Unleash Her: With the Helmet of Salvation

Aug 6
4 min read

By Carmen K. Maendel

Introduction: Child of God

Hello friend, I am Carmen Maendel and I am a child of God, a mother, and a wife. I came to the Lord at the early age of thirteen, however I rededicated my life to Christ as an adult on November 4, 2006. This does not mean that I am perfect or have not had adversity in my life. Quite the opposite, I would say. Some of the negative incidents in my life happen when I am seeking the Lord whole-heartedly. In the book Unleash Her: The Next Chapter Begins, my Chapter: “With the Helmet of Salvation” I will share some life altering moments with you after I was saved and wear my “Helmet of Salvation” on a daily basis. The beginning of my narrative begins, prior to my rededication to Christ, with a traumatic event that God uses for His Glory to help me train over fifty women in our Maendel Fitness Gym & Spa several years later.

Traumatic Event: Grocery Store Incident

In my Chapter, “With the Helmet of Salvation” I share very openly and transparently about a traumatic event that has had lasting repercussions on my life today, and helped motivate me to create a gym in our home. I walk through how this adversity in my life shifted from a sense of hopelessness to empowerment, and I share the steps along the way of how this happened. I talk about how God used this event to His glory, and to be able to have me reach and train over fifty ladies in our Maendel Fitness gym over an eight year span of time. I discuss how women can go from feeling very vulnerable in this particular scenario to feeling

confident and self assured with all the tools necessary to get over this hurdle in life. Fear is the opposite of faith, and living in fear about what may happen or what could happen is not the answer either. I hope you can be encouraged through my story and realize that you are always being protected from God in any given situation, and all you need to do is embrace Jesus and believe that He has your best interest at heart always. Jeremiah 29:11: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

The Other Half of the Equation: My Father’s Battle with Cancer

The other half of the equation responsible for fueling my passion to build a gym in our home came from the experience of me witnessing my father with his battle of cancer. I watched him fight for fifteen years and how the cancer slowly overtook every area in his body. At one point and time he shared his PSA (prostate-specific antigen) count with us, until it was so high that he stopped sharing it with us. I discuss how his death through cancer helped encourage me to reach a whole other level of fitness within myself. As I learned more and more about health and fitness, I grew a passion inside of me to share what I was learning with other women. Cancer runs on my dad’s side and strokes and diabetes on my mom’s side so I made a vow to myself to get in top physical shape and stay there for life, incase something ever happened to me. I discuss the beginning stages of launching Maendel Fitness, and how a ministry I created in my church was the catalyst to do so.

Passion for Health and Fitness: HHFM Ministry and Maendel Fitness

In my Chapter, I share very transparently the obstacles and struggles I endured during the course of owning Maendel Fitness for eight years. I talk about perseverance on my end, and if I had thrown in the towel at the slightest signs of defeat, that I would have missed out on all the incredible blessings God has in store for me and our gym and spa. I share about the process I went through to found Maendel Fitness and some of the adversity we met along the way. I realized that these things could either be stumbling blocks for me, or I could look at them as opportunities and stepping stones along the way.

Vibrant You: Elevating Your Self Confidence with Affirmations and Self-Love

I discuss some of the strategies you can use to persevere and embrace adversity in your own life. I helped my clients do this in a number of differ ways. I taught them that every obstacle that they face in life, offers an opportunity to to improve. I encouraged them to view adversity as opportunities with solutions instead of problems and stumbling blocks in their lives. Pushing through challenging moments in life will help you reach a higher level. In my Chapter, I share the keys to self confidence and affirmation. I give examples of each and how to apply them to your lives. I talk about four areas that can have a positive effect on your life, and show you how to apply them to your life. I share strategies and techniques that I used to help my Maendel Fitness clients break through barriers and achieve a whole new level of fitness. I share a story about an architect that helps exemplify and shed light on what is truly important in our lives. I also share very openly about four distinct set-backs that I had, personally, during the period of time that owned and operated Maendel Fitness. I hope you can be encouraged through my story, and the victories that I experienced after some of the darker moments and challenges in my life. I conclude my chapter with a story about a miner panning for gold. There are many lessons to be learned here, and strategies for overcoming obstacles and adversity. My hope and prayer is that you can be encouraged through my story, and you will discover nuggets of truth which help propel you to a whole other level! At the end of my Chapter, I include resources through google links that you can access for materials to help you in fitness and nutrition and your journey to self confidence with affirmations and self-love.

“Wishing you the very best in all your future endeavors, Beautiful!”

Love,

Carmen K. Maendel

Watch for my Solo Book: Courageous Woman: Casting Cares Upon Jesus

Release Date: 9/9/25

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