put your oxygen mask on - a letter of fall encouragement
My word for the year is courage, but when I penned it in my journal in January, I also added the prefix ‘en’ and suffix ‘er’ to remind myself to not only seek courage but to be a more intentional encourager. So, when given the opportunity to write a fall letter of encouragement to our Body & Soul® community, I said, ‘Yes!’
Maybe you needed encouragement as you stepped from spring into a looser summer schedule. For others, saying goodbye to summer and looking ahead to the rigors of a fall schedule requires special encouragement. Many of you are heading back to school, back to work, or are anticipating a string of activities, events and the holidays. Maybe you are saying goodbye to summer guests, visitors, or your own chicks who are flying off to college, a new job, are getting married or are on to other adventures. The fall season can be full of transitions, and transitions can be stressors.
If you flew for travel this summer you heard, ‘in the event that the plane loses pressure, a mask will drop.’ And if you were accompanied by a little one, the flight attendant spoke personally to you about putting your oxygen mask on first before assisting your child.
Taking care of yourself this fall, is like putting your oxygen mask on first. Unless you are setting aside time with the Lord to rest and grow spiritually, and taking care of yourself mentally and physically, you will not be able to offer the best care to those around you. And in this season of transitions, other people may really need your care.
Body & Soul® workouts can help you ‘put your oxygen mask on.’ Workouts help you de-stress, strengthen and tone your body, as you hear God’s Word and worship Him. A unique aspect of Body & Soul® Fitness, where faith and fitness meet, is that blessed participants can go and bless others.
So, as you travel into the fall season, put on your own oxygen mask so that you can help others with theirs. Let me pray over you.
Father, strengthen us with all power according to Your glorious might so that we may have great endurance and patience this fall. We joyfully thank You for qualifying us to share in Your eternal inheritance through Jesus Christ. In His name. Amen. (Colossians 1:1-12)
by Shawn Maassel
St. Leonard, MD
Shawn began taking Body & Soul® classes as a student in 1990 after her first child was born. Years later, after a move and transition to full-time church work, she became a Body & Soul® Instructor in order to bring the ministry and classes to her new church. She has been leading classes since 2003 in Huntingtown, Maryland, and enjoys being part of the Body & Soul® Spiritual Impact Team. Shawn and her husband have three grown children and two grandsons across the country.
Body & Soul® Fitness is an international Christian fitness organization that trains and equips instructors to lead a variety of group fitness programs including choreographed aerobics-style Cardio Strength & Flexibility™, cardio dance style Dance Blast™, free-weights-focused Power Strength™, boot camp style FIT360™ and Longevity FIT360™, and GOLD™ - lower impact programming for participants that are pregnant, have weight challenges, injuries, or other medical conditions. These exercise classes meet in church gyms, community centers, gymnasiums, parking lots, schools, etc. across the United States, Europe, and Africa. In-person and virtual fitness classes are available.
Key words: Christian fitness, women's exercise classes, group fitness, dance aerobics classes, Christian group fitness, Christian fitness app, FitTV, Body & Soul, Body and Soul, fitness instuctor training, low impact exercise
