Bees have been in the news a lot lately, and not for good reasons. Colony collapse disorder has been debated around the world, with fingers being pointed at many culprits. Not only does this crisis affect our overall food production, but it also hampers the production of one of nature’s richest and most healing superfoods – bee pollen.A powerhouse of nutritionBee pollen is considered one of nature’s most complete foods. It contains nearly all the nutrients required by humans and about half of its 40% protein content is in the form of free amino acids and is highly bioavailable to
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Proverbs 9:8 states, “Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you; rebuke the wise and they will love you” (NIV). There is a world of difference between a mocker and a seeker. Mockers challenge you to answer, not because they want to know the truth but because they have already pronounced you guilty. Seekers are genuinely looking for answers and are willing to do put in the work to learn and grow. Several years ago, at the end of one of my debates in New York City with my good friend Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, a Jewish woman approached me
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Have you heard of the 10/40 window? It is the section of the world where 90 percent of the unreached people groups live, yet only 1 out of 99 missionaries go there. Angi Pratt and I recently wrote a book about how to use social media to reach and influence the world for Christ. The day of the book launch, we put on a college student retreat focused on the need to go to the 10/40 window. The Lord used the combination of the book release and the world-focused retreat to get me thinking of more ways social media
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A Point of Grace concert was a delightful way to end a fun day at the Iowa State Fair. My sister Connie and I, along with our ten-year-old daughters, made the three-hour trip early that morning so we could enjoy a full day of attractions, rides, fried food and gazing at the famous cow sculpture made of butter. The hot, sunny weather, typical for Iowa in August, made our day even better. We left the fair tired but content at about eleven that night. It was sprinkling when we left and soon rain fell steadily. Heavy rains developed into a
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The eight of us slipped quietly as we could through the rolling German countryside. We were the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Unit, the eyes and ears of the Army Infantry, one of the storied divisions that battled Hitler’s army across northern Europe. The fighting had grown ever more fierce in October 1944, as we crossed the Luxembourg border into Germany. On this night, our job was to scout the German lines and report back on how many troops they had, how many tanks, and the number and size of their big guns. But something went wrong. The Germans spotted us as
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Finally, the storm clouds lifted! It had rained for nearly two weeks straight, our European vacation better suited for ducks than my two youngest children and me. Still, we’d had a wonderful stay with my elderly cousin, Tante Helga. She’d lived her whole life in Thumersbach, a tiny village of about 900 people, and knew the mountains like the back of her hand. A retired obstetrician, she was a friend to everyone in the community.Her villa, on the shore of a lake high up in the Austrian Alps, was like a scene from a storybook. It was magical. We’d been
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Usually I’m not an early riser, but on our beach vacation in Fort Lauderdale I was up with the sun. The flash of dawn on the water and peaceful rhythm of the waves against the shore always made me feel close to God. I pulled on my clothes, anxious to get outside and walk in the sand. Life had seemed hard lately. My computer consulting business kept me more busy than I sometimes wanted to be, not to mention managing the office and doing all of the bookkeeping for my husband Chuck’s oil business. And then there were our teenage
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My husband found me sitting in a puddle of half a dozen broken eggs on the kitchen floor. “What happened?” he asked. “I dropped them,” I said, sobbing. “Can’t you see?” Todd threw up his hands. He’d tried to understand me, but he couldn’t. Six months pregnant, I overreacted to everything, sometimes bursting into tears for no apparent reason. Todd and I had been high school sweethearts, and we were happy about our first baby, but we were only 20 years old. It was all too new and overwhelming. We both had full-time jobs, and Todd often worked late, so
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The popularity of coconut oil has skyrocketed in the Western world over the last several years. However, its many health benefits have been known in other regions of the world as part of their ancient history. Better late than never! Coconut oil is finally taking center stage, and is much needed in our modern world which contains more environmental and food toxins than ever before. Coconut oil is being hailed as a super ingredient, superfood, and, lately, a super beauty aid. Add to this that it can be consumed or applied to all ages and it becomes a must-have in
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Normally, a bloated stomach is nothing to be alarmed about. It isn’t a dangerous or life-threatening condition. It can, however, make you feel decidedly uncomfortable. A bulging mid-drift can make you look and feel miserable if it becomes a chronic occurrence. While a bloated belly is often linked to dietary choices, it’s best to make a quick visit to the doctor to rule out anything more serious. Once that’s done, here are seven tips for flattening out your stomach and ridding yourself of painful bloating once and for all. But before we begin, here are some general strategies to consider
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How many people hear God’s voice on a regular basis? Would more people hear Him if they just become quiet and listen? Sid Roth interviews Richard Mull about his firsthand experiences with angels, receiving direct messages from the Almighty God, casting out demons and even raising his own son from the dead. Read More How to really hear God’s voice.
Nick Leibold: Just after 11 a.m. and already the sun was blistering hot in Northern Iowa. Sweat ran down my back as I finished mowing a wide strip of grass between endless rows of corn—an area with drainage too poor for crops. Not that we’d seen rain lately. The ground was dry and dusty, coating everything with a film of dirt. Thankfully I was nearly done, just in time for lunch with my wife, Kendra. Normally I’d be inside an air-conditioned cab, but for small jobs I like driving my dad’s 1963 John Deere tractor, pulling a mower behind me.
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The hospital delivery room was cold, so cold. Or maybe it was just me. I shivered from head to toe. I hadn’t felt that way when delivering my first three children, but everything about this pregnancy was different. My due date had come and gone, with several bouts of false labor. The doctor finally decided to give me a hormone to speed up the birth process. It seemed like the IV drip the nurse had put in my arm was pumping ice water into my veins. Jim, my husband, stood by my side in his mask and hospital scrubs, holding
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There’s nothing like riding the team bus home after a big win over your rival high school. I don’t think I ever felt closer to my teammates. I wished the night would go on forever. But it was late and up ahead was our high school parking lot where our parents were waiting to drive us home. Quickly, we said our good-byes and headed toward our cars. I searched the dimly lit parking lot for Mom’s blue car. It wasn’t anywhere. Halloween was a few days away and an eerie wind blew leaves across the lot. Featured Product Angels on
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“Mom, I lost my retainer!” my son, Joey, said to me over the phone one afternoon. “Calm down,” I told him, although I was really talking to myself. “I’ll leave work early and come by the school. We’ll find it.” I’d do anything not to have to replace the expensive device. “I took it out to eat lunch and set it on my tray,” Joey said when I got to the school. “I forgot it was there when I dumped my tray into the trash can.” By the time Joey realized what he’d done, the whole school had been through
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The lower your income is, the more difficult it is to be particular about what you feed your family. This probably isn’t an earth-shattering revelation to anyone, but if you feel like experimenting, try to buy a week’s worth of healthy food for a family on a budget of, say, $50-75. Food manufacturers that target lower income shoppers with more affordable products tend to include more GMOs and toxic ingredients in their offerings. It just isn’t possible to stick to my usual food restrictions. Generally speaking I avoid: Read More Natural Health News and Wellness Tips | Natural Remedies and
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As the deadline looms for American citizens to comply with the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, many Christians are scrambling to understand their enrollment options. But many may be unaware of the fact that Obamacare provides a heath insurance exemption for people of faith who enroll in a Biblically-based healthcare sharing program. On pages 107 and 128 of the Affordable Care Act, Christians who participate in healthcare sharing ministries are exempt from the “individual mandate” to obtain health insurance. Read More Healthcare Sharing Ministries Provide Christ-Honoring Alternative to Insurance Under Obamacare | Christian News Network.
Josh McDowell, an apologist and evangelist, spoke at Southern Evangelical Seminary’s Christian Apologetics conference on three culture changes that create a “perfect storm” that challenges and poses a threat to the church. McDowell says the first is an epistemological shift that is occurring regarding Biblical truths due to modern perspectives on God’s word. “We’ve had a major shift in what truth is and where it comes from. We’ve gone from being God-centered to self-centered, from being objective to being subjective and from being internal to external,” he said. Read More Christian Apologist Josh McDowell: 3 Cultural Changes That Create the
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“I have an old Oster 450W blender that does fine on most everything except really dense items like carrots and celery. You can find them for $20 or less online or at discount stores. They are a great investment in your health. Here are more great smoothie recipes” Admin At our house, we make a smoothie every day! Our children are often involved in choosing the ingredients, and surprisingly, they are quite open now to the fact that greens are a definite must-have in nearly every smoothie. We used to have to hide certain ingredients in the smoothies, but after
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t was Sunday evening. The sun was setting on a choppy, cool day on Florida’s Indian River. I’d skippered a Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel for eight years. My crew and I were civilian volunteers, but the US Coast Guard relied on us to keep the folks who were fishing or sailing these waters safe. Patrolling this river never felt like work to me. Besides being outside on the water, I liked knowing I was watching out for anyone who might need help. So far I’d rescued a dozen or so people in trouble. My mother might have said I acted
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It was just a ringing telephone, but it filled me with dread. As I reached out to answer it, I remembered the phone call I’d received only weeks before. The phone call from the hospital telling me my daughter Ashley had been in a terrible car accident. Whatever this call was about, it couldn’t hurt me. The worst had already happened. Ashley was dead. Back in my kitchen, I lifted the phone off the hook. “Hi, Karen. Something just happened down at Roy’s Market.” Kim was a good friend of mine. Roy’s Market was the store down the road, the
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Swinging on my family’s old metal swing set was one of my favorite things to do. I loved the feeling of soaring over the earth with the cool wind in my hair. One afternoon, my sister and I were so busy swinging we didn’t notice the sky had darkened.“Girls, come inside!” my mother yelled from the front porch. We jump off the swing set and dashed toward safety.Kay was faster.I followed her underneath the 15-foot long wire that connected our TV antenna to the house. The antenna sat on top of an old tree trunk. Read More Grounded by a
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Back when we were a young couple, my husband, Bill, and I shared a bedroom with our seven-month-old baby, Steve, who slept in a crib near our full-sized bed. One night, as my family lay sleeping, I sensed someone in the room with us. Read More Blue Angel at Her Baby’s Bedside – Guideposts.
It was a short drive home from the day care center, so my daughter-in-law let my three-year-old grandson, Isaiah, ride in the front seat. The car went off the road and flipped over before coming to a rest on its wheels. My daughter-in-law looked for Isaiah. The seat beside her was empty. Isaiah was sitting in the backseat—completely unharmed! He crawled into his mother’s lap to wait for help. Read More Secure in Arms of Angels – Guideposts.
Most people who looked at Mine-O-Mine would only see a worn red blanket. But to my four-year-old son, Isaiah, that blanket meant the world. Now it was lost. “We had it at the soccer game this evening,” I said. I hoped that we hadn’t left the blanket at the field. “Have you checked the van?” I asked my husband, Lonny. “I even checked under the seats,” he said. Mine-O-Mine was gone. “I won’t be able to sleep without him,” Isaiah whispered. Although Lonny had searched the entire van, I felt compelled to check again. Lord, I asked, Mine-O-Mine is so
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“Mommy, I’m hungry,” three-year-old Ashley said. She’d been a trooper all day, squirming in her car seat while I chased down job leads. I wished I had something to show for it. Now I had to get home to figure out dinner for her and the three boys. What on earth am I going to feed them? I thought as I drove to our mobile home lot. I’d come as a single mom to Canyon Lake, in the Texas Hill Country, where trailer parks offered affordable living. Problem was, I couldn’t find work. I told myself to stay confident, to
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Just after midnight my husband, Michael, and I were woken by the ringing phone. Michael spoke to someone a few seconds, hung up and turned to me with a sleepy smile. “It’s one of the guys at work,” he said. “He says we should go out and look at the northern lights.” We had been living in Alaska for over a year and still hadn’t seen the famous aurora borealis. The folks at the Forest Service didn’t want us to sleep through it. What a relief to get a phone call with good news, I thought as I pulled on
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