Faith and Fitness - Let’s Grow!

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Have you experienced this in the gym?  If not, you probably danced on the edge of disaster like I have.  Maybe this is why I’m not into trendy gym memberships, fancy home gyms, or machines.  Less is more!

Faith and Fitness - Let’s Grow!

The sun was just coming up over the mountain in the distance. I watched the sun melt away the shadows as it rose. The slight chill at 6,295 feet in the Sierra Nevada Mountains was disappearing quickly with the rise of the summer sun. I was sitting there alone enjoying God’s creation. Roads, cars, phones, TVs, and the fast pace of life were many miles away. The only way in and out of this place was by foot. Backpacking is an awesome way to get away to spend time alone with God away from distractions. It helps me to focus. If I could describe these excursions in just one word it would be contentment.

Contentment can be an elusive at times! Here is an excerpt from my journal after one of my deployments:

———-
We sung the praise song Blessed Be Your Name by Matt Redman in worship today. It totally caught me off guard on how it impacted me. Here are the parts of the song that really got me.

Blessed be your name
In the land this is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s all as lit should be
Blessed be your name

I realized that was exactly where I was at that moment. I was deployed and made it back in one piece. I’m home with my family. I’m standing worshiping my God with my church family. The sun is “shining down on me” and “the world’s all as it should be.” Those thoughts were contrasted with:

Blessed be your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name

Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Oh, there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be your name

I realized that I experienced these stanzas as well this past year. These words are easy to sing when I’m not going through “the wilderness” or “the desert place”—no pun intended! I found it very difficult to have this attitude during really hard times. There were days when I couldn’t bring myself to that place. There is definitely “pain in the offering.”
———-

I recently found myself in a similar situation at a church service. We sung Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, I Stand in Awe, and Jesus What a Friend of Sinners Medley. We then celebrated the Lord’s Supper. It was the first time I was able to thank God for my deployments. Worship is so powerful!

Contentment—it’s so elusive especially when we “walk through the wilderness.” Let us never forget that even when we struggle God never leaves us.

Joshua 1:5, “I never leave you or forsake you.”

Matthew 28:20, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Also, let us not forget Job’s response to suffering and the strength he found in worship.

Job 1:20-21, “At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”

Faith and Fitness - Let’s Grow!

The day of the swim test in our military unit had arrived.  Everyone was confident (or at least made it look that way).  Each of us started at a different station, and the pool was quickly filled with Soldiers.  Some were swimming with rifles.  Others were entering the water with all their gear then ditching it underwater.  Personal flotation devices were being constructed with worn uniforms.  Blindfolded Soldiers were entering the water from the diving platform.

I will never forget one Soldier who briefly confessed he wasn’t a great swimmer before leaving the diving platform.  He entered the water and quickly came back to the surface.  Immediately, he was a frenzy of activity—arms flailing and water splashing.  When a lifeguard would approach him to help him out he sent them away.  He was determined to swim to the side on his own.  He gave it every ounce of effort he had.  He was motivated to succeed.  Then he was gone under the water.  The lifeguard calmly swam over and fished him out.  To our surprise this Soldier went back and repeated this whole process over again!  He had a lot of determination, motivation, and sincerity, but in the end he did a lot of work without any results to show for it.  He needed someone to focus his efforts in the most effective way to learn how to swim.  He needed someone to show him what works.

Have you ever felt this way?  Have you invested a lot of effort without the results to show for it?  I sure have.  I’ve dedicated countless hours to a weight lifting, running, and calisthenics program.  This required me to work out twice a day for an hour or two.  What was the end result?  A lot of work without the results I was looking for.  With that amount of effort I wanted huge results.  I wasn’t getting them.  I was just spinning my wheels.  I needed someone to focus my efforts in order to be more effective in my workouts.  I needed someone to show me what works.

I then ran into a mindset that focused on functional strength through functional (natural) movements.  This is when I totally revamped my fitness plan into an attainable program that enables life-long fitness.  A fitness plan focused on functional strength produces a toned body with a strong core.  That is what I was looking for.  I was also looking for simplicity with a reasonable time commitment.  I have achieved and continue to progress towards goals I’ve chased for years, and it’s exciting!

It’s equally exciting seeing others progress towards their personal goals.  I received this from one of my clients a couple of days ago:
“Working with you has been such a positive experience for me.  I’ve started and stopped fitness routines tons of times.  But what I like about your approach is that it’s condensed into something that feels so attainable right from the start.  It’s simple, and it makes sense.  You showed me how to eat right so I can get just the right kind of fuel for my body.  And I feel great!  And what I love about the exercise routines you walked me through is that they easily fit into my schedule.  I don’t have to carve three hours out of my day to be serious about getting in shape.  And that’s what makes this work!  The only kind of fitness plan that’s going to give you long-term results is something that’s doable.  It fits into your life and becomes part of who you are.  This is life change.”
- Total Life Change Club Member in Portland, OR

Faith and Fitness – Let’s Grow!

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