Christmas Past...

I don’t know that I will be speaking of Christmas present or future, but this seemed clever when needing a title for this post. Anyway, this Christmas was truly a blessing in more ways than I realized at first.


My car was stolen back in November. Ironically, we wanted to sell it, but when someone took it off our hands, we were a little mad. Go figure. However, it turned out that we got a little more from the insurance company than we may have trying to sell it. Blessing (in disguise) No. 1.

When we looked around at cars to replace it with, we were really close to buying a car that was at the top of our price range and would have had a really high interest rate to finance. When we found a bank to finance us, we had to go to the physical location to deal with the bank. When we arrived, they were closed, which was kind of annoying since, at the time, I really wanted to get that car. We ended up finding a much better financing deal on a much more suitable, practical, and newer car shortly after. We purchased it December 23. Blessing (in disguise) No. 2.

Of course, Christmas day resulted in a good number of presents, which is always nice. At the end of our present opening, my mom said that there was one more present. She went upstairs to grab it and came back down with a rather large box (roughly 2’ x 4’). I asked whom it was for. She responded by saying, “You. It’s from your grandpa.” (Back story…my grandpa passed away recently. Therefore, I knew this meant she used some of the funds from him/his property sales to help with this gift.) As I began to open it, I saw wood types on the box and began to connect the clues. As I started to get emotionally wrapped up in the unwrapping, I had to verify the contents of the package before I got carried away. I opened the box, indeed the casing was appropriate for my suspected gift. When I opened the case, my hypothesis was confirmed…a brand new Taylor 315ce (guitar), the one I had been dreaming of getting if we could ever get some money saved up! I teared up a little and thanked my mom, who was also soggy-eyed. Blessing (in packaging) No. 3.

Of course, the most important gift was the one that wasn’t much of a surprise but still hits me more deeply than any other gift ever could. This gift is the why we gather together in mass and rejoice each year, and hopefully, each moment. We come together to praise God for the Christ, the Anointed One who was sent to live and die as man and God, as servant come King. Thank you Jesus, Messiah, Immanuel. Blessing (to be exalted above all others)!

What I’ve seen and heard…

What I’ve seen and heard, not everyone has seen and heard.

“Like what?” you might ask. There is a near infinite list of things that I’ve seen and heard that others have not. Granted others have seen and heard even more that I know nothing of.

Why bring this up? Well the most recent news in my life is that I feel led to leave my where I live in Uvalde in order to pursue what God is calling me to now. These transitions are always difficult and, especially, for the persons leaving. However, when my wife told a friend at the church that we were leaving, she was shocked to hear the news and ever more shocked that the news was spread all around her while she was unaware. It seemed a rather heavy blow to her to hear the news and my wife’s heart sank even further than mine to have to break this news to her.

How she hadn’t already heard the news was surprising to me as she was in the church office several times a week. You would think that it might have come up in conversation. Granted, we tried to not tell the church immediately so that my youth would hear it from me first. (Unfortunately, even that didn’t go according to plan.) We thought that once the youth new and it was coming up in conversation around the church, everyone “in the loop” would know. We even joked about how it was up on Facebook and that our friend really needed to get an account to be aware of these things.

So why tell you that story? Because there are more important things that others don’t see or hear. There is news of a man who came and left (in a way) and will return to us someday. There is global, eternal news of a man who is God who has come to Earth to save all sinners who believe in Him. By now, you probably know who I’m talking about, but what if you don’t? What about people who don’t know who I’m talking about? What about people who don’t have a Facebook account to see and hear everything going on in our lives? What about people who don’t have a computer, cell phone, or even a landline to be kept “in the loop”? What about those people who don’t speak your language? What about those people who are desperate for some good news and haven’t heard or seen anything good from anyone in a long while? What about the suffering who need relief? What about the sad who need joy? What about the lost who need a light in their darkness? What about the fallen who need hope to rise? What about the sick and the broken who need healing and restoration? What about them? I know that I am lost, sad, suffering, sick, and broken so far down in darkness without the good news, the Gospel of our coming Savior.

Sure, we think that everyone knows about our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, but there are many who don’t. There are many who are around us all the time who haven’t a clue what’s going on around them. There are so many who don’t see the Kingdom of God on Earth in their midst. Certainly, we cannot decide what the seeds we cast may fall upon. We cannot determine whether God’s word falls upon the beaten path, the rock, among thorns, or good soil. (Luke 8) What we can, and must do, however, is cast the seed. We must spread the news to all. We must ensure that those who are in need of the word of God may hear it. For how can they hear unless it is told to them? And who can tell them but those who have heard already? He who has ears, let him hear.

Day 20 (Spirit over Flesh)

Day 20

“No pain, no gain!” Right?... Sometimes but not always.

The saying comes hand in hand with the “overload” principle we’ve discussed. The more you push, the more it hurts, the more you tear your muscles and push your body, and the more you increase in muscle size, strength, speed, etc. Too much pain when exercising is a sign that you’re pushing too hard and may have seriously hurt yourself. Still more, the idea that pain will produce a good result is just plain ridiculous.

This is the first time where physical health and spiritual health, in a way, opposed each other. This weekend, I went skeet and trap shooting, fishing, and motorcycle riding with my dad. Spiritually, it was a time of fun, reflection, and bonding between father and son. I believe God looked upon us and was pleased. Unfortunately, just because I may have held a shotgun or fishing pole for a while, doesn’t mean it made me for physically healthy. I can definitely say that the pain I felt after shooting a hundred rounds doesn’t make me physically stronger. The fact is, after 2 days, my shoulder is still tender, my head is slightly sunburned and I don’t think my shoulder is any stronger nor my head any tougher.

I guess the point is that, sometimes, we can do things that may actually hinder our physical health in order to strengthen our spiritual health. While I think the day’s activities weren’t actually harmful to my health, rather slightly painful, I would always say that Spiritual Health should take precedence over Physical Health. Normally, we can have both, but if it comes down to it, the spirit is always to have control over the flesh! 

Day 19 (but who's counting?)

Day 19

I suppose it doesn’t need to be said, especially if you were following this series through lent, but I haven’t blogged in a long while. Like so many of us, I found that I had priorities that took precedence over this journal. I suppose I could’ve just given you the same thing again, but I believe that everything I put up here should be original in some form or facet.

So today I exercised a little more than the norm. Sure, I walk to work and back a couple times a day, and that’s about a mile in total, but today I did a little more… I rode my bicycle. It’s funny how we have to exercise sometimes, whether we choose to or not. Today, I had the choice to either wait until my wife came home and ask why I didn’t pay the rent on time, and I could explain that the car wouldn’t start, or I could ride my bike the 2 miles to drop off my check at the realtor’s home office. So I pumped up the tires and rode my bike. I think it’s the first time I’ve ridden it since last March when I moved here! I just never ride it unless the distance is big enough that jogging isn’t more time effective.

Now I know that 2 miles isn’t very far on a bike ride, but when you haven’t ridden in over a year and you're trying to keep up with 30-40 mph traffic, it’s a little bit of a workout. Of course, I didn’t have a warm-up or cool-down, which could’ve helped. So when I got off the bike, I had to take a good 5-minute sit-down and chug some water. It was one of those sprints that push you to the point at which any more exertion would result in puking. (I would have used a different word, but all I was thinking was, “I gotta sit down before I puke!”)

Anyway, I’m still glad I did it! I’m glad to have gotten a little exercise, toned my legs, if only slightly, and have finally put that bicycle to use! I encourage you to do the same! 

Day 18

Day 18

My forearms are exhausted. I can feel them working just to type, and I’m not exactly cranking out 150 words per minute! I went bouldering today. It is awesome! I love it. It’s essentially the hardest parts of rock climbing with no ropes and about 20 feet and a big mattress-type pad between you and the ground. I love it. Did I already say that? (Rhetorical) Well I do.

It’s a great workout! Depending on how hard you push yourself (which doesn’t take much pushing at all for beginners), you will have no trouble overloading your forearm muscles. Remember, overloading is the goal. The beauty is that you get to enjoy God’s creation in a truly hands-on way. I won’t go into great detail of routes, problems, and technique, but I’ll say this. It’s one of those sports that you will always be able to get better at. I love being able to improve myself while having fun at the same time. Being a better basketball player takes way too many hours of jump shots, free throws, and laps across the court. Height helps too, an area I don’t excel in. The cool thing (opinion, I guess) about bouldering and rock climbing is that, in the physical health and development aspect, you exercise your feet, legs, core, upper back, some chest, arms, and even your hands (rarely exercised enough)! We’re talking a total body workout! Of course your arms and hands get the most work, but no muscle gets left out. My legs are pretty solid, not in size, but strength and endurance. If your legs are lacking strength, this will definitely get them burning along with those arms. Expect to get sore, get stronger, and get leaner. Don’t expect to get buff! Actually, big guys really aren’t the best climbers. Think about it – muscle is heavy. For those ladies who read this, know that there are plenty of awesome climbers who happen to be women! Just because women’s strength isn’t usually in the upper body doesn’t mean you shouldn’t climb. Besides, how will you get your upper body stronger if you don’t exercise it?

If you don’t know me well or have never connected the dots, you may not know that I’m really into metaphors! I can pretty much relate anything to God, which makes sense to me. After all, He did create everything! Bouldering and rock climbing could certainly relate to our spiritual health in several ways. As a metaphor, there are mountains we have to climb...wait, that’s lame. Haha. Okay, try this one. In all honesty, we are weak in certain areas. As we mentioned parts a few days ago, some parts don’t really get all that much work out of them. I mean, we use our hands every day, but do we really push them to the extreme? Do we use each part to it’s real potential? I imagine that we surely don’t. Hands seem to do so much work, but they could definitely do more. Bouldering will definitely force them to do that. I think as parts of the body of Christ, we may think we do a lot, maybe not. If you think you don’t do enough for the Lord (I know I don’t) or that you do plenty for the Lord, then consider the possibility that you may have not realized what you can really do, what you’re really capable of. Sure, you may think you’re doing all you can, but what if you’ve been designed to do something greater? Here’s what I’m learning – it takes time, work, and practice. You can’t climb a V16 (really hard) your first time on a wall, or in the V16 case, under an overhang. A lot of beginners have trouble with a V0 (easiest). So why do you think that you can conquer the world, your flesh, and temptation, bring others to Christ, and advance God’s kingdom in a cinch if you haven’t trained for it? Don’t get me wrong; try! Do all you can for the Lord! We only get better by pushing ourselves. Push yourself until you just can’t hang on any longer, and know that even if you fall off the wall, God will be there to pick you back up and reach new heights.

Day 17

Day 17 (Monday)

Today I went hiking a bit. I learned a few things too! For one, the view stinks most of the time because nobody really likes looking at the heels of someone else for an hour or more. Of course, the reward at the end is well worth it! Likewise, in our spiritual walks we may feel like we’ve been just going on forever without any breaks. We’re focused on staying on the path. Every once in a while, we take a moment to look around us and realize how far we’ve gone. We see the beauty that God has surrounded us with, and I’m not just talking trees and hills! The ultimate goal is to push through the pain and weariness so that in our, seemingly, constant uphill journey, we will eventually reach that place where we can rest, enjoy the view, and soak it all in.

Do I really need to go into why hiking is physically beneficial, especially when it’s in the hills or mountains? Come on! There’s cardio, circulation benefits, complete leg exercise, some core work (abs and lower back), and if it’s rocky, you really get those ankle ligaments a workout! So go hiking! Find a new path! Find a new view of the beauty that is God’s creation!

Day 16

Day 16

If there is anything I do know, it’s that the Christian walk has no shortcuts! Bummer, I know. If you want to find the quick and easy answers to life, you won’t find them here, nor anywhere else for that matter. You just have to keep studying the word, pushing yourself further in your walk, and striving for greatness in the Lord.

Likewise, your body doesn’t have shortcuts to health. Fad diets don’t work. Diets, per say, don’t work either. Typically, anything short of changing your eating habits altogether results in quick change to your desired goal and an equally rapid return to where you were just at. Pushing your body too hard, too fast, also ends up slowing you down in an injury rather than speeding up your walk to physical health.

So don’t try to shortcut the system. Go at the speed that’s right for you. Don’t go at someone else’s speed. God designed you uniquely. Appreciate that and learn to understand your own body and your own personal relationship with your Lord and Savior.