new beginnings monthly newsletter may 2011

Inside This Issue:

Welcome

Who is New Beginnings

What’s New-
          May 2011 Feature Article-
          Encouragement From Queen-
          Monthly Fitness Tips-
          Excerpt from The Fitness Angel’s Monthly Physical Fitness Article-
          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 May

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?

Don’t miss the weekly New Beginnings Life Group Conference Call!

When: Every Thursday, 7pm Phoenix, AZ time (6pm PST, 8pm CST, 9pm EST)

Your Quality Conference Call Telephone Dial In Number:
712-432-6060

Participant Sign In Conference ID:
9234730

(This is a very important weekly event and everyone is welcome, so invite your friends and family)

(Weekly conference calls are a service provided by New Beginnings Holistic Fitness Ministries, Inc. Topics will determined weekly with the intent to move us to a new level of fitness, of mind, body and spirit.)

www.mynbfitnesscommunity.com

Monthly Feature Article-

Time For A Heart Exam!
By Angela Willingham

If we did a heart examination on you what would we find?

Envy
Strife
Jealousy
Bitterness
Unforgiveness
Joy
Peace
Love

Women are advised by their physicians to do monthly self-breast exams to ensure that nothing has changed and that don’t have any abnormal growths that could be hazardous to our health. Why is the heart any less important? We need to do a daily heart exam to make sure that we are on the right path and not doing something or going in a direction that would be displeasing or dishonoring to God.

Taking an honest look at yourself and your feelings how would you describe your heart? We can pretend like it does not matter, but last week we learned that out of our hearts flow the issues of life, the things we hold on to. What are you holding on to? What has your heart, peace, joy, love, envy, jealousy or strife? Be honest because if we are not honest nothing will ever change. God is examining our hearts every day. What is He seeing? Is it good or evil? What motivates you, your own self-interest or God’s purpose for your life, yours not someone elses?

I believe that we all have experiences or times in our lives when evil might try to take control, the question is what do we do during those times. Do we allow evil to take over or do we take immediate control and make sure our hearts remain pure and free from the things that make it hard or dirty?

We have all seen the situations where the married spouse is lead astray, by the cute female with the batting eyes or cute shape. She was motivated by a desire to have that specific man and he was lead by his lust. Easy to look at someone else and see what is leading them, but I think it is often a little harder to do our own heart exam. When you do a breast exam, you rub your fingers on the breast feeling for abnormalities. To do a heart check it may not be as easy, but one of the things that might point to an abnormality might be our response to situations. How do you respond when someone steps on your toe? Do you automatically think the worst and assume they did it on purpose or can you give them the benefit of the doubt and assume it was an accident and they did not mean to hurt you?

If your first response is to assume they did it on purpose you might be operating out of some prior hurt that you are still carrying. If your automatic response is to fight and defend yourself in every situation it might be an indication of some deeper issue. If your heart is broken, hurt or hardened, either condition will stop us from receiving the full blessing God has for us because they will keep us locked up and blocked off from the blessings of God. The broken, hurt or hardened heart share one thing in common, in each case there is a wall of protection to keep it from being hurt again. Whenever you have a wall of protection around your heart you also have a wall that stops blessings from flowing through to you as well.

What about the things we could do to bless someone else but we don’t do because we are not going to help anyone else, because we feel that no one is doing anything for us.

The truth is we all have to look at what motivates us and examine it. You may have a desire to be married, but is it okay to steal another woman’s husband? What if he told you that he is unhappy and has been unhappy for years? Is it okay to plan your future with him at the cost of his current wife and children? Is it okay to destroy his family for your own self-interest or happiness? What about refusing to help someone when you have the means and the ability to help, because you are selfish? Is that God?

You are the boss at your job, so you get a group around you and make calls to people to ask questions, not to gain information, but to poke at the answers and put them on the spot. What motivates this type of behavior, a need to feel important or is that God?

What motivates you, your own self-interest or the purpose of God? Daily we all have the option of doing things that please the Lord or doing things to please ourselves. Every day we have to make a decision. The decision will be based on what is in your heart, because what is in your heart is the root or foundation for your decision making process.

Many choices have been placed before me over the last few months and I have been astounded by my responses. A year ago, my decisions would have been different but today, because of God and all that He has been and is to me, my heart is more open to new opportunities and I am more able and equipped to do what pleases Him. He has done a work on me from the inside out that has made my heart more pure and my motivation more Godly.

Do you have a desire for peace and not evil? Do you have a desire to manipulate situations to get your way? Will you sleep with a man or woman that is not your spouse to ensure your position?

The scripture in Jeremiah 17:9-10 says, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”

When I read that scripture it is telling me that the heart is deceitful, that means I can’t trust it because it will lie to me. Has your heart every lied to you? Has it ever told you something that later you found out was not true? Has it ever drawn you into a situation that was not one that you needed to be in? Our hearts will lie to us and allow us to believe that what we are doing is okay, but God is examining our secret motives. Why are we really doing the things we are doing? Why are we bringing this man or woman special gifts? Why are we going out of our way to make this person or that person feel special, why are we really doing it?

We can tell people anything, but God knows the truth and He desires that we begin to honestly search ourselves to find the real reasons we do the things we do. Why did you take that person’s phone number if you really don’t intend to call? Why do we allow people to do things for us when we know that they have feelings for us and we do not have any feelings for them in return? We say, but they know how I feel, but you also know how they feel, so what is your real motivation? Why do you run into the bosses office or to the pastor’s office all the time to talk about nothing, just wanted to make sure they see you and know you are there. What is your real motivation?

We all need to think about the things we say and do to determine what our real motivation is, why do we do the things we do and when God examines it will He be pleased? Is what we are doing moving us towards our future, the one He purposed for us or the one we chose for ourselves? At the end of the story, what do you want to receive rewards for doing what was right and pleasing to God or the things you were striving for?

We have all heard the stories of the men or women that worked very hard for years to get a man or woman from their spouse. Worked diligently to break up the relationship to win the prize of that man or woman for themselves only to get them and find out that it was not all that they thought it would be. All that it cost them was not worth it and they are not even happy with what they did get. We all have to get to the place of knowing that if my motivation was wrong the end result will also be wrong.

You have seen it and so have I, but now the focus is on us. What about us? What about my heart? How bad is it? What about my motivations? Am I doing it for the right reasons or the wrong ones? Do my reasons give God glory? Does what motivates me lead to closer to Christ or farther away from Him? What rewards do my actions deserve? If we find ourselves at a place during our Heart Examination realizing that we are off track our Heavenly Father is gracious enough to allow us to do a course correction. We might have to do some apologizing and repenting based on what has already been done. We might have to accept some due rewards or consequences based on our previous actions, but we can stop now and get it right. If you know that you are not in the place God called you to, because you were deceived, seek God for clear direction on next steps. If you have to go back and apologize to some people that you wronged, do that because God may lift His hand and not give you all that you deserve, but it is going to take something from you a real honest heart examination and course correction to stop your due rewards.

As we went over this lesson as part of our life group, I was reminded that every thing we need to identify when we do a heart exam does not have to be negative. There are some good things that are just not God things. A desire to do ministry, when God has not called you to it is a good thing but if it is not the calling God has on your life it could lead you astray.

Personally, God had to reveal that I was attempting to do a bible study with a woman I had met. While it was a wonderful idea, she and I were not on the same page spiritually. God has called me to do things in a very different way. I understood where my sister was, I had been there myself until God showed me that what He wanted from and for me was very different. It is not always easy or comfortable for me, but I know I am following His leading and He is gracious enough to put me back on track when I fall away.

My reward was that the situation blew up. My fault. If I had handled it when He first started nudging me it could have ended differently. But my heart that was deceiving me, wanted me to continue down a path that was good, but not God’s path for me. It looked good and had a good sound until we attempted to put it together and like oil and water it just did not mix. One of my good friends told me a long time ago that everyone is not going where I am going and I have to be careful not to try to take them or to even expect them to understand. I think I finally got the message. God has put me specifically in a place where I know I have to submit, I don’t get to just do what I want to do, I have to do what He tells me and that means obedience, order and submission are the order of the day. My end motive has to always be to give Him glory.

Identify what is in your heart, where you may be off track and deal with it before God does.

Scripture References:

Jeremiah 17:9-10

9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? 10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”

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

Encouragement From Queen-

Sometimes we cover up things for too long
What we should do is come clean and just stand strong
New beginnings is what I’ll call it
Don’t walk around covering up as to be your fix
Don’t just deal with the surface stuff
Get to the root of the issue, tell yourself enough is enough
Don’t settle for feeding yourself lies anymore
Know that you are wonderfully made and you are simply to be adored
Sure there are things from your past that hurt you to the core
Simply say – pain, disappointments, depression you are served your eviction notice, you can’t live here anymore
Walk with your head up; know who you are and whose you are
Know that you are royalty, a jewel a bright and shining super star
Know you are beautiful in and out
You are getting ready to soar to new heights, no doubt
Welcome to your new beginnings; don’t let anything hold you back
A world of unlimited blessing awaits you, stay focused not letting anything knock you off track

Poem by Queen E. Lacey author of:
“It’s NOT About Religion, God Wants A Relationship” by Queen E. Lacey
Available at major on-line bookstores now

Monthly Fitness Tip-

Accepting You
It is important that you come to a place where you feel comfortable with your body exactly as it is right now. By accepting your body just as it is – today – you are able to reduce the stress signals that are encouraging fat storage. Once you accept yourself as you are, you end the war with your body, and weight loss becomes natural. I tell my class participants to start and end each day by saying "I Love Me Some Me!" That is even how we end our classes. Try it every day and see if your thoughts about yourself change. If you want others to accept you it starts by you accepting yourself.
Join one of our website communities www.mynbfitnesscommunity.com

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

Bridging Mind, Body and Spirit
www.yourtraveltrainer.com

Your Fitness Angel aka Your Travel Trainer
Bridging Mind, Body and Spirit
Jon Gabriel was stuck.

At nearly 410 pounds, he had tried every diet imaginable – with no luck.

No matter what approach he took to lose weight, his body would fight him, and he would inevitably end up heavier than before.

Then one day he had a light bulb-over-the-head "ah-hah" moment: His body wanted to be fat, and as long as it wanted to be fat, there was nothing he could do to lose weight. Gabriel did not realize that his condition was because of his own body fighting against him, but it was true.

If you've struggled for any length of time with weight loss, then you know the frustration that Gabriel felt in that moment. He was at war with his body.

In the two years following Gabriel's "ah-hah" moment, he lost over 220 pounds naturally, without the magic pill, surgery or counting calories. His incredible journey is recounted in his book The Gabriel Method.

One of the key components to his success was that he identified and addressed the mental and emotional reasons that his body felt safe being overweight. Gabriel is not the only one that has emotional and mental reasons for their present condition. Many people use weight as a protection from life. You know the one that has been hurt before so they don't want to get into another relationship and take the chance of getting hurt again. Once these issues were eliminated for Gabriel, the weight began to fall off. The same thing can happen to you, you just have to determine the real reasons for your present condition.

The Real Reason You Can't Lose Weight
According to Gabriel, your body wants to be fat anytime it decides that being fat is the best way to keep you safe. Once your body understands that being thin is the best way to keep you safe, your body will want to be thin and the weight will fall off.

This all ties into our survival instincts to protect us from starvation, freezing to death or being eaten.

In our modern world you have different worries than being chased by a lion, but even modern stress about paying your bills create the exact same chemical signals that are produced when you are starving or freezing. This convinces your body that you need to be fat in order to be safe. You might not think about it in terms of being fat, but the truth is that stress causes many people to eat.

When you approach weight loss from the outside in, you overlook mental and emotional threats that can confuse your body into thinking that being fat can help keep you safe. Gabriel addresses this in his book, but my team addresses it through New Beginnings Holistic Fitness Ministries, Inc., our Non-Profit ministry www.mynewtemple.org We know the importance of getting fit from the inside out and addressing the real issues. Here are four such threats:

Fear of Scarcity: When you spend your time in fear that you don't have enough money then you send a message to your body that resources are limited. The only resource that your body recognizes is food – and storing fat is how your body saves up.
Emotional Obesity: At a subconscious level you may have the association that being fat makes you feel safer, or that it is serving another emotional need. In this case your body is simply trying to protect you; it is making you feel safer emotionally. If you ever have some time go through the podcasts on my non-profit website and listen to my podcast The Man Fat Syndrome. Emotional obesity is more common than we know. I call it weight gain from relationship pain.
Mental Starvation: Though your body only recognizes physical starvation, you can also be suffering from emotional or mental starvation. This could be a desire for love, joy, fun, intimacy, or a deeper spiritual connection. Any mental or emotional longing can send the same chemical signals in your brain that physical starvation causes.
Dysfunctional Beliefs: If you believe that you were meant to be fat, or deserve to be fat, or if you view weight loss as impossible, then your body will obey by refusing to lose weight. Change your dysfunctional beliefs first and then weight loss will become simple. You have to believe you can and you have to believe it is necessary. You have to want it.

Exercise was a big part of Gabriel's remarkable weight loss journey and it can also be a part of yours. Once he broke through the mental and emotional reasons for his obesity, his body craved activity. You have to break through your reasons as well and stop making excuses for your bad behavior. Yes, those things really did happen, yes, you really may have been hurt, yes, you may feel lonely-now what? Nothing will change until you make a decision and make a change. You want to be loved, it first starts by you, loving yourself.

Are you ready to deal with the real problems and make a change? Are you ready to begin your weight loss journey? Did you know that you can be carrying weight emotionally, relationally, spiritually and physically. Exercise can help you drop the weight in every area of your life and I'm here to help at www.yourtraveltrainer.com

Email me today at carroll@yourtraveltrainer.com to get started on a program that will transform your life forever – just like Gabriel. You will be better than Gabriel, because you have me.
(Newsletter dated May 1, 2011).

New Beginnings Team News-

Watch out for the new Divorce Care Life Group, coming in June of 2011. The group will be lead by Minister Kimberley McNeil via weekly conference call, articles and messages on the message board. Check out the topic on our message board http://mynewtemple.org/members/forum/index.php?board=21.0

(We will be forming other groups so please stay tuned for the on that meets your needs. E-mail us with your suggestions.)

Like New Beginnings Holistic Fitness Ministries, Inc. on Facebook

What Have You Been Reading?

I just finished reading "Liberated Through Submission" by P.B. Wilson.

I recommend this book highly. It is an awesome book, especially if you are a person that struggles with submission to leadership and order. I was blessed by a confirmation of what God had already been showing me.

I heard a story the other day. If your leader is going in a specific direction and you do not agree, you tell them what you think. If they still decide to go in the direction they originally wanted to go, you don’t argue with them. If you think the room should be painted white and they want to paint it black, be the first to grab a paint brush and paint it black. Submission to leadership has long been a subject of disagreement, but it is biblical. This book is an excellent reminder that the responsibility for the decision is on the leader. We are obligated to share our view, but we do not need to harp on it or grumble about it. Share your view and move on to prayer.
A strong woman that can be humble enough to submit is exhibiting power under control.
Check it out, apply the principles and watch your relationships change.

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.

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.

Book/Bible Study Blog

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-

Special Announcements-

A Kidney For Sonji-Jewel and Sonji completed the kidney exchange with another family on May 11, 2011. Bless the Lord. Thank you for praying. They are both doing well. However we know that Sonji’s family is not the only family in this situation so we are asking you to continue praying for donors for other families that we do not know.

Watch for the Interview with Lakesha Givens-Program Director for Ujima House.

Watch for an upcoming interview with Monica Kelsey Pro-Life Speaker and Abortion survivor.

Workout Classes-Fitness Angel aka Your Travel Trainer Streaming Video Classes and online one on one personal training sessions at www.yourtraveltrainer.com Check the schedule.

Health-Articles dealing with health and health related issues to help you become more aware of things you can do to help yourself.

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

WFS-(Women’s Faith Stories) www.womensfaithstories.com
Our WFS site was attacked by hackers and was taken down. Watch for the site to come back better than ever. If you have women you would like for us to interview or write about please write to us at contactus@mynewtemple.org Provide us with all the information that you have about the woman and the story you would like told including her contact information.

New Beginnings Reminders-

The Fitness Angel/Travel Trainer’s Fitness 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

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.

Word of Encouragement-

Check your attitudes and behaviors to ensure that your heart is in the condition conducive for forward movement and that you are not living in the past or being deceived. Your actions and words will give away your condition. You have a choice you don’t have to stay that way

New Beginnings Scripture for May 2011