Short & Sweet: Shadow of His Wings

Nourishment for the Soul

Be Merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
Until these calamities have passed by.
I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
Psalm 57:1-3
David wrote this Psalm while he was fleeing from King Saul. Where did David take refuge? In the shadow of God’s wings. It is very comforting to me to know that I am safe in the very shadow of His wings. Think of it …  He is so powerful and holy, His shadow keeps me safe.
What does it truly mean to hide in the shadow of His wings? I was talking this over with God earlier this week. What does hiding in the shadow of Your wings look like? God’s answer came to me: obedience. Obedience leads to protection; it is taking the truth of God’s Word and acting on it.  When I am obedient, I follow exactly in the footsteps of Jesus, so close that I walk in His very shadow… the shadow of His wings. When I am in the shadow of His wings, I can live my life boldly and courageously because I know my God has me covered.
What do we do when we are in the shadow of His wings? We continue to live, breath, serve, minister, fight, stand, pray, love, and rejoice.

Action Points:

  1.  What calamities are you facing right now? Are you hiding in the shadow of His wings or are you just hiding?
  2. What steps of obedience do you need to take today?
  3. Pray and ask God to help you access the strength and power He has already provided for your victory over this situation.

Life is sweet.

http___signatures.mylivesignature.com_54493_129_D5D820C2A0F89154063869217CF282DC




Scripturegraphics: Tribulation to Glory by Mary Kane

Romans 5-3-5 JPGAs Christians, tribulation is a part of our daily walk upon this earth. Often we think because we are doing God’s work we should be exempt from trials and tribulation. God does not want us to fear tribulation, but to walk through it knowing  He will use it to produce great glory. How do we go from tribulation to glory? By the power and grace of God. To do the Scripturegraphic study, Tribulation to Glory, please click on the link below.

Tribulation to Glory




1 Thessalonians A Life of Faith, Part 1: Grace and Peace

 

Peace out. Peace on earth. Peace of mind.

What comes to your mind when you think of peace? According to www.globalissues.org, the world spends about $2 trillion dollars every year to keep the peace. We only have to listen to the news for a few moments to realize that our peace plan is ineffective. A life of peace cannot be bought with earthly currency; it is only purchased through faith by the blood of Christ. The world continues to rage, and we continue to face hardships and challenges. But when we live a life of faith, God gives us His grace so we can live in peace with Him.

To do today’s Bible study, please click on the link below;

1 Thessalonians, A Life of Faith: Grace and Peace




Boost Your Faith and Your Fitness in Seven Weeks

Header JPEG

Sign Up Today!

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

  1. 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 …
  2. 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 …
  3. 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 Smoothiesmoothie photo

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!




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!     thumbnail

 

 

 

Everyday Fit Food Challenge

Simple Sustenance Today we’re going to concentrate on salads. Autumn is a wonderful Micro greenstime 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!




Faith & Fit: Week 6, Lesson 1

W6, L1 copy
.

 

 

 

We are so glad you are back for Week 6, Lesson 1 of Faith & Fit, Make 3 Meals! Let us encourage you to persevere. Keep studying, and moving. You are laying up treasure in heaven where neither moth or rust can destroy. You are 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 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 Everyday Faith Bible study!

                             Week 6, Lesson 1 Bible Study

 

Everyday Fit Physical Challenge:

Beginner Level: Today make it your goal to walk for 45 minutes or two miles. Walk at a pace that you are comfortable with and that you are still able to carry on a conversation. How are you feeling on your walks? As always, check with your doctor before beginning any physical workout to be sure you are up for the challenge! For those of you who are interested in burning more belly fat while you’re walking, here’s an interesting plan from Prevention Magazine that you can download if you’d like to.

Experienced Level: Today make it your goal to jog or ride your bike for 45 minutes. Jog 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!

Are you ready for push-ups with Coach Dan? Try these once a day.

 

.
Rainy day? No worries! Please click on the link below for a challenging indoor workout with Leslie Sansone!

thumbnail

4 Fast Miles!

 

 

Everyday Fit Food Challenge:

Make Three Meals

Today for Make Three Meals, we’d like you to take the time to eat three healthy meals, and it’s even better if you can sit down with your family for those meals, like we talked about in Week 4. Whether we’re busy with work or home duties, too many Americans tend to skip meals and eat haphazardly. When I was in Europe many years ago, meal time was a thing to be celebrated and enjoyed with family and friends. If you enjoy cooking and want to take some time to prepare the meal, that’s wonderful. If you need help locating fast, healthy meals, just click on the link. Feel free to share what any of your meals looked like today.

Extra Faith:

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

There’s much to mull over in this article Jesus’ Rhythm of Life. It explores the secret of Jesus’ ministry and how he practiced spiritual disciplines while He was on earth.

 

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!  Try Dan’s videos once a day. Let’s go!

Please be blessed by Day Six of Dan’s Body Mind Spirit series. Again, you can do these once a day.

Let us know how you’re doing today. Share in the post below or on our Faith & Fit Facebook page.