C-Section Saturday: The Baby Weight

Welcome to C-Section Saturday!

So, we spend a lot of time talking about C-section recovery, but recovery from birth in general is very hard especially in terms of body image.

Almost every woman wonders at some point how to get rid of the baby weight. 

That really depends on a LOT of factors. 

Things like your fitness prior to pregnancy and during your pregnancy, medications that you may be taking, sleep that you may or may not be getting, nutrition, and underlying health conditions can all impact your recovery.

So, assuming that you were healthy prior to getting pregnant, how much weight is appropriate to gain during a pregnancy? 

This info-graphic does a very good job of explaining where the "baby weight" comes from.  

Ideally you won't gain more than 35 pounds. 

HOWEVER....

I want to make it very clear that no matter much weight you put on during pregnancy, your focus should be on your health. I also want to tell you that your body is gorgeous and has just done something incredible. Giving birth is incredibly hard on your body, but it doesn't mean that you can't get fit afterwards. 

Focus on strength and mobility rather than a certain weight. 

Listen to your body and be reasonable. 

If you have questions or concerns always go see a medical professional! 

C-Section Saturday: Introduction

Welcome to the very first C-Section Saturdays! 

We will be using Saturdays to discuss, teach, and learn about C-Sections. 

I had four C-sections in five years, and there is SO much that I didn't know. If talking about C-Sections can help spare someone from the difficulties that I had it will be worth it!

Each week may cover:

-information about the science of C-sections

-tips for healing

-must have items

-nutrition

-My recovery process, plan, and results

-anything else that I feel like because it is my writing space! 

If C-Sections freak you out, just skip my posts on Saturdays. 

I will get back to writing my normal book reviews and articles as well.

 

Viewing the Superbowl from the Foot of the Cross

Tomorrow is Superbowl Sunday. For 52 years people have been watching this sporting event with religious devotion. When I was a bartender in college and grad school I have to admit this was one of my favorite days of the year because regardless of who was playing men would show up to the bar ready to watch the athletes and drink a lot of beer. Needless to say, I made great tips on these sacred Sundays. 

Years later as an adult and a follower of Christ, I have to say that I approach this "holiday" with far more hesitation and downright circumspection. This year we have been invited to three or four Superbowl parties and we will be attending exactly NONE of them.    

Let me explain why. 

Sports are often an idol in the Christian community, not just for adults but for children as well. While I have no problem with believers playing sports, I do have a problem with Christians dedicating hours of their lives to watching other people play sports and there are 3 reasons for that. 

1.) Will it bring you closer to Christ?
While it is fun to gather with friends and spend time together, not much intentional, God honoring conversation can occur between downs. Athletic achievement is wonderful and should be respected, but it won't save you or anyone else from hell, period. It won't strengthen your walk with Christ or challenge you to be a more committed disciple of Christ. 

2.) How much of your life is wasted on viewing sports?
The Superbowl is an hours long event if you only watch the game that doesn't include hanging out before and after the game. How many hours are spent viewing these events that could be spent with family, reaching out to the lost, or serving our King? Let me ask another question. When was the last time that you spent four hours viewing God's playbook (the Bible) like you would a football game?

3.) What are you filling your head with? 
When you watch the Superbowl you are going to be inundated with media messages, none of which come from God. Most people will assume that I am talking about the halftime shows (we all remember the Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson fiasco from 2004) but it isn't just that. I know several people that will just fast forward or turn off the halftime show but will still be haunted by the images seen between the plays.  How many commercials are featuring hyper-sexualized or idolatrous content? How many shots of cheerleaders will fill the hearts and minds of the men in our lives that are trying to maintain their moral purity. In my mind the cost isn't worth it. I would rather not be in the know about the "super funny" commercials than risk being a complicit bystander in the temptation of my Christian brothers (and sisters!) in Christ. 

To sum it all up, after careful prayer and consideration, 90% of sporting events just don't fit with what God has called me to in this life. Romans 12:2 says, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." I cannot call myself a follower of Christ and simultaneously condone (at best) or worship (at worst) the sports industry. So while I may not be popular for saying it, I won't conform to the idea that we as Christians should take part in this wordly time-suck. When viewing the Superbowl from the foot of the cross, it just isn't worth my time. God called me to a life of servitude at the foot of the cross, not on the alter of professional sports.

Title Tuesday: Refresh

Welcome to  Title Tuesday, my favorite day of the week! This day is dedicated to book suggestions and reviews. I write this portion of my blog because I am a big believer in the motivational speaker Charlie Jones' quote which says, "You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” I try to meet as many new people as possible and to read everything I can. This is my way of sharing that information with you. If you are interested in understanding my rating system for books you can read my Book Review Explanation here and What I Believe here. If you want to check out what I am currently reading or what I want to read next, friend me on Goodreads!

It is the new year and almost everyone is talking about resolutions, goals, or words for 2018. I think that is just fabulous! Being focused and intentional can help you be a better parent, spouse, and even follower of Christ. Many people won't be able to follow through on their resolutions and goals because they are pouring from an empty cup.   But don't worry, there is a fix! 

Shona and David Murray's book Refresh is probably the best book I have read in the last six months, maybe even in the last year. This is NOT simply another book by a female Christian talking about how overwhelming life can be. 

If it was, I wouldn't be reviewing it! 

Instead Dr. Murray (Shona) writes practically about how women get into the situations of being overwhelmed, full of anxiety, and depressed despite being Christians. Dr. Murray takes the reader through 10 stations in the "refresh gym" to help get women back on track and living the healthiest and most honoring life possible.  Dr Murray talks about things that other books for Christian women completely neglect. She addresses things like sleep, media influences, nutrition, and physical exercise and how they impact a Christian walk. The one that really sticks out in my mind is from the chapter Re-Create in which Murray says, 

Your body was bought with the price of Christ's blood. He bought it with the greatest ransom ever paid. Try to think of the most expensive thing you ever bought Was it a car or a house? How much did you protect and maintain it? Now think of how much Christ paid for your body and consider how you are managing this blood bought property. "You are not your own," says Paul. "You were bought at a price". We have a new owner who has paid a huge price for his property. He claims our bodies as his own and calls us to manage them for his glory.

Man! Isn't that convicting? Imagine if every Christian was operating at 100%. If we weren't slowed down by dependency on social media, sugar, or self caused exhaustion. In Refresh, Dr. Murray lays out simple and practical steps to achieve this goal. 

I think it is just fabulous.

If I could give a book more than an A+ I would. I might just have to create something higher for those few special books that really touch my heart. Anyways, Refresh would be one of those books. I don't care if you are 13 and trying to navigate middle school or 95 and trying to live the winter of your life honoring God, this book is for you.  Basically what I am saying is go out and read this book right now. Put it on the top of your stack of books and make sure you share it with the next woman you meet that seems like she could use a little refreshing. 

Femininity Friday: Fitbit Band Review

Good morning! Welcome to another Femininity Friday. This is the day of the week when we discuss issues specific to being a woman. Topics range from health and fitness to femininity and feminism. Lets jump in.

Today I want to share with you about my new Fitbit bands. I know that many people may see this as a frivolous post but to me it is important so I am going to share it because this is my little corner of the internet and I can. 

Let me start by saying that this is NOT a paid post. I am sharing about these new band because I really like them and I know that a lot of people want to change out their bands so I thought I would share my experiences with you. If you don't have a Fitbit or if this is uninteresting to you then just ignore this post and get ready for the next Femininity Friday.

Moving on! 

As some of you may know my husband and I run a free garage gym out of our home as a Christian ministry. Being fit is kind of part of owning a gym. (I mean really, why would you take fitness advice or coaching from someone that wasn't fit themselves?) My husband gave me a Fitbit Charge 2 HR for my birthday this last year. I was four months postpartum with my second baby in 2 years. I wasn't allowed to squat or deadlift yet, so the Fitbit was a fun way to keep track of my new physical goals.

My original band was the plain purple one that comes with the HR2. I liked it a lot. I got the purple because I own a garage gym and I have two little boys 2 and under... dirt follows me everywhere I go. I didn't want to get the teal or the pink because I just knew it would get stained. I have several friends with those colors and they all said that is exactly what happened after just a few weeks. One of those friends ended up ordering replacement bands for her Fitbit and she didn't like the pattern, so she gave them to me! 

I have to say, I LOVE them. But then again I just really like floral prints, so maybe that is just me. 

Because I liked them so much I thought I would share the information with y'all. 

I like these bands because they are durable, fit well, and they don't look like a "fitness tracker". I have been wearing this band for a little over a month now and so far it looks the exact same. I have worn it to the beach, Saguaro National Park, and moving across the country.  No wearing or pulling. It hasn't stretched out. The colors have stayed true. I also love how feminine the floral prints are!  

If you work in an office or a professional setting where you might not want to wear "athletic gear" this could be a great alternative.


So all of that to say, these bands are my new favorite and if you are looking for a way to spice up look this could be a fun and inexpensive way to do that. 

See y'all next week!

Femininity Friday: Pregnancy and Fitness

Good morning! Welcome to another Femininity Friday. This is the day of the week when we discuss issues specific to being a woman. Topics range from health and fitness to femininity and feminism. Today I want to talk about fitness during pregnancy, after all, what is more feminine that pregnancy? And, as you can see here and here, I LOVE to talk about fitness. I have to admit, I am SO FRUSTRATED with the socially accepted level of pregnancy fitness. Because I have so many thoughts on the subject this may be a long article, so hang tight. 

The books, the articles, the information from my doctor about pregnancy all say about the same thing: 

• keep your heart rate below 140
• don't lift anything over 20 pounds
• you can do what you did prior to pregnancy. 

I understand the reasoning behind this, really I do. Most people these days start out their pregnancies out of shape and weak. So starting a strength and conditioning program like ours would be a really bad idea for them. 

The problem is, that is not me. Let me tell you what I was doing prior to getting pregnant. I was deadlifting 200 lbs, squatting 150 lbs, and I can farmer carry a 70 lb kettlebell in each hand for long distances with no problem. I can push my husband's Toyota 4Runner just like the men in our group, just as far and just as long. 

And now you want me to not lift anything over 20 lbs? My purse (which doubles as a book bag for my books to be reviewed) weighs 18 lbs by itself. I tried to explain this to the first doctor I saw when I went in to the Army medical center for my orientation and "welcome" visit. She acted like I had said I was going to take up sword swallowing during my pregnancy. She suggested I drop strength and conditioning all together and try sometime "fun"... like Zumba. 

I left the doctor's office thinking, "man, I am a terrible mom already". I chewed on this problem the rest of the day. When my husband got home, I explained to him what the doctor said. This is our first baby, and we are both a little nervous about messing something up so we decided to wait until our next doctor appointment and ask the next one what is appropriate. For two weeks I did mobility exercises and stretching, but that is it. For a person that has been training hard five days a week for almost a year, that was really hard. I felt weak, sloppy, and gross.  

When I went back in to my next doctors visit (where I saw a brand new doctor) I asked what the limitations are, what I should or should not be doing. I explained about being terrified of messing up our kid. Here are a list of questions I wrote down during my minor panic moments:

• Vaccinate or not? 
• To do the vitamin K shot or not? 
• Do we co-sleep or not? 
• Is this bedding the safest? 
• Are the slats in this crib too small,will his/her fingers get caught in them?
• How early should we start memory verses? 
• Should he/she play sports?
• What home school curriculum should we follow? 
• Piano or violin? 
• Where will the baby go to college? 

And that is all once that baby is here, that doesn't have anything to do with the time while I am sharing my body with him/her. So with all these things that I could possibly mess up when the kid gets here, I wanted to understand what I can do to prevent messing him/her up by my physical training. My new doctor all but laughed at me. She said I was WAY too stressed out. Her recommendation was to take my PRs (my personal records) and take 15% off. Those are my new "pregnancy" limits. I then base all my numbers for each week off of my new lowered PR numbers. 

I took her advice. I am not "pushing" the limits by any means. No more PRs for me until after the baby is born. I still lift, I still get to work and develop my body. The doctor assured me that it is perfectly safe for me and the baby. So imagine my surprise when after posting a status on facebook I received some really ugly feedback. I posted a status directed towards my friends in the Killeen/Fort Hood area inviting them to come to train at our house. The attacks did come directly to my status but rather as nasty little personal messages. I had two friends from high school who told me (in two separate messages) that I was endangering the life of my baby. I had a woman that I went to church with a couple of years ago told me that I was being irresponsible and putting my wants above the safety of my child. I had a family member message me and tell me that I shouldn't allow my pride about weight gain during pregnancy endanger my child. 

OUCH. 

My heart hurt reading those things. I went back and forth about the idea that maybe I am making the wrong choice. What if these people are right? What if I am hurting my baby? So, I did the only thing I know to do when I am lost: I pray. So I spent a couple of days using my quiet time to ask God what the right answer is. What is the right choice? After a lot of prayer, careful consideration, and an appointment with another new doctor I decided to continue with my training. I will be ignoring the naysayers, the people sitting on the sidelines critiquing other people. I know what my body is feeling, I know the research, and I know what God has placed on my heart. 

No amount of ugly messages or unsolicited advice will break my spirit again. I will continue to chronicle my journey through this pregnancy, training included.     

Fitness Tips, Articles, and Links

Welcome to another Femininity Friday! This is the day of the week when we discuss issues specific to being a woman. Topics range from health and fitness to femininity and feminism. Today I want to share some of my fitness information. There is all kinds of information out there about fitness and it can be overwhelming to try to sift through it all. I have complied a list of my favorite fitness articles, tips and suggestions and I have attached links to all of them. 

If you are on pinterest, you can see all my pins about fitness here.

If you are pregnant and looking for crossfit workouts, check out the CrossfitMom

If you want to check out my thoughts on fitness, I have written several articles about it and you can read them here. 

Why Do We Train?

Welcome to another Femininity Friday! This is the day of the week when we discuss issues specific to being a woman. Topics range from health and fitness to femininity and feminism. So lets get started. 

Today we are going to talk about the why fitness is important. I write about physical fitness for women often. With the start of the new year, a lot of people have created resolutions to get fit. Don't get me wrong, training is great! But if you are only training because of an arbitrary date on a calendar, you will fail. That isn't sustainable. A date on a calendar won't motivate you to pick up the barbell again after failing the same lift three times, or motivate you to get up when you fall for the 1,000,000th time. What will motivate you is the reason you are training. 

If you have a piece of paper handy write out three reasons to train your body physically. 

In no particular order here is my list:

To be fit for the physical requirements in the place God puts meTo be physically pleasing to my husbandTo be able to rock climb, hike, and play basketballand a bonus one, to keep up with my (future) children

I wrote a while about about training to look good for your spouse. I think that is absolutely a great reason to train your body physically. You can read that post by clicking on the link. Being able to play the sports I enjoy is fun. The important part of training for me is being physically capable of doing the work that God has called me to. Elisabeth Elliot wrote, "We cannot give our hearts to God and keep our bodies to ourselves".  I think this is SO important for Christians to remember. God has given us an incredible tool in giving us our bodies, we owe it to Him to use our bodies to honor Him.

Military Monday: Women and Pullups

Welcome to another Military Monday.  Upon marrying a military man I learned that there is a LOT to know about life as a military spouse. Mondays are my day to talk about the things I am learning, the new language, military news and current events. Ready? Lets jump in. 

It is the start of a new year, HOORAY! This is something that everyone is excited about. A few people however have been approaching this day with a bit of dread. January 2014 was supposed to be the deadline for female Marines to complete the same physical fitness test as men. In November it was announced that this deadline would be pushed back because the female marines were unable to complete the three pullup requirement. 

NPR ran a story recently about the fact that most of the female recruits do not meet the requirement. NPR was blasted for being sexist and unfair in their portrayal of the story. This leads one to ask, is it sexist to say "here is the standard"? NPR did so and got a lot of hateful comments, despite the fact that they talked about how women could meet the standards. 

Now, before I hear a bunch of "you don't know how hard a pullup is" let me tell you, I do. My husband coaches a functional fitness program out of our garage. We committed to a lifetime of fitness. I won't ever be fighting for my country in combat, but I also don't want to let my body fall into disrepair simply because everyone else does. So, we do bench press and push ups (the real kind where your arms have to be in the right position) and squats (where you have to get below parallel) and yes, even the dreaded pullups among many other things. 

Are pullups are hard? Yup. I know. But there is a way to learn to do them. This is a life skill that can be learned by men and women. I cannot stand it when people say that is a guy thing. It so is not! It is hard. It takes discipline. It takes commitment, but it can be done. If the feminists want women to be able to do every job that a man does they need to be able to perform at the same standards. The women who do not should face the same punishment that men would if they failed to meet the standard. 

One of my goals for this year is to get my first unassisted pullup. It is going to take work and you can bet the day it happens I am going to tell everyone. I don't want to hear "women have less upper body strength, they need different standards". That is just an excuse. You can read more about fitness and why I train here. 

Women wanted equality, we got it. 

Now earn it. 

Fitness, Faith, and Femininity Part 3

This post is a continuation of our series on Fitness, Faith, and Femininity. You can check out the intro here and the first post here and the second post here. While this post does address those issues it also touches on the very special relationship between a husband and a wife. This post is written for a mature, married audience.

Today I will be answering Karyn’s question. She wrote, “How could you list “Is my husband happy with my body”? You should love your body for you, not for him. His expectations of your body should influence if you work out or not.”

Way to ask a hard question Karyn! In my last post I wrote about how I chose to dress modestly in the gym because my body belongs to my husband. Let me clarify, my husband does not own me. God states his thoughts on marriage pretty clearly. God created man and in Genesis 2 the Bible shows how God felt that it was, “not good for man to be alone”. So God made a “helper” for him. I am MY husband’s helper. Later on in Genesis 2:23-25 it is written that, “**********” B is my equal. I was designed as a perfect match for him.

Even from the very beginning, God meant for a husband and a wife to become one flesh! This isn’t some dirty secret. Sometimes in Christian circles sex is this big terrible thing that can’t ever be mentioned. This is silly in my mind. Sex was created for married men and women. It is a wonderful gift that is meant to be enjoyed within the bounds of marriage.

So what does this have to do with Fitness, Faith and Femininity? My body is a gift that I get to give to my husband anytime we want. Why in the world would I want to give the love of my life a subpar gift? I wouldn’t!

This is where people say, “But shouldn’t he love you for your heart? Your modesty? Your [insert godly quality here].

Yup. He should and he does. But also, there is nothing wrong with liking the way that your spouse looks! If you don’t believe me, check out The Song of Solomon in the Bible. This little book hidden in the middle of the Bible tells the love story of King Solomon and his first love the Shulamite woman. Solomon praises his bride’s beauty, he appreciated her beauty and her body.

This doesn’t mean that I count calories, exercise to the point of ridiculousness, or try to get smaller in size. I love my body and my husband loves my body. I train to keep my body in good shape, plain and simple. I don’t step on a scale unless I go to the doctor. I don’t want to be a size 0. I want to be healthy.  I want to be in shape to move furniture, lift kids, and to minister; this is all true. But I also want to be in shape to bless my husband. I consider training to be the same as shaving your legs, washing your hair, or ironing your clothes. Maintaining and taking care of my body is simply taking care of the gift that I have the privilege of sharing with him every day, a gift that God designed.

A reminder: I write this with the hope of encouraging other Christian women to love their bodies and use them. Let me remind everyone that this is a Christian blog. If you can’t be nice, don’t post on this page. Any lewd, discriminatory, or hateful comments will be removed at my discretion. 

Fitness, Faith, and Femininity Part 2

This post is a continuation of our series on Fitness, Faith, and Femininity. You can check out the intro here and the first post here. 

Today I will be answering Sarah’s question. Sarah wrote, “What about the music, images, and clothing that seems to seep into the work out world? Doesn’t that influence your gym?”

This is a subject my husband B and I talk about A LOT. If you Google “crossfit” you will get pictures of men and women in various levels of dress. There is a lot of skin shown in the “crossfit” world. These people are SUPER proud of their bodies and seem to have no qualms about showing it to the world.

I disagree.

My body is not to be viewed by anybody who might walk/drive/bike by while our garage is open for training. My body belongs to my husband. I work out in capris and a crew cut t-shirt every single day. Some women will say, but that is so HOT. My response is usually along the lines of, “I live in Killeen Texas where it is 100+ degrees during the summer and we train at 5:45 the hottest part of the day. I don’t want to hear that you get “too hot” in a workout to wear modest clothes.”  

So what are our standards?

We don’t use the term “crossfit” for our training. We call it training. In our gym we have established a pretty serious set of rules; these are not suggestions or requests. They are rules. If you want to train in our home, you follow these rules.

Shirts stay on in our gym, male or female doesn’t matter.

No strappy shirts, no short shorts.

We bend, jump, run, trip (ok, that is mostly me), climb, lift, and stretch. If you want to wear an outfit to training, put it on at home and do those movement where you can watch yourself in a mirror. I don’t want to see cleavage, or your thighs. If you are wearing something that doesn’t meet our standards for modesty I will pull the woman aside (B would pull a guy aside) and tell them why it doesn’t meet the standard and then provide them with an appropriate piece of clothing to borrow for that day.

So why are we so serious about modesty in our training environment? Our sight is one of the best ways for Satan to sneak in and mess up our world. Sight causes a lot of people (male and female!) to stumble.  Our gym is meant to be a place for Christians to fellowship while they train and discipline their bodies. I do not want someone to come to our gym and be distracted by the clothing that I am wearing. I want the women who come into our gym to feel comfortable having their husbands there. Our gym is also meant to be a place to bring nonbelievers to allow them to see that Christians are real people. We sweat, we fall, we bleed, and we fail. How is our testimony impacted by the clothes we wear? We are called to be set apart, not to blend in. Jesus says that we are called to “let our light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven” Matthew 5:16.

So when you walk into our gym what will you find? There are no mirrors lining the wall, there are no scantily clad people checking each other out. There are memory verses up on our records wall, and there is a constant focus on Christ in every work out session. 

Shine on!

A reminder: I write this with the hope of encouraging other Christian women to love their bodies and use them. Let me remind everyone that this is a Christian blog. If you can’t be nice, don’t post on this page. Any lewd, discriminatory, or hateful comments will be removed at my discretion. 

Fitness, Faith, and Femininity Part 1

I am so excited to begin this mini-series on Fitness, Faith, and Femininity! I write this with the hope of encouraging other Christian women to love their bodies and use them. Let me remind everyone that this is a Christian blog. If you can’t be nice, don’t post on this page. Any lewd, discriminatory, or hateful comments will be removed at my discretion. That being said; let us get started. 

We are going to tackle Lynn’s question first. She wrote, “Doesn’t this go against being sweet and meek like the Bible says?”

Lynn, great question! I bet I can guess where this question came from in the Bible. How many Bible studies have you been to where they quoted (at least once!) 1 Peter 3:3-4? For those of you who may not have it memorized 1 Peter 3:3-4 says, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

I have wrestled with this verse as long as I have been a Christian. I am 5’5 (the shortest of all of siblings even though I am the oldest!) and my very tall grandmother used to say that what I lack in height I make up for with personality. When asked in our marriage class recently what my husband liked most about my personality he said, “She is feisty”.  I don’t know that anyone has EVER described me as “gentle and quiet”. Does that mean that I am any less godly than a shy woman who seems gentle and quiet?

The answer is no.

My favorite woman in the Bible is Deborah. If you check out the book of Judges in the Old Testament you can read her full story, but let me give you a brief synopsis. 

This woman was awesome. Deborah is a prophetess, a judge, and a wife.  She went to war with the Israelite army. In His word, God calls her “a mother to Israel” (5:7) and she sang her own song to the Lord. Somehow I don’t see this woman sitting quietly on the sidelines. She listened to God’s calling for her life and she went for it. Deborah used her mind and her physical abilities to serve the Lord.

I want to be like that.

I believe that God wants us to be prepared to do His will. By this I mean, if God calls me to go to serve people in the mountains in South America, will I be ready to do it? If my friend from church says she needs help packing up her house for their PCS, do I have what it takes? God has given me this incredible gift: my body! I should use it for His glorification. This does not mean that I don’t have a gentle and quiet spirit. My heart is full, my ministry is growing, and I am in the word daily. I have friends and mentors keeping me accountable for memorizing my Bible verses, and keeping up with my Bible studies.

So no, I don’t think training physically means that I am not having a “gentle and quiet spirit”.

I think I can have a gentle and quiet spirit and still go into my garage and deadlift 170lbs.  

I just have to put my Bible down to pick my barbell up.   

Fitness, Faith, and Femininity Intorduction

I wrote an article recently about fitness and faith, you can read it here. I have received several emails about this article. So I am going to take the next couple of weeks to address the questions and concerns raised in these emails.

The questions asked were:

Lynn wrote, “Doesn’t this go against being sweet and meek like the Bible says?”

Sarah wrote, “What about the music, images, and clothing that seems to seep into the work out world? Doesn’t that influence your gym?”

Karyn wrote: “How could you list “Is my husband happy with my body”? You should love your body for you, not for him. His expectations of your body should not influence  if you work out or not.”

Great questions ladies! I will be tackling each one of them in my Fitness, Faith, and Femininity series this October, starting this Friday. 

Questions and comments are welcome!

Fitness and Faith

“If you’re a Christian, why do you work out? Didn’t God make you the way you are?”

I love when people are brave enough to say what is on their minds! This question was asked of me by a young woman that I am attempting to start a mentoring relationship with. She asked me this after seeing picture of the gym my husband has put together in our garage.  So today I am going to tackle the issue of physical fitness and faith from my standpoint. Let me begin by saying that these opinions are purely my own. Comments and questions are welcomed but any lewd or unkind comments will be removed. This is a Christian blog; keep it Christ-like please!

We are surrounded by a culture that tells us exactly what our bodies should look like.  Magazines at the supermarket scream the praises of the thin, and condemn the failures of the less than thin. My view on this is let it go. Being “thin” does not mean that you are fit. Society should not dictate what you do with your body; we live in a fallen world! I don’t train to be a size two. I want to be healthy! I want to be able to run and play and jump with my (future) children. I want to be able to go hiking with my husband and not be the reason that we have to stop every ten minutes. So when considering how fitness fits in with my daily schedule and Christian principles, I consider the following questions:

• Am I happy with my body?
• Is my husband happy with my body?
• If there was an emergency, would I be able to move my husband (or anyone else for that matter) to safety?
• Can I do all the things I need to do effectively?
• If God said, “go to South America and be a missionary in the jungle,” would I be able to do the task that God assigned ? Or, would I need time to get in shape?

So how did I get here?

My husband has a Crossfit (functional fitness) certification and years of experience in coaching people to be healthier. In our home he has turned our garage into a gym. We have two racks, barbells, tires to drag, benches, tons of weights… the whole nine yards. Before we were married, my husband used this talent that God has given him as a ministry platform. He is able to reach guys with the gym that wouldn't step foot in a church setting. He opened up his home to families as well. He has two married couples that he couches five days a week, rain or shine. When I first started coming to visit and got a taste for the his passion I STRUGGLED with the fitness aspect. At first, I thought that working on your fitness level was prideful, that it showed a need to blend to the world’s standard of who we should be. 

Then I got in my Bible.

The number one thing that stuck out in my mind when I searched my Bible was 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 which says, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” God gave me this body for a time. I need to take good care of it. I need to be aware of the condition that my body is in. Titus 1:7-8 says, “For an overseer, as God's steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.” So in answer to Staci's question. Yes, God made me the way I am. He gave me my body, and told me to take care of it. I don’t think spending an evening watching television is being a good steward of my body. Am I being disciplined and self-controlled? Let me tell you, spending an hour under a barbell you learn about self-control!

What about the modesty aspect? Gyms are notorious for their skin-bearing atmosphere.

In this fallen world, we are encouraged to flaunt our bodies in any and all environments. Christian women need to remember that we are called to be set apart. We need to model virtue in what we say, what we read, and what we wear. This is a tricky topic because people get caught up in “yes you can wear this” and “no you can’t wear that”. I think I may tackle this subject in a week or two, so stay posted. But for the sake of this article, my personal view of modesty is to keep my body covered in public. THIS INCLUDES THE GYM! But, we can go into more detail on this later.

Proverbs 31:17 says, “She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.” I want to serve God, honor my husband, and care for my children. I believe that I am better able to accomplish these goals if I take care of my body and keep it in a condition where I can go and do what I am called to do without fear of my body holding me back. So I strengthen my arms for the tasks God hands me.