I love having the opportunity of sharing resources that I think will bless, strengthen, and otherwise help others. One of the joys of doing this “PraiseWalker” blog is that I get to meet others who think the same way. Today I want to re-introduce you to a fellow fitness colleague of mine: Laurette Willis of PraiseMoves. The main focus of Laurette’s ministry is a “Christian Alternative to Yoga“. I’ve used many of her programs, and I find them all really inspiring!

Well, Laurette has come out with something new, that’s right up my alley! It’s a walking program called “Power Promises“. I picked up a copy to see what it was about, and I must say she’s done a great job!

Power Promises is a 30 minute “walk” that you can do outside, on a treadmill, on an elliptical, or simply in place on your living room floor! It starts with a short warm-up to instrumental praise music (My Hope is Built on Nothing Less), then you get a workout section of about 20 minutes to techno-pop style music, and then a cool down with instrumental praise (Blessed Assurance). Throughout the whole program Laurette is in the background reading scriptures and scriptural affirmations. You come away from the program refreshed in body, mind, and spirit. Very cool.

Best part? About half way through she talks about worry, and makes the comment “Worry is meditating on the Devil’s thoughts – Why would I want to do that?!” What a wonderful line! I will remember that next time I panic…

So, down to detail – what specifically do I like and not like?

Here is the very short list of things I don’t like:

• I’d rather have praise music – or something else more inspiring – in the background of the workout part. I found the particular techno music track a little off-putting after the refreshing warm up.
• Sometimes the mix was a little off, and an individual word or two got lost. She’s reading from a different translation than I usually use (NKJ?) and so the specific wording wasn’t as familiar to me, and I didn’t catch all the words

Ok now here’s what I love!!

• wonderful selection of scripture, well read, and well presented. You come away truly strengthened in spirit.
• The workout is appropriate for everyone. The maximum speed according to my treadmill was about 4.5km/hr which is a great speed – not so fast that it could be dangerous, but not so slow that you get bored. It’s also worth about 3800 steps, which is a good chunk of your daily 10,000 step requirement – not a bad way to start the day!
• Laurette has a lovely voice and reads with expression, passion, and clarity. No grating nasal or harsh tone to her voice! She has a neutral accent, and a very pleasant timbre. Quite soothing while still being stimulating and encouraging – no mean feat!
• Laurette reads at a pace that is comfortable for listening/meditation, but is also perfect for repeating along with her, to declare the affirmations aloud over your own life. I like that
• The program is a downloadable mp3 (so there’s no waiting!) and comes with an ebook of all the scriptures (so you can read along if you like, which eliminates the issue above with losing words…) and a workbook to help you really claim the scriptures for yourself and apply them to your day and life. It also comes with daily video encouragement where Laurette goes over the scriptures on video that you work on in your workbook. Again, nicely done.
• The price (currently a paltry $17, but regularly a very respectable $27) is a definite value for money!

All in all, a wonderful program, definitely worth the money at either price, and I can’t think of a better way to jumpstart your day! In fact, I’m thinking of using it as my daily warm-up!

So, head on over to Laurette’s site, pick up a copy, and let her know I sent you.

Oh, and just so we’re clear, I paid for the program myself, and am doing this review on my own initiative because I believe in what Laurette’s doing. I get no remuneration – monetary or otherwise – for posting this. I’m just a firm believer in non-competition business practice. If there’s something out there worth seeing, even if it’s going to support a “competitor”, I want to let you know!

Happy walking!

Darlene

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So last week on my walk I was listening to this great podcast called “Discovering How Loved We Are” on with Wayne Jacobsen and Darin Hufford about the ability to live free from the law and religion as Christians (my current spiritual journey theme, if you’r new here). Very, very encouraging.

The cool thing was that the podcast ended shortly before my walk did, and so I switched to my “Power Song” on my iPod which happens to be “Pour My Love On You” – a song that I could listen to over and over and over and over and… Anyway, as I listened to it, God said, “This is Me, singing to you”.

I don’t know how to say exactly how I feel
And I can’t begin to tell you what your love has meant
I’m lost for words
Is there a way to show the passion in my heart
Can I express how truly great I think you are
You’re my dearest friend
Darlene, this is my desire to pour my love on you
CHORUS:
Like oil upon your feet
Like wine for you to drink
Life water from my heart
I pour my love on you
With praises like the perfume
I lavish mine on you
Till every drop is gone
I pour my love on you
Is there a way to show the passion in my heart
Can I express how truly great I think you are,
My dearest friend
Darlene, this is my desire to pour my love on you

Wow. Blew my world.

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One of the things I love about my walks is that they give me the opportunity to work on some personal development in the mental/emotional/spiritual areas of my life as I develop my physical health. I do that by listening to audiobooks and podcasts.  I want to share some of my favourites here with you today:

If you love to read but can’t find the time, here are two great resources:

	Podiobooks.com : (from the site: The term podiobook was coined by Evo Terra to describe serialized audiobooks which are distributed via RSS, much like a podcast. Listeners to Podiobooks.com can choose to receive the episodes of their books via an RSS feed or by listening to episodes by directly downloading episodes from this site. Some listeners keep the audio files on their computers, some transfer the book to CD, but most transfer the file on to their MP3 player so they can listen no matter where they are.
	Or you can Try Audible Now and Get A Free Audiobook Download with a 14 Day Trial. Choose from over 75,000 Titles. My family and I love the audible membership program and have quite a list of books we plan to work through. Currently we’re reading Eldest together

I also listen to podcasts, and these are some of my current favourites:

	The Brown Sessions: Steve Brown is a great talk show host with challenging, interesting guests. You never know what you’re going to get, exactly, but you can be sure it will be interesting, and cause you to rethink some of your “modus operandi”.
	Christian Meditation Affirmations: While I’m definitely not someone who subscribes to the “prosperity Gospel” theology, I do like this podcast as it’s a quick 3-minute meditation on scripture, and rarely on a prosperity theme. The author often focuses on who I am in Christ, God as my strength, topics of praise, and so forth. Kind of a nice jump-start to my walk.
	Diet Science: I met Dee McCaffrey when she accepted the challenge of working with me on my “Total Body Radiance” project (but she has, unfortunately, now left the project). Her podcast is a short explanation, exploration, or teaching on some of the top nutritional discoveries, challenges, products, and myths. Always interesting, and very practical for those wanting to improve their nutritional health.
	Get Fit Stay Healthy: Tina Anderson has created a humorous, challenging, interesting podcast on all things to do with health and wellness. Sometimes it’s “true confessions” about her own struggles, sometimes it’s a great workout plan, sometimes it’s nutrition, sometimes it’s motivation, and sometimes it’s a guest. Always, it’s interesting!
	The God Journey: This is my current favourite podcast. Based on the books and teachings of Wayne Jacobsen this podcast has been pivotal in my life in the last couple of months. Always a good laugh, always a challenge, always something to encourage. I LOVE this podcast.

That should be enough to get you started, anyway! I have lots more, but I’ll save them for another time!

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Who is Darlene Hull? Click here: www.darlenehull.com to find out!

I love the discipline of  “breath prayers” and I use them often in my day to relax, refocus, and de-stress.  I’ve started using them at the beginning of my walking as a form of warm-up, too.

I like to “collect” prayers to use in different situations.  Of course, you don’t need special words or phrases to get God’s attention, but sometimes I need them to get MY attention focused in the right place.

I’ve been reading a series of books lately by a woman named Liberty Savard and I have been really blessed by some of her teaching on prayer.  I took some of her suggestions and created a breath-prayer exercise for the beginning of my walking.  I thought I’d post it here in case you’d like to use it, too:

1. As you inhale slowly, pray “I bind myself to God’s truth, authenticity and integrity“ – and really visualize yourself “inhaling Christ” as it were. Pause for a brief second or two and then
2. Exhale and pray “I loose myself from all falsehood, lies, and deception” and imagine those things leaving your body. Pause.
3. Inhale and pray “I bind my will, passions, and purposes, to the will, passions and purposes of God” visualizing yourself inhaling these properties. Pause.
4. Exhale and pray “I loose myself from false pretensions, selfishness, greed, and fear” and exhale those things from your life. Pause.
5. Inhale and pray “I bind my mind to the mind of Christ, to hear the thoughts, intents, and purposes of His heart ”. Pause.
6. Exhale and and pray, “I loose myself from wrong thinking, behaviour, and attitudes”. Pause.
7. Inhale and pray “I bind my feet to God’s path for me, and my hands to the special work He’s ordained for me to accomplish in His Kingdom”. Pause.
8. Exhale and pray “I loose myself from the strongholds of unmet needs, unresolved issues, and unhealed hurts”. Pause.

I have a feeling that a prayer like that throughout your day could vastly change the way you see things!

Happy walking!

Darlene

(PS – don’t you think that picture looks just like me?  LOL!  I don’t know who owns it, but it’s pretty cool!)

On Wednesday I shared the experience I have with walking with a Rosary. Another cool meditation tool for walking is walking a labyrinth.

I heard about labyrinth’s a few years back when I got very involved with studying Catholic Mysticism. After that I looked for opportunities to walk one, and while there aren’t many around here, there are a couple – one at Kingsfold Retreat Centre, and one at the FCJ Christian Life Center

I love walking the Labyrinth because there’s a slow rhythm, there’s mindfulness, and there’s peace. You go into the centre with something on your heart, seeking God’s will, and come out with peace. It’s a very long walk covering a very small space, and unless you’ve walked that particular labyrinth or pattern several times, you are always suprised at where you end up, at how the path unfolds. It’s kind of like life. I just wish I could walk life with the same kind of mindfulness as I walk a labyrinth!

This morning I stumbled on this article about the labyrinth, and thought it was a helpful piece to understand how it works and how to walk it. This article from Kingsfold is also very helpful.

If you want to find a labyrinth near you, check this Labyrinth Locator

If you want to read more about the Labyrinth, here’s a great book: Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth

Happy Walking!

Darlene

PS – you can even get a labyrinth on your iPod Touch (I ♥♥♥♥♥♥ my iPod Touch!) here: iPause