Latest / Daughters of Armor / Episode 04: When Fitness Becomes an Idol | Nakita's Powerful Testimony of Finding Freedom in Christ
Transcript
- Coach Crystal: So today is really about her story. In other words, I would love Nikita to share her testimony because when I tell you ladies that what this woman has gone through from her old self to her new self is nothing but a miracle and a testimony of God's sovereign hand on her life. I mean, chills. Like my hairs are standing up. It's long sleeve, but they're standing up because I'm just Nakita Kautzman: it. Coach Crystal: so excited. Nakita Kautzman: Well, I remember it was the first small group that John and I came to and you were mentioning your fitness background. we just really connected with fitness and competing. And ever since then, it's, you know, you're not just my sister who loves Jesus, but you're also a sister who also just loves fitness and embodies the lifestyle. So yeah, very excited to have this conversation. I think it's something that a lot of women struggle with, particularly Christian women as well. Coach Crystal: You're absolutely right. Let's jump right in. I would love for you to share your testimony first and foremost, because my goodness, when you shared your heart with me and what you've gone through, I can't, mean, all glory to God. That's all I will say. So I'd love for you to share, you know, where you were before your life with Christ. Nakita Kautzman: basically, I got saved in 2019. But my fitness journey began years earlier around 2011, 2012 when I was about 24. But Before fitness, I did not live a healthy lifestyle at all. Like I smoked, I used drugs, I partied every weekend. I didn't embody health discipline or wellness in any sense. My life was chaotic. And I was just going through the motions without any direction or purpose. But everything started to shift after a trip to Las Vegas. This was around the end of 2010. I happened to be there during the Mr. Olympia competition, though at the time I had no idea what it even was. I just remember seeing all these incredibly jacked people walking around and I was like, what is going on? What planet am I in? And Coach Crystal: Hahaha Nakita Kautzman: especially the women, the women caught my attention. staring at them not just because of how they looked but because of what they represented they Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: embodied everything my life did it hard work dedication discipline grit sacrifice like you name it the list goes on and when I got home that image stayed with me But at the same time, I brushed it off thinking that kind of lifestyle was impossible for me. Here's someone who did drugs, who partied, who smoked. Like I abused Coach Crystal: Sure. Nakita Kautzman: my body and my mind in ways that obviously I regret, but I'd also never strength trained before. I didn't know how to eat healthy. I didn't know how to work Coach Crystal: Okay. Nakita Kautzman: out in a gym. So it just felt so far removed. from who I was and Coach Crystal: Mm-hmm. Nakita Kautzman: then New Year's Eve came and I woke up extremely hungover and for the first time the thought of smoking and drinking actually made me feel sick to my stomach. And so in that moment, something shifted. I went into the bathroom, I flushed my cigarettes down the toilet, and I walked away from that lifestyle, like cold turkey. I haven't smoked since, it's been over 14 years, and the Coach Crystal: Wow. Nakita Kautzman: partying stopped too. So not long after that, that fitness seed, that was planted in Las Vegas, it slowly started to surface. And I decided to sign up for a regional figure competition, which was in June of 2013. And I had no idea what I was doing. But I found a great coach who guided me through it. And I didn't enter the competition to win or to place. I just wanted to see if I could do it. Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: And that experience changed everything for me. I learned so much and I fell in love with training and the fitness lifestyle. Competing itself wasn't for me, but the process, the training was. Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: I loved getting stronger, seeing my body transform in ways I didn't know were possible and experiencing a level of mental clarity I'd never known before. And I was doing all of this sober. So for the first time, I felt a sense of structure and discipline in my life. And this transferred over into my university career where I was on the University of Calgary rowing team. But after a few years, something again started to shift. Even though I was doing all the right things, I began to feel like it still wasn't enough. I didn't fully understand what was happening at the time, but there was like this growing sense of emptiness, like something was missing. And I was someone who spent six days a week in the gym for up to three hours. Everything was structured. In some ways, still is, but I'm definitely not as strict as I once was. But if anyone or anything took me away from my schedule, I would get so angry, not externally, but internally angry, which makes sense why I had a lot of acquaintances, but I didn't have any true friendships. Coach Crystal: Right. Nakita Kautzman: And it wasn't until 2020 that everything became clear. So I got saved in 2019. So slowly the Lord started to work on my heart and my mind regarding certain things like leaving toxic relationships, all those things. But fitness was my outlet. Fitness was my escape. Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: So when everything got shut down, including the gyms, that's when the Lord really started to open my eyes and my heart to the truth that Fitness, the very thing that had once helped me or helped pull me out of a destructive lifestyle, had quietly become an idol in my life. Coach Crystal: Right? Nakita Kautzman: So before Christ, my fitness journey was driven by insecurity, control, a constant need to prove my worth. On the outside, it may have looked like discipline, strength, and dedication, but inside it was different. I was chasing an image. I Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: believed that if I could look a certain way, perform a certain way, or have enough control over my body, that I would finally feel confident and feel like I was enough, but that enough never came. Coach Crystal: Right? Nakita Kautzman: So no matter how hard I trained, how clean I ate, or how much progress I made, there was always something missing. I would reach goals and I would still feel empty. constantly critiquing myself, comparing, striving. I was never truly at peace. So fitness became less about health and it became more about identity. Coach Crystal: Wow. Nakita Kautzman: And it was something I leaned on. for validation, something I used to try to fix what was going on internally. And I didn't realize it at the time, but my body had become an idol. And I was placing my worth in how I looked, how I performed, and how others perceived me, and the pressure of that was exhausting. Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: So. There were moments of pride, but also moments of frustration, burnout, discouragement. I was stuck in this cycle of pushing harder, expecting more, but never feeling fulfilled. And looking back now, I can see that I was searching for something deeper, something that fitness alone could never give me. So I wasn't just chasing physical transformation. I was searching for identity, peace and purpose. All of these things that I was putting into fitness to give me, but I wasn't actually getting in return. Coach Crystal: Of course. Nakita Kautzman: And so I couldn't find those things on my own. So after coming to Christ, everything began to change, but not all at once. was like, was being unraveled one thing at a time. Because as you know the the Lord he gives us what we can handle and he gives us so much grace during transition periods sometimes he might plump it all on you at once but The Lord knows me and he knows that I can't handle things all at once so He started to reshape my heart and my identity and the way I viewed fitness, I no longer saw it as the thing that defined me or gave me worth. Instead, I began to understand that my identity is founded him, not how I look, how I work, Coach Crystal: Mm-hmm. Nakita Kautzman: or what I achieve. But Coach Crystal: Mm-hmm. Nakita Kautzman: that doesn't mean the struggle disappeared. Coach Crystal: Of course. Nakita Kautzman: Even now, I still wrestle at times with fitness, wanting to take that place in my life again. The desire for control, for progress, for validation, it can creep back in. But the difference now Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: is that I'm aware of it, I recognize it for what it is, and I bring it before God instead of letting it take over. So. Before Christ, fitness was everything to me. It was where I placed my value, my confidence, my sense of purpose. But now fitness has a different place. It's no longer my identity, it's a tool. Coach Crystal: Yes, so good. Nakita Kautzman: And it's something I use to steward the body God has given me to build discipline, to take care of my health so that I can better serve Him and serve others. So. Coach Crystal: Amen. Amen. Okay. So much. Like there's so many mic drops that you just shared right now that and I know that the ladies watching or listening to this can probably relate. And I love how for one, I believe that the Lord still used fitness to help you because, you know, he's still sovereign over all of it. because the Lord can use anything, everything and anyone to Nakita Kautzman: Yes. Coach Crystal: bring him to bring his children back to him. And so what I love is that even though you were, you know, pre-giving your life to Christ before Christ, Nakita Kautzman: Mm-hmm. Coach Crystal: I think the Lord still sought your heart and he knew that you were no longer wanting to live that old way with the drugs and the alcohol and the smoking and the partying, you know, all night. And I still feel like he used fitness to help you step away from that. But that slippery slope, and this is where, you know, you and I who, I mean, let's face it, the health and fitness industry is a very secular world, you know, and no Nakita Kautzman: very. Yeah. Coach Crystal: one, unless they're, you know, their background is Christian or they, you know, are putting themselves out there as a Christian health coach or a faith-based health coach, you don't see... very often women stewarding their bodies so that it can be ultimately used as a form of worship and to glorify him in the calling he has on our life. That's Nakita Kautzman: Yeah. Coach Crystal: so, it's so counter-cultural, right? But I love how You know, then the Lord, like you said, he started shifting your and renewing your mind, I'm sure through the word, through deepening your relationship with him, you getting to know him better and then him revealing to you who you truly are, that you're made in his image. And that kind of revelation for you, how it just... how it has unfolded is amazing. It's amazing. that. that alone on how it's so easy, even for Christian women to slip down that slippery slope of idolizing, whether it be our body, our fitness routine, and it completely affecting our identity, our worth, our value, all of that. That's amazing. And I can definitely relate. Nakita Kautzman: Thank Coach Crystal: You know, I've been in the industry, man, since 2009. Similarly, before I became a born-again Christian, yeah, God wasn't anywhere in the, when I think of fitness, had, to me, he had nothing to do with it. Yeah, and I wonder, like even Christian women, I feel like we tend to compartmentalize and... It makes sense that our faith would affect maybe our relationships, our career, but there's this gap where I feel like a lot of women don't connect their faith with their health, right? Nakita Kautzman: Yeah. Yeah. Coach Crystal: And so, and I was there for sure before I gave my life to the Lord, fitness was fitness. was just similar to you. There was a structure, there was an end goal. I also did, you know, I competed in my first fitness competition when I turned 40. And in my mind, I, so at that time I was a baby Christian. It was around the time, like I was literally a baby Christian. I just recently gave my life to the Lord. So it's very, very early in my walk. So I will admit when I first did my first competition, there was still that disconnect, but similar to you, I just loved the process. Like when I, when I see bodybuilders, especially like women fitness competitors, I give them the utmost respect because I understand that that is discipline, grit, resiliency, know, consistency. That's, that's. I respect that so much. And when I competed, for me personally, in my mind, I wasn't competing for the crown or like the placing. For me, it was always me versus me. But similarly, you know, that version of you, like I will never beat that version of me because you're always going to want more. It's never going to satisfy. Right. And so I agree with that. I agree how, you know, you keep chasing these things, but then you're always going to want more. It's never actually going to feel fulfilling. Cause there's always another goal. So that's another kind of slippery slope where can women truly be happy? Cause Nakita Kautzman: you Coach Crystal: I've worked with women who have dropped 50 pounds. They're at their healthy weight, but they look in the mirror and they still see that fat version of themselves. Nakita Kautzman: Mm-hmm. Coach Crystal: They still see all of the things that could be improved and they're never happy. Like I've, I've worked with a lot of women like that. And yet they look amazing. They're strong, they're healthy, they're at a good healthy weight, but their mind is not in a healthy place. And their worth is just completely tied to either the scale or the reflection that they see in their mirror. And even if they're Christian, they don't connect that they're Imago Dei, that they're made in the image of God. There's like zero connection. So I'm just so excited about how, because we're going to explore that. that conversation, right? So now where you are in your walk, you were getting to share that it's all about stewardship now. So tell me a little bit about... What are kind of like the ways that you look at your fitness routine? is there, what has shifted? So before it was like you got angry when you were thrown off your schedule. Nakita Kautzman: I'm Coach Crystal: How dare you mess up my routine, right? So how has all of that kind of shifted? What has kind of changed or still kind of working through? Now that you're kind of in this different, your walk with the Lord has deepened, you're really, you know who you are in Christ. So where has it shifted for you? Nakita Kautzman: For me, that shift is my training is no longer about striving to be enough because I already am enough in Christ. Coach Crystal: Amen. Nakita Kautzman: And there's freedom in that. And once you taste that freedom, that's all you want. Like freedom from Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: constantly chasing perfection, freedom from tying my worth to my appearance, freeing from the pressure to measure up. Because there is truth in the saying, you are your own biggest and toughest critic, which Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: we definitely are. But I went from being obsessed with fitness to hating it because I was in bondage to that idol. But now I'm in this relationship with fitness all because of God to where I'm actually enjoying it now. Like, Coach Crystal: So good. Nakita Kautzman: he's given us these bodies, these amazing bodies for a purpose. That purpose Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: isn't necessarily to have a six pack, although it's nice. Yes. Coach Crystal: Mm-hmm. Yes. I mean, it's a cherry on top kind of thing. Nakita Kautzman: But he's given us these bodies to be able to lift, be healthy, to lift heavy. These are things for his glory and for us to serve the people around us. What Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: good am I if, my husband and I joke about this all the time, you know, somebody needs help moving and they're like, you too, you too, work out, can you help us? And it's like. Coach Crystal: Always. Nakita Kautzman: actually, we're doing back tomorrow, so like, can't really, like, you're kinda useless. Whereas, Coach Crystal: Yeah. Nakita Kautzman: like, I don't want to be useless, I want to be able to help my neighbors and help people from church and help Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: my friends and my family. Like, what good am I if I'm doing Coach Crystal: Thank you. Nakita Kautzman: all of these physical activities, but yet I'm just kinda keeping it to myself. Coach Crystal: so true. Nakita Kautzman: But that doesn't mean that I don't train hard or pursue goals. do. But the motivation has changed. It's Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: no longer rooted in insecurity or emptiness, but in gratitude and stewardship to God and his kingdom. Coach Crystal: So good. Nakita Kautzman: And Like I said, I still struggle with body dysmorphia. I still struggle with fitness, wanting to take that center stage in my heart. Coach Crystal: Mm-hmm. Nakita Kautzman: But when I fall into old patterns of thinking, I don't stay there like I used to. I'm reminded of truth. I'm brought back to alignment with God. I'm reminded that my worth was never meant to be carried by something as temporary as my physical body. So exactly. Like there's Coach Crystal: which is decaying every single day. Nakita Kautzman: like, there's nothing I can do about that. Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: But now it's fitness is no longer about building my own identity. It's about surrendering it. And Coach Crystal: that's a good word. Nakita Kautzman: in that surrender, I've found something that fitness could never give me, which is true peace, Coach Crystal: That's right. Nakita Kautzman: true purpose, a foundation that doesn't shake. And I only Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: have God to thank for that. So. Coach Crystal: So good, so good. Nakita Kautzman: It's really difficult because fitness, it's, I love fitness so much. And as a personal trainer, I'm always researching, I'm always building programs. You know, I'm always thinking about fitness. Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: So it is a part of my job too. Yeah. Coach Crystal: Yes, yes. Well, you know, I think one of the things that transformed and shifted my mindset, and I know that it shifted yours too, because my husband shared, well, you know... Because my routine in the morning was wake up, have my black coffee, get my workout in, and then get into the word. But then my husband said, well, I'm not going to work out my body unless I glorify the one who blessed me with this body in the first place. Like, pfft. Right? And when he shared that with you, I know that hit home. And for us, you're right. Because it's a part of our job, it's what we do for a living. And we are constantly thinking about it because we also want to grow in You know our field we want to serve our clients well but for us it's a matter of putting him first above all of it and that Practically speaking will look like yeah before I even touch programming before I even look at my clients You know and how I'm gonna serve them before I even do my own workout. Let me get into the word first spend Nakita Kautzman: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Coach Crystal: quality time, communicating with him through prayer, chewing and meditating on the word first, Bible study, Devo's, whatever that looks like before everything else. And I think you and I, we're in the same mindset that, you know what? Thank you for the Holy Spirit, our helper, because before we do anything, now we think about God first. Like, how is this glorifying God? Right? And I think that's what I think that's a that's a really good question, even for our clients. Like if they're struggling with emotional eating and they're turning to food for comfort, or if they're the type of person that is struggling with consistency and they're, you know, binging on Netflix instead of moving their bodies, it's like, is this glorifying God because at the end of the day, like you said, you know, if I keep stacking up these habits of skipping my workout, eating fast food, my body's gonna pay for it in the end and guess who else? Everyone else that I serve because I'm not gonna have any energy. I'm gonna struggle running up a flight of stairs. I won't have the strength to lift up my grandkids, let alone crawl on the ground with them. You know, I'll be missing out on serving and the way that God has intended me to serve because I'm trapped in my own body, right? And Nakita Kautzman: Yeah! Totally! Coach Crystal: so, yeah, and from my perspective as well, know, now that I'm like 50s literally around the corner, am like acutely aware that what I do now is gonna have a direct influence with how I am moving in my 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Nakita Kautzman: But not just that though. scientifically we can look at after the age of 30, you lose Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: so much percentage of muscle mass every decade. Coach Crystal: Muscle. Yeah. Yeah. Nakita Kautzman: And if you look at the majority of people, they're either obese is, which is the loss of muscle mass. Coach Crystal: So true. Yeah. Nakita Kautzman: and they can't pick up their, they can't play with their grandkids, they can't Coach Crystal: No. Nakita Kautzman: walk up stairs, whatever. But also, as Christian women who are married, fitness has Coach Crystal: Yeah. Nakita Kautzman: a big impact on how we also serve our spouses. Coach Crystal: So true. Nakita Kautzman: If we're constantly taught, yes, hormones has a big role to play with this, but regulating hormones can also be done not perfectly, but with strength training. Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: And just being more present with our spouses, like I have, and I know my husband feels the same way too, but if you're just constantly sitting on the couch, not moving your body, Coach Crystal: Yeah. Nakita Kautzman: like just eating junk food, watching TV, whatever it is, just all that excessive screen time that does a lot on your, I'm gonna use a worldly sense, like your psyche. And Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: you're not present with your spouse. Your look, you know, also goes down. Coach Crystal: Yes, maybe even embarrassed to be intimate, let's face it, right? Because you don't want them to see certain areas, you don't want them to touch certain areas, totally. They don't care. But in our mind, Nakita Kautzman: Even though our spouses don't care. They don't care. They don't care. Coach Crystal: we're like, oh, don't look at that or don't touch that. So true, you're absolutely right. You know, for the Christian mamas out there, like you're really setting an example for your kids. Like they're watching as well, right? They're watching as well what you do. And it could be both extremes. It's like either you're obsessed and you're, you know, saying awful things about yourself or you're not doing anything at all. So it's like... You know, we work with women who are kind of like in both extremes, for sure. We're going to talk more about our experience with bodybuilding. We're going to talk more about our identity in Christ. We're going to talk about what does it even mean that our body houses the Holy Spirit. There's so much to dive into when it comes to how do we truly blend well our faith and fitness. Because I think, you know, I love how Paul, he uses the analogy of being an athlete. And we want to finish this race strong. We want to finish this race healthy. Like I don't think the Lord, you know, created us to feel tired all the time, to, you know, feel trapped in our body and therefore trapped in our household, not you know, serving or even thinking, we can't even think about the Great Commission because we don't even want to step outside because we're embarrassed, right? if, you know, for the woman that's like struggling right now, let's say she's the one who is, I guess, obsessed with her. body. She's yeah, Nakita Kautzman: Mm-hmm. Coach Crystal: fitness is definitely an idol. Like what is one thing just from your experience Nikita that you would say to her to just bring her some comfort because she's she's in she's stuck on that hamster wheel of Nakita Kautzman: Thank you. Coach Crystal: kind of dark thoughts of feeling unworthy. She feels ugly. She feels tired. Her relationships are being affected. Like what would you what would you say to her just from what you've like experienced? Nakita Kautzman: man, that's a very heavy thing to wrestle with. And I think there are really two parts to that question. And that's recognizing fitness as an idol, which takes the Holy Spirit. Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: and then helping someone who feels unworthy. So those two things are very deeply connected. fitness itself isn't the problem. It's when it starts carrying weight, it was never meant to carry. Coach Crystal: Yeah, that's good. Nakita Kautzman: And that is what an idol is. So it defines your identity. So I am my body, I am my performance, I am my discipline. It determines your worth. I'm only valuable if I look, perform a certain way. your emotions. Good workout equals good day. Bad workout equals spiral. Coach Crystal: Right. Nakita Kautzman: It replaces time, dependence, or trusting God. At that point, fitness stops being an idol and becomes something that you are serving. Coach Crystal: Right? Nakita Kautzman: So the hard truth is, idols always demand more and never give lasting peace. So the first thing that Coach Crystal: Thanks. Nakita Kautzman: I would say to that person is, obviously, like, do you know Jesus? Do you have the Holy Coach Crystal: Thank Nakita Kautzman: Spirit dwelling inside of you? Those are the first two things. And then I would just ask those questions. Does this define who you are, like those points that I just laid out? Coach Crystal: I'm home. Nakita Kautzman: The other part would be like, what do do when you see this idol? So you don't fix idolatry by quitting the thing, you fix it by reordering it. Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: Call it what it is without shame. Just acknowledge it honestly is already a step toward freedom. idol. These are the steps that I'm going to take with the Lord's help, of course, because I can't do it on my own. And then detach your identity from performance. Your worth isn't built in the gym and it isn't lost there either. Reintroduce dependence on God. So even small shifts matter. Pray before training. Coach Crystal: Mm-hmm. Yes. Nakita Kautzman: Be okay with a bad session. In my opinion, there's no such thing as a bad session because when you show up, you were consistent. Coach Crystal: No, you showed up. Nakita Kautzman: It might not be what you wanted, but you still moved your body. You still sweat. It might Coach Crystal: Exactly. Nakita Kautzman: have sucked, but it is what it is. You know, skip a workout if needed and notice your reaction. That big thing for me because like I said, six days a week in the gym, three hours in the gym. If anything or anyone disrupted my schedule, I would get mad. Now it's if in the morning I'm I'm in the word and I'm really into it I was planning to go to the gym and I'd rather sit and read with the Lord, I can go to the gym later. Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: fine. So just notice your reaction when you make little changes. And the last one is really that last one is really revealing, like skip a workout and see your reaction, because idols Coach Crystal: So good. Nakita Kautzman: get loud when they're being challenged. And just if fitness has been filling a deeper need, so control validation piece. You need to fill that with truth not just take fitness away You might Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: you might need to step away for a little bit like take a week or two or even a month off But you don't have to replace it. It's there for a reason God has given us gyms these bodies to move for a reason so Coach Crystal: This is the Thank you. Nakita Kautzman: But I would like how to comfort someone I mean simple things right like Don't dismiss their feelings Saying you shouldn't feel that way doesn't help. Instead, you just say, I hear you. That's a real weight to carry. Jesus himself didn't dismiss brokenness. He met people in it. And in the Bible, worth is not earned, it's given. A simple way to say it would be like, your worth isn't based on how well you're doing, it's based on who you belong to. And that shifts Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: everything. Coach Crystal: Yes, and that never changes, right? It doesn't matter what your Nakita Kautzman: No, it's constant. Coach Crystal: weight, it doesn't matter what you look like, it doesn't matter if your pants fit, right? That's so good. Nakita Kautzman: Yeah. Coach Crystal: That's so good. know, it's kind of, you know, because sometimes, not sometimes, but because this is kind of unspoken, I think... women might not necessarily understand in the moment that it is an idol. So I really love how you shared, well, ask yourself, what happens if I skip a workout? Because in the same breath, I work with women who, because they skipped a workout, they then give up completely. And they say, forget it. You know what? I messed up, might as well start again on Monday. then there's now this, okay, is there perfectionism in here? Where now you're purposefully self-sabotaging because, you know, so it can even reveal that heart posture as well. Nakita Kautzman: Yeah. And I think that's something that we're going to be speaking about like later on like that always starting over. Yeah. Yeah. Coach Crystal: Yes, yeah, exactly. Whereas I love how you shared, you know what, if the Holy Spirit is calling me to sit with the Lord right now in His Word, that is better. That is better. It's better. And so I think there's so much that you've laid out here for... our listeners to kind of pray and meditate on? Like, is it an idol? Am I obsessed? like, is even God in the picture at all when it comes with my health? What is my end goal? Is it glorifying me or is it glorifying God? And, what happens when I skip a workout? I, you know, does that ruin my day? you know, because similarly, when you think of money as an example, it's not money that it's evil. It's the love of money. And so similarly, okay, well, am I obsessed with my fitness routine or health routine? Am I obsessed with the way that my body looks like, right? Because that, even though you don't love your body, you're just thinking about it all the time. And so that's where we have to kind of be careful. Because wow, you are right. There is such freedom in knowing, you know what, I am made in the image of God. There is a purpose for this body and it's more than, you know, just looking good Nakita Kautzman: And it's so hard because fitness is saturated with worldly with worldliness, right? So it's, it's, it's very image driven. It's focused Coach Crystal: So much. Yes. Nakita Kautzman: on aesthetics and performance and social media only like explodes Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: that right? So yeah. Coach Crystal: Yeah, well, we're going to break the mold Nikita. We are going to be extremely countercultural over the next six episodes and I'm praying that... You know through what with what we share our own experience? Scripture, I just pray that we're gonna help that woman who is idolizing fitness idolizing her body Like you said not necessarily get rid of it all together. Although in some cases it might be healthy rather Putting him first the way that my husband so through the Holy Spirit said so Nakita Kautzman: Convictingly. Coach Crystal: wisely Right, right. He convicted us. I'm not gonna glorify or work on this body unless I glorify the one who gave me this body. So that shift of putting Him first in all things including our health, I'm praying is going to be the result from, you know, the next six episodes. And this is why I've got all tingly. I'm Nakita Kautzman: You Coach Crystal: like, I've just, is so good because I truly believe that through our breakdowns, major breakthroughs have happened. And I'm praying that that's what's going to happen with the, you know, the end listener who's listening to this. every episode, I love to close in prayer, but I think I'd love to invite you to start us kick us off if you can close this in prayer because this is a to be continued. But we still want to glorify the one who is, you know, leading this conversation. So I'll let you I'll let you lead. Nakita Kautzman: Yeah, for sure. Heavenly Father, we come before you, honestly. I see that I've allowed fitness, my body, my discipline, my performance to take a place in my heart that belongs to you alone, and I'm sure many other women can relate to that. We've looked to it for worth, for control, for identity, and it hasn't given us the peace that we thought it would. And I pray that you would forgive us for making it an idol. Lord, Coach Crystal: Yes, Lord. Nakita Kautzman: help us to remember that our value is not in how we look, how strong we are, or how consistent we've been, but in the fact that we are yours. Coach Crystal: Amen. Nakita Kautzman: I pray that you would give us strength and wisdom and discernment to reorder our hearts, teach us to seek you first, not results. Help us to train from a place of gratitude, not insecurity, and a place from freedom, not pressure. And Father God, Coach Crystal: you Nakita Kautzman: Give us the humility to release control, the wisdom to steward our bodies well, and the discipline to keep you at the center of it all. And if fitness ever tries to take your place again, make us aware quickly and give us the strength to lay it back down. Let our training be an act of worship, not self-glorification, and let it serve our purpose, not define our identities. And I pray that you would remind us daily that we are already accepted, we are already loved, and we are already Coach Crystal: Yes. Nakita Kautzman: enough in you. I pray these things in Coach Crystal: Amen. Nakita Kautzman: Jesus' name, amen. Coach Crystal: Amen! So good! my goodness! God is good! I'm so excited! Nikita, my love, honestly, like God is... there was a purpose in us meeting and us connecting, because I really think this is a message that needs to be shared. There's too many women that are lost, are idolizing, that are obsessed, and Christ is not in the center of their healthy journey. And so I can't wait to continue our series on your body as a holy vessel. I love you so much, so much. So girls, I cannot wait for episode two. And if you, we will have to close off our series, we will have a Q &A. So if there's already questions that you have been brought up, we would invite you, if you're listening on Spotify or Apple, go ahead and put in the comments. If something has resonated with you, if you have a question or if you're watching this on YouTube, same thing in the comment box, and we're excited to see how the Lord leads us and really draws out this thorn in a lot of women's lives and so that we can move forward in a healthier mindset first and foremost, glorifying him in our body and that our healthy journey is Christ-centered. So I love you. All right, ladies, have a good one. Bye everybody.