Kristen Feola - Spiritually Strong: The Ultimate 6-Week Guide to Building Your Body and Soul

Kristen has done it! She has given us a balanced view of how the spiritual affects the physical. This is full-blown Christianity. When we are truly strong spiritually, it will motivate us not only to live right but also to eat right.

Rev. Dr. Daniel Mercaldo, Senior Pastor, Church at the Gateway, Staten Island, NY

Spiritually Strong is a practical, hands-on guide that will greatly benefit Christ-followers who are looking for instruction in strengthening their daily walk with the Lord.

Lara Williams, speaker; author, To Walk or Stay

Through the pages of Spiritually Strong I hear a familiar voice. Its Kristen Feola coaching, Basics. Basics. Basics. The sections on Bible study and prayer alone are worth the price of the book.

Dr. John 3:16 Marshall, Pastor, Second Baptist Church, Springfield, MO

Kristen Feola has a beautiful way of making spiritual practices attainable. I absolutely love her integrated approach to strengthening your body and soul to build spiritual resilience!

Kerry Clarensau, author, A Beautiful Life: Discovering the Freedomof Selfless Love and Redeemed! Embracing a Transformed Life

Wonderfully motivating! In Spiritually Strong, Kristen offers practical insights that will inspire you to live life to the fullest. Her unique comparison between physical and spiritual disciplines will encourage you not only to live strong but also to be all God designed and created you to be!

Debbie Lindell, Lead Pastor, James River Church, Ozark, MO; Director, Designed for Life Womens Conference

Kristen Feola is solid in her approach to whole-person wellness. Her concepts balance the spiritual and the physical in a practical way. She gets it. Well done.

Vicki Heath, National Director, First Place 4 Health

Kristen Feola understands that a full, abundant life balances the physical, spiritual, relational, and financial dimensions. The best part of SpirituallyStrong is that it leads us to a transformed life with an observable difference.

William Taylor, Leadership Team, Houstons First Baptist Church, HoustonsFirst.org

Other Books by Kristen Feola

The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast

ZONDERVAN

Spiritually Strong

Copyright 2014 by Kristen Feola

ePub Edition January 2015: ISBN 978-0-310-33910-6

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Feola, Kristen.

Spiritually strong : the ultimate six-week guide to training your body and soul / Kristen Feola. -- 1st [edition].

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-310-33909-0 (softcover)

1. Spiritual life--Christianity. I. Title.

BV4501.3.F466 2015

248.46--dc23

2014011389

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked DARBY are taken from the Darby translation of the Bible. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked GW are taken from the Gods Word Translation. Copyright 1995 by Gods Word to the Nations. Published by Green Key Books. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois. All rights reserved.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Cover design: Studio Gearbox

Cover photography: fotomele / Veer, Duncan Smith / Thinkstock, CGissemann / Thinkstock

Author photo: Karen George, by george photography

Interior illustration: Karen L. Butcher

Interior photography: studerga, Xtreme Pixels, LLC / iStockphoto LP;

FeudMoth / iStockphoto LP; Anthony Mayatt, BreatheFitness / iStockphoto LP

Interior design: Beth Shagene

First Printing November 2014

Information about External Hyperlinks in this ebook

Please note that footnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication.

This book is dedicated to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Without his help, not one word could have been written.

I will praise you forever, O God,
for what you have done
(Psalm 52:9 NLT).

Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.
1 Timothy 4:8 NLT

When I worked as a personal trainer, I had a client named Lynne. Despite her many attempts to get in shape, Lynne had been unable to achieve long-term success. She had tried various programs and diet plans on her own but couldnt make progress in controlling her weight. Lynne hired me because she was desperate for change. She recognized that without accountability in this area of her life, she would never reach her goals.

I still remember the day we met. The scowl on her face said it all: the gym was the last place in the world she wanted to be.

During our first workout, Lynne informed me, I hate to exercise. I thought, This should be interesting. However, I knew she had potential. As the owner of a thriving human resources firm, Lynne had already demonstrated self-discipline in building her company. She just needed to learn how to apply that determination to her health.

I began meeting with Lynne three times per week, instructing her in various cardiovascular and weight training exercises. Mostly, though, we focused on strengthening her core, the group of muscles in the center of the body that work together to produce movement.

The transformation that occurred in Lynne in the first few months was incredible. As she performed the exercises I prescribed, her energy level soared and her body size got smaller. Her attitude toward the gym also changed. She no longer despised her workouts. Instead she looked forward to them! Once Lynne experienced the benefits of a well-balanced core, she was all in. There was no way she was going to quit.