We thought it would be a perfect way to start our week by looking at a few practical ways to find peace when chaos is running high and how to cultivate hope (even now!)

Science has proven time and time again that stress is the biggest strain on our ability to cope with the challenges and changes we face. Panic can often bring with it uncontrollable fear and anxiety which narrows our thinking, and makes us an island of one at a time when we need each other more than ever.

Our takeaway today is to focus on the things we can control instead of the main circumstances outside of our ability to change. It’s a perfect time to slow down and be more aware of God’s presence in our lives, even when our focus is being diverted away.

When it comes down to key insights of how to soak in more of God’s presence, we have loved the insights from John Eldredge in his book, “Get Your Life Back”. He highlights a few wonderfully simple practices, or what John calls...

What does “Young at heart” mean to you? 

Well, the Chicago Tribune was curious to know the answer to this question and asked their readers what they thought. Below are just a few of the interesting answers they received:

Rudolph Alfano, 80, Willowbrook "To think young and be positive each and every single day. That's why I think I'm 16 years old because I act like a kid sometimes. I stay young at heart by getting up early in the morning and going on my walk, going to bed early, eating fresh fruits and vegetables daily, working on a project each day and helping others."

William Danford, 91, Elmhurst "It means having a wonderful nature that is attractive at all times."

Lisa Dekter, 76, Addison "You realize that age is insignificant. To be 'young at heart' is to love life, wake up every day and enjoy that day as a gift."

Whatever your answer may be to this question, being “young at heart” is an endearing expression we use for people who enjoy...

We wanted to share some thoughts on our favorite stress buster and one simple way to create more joy in your life!
 

It’s been said, “A well lived life is like driving a car. Every time you get in the car you have a destination, but instead of putting it on “auto-pilot”, you get to decide to make turns, go faster or slower, and you have to make minor adjustments along the way.” 
 
Professionally, the most successful and experienced race car drivers have learned to slow their body and mind down and drive in the moment. The great one’s have learned to focus on the present…
 
…they are in tune with their body, their car, every turn along the road and they “feel every groove” off the road. 
 

Similarly, we can learn to be focused, present and mindful as we live with better balance so we can determine how much we enjoy the ride. 
 
So, this week, let’s focus on going out onto...

If we were to answer the same question, 2020 has been a doozy! For sure one of the most challenging years of our lives....Yes, we are right there with you…so many things seem out of our control and we feel like our challenges are so much BIGGER than us individually, as a community, nation and world.   

We got too wondering with all the BIG things surrounding us..,what One Tiny Thing can we do to help each of us RISE above our difficulty, question, fear, struggle or pain?

This week we wanted to share together as a community how to shrink the BIG things down into “tiny” doable steps as we face our current challenges and seek to overcome them. 

In other words, “What is One Tiny Thing I can do today to RISE above the BIGGER challenges in my life today?” 

And the best part about leaning into the One Tiny Thing... it doesn’t require willpower or motivation to make it happen! It is within our reach to do now. 

So in this...

We are all looking for ways to optimize our health. But with our busy lives, the last thing we want to have to do is add another thing to our to-do list and keep track of. This week we thought we’d focus on a simple way to elevate our health with very little effort.
 
Intermittent Fasting has become a key part of our RISE 10-Day Jumpstart as well as our RISE Coaching Programs. We have found it to be an amazing tool to supercharge your health and metabolism.

Check out some key benefits of IF from leading Functional Medicine Expert Dr. Will Cole.

“If you haven’t tried fasting before, you don’t have to worry about being hungry and you can ease into a fasting practice and find what works for you. Here are the top reasons why you should try intermittent fasting if you need a simple way to boost your health".

1. Intermittent fasting keeps snacking at bay 
Snacking can easily throw us off track with reaching our wellness goals. Unless you plan...

How are you? How are you feeling? 

No question, it’s been a challenging few weeks for all of us and most likely under the weight of this situation you’ve felt its impact in some area of your life-body, mind, heart and spirit. We wanted to share with you some simple strategies over the coming weeks to help you gain strength to overcome obstacles you may be facing. We have discovered one of the best ways to help you do that is to boost your emotion through “motion”.  

According to fitness researcher, Michael Bracko of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the psychological aspect of exercise has been overlooked for some time now. Bracko states, “The psychological benefits of exercise are as important, if not more so, than the physical benefits. The physical needs and outcomes of exercise, whether it’s to lose weight, tone muscle, or address obesity dominates what we hear about, but lots of people who exercise...