(Volume 42) December 2009
Inside This Issue:
Welcome
Who is New Beginnings
What’s New-
December 2009 Feature Article-
Monthly Fitness Tips-
Monthly Physical Fitness Article-
Monthly Devotional-
Team News/Prayer Requests and Praise Reports
What Have you Been Reading?
Book Recommendation
Your Recommendations Related to the Monthly Topic
Upcoming Events-
Reminders-Church Link
Word of Encouragement
New Beginnings Scripture for December
Our Mission Statement
Welcome-
Welcome to the New Beginnings Holistic Fitness Ministries family. We consider it a privilege to support your fitness efforts. We welcome your suggestions and ideas, so please let us know if there is anything we can do to make your experience with the monthly newsletter, website, weekly messages or message board more beneficial. We can be contacted at contactus@mynewtemple.org. It is our prayer to bring you words of encouragement and inspiration to motivate you to become fit physically, emotionally, spiritually and relationally. This is your New Beginning and we want to make it an awesome experience for you. As you begin this new adventure we are praying for you.
Who are we?
New Beginnings is a fitness ministry established in 2003 to offer a holistic approach to fitness that includes mind, body and spirit. A fitness ministry also serves to help people help themselves through physical and spiritual exercise. At New Beginnings we believe good health is a gift from God and can be obtained by following biblical principles as we lead a balanced life physically, mentally, spiritually and relationally.
What’s New?
Watch video of The Fitness Angel’s Bootcamp on the www.mynbfitnesscommunity.com
Monthly Feature Article-
Communicate and Respond Part 2 —
A Response is Necessary!
By Angela Willingham
First something has to be said in order for the person or hearer to hear. In part one of this article we talked about that. We said you better say something if you really want anything to change. It is crucial that you speak the truth in love if you really want the other person to hear what you are saying.
What we realized is that often things are said and possibly ignored which causes bitterness to grow. Why bother to say anything if nothing will change right. When something is said our response is important. First you have to ask yourself some questions.
- Would this person do or say anything just to hurt me?
- Does this person truly care for and about me?
- How much do I value this person and their opinion? Do I value them enough to listen and or change something that may bother them?
Those are some of the questions you have to ask if you want your response to be the correct one. Of course if the person has no value in your life maybe what they have to say means nothing to you but if they do, you should consider your response wisely.
There are several options as it relates to how we respond to what people say to us:
- We can choose to just ignore it.
- We can discuss what was said with the person that said it and come to some agreement or compromise.
- Take heed and do what they asked you to do.
Here is a good starting point-Don’t automatically take the thing that the person said personally! By that I mean do not take it as a personal insult or affront against you. They may honestly be trying to help and their suggestion may be valid. Do not respond in hurt or anger, those types of responses never result in good conclusions and usually result in apologies or too many words being said. If what is said hurts your feelings, thank the person for their comment and ask for some time to pray and thing about what was said.
It is better to save your response until later than to say something now that you cannot take back. Yes, it does hurt sometimes to hear what people say to us in an effort to help, but it is important that you listen with your heart, with God’s heart to get the true meaning behind what they are saying. If you know they love you then you can answer the questions above realizing they would never do anything intentionally to hurt you. That should impact your response to them. Just like they spoke the truth in love it is important for you to respond in love.
While there are three options each of them will result in something different in your relationship with the person. Before you respond take a moment to pray and gather your thoughts about what was said.
Ignoring the request or suggestion only leads to bitterness and hurt feelings. The person who finally got the courage to speak the truth in love may never say anything again, because you will have taught them that what they said did not matter. A perfect example of this is the spouse who is trying to encourage their mate to take better care of themselves physically, appearance, weight, makeup, clothes, etc. If their request is ignored they may begin to ignore you. Ignoring the request of someone that loves you and attempts to share their heart with you in a loving manner may be hurtful to the relationship and to the one that shared it and result in discontinued communication.
Ignoring the request or suggestion may also result in a feeling of being disrespected. This option should never be used when dealing with someone that you value. Realize that it took a lot for them to open up and share their heart with you and they did it because they love you. Speaking the truth in love can only come from a heart of humility, caring and openness. Treat it that way.
Come to an agreement or compromise. Maybe you don’t agree with everything that was said, but you value the person that said it and you know they would only say what they said because of their love for you. Talk about it. From a heart that is also speaking the truth in love share your feelings about the situation or request. What do you really think? Maybe it is a weight issue. They tell you that they want you to lose the weight for your health. You are sure you need to lose some weight but you are struggling with getting it off, because as hard as you try the weight is not budging. Share that with your friend. Ask them for their help in reaching your goal. Ask them to be an accountability partner for you. Maybe your friend knows you have high blood pressure and they suggest you put down the salt shaker, a compromise would be to at least try the food before you add salt (I got that one from my friend JN). Maybe you are trying to lose weight but at the restaurant you order the fried food with dessert, so your friend suggests a healthier meal. Instead of the fried option or the decadent dessert you will get the broiled option and have a sherbet after the two of you go for a walk. That is compromise and it lets the person know that you appreciate what they said, while you may not be ready to go all the way with it, you can make some concessions. It also tells them that you are serious or making progress towards bettering yourself.
I have been attending The Fitness Angel’s Boot Camp on Saturday mornings. There are times during the workout where the participants are running. The compromise is that while they are running I walk, because there is too much weight putting pressure on my knees for me to run (YET). The compromise is not to just quit because you can’t do what everyone else might be doing. Find out what the modification is and do that. The person that is watching and encouraging you in your fitness journey will be glad to see your effort. Ignoring it in this case would be to say, I can’t do that, so you do nothing. Do something. Your effort is a compromise.
Take Heed and Do It! If you know that the things that have been suggested to you are in your best interest and you are ready to make the change because you know it is the best thing for you, be like the Nike commercial and JUST DO IT! Don’t waste time talking about it or being upset, because that is just what it is a waste of time. You know it needs to be done and the person that is talking to you is doing it because they care. The example I gave in part one of this article was a friend who shared he did not like my gray hair. As a friend if I had said I liked it, he would have accepted that, but I was open to the change. I could have sat around feeling sorry for myself or thinking about it and assessing the situation but the truth is, I was ready for a change and the change that was suggested was for my good.
How you respond is up to you, but before you allow the enemy to get you tripping about what was said, consider the source. Where is the request or suggestion coming from? Consider the way the request or suggestion was made, was it demanding, was it from a caring and loving place? Was the truth spoken in love? Do you value the person that made the request? If all of the answers are positive ones, don’t make the mistake of blowing the person or their request off, remember they love you and respond accordingly.
Scripture:
Ephesians 4:15:
15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
For further discussion contact Angela at contactus@mynewtemple.org or write to us on the message board http://mynewtemple.org/aMessages.html
Monthly Fitness Tip-
Increase your activity. The Fitness Angel has said this to us over and over and over again. Stop worrying so much about what you eat and increase your activity. Get moving. Once you start moving your food intake will take care of itself. Try it this month and see. Instead of sitting on the couch watching TV, go for a walk. At lunch instead of spending the entire time sitting and talking on your cell phone or to co-workers, go for a walk. You will find that you eat less. Thank you Fitness Angel.
Join one of our new website communities www.mynbfitnesscommunity.com for free or www.justlikemefitness.com for a small monthly fee.!
Check out the New Beginnings Message Board for more tips that will benefit you under the Physical Fitness Category. www.mynewtemple.org. If you would like to add your own tips and suggestions please feel free to do so. If you have forgotten your password submit a request to have it sent to you or reset through the message board sign in screen.
As always we encourage you to see a physician before beginning any exercise program. Take the first step by getting up and doing something to take care of your most valuable resource, Your Health.
Monthly Physical Fitness Article-
 Don't wait until January 2010,
start your fitness program now!
Check out the website
www.justlikemefitness.com
Your Fitness Angel
The 5 Biggest Fitness Mistakes
Take a walk through any gym, and you'll notice many mistakes. Mistakes that waste time. Mistakes that put people in danger. And mistakes that are just plain stupid. Maybe stupid is a strong word but doing things that could actually hurt and not help you is stupid. Maybe you even make a few of these mistakes yourself, because you just don't know any better. Well it is my job to educate you and make sure you are not making these mistakes. If you make them after reading the newsletter it's on you. Your Fitness Angel cares enough to tell you the truth, you have to care enough to do what I tell you.
By avoiding these common workout mistakes, you'll put yourself on the fast track to results. Yes, I said the fast track. That means weight loss success. That does not mean you will drop 20 pounds in a week, but your workout and your lifestyle changes will come together and you will see results. Check out the following 5 fitness mistakes and the solutions you need to avoid danger and to get fit fast.
Mistake 1: You use the wrong weight
The goal is to challenge your muscles, not to simply go through the motions. The truth is that I and most trainers have seen the individuals that are just going through the motions. I am showing them a serious movement and they turn it into a dance move that does not challenge the muscle the way I want it to and I have to get in their face. If you are able to complete 15 repetitions easily, then the weight is too light. On the flip side, if you aren't able to perform an exercise through its full range of motion, and find yourself cheating on form, then the weight is too heavy.
The correct weights will feel challenging by your last few repetitions, but won't force you to sacrifice form. If you really can't do it you need to say so, but this is serious and you need to be serious about it.
Mistake 2: You do the same routine
You may have noticed that most people do the same exercises each time they visit the gym. (Just in case your wondering, that never happens with me. I think up new things while I am working with you, just ask any of my personal training clients or my class participants. An obstacle to someone else becomes an exercise prop for me. Try it sometime.) Maybe you've been doing the same exercise routine as long as you can remember - if it isn't broken then don't fix it, right? Wrong!
The truth is that exercise routines have expiration dates, and that is the date that they begin to lose their effectiveness. As a rule of thumb never use the same routine for more than 4 weeks. Your muscles will become accustomed to it and you will no longer experience the burn you once felt.
Mistake 3: You don't warm up
Visit one of our new websites to see the newsletter in its entirety or to signup to get it sent to your personal e-mail address. www.mynbfitnesscommunity.com or www.justlikemefitness.com. (Newsletter dated December 1, 2009).
New Beginnings Team News-A Word From Bea
A question was asked if we are serious about creating a healthy lifestyle that will service us for the rest of our life. By being serious would mean to commit to oneself to the spirit with in and to hold the trust of God that He indeed has a great plan in store for our purpose on this earth.
By being serious would mean to release the strongholds or to seek out the strongholds of the existing lifestyle that we have and perhaps where we feel safe and comfortable. Perhaps what we need to be serious about is the true desire that we hold close to our heart, to have joy, to have peace and someone to share that with. To be serious to create our universe so that it is in balance with all that is around us. This balance is the love of one self and to have the ability to share that with others, to create a healthy lifestyle to become the stars at night, a glimmer of hope to others who are looking up for an answer. Of who we are will make a difference to people we know and people we do not know.
So the question maybe is: Are we serious about truly being an instrument of peace? World peace starts with oneself and through a healthy lifestyle we will have a greater capability to spread this unconditional love, one person at a time.
Bea Parco
What Have You Been Reading?
Minister Angela just read two books by Derek Prince, "Covenant Marriage" and "God is A Match-Maker." She found both of these to be excellent books for anyone who wants to be married or may already be married.
Marriage is a covenant between the two people and God. Covenant requires commitment and sacrifice. Many marriages do not make it because they are based on the wrong things. Lust will not hold a relationship together. Make sure you build your marriage on the right foundation and if it is already on shaky ground seek the Lord to do what only He can do.
The other book God is a Matchmaker blew me away. It is so important that we allow God to do the choosing. Derek Prince did and found himself in two marriages and both of them were the relationships God chose for him for that particular time of his life to move him in the purpose and plan of God. Read this book and see how God worked everything out for their good in both situations. Read them both and let us know what you think.
Many of you have read some awesome books that have really ministered to you, spiritually, emotionally, relationally or physically. Let us know what you have been reading by writing to us on the message board. Your recommendations might help someone else. Please let us know if you have read some good Christian fiction as well. Many of those books have awesome messages contained within them and we want to encourage people to grow spiritually any way they can.
Let us know what you have been reading by writing to us on the message board http://mynewtemple.org/aMessages.html or sending us a message at contactus@mynewtemple.org.
Book/Bible Study Blog
Feel free to write about books you have read or to comment on the ones the New Beginnings Team suggests by going to our message board.
Upcoming Events-
Watch for-
Watch for an upcoming series by Minister Kimberley McNeil dealing with the Divorce Decree. How many people have been married and divorced and thought that once the divorce decree was signed it was over, but it wasn’t. Watch for her series beginning late November or early December.
Watch for an interview with best selling author Janice Jones
Watch for a series dealing with the plight of the homeless by photo journalist Shawn Goodall.
Watch for new video and audio podcasts discussion between The Fitness Angel and Angela. Dealing with real life issues the only way they know how, the real way.
Watch for the Sister Girl Chat-Sisters just hanging out talking about the things that are on their minds.
Watch for an interview with a Breast Cancer Survivor-We are looking forward to doing a joint interview with a Breast Cancer Survivor, who survived a double mastectomy. How did she handle it, how did it affect her mentally, how did it affect her family? If you have a story you would like to share please write and let us know. If you have questions write to us at contactus@mynewtemple.org so we can get ready to ask your questions as well as our own.
Watch for the Why Do You Work Out Question to be answered-We were thinking it might be fun to get some snip-its from people in the park or at a gym to find out why they work out. Why do the personal trainers do what they do? What kind of satisfaction does a personal trainer get out of your success?
Watch for Health Tips-As part of our desire to help individuals become holistically fit we are presently working to incorporate health tips into our website. This information will assist by giving individuals basic information on such topics as diabetes and high blood pressure. These segments will be short but informative. These will be added to the new fitness websites.
Relational Focus-Watch for upcoming podcasts and articles focused on our relationships, beginning with our relationship with God. If we get our relationship with God right our other relationships will also be better.
Divorce From the Male Perspective-What do you say when you think everything is okay and your wife comes home and asks for a divorce? What do you do? Normally this is the story we hear from women. We blame it on a man’s midlife crisis. This time we are going to hear it from the side of the man. The series will allow a man to share his feelings and struggles.
If you have suggestions for upcoming articles or New Beginnings content please write to us at contactus@mynewtemple.org.
New Beginnings Reminders-
The Fitness Angel’s Fitness Community and Newsletter-
You can create your own personal free account and sign up for the bi-monthly newsletter. Remember the newsletter is only a help to you if you open it so we encourage you to open it and read the articles that are included. If you have a spam filter on your e-mail account your copy of the newsletter may have been blocked. Check your spam folder and then set up the Get Fit Newsletter in your mailbox so you can receive it bi-monthly uninterrupted. Remember it is free, so don’t keep it to yourself. www.mynbfitnesscommunity.com or the paid site www.justlikemefitness.com.
Church Link-
We have added a couple of churches to our church link. Please take the time to check it out and see if yours is there. If it is not already listed add it to our list by clicking the link below. Is there a church near you that does an outstanding job of promoting spiritual, emotional, relational and physical fitness? If you're looking for a church, check here to see if our members have recommended one near you. If you know of a church that should be on our list, please add it to our list.
If you want to ask for additional information or would like to have some one from our team contact you regarding the churches on our church link contact us at churchlink@mynewtemple.org.
Currently on Women’s Faith Stories (WFS)-
We are collecting articles about women who have survived cancer. If you have a faith story you would like to share send it to us at contactus@womensfaithstories. Your story might be a blessing and an encouragement for someone else.
We are still collecting pictures and stories for our Women That Have Gone Before Us Quilt. In an effort to honor her grandmother who passed away on January 11, 2008, Angela has decided to create a quilt. If you would like to submit a picture and brief tribute on behalf of a woman that meant something to you and helped you get to where you are today send it to us at contactus@womensfaithstories.com. Include their birth date and date of death. Maybe it was your grandmother, a school teacher or a female family member. It does not matter who she was, we would just like to take this opportunity to honor them. Check out last month’s newsletter for more information.
Contact us if you have a woman’s faith story you would like to share for the Women’s Faith Stories Website www.womensfaithstories.com. Send your comments to us at contactus@womensfaithstories.com
Word of Encouragement-
This is the last month of the year, push yourself to end the year with a bang. Don’t just go out in a fizzle. Finish what you started whether it is a project or a vision. Don’t let anything just hang there with the attitude that you can get to it next year, because next year is not promised to any of us. Finish what you started this year. Let next year be a New Beginning.
New Beginnings Scripture for December 2009
Ephesians 4:15:
15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.
Our Mission Statement
Our Mission is to draw individuals to Jesus Christ through the Ministry of Holistic Fitness and to see the Body of Christ become fit in all areas by providing tools and information to empower you to succeed. New Beginnings is dedicated to helping you gain personal, spiritual, physical, mental and relational fitness by developing the courage and confidence necessary to set and achieve goals based on biblical principles. Most people encounter difficulty reaching goals, sticking with a diet or completing a task by trying to make an outward change without having made any inward spiritual changes. In other words, all improvements in your life begin with a change in your mind and spirit.
New Beginnings Contact Information-
Mailing Address: 5130 W. Baseline #117, PMB# 224, Laveen, AZ 85339
Contact us at contactus@mynewtemple.org or on our message board http://mynewtemple.org/aMessages.html
|
