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God of Wonders ~ Keep Moving! Part 1 January 2, 2023 

First class of the year!  This month we are focusing on our goals in the three areas of physical, mental and spiritual health. Today’s emphasis is on “keep moving” so we ask ourselves:

* Where do I need to get moving or keep moving in my physical health? * In my mental/emotional health?  * In my spiritual health (relationship with God)? 

Part 2 will automatically follow at the end of this video.

See the class lesson in this blog titled “Running the race in strength this year”

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“Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This means that we let the Holy Spirit guide us in every step of our lives. We let him so deep into our lives, that he will help us see what is in our heart. And we center everything on heart health, letting every motivation come out of a heart devoted to serving Jesus. Giving Him our hearts of worship!

Our physical health starts on the inside and everything in our life comes from centering on Jesus and then working out from there.

Today, we are worshiping Jesus together with our entire being, with our souls, our spirits and our bodies. Letting our worship flow out of our hearts: pure, unadulterated (not mixed or diluted with any different or extra elements; complete and absolute. something is pure and has not had anything added to it.). Letting go of all the things that we have learned about worship and exercise and just letting the Holy Spirit guide us today. 

Humble Tree was written by Jeremy Walker, who was our worship pastor several years ago. He wrote many very powerful songs for our church body and Humble Tree in today’s class is one of them.

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

‭‭James‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Check out our YouTube channel and search for Heart of Worship, November 20, 2023

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All I Am

Worship with All I Am: “Praise the Lord! I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with his godly people. How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them. Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise him forever!” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭111‬:‭1‬-‭2‬, ‭10‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When we ponder the deeds of the Lord, and we realize the importance of reverence and that foundation of true wisdom is to Fear the Lord. The Latin verb for revere is to fear, to respect. So the Fear of the Lord means we revere Him and are showing Him respect. 

To revere the Lord, we

Love Him

Treasure him

We show devotion to God

We cherish him

Worship and admire him

We honor him and have a great respect for him

Jesus gave all of himself for us so this morning let’s give him all we have. Let’s give him our worship, our hearts, our reverence and our love. We BELONG to him. He is the reason that we live, sing and worship. Believe with all of your heart, for it’s true!

All those who stand before others and say they believe in me, I will say before my Father in heaven that they BELONG to me.  Matthew 10:32 NCV

Check out our YouTube channel and search for All I Am, November 13, 2023

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Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Let your Patina Shine! September 25, 2023

I heard a great description of patina recently, patina is when an old car still has the original paint that includes fading and all the scrapes, bumps and bruises damage to the car. All the flaws are there for everyone to see instead of covering it up with new shiny paint.  We are all like one of these old cars with our own patina. For each of us a little different, maybe a damaged shoulder or knee, foot or back. Or maybe just some scratches and fading along with emotional scars. Our patina is a part of our history that has made us who we are today and God loves us like crazy, patina and all!  Be encouraged today to work around your “patina” and remember that you are glorifying God as you breathe and move your body, letting each move be a form of giving God praise back for your beautiful body which He’s given you - you are fearfully and wonderfully made - and worship HIm for giving you the ability to be in class today!  (Yes, beautiful - we are God’s workmanship, each made to have different shapes and sizes … just like the many models of cars!) The car in this picture has a great example of lots of patina!

Patina means: worn in as opposed to worn out. It’s like our favorite old comfortable leather chair that over the years has become worn in and it looks like it’s been enjoyed - worn, but it’s still beautiful. That’s different from being worn out. Worn out looks like something you need to throw away and replace. I know we might feel like the “worn out” at times but the truth is that we are “worn in” just right.*

Every bit of patina on a car is unique and speaks to a very specific incident in the past, whether you know what the cause was or not. Patina gives an object a temporal dimension, as well as a spatial one. Which makes the object far more interesting. This is the closest we can get to the reality of that object’s experiences over time. Why on earth would you ever mess with it?!* Same with our bodies, we are much more interesting with our “patina” showing.

Everybody ages and we each gather our own patina with cracks, creaks and fading…. and rather than fret about it and fight it, we really should be celebrating and participating in it. It’s part of who we are now, an important part of our life and our past.

“And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3‬:‭27‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Here are the things we put on: spiritual things… Not to cover the patina (essence) of who we are, but to become more like Jesus every day, knowing that all of life’s bumps and bruises in our physical bodies and also in our minds and spirits have all been a part of our journey and make us who we are! Knowing that we have been covered in salvation through Jesus, putting on our “new clothes”!

We put on our spiritual armor as well and wear faith, hope and love: “But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” ‭‭ 1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬

*Starred statements from articles in Hagerty Drivers Club magazine, The Patina Issue, Sep-Oct 2023

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God Gives Us Breath, Praise With Gratitude Fit for the King Class Lesson September 18, 2023

There are so many ways to express and respond to the Lord. Today we are going to express and respond through the movement of our physical bodies while using our minds and spirits to focus on God as we praise Him and give thanks for His love. Also giving thanks that He has chosen us as His own.

As we  honor Him with our bodies, our movements become a form of praise.  We also honor God as we pay attention to how our body feels and make adjustments or completely skip a particular move if needed (in this case we do a different move or simply stand/sit and breath big deep breaths, remembering the intimacy of the first breath humans took, as God breathed life into our nostrils). When our physical body does not allow us to do something, we let our spiritual body take over and focus more on the praise and worship than the physical movement.  In the Bible, we are reminded that if we don’t worship the Lord, then the stones will cry out in praise, for all creation praises the Lord!

Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these [people] keep silent, the stones will cry out [in praise]!”    Luke 19:40

The song Gratitude has elements of tender moments where we are honoring God in more quiet movements and other moments where we get a bit more rowdy, bringing out the “lion” of praise from the depths of our souls!  We also experience these elements of quiet to rowdy throughout the class in different songs. 

Quiet: “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭62‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

His holiness can silence all the earth: “But the Lord is in his holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before him.“ ‭‭Habakkuk‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Rowdy: As the ark entered the city: “And David danced before the Lord with all his might, leaping (and dancing in v 16) wearing a priestly garment. ‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭6‬:‭14‬, ‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

To learn more about today’s feature song, Gratitude, watch this half hour video interview with Brandon Lake who wrote the song. He talks a lot about the tender and the lion moments of the song. It is so encouraging to hear his heart and to apply what you learn to your workout as we did today. 

Meditation cool down prayer

You Oh Lord put your breath in my lungs and your spirit in my body, I am so grateful for your love, and for your caring. 

“Thus says God, the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭42‬:‭5‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Experience this class on YouTube (we record each class).

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Praise the Lord Oh My Soul Fit for the King Class Lesson September 11, 2023

Today we signed a participation agreement, yes, even though this is a free Christian class, there is still a need for this. We work in tandem as you agree to monitor your physical body and be aware of your body’s needs and be willing to make modifications. And I am agreeing with you, that I will do my best to keep you safe, to give modifications as much as possible and to give you encouragement, so that you can grow in your endurance and strength in your physical body and your spiritual life. Remembering that our bodies are where God’s Holy Spirit lives!  

Our bodies are not our own, they are a temporary vessel that houses our souls (the eternal essence of who we are) and spirits along with the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, God lived in the Holy of Holies in the temple, but when Jesus died on the cross, the curtain that separated us from God’s presence was ripped in half! After Jesus rose and ascended into heaven, He sent His Holy Spirit to live in us. 

Today we are worshiping God and thanking Him for our bodies, for what they can do and honoring our bodies when they are unable to do a move comfortably by modifying or simply standing/sitting and deep breathing God’s love in and breathing back out our gratitude for His love and thanking Him that He has chosen each one of us as His own. He resides in us! Wow! Just let this soak in.

"Do you not know that your body is a house of God where the Holy Spirit lives? God gave you His Holy Spirit. Now you belong to God. You do not belong to yourselves. God bought you with a great price. So honor God with your body. You belong to Him." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Today, as we make our time of exercise a form of worship, we tell our souls (emotions, will, intellect… the eternal essence of who we are… all that I am!) to praise the Lord, no matter how we feel!

“Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) Praise the Lord, O my soul! While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭146‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Here is the same scripture in a different version:

Praise the Lord!  Let all that I am praise the Lord.   I will praise the Lord as long as I live.  I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.

Join us in this class, recorded live on September 11, 2023

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“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”  ‭‭John‬ ‭7‬:‭38‬-‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Through this amazing gift of the Holy Spirit, God has given us a way to love supernaturally. God gives us a love that can override our strongest emotions so we can love in EVERY circumstance. He gives us the ability to bypass suspicion, jealousy, criticism, and conflict between Christians, churches, and denominations. This is a love that knows no bounds - that is usually warmly received by non-believers as well as believers. The churches that obey our Lord‘s command to love one another, usually are filled to overflowing and are making a great impact for good, and for the glory of God. They represent a highly desirable alternative to secular society. 

How does one love supernaturally? By faith. God’s word commands us to love. And God’s word promises that he will enable us to do what he commands us to do. “And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.” ‭‭1 John‬ ‭5‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I believe that the key for us to walk in this miraculous, supernatural agape love of God’s is to know that he commands us to and to desire it. When we don’t feel love, we have a choice and all we have to do is ask God to help us love. It may take a while, it’s a practice, so we keep doing it until it really is flowing from our heart and not just our minds! “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” ‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭34‬-‭35‬ ‭NLT‬

Our love for others is proof to the world that we are Jesus’s disciples. Our love unifies the church. We have to perfectly love each other to be perfectly unified! They will know we are Christians by our love! I have so much gratitude for God’s love, let’s all celebrate today in gratitude!

Soak in God's love and join us as we worship God through the movement of our bodies, as we celebrate gratitude, we will warm-up to Brandon Lake's "Gratitude".

* Today's devotion was inspired and part of it was paraphrased from my very favorite devotional book of all time:  “My Time with God, 15 minute devotions for the entire year”, page 263 and written by Bill Bright. (and of course, always and firstly from God’s word, the Bible.)

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We started our class (Nothing But the Blood) today letting ourselves be filled with awe that Jesus was with God in the beginning, that He was God, that everything was created through Him and that Jesus gave us life and brought light into the darkness! Yet being God in nature, he humbled Himself to become a human and live among us.

John is one of my all-time favorite books of the Bible, there is so much love and encouragement and so much of it brings me awe. John 1, verse 51 really stood out to me when Jesus said He is “the stairway between heaven and earth”.  He is our heavenly connection and our way to heaven!

In the beginning the Word already existed.    The Word was with God,     and the Word was God.

He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him,     and nothing was created except through him.

The Word gave life to everything that was created,      and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness,     and the darkness can never extinguish it. 

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

Then he said, “I tell you the truth, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God going up and down on the Son of Man, the one who is the stairway between heaven and earth.

 John 1:1-5, 14, 51

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Humble Tree and Beautiful Things

Jesus came to earth as a human (in the flesh) and experienced every emotion and struggle we could ever face.  He knows our lives intimately and He calls us His daughter, His child. Jesus is our Humble Tree, full of humility and grace and we get our nourishment for our souls from Him. Our humble Savior, who calls us His own, beautiful child.

Jesus came to earth to fulfill the scriptures that foretold the coming Messiah and He gave His life so that we could have life.  And by His wounds we are healed! There are so many scriptures about Jesus and all the many gifts He has given us, and today we are focusing on healing. Below are just a few scriptures that teach about healing and we can see that the number one thing is faith. We must first have faith to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, God’s son.  Then we have to have faith to believe that He is our healer and that He hears our prayers/requests and that He answer them. An important thing about healing is that we don’t always see it manifest the way we think it will.  We might pray for a physical healing when what we really need is an emotional healing and God, in His all-knowing infinite wisdom may do a healing in our minds and hearts instead of our body. So we go to God with requests but as we walk with Jesus and learn His ways by studying the Word (he is the Word, we will talk about this more next week), we will learn to hear His voice and even begin to pray differently, more aligned with His will.

The most important take away today is that He calls us His child. I believe really knowing this in our innermost beings is the beginning of our healing.  Remember you are God’s beautiful creation, His handiwork and He adores you! Let your heart sing with gratitude for Jesus’ sacrifice for you - so you could be covered by His love - healed and set free!

Today in class, ask the Lord to show you where you need healing: in your mind, soul, heart, spirit or body. Open your heart and invite Him in so He can fill you with His life. Here is the link to our Fit for the King exercise/praise class:  coming soon, it’s still uploaded (Sunday April 30)

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” Mark 5:34

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.  Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:13-16

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Technique: Your feet are lined up correctly if an imaginary straight line is drawn from the front heel back and intersects the back arch. The front foot faces forward (parallel to the mat) and the rear foot faces out 45 degrees. The back leg is straight making sure the rear hip does not rotate forward.  Torso is positioned directly over the hips. 

Modification: Decrease the width in your stance, depth of lunge and arm height.

As you reach long through your fingertips, imagine the protection as if your arms and fingers are “swords”, with God’s Word protecting you in front and behind. 

Scripture: Heb 4:12-13  For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

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Soldier On!

“Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Soldiers don’t get tied up in the affairs of civilian life, for then they cannot please the officer (our officer is Jesus!) who enlisted them. Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach.” ‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭3‬-‭4‬, ‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God has given us everything we need to be His strong and courageous soldiers. We remember that we do not fight against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Ephesians 6:10-18

We are Christ’s soldiers and when we couple this truth with Jesus’ final - and greatest! - commandment before He went to the cross, we carry the light into every situation and are more effective to carry out the gospel, which He has equipped us to do.

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”” ‭‭John‬ ‭13‬:‭34‬-‭35‬ ‭NLT‬

Jesus gave us this commandment after washing the feet of His disciples. After telling Judas to go and do what he needed to do so His heavenly Father’s plans would be fulfilled - so we would no longer be separated from our Heavenly Father. Jesus gave us salvation! Let’s soldier on, keeping our eyes on Jesus and our hearts set on heaven! 

In today’s class we set an intention on moving with the strength of a soldier with a strong core in body, mind and spirit. With our hearts focused on praise and in our bodies moving in strength, power and fluidity. Practicing fluid movements that originate from our core middle. 

Ephesians 6:10-18:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

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All Creation Praise!

We get to join in with all of nature - all of creation - as we praise the Lord! Praising Him with gratitude, for all He has done for us. As we drink in God’s word daily, our roots grow deeper and the soil of our hearts are softened and our souls are nourished. As we worship together, rivers of living water flow in our midst. As we clap our hands, we join in with the rivers and trees of the fields! Let yourself feel the excitement of all creation in praising God our Father, Creator of all things and Jesus, lover of our souls! 

“For I am like a tree whose roots reach the water, whose branches are refreshed with the dew.” ‭‭Job‬ ‭29‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the earth and all living things join in. Let the rivers clap their hands in glee! Let the hills sing out their songs of joy” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭98‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”  ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬k

Join us for class!

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Love The Lord With All Your HEART

In today’s class we focused on God’s love: with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strength. Putting this scripture into action! We breathed in His love and we lifted it back up to Him with our movements and with our hearts (spiritual and physical), souls (the essence of who we are, what makes us each unique individuals) and minds (thoughts).  We opened our arms and opened our hearts to Jesus.  We lifted our arms in praise. It was a powerful morning and I hope you will have a chance to experience it in our class recording. 

“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.””‭‭Mark‬ ‭12‬:‭30‬-‭31‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Inspired during my devotional time last week, I was impressed with the fact that this is originally an Old Testament command (Deuteronomy 6:5) and then Jesus quoted it twice in the New Testament, once in Matthew and once in Mark. In Deuteronomy we are told to “commit ourselves wholeheartedly to these commands” and in Mark, Jesus, said, “No other commandment is greater than these” (loving God and loving your neighbor) and in Matthew, Jesus made it very clear that the entire law and ALL the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments. In other words, this is the core center of our entire Christian faith!  If we truly love the Lord with our entire beings, we will naturally love our neighbors, and even our enemies! For when we understand God’s love, we understand that every single human being on this earth is made in God’s image and is precious to Him. 

But first, we must understand how great God’s love is for us.  We know in our minds that Jesus gave His life on the cross in “our places” but do we really believe in our hearts and souls that God loves each of us personally and intimately?  So many things in our lives can keep us from fully understanding this: trauma, business of life, hurts and disappointments just to name a few. I know for myself, I had some past pain and to protect myself I hardened my heart. A visual I have for this is that when I was faced with this pain originally, I put a “hard crust” around my heart to protect it since I was ready to deal with it. Sadly, this affected how I reacted to situations since I didn’t always allow myself to feel what I should have been feeling, the crust was in the way. Over 30 years later, I was finally ready to face the pain and it’s like God took a big hammer and broke the crust covering off of my heart so I could feel again!  He showed me His love in a new, real way that gave me the courage to face my trauma, confess my sin in it, forgive others and myself.  

For some of us it may take something like this (I had a wonderful Christian counselor who helped me along the way). For others, it may be taking more time in God’s Words until we can believe His promises. And it may just be that we need to meditate on this truth and receive it fully. Then we really can believe that Jesus loves us so much that He would still have gone to the cross just for you, even if you were the only one on earth. We can really understand this to the core of our beings, where your “soul melts” (do you feel completely overwhelmed with awe of His love at times?!).  Believing God loves you and has chosen you and even wants to hear what’s on your heart brings healing and freedom. 

God wants your love and your gratitude! He wants all of you - even the broken places, the hurt, frustration and pain. He already knows it all, but He wants you to talk to Him about it.  He wants you to believe and receive His love.  And when you let Him FILL YOU UP with His love, it will naturally overflow into every situation you face, and into each person you interact with. You are a sweet fragrance to the Lord and to the world! 

Walk in this truth today and this week and every day. Wear it on your forehead and in your heart. Let your light shine for all to see!

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Have You Given God the Key to Your House?

In this note in Zondervan’s Handbook on Leviticus 19: “The body, and what we do with our bodies - sexually and in every other way - matters to God.  It is “in the body” that we are to glorify God and to know His indwelling Spirit.” How we treat our physical body impacts our minds and spirits and the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

Our body is the Holy Spirit’s home and God cares how we take care of it. This morning our pastor gave a powerful illustration when we looked at Ephesians 4:30: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”  The example he gave, it that our body is the Holy Spirit’s house, and we give Him the “key” to “remodel” and to guide us. When we don’t care for our house (this includes our entire being: body, mind & spirit), it grieves the Holy Spirit.  As He indwells in us, and we give Him permission, sometimes He will have to tear down walls, clean out dry rot or maybe even completely change a room. Then He will build new walls, strengthen our foundations and give us fresh paint, making a welcome dwelling place for His Holy Spirit. Sometimes we may not have a major remodel to do, but I believe that the Holy Spirit is always at work in us, moving things around, cleaning and restoring. 

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”  ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Our encouragement in this today, is to realize that our bodies are sacred to God and when we invite the Holy Spirit to do His work in us, we will be healed (refurbished) and our temple will be a wonderful home for the Holy Spirit. Every day, every moment we have choices to make that impact our health and that can bring death or life: the foods we eat, the type of exercise we do, the thoughts we think, the actions we take, what we fill our minds with, and so on. We ask ourselves, is this pleasing to the Lord, or does it grieve Him?! 

Today as we strengthen and stretch our bodies, we will also strengthen and stretch our entire beings, inviting the Holy Spirit to have His way, to break out and to break our walls down (Spirit Break Out is one of our songs in class today). Let’s ask Him to show us what needs to go, what needs to stay and what needs to be “rebuilt”.  May this be a time of refreshing, reenergizing and motivation for the rest of the week as we care for our bodies, as we care for this wonderful and sacred dwelling place of the Holy Spirit!

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Out of the Grave and into Grace

“I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.”‭‭ Psalms‬ ‭40‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NLT

‬‬I’ve always envisioned this scripture as God reaching down and lifting me out of the darkness and setting my feet on a rock.  Him rescuing me from a place that I was not capable of getting out of on my own. However, I recently shared this with one of my friends and she text me back another beautiful picture that she saw from these verses. She pictured Jesus defeating death on a cross for me and working together, He placed the cross as a ladder for me to come up out of the grave and into grace. 

These are both such encouraging pictures of how God helps us when we call out to Him.  Sometimes He miraculously reaches down and does all the “work” and at other times, He makes a way out for us and guides us as we take action. It’s so comforting that the Lord knows our hearts, our frailties and our strengths and that He always has a way for us to move forward, to overcome and to continue along the path He has laid out for us! We just need to call out to Him, and at times, wait patiently.... for God will lift us up out of the grave and into grace!  That’s just who He is!

In applying this our health; mind, body, and spirit, it is pretty much always a partnership.  There’s an effort required of us. Each of our journeys are unique and different, but this one thing I do know, God wants us to be as healthy as we can be. This doesn’t mean that we will always have the health we want, but that we will work in tandem as God guides us in each decision.  We cry out to God and seek His guidance and at times, we will have to wait patiently for an answer. But we know that HE WILL steady us as we walk along and that HE WILL guide us into vibrant health in our thoughts and actions as we keep our eyes and hearts on God and seek His will for our lives!

Experience the class now!

[livingthevibrantlife]

LET GOD STRETCH YOU AND CREATE SPACE FOR MORE IN YOUR LIFE!

The last 3 weeks we’ve been talking about “Moving in 2023”, “Increasing our strength in 2023”, and today, we will focus on “stretching in 2023”. These are all intertwined together, often strengthening activities involve moving and stretching, just as stretching may involve moving and strengthening, etc.

Here’s a few more ideas on incorporating all three into your daily activities, see RUNNING THE RACE FOR STRENGTH THIS YEAR for more ideas and inspiration.

When you’re watching non-streaming TV, stand up every time there’s a commercial break and march in place until the show resumes, Bryant suggests. “We know that disrupting sedentary behavior is very beneficial,” he adds (1) You could also stretch on one commercial, do a strengthening move on the next and then add movement on the next.  Pick several exercises ahead of time so you are prepared. If you don’t have commercials, then pause your show every 30 minutes and take a 1-3 minute move/stretch/strength break.

Research suggests that standing up and moving for about three minutes every half an hour may lessen the negative health effects associated with prolonged sitting. Other studies have found that three one-minute bursts of activity every day promote longevity, and that stepping in place during TV commercials can indeed increase physical activity and daily steps.(1)

(1) https://apple.news/Aw9DU1mQfQcGL_6rp7hw1gg

PROVEN SUCCESS FOUND IN GOD’S WORD

God has given us a proven success formula for our mind, body and spirit fitness in Proverbs 3:5-8 (NCV)

Trust the Lord with all your heart, and don’t depend on your own understanding. Remember the Lord in all you do, and he will give you success.

Don’t depend on your own wisdom.   Respect the Lord and refuse to do wrong. Then your body will be healthy, and your bones will be strong.

Stay focused on God, seek Him, listen to him and He will give you success! Don’t rely on your own wisdom, actually refuse to! And let God’s wisdom guide you so your body will be healthy and your bones strong.  We also have the scientific tools to help us, which tells us that movement, strengthening and stretching exercises add resistance to our muscles which pulls on our bones, strengthening them in turn.

STRETCHING OUR FAITH LEADS TO ACTION!

Stretching is the process of creating space. When we stand tall, we create space between each vertebra, when we stretch in any direction, we create space in our muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc. which can in turn relieve pain and help us develop correct posture physically. When we stretch our minds to learn new things, to memorize scripture or challenge our brain, we are making space for more brain health and possibly adding longevity to our lives. When we stretch our spirit, reaching out to God, seeking Him with all of our hearts, minds, souls and strength we are renewed.

Stretch out your hands to God and be filled!;

My soul longs for You, as a parched land. Selah (Stop and think on this). Psalm 143:6

Stretching Your Faith is a personal journey of creating space and time to hear from The Lord. Stretching your faith is learning to be still and quiet the chaos that surrounds you, so that you can hear the still small voice of God.(2) God is not trying to hide His plans from you and He has great plans for you - He knows your body, mind, soul and spirit and He knows what you need, even before you do! (Even before the words are on your tongue!). As your soul longs for God, as if it is a parched land longing for water, so stretch out your hands to Him and let Him stretch you, strengthen you and fill you. Let Him move you!  

(2) Paraphrased from Stretching Your Faith: Practicing Postures of Prayer to Create Peace, Balance and Freedom by Michelle Thielen)