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Sunday, September 01, 2013
BACK TO THE GYMN--Rev. Dr. Ed Hird
When
the weather is warm and sunny, I love to swim outdoors. As a
teenager, I was involved three days a week with the YMCA Flying Sharks, a
junior life-saving team. My late uncle Don Allen was a career Navy
deep sea diver, sometimes finding lost Caribbean treasure. When I first
tried learning to swim at the UBC outdoor pool, it was so cold that I
felt frozen stiff. It was only when I went to the warm Okanagan Lake
that my swimming breakthrough came. I know that summer is coming to a
close when outdoor swimming comes to an end.
During
the summer, most gyms and weight rooms are missing many regular
participants. September is the ‘Back to the Gym’ time, ‘Back to
School’ time, ‘Back to Church’ time. September is the time when our
life rhythms reconnect. We all need times away, times of refreshing,
time of letting go. We also need times of reconnecting, of gathering,
of pressing in. Sometimes in the summer, we can relax and feast too
much. Back to the Gym helps us refocus, restart and recalibrate our
lives.
For
the past nine years, our congregation St. Simon’s NV has been meeting
at the Maplewood School Gym each Sunday. Worshipping in a gym has
reminded me that being healthy is meant to be holistic. God wants us to
be healthy in body, mind and spirit. He wants us to be physically fit,
emotionally fit and spiritually fit. Worship is meant to be a
stretching experience where we encounter God with our whole person, all
our heart, soul, mind and strength. Why am I passionate about both
worship and calisthenics? Because both are about being healthy, both
are about making a difference, both are about investing in one’s
future. This fall I invite you to go back to the gym, for physical,
emotional and spiritual renewal. Make an investment that will pay
lasting dividends. Your body, mind and spirit will thank you.
The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, Rector
St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver
Anglican Mission in the Americas (Canada)
http://stsimonschurch.ca
-an article for the September 2013 Deep Cove Crier
http://www.battleforthesoulofcanada.blogspot.com
p.s.
In order to obtain a copy of the book ‘Battle for the Soul of Canada’,
please send a $18.50 cheque to ‘Ed Hird’, #1008-555 West 28th Street,
North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please
send $20.00 USD. This can also be done by PAYPAL using the e-mail ed_hird@telus.net . Be sure to list your mailing address. The Battle for the Soul of Canada e-book can be obtained for $9.99 CDN/USD.
-Click to download a complimentary PDF copy of the Battle for the Soul study guide : Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada
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2 comments:
Ed, you are so right -- I get the message, but default on being a "doer of the word," as far as engaging in a consistent exercise regimen is concerned.
Thanks for the exhortation and inspiration. :)
~~+~~
Thank you for your encouraging comments, Peter.
Ed Hird
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