RIGHT ON CUE

September 27, 2010Read: Philippians 1

"Being confident in this, that he who began a good work in you, will carry it on until completion to the day of Jesus Christ." --Philippians 1:6

Last night, my nephew Casey called us to play a song he'd been practicing for an upcoming piano recital. Casey, 16, is an aspiring songwriter and musician, and as he thundered away at his keyboard, my wife and I put him on speaker. A few seconds into his masterpiece, Loretta and I were in awe. We couldn't believe his talent. "That's my nephew!" I boasted. And then right on cue, Casey's perfection got pitchy. What should have been sharp went south, and what flowed went flat.

"It needs work," Casey explained with a giggle as he got back on the phone. But of course, despite a few hiccups, we thought it was awesome. "Keep working, Case. It'll come," we encouraged with applause.

You know, Casey's call gave me encouragement for the upcoming week. Each of us has a song to live. A beautiful melody that God loves to hear us play. After all, He conducts our lifesong. And while we might hit a sour note from time to time, like Casey's riff, God the conductor is still at work and loving us through our low notes.

And as it so happens, a few minutes after the call, I sent Casey a text asking him what the name of the tune was. He sent back, "Who I am hates who I've been." (Wow, right on cue.)

--J.P.

PRAYFIT WORKOUT OF THE WEEK: 10-Minute Full-Body Blast

Contrary to what most "hour per session" trainers will tell you, there's a fantastic level of fitness to be had by investing 10 minutes per day in exercise. The following quickie routine is a perfect day-starter for those looking to hit all their major muscle groups without an exhausting trip to the gym. After a few minutes of warm-up -- think 2-5 minutes worth of jumping jacks, running in place and arm swings -- perform each exercise listed, in order, to failure. Move from exercise to exercise without rest, save for the time it takes to list how many reps you performed on each. When you complete the last set of double crunches, rest 1-2 minutes, then perform the entire circuit once more, again listing your total number of reps.

Try this workout 2-3 times this week -- or for several weeks -- and, with proper nutrition, we guarantee you'll be looking and feeling stronger and leaner.

Exercise                                Sets        Reps Jump squats                           2              to failure Stationary Wall Squat            2              to failure Power Push-Up                      2             to failure Standard Push-Up                 2              to failure Double Crunch                       2              t0 failure

>> WORKOUT JOURNALS: Chronicle your successes and shortcomings of your experiences with this workout and others in a PrayFit Workout Journal by clicking here.