Blessed

Dear Campers,

    

What a change we felt (not just in our legs) as we stepped outside this morning after boot camp!  I personally think that you created so much heat with the thousands of squats and lunges you did, that God had to turn the thermostat down outside to balance things out in the atmosphere!!  Bundle up or snuggle up, it's cold outside! 

    

Our scripture today comes from Deut. 28 3-8; "You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.  You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.  The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to.  The Lord our God will bless the land he is giving you."  Oh, to be BLESSED!  It is that contented and blissfully happy state that feels just as amazing as a cozy cashmere sweater on a cold day.  My friend, Cathy Parson, always tells me that "yummy and delicious" things are coming my way and I know that she is not talking about cup cakes or chocolate!  She chooses to use these words because she knows that I can instantly relate and anticipate how good those thing will be.  That is exactly how I feel about each and every blessing in my life, so yummy and delicious! 

     

I want to take a moment and express sincere gratitude to Zahra Bhaloo.  Two years ago, as our boys were taking swimming lessons at the Y, she asked me about teaching a 5:00 AM class.  I laughed and said, "Are you kidding?  No one in their right mind would come to that!"  She said she would, so I began to pursue the possibilities.  Although I didn't even know it, Revival Boot Camp was born that day.   What a blessing she and that day have turned out to be for me and so many  others.  Thank you, Zahra, for encouraging me to jump into a still pond and create a yummy and delicious ripple effect!  You are such a blessing to me and so many others.  This is just another way to demonstrate that blessings are everywhere, whether we see them or not.  Take a risk, receive a blessing in disguise, sit back and be surprised at the all the beautiful things it can bring to your life.   

  

Healthy habit of the day is to LEAVE your JOB at WORK!  When the work day is done, allow your "work stress" producing hormones to turn off.  Create a plan or a routine that allows you to shift from work mode to home mode.  Trust me, your family does not want to know the details of your day.  Just share the highlight reel with them over dinner!  If you do take your job home, then only allow the good things to walk in the front door.  Managing your work stress and the negative effects it can have on your family is certainly a healthy habit.

  

Have a fun weekend and come and visit Road Crew on Saturday morning at 8:15 for a walk or run with friends.  Chit chat and burn fat.....that is so cool! 

See you dark and early on Thursday,

Amy

Obedient

Dear Campers,

     

What a great job you did yesterday with the fast paced block workout.  You rocked through three different blocks of exercises and exceeded my expectations.  The more fit the group gets, the harder it is for me to design workouts that will challenge you in new and exciting ways!  Just remember that I love a good challenge!  Yesterday I encouraged you to be sure to take a daily multiple vitamin to help fill in our nutrition gaps.  Along with that I recommended that you begin to take some sort of Omega - 3 (fish or flax oil) supplement as well.  I would also advise everyone to take a calcium supplement that contains Vitamin D.  *Most calcium supplements on the market do contain Vitamin D as it aids in the absorption and the utilization of the calcium.  The FDA has recently upped the daily recommended allowances for Vitamin D due to multiple cases of deficiency reported.  Please do not "just start" taking an extra Vitamin D supplement (other than what is in your calcium) unless it has been recommended by your physician.  Vitamin D is actually a hormone that can be synthesized by your body when you are exposed to sunlight.  Just another reason to get outside and play!! Your body should be able to synthesize enough after 15 minutes of exposure.  *Then be sure to apply that SPF 20 sun block lotion!

     

Becoming OBEDIENT is our redefining focus of the day.  When we are OBEDIENT we are said to have the quality of being able to comply with or be submissive to authority (God.)   As I said yesterday, I almost did not use this as a redefining word, because it seems almost harsh, as well as so hard!  When I was searching for scripture to help me make the decision to use it or not, I found Isiah 1:19.  "If you are willing and obedient, you will reap the good things of the land."  After reading this, I knew I had to use it as a redefining word for RBC.   God does not make our lives hard, we do.   We simply have to be willing and obedient. 

    

I know you enjoyed the extra sleep this morning.  Sleep is your body's best way to recover and rev up for action again tomorrow dark and early.  It is a beautiful day to get out and enjoy some sunshine (Vitamin D) today, even if it is just for a few minutes, make the most of it! 

     

Have you checked on your RBC buddy today?  Shoot them a text or am email (be sure to identify yourself!)  Let them know that you are thinking about them.  Try to find and meet that person tomorrow if you don't already know them.  I can help you with that if you need me to.  If you did not get a card on Tuesday, we have more to give out tomorrow!  

Make it a super day,

Amy 

Trustworthy

Good Morning Campers,

Happy "twisted" Monday!   What a great way to mix things up and wring out the old habits that have been holding us back and create space for new energy in our lives.  This morning we talked about the importance of being trustworthy.  To be trustworthy means to be deserving of confidence, to be very dependable and reliable.  I feel so blessed to have so many trustworthy people in  my life.  These are people that lift me up when I am down, provide accountability when I stray and tell me the truth when I need to hear it.  These same people allow me to share thoughts, feelings or fears without judging or condemning me.   Through their acts of trustworthiness they allow and encourage me to be the ME that God created me to be.   In 1 Timothy 4:8-10 we learn that, "physical training is of some importance, but godliness has value for all things, holding promises for both the present life and the life to come after.  This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance."  That's all we have to do is fully accept this and live a trustworthy life, which includes providing assistance in others' lives and allowing God to guide our lives.  As a way of honoring Dr. Martin Luther King today, I challenge you to follow in his example of serving others through acts of trustworthiness.

  

Healthy tip of the day for Day 7 is "get at least 7 hours of sleep each night."  On the RBC schedule that means 9:00 is lights out.  Make it happen.  Lack of sleep is linked to obesity, elevated cholesterol levels and CRANKINESS!  Sleep more and be healthier and nicer, too!  If you have missed out on some of the healthy tips, here they are in a recap;

1 - drink your water...gallon a day

2 - eat 2 fruit and 3 veggies every day

3 - don't FRY.... if you fry, you will die

4 - eat broth based soups

5 - floss your teeth every day

6 - eat dinner in the 6:00 - 6:59...digestion is a vertical process not horizontal

7 - get 7 hours of sleep

We continue to welcome all the new campers that find their way to Revival Boot Camp!  Thank you so much for each of you spreading the word about what God is doing at Granbury First United Methodist Church.  Have a super day.  See you dark and early tomorrow.

Being trustworthy,

Amy

Self-disciplined

Revival Boot Campers,

     

You are ready, you are strong, you are confident, you are courageous and you are self-disciplined!  It is never too late to start over again, so if you found yourself in a place you did not want to be, then change your direction right now.  There are still 6 hours left in the day for you to make health and spirit enhancing decisions.  Remember, you are redefining yourself in your thoughts and in your actions.  2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us that, "the spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline."  Those are such words of empowerment for me and I hope for you, as well.  Many of you think that I have the self-discipline of a saint.  Let me assure you that self-discipline (especially with food) is a constant battle that I fight as well.  Just as you depend on me to help keep you accountable, I want you to know that each of you help keep me accountable, as well.  We are all in this together!  Remember, David does conquer Goliath after all and that is certainly hope for a sugar addict like me! 

   

Remember that we will be meeting tomorrow (Friday) morning for our third workout of the week.  Be sure to drink your water, eat your fruits and veggies, ditch the fried food, soup it up and FLOSS your teeth every day is today's healthy habit to add quality and health to your life.

     

I am so proud of you and continue to express my gratitude to you and to God for allowing me to guide this program.  Thank you so much!  See you dark and early.

Striving to be self-disciplined,

Amy

Courageous

Dear Campers,

     

Another great workout this morning!  Isn't is great to be a part of a group that is making conscious choices to improve their lives?  It was 24 degrees this morning and you fumbled out of bed, got in a frigid car and came to Revival Boot Camp.  You amaze me!  This was certainly one of those mornings when I saw myself (and Stan...only because I dragged him) doing overhead presses alone in the gym!  Thank you for your courageous dedication to this program and for following through on the commitment you made to yourself.  Think about the definition of COURAGEOUS and begin to use it, feel it and act on it each day.

COURAGEOUS - possessing the quality of mind, body and spirit that enables a person to face difficulty without fear.

Our scripture today comes from Deuteronomy 31 as Moses speaks to the Israelites. "Be strong and courageous.  Do not fear or be afraid of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you or forsake you."  Each and every day of our lives we have opportunities to be COURAGEOUS.  Many times we think that it takes really big events or an out-of-the ordinary situation to show courageousness, but it can be seen and used every day.  You already know what your everyday act of courage is, don't you?  It is the thing that, before you do it, you have to take that extra deep breath to get you over the hump to ensure that you complete the task.  In my world it is the simple act of calling my sister that forces me be courageous.  Due to many bad decisions on her part, her life is very challenging right now.  I know that I need to be reaching out to her, but many times out of her hurt and anger, she is very mean to me.  I still call her to tell her I love her and ask her how I can help.   Since the outcome is always uncertain, I find myself having to breath my way through each ring until she answers, if she answers at all.  I think will be courageous and make that call right now. Maybe today will be the day that she answers and lets me love her.  Everyday acts of courageousness can change our world.   So, go ahead, make that phone call, send that text, email, or card.   Be courageous and be strong.

Healthy tip of the day - eat soups for lunch or supper.  (Not cream based!!)  They will fill you up and keep you cozy warm.  See you dark and early Thursday.

Being courageous,

Amy

Happy Saturday Evening Campers,

I just watched the weather and with the impending cold front/snow/freezing rain event arriving tomorrow, I have decided to NOT HAVE BOOT CAMP ON MONDAY.  Since we are out so early, we cannot even depend on GISD making the decission for us.  We will meet on TUES, THURS and FRI of next week.  I would ask you to reply to this email so that I can be assured that everyone got the change in plans.  Also, if you have Boot Camp friends that are not good about checking their email, can you help me spread the word via text or phone.  

It would be wise to get a workout in sometime tomorrow or Monday!  Be safe, be warm and be happy!

Blessings,

Amy

Confident

Dear Ready, Strong and Confident Campers,

     

Wow, this morning was loaded with "rapid fire" fun!  You did great things for your body by activating those fast twitch muscle fibers.  These are the fibers that keep us active, dynamic and youthful.  These fibers must be used and challenged regularly or they begin to act sedentary, dull and old.  That is why we used them this morning.......we want to keep them in tip top shape as long as possible.  I know that you are CONFIDENT (having a strong belief or full assurance) that you do not want to accelerate the aging process, right?  So, we must be READY to give 100% in our workouts and be sure to train those fast twitch fibers to stay STRONG so that we can be CONFIDENT in our lives.

    

Our scripture focus this morning comes from Psalm 27:13, "I will remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."  Sometimes I forget that there is goodness all around me all the time, especially in the winter.   I am not a fan of winter time.  The cold weather, the layering of extra clothing, and the shorter days all tend to make me a bit cranky at times.  Let's just say that I have a hard time finding the goodness when the temperature is below 45 degrees!  As I was sitting here this morning wondering what I was going to tell you about the goodness all around I noticed that just outside my window my nandina plants were a beautiful brilliant red and there was a stunning Cardinal out on the bird bath!  Red is my favorite color and it was right there for me to see and enjoy and I had been missing it all along due to my winter blues.  Thank you God for showing me my favorite things even when I am not looking for them!  What goodness have you been missing out on?  I am CONFIDENT it is there.  Go find it and give thanks!

Goodness and confidence to you my friends,

Amy

Strong Tuesday

Dear Campers,

     

Great job this morning with your "sit, squat and shoulder" workout!  I am so proud of our rookie campers!  I know that RBC (Revival Boot Camp) is a shock to your system.    Please allow your body time to acclimate to the physical and mental challenges that are being thrown at you.   Returning campers, I commend you as you continue to bring your very best each workout.  Whether you are a rookie or a returner, continue to think about REDEFINING yourself in 2011.   

    

This morning in our group time I defined STRONG as being able, competent and powerful in a specific field.  Many times we think of being STRONG strictly as physical attribute, but I want to remind you that being STRONG can shape your thoughts and actions as well.  Maybe you were struggling with finishing the overhead press set today.  Instead of thinking about how many you may have missed, shift your thoughts to how many you did complete.  Remind yourself how STRONG you are today and be thankful.  Our scripture guidance today comes from 1 Corinthians 16:13, "Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.  Do everything in love." 

     

As each of us re-acclimate to our RBC schedule, I want to remind you that you will probably feel a dip in your energy levels this afternoon.  Do not use food to give you that extra boost.  You are more than likely fatigued, not hungry.  Drink 16 ounces of water, enjoy a cup of green tea or find 5 minutes to close your eyes and sneak a quick power nap!  Yesterday our focus was to ramp up our water consumption, today our focus is to consume 2 servings of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables.  Continue to make small changes and they will lead to a healthy abundance in your life.   Please feel free to email me with any thoughts, questions or concerns concerning your RBC experience.  I am happy to help.

     

As I mentioned in the email yesterday, sleep is vital to your success.  I am guessing that you are getting up earlier than your normal time, so you must get to bed earlier.  All of your weight regulating hormones are released while you are in deep REM sleep, so if you are not getting that quality sleep (7-8 hours,) you are missing out on the good things your body has to offer.  Another hormone that is released during REM sleep is Growth Hormone (GH.)  GH aids in muscle growth and recovery and keeps your metabolic rate revved up.  Turn off the TV, get in bed with a good book and drift into Snoozeville! 

     

I am already excited about our next workout.  See you dark and early Thursday morning.

Blessings,

Amy