Endurance by CJ Hitz

Welcome guest blogger, CJ Hitz

Endurance


Ask athletes in almost any sport and they’ll tell you endurance is one of the most crucial components to being successful. These athletes will also tell you it takes time to build endurance. Yet this key ingredient is often overlooked and underrated…until game day. For it is on game day that a deficiency in endurance is revealed. So what exactly is endurance? Perhaps Webster’s can be of service…

En-dur-ance:

1.) permanence; duration

2.) the ability to withstand hardship or adversity; especially: the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity

3.) the act or an instance of enduring or suffering


In the spring and summer of 2009, I had the privilege of competing in a number of races in the Trail Runner Magazine Trophy Series. I learned by firsthand experience the need to build endurance for these events, ranging from 3.1 miles to over 22 miles on some of the most rugged terrain in the U.S. and Canada. During one long stretch from early May to mid August, I dealt with a couple different nagging calf strains that just didn’t seem to go away. As a result, I began doing some therapy with my good friend Kevin Lewis, a licensed Athletic Trainer in our area. Over time, we noticed gradual improvement and healing which I was so thankful for.

During this tough period of time, I was still able to run races but not at 100% strength, constantly aware that my calf strains could flare up at any time. Specifically, I noticed a gradual decline in my endurance as a result of my need to rest the calves in between races. As my friend George (a 70 year-old running legend) says, “There are no miracles in running!” In other words, if you haven’t deposited the necessary mileage into the bank, you can’t expect to make a large withdrawal on race day. As a runner, it’s absolutely critical to get mileage under your belt if you want to have any chance of finishing well. Grueling uphill & downhill trail races have a way of revealing weakness in a hurry. I’m painfully aware of this reality.

Endurance is also one of the most underrated ingredients in the spiritual life. In Hebrews 12:1-2 we read, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Some of our choices in life serve to ‘injure’ or slow us down when we should be thriving rather than merely surviving. Jesus told us He came to give us life…and life to the FULL. (John 10:10)

My friend George’s wisdom for running holds true in many ways for our spiritual journey. Our life in Christ is more like a marathon rather than a sprint. We build endurance through grueling times of prayer, taking in a steady diet of God’s Word, giving & receiving encouragement from our fellow ‘Christ followers in training’, and recognizing the need to ‘throw off’ the things hindering our progress. By making these necessary ‘mileage deposits’, we can be certain the Lord will multiply our investment and ensure the withdrawal of endurance when our faith is put to the test. James 1:3 states, “…knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”

Finally, as a competitive athlete, it’s important to keep my eyes on the prize. In those times when I was tempted to drop out of a race or the Trophy Series altogether, visualizing myself holding the trophy and getting a write up in Trail Runner served to inject a fresh desire and passion to continue to the end. As a follower of Christ, we are sometimes tempted to give up and drop out of the Race altogether. During these times, it’s absolutely critical to do the following…

Fix our eyes on Jesus…the Grand Prize of all prizes.

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CJ Hitz is an author and speaker with a heart and passion to see people walk closely with Jesus. He and his wife Shelley speak in churches, schools, camps and retreats across the United States and abroad. He's an avid runner, loves the outdoors passionately, enjoys strong coffee, dark chocolate and Mexican food. You can find them at http://www.christianspeakers.tv/

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Too Late to Start Exercising Now? by Laurette Willis

Welcome guest blogger Laurette Willis of PraiseMoves.

Perhaps you haven't exercised in a l-o-n-g time.
Maybe your schedule at work or home demands too much of your time or you simply fell out of the routine. I have good news for you! If you haven't exercised in months, a year or ever—it's never too late to begin making fitness a part of your life.

I know. For most of my life I hated exercise and did not follow a sane food plan. I fought excess weight and overeating since I was a child. As a teenager, I tried lots of kooky diets. I even went on a water fast for 10 days (and believe me, there was nothing spiritual about it; I just wanted to be “skinny”). I became skinny all right. I also developed pneumonia and looked horrible. The weight piled back on shortly thereafter, with an extra 10 pounds on top of it!

After I came to Christ in my late 20s, the Lord delivered me from alcoholism, helped me quit smoking, redeemed my life from the deception of the New Age movement (metaphysics, mysticism and yoga), and brought a loving husband into my life. But overeating and lack of discipline continued to plague me.

“Father,” I prayed, “You have removed so many negative things from my life. Please help me overcome this, too.”

Victory in this area did not come as quickly for me as it did for the other addictions which had held me captive. In fact, the fruit of self-discipline is something I must be conscious of walking in every single day in order to experience the freedom the Lord promises us.

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage (Galatians 5:1).”

For me, freedom from “couch potato-ism” and overeating is a choice I have to determine to “stand fast” in daily. Thankfully, the more I “exercise” self-discipline, asking for God to help me, the more I find myself actually wanting to be more active, eat more healthful food and saner portions.

Do we have to exercise?
Well, that’s up to you. If you want to be what I call a “fit witness” for Christ, have a healthy body (“the temple of the Holy Spirit,” according to 1 Corinthians 6:19), full of energy and strength to do all the Lord is calling you to do, it is certainly advisable.

You may already know some of the problems associated with not exercising:
• weight gain
• decrease in flexibility, strength and balance
• increased blood pressure and cholesterol levels
• aches, pains and other medical issues

Hey! You told me there was good news...
There is!

Even if you've not been consistent in years, beginning some regular exercise now can help in a number of ways:

• reduce the risk of heart disease and osteoporosis
• relieve stress, anxiety and depression
• achieve and maintain a healthy weight and fitness level
• strengthen bones and joints
• strengthen the immune system
• increase energy levels
• decrease risks for various diseases (including diabetes, colon cancer, plus high blood pressure, stroke and degenerative diseases associated with age)

While plastic surgery is only skin deep, exercise benefits us inside and out. Some encouraging news for those of us over 30 years old is that more mature women appear to gain the most benefits from exercise. After the age of 30, the body responds quite well to the overall “tune-up” exercising brings.

So, why don’t we “Just Do It”?

I could tell you all the things the world tells us to do to motivate ourselves—all of which boil down to a Nike-inspired, "Just Do It!"

It's not that easy though, is it? That’s probably why research from Johns Hopkins is predicting that there could be a 75% obesity rate in America by the year 2015.

But we don’t have to be part of that statistic. As Christians, we can lead the charge to change. We can be “fit witnesses” for the Lord, leading others to health in spirit, soul and body through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Does the Bible have answers to help us with weight and exercise? Yes!!!

Galatians 5:22-23 lists the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Patience, faithfulness and self-control are the three fruit of the Spirit I've found most helpful in going from being a "couch potato on a slug-fest marathon" to someone who actually enjoys walking and getting some exercise in every day.

You already know how to yield to the Holy Spirit and the fruit He is developing in your life in some areas.

For example: When someone in line at the grocery store is taking a long time paying for their purchase, you don't throw a wall-eyed fit anymore, do you? You don't stomp your feet, jump up and down and bang your shopping cart into the register, do you? Of course not!

You've learned to yield to the Lord and the fruit of patience. "Okay, I'm letting patience have its perfect work in me. The Word says it's by faith and patience that I inherit the promises of God. All right! I'm up for that!" You may not do that spiffy a job of it, but at least you're trying.

Why not plant some seeds toward developing the fruit of patience, faithfulness and self-control in the area of exercise, too?

Here's an idea:

1. PLAN: Tomorrow—or today—plan to take a brisk walk for 20 minutes. Or do a quick workout (there are several quick exercises and workouts with accompanying scriptures online which you can do at home or the office at my website www.PraiseMoves.com ).

2. TIME: Choose a time you will get some activity in.

3. ASK: Speak to the Lord and ask Him to help you keep your commitment to honor Him by taking good care of your body (the "temple of the Holy Spirit") by doing some physical activity for 20 minutes.

4. DECIDE: Make the decision now that when the time comes to fit the activity in, you will NOT yield to any excuses, but yield to the Lord.

5. YIELD: When the time comes, dedicate the time to the Lord, and go for that walk, Christian Fitness workout, or whatever you've purposed to do.

6. PRAISE: Praise the Lord for His faithfulness to you as you have just begun a new habit. Go through the steps again for the next day, and the day after that.

With time and practice, the fruit of faithfulness, patience and self-control will become more fully developed and you'll find yourself actually looking forward to moving your body and praising the Lord! By giving your time and yourself to the Lord in this way, you’ll find His grace sustains, maintains, contains and retrains us to be all He’s call us to be.

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Laurette Willis ©2009
Christian Fitness Expert and author Laurette Willis is the Director of PraiseMoves® Fitness Ministry, offering fitness programs, DVDs, books and instructor training for those interested in a Christian ALTERNATIVE to yoga, plus fitness for spirit, soul and body at http://praisemoves.com . To follow Laurette on Twitter, please visit http://twitter.com/Fit4Christ, and Facebook at http://facebook.com/people/Laurette-Willis/661158603

How do Physical & Spiritual Fitness go together? by Donna Wilken

Welcome guest blogger Donna Wilken of Christian Aerobic Resource.

Whoever coined the popular expression, “you are what you eat” was a very clever fellow. Physically speaking, we know that everything we put in our mouth will either give life or take life. For example, fruits such as strawberries are an excellent source of potassium which our heart needs to stay strong. On the other hand, processed foods such as doughnuts typically contain more trans fats than any other food which can make the heart sluggish.

In terms of fitness, proper exercise fuels our bodies where as being a couch potato drains it. It’s easy to see in physical terms why it is so important to feed our bodies properly through diet and exercise.

Spiritually speaking, “you are what you eat”, too! I have been thinking a lot about this lately. It seems every new season brings new challenges and with that the battle of the mind rages.
I must admit, my mind is tempted to start feeding on garbage at that point. Even though I know it’s unhealthy to berate my body, I find I need “spiritual” intervention to conquer the negative and sometimes tormenting thoughts. Perhaps you are struggling with your own body image, an addiction, or even sexual temptation. It would be wise to ask yourself one simple question: Are the thoughts and activities that I am feeding on now moving me towards health and vitality or sickness and death? Let’s not be deceived, it’s either one or the other!

I love the Message translation of the following scripture: Romans 11:16

Behind and underneath all this there is a holy, God-planted, God-tended root. If the primary root of the tree is holy, there's bound to be some holy fruit. Some of the tree's branches were pruned and your wild olive shoots were grafted in. Yet the fact that you are now fed by that rich and holy root gives you no cause to crow over the pruned branches. Remember, you aren't feeding the root; the root is feeding you.
Take note! “You are what you eat” whether in mind, body, or soul!

By Donna Wilken
CEO / Christian Aerobic Resource, Inc.
www.faithfullyfit.com

Neck Stretches

I received this in my email inbox and thought it worthy of sharing! Unfortunately, I'm not sure of the original author. But, I thank them for my break for the day!

Physical Fitness by Janet Stobie

Welcome guest blogger, Janet Stobie

Last September, I started on a program of daily physical exercise, just twenty minutes of strengthening and stretching my tummy and leg muscles. I’m happy to report that I’ve lost five pounds – not much over five months, but my joints feel great, loose and supple.

When I told others about my new health regimen, I said, “It’s easy. Tom and I do the exercises together first thing in the morning, in bed.” Everyone laughed. I struggled to explain. The most important part of the program for me is that we do the exercises before breakfast. Exercise on an empty stomach seems to kick-start my sluggish metabolism for the entire day.


Our faith life functions in the same way. For nearly thirty years, I have started each day with God, through prayer, scripture and daily reflection. These exercises get my spiritual being rolling for the day. Similarly to my body, missing intentional exercise for my spirit means I don’t have the strength to resist today’s temptations, the stamina to withstand today’s trials or the gratitude to enjoy today’s gifts.

All you need for this spiritual program is a Bible, preferably one in modern English for ease of understanding, a book of daily reflections, and time. (I also need pen and paper.)

It’s the time that is most difficult.

Thirty years ago, I started getting up a half hour earlier than the rest of our household so that I could have special quiet time with God. At first, it felt like a huge sacrifice. Eventually, that time became a precious gift. Today, as I settle into retirement, once again I struggle with time. Often, I give in to my love for late nights and need to sleep in. I’ve learned that if I don’t start with God, the day disappears and I’ve never got back to my prayer time. My morning reflection time is a sacrifice as well as a precious gift. It’s well worth every single moment.

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35)

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Visit Janet Stobie - Author and Storyteller and check out her books: Spectacular Stella, Can I Hold Him? Christmas Stories for Everyone, and A Place Called Home