Why God Created the Sabbath Day

It used to be that television stations would play the national anthem and sign off sometime after midnight. No more. These days the wee hours are filled with programming. Anyone up at those hours can be pummeled with unending news, weather, and/or infomercial pitches for gadgets you never knew you needed. Even in small cities, giant superstores are open round the clock. Increasingly, we live in a 24/7 world.

And business hours are busier than ever. Multitasking is the name of everyone’s game. Even on the road, you can take or make phone calls, message your uncle in Spokane, check on stock prices, be updated on the news, learn the scores in yesterday’s rugby match in New Zealand, and download music or video on your iPhone, Blackberry, or Netbook.

For many of us, eight-hour days at the office have become every-waking-hour days where the office, business, and the world invade our homes. But sooner or later we come to the realization that we need rest– not total inactivity, but a change of pace. A change from endless concerns about this hour’s stock prices and next quarter’s bottom line . . . to things both timeless and eternal. A change, yes, to love, and family, and our place in the universe. Socrates said “The unexamined life is not worth living,” and increasingly we know this to be true. We work and plan, strive and acquire, but to what end? So long as we allow ourselves to be mesmerized by the streams of data that fill the air all around us like an invisible smog, we will not pause and contemplate the truly important issues.

It’s come to the point where business publications like the Wall Street Journal are calling for—can you believe it?—a return to a Sabbath. A June 15, 2007 editorial, “The Decline of the Sabbath,” by Mollie Ziegler Hemingway put it this way: “The flip side to the prosperity we enjoy is that we have lost our day of rest for another day of consumption. The pace of commerce and technology provide unheard of options for ignoring family, religion and rest—not just on the Sabbath but every day of the week.”*

The Sabbath provides exactly the antidote we need to counter today’s information overload and anxiety disorders. The Sabbath provides a refuge, a rest, a respite from the constant activity and endless barrage of ‘news.’

The Bible tells us that God built our need for rest—and the remedy—into the very fabric of Creation. God “blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.” By resting from all the work that He had done, God provided us with a model, and example. In the Ten Commandments, He makes this example explicit and binding: “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.” Note that neither text says, “work six days out of seven, and rest on one.” Rather, it is explicit that the seventh day is the Sabbath. The seventh day, not a seventh day. And that day is Saturday.

Saturday? You may have been taught that Saturday Sabbath was given at Sinai just for the Jews. If that’s true, then ‘not killing’ and ‘not stealing’ would also be just for the Jews. Or you may have heard that the cross ended the claims of the Sabbath. Once again, that would mean we’re free to murder and steal—but no one believes that. You may have been taught that we worship on Sunday in honor of the Lord’s resurrection. Surely that’s an important thing to remember. But the Bible never tells us to remember his resurrection, however, we are told to remember his death (1 Cor. 11:26).

We are told to ‘remember’ his death, a striking parallel to the way the Ten Commandments told us to ‘remember’ the Sabbath. And we discover that the only full day Jesus rested in the tomb was—the Sabbath. Rather than abolishing the Sabbath, Jesus’ death reinforces it. As He had rested from the work of creation on the seventh day of Creation week, Jesus rested from His work of redemption on the seventh day of redemption week (commonly “passion week”).

Of course, most of us don’t like the ideas of “commandments” or “obedience.” But in this case especially, it’s foolish. Imagine if a doctor told you to take a vacation, and then revealed that he had a vacation designed to meet your deepest needs. That’s what the Sabbath is. Jesus himself said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” That means that the Sabbath is not some arbitrary hoop for us to jump through—we have enough of those the other six days— but rather it is a rest tailored to meet our needs.

But why not Sunday, or Tuesday? Why Saturday? Remember that the creation story in Genesis told us that “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy?”

What does it mean to “make something holy?” When Moses stood before the burning bush, he stood on holy ground. What made it holy? The presence of God. God makes the Sabbath holy by being present on that day in some special way.

“Wait a minute,” you may say. “Isn’t God present on every day?” And of course, that’s true. But it is also true that God is present everywhere—but Moses didn’t have to remove his shoes everywhere, only at the burning bush. Because, just like the Sabbath, God was present at the burning bush in some way that differs from the way He is present everywhere else. And those who set aside Saturday, the seventh day, to rest from their everyday pursuits and meet with their family and with God can attest that He truly can be experienced in a special way on that day.

If you would like to explore the possibilities of the Sabbath, there are those who live nearby and would be glad to share it with you. You can find out more about this and other interesting and useful information online at GLOW.

Influenza Epidemic

Welcome to my post about the Influenza Epidemic. During the holiday season of 2012, public health officials were reporting a widespread outbreak of influenza in North America.

Large cities like Boston, New York and San Francisco have declared that the flu epidemic has overwhelmed the cities’ hospitals and health clinics.

Have you ever heard someone say: “Did you catch a cold?”

A human being does not catch a cold. What happens is the person that gets sick has a weakened immune system. When these people with a compromised immune system are exposed to a cold or flu virus, their body is not able to fight off the virus.

Every year when the days get shorter in the Northern Hemisphere, people are indoors more and more. Then in the winter when it is cold outside, most people spend the majority of their time indoors. Inside air is not being recirculated and people are breathing in stale air. If one person in the room has a cold or flu virus, the chances of other people in the room getting exposed to that virus rises drastically.

There is a way to survive the Influenza Epidemic. The best way to protect ourselves from getting a severe cold or a case of influenza in the winter is to follow some basic health principles.

1. Wash your hands on a regular basis with hot water and soap.

2. Drink one half your ideal body weight in fluid ounces of pure water everyday. Sodas, coffee and tea do not count towards your water intake. Hydration is fundamental to good health.

3. Get outside and go for a 30 minute walk every day that you can. Breath in fresh air deeply for the entire time you are outside.

4. Eat a healthy diet to give your body plenty of the necessary enzymes, minerals, and vitamins it needs for good health.

5. Get at least 7 hours of sleep a night.

6. Supplement with a natural anti-biotic that will help your body strengthen its immune system. Allisure Allicin Powder is an incredible discovery that was made by Dr. Peter Josling in 2000. Dr. Josling is the owner of the Garlic Centre located in the United Kingdom. Peter discovered a way to stabilize allicin. He captures the health benefits of the chemicals released when processing organic garlic cloves and formulated a powder. The stabilized allicin is then placed in veggie capsules.

There are many testimonials about how the Alli-C has helped people improve their health on my page below:

Alli-C

I have only had one day that I was sick and had a severe cold since 2006 when I began taking one Alli-C veggie capsule a day. I had just returned from tropical Asia with temperatures in the upper 30’s Celsius to freezing cold Washington State and -10 Celsius. My immune system was very weak because I had been up for about 36 hours straight. I was eating airline food so the lack of nutrition and lack of sleep took its toll on my health. I recovered the next day after taking 3 Alli-C capsules on the day I was very sick.

Be aware that I am not a licensed medical provider and my FDA disclaimer is found on the bottom of all my websites pages. I have had excellent results with fitness & wellness and promote products & services that I believe in. By taking effective action and using common sense, I am prescription free and living an abundant life of wellness.

Your Partner in Success!

Daniel Parsons

These exotic-tasting noodles are surprisingly easy to prepare. Soba noodles are made from buckwheat flour and are sold in natural food stores and Asian markets.

Recipe from Healthy Eating for Life to Prevent and Treat Cancer by Vesanto Melina, M.S., R.D.; recipe by Jennifer Raymond, M.S., R.D

This weekend, put together the fastest, easiest lentil soup you could ever make, with perfect flavor. 

Recipe is from Mark Anthony. He travels and teaches healthy cooking classes all over the United States.

Barley is delicious, not to mention an excellent source of soluble fiber, which reduces blood cholesterol levels. The longer you cook this thick and hearty soup, the creamier and richer tasting it becomes.

Recipe from Breaking the Food Seduction by Neal Barnard, M.D.; recipe by Jo Stepaniak.

Fast Food Industry

Is the fast food industry killing Americans? As a child growing up in the southern part of the United States, our mother fixed home cooked meals everyday. We sat at the dining room table to eat meals that were prepared. As children we learned that you ate your vegetables and if you did not, you went to bed hungry. There was no junk food to eat.

I remember when the first fast food restaurants started opening in our home town. Watch my short video about how you can eat healthy food all week for less than you can go out to eat.

This article will cause some controversy as there are many people that believe what we eat is our own individual choice. That is true. Due to the budget problems that our nation is in as of January 2013, caring for sick people has become very expensive. Medical care costs have risen so high that walking into a clinic or hospital can be very expensive.

A good debate would be discussing at what point should a tax be implemented on foods that are known to cause disease and illness. As Americans, we all realize that some change is coming soon. Our Medicare system is currently overwhelmed with sick people. The medical community is making a fortune treating sickness and does very little to promote wellness. Is the medical establishment’s reason for continuing to treat sickness and symptoms a financial one?

I have been observant of the people that walk into Burger King, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Taco Bell and other fast food industry restaurants. Many of the people that buy fast foods are overweight. Being overweight drastically increases the likelihood of having Diabetes and developing Cancer. The reason someone that eats these kinds of foods is hungry just an hour or so after eating a Super Size Meal of burger, fries and coke is the lack of nutrients in the food.

Processed foods in grocery stores are also a major problem. White flour has had most of the nutrients stripped out of the flour. Food manufacturers capitalize on the large sector of the people that are addicted to foods that have high fructose corn syrup, fat, sugars, and sodium. If you eat some donuts loaded with sugar in the morning, then have a burger meal for lunch and go home to order a large pizza, your body has received very little of the necessary nutrients it needs to be healthy.

To be fair, not all fast food restaurants are serving unhealthy foods. Subway has done a very good job with offering healthier alternatives to the public. You can even create your own healthy fast food by walking into a Whole Foods store and creating a salad from their salad bar. These are just a couple of choices. I have no affiliation with any of these companies as far as being paid to include these companies in my article. I also do not own any stock in those companies. I have eaten from their stores in the past when I was out on the road traveling.

Many people spend time commuting to jobs each day. Because I am an entrepreneur and create income streams from my home office, I am able to spend time making healthy meals from scratch with the extra time that I have.

I enjoy creating new healthy vegan meals from scratch. Most of the time I never notice that the food I am eating has no dairy or animal products in it.

Ever tried eating Eggplant? The picture you see is an Eggplant Lasagna recipe that I found in 2012. The meal is delicious and the spinach, mushrooms, onion and eggplant are very healthy for your body. If you want some great recipes, check out my blog here:

Healthy Living Recipes

Hope this article helps you to see how affordable it is to order organic whole grains, flours and oats and fix healthy meals at home. If you want to make sure your body is getting all of the nutrients it needs, read my page about our Organic Caldera Greens. The greens are a vegetable juice powder grown on volcanic soil in Utah. The greens are loaded with enzymes, fulvic acid, minerals, and vitamins. Many people have reported feeling much more energy after using our Caldera Greens!

Caldera Greens

Your Partner in Success!

Daniel Parsons

360.383.0265 Pacific Weekdays

Skype: missionarydanielparsons

Weight Loss Results

Welcome to my post about Weight Loss Results. Are you ready for the weight loss madness that happens this time of the year? Here we are again. January and a New Year has begun.

Many people make resolutions to get healthier, quit smoking, be kinder, and of course: LOSE WEIGHT.

I have some good news for you and some bad news for people that want to continue eating fast foods. Good news first is that there are many people who have reached their desired or ideal weight that were once overweight. These people took action and changed their lifestyle. These people decided that eating healthy food and to move everyday through walking, riding bicycles, working out in their homes, and engaging in physical activity!

The bad news is that anyone that thinks they can continue to eat fast foods, junk foods, and food loaded with sugar, fat and sodium will continue to fail. I get very upset when I see an online ad for Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers saying that you can lose weight on their program by buying hundreds of dollars of their pizza, pasta and chocolate bars. Folks, if nothing changes, nothing changes.

Losing the excess weight is critical to your health. Overweight people age much faster than normal weight people. The heart has to work extra hard to pump blood to all of the tissues in your body.

The reason we eat food is to supply the body with nutrition which acts as fuel. Our body needs fruits, nuts, seeds, vegetables and whole grains. You can buy some healthy fresh organic salads and organic vegetables at the grocery store and pack a healthy lunch to take to work.

Have you already paid a bunch of money to have a gym membership?

I can show you how to exercise right at home with just a few barbells and an exercise ball and achieve the Weight Loss Results you are seeking. Watch my internet based videos showing people how to do some simple weight bearing exercises. Find out more on my site below and watch the videos.

Ten Minute Workout from Home

You can achieve your dreams and also get your weight to a level that is healthy for you! Our free program has a social network with people interacting and supporting each other 24 hours a day. Don’t let fear stop you from taking action. Here is a valuable statement that explains why people do not take action:

Because The Short-Term Pain Of Effort Is Often Perceived To Be Worse Than The Long-Term Pain Of Failure.

The only way to fail is to continue what you are doing now and still have the weight issue when the year is over! You deserve Weight Loss Results!

Be aware that I am not a licensed medical provider and my FDA disclaimer is found on the bottom of all my websites pages. I have had excellent results with fitness & wellness and promote products & services that I believe in. By taking effective action and using common sense, I am prescription free and living an abundant life of wellness.

Your Partner in Success!

Daniel Parsons

This soup gives the texture and taste of a rich creamy soup without the added dairy and high saturated fat content. Enjoy it with whole wheat or rice crackers.

Recipe from Foods That Fight Pain by Neal Barnard, M.D.; recipe by Jennifer Raymond, M.S., R.D.

Basmati and wild rice contribute flavor and texture to this delicious, low-fat pilaf—the perfect side dish to share with holiday visitors!

Recipe from New Century Nutrition

Cancer and Nutrition

Welcome to my Cancer and Nutrition post. Did you know the human body has 50 trillion cells?

One cancer cell that is not destroyed by a healthy immune system will start to divide and produce many more cancer cells rapidly.

Keeping your immune system strong is imperative for your health! Treat your body like an expensive motor vehicle and only put in foods that will boost your immune system! Plant based foods are loaded with phytonutrients and were created by a loving God to be our food.

A good diet consists of plant based foods that have adequate carbohydrates, enzymes, healthy fats, minerals, protein and vitamins to keep the body’s cells healthy. The foods we eat fuel the body. Our body must have pure water for health. The body breaks down the nutrients from plant based foods. The nutrients along with pure water are moved throughout the body to the cells via the blood. When you give the body the right food, you will realize how important Cancer and Nutrition is in regard to living a long and healthy life.

For good health, drink one half of your ideal body weight in fluid ounces of pure water each and everyday. Coffee, tea and soda do not count. Coffee, tea and soda are acidic beverages that do not promote health.

The healthy cells repair tissues in the body as well as keeping the immune system strong to help the body fight off infections. The healthy cells also help the body grow.

White blood cells live for about 10 hours. Red blood cells live about 120 days. In 7 years, our body totally regenerates all the liver cells in the body. Human beings are continually being regenerated with proper nutrition and pure water.

Cancer cells divide and attack the healthy cells. Everyone has a certain amount of cancer cells in their body. Everyone’s immune system is different. When your immune system is strong, the cancer cells are destroyed. The way to keep your bodies immune system strong is to eat healthy foods that are loaded with phytonutrients and drink pure water.

If you are not able to get proper nutrition where you live, you can supplement with a whole food product known as Caldera Greens.

Read more about getting dense nutrient rich Organic Greens on my page here:

Caldera Greens

Be aware that I am not a licensed medical provider and my FDA disclaimer is found on the bottom of all my websites pages. I have had excellent results with fitness & wellness and promote products & services that I believe in. By taking effective action and using common sense, I am prescription free and living an abundant life of wellness.

Your Partner in Success!

Daniel Parsons

I believe you did not have a happy life.
I believe you were cheated.
I believe your best friends were loneliness and misery.
I believe your busiest enemies were anger and depression.
I believe joy was a game you could never play without stumbling.
I believe comfort, though you craved it, was forever a stranger.
I believe music had to be melancholy or not at all.
I believe no trinket, no precious metal, shone so bright as your brightness.
I believe you lay down at last in your coffin none the wiser and unassuaged.
Oh, cold and dreamless under the wind, amoral, reckless peaceful flowers of the hillside.

Poem by Mary Oliver
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry

Sweet potatoes and peanuts are familiar ingredients in many African cuisines. In this colorful soup they are combined with garbanzo beans and other vegetables and served over cooked rice.

Recipe from Healthy Eating for Life for Women by Kristine Kieswer; recipe by Jennifer Raymond, M.S., R.D.