Encounter God EVERY Day!

I started off my day, much like any other, by hopping straight out of bed half asleep with the temptation of my pillow calling my name. Shout a loud No Paul tells me so, I ignore the calling of my comfortable little friend. “God’s going to do some cool things today, gotta get to it” I tell myself as I walk away from the bed.

I paused for a moment and with outstretched arms up to heaven (I stand as if being held up in a bank heist). I call this the Power Pose. I’ll talk in more detail about the science behind why this has a huge impact on our bodies physically in a future post, but the short version is that, science has proven that if you stand feet shoulder width apart, hands outstretched and reach for the sky…then hold that for an extended amount of time (like 2+ minutes). It will actually change your body’s chemistry. The hormones that produce the feeling of power, and confidence, and certainty will go up in your body. I do this throughout the day when I feel fatigued and tired and it works like a charm. Is it coincidental that the Bible suggests that we lift up our hands to heaven? I don’t think so. Now science proves that it is good for us. Go figure. Yet another ancient Biblical principal proved by science to be good for us. 🙂

With eyes closed and an open heart, I say the Christian Vitality™ Prayer. Oh God, Creator and Sustainer of the whole Universe, YOU are MY loving Father and interested in every detail of my life. You only have GOOD for ME and desire to giving me healing, wholeness, and forgiveness. Everything over which you’ve giving ME authority I place at YOUR feet.

I then rattle off all the things that may tempt me to be a worry for me on any given day. They are all HIS now to worry about and take care of, releasing me of the responsibility. There’s an immense amount of freedom to be had here…for the rest of the prayer go here –> Christian Vitality™ Prayer

Diana and I are the stewards of 5 beautiful little people whom we love very much, which comes with the responsibility of making sure they have breakfast and lunch for the day, this being a school day.

So, careful not to stumble while walking with one eye open, I make my way down the stairs to the kitchen, to get breakfast & school lunches ready.

I’ve been at this place spiritually, mentally & physically, since I went out to San Diego a week ago, where I feel I am closer to God the Father than I have ever been.

Not out of a religious habit or in a manipulative way, I was verbalizing to God and myself and the kitchen cabinets this:

“Thank you God for this place you brought me to. I don’t want this feeling to ever end.”

I’ve been feeling a sense of Synchronicity (like God is laying out every step of the day to work for my good, not in a selfish I want this or I want that way) where I take one step and another and sometimes the step I am taking doesn’t make sense, but by the end of the day or the end of the week it seems they were all well laid out plans for his purposes in my life to prevail. Like every detail of my life is part of a plan and on purpose.

There’s a song inspired by scripture that describes God being a lamp unto to my feet. Well, what most people don’t know is that in ancient times they actually wore little lamps around their feet at night that would light each step you take as your taking it. Not like the floodlights we have today lighting up a hundred yards. Using those lamps, of ancient times, you were forced to take one step at a time. So, this synchronicity is like that. I just take what I feel are Spirit led steps (fully surrendered to God’s will in the moment) and God takes care of the rest. Focusing solely in that moment…in the now…in the present moment.

Back to the moment in the kitchen now…so I just finished telling God thank you for the place I am in. Then I felt a feeling of calmness, oneness, and then awareness when these words came out of my mouth:

God, I appreciate you! [PAUSE] I’m proud of you!

I started to tear up and was overcome by that feeling of sadness that you experience when your at a great movie that has a happy ending, when I realized that…that was the first time I said those exact words. What you don’t know, that brings it even more meaning to me personally, is that 4 days ago I had that exact same moment with my oldest daughter Rachel.

We had one of those moments where I felt God was using me to speak truth into her life. Words with deep meaning and hopefully long lasting affect on her life. At the end of that 45 minute talk she said:

“I’m proud of you Dad. I appreciate you!”

Which was the first time she’s ever told me that. Coincidentally, this morning was the first time I told God the Father essentially the same thing. I apologized to God and then told him, “thank you God for revealing that to me today…I promise to share this epiphany with everyone you send my way and do a better job of letting you know I’m proud of you and appreciate you”.

Why not make every day a God appreciation day? Why don’t we have a God appreciation day on the calender…or a God appreciation week like the nurses, and teachers, and office managers have? It likely won’t ever happen on a national level…that would be just too darn silly to those not so well enlightened ones. But for you and I brother/sister we can do it at a personal level every day. Please join me. Tell me by sending me an email about your encounter with God today. dan {at} christianvitality {dot} com

I believe at least part of the reason why I am at this place of awareness of God’s presence, is the fact that, in addition to the Christian Vitality™ Prayer, I’ve also reintroduced a practice of saying an affirmation prayer I learned from Joseph Murphy from the book, “Think Yourself Rich“. He’s not a traditional Pastor and by many Christians who have not read much about him, may even be thought of as a person more on the outside of the Christian Faith than on the inside. I’d disagree to some extent because I’ve read that book at least a dozen times and it is full of Bible excerpts cover to cover. He was an expert on just about every human religion and I believe a fellow of many colleges when he passed away. He was also an expert on the subconscious mind of man and metaphysics. I believe by marinating on the Bible, every man or woman, independent of their religion, will be impacted by what Christians call God’s living word (the Bible). I think he was also enlightened in this way.

I’m not suggesting you lead yourself astray by chasing after what some may call false prophets by adopting all of what Joseph Murphy reveals in that book. But, if you feel yourself grounded in your Christian Faith, at least allow yourself to be open to the fact that many scholars who study the Bible for many, many years. Are impacted in a profound way and what they share of what they learned has been touched by God through his living word (Bible).

So, that preface being said, I want to reveal to you a practice I’ve reintroduced into my life the last several days that has had an immense impact on my life and brought me to where I am today. I’ve reintroduced a prayer/affirmation that Joseph Murphy taught me and am currently saying it throughout the day. He instructed that you say it first thing in the morning when you get up and then say it a few times right before you go to sleep. The reason being is, that your subconscious mind is more open to suggestion (proven by science and research) at those times and you can essentially reprogram your brain. I’ve personally (internally) made it a prayer / affirmation and have memorized it years ago. It goes like this:

Right now, I am writing in my subconscious mind the idea of God’s wealth. God is the source of my supply and all my needs are met at every moment of time and point of space (circumstance). God’s wealth flows freely, joyously, and ceaselessly into my experience and I thank God for his riches forever circulating into my life. – Joseph Murphy PH.D, D.D. from the book “Think Yourself Rich” (I emphasize the bold words when I say it)

Through this practice of praying that affirmation everyday, morning and night (and even throughout the day), I have reached a level of awareness, synchronicity, and oneness with God the Father. The Creator. The Sustainer of the Universe. I am so, so blessed and thankful.

So, how do we encounter God EVERY day? Out of prayer and submission to him, I’ve been led (I believe divinely) to a practice that can be summarized with this acronym; SOAPP:

Syncronicity + Oneness, + Awareness = (come from) Prayer + Power Pose

So, brother/sister I challenge you today to integrate SOAPP into your life and watch your encounters with God come.

It is my sincere & genuine prayer that this message be a blessing to you and your loved ones. May it allow God to use you in a bigger way in the circle of influence he’s placed you in. In Jesus Name, Amen!

Was this post a blessing to you? Please help spread the word if you feel it is worthy by liking, sharing, tweeting, and pinning it. Maybe your friends may even thank you because it was a blessing to them. 🙂

The State of my Union with God & a Testimonial for friend Matt Trainer

Amish Shah & Matt Trainer changed my life!

In 2008, I was running a 7 figure Affiliate Marketing company. My personal life at the time was in turmoil (understatement) going through a horrible (another understatement) Divorce. I took time away from my personal nightmare and attended an event at that time my friend Amish Shah put on. I owe Amish Shah the credit for getting my bum down there and to him, for that I will always be grateful. It literally changed my life. At that time in my life I was at the bottom emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. It was so bad, I let all my employees go to pursue other paths and let my business, which I could have sold (I had several dozens of offers), just dry up and die.

Over the best sushi I’ve had in my life (I’ve had tons) I met Matt Trainer for the first time. Thanks Amish Shah for footing the bill that night by the way. 🙂

Call it serendipity, divine intervention, or the Universe coming to a place of convergence, either way I’d like to thank God for introducing me to Matt Trainer back then. When I had hit rock bottom and turned back on course for where I am today.

It’s more of a point of reference in my life where my life took a turn upward.

Amish Shah, Matt Trainer, and I went our separate ways, but I reconnected with Matt Trainer earlier this year (2014) with help from another gentlemen I hold in fairly high esteem. Greg Davis. Thanks Greg Davis for reconnecting me with Matt Trainer.

I went on to help build a brand new start-up company (3 of us founded) to an 8 figure business in three years with a 100+ employees.

So, this last weekend 8/9 through 8/10 (2014) I had another turning point when attending the “The Marketing Moron Conference” held by my older now much wiser (and enlightened) friend Matt Trainer.

I can’t give all the credit to Matt Trainer or the speakers etc, but it was a turning point in my life. One I have not had since 2008 (with the Amish Shah event)

This event is another a point in time, one I will look back and can honestly say it was a point when my life took another turn (like the 2008 Amish Shah event) and placed me on course for an exponential growth in abundance & prosperity.

So, even though most people on the outside looking into my current life before, hanging out with Matt Trainer this last weekend, would say I am already at a great place in life. I now realize that I’ve been thinking too small and limiting the amount of God’s wealth and abundance that could/would enter my life.

I now have a degree of clarity and focus that makes me feel attuned to what God’s purposes for my life are. Allowing me to operate in a place where I am truly and genuinely 110% me and 110% present in the moment. The person who God wants me to be and allowing myself to be used by him to change the world we live in.

I feel like I’m on fire now, in a permanent state of “flow” like I’ve been possessed by God and just need to step out of his way and let him do absolutely amazing things. Things I could never do myself.

I will be my only limitation, getting in the way of what he has planned by letting my “self” or ego get in the way. I am committing to God and anyone reading this to never again allow myself to operate at the ground level of life and only operate in a place where I am flying high in the clouds on God’s coat tails and having a significant impact on humanity by being 110% present at all times and 110% surrendered to the fact that God is my source and supply and guides me in all my steps, if I’ll let him.

Thank you Matt Trainer for being the vehicle of change that brought me to this place. You are a true brother and I will be forever indebted to you.

Anyone who has the opportunity to attend another event Matt Trainer puts on, should reflect back on their current state of life and ask themselves…am I thinking to small? Am I ready for some more abundance & prosperity? Am I ready for a turning point? One that would elevate me to higher plane of abundance & wealth exponentially greater than where I am at today? If your inner “still small voice” says yes. Don’t hesitate to go. Just go…

Sincerely with immense gratitude and appreciation,

Pastor Dan

Sacrifice Comfort & Junk Food to Give Glory to God and Lose Weight Too!

12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1 ESV

Can all this sacrifice of calories, junk food, comfort (by exercising) be a living sacrifice to God?

Yes! It can.

You can make a lot of the things in your life a sacrifice and it will become a form of spiritual worship. Fasting for one is a way to demonstrate spiritual worship to God through physical sacrifice.

12 1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. Romans 12:1 The Message

I love the way The Message translates this scripture. ‘Take your everyday, ordinary life’ (and every aspect of it) and ‘place it before God as an offering’.

The part about embracing what God does for you relates perfectly to how I’ve often shared with you those moments that I am reminded that “God is my source!”. Everything in your life comes from him.

The part that says don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. This really speaks to our whole way of life. Not only spiritually, but through our diet and exercise we can also be counter-culture for the Glory of Jesus Christ.

We are to fix our attention on God and what HE wants from us and are promised that we will change from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from us and quickly respond to it. We’ve got to be listening, so that when we hear him, we can take action right away.

That’s so awesome don’t you agree?

If we will turn our lives & our commitment to Christian Weight Loss into a living sacrifice to him, God will bring the best out of us and develop well-formed maturity in us. I think that sounds like another example of God’s undeserved Grace abounding blessings into our lives through our simple obedience.

Let’s do it together! What do you say?

Those that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength & power

Growing wearing when on an exercise and weight loss program is often a setback. If we keep the right mindset and perspective however, we can renew our strength and continue building fat loss momentum.

When I went out on my bike ride today this song came to me. It’s sung in various circles performed by different people, but they all get the words from the same scripture verse.

31 But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired. Isaiah 40-31 Amplified Version

Though many take the words from the King James Version, I looked at several versions and the Amplified Version struck me as applicable to you and I on our journey towards weight loss (and long-term fat loss). Wait in the Amplified Version is defined as [who expect, look for, and hope in Him], which we should definitely do. We should tie our expectations & hopes in the Lord and look for evidence of his prescience in our lives.

One of those God moments where he shows himself through those odd (what secular people would call coincidence) circumstances happened to me today.

One of our key Bible verses in my small group at church today was this scripture verse and as we had a dialog about how it applied to our lives a friend of mine, Jenny, was sharing some difficulties she was having letting go of a situation between her brother & mother. She admitted to being a worrier her whole life and that she just couldn’t let go.

I felt like the Holy Spirit was reminding me of a close friend of mine (who is the Pastor of thriving church in Oregon) once told me that the Greek word for the word wait in the verse from Isaiah 40:31 is actually better defined as someone who waits on you. Like a waiter. Always there asking “is there something I can do for you? Do you need anything? How can help you?” I shared this with her and told her that every time she feels compelled to worry she should take it to him…let it go and ask…”what do you want from me Lord in this situation? How can I serve YOU? What do you want me to do Lord? That way she can transform herself from worrier to warrior for Christ.

I pray friend that today you would wait on the Lord. For everything. Renew your strength and not grow weary as you pursue Christian Vitality through exercise and better eating..

Rest on his word and you can rest assured…

Take some quiet time today and go through the exercise we’ve done before, where you take serious God’s scripture where he says to be still and know that I am God.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

There’s a song I learned about 30+ years ago that turned that scripture into a little worship song. I couldn’t find who wrote it, but here are the very true, but simple words:

Be still…and know…know that I am God. Quiet your heart and steal away…rest on my word…and you can rest assured…be still…and know that I am God…and know that I am God…and KNOW that I am God! – unknown

A simple command and some simple truth in that great little song.

Steal away…I believe, refers to you stealing yourself away from everything…taking some quiet time. Some Jesus Time (JT) And rest on my word because you can rest assured…what truth! Jesus loves you, his word (the Bible) tell us so. He died and rose again, so that we can have everlasting eternal life…not only that, but a life that is lived to the full while we are down here on Earth. A John 10:10 kind of full and abundant life.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NIV

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10b NIV

So, once you’ve stolen yourself away and had some quiet time with your best friend here on earth and throughout eternity…let’s get you a new state of the YOUnion address. 🙂

Christian Vitality Prayer – It’ll change your life inside and out…if you let it.

There was a time in my life where I spent about 30-50% of my life traveling for a living. I was a regional sales manager for a high tech company in the electrical & electronics industry. What I did for work is not what matters, it’s what I did during all that down time on the plane at 33,000+ feet high and in airports and hotel rooms.

I spent those five years diving into every self-help & success book I could find. I also spent that time going through the Bible 5 times (The New Testament 10 times) and really getting to know the character of God and how he shapes how humans succeed in life. I’ll admit a lot of the authors of books I’ve read are secular (many are also strong Christians), but what I found to be true after all that research & study is the there is a:

Universal Conspiracy For or Against Your Individual Success, You Decide! – Dan Matejsek

26-28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good. Romans 8:28 The Message

Putting it a different way, you get to decide whether you have a successful life or an unsuccessful one…a happy one or unhappy one…either way that you choose what kind of life you’re going to have, you’ll get it.

Once you decide & commit (submit) your plans (long-term & short-term) for your life to God and have his blessing you will succeed (Proverbs 16:3).

Whatever you do, do it as service to Him, and He will guarantee your success. Proverbs 16:3 Voice

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. Proverbs 16:3 ESV

Another by-product (or extreme blessing to me and hopefully you) of that time of self reflection, Biblical Study and Science of Human Success studying, is a prayer (with some affirmation built into it) that I’ve prayed for literally the last 10 years straight. Some days it’s first thing in the morning and then again at night. Some days it’s a portion of the prayer to remind me of God’s promises. Sometimes it’s a portion right before I jump on the scale or after an apparent problem in my life.

This evening when you have time (and if you’re game, do it every day) please pray this prayer with me. Own it. If you can commit to memorizing it and praying it every morning and/or evening before you go to bed. I faithfully & firmly believe that God will use it to change your life on the inside & outside. It will likely help you believe different things about yourself, which will lead you to lose even more weight & fat off your body. It will touch areas of your life that you could not have ever imagined.

My prayer is that this prayer that God helped me craft, is a blessing to you and helps bring Spiritual & Physical Healing to you, that will result in a closer walk with the Lord Jesus and a Healthier, Happier You that has a longer stay here on earth as a result. In Jesus Name, Amen!

Oh God, Creator and Sustainer of the whole Universe. You are my loving Father and interested in every detail of my life. You only have good for me and desire to give me healing, wholeness, and forgiveness. Therefore, I place myself at your feet under your authority and your control & protection for your will to be done in my life.

Everything over which you’ve given me authority, I place at your feet…my family (name them), my loved ones (name them), my blessings (name them), my gifts, my talents, and my life experiences. Everything over which you’ve given me authority Lord I place at your feet…

[I often do this kneeling and physically act out (with my hands) laying things at his feet]

In Christ, I deserve, desire, and willing receive the abundance & prosperity of the Universe. It flows to me, is promised to me and is mine to keep. In return for my obedience to the Lord by fully utilizing the gifts he has given, the Universe benefits directly and indirectly by the value added by my obedient actions and prosperity.

All my debts have long since be paid for and forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ and I honor the Lord by forgetting them and learning from them.

I retain focus and gain strength with help from the Holy Spirit of God and overcome all obstacles.

For yours is the Kingdom, the Power, and Glory forever and ever. Amen!

Christian Vitality Prayer – Dan Matejsek

What do you think? Awesome isn’t it.

I’ll spend the time in another post and go over the dozens of scriptures that were pieced together to help construct that prayer. I’m sure it resonated with you as most of it is right out of the Bible.

If you like it, print out this prayer and use it…daily…morning and night if you can. Pretty soon it will become a part of you like it has for me. Welcome Jesus & the Holy Spirit of God into your life as these truths become a reality in your prayer life and real life.

Celebrate & Rejoice your Christian Weight Loss Victories

When we are on weight loss program or just living life in general, it’s easy to forget to celebrate the small victories and rejoice & be glad.

Feel free to download these Christian Wallpapers for your phone or desktop and share them with friends and family.

Be blessed my friends.

Get an attitude of gratitude to conquer a case of the grouchies

We all have those mornings from time to time where we get up on the wrong side of the bed. Maybe its because we didn’t have enough sleep, or we wake up stuffed up from allergies, or maybe its that annoying cat or dog bugging you to go outside. Whatever the stimulus is, we need to be careful about how we allow it to affect us.

If we stay in that grouchy state and start to allow that to taint the words we say, we can start to bring others around us down to, and before you know it (if not prevented) we enter a spiral downwards.

I speak of this today because I was guilty of allowing myself to enter the grouchy-zone this morning. Allergies were at an all time high and I had our little dog, Dolly, whining me out of bed. I started to get a little grouchy about the little things and even said the word “hate” a couple of times when describing little things like a malfunctioning toaster oven.

I pulled myself out of the tailspin of destruction by taking a break from everything and getting away to a quiet place. I prayed and asked for forgiveness from God and started to focus on things I was grateful for.

Very quickly I pulled out of the grouchy-zone into the grateful-zone and my attitude was now full of gratitude.

In Philippians it talks about focusing on the good…

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8 ESV

And in several places in Proverbs it talks about how words can be damaging or creative depending on how they are used.

Jesus also spoke about “from the mouth the heart speaks”.

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45 ESV

So, if today happens to be a day where you run into the little things that could put you in the grouchy-zone conquer them by building an attitude of gratitude.

Be blessed today friend and stay away from the grouchy-zone.

Have you ever had a case of the groucies? Tell me about it in the comments? Tell us what you do to deal with trying times when your attitude needs a check in the comments below.

Find YOUR Majestic Moment – they’re everywhere!

God's Majestic on Display in Creation — Find YOUR Majestic Moment Today!

One of my mentors is big on Magic Moments and although he professes to be a Christian, he’s more mainstream and focused on more mainstream audiences.

His philosophy is that at the end of our lives we’re not going to remember most of the things that keeps us busy, but we will remember the Magic Moments. He believes we should strive to fill our lives with those kinds of moments in order to achieve fulfillment. I totally agree.

This morning I had one of those most amazing moments. For the last week or two after I get the kids ready with their breakfast and before I jump into the getting ready routine, I’ve been trying to spend 20 minutes in the sun everyday on the deck off of my bedroom.

I’m blessed to have a view of the mountains here in North Scottsdale which are literally only 3 miles away and in my backyard. My deck faces North so in the morning I face east on a barcalounger and was really enjoying the moment. I started to meditate on God’s word and focusing on being grateful in the moment and the word Majesty came to mind.

God is Majestic. His creation is awesome and all around us. We are his creation. Our friends, our family, and all the things around us are his creation (in harmony with man’s creation).

Within a couple of minutes of these thoughts it started to sprinkle. When I say sprinkle, I mean the kind of huge drops that often come with thunderheads When I looked up at the sky, I saw almost exactly what the photo above shows. Drops every second or two coming straight down on me as I looked straight up. It was one of those wow moments that made me think, “hey God thanks for that you are awesome” kind of moments. A Majestic Moment.

So, whether you are in an Urban surrounding or in the middle of the woods, try to set aside 20 minutes to have yourself an encounter…your Majestic Moment. An encounter with God, a Majestic Moment, that you will never forget.

You can have one of these moments in the middle of the woods, the desert, driving in your car. I had one recently in a park in the middle of downtown Kansas City recently.

God’s creation and Majesty are on display for all to see…you just have to take them time to look.

Be blessed my friend as you strive to see God’s Majesty and store up your own Majestic Moments.

Share in the comments a Majestic Moment you had today, this week, or this month that you remember feeling that overwhelming sense of gratitude for God presence in your life. Do have any? Share some things you might be able to do this week that will set you up to have one? I want to hear from you all in the comments below.