10 Benifits of a Cup of Java

1.  After analyzing data on 126,000 people for as long as 18 years, Harvard researchers calculate that compared with not partaking in America's favorite morning drink, downing one to three cups of caffeinated coffee daily can reduce diabetes risk by single digits. But having six cups or more each day slashed men's risk by 54% and women's by 30% over java avoiders.

2.  Reduced risk of Parkinson's - Consider this: At least six studies indicate that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson's, with three showing the more they drink, the lower the risk.

3.  Reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease and Dementia - Several studies comparing moderate coffee drinkers - defined as 3-5 cups per day - with light coffee drinkers - defined as 0-2 cups per day -  found that those who drank more coffee were significantly less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease later in life. A study in 2009 found that moderate coffee drinkers had reduced risk of developing dementia in addition to Alzheimer's disease.

4.  Lowered risk of prostate cancer - Harvard Medical followed about 50,000 men from 1986 through 2006. And every four years, we asked them how much coffee they drink, both regular and decaffeinated. And we found that men who drank the most coffee, more than six cups - or six or more cups per day, had a much lower risk of lethal or advanced prostate cancer. Their risk was about 60 percent lower than men who didn't drink any coffee.

5.  Cuts the risk of stroke - According to the study presented at the American Stroke Association's 2010 International Stroke Conference, drinking a single cup of regular or decaffeinated coffee every day reduces the risk of stroke by 30 percent.

6.  Cuts the risk of gallstones - According to the study, men who drank two to three cups of regular (caffeinated) coffee a day had a 40 percent lower risk of developing gallstone disease, and risk was reduced by 45 percent for those who drank four or more cups a day.

7.  Lowered risk of suicide - A ten-year study concluded that women who drink coffee are not as likely to commit suicide as non-coffee drinkers. The study was authored by Ichiro Kawachi of Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. It followed 86,626 female nurses from 1980 to 1990 who drank between two and three cups of caffeinated coffee per day. Of the coffee drinkers, 11 committed suicide, compared with 21 women who never or rarely consumed coffee.  (A separate study on coffee consumption found that as little as 100 milligrams of caffeine each day can produce increased feelings of well-being.)


8.  Coffee and Cancer - Coffee is one of the most widely researched products in the world today. The World Cancer Research Fund (2007) published a report in which a panel of 21 world renowned experts evaluated data from 7000 studies, looking at a wide range of food and drinks in relation to incidence of human cancers. In respect of coffee they reported that “It is unlikely that coffee has any substantial effect on the risk of cancer of either the pancreas or of the kidney.” (WCRF/AICR Expert Report, 2007)
In conclusion the available data shows that coffee drinking is not a causal factor in the development of cancer at any body site, and may be protective in relation to liver, lower bowel and ovarian cancer.


9.  Improves cognitive reasoning - a study done by the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research demonstrated that consumption of at least three cups of coffee per day (or approximately 300 mg caffeine*) is associated with a slower rate of decline in cognitive abilities in women. This suggests that caffeine intake could help keep mental and memory skills sharper for a longer period of time in older individuals. These beneficial effects also appear to increase with age.

10.  Keeps me from choking you first thing in the morning - do you really need more details on this one..... I'm just kidding ------- well maybe just a little.....  I wouldn't think of choking you >>>>>>> What am I thinking about ummmmmmmmm nothing.

If you don't have a cup think about getting one NOW the life you save could be your own...... or one of your loved ones.... or a pesky co-worker etc.  back to the choking thing again.  Okay moving on

HOW DO YOU like your coffee?



sources:
http://men.webmd.com/features/coffee-new-health-food
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703278604574624032849271284.html
http://www.foodinsight.org/Resources/Detail.aspx?topic=Fact_Sheet_Caffeine_and_Performance

Velvet Elvis: A Few More Thoughts

I have often wondered why there is such a high tolerance for false teaching in the Christian world, it's as if we have such a week foundation on what scripture actually says that we are willing to accept nearly anything.  I know that each of us are wrapped up in the business of our day to day lives that we just don't have time to do one more thing.  Well I think it comes down to what we make time for, and we seem to make time for the things that are most important to us.  How important is your relationship with God.  Is it first on your list?  I am not talking about Church, and all the things that go along with that.  Church is important but I am talking about your core relationship with God.  Steven R. Covey wrote a book call 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: 15th Anniversary Edition - Unabridged Audiobook on CD By Stephen R. Covey / Simon & Schuster Trade Sales

This book has some very good points and would be of great benefit to nearly anyone.   One of his points is Sharpen the Saw and what he means by that is what are you doing to improve?  Are you reading, listening, watching video, going to seminars, practicing, furthering your education?  The point is there are many different ways that you can sharpen the saw.....  question is are you.  This is a leadership book that can be applied by anyone regardless of what your chosen vocation is, or what position you hold.  It has principals that were set by God first but in the book it has limited focus on God if any.  However, you can apply the principles from a Christian viewpoint, just remember the original source of many of these standards.  Are you sharpening the saw where your relationship with God is concerned.  I encourage everyone to be plugged in to a local Church and attend regularly but what else are you doing?  Take some time to sharpen the saw and maybe listen to the sermons below as a way of doing that....... you might find something you needed to hear.

Here is a sermon from John MacArthur that talks about myths of salvation it is in three parts and has some great insight in to some of the things that pertain to the book Velvet Elvis.  You cant go wrong listening to John MacArthur preach  you can listen or download for free just click on listen or download when page pops up.  It will take about 1 hour per part that is three hours of your time, you can break it up over several days but I implore you to listen to these sermons as it is critical that each of us be able to identify and avoid false teachers on our own with the help of the Holy Spirit so here ya go:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Velvet Elvis

I was having a conversation with a friend of mine....about Church and several sub-topics about Church when he asked have you read Velvet Elvis?  I hadn't and was a bit resistant to the idea because I am familiar with some of the authors (Rob Bell) work.  I had seen several of the NOOMA videos and had heard a few of his sermons via podcast / youtube etc.  While Rob seems to be making a rather large impact in his Church and now in many other Churches via his videos, his preaching, and theology  philosophy are bad medicine.  I have read other books that are theologically corrupt and figured that if this was one big expanded NOOMA video that it would pretty much be the same.  I purchased the book (do yourself a favor if you just have to read it because you are confident that I am dead wrong about this you can borrow mine)  If you just have to have your very own copy.... cause mine has all kinds of little notes written in the columns and a bunch of HIGHLIGHTED stuff (mostly the stuff that he got wrong).  Do yourself another favor and save yourself some money and get it from the link below at Christianbook.com  I paid a little over $14.00 for the paperback and they have it for $11.99 so either way it saving you a bit and after you read it I am sure you will be glad that you didn't pay anymore for it.

Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith By Rob Bell / Zondervan We know there's something more. We sense it, we feel it, and we want it. But how do we find it---a spirituality that stands up to the questions of an honest, searching mind? "This book is for those who need a fresh take on Jesus and what it means for us to live the kind of life he teaches us to live," writes Rob Bell. "This pursuit of Jesus is leading us backward as much as forward ... I am learning that what seems brand new is often just the discovery of something that has been there all along---it just got lost somewhere and it needs to be picked up, dusted off, and reclaimed." Velvet Elvis offers original and refreshingly personal perspectives on what Christianity is really about.

Again let me make this clear......... I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS BOOK.  There are to many questions asked and almost none of them answered.

There are many examples that I could list it starts almost from the very beginning.  I am going to start with this one from page 26 of Velvet Elvis. 

Somebody recently gave me a video tape of a lecture given by a man who travels around speaking about the creation of the world.  At one point in his lecture, he said if you deny that God created the world in six literal twenty-four-hour days, then your are denying that Jesus ever died on the cross.  It's a bizarre leap of logic to make, I would say.  

But he was serious.

This is an argument about the literal interpretation of the Bible and the creation story.  It is a very slippery slope to be on when we choose to negate the literal creation story in scripture and begin teaching or contemplating that six days means something other than six days.  If we take it figuratively that each day could have been an indeterminate period of time we open the door for millions of years or the very foundation of what evolutionist build their theory on, that it took millions of years for humans to evolve.  Rob goes on to say this on the same page #26 very next paragraph

 It hit me while I was watching that for him faith isn't a trampoline; it's a wall of bricks.  Each of the core doctrines for him is like an individual brick that stacks on top of the others.  If you pull one out, the whole wall starts to crumble.  It appears quite strong and rigid, but if you begin to rethink or discuss even one brick, the whole thing is in danger.  Like he said, no six-day creation equals no cross.  Remove one, and the whole wall wobbles.

Okay here in the next paragraph is where he starts to express his example of how we as Christians should be flexible and by being flexible like a spring and not rigid like a brick wall we actually are better Christians.  Hold on to your hat cause this is were you are going to say huh?  (or you should be saying huh?)

 What if tomorrow someone digs up definitive proof that Jesus had a real, earthly, biological father named Larry, and archaeologists find Larry's tomb and do DNA samples and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the virgin birth was really just a bit of mythologizing the Gospel writers threw in to appeal to the followers of the Mithra and Dionysian religious cults that were hugely popular at the time of Jesus, who's gods had virgin births?  But what if as you study the origin of the word virgin, you discover that the word virgin in the gospel of Matthew actually comes from the book of Isaiah, and then you find out that in the Hebrew language at that time, the word virgin could mean several things.  And what if you discover that in the first century being "born of a virgin" also referred to a child who's mother became pregnant the first time she had intercourse?

 What if that spring was seriously questioned?

 Could a person keep jumping?  Could a person still love God?  Could you still be a Christian?

 Is the way of Jesus still the best possible way to live?

Yep that is what he says in the book......this is just one of many things that he is willing question and allow his readers to question.  Rob gives inaccurate information about Mithra and Dionysus, he fails to include that they are not real, they are mythical and that Jesus is actually a historical person that is recorded as fact, having lived and died and been resurrected.  These facts having been recorded by sources outside the biblical account.  If we can take liberties with these claims in the Bible and if there were false things written in the Bible to appeal to people of other beliefs.  Well Rob the answers to your questions are:  NO a person couldn't keep jumping.......Yes we could continue to love God but he now becomes a liar.....Yes you could still be a Christian but it would mean nothing more than being a Tampa Bay Bucs fan and we know how far that will get you these days.  (MAN!!! those Bucs are really starting to make it hard to even watch)....and finally he asks is the way of Jesus still the best possible way to live?.... well Rob in light of what you just brought up that makes him just a dude, like Mohammad, Buddha, and all of the other so called deities.  We might as well follow Larry his fictional father!  I hear he was a pretty nice person that didn't really break a whole lot of rules  ( he did have that weird thing about biting his toe nails but we could all set around and do that as a ritual or something).  Maybe we should just follow him we could all be Larry-ans and live good and right. 

Rob is trying to say that Christianity has evolved from the beginning, it will continue to evolve and that we should be willing to be flexible and evolve with it.  Bottom line the core of the Gospel cannot be flexible, it is made clear in the scripture and it is not open for debate.....even though many will and do just that.  The fundamentals of Christianity (I know the use of that phrase will draw debate as to what those are but I am going to use it anyway)  have not evolved they have stayed the same and will continue to stay the same.  People have tried to put a new spin on them since the beginning and will continue, Rob Bell is on that road. 

Take a look at 1 Corinthians 15 Paul exhorts the Corinthians about preaching anything other than the Gospel as it has been given.  (by the way at the end of the book Rob Bell calls in to question the validity of the uniqueness of the Resurrection by stating that the church didn't even discuss the Resurrection because it wasn't unique that no one would have refuted it because he says everyones god had risen from the dead in the first century)

Bottom line Rob Bell is willing to muddy all of the lines of Christianity to appeal to nearly anyone of any religion.  He is compromising in order to appeal, it is an A le' carte Christianity that lets you take what you want and mash it in to what you want to make it.  He has made it humanism among other things and disguised it as Christianity.

I could go on, give many more examples but I am not.  I will leave you with a couple of links that will give you insight into this book from individuals that are much more qualified than I am to say your wrong Rob.  You have come this far check out the links and put the notion of wasting any time reading this book to bed.

Discerning Reader <-----take a look here for another review

Barnabas Ministries <----- you can click here too.

Well there you have it, after reading it I feel like I have been talking to a dishonest car salesman for the past week!!!  Ever had to deal with one of those?

Me first Me first

From time to time we go through our days feeling justified in ourselves. We think that we are above others by our own proclamation. We have a tendency to push our way to the front, dragging others down if need be to get that coveted position. Some are willing to make comments that are derogatory in nature and play others down while playing themselves up.

Luke 14:7-11 (MSG)

7 He went on to tell a story to the guests around the table. Noticing how each had tried to elbow into the place of honor, he said,

8 "When someone invites you to dinner, don't take the place of honor. Somebody more important than you might have been invited by the host.

9 Then he'll come and call out in front of everybody, 'You're in the wrong place. The place of honor belongs to this man.' Red-faced, you'll have to make your way to the very last table, the only place left.

10 "When you're invited to dinner, go and sit at the last place. Then when the host comes he may very well say, 'Friend, come up to the front.' That will give the dinner guests something to talk about!

11 What I'm saying is, If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face. But if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."

Others are willing to let someone else do the work but trickle in and try to claim the reward.  Have you ever taken time to measure yourself against someone else, maybe looks, smarts, ability, talent, worldly success?  God is not impressed with any of that in the least bit, your not fooling him even a little.  God knows the heart, he counts that first and foremost, he uses the humble and the meek to do great things in his kingdom. 

Remember David and Goliath, Moses, Gideon..... the list goes on and on, these great men in the Bible didn't push their way to the front in fact some of them went the other direction because they knew they were not capable on their own.  They didn't tell everyone how great they were, they were humble and allowed room for God to have the Glory.  Do you let God have the glory?.....or are you trying to steal away little bits here and there.  Do you serve God for him or for you?  We can get it backwards!!! We can proclaim that it is for God when it is not.  The world is a world of resumes, accolades, awards and accomplishments.  The world judges by titles, certificates and degrees. 

The world wants to know what your qualifications are first.  Then they base their opinion from there.  God says he is our justification through Christ, he is all we need, we don't need worldly proof of our worthiness.  We don't have to have a bio a mile long to do Gods will.  Let the proof be in the pudding,  speak his word, do his will.  There will be a long line of people holding their bio when they go to heaven it will not be the determining factor on if they are in or out.  Watcha think?

Here are a few other verses to take a look at

Matthew 5:5 (MSG)
5 "You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.

Matthew 20:16 (MSG)
16 "Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first."

So I'm thinkn' God really wants us to be humble to trust in him and let the boasters, the ones that would rather talk about all that they have done, and chatter about others measure or worth learn the lesson the hard way.  As my dad used to say,  "If you don't listen.....you have to feel"

God Bless

What Do You Love This Much?

Okay for the past few posts I have given you others words, videos, or input on things.  It would get boring just hearing me ramble on, and on, and on.  So here is another video to make you think about your place, what is valuable to you.... what you would make the extra effort for.........


BIRTHRIGHT from Sean Mullens on Vimeo.

What would you be willing to put this much effort into?  If we love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, soul, strength, would it look like this.  Would we prepare all week long to worship God, would we roll around in the dirt and the sand making the extra preparations, making all the extra effort  for the few moments of personal contact with our magnificent creator.  Would we approach with reckless abandon with out fear of what others think?  We should have this kind of passion for our Lord first!!!  Then find what your personal passion is and work toward it with unbridled effort.

God Bless

That's not my PROBLEM!!!!

Here is a little story that my mother sent me.  I shared it yesterday and thought I would share it with everyone.  I often wonder how often we act the way of the chicken, pig and the cow.  We may think it is someone else's responsibility to bare the burden, however, we should be willing to lift up our brothers and sisters in Christ and when we are asked for help or see a need we should be willing to help in what ever way we can.  Prayer is powerful and we should always do that, but is that all we should do?  Think about it.  I am


A mouse looked through the crack in the wall
To see the farmer and his wife open a package.
"What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered.
He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard,
The mouse proclaimed this warning :
"There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched,
Raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse,
I can tell this is a grave concern to you,
But it is of no consequence to me.

I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him,
"There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The pig sympathized, but said,
"I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse,
But there is nothing I can do about it
But pray..
Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said,
"There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you,
But it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house,
Head down and dejected,
To face the farmer's mousetrap
. . .. Alone.. . ..
That very night

A sound was heard throughout the house
-- the sound Of a mousetrap catching its prey.

The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught.
In the darkness, she did not see it.

It was a venomous snake
Whose tail was caught in the trap.

The snake bit the farmer's wife.

The farmer rushed her to the hospital.
When she returned home she still had a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever
With fresh chicken soup.

So the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard
For the soup's main ingredient:

But his wife's sickness continued.

Friends and neighbors
Came to sit with her
Around the clock.

To feed them,
The farmer butchered the pig.

But, alas,

The farmer's wife did not get well...
She died.

So many people came for her funeral
That the farmer had the cow slaughtered
To provide enough meat for all of them
For the funeral luncheon.

And the mouse looked upon it all
From his crack in the wall
With great sadness.

So, the next time you hear
Someone is facing a problem
And you think it doesn't concern you,

Remember ---

When one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.
We are all involved in this journey called life.
We must keep an eye out for one another
And make an extra effort
To encourage one another.

We may never know how our lives impact another but I want
Each of you to know today that you have impacted my life
In many, many ways.

- REMEMBER -

EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD
IN ANOTHER PERSON'S TAPESTRY.
OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER
FOR A REASON.

God bless

Putting Christ First

Here is a video clip about a young woman not excepting compromise when it comes to her walk with Christ!  Listen to what she has to say CLOSELY!  Are you willing to deny self,  and the world around you to this point in the name of Christ.  What do we compromise on?  Do we live to freely in our salvation in Christ.  Are we arrogant even proud of our sin and freedom in Christ?  Take a look at this and see if you can identify with any of this.


God Bless

No Arms No Legs No Worries

Many of you may have seen this before, but what strikes me about it, is that we need to continue to re-enforce this message with our children and ourselves everyday!!!!  It doesn't matter what we are dealing with, what we don't have, (there is someone that always has less).  Even better there are those that have less that find away to do MORE with it.  It is about attitude and gratitude. 

What are you going to do with what you have today.  How are you encouraging someone?  What are you doing to develop the talents and gifts that you have been given, in yourself and in others?  If the answer is nothing, then make something happen today!  Encourage yourself to do SOMETHING.....it might be picking up a book (hey the Bible comes to mind) and reading it.  It might be setting out to accomplish something you have always wanted to do.  Even more important how can you encourage someone else to do the same or lift up what they are trying to do already.  The world is full of WET RAGS (that is someone who is negative about everything) take a different route starting today and encouraging yourself and others.




God Bless

Are you talking to me God?

Okay over the past two weeks I have heard two sermons about Joseph, I have had it brought up in two conversations as an example as well as one conversation that I started. I have heard the following statement made by two different preachers. "There is nothing that happens that is not either allowed by God or caused by God."

I was also directed to the following text.

Whatever your calling, it is first experienced as a crisis of meaning, a question or series of questions most often tied to your authentic identity and way of being. Ask yourself, "Who am I really?" "Who am I in relation to others?" "Where am I headed?" "What is the essential meaning of my life and how can I live my purpose….fully joyfully, and without compromise?" - M. Chironna

Along with a blog post from Pilgrimage of The Heart
click here for entire post.

Here is an excerpt from that blog.

Moses tells God that he's too weak to lead the nation of Israel out of Egypt. Jonah runs away from his mission to Nineveh. Even Jesus spends 30 years in obscurity before the Father pronounces, "This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased."

We struggle to find our place, to do the thing that we were put on this earth to do. It begins with understanding who you are. And for some reason, few of us have found the path in which we were destined to walk.

The journey to our life's work is a long and arduous one, but the most important pilgrimage of our lives. There are all sorts of twists and turns and calamities awaiting us. That is why many choose to not even begin. It may mean quitting your comfortable job or facing a certain fear. It's scary. But the alternative is even scarier.

As Elijah Price (from Unbreakable) says: "You know what the scariest thing is? To not know your place in this world. To not know why you're here... That's... That's just an awful feeling."

Friends, it's time to know. To make some bold choices. To do what we were meant to do. May we stop settling for what the world says we should be and become who we are.

"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs -- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." -Romans 8:16-17

Excerpt from Pilgrimage of The Heart


The story of Joseph is a powerful one that you can read for yourself starting in Genesis 37. It is a story of betrayal, hurt and mistreatment, but even more it is a story about greatness, restoration, forgiveness and God's sovereignty. Further more it clearly emphasizes that GOD is in control always so if God is in control what do I have to worry about.

Joseph was diligent in his day to day things and did not allow himself to be a victim.  He honored God by not allowing circumstances to dictate how he responded. Praise GOD! in the storm!!!!! Maybe you feel like Joseph, maybe life seems unfair, and if someone else had just done this or that you wouldn't be in this situation. Be encouraged that regardless of what situation you find yourself in, submit to God, He is in control.

Finally I want to leave you with a verse that was given to me yesterday to reflect on.

Psalm 27 <------click to Read the whole chapter

verse 11 - 14

11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.
13 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!
14 Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
Psalms 27:11-14 (ESV)

God Bless