• muscular back and arms of a man doing chin ups
    Body

    What’s the Deal with Protein?

    What is protein?  To put simply, protein is pretty much the composition of life itself. From the basis of your DNA, protein can be found in every single cell of your body, creating and repairing everything that makes you exist. For you science nerds out there, protein is composed of various amino acids such as oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, and hydrogen. Some amino acids however can not be produced by the body and must be consumed through food. Examples you may have heard mentioned before would be tryptophan, lysine, and phenylalanine. Thought it was all about the muscles? Try your bones, your blood, your skin, cartilage, tissue, hormones, everything! Protein is…

  • crowd of friends standing in the woods looking at the sunrise
    Spirit

    Joining the Body

    From the inspirations of the message shared on Pink Incense August 14, 2019 Watch Here! “Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.” – I Thessalonians 5:11 EDIFY – instruct and improve, enlighten morally, spiritually, and intellectually In the early days of being sick, all I could ever do was beg God to remove my pain. Medicine and medical treatment were rarely successful, and I felt trapped in a body of torture. All I could cry was, “Take it Jesus. Please, take it.” My sister was always there for me, praying with me through the pain, specifically telling me to praise Him through the…

  • Addiction,  Chronic Illness,  Spirit

    Tearing Down the Strongholds of Addiction

    Ever since I was a child, I watched my brother struggle with a terrible drug addiction. I watched him in and out of jails and rehabs my whole life as I prayed for his freedom. When I was 18 years old, he was found dead in his apartment. This year makes ten years since I lost my brother. Addiction was not a stranger to my life. As sheltered as I was, my parents couldn’t keep me from knowing that four of my six siblings fell into its grasp. I saw it destroy their lives. I saw it change who they were, change their appearance and alter their personalities. I couldn’t…

  • pots and food set on a kitchen island counter with a white cabinet background and sink with window above
    Body

    The Perfect Kitchen

    When people tell me they want to lose weight or get healthy or even simply eat better, the first thought that comes to mind is, “What’s in their pantry?” I have a bit of an obsession with sorting through pantries and refrigerators and pruning them until they are beautiful in my sight. It is my idea of interior decorating. So if you are interested in making some healthier choices for your life, I’m here to help. Designing Your Dream Kitchen The first thing to understand about cleaning out your pantry is that you never go in and throw everything away. Frankly, that’s just wasteful. Instead, understand the method behind it.…

  • black and white photo of crowd of people sitting down
    Addiction

    These Are the Ones Who Fill This Earth

    “I lost another nephew.” My neighbor said as she treaded through the puddles in black. She looked weak, as if she carried the weight of that lost soul upon her. The heaviness in her heart was thicker than the humid air around us. And I could feel it. I could feel it because I had also just lost someone I knew. Someone who had grown up with my brothers. Someone who had once played hide and go seek with me on our beach vacation. And this someone loved the Lord very much. But this someone also struggled with addiction. And then one day, that addiction won. I didn’t know her…

  • multiple screens lighting up in a dark room
    Spirit

    Who Are You Listening To?

    The world is full of noise, isn’t it? People and advertisements, images everywhere, all trying to sway you one way or the other. It is almost impossible to go one day without hearing the opinions of someone else. So many thoughts to think, decisions to make. So many ideas and possibilities. The mind can feel so cluttered. Is it just me, or does it seem to you as if your quiet time alone is the only time your true thoughts can come through? In the shower, only the sound of running water, no one around. Here is where I can filter all of the day’s thoughts. Here I can empty…

  • black and white of womans face looking down with hair covering half of face
    Addiction

    Addiction: You Can Overcome

    I often wonder what it would have been like these past two years had my brother still been alive. Yes, my family was very supportive during my battle with sickness, but what would he have done? What would he have said to encourage me? So many days I felt like he was the one I needed to comfort me. All I wished was that I could go back to his letters and find the words that would help me through everything. But he’s gone. He was still needed here, but he’s gone. I can no longer help him. But I can help others who are still fighting this battle. If…

  • brother hugging sister who just graduated
    Addiction

    The End of Addiction

    August 7, 2009 I was 18 years old. I was working the morning shift of my first “real” job at a clothing boutique, texting my friends about going to the movies after I got off. My boss stopped by to see how I was doing. She already knew. She didn’t say anything. I continued to blow up my mom’s phone, trying to get her permission to go to the movies. No response. I then received a text from my sister saying I couldn’t go, and she would be picking me up after work. Spoiled, stupid me responded that there better be a good reason. There was. That morning, all was…

  • woman kneeling at the side of a bed with her head on the mattress
    Chronic Illness,  Intracranial Hypertension

    A Day in the Life of Chronic Illness

    6:30 am. It’s Groundhogs Day. Has it been two weeks or three weeks of dealing with this episode? I’ve lost track. But I get to wake up once again to the same problem that had me tossing and turning all night. How bad will it be today? That’s all I ever wonder. Will my medicine work right away? Will it all be gone by noon? Or maybe break by dinner? Just please don’t make me to go sleep with it again. Morning At least it’s morning. I can now take whatever medication that is supposed to help relieve the pressure. Please work. I put on my worship music to help…

  • woman running through field during sunrise
    Spirit

    Keep Moving Forward

    (From the Inspirations of Hebrews 6:1-12) It is time for us to move forward. It is time for us to go above and beyond in our faith and exercise everything we have ever learned. Even the lost know the basics of calling out to Jesus in a time of need. Even a new follower of Christ has seen the importance of laying hands on the sick. It is time for us to expand and grow greater in our faith than we ever have before. Once you have tasted the power of the Holy Spirit, how can you want anything else but more? Once you have seen the miracles of Jesus…