We are ready to begin our 5th session of FIRST PLACE! 

Read God Stories from members of ARC that have already experienced the benefits of First Place! 

FIRST PLACE STORIES

• "I joined First Place as an opportunity to try another approach to weight loss, but have gained a new perspective on life and what is important.  The fellowship and Bible Study have been the most important aspects of my First Place experiences.  I have gained a healthier outlook on life and relationships with God, myself, friends, foe, and demands in daily life.  My God is an awesome God." - Dawn Poole

• "Because of being in First Place, I have let God have more control of my life, physically, spiritually, and in my health.  I have made healthy choices and have been doing more exercising.  My spiritual life has grown.  I feel my prayer time and devotions have helped me during each day and made me more aware that my body is a temple for the Holy Spirit." - Corrie Peterson

• "I encourage anyone who in even thinking about trying First Place to go ahead and make a leap of faith.  It isn't just another weight loss program.  It puts your entire life into perspective.  I have never felt closer to God or more at peace than I have since starting First Place."

• "First Place has been a very good experience.  It is something you and you spouse can do together.  We joined the "First Place" program for the chance to be in a Bible Study group together.  The side benefit was that we both would like to lose some weight.  The Bible Study has been very good, as well as the social interaction of our group.  The support of the group in very encouraging as well.  We have learned what to eat and how much to eat.  We have learned that exercise is important, but exercise can be any type of activity on a regular basis.  At first, I was a little leery and thought I would have to starve.  But that was not the case.  I could not have eaten all the different foods that I could have eaten in a day.  You can eat what you want, but you just need to account for it.  Realizing what I was eating was a real eye opener.  Learning what are the good and healthy things to eat, and what you should shy away from really has helped (but not completely).  If you have cravings for something, go ahead and eat it.  Then you have satisfied your craving and it is gone.  The most important part of the program of "First Place" is to put Christ first in your life.  You have your daily devotions, and a Bible Study section to do each day, as well as a prayer time.  We have prayed for our group members and have been drawn closer to these friends.  My perspective of life has been made more aware through this program.  And now it is starting to cost me.  Success is when you have to buy new clothes to fit.  Over 25 pounds have melted away in the last 13 weeks.  Where did it go?  Who cares, it's gone.  Putting Christ "First Place" makes a difference.  I would encourage anyone to sign up for the next session of "First Place" and really make a commitment to put Christ "First Place" in your life.  This will be a healthy and life changing experience." - Ron Bozell (1st session's top loser)

• "I have received many blessings by participating in the First Place program.  It has made such a difference in me.  Physically I am healthier, look and feel better, and of course the weight loss is wonderful!  I have more stamina, have less pain in by back and shoulders, and can actually make several trips up and down our stairs without feeling winded.  Mentally I use the Scripture I have memorized as a weapon in the spiritual battles I seem to face on a daily basis.  I have learned to arm myself with God's shield and armor which is His Word. I stand each day on His promises.  Emotionally I have obtained a peace and calmness that can only be found in a relationship with Christ.  Through the daily Bible Study and reading of God's Word, I have found strength.  Through daily prayer, I have found joy even in days that are filled with anything but that.  Spiritually I have grown and now make a definite effort to put Christ first place in my life daily.  I seek His wisdom and guidance daily, commit my entire life and family to Him daily, and I find myself hungering to read His Word and learn.  I now ask, "Lord, what can I do for you today, to glorify and honor you?" I now pray before I read scripture and ask Him to show me what He wants me to know and learn from the scripture I am reading.  Before First Place, I never really thought about doing either of those things.  By seeking to find His will in the day and giving my life and any problems or disappointments I face to Him, I find that I have much better days and a much better life.  The support I have received from the group is wonderful.  We all pray for each other through the week and encourage each other.  If one of us falls, there is always someone to pick us up.  I am looking forward to First Place starting back up this fall.  I am excited to see what new things Christ has in store for me." - Pennie Martin

• "First Place has made me realize I was not putting God first place in everything in my life and what a wonderful difference it can make when I do.  The program taught me self control and discipline in all areas of my life.  I feel better physically and mentally than I have in years.  Through daily Bible Study, I learned to be a better disciple for Jesus.  The daily prayer time and memorizing Scripture has brought me so much closer to God.  The 21 pounds I lost was a bonus for me.  I really enjoyed the group discussions and sharing.  I would recommend First Place to anyone that wants to take a closer spiritual walk with their Savior.  Christ put us first place when He hung on the cross.  What a joy to learn to put Him first place in my life!  I can't wait until the September class starts!" - Dennis Martin

• "First Place was great!  I was able to learn to eat healthier food, lose weight, be accountable, have great fellowship with other members, and grow closer to the Lord." - Nancy Bovenkerk

• "I have always stressed over my weight and tried so many ways to lose weight.  I spent money going to and doing different weight loss programs and gone up and down with my weight.  I am so thankful for First Place because it has helped me to realize that by putting Christ first in my life, I no longer worry about the weight but more about where I am spiritually and how important my daily devotions and prayer are in my life.  Now I have found God has helped me to resist the temptation to overeat and I am losing weight.  The most important part for me is the spiritual growth and knowing when I slip up, God picks me up again."  - Barb Kaluf

• "I am very thankful for this opportunity to join First Place.  I've endured some difficult life-changing experiences in the past couple years.  Although I'm glad to be alive, life is unpredictable and I'm sure I have hard times ahead.  I wanted to be better prepared for those hard times than I have been in the past.  The greatest benefit I am taking away from First Place is daily scripture reading keeping a prayer journal.  I feel I can conquer anything with my Bible in my right hand and my prayer journal in my left."  - Molly Loveland

• "Taking the time to really listen to what God planned for me was the greatest experience of the First Place program.  So much of the Bible Study made me ask the question, "God, what is it you have planned for my life?"  I was reminded over and over again that I only needed to take the time to listen to the Holy Spirit and let Him guide everything I did.  It was then that I would know what God wanted me to do and where He wanted me to go and even how I should care for my body and treat it as a temple of the Holy Spirit." - Karen Rients 

2nd SESSION STORIES

• This program has made me become more aware of the positive things God has given us to enjoy.  It has changed my priorities by trying to put Christ first in my life.  The scripture memorization for me was the hardest part.  I didn’t always learn it word for word but got the meaning which is the most important thing.  Getting up at 4:45 each morning to do Bible Studies was something I thought only crazy people do.  Guess what, now I’m one of those nuts.  Setting aside a certain time every day was the only way I found that works for me.  At that time there are no distractions and made my day start off great.  This class got me to start eating the way I knew I was supposed to, like eating breakfast, and the encouragement I received from everybody else was in the same boat.

• Another 12 weeks have come and gone-I again find myself making no changes in weight.  No loss, no gain of weight; however, I have gained many other things.  Particularly, I have gained insight into my own eating habits and patterns.  I have gained spiritual growth, Wow!  God is so awesome-He listens to me, he loves me.  I have gained another commonality with my husband to share.  I am definitely eating healthier and have continued to grow in my commitment to regular exercise.  So, I have found another session of First Place helping me to be a better me and to serve God a little better each day.  - Dawn Poole

•  What has since happened over all is that I have felt a reconnection to God.  I have become influenced on a daily basis now through more regular thoughts and prayers on my part.  The Bible study definitely helped my reconnection and internalizing of God’s words.  A person needs to have an interaction with someONE in order to bring about a reunited closeness.  Having a weekly prayer partner and listening to the CD also helped.  In this respect, I feel I am on my way to more success with mind and soul through First Place 4 Health.  With God more at the forefront of my life, and not in the background, I don’t feel like I am just blowing in the wind making all these decisions for my life all the time.  Emotionally speaking, I feel I am somewhat calmer and more centered, though I have a ways to go.  The fellowship of this group helped create this as well.  Feelings always tend to control me more than thoughts.  I over-rely on food for comfort/wellbeing, and under-rely on exercise!  This needs to be reversed obviously.  I should consider journaling more often, even though I am constantly writing in my profession already and get burned out quickly.  I think focusing on health will help me resist focusing on emotions.  Mental changes include this list:  I see myself more as a ‘vehicle’ now, food as a ‘source’, God is closer/more accessible to me than I’ve lately thought, and reading scripture makes God and His words become more alive and real to me, too.  I haven’t gotten a firm hold to the renewed physical sense of my well being yet.  However, I have grown in awareness to what is a healthy food choice, not just in what makes for “diet food.  I have also been reminded that my body is a temple of God that holds the Holy Spirt.  I need to TREAT my body with that kind of TKC then.  - Diane Georgakis

• Physically, I quit smoking.   I am stronger and can breathe easier without cigarettes in my life.  Mentally, I am reminding myself of the big picture and not immediate gratification.  I remind myself of long term benefits vs immediate gratification.  Scripture verses help me stay focused.   I remind myself of how I’ll feel about ‘this’ several days from now.  Emotionally, I’m learning to love myself.  I’m learning not to react without thinking.  I am in control and responsible for my emotions.  Spiritually, I’ve grown as a Christian.  I’ve realized drawing closer to God has strengthened me physically, mentally and emotionally.  - Nancy Georgakis

• I am disappointed that I didn’t lose more weight this second session.  But between the first two sessions I did lose 25 pounds.  My goal is to lose about this much more, so I’m halfway there.  I do feel like the diet plan is one that I can always adhere to.  I learned to eat a balanced diet.  Other diets I’ve tried made certain foods bad, like the Atkins diet.  Now I’ve learned better ways of cutting fat out when I cook.  I also am cooking supper much more often instead of going out.  I feel less tired because I’m not having the sugar highs and lows.  I’ve been able to restart my morning devotions that I had given up last year to get more sleep.  I’ve been a part of Bible Study groups before (Beth Moore Bible Studies) that took more time and I enjoyed more.  But this study does bring out some valuable insights, also, like the memory work.  My next step is to restart Curves after Christmas because I think my feet might be ready since I won’t be standing and walking al day.  I appreciated all the prayers for my school year.  The group has meant a lot to me.  Encouragement when you aren’t losing the weight as fast has helped.  If I fail, I try to do the next right thing.  - Shirley Bozell

• My summary of a Jesus Christ Enlightenment for me:  No matter how relaxed I was or other things planned, I made sure I got home to get to First Place 4 Health group.  I enjoyed getting to know people in my group and have developed a bond that is special.  I was excited about discussions at class that we would share.  I thank God every day for that gift.  Our class leaders were God sent to lead and encourage our group.  I have lost a few pounds but more in inches and gained a lot more spiritually.  My exercise program was approached from not just what I wanted out of it, but for what the Lord intended me to do for his temple.  I honestly never thought of exercise that way before First Place came my way.  The much needed quiet time spent with my Lord and Savior is special to me.  I haven’t tried hard enough for time just for God and me.  I enjoyed getting to know my God better.  I truly needed and was seeking this time in my life.  My spiritual life has gotten stronger and my mindset has improved and has gotten broader in the way others think and do things.  My overall emotional health is much more relaxed and not so up tight.  Getting enough rest to be able to do things that God intends us to do has helped.  Thank you, Lord, for putting First Place 4 Health in my busy pathway, and helping my commitment to it.  The choice of food and how much food I eat has improved along with the reason why I need or want to eat it.  The meaning of the Holy Spirit living in us has been brought to life.  I have felt the Holy Spirit’s presence in my heart and have probably asked more of Him in my life at this time.  It is somewhat of a new concept for me.  I am getting to know more about the Holy Spirit and His function through reading God’s word and the tasks He also helps us with.   I am looking forward to our next class.  - Pam Butler

• In this session of First Place, I have learned how to change recipes to make my food healthier.  I have also been able to learn that exercising doesn’t have to be boring.  I also have been praying more, no matter where I am at.  I love the support of this group.  It really helps to know that you have other people praying for you to succeed.  - Corrie Peterson      

• First Place is a wonderful program for growing closer to the Lord, and enjoy learning a healthier lifestyle.  A commitment to the program can help you lose weight, learn to eat healthier, and learn the importance of exercising, too.  First Place helps you put Jesus “First Place” in your life.  - Nancy Bovenkerk

• These past 12 weeks in this program have really encouraged me to grow and to continue growing in God in all 4 areas of my life: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  Physically it has taught me that I am not my own-I was bought at a price and I am commanded to honor God  with my body.  I have disciplined myself to do more stretching and strength exercises and to drink much more water daily.  Eating healthier has made me feel healthier, as well as losing enough weight to reach my goal.  I have also conditioned myself to ignore much of the junk food I am around, but still struggle with portion sizes at my main meal of the day-supper.  I am still a work in progress.  Mentally I have grown by thinking of Christ much more often through out my day, realizing how often I fail him, and often changing my decisions from what I would have done prior to First Place, to putting Christ in First Place,  Mentally I have struggled with how difficult it can be to do what Christ wants me to do when I often want to be selfish.  I am still a work in progress.  Emotionally, these last 2 areas have affected me the most.  Emotionally, I have been tempted to be selfish and follow my selfish desires, and as the 12 weeks continued on-around week 7 or 8 was the hardest, but then with prayer and God’s help I have, more often than not, been able to overcome my selfishness.  Once again though, I am still a work in progress.  Spiritually, I have grown closer to God in knowing I am walking in his will and drawing closer to him.  My prayer time with him has increased and I feel more at peace knowing I’ve done what I can, now it’s up to the great-Almighty One to carry out his will.  I have a greater sense of guilt now in realizing all the areas that I do fail.  I realize I am not perfect and that I am a work in progress.  Studying the Bible has given me a greater sense of understanding of His word and how He is working for His glory and our good.  I turn to him more often during my day and put more of my faith and trust in Him. I can see more of the ‘greater picture’ and how so much of the Bible ties together as our instruction manual.  I find myself thinking of the memory verses as if they are speaking to me throughout my day:  “Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will.”  Rom 12:2  “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honor God with your body.”  I Corinthians 6:19-20  “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”  I Corinthians 10:13 

• First Place is a great group.  It is a way to really get focused on your life.  It teaches you about things that are important in your life.  Helps put you in the direction God wants you to go.  Before First Place I tried to do Bible Study about 5 times a week, but it was easy to miss it and it was usually hurried.  Now I do devotions most days and I take my time and look forward to it more.  I talk to God all throughout the day, my prayers aren’t as ‘desperate’ but more trusting.  - Kelly Peterson