I want to motivate you to be strong.

I want to motivate you to move your body.

I want to motivate you to create joy in your life.

And to lean on God for your strength.

As I mentioned in my latest post, I have a series that I will be sharing here. It began years ago when I was in the midst of grieving the loss of my dad, then my brother, and also my mom in a short period of time. This series may not be for you. My message may not be for you and, honestly, I hope it isn’t.

Part of my story has been wading through types of grief. One of the big losses was my best friend, who also happens to be my adored big brother. Of course, losing parents hurts, and sometimes still does. A few years after these losses, my husband passed away. Some of this writing may not be for you because you may be happily married, and looking toward those “golden years” of emptynesting and creating a new life and eventually babysitting grandchildren. It could also not be for you if you have not experienced having alcoholism and/ or any type of addiction reign down, causing chaos, life changing events, and death.

But I think it can be for you.

I am not here to share the terrible and horrible. We all know there is enough of that going around, even if it is removed from your personal space. I have great moments and stories from these times. I want to share only the peace and the joy and the strength that can be all of ours, even in the midst of and especially through seasons of pain and chaos.

I know from first hand experience that there can be sorrow and pain and also joy (even great joy) each sitting right beside each other, like cousins thrown together at a family reunion. We can have one with the other.

The word strength is mentioned 360 times in the bible. That ought to tell us something about where we should look when we need guidance, support and encouragement to find strength.

When we are low, uncertain and wavering in confidence, surely one of these 360 mentions is what we need in any given moment.

So, here I will be combining three of my favorite things: A portion of faith, a bit of exercise and some stories.

These three components are what helped me move forward during some hard seasons of life. I often say I do not know how people go through difficult days without faith. We need it even on those uneednicorn days when everything seems to flow perfectly. We need it, like that viral Instagram post exclaiming “Girl, you Jesus to go to Walmart!”.

Fitness and exercise has often kept me going. Fitness promotes resilience. Each hard workout you complete makes you stronger and stronger. Not only are you gaining strength and resilience physically, but it also helps rewire your brain to create the mental resilience to help you have a stronger mind and mental aptitude. I’ve said before that I believe Resilience is our Superpower.

Additionally, it teaches patience. You can’t expect to lift your max or get your PR on your first try. It teaches discipline and determination. You learn discipline and gain the determination to put on your shoes and get out the door and "do the thing”, run the 5k, complete the tennis match, learn the golf swing, make time to move and train.

You learn to be grateful for your body and what it can do. Whether it’s working on upper body strength, learning to dance, play pickleball, or throw a bowling ball (is that even the right term for bowling?) you learn to appreciate the gift of movement and what you can do, even if there are aspects of a sport or movement that you may not be able to master. The minute you are injured, sick or unable to participate, train or practice, you gain a whole new appreciation for your body and what is in your grasp at that time.

Each of these - resilience, patience, discipline and gratitude provide the gifts to move forward.

Here is a specific example of how during the summer of 2012, movement and exercise helped me. . .

Following the death of my brother, I was lost for some time. It was during the summer and the days were hot and long. On most days it was all I could do to get off the couch, manage getting the boys where they needed to be so I could retreat back to the couch. I needed more than motivation and more than my normal habits. I finally decided that each week I would schedule a different exercise class at a different spot during the week. It gave me a purpose to get up and move each day. It was something new and different each time. I had to use my brain and force myself to get out of my head and my loss, and for that part of the day, get “lost” in something else. Move my body, break a sweat, get the endorphins going, and be around people (who did not know me or anything about me and what I was processing) was healing for my mind, body and spirit. It forced me to find strength each day to physically leave the house and physically participate in a workout, which in turn, helped strengthen my thoughts, my inner being and who I was.

That period was so good for me, so healing. It also lead me to a new studio that later became one of my teaching homes. I often say you never know what may happen when you make yourself get off the couch . . .

STRENGTH VERSE:

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being (WELLBEING), so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:16 - 19

STRENGTHEN YOURSELF: Learning something new and gaining physical strength does so much for our confidence, mindset and wellbeing What can you try this week to strengthen yourself? What is a new class, exercise, move you can try that will challenge your body and your mind? What can you try that makes you uncomfortable?

I am leaving this open ended today so you can get creative and think outside the box. In future posts, I’ll be sharing some of my favorties, and not so favorites, but that are so good for us we need to know about them!

Who knows where it may lead. . .

Thank you for being here! If this speaks to you or someone you know, please share 💚