Merging Souls

Today was SIMPLE communication day, and the day for the imagiNations artisTREE group’s 2nd talk. They all did very well, and improved from last week. They put a lot of effort into the talks that reflected them and what they find interesting!

Lisa inspired us that we can dance by discovering our “3 M”s”: Motives, Music, & Moves. She had us all dancing free style & a hip hop she created.

Roland swept us off our feet with whistles, short Uruguayan light blue shorts, and enlarged wallet dress shirt and great smells . . . telling us we should play soccer because of the benefits.

Facundo let us know we could enjoy photography by taking the 3 pictures: 1. Picture of LOOK, 2. Picture of DOCUMENTATION, and 3. PICTURE OF MEMORIES.

Giovana gave the talk that WILL change the rhythm of me in this coming week. She informed us that we all have a “biological clock”, an internal clock called our “Circadian Rhythm”. This rhythm is regulated by daylight. Our nervous system takes the daylight, through our eyes, into our brain, to the pineal gland which secretes melatonin, the sleeping hormone. Basically, if we are able to adjust our EATING and EXERCISE to the natural rhythm of our body, we can enjoy an healthier lifestyle.

So the basics of this cycle (what our body is predisposed to do best) is:
* between the hours of noon and 8pmshould be our time to eat (before or after that it should be only fruit or low carbohydrates. That is when we should let our bodies take in and digest food.
* from 8pm to 4am is the time for our bodies to extract the nutrients that we have eaten. It is the sleeping time.
* from 4am to noon is when the body is gathering wastes and preparing for removal. When our bodies are in the right rhythm, we will generally have elimination at the same time daily.
* between 4pm and 6pm is the best time for us to exercise. Our muscles are more flexible, our reaction time is quicker, our blood pressure is lower, and our strength is at it’s peak.

So, I have taken the challenge to try to adjust to the Circadian Rhythm of my body. Let’s see how it goes, Giovana, thanks for the challenge!

Today we began the bonding process of getting to know our Journey of what brought us together to this point. We shared our hearts, where we have been, what we have been involved in, and how God made a way to bring us all together.

imagiNations ARTISTree 09 is a 6 week course from Oct 1 to Nov 15, 2009 in Marlette, MI . . . based out of our home! It is a mentoring based conneXellence training focused on NEXT GENERATIONAL ministry and the ARTS.

For this journey together we have:
Dan & Suzie Potter . . . also known as . .. DUZIE (facilators)
Lisa Bruder - from Germany
Giovana Chaves - from Uruguay
Facundo Luzardo - from Uruguay
Roland Reimer - from Uruguay

Our orientation today included sharing our journeys, prayer, worship, eating, and ended with a car tour of Marlette (because of the rain). We popped into various stores and businesses to “show off” the group, let them meet “real Marlettians” and get the feel of our community. We ended at Clarks for ice cream, even though it was a cold & wet day.

We are excited at how well we connected today, and thankful to God for the group He has put together. Our prayer is that we will be able to give and receive (all of us) during this season God has put us together!