Your body is a temple...

        Yesterday, on my day off from work a girlfriend and I had the opportunity to go the Columbia, South Carolina LDS temple. A very generous friend kept Noah (in addition to her two precious children), and it was so nice knowing that Noah was safe and having fun while I was having my spiritual time. It is always a blessing to visit the temple. For those who are not LDS, or unfamiliar with our faith, the temple is different from our church buildings that we attend every Sunday, it is a very hallowed place in which we participate in church ordinances that differ from our normal Sunday sacrament services. Here is a link to lds.org that can explain a little more thoroughly and eloquently than I can, regarding temples... Frequently asked questions about Temples.  I enjoy any time I can visit the temple, but it is very special when I get to go with a friend. My friend Anna is also a convert to the church, she and I were able to go yesterday and enjoy the Spirit together. Anna is actually only about a month away from being married and sealed to her fiance in the temple (yay!). Part of what transpires during a temple session is the renewing of Covenants with the Lord. I've made a lot of Covenants with my Heavenly Father all of them critical to my eternal happiness, and being at the temple I'm able to reflect and renew those covenants. Some involve service to the Lord, faithfulness to my husband, and keeping my body and pure and sanctified vessel.

the Temple!

            As some of you know, I am a Zumba intructor. I also diet and exercise in other ways, too. For as long as I can remember I've been involved in some form of physical activity be it cheerleading, dance, working out, etc. I also for as long as I can remember have been on some form of diet or healthy eating regime. When I joined the church in 2007 I gave up all tobacco, drugs, and alcohol and convenanted with the Lord to treat my body as a temple. To treat it just as if it were the beautiful white, shining, pure and sanctified house of the Lord that I was able to visit yesterday. My body is a gift from God, "What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." 1 Corinthians Chapter 6:19-20 and I have been abundantly blesse for treating it that way. I try very hard to be healthy and encourage others to do so, as well. It is so important for your friends and family and children to not only have you healthy so that you can live a long and productive life, but also so that you can be an example to them. I'm so blessed to have family and friends that are also not only involved in physical fitness, but supportive of my involvement. When I leave the temple, just like when I attend a wedding, or baptism, or take the sacrament in church on Sunday, I get such a pure, and spiritual high. I feel spectacular inside and out. That's one of the reasons it is so great to share the experience of attending the temple with a friend! When I exercise it's a very similar, I get a "high" of sorts, I'm always happy, at peace, and feel generally great! Again, I love being able to share that positive experience, and feel so great with my friends and people I care about!
It's a little peculiar to think of a Zumba class as a spiritual experience... there is loud music and lots of people, and you're shaking what your mama gave you for about an hour! You leave sweaty and tired- BUT... that class is just another way I'm keeping my part of the covenant I made with the Lord to be healthy and treat my body like the gift it is. I'm not only happier, but my capability to serve the Lord, my husband and daughter, and others is so much greater when I'm in shape and healthy!!
      Like I mentioned before, I am so lucky to have friends that are passionate about health and fitness, too. It makes the experience such a positive one, and it helps me stay on track. Here are a couple of resources I use, and some great pages regarding health and physical fitness, especially for women! Peace and Love, Layne

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POJO Fitness

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