Day: April 30, 2017

Can I Help You? It Depends…

Patrick Rooney
Tennessee Star

  The one question every Certified Personal Trainer should know the answer to in regards to a client is, “Can I help you?” I know for my company, Greek Physique™, LLC, the answer, quite frankly is, “It depends.” If you want to be a steroid-juiced, vein-popping bodybuilder, the answer is “No; we can’t help you.” If you want to be able to lift a car off the ground without a jack, the answer is “No.” If you want to reduce your bodyfat to a mere handful of percentage points, the answer is “No.” If you want to train for an ultra-marathon race, the answer is “No.” If you want to attain the flexibility of a contortionist, the answer is “No.” Now if you want someone to train you for the above goals, you can certainly find many who can and will provide that service. It’s just not what we do. It’s important for every person, and for every business, to know what they do—and what they DON’T do. So… “Can I help you?” If you want to gain lean muscle mass or attain a more toned and proportional physique, the answer is “Yes.” If you want to increase strength, the answer…

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Former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue Among Evangelicals In Trump Administration

Wendy Wilson
Tennessee Star

  President Trump swept into office with a broad base of evangelical support and he has made sure that evangelicals find positions in his administration. Among them is former Republican governor of Georgia Sonny Perdue, who was sworn in as secretary of agriculture on Tuesday. A veterinarian by training, Perdue has a background in agribusiness and was a captain in the U.S. Air Force. Perdue has said he believes God has called him to his cabinet post. He is a member of Second Baptist Church in Warner Robins, Georgia, where his son Jim Perdue is the pastor and where he has served as a deacon and Sunday School teacher. The church plans to hold a worship service commissioning the elder Perdue and his wife Mary to their new field of service, Baptist Press reports. “When people ask him, ‘How can we pray for you?’ one of his first responses is, ‘Pray for my obedience.’ He wants to be obedient,” Jim Perdue told Baptist Press, adding that’s what he believes led his father to accept Trump’s nomination. When Perdue was nominated in January, rounding out Trump’s cabinet picks, Charisma News reflected on what once would have seemed an unlikely scenario. “Two years ago,…

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Haslam’s Gas Tax Increase May Force Tennessee Lawmakers to Violate the Copeland Cap Amendment to State Constitution

Laura Baigert
Tennessee Star

Governor Haslam’s 2017-18 budget that incorporated IMPROVE Act and other spending promises now exceeds the constitutional budget growth limit established by the 1978 amendment to Article II, Section 24 of the Tennessee Constitution that states, “In no year shall the rate of growth of appropriations from state tax revenues exceed the estimated rate of growth of the state’s economy as determined by law.” The amendment is known as the Copeland Cap, named for its author former state Representative David Copeland of Ooltewah. The General Assembly will now be forced into a position of voting to break a constitutional commitment to the taxpayers, or appear as the “villains” by taking away the “gifts” the Governor has promised. The 2017-2018 budget estimates appropriations from state tax revenues will be $17.9 billion, which represents an 8.3 percent growth over appropriations from tax revenues in the 2016-2017 state budget at $16.5 billion. The estimated rate of growth of the state’s economy for the 2017-18 budget year, as defined by state law, is 4.6 percent over the 2016-17 budget year. The governor’s budget, as currently structured with the IMPROVE Act, will therefore violate the Copeland Cop by 3.7 percent. The relevant law, Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) 9-4-5201 states that the basis…

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Faith: Verse of the Day for Sunday, April 30

Dana Hunsinger Gill
Tennessee Star - Verse of the Day

  VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing April 30, Sunday Proverbs 4:18-23 18 The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. 19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. 20 My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. 21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22 for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

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