Living with Unquenchable Joy

Do not allow difficult events to cancel the joy of knowing you are a child of God. Choose to allow God’s Spirit to fill you with His unquenchable joy, and your life will be a miracle to those who watch you face the trials that come.

These words were sent to me today via my new "coach", Greg Cheney of FaithFirstFitness.com. If you've listened to my Catholic Moments episode #58, you'll recognize Greg's name from the brief announcement of his services made during the podcast. Having reviewed the coaching services provided by Greg and taken assessment of my own personal fitness and nutrition situation at the moment, I've decided to invest in a few months of Greg's services to help get myself back on track. Regular readers of this blog know of my continual interest in the connection between spiritual and physical fitness. Having read about Greg's services, I am looking forward to following some of his advice with an eye towards a continual improvement of my fitness and nutrition habits. I love Greg's emphasis on the spiritual elements of fitness.

Many of us struggle with fitness and nutrition in our lives. Even though I write, think and talk about them on a weekly basis, my struggles with both areas are continual. In my life, I find that when I allow things to slip out of balance in one area, the other aspects of my life also fall out of whack. Thus, my willingness to invest for the next few months in this journey. Truthfully, just as our spiritual journey is continual, our quest for a healthy lifestyle is as well. I hope that by focusing on this with Greg for the next few months, I can find renewed commitment and discipline.

I love the quote above for its wonderful reminder that I am a child of God, made just as I am thanks to His wondrous design. Embracing that design with joy is key, isn't it? It's so easy to get disappointed with ourselves and simply give up. I have so many reasons to live with unquenchable joy and my life truly is a series of small, everyday miracles. So get ready for some writing about my journey with Greg towards Faith First Fitness. If you'd like to come along for the ride, visit Greg's website at www.faithfirstfitness.com.