It has been probably close to 10 years since I've been to the exercise church.
This place brings back sooo many good memories for me. I think I started coming here when Brenna was 2 or 3-years old. It was always a fun place to work out, but the people were the BEST part.
Many of my friends from our ward up in Glenmoor would come, so I'd get to hang out with them. Brenna got to play with tons of other kids on the stage or in the overflow. At that time, Jan Sara was still running all of the classes, and she had been doing that for 12 -15 years at that point. Every September we would have a pot luck luncheon to celebrate another year of the 'Exercise Church'.
Once Brenna started morning Kindergarten, Jan asked me if I'd like to start teaching there once a week. I had no real qualifications, but I was brave/nervous and I started teaching. We were averaging 80-100 women every morning, so it was a big group. I worried about the music, my mic, the timing, was I providing a hard enough workout for those that were looking for that, was I providing sufficient modifications for those that needed them. It was a little bit stressful, but I did it, and I'm so glad I did. It helped me build my confidence trust in myself that I can do things that are out of my comfort zone.
3 life impacting blessings that came during my years at the exercise church.
1- Becoming better friends with Cindy Sweat. I love Cindy and I appreciate all those years when we were raising our kiddos that we'd get to talk for an hour each day while we worked out together. She strengthened my testimony and helped me become a better mom and friend. We went through Tony going to graduated school up at USU, moving within the neighborhood, praying with them about whether he should take the job at BYU, to all the worries about moving the kids down to Springville, and leaving their family and friends in South Jordan. We both lived lots of life during those years, with lots of changes, challenges, and unknowns and I'm glad we got to share those years exercising together.
2 - Meeting Jill Milne. So crazy that Jill and I met at the exercise church when Maryn and Brenna were little. Over the years, Jill has become one of my very best friends. She brings so much goodness and joy to my life, she is one of my greatest cheerleaders and closest confidants. She is always working to be more like the Savior and she is an example to me in so many ways. I am definitely a better person because of her and I'm grateful that the exercise church brought us together all those years ago.
3 - An encounter with President Maxfield. President M had just been called as our new stake president. I knew his wife Jen from the exercise church, but didn't really know him yet. Within the first few weeks of his call, he came to workout at the exercise church with Jen. He is a pretty big guy, who played football at Stanford, and though men are welcome there, we rarely see them. As we were finishing up I went up to talk to them and introduced myself. He repeated my name and said how nice it was to meet me.
Within a week, his executive secretary called me in for an interview.
President shared with me how he had received my 'name' in a dream for a certain calling, though he did not know who I is was yet. The next morning he felt impressed to go to the exercise church with Jen, and there he met 'Jenna Miller' who he then knew would serve as the next Stake Young Woman's President. He said he came to the exercise church once, had the experience he needed, and never plans to attend again. That was the start of another great friendship that has truly changed and blessed my life.
