My heart was pounding, sweat was pouring, as the endorphins from a solid training session began to rush through my body. It was mid-July, the garage door was up, and my kids and wife were stirring about the house. As I was putting away my toys (exercises equipment), I noticed that my 40 pound kettlebell was starting to develop rust on it. My first thought was, “Through our regular encounters, both the kettlebell and I are changing.” That is when it hit me! For sometime, I had felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to share the parallels between faith and fitness. How the two are more similar than we realize. The notion of trusting the process and allowing ourselves to be transformed for the better.

My prayer is that you will find my musings on faith formation and healthy living to be thought provoking and useful in your life. Let’s have fun together as we discuss training, theology, philosophy, and life.

Blessings to you!

Britton

Note: This paritcular writing was inspired by work of Jim Branch, Being With Jesus. The Holy Spirit has used him tremendously to impact the lives of many. My hope is that what the Holy Spirit has stirred up within through Jim’s work brings light to your life.

How many times in our lives do we cry out to God with the afflictions of our hearts. In this prayer, we fear and ask that our will be done, clinging to the life and circumstances we know. When that lifted prayer does come to fruition, as we see it, we despair and have thoughts like, “Did I pray hard enough.” In our heaping up of prayers, we often miss Jesus saying “Do not fear, only believe.” (Mark 5: 36) In God’s time, according to His will, our prayers will be answered. God’s answer is more spectacular than anything we could ever imagine. That which was thought was dead, is brought to new life. In order for us to believe and surrender, we must be brought to the end of ourselves. Forsaking our own strength, and simply relying on the promises of our Lord. He promises to never forsake us. He promises Jehovah Jireh, the Lord provides. In it all, we must surrender our hearts fully to our loving Father.

In the current climate of the world, fear and despair come easy as our minds think of illness, lack, and loss. The Apostle Paul reminds us that we are conquerors in all things. (Romans 8:31-39) Today’s scripture is working in my heart, saying surrender. To shift my focus from me, to the hurt and needs of others. To serve the Lord and others by being salt and light. That means I will be doing that way beyond my current capacity in ways that I never imagined. Rather than clinging to way things were, I am called to venture out into deep waters. To cast my net, in a new way. God promises prosperity in this venture, not for me, but for His Kingdom.

O’ Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit, align my heart fully with your Kingdom. The harvest is plenty, but the workers are few. Transform me into the image and likeness of your Son Jesus, so that you may share the Good News through me. May your will be done in all things. This I pray in Christ’s name. Amen!

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.