Letter Lesson 4

Letter/Lesson #4

Dear Member,

What the Bible Says About Exercise

All of the blessings derived from exercising are wonderful, but what does the Bible say about exercise? “For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8)

Oh, No! Have I Misled You?

You mean after all the wonderful things I’ve said about the blessings of physical exercise in Letter/Lesson #3, the Bible says bodily exercise profits only a little? Think about another scripture, James 4:14, for a moment: “whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” Yes, our lives on earth are short. That’s one reason 1 Timothy 4:8 says bodily exercise profits “a little.” It’s not that our lives aren’t important while we’re here, but our earthly time is nothing at all—“a vapor”—in comparison to eternity. We’ll live forever; as Christians, we’ll live eternally with our Lord and Savior. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

The Power of God’s Word

A person needs to be wise about physical exercise to be healthy and strong while on this earth. But more importantly, a person needs to be wise spiritually. Physical and spiritual strength go hand in hand to battle the challenges that lie ahead for your child! How did Jesus handle challenges thrown at him? Matthew 4:1 explains, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Then in Matthew 4:3, “Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’” Jesus answered in verse 4, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Jesus was tempted two more times, and both times He said, “It is written….” (Matthew 4:5-10) Matthew 4:11 says, “Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.”

A Lamp and a Light

Psalm 119:105 states, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Don’t you think your children will need a lamp at their feet and a light on the path to guide them in making choices that lead to a fulfilling and successful life while on this earth? Because we wanted that life for our son, we wanted Jon to “go the way” of God’s Word. We wanted him to have that guidance to light his way. That’s why we prayed while exercising. That’s why we verbalized scriptures that we’d memorized, spiritualized, or written on 3×5 note cards. Then we’d talk about those scriptures while we exercised and how they applied to the modern life we’re leading. We talked about all types of life’s challenges and how God’s Word provides the answers to all of those challenges. “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.” (Psalm 119:130)

Your Answered Prayer, Too

Yes, the part of my “waiting room prayer” concerning Jon being smart, really, very, very smart about physical and spiritual health was answered as he grew older. Jon has and is profiting because daily physical exercise is a permanent part of his life. But the spiritual blessing promised in 1 Timothy 4:8 is positively profitable in every area –“for all things”—of his life, both in the present and in the forever! Through faith I believe that my “waiting room prayer” and God’s direction for your family will become your answered prayer for your child, too.

Caution: A Generation/Communication Gap Ahead

Let’s take a glimpse into the future. From the time your child starts first grade (maybe even before) the following might be a typical conversation when your son or daughter comes home from school. As the caring, interested parent, you ask, “How was school?” He/she answers, “Fine.” Then you ask, “What did you do today?” His/her answer is, “Nothing.” Pressing on you ask, “What did your class talk about or do today?” “Not much.” Frustrated, you ask again, “Come on now. Surely you did something today?” He/she replies, “No, not really.” I won’t continue because I assure you this game can go on and on until you get tired of asking. This is the beginning of the generation, or more accurately, a communication gap. Often by the time the children become teenagers, the gap is so huge that parents don’t even seem to be needed except for providing money or helping with trouble the kids can’t handle on their own.

A Huge, Wonderful, Exciting, Surprise Blessing!

Exercise can bridge this generation/communication gap for a lifetime! In addition to making your children physically stronger and healthier, the time you spend exercising with your children during their early years can and will bridge the generation gap for all their lives. You’ll have many, many opportunities to share God’s Word, offering a lamp and a light to guide them. When your child gets old enough to walk or jog with you, it’s the perfect time to implement the following strategies of walking, talking, and listening. Continue daily exercise for one hour (or longer?) with your child. This time together provides the perfect setting to interact intimately with your child—no television, no radio, no computer, no phone. The secret is to guard against the temptation to start asking questions as soon as you begin your walk or jog with the intent of “fixing” things and telling your child what he/she should or shouldn’t do. Remember you’re out there for an hour or longer. Give your child time to relax. It won’t take very long before he/she will start to share things with you. You’ll be surprised at the outcome. Soon your children will loosen up and start to expose their “soft underbellies” and begin to really communicate about all kinds of things. The next part of the plan is vitally important. Don’t do the instinctive thing, trying to be a good parent, and quickly offer suggestions on how they should do this or how they should do that. Instead just let your child talk and talk and talk, and you listen and listen and listen! What are you listening for? Opportunities to apply Proverbs 22:6 to your child’s challenges and life! (“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”) Listen for opportunities to train and teach your children “the way they should go” according to God’s principles to help them be successful in life by God’s standards. As a successful parent, it’s not about you; it’s about your child! Follow this basic plan, and you’ll create a bond with your child that will last a lifetime! I can show you the fruit of this truth if you’ll let me take you back through the years and present a brief timeline of specific, interesting events in our son’s life.

Tumbleweeds, Mesquite Trees, and Jon’s Big Smile

–Five Years Old–

If you had asked Jon at the time how old he was, he would’ve told you five and a half. You know how that goes. We’d entered a local charity run. During the first mile, a number of other runners passed us. One of those runners laughed at us as he whizzed by saying, “Better hurry.” Then he laughed some more. Jon, obviously challenged, yelled out to me, “Dad, we better run faster. We’re going to lose,” and he started to pick up our pace. I said to him, “No, Jon, slow down. We’ll be fine. You’ll see.”

Sensing an opportunity to apply Proverbs 22:6, I shared with him Corinthians 9:24-27, the passage about many runners running in a foot race but only one of them winning the prize. I shared with him that the life of a Christian is a race, too, but with a major difference. Instead of winning a physical prize, such as a trophy that will be gone someday, Christian runners win a prize that lasts forever. For the next several minutes Jon and I talked about the Christian race of godliness from start to finish. After the starting line of salvation by grace, we love God and others, we trust and obey, we walk justly and humbly during the time of our earthly Christian race. Then we get a glorious eternity in heaven, our forever prize, and it’s for all “runners” who believe in Jesus. Jon began to understand. He told me how blessed he was that he was a Christian and how blessed he was that both his mom and I were Christians, too. (After we got home, we went to those verses and studied them together as a family.)

During the next mile, we passed runners who’d passed us earlier. Most of them were stopped, huffing and puffing, holding their sides, trying to catch their breath. We kept our pace, finding ourselves pretty much alone except for the tumbleweeds, mesquite trees, and Jon’s big smile. For the duration of the run we thanked God for all our blessings, and we shared Bible scriptures. We prayed for each other, for family members, and for other people. Of course, Jon wanted to thank God for turtles, butterflies, horned toads, and ants. There weren’t many species of creatures in West Texas that he left out.

As we continued to run, Jon got tired. I’d tried to set a pace I thought was good for him, but it was obvious we needed to come up with an adjustment. So I said to Jon, “How about me putting you on my shoulders for a little while until you get rested? I think it’d be fun.” Jon replied, “No, I don’t want everybody to laugh at me.” (Isn’t that interesting? Remember the “swimming pool story” when at two years old he showed no embarrassment at all, yet at five this was a big concern?) I answered, “You know, there are times when your mother and I get tired and someone puts us on his shoulders.” In disbelief, Jon asked, “Who would that be?” I said, “Jesus.” We talked about Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” I began to tell Jon about some tough times that his mother and I had gone through and how we’d been given rest through believing God’s Word and having faith in Jesus Christ to bring us through our challenges. After that Jon said, “Okay, but just for a little while.”

We finished the race with Jon alternating on and off my shoulders. We shared, we bonded, and we made memories all during the race. And the time we spent exercising that day gave me many great opportunities to train Jon “in the way he should go.”

For the first five years of Jon’s life we implemented the same plan I’ve offered you and your family. He was about to start school, and he was ready. Praise God!

Linda, Jon, and a Merry Heart

–Elementary School–

Most of the time we walked or exercised in some way together as a family. However, from the time Jon was five through age nine, I was away during the week on business trips. My absence gave Linda time to spend with Jon, and they walked every morning. They prayed, they talked about all kinds of things, and they laughed together. They laughed a lot! Among many other things, Jon got his sense of humor and his ability to laugh from those morning outings with Mom. “A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22)

A Very Special Mother’s Day Note

Linda helped train Jon “in the way he should go” in other areas that she knew he’d need in order to be smart and to “run a good race” in life. The fruit of this training was definitely evident in a note Jon wrote to Linda one Mother’s Day. He wrote, “Mom, you especially have given me compassion, and you gave me my greatest qualities—the ability to respect everyone, rich or poor, and the knowledge to turn to God whenever I’m weak.” Daily exercise gave Linda and Jon the quality and quantity of time necessary to train and form a lifelong bond.

Proverbs 22:6 Working in Jon’s Life

–High School–

When Jon was in high school, he and I went to the track field one Saturday to run as we regularly did. We were climbing the iron steps that crossed over the fence when I glanced down. There was a huge rattlesnake! Jon saw it about the same time. I’m pretty sure we both set world long jump records as we leaped off those steps and down onto the track field. As it turned out, a school janitor heard the ruckus and identified the monster snake as a harmless bull snake. Liked we cared!

After this little bit of excitement, which made a most memorable start for our time together, we jogged for a while. It wasn’t long before Jon started talking and sharing things. We talked about girls and relationships. We talked about drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes. We talked about challenges he had in school, both in the classroom and in athletics. We talked about challenges I had with my job. We talked about how blessed we both were to have Linda in our lives. We talked about some Bible truths, we prayed, we shared, and we bonded. Exercising together gave us the time to create some very special memories, while giving me still more time to continue training Jon “in the way he should go.”

Hiking in Big Bend National Park

–College–

As a family, we spent time together regularly in some sort of activity that required physical exercise. We loved to swim, to walk, jog or run, to ski, play basketball and tennis, but some of the best times we had as a family involved hiking.

One time during Jon’s college days, we all decided that a hiking trip to the Big Bend National Park in Southwest Texas would be fun. The Lord really blessed us on this trip. Two days before our trip it rained several inches around the park area. The much-needed rain made the native animals very active and also raised our hopes of a float trip down the Rio Grande River. After we arrived and unloaded our things, we decided to hike the trail called “The Window.” It was only a three-hour hike, round trip. Because the animal life was so active, we saw something during our hike that one of the park rangers said was very rare. We saw a black bear at a distance of not more than 25 yards. He was on a small hill standing upright on his hind legs looking at us, probably wondering what kind of bears we were. During the hike we also saw some of the bear’s friends—several deer and a herd of javelina pigs, all contained in some of the most beautiful country God ever created.

The next day we were able to go on a float trip down the mighty Rio Grande River. Our guide told us he had a surprise for us. He instructed us to oar the raft onto a sand bar. From there we climbed up the rocks that overlooked the river. Once on top of the huge rocks, our guide took us to pools of rainwater captured by the rocks. One of the pools was deep enough to dive into and swim. The water was crystal clear. If you’ve never swum in a rainwater pool, you need to. What an exhilarating experience!

During the last day of our stay, one of the park rangers suggested we go across the border and eat in a village called Santa Elena. (You can’t do that safely anymore, thanks to the drug lords.) To get there we had to cross the river on a small boat. On the return trip the boat’s engine failed, and we took an exciting ride down the Rio Grande River. After about a mile, we got close enough to the bank to grab hold of some willow trees and pulled ourselves onto the bank.

During this trip we had time to talk, to pray, to share, to laugh, and at times to gasp! We bonded as a family, a bond that’s still going strong and will always be there. Exercising as a family gave time away from our normal routines to create such steadfast bonding and such special memories.

Ongoing Fruits Proving the Power of Proverbs 22:6

–After Law School–

Jon had just completed his Texas State Bar Exam. After the test was over, he called us and said he’d like to come and visit for a day or so. During the phone conversation, he mentioned that he’d like for all of us to go to the track field and work out.

The next morning after Jon had arrived home, Linda told us to go on without her as she had something else she needed to do. As it turned out, Linda felt like Jon really needed to talk to me—you know, “man talk.” Mothers have that wonderful, God-instilled quality of being able to read their children’s minds. Only one of a million motherly talents!

Sure enough, Linda was right. Jon and I warmed up and then started to jog around the quarter-mile track. The only sounds were my heavy breathing as I attempted to stay up with Jon plus a few buzzing mosquitoes. Like I’d done for him when he was young, he slowed down a bit for me. Then right on cue after about 15 minutes or so, he slowed to a walk and started talking. “Dad, even before knowing the results of the law exam, a prominent Dallas law firm has offered me a position.” I just listened. Jon went on to say, “This firm is one of the most prestigious law firms in the country, but I don’t feel I should accept their offer.” He continued, “I believe I need to form my own law firm.” I knew he wasn’t really asking for my permission, so I just kept listening. He went on, “Most people would think I’m crazy trying to go into my own business without getting some experience, saving some money, and building up some contacts, much less turning down an offer that most law graduates dream of.” Feeling I should say something at this point, I blurted out, “Have you told the firm that you’re going to decline their offer?” He told me he had. I asked him about their response. Jon said one of the partners asked him why was he thinking about doing something so obviously stupid. Jon told him that through a great deal of prayer he felt a tremendous peace and that starting his own firm was what the Lord wanted him to do. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7) The partner then told Jon to go see a psychiatrist as quickly as possible. But what that lawyer didn’t know, wouldn’t hear, and certainly couldn’t understand was the Lord had given Jon a plan. It was a plan that would lead Jon to become one of the most successful lawyers in Texas.

Praise Time!

–The Present–

In only a few years Jon has achieved the type of success that most lawyers never accomplish in a lifetime. He’s currently working on some of the biggest cases in Texas. He no longer advertises, as his referrals steadily bring clients to his office. And, best of all, he gives all the glory to God.

There’s no doubt in my mind that those early years of applying Proverbs 22:6 to an exercise plan helped plant seeds that later produced the good fruit of an excellent career and a balanced Christian life. Remember that the process of applying exercise as “the way” for Jon to “go” started when he was an infant, and it incorporated the spiritual with the physical.

Many Wonderful Times

Through the years our family’s had so many marvelous, rewarding times while exercising together. I picked only a few stories in our progressive timeline to demonstrate the wonderful blessings that any family can look forward to and hope for when a child is trained to exercise at an early age. One of my prayers is for you to write me someday with your praise reports testifying to the power of Proverbs 22:6 regarding exercise.

Moving On To Letter/Lesson #5

The next letter/lesson will begin to look into some very specific ways you can train your child to be really, very, very smart on the subject of food.

Until then, please email me at [email protected] with any questions, comments, thoughts, or suggestions you may have.

God bless,

Paw Paw

P.S. You may want to print this and future letter/lessons to form your own “Tomorrow’s Heroes Library” for you and your family. Beyond this, you may want to consider adding your personal notes, thoughts, and insights to customize this program to fit your family.

Edited by DC

Unless otherwise indicated, Scriptures quotations are from

the New King James Version.