FaithfulllyFit! Healthy in Mind, Body, & Soul.
 
Luke 2:52 “Jesus grew in wisdom (mind), stature (body), and favor with God (soul) and man.”
Eph. 2:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, recreated in Christ Jesus, that we may do good works that  God planned for us ahead if time.”

God's Plans?

By Donna Clemons / CEO of Christian Aerobic Resource, Inc.

Yesterday morning I was bawling my eyes out. I had found out that I am most likely facing surgery on my left shoulder. What I thought was a swollen and painful spot, ended up being a completely torn muscle (for all you curious exercise educators, it is my infraspinatus muscle that detached itself). This was mostly due to my over zealous hip hop, should be twenty to do these moves not 40, exercise routines over the last few months. Anyway, back to my crying spell and my prayer (probably more like a rant and rave) to God, “it’s just not fair that I hurt myself while I was trying to take care of your temple! Why? Why? Why? I have so many plans this year with this exercise ministry. This is not a good time God!” and I went on and on…

This morning during my quiet time (I call it “quiet” time because it’s the about the only time I get quiet and let God speak) I was lead to a scripture in Proverbs 21:30: “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan, that can succeed against the Lord.” Oh yeah, God, I seemed to have forgotten that yesterday during my mini melt down! Once again, I am reminded of his sovereignty, his love, and that He is in control of everything!

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Facing The Fear of Change?

By Donna Clemons / CEO of Christian Aerobic Resource, Inc. adapted from Faithfullyfit 90 Day Devotional

What is it for you?

Fear of…
Public speaking,
Asserting yourself,
Making decisions,
Intimacy,
Changing jobs,
Aging,
Losing a loved one,
Ending a relationship?

Is it some of the above? All of the above? Perhaps you could add a few more to the list.  Never mind…join the crowd.  We fear beginnings; we fear endings. We fear changing; we fear “staying stuck”. Even though we feel fear, we don’t have to let it stop us or cause us to panic. You’re probably charting unfamiliar territory in this class and the chances you’re taking may be causing some fear. At the root of our fear, is the belief that we wont be able to handle the lifestyle changes were going to make in the class. We fear failure. Amazingly, everyone in this room is probably facing the same fear. What if? What if I fail again? I tried so many times to change? Can I really do it this time?

Sometimes, we are unable to hear what god says to us about failure. Have you set a high standard for yourself in this program? Are the goals you have se realistic? If you fail in one area of the program, will you give up? Will you feel like a miserable failure if you don’t exercise one week? God doesn’t expect us to meet certain arbitrary standards in order to feel successful or have self-worth. We don’t have to meet certain standards in order to fell good about ourselves. Fearing failure can cause us to avoid the risk of change, live in a state of hopelessness or sink into depression. If we live by this false belief, we are not motivated to change because we feel hopeless. We really believe that we will fail.

God’s truth replaces the false belief of performance. God says that we have a secure, self-worth totally apart from our ability to perform. God has given us the righteousness of Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:21, Paul wrote, “He made Him (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”. (NIV) Because we have been given the righteousness of Christ, we are worthy to stand in God’s presence. We are fully pleasing to Him. Even when we fail, our status as God’s child remains intact. We are pleasing to God in spite of our failures. The freedom to fail can give us the motivation we need to make changes in our lives. God empowers us and gives the desire to make changes. Remember the link between fitness and faith? If we want God to use us to our fullest potential, our faith demands that we become good stewards of our bodies-His temple. If we truly understand what Christ did for us on the cross, His love for us will motivate us to live for Him. His love gives us the strength to make changes in our lifestyle which honor Him and casts out all fear.

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Are You Portraying Christ’s View of Fitness?

By Donna Clemons / CEO of Christian Aerobic Resource, Inc.

     Let’s do a little mental exercise. I want you to think about the first word that comes to your mind when you read the following word: MY BODY    Got it? Now hold that thought because we’ll go back to it later.

     When speaking on eating disorders, I often refer to the following statements as the “world’s view” of fitness: We would be happy if: We were pretty enough, skinny enough, no wrinkles, no stretch marks, no cellulite, had larger breasts, had flatter stomach, nothing jiggled, we weighed less, we could wear a size 4, and we were physically PERFECT! We would be happy if we were satisfied with the image in the mirror and only then we would be worthy of love!

     Unfortunately, this is not only the “world’s” view of fitness but too often it’s the “Christian’s” view. We profess to be Christian instructors but in reality, are we really portraying Christ’s view of fitness? As the owner of Christian Aerobic Resource, I take this question very seriously and have concluded the following: By understanding God’s view of you and embracing his plans and purpose for your life, you will be healthy in mind, body, and soul; a true representation of Christ and all that it means to be faithfulyfit!

God’s View of You

     You are God’s “handiwork”. Eph. 2:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, recreated in Christ Jesus, that we may do good works that God planned for us ahead of time” (NIV). The Encarta dictionary defines handiwork as “the result of a particular person’s action-work done or produced by hand”. In 1 Cor.7:7 “…but each has his own special gift from God.” (Amplified Bible) One of the definitions of gift is “a special talent-a natural ability that someone appears to be born with”. Point being, God personally designed YOU by His hand and gave YOU a special gift before you were even born! Did you ever think about the possibility that God gave YOU a gift to reach people through fitness?

Embracing God’s Plan...

    Read Eph. 2:10 again. He even planned YOU and the works YOU would do ahead of time. When I began to grasp this concept, my life changed! For example, I was set free from the diet yo-yoing and no longer obsessed with weighing a certain number on the scale. Instead of focusing on a certain size, I began to center my thoughts on Christ’s words. My motivation for being healthy changed. I now want to be a good steward of the body he gave me, not so I can look a certain way, but so I can be healthy and carry out the plans he has for my life. I cherish my health and am thankful for the gift he gave me to reach others through fitness. Trust me when I tell you, if you are a fitness instructor than he planned for you to represent Him in this matter. You must change your focus if you truly want to help others make lifestyle changes. The focus must shift from extrinsic (coming or operating from the outside) to intrinsic (motivated from Christ within you).

Embracing God’s Purpose...

     I want to encourage you to accept the gift God has given you by sharing the following story. Last December, after pondering the meaning of Christmas, I desired to give someone a gift; expecting nothing in return. After several days of praying about who would be the recipient, God brought to mind a lady that I had just met in one of my Psychology classes. She had recently lost a son in a tragic farming accident. Being a mother of two boys myself, my heart ached for her so I knew she could use some encouragement, but in what form? I barely knew her so I had no idea what to get her or much less how she would feel about a near stranger giving her a gift. So I prayed once more for God to show me the answer and He brought to mind some money that I had set aside to go shopping. Now anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I love to go shopping and I admit I asked God more than once if He was sure that I was supposed to use my shopping money for the gift. Much to my dismay, he said “Yes” every time further clarifying that I was supposed to use the full amount holding none back for even a little shopping spree. Oh well! Being obedient, I purchased a Macy’s gift card (for the full amount) and began penning her note of how much God loved her, words she needed to hear so desperately, and that she was to use the gift card on herself.

     Driving to school, I began to feel excited about giving it to her. I anticipated her reaction and felt good about the temporary joy that I hope to bring by the shopping spree and even more importantly the confirmation of Christ’s love for her. Then a small quiet voice whispered, “pray that she will accept the gift”. What?! Now why would anyone in their right mind refuse a shopping card, yes, a fruit cake maybe, but a shopping card- I must have heard that wrong! But I began praying anyway. I was saddened when I thought of her rejecting the gift. I realized it wasn't the actual gift she would be rejecting but me and ultimately what Christ wanted her to know. “Is this how you feel God when I reject you and don’t accept the gifts you have given me?” Tears gushed from my broken spirit as I reflected on the times that I have rejected Him either by misusing, refusing or misrepresenting the gifts he has so graciously bestowed upon me.

     God has given you a special gift to reach others through fitness. In Luke 2:52 “Jesus grew in wisdom (mind), stature (body), and favor with God (soul) and man.” If we are to be like Christ, then our purpose here on this earth is to grow like him. Furthermore, we are to train others to be like him, too. Before Jesus ascended up into heaven he left us with the commission to go and make disciples of all nations and to teach everything he commands. As the saying goes, before we can become good teachers, we have to become good students. Remember that word I asked you to recall when it came to describe your body? Was your first thought GIFT?

     For all of you who are blessed with the GIFT to help others become fit, I pray that you truly grasp how God has fashioned you for this very moment to be His representation of what it means to be Faithfullyfit!

     By the way, I was overjoyed when my classmate accepted my gift. What a glorious feeling when we embrace the works that he has planned for us ahead of time!

Faithfullyfit! Healthy in mind, body, and soul,
Donna Wilken
CEO
Christian Aerobic Resource, Inc.