Fitness and Fruit
Fitness and Fruit... If you think I'm going to talk about exercise and diet, you're wrong. Exercise yes, diet no.
Maybe I should restart.
I love CrossFit. And if you know me at all, you know I love CrossFit. I love how I'm getting stronger, gaining skills, and being part of a community. More importantly, I love how CrossFit is forcing me to take a second look at who I am as a Christian and how to better live a Christian life.
One of the questions that plagues me on a regular basis is "What does it mean to be a good Christian?" I think about the time I spend doing CrossFit, reading about CrossFit, talking about CrossFit and wonder what would happen if I put this kind of dedication into growing more like Christ. As I thought about this, God brought a verse to mind:
How does this relate to CrossFit? There are ten fitness domains that CrossFit seeks to improve:
Every time we WOD we are working on some of these different aspects. Today was an endurance, coordination, flexibility, accuracy, stamina kind of day (wall balls and Kettle Bell Swings). Some of these I'm good at, others not. Wall balls are definitely an area I need to work on as far as stamina and explosiveness out of the squat (if these terms are unfamiliar, go look it up on youtube). How do I get better at wall balls? I just have to do them...
There are definitely characteristics in the Fruit of the Spirit that I need to work on. Anyone who has ridden in the car with me knows that my patience/frustration tolerance is very low. So how do I fix that? By doing it--everytime I get in the car, if I find myself yelling at other drivers I need to stop myself and fix it.
One of the things about CrossFit is you can always improve something--you should never plateau. You can get stronger, faster, more agile. Same goes for living out the Fruit of the Spirit. You can always be more loving, more joyful, more kind.
So anyways. Those are my thoughts. Take them or leave them.
Maybe I should restart.
I love CrossFit. And if you know me at all, you know I love CrossFit. I love how I'm getting stronger, gaining skills, and being part of a community. More importantly, I love how CrossFit is forcing me to take a second look at who I am as a Christian and how to better live a Christian life.
One of the questions that plagues me on a regular basis is "What does it mean to be a good Christian?" I think about the time I spend doing CrossFit, reading about CrossFit, talking about CrossFit and wonder what would happen if I put this kind of dedication into growing more like Christ. As I thought about this, God brought a verse to mind:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control..." Galatians 5:22-23.Right before all of this, Paul (the author of Galatians) talks about walking in the Spirit--aka, leading a 'good Christian life'. He lists some things that should not be characteristics of Christians, and then--like any good teacher--lists the characteristics that should be said about Christians. Count them. There are nine characteristics. Nine things to work on, practice, and improve.
How does this relate to CrossFit? There are ten fitness domains that CrossFit seeks to improve:
Cardiovascular and Respiratory Endurance (which is NOT my forte), Stamina, Strength, Agility, Power, Speed, Balance, Coordination, Flexibility, and Accuracy.(Would have matched so much nicer had there only been nine...)
Every time we WOD we are working on some of these different aspects. Today was an endurance, coordination, flexibility, accuracy, stamina kind of day (wall balls and Kettle Bell Swings). Some of these I'm good at, others not. Wall balls are definitely an area I need to work on as far as stamina and explosiveness out of the squat (if these terms are unfamiliar, go look it up on youtube). How do I get better at wall balls? I just have to do them...
There are definitely characteristics in the Fruit of the Spirit that I need to work on. Anyone who has ridden in the car with me knows that my patience/frustration tolerance is very low. So how do I fix that? By doing it--everytime I get in the car, if I find myself yelling at other drivers I need to stop myself and fix it.
One of the things about CrossFit is you can always improve something--you should never plateau. You can get stronger, faster, more agile. Same goes for living out the Fruit of the Spirit. You can always be more loving, more joyful, more kind.
So anyways. Those are my thoughts. Take them or leave them.
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