A Joint Venture

Oh yeah…it’s that time of the year everybody loves: WINTER!

If you live up North, then you have probably stocked up on moisturizer and chap-stick, changed your tires, your car oil, pulled out the rock salt and snow shovels from the shed, shocked yourself every time you touched something metal or smooched a love one…Ouch! Good ole’ static electricity!

And speaking of “ouch,” what about that telltale “snap, crackle and pop” when you squat to pick up something you dropped? Welcome to this month’s topic: Healthy Joints.

The older (and colder) we get, the more our human machinery starts to chatter… I must admit, as I am writing this, mental visions of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the tin woodsman from,The Wizard Of Oz are running through my wheelhouse!

You see, the human body is not that different from your car. Without the proper lubrication, things begin to make noise and when left unchecked, increased friction makes movement increasingly difficult until finally, a mechanical breakdown causes the car (and the human) to stop in their tracks!

When we ignore the warning signs (in your car there is a little low oil warning light) for too long, general maintenance will no longer “fix” the problem and new parts are required. As the old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” In the U.S. alone, approximately 600,000 knee-replacement surgeries are performed annually, not to mention hip and elbow replacement surgeries to boot. (1)

This is bittersweet news… On one hand, it means people are living longer and get replacement surgeries because they want to stay physically active. And on the other hand, how many of these costly invasive surgeries could have been avoided by simple home maintenance that keep those joints supple and lubricated?

My friends, if you are looking for practical, natural remedies that WORK for joint pain, then you have come to the right place. Every month here at Barton Publishing’s, “Home Cures That Work” we offer sound advice that will keep you up and running and feeling your best!

With that being said, let me share a personal testimony.

My wife, Lillian, and I live in a two-story house with a wooden staircase leading to the bedrooms and our office. About a year ago, I felt a sharp pain in my right knee while heading upstairs. I didn’t pay much attention to it because I assumed I had simply overdone it at the gym. But when the pain persisted, I became concerned.

I tried a simple glucosamine product called, “Joint Juice” and after a month I didn’t notice any improvement in my knee. After an unsuccessful second round of the product, I tried another approach: tart cherry extract. This initially seemed to help, but a month later the joint pain returned.

For the next few months, I tried several joint supplements, with no improvement… until I stumbled upon an article in a fitness magazine singing the praises of a new product that was helping power-lifters and professional athletes alike.

The product was called FLEX and I picked up a can at Vitamin Shoppe the next day. The can contained individual daily packs, which I found very convenient. Only one is needed per day and it came with an “iron clad” guarantee!

I am thrilled to report that after only one week I was pain free!! Here is the list of ingredients:

• Vitamins C, E, Zinc, Selenium and Manganese
• Joint construction complex: Glucosamine HCI, sulfate 2KCI, MSM, Condroitin sulfate A, Condroitin sulfate C
• Joint lubrication complex: Flaxseed oil (50% alpha linolenic acid) Cetyl Myristoleate proprietary blend, Hyaluronic acid
• Joint support complex: Ginger root, Turmeric root, Boswellia (resin and acid), Quercetin and Bromelain

Whether you are a nutritional neophyte or a trained professional, you would be hard-pressed to find a more comprehensive formulation. For me, friends, this stuff WORKS!

Another “on-the-spot” remedy for temporary pain relief is capsaicin, a substance found in chili peppers. Capsaicin is the only topical I have used that works within minutes for joint pain. It blocks substance P, which transmits pain signals, as well as triggering the release of endorphins, to block the pain.

Well, that is my two cents worth of advice for the “physical” side of joint health. But as you are undoubtedly aware, there are always two sides to every story.

Joint Care

Lets look closely at the definition of the word “joint” and, hopefully, a fresh revelation of the current state of the world and the church will emerge.

Joint:

1. A structure in the body at which two parts of the skeleton are fitted together.
2. Each of the distinct sections of a body at which two parts of the skeleton (structure) are fitted together.

Now that you have the definition of  “joint” fresh in your mind, let me share another…

United:

• Come together or to become joined for a common purpose or action.
• Coming together to form a unit or whole entity.

If you are happily married as I am, then you will immediately begin to see where I am going here. In marriage, two individuals are joined together and after exchanging rings (a symbol of infinite unity) and vows (a promise or oath), the two are declared one!

From that day forward, they are recognized as one entity with one name. Even though they still have different personalities and opinions, it is amazing how similar they become over time. Their former weakness becomes strength and eventually they even begin to look like each other!

“Have you not read that He Who made them from the beginning made them male and female”, and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be united firmly (joined inseparably) to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?” Matthew 19:4-5

It has always been God’s desire for us to be a unified people.

“And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be ONE, even as WE are ONE.” John 17:11

As we open the lens a little, those of us living in the United States of America must quickly admit that we are anything but united! Obviously, it was the desire of our nations founding fathers that we would be one.

Interestingly, the last line of our “Pledge of Allegiance” (which is now against the law to quote in our public schools!) reads,

“One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

That’s right, one people that cannot by divided, yet we are.

And we are certainly not alone…is the United Kingdom united? How about Korea? Russia (formerly known as the Soviet Union)? In fact, our world today is greatly divided or more appropriately…disjointed!

And if I am completely honest, even the church is divided with towering walls of denominationalism, diverse doctrines and a pride and arrogance we certainly didn’t inherit from Jesus!

This is what the church (and the world) should emulate:

“For because of Him (Jesus) the whole body, closely joined and firmly knit together by the joints and ligaments with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, grows to full maturity, BUILDING ITSELF UP IN LOVE.” Ephesians 4:16

Love is the joint that holds all things together. Without it, everything simply falls apart.

I titled this article, “A Joint Venture” for a reason. A joint venture is a common enterprise undertaken jointly by two or more parties…

My friends, if this world is ever going to move forward toward joined unity, then we are all going to have to learn how to love one another.

When Jesus speaks of love it was never a suggestion, it was a command.

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved, you also are to love one another.”  John 13:34

Did you see it? Just as I have loved you…are you easy to love?

Jesus loved the whole world and He loved it enough to give His life for it!

Love is the toughest thing on earth. It is the perfect joint to hold us together because it NEVER fails!

And the only thing as tough as love is learning to love the people you don’t like! Look at this quote from Mother Teresa:

“People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable. Be honest and transparent anyway. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. People who really want help may attack you if you help them. Help them anyway. Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the world your best anyway. In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”

Love and hatred are diametrically opposed. Love connects us and hatred divides us. In the words of Aesop, “United we stand, divided we fall.”

Don’t depend on a robust economy or better politics to stabilize our nation. Only love can give us a leg to stand on.

If you spend all of your time focusing on how messed up the world is, then you wont have any time left to change it!

For goodness sake, love one another!

Now that’s a Joint Venture worthy of investment.

Until next month,
Love,

Michael

P.S. I am including the lyrics to a song by GS Megaphone titled, Reformation.

Come among the breakers of the wall. Our biggest hammer is our love for the truth.
There’s a wall around who we are. I say we waste it while we still have our youth.
Allow me to make the motion. We pound the bricks into dust.
Unity. Reformation. I know we know. We simply must, we simply must.
This is the Sound of Reformation
For too long there’s been a cold war, As within the body of Christ.
How can He move with stones in His joints?
How can the left hand show contempt for the right?
Here we go, break new soil, we want to see something new.
So we must plant a seed that we have never beheld.
This is the Sound of Reformation, The sound of the walls coming down.

(1) www.foxnews.com/health/2012/09/26/knee-replacements-more-than-doubling-in-us/