GemeemDavis.com ....The BLOG!: Love Note: Forgiveness...How to do it!

GemeemDavis.com ....The BLOG!: Love Note: Forgiveness...How to do it!

The Solution Lies Within

"The solutions to the problems before us isn't more money or fewer difficult people in our lives, because the only real problem is disconnection from God. Solutions come as we connect with a higher level of thinking and knowing. When we lift ourselves in connection with God, an entirely new realm of thought becomes available to us."                      --Mary Manin Morrissey, "No Less than Greatness"

For many, the search for happiness and peace starts with what is happening in your life - the people, events, and circumstances in which you live. The external world, if you will.  But you will never be satisfied by anything in the outside if you are not balanced on the inside.

How do you obtain inner balance? You first have to withdraw your attention from the external world, stop your mind by mediation or prayer, and just...be.  Listen to the small, still voice that is always trying to communicate with you, but you can't hear it because of all the chattering noise that fills your head.  When you stop the noise and just listen, you will discover that most miraculous thing of all - that God has been waiting for you to just stop and listen!  

He has been waiting for you to open yourself and say "Yes!"

Practice remembering God.  Remember Him in the small, mundane details of your life and you will discover a secret known throughout the ages - He cares about it all!  Because He loves you - the complete, unadulterated, unfiltered, unpolished you.  Want to know why?  It is very simple - He made you. And the Creator of all things does not hate what He created!

So don't look outside for the next new thing to solve your problems.  Go within and listen.  God is waiting to help you, but you have to open the door to let Him in.

A New Year to a New You

Happy New Year!  Those words are filled with such promise and hope.  A brand new shiny year of 365 days lies waiting in the future for you to discover, create and live joyously.  It is almost like the most exciting present you received as a child, that you knew would stay with you forever.

Along with the shiny new toy comes responsibility - are there any old toys that should be thrown out, recycled or repurposed?  Are there any old habits that need to be addressed and changed so they do not tarnish the shine of the New Year?  Is there anything about yourself that you want to change?

Reflective questions usually lead to the topic of weight loss.  If you looked in the mirror at the start of the New Year and you do not like what you see, isn't it time to decide to change yourself?  Not with a diet, but with a proven system of healthy food, eaten six times a day.  A healthy way to lose weight and keep it off forever.

It is like the gift of health that you give to yourself!

Imagine being at your target weight.  What would you look like? How would your clothes fit and would you continue to notice the tight grip of your waistband like you do now?  Would your energy level be much higher than it is now?  How would you feel with the "weight monkey" off of your back?  Just think of how much thought energy you spend on a daily basis thinking about your weight...

The 5 and 1 Plan from Take Shape for Life is doctor designed and approved. It features 5 Medifast meals (over 70 varieties) and one "lean and green" meal.  You eat six times a day and you are not hungry because your body receives at least 11 gms of protein per meal.  And the best part is -- you eliminate the "will power struggle" that usually defeats dieters!

As you lose weight, you notice subtle changes in your attitude toward food.  You begin to recognize the situations where you would use food to salve a hurt, or fill a hole in your emotional world.  Take Shape for Life teaches you to disengage from those behaviors and chose new responses (non-food related) the next time you are faced with those triggers.  And that is how you loose the weight and keep it off - for life!

If you are ready to give yourself the gift of health, please go to Take Shape for Life and send us an email to get started.  Make 2011 the year you created a New You!

The Space Between Here and There

Have you ever thought about the space between here -- and there?  The beat of time between the tick and tock of the clock (assuming you still have a mechanical clock).  The silence between spoken words?

For example, you are sitting in front of your computer, reading the electronic pulses that form on the screen.  Your eyes (and brain) interpret those impulses as letters that form words, sentences and meaning.  As you sit in front of your computer, your eyes are physically about two feet away from the screen (unless you are extremely near-sighted but that doesn't change my analogy).  What occupies that space between your physical body and the computer screen? 

That is the space between "here" and "there." 

It is empty space, just because a physical object does not occupy it? Or is it full of something else that we can't decipher with our five senses?

Those questions are the subject of a new book called Dance With the Divine.  A fictional story about a teenager who was lost in her small world of misery, anger and loneliness, until she discovered that her world was actually much bigger and more wondrous than she ever imagined.  Once Haven discovered that other world, her life tilted on its axis and she stepped into the space between her past and her future.

You will not find Dance With the Divine in the bookstores.  It only exists in the digital world - from Amazon as a Kindle book.  Don't worry - if you don't own a Kindle, you can still read the story on your pc by downloading the program "Kindle for PC."  ! Do a search on Amazon for Dance With the Divine then enjoy a new way of looking at your life!

You have only to step into the space between here --- and there, to find what you have longed for since birth.  To know Who You Really Are and to live as that person.  Only then will your own dance with the Divine begin!

Snacking and Weight Loss

Can you snack and still maintain your weight?  Yes!  But you have to chose wisely and understand what nutrition your body needs every 2-3 hours.  

Aside from being popular sources of energy, snacks play an important role in our weight-loss program. Specifically, snacking gives the body an energy boost when needed, and is also beneficial for weight control. Research shows that snacking lowers both total and LDL (or "bad" cholesterol).

When you are in the weight-loss phase of your Medifast plan, your snacks will be your Medifast Meals. You will eat 5 small meals a day and one Lean & Green meal, so you are getting all the energy you need from these sources.

When you are on weight maintenance, healthy snacking is essential to keeping your metabolism going and your energy up. Good snacks include: fruits, vegetables, low-fat yogurts, crackers with low-fat cheese, cereals and small handfuls of raisins and nuts.

Here are some guidelines on how to maximize the health benefits of your snacks:

• Select a snack with a combination of protein, carbohydrates and fat.
• Pick a snack that is a good source of vitamins and minerals that you wouldn’t otherwise get from foods.
• To help control your weight, choose snacks that are less than 200 calories.
• Eat every two to three hours.   

Maintenance of your ideal weight does not have to be hard or difficult.  Good choices, made throughout the day, are essential to maintaining your healthy weight, feeling good and having lots of energy!

To learn more about Medifast and the 5 & 1 Plan, please visit Emoowered Weigh

Coincidence or a Wink?

Recently, I came across a small, compact book about Christian living in the most unlikely place - a Dollar General store!  They carry books from Thomas Nelson, the big Christian publisher.  The copyrights may be several years old, but the wisdom that flows from these pages is timeless.

My current read is a book by Squire Rushnell called "When God Winks at You."  He has collected stories over the years about coincidences, that he believes are really winks from God.  In Squire's opinion (and mine), God is just waiting for you to ask him for help, so He can let you know He is thinking about you.

As Squire says, "Every time you receive what some call a coincidence or an answered prayer, it's a direct and personal message of reassurance from God to you - what I call a godwink."

Has that ever happened to you? Something so unbelievable that it can't be explained except by calling it a "godwink."  (Let me know so I can write about it!)

This book is full of amazing stories that will leave you breathless in wonder.  After reading "When God Winks at You," you will be filled with the desire to look for all the "godwinks" in your life that happen right before your eyes!

God's Window

When I was young, my mother used to tell me a story about God, looking out of heaven's window.  He would stand at the window and just watch all that went on the world he created.  But she would always remind me that God could also look inside of what he created - into my heart and see my true intentions.

So if I misbehaved (which rarely occurred, because I was God's perfect child...) God could see instantly if I was truly sorry for hitting my brother or taking an extra piece of cake. 

As an adult, this image of God standing at His window has shifted and aligned with new realizations about my life, my purpose and how I may serve Him. The childhood version made God seem too remote and uncaring. Instead of God standing passively at His window as my mother described, I now see myself and my relationship with Him in a different light.

Or through a different window pane, if you will.

The Universe is constantly changing, creating, growing and dying.  The cells in your body change every minute of every day.  Each breath you take causes a chain reaction of change in your body as oxygen is delivered to your cells and carbon dioxide is removed.  You could say that each moment in time is a new creation - it has never occurred before and it will never be the exact same again.

Since we live in a Universe that is always creating something new and different, I realized that God must like change. Why else would He have created what he did? He could have just as easily made a static world, where nothing ever grows, evolves, dies and is reborn.  But He didn't...so that leads us to the next logical step.

If I am a creation of God, then I must be part of the change that He likes to experience! But how does God experience life in this three dimensional world that I live in? That is when I had my break-through moment. 

I am the window through which God sees this world!

God sees this world through my eyes, hears the cacophony of sounds through my ears, and tastes the flavors and textures of life through my tongue and skin.  I am the window pane through which He experiences this world!

But wait - what if I have let my windows become caked over with guilt, shame, regret or anger?  What if I my focus on the past or the future affects the clarity of the glass?  What if my emotional pain has dirtied the window pane through which God sees the world?  Is that really the way I want Him to see the world?

I control my thoughts and the direction of my focus and attention.  If I spend too much time remembering a painful event or waiting for something to happen in the future so I can be happy, my glass is not clear.  Only my focus on the present moment, with all of its gifts of love and wonder, will I keep the view open.

My awareness of this moment creates the transparency God needs!

I am the window for God to see my world.  When I stay in the moment of Now, He can see through me. I can hear His guidance and feel His love, because I am in the moment with Him. 

How clean are your windows?