our focus know that does not mean we will give up on the physical. Angela’s Weight Loss Challenge will continue until she reaches the goal, so please watch the blog and watch for new status and exercise videos if we can tear The Fitness Angel away from his busy schedule long enough to give us some help. Watch for new monthly physical fitness articles in the monthly newsletter from another certified personal trainer Ms Lindia. As always you can check out the Fitness Angel’s site for more physical fitness updates at www.myfitnessangel.com and don’t forget to sign up for the bi-monthly Fitness Angel Get Fit Newsletter, it’s free and so is the site.

Scripture:

John 3:16:

 16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

2 Corinthians 5:11-21:

11 Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. 12 Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us,[a] so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. 13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit.

14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us.[b] Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life.[c] 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

 16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

 18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,[d] so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

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

Monthly Fitness Tips-

Weight Loss Tip # 31
Avoid All-you-can-eat buffets

Okay, I know that hurts, especially those of us who want to get the most of our money, but the truth is an endless supply of food may appeal to your pocketbook, but you can end up overpaying in the long run, with excess pounds, high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. What's more the stuff they serve is usually high in sugar and fat and low in fiber.

If you don't believe us check it out. Unless it is a salad bar and even those can be challenging with all the stuff they add to the salads, look at it and let us know what you see.

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-

Healthful Tips
By Lindia Lamb,
ACE-Certified Personal Trainer
AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor

Many of us are faithful in following spiritual directives, but fail to follow the directives concerning our responsibility to care for His temple.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
I Corinthians 6: 19-20 NIV

Keeping your body healthy by eating right and participating in exercise can help improve many aspects of your life, here a few tips:

• Make sure you eat five to six smaller meals daily rather than the typical three large meals. Small, frequent meals help reduce the overall peaks and valleys of your blood sugar/insulin along with helping you avoid feeling overly hungry.

• Make sure to always drink water, ideally before each meal. Many times when you actually think you feel hunger, it is thirst. Most of us do not stay optimally hydrated.

• Make sure your daily food routine includes five or more servings of vegetables. Vegetables are a good source of fiber, as well as being power-packed with vitamins and minerals. Nutritionally, they are a heart disease and cancer defense plan.

• Always start the day with a good breakfast. This may help stop any cravings between meals and give you more energy.

• If you don’t exercise regularly-start today. Add a brisk walk into your day: first thing in the morning while communing with God, midday stress relief before lunch, or an evening wind down instead of watching television.

• Do not eat when you are bored. It sounds simple, but many people gain unwanted weight by munching at times when not actually hungry. Go for a walk instead.

Visualize your goals, reach for them in action, have faith that you will achieve them!

Spiritual Fitness-

We received this e-mail from a friend and thought it might be a good one to pass along as we start a new year full of new opportunities and challenges. There are many things in our lives that just seem to keep happening. Maybe it is something we thought we had already dealt with, maybe it is something we don’t want to deal with, but whatever the issue, there are some things we just need to leave to God. We pray that while this is cute it also impacts your life not just for today, but for the rest of your life.

New Beginnings Team News-

Lindia Lamb Certified Personal Trainer-
Lindia is a new addition to the New Beginnings team. She is an ACE-certified Personal Trainer, an AFAA certified Group Fitness Instructor but more importantly, she is a blessed woman of God. She has been in the fitness industry for over 9 years and has encouraged women to achieve a healthy balance in their lives through exercise & wellness. Check out her first article above under the Monthly Physical Fitness Article. We pray that this additional physical fitness support will provide the encouragement you need to reach your physical fitness goals.

Angela’s Weight Loss Watch- We are continuing the collaboration between New Beginnings, Ms. Lindia and The Fitness Angel on Angela's Weight Loss Watch. He will also be directing her to use some of the videos that are already on The Fitness Angel Site. Watch the blog on the New Beginnings site for more updates.

Remember you can join Angela in this endeavor by going to The Fitness Angel site www.myfitnessangel.com and completing your profile. She would love to see your pictures so feel free to upload them to the site and e-mail her to let her know how you are doing if you choose not to put everything on the site. If you have any problems updating your information please contact her and let her know, because we want to make sure this works for everyone. Her e-mail address is angela@mynewtemple.org. She will be blogging on both sites, but you can see her complete blog on the New Beginnings site www.mynewtemple.org. Let her know if you have any problems.

Another suggestion-
The Team Angela works with at her job has decided to have a 90-day biggest loser competition. This has been done in many office environments over the last few years since the biggest loser first aired on television. This can be done in many different environments, ie, your office, church, family, dorm, sorority, fraternity or other group that you are affiliated with even your book club could benefit.

The members of her job that are participating have all agreed to put $20 in the pot as a registration fee. With the economy the way it is, $20 may seem like more than they want to give up at this time, but even if you don’t put in any money the added focus on getting the weight off will provide some additional incentive.

We have members of the team that will be participating just for the additional encouragement and support it provides. You should find a group and try it all you have to lose is weight. Here is copy of their flier. (Remember that how public the weight information is made and whether you choose to take measurements in addition is strictly up to you.) Make it even more fun by competing with other groups.

Equipment Recovery’s Biggest Loser
Weight Loss Competition

Its that time of year again that many of us will be making our New Years Resolutions to lose weight. With that, I’m proposing a weight loss challenge. Anyone in the department can participate. All you need is $20 and the will to lose weight. The competition will last 90 days. Each participant will put in $20 and the person that loses the greatest PERCENTAGE WEIGHT will win the pot of money. The percentage weight loss is determined by your weight loss divided by your starting weight. The competition will start Wednesday January 7th 2009 and there will be weekly weigh ins so we can keep track of your progress. Please sign below if you are up for the challenge. Good Luck to everyone.

 “Let’s have a healthier 2009!”

Let us know if you decide to do this or something else. We are interested and want to keep in touch. Submit any other weight loss challenges and ideas you have to us so we can share them with others that are striving just like you to get the weight off. Email us at contactus@mynewtemple.org.

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

If you have not already selected a devotional to help you in your desire to go deeper spiritually, we want to encourage you to do so. Check out the December 2008 New Beginnings Newsletter for some of our suggestions and write and let us know if you have any additional suggestions that we can pass on to others members of the New Beginnings family. Remember that some bibles actually provide read through the bible in a year plans. Those are good and will help you to keep your bible reading on track.

This month we want to recommend the following books that might be a blessing to you or someone you know as well as a few fictions items if you just like the idea of reading for pleasure.

I just finished reading Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. I recommend this book for anyone that is married or has a desire to be married. In reading it God revealed attitudes and wrong thinking that I had about marriage. I had to personally go through some repentance, but I am grateful because I realize that it is all part of my preparation.


The front cover of the book says, The Love She Most Desires. The Respect He Desperately Needs. If you want to be a good wife or husband you have to get this. A woman wants to be loved and a husband needs to be respected. If you can give each other that the basis for your relationship is much more solid. One of the final things he said in the book was that this is not about your spouse it is about your relationship with the Lord. Do it as unto the Lord. Wow!

The man that God has for me in my future better watch out. I have been doing a lot of reading and God has been doing a lot of preparing to get me to where he wants me to be. I want to encourage you to read this book and give us your feedback. I am telling you it is mindchanging. It is lifechanging. It will also be marriage changing. If you will just take hold of the concepts your marriage will never be the same.

I just finished reading Date Or Soulmate? How to know if someone is worth pursuing in two dates or less

This book was excellent if you have a desire not to just be married but to be married to someone that will not end up in divorce because of a poor choice on your part. The book is written by Neil Clark Warren, PHD. He is the founder of eharmony.com. His desire is to see us make matches that will last for a lifetime and not waste our time or the time of someone else. Check it out, it is a quick read full of a lot of good information if like I said you want to make the most of your dating experience.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

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. The 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.

Can I Get A Witness? by Reshonda Tate Billingsley. It was excellent.
I just finished this book and I thought it was excellent. If you are struggling with a relationship this is an excellent fiction book that may cause you to re-evaluate the entire thing, including your part and your responsibility. We often see other people’s responsibilities and issues and not our own.

It is the story of a divorce court judge who finds herself in divorce court. You would think she would know what to do after seeing every one else's issues all day everyday, but it was not so.

Check it out

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 for this month 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 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 masectomy. 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 WorkOut 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.myfitnessangel.com.

ChurchLlink-
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.

 Newsletter Sign Up-

If you are receiving this message you are currently signed up on our New Beginnings message board. We have set up a new E-mail program for the New Beginnings and Women’s Faith Stories sites, and it will be necessary for each of you to click on this sign up button and complete the informationor go to the website www.mynewtemple.org home page and click on the button at the bottom of the page. This will allow us to keep in contact with you in a more efficient manner.

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-

This quote was received by Angela our CEO on December 30, 2008 from a dear friend as she was contemplating the new year and all that it had in store. She asked her friend to keep her in prayer as the ministry makes the change in focus to relationships and like most of us any major change comes with some trepidation. Our CEO trusts the Lord but still sometimes finds herself questioning His use of her to carry out His directives. This quote was shared with her at just one of those such times and it brought her to tears.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Marianne Williamson
A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles," 1992 (commonly misattributed to Nelson Mandela, 1994 inauguration speech)

This quote and the scripture reference Proverbs 4:25-27, (25 Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. 26 Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. 27 Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.) will be the key foundational quote and scripture to stay focused in 2009.

New Beginnings Scripture for January 2009

John 3:16:

 16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

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.

New Beginnings Contact Information-

Mailing Address: 5130 W. Baseline #117, PMB# 224, Laveen, AZ 85339

Contact us at contactus@mynewtemple.org or on our message board http://mynewtemple.org/aMessages.html