Since 2009
THE PRAYFIT DEVOTION
Glory By Way of Pain
"May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do." --2 Thessalonians 1:11
Read: 2 Thessalonians 1 Do me a favor and hold your breath for a couple seconds while you read along. I'll let you know when to exhale. Ready? (Deep breath.) "Well," he said while reading my medical chart. "I want you to do more. Let's push it a little. You're ready." (You can breathe now). And so can I.
Like you, I held my breath yesterday at my latest check-up. As if in a cage, I paced back and forth from one side of the room to the other. Waiting, praying, hoping. Thirteen months since I first began treatment. And sure enough, by God's grace alone, I'm healing; so much so that I've been given permission to do more.
What are you going through today? Are you struggling physically? Do you need God's healing hand, an encouraging word, an intentional prayer? We want to know so we can pray for you. List whatever you want us to pray with you about in the comment section. If you'd rather, go ahead and list "unspoken" and we will most certainly pray. We want for you what's happened in our own life. Like our passage today says, "May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do." (v.11)
Oh, and as I left the office, my doctor asked me about PrayFit. Sentimental me, I got choked up as I told him about some church visits on the East coast in a few weeks. He reached out his hand and shook mine saying, "Call me from the road if you need me."
Color Peña gone. Glory by way of pain.
--Jimmy Peña
WHEY BETTER RESULTS IN 2013 If you've made the effort to step up workouts this year -- perhaps with one of our at-home workout DVDs -- you'll need to make sure that you're rebuilding muscle optimally. Most of this can be achieved through proper nutrition but adequate protein consumption is vital. As you train, muscle fibers are ravaged. It is only during the aftermath that they use amino acids to rebuild themselves stronger for the next session. And that's why whey protein should be a staple of your pantry arsenal. This fast-digesting -- and usually great-tasting -- powder gives ailing muscles all they need to get back on the mend. Click the link below for more info!
Breathless
"...weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head..." -Luke 7:38
Read: Luke 7
Back in graduate school, we had our share of underwater weighing assignments. Underwater weighing is regarded as the most valuable tool at determining body composition. However, in order for the subject to be seen accurately, it takes an extreme amount of effort and courage on the part of the person being tested. See, as you're lowered into the water, you have to empty your lungs, breathing out every drop of air possible.
The woman in Luke 7 defied ridicule and disregarded the rules to do one thing: to pour everything she had at His feet. Broken, she just had to break free and nothing was going to stop her from seeing her Lord. After her tears cleaned His feet and her hair dried them, she courageously emptied her alabaster bottle of valuable perfume for Jesus to breathe in.
Friends, don't miss it today. When we're empty, we allow Him to see us. When we breathe it all out, He breathes it all in. If only for today, let's pour our health at His feet like perfume and tears. Lord, here is all our praise, expressed from the top of our lungs.
--Jimmy Peña
EXERCISE IN DEPTH: The Plank
Appropriate for today is our exercise of choice: the plank. This exercise has no movement whatsoever but has plenty going on. The plank primarily works the muscle called the transverse abdominis -- the muscle most responsible when we breathe out air. Try it, as you read this sentence, take a deep breath and then blow out as much as possible. Keep going....keep breathing out....feel that? Well, that muscle ache deep in your gut is exactly that, deep in your gut. In fact, the transverse abdominis is highly responsible for the strength of your spine and helps prevent low back pain. The stronger the transverse abdominis, the better your posture and the more likely you are to enjoy abundant low back health. Try it. Each day, shoot for a longer plank time. Here's how to get it right:
Plank | Focus: Core, abs, lower back Lie facedown on the floor with your body straight and forearms resting on the floor. Slowly press your body up off the floor onto your forearms and toes. Keep your abs pulled in tight and your back flat while holding this position.