Houston Fitness Expert to Tackle Obesity Across 100 Churches in 2014

Samir Becic (Photo: Health Fitness Revolution)



Samir Becic, a volunteer that leads fitness classes at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church, and an internationally known personal fitness trainer and leader of Health Fitness Revolution, a movement dedicated to helping Americans become healthy, is currently gearing up to take on 100 churches throughout the country to let Christians know that living healthier can help them stay in tune with their spiritual life.
Becic plans to begin his initiative in 2014 by educating church leaders who, in turn, can educate their members. He also hopes his program will prompt churches to facilitate organized sports, and implement educational seminars and support groups.
"My main message to churches is to live like Jesus," said Becic, to The Christian Post. "Two thousand years ago, we didn't have access to processed food so Jesus only ate organic. Jesus was active; He was kind and always helping people. All those components that Jesus had 2,000 years ago are prefect examples of how to live a healthy lifestyle in the 21st century. Spiritual balance, social interaction, kindness, happiness, physical activity and organic food -- that is my main message."
In addition to helping churches, Becic also wants to take on schools and tackle the overweight issue within American children. But his current effort is to help the evangelical community, where obesity is becoming a major health risk.
"We want to focus on the Christian community because they have the highest obesity rate of any community in the U.S., and we believe that our bodies truly are our temples. When you are healthy, you're able to be more focused on God, I believe that with my heart and soul. That's a key component to a healthy lifestyle," said Becic.
According to a 2006 Purdue University study, evangelicals are considered the heaviest of all religious groups. The study found that Baptists lead the group, with a 30 percent obesity rate, compared to Jews at one percent and Buddhists and Hindus at less than 0.7 percent.
Similarly, a 2011 Northwestern University study that tracked more than 3,000 people for 18 years, revealed that those who attend church or a bible study on a weekly basis are 50 percent more likely to be obese. On a larger scale, nearly one-half of the American population will be obese by 2030, reports a 2012 study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
To prevent obesity from becoming an uncontrollable epidemic, Becic says the solution must begin with church leaders. He says not enough pastors are leading the way with healthy lifestyles. However, he commended pastor Rick Warren who recently made headlines with his new book, The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life, in which Warren encourages Christians to begin living a fulfilling yet healthy life.
"We need more pastors like that who can spread the message of having a healthy body and healthy mind," said Becic.
Becic, who came to the U.S. from Bosnia in 2000, earned his prominent reputation in the fitness industry after being involved with martial arts and training for Bally Total Fitness. He has nabbed the number one title as best fitness trainer on a slew of international, national and state level lists, and reaches over one million Texans each week through his health and fitness advice given on a KSBJ 89.3 FM, a local Houston radio program.
His work with Lakewood was another opportunity that came by way of his high recognition within the fitness industry and one that he hopes more churches across America can give him.
"As a pastor, Joel Osteen is fit and I was attracted to the idea of helping, especially since the Christian community is the most obese. I'm here to stop that," said Becic.
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Greys Anatomy Spoilers: April and Jackson Season 10 Info

''Grey's Anatomy'' stars (L-R) Katherine Heigl, Ellen Pompeo, Sara Ramirez, Chandra Wilson, Kate Walsh and Sandra Oh pose backstage after winning the award for best television series - drama at the 64th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California January 15, 2007. (Photo: Reuters/Mike Blake)



"Grey's Anatomy" left for the holiday break with a huge cliffhanger. For those who cannot wait to find out what will happen, read on for spoilers from the actor who plays Jackson on the show, Jesse Williams.
Williams recently sat down for an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. and nbsp;The actor discussed how his character will react to his actions during the wedding, where he objected to the marriage.
"You'll see it came as a huge surprise for Jackson, and that it wasn't premeditated. It was just a compulsion to blurt it out. Sometimes when you act impulsively, you have a 'WTF did I just do' moment, and we're going to see that. I cant say what April's response is going to be, but I can say that Jackson is going to have a, 'Oh my God, what have I gotten myself into?' moment at some stage in the very near future. Anytime you think there's solid ground, it turns out to be slippery," Williams said.
He also spoke about how April will respond to Jackson's objection at the wedding.
"There are certainly victims in that scenario. Jackson certainly hurt Stephanie, but no matter what April says, the fact she's standing there pausing and considering it and not shutting it down immediately -- how is Matthew supposed to feel about that? Can she turn back and say, 'We're going to move on and keep this marriage ceremony going?' That might not be realistic for Matthew. It's a complex and muddled ball of feelings here, and Jackson really threw a wrench in the whole thing," the actor said.
The second half of this season of "Grey's Anatomy" will return to ABC on Thursday Feb. 27.
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Nexus 7 2013 Price Slashed by $50 at Office Depot

Nexus 7 White Model Picture: Google



The Nexus 7 2013 price is now discounted by $50 at Office Depot.
The retailer is offering 16GB version of the device for just $179.99. The deal is available through retail outlets and online. However, the only option for delivery is in-store pickup. The 16GB model normally runs $229 and the 32GB version sells for $269.
Office Depot is only offering the black model for the deal. The new white version will remain a Google Play exclusive for the time being.
Google is currently offering a bundle that includes the Nexus 7 2013 model and Chromecast that comes with a free $35 Google Play credit.
The deal is available as a special Christmas promotion and requires customers to purchase both devices together in order to access the free credit. Both Chromecast and the Nexus 7 are impressive devices and the combination of the two will allow users to stream music and movies from the slate to their television.
Chromecast utilizes data from a cloud and sends it directly to a TV set through its HDMI output. Content can be accessed from those clouds by connecting the Chromecast and a device such as a smartphone or tablet directly to a Wi-Fi network. Once the user's app is connected, anything they watch or play on the device's app will also show up on their TV screen giving them a bigger screen to watch Netflix or other video apps content on.
The Nexus 7 (2013) was released shortly before the summer of this year and introduced Android 4.3 JellyBean to the market. It features impressive specs including a 7-inch 1920 x 1200 HD display, 2GB RAM, a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 16/32GB of internal storage, built-in wireless charging, and a 5-megapixel rear camera.
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The Obama Selfie in South Africa

U.S. President Barack Obama (C) shares a moment with Denmark's Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt (L) as his wife, first lady Michelle Obama looks on during the memorial service for late South African President Nelson Mandela at the First National Bank stadium, also known as Soccer City, in Johannesburg on Dec. 10, 2013. (Photo: Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach)



President Obama is receiving plenty of criticism for his selfie cellphone portrait and nbsp;at the funeral of South Africa's revered leader, Nelson Mandela. What the president had to say in tribute to Africa's greatest statesman was largely overshadowed by the press pictures of Obama, Prime Minister David Cameron, and Denmark's shapely blonde chief of government, Helle Thorning Schmidt. The three leaders are shown, dressed appropriately enough in mourning black. But they are seen yucking it up like teenagers while First Lady Michelle Obama sits up attentively, the perfect picture of dignity and respect - and keeping her distance from the antics.
It's not as if President Obama didn't have time to prepare himself for the passing of this man he called Madiba. That respectful name is an important one to consider in light of the disrespectful behavior of the three leaders. We have known this day was coming for many years.
One of the first and most symbolic acts of the Obama presidency was his removal of the bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office. That was a signal of many changes to come, not all of them hopeful. Mr. Obama might have learned some lessons from the life and death of Winston Churchill.
For one thing, young Churchill went to South Africa during the Boer War, more than a century ago. Heirs of those 17th century Dutch settlers whose descendants would later imprison Nelson Mandela captured Churchill. When the Boers put a 25-pound reward on Churchill's head, seeking his recapture dead or alive, young Winston learned a valuable lesson in freedom. Nelson Mandela learned the same lesson in an almost unbelievable twenty-seven year captivity, much of it on Robben Island.
Churchill hated his captivity and quickly arranged an escape, through a prison lavatory. He came out of that South African prison a world figure, in no small measure because he made himself one. He never believed in hiding his light under a bushel. Young and brash, Churchill resolved to make noise wherever he went.
Nelson Mandela's long imprisonment taught him restraint and cloaked him with the dignity and spiritual strength of a martyr.
Like the South Africans mourning today, the government of Great Britain-known as Her Majesty's Government--had years to prepare for the passing of their greatest son. They planned and rehearsed every detail of Operation Hope Not, the great state funeral that would come when Winston Churchill finally died.
That day came in January, 1965. An America historian, Hungarian-born John Lukacs, recorded the pomp and ceremony of the frigid London scene. He paid a memorable tribute to the man who had so long warned of the menace of a vengeful, rearmed Germany. This man led Britain when that island fortress against the Nazis:
"[Churchill saw the evil incarnated by Hitler instantly, immediately. Then he rose like a hero, highest in those months of 1940 when the future of human decency was at stake, and when Jewry and Christianity were on the same side and hellip;which was his side."
Yes, and decades later, a Polish survivor of Hitler's murderous concentration camps would recall: "We didn't have bread, but we had Churchill." At Churchill's funeral, America was honorably represented by former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the five-star general who had led the allies to victory in that great Crusade in Europe.
Hitler's cruelty to the Jews and contempt for the Christians did not die in that Berlin F and uuml;rerbunker and nbsp;in 1945. That spirit of hatred lives on in Iran today. There, the mullahs torture Pastor Saeed Abedini in his prison. His only crime in Iran is to seek to share the Gospel with people he loves.
The Iranian mullahs have boasted that their neighbor, Israel, is just a "two-bomb country," one whose extermination they seek even more brazenly than Hitler sought the elimination of Europe's Jews.
It is this Iranian regime, ruled by these mullahs, that President Obama will now trust to keep its word on the interim, 6-month agreement. It is agreement that will allow thousands of centrifuges to continue spinning. These are an essential element of developing nuclear weapons.
President Obama and Secretary Kerry think we should focus on Iran's nuclear weapons and not on those who will wield those weapons. It is the classical liberal error. They do not know human nature.
Nelson Mandela understood human nature and may be best remembered for his great quality of forgiveness. He never lost that light heart, either, as this video of the 85-year old dancing in Ireland shows.
It's a pity our leaders didn't dance; instead, they pranced.
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Lea Michele Talks Cory Monteith on Ellen, Admits Actors Death Still Very Hard (VIDEO)

Lea Michele and Cory Monteith together before the actor's July 13 2013 passing (PHOTO) Twitter: @msleamichele



Lea Michele opened up about her grief over the death of her late boyfriend, Cory Monteith, during a recent appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."
The "Glee" actress, 27, appeared relaxed but emotionally fragile as she spoke about her tragic loss. Monteith, who played Finn Hudson alongside Michele on the popular TV series, died from mixed drug toxicity on July 13 – he was 31.
"I really feel like I'm still trying to figure out all of this," a soft spoken Michele told Ellen. "It's been only a few months, but my mom has experienced a lot of loss in her life and she told me at one point, she said, there is an empowerment that comes with grief, at some point you find it."
Michele, who plays Rachel Berry on the musical TV series, began dating her co-star in early 2012 and she is still coming to terms with his untimely death.
"It's very hard but you will find it and I think at a certain point you can choose to sort of fall from this or you can choose to rise," she said.
"And that's what I'm just trying to do my best for him because I know that that's what he would have wanted," she continued. "And to just do my best and to you know, hopefully make something positive for where I go in the rest of my life."
The "Cannonball" singer expressed gratitude to actress Kate Hudson, who gave up her home for Michele and her family shortly after Monteith's passing.
"...To have that time at her home to just really be in private with this for a moment before getting back to work and before going home - I'm just so thankful to her," she said.
Michele revealed that one of her "favorite" memories of Monteith, who battled with addiction for more than a decade, was when the actor appeared on the "Ellen" show. During his interview, Monteith had revealed that he and Michele were an item.
"It's one of my favorite memories. I remember when he came home that night he kind of puffed out his chest and he was like, 'I talked about you on Ellen today,'" Michele recounted.
"I was so happy. He's such a private person and I literally lived everyday of my life feeling like the luckiest girl in the whole world," she said. "I just thought he was the greatest man and so at that moment, that memory, it means so much to me."
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Golden Globe Nominees Announced, American Hustle and 12 Years A Slave Lead

12 Years A Slave hits theaters on Oct. 16, 2013. (Photo: Courtesy of Fox Searchlight)



The Golden Globe Awards nominees of 2013 were announced Thursday morning with films "American Hustle" and "12 Years A Slave" leading.
Both films earned seven nods apiece, while other Oscars favorites this year include "Nebraska," "Gravity," and "Captain Phillips."
"Mendela: A Long Walk to Freedom" also picked up several nods, including for song and original score and best actor in a drama Idris Elba.
As for other Best Actor in a Motion Picture categories, nominations went to Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale, Joaquin Phoenix and Tom Hanks, among many other popular actors.
Alternately, in the Best Actress in a Motion Picture categories, Sandra Bullock, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, Amy Adams, Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett each received a nomination, among many more.
Disney's "Frozen" picked up nods for both Animated Feature and original song while original score nominations went to "Gravity," "Book Thief," and "All Is Lost," among others.
In television, Best Actor nominations went to Don Cheadle, Jason Bateman, Bryan Cranston and Live Schreiber, to name a few.
Popular actresses such as Kerry Washington, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lena Dunham and Amy Poehler also picked up nominations in actress TV Series categories.
The Oscars once again named "Modern Family," "Downton Abbey" and "The Big Bang Theory" as favorites in television series this year. "Breaking Bad," The Good Wife" and "Girls" also picked up nods at the 71st Annual Golden Globe Awards.
For a full list of the nominees, visit here.
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Mercy Killing Thought to be Motive Behind Double Murder After Man Kills Wife, Sister

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