Weight Training

Monday night Len and I met with Ron, our personal trainer at SuperFitness to begin our weight training regiment. Ron is a retired school teacher of 35 years, teaching health and physical fitness. A really super guy and definitely one of those teachers you wish you would have had when you were in school. Something that stuck with me from our first session is that diet, cardio and weight training all work together for the best health program. Ron mentioned that if you just use one or two of them you won't get the best overall benefits. Diet provides the fuel into the body, cardio provides the conditioning to go the distance and weights provide the strength it takes to endure.
A great bonus from using cardio and weight training is that when you rest after doing both you will burn calories twice as long.

While talking with my friend Gwen about this a correlation occurred to me between our new disciplines and our spiritual life. When we receive a message from the Word of God either by preaching or devotional times, it provides us fuel (diet) for our walk with God. Getting involved in serving is like cardio helping to condition us so we can go the distance. Finally, being involved in a Small Group will offer you strength for the distance. The verse Ecclesiastes 4:9 comes to mind:
"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed."

I hope you're getting the proper diet, cardio and weight training for both your body and your spiritual life.

Discipline

My husband, Len, and I have committed to change our lifestyle disciplines. Namely, eating and exercise habits. It's challenging and some days are harder than others. We are in the 4th week of our new program. Fortunately, we are reaping some of the benefits already it brings us together more, we are eating healthier, dropping some weight, and feeliing better. Oh there's aches and pains and sometimes complaining going on...I think that's normal. No one likes change no matter how often you go through it. It's still difficult to embrace.

It's always difficult when you first begin to change disciplines. You seem to be working on everything you do. You realize what a mess you were and see that priorities must change and this is difficult work.

I see how that can relate in our intimate walk with God too. You must set your mind to rethinking how to live your life before God. Old patterns have to be broken and your priorities must change. You find that you must process life through a different filter. You know the outcome is going to be better but you're experiencing some aches and pains in the process.

Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern 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.

Your not alone or the only one going through the aches and pains of change. We may be at different levels but we're all in the process.
Don't give up, stay encouraged and press on.