This is a story from my backyard.
I live in the town of Maryville, MO. Our high school’s freshmen football team was playing Benton, a school in St. Joseph, MO…about 40 miles from here.
Maryville was shutting Benton out. And, at the end of the game, Maryville gave up a touchdown to Benton.
But, they wanted to.
Read the story of Matt Ziesel’s amazing touchdown run and feel good.
It’s been a few weeks since I have posted a story that might restore your faith in humanity. However, there is lots of good out there in the world worth talking about.
Here is a story of a man who has donated, this week, his 40th gallon of blood. It’s estimated that he has helped nearly 1,000 people.
Giving blood is something that almost all of us can, and should, do. It’s simple and highly needed. Visit the American Red Cross to find a drive or center near you.
I have been highlighting little changes that I have made in my life and ministry over the last few months. You can read about the first change here and the second change here.
Allow me to highlight a third. My wife and I are getting geared up to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. As the biggest part of those festivities, we have booked a cruise to the Western Caribbean over Thanksgiving. Because I want to look smokin’ hot in my swimsuit, I have set out to lose 25 pounds.
Part of this plan is exercise, which I highlighted in the second post. The other part of the plan is my diet. That’s where the fiber comes in.
That’s right. Fiber. The stuff of senior citizens everywhere.
Fiber is good for several reasons.
Instead of counting calories, I am counting fiber grams. The goal is to eat 40g of fiber each day. The average American eats 10-15. I have had little trouble eating 40g. Another secret is to eat the fiber-ful foods first. Here is how I usually do it:
I eat oatmeal or fiber-enriched pancakes (covered with fresh fruit and whipped cream) for breakfast. Sometimes I will eat a bowl of frosted shredded wheat.
For lunch, I usually have a spinach salad with fresh carrots. I usually put black beans on top, as well as sunflower seeds and/or raisins. I love me a big salad. After that, a peanut butter and honey sandwich or a wheat tortilla wrap.
If I snack during the day, it’s usually on smoked almonds. High in fiber and stinkin’ amazing. Or popcorn.
For dinner, another salad. Then, I usually eat whatever my wife has made for the family. There are lots of ways to “amp up” any meal with added fiber. That’s the cool thing about this diet. I don’t eat anything really different from what I always have. I simply add some fiber, fill up on it, and then eat less of the other food.
So far, following this simple plan coupled with exercise, I’ve lost 12 pounds in 6 weeks. And I’ve only done the diet for 2 1/2 of those 6 weeks!
I’m trying to highlight some of the changes that have been made in my life and ministry over the summer months. You can read about our new digs here.
I have always wanted to run. I ran a little track in junior high school and hated it. I wanted to be a sprinter but my coach wanted me to run long distance. I lasted one year.
Since college, though, I have always had a desire to run a marathon. I’m not sure why, but I have a hunch. I think that I have loved the idea of setting a really lofty goal…and then working at it…and then meeting it. For me, a non-runner, running a marathon would be the loftiest.
The first part of July, I decided to begin running. I had a few motivations for this:
And so, I began. I found a plan online to help non-runners train to be runners. It was painful, at first. I could barely run one minute and then the several minutes after were spent recovering. But, I stuck with it.
And a funny thing happened: one day I was running and realized that I had run for much longer than I had planned. And I wasn’t sucking wind. And the time spent in recovery after running was much shorter. And…I was having fun.
Now, in my 7th week of running, I am running 25 minutes without stopping. I could do more, but I am sticking with the plan. And, I plan to run in my first 5k in about a month.
There are spiritual lessons here:
I am a football fan. I am a fan of great football players. Brett Favre is one of the greatest.
I feel, though, that Brett has forever tainted his legacy because he can’t let his “yes” mean yes and his “no” mean no. It’s an issue of integrity and character. Nobody can take him seriously anymore.
For example, this afternoon I was reading my Twitter feed. Someone very cryptically tweeted “Brett Favre retires again!” A few years ago, I would have laughed at the notion. This afternoon, after 2 retirements and 2 returns, I had to check my trusty news sources to see if there was any merit to the tweet.
His word means nothing. Jesus thinks, however, that our word should mean everything. “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ No;’ anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:37 NIV)
A life of integrity and character includes what we say. On the day that Brett is inducted into the Hall of Fame, we will talk about his touchdowns and his passer rating. But, mark my words: overshadowing all of those great accomplishments will be chatter about his waffling between retired and un-retired.
His legacy is tarnished because he couldn’t make his “yes” mean yes and he couldn’t make his “no” mean no.
Just had a realization that Christmas is exactly 5 months from today.
So, are you getting ready? Do you have a list of gifts in mind for others? Are you saving some money?
Christmas tends to surprise a lot of people. Every year, I hear several folks say, “Christmas has snuck up on me this year, and I just don’t have any money to buy gifts.”
How does Christmas sneak up on you? It’s not like the holiday is a surprise. It comes the same day every year. It’s not unpredictable.
Therefore, with a little thought, there really is no reason not to have a little bit of spending money at Christmas time. All you need to do is set aside a few bucks a month. If you’ll do that, the gift-buying season won’t hurt as bad. Even if you start now, late in the summer, you can ease the pain. Even setting aside just $20 each month from now until then, you’ll have $100.
Don’t be surprised when December 25th comes around. It does every year. And this year, it won’t have to sting as bad.
Philippians 1:9-10 TNIV
“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best…”
In his prayer, Paul seems to indicate that there is a difference between “what is best” and all other things. I think it was Warren Wiersbe who said that our battle usually isn’t between good and bad, but rather the battle is between good and best.
This is where I have found myself. And this is why I have cut some of the excess out of my life. The extras I was involved with were not all bad. In fact, they could even be called good. But I was doing all of that good and the expense of doing what is best.
It reminds me of when Jesus was hanging out with Mary and Martha. Martha was keeping busy, doing a lot of good things; making preparations and serving her guests. Mary, though, simply sat down at Jesus’ feet and listened to what he was saying. Jesus said that what Mary had “chosen what is better.”
Better than the good things.
What’s good in your life? Are those good things coming at the sacrifice of the best things?
I have spend the last several weeks in my life trying to simplify.
For example, I recently downgraded my cell phone and plan. I used to carry a Palm Centro, with an unlimited data plan. This allowed me access to the internet and email at all hours of the day. And, it cost me about $40 extra per month.
It came time to renew my contract, and I felt the call to simplify. I paid $10 for a new LG Shine and dropped the data and insurance. The new phone does all I need without the distraction of checking my email during dinner or surfing all the same sites again during family time. It’s been liberating. Plus, I save money.
Also, I recently shut the doors on a side business that I had started and am working on selling off the inventory. This business had the potential to bring in lots of extra cash, but it required me to be gone from my family almost every Saturday. Plus, a business needs running…and I was spending precious minutes everyday doing so. It took me away from my primary roles in life; follower of Christ, family man, and college minister.
Finally, over the last few days I have decided to drop a seminary class that I had enrolled in over the summer. I was loving the class and learning much. But, the amount of reading and writing was consuming my days. Summers are crucial to prayer and preparation in campus ministry, and neither were happening for me on account of this class.
All in all, I feel as though God is stripping layers of me away and getting to some core issues in my life. He’s challenging me to be about the best things, not all of the good things. More on this theme later.
Suffice it to say, I am enjoying this thing called “simplicity.” What kind of clutter and noise can you cut out of your life?
“Who has God made to me to be and what am I supposed to be doing?”
I’ve been asking this question of myself often over the last several months. The answers that I come up with are what we are calling Big Rocks. Read the original post in this series to understand the importance of the Big Rocks going first into your jar.
My Big Rock #3 is my health. I have begun to realize that my body is not getting any younger. And with that age comes, hopefully, wisdom.
I was diagnosed with high blood pressure at the age of 28 and given medication. I had chronic headaches that debilitated me. I have a family history of high cholesterol. I am, by nature, a night owl and was not getting enough sleep.
I realized that if I want to serve well, I neded to make some changes. Here are action steps I have implemented:
Exercise: I strive to work-out 4 days each week; Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. My work-out of choice: Wii Fit! I spend about 15 minutes doing yoga to stretch my muscles and help with my flexibility and balance. I then spend another 15 minutes doing strength training on the Wii Fit. And finally I spend another 15 minutes doing aerobic exercises.
Eating: I have earnestly attempted to cut out excess sugar from my diet. Now, I still have a cookie or cupcake from time to time, but I don’t have 2 or 3 or 4. Also, I have stopped over-eating. As I have practiced self-control in this area, I have been shocked to realize how badly I overate in the past. It feels good to stop eating when you’re full.
Combining these two practices have helped me to lose 8 pounds in the last month. Not a ton…but a good, healthy pace to lose weight. (Plus, I am treating my wife to a Caribbean cruise to celebrate our 10th anniversary this winter…and I don’t want to be the fat guy with no shirt on by the pool!)
Sleeping: A few weeks ago, I decided to simply just go to bed whenever Keri went to bed. I am, as I mentioned, a night-owl by nature. She is not. She’s a go-to-bed-about-10pm-no-matter-what kind of person. I told her one night that I would just go to bed with her each night, no questions asked. I would stop whatever I was doing and sleep.
After a few nights, I noticed something amazing: I felt better. And I woke up before my alarm clock ready to start my day. No more hitting the snooze button and rolling out of bed just in time to take my daughter to school. Nope! I could wake up early, workout, take a shower and then take her to school. Amazing!
Less Caffeine: This may sound completely insane to most of you, but I gave caffeinated coffee up completely a little over a year ago. I still drink lots of coffee, but it’s ALL decaf. Every once in awhile I will have a Diet Coke, but my overall in-take of caffeine has gone from “way-too-much” to “hardly-any” and my body feels better for it.
Caffeine is America’s legal drug. Just one thought: if you get a headache whenever you don’t get your cup of joe or Mountain Dew, then you have a problem! Don’t be a slave.
All of these efforts, as well as a few others, have helped my body feel better. Losing weight. Not so tired. Fewer headaches. More energy. All good things that make me a better follower of Christ, a better husband, a better father, a better minister, and a better person.
I often ask myself the question, “Who has God made me to be and what am I supposed to be doing?”
The second answer that I come up with is: God has made me a family man and one of my greatest resp0nsibilities is to my family. They are the second Big Rock in my jar.
With that in mind, my family time is the first thing that goes into my weekly schedule. If my meetings with students or other ministers are important enough to be entered into my smartphone, then surely my family is that important.
I work a lot of evenings and weekends. Therefore, some of my weekly schedule has to stay fluid. Here is a basic look at how I schedule family time during the week.
Mondays: no evening meetings usually, so I’m home at dinner time to stay.
Wednesdays: because Tuesdays are my busiest day of the week, I take Wednesday mornings very slow and hang with the family. I usually get into the office about 10am and come back home by 3pm. From 3-5pm, Keri and I and our two youngest run errands around town while my older girls are at a church after-school program. We then eat dinner together. (If I have to work or travel over the weekend, then I take Wednesdays as my full day off).
Thursdays: Thursday nights are date night in my house. I am home by dinner and I turn my phone and computer off. Keri and I feed the kids and save ourselves for a late dinner. After everyone is in bed, we eat and watch a movie or play games.
Fridays: Friday evenings are fun family nights in our house. Keri makes homemade pizza each week and we all sit down with our food in front of the TV to watch a family movie. In the last month we’ve watched Horton Hears a Who, Cars, Wall-E, and Madagascar: Return 2 Africa. These are fun nights for all of us.
Saturdays: If I don’t have to work on Saturdays, then they are my full day off. If I do, then I take Wednesdays off instead.
My wife and four children are THE most important people in my life. If I fill my jar with other people, things or activities, they quickly get squeezed out. I will NOT sacrifice my family in the name of ministry or anything else.
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