Sunday, April 17, 2016

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!

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