By Sylvia Booth Hubbard

Taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs can raise the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes by 30 percent in some vulnerable people, say scientists from Albert Einstein School of Medicine.

The study was a follow-up to an earlier study which investigated whether or not modest weight loss or treatment with metformin — a diabetes medication that helps control blood sugar levels — could reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes in people at high risk.

For the study, obese people were given standard advice on healthy eating and exercise, and were randomly assigned to either an intensive lifestyle program, treatment with metformin, or a dummy drug (placebo).

Their blood fats and blood pressure were measured annually. Blood glucose was measured twice a year, at which point new statin treatment was recorded.

The most commonly prescribed statins were simvastatin (40 percent) and atorvastatin (37 percent). The likelihood of being prescribed a statin drug rose substantially after a diagnosis of diabetes.

At the beginning of the trial fewer than 4 percent of volunteers were taking statin drugs, but usage gradually increased so that by the end of the 10-year study period, about a third of patients were taking them.

When treatment groups were combined, taking a statin was associated with a 36 per cent heightened risk of being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, compared to those who had not been prescribed these drugs.

This risk fell slightly to 30 percent after taking account of the clinical criteria used to determine the need for statins.

After analyzing all risk factors for developing diabetes, statin use was itself associated with an increased risk of being diagnosed with diabetes, regardless of which treatment group the participants had been in during the trial.

To find out if the strength of the statin had any bearing on the risk of developing diabetes, the researchers grouped the drugs into low (pravastatin, lovastatin, fluvastatin) or high potency (atorvastatin, simvastatin, rouvastatin, cerivastatin).

They found no link between the potency of the statin used and diabetes risk, nor between the reduction in low density lipoprotein or "bad" cholesterol.

The researchers theorize that statins contribute to the development of diabetes by impairing the production of insulin, the hormone that lowers blood glucose.

The study was published in the journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care.

After you have suffered a little while, [God] will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
1 Peter 5:10

As strange as it seems, easy living and a stress-free existence can be disadvantageous for animals and for us humans. Think about the big male lion lying in a cage at the zoo. All his needs are met, and his hunting skills are useless. His muscles turn flabby, and he yawns his way through the day. Meanwhile, the lion that’s roaming free on the plains of Africa, stalking and competing for his next meal, remains fit and strong because of the challenges and dangers he faces.

Within limits, adversity is beneficial to you and your children, too. Troubles that require comforting leave you better able to comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3–4). Physical suffering, when endured in the name of Christ, makes it easier for you to say no to sin (1 Peter 4:1). Hardships due to your faith lead to restoration and strength (1 Peter 5:9–10). Trials also produce perseverance, character, and hope (Romans 5:3). There are many other examples of this “adversity principle” at work in Scripture.

Human beings who have survived hard times are tougher, more resilient, and more compassionate than those who have never faced difficulty or pain. You might remember that the next time your family is battling adversity in the jungle of life.

Before you say good night…

Do you try, out of love, to sweep aside every hurdle and difficulty encountered by your children?

Do you fight their battles for them?

Are you helping or handicapping them by this assistance?

Lord, it is so difficult to watch our children struggle - and so tempting to fight their battles for them. Please grant us wisdom and restraint when You are using adversity to shape and strengthen our sons and daughters. Amen.

by Jim Vander Spek

“Wired for Intimacy” is a fascinating book written by William Struthers, a noted Christian neuroscientist who teaches at Wheaton College.

Struthers explains how the male brain reacts to and is changed by entering into sexual behavior—a dazzling and intricate process.

God’s Plan

I love the title, Wired for Intimacy. It evocatively describes the promise and hope God packaged with His gift of marriage. Because of the way we are made, husbands can strongly bind with wives (and wives with husbands). The monogamous sexual union is reinforced by the pleasure they share as they are intimate with each other.

As Struthers shows, this is not just an emotional bonding—it involves complex neurological and chemical systems throughout our body. It may be what God was referring to when he declared husband and wife to be “one flesh” (Mark 10:8).

Surveys and studies back this up. Google it yourself to see: Married sex is better.

The goal: Marriage

We cannot comprehend the way that our neurological wiring; our chemical and hormonal processes and emotional and reasoning capacities are all fully engaged as we enter into marriage. It is as the writer of Proverbs wrote: The way a man romances a woman is among “the four things” that he could not understand (Proverbs 30:18-19).

Nevertheless, entering into a marriage is a huge leap of faith and will confront us with things we cannot anticipate. The surprise factor is always there including illness, ageing and setbacks that are a part of every life. Yet, when the marriage bond is secure, these negatives do not shake what we have.

That is why there is nothing more beautiful than an elderly couple that has spent a lifetime together, bonding and becoming one. Some functions may not work as they once did, but the myriad bonds that they have established become so strong that the need for many other things does not seem to matter.

Like being joined to Christ

Married life is meant to be a deeply multifaceted and satisfying experience—one that can sustain a couple over a lifetime. In fact, the marriage union is the closest thing on earth to the kind of relationship God seeks to establish with us. Our intimate union and relationship with Christ is like being happily married to Him. His desire is that we “may belong to another, to Him who has been raised from the dead” (Romans 7:3-4).

Lust—the Destroyer

Lust—adultery in the heart—is the great destroyer of marriage and of the wiring that brings about intimacy. For that reason, we must overcome lust. It corrupts (Ephesians 4:22), as we will explore in an upcoming post.

By Leo Babauta

"Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days." - Zig Ziglar

There are times when I see the successful businesses that other people are building and I instantly want to create that kind of success for myself.

I want to build an empire. I want to create a startup. I want to make a successful podcast, YouTube channel, live conference — whatever success someone else has created, I want too.

I can instantly imagine this success happening, and it feels exciting. I feel accomplished. The fantasy of an empire is in my head, and I want it!

So I start planning this new empire: what will it look like? What kind of team would I build? What is our manifesto, our core values, our story? How do I thrill and delight and excite my community?

This is the curse of seeing others' success. You grab on to the fantasy, and you want it. Then doubt creeps in about whether you can achieve it, and you either give up because you don't think you're worthy, or you push through the uncertainty towards the fantasy of someone else's success.

Luckily I've done this enough times that I know the pattern well. And so I breathe, and become more conscious about what I'm deciding to spend my time on.

I ask myself:

What is driving this fantasy? Where did it come from?

If I'm inspired by someone else's success, is it out of jealousy?

Do I know what their success actually looks like, behind the scenes, or am I only seeing the good bits? Is this person really as thrilled and content as I might think, or is that only in my imagination?

Am I imagining the beginning part, where I start a new awesome project, and everything is fun and exciting? What about the middle part, where things look bleak and doubt makes you want to quit, and everything is hard?

Will I be any better off after creating this success, or will I really feel the same? Will this give me fulfillment, or is it just an ego boost? Are the people who've built empires really happy, or are they filled with fears, doubt, anxiety?

Is this really my mission, or am I letting myself get sidetracked because I have doubts about my mission, or because things are hard?

Where do I get happiness from? Is it from success? Or is happiness available to me right now, for the dear price of letting go of my fantasy and seeing what's already here?

And so I breathe, and I let go.

How do you build an empire? You let go of the fantasy, and focus on your true mission in life. And if you don't know what your mission is, then that's your mission … figuring it out.

How do you build an empire? By serving. By connecting with others and caring. By helping others build their empires. By seeing that the empire that really matters is already here, in this moment, in your heart, in the goodness all around you, in the goodness in others. This empire cannot be taken away, will never crumble, and will fulfill you.

You build an empire by letting go of everything that doesn't matter, of the fantasies, and seeing what's here now. And then acting out of love.

About the Author:

Leo Babauta is the owner of ZenHabits.net, a website devoted to providing clear and concise wisdom on how to simplify your life. He's also the author of, The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential, in Business and in Life.

Keeper of this heart of mine
Your patience has no end
You've loved me back into Your arms
Time and time again
So if I start to wander
Like a lamb that's gone astray
I'll trust in You
Shepherd of my heart

You're the beacon of my nights
You're the sunlight of my days
I can rest within Your arms
I can know Your loving ways
So let the cold winds blow
Let the storms rage all around
I'll trust in You
Shepherd of my heart

Giver of this life in me
You're what I'm living for
For all my deepest gratitude
You love me even more
So as I walk through valleys
Listening for the Master's call
I'll trust in you
Shepherd of my heart

You're the beacon of my nights
You're the sunlight of my days
I can rest within Your arms
I can know Your loving ways
So as I walk through valleys
Listening for my Master's call
I'll trust in You
Shepherd of my heart

I'll trust in You
Shepherd of my heart

by John MacArthur

"Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen"
(Matt. 6:13).

The Disciples’ Prayer is a pattern to follow for life.

The implications of the Disciples' Prayer are profound and far-reaching. An unknown author put it this way:

I cannot say "our" if I live only for myself in a spiritual, watertight compartment. I cannot say "Father" if I do not endeavor each day to act like His child. I cannot say "who art in heaven" if I am laying up no treasure there.

I cannot say "hallowed be Thy name" if I am not striving for holiness. I cannot say "Thy kingdom come" if I am not doing all in my power to hasten that wonderful day. I cannot say "Thy will be done" if I am disobedient to His Word. I cannot say "in earth as it is in heaven" if I will not serve Him here and now.

I cannot say "give us . . . our daily bread" if I am dishonest or an "under the counter" shopper. I cannot say "forgive us our debts" if I harbor a grudge against anyone. I cannot say "lead us not into temptation" if I deliberately place myself in its path. I cannot say "deliver us from evil" if I do not put on the whole armor of God.

I cannot say "thine is the kingdom" if I do not give to the King the loyalty due Him as a faithful subject. I cannot attribute to Him "the power" if I fear what men may do. I cannot ascribe to Him "the glory" if I am seeking honor only for myself. I cannot say "forever" if the horizon of my life is bounded completely by the things of time.

As you learn to apply to your own life the principles in this marvelous prayer, I pray that God's kingdom will be your focus, His glory your goal, and His power your strength. Only then will our Lord's doxology be the continual song of your heart: "Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen" (v. 13).

Suggestions for Prayer

Ask God to use what you've learned from the Disciples' Prayer to transform your prayers.

For Further Study

Read John 17, noting the priorities Jesus stressed in prayer.