Don't you yourselves know
that you are God's sanctuary?
1 Corinthians 3:16
At the end of my video that accompanied the program application, I commented about one of my goals for applying was to show myself faithful to getting this "temple of God" in better shape for the Greater One who lives in me, and thus far it is paying off. Over 20 lbs lost in 5 weeks has made a tremendous difference in my physical abilities, strength, flexibility, resiliency, and endurance, and people are noticing the changes too. Probably one of the greatest changes I am finding is my motivation to be more bold and tackle new physically demanding tasks that I would tend to avoid in my old body. And I say "old body" purposefully. The bible says we are to put off the old, and put on the new. At the halfway mark in our program, I would encourage you to do that ceremonially: If you are ready to ditch the old way of living and demonstrate your fully on board, all in commitment to keep up with this new way, I would challenge each of you to bend over and put your hands down to your feet, virtually take hold of your old skin and peel it off all the way up to the top of your head, and throw it out the door in a demonstration of that commitment. There is nothing like making it real.
I did this exact sort of exercise back in 2007 at a First Steps to Success live weekend event in Dallas, Texas, and after confessing to a group of 9 "strangers" what needed to change in me. That began my new life in Christ after a truly radical encounter that weekend. It was amazing!
This past Saturday, instead of going to Spiece I came to Brotherhood to do our assigned 3 1/2 mile walk. After a couple of laps, I stopped due to what seemed like an uncomfortable rubbing in my shoe on the same foot that got the heel blister on Wednesday. Wasn't sure what was going on, but I figured it would be best to get it checked out. So I headed off to Three Rivers Running Co., and had them investigate by putting me on the treadmill again and trying on a number of different shoes. After a while we found some Brooks Adrenaline's that have a slightly elevated heel and more stability on the inside. While I rested the remainder of Saturday and Sunday, I came back in to Brotherhood today and for the first time with the new shoes, completed our assigned 6 minute walk, 4 minute jog x 4 reps without stopping except for a quick gulp of water to re-hydrate. It feels great to be back in the game, sweating like crazy, burning calories, and ready for tonight's weigh-in.
On a personal note, if any of you have any specific prayer requests or praise reports, I would love to hear them. I enjoy praying for folks and had a great time doing so on Saturday at our 132 annual family reunion at the Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan. 44 of us showed up for the picnic, and as I was getting ready in the morning, the Lord was showing me everyone holding hands in a big circle around the picnic tables and me asking if anyone had pain in their bodies. Needless to say, I was very excited for what He was planning. So, at the picnic, I followed His lead exactly with a number of folks raising their hands and I prayed and commanded all pain to leave their bodies in Jesus' name. It was such a rush and many offered their thanks and encouragement afterward. I am actually now praying and thanking God for good reports to come of pain being fully removed and bodies being restored.
God is indeed faithful, and He always answers His promises, "Yes," and in Christ, "Amen!"
Bless you,
Gavin
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