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Here's the first trailer for the upcoming Robocop reboot. It's got quite a cast. And hey, there are some nice nods to the original in there, from his voice effects to the design of the suit itself. But everything else going in makes it all look, well, a little silly.
But hey, maybe I'm just a guy upset they couldn't find room for Kurtwood Smith.

subset: commoncrawl


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It works wonders!
I think it smells lightly spicy - not dead-fishy like Desitin or Aveeno.
Boudreaux's Butt Paste Hands down. It looks like it has lots of oatmeal in it. Works wonders my children don't get rash they go straight to raw! I have found the Butt paste has worked!!!! It's not as pasty as Desitin and it's easier on the bum! Good luck!!
Boudreaux's is great and before I found Sudocrem, it was my goto guy for diaper rash but Sudocrem is WAY better. Clears up the rash within a couple of hours, seriously. Amazing stuff! You won't find it at your local drugstore, but you can get it on Amazon. I have a 125g tub that I've had since March and it's only 1/3 of the way gone. You only need a little bit, you don't have to smear it on like the others and it works super fast.
Boudreaux's Bust Paste for sure!!! I like the smell because it isn't overwhelming like some of the others. And it always does the job when needed!!
my kids are mixed so they have darker skin and when my son got his first diaper rash i used desitin and it bleached his butt white! now i only use buttpaste! it works wonders on their sensitive little backsides and doesn't bleach their skin.
I won't by anything other than Boudreaux butt paste. My son got a horriable diaper rash when we took a trip last summer. One application and the next day it was already healing up. Love it!
I LOVE Bourdreaux's Butt Paste. My son only got ONE diaper rash, and it was because of an antibiotic. We used the Butt Paste at the beginning of the day, after bath, and before bed. It's AWESOME!
Love using this stuff, it almost immediately makes the rash disappear!!! My kids scream like in pain when I have used Desitin and other creams!!
I tried Butt Paste but it is so lotion-y, and doesn't stick to the rash enough to heal it. I don't get it. Never worked for my kids. What's the secret?
Boudreauxs Butt Paste works wonders for my son. It also works on bed sores for anyone who is a caregiver for someone who is bedridden.
The greatest butt paste out there! It's like the "magic" eraser Of all diaper rash cream! Literally her rash would be gone in one use.
I love bordeaux's. Wipes off easy and now comes in organic too.
Found this stuff in 2001 when I lived in Louisiana, and I used to order it online to get it shipped to em in NC- before it was found in stores all over the place. It is the best rash cream I have ever used. It also works on eczema.
Butt Paste is the best!!
That stuff did everything but clear up the rash. I tried it again the other day and it set her bottom on fire. I couldnt get the pamper off quick enough. In my opinion , it is not for kids with really sensitive skin.
hands down butt paste. I never use anything else !!
did you know Boudreaux's Butt Paste has borax in it!
Best diaper rash med ever !
This is by far the only kind that works consistently! I get upset when my in-laws try to use Desitin on my LO because it just doesn't work as well. Plus, I laugh every time I say it out loud :)
Totally agree, Bourdeaux's Butt Paste is the best. The original has worked best for my kiddos! The Sensitive Skin version is thinner & doesn't work nearly as well.
My little guy would get diaper rashes constantly from teething. Boudreaux's worked for a little while and then it didn't. I started using Boudreaux's and then bag balm on top of it and it works great!!!!!!!!! His diaper rash would be completely gone the next morning!
Boudreaux Butt Paste SPRAY. No rubbing. We call it the "good stuff" at our house. Diaper rash is gone by the end of the day. Love that stuff!!! (And I have five kids....I have tried it ALL!)
Love the Boudreaux's Butt Paste for the diaper area, Aquaphor for my lil man's face eczema.
I used the butt paste as a preventive only and I think my son was over a year old before he ever got a rash. However when I put the paste on after he had a rash he would scream bloody murder, it burned his butt. So I used a&d ointment to clear the rash. After rash was gone it was back to butt paste to prevent rashes. Very highly recommended!!
I have used Bourdeaux Butt paste on my youngest three and wish I knew about it when I had my oldest! Works like a dream to clear up the rash quickly and without added discomfort for the babies. I recommend it to everyone and include it in most new mom showerr gifts. I even turned my Dr. onto it when a stubborn rash wouldn't clear up and with 24hrs of use Bourdeaux had cleared it up!
Our family swears by Bordeaux's Butt Paste! When the youngest had really bad diapers and a raw behind, we'd use the butt paste and by the next morning it'd be almost cleared up or all the way gone! We still use it when ever one of the kids has a sore bottom. A little goes a Long way!
So when my son was ill recently and having severe diarrhea for weeks, he got a terrible rash and our pediatrician recommended Domeboro. You can either mix up the solution and have them soak in it for 20 minutes or soak a cloth in it and lay it in their diaper for 20 minutes. It really helped. We did it 3 times a day until all the packets were gone. 12 packets come in a box and I used 1 packet for each soak. So I guess that would last about 4 days. The only bad thing is it was really hard to find. I looked in pharmacy after pharmacy and finally found it at a specialty or compounding pharmacy. At least it was only on the other side of my city so it wasn't too far to go to get it, but it did cost about $17.00 with tax for the box so definitely more pricey than most diaper creams, but all the creams we had even the ones the hospital gave us were not helping his severe rash. The pediatrician also said you can pour liquid Mylanta on their rash and that helps. So just thought I'd pass that on for anyone whose child's rash is beyond severe, like bleeding severe, like my son's was.
So my son has had a lot of g.i. problems, partly due to illness and partly due to so many antibiotics from other illnesses. When he has diarrhea several times a day he gets this horrendous rash in the diaper area and down his legs and no cream does anything. So my pediatrician told me about a product called Domeboro. It's over the counter in the pharmacy, but not all pharmacies carry it. I've found it so far at Jolley's (a compounding pharmacy) and Walgreens. It works very quickly. It's a powder, smells a bit like vinegar when reconstituted with water. It comes in packets and you can mix it with lukewarm water and have your child soak in it for 30 min. in a baby bath tub or I like to soak a cloth diaper in it and after wringing it out lay it in his disposable diaper and keep it on him for 30 min. 3 times a day. I've bought it twice now and I can't believe how fast it works. It is pricy, about $17.00 for a box of 12 packets, but if like me you've tried every cream and they don't work, it's worth the money to try Domeboro so you're child doesn't keep suffering.
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Well thanks to Michelle. She and her husband, Ryan, are graduates of the Master's College and they serve in the Crossroads ministry and Resolved ministry as well. How greatly we appreciate their ministry there. John Martin, of course, and Lisa also coming through the Master's College and John doing so many wonderful things to give us leadership in music, including writing all original music every week for our television program. What a blessing, benediction that ministry to us is. We're very, very grateful for all of this.
It is incumbent upon us to understand as Christians that we are under authority. We do not exist in some kind of self-styled freedom. And that authority clearly is divine and it is not oblique, it is not hard to discover the essence of that authority because it is revealed to us on the pages of Scripture. God exercises His authority over us and delineates in clear terms what it is that He requires. And that is why He has given us His Word.
So, we are under authority and we are under the authority of God as revealed on the pages of Scripture. The responsibility of preachers and teachers, elders and leaders in the church, is to delineate then the meaning of Scripture so that the people understand what it is that God demands of them. We are told, as you will remember from a few weeks back, to speak the things that are fitting for sound doctrine, Titus 2:1. And then at the end of that chapter, "These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority." There is no equivocation about what the Bible means by what it says. And faithful ministers, faithful servants of the Lord, faithful preachers and teachers give the meaning of Scripture clearly and directly. We then speak with authority.
Now we have talked about the fact that we live in a world that is resistant to authority. We live in a world that is in love with personal freedom and autonomy and imagines that every individual should be able to determine his own life, his own directly, his own belief system and be perfectly fitted to do just that. The truth of the matter is, you are either under the authority of God as revealed in Scripture, or you are in rebellion. The responsibility for those in ministry is clear cut, we delineate the people, the will of God as revealed in Scripture.
Now that takes us to our text for tonight as it was the last time we spoke of the subject of authority, and that is 2 Timothy chapter 4...2 Timothy chapter 4. It all comes down to a very simple command, "Preach the Word," verse 2, "Preach the Word," meaning the Word of God, the revealed Word of God inscripturated in the Bible, Preach the Word. That is why in 1 Timothy chapter 3, pastors are to be didaktikos, that's the one skill in the list of requirements, skilled in teaching and preaching, to have the ability to clearly delineate the Word of God. We do it in season and out of season, which is to say we do it all the time, verse 2 says, we do it on the negative side, reproving, rebuking. We do it on the positive side, exhorting with great patience and instruction.
We then proclaim biblical truth with authority. This is the Word of God that must bind the soul of every person. Our Lord it was who said, "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." We are reminded in Romans 10, preachers have a very great responsibility because people must hear the truth of God and how shall they hear without a preacher? Without a preacher.
And so, the Apostle Paul instructs Timothy, his protege, and all preachers who will follow and have followed him, with this simple basic instruction...Preach the Word. Which is to say preaching nothing but the Word, and preach everything in the Word. This is not a cultural mandate, this is a heavenly command.
Now surrounding that command are some compelling reasons. Reason number one, because of the danger of the seasons. And we've already looked at this, but just for a moment, back to verse 1, "Realize this, that in the last days," which, of course, began with the arrival of our Lord Jesus, dangerous seasons will come, difficult times." That is perilous epochs, not clock time, but eras, seasons, epochs. Savage is another way to describe that term. Savage seasons that threaten the life of the church. They will increase, according to verse 13, because evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
We looked at the fact that dangerous seasons have come and have accumulated and accumulated and accumulated until there are so many now and coming so fast that it's hard to step back and even identify them. The character of those who are engaged in these dangerous assaults on the truth, the character of those is delineated in verses 2 and following. It deals with the fraudulent nature of their ministry and their personal wicked character. They're even described as like those who have corrupt minds who have rejected the faith.
So, first of all, it is essential to preach the Word because everywhere in every era there is the accumulation of error which becomes a dangerous thing to the truth. Because of the danger of error, we are called to uphold the truth. Error captivates men, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10, it incarcerates them. They are in prisons, in fortresses of their wrong ideologies. Those fortresses must be smashed if people are to be liberated from damning ideas. That can only happen by the proclamation of the truth. So we preach the Word because of the danger of the seasons.
Secondly, we preach the Word because of the devotion of the saints. Starting in verse 10, you remember, Paul said, "You followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions and sufferings, just as happened to me." You are told again in verse 14, along with Timothy, "If you're in the ministry, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of knowing of whom you have learned them." Take the truth that's been passed down from the apostolic generation through every other generation and remain faithful to that. We preach the truth because of the danger of the epochs of error that surround us. We preach the truth because of the devotion of the saints in the past who set a godly pattern and a godly example which example we are called to follow.
Now let me pick it up exactly where we left it off a couple of weeks ago. Thirdly, we preach the Word because of the dynamic of the Scripture...because of the dynamic of the Scripture. And Timothy is reminded of the power of Scripture in verses 15 through 17, that from childhood you have known the sacred writings, meaning the Scripture, which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
I realize that we live in a day when there are endless sophisticated quote/unquote evangelistic methodologies. I have lived long enough to see them all come and go. Certain strategies to reach the lost, I'm very aware of the endless surveys that have been conducted by survey organizations to try to help quote/unquote the church understand the societal thinking, the cultural queues, the social norms. If we're ever going to reach people supposedly, we have to know all of those kinds of things about them. Somehow we have to find the angle at which we can have easy access into their hearts. And so we are told that we have to alter the message, that we have to make the message the kind of message they are ready to hear, given in the kind of form they are ready to accept.
However, the simplicity of Scripture contradicts that. "From childhood, you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom which leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." It is the sacred writings, it is the Scripture that gives the wisdom that leads to salvation. In one sense, I don't really care what your social preferences are. In one sense I don't really care what your culture is. I don't really care where in the multiple paradigms of social awareness today you pick your spot. It's all rather irrelevant to me. In one sense, I don't care how you dress or what kind of music you listen to. That has no bearing in my mind on what I would bring to you in order to bring to you the truth that saves. Whatever your societal identification, whatever your cultural preference, it is only the Scripture which is able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation. Now that's why I say none of that really matters to me.
I've been thinking a lot about this in preparing for the Shepherds' Conference. And there's so much talk today about contextualizing the gospel, fitting it in to the contemporary context in which some people find themselves comfortable and therefore identifying with them at that point so that the gospel will have access. I don't think that has any significance in salvation at all...none whatsoever. The Scripture is itself able to give the wisdom that leads to salvation. The gospel, Romans 1, is itself the power of God unto salvation whether you're a Jew or whether you're a Gentile...which would be two extremely contrary cultures.
In fact, to the first group of believers gathered together and commissioned by our Lord, in Acts 1 He said this, "You shall be witnesses unto Me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the utter most part of the earth." They had a message that transcended all cultures. They had a message that you could take anywhere. If you want to pain yourself into the proverbial corner, then tweak your message to talk to one little piece of societal demographics. If you want your message to know no limits and no bounds, then teach the Word of God. It has no bounds. The power of the Scripture knows no limits. There are no cultural barriers.
We're even being told today that we can no longer preach the Law of God. We can no longer preach the Law because people don't live in a society of absolutes anymore and so they don't view Law as absolute, they view Law as arbitrary. So we've got to come up with a new way to address people's sins. The pop way now is to talk about idols of the heart, you're worshiping the wrong thing. If you're worshiping your girlfriend, or you're worshiping your car, or you're worshiping your career, or you're worshiping money, you're worshiping the wrong thing.
Well, that's true. But Scripture lays out unmistakably that the Law of God is designed by God to reveal sin. Whether or not people externally agree that there is such thing as absolute Law, it is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict the sinner of sin and righteousness and judgment. The Spirit of God will work on the heart because no matter what happens in society, no matter what happens in world view in thinking, the heart never changes in any culture and in any time. The sinner still feels the guilt, the anxiety, the fear and the remorse that comes with the violation of the Law of God which Law, according to Romans 2, is written in his heart. And so we bring the Word of God to bear upon the heart and the Law of God is our aide, the Law of God written in Scripture if known, the Law of God written in the heart which is known, the Law of God is the school master that brings people to Christ. So we preach the Law, and sin, and righteousness and judgment and the gospel of salvation.
And so, in verse 14 we see, first of all, the dynamic of the Scripture. We preach the Word because the Word saves sinners. You are begotten again, says Peter, by the Word of truth, 1 Peter 1:23. It is the Word that saves. So we preach the Word. It's not only the Word that saves, but it's the Word that edifies. Look at verses 16 and 17, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect, or adequate, equipped for every good work." Scripture is powerful to save and Scripture is powerful to sanctify.
Now we've been only called to do those two things, called to do only those two things, I should say. We have been called to preach a message that people might be saved and to teach that they might be sanctified. The Word of God, inspired, God-breathed, theopneustos, it is the breath of God, meaning it comes from God, is profitable, that is it is useful in four ways. One is teaching, didaskalian, doctrine, that which is taught. Not the process but the content, the body of truth. Scripture breathed out from God is useful to establish the truth.
Secondly, reproof. Once the truth is established, it reproves all violations of it. It rebukes. This is the other side of teaching. When you lay down the truth, you expose error. And so, by proclaiming the truth, you also expose people to the recognition of their own sin. From these two workings of the Word, doctrine and reproof, which have to do with content, the truth exposes false thinking, false behavior, come two more effective uses of Scripture for correction. Literally, to restore to an upright position in the Greek. The Word is not just true, it not only exposes error, it transform, it restores. Sounds like Psalm 19. It is not just information, it is transformation. It is not just truth, it is power. It is not just divine revelation, it carries with it the energy of God to change lives.
And, fourthly, it is useful for training in righteousness. Once it has corrected and set you upright, the Word then sends you down the path of righteousness. The result is that the man of God, a technical term for the preacher who then is the example is adequate. Let me talk about that word adequate for just a moment.
It means more than barely sufficient, as you might think it means, it means fully equipped for every good work. Why do we preach the Word? Because of the danger of the seasons of error that accumulate. Why do we preach the Word? Because of the devotion of the saints, the faithful ones who come before us who have done it and passed down that responsibility to us. Why do we preach the Word with authority? Because of the dynamic of the Scripture. It saves, it sanctifies, even the one at the highest calling that God gives in the church, the man of God. That's a technical term used 70 times in the Old Testament, always refers to a spokesman for God. It is the Word that equips the spokesman who becomes the model for all others to follow.
That brings us to chapter 4 and verse 1, and a fourth reason why we preach the Word. Because of the demand of the sovereign...the demand of the sovereign. I came across this verse early in my life and it's a formidable thing to deal with, believe me. I don't know how preachers who are unfaithful to the Scripture, unfaithful to the preaching of the Word avoid fearing this verse. "I solemnly command you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead and by His appearing and His Kingdom preach the Word."
This is a very penetrating statement. I'm struck by a kind of holy fear in just reading it. Here the ministry becomes so serious as to be frightening. I identify with John Knox who when first called to preach was so distraught that he burst forth, he writes, in abundant tears at the face of that awesome duty. I solemnly command you....this is a dead serious command, a charge from God. Not unlike chapter 2 verse 15 , "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman doesn't need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth."
Here again is the reality that we render this service in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus. The Greek puts it in the presence of God even Christ Jesus, which is another way of saying Christ Jesus is God. We preach then under the scrutiny of the sovereign Himself, under omniscient holy scrutiny. That's why James 3 says, "Stop being so many teachers, for theirs is a greater condemnation."
There's a trend today for people to rush into ministry, start a sort of self-styled pseudo church and think that that's all that's necessary without affirmation from elders, without proper training, and preparation, without proper life examination as to virtue and holiness and integrity. They rush in to this responsibility, present themselves as if they represent Jesus Christ, stand up and say things that they say comes from God. This is a frightening thing to do. Stop being so many teachers, writes James, theirs is a greater condemnation.
Hebrews 13:17 says, "Those who do what we do have to give an account to God." Have to give an account to God. Paul says, "I have to beat my own body into submission lest in preaching to others I myself might become a castaway." In other words, not only a matter of doctrine, but holiness, take heed to yourself and to your doctrine, Paul says to Timothy. Take heed to yourself and to your doctrine. It is the most serious thing to enter into this ministry because the sovereign has established the standard.
Why do you preach the Word? Because I have been solemnly commanded in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, the very one who is to judge the living and the dead at the time of His appearing and establishment of His Kingdom, I have been charged by Him to preach the Word. I actually hear people say, "Well, Bible teaching won't cut it in this culture." Really, so you've somehow been liberated from this divine mandate? You've somehow come out of the weightiness of this passage? That's frightening.
There's a fifth reason why we speak the Word of God with authority, why we proclaim the Word of God. We have given you four, the danger of the seasons, the devotion of the saints, the dynamic of the Scripture, the demand of the sovereign, here's one more in that little alliterated outline. We preach the Word because of the deceptiveness of the sensual...the deceptiveness of the sensual.
Verses 3 and 4, "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths."
People can be easily seduced, you see it all the time, don't you? You see it all the time. They can be easily seduced. They're seductive preachers in every community. Some of them are on national television, you see them seducing massive crowds of people, manipulating their emotions in bizarre ways because they are appealing to the sensual.
We already talked about the dangerous seasons concocted by seducing spirits and propagated by false teachers. And here is, in a sense, what makes them so successful, they appeal to the feelings of people. The truth always goes at the mind. The truth of the Word of God always goes at the thinking of people. It does not go at the feeling of people. We want them to think differently about themselves, about God, about Christ, about truth, about sin, about righteousness. I really am only concerned that your feelings follow your thinking.
You hear sometimes preachers preaching in their sort of stylized way with a constant drone of an organ playing in the background...a means to manipulate people's emotions. And there are a myriad of other means to do that, as well. The time will come, the season, again it's kairos not chronos, and it's been around a long time, when they will not endure sound doctrine, they refuse the truth that saves, they refuse the truth that sanctifies. They have been seduced. They have gone astray from the truth led by men who have gone astray from the truth, which he mentions in chapter 2 verse 18. They abandon healthy doctrine.
And we're in such a season right now where this kind of emotional manipulation of people's feelings abounds and dominates the church today. Doctrine is a bad word. Doctrine is a bad thing. Doctrine is divisive. Doctrine is all about the mind, intellect, and has nothing to do with the heart and feelings and emotions. The prevailing mood in this post-modern culture is that every person certainly has the right to determine truth for himself and truth is going to be determined by how you feel.
I often have thought through the years that the evangelical church fights abortion and the evangelical church fights homosexuality and lesbianism and religious freedom and prayer in the schools, and euthanasia, gets all worked up about those things. The worst form of wickedness existing today is the perversion of sound doctrine.
Far worse than any of the things that I mentioned. But with so many churches and professed Christians, they will fight those popular sins to assault and be absolutely indifferent, if not outright hostile to sound doctrine. The ability to distinguish between the false and the true is essential, and that's a mental thing. It's how you think that matters...it's how you think that matters.
I was introduced one time at a convention as a man, quote, "who is a lot nicer in person than he is in his sermons." Well, I'm glad for that in a way. I want to be nice and I want to be gracious, but the idea was also apparent in the introduction that my preaching was not nice. And I will confess to you that I'm not trying to be unkind, I am bound to the truth...bound to the truth. I understand the antagonism toward doctrine and dogma. I understand that the evangelical church in its wideness and breadth today flourishes at that level because they don't make doctrine an issue. I understand that doctrine divides. But I also understand that the truth is absolutely necessary, it's all we have...it's all we have. A kind of Christianity that people are sucked into today has nothing to do with the mind, nothing to do with rational thinking, nothing to do with doctrine, it is all about what you feel...what you feel.
When I wrote the book The Gospel According To Jesus a few years ago, quite a few now, I was taken to lunch by one of the leading evangelical preachers in the country and he said to me, "Your book is divisive." I said, "I know, that's why I wrote it. I'm trying to divide truth from error." He said, "Your book is going to shred the evangelical community. It is divisive."
I said, "May I ask you a question? Is it true? Is it true? Is the book true? If it's not true, if it's not an accurate representation of Scripture, show me where it's not true. If it's true, I have no choice."
What is it about the truth of the Word of God that is such a threat? It was a number of years ago, we had an evangelist in our church named John Blanchard whom I've known through the years, he's an Englishman. He preaches about half the year in America, all over the place in America and he's done it for years and years and years and years. He came to our church to preach after decades of preaching in America. He sat in the service and after the service he had an interesting comment, after he preached he said, "Yours is the only church I've ever been in in America where the Scripture is read." Yet Paul says to Timothy, "Give attention to reading the Scripture."
What is it about reading the Scripture that is to be avoided? In our culture with its relativism, there is an unwillingness to be, let's call it antithetical. There's an unwillingness to be antithetical, black and white, to say that something is right and something is wrong, something is true and something is false. In the Garden of Eden there were two trees, one allowed, one forbidden. The eternal destiny of the human being, there are two possibilities, heaven, hell. The Bible sets forth two and only two ways, God's way and all other ways. God's way leads to heaven, all other ways lead to hell. People are either saved or lost. They either belong to God's people, or the devil's people. There is Gerizim, the Mount of blessing. There is Ebal, the Mount of cursing. There's the narrow way and the wide way that leads to eternal life or eternal destruction. There are those who are against us and those who are with us. There are those on the inside, those on the outside. There's life and death, truth and falsehood, good and bad, light and darkness, kingdom of God, kingdom of Satan, love and hatred, spiritual wisdom, the wisdom of the world...that's antithetical...that's antithetical. It's on every page of the Bible virtually.
And the Old Testament people were taught very early that there's clean and unclean. They were given all kinds of laws which appear to us to be arbitrary in the Old Testament. They were given them so they would learn to think antithetical. There's the way everybody else does it, and there's the way God wants you to do it. Everybody else cooks a certain way, you cook this way. Everybody else eats a certain way, you eat this way. Everybody else behaves a certain way, you behave this way. Everybody else does such-and-such on the seventh day of the week, this is what you do on the seventh day of the week. Whether it was food, clothing, farming techniques, justice, health care, holidays, methods of worship, there was God's way and there was every other way. And in the ABC world, the primer world of the Old Testament, God was teaching people to think. There is always God's way and the way of the rest of the world. And so we are bound to this antithesis to understand that God's way is different and distinct and unique and singular. And so we preach the Word of God unhesitatingly, the truth of God because we must save people from the seduction that is so abundant that approaches them as if all that mattered was that they feel good.
I remember the radio talk-show host, and I've told you about years ago, and after she interviewed me about a book, I...and she did a three-hour afternoon Christian counseling program on a Christian radio station...after three...after I think it was three segments of conversation, we had an hour, fifteen minute segments, in the break for the commercial, it became apparent to me that she really was clueless about the gospel. And so I said to her, off the air, I said, "How did you become a Christian?" She said, "Oh, it was cool. One day I got Jesus' phone number and we've been connected ever since."
And I said, "Just exactly what does that mean? One day you got Jesus' phone number and you've been connected ever since, what does that mean?"
To which she responded, "What do you mean what does that mean? I don't even understand the question." She had absolutely no idea. She said if somebody asked you how you became a Christian, what would you say?
And so I just gave her the gospel. To which she replied, "O come on, you don't have to go through all that, do you?" This is somebody doing a three-hour five day a week Christian counseling radio program. This is largely the state of the evangelical church because they have not been brought under the authority of the Word of God with all of its clarity and its power.
Nothing is more important than this. Nothing is more important than this. I've said it so many times, all we have is the truth, that's the only commodity the Lord has given us, it's all in one book. Go out and preach the book. It doesn't matter how you dress. It doesn't matter who you're talking to. It doesn't matter where I go on the planet, I do the same thing. It doesn't matter what the culture is, I don't even know what's going on in the culture. But the human heart never changes from generation to generation, country to country. And the message is transcendent and you can take the same message of the Word of God to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost part of the earth. And I'll say it again, if you want to paint yourself into a proverbial corner and guarantee the smallness of your ministry and isolate it to a certain time and a certain place and that's it, and question even the validity of that, then figure out a way to talk to only a few select people on a cultural basis and ignore the great power of the Word of God and the great and constant reality of the heart of man which is deceitful above all things, desperately wicked and which at the same time has written in it the Law of God. But if you understand the power of the Word of God and the condition of the human heart, then you will be faithful to preach the Word.
So, preach the Word is the mandate and the reasons are given to us. Without any excuse then, we all stand under this command. I just want you to know why I do what I do because this is allo there is to do.
It was a few years ago, and I just want to kind of close with this, it was a few years ago that I was thinking about why you must preach the Word. And I went through these reasons. And I thought, you know, there are probably a lot of other reasons. So once in a while I'll do this. I just took out a pad and I said, I'm going to write down ten reasons why you must preach the Word. And I stopped when I had 62....62 was the number, I said that's too many. I was going to do a seminar with some pastors, expository preaching seminar here with men who were coming from other places, so I condensed it to 50. It took me about three days to unload it. And I've condensed it again and again and again and eventually down to maybe 15.
But let me just list them for you as kind of a wrap up of our thinking. What happens to people...let's frame it this way...what happens to people who sit under the authoritative preaching of the Word of God? What happens to them?
Number one, the authority of God over their soul is established. The authority of God over their soul is established. If you sit under a clever teacher telling interesting stories with his own clever insights, you come under the spell of the preacher. If you sit under the teaching of the Word of God, you come under the authority of God. That's absolutely foundational. Whether a preacher boldly proclaims the Word of God, or not is the question of authority. Who has a right to speak to the church, the preacher or God? Whenever anything is substituted for the preaching of the Word, God's authority is usurped. I can't imagine a more prideful thing than to usurp the authority of God over the church He purchased with His own blood.
Secondly, people who sit under the preaching of the Word of God acknowledge the headship of Christ in His church. Who is the head of the church? Is Christ the dominant teaching authority in the church or some man? If the Word of Christ is proclaimed, if the mind of Christ is delineated, then Christ is exercising headship in His church. Modern preachers who neglect the Word of God have replaced Christ and they've become the head of the church. When a church is commandeered by a man, a clever, careful, thoughtful, innovative, strategic-thinking man who may be very skilled and very adept at what he does, but who sets aside the Word of God in favor of his own ideas, as interesting as they are, to tempt to appease the culture. Then the headship of Christ is usurped, no matter how effective he might be on the surface.
Thirdly, people who sit under the expositional preaching of Scripture find the Spirit of God and His work established in their hearts. How does the Spirit do His work? I can't take time to develop all this, the Spirit works through the Word...the Spirit illuminates the Word, the Spirit quickens the Word. The Spirit applies the Word. The Spirit even causes us to disseminate the Word. Being filled with the Spirit, we become witnesses.
What is the instrument the Spirit uses? The Word. It is the Word that regenerates. It is the Word that sanctifies. It is what the Spirit uses. That's why the Word is called in Ephesians 6:17 the sword of the Spirit. So when the Word is taught, God is the authority in the church. Christ is the head of the church. And the work of the church is the work done by the Spirit of God who uses the Word to accomplish everything.
If the Word of God is taught in the church, fourthly, humility and submission characterize the people...humility and submission characterize the people. They know how to worship. They know how to be under authority. They know how to recognize their Lord. They know how to depend upon the work of the Spirit of God. And there is a consequent submissiveness and humility.
I remember many years ago when I preached a series on the role of women here from Ephesians. It was a barn burner, let me tell you. This was at the heyday of the big lesbian and Feminist Movement. And somebody in our church contacted the Los Angeles Times and told them what I was saying, and it showed up on the front page. And so people poured into the church, we had to take the choir out of the loft on Sunday mornings and put guests up there. Boy, that's a very distressing thing for guests to be sitting behind the preacher, but that's where they ended up because they would come late and that would be the only place we could seat them.
ABC, CBS and NBC showed up with their cameras here at the church wanting to know how in the world was I getting away with saying that the husband is the head of the wife and women need to stay home and manage the house and take care of their children and love their husbands, how could I get away with saying that? And I remember going out the door over there and being stopped by one of the reporters, stuck a microphone in front of me and he said, "How in the world do you get these women to come to this church and buy into this? They seem like intelligent women." That's what he said.
I said, "It's easy." I said, "They already have a complete commitment to the authority of the Word of God and so whatever the Word of God says, they submit to that."
Well they couldn't understand that, of course. Couldn't fathom that. I actually ended up on the NBC nightly news, trying to explain to these people how these intelligent women could buy into submission to their husbands and the priority of the home. This church has always had a kind of humility because it's always had a submission to the Word of God.
There's a fifth and very important reason why it is beneficial for a church to be under expository preaching of Scripture, it is because the preacher himself is regularly connected to the sanctifying grace of Scripture. The great tragedy, of course, of tragedies in the ministry is an unsanctified preacher who scandalizes the church, who gets involved in immorality or steals from the church, or gets caught in some horrible homosexual sting, as I heard about just in the last couple of weeks, a pastor was trapped. You want a preacher who is personally, regularly under the sanctifying power of Scripture. That is a very, very great benefit. I am so blessed to be in the same church, in the same place week in, week out, week in, week out of my life, being under the sanctifying work of the Word of God. That's the only explanation for being here 39 years...39 years. On my own, I couldn't survive that long. It's the wonderful work of the Word in my own heart. It is the sanctifying work of the Word in my own life that sustains me spiritually and allows this ministry to go on and ultimately makes me useful to God in your lives as well.
There's another reason to be under expository preaching of the Word of God, it generates transcendent worship...it generates transcendent worship. Most of the sermons that I hear aren't transcendent, sadly. I listen to sermons from time to time and I just can't imagine how anybody could really engage in exalted worship because there's nothing there that lifts me up. There's nothing about God that's dramatic and transcendent and challenging and inspiring and lofty and grandiose and great and clarifying and magnificent and majestic and glorious. It seems to me that it's all on this flat man-to-man level. I tell young pastors, your people will only go as high in worship as you go deep in teaching. You have the responsibility to go deep down into the Word of God and uncover the great treasure of truth. The deeper they go into the Word of God, the higher they go in worship. If you don't go deep, then you have to be manipulated by the music. You've got to come in and you can't just worship God because of what you understand, that is activated by the words and enriched by the words, you've got to be whipped up by a sort of frenzy into some emotional experience which is not worship at all in most cases.
The only way true worship occurs is when you are expressing praise and thanks to God because you grasp the profound realities of His revelation. Preaching today is neither profound, nor transcendent. The preaching doesn't go down, or up, it's just flat and therefore people's so-called worship is equally flat. So the solution, get a bigger band, get a louder drum, do more sentimental music to stir their emotions. True worship is a direct result of truth understood. This church has the kind of music it has and kind of worship expression it has because you know what you're saying. You understand the depth. That's why we sing hymns. You don't need to sing 7/11 choruses, seven words repeated eleven times. You can go way beyond that. You can sing the nuances of theology in the great songs and hymns of every era because you get it.
Well, there are a lot of other benefits. In the place where the Word of God is taught, you find people develop the mind of Christ. They know how Christ thinks about everything so they have answers to the issues of life. In a place where the Word of God is exposited and taught, Bible study dominates, personal Bible study, incorporate Bible study dominates because people have had a taste of the Word of God and they can't get enough. In a place where the Word of God is taught and preached, the preacher becomes the voice of God. And when he opens his mouth, God speaks. In a place where the Word of God is constantly taught, you have a congregation that is strong and committed to the glory of God.
Another one, in a place where the Word of God is taught, people have a true source of help in the hour of desperate need. All those shallow ministries, all that shallow superficial stuff that carries no biblical weight or authority provides absolutely no foundation for the life and death crises of life. It's not true in a church where the Word of God is taught. They understand the issues of life. They have a foundation for the great crises.
Well I could give you more but I think that's sufficient. We are committed to a ministry that has authority, I admit it. It is authoritative but it is not my authority, I have no authority. We are committed to a ministry that is powerful, that's what the Word of God does, it works powerfully. We're committed to a ministry that doesn't put the stress on the cleverness of the preacher but on the truthfulness of Scripture. We're committed to a ministry that's weighty, that's authoritative, that's powerful. It lays a true foundation in the Word of God because this is what we've been called to do and nothing less, preach the Word. Simple, straight-forward, unmistakable.
And it has been for me the most wonderful privilege to do this. People sometimes ask me if you could live your life again, what would you do differently? And the answer is...nothing, I would be here with you doing exactly what I've done. It cannot possibly be conceivable to me how anything could be more wonderful than this. After all these many years, I just thank the Lord that by His grace and goodness I got started the right way those many, many years ago. And it would be our great joy as a church to send off many more men to do the same and to influence as many as we can around the world to be faithful to this. Let God speak with authority and in that His power to save and sanctify and protect His church is released.
Father, it's just a basic foundational things that we're talking about. But so missing, so absent in the world that calls itself the church today. Thank You for the faithful through the ages. Thank You for the faithful now scattered around the world who are doing just the very thing You've commanded us to do, preaching Your Word. Bless them, make them fruitful, encourage them, strengthen them, give them enough success in ministry to know that Your hand is on it. Lord, raise up more in the future. Your Word is the source of power. We proclaim it without equivocation or hesitation. May You honor it as You promised that when it goes forth it will not return void. Be glorified, Father, through Your truth, we pray in Christ's name. Amen.
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I cannot buy Count Chocula anywhere remotely near my house. I don't want to minimize anyone's problems, but my problem is worse than any of yours multiplied by a blolillion, because none of you people have, in the past week, driven around for a full afternoon stopping at five grocery stores in the futile hunt for a fictitious cocoa-based vampire who apparently IS NOT VISIBLE TO THE HUMAN EYE, much, now that I think about it, like real vampires, except Carl Paladino, who is, tragically, quite the opposite.
I have discovered two equally displeasing things about Halloween this year: 1. The neighbor down the road, the one on the corner at Sundew Court, which is like the least-evil name ever (she might as well live at Dew Drop Hug Soup Supportive Boulevard), has produced a front-yard Halloween display of such breadth and creativity that frankly my fake tombstones ("Here Lies Doug M. Upp" ka POW), cheesy blinking "Great Pumpkin" Linus and assortment of cut pumpkins looks like amateur hour at fat camp by comparison. This display is probably 2,500 square feet, likely needed special paperwork from the power company, includes what I'm sure were Army-sized rations of that cobwebby cotton stuff and is making the rest of us feel SUPER INADEQUATE.
The second, and obviously more important problem: I cannot buy Count Chocula anywhere remotely near my house, and/or Sundew Court.
I don't want to minimize anyone's problems. I know times are hard for lots of us. Your boss is slicing back your hours, your bank is being a jerk, NPR fired you for being an idiot and saying idiot things on an idiot TV show, those cell-phone pictures you took of your Little Viking are all over the Internet — but my problem is worse than any of yours multiplied by a blolillion, because none of you people have, in the past week, driven around for a full afternoon stopping at five grocery stores in the futile hunt for a fictitious cocoa-based vampire who apparently IS NOT VISIBLE TO THE HUMAN EYE, much, now that I think about it, like real vampires, except Carl Paladino, who is, tragically, quite the opposite.
Here's how we I got here: The Boy was treated to Count Chocula as a post-homework snack at his after-school care house, hence, logically, he awoke the next morning politely asking for a bowl of the crunchy deliciousness he'd had the afternoon before (and by that I mean he stumbled down the stairs with a look of half-sober cobweb-brained delirium, laid his head on the kitchen table and mumbled something about "Cow Chuckington" but I think the message was clear). I didn't have any, I replied, with the little pang of nostalgia you get when your child reveals himself to be interested in something you enjoyed at that age, be it a game or a sport or a song or a brand of cigarette or a breakfast option. But I said I'd get some tomorrow.
I spoke too soon. Every place I went: no dice. By the third store my little man was getting noticeably apprehensive, as though bracing himself for near-assured letdown like a Chicago sports fan. My son has a gift for the dramatic, so when I returned from that third mission a failure (albeit a failure who had thought to purchase what he believed to be a fair, equitable compromise involving Cocoa Puffs), he came exceedingly close to bursting into real tears, conveniently leading to a thoughtful discussion from Dad about what does and does not constitute a Real Problem. It's a spectacularly effective parenting technique you can try at home with your kids. Here, give it a shot. If the problem at hand involves an undead cereal-themed ghoul, IT IS NOT A REAL PROBLEM.
Now, do not even get me started on Franken Berry or Boo Berry. I had always imagined Count Chocula to be the ruler of that little group — he'd never been formally appointed, it was just sort of accepted by the others — so it stood to reason that with the Count out of the picture, there was no hope for Franken or Boo to be around. And indeed, the monstrilicious part of the cereal aisle was desolate, abandoned like a "Scooby-Doo" town, replaced with countless boxes that all had the word "FIBER" on them in large, insistent type and over-dramatized starburst callouts about the alarming wealth of vitamins and minerals stuffed, literally stuffed, into each box. It was horrifying. I needed my chocolate vampire.
But sadly, this is kind of where the story ends. I don't get it. It's not like Count Chocula is a rare synthetic lab-borne super-element that can only exist for quarter-seconds at a time, unless it is, and yet, aside from ordering cereal online, which seems like the loser-iest thing I could do tonight, I think I'll just try redirecting to the Cocoa Pebbles, which aren't quite as Halloween-themed, I'm afraid, but plentiful.
Jeff Vrabel was always more of a Cocoa Pebbles fan anyway. He can be reached at http://jeffvrabel.com or followed at http://twitter.com/jefvrabel.


text: The PUMA Clyde was born in the 70'S when the legendary Walt 'Clyde' Frazier asked for a custom-made pair of PUMA Suedes. Reconfigured to suit his signature colorful style, PUMA made it lighter and wider, and stamped his signature on the side. The Play remixes that iconic design and masters an off-court attitude with a new mid-cut sock construction for comfort and a fresh vulcanized sole. Finished with signature stitch details and foiled branding, the new Clyde Play puts an even-bolder spin on one of PUMA's all-time classics.


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- The 8-Week Transition Diet
- Get Fueled!
- Bring Home BRING IT! in the New Year
- The Tao of Beachbody®
- Meet Steve Edwards
- Recipe: Turkey and Wild Rice
The 8-Week Transition DietBy Steve Edwards
The 6-Week Transition Diet was one of the first things I ever wrote for Beachbody, way back in 2001. It's remained popular ever since; in fact, in 2005, I gave it a facelift and increased it from 6 weeks to 8. Six years on, it's time to dust it off and spruce it up for the modern age. We've found over the years that this transitional eating plan is one of the easiest ways to change your eating habits for the better.
It's often said that no one diet works for every individual. While this is true, you may have noticed that all Beachbody eating plans target a similar goal: eating more natural whole foods and less junk. That's because there are no secrets to healthy eating. There are strategies that can lead to various performance benefits, but 99 percent of diet is cutting junk and eating real food. With this in mind, our Beachbody nutrition guides use various strategies, all designed to lead you to the same place.
While those nutrition guides tend to be detailed and filled with recipes, the 8-week transition plan is for those of you who are less detail oriented. Conceptually-based diets like this can be easier to follow, because they focus on providing you with a short list of "no-nos," leaving you with a fairly wide array of foods that you are allowed to eat. Of course, that isn't the attitude you want to have for long-term success. Any diet, no matter how easy it seems, will take some willpower on your part if you want to see results. Your long-range goal should be to eat well, period. If you can accomplish this, your physical transformation will become a natural extension of your lifestyle, instead of something you need to pursue.
As healthy eating becomes a habit, you will find the other intangibles (such as weight loss, increased energy, etc.) falling into place. For many people, the easiest way to accomplish the healthy eating habit is to make a gradual transition from food choices that hinder human performance to ones that help you perform better. By making this transition gradually, you'll find that it isn't as difficult as you expected.
Week 1
No junk. Eliminate junk food from your diet. That's it, just junk. Other than this, you can eat whatever and whenever you like. Now, how hard can that be? Guess this depends on what I mean by "junk." But all I'm concerned with this week is the obvious stuff like potato chips, candy, ice cream, cake, etc. You may be stricter if you'd like, but for Week 1, don't be too hard on yourself. For many of you, this step alone will reap huge benefits.
Cheat Days: 2
Since no one's perfect, you get 2 days to cheat. That's right, 2 days where you can eat anything you want! A trick on these days (and, yes, this means there will be more) is to listen to your body. At first, it'll probably tell you it wants whatever you've been denying it. However, over time, it'll start to crave nutrients you're deficient in. Learn to read your body's subtleties. If you're craving ice cream, you may be short on essential fatty acids. If you crave a hamburger, your diet may lack protein. This way, you can make better food substitutions. It's a way of getting in tune with yourself that will benefit you for your entire lifetime.
Weekly focus: Water. Not swimming in it, though that's good too, but staying hydrated with it. You should drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water per day. Diet sodas and such are no substitute, because they contain a passel of ingredients that live right at the bottom of the junk heap. Drinking a glass of water when you feel hunger pangs coming on will not only keep you hydrated, but will help stave off your hunger to some degree.
As for other drinks, juices and sugary sodas also (obviously) fall into the junk category. And alcohol should be kept to a minimum. We tend to forget (purposely or not) that alcohol has calories. A lot of them: 7 calories per gram. Mixers can be even worse—not only can they add calories, but sugary calories influence the way alcohol reacts with your body. When you do drink, red wine is the alcohol of choice, with natural beer running second.
Week 2
Each week's rules are cumulative, so the "no junk" rule from Week 1 will apply until the end, as will each subsequent week's rule. Remember that this is a learning and conditioning process. It's like you're in a school and the subject is your own body.
Eat small, eat often. Eat four to six small meals a day, and don't eat anything for about 3 hours before you go to sleep. Following these rules will keep your blood sugar levels more static and your energy level will stay consistent. Try to keep each snack or meal balanced. Keep a 30 percent protein, 40 percent carbohydrate, and 30 percent fat scale in mind, though you don't need to worry too much about it. Just realize that you need a bit from each macronutrient group. Eat based on what you'll be doing for the next few hours (if you're working out, eat a little more; sitting at a desk, eat a little less). The 3-hour-before-bed rule is important, especially for fats and carbohydrates. By allowing time for all the carbs you eat to get into your bloodstream, your body will sleep in fat-burning mode, rather than in calorie-storing mode. This is important because undigested carbs in your stomach at night are stored in adipose tissue (fat).
Cheat Days: 2
Weekly focus: Carbs are not the enemy. Your body needs them, just like it needs proteins and fats. The trick is to choose the right carbs. As a society, we eat too much refined sugar. Complex carbs, like whole-grain breads, whole-grain rice, sweet potatoes, and legumes are outstanding foods. Even fruits, which have simple carbohydrates wrapped in fiber, are very good for you and hard to overconsume. While you don't want a diet based on nothing but carbs, making the right carb choices will maximize your body's potential. Try to avoid white rice and flours. Read labels, and try to avoid ones that use the word "enriched," because this means these products have been stripped of their natural nutrients, overprocessed, and then fortified with a few random nutrients
Week 3
Eat some colorful, low-density food at every meal. These are foods that take up a lot of space without a lot of calories. Veggies are the most obvious example. You can eat a salad bowl overflowing with lettuce and veggies and you most likely won't exceed 100 calories. By eating low-density foods like veggies and fruits, you'll keep your portions under control naturally, because they have very few calories for their size. Conversely, high-density foods, like chocolate and butter, are loaded with calories in even the smallest amounts. So beware of salad dressings and other things you add to salads and veggies. Only add enough for flavor; don't fill up on them. When it comes to live foods, the richer the colors, the fresher the products tend to be. Try to eat a variety of colors in your diet. This simple and somewhat random act will help ensure that you're covering your bases, nutrient-wise.
Cheat Days: 1
Weekly focus: Protein at every meal. This becomes even more important as you eat more low-density food, because protein tends to be high-density. Many veggies have a lot of protein, but the quantity you must consume starts to become prohibitive. Try to get some protein—meat, dairy products, nuts, seeds, or legumes—each time you eat, especially when you're working out hard, because you need to repair broken-down muscle tissue. Frequency of protein consumption is even more vital for women, who aren't able to digest as much protein at one time as men are. It's almost impossible to get all your necessary protein at one or two meals, so try to get 10 to 20 grams of protein each time you eat. Reading labels is a simple way to learn how to estimate your protein intake, but if you eat natural foods, most of which don't have labels, you can look at online nutritional information guides to determine the amount of protein each serving contains.
Week 4
Cook at home. One of the best ways to control your eating is to prepare all your meals yourself. Eliminate all fast food (which should have been gone in Week 1) and most other restaurant food. You may still eat food from certain restaurants where you can be sure of the ingredients (most will be savvy enough to make a point of how healthy their food is). But avoid all fast food chains, even ones that claim to be "healthy." Restaurants need their food to taste good, so they'll often use compromised ingredients, even when they list low numbers on fats and/or calories. Fast food can contain many hidden evils in addition to calories. For example, next time you see one of those nutrition charts, check the sodium levels; most fast foods use ridiculously high amounts of salt. Avoiding fast food alone will often bring your body closer to homeostasis; its desired state of balance. This can be hard for many of us because we now have to plan our meals and prepare ahead of time, but try and treat it like vocational school—you don't learn new a new "job" without a little retraining.
Cheat Days: 1
Weekly focus: Fat is essential. Remember that fat is a vital part of your diet, not just something that makes you fat. What is not vital is a lot of saturated or trans fats. Trans fats are mainly those that are artificial, and hopefully they've been eliminated from your diet by this point, since they're generally only found in junk. Saturated fats are found in dairy products and meats, and you don't need too much. For cooking, try to use olive oil when possible. Also, the addition of either flaxseed or hempseed can have a pronounced effect on your health. These seeds are loaded with essential fatty acids, omegas 3 and 6. Be careful about that amount of fat. It is dense and has 9 calories per gram, opposed to 4 for both carbs and protein. A tablespoon goes a long way!
Week 5
Reduce starchy carbohydrates. Starches include rice, bread, potatoes, corn, beans, and other legumes. While many of these are in no way bad foods, most people tend to consume far too many of them. So what you want to do this week is cut way down on them, if not cutting them out completely. Then add them back in when your body feels like it needs energy, which it will at some point if you're exercising (and why wouldn't you be?). But don't add a huge plate or bowl of pasta; instead, add a small single serving. Starches are great energy food, but if you eat too many, they turn the tables and make you sluggish!
Cheat Days: 1
Weekly focus: Sugar is only beneficial after a hard workout. Your body doesn't need processed sugar. But if you really enjoy it and can't avoid letting some sneak into your daily diet, the 1-hour period after you exercise is the best time to indulge. During this window, your blood sugar is low, because you've used it up to finish your workout (assuming you pushed yourself), and sugar during this time will help you recover faster because it speeds into your system and initiates the recovery process. Adding a little protein, but not too much, will enhance your recovery even further. The best ratio is 1 part protein to 4 parts carbs, as in P90X® Results and Recovery Formula®. You should avoid fats during this immediate post-workout period, because they slow absorption—a good thing most of the time, just not during and immediately after working out.
Week 6
If man makes it, don't eat it. This is likely to be the hardest week of your diet. You want to eat only whole foods and eliminate all processed foods, even good ones, for the week. This includes breads, most salad dressings, all cereal, luncheon meats, cheese, dried fruits, anything with preservatives, and alcoholic beverages. What you can eat are whole foods such as fruit, raw or steamed vegetables, meat (sans any type of sauce), natural whole-grain rice, poached eggs, etc. Since your eating habits have been slowly changing, this shouldn't be that big a shock to your system, but keeping in focus that you only have to do this for 7 days will make it easier. (Although each week's rules are cumulative in the plan, Week 6 is more of a "cleanse" or "reset" week where you avoid all processed food; after Week 6, you can go back to the occasional processed food, but chances are you'll take what you learned this week and tend to make healthier, smarter choices.)
Cheat Days: 1
The "cheat day" mentality isn't a bad one. Rewards like decadent desserts, a night at the buffet, or drinking with friends are good for you as long as you keep them in perspective. These are rewards for a life well lived and you should be able to feel good about doing them. Plus there's some method to this madness as well in that you still tend to crave nutrients you lack. So if you're cutting down on the calories to lose weight, allowing yourself a cheat day will give your body a chance to take in what it needs to avoid being malnourished.
Weekly focus: Nuts make great snacks. A handful of raw almonds or cashews is a quick and easy snack that goes a long way. Don't be put off by the high fat count of nuts, because this means it takes fewer of them to satiate you. Nuts are loaded with important phytonutrients, as well as good fats, proteins, and fiber.
Week 7
Be yourself. No rules—just try and eat as healthily as you can and do it by feel. Trusting yourself might seem like a lot of responsibility, but by now you'll be up to it. Learning to eat by feeling what your body needs is an important step in your transformation. Consider the way you've been eating over the last 6 weeks, but don't worry about what you should and shouldn't do. Just fuel yourself. The point is to take a mental break. Relax and allow yourself to eat in a way that feels normal. You may be surprised to find yourself craving something healthy instead of a candy bar or soda. You'll be better at listening to your body because it'll tell you what it needs to eat, as opposed to what you're used to eating. Your body should feel somewhat transformed. Does it?
"Reward for a Life Well Lived" Days: 1
Weekly focus: If you're so hungry at night that you can't sleep, try a protein shake (like Beachbody Whey Protein Powder) before bed. When it's real, and not habitual, hunger means you lack nutrients your body needs to repair itself as you sleep. You want nothing but protein powder and water. No carbs or superfluous calories. But protein at night, especially whey, will help the body repair damaged tissue and enhance the natural growth-hormone spike that you get while you sleep.
Week 8
Eat a perfect diet. Now it's time for a real challenge—are you ready? The perfect diet is strictly individual, as there's no one diet that suits everybody. So who better to choose the perfect diet for you than you? Our bodies are all different, and the key to your own perfect diet is learning about how your body reacts to different foods under different circumstances. Your journey over the last seven weeks should have brought you to a new understanding of how food affects your body, both for good and for bad. Now it's up to you to put it to the test. See how well you can eat for a week. In fact, see how well you can eat for the rest of your life. Live and enjoy.
Reward Days: 1, of course!
Weekly Focus: Don't bonk. Bonking is a state where your body runs out of stored blood sugar for energy. If you feel like your workouts are going backwards instead of forwards, this is a likely culprit. Use your energy level as your gauge. As soon as it starts to drop, start adding carbs back into your diet until you feel energized all day long. When you feel energized during your workouts and not sluggish throughout the rest of the day you'll know you've found the right balance between carbs and other nutrients. Also, remember that as you body puts on more muscle, you will need to eat more. Muscle weighs much more than fat and as you gain muscle and lose fat you will shrink at the same weight. You will also require more calories in order to maintain your muscle. So when you're working out hard, don't be afraid to eat more carbs than you do otherwise.
Related Articles
"10 Ways to a New You"
"7 Tips for Portion Control"
"Eat More, Lose More (Really?)"
Questions about your workout program, diet, the latest newsletter, or anything wellness related? Chat with Denis Faye, Beachbody fitness and diet expert, in the Beachbody Chat Room on Monday, January 24th, at 3:00 PM ET, 12:00 PM PT.
If you'd like to ask a question or comment on this newsletter article, click here to add a comment in the newsletter review section or you can email us at email@example.com.
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Questions about your workout program, diet, the latest newsletter, or anything wellness related? Chat with Denis Faye, Beachbody fitness and diet expert, in the Beachbody Chat Room on Monday, January 24th, at 3:00 PM ET, 12:00 PM PT.
If you'd like to ask a question or comment on this newsletter article, click here to add a comment in the newsletter review section or you can email us at email@example.com.
Check out our Fitness Advisor's responses to your comments in Steve Edwards' Mailbag on the Message Boards. If you'd like to receive Steve Edwards' Mailbag by email, click here to subscribe to Steve's Health and Fitness Newsletter. And if you'd like to know more about Steve's views on fitness, nutrition, and outdoor sports, read his blog, The Straight Dope, recently named one of the Top 50 blogs covering the sports industry by the Masters in Sports Administration.
The Tao of Beachbody®By Denis Faye
Everyone loves that old Tony Horton chestnut, "Do your best and forget the rest." It's catchy and insightful, and it sticks in your brain like only a good mantra can. But here's something you might not know about this little bon mot. It's also part of a 2,500-year-old Asian philosophy (even older than Tony) that's prevalent in most things Beachbody.
Here's how the words were first written by the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu: "When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you."
Granted, Lao-Tzu's words may not roll off the tongue like a good Tonyism, but they're every bit as profound, if not more so. His book, the Tao Te Ching (or, loosely translated, The Book of Way) is a cornerstone of Eastern philosophy that espouses balance and moderation in all things. Taoism has had a huge influence on our society, as it's informed the decisions of heads of state, rock stars, and, most importantly, Beachbody trainers.
Yes, you read that last line right. Admittedly, programs like P90X®, TurboFire® or INSANITY® paint a picture of our trainers as buff adrenaline junkies, pushing you to go harder, faster, and better. While there's an element of truth to that, it's just one side of the coin. P90X may torture your body with plyometrics, but it also soothes and heals it with yoga. Chalene's Fire Drills in TurboFire may drive your heart rate off the charts, but Stretch 40 balances that out, cools you down, and promotes recovery. It's all about balance.
"Live life now! Be the best person you can be right now. Follow your passion and be kind to yourself."
—Debbie Siebers, Slim in 6® and Slim Series®
Taoism is tricky to describe, given the opening line of the book is, "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao." However, if you'll allow my interpretation, it's about patience, balance, and letting things happen as they happen. Sure, you want six-pack abs and you want them now, but if you're doing the work and doing it right, those abs are going to happen either way. Stressing and obsessing about them the whole time won't make them develop faster, but it can make the journey a lot less pleasant.
Debbie pretty much nails this outlook when she says, "Be the best person you can be right now." From the Tao Te Ching:
Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.
The truth is, you succeeded the moment you Pushed Play for the first time. You're exercising and eating right. That's all you can do, so just enjoy the process. That said, when you're dealing with Taoism, you need to remember that there are always two sides . . .
"Get comfortable being uncomfortable. That's how you break the plateau and reach the next level."
—Chalene Johnson, ChaLEAN Extreme® and TurboFire®
As is the case with life in general, working out isn't all roses and peanut butter sandwiches. It can be really hard. Sometimes, you just don't want to do it, but it's important not to lose sight of why you're doing it.
The path into light seems dark,
the path forward seems to go back,
the direct path seems long,
true power seems weak,
true purity seems tarnished,
true steadfastness seems changeable,
true clarity seems obscure,
the greatest art seems unsophisticated,
the greatest love seems indifferent,
the greatest wisdom seems childish.
The Tao is nowhere to be found.
Yet it nourishes and completes all things.
OK, now you're scratching your head. "What a minute," you sputter. "One minute you're telling me to enjoy the journey, and the next minute you're telling me to buck up because it's hard?"
That's correct. The trick is to look at the big picture. Sure, there are days when I just don't want to get off the couch. I don't want to work out. Working out bites! But then I remember how I'll feel after the workout. I remember that sense of completeness and health I'll feel and it carries me through the workout. It's still hard and I'm still uncomfortable, but I'm content in the knowledge that it's benefiting me. It's cool to allow the future to compel you, but don't let it overwhelm your appreciation of the now.
"Trade in the concept of staying motivated and replace it with commitment."
—Jon Congdon, President, Beachbody
When I look forward to completing a workout, it's very different from being obsessed with my abs. I'm not living for the completion of my workout, but I find tranquility in what the future holds. I'm not going to try to get six-pack abs. I'm going to get six-pack abs. Similarly, I'm not going to try to work out. I'm going to work out. It's just going to happen. Accepting these not as possibilities but as truths removes a lot of pressure.
He who stands on tiptoe
doesn't stand firm.
He who rushes ahead
doesn't go far.
He who tries to shine
dims his own light.
He who defines himself
can't know who he really is.
He who has power over others
can't empower himself.
He who clings to his work
will create nothing that endures.
If you want to accord with the Tao,
Just do your job, then let go.
But no matter how motivated you are, it's important to remember those last three words: Then let go.
"Intense training should only be done in short cycles. As good as it feels to keep pushing yourself to your limit, you have a breaking point."
—Steve Edwards, Beachbody Director of Results
Sometimes we get so caught up in action that we forget the value of inaction. Always make time to recover. Muscles can only grow if they're given time to repair.
Being and non-being create each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.
However, you also need to know when it's time to start working again. Sometimes we can get a little carried away with that recovery. Sometimes we never get off the couch. Sometimes we screw up.
"If you miss a day . . . congratulations, you proved that you're human."
—Carl Daikeler, Chairman/CEO, Beachbody
If you mess up, no problem. Own it and move on.
Failure is an opportunity.
If you blame someone else,
there is no end to the blame.
Therefore the Master
fulfills her own obligations
and corrects her own mistakes.
She does what she needs to do
and demands nothing of others.
"Everyone at Beachbody started from scratch somewhere along the line. Look at us now."
—Gillian Marloth Clark, Yoga Booty Ballet®
What is rooted is easy to nourish.
What is recent is easy to correct.
What is brittle is easy to break.
What is small is easy to scatter.
Prevent trouble before it arises.
Put things in order before they exist.
The giant pine tree
grows from a tiny sprout.
The journey of a thousand miles
starts from beneath your feet.
Rushing into action, you fail.
Trying to grasp things, you lose them.
Forcing a project to completion,
you ruin what was almost ripe.
"The journey of a thousand miles starts from beneath your feet." Think about it and think about what Gillian said. The road to good health is wrought with fear and passion. It's too easy to let those consume you. That fear gets to you and you give up. The passion gets to you and you start making mistakes, training too hard, getting injured. Just choose a path, take a breath, follow the instructions and succeed. It's that simple. If you have problems, don't panic, don't veer off course. Just look to us for answers. "We've laid the groundwork for you," adds Gillian. "We reach out our hands to help. When we each reach a vista, it's a good idea to enjoy it, then root into it and help others on up too."
"Walk your talk."
—Brett Hoebel, RevAbs®
With this motto, Brett echoes Tony—and they both echo Lao-Tzu, who said it millennia before them. The only way to reach your goals is to stop pondering them and go for it.
The Master does his job
and then stops.
He understands that the universe
is forever out of control,
and that trying to dominate events
goes against the current of the Tao.
Because he believes in himself,
he doesn't try to convince others.
Because he is content with himself,
He doesn't need others' approval.
Because he accepts himself,
the whole world accepts him.
Related Articles
"12 Ways to (Painlessly) Go Green in 1 Year"
"Your Brain on Exercise"
"Doing the Right Thing—for the Right Reasons"
Questions about your workout program, diet, the latest newsletter, or anything wellness related? Chat with Denis Faye, Beachbody fitness and diet expert, in the Beachbody Chat Room on Monday, January 24th, at 3:00 PM ET, 12:00 PM PT.
If you'd like to ask a question or comment on this newsletter article, click here to add a comment in the newsletter review section or you can email us at email@example.com.
Check out our Fitness Advisor's responses to your comments in Steve Edwards' Mailbag on the Message Boards. If you'd like to receive Steve Edwards' Mailbag by email, click here to subscribe to Steve's Health and Fitness Newsletter. And if you'd like to know more about Steve's views on fitness, nutrition, and outdoor sports, read his blog, The Straight Dope, recently named one of the Top 50 blogs covering the sports industry by the Masters in Sports Administration.
Meet Steve Edwards
If you've spent any time around Beachbody, you know his name. He tests all our programs. He tells you what to eat. He answers your questions on the Message Boards. He writes articles (like the one in this very newsletter) to help you get in the shape of your life. Now you can get to know our favorite fitness guru in this video profile. Click below to meet Steve.
Recipe: Turkey and Wild Rice
Okay, Thanksgiving was 2 months ago . . . It's cool to have turkey again, right? It's one of the best lean protein sources around, so we should be thankful for it more than once a year. This tasty recipe is low in fat, with a great protein-carb balance, and is easy to prepare.
- 1-1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 cup raw wild rice
- 1/2 cup raw long-grain brown rice
- 3 cups sliced mushrooms (button, crimini, or portobello)
- 1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
- Black pepper (to taste)
- 3 cups turkey, chicken, or vegetable stock (or water)
- 1 cup cooked light-meat turkey, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh broccoli
- Cayenne pepper (to taste)
- 2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley (for garnish)
- Medium saucepan with tight-fitting lid
Select a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking (about 2 minutes). Add garlic and rice and sauté about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms, soy sauce, and pepper and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add stock or water, cover tightly, and bring to a boil (about 5 to 7 minutes). When it boils, reduce heat to low and simmer 40 minutes. Add broccoli and turkey pieces, stir, and simmer 5 more minutes. While it simmers, taste and adjust seasonings (add more garlic or pepper, or a dash of cayenne). Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve. Makes 4 servings.
Cooking Time: 70 minutes
Nutritional Information (using stock): (per serving)
Calories Protein Fiber Carbs Fat Total Saturated Fat 323 22 g 3 g 41 g 9 g 1 g
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text:
So that we'd all be able to stay out West as a family as long as possible Brad was able to arrange it so he could work some days at the Idaho site. While he was working the girls and I made sure to squeeze as much fun as possible in with Grandmas, cousins, and aunts.
It's only about a 10 minute drive from where we lived in Rigby. I was a little hesitant to go and spend so much money but it was worth it. We all had a great time and saw lots and lots of bears.
We drove through the Bear loop 3 different times.
We went in and checked out the gift shop, baby bears, petting area, and rides.
These's little cubs were SO cute.
Perfect size rides for my crew.
Grandma even joined in on the fun.
Camille fed some goats
Natalie charmed this deer
Excited to touch a peacock
Measuring up to a Grizzly. We don't think we'd want to make one of these guys mad.
What a fun day.


text: Though he's only a few weeks into his rookie season, Andrew Luck has already shown that he has the skills necessary to be a legitimate super star in the NFL. With great vision and a rocket arm, Luck has provided much optimism for all Colts fans. Andrew Luck has autographed this official NFL Wilson football exclusively for Panini Authentic. This Andrew Luck autographed football includes a Panini Authentic certificate of authenticity with a unique hologram number that corresponds to the hologram on the actual football. These holograms protect the integrity of the product and serve to guarantee the authenticity of the signature it bears.


text:
Debating and understanding Turkey
"I said: "how can you say that it is against Islam? Look at this: Malaysia has just passed the law on protection orders!". I could see their faces, I mean, they were really like "Malaysia passed such a law?" That really stopped them! So that was a very interesting experience."
"I don't see Europe as a glorious place to be joined, like many others probably. But we really need it for regional stability and peace but also for global stability and peace. That is themajor reason why I think it's very important. Both for Europe and for Turkey."
Pinar Ilkkaracan (born in 1961) is a women's rights activist and psychotherapist. Founder of the renowned Turkish NGO Women for Women's Human Rights - New Ways, she was one of the driving forces behind a successful campaign to enshrine gender equality in Turkey's reformed penal code. Ilkkaracan also launched an international network of women's NGOs from Muslim countries and worked with the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Read more about Pinar Ilkkaracan.
- CNN TURK interview on ESI's research on feminism and Islam in Turkey (December 2007)
- ESI report: Sex and Power in Turkey. Feminism, Islam and the Maturing of Turkish Democracy (2 June 2007)
- ESI picture story: A century of feminism in Turkey (June 2007)
- Media reactions on ESI's work on women in Turkey
"I do not think Turkey will become an EU member .... I think Turkey and the EU are on a divergent road, not on a convergent road."
"The visa issue has been an important issue. I can see that from my daily experience from my friends. Not a day in Turkey when you don't have somebody saying awful things about one European government or another."
Asaf Savas Akat (born in 1943) is a well-known Turkish economist. With his clear and straightforward analyses, he is a frequent commentator in the Turkish media. He publishes a column on economics in the centre-right Vatan daily newspaper. Akat was one of the co-founders, and the first rector, of Bilgi University, a private university in Istanbul, where he teaches economics. Read more about Asaf Savas Akat.
- ESI picture story: 15 Facts About Turkey (June 2007)
- ESI report: Islamic Calvinists. Change and Conservatism in Central Anatolia (19 September 2005)
- Media reactions on ESI's work on Turkey's economic transformation
"We thought the EU is the best alternative, because we simply wanted our people to have the same human rights and economical development, like you have in any European country. And of course it is a virtuous cycle. Economy and human rights … one goes together with the other one, we do believe we still believe."
"It is not important that Austria or France will have a referendum whether Turkey can get in or not. It is important whether the Turkish referendum, if we would have one – and I am pretty sure we would have that – would say "yes" to the EU, after what they did to us in the past so many years"
Cuneyd Zapsu, a successful and wealthy businessman from Turkey, was among the founders of the AKP in 2001 and became one of the closest advisers of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Read more about Cuney Zapsu.
"Turkey has a tradition of excluding non-Muslims."
"There is this concept of "transitional justice". Ssome Latin American countries have this, South Africa, Balkans etc. But Turkey did not have this kind of notion. We have the Ergenekon case, because these bad guys who did all these terrible things tried to topple the government. As a result, we have the Ergenekon case."
Orhan Kemal Cengiz (born in 1968) is a human rights lawyer, columnist and president of the Human Rights Agenda Association, a respected Turkish NGO that works on human rights issues ranging from the prevention of torture to the rights of the mentally disabled. Read more about Orhan Kemal Cengiz.
"It is very telling that Turkey actually does not have an operating Minister of Defence that deals with civil military issues."
"The EU was the goal but was also very useful for the AK party government. It was a wonderful package which was passed in 2003, which clipped the wings of the national security council which was almost a parallel government in Turkey."
"Do I think Turkey will become a member of the EU? It should! There's every reason to think that Turkey should become a member of the EU. If Romania is, Turkey should be."
Umit Cizre (born in 1946) is one of the most eminent experts on civil-military relations in Turkey. In 2006 she authored the "Almanac Turkey 2005 – Security Sector and Its Democratic Oversight", the first-ever publication to critically examine this issue and take stock of all the relevant actors. Read more about Umit Cizre.
- ESI report: Murder in Anatolia. Christian missionaries and Turkish ultranationalism (12 January 2011)
- Background: The Future of Turkey's "Deep State" (December 2009)
- ESI picture story: The battle for Turkey's Soul. Party closures, gangs and the state of democracy (April 2008)
"Until very recently the state wanted to transform everybody into something else. It wanted to transform the Alevis into Sunnis. Transform the Sunnis into non practising secular Sunnis. Transform the Kurds into Turks. And the non Muslim minimize their population."
"There is an ongoing silent Islamic reformation. Because in the 80s most Islamic pious would say "democracy it is a regime of the unbelievers, it has nothing to do with us". They would not appreciate democracy. They would actually think "Islam is something which rejects democracy". That has changed a lot. How well they understand democracy is a different question and I think that is a question that will go on for a long time."
"I am consciously optimistic about Turkey's accession to the European Union. I would like to see Turkey as a member of the European Union; would Turkey become a member of the European Union? I am not sure. I want to believe."
"Turkey has its own economy; people are not dying to go to the EU as workers. People know that you can find more jobs sometimes in Turkey than in the neighbouring European countries. Visa is a cultural obstacle. It just tells you as a Turk that you are not welcome, that you are not wanted in this continent."
Mustafa Akyol (born in 1972) is a political commentator, columnist and author. His work focuses on issues relating to Islam and modernity and Turkish politics. He is a frequent guest on Turkish talk shows and at international conferences. Read more about Mustafa Akyol.
- ESI report: Islamic Calvinists. Change and Conservatism in Central Anatolia (19 September 2005)
"Turkish diplomats who support Turkey's EU accession have become an endangered species. The reason is that, with so many frustrations and obstacles on Turkey's EU membership, it has become, within the Foreign Ministry, a career path that nobody really wants to take."
"The visa issue now has become more important because the negotiation process has stalled. Both sides are looking to find new areas where they can continue to enrich their relationship and the visa dimension is certainly one very visible element of this strategy."
"This talk about Turkey shifting away from the West is political rhetoric that does not have an economic counterpart. The Turkish economy is very well integrated today with the production structures, it is very well integrated with the European market."
Sinan Ulgen (1966) is a well-known analyst on Turkey and its relations with the European Union. His research and opinion articles have been widely published by international media as well as by think-thanks. As a diplomat in Brussels in the early 2000s, Ulgen witnessed Ankara's first steps on the road to EU membership. Read more about Sinan Ulgen.
- ESI on the European debate on Turkey
- ESI report: A very special relationship. Why Turkey's EU Accession Process Will Continue (March 2011)
- ESI speech in New York: Turkey looks west and the West looks back (September 2007)
"We have two debates in Germany. We have a debate on Turkey, on domestic affairs and on foreign policy issues in Turkey. This is a debate mainly taking place in elite media, mainly taking place among the foreign policy elites, taking place among journalists. And there is a second debate which takes Turkey as a projection screen for conflicts in German society. Conflicts about multiculturalism, conflicts about the role of different religions in society and where you can see that Turkey is not seen as an empirical phenomenon but rather as a phenomenon, as an example of an Islamic society."
Peter Widmann (born in 1968) is a lecturer of political science at the European Institute of Istanbul's Bilgi University, where he is responsible for the development of the German Studies section. One of his research areas – aside from political communication, minority politics and racism – perceptions of Germany's Muslim community. Read more about Peter Widmann.
- ESI on Germany's Great Debate on Turkey and Turks
- ESI picture story: Germany's Great Debate on Turkey and Turks (November 2010)
- ESI picture story: Germans and Turks - Striking facts (November 2008)
The production of these video interviews has been funded and supported by the European Union