Where Fitness Meets Faith Book Reviews

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What others are saying about Where Fitness Meets Faith – A Collection of Devotional Writings

 

By Sidney W. Frost

Kimberley Payne, a former personal fitness trainer, used her knowledge of the human body to develop devotionals to strengthen one’s faith in God. Educated in kinesiology, she learned about muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments, and she knows how one affects the other and how to exercise them properly. In addition to exercise, the author also uses examples of caring for our bodies and spiritual minds. For example:

When I am mindful of what I eat I truly enjoy it. I look to it as a source of pleasure and nourishment. When I treat food with respect I treat my body with respect. It is the same with my Christian behaviour. Some days, I tend to get lazy with my worship of God and just go through the motions. I may attend church but my mind is tending to other matters. When I am not mindful of my prayers and just pay lip service to them, they come only from my mind but not my heart. It is not enough just to practice spiritual rituals. I must worship God with my heart as well as my mouth.

As a writer, Kimberley describes how daily devotions helps her with her craft:

Generally after my morning walk, I return home to hot coffee and my pen and paper. I spend one hour writing. I record any enlightenment God has shown me and I reflect on the prayers I had offered up. It’s a time for me to not only talk with God, but to listen for a response.

The author recommends finding a quiet space, reading, walking, and writing. One way to start the writing process, she says, is to list five new things each day for which you are grateful.

Where Fitness Meets Faith is a collection of Kimberley’s Today’s Faith devotional columns that relate pursuing a healthy lifestyle to building a relationship with God. It is short, but packed with useful information you can read over and over again. These sixteen devotions were first published as “Today’s Faith” column in the Millbrook Times and Cornwall Seaway News between 2003-2007.

 

By David Fisher

For years I’ve read Kimberley’s devotional thoughts and they’re always relevant, challenging, encouraging and uplifting. She has an incredible knack for sharing everyday “stuff” and mixing in her personal faith. I guarantee that Where Fitness Meets Faith will be a “good read”. Thanks, Kimberley, for sharing this gift with us!

 

By Donna Dawson/Fawcett

Where Fitness Meets Faith is a collection of devotionals written by author and professional fitness trainer Kimberley Payne. Her small book is a fun and thought stirring collection of subjects pertaining to life and faith. I have never read a devotional quite like this before and found it a refreshing change.  Ms. Payne does a beautiful job of bridging true life application with faith lessons.  She takes her fitness training and experiences and ties them into scriptural truths that I found very much to my liking.  Not only is this a devotional for the athletically minded, it is ideal for a Christian or Home School application.

Ms. Payne doesn’t end with her devotion booklet.  She carries it one step further in her newest book Fit for Faith.  This book is far more in-depth and obviously geared to the educationally minded.  Again, Christian schools and Home Schools would find this book a great aid or replacement for curriculum in physical education.  She deals with health myths, stretching, healthy diet, goal setting, cardio and strength exercising—all necessary parts of healthy living.  But Ms. Payne also parallels all her expertise with a spiritual lesson for each point.  Having, myself, worked in both the Christian School and the Home School environments, I can clearly see the benefit of such a book.  Again, Ms. Payne’s professional background as a fitness trainer comes in to play making this book worthy of the school environment.

While Kimberley Payne’s two books are very competent in academic content and appear to be targeted to that genre, I would be remiss to say that they are limited only to schooling.  Anyone with a desire to be healthy should pick up these two books and anyone who wishes to exercise their spiritual muscles will not be disappointed.

 

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