MONDAY MORSEL #4

MONDAY MORSEL #4
April 25, 2016

Marriage is NOT a 50-50 proposition as many might say.  It is a 100-100 proposition with a man and woman each giving all they have under God's leadership.

www.workoutyourfaith.blogspot.com

Years Well Spent

Today marks my 23 years of marriage to my wonderful wife, Angie.  Without her who knows where or what I might be, and I doubt if any of it would be very good.

Over the years there have been many lessons to be learned through the gift that is marriage.  The first lesson we learned was that it is best for newlyweds to live away, a good distance away, from their families.  This time away allows the new couple to learn to lean on God and each other keeping both families at arm's length. 

Though in the beginning I was only a person of nominal faith it was the quiet strength of her faith that challenged me to grow my own.  That too was a good thing.  While living away, in Jefferson City, MO, we had the blessing to meet up with a minister who really touched my heart, and opened my mind to the quest for a deeper, more biblically sound faith.  This quest grew to a decision to follow Christ in December of 2003.

This decision was two and a half years after the most spiritually challenging time of our early marriage.  In 2001 our wonderful daughter Olivia was born two months premature and spent 6 weeks in the hospital at Little Rock.  We really didn't understand how this would work but with the love, support, and assistance of our families and friends and by God's grace we survived and thrived as a family.

Since these times we have grown through other difficulties and struggles and known success on many varying levels.  The greatest of these successes has been receiving a phone call in February of 2015 informing us of Olivia's decision to follow Christ while attending a youth rally in Conway, AR.

With God on our side there is a bright future ahead.  This future is at the heart of my desire to achieve a higher level of fitness.  Fitness that will allow me to be there and enjoy the years to come with Angie and Olivia as well as those who God has not yet introduced to our lives.

Happy Anniversary to my lovely, warm, humble and oh so much more wife.  May there be many wonderful years to come as we continue to write our story, and may the example we set help others to see what is possible with God, a little patience, and the mutual attitudes of a servant.

May we and those around us Do Well!

MONDAY MORSEL #3

Monday and Everyday are made by your attitude.  Pick it up and write the best story possible.  With God it is better.

Why Be Fit?

In this space I speak about goal setting success, and fitness within a Christian framework most of the time.  Why do I put the time and effort into this that I do? 

1) Foremost I believe in it!  Beginning with the faith portion, I am a Bible believer.  I cannot understand those would look at this world and choose to believe that it just occurred by random chance.  The intricate details of life, health, and nature's cycles are too clear and well defined to be mere happenstance.  There is a God who created the world, sent His Son Jesus as a sacrifice for our failings (sin) that we might be able to experience His glory in heaven someday, and desires that we would seek Him.  He did not create mindless robots, but rather allowed us free will to choose our path and then laid out the clear choice we must make.

2)  Success is not as the world at large, and the bulk of the media portray it.  Success is an individual decision.  Success must be defined by each person for their particular situation.  There was a time for me where it was defined as being a millionaire by the time I was thirty.  The dream of success ended unfulfilled.  However through that period in my life I learned a lot about myself, and made crucial connections that helped reshape my thinking.  God gave me a wonderful wife and eventually an equally wonderful daughter to love and be loved by.  I encountered people along my journey such as Brent Newton, a preacher in Jefferson City, MO who in great humility pushed me to seek the truth in God.  I was given opportunities to succeed in various ways and given roadblocks to overcome, all with the purpose to focus me back toward my creator.  GREED IS NOT AN AVENUE TO SUCCESS!

3)  We must all think humbly to find true success.  Our success will be found when we open ourselves up to serving others and meeting their needs.  It starts at home how do I serve my wife and child?  Do I provide the relational nourishment they need?  Am I the spiritual leader, feeding them by example?  Does the Word of God hold high esteem in our household?  Is it a tool for our betterment?  If not then there is a lot of work to do before we will enjoy the highest successes.

4)  As a younger man I was fit and trim with an active lifestyle.  Over the years the poor food choices and the ever - decreasing activity levels took their toll and I developed severe sleep apnea, high cholesterol, an underactive thyroid, and type 2 diabetes.  NOT GOOD!  In 2012 when all of these things were diagnosed I realized I had a choice to make, take control of my situation or spin further out of control and face harsh consequences.  I chose control.  I am seeking greater fitness today because it pushes back and reduces the most difficult consequences  of my disease processes.  If I can take control then you can too, it takes commitment, patience, and discipline and on any given day I may struggle with one or all three of these.

Take a look around you, particularly at those a generation ahead of you in age.  What do you see?  What can you learn about Life's choices by listening to them?  Even within your own generation, how many have been struck down by or severely afflicted due to the poor choices they have made in their lives?  This does not mean that bad things can't or won't happen to those who live a more fit lifestyle but it may be minimized or at the very least they will be starting their battles from a position of strength.

Get it together people!  It does NOT have to be a huge, elaborate exercise, or nutrition plan, just start with simple changes and build up from there. 

Challenge Update
Last week I put out a challenge that hit on a few areas we could begin together.  Here is a recap of my first week:

Weight down from 209 to 204 (LOWEST SINCE OCTOBER)

Average Daily Steps 10495 which means my goal by Memorial Day is to reach an average of 13644.

Water intake = 9.43 8 ounce glasses per day, so my goal for the challenge is to get that up to 14 (13.5) rounded up.

It was a good week in that arena.  Take control of your life, and Do Well!

Monday Morsel #2

MONDAY MORSEL #2
MONDAY April 11, 2016

"Let us make man in our image. . ."
Genesis 1:26

Wrap your mind around that this week and see if it changes your thinking.

Challenge Time!

As I write today I believe that many of us like to be challenged.  These challenges come in many forms and often serve as a motivation to a specific end.  Today I want to give that impetus that some of us need to move forward, a good All-American challenge.

The Bible uses the number 7 over and over again, as in the Hebrew culture of the day it represented perfection.  If we look at the calendar we are 7 weeks until the Memorial day weekend, the unofficial start of summer.  So here is the challenge. Over the next 7 weeks:

1)  Record in some fashion the amount of water you are consuming daily.  Then work to increase that number by 50% by the end of the challenge.  If this week you find you are taking in approximately 80 ounces per day strive for 120 by the end of the challenge.

2)  Many of us are using various forms of pedometers and activity trackers to provide much needed, and immediate feedback, track your steps and shoot for a 30% increase from week one to week 7.

3)  Select one food item that is a near and dear go-to for you and abstain during the challenge.  For me this is going to be fried catfish.  (Thankfully I just fed this craving yesterday.)

4)  Set a 7 week, realistic goal, then weigh in today and record that number.  Each day weigh in and compare.  Yes there will be ups and downs, but if you will follow through on your regular exercise, not only your daily step counts, and increase hydration you should begin to see results.  Complete transparency, I weighed in this morning on my home scale at 209 with a 7 week goal of 202.  That would be one pound per week which is doable if I will remain focused.

5)  Season it all with prayer.  Pray that God will direct you to make better decisions for your life.  Pray that as a healthier servant you would better see the opportunities before you to honor Him in serving others.

Bonus challenge:  Read the book "The Traveler's Gift"  by Andy Andrews.  This is one of the most thought provoking books I have ever read, gently rocking our world's with great stories illustrating what the author Andy Andrews, calls the 7 Decisions for Success. 

I hope that several of you will take up the challenge and Do Well!

MONDAY MORSEL #1

           M.   T.   X.   E. 

MENTAL TOUGHNESS. EXTRA EFFORT

I saw this as a mantra for the Wichita State Shockers basketball teams of the early 1980's and it has always stuck.

Power for Positive Change

Seeking change is a difficult thing, whether it is walking away from sin in our life or changing our habits to create a healthier lifestyle.  How do we deal with change when it is necessary, or sometimes thrust upon us?  That is the question for today.

In order to adopt change in our lives we must recognize the necessity for the change.  This is often our biggest challenge as the status quo has a lot of momentum behind it.  We must be able look beyond the here and now to the brighter future that positive change provides.  This will slow that momentum of the past.

Next we must truly be able to visualize the future we desire from the change.  When we can see it in our mind's eye, then we can begin to determine the course or courses of action to get there.  At this point motivation becomes a key factor, do we have the internal drive, an internal compass to guide us each step toward this true north?  If yes, then we are well on our way, if no, then we still have some work to do before we can plan and implement positive change.

Assuming we can see the brighter future, and have the right internal motivation then the steps along the way will become more clear.  In our Christian walk it is stated that, "Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."  God's Word is a wonderful starting point for our journey and my recommendation as the proper lens to view all aspects of our life.

Within our journey to fitness, faithfulness, or an other worthy change we must recognize how to see the change and then be the change.  No, change will not come easy, but it will be rewarding.

Finally we must admit when we get off course, and turn back to the pathway of success.  For the Christian this is repentance and acceptance of God's grace.  When we step aside from the chosen path we cannot beat ourselves up, but rather course correct and give ouselves a bit of grace, just as God our Father give us grace.

If each of us would look inside, and follow these steps as the need for change arises in our lives, we would be much more likely to succeed.  Change your world for the better, Do Well.  Others are watching and your positive change can inspire others to be better as well.