Determination Allowed My Lifestyle Change

Determination Allowed My Lifestyle Change

By: Lulu Ogadinma

Ever since I could remember, I’ve been overweight. I got teased a lot

because of it. I even remember taking diet pills at the age of 11 years old. When I got to high school, my weight fluctuated only because I got a little active by jump roping everyday and I had the courage to join the shot put. I got down from 195 lbs to 175 lbs and that was my lowest. Little did I know that during my senior year of high school, I would get pregnant and my weight would shoot all the way up to 232 lbs in 2008. I stayed that size even after I gave birth, all the way till Feb 2013. Eventually I just got tired of being over weight. My weight issues caused me to have low self esteem and no confidence. I wanted to finally feel good about myself and I wanted to stop shopping at Lane Bryant and in the plus size section of every store. I was too young for that. I started researching what I should eat when trying to lose weight and that’s how I changed my diet. I now eat clean, meaning, cutting out processed foods, fast foods, pop, juice and white simple carbs. I only eat complex carbs, lean protein, egg whites, beans, veggies and some fruit.

I don’t eat too much fruit because it’s high in sugar, and I aim to drink a gallon of water daily. I started off doing cardio 5 to 6 times a week, 2 hours a day, and weight training 2 to 3 times a week. Now I’am 160 which is 72 lbs lighter from where I started. I feel so good about myself. What keeps me motivated is my followers on my social media pages. They tell me all the time how I am such of an inspiration I am to them and that motivates them to change their lifestyle. I love hearing that because it fuels me to go harder. I am currently going through ISSA to obtain my personal training certificate. I plan on being a motivational speaker that goes to schools and other places to share my story and help motivate young people to start their journey now. I also plan on starting a mentoring program that will focus on the body and mind for the ages 18 thru 24. My goal is to inspire and encourage young women to embrace a healthy lifestyle and promote high self esteem.My advice is to look at weight loss as a lifestyle change not something you have to do. Looking at it as something you have to do will cause you to get discouraged and when you don’t see results and then you will

give up. A lifestyle change is permanent so you’ll know that no

matter what happens, the weight will come off and its not something

that you will constantly think about.

Passions. Paychecks. Planning.

By: Ayana Bryant-Weekes 

This past Sunday - in the spirit of our 40-days of prayer and consecration - my pastor, Bishop J.Drew Sheard, challenged the entire Greater Emmanuel COGIC congregation to take a leap of faith financially. He asked us, starting in the month of June, to tithe on the income we DESIRE to have. With several career propositions, student debts, and just plain old lifestyle preferences before me, I was more than willing to spiritually step out on the water.  This was supposed to be a simple task, pay 10% of what I wanted to make in my future income. As a regular tithe payer who usually rounds to the nearest dollar, I didn’t have a problem with paying more than what was required of me.  The problem was, and still is; I didn’t know what amount I really wanted.

Bishop’s challenge not only forced me to step out on faith but to also deeply consider a financial direction for my life. I got so wrapped up in making sure I followed passions and not paychecks that I overlooked the prosperous benefits linked to staying on the path that God has for me. Even before this challenge was presented to me I had small instances where I was asked to set my financial standard, for example, being asked what my preferred salary was at a recent job interview (I ended up getting more than what I asked for) in which my answer was hesitant because I hadn’t really considered the answer. The bible warns us on several occasions not to idolize and worship money and material things but that does not mean that God is not willing and waiting to bless us with the desires of our hearts and provide us with the things we need to survive in this day, granted that we keep Him at the center of it all.

[Matthew 6:31-33 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.]

This financial challenge that God dropped in Bishop Sheard’s spirit is a combination of faith and practicality. Faith says, “I’m paying 10% on an amount that I am not making yet” and practicality says, “I have to be somewhat realistic in my projected income and have to begin to act on said projection”. Let’s not exclude financial planning as a part of kingdom building as it can echo back into our lives as preparation for bigger blessings to come.

Deuteronomy 8:18 “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

Connections : What if it's just you?

What if it's just you?

By: Ambrea Curry 

"I was born alone, and I will die alone" a quote I'm sure you've heard before right? If you haven't...soon you will. Some may think that statement is a statement that comes from a lonely or hurt state of mind or from someone who may have been hurt many times by ones they've loved and consequently, put up a wall to keep out further hurt. To a certain extent I agree, however I happen to believe that adapting that mind set can be, some what, a safe guard against feelings of loneliness in a season of isolation. In life we go through seasons of isolation, when you feel detached from everyone and everything..the people you look to are not there, and the people you look for are nowhere near. Is that God's way of getting your attention, or is it the devils way of trying to get ahold of your mind? Could it be both? Perhaps.....well let's look at it this way....Isolation is good when God is allowing you to go through it to birth new things in you. It is in those quiet times that God speaks to you, directs you, gives you news ideas, and can even clarify a few things for you. When you're most vulnerable and spiritually weak, God is there to restore you and help you grow. In these times loneliness can also creep in, which is when the devil tries to wreck havoc in your mind. In the lonely times you can become bitter when thinking about the people who are not "there" in your life.....people who you've placed such high values on...that might not deserve value at all....that's when the walls go up, and the mind set "I was born alone, and I'll die alone" comes in. You may shut people out to prove you don't need them, which proves you need them more. Remember, a friend of mine says this often, "God loves through people and though you may think you don't need them, everybody needs somebody" and I believe that wholeheartedly, but if God needs to silence some things to get your attention he will. All in all be happy with those "alone" but not lonely, isolating  times. God is near, he's preparing you for something greater, he's ridding some things in you, and he's restoring damaged parts of you! Be okay with just you! 

This Is The Church

By: Ayana Bryant-Weekes

“This is the church. This is the steeple…” Remember these catchy lyrics to the youthful finger-play we learned as children? Gleefully folding our hands into the shape of a church building and towering belfry, chanting, “This is the church. This is the steeple...” My guess is that this chant may have been an innocent catalyst for some of the misunderstandings we have about The Church and our role in it; one of the many subliminal nuances that strayed us from God’s true intent for The Church; The Body and the building. 

[Ephesians 1:22, 23] He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ’s body, in which he speaks and acts, by which he fills everything with his presence. (MSG)

Throughout the bible, in God’s several illustrations of The Church, it is not referred to as a particular location. Ephesians 5:25-32 describes Christ’s relationship with the church as that of a husband and wife, not a husband and his Man Cave. God even told us in Acts 7:48-50 that The Church, The Body, was not made by human hands.

 “Yet that doesn’t mean that Most High God lives in a building made by carpenters and masons. The prophet Isaiah put it well when he wrote, Heaven is my throne room; I rest my feet on earth.
So what kind of house will you build me?” says God.
“Where I can get away and relax? It’s already built, and I built it.”[Acts 7:48-50]

So if The Church is not a building, then what is it and why do we have to go every week? First of all, we aren’t forced to go; God is not some attendance-taking college professor ready to reduce our spiritual grade a full letter after three absences but, as Creator of all things, built us to need each other.  It has become my experience that the ‘church building’ serves a communal purpose for its members. “…Open the doors and see all the people...” The gathering (assembling together) we are instructed not to abandon in Hebrews 10:24-25, satisfies the interaction our humanity craves. Requiring that The Church uphold a central location, whether it’s a physical place or an online following, encourages us to make connections, grow and learn about and with each other for the sake of building The Kingdom.

When you view The Church as a place, you can become a stranger among the people who can help you unlock your purpose. These conversations and time spent together are all taking place while in corporate worship to God at a determined place and each experience broadens our perspectives and deepens our insights. “…Close the doors and hear them pray…”

[Colossians 3:14-16]  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

The bible tells us that our belief in Jesus Christ as our Savior makes us fellow citizens and members of His household.  [Ephesians 2: 21-22
] In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.  And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

“…Open the doors and they all walk away.”  

The church as a building has designated days and times for its utility, but The Church, The Body, is a 24/7 housing unit for the spirit of God and a constant invitation to become a part of a marvelous work.