Since 2009
THE PRAYFIT DEVOTION
Grace Solves for Why
"But he gives us more grace." --James 4:6
Max Lucado once wrote, "Grace is the voice that calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off." I thought of that last week as my doctor cleared me to start healing on the inside. See, my 14-day check-up was all about wound care -- no MRIs, no CT scans, no surveying his deeper work. He just wanted to make sure that both the scar across my stomach and the one on my back were healing as planned. And as Eric shared with you last week, all looks good. Now it's time to take really good care of what we can't see.
How many of you reading this today are doing just that? You eat right, get your exercise in, take your vitamins. But there's something that's been missing. Something more important. Something...deeper. A show of hands of those that have taken care of the body, but you hear God knocking on the door of your heart, letting you know He misses His time with you. Or maybe the voice inside is urging you to improve your relationship with your spouse, someone at work, or "that" neighbor. Until now, you've shrugged it off. You've done the math and you can't figure out why. Besides, the mirror agrees with you, the money isn't bad, and you suppose, "If that neighbor wants to talk to me -- then, well -- they can come talk to me." But that's what grace is. It's the solution to our toughest equations.
I know sometimes the math of life just doesn't add up. We scratch our heads. We multiply our hurts and subtract our days. We feel divided, because it's not always easy to forgive, or cope, or strive, or to be modest, or patient. But the longer I live, the sweeter the proof is that when you carry the One, grace always solves for why.
--Jimmy Peña
GRACE WEEK This week is all about grace and how our health fits inside its all-encompassing arc. Do you have any questions? Give us your thoughts or post a question and it might make tomorrow's entry. Thanks everyone. Have a great, great week!
WORKOUT OF THE WEEK: Scrambled Legs Tough leg workouts help you improve overall body composition because you are training the largest muscles in your body. And the more muscle you're breaking down, the more recovery needs to take place, the more calories you burn. Strong legs beget strong backs and stronger cores and keep you prepared for everything in life from the stairs at work to running around with the kids in the yard. Here's a routine that you can incorporate to challenge those legs this week.
Total Loss
"For you formed my inward parts. My frame was not hidden from you." --Psalm 139:13, 15
Read: Psalm 139
As a little boy, I spent many a summer day sweeping floors and washing cars at my dad's body shop. I felt right at home amidst the bondo dust and paint fumes -- even though I could often be found asleep in dad's office. But while I didn't pursue the family business, little did I know that the body shop was a great place to learn about grace.
Each day, customers would come in to either pick up their cars or schedule a drop off, but then there were those who came in just for an estimate. They'd wrecked their car or truck, and all they wanted to know was what it would it take to make it good as new. And whether the damage was their own fault or caused by someone else, sometimes dad would have to tell them it was totaled; their car wasn't worth anything. A total loss meant the insurance company wouldn't touch it, and they'd have to pay for it all by themselves.
We've all wrecked our lives in one way or another, be it with work, a relationship or our health. Thankfully, a total loss is no match for the cross. What the world gives no value, He gives grace.
--Jimmy Peña
WORKOUT OF THE WEEK: Abs
With Thanksgiving a few days away, we thought we'd encourage a good midsection training session to begin the week off right! Got 15 minutes? Try this at-home abdominal blitz before you hit the road. Do each exercise to failure before moving on to the next without resting in between. Take a one minute rest only after all the exercises have been performed.
Reverse Crunch Standard Crunch Double Crunch Plank --Rest and repeat as many times in 15 minutes
BONUS! - Click here for exercise descriptions and demonstration videos
>> We start the workout with the reverse crunch which targets the lower abs, since for many of us, the lower abs are our weakest part of the midsection. However, because we're working with just bodyweight, feel free to mix the order up as you see fit. And if you try this workout along with other bodyparts, make sure to do this after your other bodypart moves. Reason being, you want your abs/core fresh to stabilize your body throughout a typical workout. Then you can move on to work your abs and train to fatigue.
A Dangerous Prayer
"Why did we ever leave Egypt?" -Numbers 11:20
Read: Numbers 11
Did you catch it? They actually missed prison. Not long after the Israelites met freedom, they actually longed for captivity. Behind bars they had no choices. As inmates, they had no responsibility. Even though they were trapped, they were warm, cozy, and full. Their prayer for freedom was a dangerous one. Nothing a generation in the desert couldn't answer.
What about us? When was the last time you and I prayed dangerously? About finances, a relationship...our health? See, once they were set free, the Israelites faced the need for obedience and responsibility; so do we. Folks, our bodies are merely tools, not finished products. Better fitness simply means better equipped. It's tough to visit the poor from the couch, and it's impossible to see the hurting in our own mirror. But we're warm, cozy, and full (even if of ourselves). (Note: this should speak to both the fit and the not-so-fit.)
If God allows us the opportunity for better health, what will we do with it? Will we sit? Focus on ourselves? Will we allow a generation to wander before we see health as a means of praise? If so, why did we ever leave Egypt?
Jimmy Peña
STUDY: HIGHER PROTEIN DIETS BETTER FOR BODY COMPOSITION
A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people who consistently consume more calories than they burn each day will lose lean muscle and accumulate body fat more easily if their diets contain too little protein and too much fat and carbohydrates.
The results of the study suggest that the minimum protein intake federal health officials currently recommend -- 46 grams per day for women and 56 grams per day for men -- may not be enough to maintain muscle mass in some people. The study participants needed to consume at least 78 grams of protein per day to avoid losing muscle.
>> For the full story from CNN, click here.
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He's On Watch
"And even the very hairs on your head are numbered." --Matthew 10:30 Parents do the greatest things. I got an email from my Mom this weekend about a bird's nest in the backyard that she and Dad have been keeping an eye on for the last few weeks. Well, I'm happy to announce on their behalf that the lone egg finally hatched. Truly, something that happens in backyards everywhere is the highlight of their week. In fact, my parents are so proud, Dad pulled out his mega-powered telescope from storage so they could watch the little thing. Now mind you, the bird's nest is maybe 10-feet from the back door, but they're using a lens that can detect moisture on the moon. "Honey, come look!" I can just hear them now.
Funny, that little bird has no idea its being watched so closely. And if you'll forgive the comparison, sometimes we forget, too. While God is powerful enough to see beyond time and space, He's focused on our little lives. We're His highlight; under His wing and His watch. Isn't today just like any other day? Not to God.
--Jimmy Peña
UNDERCOVER BOSS
February 25, 2011Read: John 1
"...and He dwelt among us." --John 1:14
I recently saw an advertisement for the show Undercover Boss, where the CEO of a very large company puts on a staff uniform and secretly joins his own working class. From the boardroom to the mail room, the one in charge becomes the one in line. Great concept. What better way to relate to his people than to live among them?
Wait, I think I've read that somewhere before...
--J.P.
WEEK IN REVIEW
>> WORKOUT: Lunge for better legs, glutes
>> HEALTH: Are cold and flu medications really worth it?
>> STUDY: What are the root causes of obesity?
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BACKGROUND CHECK
November 30, 2010Read: John 4
"Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.'" --John 4:10
Earlier this year, I was asked to participate as a fitness consultant on a very popular television show. Along with their invitation came paperwork, questionnaires and a background check. Even though an offer was on the table, and I'd been on this show before, I still had to prove I had the chops. And while I was so honored with the invite, I declined due to several scheduling conflicts and commitments.
What if our relationship with Jesus was dependent on our past? What if our ability to approach God was based on a background check of biblical proportions? If it was, the woman at the well might have sought a different source of water. Paul, Jacob, Peter, me, you...all checkered pasts and spotty resumes; the fallen need not apply.
But we serve an approachable Savior. So don't get held up on the blemishes of your resume. His scars are proof He has all the background on us He'll ever need.
--J.P.
DID YOU KNOW?
According to a new study, over 600,000 people die each year from secondhand smoke; the majority of them children.
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