In Strength and Fitness
We are more than simply a fitness organization. We are intentional about our faith, living life well, and being our best in whatever role(s) we find ourselves in life. We aim to honor God with everything we are. And we want to help you do the same.When you become a Body & Soul® Fitness student, you’ll be given a free copy of our most current devotional booklet. In this, you’ll find our current playlist of songs/artists, and spiritual content that we hope will encourage and inspire you. Download a copy of our previous devotional booklet.
I am a “Jersey Girl” and grew up along the New Jersey shore 2 miles from the beach! I had a healthy attitude toward the surf, its beauty, power and a healthy fear of those waves. I have always felt the presence of God on the sand! I vividly remember walking several blocks to the beach and almost physically feeling the stress, anxiety and fear falling away! Breathing in “The Marvelous” presence of God (the Holy Spirit) and breathing out the burdens that were weighing me down...
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As I was experiencing a weariness of being pulled in many directions, I read today’s Scripture, focusing on the message of running with perseverance the race “marked out for us”. See, God gives each one of us a unique race to run. My race does not look exactly like yours, and your race does not look exactly like mine. Some legs of our races may be similar, and our tools to persevere can be similar, but God gives each one of us something a little different to do. The passage says that God has set the race before us. He provides us with tools to endure and finish the race. This message was life-giving to me, as I was focusing on my circumstances and not fixing my eyes on Jesus. I needed to change my focus...
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I love gardening. I love digging in the dirt and planting new flowers, both annuals and perennials. This year I’ve been expanding the gardens around our new home and we even added a flowering tree. It’s been work, but also good exercise, and the reward is having lots of colorful beauty surrounding our home. I appreciate God’s beauty in creation.
But gardens need tending, and I’ve been learning what they need to thrive...
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“Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:11 (NIV)
For the past four years I’ve been selecting a word for the year - a reminder of something I value that I want to focus on, with the Lord’s help. My 2022 word is REST. Dr. Saundra Dalton Smith’s book “Sacred Rest” helped me realize my need for more intentional REST in specific areas of my life and also highlighted ways daily choices were robbing me of that REST. So, REST is my word. And summer is a great time to be thinking about REST!
Hebrews 3 and 4 reference the Lord’s ‘rest’ and how not to enter it...
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Opposites make such great comparisons.
Sweet and Salty…
Tall and short…
Up and Down…
The comparisons are easy to understand because we have experienced both things and know the difference between the two. The differences can deepen our understanding of the two opposite concepts. I love sweet things in part because I can contrast them to salty things. My understanding of what sweet means is deepened by my experience of what it means for something to be salty.
I think freedom is another concept that works in the same way...
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I have fond memories of my dad being my buddy at different stages in my life. As a toddler, I remember his strong arms picking me up and putting me on his shoulders. It felt like riding a horse, as I swayed side to side with each step he took, holding onto his forehead, trying not to block his vision or affect his balance, so he wouldn’t trip and have us both come tumbling down...
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Then summer comes and I know I have to make a decision. How am I going to use this break from my regular study to stay focused on the truths and promises in God’s Word? If I don’t make a specific plan, I know that the summer days will slip by and I will miss precious spiritual growth time. So I start by seeking God—I pray and ask him for guidance...
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I love to stay active! It’s a non-negotiable part of my life. I do it year round—I don’t take a summer vacation from fitness! I love teaching my Body & Soul® classes where I can be active and inspire others to be active. But as the weather gets warm and welcomes me to the outside, I look to include additional activities in my schedule to make the most of the summer...
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I know I am prone to wander and forget the faithfulness of the Lord. I recognize that I also need memorial stones to help me remember how God has moved in my life. There are some special things in and around my home that serve as visual reminders, a kind of memorial stone, for me of God’s faithfulness. They are small things...
MIRACULOUS LIFE
John 11:25,26 “Jesus said to her (Martha), I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in ME will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (NASB)
After winter’s freezing weather has turned my flower plants brown, it always amazes me to see new green leaves emerging at the base of 
the plant in the spring. What appears to be dead surprises me with evidence of new life.
Like freezing weather, cancer took the physical life of my husband and he died in my arms. I wondered how I would continue living. It felt like my heart had suffered an amputation. I leaned on God when I did not feel like I could stand, by reading the Bible and praying every day. Jesus is my gentle Shepherd…patient with my tears and yet nudging me onward with tasks of showing love to others such as cooking for the homeless, teaching Vacation Bible School, walking a dog for a veteran, and sharing His comfort with those who experience grief. It is HIS presence with me that has enabled me to go on. The comfort that life is not over, it just changes. It is awesome to know that I will see my husband again in heaven some day because he asked Jesus to be his Savior (and I have too).
But for now, I am here to tell you this good news…Jesus is alive and well and just waiting for you to ask Him into your heart. And if you already believe in Him, you have HIS Word that HE will give you a life worth living…an abundant life.
How has God shown you miraculous new life?
by Sheree Carlton
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Sheree Carlton is a Daughter of the American Revolution, retired pharmacist, a widow, mother and grandmother, who lives in Friendswood Texas. She enjoys singing and playing guitar, piano and flute and dancing with Body & Soul®.
