Donna Partow

Listen to my message "How to Be Healthy in Spirit, Soul and Body" for a general overview of the program. 

These "note" pages are, for the most part, simply transcriptions of the messages I delivered to my own class when I taught the 90-Day Renewal.  I’m posting them here to stimulate your own thinking and preparation, but please don’t feel you have to teach this material the same way I did.  Let my teaching be a jumping off point but let the Holy Spirit be your Teacher!  (I did not take time to ‘polish’ these notes, but instead posted the transcriptions–so keep in mind these will be rough!)

Listen to my message "How to Be Healthy in Spirit, Soul and Body" for a general overview of the program, with special emphasis on the first part.  We will return to the "destructive emotions" aspect later on in the program, so do not address that specifically in your opening session.  But let it form your own thinking for now! 

Below there are 2 transcripts.  The first from my message on "Sick & Tired of Feeling Sick & Tired" and the second is very rough transcription from an informal introductory class – but i think it’s helpful

Sick and Tired of Feeling Sick and Tired

On the one hand, I’m totally unqualified to address the topic of Health  because I spent the better part of two decades chronically sick.  On the other hand, maybe that makes me eminently qualified.  I know what it feels like to be sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.  If it wasn’t one thing, it was another.  Sinus headaches, allergies, migranes, strep throat, upper respiratory infections, stomach viruses—every cold and flu that came down the pike.   I was constantly on antibiotics, sulfur drugs, decongestants, allergy medications.  I had a bottle of prescription cough medicine with codeine on hand at all times.  It was like my American Express card: I did not leave home without it.   And this next one–Dare I admit it?  I spent years, I mean years on anti-depressants.  I think I was single-handedly keeping the pharmaceutical companies in business.

You know what’s sad.  During all those years, I was a Christian.  I loved God.  But I was still a PHYSICAL and  EMOTIONAL WRECK.  Sick and tired.  Sick and tired.  That was my life.  You know what.  Praise God.  I can honestly say, I don’t live like that anymore.  I truly don’t.  Not that I have been transformed into Barbie with a Bible and all my problems have disappeared.  I am not yet the woman I want to be, but I’m getting a little closer every day.  I still have “those days”  but it’s not who I am.  I am NOT chronically sick anymore…..and I was for years.   I am not chronically depressed……..and I was for years.  The Bible has real answers for the mess we’re in.  Not magic formulas.  The Bible isn’t a Magic wand we can wave over our problems.  But I have found within its pages a pathway to health and wholeness.  It’s changed my life and I want to share it with you.

How many of you are sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.  The problem is rampant in the church.  A Christian magazine conducted a nationwide survey of pastors and discovered that 80% of all church prayer requests are related to health concerns. 

I want to look very quickly at the four primary causes of sickness and then turn our attention to the more important issue: what can we do about it.

1.  Genetic Pre-disposition – Research science clearly indicates that certain people are pre-disposed to certain diseases.  That’s why doctors’ offices have elaborate forms they want you to fill out, not only concerning your OWN health, they want your family’s medical history.  My sister works at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia where she cares for children BORN with terrible diseases on a daily basis.   A child doesn’t “catch” leukemia.  It’s no one’s fault.  They’re born with it.  A genetic pre-disposition.  When I complete my “family medical history” it’s like a chronicle of cancer.  Is my family genetically pre-disposed to cancer?  Maybe.  But there’s another possible explanation.

2.  We live in a fallen world.  NY University just released a major study linking many forms of cancer to air pollution.  Look at the skies over Phoenix this time of year—or over any major city for that matter–I mean, just looking at it is enough to make you feel sick.  I grew up in a very industrialized area of the country—sandwiched in between New York City, Philadelphia and Baltimore.  So maybe the reason there’s so much cancer in my family is because of the all the pollution—not only in the air, but underground and in the water.  My hometown was located along the Delaware River and the water was so FILTHY, fish couldn’t live in it—we’d see them floating dead everywhere—but we drank it.  Garbage and medical waste washed up on the shores of the New Jersey beaches about an hour from where I grew up.  I used to play for hours in a wooded area adjacent to a factory near my home—that factory was later declared a Superfund Site by the EPA—meaning it was so toxic, cleaning it up was a top priority for the US Government.  That was my playground.  How scary is that?  Maybe THAT’s why we’re all sick. 

It is just appalling what we have done to this planet.  6 billion selfish, sinful people have turned the earth into a giant trash can.  I haven’t even mentioned that we’ve released nuclear bombs into the atmosphere.  Or chemical warfare.  Or all the chemicals in our food.  And we wonder why we’re sick.  We get mad at God because we’re sick.  HELLO. 

3.  The third cause of sickness—hold onto your seats for this one—is Satanic Affliction.  I know, I know.  This is a controversial topic.  I want to be sensitive to the fact that we have women here from many different denominations and we all bring to this subject our own theology and belief systems.  That’s why I want to limit our attention to what the Bible CLEARY and indisputably says.  Job 2:7So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head

CLEARLY, it is possible for Satan to physically afflict people.  Now, you can debate the hows, whys and wherefores amongst yourselves.  But whatever else we might think about this passage, we need to understand that there are times when people get sick—or experience physical pain– because the devil HATES them and wants to HURT them.  It is for real.  It’s not their imagination.

4.  Self-Inflicted/Self-Afflicted

But I’m not going to devote any more time to that topic….because I think THE VAST VAST MAJORITY.  I mean the VAST majority of us are not being afflicted by Satan.  We are afflicting ourselves.  Satan isn’t the one sitting around all day watching television and eating donuts, instead of exercising and eating right.  We’re doing that to ourselves.   An increasing body of Medical science provides compelling proof:  Most sickness is self-afflicted.  Self-inflicted if you prefer.  In other words, we’re sick because of our lifestyles.  We don’t take proper care of ourselves, physically.  We don’t take proper care of ourselves emotionally.  Satan doesn’t need to bother us…….we’re doing the job for him.  We’re making ourselves sick. 

First, let’s look at how we afflict ourselves PHYSICALLY.  We do it by treating our Body, which is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, like a trash can — by filling ourselves with junk.  Once upon a time, GLUTTONY was considered one of the 7 Deadly Sins.  The church took over-eating very seriously.  Now, it’s commonplace.  Have you ever heard a sermon preached against over-eating?  I think it’s interesting that the very first fall of mankind involved a woman being tempted by food that looked too good to pass up.  I don’t know about you, but I am certainly in no position to judge Eve!  I LOVE food that looks good to eat: donuts, cookies, cakes.  I’m always tempted to indulge my taste buds, even though I know these foods will lead me into sin.  How?  By altering my blood sugar and making me irritable within thirty minutes.  Then I get depressed because my clothes don’t fit.

Like most women, I have 3 sizes in my closet.  The size I SHOULD wear, the size I USUALLY wear and the size I’m wearing when my kids know to run for the hills when I wake up in the morning. 

I find it fascinating that Adam and Even both needed new outfits after demonstrating their inability to resist food temptations.  Wow!  Things haven’t changed that much after all these centuries, have they?   We need to use wisdom when dealing with food issues.  In addition to overeating—and all the problems that creates–many people are stumbling into bulimia, anorexia, and other eating disorders.  Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you into a balanced approach to your eating habits.  

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.  1 Cor. 10:31   Cor. 7:1:  “ Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.”  Ask yourself: are the foods I’m eating PURIFYING…..or contaminating —my body?

It’s important to find a healthy balance between caring too much and too little about your body.  Some women obsess over their personal appearance and go into “emotional meltdown” if they are ten pounds overweight.  (I should know!  I’m one of them)  Other women completely neglect their appearance, saying such concerns are “unspiritual.”  Of course, this argument would hold weight (pun intended) if these women devoted ALL of their time to spiritual pursuits, rather than exercising for 30 minutes per day.   But we all know that’s not the case.  It’s just an excuse. 

If you are too busy to exercise 30 minutes a day, you are busier than God wants you to be!  Your body is a tool to serve God.  It’s the only living sacrifice you have to offer Him.  Don’t let your body turn into a tyrant, determining what you can and cannot do.  You’re supposed to be in charge, so take charge!  The next time your body tells you, “I’m tired.  Let’s lay on the couch eating potato chips.”   Say, “No, body.  You are not in charge.  I am the brains in this operation.  And I say We are going to get up, grab a bottle of water and take a walk.  While we’re at it, we’re going to recite our Affirmations and scripture memory verses.  Then we’re going to pray for our neighbors.  So there, body, take that.”

But I think we’ve got an even bigger problem.  You know what’s really making most of us sick?  EMOTIONAL TURMOIL.  Some of us have turned our minds into a great big trash can.  Listen to this excerpt from the devotional, Come away, my beloved, by Frances Roberts:

“How can I give you healing for your body while there is anxiety in your mind?  So long as there is dis-ease in your thoughts, there shall be disease in your body.  You have need of many things, but one thing in particular you must develop for your own preservation, and that is an absolute confidence in my loving care.

‘Come unto Me’, it is written, ‘all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.’  (Matt.11:28).  Only when your mind is at rest can your body build health.  Worry is an actively destructive force.  Anxiety produces tension, and tension is the road to pain.  Fear is devastating to the physical well-being of the body.  Anger throws poison into the system that no anti-biotic ever can counteract.

Ten minutes of unbridled temper can waste enough strength to do a half-day of wholesome work.  Your physical energy is a gift from God, entrusted to you to be employed for His glory.  It is a sin to take His gift and dissipate it through the trap doors of the evil emotions of the disposition. Look not upon others and condemn them for jeopardizing their health by harmful habits (smoking, drinking, drugs, illicit sex) and wasting energies on vain pursuits while you yourself undermine your health by unworthy emotions and take time which by keeping your mind in an attitude of praise and faith could be constructively employed, but instead you allow this time to be a period of destructive action by entertaining such things as self-pity and remorse and evil-surmisings.”

Two Components of Good Health

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.

1. Accept the Things you Cannot Change
Make a list of all the things you cannot change…and choose to let them go.  Don’t waste your time emotional energy on them.

·  Genetic make-up

· Fallen World

· Devil is bad…..he may attack you

· The past.  People who hurt you.  Unfair.  Not right

· Mistakes and foolish choices you’ve already made

· What “might happen” in the future.

· Other people – the choices they make; how they choose to treat you.  What other people think, feel and choose. You can get all upset when people say unfair or untrue things about you.  OR You can retain your peace, knowing that God will handle the situation and eventually the truth will prevail.

· Your age – inevitable limitations/slowing down

Accept the things you cannot change or they will change you into The Woman You Don’t Want to Be.   A sick and tired, physical and emotional wreck.

2. Change the Things You Can

Isn’t it Ironic how we waste countless hours every day focusing our energy on things we CAN’T change.   Then complain that we don’t have time to eat right, exercise or study the Bible.  But we have time for worry, fear, anger, self-pity.  We manage to find time for all of that nonsense.  We need to take that SAME time and energy, but channel it into the things we CAN change.  You know what you absolutely, positively CAN change:

· Your Own Choices.

· Food you Eat

· Exercise Habits

· Where you Focus your Attention

Imagine that you are standing next to a gigantic poster, filled with a wide variety of images—some beautiful, some frightening; some bright, some dark. Now imagine that you have a MAGNIFYING GLASS in your hand. What will determine the type of images you see? Where you focus your magnifying glass.We live in a great big world.  Filled with a wide variety of images.  Every moment of every day has good and bad in it. Every person you meet has strengths and weaknesses. Every situation has pros and cons. Every event contains both the handiwork of God and the counter-attack of the enemy. Even “the life you didn’t sign up for” is filled with things you did sign up for, when you stop and think about it.

The question is: What will you focus your attention on?  what will you choose to magnify? It’s entirely up to you. Keep in mind: whatever you focus your magnifying glass on will appear larger than everything else. When you magnify the bad; it appears larger than it really is. But when you choose to magnify God, you get a clearer picture of reality.   That’s why the Bible tells us over and over : magnify the lord.  Not because God’s on an ego trip.  Not for his sake.  But for ours.  God knows that when we magnify him, our problems automatically shrink down to size.  The NIV renders the word magnify “exalt”   Exalt.  Webster defines it: “to elevate with joy or confidence.” Isn’t that perfect?     When we magnify God, We elevate Him.  We exalt him.  We lift him up with joy and confidence.  We lift him up above our problems.  We lift him up above our small perspective.

Not that we’re in DENIAL about the reality of the situation. Instead, with confidence in God’s goodness, we can approach life in a healthy balanced way that acknowledges the heartaches and disappointments of life, but still chooses to see God’s redemptive power at work.We magnify God by being thankful and the bible says he is more pleased with our gratitude than with our sacrifice.  Gratitude CHOOSES to focus on what you DO have and on what’s going RIGHT in your life….rather than what you DON”T have and what’s WRONG with your life.You can magnify God or you can magnify your problems.  The magnifying glass is in your hands.  I want to go back to the excerpt from Come Away, My Beloved. 

“How can I give you healing for your body while there is anxiety in your mind?  So long as there is dis-ease in your thoughts, there shall be disease in your body.  You have need of many things, but one thing in particular you must develop for your own preservation, and that is an absolute confidence in my loving care. “

Sisters, that’s the solution.  That’s the ultimate cure for ALL that ails us.  “Absolute confidence in God’s loving care.”   It’s the health prescription I am now pursuing in my own life.  It strikes me as perfectly logical that someone who doesn’t trust God, who allows herself to worry and fret and fuss, will get sick a lot more often than someone whose mind is kept in perfect peace, focusing on the goodness of God and the loving care of our Jehovah Rapha, the Lord our healer, the Great physician.

Absolute confidence in God’s loving care.  And do you know, you can retain your confidence even in the very worst of circumstances.

Horatio Spafford lost his only son to scarlet fever.   Shortly thereafter, he suffered financial disaster in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which left 300 people dead and 100,000 homeless.  For the next two years, he worked tirelessly helping people rebuild their lives.  In 1873, his friend, Dwight L. Moody planned an evangelist campaign in London.  Spafford decided to help with the crusade, then take his remaining family members—his wife and 4 daughters—on a trip to Europe. At the last minute, Spafford had to stay behind on urgent business.  The ship carrying his family was struck by another vessel and sank within 12 minutes.  When his wife was brought ashre, she sent a cable to her husband, “Saved alone.”  All 4 of their daughters drowned in the Atlantic Ocean.\

Horatio Spafford booked passage on the next ship.  As they were crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the captain point out the place where his daughters were likely to have drowned.  He was certainly a prime candidate for worry, anxiety, fear, anger, self-pity, remorse and evil-surmisings. Not to mention depression, suicide……maybe even a heart attack on the spot.  How many of us can even imagine facing such devastating losses.  

Instead, Horatio Spafford embraced God’s peace in the midst of the storm.  That very night, he penned the words “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll.  Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.”Sisters, we can make ourselves SICK with worry, anxiety, self-pity and the rest.  Or we can choose to magnify God even in the midst of the worst situation.  We can say with the hymn writer, it is well with my soul. 

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
Refrain
And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
Refrain

Introductory Thoughts

We are all in this together.  I’m not the leader.  The Holy Spirit is.  And you know something else?  When we get to the end of these 13 weeks together, not one of us will have “arrived.”  And guess what?  We don’t HAVE TO arrive.  Isn’t that a relief?  You can lift that heavy burden off your shoulders right now.  Lay aside the weight—the weight of thinking “I’ve got to do this.  I’ve got to do that.”  Ladies, you don’t HAVE to do anything. 

God is simply inviting you on a journey, that’s all.  You have nothing to fear.  You’re not going to fail.  There’s no such thing as failure.  I define success as getting up one more time than you fall down.  So as long as you keep getting back up, you’re doing great. 

And while I’m on the subject.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, I beg of you, do not compare your journey to anyone else’s.  This is one of the most important lessons we learned from the 90-Day Renewal group on the internet.  The Holy Spirit customized the program for each and every woman.  It was amazing.  It was like they were participating in different programs, that’s how unique the experience was for each person.  I have no doubt it’s going to be the same way with our group.  With one woman, the Holy Spirit may begin right away focusing on her eating habits—so, she may start dropping weight like crazy.  Well, maybe the Holy Spirit knows that woman’s health is in serious jeopardy and if she doesn’t make changes in a hurry, the Enemy is going to seize the opportunity. 

In another woman’s case, God’s priority may be your emotional well-being—so the Holy Spirit will have you focused on the Daily Affirmations.  Someone else may need to cultivate her spirit and the prayer journaling component will just jump out at her & come alive off the page.So the woman who’s losing weight shouldn’t feel bad because she’s not “into” the prayer journaling.  And the woman who’s praying up a storm shouldn’t get frustrated because she’s not losing weight.  Don’t compare.  Let the Holy Spirit be your private tutor.  Trust him that he knows where you need to focus.  I feel this so strongly. 

If you don’t believe me, email me and I will send you the unabbreviated testimonies from the test group and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about. Notice the book’s subtitle: a 90-Day JOURNEY to renewing spirit, soul and body.  It’s a journey and I want you to take it at your own pace. 

In our remaining time together, I want to share some of the tools God has made available thru the 90-Day Renewal Program—tools that may help you along the way. I want you to take them in your hands and see if they are useful.  If not, please don’t put them in a knap-sack and carry them around like a bag of rocks.  “Oh, Donna says I should do this. Or I ought to do that.”  Tools, sisters, not tyranny.   With those provisos, let’s begin.

Our theme verse throughout the 90-Day Renewal will be 1 Thes. 5:23-24May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.  May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. 

So we see in this passage that we are triune beings.  We consist of spirit, a soul and a body.  Now, I always thought that spirit & soul were two different words for the same thing.  That’s definitely not the case.   There’s some overlap in their functions and impact, but the Bible says that God’s word CAN divide between soul and spirit.  Your spirit is that part of your being which communes with God—your soul encompasses your mind, will and emotions.  Your mind—what you think about.  Your will—the choices you make.  And your emotions—what you feel.  So your soul consists of what you think, choose, and feel.  The body, of course, is obvious—it’s that part of us that “makes us” think, choose and feel all the wrong things.

I’m convinced that the pathway to becoming the woman you want to be is found in actively pursuing maximum health in all 3 areas:  spirit, soul and body.  Because each area profoundly affects the others.  It’s hard to be a woman of prayer [thus cultivating a healthy spirit] when you can’t get out of bed a little earlier than the rest of your family because you’re too exhausted [because you have an unhealthy body]. And it’s hard to have a positive impact on the people around you when you’re negative, discouraged and depressed [a reflection of an unhealthy soul].

You can’t have optimal health in one area without attending to all three areas.  They are too intricately bound.  If you’re anything like me, you’ve struggled to keep all of this in balance.  Perhaps you’ve had a time of spiritual renewal when you were active in a Bible study or attended a retreat that rekindled the flame of your first love for God.  For weeks, or even months, your spirit was vibrant and healthy.  But you neglected your body and eventually physical exhaustion wiped out your spiritual zeal. 

Or maybe you joined a gym and began getting in shape—but you skipped your Quiet Time so you could exercise first thing in the morning.  Next thing you knew, you were more concerned about how your clothes fit than you were about the fact that you were routinely pitching a fit.  You were out of balance.Perhaps you began seeing a counselor to deal with emotional issues in your life and gained tremendous insight into why you do the things you do.  You determined to make changes, but simply couldn’t mount enough energy or willpower to implement them.  You didn’t realize all that coffee and those donuts were weakening your ability to function effectively.  Your soul’s well-being was ultimately compromised by your unhealthy body.

If we are going to become the women God desires for us to be, it will require a synergistic approach.  We cannot focus on one area to the exclusion of the other two.  Our goal needs to be optimal health in spirit, soul and body.  What I’ve tried to do—for your benefit as well as mine–is bring everything together in one place.  Again, keeping in mind, that God will lead different people to put greater emphasis in different areas, but all of us want to keep it in balance. 

Let me explain how the program works by describing the daily routine and the rationale behind each component. 

SPIRIT .   Cultivating a healthy spirit requires devoting time each day to the spiritual disciplines of scripture memory, Bible reading, reciting scripture-based prayer and  prayer journaling.  All four are included in The 90-Day Renewal.  Each day features:

A Scripture to memorize.   That’s the first item on your daily journey.  Every five days, you will be assigned a new memory verse to ponder.   Hopefully, by the end of 90 days, you will have mastered 18 passages, all of which are directly related to our theme of renewing your spirit, soul and body.  Each week, after my presentation, you’ll break up into your groups and the first thing you’ll do is recite your memory verses.Bible Passage to read and, to make it easy, I’ve included it right in the book for you.  You don’t have to go look it up.

Guided Prayer, based on the Bible passage you’ve just read.  I’ve written it out for you so you can see how to take a passage of scripture and turn it into a prayer.  This is such an important skill for strengthening your prayer life.  I want you to practice it, so the next item on your Daily agenda is writing out  A prayer from your heart.   I’ve provided space for you to write out your own prayer.  Please do not skip this exercise, as I truly believe prayer journaling is a powerful tool for your spiritual growth. If you need more space, you can continue use a separate prayer journal.So, all of that is to promote a healthy SPIRIT.  Next, we turn our attention to the SOUL.  For many years, I was puzzled by Phil. 2:12: “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”  I knew we couldn’t earn our salvation, so what were we supposed to work on?  Here’s what I believe it means:  take what God has already accomplished in your spirit and let it transform your soul—your mind, your will and your emotions.  Yes, God has made it possible for you to enjoy heaven in heaven, but you can enjoy a little of heaven down here to earth.  How? By transforming your soul.If you missed Week 3 of the Journey to Hope, I would strongly encourage you to get a copy of the audio CDs, “He Restores My Soul” and “How to be Healthy in Spirit, Soul and Body.”   Those teachings are really foundational for what we’re going to be doing for the next 90 days.  (We have them available on the back table.  You actually get a BONUS CD, today only, all 3 for $20)Next, is the secret weapon.  THIS is the component that absolutely transformed my life, more than any other.   It’s the Daily Affirmation to recite.  Basically, Affirmations are personalized scriptures which you say ALOUD.  OUT LOUD.  Repeat after me: OUT LOUD.  You can’t just sit and read them, then come back in 90-Days and say, those Affirmations didn’t help me at all.  Recite them Aloud.  Over and over again.  Every day.  For 90 days.  Then come tell they don’t transform your mind—and your life—and I’ll buy you a dozen chocolate covered donuts and help you wipe them out in one sitting.  Fair enough?

Okay, the next area for your SOUL is a Daily Action to take to strengthen your will:  Every time you make a good choice you get better at making good choices.  So, to give you a chance to practice making good choices, each day I will give you some small step you can take to move forward on your journey.  Then, finally, in the area of the SOUL, we address your emotions with an inspirational Attitude Adjustment.  For each of the 90 days, I’ve provided a quote from someone smarter than me…and then a little commentary of my own, which I hope you’ll find amusing.

And last, but not least, we’ve all got a BODY, don’t we?  And as the Apostle Paul said, “Who will deliver us?”  I think we should all just go get liposuction.  All in favor?   Seriously, your BODY matters to God.  Because how you feel physically has a profound impact on your spirit and soul.  It can have a profound impact on your ability to fulfill the Kingdom work God has set before you.  But most of all, because your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit and we have been commanded to take care of ourselves.

There are two components: Diet & Exercise.  First, the diet.  It features relatively minor additions and gradual changes.  Rather than focusing on the negative—what you shouldn’t eat and what you have to give up—let’s focus on the positive.  As you incorporate enough positive dietary choices, I believe the negative will automatically dissipate. 

Here’s what I want you to do the first week.  Get 4-16 oz water bottles and line them up in your refrigerator before you go to bed tonight.  Tomorrow, before the day is done, finish all 4 bottles.  Re-fill or replace them in the frig.  It’s that simple.  BTW, try to drink the first two bottles before noon if possible.  Just two other things: First thing in the morning, I want you to drink a warm cup of lemon water.  There are instructions in your book.  AND eat as many vegetables as you can.  And if you are not already doing so, begin taking vitamins each day.  That’s it.  Does everyone think they can handle that?

Exercise.  Here again, we’re going to take our time and build up.  At some point today, I want you to go out your front door and walk for 8 minutes.  Turn around and walk home.  That’s it.  Do not worry about the mini-trampoline—we’re going to start that next week.  However, you should start calling or checking around at sporting goods stores or second-hand fitness shops, surfing the internet—whatever it takes, to purchase a mini-trampoline (also called a Rebounder).  And we’ll start bouncing next week.  But today—and for the next 6 days, just take a short walk

Your 90-Day Journey to Renewing Spirit, Soul and Body has officially begun.  With God’s grace enabling, I believe every woman in this room now has an exciting opportunity to move a whole lot closer to Becoming the Woman You Want to Be.  To make it even more exciting, each week, I will set forth a couple of CHALLENGES.  And we may even have special prizes for women who successfully complete the challenges. 

This Week, Challenge #1: Drink 64 oz of water a day.