CHRISTIAN FITNESS COUPLE

Robert and Lori Evans are an interesting and energetic couple. They host a TV show together.  Catch www.christianfitnesstv.com

No doubt this has drawn them closer in their marriage as they honour the Lord in their endeavours.

Robert is a ACSM Certified Personal Trainer (American College of Sports Medicine) and has been active in Kung Fu (martial arts) since 1993. After years of training people in martial arts the Lord is now using those experiences for God's glory to help encourage Christians to exercise and have a desire to take care of their Temple of the Holy Spirit by being physically fit and honoring the Lord with their lives in all things.  

 Lori has experienced a multitude of surgeries and illnesses in her adult life. Through God's miraculous healing hand and an encounter with the Lord Jesus, she is now using those experiences to help Christians understand the benefits of proper nutrition and learning the word of God. She has an evangelist's heart and a desire for everyone to learn and receive the Love of Christ and live victoriously each day through the word of God.



Christian Fitness was birthed from a burden
concerning the sedentary lifestyle that many have adopted not fully realizing the negative affect it is having on their physical health, with Christians being no exception.

The Evans say:

We are all called to be disciples and to be a witness of God's glory and everlasting promise. In order to carry out this commission, we must be spiritually and physically strong. God has opened the door for Christian Fitness to provide an opportunity to assist followers of Jesus to live a spiritually strong life and healthier lifestyle.

Oops! I have been neglecting to walk the block lately! I must get back to it. What about you? 

VALENTINE'S DAY

Wedding Day - 1973

I asked my friend, Sue, to share how she met her future husband, Ken.

Looking back in retrospect-it's amazing how God takes care of His own. Both Ken and I were "outreach" kids from non-Christian homes with catholic backgrounds. My parents moved around a lot when I was growing up- I went to five different schools before high school, but they finally settled in Leichhardt - where they had both grown up and met, just in time for me to start high school.

Through outreach contacts to my father, I was picked up every Sunday and taken to Hebron Hall and learned about the love of God and His son Jesus - something that was a bit lacking at times at home.

By the time I was about 14,  there was a young married couple from Campsie Assembly who came with one of their "outreach" boys, and like all newly married couples, they felt a responsibility to find a suitable interest for their young, serious, Ken. After settling in and sussing out the prospects, they made their choice and tried to encourage him to take an interest.
One thing about Ken - he likes to steer his own ship - and this was not the direction he was going.
We were in youth group together with a mutual friend base, and our beliefs were the same. But even though I thought he was gorgeous and had an enormous crush on him - he refused to be moved.

Twice I asked him to my Y12 formal - and each time he fobbed me off - preferring to go to the movies with his mates. I remember woefully moaning to my nan about his lack of interest - and she laughed, giving her words of wisdom that there were plenty of other fish in the sea. But I told her, 'I intend to marry him.' She laughed even harder then. Ah, the flightiness of youth.

Once I finished school I had just about given up - then - out of the blue- he asked me out to dinner! He's such a romantic at times - never forgets birthday or anniversaries - I even get flowers for Valentines Day.

I asked him many years later why he finally asked me out - and he replied - "I finally gave in to the inevitable". Fortunately for him he elaborated. He said he knew in his heart that God had said this is the one - but as I said before - he likes to steer his own course- got to love the man - warts and all.

We've had our ups and downs- but our vows before God are what are most important to us - never to be taken lightly. This year we celebrate 42 years of marriage - but really its a lifetime of growing up together. All praise to God!

MARRIAGE REBRANDED - Tyler Ward

Celebrating 50 years of Marriage

What about this modern idea of happily ever
after? Does it have a place or do we abandon the
idea altogether to embrace the refining fire of
marriage?
Not at all. Happiness is a very real result of a healthy marriage. Even modern social research
 shows that marriage historically offers more
happiness than singleness or divorce.

However,.happiness is not the primary goal of
your marriage. Becoming more beautiful by
becoming your best self—more loving, joyful,
peaceful, patient, kind, faithful, gentle,
 self-controlled—is the goal.

Marriage—like fire—can be an all-consuming and potentially painful substance. But also like
a fire, it can refine us. And like Michelangelos's chisel liberating the figures inside of a rock, 
marriage is a tool that the Divine uses to make us beautiful.

Author Tyler Ward say goes on to say:
I know that marriage can be one of the more challenging things we experience in life. And I know that at times, it demands far more than we feel we can give. I know there are moments when walking away seems like the only sane and rational thing to do. Yet I also know that marriage multiplies what we can become—both as individuals and as couples.
Marriage, even though it will introduce us to some of life’s most arduous moments, has brilliant intentions in mind. It’s unapologetically interested in chipping away at our dysfunctional thoughts, patterns, and postures in life and inviting us—and our spouses—to become the best version of ourselves.

When we remember this brilliant intention to liberate us—the beautiful statues trapped within our own mess—we begin to see a hopeful view of the relationship, even in its darkest times.

This vision of marriage takes the expectation off of our spouses to make us happy and recreates the expectation that our marriage exists to help us grow.  It turns our focus from personal fulfillment to mutual personal development.

*This is an excerpt of Marriage Rebranded: Modern Misconceptions & the Unnatural Art of Loving Another Person. by Tyler Ward

HAPPILY EVER AFTER

George & Rita - Many years of happy marriage

Michaelangelo used the friction between his chisel and the rock to chip away—piece by piece—at stone and marble. Michelangelo didn’t sculpt like other sculptors. No, he didn’t believe he was creating something from nothing. Instead, he believed his slow, deliberate chiseling actually liberated what was already inside of the stone. He saw beautiful figures beneath the surface and considered it his responsibility as an artist to simply set them free.

Two years of chiseling later, Michelangelo had set David free—and in the process, he sculpted this unlovely piece of rock into one of history’s most renowned pieces of art.

Tyler Ward, author of  "Marriage Rebranded: Modern Misconceptions and the Unatural Art of Loving Another Person", goes on to say:

I think there’s more truth about marriage in this story than in most of our modern ideas about relationships. Marriage isn’t, in fact, our gateway to happily ever after. It’s more like a chisel in Divine hands. And though there’s plenty of friction involved, it’s designed to chip away at all the dysfunction in our lives and free the beautiful statues inside.

Interestingly, the Bible seems to agree with this picture that Michelangelo’s carving philosophy offers us. In fact, if you’re ever wondering who you can blame for this chiseling sensation in your marriage, Adam—the first human in the Bible—is your guy.

It all started when the first human on earth decided to name his wife after a hazardous chemical reaction. After having just been introduced to the only other human being on earth, he says, “She shall be called ishshah—woman, because she was taken out of ish—man.”

Ish and ishshah. I assume that though they have a certain ring to them, these won’t be topping your list of names for future kids. Even so, they paint a picture about marriage that answers many of our modern questions.
To start, both words are derived from the root word and Hebrew character esh, which means fire.
This means that the original word picture we have for the relationship between a man and a woman is an all-consuming, tireless-in-nature, potentially hazard-creating fire. And though this picture lends itself to the modern concept of heated romance or passionate love, the Bible consistently points to a different purpose of fire.

Fire happens to be one of the Bible’s primary metaphors for purification and personal development.

 It would seem that the relationship between two spouses—fire—as depicted by biblical accounts, is a source of personal refinement, designed to play a significant role in one’s process of growth and maturity. But hang with me—the biblical picture gets better.
In the New Testament, Paul the apostle goes on to compare love in marriage to the love Jesus showed humanity. He says:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her [literally, purify her internally by the reformation of her soul], having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, . . . having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.

 Tyler Ward's helpful extract from his book will be continued in a week's time. 

Suthanisee and Sadudee

Suthanisee slips a ring on her beloved.

Recently we attended a lovely wedding at Rayong in the Gulf of Thailand. We have known this young couple for many years. Sadudee asked my husband to bring a message at the ceremony and also to play the violin. I had the privilege of singing to them.

Sadudee's father, Somchai Soonthornturasuk, is a well known evangelist and he married them. It was a joy filled time.

A storm threatened with the wind lifting but many prayed it would pass over. The clouds rolled over and the breeze cooled us after the high humidity. At one point the guests heard a distant humming and looked up to see a drone hovering above and capturing the whole ceremony from the air. Sadudee's photographer friends also captured thousands of pictures.

Sadudee met Suthanisee in the workplace. She is a food buyer for many restaurants and he is a freelance photographer. She also creates delicious recipes and he photographs them. He sets the lighting just right so the dish looks so tempting it makes the mouth water.

She was able to buy the great variety of seafood at cost price to make the wedding breakfast memorable! The barbecued seafood tasted absolutely delicious.

In the ceremony, my husband shared the fact that a successful marriage doesn't just happen, it needs to be worked at in times of fun, sharing chores, and patience, especially when hard times come as invariably happens. This is where praying together can draw a couple closer as they share the problems equally.

Whither Thou Goest I Will Go

Ruth could do nothing but trust the Lord

A beautiful story of a young woman thousands
of years ago.

The story of Ruth from Moab is quite an amazing slice of history. Mainly because Ruth is mentioned in the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ. What an honour!

Married to the son of a couple of Israelites who left their country because the land had fallen on hard times, she soon faced the trauma of losing her young husband. As a young widow what should she do?

Her sister had married her husband's brother who had also died.  A double tragedy. No help from a generous government in those days! Go back to work and look for another husband seemed the only way out. Their mother-in-law, also widowed and determined to return to her own country, decided to return alone. But Ruth took a step of faith. She'd heard all about the God of Israel and His kindness to His people, even though they had often strayed from Him. She decided to follow her mother-in-law. An embittered Naomi did not give her any encouragement. She even told her to go back to her old gods, but Ruth would not be shrugged off. She clung desperately to the older woman, saying:

"Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."

To condense this lovely story, after Ruth returned with Naomi, the Lord took a hand in their destitute situation. A wealthy man named Boaz was attracted to this stranger in town, and with the help of Naomi's match-making, he committed himself to Ruth in marriage.

Why don't you read this inspiring story in the eighth book of the Bible. It shows how the Lord had a special interest in a young woman - a former heathen - who discovered faith in Him. It also shows us that the Lord cares for every facet of our lives.

GAINING CONFIDENCE

Author Gail Gaymer Martin shares:

“I’d never thought of myself as a strong woman until I faced the unthinkable—divorce. As a Christian woman, divorce is an action no one wants to face, especially when you know what the Bible says and that it is scorned by many faiths.

My former husband’s unfaithfulness was the cause of our divorce. We tried for two years to keep the marriage together, but it failed, and I received divorce papers from my husband. My world collapsed. I had never run a house alone. I’d never worried about car repairs or dealing with house repairs that a home owner must handle. I lay alone at night, tears rolling down my face while asking the Lord to give me a sign that I would survive, that life would get better, that my world hadn’t crumbled.

I didn’t receive a sign,but I received an answer. Life moved on. I resolved repairs in my home by getting estimates, hiring people to do repairs and to rebuild the porch. I learned how to do some small repairs myself. I dealt with car repairs by asking men from work what did it mean when my car went thump, bang, bump. They smiled, took my keys, started my car, and told me what they thought. I went to the repair shop saying. “I think my belt is slipping.” I had no idea if it was, but the repairman thought I knew something about cars and I never got duped into replacing something not needed.

I not only survived,I gained confidence, grew stronger and realized that was the sign I’d needed all along. I could do anything with confidence, planning and forethought. And besides that, the Lord led me on a stranger journey to a divorced singles church event where I met the sweetest man who valued his children, family and faith as much as I did.  We celebrated our twenty-eighth wedding anniversary last year.

Thanks for sharing, Gail. I'm sure your experience will encourage many women.

Follow me on Twitter @RitaSGalieh