Michele Howe and Rebecca von Boeck

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Fit for Life’s Calling: Fifth in 10 Part Series Based on Women in High Def

As I watched the Olympic gymnasts perform recently, I couldn’t help but admire their perfectly beautiful, muscle-y little bodies. Every athlete seems to elicit that response in me – admiration, awe, even a little jealousy. They are driven by some mysterious mechanism that I can observe, but will never understand completely. Yet their strength, beauty and accomplishment evoke in me a longing to be healthy and strong. For some of us that may seem as impossible as becoming an Olympic athlete. Yet truthfully we are more empowered than we often think to make our bodies healthy and strong and it doesn’t require some mysterious inner drive.

Here are three of my most oft-used mantras:
1) DO WHAT I CAN WHEN I CAN. Every day I am presented with thousands of choices. Whether to exercise or not, whether to eat that ice cream…. Some days I choose wisely, other days I don’t, but I know that the overall effect of making good choices helps me to feel healthy and strong. It’s not a perfect formula aimed at perfection. It’s forward motion. Every good choice is a step in the right direction.

2) GET OUT THE DOOR AND MOVE! This is a tough one for me, but in the words of C.S. Lewis in Prince Caspian “I mustn’t think about it, I must just do it.” (The original Nike ad?) Exercise really does cover a multitude of dietary and lifestyle indiscretions. I don’t pay attention to any kind of training schedule or any type of specific training. I just get out the door when I can and get my heart rate up.

3) EAT REAL FOOD. In our fast-paced, sound-byte lifestyle, we have become disconnected from food and its source. Where our food comes from and how it is raised have a tremendous impact on our health. Choosing food from sustainable sources is just good stewardship of body, animal and land.

Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. 3 John 1:2

*Be sure to listen to the show (Aug 29th at 1:30 PST on KKIM and thereafter on podcast above) and share some health tips/challenges as well as how you boost your ailing ego. You’ll be entered to win a copy of Women in High Def, Boldly Living Your Purposes with Vibrant Clarity at the end of the 10 chapter series.