Pauls Personal Ad

Athletic structure, tan, loves long walks, sunsets and... talking with God?

What a personal ad. God shaped a great man when he formed Paul. Paul is not only the writer of my favorite book of the bible... Romans. But he attests to one of the biggest things people of today struggle with... physical fitness. When posed the question, "Does spiritual "fitness" and physical fitness connect? are they related? can you be well-lived in one without the other?" The answer is you can't have one with out the other.

66 percent of americans over the age of 20 are over weight... 66! That means if you we're standing with two other people chances are two of you are over weight. (and don't worry... i'm DEFINITELY NOT pointing fingers....) 17% of americans exercise for well over an hour, while the rest of us scarcely stir at all. The vast majority of Americans believe in God, and more than 90% own a Bible, but only half can name a single Gospel, and 10% think Joan of Arc was Noah's wife. Americans are so consumed with living the everyday task, we become part of the norm instead of living life for God and being different. So, Kayla, you've thrown all these facts... but why do they connect? In Matthew 4:4, "It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.' So if we don't just live on food... maybe we should start taking that into consideration. In Jeremiah 29:11 God said, "I know the plans I have for you ... plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Did you know the leading cause of death in America is due to the effects of obesity? Heart attack, Heart failure, link... obesity. Why would God not worry about our health if he wrote he does things not to harm us? So i'm pretty sure He's saying... hey Kayla... become physically active.

So what does that mean for me? I'm definitely not a paul, I'm not Mrs. Let me walk across the country while I talk to God and figure out what to write to his people. Nor am I Mrs. lets go to the gym today and sweat. In the short range... oh i'm doing fine... in long range... I wish I would have been more productive and read into Gods word and became more proactive. There are times when I come home from work and i'm tired and plop down and watch a little tv to unwind. Why not read my bible or go for a walk? I need to become more intentional about how I live my spiritual and physical life. Lets go back to Paul... Paul I would say is one of my spiritual role models. Paul was really big into witnessing and he was able to witness to so many people because he was intentional about what God had willed for him. He knew he could not reach people if he was so tubby he could barely walk from his home to the well in town to get his soda and be out of breath. He knew that God didn't want him to sit around eating his potato chips writing letters with big grease stains to Rome. God pushed him to walk, jog, even run while he was worshiping with him. intentional.

So God didn't put us on earth to be physically fit yet spiritually limited. Or even Spiritually fulfilled yet physically detained. God put us here to live in moderation... he wrote, "with everything you do, do in moderation." So to be the person God created us to be... we need to live in moderation... become intentional... turn our "i'll exercise when I have more time" into I'll exercise now... i'll make God's will for my life a priority. I choose Him.

When you see the next girl/guy on the cover of the magazine with their perfect bodies... remember... It's only half of the story... the other half is what is inside... what you can't see. Are they happy with themselves... emotionally? Are you happy with the way you live your life? I'm not... I'm making a change.