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One common mistake we make physically and spiritually is called “paralysis by analysis”. We hear about a hot new workout or diet plan and we just have to try it, then the next week, some blogger or other magazine says that info is wrong and you just have to do this…suddenly our mind is spinning and we end up doing nothing because we have too much information and can’t actually take the first step.

Spiritually, it works a little differently…we forget that God calls us to get off our bottoms, leave the church pews, and take our faith out into the world to see Him more fully. Watch this Power Devo of how I decided to spend my lazy morning with my daughter Sully…

Let me hear what you think…live with strength!
Jason

Happy July 4th weekend to you!  Here’s a video of a new tire challenge with some kettlebell, med ball, bodyweight, and sandbag challenges along the way.  The tire gauntlet symbolizes our life.  Just when we have accomplished something, there is often another obstacle in the way keeping us from our true calling.  Hebrews 12:1-3 reminds us of all that Christ endured and how we have to stay strong through the entire race of life.  Check out this Power Devo and let me know what you think.

Live with Strength!

Jason

I am heading to Brazil in about 6 hours with my church (so offer up a prayer or two for me), but I had to share some awesome words of encouragement and success from the participants of our Christian Fitness Bootcamp at Mt. Harmony Baptist on Tuesday/Thursdays at 7:30.  If you are in the area and want to join us, let me know.

Live with Strength,
Jason

Since March of this year - 20 pounds weight loss, clothes fitting better, greater breath support for singing, sleeping better, etc.  I used to think of the “e” word (exercise) as a bad word.  Frankly, I still do, though I cannot deny the positive results I have experienced because of my participation in our Christian Fitness Bootcamps each Tuesday and Thursday evening.  Jason Rhymer is inspirational and is such a great trainer and encourager.  Along with lifestyle changes in my diet, this exercise experience is definitely helping me to get healthier and feel better about myself.  You can feel that way too.  Come join us!

—Mitch Duncan

I began trying to lose weight in January. By changing what and how much I ate, I began to see results.  But the real noticeable results came when I began attending the Christian Fitness Bootcamp at Mt. Harmony.  At first, my clothes seemed to fit better. But only after a few weeks, I was able to fitn into clothes that I hadn’t worn in YEARS!  Since beginning the Christian Fitness Bootcamp, I have lost 17.5 inches and 35 pounds.

—Karen Wright

Bootcamp has done a lot for me.  Not only do I really enjoy the fellowship, but I have noticed several changes in my self-confidence, and my clothes have become quite baggy and loose.  I have started sleeping better.  I also have more energy than before.  That is important to me while chasing my 2 year old. Just like going to church, my week is not complete if I cannot get in my bootcamp time.  The devotion time is really awesome too.  It has really impacted my prayer time.

—Becky Gadd

The Prayer Pot

By Frances Seymour

I’ve been an exercise enthusiast since my mid 20’s, lifting nautilus weights every other day followed by aerobic exercises.  However, I became a grandmother at the ripe old age of forty-one.  Shortly afterwards, my son said to me, “Mom, it’s okay that you’ve put on a few extra pounds.  You’re a grandma now and grandmas are supposed to be fat.”  I have to admit that this was an easy comment to reason with, so I chose to ignore my swelling torso and thighs.

After carrying twenty extra pounds for nearly ten years, I decided to join weight watchers.  It took another year for the pounds to reluctantly fall away.  Then to aid my weight loss efforts, Jason Rhymer comes to Mt. Harmony with this great exercise program that targets building muscle mass with weighted balls and bands; including some cardio moves.  It’s a full-body toning program that anyone at any age can work through.  Jason offers different movement options for the various levels of physical fitness, for beginners, intermediate or advanced.

The best part comes at the end of the night as we relax and listen to Jason lead a short devotion.  On one occasion, I brought my eleven year old granddaughter to class.  Jason asked us to think about things that we were concerned about, including people.  He had us write his name down on a small strip of paper for starters.  He gave us time to think of and write on several strips of paper and then fold them.  After doing this, Jason asked us to open them one at a time and we prayed silently for each concern.  Then he suggested that we take these slips of paper home and place them in a container of choice and call it our prayer pot.

Gracie was so captivated by this idea! She held tightly to the small strips of paper as if they were gold.  As soon as we opened the front door of my house, she was off in search of our own ‘prayer pot.’  Together, we found the perfect little white ceramic pot about 3” tall and 4” in diameter.  With my approval and holding a red Sharpie pen, Gracie proudly wrote, “Our Prayer Pot” on the outside of the container and placed it over the fireplace in our living room.  Now, every time she comes over, we remind each other to pull a concern from the pot and lift that person or concern up to the Lord.  I can’t help but wonder what an impact this one class may have had, not only on our prayer pot concerns, but on my granddaughter’s prayer life as well.

One day…Jesus was standing by a lake and the crowds began to gather.  After teaching, he said to go out in the deep water and let down their nets… (paraphrased Luke 5:1-4)

I was talking with a new bootcamper who had lost about 50lbs. on his own over the last year.  I asked him how he lost the weight.  He said…

“One day…I woke up and had had enough.  I wanted to see my boys graduate and just enjoy life more.”

One day…He was teaching and the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.  Some men couldn’t find a way to get their paralyzed  friend to Jesus, so they went up on the roof and lowered him down… (paraphrased Luke 5: 17-19)

Amazing fat loss, strength gains, and other personal goals are successful because “one day” you decided to make it happen.  You may need to put in many days of work, sweat, planning, and execution, but it all gets back to the one day when you had had enough, and the switch was turned on for you to make a change.

The bootcamper wasn’t following a top secret training plan.  He started walking around his neighborhood and eating better (whatever that meant to him).  No trainers, no dietitians, no gym membership…also, no excuses, no more days like today, and no more thinking that he could start tomorrow.

Fifty pound weight loss started with “one day”.

One day…Jesus went up to mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.  When morning came, he chose his 12 disciples and went down before the crowds…” (Luke 6:12-17)

Live with Strength!

Jason

Power Devos are back!  Check out how I do the dishes and throw around kettlebells at the same time (well, not the exact same time

Our Easter was very blessed with family and friends as we went home to the Canton/Clyde area of Western North Carolina.  Driving through Shelby, I noticed a big billboard that said, “He Is Risen!” and we must have seen that phrase at least a couple of more times on the front of churches between Charlotte and Asheville.

I think we have missed a big part of Easter by only focusing on “He is Risen.”  Please understand, Jesus’ resurrection is the cornerstone to our faith and in no way do I want to demean it.  But only focusing on this part of the story would be like talking to a friend who just went sky-diving for the first time, and the only thing they wanted to talk about was how they landed.  Granted, the landing is very important for the conversation to exist, but you would want to know about the jump and what the fall was like, wouldn’t you?

The resurrection is a magnificent result of the most arduous, demanding process in the history of mankind.  Processes = results.  We have become so results-oriented in today’s fast-paced world that processes get overlooked and ridiculed.  In business, if your processes (for manufacturing, for customer responses, for payments, etc.) are slow or outdated, your business will suffer.  There is this constant pressure to stream-line processes so that the results will be greater.  When I see “He is Risen” on billboards, I want to shout, “Wait, He had to die first!”

The “process” Jesus endured to die for our sins is amazing to think about.  Not just the crucifixion part (we have seen the graphic details of what that entails), but the mystery of what happened over the next 3 days.  My goal is not to get into the many thoughts of that part of the process here, but here are just a few quick resources to explore for further reading: Where did Jesus Go for 3 Days After Death and Before Resurrection?; What happened from the cross to the empty tomb?.

When we think of streamlining our processes to make life easier, couldn’t the Son of Man have accomplished his trip to Hades (or whatever he did) in the blink of an eye?  I believe so, but I love that it took time.  He didn’t just die and rise again…he died, and dwelt among the dead, then He lived again!

This was my second Easter as a dad, and it boggles my mind to think about how much my little girl changed over this year.  So many older parents have told me how she will be grown before I know it.  Aren’t there some processes in life that are sweeter when they take time?  I know she won’t be my little girl forever, but I love each day that I have with her and am trying to make the most of this journey.  Once the result (Sully as a grown woman) is met, I will relive this process and these days forever.

Here’s the reason I am harping on the process part of the Easter story.  The most successful training clients I have ever had, the most successful athletes I have ever known, and the people that I know will “live with strength” forever, embrace the process.  The results are simply the nice by-product of the hard work they endure week-in and week-out.

This may be a stretch, but play along with me…every training session is, in a way, a “mini-crucifixion”and resurrection.  You face your own mortality, you stare death in the face, and you come out better on the other end.  You endure the process to rise above and survive the challenge.  If Jesus’ process took 3 days, how important is patience in our training process?  The process of moving better and living with strength will always take time, but you know the old adage…if it was easy, everyone would do it.

My mind just sprung into about 3 more articles along this theme, but let me wrap up with an invitation to embrace the one process in life that doesn’t need to be overlooked, outsourced or streamlined.  Put in your work and the results will come.  Let’s close with a quick prayer, “Father, thank you for your Son, who endured the pain and process of death so that the ultimate result, everlasting life would be available to all who believe…in Christ’s name, Amen.”

Live with Strength,
Jason

Last Thursday was a special day.  The next evolution of our Christian Fitness programs came to life at Mt. Harmony Baptist Church in Matthews, NC.  They had been running SMX - Sunday Morning Xtreme with their youth group for about a month, when I had a meeting with Tammy Melton, the youth minister.  She said that it would be great if we could do something for the adults and utilize their awesome gym space.

Boom!  Christian Fitness Bootcamps was born and we were off and running.  We had 21 the first night working through a couple of band and body-weight Tabatas, and some Prayer Tabatas (Power Devo coming soon covering this cool way to pray).  The best part was that the age range was 7.5 to 80!

This past Tuesday, we dedicated the time to flexibility focusing on Z-Health Performance Solutions ankle tilts and toe pulls, and some lower-body band flexibility exercises.

Here’s a quick recap of the band exercises:

1) Sit on the ground with one foot “secure” in the band (foot in the band and then wrap one end back around the working foot).  Put the other foot under your calf to raise the banded foot off the ground.

2) Use the band like a marionette to move the foot back and forth.  Keep the ankle relaxed.

3) Draw 3-5 ankle circles in each direction.

4) Lay back flat and hold onto the end of the band.

5) Walk your hands up the band as the leg comes up to a vertical position.  You will feel this through calf, hamstring, and glute.  Do 10 reps.  Everything else must stay relaxed.

6) Leave the leg up high and draw 3 ankle circles in each direction.

7) Now take the band into one hand and get that elbow high to your side.  Make the leg go the opposite direction.  This is the side-to-side leg movements to open up the hips.  Keep handing the band off to the opposite hand from the direction the leg is going.

8- Perform 3 ankle circles in each direction and in both positions.

9) Roll onto the unbanded side and take the band over your shoulder as your heel gets back to your butt and your knee is bent.  Draw 5 hip circles in each direction.

10) Roll over to the stomach and make the triceps work as you straighten out your arms and try to get your knee to raise a few inches off the ground. Do 10 reps.

11) Get out of that situation and start back with #1 on the other side!

Tonight will be more timed intervals and I will share with everyone the official Rhymer Fitness Prayer.

Live with Strength!

Jason

SSSHHHHHH!  Keep it down…I’m in whisper mode.  My baby girl is finally asleep and I thought I would send you a quick note.  Something hit me today as our daycare plans fell through and we had to call an “audible” about how to be good parents and still get our work done for the day.

At first, I thought, “Great!  I am stuck at home and all of the emails, projects, clients workouts, etc. that I needed to get done, just won’t happen.”

Then I thought, “This is the last day my baby will be 11 months and 1 week old.”

Hmmm, that’s a reality check.  Suddenly my work felt very small in comparison to a much bigger responsibility and priority in my life.

Here’s your training takeaway from that thought.  It’s a new perspective on Carpe Diem (Seize the Day)…

Tonight, I am starting a new kettlebell routine and this will be my last opportunity to train as a 36 year, 3 week, and 6 day-old athlete.  In a way, each workout session should be a celebration that we have the ability/opportunity/luxury of working out.  The fact that you have a body to move should be a celebration that we embrace and cherish.

Today, don’t sweat the last few pounds you have to lose.

Don’t kick yourself for putting down the weights on that last set.

Don’t worry that you are not doing the right program for the results you want.

Celebrate the life and body God has given you!

Live with Strength,

Jason

Our Senior Minister, Dr. James Howell, is sending some great emails out to start the new year about how to “grow’ in your faith.  This one really struck a cord with me and I had to share it with you:

It is not merely that we are at a good faith place and might wish to step up a little higher.  Because we live in this world, and in a vapid, self-centered, craziness obsessed culture, we suffer setbacks, attrition, even injury between Sundays and devotional times.

Years ago, a friend of mine was in a car crash, surviving multiple fractures to her hip, legs and feet. The bones healed, but she had to battle through months of physical therapy before she could actually walk. Not only had her muscles atrophied for lack of use; the doctor suggested the neurological linkage between her brain and muscles had fallen asleep.

You were made in God’s image, intended for beauty, goodness and holiness.  But repeated collisions with a culture that thinks nothing about God (not to mention your sinful nature) wreck your God-given beauty.  You get flabby.  In your laziness you adjust to the mess of your life.  The delicate fibers tying soul, heart and spirit into real life shut down.  If you care about God and the life of faith, you have to get in shape, and climb up and out of the old life via the regimen of worship, prayer, Bible reading - not just “nice” activities, but the difference between languishing flat on your back and being able to run and dance.

Or maybe the Christian life is akin to a foreign language. I wish I could just start speaking and comprehending Spanish.  Listen to a single Russian tape, drop by an Arabic class twice, and your confusion will be dizzying.  A language demands an investment of time, study, gradual improvement, embarrassing failures, toddling steps of progress, commitment; eventually you begin to understand, the grammar sinks in, you communicate.  Even if you learned French once upon a time, you lose it if you don’t use it.  Christianity doesn’t “take” in childhood Sunday School, without lifelong persistence.

Faith will never assume lovely shape as long as you worship when it’s convenient, if your relationship with God is limited to a seventeen second prayer here and reading Howell’s email there.  Jesus called “disciples” - a word meaning both “students” and “discipline.”  The antidote to a bumbling, lackluster faith is discipline, regularity, a re-carved schedule, so prayer is not a quickie, so the Bible isn’t something I “ought” to read, so getting involved in mission isn’t a nice idea I’m glad the teenager down the street is doing.  The disciplines of the faith are the divine origami whereby our mis-shapen souls are revamped into God’s image.

Christianity isn’t merely like a language or exercise.  Faith is something you do with your body:  reaching out, serving, sweating, refraining, touching, hammering, kneeling, smiling; new skills and literal muscles are required.  Faith really is another language, with a peculiar vocabulary, a grammar alien to the way the rest of the world thinks.  So lift that Bible, fall on your knees, open that tight fist, and use that open hand to be generous, to welcome a stranger, or just to signal to God that you’re available.

John the Baptist said "Repent and get ready!"

Those are probably not the words uttered by any children on that wonderful morning, but it is how our Christmas story starts.  In fact, the Christmas story doesn’t really begin in Luke 2 like everyone thinks.

This past Sunday, our minister Dr. Howell talked about Malachi and the words of John the Baptist, both of whom basically said, “Get ready because the Lord is on his way here!”  The first step of “getting ready” is to get rid of all that is wrong with you.  John the Baptist wasn’t just telling fluffy stories about how cool Jesus would be.  He said, “Repent!…” (Matt. 3:1)

These were great words to hear this Sunday because I have been guilty of getting caught up with the joy and pageantry of Christmas this year.  It is my daughter’s first one and already I have been humming all the Christmas tunes we get to teach her.  Interestingly, in years past I can’t tolerate Christmas music until just a few days before the big day.  It really is amazing how kids change your perspective about the holidays.

But it is also good to remember that we should humble ourselves before the newborn King.  This is also a great time of year to clean out your “soul closet” and repent of the things that are keeping you from being the Christian you are meant to be.  That was encouraging to hear this Sunday and of course, I have a fitness take on it!

This reminds me of what a client said a few weeks ago, “You get me to do the things (exercises) that I really need to do, but would never do on my own.”  Watching people move for a living is cool, because I have a different perspective than they do.  I see weakness or a skill that needs improving and the client may have no idea it was a problem.  And every client has an exercise or two that they hate doing, but know that they should be doing them.  I would say that about repentance.  That is not the fun part of being a Christian, but it is a vital part.

In our sessions, I will refer to these tough exercises as the “vegetables” and the fun stuff that most clients like to do as the “dessert”.  Got to eat your veggies, before you get the sweet stuff.  Same goes for this idea of listening to John the Baptist and having some time of repentance this holiday season.  There will be plenty of joyous, sweet moments (and foods!) to share, but take some action on the hard part of being a Christian.

Live with Strength,

Jason