Is Weight Loss a Spiritual Act of Worship?

I am a personal trainer and fitness instructor by trade.  I know if you have been walking with God for long, you ponder your purpose in your career.  You may as I do, wonder how to do what you do unto the Lord.  I believe we are called to take care of our bodies.  We are to "tend to" the temple of the Holy Spirit.  If our body is the place where the God of the universe has chosen to place His Spirit by the death of His Son, I believe we are to take care of the temple just as the priest of the Old Testament were charged with the care and keeping of the ACTUAL building.

We do not need to worship our bodies, nor be spending countless hours measuring, weighing and counting calories.  Instead we need to have a change in perspective.  We need to change the way we look at food.  We have to make a LIFESTYLE change NOT go on another diet.  Diets work temporarily!  The reason they do not work long term is that when you loose the weight, we return to the way we ate before.  But that is the thing that got us into the shape we were in before.  So not only do we gain our pounds back, but they typically bring friends and we gain even more.

We also need to put exercise into our lives.  This is not for the purpose of weight loss but for overall wellness.  We need to be a BODY IN MOTION!!!  If we can get at least 15 minutes per day of cardio where we get our heart rates up, that is a great starting place.  Increase the 15 minutes to more over time. We need to exercise for our heart, for our joints, for our muscles and for overall wellness.  We need to do it so we can be stronger and able to accomplish more with the time we have been given, and so the Lord's instrument is working at its optimum level for His sake.  Work OUT Guideline for Cardio from my blog  This is not saying that if you have a disability or health issues that God cannot use you.  I am just saying we need to take care of what we have.  God can use anyone who is available and surrendered to Him.

We also need to spend time to nourish our spirit.  We need a quiet time where we meet with Jesus.  We need to read The Word, pray and sit quietly in fellowship with Him by His Spirit.  I believe that in our emptiness we long to be satisfied by Him, and when we are not spending the intentional time with Him, we get famished.  Out of our starvation for God, we begin to fill it with anything else we can find.  Some may fill it with food, another with alcohol and even another may exercise to excess or work too much.  There are many ways to try to fill up our emptiness.  But it never really satisfies us, and we are left with the consequences of the excess (like over weight, alcoholism, repetitive use injuries, or estranged relationships.)

So as you read this today and you say yep that struck a nerve, then maybe today you can take one step to make a change today.  I do not recommend doing all three at one time, but I do suggest you take one today.

Have a blessed day and serve the Lord today by taking care of His precious dwelling place which is YOU!

Where is the Hope?

The weight of the current state of the world  is so heavy upon me.  I cannot fully get into words what heaviness I am feeling lately and why.  The words I share here may make little to no sense, but I am going to try to deliver this as clearly as I can.

There seems to be a hopelessness not just in the world but in the body of Christ as well.  I have had discussions about the seemingly ineffectiveness of the body.  Discussion of how children raised in the church are leaving it for the things of the world, and how what the world is selling is drawing many away.  Hypocrisy in the body is stated as the number one reason for the departure or the refusal to accept Christ, and how the  world is having such a decaying effect on the Christians.

So do we say " We should do nothing?"  Of course not.

So we say "How is it my fault that others are turned off by the gospel message?"

Maybe we need to ask "Are we just doing a religious activity, and are we just going thru the motions in hopes that the motions will be enough?"

What we need is to be growing in the knowledge of who God is and growing in our love for Him and others.  Lets do this thing called Christianity with the hope that it will grow us in relationship with God so we may know Him more and become His reflection to the world through the way we live our lives.

I believe we are responsible if we are causing others to stumble.  I think it ought to grieve our spirit if our actions cause another to look away from Jesus because of us saying we are Christian yet live however we want or even contrary to His Word.  The life we live is not our own.  We are to "go" and make disciples not turn people off from the message of the gospel.  I am not talking about perfection.  I am talking about living in a manner in which honors God so that when others observe our lives, they will grow in a desire for Him.  What if we lived in such a way that others became hungry and thirsty for Christ.

Shame on us if we do not care if we turn off others to the gospel message.  Will you join me today and say in as much as it is possible with me, I am going to live my life to honor God.  Not that it will be perfect, but that when you err, you go back and make it right.

Maybe if we will each do our part, the world will see the hope that is in the "Good News" by the way we live our lives.  The good news which is the gospel, and by this perhaps the depressing state of the world can change for the better.  Will you be part of that change?

Be blessed!

A way to help you accomplish your resolution (Old post revised)

How is your New Year's resolution working for you?  For those who made exercise and weight loss part of your New Year's Resolution, I have a guideline that may help you get a jump start.  It is merely a suggestion and by no means an absolute.  However, if you will take all or part of the guideline and apply it, you will find accomplishing your resolution more attainable.   Now I suggest at the minimum 3 - 4 days per week.  If you cannot do the 7 days, combine the belly blast as a follow up on the walking days.  This is the minimum standards and as you conquer these, feel free to add on time and speed as needed.  All you will need is a stop watch and a place to walk.  I find the treadmill is the easiest for me.


Day 1 – Steady Speed Walk – 20 min

Day 2 – Belly Blast – 15 min

Day 3 – Interval Walk – 15 min

Day 4 – Rest   (this ideally could be Sunday)

Day 5 – Steady Speed Walk - 20 min

Day 6 – Belly Blast – 15 min

Day 7 – Interval Walk – 15 min



Steady Speed Walk

Warm up - 3 – 3.5 mph – 3 min

Cardio Walk – 3.5-4 mph – 15 min

Cool down – 3 mph – 2 min

Interval Walk

Warm up – 3-3.5 mph – 3 min

Cardio Walk – 3.5 -4 mph – 1 min

Speed Walk – 4+mph – 30 sec

Repeat Cardio and Speed walk 5 more times

Cardio Walk 3.5-4mph – 1 min

Cool down – 3-3.5 mph – 2 min

Belly Blast

Combine ab with arms and leg exercises

If you want to add another dimension to your experience, motivate yourself from a spiritual perspective.  If you look at the Old Testament and study the commands to take care of the temple and then in the New Testament we are told our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, I believe a study on the care and keeping of the temple is in order.