October 15th, 2010Read: 1 John 1

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." --1 John 1:9

Well, if you missed any of this week’s entries, we hope you go back a few days and catch up. But on this final leg, I'd like to go back to what Loretta said at 4:00 a.m. the morning of the race. Sitting on the edge of the bed, with barely enough light to tie her shoes, she paused. Her unpinned race number lay beside her, along with the invitation to the race, and with a nervous smile she said, "Am I really doing this?" With a confident grin, I said, "You're ready. I'll see you at the finish."

When I finally found her, 26.2 miles and just over four hours later, amidst the crowd and celebration, you know what she did? After a long, happy, tearful hug, she showed me her medal. Did she win? Well, in my book, yes. But actually, everyone had a medal. The prize went to anyone who accepted the invitation to the race.

Friends, God invites us to accept Jesus into our hearts and lives. When we do, we join a race He's already won on our behalf. Our job is to just trace His steps and help others do the same. See you at the finish? --J.P.

RESTED DEVELOPMENT One thing we haven't discussed in our PrayFit marathon week?  The importance of good rest following the race. In fact, experts say to take as long as a week or two to fully recover. Light activity like walking or easy swimming are excellent ideas to help the joints and muscles recover from the vigorous strain of a long run like the marathon, not to mention the weeks of preparation necessary to complete it.

Our plea to adhere to good rest is not limited to marathoners. If that were the case, few of us would be resting! So in general, our bodies need good rest and recovery time, so feel free to take time off every few months, performing mild activity for a few days at a time.

Also, take time to get an adequate amount of rest each week. If you're sore, fatigued or otherwise limited, it could be your body's way of telling you to back off slightly. Serious lifters, for example, will train a single bodypart hard then rest it for a full week.

Rest will help your joints and muscles, while also providing your mind some time to recover.