God Will Lift Up Your Head by Jars of Clay

Pray It Off June 9, 2011 Grace, South Beach, Swimming, Cobb Salad

Grace: What It Is and What It Does*

If you took your parish’s catechism classes when you were growing up, you at least remember that there are two kinds of grace, sanctifying and actual. That may be all you recall. The names being so similar, you might have the impression sanctifying grace is nearly identical to actual grace. Not so.

Sanctifying grace stays in the soul. It’s what makes the soul holy; it gives the soul supernatural life. More properly, it is supernatural life.
Actual grace, by contrast, is a supernatural push or encouragement. It’s transient. It doesn’t live in the soul, but acts on the soul from the outside, so to speak. It’s a supernatural kick in the pants. It gets the will and intellect moving so we can seek out and keep sanctifying grace.

Imagine yourself transported instantaneously to the bottom of the ocean. What’s the very first thing you’ll do? That’s right: die. You’d die because you aren’t equipped to live underwater. You don’t have the right breathing apparatus.

If you want to live in the deep blue sea, you need equipment you aren’t provided with naturally; you need something that will elevate you above your nature, something super- (that is, "above") natural, such as oxygen tanks.

It’s much the same with your soul. In its natural state, it isn’t fit for heaven. It doesn’t have the right equipment, and if you die with your soul in its natural state, heaven won’t be for you. What you need to live there is supernatural life, not just natural life. That supernatural life is called sanctifying grace. The reason you need sanctifying grace to be able to live in heaven is because you will be in perfect and absolute union with God, the source of all life (cf. Gal. 2:19, 1 Pet. 3:18).

If sanctifying grace dwells in your soul when you die, then you have the equipment you need, and you can live in heaven (though you may need to be purified first in purgatory; cf. 1 Cor. 3:12–16). If it doesn’t dwell in your soul when you die—in other words, if your soul is spiritually dead by being in the state of mortal sin (Gal. 5:19-21)— you cannot live in heaven. You then have to face an eternity of spiritual death: the utter separation of your spirit from God (Eph. 2:1, 2:5, 4:18). The worst part of this eternal separation will be that you yourself would have caused it to be that way.

Spiritual Suicide You can obtain supernatural life by yielding to actual graces you receive. God keeps giving you these divine pushes, and all you have to do is go along.

For instance, he moves you to repentance, and if you take the hint you can find yourself in the confessional, where the guilt for your sins is remitted (John 20:21–23). Through the sacrament of penance, through your reconciliation to God, you receive sanctifying grace. But you can lose it again by sinning mortally (1 John 5:16–17).

Keep that word in mind: mortal. It means death. Mortal sins are deadly sins because they kill off this supernatural life, this sanctifying grace. Mortal sins can’t coexist with the supernatural life, because by their nature such sins are saying "No" to God, while sanctifying grace would be saying "Yes."

Venial sins don’t destroy supernatural life, and they don’t even lessen it. Mortal sins destroy it outright. The trouble with venial sins is that they weaken us, making us more vulnerable to mortal sins.

When you lose supernatural life, there’s nothing you can do on your own to regain it. You’re reduced to the merely natural life again, and no natural act can merit a supernatural reward. You can merit a supernatural reward only by being made able to act above your nature, which you can do only if you have help—grace.

To regain supernatural life, you have to receive actual graces from God. Think of these as helping graces. Such graces differ from sanctifying grace in that they aren’t a quality of the soul and don’t abide in it. Rather, actual graces enable the soul to perform some supernatural act, such as an act of faith or repentance. If the soul responds to actual grace and makes the appropriate supernatural act, it again receives supernatural life.

Really Cleansed Sanctifying grace implies a real transformation of the soul. Recall that most of the Protestant Reformers denied that a real transformation takes place. They said God doesn’t actually wipe away our sins. Our souls don’t become spotless and holy in themselves. Instead, they remain corrupted, sinful, full of sin. God merely throws a cloak over them and treats them as if they were spotless, knowing all the while that they’re not.

But that isn’t the Catholic view. We believe souls really are cleansed by an infusion of the supernatural life. Paul speaks of us as "a new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17), "created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" (Eph. 4:24). Of course, we’re still subject to temptations to sin; we still suffer the effects of Adam’s Fall in that sense (what theologians call "concupiscence"); but God removes the guilt from our souls. We may still have a tendency to sin, but God has removed the sins we have, much like a mother might wash the dirt off of a child who has a tendency to get dirty again.

Our wills are given the new powers of hope and charity, things also absent at the merely natural level.

According to Scripture, sanctification and justification aren’t just one-time events, but are ongoing processes in the life of the believer. Both can be spoken of as past-time events, as Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 6:11: "But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." Sanctification is also a present, ongoing process, as the author of Hebrews notes: "For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being sanctified" (Heb. 10:14). In regard to justification also being an on-going process, compare Romans 4:3; Genesis 15:6 with both Hebrews 11:8; Genesis 12:1-4 and James 2:21-23; Genesis 22:1-18. In these passages, Abraham's justification is advanced on three separate occasions.


Can Justification Be Lost? Most Fundamentalists go on to say that losing ground in the sanctification battle won’t jeopardize your justification. You might sin worse than you did before "getting saved," but you’ll enter heaven anyway, because you can’t undo your justification, which has nothing to do with whether you have supernatural life in your soul.

Calvin taught the absolute impossibility of losing justification. Luther said it could be lost only through the sin of unbelief; that is, by undoing the act of faith and rejecting Christ; but not by what Catholics call mortal sins.

Catholics see it differently. If you sin grievously, the supernatural life in your soul disappears, since it can’t co-exist with serious sin. You then cease to be justified. If you were to die while unjustified, you’d go to hell. But you can become re-justified by having the supernatural life renewed in your soul, and you can do that by responding to the actual graces God sends you.


Acting on Actual Graces He sends you an actual grace, say, in the form of a nagging voice that whispers, "You need to repent! Go to confession!" You do, your sins are forgiven, you’re reconciled to God, and you have supernatural life again (John 20:21–23). Or you say to yourself, "Maybe tomorrow," and that particular supernatural impulse, that actual grace, passes you by. But another is always on the way, God never abandoning us to our own stupidity (1 Tim. 2:4).

Once you have supernatural life, once sanctifying grace is in your soul, you can increase it by every supernaturally good action you do: receiving Communion, saying prayers, performing the corporal works of mercy. Is it worth increasing sanctifying grace once you have it; isn’t the minimum enough? Yes and no. It’s enough to get you into heaven, but it may not be enough to sustain itself. It’s easy to fall from grace, as you know. The more solidly you’re wed to sanctifying grace, the more likely you can withstand temptations.

And if you do that, you maintain sanctifying grace. In other words, once you achieve the supernatural life, you don’t want to take it easy. The minimum isn’t good enough because it’s easy to lose the minimum. We must continually seek God’s grace, continually respond to the actual graces God is working within us, inclining us to turn to him and do good. This is what Paul discusses when he instructs us: "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain" (Phil. 2:12–16).

*http://www.catholic.com/library/Grace_What_It_Is.asp

The South Beach Diet Review by MayoClinic.Com

Weight loss

The South Beach Diet says that you'll lose 8 to 13 pounds in the two-week period that you're in phase 1. It also says that most of the weight will be shed from your midsection. In phase 2, it says that you'll likely lose 1 to 2 pounds a week.
Most people can lose weight on almost any diet, especially in the short term. Most important to weight loss is how many calories you take in and how many calories you burn off. A weight loss of 1 to 2 pounds a week is the typical recommendation. Although it may seem slow, it's a pace that's more likely to help you maintain your weight loss permanently. Losing a large amount of weight rapidly could indicate that you're losing water weight or lean tissue, rather than fat. In some situations, however, faster weight loss can be safe if it's done in a healthy way. For example, doctors may prescribe a medically supervised very low calorie diet for rapid weight loss if you're obese or have serious health problems. In addition, some diets include an initiation phase to help you jump start your weight loss, including the South Beach Diet and the Mayo Clinic Diet.

Health benefits

The South Beach Diet, while mainly directed at weight loss, may promote certain healthy changes.
Research shows that following a long-term eating plan that's rich in healthy carbohydrates and dietary fats can improve your health. For example, lower carbohydrate diets with healthy fats may improve your blood cholesterol levels. On the other hand, no long-term, randomized controlled clinical trials have measured the health outcomes of the South Beach Diet. Nor have there been such studies of the overall health or cardiovascular benefits of following a low-glycemic-index diet. But eating such foods as whole grains, unsaturated fats, vegetables and fruits should help to promote good health.

Risks

The South Beach Diet is generally safe if you follow it as outlined in official South Beach Diet books and websites. However, if you severely restrict your carbohydrates, you may experience problems from ketosis. Ketosis, caused by the breakdown of dietary fat, can sometimes lead to weakness, nausea, dehydration and dizziness.

SWIMMING BENEFITS YOUR BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT*

There are so many swimming benefits, from physical to mental to social. Understanding all the benefits of swimming is important because swimming really can change your life. In fact, it can even extend your life!

Here are some swimming benefits:

• Low impact — When you exercise on land, such as running or walking, you put a lot of pressure on your joints, bones and muscles. With swimming, the buoyancy of water acts cushions your body and is no harsh pounding to stress your joints and muscles. In fact, swimming is regarded as one of the safest exercises, with very little risk of injury. And many people who have been injured turn to swimming as a way to exercise, and even rehabilitate their injuries.

• Anyone can do it — No matter your age, weight, skill level, or fitness level, swimming is an excellent choice for anyone including overweight people, people with disabilities , pregnant women and seniors.

• Longevity — A recent study shows that swimming helps you live longer. In a study of more than 40,000 men ages 20 to 90, swimmers were 50 percent less likely to die during the 32 year study period than were walkers or runners.

• Weight loss — You burn around three calories a mile per pound of bodyweight. So if you weigh 150 pounds and you swim one mile in 30 minutes, then you will burn 900 calories per hour. Of course, how many calories you burn depends on how much you weigh and the intensity of your workout. If you weigh 150 pounds and swim at moderate intensity, you will burn around 600 calories per hour.

• Cross- training — Swimming is also a great way to do cross-training, when added to your regular workouts. Before a land workout, swimming helps you warm up. After a land workout, swimming helps you cool down, recover your muscles and relax.

• Physical health benefits — Swimming builds flexibility, endurance, muscle strength and cardiovascular health. Water adds 12 times more resistance than air, so it takes more work to move through water than air. Swimming not only helps strengthen muscles, it also helps builds lean, flexible muscles.

• Mental benefits — For many swimmers, swimming is like a form of mediation. This is because swimming is a focused activity that cannot be combined with distractions like reading or watching television. Swimming forces you to regulate your breathing, and allows you to focus on nothing but the rhythm of your stroke. It reduces stress and leaves you feel relaxed and refreshed.

• Recreation — Swimming is a lot of fun and can be a great way to socialize. Whether at the beach or a pool, it is fun to swim with other people. You can join a water aerobics class or a master’s swim practice, and socialize while you workout.

Swimming is a lifetime sport that benefits the body, mind and spirit.

STUDIES SHOW THAT SWIMMING BENEFITS YOUR HEALTH AND MAY EVEN EXTEND YOUR LIFE


Most people know that activity in water can be used to treat and even heal a long list of physical ailments, and that physicians have long touted the benefits of swimming for just about everyone.

New studies continue to show the physical and mental benefits of swimming or other aquatic activity.

One new study shows that swimming cuts men’s risk of dying by about 50% compared to runners, walkers and sedentary peers. The University of South Carolina study led by Dr. Steven Blair evaluated more than 40,000 men over a 32 year period.“Swimmers had the lowest death rate,” explains Blair. “Therefore, swimming appears to be a healthy alternative to other types of physical activity.” Dr. Blair also found that regular swimmers had a higher cardio respiratory fitness than walkers and sedentary people.

Dr. Joel M. Stager, a researcher at the University of Indiana, has spent the past several years conducting studies on the relationship between swimming and aging. What he has found is nothing short of amazing.

“When you look at all the standard physiological markers associated with the aging process, we see that every one of them is slowed dramatically in people who swim regularly”, says Dr. Stager. “Exercising in water slows down the aging process, and often quite dramatically – by upwards of 20 percent in some cases. You almost cannot overstate the benefits of exercising in water.”

In fact Dr. Stager’s research points to a range of swimming benefits across the full spectrum of health. Research has shown that swimming slows down the aging process in terms of respiration, muscle mass, bone density, cardiovascular activity and neurological function.

Swimmers are seldom if ever injured. The vast majority of people studied have never experienced any kind of swimming related injury. And there are thousands of case histories and testimonials of people who’ve recovered from serious physical problems by working out in water. Ankle, hip and knee injuries, spinal injuries, neurological disorders, arthritis, all manner of sports injuries and most types of congenital disabilities can all be treated with some form of water exercise.

There is also evidence to suggest that swimming benefits mental health and even spiritual and social health.

“When you look at the benefits from the perspective of routine swimmers, it’s fair to say that it’s as close to a genuine fountain of youth as exists in the real world”, says Dr. Stager.

* http://www.swimmingbenefits.com/

South Beach Crab Cobb Salad Recipe*

(Serves 2)

Salad Recipe Ingredients


6 handfuls romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
1 tin crabmeat, drained (and rinsed to keep the sodium down)
225g chopped ripe tomatoes or halved cherry tomatoes
50g crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons cholesterol-free bacon bits
50 ml prepared low-sugar dressing or olive oil vinaigrette

SouthBeach Recipe Cooking Method:

Arrange the lettuce on a large serving dish. Arrange the crabmeat, tomatoes, blue cheese and bacon bits in rows over the lettuce. Just before serving, drizzle some dressing evenly over the salad and toss well. Transfer to 2 chilled serving plates.

SouthBeach Recipe Food Nutrition Fact per serving :

267calories
27 g protein
12 g carbohydrates
13 g fat
4 g saturated fat
1012 mg sodium (Lower if you rinse the crab meat)
95 mg cholesterol
4 g fiber

http://www.southbeachdietinformation.com/sbdiet_recipes/crab_%20cobb_%20salad_recipe.htm




Photos: politicsandpolkadots.blogspot.com, coolbusinessideas.com, yourjoyologist.com, foodswelove.blogspot.com

Pray It Off 6/9/2011 Q&A from Overeaters Anonymous

Questions and Answers from Overeaters Anonymous

http://www.oa.org/

If I am powerless over food, where will I get the power to follow this plan?

Our Higher Power gives us the power, providing we do the footwork.

Working the Twelve Steps, committing our daily plan of eating to our Higher Power and a sponsor, going to meetings, making phone calls, studying the literature and using the other tools bring us the power to do what we have not been able to do before on our own.

How does having a plan of eating help me work the Steps?

The act of continually overeating and the never-ending attempts to hide our abnormal behavior squander great quantities of mental energy. Overeating clouds our thinking. Most newly abstinent people talk about the clarity and increased productivity that comes after a few weeks of abstinence.
The inner-change process of the Twelve Steps requires clarity and painstaking self-honesty. A plan of eating leading to abstinence puts food in the proper perspective, so we can devote our clear-headed energies to working with our Higher Power on changing those things in us that need changing.

What is the difference between a plan of eating and abstinence?

Abstinence from compulsive overeating is the objective of working our program. At the physical level, its simplest definition is to refrain from eating compulsively, and a plan of eating helps us to achieve this. At the emotional and spiritual levels, abstinence is a state of mind characterized by freedom from the food obsession; this comes because of working the Steps and surrendering to a Higher Power.

Isn't this just another diet?

We treat our food obsession as a physical, emotional and spiritual malady. A plan of eating is the beginning of learning a new, healthier way of eating. It is a way of life, not a temporary solution. Unlike dieting, a plan of eating is not about deprivation. Choosing to follow a healthy plan of eating is a positive choice for life.

Why is it so difficult to eliminate excess food?

There is no question that food often takes the edge off uncomfortable emotions. When we are abstinent, we begin to experience the feelings that food has kept us from facing. Recovery is about learning to face these feelings without seeking comfort in food. This is what we learn in our emotional and spiritual growth in the program. Excess food keeps us from "feeling and dealing", and we must put food down before we can get the full benefits of the program.

It seems like all I do is think about food. How can a plan of eating stop that?

A plan of eating allows us to minimize the time in the day that we have to think about food. We plan once a day, write it down, commit it to our Higher Power and a sponsor, and then don't think about food until it is time to eat. Committing the plan to our Higher Power and a sponsor allows us to clear our minds of food thoughts and improves our focus on the rest of our program and on our lives. Over time, our plan of eating will become a new, positive pattern.

Following a daily plan of eating seems too hard. What if I don't have the discipline?

Our willingness to do something about our compulsive overeating is a product of two things. The first is pain. The pain became so great that finally we were willing to take action. Second, we changed our minds about self-sufficiency. Most of us suffered from the delusion that self-sufficiency is one of the objectives of life and that not being self-sufficient is a defect.

To use the plan of eating tool, we have to be willing to accept that the disease is stronger than our willpower. We must be willing to try a way other than our own, which includes planning our meals and committing them to someone, letting go of problem foods, and learning to recognize the difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger. We must be willing to begin again if we make a mistake. Moreover, we must be willing to put the pursuit of abstinence from compulsive overeating ahead of everything.

When the urge to eat is driving me crazy, how do I stick to my plan of eating?

Thinking of eating is not overeating. We do not have to act on our feelings. The worst thing we can do is try to talk ourselves out of it. Our unaided willpower will usually lose. Taking some short-term action—any action other than eating—will usually help alleviate the urge. We can do a few things. Ask our Higher Power to remove the urge, call another member and explain what is going on; get to a meeting; write about our feelings; read a piece of weight loss literature to help us focus on our recovery; and remind ourselves that we can abstain, no matter what.

What is the biggest danger to watch out for in trying to follow my plan of eating?

Mostly our thinking. Our irrational thinking may make us view a plan of eating as a loss of freedom, when in fact it leads to freedom. This illusion can keep us a slave to food forever. In addition, we remember not to focus only on our plan of eating. The recovery program is a three-part program physical, emotional, and spiritual. Focusing only on physical recovery usually does not result in abstinence. We have to work all three parts of the program if we hope to achieve and maintain long-term abstinence.

What is the connection between food and emotion?

For a compulsive overeater, anorexic or bulimic, eating is attached to emotions. We are never fully satisfied, no matter how much we eat or avoid eating, because we are eating for emotional reasons rather than physical reasons. We eat for excitement, love, celebration, loneliness, escape, pleasure, and comfort. We devour food, purge, or abort eating to anesthetize ourselves. We eat out of anger, resentment, envy, jealousy, fear, pride, guilt, and grief. As the problem worsens, and it always does because this is a progressive disease, the self-destructive impact of overeating begins to far outweigh the temporary pleasure or comfort that eating once brought. For the Anorexic, starvation becomes a way of obtaining that "emotional high" The Bulimic feels that "rush and relief" of the purge cycle. Eventually, some of us do this for so long that we become addicted to an eating pattern for no apparent reason, even when the pleasure has turn to pain.

What happens if I go off my plan?

Relapse is not inevitable. However, you should take every precaution to avoid it. If you make a mistake and go off your plan of eating, it does not make you a mistake. We admit our mistakes, learn whatever is to be learned from them, and move on. There is no value in feeling shame, guilt, and self-hate. A slip reaffirms that we continue to have a disease that we cannot control on our own. We are not failures because we have a failure. Failure is being unwilling to start over.

What about my family? How can I do this to them?

What we have found is that if we do not take care of ourselves, we cheat others out of our best. The best thing we can do for those we love is to recover from the disease, whatever it takes. Those who love us want us to be healthy and happy.

Will I be following this plan of eating the rest of my life?

You need to remain flexible and honest about your plan. A change in a plan of eating is not a break in abstinence, as long as you are not eating compulsively. Eating plans may change over time as you gain more experience or your body changes. You may think a particular food is not a trigger, and later find that it is. Alternatively, you may find that you need to lose weight, but are not doing so with your current plan of eating. If you have been in the program for awhile, you may find that you need either less food or more exercise to maintain a constant weight. You may even switch trigger foods. For awhile, you may have no trouble refraining from a particular food, and then one day wake up in the morning obsessing about it. When you think a change is in order, it is wise to consult a professional and notify your sponsor about changes in your plan.

What happens if I conscientiously follow my plan of eating?

The accomplishment begins to make us feel good about ourselves and grateful to our Higher Power. Our feelings of self-worth begin to grow when we see the results of working all three aspects of the program. We come to understand that our self-esteem comes not from others, but from within. Chaos and cloudiness are replaced with a new clarity. Our accomplishments reinforce that we are going in the right direction and motivate us to continue our journey through the Twelve Steps. This is what will ultimately lead to the food obsession being lifted. Moreover, becoming abstinent also puts us in a position to help others who are where we were.

You can do it

The fundamental truth is that you have the choice, if you are willing, to do something about your eating problem; regardless of your circumstances, regardless of what you have or haven't done in the past, regardless of how weak you think you are when it comes to food. You no longer have to be a prisoner of your eating disorder. You can, at this moment, begin a personal journey of recovery and transformation.