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.
1 Timothy 4:7(Message) Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.
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