As I write
this book, I will never claim to be an expert on what is the best thing for you
to do to have a spiritually and physically healthy life. I am not a theologian, although from my
studies, I would argue that anyone who studies and works towards a closer
relationship with God could be considered a theologian. I do not claim to have all the answers. Much like any Christian, I have many
questions that I constantly seek answers for, which to me is an act of
faith. I am not an expert on health,
although I have worked in the healthcare field for the last 12 years with an
emphasis on health programs and training.
I do not claim that this book is the answer to all of the questions that
you may have. It is not a diet, nor a
guidebook or even a recommendation on how you should live.
This book is
a personal reflection on my experiences, beliefs, and knowledge on having a
spiritually and physically healthy life.
I have written this book after six years of running a Christ Walk
program at two churches. The program was
well received and provided an opportunity for the participants to grow
spiritually and physically. The book is
set up in a manual/journal format in order for you to have an interactive
experience in the Christ Walk journey, much as the participants in the class
experienced! At the end of the 40 days,
this book should be as much your book as it is mine. I have designed the book for individual use
as well as for groups. The appendices
include options for group leaders and options for individuals to transform
their Christ Walk experience from journey to journey. And there is always another journey. Christ Walk should not end after one 40-day
period. These 40 days should transform
you in to new journeys and new goals.
The Bible is
rife with stories about journeys and food and eating and celebration. God did not intend for us to be at war with
food, nor did he intend for us not to
use our feet and our bodies in our daily lives.
I am filled with awe that Christianity spread during a time when there were
no cars, or trucks, or trains, or airplanes to get our prophets and disciples
to the place where they wanted to spread the word. There is a reason God gave us feet! To use them, to walk with them, or run with
them or jump with them, but all to the Glory of God and taking care of the
temple he created within each of us.
When I have
struggled with how to live my life, for the strength to get out and exercise
when all I want to do is stay at home, or when I have been conflicted by the
stresses in my life, I have always felt that God was there to help me and
provide me strength and guidance. I
remember running my first half marathon.
Around mile 9 I began to fail and doubt.
I began to pray that God would wrap my legs in strength and endurance. I felt the power of the Holy Spirit lift my
legs and make them strong again. I truly
believe God’s strength helped me finish my race. The belief that I was not alone rejuvenated
me. I believe that God walks with me in
every step that I take. I believe that the
Bible is filled with inspirational guidelines on living a healthy life. Through the next 40 days, I would like to
share that with you, as well as sharing a bit of my life and my journey through
Christ Walk.
Each day,
there will be a Bible verse related to a reflective piece on healthy
living. Some of these days may be more
body-focused and other days may be more spiritually or mentally focused. All of these days will help you on your
journey to a healthier you! If you are
physical unable to walk, I ask that you look at your life in ways that you can
change it and improve it. Everyone has
things that they can do to make their life healthier. Perhaps your goal will be to study something
new on your journey, or pray with more discipline or focus on changing your
nutritional habits. If you cannot
physically exercise, discuss with your health care provider on some options
that you are willing to do to change.
There is a place in this journey for everyone. We may need to be creative on the method that
the journey is completed. I ask that you
pray through those chapters that are not applicable to you and really focus on
the ones that speak to your personal experience. I have tried to write to many different
perspectives and needs. I am aware that
this book will not work for everyone, but if you cannot make the journey on
your own, consider how you can help others on their journey. Keep an open mind and again, consider, “what
can I do to change?”
So how do we
make a healthy body? We take care of
it. We exercise it, we feed it, we
nurture it, and we rest it.
Scientifically, the best exercise that most people keep up with is
walking. I find that very reassuring as
most of the stories and journeys in the Bible were done by foot. Consequently, as you begin this journey with
me, I am going to ask you to pick a walking goal (see appendix A) to focus on
during the next 40 days. There are different walking goals depending on your
fitness level. Some people have walked
the Via Delarosa (Jesus’ journey
through Jerusalem to his crucifixion, one of my favorite routes) during Lent; others walked Jesus’ Birth
and Death (the distance between Bethlehem and Jerusalem); while others have
walked Paul’s missionary journeys. There
is a complete list of suggested journeys and distances for you to set for your
goal (Appendix A). Or you may choose to
set your own goal! It is up to you. But as we physically walk through our Christ
Walk journey, it will help to focus you on your spiritual goals as well.
Through the
Christ Walk journey, we have taken the parable of the ordained journey and
translated that to actual physical walking goals that are pulled from routes
that Jesus and the disciples took during varying missions. You can find a breakdown of each of these
routes and their miles to include a map of the routes in the Holy Land in the
Appendices. Some of these distances are
estimates. At the time I developed the
routes, I was using a ruler and a map grid to figure out how far we would
go. I take full responsibility in any
inaccuracies and beg your forgiveness as these are supposed to be
representative.
I chose some
of these routes because they touched a very special part of me for different
reasons. These biblical journeys
represent different themes to me and I will share with you how they became a
part of the Christ Walk Journey for me.
The first
year I did Christ Walk, I think I only had three different routes to choose
from: a beginner route, intermediate route, and advanced route to challenge different
fitness levels. Over the years, I have
added other routes as I journeyed through the Bible. I have also added Group routes because we are
all in this together! Research also
supports the impact of groups and teamwork on being successful in obtaining
goals. People who set goals together are
more likely to stick with them and be successful.
The
Nazareth Challenge was one of the first routes I developed. It is 65 miles between Jesus’ hometown of
Nazareth and Jerusalem. This is
approximately 1.6 miles each day for 40 days to walk the distance of the route
that Jesus preached to reach Jerusalem. The
goal was very special to me because as a military wife, I am often far from
home. I look at my journey now as
leading me to my final resting spot one day and I find that very
satisfying.
The Jerusalem to Damascus Route: This journey
represents Paul’s conversion on the Damascus Road. The route is approximately 3.75 miles. What an amazing journey to find your way to
being a Christian and God’s love. I can
think of no greater journey than Paul’s conversion. If he could walk this route blind, anyone can
do it. For me personally, I have a
hearing loss that I will tell you more about in another story, but Paul’s loss
of eyesight did not stop him from his calling.
This is a wonderful journey to choose.
The
Jerusalem Challenge: During Jesus’ final days, his route through Jerusalem
included preaching at the temple, the clearing of the temple, the Last Supper,
his arrest at Gethsemane, his trial and Peter’s denial and then his
crucifixion. This is roughly a 2.2 mile
route. This is known as the Via Delarosa or The Way of
Suffering. What a powerful image to walk
the distance of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice for us each data during Lent. And
you can reflect on our walks the great gift we have been given. This is a lovely, lovely journey to try as
you explore your spirituality and relationship to God.
The
Damascus to Caesarea Journey: This is a
journey of 5 miles a day representing the walks that the disciples took on
their missionary journeys. I find it
powerful that the disciples traveled such great distances without cars or other
forms of modern transportation. Aside
from a donkey or camel, these journeys were taken by foot. See yourself as part of a mission and a way
and a journey and step proudly each day on your challenge.
The
Bethlehem Challenge: I think of this challenge as the Alpha and Omega
Challenge. It is about 5 miles between
Bethlehem and Jerusalem and this represents walking the route from Jesus’ birth
to his death. This is Jesus journey from where God put him in the world to his
ultimate calling. Where will your
journey take you?
The Exodus Challenge:
Not for the faint of heart. This
challenge was chosen for some of the most advanced of my Christ Walk
participants. This is the route the Jews
traveled to get to the Promised Land: 375 miles or 9.4 miles/day or 18750 steps
per day. (You may use this one as a
group challenge). We are all on our
journey to the Promised Land.
The appendix in the book has additional group journeys
where teams can pool their miles towards additional (and longer)
challenges/routes found in the Bible.
The second year I did Christ Walk, I learned that the journey was a lot
more fun when we did it with teams. The
teams provided a support system to get each of us through our different
strengths and weakness on our routes.
If you are doing Christ Walk as a group, I recommend
that during the first week, you coordinate some fitness professionals to come
in and discuss principles of healthy living.
It is also useful to have them provide some type of fitness testing so
that you can be provided with some baseline information on the fitness level of
your body. These numbers such as blood
pressure, resting heart rate, body mass index, weight, cardiovascular fitness
can give you some objective information on what you need to change. These tests can be repeated at the end of the
journey to show the progress you made.
Finally, since I am not a dictator, I have always let
the Christ Walk participants find their own journeys. There may be another route that speaks more
deeply to you than these favorites of mine, and I encourage you to find that
route and journey it. The point is to
get up and get moving. The journey
cannot get started if you are sitting down.
Each day,
there will be a place for you to fill in your steps/distance, your activity,
your feelings for the day and your spiritual thought for the day. Do not rush to finish the book. This book is designed to be read one chapter
a day. This way, the book is a journal to help you on your way and improve your
Christ Walk experience. If at any time
you need to change your goals, feel free to do so. Life is a journey and many bumps happen along
the way! The test of the issue is that
you continue to have faith to continue on the journey, even if it is in a
different way that the one in which you started. If you are doing this as a group, these
journal entries may help your group to share their Christ Walk experience and
deepen your understanding of a life of walking with Christ. See Appendix B for Recommendations for
Groups.
So, how do we
measure the steps we took, the distance we traveled? I recommend the purchase of a pedometer,
which can be clipped to your belt or pants and will track the number of steps/miles
traveled each day. Recommendations from
the experts encourage every individual to take 10,000 steps a day for heart
health. You may need to work up to this
level of activity, and perhaps this will be one of your goals. Roughly 2,000-2,500 steps equal a mile. Depending on the maker of pedometer, it may
tell this for you, or you may have to calculate your stride if you want to be more
accurate. For the purpose of Christ
Walk, we generally give 1 mile for every 2,000 steps. There is a brief
description on using a pedometer in Appendix C.
If you want
to bike, swim, dance, aerobics or
whatever you choose for exercise, it takes about 15 minutes to walk a mile, so
every 15 minute block of exercise can be calculated as a mile. The important thing is to choose an activity
that you enjoy and do it. The purpose is to get out there and move, to think
about every step you take as walking with God.
I am not big on punishment and it is your walk with Christ, so you will
have to take it up with your conscious if you cheat! That is up to God. Your job is to give it your best shot with
all your heart.
So take your
first step(s) and see how many steps your pedometer took you today.
Thoughts to
ponder:
1.
What
is my goal?
2.
How
do I feel about my goal? Is it
reasonable/attainable/realistic? If not,
how can I make it something that I will stick with the next 40 days?
3.
Who
can I reach to help me out on my journey?
4.
What
do you think about the following scripture in relationship to your own
journey?: “ So on that day your feet have walked will be your inheritance, and
that of your children forever because you have followed the Lord my God
wholeheartedly.” Joshua 14: 9
From "Christ Walk: A 40-Day Spiritual Fitness Program," 2015, Morehouse Publications. Used with Permission.
From "Christ Walk: A 40-Day Spiritual Fitness Program," 2015, Morehouse Publications. Used with Permission.
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