Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX—We are not a healthy nation.  According to statistics, one in three adults is considered obese, and childhood obesity has tripled in the past two decades.  The weight loss industry offers a variety of solutions, from quick-fix gimmicks and crash diets to support groups and sensible eating plans; it’s no secret that the business tends to draw repeat customers.  Why do so many sincere, well-meaning people fail time after time in their efforts to lose weight, get their bodies in shape, and live a healthy lifestyle?

In his new book, Getting in Shape God’s Way: 4 Keys to Making Any Diet or Fitness Plan Work, author and fitness expert Ron Kardashian reveals the neglected, ancient secrets to making everything else—proper nutrition, exercise, and other healthy principles—work.  Kardashian is a certified strength and conditioning coach and a fitness expert with over a decade of experience who has logged over 11,000 hours of one-on-one consulting in the realm of physical fitness and life development/coaching.  The amazing results of his integrated, holistic approach have made him a powerful voice for worldwide change among people of every age, religion, and creed—professionals, CEOs of major companies, diplomatic leaders, clergy, and even royalty.

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Believing Big
By Kimberly Cash Tate

I’m a practical person by nature. Left to myself, I’ll make sensible choices. Careful, planned, I-can-see-where-this-is-going kinds of choices. College. Law school. Clerkship. Law Firm. I was living my planned life. I could see the trajectory clear to retirement.

But that was all before I knew the Lord.

Ten years ago, He moved me to leave my career (and my “partner” status and six-figure income) and come home. Okay. Not so “practical.” Mortgage needed to be paid. Step of faith required. But I didn’t need HUGE faith. After all, my husband still had his career. At worst, we’d have to downsize our home. So I gave my resignation.
Then God showed up. Big time. Two weeks after my resignation—after that step of faith—my husband got a job offer “out of the blue” that doubled his salary. Out of the blue? Yeah, right. God!

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When Grace Goes Sour
By Ed Gungor

For me, the most stunning aspect of faith is grace. Grace is that unmerited, incautious favor of God that most of us never tire hearing about. There is just something about it—whenever it comes, it changes what is into something grander. That is what I love about the gospel. It is a message of grace, and because of that, wherever it goes, it brings change.

But some groups who call themselves “grace” people make me nervous. I get the feeling that they spell grace g-r-e-a-s-e. They don’t talk about grace as something that changes them as much as something that lets them slide by with whatever they feel like doing—even sinful things. But grace yields freedom from sin, not freedom to sin. Justifying sin by appealing to grace sours the grace experience by turning it into something God never intended to be. Grace never says, “Whatever.” It always says “No” to “ungodliness” and “Yes” to “upright and godly” living (Titus 2:12).

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10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe
by Larry Osborne

FA I T H

CAN FIX

ANYTHING

I’ll never forget the day my wife and I stopped by the local hospital for what we knew would be our last visit with her friend Susan.

For three years, Susan had put up a valiant fight against a disease that was now in its last stages. Her labored breathing, gaunt figure, and deep-set eyes made it painfully obvious that she would not be around much longer.

As we sat by her bed, wondering what to say and how to pray, I was stumped. (I’m a pastor and I’m supposed to know what to say in these situations.) But before I could say anything profound—or even trite—our awkward silence was broken by the entrance of Susan’s husband, John, into the room.

We exchanged hugs and a quick greeting. Then John began to talk. He spoke of the plans he and Susan had for the future. Not in a regretful reflection of what could have been, but with a powerful conviction of what was yet to be.

It was weird.

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The New Normal: Facing Life after a Child’s Death
by Marti Pieper

"Dad, I know you’re scared. I believe the Lord will deliver me through this. But if he doesn’t, I’m going home to be with him, and that’s okay with me."–BJ Higgins, August 5, 2005

Brent and Deanna Higgins clung to these valiant words throughout their son’s six-week hospitalization. BJ became ill with a mysterious infection after he returned from his second mission trip to Peru. His death on September 26, 2005, days before his sixteenth birthday, ushered their family (Brent, Deanna, and two college-aged daughters) into what they called the new normal: life without their beloved son and brother. The new normal also meant life without one who served as a role model for many, including his own family members. BJ’s story and message of passionate obedience to Christ are chronicled in his parents’ best-selling book, I Would Die for You: One Student’s Story of Passion, Service, and Faith (Revell, 2008).

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Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX—What do think about when you read headlines about economic hardships, natural disasters, and politically charged conflict?  Circumstances like these set families and entire communities reeling, and few people are affected as profoundly as the children involved.  How do the littlest victims cope with the changes and uncertainty around them?  And what can the church do to reach out specifically to these little ones?

Group Publishing, the premier publishers of children’s Bible curriculum including Sunday school and VBS, believes that some of the best ministers to children experiencing disaster and hardship are other children.  That’s why they have created a program called Operation Kid 2 Kid (OK2K), which partners with nondenominational Christian ministries like International Bible Society and World Vision to provide opportunities for children in North America to share God’s love with other children in difficult or disastrous situations.  Since its inception ten years ago, Operation Kid-to-Kid projects have impacted millions of kids all over the world.

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