Let's get active!

So have you been inspired by the Olympics to get active?! We have! Sadly it is over so quickly but alas, the new academic year is upon us already. So it’s time for those plans that have been on the backburner to be brought forward.

At eximo, we are excited by the prospect of bringing dance and fitness to different areas of Canterbury this September, including Canterbury College, local gyms and our weekly classes. We will also be running a preliminary 6 week dance project in the Barracks this September. The objective is to make this a permanent fixture within the segregated community. A fundraiser will be held on the evening of the 26th October, the last Friday of the project, to raise funds to keep dance in the Barracks! With thanks to Creative Canterbury, who provided the initial funding for the project, we are able to help Canterbury get active in the aftermath of the Olympics!

If the Olympics haven’t convinced you, the Paralympics will be commencing on the 29^th August. I’m certain this will truly demonstrate the lengths that we can achieve despite whatever obstacles stand in our way!

The Olympics 2012!

The Olympics is finally upon us! Who else is excited?

I love the fact that this Country is really getting into the spirit of the games and we are ready to avidly support team GB, who have been vigorously training in the years leading up to this very occasion. These athletes have put their time, sweat and tears into training to achieve Olympian standards. The thought is exhausting and exhilarating at the same time.

There is so much inspiration to be taken from these dedicated athletes! Whilst we might not all be under the same physical demand, we can all be as committed towards reaching our own personal best. Whatever your dream is, don’t let it go because it hasn’t transpired but be inspired to make it happen. An athlete’s whole life is devoted to their sport which affects their foods and pastimes as well. Whilst perhaps we don’t have to be as extreme, are we frugal with our time?

Do you think that these athletes want to get up at 5.30 everyday bar Sunday to train at 7am each morning? But get up they do; the thought of where it will take them striving them on. We must also honour the time and dedication of those involved in building the Olympic venues without which none of the games would even be possible. They made it happen and so can we.

Allow your dream to spark the strength to reach it. It isn’t going to be easy and there will be much toil on the journey there, but just look at what we can do if we put our minds to it! Don’t be daunted, we all have to start somewhere.

 Be inspired and enjoy the games, everyone!

Mr. Valentine

So, yesterday was valentines... Does this day fill people with romantic feelings or dread...? Interestingly, we have been looking into how valentines originated so as to discuss it in eximo classes. St Valentine was actually a Christian martyr and lived under the persecuting reign of Claudius II. St Valentine was secretly helping Christians to get married before God (as this had become forbidden). He was found out and stoned, beaten and thrown in jail. On the 14th February he was beheaded.

This day has now become commercial and fluffy but actually the true meaning is much deeper; recognising sacrificial love and persevering for the faith. I want to celebrate this day for the freedom we have to believe what we do in this country, whether we are Christian or not. We are free to love and believe and to declare our love to those around us (perhaps not everyone we see on the street, but those who we do actually love :P).

For those of you who didn’t have such a great day yesterday, know how much you are loved this Valentine's! Jesus died on the cross, having been battered and bruised, for you because he loves you! That’s what we believe, anyway.

What are your thoughts on Valentine’s Day and what it has become...? Do you enjoy it or avoid it?

No pain, no gain

Have you already lost your temper with that trying individual at work, been having a sneaky cigarette in the small hours of the night when you think nobody is looking or have you completely ransacked the supermarket for all its worth in search of sugary charm when in that weak moment the healthy foods diet you are following suddenly got invaded by the enchanting chocolate charm fairy?

We are in the third week of 2012 now and I’m very aware of how easy it is to slip back into old habits and let all of that good will and positive spirit slither away. At the beginning of the year we swell up with new vigour, life and anticipation to grasp a hold of something new or let go of things not so good but as the rest of the world conforms itself to the daily grind we call life, it is very easy to give up. Whatever your New Year’s resolution is, if you have fallen down at the first hurdle, and thought something along the lines of ‘oh, there’s always next year...’Don’t give up.

Take a look at this video for some inspiration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZlXWp6vFdE

We may not complete our resolutions as we had hoped but if we keep getting back up and making our way towards the goal, we will reach the finish line even if it is a lot later on than expected! Use other people in your life to encourage you and to help you along, like this man’s father. Tell them if you are struggling and perhaps they can help battle it with you. Keep positive for 2012 and if you have fallen already, get on back up! It’s never too late!

Happy resolution-ing!

The new you 2012

As it is only the second week of January, the New Year is a big topic within our classes. With this in mind, we will start running a series on “Transformation into a new you” as of next week. Lots of people have a list of New Year’s resolutions, things they want to do or stop doing. On top of the list is often to quit a bad habit such as smoking or drinking too much as well as getting in shape or losing weight. Whatever your New Year’s resolutions are, we hope you will follow them up this year.

However, we would like to take these resolutions a step further and instead of looking at the external of what we want to achieve this year, we would like to look at the internal; the mind, the heart, the soul.

Today in classes we asked the question: Who would you like to be at the end of 2012? This assumes a desire to strive to be a better person or improve our life in one way or another. Leaning on how we, at eximo, know that God can transform our lives, this is a key verse to look inside and start this New Year with a deeper purpose – to become a new you:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

Ask yourself who you would like to be in 12 months when you are about to salute to 2013 with a glass of bubbly. Would you like to be kinder or more loving? Friendlier? Free from pressure to be someone you are not? Less greedy and more generous? Less bitter and more forgiving? This is an indefinite list so why don’t you take a pen and paper and have a look inside yourself and make your list. Don’t stop there! On the other side write practical suggestions of how to achieve these things, e.g. if you want to be more generous, why not give someone in need some financial help this week? It might help putting this list in a place where you can see it every now and again to remind you.

It’s a great thing that every day we are given a new chance to make something of our lives, minds and bodies and it is up to us how we spend our time and energy. God’s grace is new every morning, so we have hope for transformation and don’t have to stay the way we are:

²²It is because of the Lord's mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not.

    ²³They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness.

    ²⁴The Lord is my portion or share, says my living being (my inner self); therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.

    ²⁵The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him, to those who seek Him [inquire of and for Him and require Him by right of necessity and on the authority of God's word].” Lamentations 3, 22-25

A new year - A new vision

Since a new year is around the corner I – Maya, decided to share some personal thoughts.

It’s been an emotional year with lots of changes, ups and downs but really it has only pushed me forward. I can’t wait for 2012 to begin, I am genuinely excited about the new year and all the challenges, changes and ups and downs it will bring. Not only am I thrilled as I will be getting married in August but also because I have caught a new vision in the last couple of weeks of how I want to move further.

I am seeing eximo grow, maybe not necessarily in size but in heart, yet hopefully in size too so that we have enough to bless others and give to those less fortunate.
I see a year ahead in which I want to go deeper, give more, work harder, rest better and pour out myself into the things I feel I should do.
I see us stepping out even more to bring hope to the hopeless and be a little part in people’s happiness and wellbeing.
I see a stronger eximo – a company that is not only called eximo, but lives up to its name: RELEASE.
I feel like we have only been scratching on the surface of what eximo really is and I want to see this breaking through this year.
Above all else I feel secure because I know God hold all my dreams, visions and longings in his hands and is in control. With this in mind I want to pray for this coming year and hope that you will all feel excited what lies ahead, that you may never look back to any time wasted or wishing you were in a different place than the one you are in. For me, 2011 had a terrible start and this time last year I would have written a different blog. I am thrilled how it turned out and have one last thing to say: Bring on 2012!
What is your vision for the new year?
Do you feel thrilled too, or do you feel like I felt a year ago – not looking forward to the new year so much? I would love to hear your thoughts!

Last but not least, I want to thank everyone that has supported eximo this year. Thank you to those that have prayed for us, given to us in many different ways, worked with us and been a personal support to Sophie and me.

HOPE

Hope is a small word with a powerful meaning. Rhianna released a new song a few weeks ago that immediately hit No#1 in the UK single charts: ‘We found love in a hopeless place’.  I’m not surprised by the success of her latest sound not just because the song sticks in your head but because of the words and the connection it makes with ordinary people that live in this world. The world is a hopeless place. Many people feel the desperation of this and as a consequence are led down an even darker road.
            When I first listened to the song I wondered why it doesn’t say “We found hope in a hopeless place” and then I thought further. It is love that lifts us out of hopelessness. God, the one that gives hope, brings it through love that is displayed in Jesus.
            My childhood and early years being a teenager were filled with hopelessness and despair. Many times I found myself empty and confused of why I even live. Family life was destructive and loveless as shouting at each other was normality and regular fights between my mum and her husband got out of control to a measure I don’t want to describe.
            Nothing else but love could have saved me from this hopeless place. Nowadays it is no news that children grow up without their fathers and experience abuse by men that join their families. Twenty years ago and living in the area where I lived then, a small sheltered country side town, this was not a common thing. I felt alone in this place that no one around me could understand. It is almost unthinkable now that everyone else’s parents in my primary school class were not only together but married. Only ten years down the line would this take a turn and divorces became more common in our little town.
            Now that this brokenness and breakdown of the family system is normal and finding a functional family is like finding a piece of gold, people are still hurting. The pain is still the same even though it is not seen as something unique.
            Not knowing love when growing up can take away hope for the future, yet knowing love can keep us strong. The emphasis I want to bring here is that the hopeless place still exists, life doesn’t necessarily change once we have found love but it creates a more positive outlook for the future. Healthy relationships can give us hope as can achievable career goals, a stable life and countless other things.           
            Yet people know earthly love and are still hopeless. It was only God’s love that gave me hope. It is hard to explain what happened or what that even means as not everyone makes this experience but if I had to describe it, I would say it was like someone opening my heart, allowing me to feel the pain and holding me closely, knowing I am safe.
            In a big way I am very grateful I was not brought up in a Christian family and Church as I can’t stand the politics that go on in churches, all caught up in their little minority group existence! Even when I decided to believe in Jesus and gave him my life I was not surrounded by lots of Christians for a good few years. I feel privileged in this way that I was able to know God’s love and this alone without anything added.
            This is what drives me and motivates me in doing what I’m doing – telling the world that there is hope. There is ALWAYS HOPE! 1 Corinthians 13, 13: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” There is no better way in saying it. These three things are so closely linked and the most important thing in everyone’s life! Don’t ever lose hope, because if you do, you lose everything. Someone that loses hope has no light at the end of the tunnel, there is no way out as this is what hope does – giving light and showing a way.

Your turn, what are your thoughts on this topic? What is your experience? We want to know, join our couch and share with us!