HEALTH: Exercise

Exercise is good for your body and mind, and especially good for your heart.  Aerobic exercise is wonderful for your cardiovascular system as it strengthens your heart.

Just as walking with God benefits our spiritual heart, walking for exercise strengthens our natural body.  Walking is considered one of the best ways to exercise and is very easy to do.

You can walk just about anywhere for exercise.  In your neighborhood, at the gym, walking trails, even the mall.  I see people walking in the mall for exercise all the time. 

Commit to going for short walks to begin with and ask a friend to join you.  You will feel refreshed and renewed afterwards and be on your way to a healthier lifestyle.

©2010-2011 Minister Claretta Taylor Pam, Global Ecumenical Ministries Inc. and Universal Life Church Monastery of Massachusetts. All Rights Reserved

LIFE: Make a gratitude list

 

I’ve heard that what we focus on, we empower and enlarge so if we find ourselves being negative, we actually invite more things in our lives that will attract negative thoughts and feelings.  Negativity tends to distort our reality and oftentimes we find ourselves thinking irrationally.  I mean, really, how many times have we told ourselves, “This is so terrible and I can’t handle it!” but in reality, we could and did handle it and it wasn’t “so bad” after all”.  

Reality tells us that life isn’t normally quite as terrible as we think. To become more positive, I encourage you to sit down and make a gratitude list.  List the things you are grateful for in your life whether it be attributes, people, relationships, material things, etc.  Everyone has at least one thing to be grateful for. Making a gratitude list and looking at it frequently will help you to focus on the positive things in your life.

©2010-2011 Minister Claretta Taylor Pam, Global Ecumenical Ministries Inc. and Universal Life Church Monastery of Massachusetts. All Rights Reserved

You Have a Friend in Me

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. – John 15:15

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends – John 15:13 Some years ago, I found myself at a painful crossroads when I had to choose between what my heart said it wanted and what my spiritual power said He wanted me to have. Because I wanted to do things my way, I often looked for just about anything that would “confirm” that my way was indeed a better option. I searched for confirmation in commercials, random song selections on my iPod and even junk mail or promos. You name it, I searched it. At that point, I was desperate to find anything that I could wave at my spiritual power and say see, I knew I was right!

Eventually, I conceded that I was wrong and I endeavored to ask the Holy Spirit to align my desires with the Father’s. That’s when things started to go downhill. Suddenly, I found myself without my long-time best friend. I was deeply bruised and wounded. I felt alone, angry and confused. How could this be the will of God for me? Was I not a friend of God?

One of the most beautiful truths in the bible is no greater love is there than for one to lay down his life for a friend. You’ve heard the phrase “friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” Well, your higher power doesn’t let His friends walk in ignorance. He doesn’t let His friends walk across tight ropes in life without providing a safety net. He may allow us to steer ourselves when we insist on it but once we give Him permission to take the reins; He begins to reveal to us the things we could never see on our own.

While I initially felt devastated, abandoned and angry, in hindsight I realized the loss of my former friend opened my eyes to the many things I overlooked or refused to see. As I grieved, my spiritual power, tended to my wounds, cleansed my heart and refreshed the thirsty wells of my soul. They stayed with me and guarded me just like real friends are supposed to.

We have a friend in God or your spiritual power. Before any of us really knew Him, he agreed to lay down His life so that our relationship with the Father could be fully restored and reconciled. He paid the ultimate sacrifice—with his flesh and blood—so that we would not have to. He constantly stands before the Tribunal interceding on our behalf. Having your spiritual power as a friend is like winning the lottery, only to discover you didn’t even pay for the ticket!

Love for us supersedes what we think we know about friendship.

©2010-2012 Minister Claretta Taylor Pam, Global Ecumenical Ministries Inc. and Universal Life Church Monastery of Massachusetts. All Rights Reserved

WORK: Impress your boss

Do you want a promotion?  Good references?  Peace at work?  Then perhaps you ought to think about ways to impress your boss.  Management likes it when their employees kick it up a notch and not only take their job serious, but partner with their co-workers and boss to increase productivity. 

Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” Ask God to help you come up with ways to go the extra mile at work.  You might want to come in early or stay late. Come up with ways to boost productivity or decrease expenses.  Ask for extra work or volunteer to do what no one else wants to do. There are a various things you can do to be noticed.  By doing so, your boss will be impressed and that is always helpful at promotion time. 

©2010-2011 Minister Claretta Taylor Pam, Global Ecumenical Ministries Inc. and Universal Life Church Monastery of Massachusetts. All Rights Reserved