Day 7

Day 7

Day 7 Lesson:

Today is the bus ride day! Yep about 20 hours on a bus…ughh. Sometimes, that’s just what you have to do to get from here to there. Hmmm…metaphor? Yes please. The road is long, weary, and tiresome. Sometimes, doing nothing at all can wear you out. I know, you’d think hard work would be the culprit. Well in this case, lack of work is the source of the problem. Laziness…I believe 1 of the 7 “deadly sins” was sloth, right? This is definitely an issue. A force to be reckoned with! Or a lack of force to be reckoned with! Anyway, laziness will make you disregard your commitments. It makes you stop exercising. It allows you to eat things that God didn’t design your body to consume (twinkies, etc). It’s what tells you that God can wait! Well guess what folks, God shouldn’t have to wait! He should come first! Before television, before the newspaper, before videogames, before your own family! Luke 14:26 says, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.” God comes first! I know that rest is how we recuperate, but God is what restores and replenishes us. John 4:13-14 says, “13 Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” I won’t go into the importance of water again… We need God! We can’t last a second without Him. So if you are like me, make today, not tomorrow, the day that you tell Him again, “I need You, and I’m committing to You again.” Here’s the truth. I’m not writing this on Day 7. I missed that day to blog. Fortunately, I still learned something that day. I still grew and grew in God. Don’t make tomorrow your day to jump back on the horse. Do it today! Do it now! Even if you can’t commit a lot, if you have no more time today, do something for Him. Read a verse of scripture. Do 10 pushups. Do 1 if that’s all you can do, but do something for Him!

Day 7 Spiritual Health: Scriptures read: Luke 14-26, John 4:13-14

Day 7 Physical Health: Need I really say it? Do something today! Do pushups; do sit-ups; walk half of a mile; stretch out those achy muscles for 10 minutes. Anything is better than nothing! I know this may not be enough for you today. You may have hoped that this day would be filled with something exciting, something packed with power! Trust me, if you have the power to continue on today, you are doing something challenging and powerful!

Day 6

Day 6

Day 6 Lesson:

Ya know what?!?! I am a pretty dang good skier! I mean it! Seriously, I am really quite exceptional. Sure there are tons of skiers that are better than I am, but relative to most people (including those who haven’t seen snow), I am really good at skiing. I only boast about this because I came to realize today that in spite of my expertise in skiing and my ability to go down almost any run on a mountain, including the Double Black Diamond runs, I am not an exceptional Christian! No, at this point in my life, I won’t be on the Christian X-Games (nor the real ones). In other words, I am not the greatest skier, and I am certainly in any place to boast about my likeness to Christ. When I am weak, He is strong. Well guess what folks, He has got some serious cannons (or is it canons…ha…lame Bible pun. Comment if you got it). My whole point is that, I thought I was doing okay in my walk with the Lord, but if we’re living in the light, I am barely pushing that blue/black barrier. I know for the beginner that may seem impressive, but to the Olympic athlete, anything short of perfection, anything short of Christ, doesn’t win you the gold! Matthew 5:48 says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” That’s right, perfection is the goal and possibly more importantly, it is our calling! We are called to perfection! No, I don’t think we’ll attain it, but it is what we are to strive for in every moment. Jump to physical…

Day 6 Spiritual Health: Scriptures read: Matthew 5:48

Day 6 Physical Health: Acknowledge your need to be healthy, not the Greek god statue physique, but in good physical and spiritual health. Know that you come up short in areas, that it’s the way we are designed and understand your weaker parts. Define your weaknesses in order to strengthen yourself! No more rambling, find your weakness to eliminate it! Be strong! 

Day 5 (Monday)

Day 5 (Monday)

Day 5 Lesson:

What have I learned today?... Well this week, as I’ve been skiing with my youth group, my good friend, the Rev. Dr. Rusty Freeman has been relating the levels of the ski terrain to the Christian walk. I usually tend to think metaphorically and can usually see the metaphor’s relation before its explanation. Still, the messages have been filled with truth, grace, and power. The gospel tends to be a story that no matter how many times it’s told, its power, grace, love, truth, and good news never lose effect. It’s funny how Rusty’s lessons directly relate to this blog. He speaks of physical limitations and how they relate to the spiritual walk. Cool, huh? I think it’s amazing that my spiritual walk and ski abilities are almost identical. I can ski the entire mountain…yes, Double Diamonds-Experts Only!!!  Although, some of those runs scare the @#%@#$ out of me (no, that’s not a bad word). I can do it all. I’m strong enough and have the experience to do things that boggle others’ minds. I’m not trying to brag here, just stating the things I am capable of in Christ. My father taught me to ski since childhood. Likewise, my Heavenly Father has taught me what I know. (Brief explanation: green=easy, blue=intermediate, black=hard, double black=expert only.) Green bores me at this point, but I love to see new skiers/believers on the slopes giving it a shot. Blues are comfortable and can get boring after a while. Blues are where newer skiers/believers begin to push their limits and build their expertise. Black is where I feel at home. Black is pretty tough. Black pushes me. Black tells me that I’m accomplishing something. I’m pursuing excellence. I’m getting stronger. I’m stepping up to my calling. Sure, Double Blacks are runs to be conquered when the occasion arises. Blacks and Double Blacks require commitment! They require something above the norm. This is where I belong. The truth is that if I am capable of it, then I will do it. “With God all things are possible,” right? Well God doesn’t equip us to sit in the warming house! Get out there. Conquer the mountain! Advance the kingdom of the Lord!

Day 5 Spiritual Health: Scriptures read: John 15:1-8, 1 John 4:7-12

Day 5 Physical Health: Push yourself. Commit. Do what you are capable of, regardless of whether or not it fits your schedule and your requirements. Do what God calls you to do. Increase your strength (faith), your stamina (perseverance), and your health.

Day 4...in some time zone

Day 4

Day 4 Lesson:

Know what it is in life, in God, that you truly desire. Pray for God’s desires to be your own. Reading about the rich young man who walks away from Jesus has much wealth but leaves Jesus unhappy and empty. Physically and spiritually, you can have so much. You can be in tremendous health, have rock hard abs, have the ladies swooning over you (no, I don’t know that girls actually swoon as opposed to talk about you with great giddiness), but you may never be satisfied. You may have read the Bible straight through a dozen times and know each verse (which would indeed be miraculous if you could know the Bible in only 12 reads), but you may not truly know Christ! Know that God created you as an original masterpiece regardless of your opinion of yourself or anyone else’s. You are His and He is yours. Rest assured in that truth. Christ died for you, exactly as you are, flawed and foolish. So wise up and accept God’s love. Accept that He’ll always love you know matter what you’ve done or will do. Just follow Him.

Day 4 Spiritual Development: Scriptures read: Mark 10:17-22, Philippians 2:1-13

Day 4 Physical Development: Understand this from Schnase’s book. “Becoming the person that God desires us to become is also the fruit of a persistent and deeply personal quest, an active desire to love God, to allow God’s love to lead us” (16). Know your goals, pray for God’s goals for you. Trust me, they’re the best plans anyone could ever write out for your life. As a United Methodist myself, I understand this statement as well. “Early Wesleyans were chided as ‘Methodists’ because of their nearly eccentric adherence to methodical ways of systemizing the practices of the Christian faith to promote learning, service, and growth in Christ through daily and weekly exercises and patterns.” The way we stay healthy and improve our physique by maintaining consistency in our exercises and eating habits applies to our spiritual life. To build muscles, we must continually push our muscles harder, working them, and changing up the exercises to keep our muscles adapting. See where I might be going with this? Yes? No? Whatever, here’s what I mean. We must also stay committed to pushing our spiritual boundaries further, trying new things in God, doing things He calls us to that we never thought we would be asked to do. Answering and committing to this calling is what maintains and grows us physically and spiritually.

Alongside you taking the risks to find rewards in Christ,

Brent

Day 3ish

Day 3ish

Day 3 Lesson:

What to gain from today? Time is invaluable! I was in a big rush today as my youth group and I set out for Colorado. I know I’m writing this a day late, but I promise that I read my daily readings. So, in spite of the things that come up, we MUST make take for what’s important to us. God is number one for me! So I’m doing my very best to maintain this daily discipline, despite what the clock tells me!

Day 3 Spiritual Development: Scriptures read: John 1 29-34, 1 John 4:7-16

I want to quote one of the daily readings. “Christianity began as a way of life rather than as a system of beliefs, the way taught and modeled by Jesus Christ” (Schnase, 14). I don’t have time today, as I said, so I’ll leave it at this… Get out there and be Christ! Don’t focus solely on the religion and rules. Christ certainly knew them and modeled his life around the truths of God as he is the Truth! The thing is that knowledge doesn’t change the world. Knowledge doesn’t make you healthy either. Knowing what not to eat doesn’t mean that you won’t eat that twinkie, but you’ll know why you’re physically unhealthy. So take whatever vast or minimal amount you know and apply yourself!

Day 3 Physical Development: Let’s just say that some days, you are doing all you can to physically get through the day! Some of you know what that feels like! Today was one of those. I need sleep. Sleep is crucial to repairing and rebuilding your body. So, I’m going to try to sleep now.

Alongside you and 200 youth on a ski trip pursuing the Lord,

Brent

PHSH40 Day 2

Day 2

Day 2 Lesson:

The first thing I read in the Men’s Health Total Fitness Guide 2009: Power Training book was on the “overload principle”. The “Overload Principle” states “that our bodies will adapt to whatever rigors we place on them” (Men’s Health, 4). So the point is that we have to push ourselves to improve ourselves. Physically, the more we push ourselves, the more our body has to take in nutrients, rest, repair, and grow. Spiritually, the more we push ourselves, the more we grow and the more God grows in us. Of course, we can push ourselves too hard and go too far to the point that it can harm us physically and spiritually. This is where knowing your limits comes in. Think of it this way. You can push your limits to extend and increase them, but you shouldn’t go beyond your limits.

The physical risks of overstepping your limits are tearing muscles, breaking bones, rupturing organs, and the list goes on. The spiritual overstepping of your limits almost always results in sin. Often, it is in an area that we have been lately battling and finding success in. We tend to overstep the limit when we let pride get in the way and say that we can do it without God and have got it under control now. As soon as we forget to take every moment to the Lord, Satan swoops in and puts us on our backside, shaming us, and separating us from our Father. 

I should point out that knowing your limits and being committed to pushing them further can result in amazing and wonderful results. Physically, you become faster, stronger, healthier, and more energetic. Spiritually, you become wiser, more loving, and Godlier. Plus, the ability to push your limits and extend your boundaries, stepping out of your comfort zone for the sake of God’s kingdom can take you to unimaginable places with the Lord, making you feel things you never thought a human could feel, caring for people you never new existed, and loving with more intensity than you dreamed one heart could exert (and cardio doesn’t even compare)!

Day 2 Spiritual Development: Scriptures read: John 1:14-18, James 1:22-27

Day 2 Physical Development: To restate Day 1, I’ll start workouts next week. This won’t always be a “workout routine”. I’ll be skiing next week. That’ll be plenty of exercise! Being healthy should be enjoyable. If you don’t enjoy the exercise, you’ll probably quit as soon as you get the excuse. So when planning exercise, don’t plan to do something you hate doing! If you hate pushups and sit-ups, then don’t make them a large part of your workout! However, every muscle group needs to be exercised. So, if you don’t like squats or tricep extensions, then go throw a medicine ball (guys like to throw things…it’s natural…don’t judge), or practice your jump shot (getting both triceps extended AND working your legs). Just have fun with your workout! Keep this in mind when planning a non-routine “routine”.

So that’s all for today, I guess. Still drinking plenty of water. Tried a new Yogi “Slim” tea today. It’s pretty awesome. Transforming myself from the inside out by what I consume. Taking in God’s love and peace today…well as much as possible with my schedule anyway!

Alongside you in the pursuit of someOne greater,

Brent

PHSH40 (Physical Health and Spiritual Health- 40 Day Journey) Day 1!!!

Day 1

Weight: 142.8 lbs

BMI: 21.1 Normal (according to www.bmicalculator.org)

BMR: 1680.1 kcal/day (“ ”)

1-arm pushups (right): 15 with good form and no break

1-arm pushups (left): 14 “ ”

Pushups in 1 min: TBD

Rock Ring Pull-ups max w/o break: TBD

Day 1 Lesson:

Okay…so where to start? I’m kind of slamming my mind and schedule with a bunch of new ideas and thoughts. So much information, so many thoughts, so many distractions, so little time for so much!

Let me get you up-to-speed. This is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent and the first official day of my new pursuit of physical health and spiritual health development. I am reading several books on these things as of today. On the spiritual front, I’m going through Forty Days of Fruitful Living: Practicing a Life of Grace by Robert Schnase and a little booklet that Martha Hagan, the Christian Education Dir. at my church in Uvalde, put together, called Journey to Jerusalem. Both are books intended for being read/utilized over the Lenten season. So, I just started reading those and will continue to read them daily as something to keep me reading something new and fresh.

On the physical front, I’ve purchased the Men’s Health Total Fitness Guide 2009: Power Training book by Robert Dos Remedios. It’s packed full of fitness tips, instruction on understanding power training, programs, exercises, workouts, nutrition, and more of the like. Sure, I’ve read tons of booklets, web pages, blogs, pamphlets, and taken classes on nutrition and physique development. Hopefully, this book will help me better understand how to develop my overall fitness, not just the same old routines and exercises designed to target specific muscles and muscle groups, with the intent to build mass and achieve a certain “look”. Sure, I like looking fit for my wife and feeling confident in the body God gave me, but I’m so over the mass need to fit into a certain mold of a particular celebrity. The truth is that the real athletes, the ones on the field, court, track, mountain, etc. have great physique, a great “look”, and are in much better health that the celebrity who just did the 6 week fat-loss, quick result, program and is just as quickly going to get out of shape as soon as the movie is over.

I want to be healthy! I want to feel good…no, great! I want to be confident in my strength and in my relationship with the LORD! This is not going to be easy, and it’s not a diet, quick-fix program. This is going to be a challenge and a development of a new mind.

There’s a theme today… From the Inside Out. Yes, it’s a worship song by Hillsong United, but it’s also the way that God transforms us and we transform our bodies. The change God makes starts with a new mind. Scripture says, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ” (Philippians 2:5). God changes our mind and desires and moves outward to our actions in the world. Similarly, if we want our physical health to change, we start with a new mind, a new desire, against worldly pleasures, against the world’s opinion of the way we look. We change our habits, our eating, and our exercise. Then the outward changes begin to appear!

Day 1 Spiritual Development: Scriptures read- John 1:1-5, John 15:1-17

Day 1 Physical Development: I’m just going to put this out there now… I’m not starting the workouts until next week! I know this is Day 1, but I want to make goals and a plan before I start throwing my body and too much weight around, tiring myself out for nothing. Still, I will begin educating myself on better Physical Health today.

What I’m doing today is about water… Jesus is the “living water” and we know we need him. Duh, right? Well we also know our bodies need water. Again, duh. Today, I am going to start making sure I drink enough water! Take your body weight (mine’s 143), divide it by 2 (71.5), and drink that many ounces of water each day (a little over a half gallon)! So I’ll be drinking my 32 oz. “nalgene” bottle about 2 and ¼ times each day. I think we’ll be amazed at what that will do. (Caution: Drinking lots of fluids results in lots of bathroom trips…more exercise! Woo!)

I really appreciate it if you’ve read this whole thing! I could’ve gone longer, but I won’t. I hope you’ll join me in this process as we seek to improve ourselves over these 40 days. (Oh ya, technically, Lent’s 40 days don’t include Sundays. So I’ll be taking those off…or something like that. My schedule is going nuts this next week as I go skiing with 200 teenagers! I know, tough life, but it’s my job.)

Alongside you in the pursuit of something greater,

Brent