Boost Your Faith and Your Fitness in Seven Weeks

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Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 John: 2

Have you ever wanted to step out in faith for a work you felt God was calling you to do yet felt that something was holding you back?

It can be frustrating trying to figure out what you’re missing. Over the years Mary and I have discovered a few things that it takes to be an effective worker for God’s kingdom.

Three Important Steps

Availability. God tells us in 2 Chronicles 16:9a “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” God is watching for people who are willing to be used so He can work through them. Mary and I realize the importance of watching for those opportunities that Jesus brings your way. That doesn’t mean you sign up for every opportunity, but for the ones God has prepared in advance for you to do. Knowing what those are takes …
Prayer. Prayer should be the foundation for everything we do, including any new works we are considering. We need to pray that God will reveal whether we should be involved and that we will know how to proceed. I like to pray that God will open the doors I should walk through and close the ones I should not. It also helps to be in good …
Physical health. As much as we can control it, we need to make wise choices concerning our fitness and health so that we aren’t limited when Jesus comes calling. Now that’s not to say He can’t use us if we have a chronic illness. What we’re thinking about here is protecting our physical health to the best of our ability by taking care of ourselves.

Seven-Week Online Bible Study/Fitness Challenge

We are excited to announce a 7-week online Bible study and fitness challenge called Faith & Fit that combines all of these things. Will this solve all your challenges? No, but it will jump-start you on the road to spiritual and physical health to help prepare you for what God has next in your life!

Here is what to expect: Every week we will follow a theme for that week, and you will receive two emails, one on Monday morning and one on Friday morning that contain the following:

• Two Everyday Faith challenges (a short video teaching and scripture reading and study questions) and
• Two Everyday Fit challenges (a physical challenge and a food challenge)

• Extra Faith and Extra Fit options for those who have more time and want to integrate a spiritual discipline and a target fitness video.

How It Works

When you receive Monday’s email, work on those challenges from Monday-Thursday. Early Friday morning you will receive the second email. Work on those challenges on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Every Wednesday evening we will have a live Community Call on Talk Shoe to discuss the previous week’s work.

We’d love to have you join us in this study; as a matter of fact, you can sign up right now. NOTE!! If you do not have a PayPal account you may still sign up by following these instructions:

1. Choose the option that says Have a PayPal account?

2. Ignore the email and PayPal password fields and hit the login button

3. After you hit the login button a new tab should pop up below that offers the option of paying with a credit or debit card or Bill Me Later.

In addition to the all the above, we’ll also include some recipes that Mary and I have created made with healthy ingredients that taste good, because we think that good health should be fun too. Here’s a sneak peek at one of the recipes to have as an occasional treat.
Tropical Sunrise Smoothie

I cup yogurt (Greek or regular), plain
2 oranges, seeds removed
1/2 lemon juiced
1 banana sliced into chunks
2 wedges cantaloupe sliced into chunks
Coconut water as needed (look for this in cartons in the Gatorade aisle)
Ice cubes to your liking

Juice the lemon first and pour it in the blender. Add all the other ingredients and process until smooth. Serves two. (If you are diabetic, this recipe may be too high in sugar for you.)

You’ll also have access to a private Facebook Faith & Fit page to post your workouts, share your successes and challenges, and share your prayer requests and encouragement.

What do you have to lose, except some bad habits? : ) Grab your Mom, sister, friends, or yourself and sign up today. We begin on Monday, September 8. Hope to see you there!

Free One-Week Workout! by Mary Kane

One-Week Header

One-Week Workout! a free seven-day Bible study and fitness activities designed to challenge you spiritually and physically! Starting July 19th, log on to Only by Prayer , click on the One-Week Workout! post, do the provided Bible study work and a workout on the post page, or an exercise routine of your own. You are on your way to greater physical and spiritual health. If you missed the start date you may easily join in at any time!

Faith & Fit: Week 6, Lesson 2

We are so glad you have joined us for Week 6, Lesson 2 Make Three Meals of our journey to greater spiritual and physical health! Listed below is your Faith & Fit work for today. Please click on the links or the play buttons to access each resource! Remember to leave a comment about your experience at the Speak Your Mind section at the bottom of the page. In Christ, we can grow stronger. Let’s do it!

Everyday Faith Teaching Video:

Everyday Faith Bible Study

Please click on the link below to access Week6, Lesson 2.

Week 6, Lesson2 Bible Study

Everyday Fit Physical Challenge:

Week 6, Lesson 2

We are focusing on a simple exercise that almost everyone can do: walking. You can choose to walk indoors or outdoors. Weather permitting, my preference is to be outdoors enjoying the fresh air and sunshine (get that Vitamin D!). We will also give you options to supplement with some other types of exercise in Extra Fit for those who would like to.
For those of you who prefer to walk indoors, you can use a treadmill, or I would recommend Leslie Sansone’s Walking DVDs. Her DVDs are available for purchase in stores like Target and Walmart, on her website, for live streaming on Walk TV , and some for free on YouTube and on her site when you sign up (free) for her Walk Social Club.

One fun way to track your walking is to use a pedometer and aim for a certain number of steps per day. The American Heart Association recommends 10,000 steps each day. We will work up to that. Ten thousand steps is approximately 5 miles, but that is based on an average stride being 2.5 feet. Your total may differ from that based on the length of your stride.
Pedometers can be found in just about any sports or discount store and range in price from about $10 to $125 for more elaborate ones with additional features. I use a Fitbit to track my steps each day. It also tracts flights of stairs climbed, calories burned, miles walked, hours slept, and the time. It also allows me to set a silent, vibrating alarm. It syncs with an website, which includes many more features.

Basic Walking Guidelines

Begin your walk with a warm up. This basically means start walking slowly for a few minutes, giving your body time to warm up. Save any stretching for the end of your walk, as you should not stretch cold muscles. If you have body parts that are very tense and need to be stretched before your main walk, do your warm-up first and then stretch them. You should also still follow your walk with a stretch at the end.

The Walking Site has some wonderful stretches for walkers, and here is a link to their stretching page.
As you are walking, walk tall, pull in your stomach and tighten your bottom.
When you have finished your exercise for the day, be sure to let the Faith and Fit group know by posting on our Facebook page. Great job!

Beginner Level Exercise:

For Day 13, we are going to set the goal of walking 2 miles or the rough equivalent of 4000 steps. If you wear a pedometer all day long, this is in addition to the total that is already showing on your pedometer. So, when it is time to log your walk, check your pedometer and note how many steps/miles you have already walked that day. Add 4000 steps or 2 miles to that total and begin walking. When you get to that total you may stop. If you are fairly fit and would rather choose the goal of two miles, then aim for 4000 steps on your pedometer or another 2 miles on the total. How have you done with your walking/exercising? If you have time, please go to our Facebook page and let us know what you have accomplished.

Let’s change things up this week by adding weights to our walk.

You can do this a few different ways:

Purchase wrist weights that slip over your hands like bracelets.
Purchase small weights that you just hold in your hand.
Purchase weight gloves.

You can simply carry these weights while you are walking, or you can engage your muscles more by actually doing some presses or curls. See this one minute video to give you a few ideas for your next walk.

Experienced Level: Today make it your goal to walk for 60 minutes. Walk at a pace you are comfortable with and that your are able to carry on a conversation. By the end of your walk you should be sweaty and tired but not exhausted. As always, check with your doctor before beginning any physical workout to be sure you are up for the challenge!

For an extra challenge try jogging today! If you have never jogged before set your goal for walk a half mile jog for a half mile. If you are an experienced jogger run your usual route and up it by a half mile! you can do it!

Lower Body Focus Day Six with Coach Dan!Let’s do it!

Rainy Day? Too hot? No worries! click on the link below for a great indoor workout with Leslie Sansone!

Five Fast Miles!

Everyday Fit Food Challenge:

Make Three Meals

Today I’d like to share this link to a two-week menu plan from Clean Eating Magazine. It’s one of my favorite food magazines, and you can buy it at the grocery store, book store, or Whole Foods. This menu plan will take you through our last two weeks with its wonderful meals all planned out for you. Take a look — you’re sure to see something you want to try. Keep up the good work, and let us know if you try any of these recipes.

Extra Faith:

Need a little extra spiritual challenge added to your day? Take advantage of the following resources!

Today I’d like to share a link I found for a free e-booklet from Stormie Omartian called The Seven-Day Prayer Warrior Experience. I’ve recently downloaded it myself, so I haven’t read it yet, but I’ve read several of her other prayer books and have loved them. I hope this encourages you in your prayer life and interceding for others!

Extra Fit

Need an extra challenge? Get your abs in shape with Team Beachbody Coach and Founder of Team Let’s Go Fitness at Dan Vukmirovich. Dan’s videos are short, effective and productive! Let’s go!

Remember, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13). Keep up the good work and let us know about your progress on our Facebook page.

Faith & Fit: Week 5, Lesson 2

We are so glad you have joined us for Week 5, Lesson 2, Water Week, of our journey to greater spiritual and physical health. Jane and I are praying God’s peace and grace over you this day. Listed below is your Faith & Fit work for today. Please click on the links or the play buttons to access each resource. Remember to leave a comment about your experience at the Speak Your Mind section at the bottom of the page. In Christ, we can grow stronger. Let’s do it!

Everyday Faith Teaching Video:

Everyday Faith Scripture Reading

To access Everyday Faith Scripture Reading for Day Twelve, please click the link below:

Week 5, Lesson 2 Scripture Reading

Everyday Fit Physical Challenge:

Water Week

For week 5 we have been focusing focus on a simple exercise that almost everyone can do: walking. You can choose to walk indoors or outdoors. Weather permitting, my preference is to be outdoors enjoying the fresh air and sunshine (get that Vitamin D!). We will also give you options to supplement with some other types of exercise in Extra Fit for those who would like to.
For those of you who prefer to walk indoors, you can use a treadmill, or I would recommend Leslie Sansone’s Walking DVDs. Her DVDs are available for purchase in stores like Target and Walmart, on her website, for live streaming on Walk TV , and some for free on her site when you sign up (free) for her Walk Social Club.

Basic Walking Guidelines

Beginner Level Exercise:

For the rest of this week, we are going to set the goal of walking 1.5 miles or the rough equivalent of 3000 steps. If you wear a pedometer all day long, this is in addition to the total that is already showing on your pedometer. So, when it is time to log your walk, check your pedometer and note how many steps/miles you have already walked that day. Add 3000 steps or 1.5 miles to that total and begin walking. When you get to that total you may stop. If you are fairly fit and would rather choose the goal of two miles, then aim for 4000 steps on your pedometer or another 2 miles on the total.

Coach Dan has Day Five Lower Body Focus all ready for us! Let’s do it! Try this once every day.

Rainy Day? Too hot? No worries! click on the link below for a great indoor workout with Leslie Sansone!

Five Fast Miles!

Everyday Fit Food Challenge:

Water Week

Today we will look at an article on the importance of water during exercise. The page also links to several other articles on water as well. An important factor I want to point out is that if you are buying your water in plastic bottles, you need to be sure that the plastic is marked as being BPA-free. Here’s an article on BPA so you understand the possible danger it presents.

Extra Faith:

Need a little extra spiritual challenge added to your day? Take advantage of the following resources!

I love this YouTube video by the Salvation Army on prayer walking. What a great idea for our Faith & Fit study!

Extra Fit

Need an extra challenge? Get your abs in shape with Team Beachbody Coach and Founder of Team Let’s Go Fitness at Dan Vukmirovich. Dan’s videos are short, effective and productive! Let’s go! Try these once every day.

Remember to post on our Facebook page or at the bottom of this page!

Faith & Fit: Week 2, Lesson 2 Sans Sugar

W@, L@

We are so glad you are back for Week 2, Lesson 2 of Faith & Fit: Sans Sugar. Let us encourage you to persevere! Keep studying, and moving. You are laying up treasure in heaven where neither moth or rust can destroy and establishing healthy habits. Don’t give up! Jesus is walking with you every step of the way. Listed below is your Faith & Fit work for today. Please click on the links or the play buttons to access each resource. Remember to leave a comment about your experience in the Speak Your Mind section at the bottom of the page. In Christ, we can grow stronger. Let’s do it!

Everyday Faith Teaching Video:

Everyday Faith Scripture Reading:

To access Everyday Faith Day Week 2, Lesson 2 Bible study, please click the link below!

Week 2, Lesson 2 Bible Study

Everyday Fit Physical Challenge:

Beginner Level: Today make it your goal to walk for 1 mile. Walk at a pace that you are comfortable with and that you are still able to carry on a conversation. As always, check with your doctor before beginning any physical workout to be sure you are up for the challenge! For more information please read the following article on how to begin a walking program: Walking Program.

Do you want an indoor video for today? This one-mile walk with Leslie Sanson will challenge you!

Walk N’ Tone With Leslie Sansone

Experienced Level: Today make it your goal to walk or ride your bike for 45 minutes. Walk or ride at a pace you are comfortable with and that your are able to carry on a conversation. By the end of your walk/ride you should be sweaty and tired but not exhausted. As always, check with your doctor before beginning any physical workout to be sure you are up for the challenge! Let’s join Coach Dan for Day Two of Lower Body Focus!

Rainy Day? Too hot? No worries! click on the link below for a great indoor workout with Leslie Sansone!

Five Fast Miles!

Everyday Fit Food Challenge:

Sans Sugar:

Earlier this week, we started talking about the harmful effects of sugar. We continue that topic with an article by Dr. Sears who explains the damage that excess sugar can cause to children.

Here’s a possible menu that I curated from several sources.

Breakfast : Frittatinis – Try making the night before for breakfast for the fam! (This would also work for lunch or dinner too.) This comes from Sara Wilson’s I Quit Sugar blog.

Lunch: Grilled Parmeson Tomatoes. This is from Dr. Perlmutter’s Grain Brain Cookbook that we featured in our Week 2, Lesson 1 post. See the recommended reading section.

Dinner: Grass-fed Beef Stew in Crockpot. This is also from Dr. Perlmutter’s Grain Brain Cookbook.

Extra Faith:

Need a little extra spiritual challenge added to your day? This week we’ve been talking about a gentle, quiet spirit. Today we’ll continue that with a podcast recorded with Lysa TerKeurst (of Proverbs 31 ministry) on Family Life Today with Dennis Rainey called Imperfect Progress.

Extra Fit

Need an extra challenge? Get your abs in shape with Team Beachbody Coach and Founder of Team Let’s Go Fitness at Dan Vukmirovich. Dan’s videos are short, effective and productive! Let’s go!

Don’t forget to post below or on our Facebook page any questions, workout information, recipes, prayer requests, and encouragement to others.

Blessings and congratulations on Week 2, Lesson 2!

Faith & Fit: Week 1, Lesson 2

W1 L2

We are so glad you have joined us for Week 1, Lesson 2, on our journey to greater spiritual and physical health! Listed below is your Faith & Fit work for today. Please click on the links or the play buttons to access each resource. Remember to leave a comment about your experience at the Speak Your Mind section at the bottom of the page or on our Facebook page. In Christ, we can grow stronger! Let’s do it!

Everyday Faith Teaching Video:

Everyday Faith Bible Study

Please click on the link below to access the Everyday Bible study!

Week 1, Lesson 2 Bible Study

Everyday Fit Physical Challenge:

Simple Sustenance Lesson 2 For these seven weeks, we are going to focus on a simple exercise that almost everyone can do: walking. You can choose to walk indoors or outdoors. Weather permitting, my preference is to be outdoors enjoying the fresh air and sunshine (get that Vitamin D!). We will also give you options to supplement with some other types of exercise in Extra Fit for those who would like to. For those of you who prefer to walk indoors, you can use a treadmill, or I would recommend Leslie Sansone’s Walking DVDs. Her DVDs are available for purchase in stores like Target and Walmart, on her website, for live streaming on Walk TV , and some for free on her site when you sign up (free) for her Walk Social Club. One fun way to track your walking is to use a pedometer and aim for a certain number of steps per day. The American Heart Association recommends 10,000 steps each day. We will work up to that. Ten thousand steps is approximately 5 miles, but that is based on an average stride being 2.5 feet. Your total may differ from that based on the length of your stride.

Pedometers can be found in just about any sports or discount store and range in price from about $10 to $125 for more elaborate ones with additional features. I use a Fitbit to track my steps each day. It also tracts flights of stairs climbed, calories burned, miles walked, hours slept, and the time. It also allows me to set a silent, vibrating alarm. It syncs with an website, which includes many more features. *Update. After destroying two Fitbits in water, I switched to the Misfit Shine. It operates differently than the Fitbit in that it takes into account other exercise than walking toward reaching your goal. It also tracks cycling, soccer, tennis, and swimming, basketball, and sleeping.

Basic Walking Guidelines Begin your walk with a warm up. This basically means start walking slowly for a few minutes, giving your body time to warm up. Save any stretching for the end of your walk, as you should not stretch cold muscles. If you have body parts that are very tense and need to be stretched before your main walk, do your warm-up first and then stretch them. You should also still follow your walk with a stretch at the end. The Walking Site has some wonderful stretches for walkers, and here is a link to their stretching page. As you are walking, walk tall, pull in your stomach and tighten your bottom. When you have finished your exercise for the day, be sure to let the Faith and Fit group know by posting on our Facebook page. Great job!

Beginner Level Exercise:

For Day 2 we will again set the goal of walking 1/2 mile or the rough equivalent of 1000 steps. If you wear a pedometer all day long, this is in addition to the total that is already showing on your pedometer. So, when it is time to log your walk, check your pedometer and note how many steps/miles you have already walked that day. Add 1000 steps or 1/2 mile to that total and begin walking. When you get to that total you may stop. If you are fairly fit and would rather choose the goal of one mile, then aim for 2000 steps on your pedometer or another 1 mile on the total: Walking Program Need an indoor exercise routine? Here’s a Leslie Sansone 1-mile walking video!

Experienced Level: Today, make it your goal to walk or ride your bike for 45 minutes. Exercise at a pace you are comfortable with and are able to carry on a conversation. By the end of your walk/ride you should be sweaty and tired but not exhausted. As always, check with your doctor before beginning any physical workout to be sure you are up for the challenge!

Rainy day? Don’t fret! Click on the link below for a challenging indoor work out with Leslie Sansone!

4 Fast Miles!

Everyday Fit Food Challenge

Simple Sustenance Today we’re going to concentrate on salads. Autumn is a wonderful time to make a salad because there is so much fresh produce around — either from a farmer’s market or your own garden. Did you know that greens are a cool weather crop? They love to grow in cool weather, so fall is the perfect time to plant lettuces, spinach, kale, and other kinds of greens.

If you don’t already have a plot dug up and ready to go, get a pot, fill it with potting soil, and plant your seeds in that. Looking for a fast, and I mean FAST turnaround? Plant micro green seeds. You can plant and harvest these little gems in just 5-10 DAYS! They will even grow indoors in the winter. I love these and plant them in my garden.

Just in case you’re lacking for ideas in the salad department, here’s a link with 101 recipes for salads. Some of them are very creative. So, munch away!

Extra Faith:

Need a little extra spiritual challenge added to your day? Take advantage of the following resources!

As we continue this week with the Simple Sustenance theme, it’s important for us to become clear on our priorities in life. Mary helps us do that with the following post. Take some time to work through the questions she poses in this devotion.

Follow with All of Your Heart

Extra Fit

Need an extra challenge? Get your abs in shape with Team Beachbody Coach and Founder of Team Let’s Go Fitness at Dan Vukmirovich. Dan’s videos are short, effective and productive! Let’s go!

As a bonus we are offering Dan’s Mind Body Spirit Challenge! Let’s go!

Don’t forget to post below or on our Facebook page any questions, workout information, recipes, prayer requests, and encouragement to others. Please introduce yourself.

Blessings and congratulations on Week 1, Lesson 2!

Great job today! See you next week!