I AM Lesson # 1

Purpose:  To reach and teach ready, willing and able students a Christian faith-based personalized pattern of exercise called I AM (Inspired Appropriate Movement), in order to glorify God, to improve personal fitness, and to move with our brain in mind.

READINGS/CONVERSATION

Bible Truth # 1.  We are temples of the Holy Spirit.  1 Cor 6:19-20.

Key words — Balance, Foundation, Temple, Build, Up, Open, Focus

PERSONALIZED CONFESSION:  In Jesus’ name, I ask my Heavenly Father to help me take better care of my body.  I open myself to the Spirit of the Living God to help me focus on that choice.  I believe God created me and knows how to build up my temple (body) and I believe with all my heart He will help me to do it.  Jesus is my foundation and the balance I need in my life. I dedicate this I AM exercise pattern to my Creator; thanking Him, praising Him, and worshipping Him for all I am and all He is helping me to become.

Demonstration Terms: NEW START acronym (Nutrition, Exercise Water, Sun, Temperance, Air, Rest, Trust in God), Brain, Mind, Mid-line, lateral, cross lateral, themes, acceptable, recognizable

Steps

Teacher: Explains, demonstrates, provides understanding

Student: Paraphrases, participates, demonstrates, provides feedback

1. Foundation*balance*relaxing

2. Midline*levels*acceptable patterns

3. Recognizable patterns*themes

See helpful sites Re: Recommended water consumption & measuring heart rate:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283

http://www.fpl.com/about/retirees/figuring_your_target_heart_rate_zone.shtml

Becoming Fit for the Master’s Use and Shining His Light Within

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MjDWvlXa1fdiHfKphK0wgeYU1kWw_FpK/view?usp=drive_web

(Please cut and paste web address, if link fails.)

I AM Exercise – A good or a God idea?      

A good idea is one that …

brings honor and glory to such things as, an idea, a memory, a person or persons (creation)

is subject to challenge, somewhat creative – yet limited

usually has an order – not necessarily decent

is exclusive in practical application

is advertised to fit

relies on a marketing source

is brought about by sensory knowledge

brings temporary relief or satisfaction

translates a financial/imagined success

success is predicted

human interference can kill it

is usually designed as either a general or specific purpose

is generated by a human passion for a specific agenda

takes advantage of a need for profit

brings a dependence upon that product/idea/person – external hope

** is designed so people can feel better, think better, look better, or be in a better position relative to others – survival in the immediate competitive world – the lesser reality

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–

A God idea is One that …

brings honor and glory to Him (Creator)

is the best, most creative, and unlimited

is ordered and decent

is universally inclusive

is seasonally correct

doesn’t rely on any one person or persons for continuance

is brought forth by revelation knowledge

brings life more abundantly

witnesses to His reality as a Love Being

is anointed to succeed

no human effort can effectively veto

He chooses as a specific or general use

relates to mankind’s spirit, soul, and body

He generates through a willing vessel (child) for the edification of His Body (Grace)

responds to a need (Mercy)

brings hope, enthusiasm, motivation, and positive change (Goodness)

*** is designed to attract lost souls to His Son, Jesus Christ and into His Kingdom of  Love, Light, Life, Faith, and Truth; the place of everlasting peace and joy

Given these guidelines, do you believe the I AM exercise is a good or God idea for you?

INSPIRED APPROPRIATE MOVEMENT (I AM) OVERVIEW 1Cor 6:19

INTRODUCTION:

The purpose of the Temple Ministry is to provide lively hope and encouragement to the Body of Christ, and a significant godly influence within our local community and beyond.  With that as our focus, we believe the I AM exercise is on the mark and runs in the lane of our assignment.

If you are open to something new, then Inspired Appropriate Movement I AM is a Christian faith-based creative way for you to blend exercise with worship.  Craving a righteous relationship with God, 67 years of age, formerly trained in brain-based learning as a special educator, and after participating as an I AM exerciser/worshipper for the past thirteen years, I can testify of it’s personal benefit, focused purpose, motivating touch, and hopeful creative nature.

Special thanks to:

Darrin Bouley, for his love, editing, and  production of the I AM YouTube video below.

Pastor Raymond Zimberlin of Faith Christian Center for his special genius in music, editing, and consistent godly council and wisdom.

My beautiful, thoughtful, and one of a kind wife, Cynthia, who always encourages me to dance with Jesus first and her second.

We thank God primarily and for the privilege of introducing I AM in general and specifically to a number of men incarcerated at the Bristol County Jail and House of Correction in Dartmouth, MA. Without Him, there would be nothing for which to be inspired.  With our Creator of life, and His grace, we can do all things, including benefiting while praising Him with this I AM activity. We pray the Lord’s will, and His righteous curriculum is exercised through our efforts.

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CURRENT CONDITION:  Spiritual, educational, and vocational programs as well as physical activities abound generally and are also offered to inmates housed in many prison settings. These independent and mutually exclusive programs and activities are influenced by critical factors such as need, funding, safety, scheduling, supervision, facility availability, and individual circumstance.

VISION:  We see a population of people, including inmate disciples choosing to participate in a Christian faith-based, personalized, and integrated spirit, soul, and body recovery activity called I AM (Inspired Appropriate Movement).

METHOD: Through a series of Biblical faith-based, yet practical I AM lessons. (See curriculum lessons, You Tube rendition
and related material below.  Use of a widely varied selection, yet God-honoring  music.  (Country, Spanish, Reggae, Rap, Celtic etc)

TEACHER STRATEGY:  Shares and builds on patterns and principles, explains for understanding, demonstrates for practical application.

INMATE/STUDENT DISCIPLE:  Paraphrases for understanding, participates, demonstrates, provides observable feedback

PURPOSEFUL BENEFITS:

Spiritual – Building closer personal relationship with God.

Soul – Renewing of our minds with hopeful life words and music, practicing wholesome emotional outletting, exercising free will.

Body – Disciplining overall fitness (including weight control) through a creative cross training, purpose-driven and creative physical exercise.

Social – Becoming a more confident, learning, and maturing person to interact with others.

Facility: Safe, timeless, cost-free, and personally operational, even within a jail cell.                  

 The joy of the Lord is my strength. Neh 8:10

There is a time to mourn and a time to dance. Ecc 3:4b

The training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness

is beneficial in every way, since it hold promise for now

and for the life to come. 1 Tim 4:8

Whatever you do, do for God’s glory 1 Cor 10:31

THEMATIC IDEAS FOR I AM EXERCISE

SPORTS THEMES (BASEBALL, HOCKEY)

ROPE JUMPING

JUGGLING

SKATING

ROWING A BOAT

SWIMMING

POLITICIAN IN A CROWD

EXPELLING SMOKE OR BUBBLES FROM A ROOM

PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

MIXING IT UP

PING PONG, BADMINTON, TENNIS

SHOPPING

DANCE MOVES

IRONING

WASHING DISHES

PICKING GRAPES

BODY BALL

STIRRING PAINT

QUICK SAND ESCAPE

DRIVING A VEHICLE

TRAFFIC COP

TREE CLIMBING

I AM IN BED

SWEEPING/VACUUMING

MARCHING

BUILDING TRADES

BIRDS AT THE ZOO

SOARING LIKE AN EAGLE

HOUSEHOLD CHORES

COMPLEMENT THE MUSIC

OTHER?………..

  DANCING TO THE STAR; SWEATING TO THE ANCIENT OF DAYS

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsFRbWMOqL4

Below are sites with helpful information explaining aerobic safety and health tips:

http://www.quickmedical.com/health_information/fitness/aerobics_safety_tips.html

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/fitness_articles.asp?id=743

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/prevention/exercise/bestaerob_egan.aspx

A private relationship of worshipping God is the greatest essential element of spiritual fitness. Oswald Chambers

On a recent whale watch out of Plymouth, MA, my wife and I, along with another dear couple, were treated to our whale friend (pictured here).  Swimming below the water’s surface, he suddenly decided to provide evidence of his reality when his graceful dorsal fin rose out of the water to “wave hello.” This dynamic example of a revelation proved to us that up until that point, we didn’t know what we didn’t know; some things exist, even to a greater measure than we thought or imagined.

If you are open to experiencing something like this firsthand, then today’s message is for you! We are introducing an innovative exercise program that blends the acts of worship with personalized workouts. This platform, entitled I AM (Inspired Appropriate Movement), is a faith-based and creative method of achieving a greater measure of physical/mental fitness while at the same time achieving deeper intimacy with God. After participating as an I AM exerciser/worshipper for the past thirteen years, I (Steven Bouley) can testify of its extreme benefits and hopeful nature.

Special thanks to:

* My wonderful son, Darrin, for his love, editing, and production of the “I AM” YouTube videos.
* My associate pastor and friend, Raymond Zimberlin, for his special gift in music, title editing, and skillful godly council and wisdom.
* My beautiful, thoughtful, and one-of-a-kind wife, Cynthia, who always encourages me to dance with Jesus first and her second.

We thank God for the great privilege of introducing this I AM application. Without Him, there would be nothing in which to be inspired. So let’s have a “whale of a time”, exercising with our brain in mind, and getting in shape while praising and worshipping the Creator of all.  Both He and you deserve it.

Have a great week!

 1 Cor 6:19; Romans 8:28; 1Tim 4:8; Thes 5:23; 1Cor 10:31; Col 3:17; Ps 150

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsFRbWMOqL4

*** Please see I AM Exercise Lessons under web site Categories.

 ELEMENTS OF THE I AM EXERCISE

TIME:  We are choice makers!  If we can plan a certain time every day, fine!  If not, whenever we can meet with God to exercise/worship is the commitment.  Most important is to have the right heart and choose to begin. The Greek word Kairos…the appointed time when God moves!

PLACE:  A specific area or location is great.  Most important is to be somewhere that has a solid foundation, privacy, clean air to breath, and refreshing water to drink.  I AM has everything to do with developing a more intimate relationship with God and self development, and nothing to do with making a public spectacle or entertaining foolishness.  Assuming a ready, willing, and able person, even a prison cell qualifies as an acceptable place to exercise.

APPROPRIATE DRESS:  Anything you feel confident moving in is acceptable.  Choose modest, comfortable clothing and supportive foot wear.

MUSIC: All kinds and varieties of Christian music exist that celebrates Jesus Christ.  If external music is not available or allowed, then we can choose to exercise anyway; with the music God has placed in our hearts.  Most important is to be in an atmosphere where the Lord is honored.

SYSTEM: I AM is designed for your own independent program of personal development, inherent in a learning and growing relationship with Him.  NEW START (Nutrition, Exercise, Water, Sun light, Temperance, Air, Rest, and Trust (in God) are sound guidelines. Most important is God’s righteous system.

GOALS:  A US Surgeon General has warned that lack of exercise is detrimental to our health and recommends five 30 minute moderate to extensive workouts per week.  We know certain movements enhance our brain.  As temples of God’s Holy Spirit, it is primary to seek Him first in applying all this healthy advice into practical action.  

TAKE OFF ATTITUDE – Associate exercise with walking, jogging, spinning, turning, bending, or running hand and hand with the Lord.  When that revelation happens, Inspired Appropriate Movement (I AM) will lift you to new heights!!

See these sites for support of Brain-Based Exercise:

http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/exercise.html#physicalexercise

http://www.positscience.com/human-brain/brain-fitness/physical-exercise

God had an only Son and He made Him a missionary. David Livingstone

Something quite exciting and adventurous is about to happen.  In early August, my granddaughter Isabella and I will be joining a team of 13 other adults and 2 children from the church I attend (Faith Christian Center in Seekonk, MA) to go on a Mission Trip for a week to a Jungle School in Petén, Guatemala. (Team Pictured)

For the past few months we have been imagining and preparing for our missionary work that will impact the people, especially the children, we are there to serve.  As a group, we have resolved to do whatever it takes to get there in a competent and cooperative manner, to be a general blessing during our time there, and return with a greater appreciation for God’s blessings in our lives and a stronger sense of our responsibility in the great commission.

Our group has learned that just as personal values influence and guide our individual behavior, organizational values have influenced and guided our team’s behavior as well. As servants of Christ, our Mission Team’s values must come from the Bible, because we consider God’s Word as our perfect source.  In doing so, we honor God by accessing the life of His Holy Spirit as the leading organism within our organization.

In the midst of all that is in process, special teaching, counsel and comfort has come in a sweet flow from studying what God has to say.  We’ve learned that His shared values hold our team together (Eph 4:3; Col 3:14-15), set the standard for our team’s performance (Jam 1:22-25), provide stability (Matt 7:24-27), guide our decisions regarding direction (Ps 37:23), attract other like-minded people (Amos 3:3), and identify who we are (2 Timothy).

So family and friends, as we move toward our takeoff on Saturday morning, August 3, 2013, we ask that you keep our team in your prayers.  With God’s grace, and your prayerful support, we believe we will better understand and implement God’s wisdom and effectively share His values in Central America, a world away.

Matt 28:19-20

** Additional Resource:  John Maxwell’s 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, Chapter 13 (The Law of Identity)

God needs no defenders.  He is the eternal Undefended. A.W. Tozer – The Knowledge of the Holy

Recently, my wife and I joined another couple for something to eat at a local Pizza Hut.  Beyond the good company, we were treated to a pair of delicious chicken supreme pizzas, and the bubbling personality of our 23-year-old waiter, with the famed prophet’s name, Ezekiel.

You can imagine how quickly we made reference to the Bible.  In turn, our man Ezekiel wasted little time sharing what seemed like his rehearsed perspectives. He told us he was open to the idea of a higher power and he was dedicated to treating others as he wanted to be treated.  He told us of his very faithful Christian mother and how he had experimented with Christianity years ago, but found it unworkable for him.  He hoped to explore Buddha and other man-centered approaches to life.  Although a little random,  he was engaging and qualified as an evangelist for any concept of god, as long as it made him feel good.

After he delivered our pizzas, we blessed the food and dug in.  Ezekiel soon came back for more. This time, he gave us an opportunity to share what we sensed he needed to hear. He allowed us to qualify several things he said, but the most significant one was his notion of believing in a higher power. He never had seriously considered the quality of the highest or most high power.  He easily understood the logic in the relative comparison of high, higher, and highest and the mediocrity inherent in settling for a higher power only.  Spiritual revelation came alive at our Pizza Hut table and prepared for us what we’d like to essentially share with you in today’s message.

We recall that Satan unsuccessfully wanted to be like God.  In other words, he wanted to be the highest power also.  So we look even beyond high, higher, and highest for the truth.  Technically, highest may include a duplicate or equal and still be considered highest.  The problem with that result—it excludes the Most High God.  There is only One Creator, Perfecter, All Knower, Absolute Power, Pure Truth, Full Wisdom and Ever Present.  The Almighty and Living God has no ties, duplicates, or wanna bee’s.

Our dining experience at Pizza Hut certainly went beyond pleasant fellowship, a bubbly waiter, man’s limiting religious ideas, and chicken supreme pizza.  Although all of that made for an engaging night, it was primarily for all of us to know or be reminded of the purpose of real life: To glorify God and have fellowship with Him forever as part of His holy family.

Looking forward to seeing Ezekiel again, our parting plea with him was for him to have a quiet and serious conversation with the Lord; for him to step back from all his thoughts about impractical religions and confusing philosophies.  If and when Ezekiel can confidently say, “I am a child of the Most High God,” all other idols-including the notion of a higher power-will be stricken from his personal menu.  At that point, touched by God, he’ll begin to serve others in the service of the Lord.

Psalm 91; Matt 25:21; Psalm 34:8; 1 Cor 10:31

When the pressure is on, in what or in whom do we choose to trust?

The United States Marines go through a serious and focused training.  Historically, it’s the branch of the military trusted to hit the beach first, and be thoroughly prepared to survive uncertain and life-threatening encounters.  Obviously, as civilians, we will never be asked to hit the beach in the physical fitness and life-threatening way of a marine.  Their inner drive or attitude, however, is something from which we can choose to benefit.  When life is really on the line, truth prevails and nonsense has no place.

Famed writer Oswald Chambers suggested we make it a practice to stir our minds thoroughly to think through what we have easily believed.  He said the author or speaker from whom we learn the most is not the one who teaches us something we didn’t already know, but the one who helps us take a truth with which we have quietly struggled, give it expression, and speak it clearly and boldly.  If we learn and apply the basic tenets or foundational beliefs of the United States Marine Corps listed clearly and boldly below, we’ll be able to hit our life beaches and the challenges that face us this week with a never-give-up attitude.  Please sense the influence of God’s Word in the foundation of what our Marine Corp relies.

* Tell the truth.

* Do your best no matter how trivial the task.

* Choose the difficult right way over the easy wrong way.

* Look out for the group before you look out for yourself.

* Don’t whine or make excuses.

* Judge others by their actions, not their race.

Family and friends, as believers, disciples, followers, servants, and soldiers in the Corps of Christ, let’s be inspired and have a victorious week!

Psalm 18:2; 1 Tim: 1:8-12

Franz Joseph Haydn said, “When I think of God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes leap and dance as they leave my pen.”

Over the past few months, I’ve had the privilege and pleasure of visiting regularly with two separate, yet special people.  May I share a brief sketch of background so you can appreciate and receive the practical blessing of today’s message.

My friend Lionel Arruda, once a healthy man, had a surprise cerebral stroke one night about a year ago that left him paralyzed on his left side.  After placements in various rehab facilities, and subject to numerous medications and therapies, he’s finally back home.  He’s surrounded  by his faithful and loving wife and a supportive family to help him continue the fight to improve the quality of his life.

My next door neighbor and long term friend, Pastor Mary Walsh, has been in a continuous health challenge for many years with significant issues dealing with her heart, lungs, and body parts attacked by cancer.  Even as an elderly lady, and currently recovering in a local rehabilitation center, her inner desire to come home and be neighborly once again is contagious and certain to happen.

Invariably, whenever I leave from visiting either of these two, I am encouraged by their relentlessness and because I sense a type of joy not found in the dictionary.  Webster defines joy as an emotion evoked by well being, success, or good fortune, or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.  On the surface and because of their individual circumstances, neither of these currently wheel-chair bound heroes of mine even come close to qualifying by this assessment of joy.

In contrast, their behavior brings Habakkuk 3:17-19 to life. “Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, though the product of the olive fails and the fields yield no food, though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls.  Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the victorious God of my salvation. The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army.”

Family and friends, the joy of the Lord is your and my strength too.  The Lord never changes and neither do His supernatural attributes that become part of our DNA when we accept Him into our heart as our redeemer and Heavenly Father. My friends Lionel Arruda and Pastor Mary Walsh are great models of His source of joy, even under their most challenging circumstances.

This joy in them may not ever make emotional or intellectual sense to us, but it makes Spiritual sense forever.  Let’s thank God for His miraculous strength in them and for the potential in us to be joyful – no matter what!

Habakkuk 3:17-19; Nehemiah 8:10; Hebrews 12:2; 3 John 2