Journey to Health - The Daniel Plan

Our Precious Ladies:

I am challenging myself and our RTCA ladies to go on a journey together to build a healthier temple by what we eat and how we care for our mind, body and spirit. Hopefully this is something we can do together via e-mail communication and encourage each other by doing it together.  The main focus is not on losing weight but on being healthy but if we lose weight as a result of eating healthy that’s fine.

Let me begin with some thoughts on this subject to encourage our mind to be in agreement with this challenge. Our physical health influences our mental, spiritual, emotional, relational and even our financial health. When we are physically healthy, that gives us the energy and alertness to make other changes in our life. 

I Cor. 6:12-20 says to honor God with our bodies because it belongs to God and is His living temple. Jesus showed us how valuable we are to him with arms outstretched which said I love you this much and I'd rather die than live without you because you're priceless to me. Since we’re that valuable to Him, God wants us to take good care of our body, the temple where His Spirit lives.

In horse terms, if we bought a million dollar race horse, we would feed it the healthiest food available and let it get plenty of good rest and sleep and the best care possible to protect our investment.  The fact is Jesus made an investment in us and paid for us with His very life and wants us to take care of His investment. We abuse and vandalize God's investment when we deprive ourselves of rest and sleep, eat unhealthy food, allow too much stress on our bodies and neglect God's temple.  We aren't the owner of our body, we're the caretaker the steward of it. We can be good stewards of the temple God gave us by putting our trust in God's power to help us make changes…….not by our willpower.

Go online to www.danielplan.com to look at the Daniel Plan book you can order which we’ll be using. Click the X on the box if you don’t want to give your e-mail. Then before you click on the “store” link, scroll to the bottom of the page and watch the 3 video interviews explaining the plan on national TV and see God using this plan to also get His gospel message out  (He’s clever). There is also a journal to record your journey and other things you can order, but I’m only using the Daniel Plan book. I encourage you to pray about this and ask for God’s power to be able to change unhealthy habits to healthy ones. After reading the information on this plan and praying whether you want to join us and order the book online or not. I hope you let me know you want to accept my challenge.  

I want to start this study on October 1^st which lasts 6 weeks and can repeat it. When we start on October 1^st , we can all start to encourage each other and communicate by e-mail for our accountability. You may e-mail or call me if any questions.  

Sincerely love you and blessed by you all,

Diana Elam
Representative for Women’s Ministry

Submissive Faith. by K. Chavez.

A new year is at our doorstep. A new time God has allowed us to enjoy with our family, our church, our friends. It's that kind of year when God is calling many of us to take a step into a new level of faith, the type of faith that requires total submission to God. There have been many times in my life when God has called me to do the unexpected; in ministry, in my family life, and in my personal life. I’d like to share with you a time when the Holy Spirit made his will sweet in my life. 

About 6 years ago, I was a blessed to be part of a wonderful church. There were many talented musicians and singers. Unfortunately, all of a sudden some of the musicians moved, others left the church and slowly we began to lose all the talented people in the worship band. It was no longer a band as there was only one musician, the drummer.  

My pastor asked me to join the worship group but I didn’t feel that I could sing very well and I didn’t play any instruments. However, I obeyed the pastor and joined the group. The group didn’t have a leader and nobody volunteered to lead it, so after a couple of months, the pastor asked me to become the leader. I was hesitant to do this because after all, I had no music knowledge. How can I lead them? But in submission to God, I accepted.

I became the leader of a group of people who wanted to worship God through music but had no training and little talent. I was not too encouraged. I didn’t want to be a leader of a group like this and I didn’t have the training to get things going. I cried every night and prayed that God would send musicians and singers to the band, but nothing happened. So I prayed and waited.

Later that year, my mother-in-law gave my oldest son an electric piano for Christmas because she wanted him to begin taking piano lessons. When I saw the electric piano I felt the Lord speak to my heart and tell me “You will worship me with this instrument”. I thought… “I don’t know how to play the piano; I will make a fool of myself. How can I possible think that I can stand up in front of the congregation, play an instrument and lead worship? I’m not called for that” I put God's calling aside and continue to rehearse the worship team with prerecorded tracks on a CD. 

During one of those rehearsals, one of the team members suggested that we do one day of prayer and fasting. She felt we needed it, we were practically putting people to sleep during services! So we did it, we got together and prayed.  That day as we were reading God's Word, a passage spoke to my heart. It read “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). I understood that He had chosen me for such time as this. God chose me to lead this group of people and He would glorify Himself through us. 

I got home and took the keyboard and prayed. I asked the Lord to help me learn how to play this instrument. I didn’t have any money for piano lessons, so I took my computer and searched for free piano lessons. I came across various videos on YouTube with mini lessons and I began to use them. I started to practice every single day. To make a long story short; God helped me to learn chords rather quickly. I began to play the piano and sing at the same time in just a couple of months. And every time I did it, it was as if I was someone else. God would take over and use me like I never imagined He could. In less than 4 months I was leading worship at the church and the presence of God was felt during every service. 

About a year later a friend and a professional guitar player, came to visit. He went to one of our practices and couldn’t believe what God was doing with our group. I told him the testimony and he was in awe. He told me how playing an instrument and singing at the same time was not a simple task and required much practice, and was amazed how I could do it without any trouble. The most amazing thing was that I didn’t even take real lessons. It was all God at work. 

I never thought that at my age I would be able to learn to play an instrument so quickly and without much assistance. But God honored my faithful submission to His call and glorified Himself in my life. I never saw myself as a musician, but God had other plans for my life. I allowed God to take control and He showed me that he can "chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are" (1 Corinthians 1:28). He chose me, a grown woman, mother of three, without any previous knowledge of music, to be the leader of a band and worship Him through music. Praise God for His perfect plans.

Yup! that's me on the keyboard.

“Do not think that loving submission to God in consecration does away with your personhood. Far from it; loving submission is the way to find your true personhood, your true self.” (Tracy 89). I had to put my fears and own plans aside and faithfully submitted to God’s plans for my life. I found out that I had this musical ability that I would have never noticed if I wouldn’t have allowed God to take control of my life. I am so thankful that God used my pastor to lead me into God’s purpose for my life. I am happy that I chose to submit rather than rebel against His will for my life. 

My dear woman of God. This year a challenge you to take the step of faith God has called you to make. To submit to His will and calling. To rest in His arms and know that He's in control and His plans are perfect for your life.