This video features Dr. Ryan Hewitt. Notice in the video that he’s wearing a weighted vest – he’s a wellness warrior and functional training stud (he was a team finalist at the 2011 Crossfit Games in Los Angeles).  [Click here for additional Workouts]

FUEL  ~  Dish of the Day:
Poached Eggs with Avocado and Green Smoothie  Protein and fats – that’s what makes a good breakfast; BUT, please buy quality eggs, like fresh ranch eggs at your local farmer’s market.  [Click here for additional Recipes]

SPARK  ~  Thought of the Day:
Quote of the Day: Patience is the hardest part of learning, and training is the essence of transformation. ~ Ann Voskamp
Essential Element: Healthy people are always learning – looking for opportunities to grow and expand. [click to read 'The Value of Struggle']
Journal: Where is your work schedule rigid? Where is it flexible? Many of us perceive our work week as something we must struggle through. Time for a perspective shift. Write out your typical work week schedule, noting the particularly tedious hours in the week. Choose one of these times and consider how you might make it more valuable – for you and your co-workers.    [Click here for additional Journal exercises]

AIR  ~  Movement of the Day:
Shoulder Press  Shoulders need to be kept healthy and strong. The press is a great shoulder exercise. The video shows the progression from no weight to weighted.    [Click here for additional Workouts]

SPARK  ~  Thought of the Day:
Quote of the Day: An old belief is like an old shoe. We so value its comfort that we fail to notice the hole in it. ~ Robert Brault
Essential Element: Once we recognize that the paradigm that has dictated our thoughts, responses, choices, and behavior patterns in our lives is learned, we can also recognize that it can be re-learned. [click to read 'Creating Change']
Journal: Is there a belief that reigns in your household that needs some reshaping? Write it down. Then get in the shoes of each of your family members and write one sentence as to how their behavior might look.  [Click here for additional Journal exercises]

I was sitting at a little coffee shop in my hometown last Saturday morning, when I overheard a mother-daughter conversation happening next to me. The daughter, who had just begun the second semester of her freshman year at the State University, clearly was not thrilled with the amount of enthusiasm she’d encountered on campus. There were simply too many excitable students – and too many impassioned professors – for her liking. The sweet mother, looking to placate her disenchanted freshman, fumbled for words:  “ You know, you have to give people credit for being passionate.”

I literally wanted to turn around right then, put my hand on the mother’s back, so as to express my complete endorsement of her response, look the precious daughter in the eye and ask: “Honey, where do you think the world would be without passionate people?” Nothing like a little friendly punctuating of some heavily involved conversation by commentary from a total stranger.

I opted out of creating such a scene. However, if they had welcomed the unexpected commentary, I would have pulled up a chair and gladly given a few minutes of my heart. The question twirls in me daily – hourly. I could fill journal pages with my response. What would life be without passion? Without a reason and purpose to wake up every day? Without seeing the very moments we are given as opportunities for growth – for change – for impact – for progress – for becoming whom we are destined to be?

Erwin McManus, author of my latest favorite book, Soul Cravings, writes: The human spirit longs to become. We are born with an instinct not only for survival but also accomplishment. All of us, at the very least, want to create a better life, a better future, a better us. When we surrender these aspirations, we find ourselves drowning in apathy and atrophy.

Well said, Erwin. All of us long for our lives to count. Yet not all of us do something about it. Few of us recognize the incredible influence we have – both on our own lives and on the lives of those around us. We must stop sleeping through our dreams – grab hold of our vision – and choose to start living the life we want to create.

Getting there can indeed be a challenge. It’s okay. It’s supposed to be. As the old Epictetus says, As concerns the art of living, the material is your own life. No great thing is created suddenly. There must be time.

Seeing beyond the daily grind – above and beyond to the life you want to create – starts by appreciating what you’ve got right now.

Care take this moment. Immerse yourself in its particulars. Respond to this person, this challenge, this deed. It is time to really live and fully inhabit the situation you are in right now.  – Epictetus

Embrace the now we you are living in. Relish what you’ve have been given right now. See this season, this family, this location – as the trust you’ve been given to relish, to pour into, and to enjoy.

And as you relish the moments of today – let your heart dream of tomorrow’s possibilities.

Many blessings, Alexis

FUEL  ~  Dish of the Day:
Bake Salmon Mediterranean I know, most of us struggle with cooking fish. Try this recipe – you can substitute haddock, halibut, snapper, or cod – you’ll love the flavor combo of the fish and the olives and tomatoes.  [Click here for additional Recipes]

SPARK  ~  Thought of the Day:
Quote of the Day: The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live. ~ Flora Whittemore
Essential Element: Our beliefs make up our Paradigm – our viewpoint of the world.  They dictate all of our behaviors, habits, and lifestyle patterns. [view Insight – ‘Influence and Control’]
Journal: What are you currently choosing to believe about your future? Do you see yourself growing more successful, healthy, and vibrant? Or do you see yourself staying where you are right now? Write down three ways you’d like to move your life forward and make progress over the next six months. Then write down the mindset you will choose to believe in order to get yourself there.   [Click here for additional Journal exercises]

AIR  ~  Movement of the Day:
Jump Overs  The engagement of your core is so good doing this. You can always simply step over if jumping is too much for you right now – the range of motion movement for your hip will serve you well for years to come. [Click here for additional Workouts]

SPARK  ~  Thought of the Day:
Quote of the Day: Do not plant your dreams in the field of indecision, where nothing ever grows but the weeds of “what-if.” ~ Dodinsky
Essential Element: Our choices shape our lives. We can either choose to move towards health and fulfillment, or choose to move away from it. It’s our decision – we decide.  [view Insight – ‘Influence and Control’]
Journal:  What’s the healthiest you’ve ever been? Consider how fit you could actually become. Write down what your life would look like and feel like. What’s stopping you? What can you do this week to realize that? Now go do it.  [Click here for additional Journal exercises]

A successful marriage tip - the “Coffee Break” mechanism from Bonfire Health:

FUEL ~ Dish of the Day:
Poached Eggs with Chicken Sausage and Grapefruit Protein and fats – that’s what makes a good breakfast…BUT, you must eat only quality protein and healthy fats. Buy the best and cry only once – if you buy cheap food, you’ll feel bad and then get diseased later in life. Buy organic, pastured meats and organic eggs, and be healthy now and in the future. [Click here for additional Recipes]

AIR ~ Movement of the Day:
Dead lift Learning how to properly do a Dead Lift will serve you in your life nearly every day – it’s about lifting heavy objects off the floor. That could mean a flower pot, a bag of groceries, a laundry basket. This video shows the learning process using only a PVC pipe.   [Click here for additional Workouts]

FUEL  ~  Dish of the Day:
Bonfire Adventure Trail Mix If you’re not keeping Tupperware or Ziploc bags of this perfect snack in your car, and at your desk, you’re missing out. Raw nuts and seeds mixed with a little organic dried fruit make for a satisfying and healthy snacks. Moms, are you listening? This is the solution to having a car full of hungry kids and succumbing to convenience “die-fast” food.  [Click here for additional Recipes]

SPARK  ~  Thought of the Day:
Quote of the Day: Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. 
If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 
No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved. ~ Matthew 9:17
Essential Element: The old adage “If you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting” has long been proven to be true.  [click to read 'Creating Change']
Journal: Life can be renewed through some of the simplest of changes. Take time today to consider the life you’ve been living. What are you repeatedly doing yet expecting a different outcome? Write down what comes to mind first. What are you going to do to change that behavior?    [Click here for additional Journal exercises]

AIR  ~  Movement of the Day:
Your Goat  It’s goat time – what do you avoid when exercising? Running? Sit Ups? Push Ups? It’s time to kill that goat.    [Click here for additional Workouts]

SPARK  ~  Thought of the Day:
Quote of the Day: There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that is your own self. ~ Aldous Huxley
Essential Element: We must identify what specific behaviors have led to our current situation and what specific behaviors would lead to what we really want. [click to read 'Creating Change']
Journal:  Notice how easy it is to pick out the things we’d like to improve about others. Try to see yourself through the mind of your a best friend (or your spouse – ouch!). What would that friend tell you that you need to change? What specific behaviors do you need to get there?   [Click here for additional Journal exercises]

Here we are in 2012 – we know more than we’ve ever known and yet humans have never been more unhealthy.

The take away:

• Eat lots of organic veggies.
• Regularly eat pastured animal protein, move a lot (a lot), and sleep at least 8 hours every night.
• Oh, and eat lots of good fats.

FUEL  ~  Dish of the Day:
Dr. Paul’s Meatloaf   Meatloaf should be a treat, not some blah chunk of over cooked, flavorless junk. This recipe pops with flavor – everyone will go for seconds.  [Click here for additional Recipes]

SPARK  ~  Thought of the Day:
Quote of the Day: When is the last time you woke up and realized today could be the best day of your life? ~ Steve Maraboli
Essential Element: Ultimately, you have the power to create incredible positive, lasting changes in your health and life with the right skills and know-how. The Bonfire Program is filled with influence mechanisms and strategies that will equip and support you every step of the way.  [click to read 'Creating Change']
Journal: Today has never been lived before – in your life or the life of your family. What can you do today that will influence your family’s life forever – for the best? If you could give them a day-shaping gift – what would that be?     [Click here for additional Journal exercises]