Are You Rich?

Happy Thanksgiving Week!  I love this time of year.  It always brings fond memories of years past and the excitement of new memories to be made.  But as the holiday reminds us it is important to pause and count our blessings.  The human mind has a tendency to focus on our lack and our insecurities.  We tend to see all of the things that we don’t have and all the things that we wish were different in our lives.  But the fact is, if you live in America, especially here in Colorado Springs, you are blessed beyond measure.  I encourage you to take the time this year and write down every blessing in your life and hang it on your refrigerator so you can see every day just how much God has given you!

Below is one of my favorite short stories. Enjoy!

 

“Lady, Are You Rich?”

They huddled inside the storm door — two children in ragged outgrow coats.

“Any old papers, lady?”

I was busy. I wanted to say no — until I looked down at their feet. Thin little sandals, sopped with sleet. “Come in and I’ll make you a cup of hot cocoa.” There was no conversation. Their soggy sandals left marks upon the hearthstone.

Cocoa and toast with jam to fortify against the chill outside. I went back to the kitchen and started again on my household budget…

The silence in the front room struck through to me. I looked in.

The girl held the empty cup in her hands, looking at it. The boy asked in a flat voice, “Lady… are you rich?”

“Am I rich? Mercy, no!” I looked at my shabby slipcovers.

The girl put her cup back in its saucer — carefully. “Your cups match your saucers.” Her voice was old with a hunger that was not of the stomach.

They left then, holding their bundles of papers against the wind. They hadn’t said thank you. They didn’t need to. They had done more than that. Plain blue pottery cups and saucers. But they matched. I tested the potatoes and stirred the gravy. Potatoes and brown gravy — a roof over our heads — my man with a good steady job — these things matched, too.

I moved the chairs back from the fire and tidied the living room. The muddy prints of small sandals were still wet upon my hearth. I let them be. I want them there in case I ever forget again how very rich I am.

 

In Health and Faith,

Dr. Marc

Where Is Your Faith?

We all know the story of Jesus calming the storm.  It’s an incredible miracle that proves just how powerful God is.  Not only does He have power over demons, sickness, disease, and jugs of wine, He has power over the forces of nature!  But as we look closer at the story, what really sticks out is how the disciples responded as they thought they were going to drown.

As the story goes, Jesus told His gang that they were all going to cross the sea to the other side.  While Jesus was taking a well-earned snooze from preaching and healing, a massive storm rolled in threatening to capsize the boat.  Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever been out to sea in a small boat when the weather changes but it’s intimidating.  Growing up in Florida I spent many of my younger days offshore fishing out in a boat miles from shore.  In the summer months in FL you can count on a storm coming through every afternoon.  Normally, it’s 30 minutes of light rain.  No big deal.  But some days the light rain becomes a downpour with wind and lightning included.  As the wind picks up, so do the waves.  Soaked and cold from the rain, waves tossing you all about, sending walls of water over the side of the boat, lightning flashing every minute or so you quickly realize that your head is the tallest object around for miles and the most likely place for the next bolt to strike.  Jesus must have been VERY tired to sleep through it all!  But when the disciples wake up Jesus, He doesn’t jump up and say “Oh my gosh, why didn’t you wake me up sooner? We could have died!”  Nope.  He calms the storm and asks them “Where is your faith?”  

Faith is not one of those things that you have more or less of.  You have it in its full abundance 24/7.  You always have faith!  But where you put that faith is what matters.  When the disciples woke Jesus up He sensed their faith but He knew that they hadn’t placed it in Him.  They had more faith in the storm than in God.  They were certain that the storm was going to kill them.  They were afraid that Jesus couldn’t save them.  They doubted God’s ability to control the storm.  But isn’t that what we all do?  We all have doubts.  We all have fear, anxiety, and worries.  But why?  If you knew that God was in control, that He loves you, and is always doing what is best for you, where is the room for fear and worry?   Where is your faith?  

When Satan decided He was going to try to separate humanity from God, he didn’t come in with a pitchfork and pointed tail trying to scare Adam and Eve.  Evil of that type is too obvious and easy to run from.  No, what he did was plant a seed of doubt.  He made Adam and Eve question whether God was really as good as He says He is.  Satan made them think that they had to take care of themselves because God couldn’t be trusted.  He must be hiding and keeping things from us.  He doesn’t have our best in mind.  He won’t see us through the hardship.  He can’t calm the storm, save our marriage, or help us find a way out of financial hardship.  He can’t heal our pain and disease.  Thus humanity has set out to do it on our own.  If God won’t do it for us, then we must make our own way, solve our own problems.

The number one place that I see a lack of faith in God is when it comes to our health, or more importantly, our lack of it.  When sickness, pain, and disease roll in, panic strikes deep in our hearts.  Doubts boil up and overflow.  Anxiety and worry become our only focus.  For proof, look no further than how the world reacted in 2020.  Where is your faith?  

Many years ago, Dr. Lauren and I were invited to a church service.  As it turns out, it was a night of healing.  The pastor gave a quick sermon and then invited anyone who was ailing to come forward.  I watched as dozens of people went forward begging God for a healing miracle.  My heart was broken as we left that service because I knew that those people were going to go home and take the same drugs they had always been taking.  They were going to eat the same food and live the same lives.  If given the choice to leave that service with either their drugs or their bible, I wonder how many would choose the Word of God over their doctor’s prescription.  Where were they putting their faith while begging for a miracle? Now please don’t get me wrong, emergency medicine can be a Godsend but you will NEVER find health or healing in a pill bottle or a vaccine!

God breathed life into dirt and created man.  That was a miracle!  But He didn’t just set it and forget it.  The miracle of life still flows through you right now at this very moment.  In chiropractic we have a saying, “the power that made the body, heals the body.”  God never said, “I’m going to create mankind but they have to figure out the rest.” That is a lie of Satan.  We have been fooled into believing that we must figure it out on our own.  Science is the only way to combat germs.  Man-made medicine is the only cure for disease.  That’s not true.  God is still good.  He is still the provider of all things including life and healing.  He even gave us everything we need to live a healthy life.  He made the food for us to eat in order to be healthy.  He created the land and water full of life giving nutrients.  He created clean air to breathe.  But when we think we can and must do it all on our own, we end up destroying the land and water, we dirty up the air, and create man-made food devoid of nutrients.  And when we create all of these man-made problems our human logic is to create man-made solutions for them!  We make poisonous drugs to combat the poisonous food!  Is it any wonder that we fall short?  Man-made problems can only be solved with God-made solutions.  It’s time to get back to our roots.  It’s time to realize where life and health come from and to live in alignment with how we were created.  It’s time to put our faith back into God.  

“Have you more faith in a spoonful of medicine than in the power that animates the living world”

-BJ Palmer

In Health and Faith,

Dr. Marc

Principles of Eating Well

Most of us these days know what to eat.  We know sugar is bad. We shouldn’t eat bread and excess carbs.  We know we should eat more veggies and less processed junk.  Why, then is it so hard to eat well?  There are a few guiding principles that I have found over the years that make eating well long term more sustainable.  

This is not a DIET, it’s a LIFESTYLE:  The word “diet” has become a negative term mostly centered around losing weight.  That’s not why we are here!  We have to change the way we think about food.  The food that we eat either gives us life, health, and vitality or it gives us sickness, pain, and disease.  Will you lose weight when you eat well?  Absolutely.  But we are here for the long haul.  We are here to change the way we choose to live so that the food that we eat adds years to our life and life to our years.  We choose to change our lifestyle from one that builds sickness, pain, and disease to one that builds life, health, and vitality.  Not just a fleeting diet that will bring us limited results, but a change of who we are and how we live that will bring a lifetime of health and abundance.  

Environment over willpower:  Willpower and motivation are fleeting emotions.  They cannot be relied upon in everyday life to help us make good choices.  But the environment you set for yourself can lead you to sustained success.  What do you see when you open the fridge?  If there is an ice cold soda staring you in the face it’s VERY hard to say no to it.  If you open up the pantry and see a box of cookies you’re most likely going to grab one.  If you are truly committed to making this change for the health of your family, create an environment for success.

Clean out your pantry and fridge.  If it’s not on the list of what you can eat, throw it away.  Remove the temptation altogether.  Replace your unhealthy snacks with wholesome options instead and place them right in front of you.  Leave the fruits and veggies on the top shelf for you to easily grab.  Create an environment that supports you instead of tempts you. 

Make a plan:  As the saying goes, “Fail to plan, plan to fail.”  So it is with successfully changing how you eat.  It’s when we are hungry and have no clue what to make for supper that we make bad choices and run to the fast food store on our way home.  Or when it’s Wednesday and you are out of wholesome food and have to go grocery-shopping midweek.  Make a plan for the day, for the week, even for the month!  

Plan your meals:  Plan out what you will eat and when for the week.  Figure out what ingredients you will need, and then with your list in hand go to the store and buy everything you’ll need for your meals and snacks for the entire week ahead.  You can even prep your food for the week.  At the beginning of your week, prep as much as you can for your meals.  Cook the meat, chop the veggies.  Get everything as ready as possible so that all you have to do is throw it all together and warm it up.  You can even go a step further and get all of your supplements in order for the week.  The more prepared you are for the day and week ahead, the more successful you will be.  

Plan for the struggles:  Don’t wait until the last minute to decide what you’ll do hoping you’ll have the willpower to make the right choices.  Choose ahead of time!  If you are going on a road trip, pack plenty of snacks and meals to avoid grabbing something on the road.  If you have a dinner out with friends, plan ahead to choose a salad and water, not the burger fries and soda.  Always have a healthy snack on hand so that hunger doesn’t pull you to the junk food.  Think a few steps ahead and make your choices before you’re confronted with the temptations!

Keep It Simple:  Eating well does not need to be complicated.  The more complicated you make it the harder it will be.  The easiest way that I have ever found to be successful with nutrition is to commit to a smoothie and a salad everyday.  Two of your main meals in that way will be full of great nutrients and you’ve taken all of the thought and struggle out of choosing what to eat.  Snacks are even easier.  Eat some nuts and berries.  Minimize the choices you have to make in a day and you will maximize your long-term success. 

Give us Today our Daily Poison

These days it seems like there are dangers everywhere.  We are constantly warned of all the harms of all the things we do.  You can’t drink the tap water or take a shower because there are heavy metals and chemicals in the city water.  You can’t use your Teflon pots and pans or aluminum foil because of the toxins.  You can’t use bleach or Lysol.  Fragrant candles are bad.  Grilling your meat causes AGEs, which lead to cancer.  Plastic food containers lead to Alzheimer’s.  Eating cooked carrots and broccoli is not good.  They must be raw!  And if none of those things kill you, then the EMFs from your Wi-Fi, microwave, and cell phone will.  With all the warnings and dangers out there it’s easy to throw our hands up and say, “Forget it! Being healthy is too hard.”  While it is essential to look at every aspect of health and recognize that there are hidden dangers everywhere in our world, there are a few common denominators that are at the root of ALL sickness, pain, and disease. One poison in particular is robbing you of your health and happiness.

What if I told you that there was a poison that was slowly killing you and your children?  This poison is purposely being hidden in nearly everything you eat and drink everyday.   It is one of the most addictive substances on earth.  It’s marketed to you and your kids as a feel good substance that you run to for comfort and warmth.  It’s ingrained in our holidays and traditions and it’s stealing your life and health.  Over the past 120 years this poison has been researched more than any other known substance and the science has concluded that it is the cause of:

Cancer Heart Disease Diabetes Alzheimer’s/ Dementia         

Obesity Loss of eyesight Allergies Food Sensitivities

Insomnia Stress/ Anxiety Asthma Ear Infections

Malnutrition Osteoporosis Arthritis Learning Disability

ADD/ ADHD Inflammation Cavities Autoimmune Disease

Chronic Pain Irritability Brain Fog Subluxation

Would you be willing to give it to your children?  Even just a little bit of it?  What if they really liked it and really wanted it?  Just a little couldn’t hurt, right?  Would you give it as a special reward?  Seems odd to poison someone as a treat.  But that’s exactly what we do every day…

If you haven’t guessed it yet, sugar is that poison.  We all know that sugar is bad.  It’s like smoking cigarettes.  We don’t need any more convincing!  The reports are in, the science is settled.  But just like the smoker who reads the label that plainly states “smoking cigarettes causes cancer and death,’” yet they smoke a pack a day, here we sit knowing that sugar is killing us yet we indulge anyway.  It makes me wonder why?  Why would we openly do something we know is costing us years of our lives, our health and happiness, and then willingly feed the same poison to our kids?  The old “a little won’t hurt ‘em” mentality is dead.  Even a tablespoon of sugar crashes your immune system by 75%.  More than 2 tablespoons of sugar in your bloodstream will put a grown man into a coma.  Your body must fight and fight hard to process the excess sugar we pour in everyday, which is why over time our bodies wear out and cannot fight anymore!  It’s time to rethink things.  

This season is commonly called the “Cold and Flu season”, but in reality it’s the Stress and Sugar season.  More stress and more sugar over the holidays makes us and our kids more vulnerable to sickness and disease.  This year, let’s take back control of our health, remove the sugar, and live lives full of energy and vitality instead of sickness, pain, and disease.

 

In Health and Faith,

Dr. Marc

Immunity Workshop Recap

If you were so unfortunate that you could not attend our recent Immunity Workshop, you’re in luck!  Here is a quick run down of the important take always.

We are not doing so good as a nation when it comes to health.  Every year the numbers increase.  More cancer, more heart disease, more diabetes, more colds & flus, sinus infections, ear aches, asthma, allergies.  We are getting WORSE, not better.  Why?? Because of the underlying philosophy of our healthcare system.  

 

The Germ Theory is the idea that our entire healthcare system is based on.  It says that germs (viruses & bacteria) and genes make us sick.  But if germs make us sick how can two siblings sitting at the same table, eating the same food, breathing in the same germs, one gets sick and the other one doesn’t.  If the germ theory were true then they would BOTH be equally sick.  False as it may be this is the concept that modern medicine is built on.  

The Terrain Theory says that it’s not the germs that make us sick but the environment (the body) that the germs come into that determines whether you and your child get sick.  If a virus comes into a body with a strong immune system the virus cannot survive.  If the virus comes into a body with a weak immune system the virus thrives and you get sick.  So instead of fretting over bugs, focus on strengthening your body and immune system!  This is the concept that chiropractic is built on.

Trust your body!  It is always doing the right thing at the right time.  Your body creates things like fevers, runny noses, coughs, and diarrhea on purpose.  These are the natural defenses your body uses to fight infection and heal.  But the germ theory tells us these are bad and we need to fight the fever with drugs.  We need to take medicine for your runny nose.  This only makes you sick for longer because you are undoing what the body did on purpose to fight the infection!  Instead of fighting the symptoms, trust that your body is doing the right thing and look instead to support your body in its fight.

 

Top Destroyers of the Immune system:  Sugar, bad fats, toxins.

A tablespoon of sugar decreases your immune system by 75%.  It also destroys your good gut bacteria which fight infections for you.  Not to mention sugar feeds cancer cells and leads to plaquing in your arteries.  And what is the norm in our country?  We get sick and we start downing sugar packed Gatorade and juices.  Stop it!

The body requires good healthy fats to function properly.  If you only pour in bad fats your immune system is weak.  Your processed and fried foods are packed with bad fats. No more! 

The body treats toxins as a foreign invader.  Toxins are any man made chemical like food preservatives, pesticides, and drugs.  Your body must remove these chemicals thus pulling energy from your immune system leaving you more prone to infection.  Cut the chemicals. 

 

Top Builders of the Immune System:  Antioxidants, Good Fats, Protein.

Oxidation is the process which causes rust on metal.  It also happens in your cells.  When your body is fighting infection little guys called Free Radicals are produced.  Antioxidants clean up the free radicals.  If you don’t have enough antioxidants, the free radicals run amuck and your cells begin to rust leaving your body open to infection.  Increase antioxidants with berries, citrus, kale, and spinach.

If bad fats are bad, good fats are good!  Your body requires them to heal and fight.  Avocados, coconut products, raw nuts and seeds, and olive oil are all great sources to give your body the fuel it needs

Protein and plenty of it is essential.  Protein from well-raised animals is packed with amino acids.  AAs are the building blocks of life.  Want more infection fighting white blood cells? They are made of AAs.  Especially when you’re not feeling well, pump in more protein from good sources!  Of course, when you feel like garbage its tough to eat chicken.  That’s where a super clean protein powder can help.  

 

Supplements are Essential:

We can no long attain all the nutrients we need from food alone.  Today’s oranges contain 800% less vitamin C than your grandparents did.  It is now essential to supplement a healthy diet.

Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Glutathione (and its precursors NAC), and Zinc are all essential immune building nutrients that most people are deficient in.  Grab some today to build up your protection!

 

Get Adjusted

Chiropractic is awesome for a lot of reasons but when it comes to building immunity chiropractic is essential.  Any dysfunction of your spine causes dysfunction in the nervous system.  The nervous system controls everything in your entire body including the immune system.  So that pinch in your neck or your sore lower back are causing much more than discomfort they are reducing your ability to fight infection and disease!  

Studies have proven the benefits of adjustments on the immune system.  One adjustment boosts your immune system by 200%!  So if you’re not feeling well that’s a great time to get adjusted but even better is to get adjusted to KEEP your immune system strong to PREVENT illness.  Similar studies have proven that people under long-term chiropractic care have DOUBLE the immunity compared to those who had zero chiropractic care.  Take care of your spine to take care of your health!

So as the “cold and flu” season rolls out, its time to start supporting our bodies so they can do what God designed them to do in the first place: defend us.  Trust your body, strengthen your immune system and enjoy the beautiful days ahead in full health.

 

In Health and Faith,

Dr. Marc