How to Celebrate National Wear Red Day®

**Your Health Matters**

Wear Red & Raise Your Voice on National Wear Red Day® – Friday, February 5, 2016

Why go Red?

Heart disease and stroke cause 1 in 3 deaths among women each year, killing approximately one woman every 80 seconds.  Fortunately, we can change that because 80 percent of cardiac and stroke events may be prevented with education and action. That’s why this year we are asking that you wear red on National Wear Red Day^®  Friday, Febuary 5, 2016, encourage others to do the same and schedule a Well-Woman Visit, a prevention check-up to review a woman’s overall health so her doctor can measure blood pressure, check cholesterol and look for signs of heart disease, stroke and other illnesses.

Wear red.

On National Wear Red Day®, be sure to wear something red to show your support for women with heart disease and stroke.

Be a fundraiser.

Become a National Wear Red Day® Fundraiser to show your support for your friends, family and women in your community.

Share your photos.

Take a selfie, organize your office to wear red, paint your neighborhood red, organize a neighborhood walk wearing red, dress your family up in red. However you Go Red, take photos and share them using the hashtag – #GoRedWearRed.

Join the conversation.

Like Go Red For Women on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to get daily inspiration, photos, quotes, heart disease news, healthy living tips and more. Better yet, like and share photos with you friends or be a part of the conversation by sharing what going red means to you.

Donate.

Donate directly to Go Red For Women. By doing so you help support educational programs to increase women’s awareness and critical research to discover scientific knowledge about cardiovascular health.

Don’t wait another second! Support Go Red For Women and get ready to celebrate National Wear Red Day®.

Leadership Corner – December 2015

In whatever capacity we serve we would do well to memorize the words of Paul in Philippians 3: 12-14: “ Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

This is God’s motivational message to us to help us “pull” our very best from within; the best we have to offer in Glorifying God, lifting the name of Jesus, and serving our fellow man. Maintaining Christian principles in leadership, especially in the corporate world can be harrowing-to say the least. We acknowledge our lives in Christ are quite the challenge at times, but God……….
Author Lorin Woolfe makes these observations in the book, Leadership Secrets from the Bible:
a. The higher you go, the more visible your integrity or lack of it becomes
b. Integrity is exhibited in actions, not pronouncements of intention
c. Honesty and Integrity pay off long-term, though they may involve losses and sacrifices short-term.
d. Always remember, someone with more power than you is watching (God is ever-present).

On behalf of the Council of Christian Women in Ministry, I wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

God Bless!

Minister Laurain Hendricks

Theme of the Month – Gratitude

Gratitude

A grateful heart sees each day as a gift. Thankful people focus less on what they lack and more on the privileges they have. I attended a banquet recently in which a wounded soldier was presented with the gift of a free house. He nearly fell over with gratitude. He bounded onto the stage with his one good leg and threw both arms around the presenter. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” He hugged the guitar player in the band and the big woman on the front row. He thanked the waiter, the other soldiers, and then the presenter again. Before the night was over, he thanked me! And I didn’t do anything.

Shouldn’t we be equally grateful? Jesus is building a house for us (John 14:2). Our deed of ownership is every bit as certain as that of the soldier. What’s more, Jesus cured our leprosy. Sin cankered our souls and benumbed our senses. Yet the Man on the path told us we were healed, and, lo and behold, we were!

The grateful heart is like a magnet sweeping over the day, collecting reasons for gratitude. A zillion diamonds sparkle against the velvet of your sky every night. Thank you, God. A miracle of muscles enables your eyes to read these words and your brain to process them. Thank you, God. Your lungs inhale and exhale eleven thousand liters of air every day. Your heart will beat about three billion times in your lifetime. Your brain is a veritable electric generator of power. Thank you, God.

For the jam on our toast and the milk on our cereal. For the blanket that calms us and the joke that delights us and the warm sun that reminds us of God’s love. For the thousands of planes that did not crash today. For the men who didn’t cheat on their wives, and the wives who didn’t turn from their men, and the kids who, in spite of unspeakable pressure to dishonor their parents, decided not to do so. Thank you, Lord.

Read FULL original article here.  Info via by Max Lucado via FaithGateway.com

International AIDS Awareness Month

**Your Health Matters**

HIV disease continues to be a serious health issue for parts of the world. Worldwide, there were about 2 million new cases of HIV in 2014. About 36.9 million people are living with HIV around the world, and as of March 2015, around 15 million people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). An estimated 1.2 million people died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2014, and about 39 million people worldwide have died of AIDS-related causes since the epidemic began. Seventy percent of all people living with HIV in 2014 were living in Sub-Saharan Africa, which bears the heaviest burden of HIV/AIDS worldwide. Other regions significantly affected by HIV/AIDS include Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

CDC’s Global AIDS website explains what CDC is doing in countries where HIV and AIDS have had great impact.

American Diabetes Month

**Your Health Matters**

Join the American Diabetes Association® to put good food and good health on the table during American Diabetes Month® this November. Whether you are one of the nearly 30 million Americans living with diabetes or the 86 million Americans with prediabetes, or you simply want to live a healthier lifestyle, the Eat Well, America! campaign will show you how easy and joyful healthy eating can be for everyone.

Each week during November, the Association will share nutritious recipes selected by noted chefs and cookbook authors for every meal of the day, including snacks and special occasion treats. Not only that, but the Association will teach Americans how to choose, prepare, serve and eat healthy food that is both delicious and nutritious. From tip sheets to shopping lists, we’ll help make healthy eating a fun and easy part of daily life.

Looking to prepare a healthy Thanksgiving Day meal? The Association will include seasonal recipes and tips to ensure you don’t miss out on the autumn and holiday flavors you love.

Additionally, the Association will spotlight what healthy, simple and enjoyable meals look like on National Healthy Lunch Day, Nov. 17. On this day, the Association will show Americans how to “Lunch Right with Every Bite” and make better food choices to counter expanding waistlines, whether you are packing a lunch at home or purchasing lunch on the go. We encourage you to share photos of your healthy midday plates on social media using the hashtag #MyHealthyLunch to contribute to the conversation—and inspire your friends and families to make healthy lunch choices that best fit their own lifestyles.

Visit them at diabetesforecast.org/adm or call 1-800-DIABETES for meal planning, shopping tips, grocery lists, chef’s preparation secrets, delicious recipes and more.

Leadership Corner – November 2015

God Bless!

Minister Laurain Hendricks

Give Thanks

In this season of Thanksgiving.  Let us not forget to give thanks to Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let this rendition of Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart by our Sister Anaysha Figueroa minister to your Spirit and Bless your heart.

Theme of the Month – Stewardship

Stewardship

Biblical Stewardship: The Truth About Money
Biblical stewardship requires that a Christian view money differently from the way the secular world views it. The secular world equates affluence with success and happiness. Therefore, society constantly struggles to acquire as much wealth as possible. The Bible, however, exposes the worthlessness of such a struggle by revealing the truth about money. The Psalms proclaim, “But man, despite his riches, does not endure; he is like the beasts that perish” (Psalm 49:12). No matter how much one struggles for wealth, death still awaits because money cannot add anything to one’s life.

Biblical Stewardship: That Which is of True Value
Biblical stewardship does not require that a Christian despise money or to discontinue earning it. Money is a necessity for basic living. The Bible does warn, however, that the love of money creates evil (1 Timothy 6:10). It is important not to allow money to become the center of one’s life. When money is not the object of one’s love and devotion, one is free to focus on higher things.

 

Biblical Stewardship: It’s About Heart
Biblical stewardship calls a Christian to give back to God through tithing. The word “tithe” merely means “a tenth.” A Christian, therefore, ought to set aside a tenth of his or her income for God. For God, tithing is not only about a percentage. Tithing has more to do with one’s heart during the act of giving then the actual amount given to God.

Biblical stewardship is a giving out of devotion rather than duty. It’s about the heart of the giver-the Christian willing to give out of poverty, not wealth.

Biblical Stewardship: Giving to Others and Making a Stand
Biblical stewardship provides help for the less fortunate. The Bible states, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27). Giving does not end with tithing. God asks that the giving heart be extended to those who need it most-widows, orphans, and the poor. As a Christian, one must reach out to those in need, sharing the blessings one has received from God. Even after understanding that money does not satisfy, a Christian may find it difficult to let go of more money by giving to those in need. However, the Bible promises, “A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor” (Proverbs 22:9). The generous person — the one with the heart of a giver — finds blessings in giving. When one offers money to others, one receives wealth in many other ways. As a Christian it is time to make a stand for God. Matthew 6:24 states, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Between God and money, which will you choose to love?

Read FULL original article here.  Info via AllAboutGod.com

Leadership Corner – September 2015

With Christ, Yes I Can

I can do all things – From the experience which Paul had in these various circumstances of life, he comes here to the general conclusion that he could “do all things.” He could bear any trial, perform any duty, subdue any evil propensity of his nature, and meet all the temptations incident to any condition of prosperity or adversity. His own experience in the various changes of life had warranted him in arriving at this conclusion; and he now expresses the firm confidence that nothing would be required of him which he would not be able to perform. In Paul, this declaration was not a vain self-reliance, nor was it the mere result of his former experience. He knew well where the strength was to be obtained by which to do all things, and on that arm that was able to uphold him he confidently relied.

Through Christ which strengtheneth me –  Of the strength which Christ can impart, Paul had had abundant experience; and now his whole reliance was there. It was not in any native ability which he had; not in any vigor of body or of mind; not in any power which there was in his own resolutions; it was in the strength that he derived from the Redeemer. By that he was enabled to bear cold, fatigue, and hunger; by that, he met temptations and persecutions; and by that, he engaged in the performance of his arduous duties let us learn, hence:

(1) that we need not sink under any trial, for there is one who can strengthen us.

(2) that we need not yield to temptation. There is one who is able to make a way for our escape.

(3) that we need not be harassed, and vexed, and tortured with improper thoughts and unholy desires. There is one who can enable us to banish such thoughts from the mind, and restore the right balance to the affections of the soul.

(4) that we need not dread what is to come. Trials, temptations, poverty, want, persecution, may await us; but we need not sink into despondency. At every step of life, Christ is able to strengthen us, and can bring us triumphantly through. What a privilege it is, therefore, to be a Christian – to feel, in the trials of life, that we have one friend, unchanging and most mighty, who can always help us! How cheerfully should we engage in our duties, and meet the trials that are before us, leaning on the arm of our Almighty Redeemer! Let us not shrink from duty; let us not dread persecution let us not fear the bed of death. In all circumstances, Christ, our unchanging Friend, can uphold us. Let the eye and the affections of the heart be fixed on him; let the simple, fervent, believing prayer be directed always to him when trials come, when temptations assail, when duty presses hard upon us, and when a crowd of unholy and forbidden thoughts rush into the soul: and we shall be safe.

God Bless!

Fruit and Veggies More Matters Month

Get the Facts

Most people know that eating fruits and vegetables is important for good health, but most of us still aren’t getting enough. This September, The Council is proud to participate in Fruits & Veggies – More Matters Month.

Eating a healthy diet with plenty of vegetables and fruits can help you:

• Lower your risk for heart disease and some types of cancer
• Maintain or reach a healthy weight
• Keep your body strong and active

Here are some ideas to help you and your family fit more fruits and vegetables into your day:

• Keep a bowl of fruit handy where the whole family can see it.
• Cut up fruits and veggies ahead of time so they’re ready for quick, healthy snacks.
• Challenge your family to try a new veggie or fruit every week.

Remember, eating more fruits and veggies can be fun – and it’s worth it!

For more information, visit Fruits and Veggies More Matters