Have you ever found yourself hysterically scratching, excessively grabbing, intensely pulling yourself up the hill of life, only to unexpectedly lose your grip or footholds and fall from the peak? Wherever you may be, we’ve all experienced this abrupt fall, the sudden callback, the rediscovered pain, the reckless reminder of brokenness.
To summarize the above said, we can simply say relapsed reminders. Have you ever tried to walk/run up a wet or muddy hill? It’s nearly impossible, always slipping back, struggling to keep your footing, only to slide further and further away from the top. In these moments of struggle, in these moments where we find ourselves stuck in the same place as before, our pace is delayed, but now our focus is tactfully reexamined and reimplemented into finding sturdier ground, with each step cautious and more sensible than before.
It’s in these moments when we fall from the peak, when we fall from the near top, whatever your personal metaphor may be, we can choose how and where we take our next step. Will you continue to claw your way up, only to risk falling again, or are you simply going to keep falling…and falling…and falling?
Recently, God has exponentially been moving in and around my life and as I reexamine my past and my current state of affairs, I quickly realize how much I’ve carelessly disappointed, thoughtlessly hurt, and recklessly dealt with situations. At the time, I never had these moments of falling from the peak, I never had these feelings of “what am I doing” or “why did I just say/do that.” When I fall down now, I promptly diagnose and distinguish the factor/s that led to the fall.
I can only point to one thing, I now have the ultimate lead climber, and that is Jesus Christ. When I fall, I can be reassured He will always catch me, He will always be right there saying, “it’s ok, you can climb, do not fear, for I am with you.”
For all the falls, for all the inevitable mistakes I’ve made each day, I’ve learned the hard way; forgive yourself and forgive the ones around you because this life is getting shorter and shorter each day, so why hold onto these burdens, why not give your regrettable grievances and excess baggage to the Lord?
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.-Psalm 55:22
So the next time you fall, turn to God, for He is the only one who can put you on the right course to conquer your mountain.
“I woke up a few years ago and realized that I no longer had a grip on who I was…the me that I was living with was this dude who changed himself all the time to try and get other people to like him…and my entire identity was wrapped up in everyone else’s approval of me……so this is me – breaking loose of that piece of bondage and concerning myself with the approval of only One and not the many.”-David Dunn
5) Reflect on Your Journey. Just like anything else in life, you don’t become an expert by simply reading or scanning over it once. The same perspective is necessary for your life and future. We must look back on where we’ve been and where we’ve come. Sometimes we get so caught up in the moment and where we’re presently going, that we forget about our past, we forget about the moments of hardship, the times we wanted to give up. I found myself all too often getting through a tough moment only to put it in the back of my mind or hidden beneath many personified layers, holding it in, so no one will find out or realize I have a weakness. How are we ever going to grow if we don’t let these things out, if we don’t ever look back on our lives to appreciate, to know, to realize everything is bigger than us. And while we’re reflecting on our past, we can begin to discern and dissect problematic issues and circumstances, which led us into those difficult moments, empowering us to make more critical decisions later in life. Reflecting on your journey simply creates a new perspective, conveys a position change, removing yourself from an unhealthy lifestyle into something healthy and life improving. Sometimes we get stuck into a negative mindset of, “oh we/I had it so much better before” or “I was soo thin back then,” but look at where you’re at now, look at all the other things you can be thankful for. God doesn’t take us down dark alleys only to be mugged and robbed, but instead guide us to safety. It’s in the moment we step into the sunshine to realize, God was always at our side…
6) Look Forward to the Unknown. How scary is that word, unknown? Don’t we have this automatic philosophy of insecurity and negativity with the unknown? It’s like the phrase, “you need to drink water for all the health benefits;” as you read that, I’m sure you got a little thirsty or even reached for your cup of water because we always know to drink more water. Well, it’s like that with the word, unknown. We begin to walk on egg shells when we don’t know where we will end up for a job or how we will pay our next bill or will our loved one recover from a health issue, we don’t know, it’s obscure, it’s simply untold. It’s so hard to think positive and recognize the silver lining in all situations and predicaments, right?! Even though we may not know what tomorrow may bring, we should embrace the unfamiliar and mystery because as we open the curtain of the unknown, it’s all too often the reveal is surprisingly pleasant and rewarding. Especially living a life for Jesus Christ, we have no idea where He will lead us, but I’ll confidently tell you, He’s already “been there and done that,” and there’s no need to worry or be concerned because “therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”-Matthew 6:34; so the only thing you can do is, be excited and ready because who knows what or who the Lord will bring your way!
7) Things Happen for God’s Purpose. Simple as that. I’ve written about this all too often about the ups and downs of life and how God is THE orchestrator of all things. How often is a moment so hard that we beg, “why God why, why me, what did I do to deserve this?” In these moments, we need to reflect on the importance of giving Him all our love and attention because if He took us to this moment, He will get us through it. As humans, we continually get stuck into a detrimental, pessimistic mindset once hardship rears its ugly face. God never told us to do this. There’s nowhere in the Bible does it say to sulk, regret, and dwell on what just happened. We should embrace these moments because “count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”-James 1:2-4. In the past year or so, I’ve quickly realized this. As I continue to grow spiritually in my walk with God (yes, I struggle, I have my hard days too), I realize He’s in complete control, we’re simply pawns in His ultimate game of chess; if we try to move one way and get turned down or blocked out, He always provides us another move. If a door closes, He provides another door for us. From the obscure and odd timing of all the recent experiences in my life, I cannot simply say it was all a coincidence, the Mexico mission trip, providing loving friends and a random family to live with in Chicago during my internship, graduating grad school, my brothers wedding, the Super Bowl volunteer experience in New Orleans, and now, He has blessed me with a job; all has been provided by Him and only Him alone! As a believer, I’m not in the business of randomness and coincidences, but rather ALL THINGS happen for God’s purpose!“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”-Romans 8:28
“I woke up a few years ago and realized that I no longer had a grip on who I was…the me that I was living with was this dude who changed himself all the time to try and get other people to like him…and my entire identity was wrapped up in everyone else’s approval of me……so this is me – breaking loose of that piece of bondage and concerning myself with the approval of only One and not the many.”-David Dunn
3) Stay Determined and Focused. In the face of trials and tribulations, it’s easy to get lost, it’s easy to lose sight of yourself and others. I’ll wholly admit I was navigating a rough sea without any direction, getting tossed and turned, being engulfed in my own waves of confusion, resentment, and unfulfillment, losing sight of the precious lighthouse to light my path to safety. In those regards, avoidance and turning to unhealthy behaviors pushed me farther out to sea, immersing me into complete and utter desolation, forfeiting my life to engrossed thoughts and actions, hurtfully inattentive to ones around me, simply because I was wavering and wandering in my thoughts and actions. You must not only be determined, but also be determined to keep your focus on your life’s purpose. We all have passions, we all have a “sense of purpose.” Everyone has been gifted with a talent. As we lose sight, our gifts and talents also become obscured, altered, or even redirected in a negative light. In other words, instead of using wellness, nutrition, and fitness (which encompasses my talents and passions), I was using it in a highly adverse and detrimental way. So as I gained refocus over my life and determined to maintain my focus, my gifts and talents began to realign with God’s purpose, using them to please Him, serving and loving others, as I always should have been doing.
4) Love and Embrace Close Family and Friends. Once again, as you have noticed from the aforementioned disciplines, once you lose sight of yourself, purpose, and drive, everything else is lost at the waist side, including close family and friends. Once you become so overwhelmed by personal issues and consumed by egotism, others are haplessly afflicted, even if those people were/are trying to cultivate corrective behavior. In your “world of I,” constructive criticisms and questions about faulty resolutions are either ignored or criticized, alienating and most often hurting the only ones who have been indefinitely at your side. Regularly hurting loved ones around you will only make everything else more difficult. As I started to be renewed, the love, closeness, and guidance being offered by others, in which I was condemning, was actually sympathetic and improving all the aforesaid disciplines. So embrace the precious love and support from others, encourage closeness among your family and friends because friendships and relationships are mutually exclusive, there must be an exchange of self-surrender, with both parties complimenting and coordinating feelings, thoughts, and actions in an intimate or socially appropriate manner. You can’t conquer your fears alone. The fool is the one who thinks they can conquer the world on their own.
“I woke up a few years ago and realized that I no longer had a grip on who I was…the me that I was living with was this dude who changed himself all the time to try and get other people to like him…and my entire identity was wrapped up in everyone else’s approval of me……so this is me – breaking loose of that piece of bondage and concerning myself with the approval of only One and not the many.”-David Dunn
As I reflect on the year or so, my mind isn’t wrapped around a hyperbole, but rather a conciseness of where I’ve come and what has happened in my life. The adventure, beyond the words of this blog simply may seem as a misconception or oversight, or even a fabrication of the truth, but I promise you, the sincerity and candid thoughts behind these words are the essence of my true self.
With that said, separate from anxiety and fear, I’m going to reexamine and recollect on the journey I’ve experienced through this blog. If you have read my story (who am i?), you’ll quickly realize I use to be a perplexed individual, having no sense of direction, focus, or motivation for my life. Through the difficult remodeling experiences, maturation of habits, and the rediscovery of my true personality, there are SEVEN disciplines cultivated about myself as well as life in general; with all highly essential and conducive to continued consistent growth and well-being. Not limited to, but highly profound learned disciplines are as follows:
1) Face Your Fears. No matter where you are in life, you must not shy away from the difficult moments. Whether it’s apart of your previous habits of turning to “comfort food” or some other procrastination outlet, we MUST deal with the situation at hand. However difficult a situation may be, there’s always a solution, there’s always something that can be done. Repetitively not acting upon certain circumstances creates a personal culture of accepted accommodation. In other words, the more you avoid a situation, the more you create excuses and reasons not to do something or make a decision. And that means, according to yourself, inaction equals permission, the opposite of what kind of internal thoughts and conversations that should be occurring. Once you start to undertake and face all problematic situations and decisions, you’ll quickly recognize avoidance is the worst way to deal with an issue.
2) Be Accountable for Your Actions. Adding to the first discipline of facing your fears, you must be accountable for your own actions or even inaction for that matter. Once you start avoiding things in life, whether it’s either inaction or distasteful decisions, you must be willing to suffer the consequences of egregious actions. Negative decisions=negative consequences, right? Isn’t that what all our mothers taught us when we were little, if we didn’t make our beds or clean our bedrooms? It makes sense. With a properly instilled discipline system, whether that’s internal or external, we know there will be consequences because consequences breed future knowledge of what NOT to do. But it’s all too often, we don’t realize or recognize our faults until we’re looking from the outside in. Luckily, facing your fears and asking for help from trusted family and friends, we can appropriately diffuse our internal battle, solving an issue at hand, and lessening the negative ramifications.
Life’s perpetual motion is cyclical, spinning and twisting oneself up and down, left and right, from valley to mountain, to mountain to valley. Put it simply, life is seasonal. Good seasons are great. Bad seasons are of course bad. But guess what? It’s a pretty difficult task of embracing such negative seasons or down points in your life, but why not? Why don’t we use these valleys in a more productive manner? Instead of simply rolling over and asking, “why, why did this happen to me,” we need to pick ourselves up and know, this is only temporary. This hard time, this stressing moment, this jobless, bankrupt period is only-short lived. I need to endure, I must endure!
You may ask yourself, well about the times where people are going through permanent difficulties, such as divorce, cancer, disability, etc, etc? Granted, from a human perspective, these are enduring concerns, but what will an individual do with such a difficulty? We’re all familiar with the saying, “it happened for a reason,” I’ll give you one better, it happens for God’s reason. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”-Romans 8:28. What may look or seem like a downfall or weakness to some can be used to encourage and motivate people for God’s kingdom, it’s as simple as that. The tools God has gifted us with, the hardships He takes us through have been orchestrated for a reason. Where you’ve been, where you are now, and where you are going is exactly apart of His plan.
God didn’t create us to dwell and fall short when we’re in trouble. We aren’t suppose to dig ourselves a hole and stick our heads into the ground. We were all created for a purpose, even through the hard times. We must embrace the fun and happy times, but we also must embrace and endure the hard times, and cling to His trust, that God and only Him will see you through. No matter the sorrow, no matter the predicament, God is there for you, He’s just waiting for you to call out to Him, “I need you Father, I’m lost without you, I need you now in my life.”
In and out of season, we must turn to God. If life is up or down, the season will end, and another will begin. Look to Jesus next time your season goes down.
I’m sure you know the answer to this question even before I pose it to you, but have you ever found yourself being inconsistent? It doesn’t matter what it is, whether it’s not exercising 4 to 5 times a week OR diving into the cookies/potato chips OR watching too much television OR answering significant others in a few words rather than having a deep, intimate conversation. Do you simply find yourself saying, “I should be doing this,” but continue to find yourself doing the opposite; the same exact unhealthy behavior day in and day out, repeating the same thing over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again?
Looking back on my posts (can’t believe it’s almost been a year blogging!), I’ve alluded to this topic several times, primarily in the last post Destroy What Destroys You. The impending proposition is a play on words, thinking critically about the title, understanding what occurs when we have consistent inconsistency in our life. And most importantly, how do we manage such a dilemma.
First of all, it takes a lot to recognize your own inconsistency. It takes an attentive discernment of one’s character to say, “wait a second, this isn’t good, this isn’t bettering me as a person.” It not only takes a lot to be cognizant of ones’ flaws, but most importantly, takes an abundance of tempered attitude to refine and adjust private weaknesses. It’s imperative to note, we’re all fundamentally exhausted. We’re all quintessentially afflicted. We have our own secluded predicaments and complications. We’re all simply imperfect.
With imperfection comes inconsistency. With inconsistency comes commitment dominance (and not all imperfection leads to inconsistency; that’s not the extent of the following, but rather an analysis of the adverse/unfavorable influences on our lives). In other words, habit forming. And in this case, negative habits; dominating negative habits, fulfilling the majority of ones’ thoughts and actions. To understand habits, we must appreciate the science behind habit forming. Essentially, habits are developed through frequent repetition and reinforcement, links between stimuli and responses. Most habits we have today were shaped during our early years as well as being passed down from our parents. Also, we’ve learned through observation and modeling, being most often consistent with our personality. Therefore, frequently repeated thoughts or actions create neural pathways in the brain and the more frequent the repetition, the stronger the connection and the wider the pathway will become. The constant recurrence decreases the biochemical resistance to that certain thought or action. That is why we can perform certain thoughts and actions almost unconsciously.
Ultimately, as we begin to realize and recognize a negative habit forming, we should quickly do all things possible to extinguish its damaging wrath. Because it’s oh so often, we relinquish control to the repugnant behavior. Sometimes, we get so lost, so deep we become uninterested, unwilling to change because we begin to disparately believe, “well, I’m too far gone to be saved, I’ve already gained 50 pounds, why stop now, I’m comfortable and “happy” with what I’m doing.” Once friends, family, or even yourself recognize the denial or resistive posture to change, then you must cut it out of your life, Destroy What Destroys You, seriously.
It’s so easy to float through life, staying up late, sleeping late, sitting and watching television all day, eating junk food, with not a responsibility or care in the world to change. Granted, I know there are a plethora of circumstances well beyond one’s control that may limit one’s alteration, but why not change, why not take a risk, why not take a leap of faith? There is one guarantee, if you DO take that risk, you won’t be alone, I promise. You won’t have to suffer, feel alone, or turn to risky behavior anymore because Jesus Christ will always be at your side.
“To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”-Ephesians 4:22-24
“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”-Hebrews 13:5
If your day-to-day schedule is filled with inconsistency, develop a new one and start by getting rid of the things in your life causing or leading to so much anguish, so much anger, or so much regret. If it’s the television, get rid of it. If it’s your smart phone, get a “dumb phone.” If it’s friends pulling you down, cut them off. It may seem foolish to others, it may seem like it’s over the top, but if you’re going to overcome inconsistency, you must remove yourself completely or remove IT completely, whatever that IT may be. Once you remove these things that have been destroying your character, destroying your relationships, you can begin to mold and mend a new life; a holy life God has always designed for you to live, and only if you allow Him, turn to Him in these troubling times you can be completely and thoroughly refreshed, renewed, and revitalized.
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”-1 Corinthians 10:13
Post Script-an ensuing post MAY follow because…1) some of you like post series and 2) we must learn what to do after removing a bad habit from our lives.
I want to sincerely apologize for my hiatus. It’s been a very long two months, with end of semester papers and projects, bachelor party organizing, graduating from grad school (with highest honors-all credit goes to the Lord!), moving, applying for career jobs (any leads in sports, fitness, recreation, please send my way!) and my brothers wedding. The aforementioned should not be used as an excuse not to spread His gospel because no matter what we’re doing, as busy or as unbusy our lives may be, we must always be willing to be a beacon, to reach out to those in trouble as 1 Corinthians 15:58 says, “therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” Moreover, this comes to the topic at hand, and as you read the title, Destroy What Destroys You, we must embrace this idea as instrumental in growing and evolving as a believer.
Think about this for a second, if we all had the control, all had the patience and determination to stop sin in its tracks, we wouldn’t be sinners, right? If we were able to recognize and realize our actions and behavior were turning detrimental, then we would be living in a perfect world, right? Well, there’s our problem, as humans and especially as believers. (If you haven’t read my previous post, Jesus Loves Pornstars, I implore you to stop reading this now, and read it; it’s highly conducive to the idea at hand.) In other words, self-control is either absent or becomes subject to failure. Furthermore, what sets us apart from other creatures of God’s creation is our consciousness. Most often, we think in terms of an angel on one shoulder, and a demon on the other, so at least that’s the depiction of society. This conscious behavior, thoughts, and actions precede a choice; a choice to choose what is right or wrong, a choice of yes or no, a choice that aligns with His or not.
For non-believers, this right/wrong dichotomy is parallel to their upbringing, societal norms, or even religion. It’s in a sense their personal standard of living, able to clearly define what’s right or wrong, even with the Jesus Christ not in the picture. As believers, our one and only way of living is through His Word, through living each day as Christ Jesus wants us to, not based upon society or other standards. Innumerous studies have been done to investigate how and why people act the way they do, interestingly studying mentally unstable and felonious individuals. Researchers Cima, Tonnaer, and Hauser (2010) examined how psychopaths process and control their decisions. Specifically, they found that psychopaths and criminals alike have a “normal understanding of right and wrong, but an abnormal regulation of morally appropriate behavior.” Even though the vast majority of us aren’t psychopaths or criminals, this study and many alike positively demonstrate we all have an innate moral compass. So as criminals are beginning their sinful thoughts and actions, there’s always an escape route, there’s always an angel telling them they can be saved, there’s a definitive way out. But all too often, the devil overcomes these Holy voices to say, “no one likes you, this will show them, it feels good, you’ll be happy, etc, etc, etc.”
Oh so often, after such sinful behavior, we’re fall back to square one, we come back to the dichotomized thoughts of regret and excuses “gosh, I shouldn’t have done that, it felt good, so it was ok, I’m in a tough situation right now, so give me some slack.” It’s not until we’ve fully committed our lives to serving the Lord, praising His name, that all worldly things don’t mean anything, don’t have value to us, including sinful behavior; lust, selfishness, wicked hearts are lost at the waist side.
So you’re asking, how can I stay consistent with my faithful, devoted, loving lifestyle, being bigger and stronger than temptations? Well, it may seem easy, but you must take up the Cross daily. Whatever this may be, reading a daily devotional, studying/memorizing a few scriptures of the Bible, conversing with other Christians, or going to church, we must be involved one way or another with His Holiness. Establishing these Holy habits is a must for change to occur. If it’s reading your Bible before you head to work, do it every day, no matter the circumstance. Once you do it for about two weeks (when the action begins to be neurologically imprinted), it’ll become commonplace in your life.
As you begin this process of seeking out new and healthy behaviors (e.g. by inserting God into your life), you can begin to see/recognize how your sinful thoughts were devastating to relationships, friendships, productivity, and true feelings of love and closeness. Think about this; is it easier to give into temptation or fight it? What does it say about your character and faith in God? The more change that occurs in your life, the more you’ll realize that if He’s taken you to a tough situation, He will get you through it. No sin, no mistake is bigger than Jesus Christ and His forgiveness.
So when you come to a crossroads of sinning or not sinning, recognize the underlying problem and purge it from your life. Whether that means getting rid of a television, computer, iPhone application, friendship, or whatever is spawning sinful behavior, sever ties! You cannot expect to grow in Christ if you’re not willing to let it go completely. You cannot have one foot in and one foot out. To have a complete transformation, you must let go of ALL things. Because Matthew 6:33 says, “but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
I challenge you today, destroy what destroys you!
Resources
Cima, M., Tonnaer, F., & Hauser, M. D. (2010). Psychopaths know right from wrong but don’t care. Social Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience, 5(1), 59-67.
Stop! Don’t be upset! Please continue reading. Now, before you skim and skip to the next blog post here under your categorical listing; this won’t be a distasteful, repulsive post, but instead, a very, very ambitious undertaking to converse about an awkward, yet profoundly troublesome concern of our society today.
As Christians, Believers, or simply churchgoers, we all may agree church and pornography shouldn’t even be in the same sentence together. Or if it is, self-reproach or contrition is the clandestine driving force. In other words, it’s a buried topic. It’s something we shield and hide. But it’s only lurking. A snake in the grass. A covert killer. A secluded problem of our culture that’s beginning to be exposed or even worse, is being withheld as the root problem of the ever-increasing social and relational problems of our modern culture.
Urbanity-created images of flawless, photoshopped, skimpy-clad male and female models have evolved into an identity of acceptance. Whether it’s on the newsstand, car commercials, or apparel companies, we’ve gone beyond the point of simple recognition of the ever-popular excuse “sex sells.” Because these images are omnipresent and nearly impossible to avoid, we may conform or accommodate to these societal standards. By way of explanation, we’re subconsciously attending to and monopolizing every single image that passes through the cornea, no matter the subject.
It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, there’s always temptation of physical or sexual/sensual desire, even if you may feel impenetrable to such thing. Pornography is an immoral, damaging catalyst, leading to, but not limited to: emptiness, deceit, delusion, fraudulence, addiction, promiscuity, and so on. This is a beast, a force to be reckoned with. As a society who’s irrationally evolving into a more accepting and affirming to new communal values, we’re amusing, nay playing with the fallacious interpretation of love.
The shifting landscape of our new societal norms and values corresponding to definitions of intimacy, love, and sex should be alarming. To be subject to such misrepresentative illustrations of non-Bibical standards, access and availability of sinful features is beyond convenient and effortless via the Internet. Research on Internet pornography statistics is staggering. Every second, there is $3,075.64 being spent on pornography. In that same second, 372 Internet users are typing adult search terms into search engines. Every 39 minutes a new pornographic video is being created in the United States, according to toptenreviews.com.
For every second, for every moment someone may be subjecting themselves to naughty, seemingly harmless images, contradictory, detrimental thoughts consume your attention and imagination. Sinful auxiliary speculation creates ignorance, creates inadequacy, creates unsatisfactory attitudes towards a significant other. Specifically, we think our personal, intimate relationships should mirror the fraudulent fantasy experience pornography offers. But it doesn’t. These two worlds were NEVER meant to be equivalent. They were NEVER meant to align. Because there’s disappointment in the bedroom, because there’s mediocrity, compared to the falsified experience seen through pornography, you become unsatisfied, you become unhappy. Satisfaction and happiness should be synonymous to a healthy relationship, not the opposite. The snake has struck…
God didn’t design us to absorb such sinful content!
In order for change and healing to occur, we must be honest. We must be transparent with this topic. We must not hide from it. As tough as it is to admit, I’ve struggled with this in my past relationship. It is demoralizing, it’s destructive to relationships and marriages. It can be adultery. It can be idolatry. It’ll ruin your life. And our solution is so often avoidance. We always want to hide our sexual, fleshly sins, we always want to cover it, bury it; “who will find out,” “this is ok,” “Men’s Health says masturbation is healthy.”
The Bible tells us to run away from these parents of evil.
“The body was not meant for sex sins. It was meant to work for the Lord. The Lord is for our body”-1 Corinthians 6:13.
“Have nothing to do with sex sins! Any other sin that a man does, does not hurt his own body. But the man who does a sex sin sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a house of God where the Holy Spirit lives? God gave you His Holy Spirit. Now you belong to God. You do not belong to yourselves. God bought you with a great price. So honor God with your body. You belong to Him”-1 Corinthians 6:18-20.
Just recently, I found this amazing ministry called xxxchurch.com. It’s a ministry for pornography addiction, sexual issues, and concerns; focused at loving on, encouraging, and faithfully inserting Jesus Christ into the porn industry; a business you’d think would be impervious to any sort of non-pornographic message. But as Luke 7:36 to 7:50 describes Jesus’ encounter with a prostitute, her sins were forgiven because she allowed Jesus into her heart. She gave herself to Him, even though she was trapped in sin as a “lady of the night.” But through God’s grace, salvation, and forgiveness, no one is too far away from forgiveness and deliverance from evil, and yes, even pornstars!
Here’s a prayer below for those of you who may be stuck/addicted on images, stuck on physical and sexual attractions; for those of you who may be dealing with looking for better, looking for something more, finding yourself desensitized to your relational intimacy, love, and sex because of your secret behavior. I love you all and hope you can overcome this through Jesus Christ, as I have!
I do not understand my own actions, for what I want to do I did not do, but what I hate I do. The battle of my flesh seems to conquer my spirit every time. Lord, help me to overcome this struggle. Put this flesh under submission. I must practice to feed more of my spirit and less of my flesh so when the temptation comes I will not fail or beat myself up for sinning against you, but I will come out victorious. O’God hear my desperate cry. I need your strength, self-control, and discipline. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
I just want to say, I respect all of your advice and encouragement you’ve given me, as well as all the feedback and comments on all of the ffe posts so far! I am so blessed to be apart of such an amazing, uplifting community.
Now, I’m turning to you for input on a possible new logo for faithandfitnessembrace. This could be another potential big step into making this project into something bigger and better. I’ve designed this one myself and have a few more available, as well as a few designs still in the works. Hopefully, with God’s will, these changes and additions will be an amazing testimony of how far we’ve come, of how amazing the Lord truly is. I have plans on the horizon and I want you ALL to be there with me.
So thank you in advance and I hope to hear from you all!
Yesterday, after grocery shopping, I was half way home when I realized my 18-flawless, all-natural eggs were accommodating my trunk space, intermingled amongst other seemingly impenetrable items of importance. Quickly recognizing the apparent predicament, speed was decreased, turns were slow and meticulous, and gentle stops plagued my journey home. As methodical as the trip became, the more cognizant I became of my surroundings, specifically other drivers. Some may have been infuriated, some may have been annoyed, and some may haven’t even thought differently; or they may have been simply indifferent and unmoved.
Instantly, I realized it was no longer about the eggs; it was no longer about the principle to get the eggs home safely. Instead, just as God continues to show perspective through a new lens each and every day; today, the catalyst was a measly package of eggs.
Now you have this elementary, yet necessary picture in your head; what’s the importance? What’s the significance?
As mentioned above, I became conscious not only of the drivers around me being frustrated and confused by my highly conservative driving, but also recognized their unfamiliarity and distant perspective they had on my predicament. They didn’t know me. There’s no position to hold that would recognize something as little, yet profoundly important and fragile my baggage was.
These infirm, easily hurt, particular constituents were personal, they were unknown, they were in fact unique to my car and life only. These eggs resemble our personal life. We all travel through rough times. We ALL experience hardships, whether that’s a loss of a friend, family, or relationship, we cannot go about the world, being disciples of the Lord to the rest of the world if we aren’t considerate and accommodating to others. Some people may be going through the toughest season of their life and even though we aren’t aware of their eggs in the trunk, we can transform and alter their day by simply holding the door open, helping them with their groceries, or just saying ‘God Bless You.’
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’-Acts 20:35
Believers go through tough times too. Even though we may be exhausted or unsettled, we still must serve others as the Lord designed us, with respect, love, kindness, and courtesy. Just remember, we’re all imperfect. We will mess up. We will have those moments of inferior treatment towards others or regrets, but the next person God brings along, it’s your time to shine for them and most importantly, Jesus Christ.
We weren’t meant to let these eggs break, but instead, encourage, empower, support, and confirm their existence. We ALWAYS want them to safely navigate their burdensome climate with their eggs unscathed and unbroken.
Isn’t it funny how we get into these “comfortable” stages and moments of our lives, where everything is going as planned, everything seems to be seamlessly happening in the exact order, the exact timing of our plans are all coming to fruition? Whether it was for our own life ambitions, relationship, careers, family, or what, we think we have it all figured out, there are no doubts, everything is perfect. But is it?
Are we sure we’re on the right path? Do we keep on chasing the wind, from one selfish ambition to the next, as if we were all hummingbirds; expeditiously traversing God’s creation only to stall for a brief moment at the expansive medley of colorful, sweet, nectar-filled flowers, simply stopping for one mere gratifying accomplishment after the next, seemingly enough only to wet our palates? In other words, sooner or later, we realize the emptiness these flowers, these accomplishments, the road traveled, has merely been the road to nowhere. All of the wandering, all of the self-explorations for personal achievement have been all in vain, if one aspect isn’t straight, if one facet of your life is missing or suffering, and that is your relationship with the Lord.
Whether we’ve gotten ourselves into sinful relationships, made wrong career choices, or simply living our lives to buy the latest and greatest gadget, God can turn it all around. Even though we may be lost, even though we may feel inadquate, even though one season may be ending, He will always meet us right where we are. It doesn’t matter the hardship, whether it’s a major relationship disappointment or a broken heart, we must admit we’re in desperate need of Jesus Christ. Because He is the only One who can mend us, to renew us, to reawaken our spirit. First, we must realize all of these sinful components have torn us away from His Love. He loves us so so much that He allows us to stray. He allows us freedom. He allows us to do all the aforementioned without Him being in our lives because He loves us THAT much. Think about that again. He lets us sin, He lets us go our own ways because He loves us so much.
“I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.” Isaiah 44:22 (NIV)
Doesn’t matter your history of straying, doesn’t matter your inconsistencies, doesn’t matter if we have selfishly fallen on our faces, or lost our way innumerous times; only Jesus Christ, His unfailing love, the one who loves all, the one who IS love, will always meet you where you’re at and will never let you lose your way again.
Deuteronomy 31:8 “And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”
I just want to say, I respect all of your advice and encouragement you’ve given me, as well as all the feedback and comments on all of the ffe posts so far! I am so blessed to be apart of such an amazing, uplifting community.
Now, I’m turning to you for input on a possible new logo for faithandfitnessembrace. This could be another potential big step into making this project into something bigger and better. I’ve designed this one myself and have a few more available, as well as a few designs still in the works. Hopefully, with God’s will, these changes and additions will be an amazing testimony of how far we’ve come, of how amazing the Lord truly is. I have plans on the horizon and I want you ALL to be there with me.
So thank you in advance and I hope to hear from you all!
Isn’t it interesting how much we value professionals today? From doctors to plumbers, we take their word for gold. We respect and trust their judgment, whether it’s a malignant or benign to a clogged or unclogged diagnosis. Even though we hold these people and positions in high regards, the question remains, why is this so? A further question, is it because it’s a specialty or a field of study for the minority, for the few, for the uncommon person to follow such a career path.
This infrequently traveled professional path negates restricted knowledge to the typical person. Granted, everyone can research and educate themselves on the scientific inner workings of the human body or how plumbing fixtures are built and maintained, but it’s simply not equivalent and proportionately valued. We can’t consider ourselves doctors because we’ve successfully diagnosed our friends and family through WebMD; or because we unclogged a perturbed toilet means we’re now officially licensed plumbers. We’re naturally missing the formal education and the gained experience.
Through all of this, through all of the years of formal classes, training, and workforce experience, we expect complete perfection from these individuals. We’ve undivided them from the rest because they’re “professionals” in that field. But why do we consider them professionals? Is it because we’re not in that career field? Is it because we don’t have those same interests or cares? Is it because we simply think it’s too inferior or superior for our own liking? All of these questions begin to flood my mind about how we perceive and treat these people of categorical professional positions.
At the end of the day, we come to a point of reflection, not only with ourselves, but with how we have treated others throughout the day. Did we unconditionally love on every single person we encountered throughout the day? Did we forgive and forget the mistakes people made? Did we conclude we’re ALL human and make mistakes? The latter is the most important question to ask yourself.
We’re human. We’re going to make mistakes. We’re going to disappoint. We’re going to occasionally achieve the minimum. We may not finish. Some will misdiagnose. Some will utter hurtful words. And most will perfect being flawless and judgmental, even though a simple self-reflection is needed to realize we’re all tarnished; we’re all completely imperfect.
Ephesians 4:32-“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Luckily for us, there is only One who is perfect, the ultimate Professional, the one and only who can treat ALL seemingly incurable problems, misfortunes, and mistakes in our lives. As much as we think our lives are hopelessly traveling in the wrong direction, we can call upon the one and only, all curable, all life-giving, wholesome professional, that will never make a mistake, that will always construct our lives in His eyes. Even though there will be misdiagnoses and leaks in the plumbing, God will always come through. He is the ONLY professional that’s perfect!
Now that we’ve defined what an ‘all or nothing’ effort entitles, can you see these parallels in your life? Just rethink or reread Part I and the message at hand. Particularly, living our lives through an ‘all or nothing’ mentality and effort, only to realize, in the end, what we were striving for, is only finite accomplishments, only superficial absurdity. So let me as you this. If we aren’t suppose to be living this way, how should we be living?
CON is the answer. As some of you may already have guessed, a ‘Christ or nothing’ effort is what we should be striving for.
Granted there are many, many circumstances God wants us to strive for our ultimate selves, strive for doing our best, but we simply shouldn’t be extrinsically motivated. We shouldn’t be motivated to fill the empty space on our shelves to place a trophy or medal. Superficial extrinsic motivation is not the answer. Just like with our fitness and exercise goals, we shouldn’t always be focused on “feel good” pictures, but instead, much deeper, more lasting consequences of such lifestyle changes. Exercise and a healthy diet is beneficial to not only aesthetics, but also to overall physical longevity. In other words, because we’re (Americans) are heavily focused on the immediate, short-term, we’re not always thinking down the road, to the consequences of tomorrow, to what we choose to do today will what we be in the future. We choose our healthy lifestyles yes maybe for aesthetics, but most importantly, we chose it to reap the future benefits, later in life. To keep up with our children, to fend off diseases, to maintain a healthy, active body, and the list continues.
Our fitness, exercise, nutrition, or weight lifting goals and accomplishments shouldn’t be the sole purpose of why we continue to pursue these healthy choices. Our ‘all or nothing’ effort is highly encouraged in some instances, if, and only if, we aren’t controlled by simply the results, especially the temporary, short-lived results.
I know the aforementioned may sound counterintuitive, but understand, we must live our lives to the fullest not to be continually pushed forward from one job to the next, from one city to the next, one education to the next, one certification to the next, in which these temporary highs, these “honeymoon moments” are what gets us by each day. Instead, we need, we should be investing our time, our effort into the one and only Lord and Savior, when put first, He will provide all things we need! Matthew 6:33 states “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Remember, I’m not saying an ‘all or nothing’ effort is a bad thing, but instead, recognizing a difference between an ‘Christ or nothing’ effort, where all things are done for Him and Him alone, or simply driven by temporary rewards. “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus,” Philippians 3:14.
One is everlasting, one isn’t, you decide what kind of effort you’ll put forward!
The other day, I was listening to a Christian rock song and the words ‘all or nothing’ were constantly used. Specificially in the chorus of the song as follows: “And I won’t give up on a dream, It’s all or nothing, The sound of doubt I’ll never need, It’s all or nothing.”
So this phrase, ‘all or nothing’ (AON) was starting to grow inside me. What does it mean? In my life, how far can this take me? Do I go all out with everything I do in my life? So I began to apply the phrase and examine my life in the context of AON. I study as much as possible. I exercise beyond my capacity. I gain as much knowledge as I can. I play sports with all effort and hustle. Anything and everything I do, I strive to do it as best as I can. I’ve done this my entire life.
But is this the way we should be living? Should we always be doing everything ‘all or nothing?’ Do it or don’t do it at all. Hum. This is an interesting concept. Think about it again, do it or don’t do it at all.
Basically, if you don’t think you have the capacity to complete the task, don’t do it at all. Is this a test of character? Would you settle for none simply because you don’t think of yourself as capable? Let me ask you this, why don’t we achieve certain goals or aspirations?
First and foremost, obstacles or barriers in our way. Either internal or external deterrents cause personal feelings of incapacity. In other words, because of previous past failures, we question, we doubt ourselves the next time around. As a result, we don’t even try the task at hand. Where would our country be if we simply gave up after the first try?
The focal point is about the process, about the effort, about the reason why we’re giving an ‘all or nothing’ effort. If we succeed, what do we gain? We gain credibility, success, pride, accomplishment, etc, etc. After we’ve accomplished a task, then what? Ater that success wears off, then what? We simply find something else to fill the void. Just like any habit, a habit cannot be broken, it simply is replaced with another habit. When we have an effort of ‘all or nothing,’ we’re driven by accomplishments, we’re driven by success, we’re driven by external recognition. Where is this going to get us in life?
Think about this. How valuable are the successes and accomplishments when we’re at the end of our lives? Not to be negative or anything, but if we’re about to see the Lord face to face, how insignificant is this ‘all or nothing’ effort that’s defined by our Earthly ‘expensive pieces of paper’ degrees, scholarships, money, houses, jobs, etc? Wouldn’t we want something more Spiritually valuable and something that’s truly everlasting?!
Come back soon for AON vs. CON: What Is CON? Part II.
Please comment below on what you think CON is or any other thoughts.
Of the two weeks I had off the entire summer, I went into the city for the day to sightsee, to go on a beautiful architecture boat tour down the Chicago River. On my way back from the city, I wanted to stop by the market near the house to get some fresh produce, since they had the cheapest blueberries I have ever found! Anyway, after getting my items and was ready to check out, I got into a short line, with an old lady checking out. Noticing her fumbling around for change, she unexpectedly comes up short and admits she doesn’t have enough, frantically taking items out of the grocery bags to compensate the price deduction.
At this moment in the story, I have to note a particular important facet of my position. Since I went into the city for the day, this was the only time during the summer I physically took money out of the bank, so that I had cash for the boat tour and a little spending money afterwards. As a result, I ended up breaking some bills and had change in my wallet as well. Remember, this was the only time I literally had cash on me; I’m more of a “nothing but plastic carrier.” A little foreshadowing.
So the old lady in front of me at the grocery was short 27 cents. And I didn’t even think twice about it at the time. I quickly pulled out my wallet and gave the cashier the 27 cents. The old lady tried to obstruct my kindness and luckily, she ended up giving in to the simplistic generosity. The first words out of her kind, soft voice was “what’s your name, I’m going to say a prayer for you!” This hit me like a ton of bricks; it floored me. I don’t know why these words made such an impact, but the simple gesture of giving 27 cents elicited such joy and thankfulness in this Christian woman.
We ended up introducing each other after I checked out. And even before I went to shake her hand, her unbelievable humbleness, blessing, and gratefulness commented, “there aren’t that many gentlemen out there, you’re mom will be proud, God Bless you!” It wasn’t about the money. It’s not about bragging. It was about her response. “What’s your name, I’m going to say a prayer for you…” These simple words of “I’m going to pray for you…” had unimaginative Spiritual power, especially coming from a believer; an old lady who probably spends the majority of her days in prayer for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
I cannot fully put into words as to the impact this old woman had on my summer, even as simplistic the scene. Stepping out of our comfort zones just for a temporary period to give to a complete stranger is more rewarding than any recently purchased item you think you needed. The superficial contentment felt after purchasing something that’ll collect dust is fruitless, but the bountiful joy I felt after her reaction to my subtle gesture was prolific. Just like that, my life was changed because of 27 cents. “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”-2 Corinthians 9:7. Next time you find yourself in a similar circumstance, step out; nay reach out to help someone because you never know how your life will be impacted.
My prolonged summer was eventually coming to a close, with three major events taking place back to back to back, all in a successive manner, I was beyond tired and running on my last legs of an eventful, inspired summer. As the summer was closing, my last interaction was with a Jewish girl. As subtle as it was, her family stories and history of being persecuted because of their Faith was another random, yet wonderful insight of His wonder. I cannot reiterate the breathtaking moments I had throughout the summer that just shattered my expectations and how many times He showed me He was there. In all the times it was hard, in every step of unfamiliarity, every prayer, every hurt, in the moments my world seemed to be falling down, He never forsake me. He never left me.
Remember, when you’re traveling through uncharted territories, turbulent waters, stick to His word. Because as far as you think you are from Him, He’s always right by your side. Even if you may find yourself busy and nearly incapable for providing time for Him, give Him your fears, stresses, and doubts. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”-Romans 12:2. He will provide. He will open the doors. And most importantly, He will incredibly exceed your expectations if you put Him first. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”-Matthew 6:33.
So my question to you is, “Are You 27 Cents Worth?”
Can you do one “Random Act of Kindness (acronym known as a RAK) for a fellow human today? When you do, please let me know how it goes because we’re going to celebrate Jesus Christ through serving and helping others, one gesture, one RAK, one 27-cent moment at a time!
Now I’m located in the Southwest neighborhoods of Chicago, the family provided groceries, home-cooked meals, comfort, and simply friendships. Basically, adopting me as a son, with the mom continually calling me her “foreign exchange student.” I basically exchanged a sort of uncomfortable living situation with close proximity to the city for a comfortable living situation with far proximity; the opposite of everything. As stated above, God began setting me up in situations to share His Word, which you will see soon.
The first involved Danny and I on the train back to the house. It was a casual conversation about the recent news bulletin about Chik-fil-a comments on supporting same sex marriage; where the mayor of Chicago stated he wasn’t going to accept the chain into the city because of their anti-gay stance. As this conversation began, I began to ponder and question about his opinion on the matter, leading to asking about his faith and what he believed. Looking back, I felt as if I butchered the conversation, probably mistakenly citing wrong sources or scriptures while using the Bible as the ultimate source of information and truth. At the time of our discussion, I was reading a book called ‘I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist.’ If you haven’t read this book or are questioning your Faith and why you’re here on this Earth, you must read it as soon as possible! It’s a must read!
It answers the infinite questions people may have on the credibility of the Bible and how people need to have science or literal credible facts to back the claims the Bible makes. Not spilling all the beans here, you must read it for yourself to guard against the refuting arguments people may have against the Word of Christ. Anyway, jumping forward to the day before I left Chicago for the summer, I felt obligated, confident God wanted me to give Danny this book and so I did; hopefully he has read the enlightening pages and is beginning to see the evidence of our born again Savior in his life.
The previous was one of the instances God began to lift the veil of uncomfortability between someone and myself. Even as uncomfortable as we may seem or feel, as to our level of expertise with the Bible and citing His Word, God still knows our heart. He expects us to share His Gospel even if we may feel ‘spiritually unequipped.’“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”-Matthew 28:19 “I will also speak of our testimonies before kings and shall not be put to shame.”-Psalm 119:46. Basically, as much as we think we don’t know enough or think we’re ‘spiritually unequipped,’ we still shouldn’t be shy or ashamed to witness His great Love. And this is where scripture memorization is important to witnessing, so that we may witness at a moments notice to the whole world or through random train ride conversations.
Towards the end of the summer, the hospital partnered with my department to host another Sports Day with the patients of the hospital, but instead of having it at our location, the event took place at a nearby park, alongside the beautiful lakefront of Lake Michigan. Throughout the morning, we had several groups filtering in and out, introducing new patients to such sports like: boccia, track & field, cycling, and volleyball. As we were helping and encouraging participants through teaching techniques and retrieving implements, one gentleman stood out. He was highly encouraging, highly involved, not only in the sport itself, but very positive and praiseful to the other patients. Basically, he was being a coach, a positive role model for them. Once I got the chance, I ended up introducing myself to this gentleman and once again, God began to reveal the enormous sign above his head, “ask him, ask him, ask him if he is a believer.” And after a ten-minute discussion, it was quickly evident he was and after my question, “are you a believer,” he was quickly unyielding in his response. God was telling me, “be here for this man, serve him while he is here in Chicago.” And that’s what I told him. I’ll visit him as much as I could until he gets released, to share and speak about the Word of God. As you are reading this, you may seem like this is an insignificant moment in the summer, but it was far from it!
This man seemed to have a direct connection with God. He was so insightful, amazingly acute and his words are penetrating to this day. From his daily departing prayers to his astonishing role model behavior for the other patients, the Lord directed him to come across my path and vice versa for him. He/you may be reading this and he/you would agree! It was purely a God-awakening moment of triumph, in the face of adversity and hardship; Christ is always good, even if we cannot see why He has let certain things happen to us in our lives. He was not confined or defined by his situation. But instead, defined by Jesus Christ and how he is the always providing, at our best and our worst. He is constant. He is only good. He is sovereign. He will never forsake us. Even in the dark, even when it’s hard; this man, this unexpected relationship, conjured up by the One and Only showed me this side of our Faith. I will never forget and will always be grateful for the days we worshipped our Lord and Savior in his/your room during the summer of 2012.
Final Intermission: Hey, how about that, you made it through three periods of tedious reading, on top of a thrilling OT, only to be continued into one more stanza. Once again, thank you for making it this far. You have been great and it’s been simply amazing to reflect on some of the things I experienced. And while we’re discussing this, the aforementioned details and stories are only a fraction of the memorable moments of the summer. Unless you want me to continue writing an entire book, I won’t exhaust your time and trouble AND especially won’t subject you to anymore terrifying witticism, beyond this last manuscript, for tomorrow’s post.
So now that I had an “accountability partner” in Christ Jesus before Chicago, establishments of an interactive Bible study, exchanging scriptural text messages, Christian books, and so on kept me in line with Him. Honestly, if I didn’t have this established Christ-centered friendship or FFe in the back of my mind, I would have strayed, I would have fallen into the same traps as I did a few years ago. Accountability is crucial in your walk of Faith. Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” Similarly, James 5:16 states, “therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” Traveling, working, experiencing new environments ALONE isn’t how He designed us to navigate His beautiful Earth.
Reflecting upon my job, my boss and I were in charge of the summer junior programs, which included working with kids from age 6 to 18 years old, in sports such as: softball, track & field, and basketball. Even though that was our main focus, we were still highly involved with our adult programs, ranging from basketball, softball, and cycling to archery, powerlifting, and sled hockey, to name a few. What became quickly obvious was the importance placed on our commitment and involvement with the kids. Remember, this is Chicago. Crime and poverty runs rampant. I sadly saw this first hand. These kids are basically not cared for. We’re the only thing in their live that’s consistent and helpful. We’re the only light in the extensive darkness they endure each day.
With one of our kids, we can no longer give him free stuff and merchandise because his family takes it and uses it themselves. In other cases, kids are simply on their own, parents aren’t involved, parents are either drunk or high most of the time; basically, no parental involvement whatsoever. This should be a significant statement and should elicit some emotional response. Rethink all of this; inner city kids, in wheelchairs, in mainly non-supportive families, in poverty, no transportation, violent neighborhoods, etc, etc; basically the most difficult situation to be in. And I’m not exaggerating with these living situations. Another story, one of our boys lives with his grandparents. When his grandparents were out of country for a week and a half, he simply didn’t shower, he didn’t take care of himself, no deodorant, nothing. As much as these kids barely having anything, they’re still heavily reliant on caregivers. Part of our job is to remove them from dependency because as one gets older, especially if you’re in a chair, the more you must rely on yourself to arrange transportation, schooling, and independent travel. As these kids are getting spoon-fed and consistently reminded go to the restroom, our job was increasingly difficult and stressful because of the counterproductive difficult domestic circumstances.
Every week, we had softball practice in the West neighborhood of Chicago, near Wrigleyville. For every practice, every week, we have to arrange transportation through a third party company, to pick the kids up for practice. Because the kids are in chairs, specialty buses, equipped with wheelchair lifts must be used. In that, time is projected to about two hours before and after practice, dedicated for pick up and drop off for our kids. For my part, we have the responsibility to contact not only the bus company for scheduled pickup times for each kid, but also to contact each kid to notify them of their individual pickup times. If this sounds confusing and frustrating, it was! Remember, these kids, these families live in nearly inhospitable and government subsidized apartments, with economic resources very limited, so it wasn’t uncommon for telephone numbers to be disconnected, changed, or impossible to reach. So for contacting 90% of our kids, we had no idea who or what would be at the end of the telephone line. This was one of the many enduring weekly frustrations we had to deal with, not including weekend trips, tournaments, and outings. Willingness to endure, the definition of patience was one of the many lessons I learned throughout the summer.
As the midway point of the summer approached seemingly instantaneous, I found myself letting go of my living circumstance. Strictly speaking, letting God supervene, letting Him set the scene for where I’ll be living for the second half of the summer. Remembering back to how worried, how concerned I was at the beginning of the summer, where I’d live, how much money I’d need to spend. All these superficial needs, all these trivial concerns were completely absent at the midpoint in the summer because I knew all things, issues, emotional feelings were irrelevant and unimportant because God doesn’t want us to have a heart of concerns for ourselves, He doesn’t want us to worry about tomorrow.“Therefore do no worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough to of its own.”-Matthew 6:34.So I gave it to Him. I gave all my worries, all my concerns associated with where I’ll be living to Him.
Literally a few days before my friend and his girlfriend was moving out of their place; meaning, I had to be gone by then too, a co-intern at RIC offered me to stay with his family near Midway airport. Whoa! Just mentioning it to him once, back early in the summer, I wasn’t expecting the offer. As much as the offer was enticing, I examined the commute comparison of Lake View to where I could be potentially living near Midway. In Lake View, I literally had a two-minute walk to the bus stop, then a 15-minute bus ride downtown and that’s it. Midway, I had to find someone to drive me 10 minutes to Midway airport, take the Orange Line (CTA subway) for 25 minutes, hop on another subway (Red Line) for another 20 minutes, and then walk 10 minutes to work; an hour long commute, on good days. Hum. This situation may be much different. It doesn’t matter. I have no other choice. Plus, there’s a reason why God has opened this door, so I accepted. I literally moved in the day after Danny, the offering intern, said I could stay with him for the rest of the summer.
After arriving at his house, I was quickly met by his mom and brother, offering to carry all my stuff into their house. Being stubborn, I denied multiple times, saying I could do it all, but immediately realizing their Chicagoan temperament, it’s difficult to tell them no. Expecting the “not so greatest living arrangement” or random corner bedroom, I was bewildered, they were basically giving me their entire basement; with a bathroom, television, comfortable couches, chairs; above and beyond my expectations of hospitality. “But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”-Philippians 4:19. “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”-Matthew 6:31-33. How true is this right now? What you just heard, can we not say He provided for me? How amazing His Almighty, for providing answers, for providing a loving, respectful, accommodating family, beyond my finite expectations and restricted possibilities of where I’d end up.
Overtime Intermission: Let’s do a quick reflection again. Going into the city of Chicago, I had no idea where I’d end up and putting trust in God, He provided me a comfortable, “home away from home,” beyond my expectations of what was in store. And we are not done! You still there? Hanging on, right?! I hope you are enjoying my story because for the second half of the summer, God begins to position circumstances and people in my path for “Jesus Christ divergent opportunities.” In other words, people and conversations began to spawn out of nowhere, designating these seemingly inconspicuous humanized construction signs that illuminated, “talk to them about me.” Expressly, I began to see, I began to recognize opportunistic times to share the Gospel, share His name with people, which I’ve never experienced or seen before now, especially as consistently as they appeared. Opps, forgot it was break time. This time, go get some food or a healthy snack, like almonds, carrots, or celery to tide you over, plus some water; drink plenty of water throughout the day, 64 ounces or more!
Thanks for reading, we will see you tomorrow, have a wonderfully blessed day!
So as I’m getting settled and use to the hustle and bustle of Chicago life, finally figuring out the public transit system knowingly called the CTA (Chicago Transit Authority), life was good. As good as it was, there were endless hitches, bumps, and frustrating moments. Remember, this was working with the physically disabled population. I’ve never had any experience with people in wheelchairs and physical disabilities. Yes, I’ve heard of many of the physical disabilities like cerebral palsy and spina bifida, but other than that, they were just words in an anatomy textbook, with no meaning, with no personification. In the first two weeks of the internship, my boss didn’t hold back.
Knowing fully well I had no experience, making it clear multiple times before accepting the position, he threw me into the turbulent waters to see if I could swim. Immediately, the first test was on the third day of the internship; our department hosted what we call a Sports Day. This is where the RIC hospital’s occupational and physical therapists would bring their patients over and the sports and fitness staff would introduce them to sporting activities and exercise. At this point in their recovery, some patients were less than a week after being admitted. In one case, a girl I would eventually coach the rest of the summer, had recently been caught in the middle of a gunfight, with rogue bullets severing her spinal cord; the epitome of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
At a young age of 17, she had no idea how to handle such a situation, a life altering accident that has permanently disrupted her life. Getting her to open up, asking about her interests and hobbies was beyond burdensome. She was simply shut down. She was closed off to the world. And something special happened; she found a basketball. To our knowledge, she was a very good high school basketball player and finally, finally we found something to trigger an emotional response, luckily it was the most relieving, helpful tool we had. Once my boss and I found her “hot button” of basketball, we were able to bring her into our junior program for the rest of the summer, success story right?!
Girl, age 17, gun shot victim, life altered, life changed; it is our job to change it for the better; to positively influence where she ends up; to not be another obstacle, but an outlet, an opportunity to get back up. “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”-Psalm 34:18.God places people in our lives, to live through, to pour out His glory, His worthy, courageous, uplifting behavior and words of encouragement. We were meant to be scaffolding for other people in need. Holding them up, helping them rebuild themselves in the time of desperation and difficulty.
Is this why I was in Chicago this summer, for that purpose, to be completely vulnerable to the unknown, to peel back the layers of selfishness and narcissism; to truly indulge in altruistic actions towards others in need? Was this a test of my Faith; being alone, sleeping on an air mattress every night, having no family, living uncomfortably, scheduled events on Sundays, away from church, having little money; a complete disunion. Now that I was completely enthralled into the lure and gravity of my position, there wasn’t a moment I felt alone. Yes, detachment from harmony was tough and unfamiliar, but as time went on, I was peaceful, I was comforted. Knowing this was His challenge for me to stay ‘steadfast,’ I didn’t stray away, even though my time was completely consumed. From the typical 10-14 hour days, plus a few hours of online classes at nights, my vision was clear; my purpose was known. In lieu of my jungle of frenzied obligations, Spiritual transpirations began to materialize in my life.
Back story real quick…bear with me. Before I headed off to Chicago, FFe (faithandfitnessembrace) was the initial source of Worship and Community among you and I, among believers to responsively visit and share your comments in an environment where we can serve the Lord through fitness, exercise, and nutrition. Beyond my recollection and awareness, I had no idea what FFe was going to supply me with. I wasn’t expecting such a strong association, not only with my own responsibility to share my story, but also the accountability and pledge to you that as believers, we’re in obligation not only to share the Word with non-believers, but keep each other accountable to help, to advocate, to profess the accordance of the Holy Spirit in one another. Specifically, with one FFe endorser, I was not expecting such a God-centered, powerful friendship to occur. To denounce such friendships as not from God would be unreasonable. The path the friendship has lead us down has been astoundingly eye-opening; giving new insight on His Glory and His Word; a friendship destined to happen in His Name, no other way to put it (you know who you are, I hope).
The projected FFe mission is no longer the principle destination and for the future, it’s in God’s unchanging plans (and I have plenty of hopefully fruitful business ideas/ventures that has come via FFe!). Whether I’ll strike up similar friendships with Christ-lovers or not, I am so grateful and blessed for where He has taken this project and thank you for making it this far in FFe’s short history.
Third Intermission: That’s about time for another break, right? You’re probably thinking, “man, stop getting off track, why don’t you stick with the Chicago story already or at least write one ginormous post.” Yes, you’re right. But I must continue this way. I must show you the amazing path God has taken me down because as much as I expected things to happen, I had no idea what He had in store for me.“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make you straight your paths.”-Proverbs 3:5-6. Beverage in hand, right?! Ready to continue then.
After I got the interview, ecstasy overcame me. As quickly as the emotional suddenness resonated, a pragmatic thought interrupted the happiness; the thought of the unknown, doubt, and affliction was rendering me helpless. Where am I going to stay? Do I have the money to rent a Chicago apartment for three months, on top of my apartment now? Will I have to commute? HOW AM I GOING TO DO THIS?! Using scrap paper, sticky notes, and dry erase boards for scratch notes to project operational and capital budgets for the summer, it didn’t take long to realize how expensive this unpaid internship would cost. Having the reputation and presence the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago has in the Midwest, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity, right?! All the while up until the interview, I prayed about the ‘tug of war’ I was having with myself. And I’ll convict myself. I didn’t wait long enough for Him to respond, to say, “it’s ok to take this; this is my plan for you.” I didn’t let His beautiful voice overcome the restlessness I was experiencing.
To my astonishment, the interview went well and after the interviewer walked with me to my car, he gave a proposition, “it’s yours if you can figure out your residence.” So it was mine to lose. No pressure at all. Now what? More worrying? More trying to figure things out. Telling him I needed more time to think about it and figure things out, I continued to pray and ask for His guidance and direction. Once again, in my infinite, unmistakably, flawless demeanor, I accepted the position two days later. And at this moment in the story, I had no place, no residence to stay. As time went on, a buddy from grad school was living in Chicago, Lake View, to be precise. Luckily, he accepted me to stay with him and his girlfriend for the summer. But there was a catch. Because their lease was up at the end of June, I HAD to find a place for the rest of the summer. (Note: the internship was from the end of May to the end of August)
Finally, I had almost everything figured out. Don’t you love how God opens and closes doors? Well, if you don’t know what I mean, recollect on your life. Think back on the times you could have traveled one way, and something came up to deter you. “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have no denied My name.”-Revelation 3:8 (NLT) These random detour moments are God’s work, they’re Him trying to tell you, “I have something better.” Remember God’s three answers to your prayers: 1) yes 2) not yet 3) I have something better in mind. Be patient. Pray. He will guide you in the right direction, even if you don’t have a plan or have any clue what’s in store.
Second Intermission: What are you thinking so far? Take a break. Reflect on the message. Through my journey up until this point, do you see any parallels in your life? Have you recognized the “fork in the road” moments, where you have two different paths to take and realize, you have taken the right or even wrong one? What did you heart tell you in that circumstance? What is your heart telling you right now? If you didn’t get a coffee, iced tea, or water at the first intermission, please go get something now, we’re going to be here for a while!
Before I begin writing, I must tell you, this is a multi-part series, with a continuation of the story each day; so your patience and devotion is greatly appreciated.
I knew this day was going to come. This is the day I HAD to force myself to open a Word document to transcribe all the experiences of the summer. To overcome a funk, a hardship, a grievance, I must not loaf or overwhelm myself with worry and discontentment because the journey God has taken me on during the summer of 2012, I should be cascading with gratitude, benediction, and benevolence.
Rightfully so and having told the innumerous unforeseen stories, nothing but acclamation of His invocation in my life is the reverted focal point of this post. In other words, before getting into the trials, tribulations, successes, and satisfying moments of the summer, all things have been possible through the open doors God has provided for me. My journey wouldn’t have been possible without God being the ultimate tour guide, taking me down Spiritual roads and dark alleyways, to test my courage and faith. In a state of reflection and bewilderment, a challenging test He provided is an understatement, beyond familiarity and relaxation of my comfortable life.
For those who don’t know, I am in grad school and part of my schooling, I have to hold an internship, relevant to my degree. Back in March, when I was looking for internship opportunities, I quickly realized they were few and far between, even being in the close proximity of Chicago’s large opportunistic shadows. After hours of Internet browsing, I found a seemingly irrelevant position at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago’s Adaptive Sports and Recreation Program. Not knowing what “adaptive” meant, I passed on the opportunity because it didn’t fit my mold or what I was looking for, placing the insignificant employment application on my desk to quickly get lost beneath the slew of graduate papers.
As time went on, pressure of getting an internship in either the summer or fall built, tightly squeezing my window of early graduation into a tiny speck of absurdity. Uncertainty and apprehension began to set in, only to be turned back to the seemingly lost application I once had on my desk. Expecting my graduate papers or desk to grow brains of competency and capacity to eat unwanted parchment, after extensive sifting of paper-cutting material, I found the application to the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago’s Adaptive Sports and Recreation Internship. Quickly finding myself in bewilderment, the due date for summer interns was less than a week away. Dumbfounded at the accidental “just in time” happening, I filled out and mailed with a day to spare.
Rapidly removed from the haphazard pre-internship application process, I dismissed it as unimportant. A few weeks later, a conspicuous phone call, from an unknown number provided me with an interview opportunity for the obviously paltry Chicago internship.
First Intermission: This post isn’t like any other you’ll read. The dreadful, poorly written, “quick-to-post” blog posts are superficial, without substance, skimming the surface, only to grab attention through common, web-approved pictures and topics. What happened to critically thinking as you read? What happened to a Holy Spirit centered lifestyle where it’s impossible not to be redirected back to His presence? Why not use the Internet as a Spiritual tool, instead of just a life-sucking, life-wasting distraction? Take your time; think through the words as you read the rest of this. At this point in my life, the tugging and pulling moments are what I’m going to whimsically title the “C.S. Lewis Chapter” in my life. Why? If you do a simple Google search or read a biography on C.S. Lewis, he refuted a higher being. He investigated life on his own. He scrutinized the Bible. And every time, to his astonishment, all fingers pointed back to Jesus Christ. All of his experiences pulled him back to the Holy Spirit moving and evolving in his life. So for the rest of your intermission, aka till tomorrow, go grab a coffee, iced tea, or simply a cup of water, sit back, and enjoy the rest.
Second part of the series is tomorrow, so come armed with your caffeinated beverages, thanks!
Recently, I moved to the windy city, Chicago, Illinois. And as quickly as the weather changes, I realize how people are zombies. I don’t say this because of the latest infatuation with zombies, but honestly, people are easily programmed.
A zombie is a person who acts automatically, an automation, a drudge, mechanical, robot. You’re probably wondering, where is he taking this???
The next time you find yourself in a crowded area, whether that’s walking downtown, commuting, or at a local mall, watch how people act.
From my already numerous CTA (public transit) trips, this fact is evident, there are zombies living among us.
The unemotional, humanly contact between people is superficial, irresponsible social behavior. Giving up your seat to a woman on the bus should be a given, but to not do anything or speak up when someone cannot get the door open because people are simply “plugged in,” is simply insensitive behavior. When people care more about playing games on their phones and contaminating their characters with unGodly music, this lifestyle is the perfect storm to a ‘zombie apocalypse.’ Sad to say, but it’s already happened. People are stuck in their daily routines; wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, etc, etc, etc, repeat, all systematically formulated over days, months, years of automated rituals. Granted, there are so many exceptions, but as a conglomerate, we’ve lost the touch of intimiate social interaction. We’ve lost sight of holding doors open, we’ve forgot to thank people for a nice gesture. So why has this happened?
We’ve become comfortable and satisfied. We don’t like change. We like consistency. We like regularity. Any alteration, any detour, or stepping out of our comfort zones, we become disoriented because it’s not our norm.
Maybe it’s our employer, maybe it’s the bus schedule, maybe it’s the culture we live in. Yes, those could be explinations, but they shouldn’t define our lives. We shouldn’t be products of our daily conformity we’ve established. In other words, we have gotten so caught up with pleasing our bosses, pleasing ourselves, or pleasing others, we’ve forgotten to please the one and only who needs our attention.
For am I now seeking the approval of man or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.-Galatians 1:10
Don’t be distracted by others. Don’t find yourself trying to please others when you should only be focused on Him.
Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Have you ever experienced a moment of clarity, a moment of life transparency, a moment where you realize your life is exceptionally worthy?
Today, I responded to such question, thankfully not being apart of a mournful incident. Earlier, a gunman held up a real estate agency here in town, holding hostages for over 6 hours, only to end the holdup by heartbrokenly shooting himself.
Can you imagine being one of the several hostages? One inevitable thought I guarantee going through all of their minds was, “am I going to get out of this alive?” And respectfully so. Wouldn’t we all think this?
The worth, the importance, the price we have on our lives is my daily embrace proposition. Yes, we may all highly value our lives, but do we truly understand the meaningfulness of why we’ve been put on this Earth? Why we live each and every day?
Not to burst your bubbles, but it wasn’t to be the Mark Zuckerbergs or Oprah Winfreys with all the riches in the world. Fame and fortune isn’t our ultimate goal. Obtaining your dream job isn’t the pinnacle of your life. Money cannot be what you’re always seeking out. Money doesn’t satisfy. Things we can buy only holds temporary atonement value. Because what happens when we buy something new? We ‘play’ with it, show it off for a while, then store it away until a newer ‘toy’ comes along. We continually seek out the next and newest item. Why? Because we’re always trying to fill a void. We’re always trying to seek out contentment in things. But do we want to be known by the things we own? When someone mentions your name, do you want to be known as the “guy with the car collection” or the “woman with the most beautiful jewelry?” How superficial is this when you take a step back? Do we really want this status? Don’t you want to be more meaningful to others?
Think back real quick on the person who’s had the most influence in your life….
…
Did they have those expensive items; did they flaunt them? Or were they caring, motivating, giving, or simply friendly?
You’re answer is probably the latter. So what does this all mean?
It means we’ve been created for a purpose. Created by Him. Created by Jesus Christ, the Creator of your life and this world. The meaningfulness of your life can be found in His Word and through Him alone; not through the media, the popular crowds, or the celebrities of Hollywood.God made each and every one of us for a purpose. We were designed and formulated not to buy the latest and greatest gadgets, but to worship Him and give Him our attention. If you can put Him first in your life, you will be fulfilled and begin to see how exceptionally unique and meaningful our lives truly are.
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”-1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Today, my dad challenged me to research/find out about the 9 Fruits of the Holy Spirit. And to be honest, I wasn’t familiar with them. I vaguely remember him talking about it a while back, but nothing significant comes to mind.
After some website skimming, I realize how important this topic is.
If you aren’t familiar with the 9 fruits, it’s essentially character qualities God wants to instill in us. Whether we have a few of them already or need to rid ourselves of bad traits, these qualities or fruits are as follows: love, joy, peace, longsuffering(patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Essentially, bearing these fruits or qualities tells you how much you’re being led by the Holy Spirit. The closer you are to the Holy Spirit, the more spiritual fruit you will bear.
By showing or mainifesting these fruits throughout each and every day, whether when we’re at work or at a neighborhood barbecue, we bear testimony to the God we serve. It’s not about what we say because (no offense), but anyone can say they’re a Christian, but we’re judged on what we do! It’s similar to how we communicate with others. The majority of communication isn’t even about what we say, or how we even say it, but through expressive, nonverbal means. And it’s unbelievable to the percentage of actions over words that take place, 55% and 7% respectfully. Meaning, our actions truly do speak louder than words!
So if you are led by God, the Holy Spirit will brightly shine through your behavior and actions, more so than what you say. By bearing these fruits, Jesus can move through you, being the vessel of His word, ultimately living and fulfilling His calling for you.
The key is to open yourself up to bear these fruits and to do this, one must give your life to God, seek Him out, and put Him first in your life. By focusing on Him and not just his blessings and gifts, we can begin to see why He has gifted us with such talents and abilities to fulfill his will for us.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”-Matthew 6:33
The topic for the daily embrace is addiction, specifically cigarette smoking. Beyond the subjective or biased nature, one needs to surpass the simple act of smoking and identify the deeper issue, addiction.
Moving from the state of Ohio, where smoking bans are everywhere, basically no one smoked; to an area of Indiana where it seems as though every other person does, and it’s socially acceptable. From bars to restaurants, the popularity is beyond disgust and annoyance.
Two concepts we need to realize:
For one, people know of the harmful effects smoking has on the body. We no longer live in the times of Mad Men during the 1960s where even doctors condoned smoking. We gratefully live in a research-filled society where almost every single harmful substance or behavior has been research thoroughly by scholars and educators alike.
Two, since people aren’t ignorant to the harmful effects, they are simply weak to a powerful force called addiction. And I’m not pointing fingers because it’s a compulsion we’ve all given into at one point in our lives. From watching too much television to giving in to that piece of dessert, addiction can be the demise to one’s character.
So what is addiction? “It’s the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice that is psychologically or physically habit forming.” This is a powerful definition, particularly ‘enslaved.’
Being enslaved to something is giving in to its pleasures and benefits. What may seem enjoyable and relieving today may be detrimental tomorrow. In our society today, we’ve been taught to inattentively enjoy the ever-appealing products ingeniously marketed directly to our “pleasure centers.” Once we become hooked, the power of addiction will take over. Smoking companies play off of this. Once the biochemical effects of nicotine take over, lifelong customers ensue.
So how can people overcome such addictions?
First, they must have a “slap in the face moment.” Whether that’s medical advice or family/friends telling them they need to quit to realize the detrimental aspects to their overall health. Two, they must be willing to change. They must be willing to let go and be willing to give up to gain. It’s so easy for people to talk the talk about changing, but it’s so much more difficult and honorable to walk the walk. And finally, there must be a healing source, where they will always have support and encouragement throughout the addiction elimination. The ultimate healing source is Jesus Christ. It doesn’t matter how strong the addiction, God will always see you through!
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.-James 1:12-15
Do you find yourself asking questions about your worth; why you’re here, what you’ve been doing with your life, is this career right for me?
If you’ve asked yourself these questions, you’re not in the wrong, these doubts and questions sneak in all the time.
These thoughts are created by the enemy. Don’t let these doubts and questions deter you. You are worth so much! It doesn’t matter who you are, each and every one of you has a purpose. We’re all good at something. We all excel at a specific skill. Whether that simply means being friendly, happy, motivating, having good social skills, public speaking, etc.
Bring back your childhood skills and simply connect the dots! Use your skill/s you possess and go with it! Shine your light. Don’t think you aren’t worth the time and space because you are! You must be willing to use what you’ve been given and shine amongst a world of darkness. This is your advantage; this is your best way to connect with others; this is your funnel.
It seems as though teen suicide has increased. I haven’t checked the statistics or anything, but back home, it seems as though it’s an annual occurrence, happening more than ever before. And this saddens me tremendously to think that one is so far beyond their ‘wits end’ to realize life isn’t worth living anymore. “No one notices me. No one cares. They won’t miss me.”
Yes they do. Yes people do care. People will miss you. You DO have an affect on all people around you, whether you know it or not. You’re life is too precious from the light we were meant to give off, a light to shine bright, a light to encourage and motivate others, a light we can be proud of, a light that’s worth everything and more. (Even though I may not know you, I love you!)
Our society has gotten away from God, plain and simple. Because it is He who gives us purpose. Who gives us this light to shine upon the world. It’s not to be extinguished by anyone else. But it’s in those hard times that we may be pressured and pushed to our limits to extinguish our light. And it’s in these times we need to turn to Him, even as hard as it may be to blame Him, everything happens for a reason, for His purpose. Whether you’ve been called to relocate or to travel to another country or possibly to change career paths or educate young children, doors open and close for His reasons for you to fulfill your purpose.
Our light and our purpose is dangerous to darkness, always trying to creep in our lives each and every moment to ruin His plans for YOU. You can keep your flame strong through the power of Jesus Christ and it’s in Him alone we can shine bright forever.
For my first iPhone inspired/nutrition post, I am going to share with you one of my favorite healthy homemade recipes!
JTHealthyfit Salsa
All you need for a great meal or snack!
Ingredients include:
1 Whole Avocado
1 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
1/3 Cup Greek Yogurt
1/3 Cup Cottage Cheese
Dash of Parsley
Dash of Ginger
Any amount of your favorite salsa.
Plus, salsa chips.
Carefully cut the avocado in half.
Put halves into medium size, cereal bowl.
Mash up/stir with spoon.
Add minced garlic.
Add greek yogurt.
Add cottage cheese.
Add any amount of salsa (this one is from Aldi, fantastic and cheap!)
Add Ginger and Parsley.
Stir! (I know it looks nasty, but it’s not, I promise!)
Reasons for ingredients:
An avocado is a fantastic fat burning treat! Avocados have about 54% of your recommended daily value of fiber, which gives it the fat burning qualities. Avocados also help fuel you body with Vitamins A, C, E, K, and B6, plus riboflavin, niacin, folate, and pantothenic acid. Also, one avocado has 975 mg of potassium, which is critical to overall cellular and electrolyte function. Greek yogurt can have twice as much protein as regular yogurt. Regular yogurt usually has about 5-10 grams of protein, whereas Greek yogurt contains about 13-20 grams. This extra protein will help you feel full and leave you feeling more satisfied.
Greek yogurt is higher in protein, lower in carbohydrates, thicker and creamier and lower in sodium than regular yogurt. But what’s critical to Greek yogurt is it’s probiotics. Greek yogurt is more concentrated and has a higher percentage of probiotics than regular yogurt. Essentially, probiotics are live microorganisms, which aid in gastrointestinal health, which will help to alleviate diarrhea, constipation, bowel disease, and so on. Probiotics may also protect against colon and bladder cancer as well.
Along with Greek yogurt, cottage cheese will supply your body with more protein, but with cottage cheese, a different protein is found in cottage cheese called casein, is actually absorbed over a longer period of time, roughly 7 hours, giving your body a consistent pump of protein. On top of the protein fueled by Greek yogurt and cottage cheese, 1/2 cup serving of cottage cheese alone provides about 10% of the Recommended Daily Allowance for Americans for calcium. This mineral is needed in your body to build strong bones and initiate muscle contractions and nerve impluses.
Salsa is for the taste!
Garlic is rich in numerous antioxidants from potential cancer prevention to preventing colds, it’s a very valuable ingredient to use in all dishes.
The last two ingredients of Ginger and Parsley also have innumerous benefits, which are readily available for a quick Google search.
Finally, even though the chips are the least healthy part, try to find ones that weren’t made with trans fats and with low sodium content. Remember, to check the Nutritional Facts with all products you buy. I found these chips for very cheap, over the more expensive, “healthy,” wheat chips, plus having lower fat, sodium, and caloric content as well!
Hope you can try it out and let me know what you think!!
If you haven’t heard recently, coffee can now help you live longer! Yes, that cup of joe you once thought it was a near obsession is now something that can combat conditions like: heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, injuries and accidents, diabetes, and infections.
Neal Freedman, Ph.D., Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, NCI, and his colleagues examined the association between coffee drinking and risk of death in 400,000 U.S. men and women ages 50 to 71 who participated in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. Information about coffee intake was collected once by questionnaire at study entry in 1995-1996. The participants were followed until the date they died or Dec. 31, 2008, whichever came first.
The researchers found that the association between coffee and reduction in risk of death increased with the amount of coffee consumed. Relative to men and women who did not drink coffee, those who consumed three or more cups of coffee per day had approximately a 10 percent lower risk of death.
What one must take away from this study is not about the amazing taste of coffee, but the importance of nutrition in your life. Specifically, getting back to the old lifestyles of our ancestors of staying at home and keeping the kitchen active. A new study found that people who cook up to five times a week were 47% more likely to still be alive after 10 years, from a study of 1,888 men and women published in Public Health Nutrition.
Cooking is a healthy behavior not only one can be apart of, but a significant other and family members. This is a great way to educate others around you about the benefits of nutrition. Whether you’re trying to lose weight, gain muscle, or simply live longer, the importance of a healthy diet goes beyond just the taste of your Dunkin Donuts coffee every morning.
Earlier today, I watched a movie with friends called 50/50. If you haven’t had the chance, it’s a very good movie involving a young man with a rare form of cancer at a young age of 27. While I was watching, I couldn’t help but think about what would happen to my life if something like that would happen? How would I handle such a life-changing illness?
All could change in a blink of an eye. All could change from one day to the next. Who’s to say we’re guaranteed tomorrow, next week, month, or year? It’s a simple answer; we’re not guaranteed anything! Especially at a young age, we have felt or have been in the position of being “invincible.” Nothing can harm us. We can walk the fine line with no repercussions. But is this perspective healthy? Is it even possible to live our lives to the fullest each day, as if tomorrow may be our last?
Whether it’d be cancer or an accident, our lives are precious. Serve God to your fullest. Seek comfort in the Lord. If you’re already suffering pain, pray and ask God you may find comfort in serving Him. “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”-Psalm 18:2
Whatever the suffering you may be going through, you don’t have to be alone. Even if you may feel like you are, you aren’t! You’re never in a fight alone. Even if it may seem unsurmountable or impossible. Even if the odds aren’t good, there’s a 100/100 chance God will come through and give you peace.
When it comes to exercise and nutrition, there’s little room for compensation. When we find ourselves in a “devil on one side and an angel on another” situation, whether that’s from our sugar cravings or busy schedule, giving way to excuses, we begin to make amends with ourselves and justify our reasons not to stay disciplined.
Our temporary allowance leads to a payment of disappointment and regret, even though our remittance was reasonably self-prescribed. Essentially, our reasons and excuses were good enough at the time to deter our actions to acquire our goals. Whether that be losing weight or toning our muscles, we prescribe our own compromises. It’s understandable. Are we willing to sacrifice our well-being for temporary highs or cravings? Can we stick to a plan? Can we stay dedicated, even if that means eliminating unhealthy behaviors in our lives?
Recently, while I was visiting friends, I told them upright I’m not going to be drinking. Did I feel weird? Did I feel left out sometimes? Yes, of course I did. But I still had a great time. While I was the “party animal” in college, I no longer live this lifestyle. At this point in my life, I know there’s much more than having fun and drinking until blacking out. There are two things I’ve learned from this lifestyle transition.
First, you must be willing to not give in to peer pressure. Second, you must be willing to face criticism for your healthy choices. In the act of saying no, you’re compensating or “rewarding” your hard work in the gym and the kitchen. As the title of the post says, “selective compensation,” there are times when it’s not appropriate to adjust your behavior and other times can be the best choices you may make. Repay yourself for the hard work and new lifestyle, but never overbalance and regress from your ultimate goals.
Peer pressure. What does it take for you to fall? What’s your weakness? Do you have a vice that seems impossible to overcome?
When we have a weakness, others around us, even if they may be friends, subtle words or actions may be enough for us to give in. Why is it so easy for us to give in though? Yes, we may have unyielding friends or family members, which may be very hard to say no to. But, we must stick to our guns. We must remember how our lives were when the vice was in control.
When the vice was in control, we couldn’t see past our own selfishness. Selfishness and vices coincided. It’s a two-headed beast. It’s a serpent of death to our character and well-being. If it’s alcohol, drugs, television, Facebook, pornography, Internet, or whatever the vice, selfishness is the immediate result. Or vice versa. If we go back to selfishness and only worrying about ourself and gaining pleasure or fun, the vice takes over.
Selfishness is a vice. And a vice is selfishness. Peer pressure is the fuel for this fire. One nudge is enough to send us over the edge. The secret is to keep your Faith. I know I’ve said this multiple times, but ask God for strength. Pray for guidance and strength to overcome peer pressure. Even when it comes to your eating habits, having that donut or Panera Bread pastry in the morning won’t hurt. It’s tasty. It won’t affect my behavior. I’ll just do an extra ten minutes on the treadmill after work.
If you begin to pressure your conscious with subtle excuses and reasons why it’s ok, then you gave in to your vice. If you told yourself you’re going to cut back on sweets and junk food, saying it’s ok in one instance will only ease the next instance of pressure. It’ll be easier to give in next time. Pray to Him you have the courage to say no to friends or deny the unhealthy food options. Stick to your guns, don’t give in to your vice!
While reuniting with friends can become promotional, it can also help to renew or rebrand yourself. We’ve all made mistakes. Whether it’s in our past or of recent. We may have pushed people away in our lives, apart of the mistakes or not. At least I’ve made those types of mistakes.
I pushed people out of my life because I was ashamed and afraid of what they’d think. I knew, with the so-called perfect life I lived, keeping my reputation in tact was of most importance. And in doing so, not facing the closest people in my life was a way to cope and keep my reputation, at least in my eyes.
But all the while, I knew, at one point, I had to face them again. Yes, I have changed. I have matured. But at the same time, I’m the same person I was before. As I’ve said many times, we’re all going to make mistakes. But that doesn’t mean you need to push people out of your lives because you’re afraid of what they’ll think.
We need the comfortability, not just in the environment, but also with our friendships. Don’t push people out of your life because this comfortability is important to get back up and learn from your mistakes.
After a short trip visiting friends, returning to the comfort of my home was nice. When we get out of our elements, we must rely on different sources for comfort. We no longer have our “favorite” piece of furniture or a special location to enjoy a favorite book.
Even getting work done is hindered. What may have been a daily ritual may become a forgotten behavior. Time spent by yourself or another is now spent with many. No longer do you feel a sense of loneliness, but instead togetherness. Of course, we all love catching up with old friends and reminiscing, but the comfortability and familiarity of your environment is obviously gone.
Thus, we must find comfort in other things, such as through the relationships alone. We may not have the opportunity to kick your shoes off and relax, but instead, use the free time to get closer with them. Create an experience that’s enjoyable and exciting. No, it doesn’t have to be elaborate or anything. Going to dinner with one of your best friends will suffice.
Even though you aren’t in your normal elements, let it not hinder your chance to get closer to your friends. Being away from comfortability can be a spectacular opportunity to experience new things with loved ones. It’s not a hindrance, but a promotion of friendship.
Spend your time and energy training yourself for spiritual fitness. Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is much more important for it promises a reward in both this life and the next. This is true and everyone should accept it.-1 Timothy 4:7-9
This promising scripture helps to define the purpose of my blog.
Yes, I want to help you accomplish your health and fitness goals, but more importantly, I want to grow spiritually with you. It’s a learning process for me, too. You may be the most beautiful, physically fit model in the world, but do you really have true fitness? Are you going to be able to bring your beautiful, physically fit body with you when you’re gone?
No, but you can bring your spiritual fit body. And by getting this body fit, we must put the time in, same as we do for our physical bodies. We must strain our bodies. We must move. We must train. We must not be afraid to push ourselves to the limit. We must exhaust ourselves spiritually for Him. By doing so, we will be exercising and exhausting our spiritual health.
Having “Faithness” is very important in my life. I am completely enthralled into the fitness and nutritional world. And I do have my off days and days I don’t feel like exercising. But I push through. The same goes for my relationship with God. This combination of fitness for our physical and spiritual bodies is what I’m going to call “Faithness.”
Have fun. Enjoy the process of change. Be excited for a relationship that’s truly everlasting!
Today was the infamous day. Today has been on my calendar since the beginning of the year. Today was what it all came down to.
Yesterday, I didn’t think we were ready. Yesterday, we still had things to figure out. Yesterday was stressful.
I just got done with a charity golf outing in which my sports marketing class hosts every year. It’s up to the class to essentially put it on. If the class doesn’t do it, then it doesn’t happen. So it’s a big deal. This year, we chose the Wounded Warrior Project. And we chose this appropriately because a fellow undergrad lost his life in Afghanistan this past January, proudly serving our country.
Of course, we invited his parents to partake in the day’s activities. It was pretty great. We essentially blew his name up on everything we did, simply to celebrate his life, including a fund in his name, which will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project. They were beyond grateful and happy we did everything in his name.
Back in January, when we were notified of this project, no urgency was placed on today. No urgency whatsoever to get sponsors, do marketing, or obtain golfers. So it wasn’t about the 2 month mark til the tourney a few people started to kick it in gear, including myself.
I was the chair of the sponsorship committee, responsible for raising money for this event. And I can surely tell you, it was stressful and hard! But, if you know me by now, I wasn’t going to let any obstacles get in the way. Even though this was just a “school project,” I didn’t see this as project. I didn’t see this as a grade. I saw this event as a succes or failure. Because I know, when I look back, I don’t want to say, “man, I could have done more.” I’ve always been my biggest critic, so having my name associated with such a failure would be very degrading to my character. So I knew, at all costs, I HAD to raise as much money as possible, even if that means I’m one of the few doing it.
And that’s what it basically came down to. I felt part of the working minority, always thinking, always working towards this day.
I’m not judging or degrading anyone, but this golf tournament has really taught me a lot about people.
For one, I expect a lot out of people. And I’ll be honest, I ask a lot out of people, from that simple fact. The effort I put in, I should expect the same back, or even more. But that’s not reality. That’s not something I should think or even expect. I’m not trying to play myself up or anything, but there’s always going to be people out there that just don’t care or do sub par work. The important thing is, don’t get stressed, upset, or disappointed. It took a while to realize this. Empathizing and imagining is critical to this. We all live our own separate, busy lives. When one can free up their time to do something, to someone else, this may be impossible; that’s just life. I’ve compared this to fitness training. I honestly expect the most out of clients. When they’re training with me, I expect their complete attention and effort. I want them to be pushing it as hard as they can. Why? Because people’s true character really comes out when they’re exhausted and tired. It shows that you can always go farther and farther when you’re held in a higher standard of excellence. Plus, I’m the one to motivate and encourage others to break through their own barriers. I WANT people to succeed. The road may be tough and stressful, but anything that’s worth the wait and hard work, is worth it!
Anyway, the tournament had no issues at all! We raised over $6500, not including the $1200 silent auction fund, plus a few other monetary amounts still to come. Blowing out the previous years’ records is very rewarding. We’re actually the only class who’s raised this much money in all the years it’s been in existence. And to see his parents there, during the National Anthem sung by his acapella group with the National Guard color guard standing in honor was a powerful sight.
Was it all worth it??? Yes it was!!
So whenever you think your hard work won’t pay off (I thought the hundreds of cold calls and businesses I visited had no chance of working), trust me, it will! You have to stay determined, stay focused, and never forget your work ethic. Even in the eyes of naysayers, never give up. Find something you’re passionate about and do it to the best of your ability.
Because at the end of the day, you don’t want to say to yourself, “man, I could have done more.”
“But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.”-Philippians 3:13 One thing we need to understand is not to regret. As hard as it may seem, thinking back on past relationships or failed assignments and exams, we must stop thinking in a regretful way.
It’s not fair to judge your past self based on the hindsight that you now have. When we’ve seen our mistakes and missed opportunities, it means that you have become more mature, that you have made significant progress in term of insights and competence. It gives us more strength to achieve much more if you encounter similar situations again. So if you find yourself in similar situations that you failed to see in the past, and you don’t make the same mistakes, celebrate these moments because it indicates you’ve grown.
The more frequent and the sooner you spot missed opportunities that have passed you by, the more it indicates that you are rapidly improving and growing. Sometimes, it takes making mistakes over and over to be conscious of your mistakes. As everyone knows, once those mistakes have been made, you can never get them back. Time is limited, it’s always in the passing mode. You must find balance in your life. Accept imperfections and just go along and improvise.
We will all make mistakes.
Time isn’t going to wait for you to correct every single mistake. Reality has deadlines. Don’t spend your present mourning about past mistakes because while you’re wasting this time, opportunities in the present may elude you too. As a result, stress and worries will build up for the future and may be nearly impossible see the opportunities in abundance around you. No one is going to feel bad for yourself more than you. Opportunities are around you to seize. Ask God for patience and help to train your eyes to see them now and in the present.
When it comes to most things, we have no abandonment. We don’t fully commit ourselves to something. We’re always one foot in, one foot out.
How are we ever going to accomplish our goals if we don’t fully commit to something?
We must have complete abandonment, even if things may seem impossible. The Bibles teaches us to be this way. We aren’t fully committed Christians if we don’t fully give our hearts and soul to Him. It doesn’t matter what it is, do everything to your best ability. Don’t slack. Don’t give in. Give your all. God will give you strength to continue if it may seem impossible.
If you find yourself barely being able to drag yourself out of the bed every morning, pray, ask God to give you strength. Especially if you wake early to exercise. The first thing that comes into your head is, “why did I wake up so early?” I can sleep a little longer. Take these opportunities and early mornings to build your mind and body. Devote time to reading the Bible or daily devotionals. Open yourself up to Him. Create opportunities to fill your heart. Even if we may be blindly committed, Jesus Christ is the ultimate guide.
He is the ultimate personal trainer, making your Faith stronger each and every day.
When I was traveling back to school today, I took a detour through Amish country. And all the while I was traveling through, I thought about their culture. Could you imagine not having the conveniences of modern technology? Could you imagine denying such changes? Could you imagine riding in a horse and buggy everywhere you go?
This Christian culture doesn’t know any different. Yes, we couldn’t imagine living in such a lifestyle, but could they imagine living like we do today?
They’ve accepted their roles in family structures. Compliance of rules and regulations of each region or family is very important. Integrity and respect comes with their family name. Could you imagine living a week or two in their shoes? Life would be simpler.
Yes, it may be more laborious and tiresome, but physical exhaustion can be overcome. No computers, no televisions. No distractions. Sometimes in our lives, I honestly think we should just eliminate things from our lives or “unplug” to realize how good we have it.
The ease of our luxuries are distracting us what’s truly important. Our relationships with God, family, and friends. Life is complicated. And technology, including email, texting, and so on aren’t making things easier, it’s just complicating our lives even more. Everything we do, everything we say may be taken in the wrong context that may be read differently in person. We’ve lost sight of the importance of the personal, intimate, physical relationships we have with people. Yes, I understand, “well I have to rely on technology to do my school work, stay in contact with people; I just can’t go a day without my computer or phone.” I realize this.
Instead of texting a friend, why don’t you go visit them in person. I truly think if we get back to the Amish way of thinking of honoring and respecting God and the family structure, we can help solve a lot of problems we have as a country.
Today, I chose to get away from the house and concentrate on my studies. The location of choice was Panera Bread. All throughout the day, people would come and go. Individuals, families, and so on.
Towards the end of my stay, I was thinking about approaching a woman that was by herself eating. And it wasn’t about attraction or anything like that at all. It was more like, “why don’t I go introduce myself and offer her an ear to listen.” Why is she alone? Is she lonely? Does she need help?
You know, thinking back throughout the day, I saw several people all by themselves. I was thinking on the lines of, what if they’re having a bad day? What if they don’t have anyone to turn to?
I could make someone’s day by simply offering to listen to them. We were put on this earth to serve others. Even strangers in a restaurant. What’s wrong with introducing oneself to a random stranger and being friendly? After leaving for the day, I realized my mistakes. I should have taken these opportunities to reach out to others, even if that is to offer a listening ear to a complete stranger.
Have you ever encountered such a random instance of giving and gratitude? Has anyone ever offered to pay for something in public? I have. I’ve encountered those random moments of kindness. Next time I find myself in an opportunity to reach out and help someone, I’m going to take it.
Stick to a plan. If you’ve been true to yourself and to others, keep going. Don’t let anything get in the way of your changing process.
The natural tendencies to fall back into old habits is inevitable. Pressures from many sources can deter your progress. Just like any relationship, it takes time, dedication, and tests of character, in the easiest of times and the hardest.
Things may be easy in a comfortable, unchanging environment, but once things become difficult in a new surrounding, our resiliency is tested. Just remember the progress you’ve taken. Remember the time commitment you’ve sacrificed. All is well until you forget your progress.
Once you’ve forgotten the journey and where you’ve come, all progress is lost. Everything you’ve worked for. Everything you’ve sacrificed is lost. Don’t use these times of difficulty to make excuses.
What happens when we find ourselves in an unfamiliar, non-habitual situation? Do we continue our new healthy habits? If we want to change forever, we must continue these habits.
Our environment may change, but it doesn’t mean our habits have to. It may be difficult to continue if you don’t have the resources of staying active or going to a special place to study.
The mindset is the important thing.
If you have the correct mindset, anything is possible. If you have the right intentions and want to change for the betterment of yourself, you must force yourself to keep the habits. You must be consistent.
Ask God for strength. When we may feel our choices begin to weaken, ask Him to raise you up. Anything is possible through Him.
For the faith to move ahead
And to let go of the past
And to see me as you do
I turn to you
These are some lyrics from the song “I Turn to You” by Selah. It’s a great song. If you haven’t had the chance, listen to it.
When I listened to these words, I’m lost in His love. When we find ourselves lost. When we find ourselves broken. We must turn to Him. If you haven’t been reading my previous posts, it has been an emotional roller coaster in my life of late.
So this song has been a great reminder of who I should be focusing my energy.
In other words, we must not let these life predicaments and issues get in the way of what we should be falling asleep and waking to.
The reason I started this blog was to be more open with my feelings, grow as a Christian, and to encourage/help anyone who needs guidance in their faith, fitness, and nutrition goals. Well, as you may have noticed, God has a way of inconspicuously directing our lives. Whereas, my goal was to have a post for faith every other day and fitness/nutrition on the opposite days. Well, that goal is still possible, but there’s still some unfinished business and growth that needs to take place in my life before I can begin to venture into new topics. (Plus, I have many more promising ideas to connect with you on a more personal level, which will hopefully become very successful in His name.) So bear with me a little longer, grow with me Spiritually, and be part of the encouragement we all need.
As I have stated in previous posts, we’re not suppose to be traveling through life alone. We’re not suppose to be selfish and reliant on our own beliefs and ways of living. We’re suppose to support and serve each other. Just like one blogger put it, “we’re suppose to love everyone.” And it’s true! As you continue to follow along my journey, we must remember, for faith to move ahead, we must be willing to let go of our pasts, and turn to Him!
I was recently listening to Klove via internet radio and a listener called in to tell a story. She let her child “fall on her face” (not literally) with a school project she didn’t want to do with her. So the mom let her turn the project in partially done. And of course, it’s from the stance that the girl would take something away from this experience.
Have you ever “fell on your face” and completely failed at doing something or forgot an assignment? Don’t you hate that roller coaster heart drop once you’ve realized your mistake?
Yes, we’ve probably all been there. A major screw up seems inevitable. But it’s not about the mistake we’ve made, it’s how we react to it. Do we learn our lesson or do we continue to make the same mistake over and over? If you’ve been trying to change, whether it’s a bad habit or what, we always seem to catch ourselves either before or after. Or we are oblivious of our actions and feelings. In essence, we don’t realize we’ve been sucked back into the same lifestyle until we’ve literally fallen on our faces.
We become desperate for help. We want change again. It’s different this time, right? Of course. It’s always different. Doesn’t matter what you tell yourself or others, it’s up to YOU to keep that change. YOU, yourself are the obstacle, not anyone else. Ask Him for strength and YOU will change!
Before I get into anything, I wrote an entire post, expecting it to be what I wanted to convey, but a more appropriate thought came along and instead, this is the post:
We all make mistakes. We’ve all isolated ourselves on our own island of mistakes. Whether we’ve hurt loved ones or made unforgivable mistakes, the thought of question and wonder about why we did it is inexplicable and unbearable. The weight of guilt and anguish is too much for one to bear. But just like Tom Hank’s character in the movie Cast Away, the only thing we can do is to keep breathing.
Even though we cannot move on together, I must always remember to breathe because tomorrow, “the sun will rise, and who knows what the tide will bring in.”
This is true. As hard as this has been, logic says, life will continue. Even though my plans didn’t work out and it didn’t end with a fairytale ending, life will continue. God will provide.
And as hard as it’s been, God will always appropriately and perfectly control the tide; who He brings into our lives. We just have to patiently wait.
My buddy and I just got back from a run. The trail of choice was Chicago’s Lakefront Trail. Weather was windy, with Lake Michigan’s waves crashing against the rocks, throwing lake spray against our faces.
Even before our 3 mile journey began, we encountered an enormous, unjumpable puddle. We had to cross it. No other choice.
The puddle was at the end of a tunnel and there wasn’t any other way to cross the busy Chicago freeway besides through this tunnel. And the only two options we had were 1) running through it, getting our shoes and ankles completely wet/ruined. Or 2) monkey our way across the pipes along the tunnel wall.
Option 2 was our choice. Lo and behold, my buddy was somewhat successful, only letting his feet get wet at the end. So I took off my shoes, passed it over the ‘lake’ and began to journey my way over along the pipes.
Sliding one hand at a time, my hands crossed over pipe supports, just like a rock climber, trying to find his grip and foot holds. The biggest challenge was at the end of the tunnel, where the piping turned. So that meant, I had to drop down to the lowest pipe, all the while keeping my feet high enough so they didn’t get wet, as to the demise of my buddy’s ‘not so dry’ puddle journey.
I eventually made it across successfully. Only to prematurely celebrate even though our run barely started.
We finally finished back at his apartment, only to reflect on our random, “parkour” moment. The run wasn’t the highlight, but more so Ethan Hunt’s Mission Impossible stunt move.
Remember, when you have your mind set on a goal, don’t let anything get in the way! Attempt any obstacle, even though you may slip and get wet!
I recently read an article about the things you shouldn’t skimp or go cheap. Things like vacum cleaners or food, essentially comes back to bite us in the end.
I’ve had the same mentality for quite a while now, especially with the food you buy at the grocery.
I pay extra for the healthier/fresh foods, so then I don’t pay more on my health later in life.
Our bodies are like well-oiled vehicles. Whatever we put into it, high octane, pure oil or gasoline or whatnot, the better it’s going to run. The same goes for our bodies. After a prolonged period of time eating junk food, fast food, high fat content food, and so on, we’re eventually going to see the consequences. It’s amazing how much our diet reflects how we see ourselves and how we feel.
And it’s not about a morning cup of coffee, whether you’ve had your caffeine jump start or not, it’s about getting as many veggies and fruits into your diet as possible. Try to have an apple, instead of chips for a snack. If you’d like to have a cute date night with a significant other, go shopping together, choose healthy options, and fix it together.
The more we get educated on healthy food options and making such food taste wonderful, the more we will be apt to buy and eat these foods every day. Your diet can be correlated with your relationship with God. The more time you spend with Him, whether it’s in prayer or His word, the more fulfilling your life will be.
Don’t skimp! Take the time to establish your relationship with Jesus Christ and your diet.
God didn’t mean for us to be lazy couch potatoes. It’s not in His plan to sit and wither. We were designed in His eyes to grow and flourish.
By growing, we must be persistent and hard working. We must never give up, even if we may feel like we’re down for the count.
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”-1 Corinthians 9:24
If you feel you haven’t been rewarded for all the things you’ve done in your life, please, continue because one day it’ll all pay off. When you watch someone accomplish something they’ve wanted so bad, the pride and joy of watching them achieve such a feat is beyond incomprehensible.
I was recently watching a new television show on the National Geographic channel called Doomsday Preppers. The show follows families that have outlandish ideas of how the world is going to end, market crash, national disaster, nuclear holocaust, and so on.
It’s not that these ideas are farfetched, but their lifestyles and how they’ve prepared themselves. Whether or not their predictions will come true, their adherence to preparations and lifestyles will continue. They see a potential for a universal change or alteration in their daily lives. They expect something to happen. So why not be prepared? Is it as outlandish as we really think?
Yes, these people seem very eccentric, but do we have the right to say they’re wrong? Experts judge their lifestyles and how they’ve prepared themselves, from water and food stores, to personal protection, experts tell them where they stand on survival.
We can use these shows either as a comic relief or as a learning tool. No, it’s not reasonable everyone should simply start buying tons of rice and canned goods, but more so being ready. Yes, our world has become very unsteady and anything could happen. The Lord’s second coming is closer than it was yesterday. We should begin to seek out His name and His Word daily because the day of judgement may be closer than we think.
I just want to let you know I’m not here to lecture about anything. What to do, what not to do. I’m here to talk about what I’ve experienced, what I’ve endured, things that have changed my life.
I don’t expect anything in return.
I don’t want to make you feel insecure, uncomfortable, or upset for not doing certain things. We all have a choice. We all have options and decisions to make. We’re all mature enough to make our own decisions. We have the power of choice. We want to be in control of our lives. We want to be in control of our lives through the choices we make.
It’s not about control, bu about the choices.
Do we make the choice to go out of our way to help someone today? Do we have the choice to ignore people?
We have choices to make.
Do we make the choice to simply fit in? Or do we make the choice that’s not the norm? We may be in pain. We may be suffering. We have a choice to take that step forward. We have a choice to not give up. If you want to do something today, do it! Who’s stopping you?! We were all created for a purpose, a purpose much bigger than the negatives or putdowns of people that told you, you couldn’t do something.
If you don’t believe me, go to the video page, and watch Something More with Nick Vujicic. I have faith in you today and always!
It doesn’t matter who you are, we always have those days of depression. Some things don’t go the way we planned. Or it’s because we got into a fight with our loved ones or friends. Either way, these days are inevitable.
As humans, we have the capacity for many, many emotions and feelings, whether it’s happiness or sadness, depression is inevitable. It doesn’t necessarily have to be titled depression, but more so having a bad day, where you simply wake up on the wrong side of the bed.
People annoy you. You’re having a bad hair day. You’re not feeling good. And so on.
Also, we can be depressed in different realms of our lives as well. It doesn’t have to mean an overall depressed state, but maybe difficulties in your relationships or career. Life tends to not go the way we plan right? Always!
Typically, we’re dealt a miserable hand in most instances. But, are we going to sulk and continue to be depressed or do something about it? The one thing we can do is let go of our problems and negative outlook.
We must be willing to give ourselves to God. He is our inspiration. He gives us strength to overcome these random moments of mixed emotions. If you find yourself feeling like this, don’t use shopping or your hobbies to fix the problem. These moments of depressed hardships tend to influence us into not turning to Him and leaving Him behind. We think, “oh I’m too tired or too exhausted” is a good enough excuse to shy away.
Just as in a previous post, it’s a slippery slope and this is why depressed states can be detrimental not only to your character, but also your relationship with Jesus Christ. Instead, give yourself to God in these moments. He’s in control. It’s a test of your Faith, are you going to pass or fail?
I typically don’t post multiple times in a day, but I found something that needs to be said/posted. Earlier, I stumbled upon this video of an amazing athlete, Lolo Jones; you may know the name. She’s a US olympic hurdler and is becoming the most talked about athlete for the Olympic Games.
The question for you is: have/will you ever find yourself training/studying/educating a long period of time for such a short test? Can you imagine, sacrificing your life, time, relationships, friendships, and so on for so long? It’s unfathomable to think about such preparations, the hours, the sweat and tears, the anguish, the injuries. She’s sacrificing her life because she loves it. It’s plain and simple.
Sacrifice to live. That’s a true athlete! Are you one?!
This morning, I woke up to meet some friends at the gym, early. 6 am alarm only meant regret and questioning why I was doing such a thing so early.
Granted, I love working out and it’s very easy for me to be motivated by other people excited about fitness, too. But, once the alarm sounds, the initial thoughts are, “why am I waking up so early?” Do I even have the strength to pull myself out of bed this early, while it’s still dark, while I’m still half asleep.
Lo and behold, I pulled myself up, took one step, and got up.
Sometimes, when we’re encountering problems in our lives, the first thing we need to do is take a step. Even though it may be difficult or may seem impossible to find the strength, we can do all things through Him. Even simply waking up to work out, we’re always tested beyond our capacities every day, but it’s that first step that’s important.
Are you going to take a step forward or a step back?
Live life to the fullest and take that step. “Do it now” is a saying I live by. Why wait? Don’t hit that snooze button.
When can you finally realize your actions are borderline foolish, all the while thinking they’ve been admirable?
That’s a tough question to answer. When you think your actions are admirable, different perspectives from loved ones may rescale and redefine what you think is admirable. In other words, it may seem admirable to sacrifice your time and energy, but in their eyes, it may be foolish to the point of wasting time.
And foolish acts are very tough to overcome, especially if you’ve been doing your “admirable” things for so long. I know I’ve written about using friends and family as backboards with your problems; bounce things off of them for proper/healthy direction. It’s the same with this instance.
It either takes a dramatic fight with an ex or time after time of trying to win them back, to realize the distinction between foolishness and admirability. We all tend to think and want our actions to be admirable. But to another person, this may seem desperate and pointless because the damage has already been made.
Whatever the case may be, you always need to follow your heart. If it feels right to act foolish, then who’s to say it’s wrong. And in the end, it’ll simply come down to, “did I put in the effort?” “Did I do all that I could to make things better?” If you can say yes to both of these questions, then your actions were truly admirable.
Hold your loved one dear. Don’t make wrongful decisions that you’ll regret. Because once you begin regretting, you may try to swim against the current. And find yourself at the crossroads of foolishness and admirability.
There are ups and downs, twists and turns, helixes to spin you around, then spit you out, and so on. Have you ever felt you’re just along for the ride, getting aimlessly and effortlessly tossed around, as though you were a rag doll?
As you’re climbing and climbing up the hill, one chain click at a time. Click, click, click, click, clack, click, clack, click, click. All the while, time is slowly going by, going higher and higher, farther and farther, after every inevitable click. Once you finally get the courage to look at your surroundings, you realize, “wow, what am I doing?” “Look where I’ve come.” “Look how high I am.”
This isn’t about whether we are in control, but more so a life examination. Sometimes, it’s hard for us to look out and take a measurement of where we’re at in life. Either we’re scared of our past, don’t like where our lives are going, or we’re completely unsure of where we want to be.
But guess what? You must find the courage to look because life is always moving. Click, click, click, clack, click. You’ll never get these moments back again. Once the train reaches the apex of the hill, you soon realize, there’s no way, but down. If you’ve questioned your life because you have no idea where you’re going or what you want to do, be patient and most importantly, pursue what you love!
Just remember, it takes a long time to travel up the hill. Whether it’s through acquiring your education, knowledge, fitness achievements, weight loss goals, and so on, you must relax, put your trust in God, and enjoy the view. On the way up your roller coaster of life, take these precious moments to reexamine where you’ve come because…
Backstory: About two weeks ago, I accepted a summer internship in Chicago. I’ll be working with the physically disabled, mainly with wheelchair sports and fitness. Well, the problem is, I have no experience whatsoever working with this population. And I made this fact clear in my interview.
The recent profound moment wasn’t about if I could handle novel tasks, like the aforementioned, but of the personal relationships I’ll be having with these people and my co-workers. Specifically, another intern who’s actually coming from California for the internship. Well, I’m in need of residence for a few months in downtown Chicago and the intern from California possibly needed a roommate. Expecting to meet up with her in Chicago just recently, her flight plans fell through so scouting out places together was out of the question.
Emailing and texting each other on the status of apartments and such, I never thought about doing the typical “Facebook creeping” or “Google search.” I know a lot of people do this all the time, but I simply don’t. Something was telling me I needed to do it.
So I did.
I couldn’t believe the response I got. Videos, stories, sports records, and so on. I couldn’t believe it. Do I have the right person? Did I spell her name correctly? This must be a mistake.
Someone I’ve been conversing with is famous! After watching a video of her, she’s already number one in my books for inspiration and living life to the fullest. She’s essentially the personified motivation and encouragement of what I’ve been striving for on this blog.
Here’s her story: First, she’s an amazing athlete. She excelled at gymnastics and pull-vaulting in high school. Setting records in each, she was beyond athletic and all around talented. Sadly, she experienced a tragic snowboarding accident which left her paralyzed from the waist down. From spending countless hours in physical and occupational therapy, she couldn’t, and most importantly, didn’t let this tragedy overcome her. She didn’t use this as an excuse.She didn’t see this as a weakness. Instead, she found unyielding strength and courage to be the amazing athlete and person she was born to be. Whether it’s from water skiing or wheelchair basketball, nothing has stopped her!
After watching the video, I simply broke down. I prayed. I asked God if this is what I should be doing. Am I armed with the knowledge and wisdom to be effective? Sacrificing finances, is this the right move? So many other questions came to mind. And remember, I haven’t met her yet and I’m already writing a post about her unbelievable determination and vigor.
I’ll have the privilege of working with incredible people like her for the summer. I feel like her story is only the beginning….
Can you imagine such an incident happening to you? Would you be able to overcome the sense of “why did this happen to me?”
Lose yourself through dancing. Go wild. Why not? It burns calories. It’s fun. You’re letting loose. Could you imagine if dancing was sociably acceptable, not just in clubs and bars, but all public places?
I’m going to tackle this topic in a fun and unique perspective. Have you ever felt that ecstatic feeling overcome you to let go and dance? Who says we need to hold back in life? Who says we need to be running on “unleaded” when we should have “rocket fuel” running through our veins? Life is too short to sit by not to live an exciting life.
Move. Run. Lift. Be ecstatic. Be happy. What else do you have to lose? If you’re a ‘shower singer’ continue blasting your voice until it shatters the steamy mirror. If you’re a person who puts their hands up to praise God in church, keep ‘em up. If you’re having a blast sweating like a dog in a fitness class, continue moving. Don’t be ashamed to show how you truly feel through your body’s movement.
Get your body going. Burn those stubborn love handles away. This post is metaphorically meaningful. All my posts for that matter aren’t superficial, but a challenge to question your attitudes and mindset. Think outside the box. Question what I have to say. A relationship with God doesn’t have to be boring. Why worry about what others think of you. Let go and just have fun!
So, what’s your answer from yesterday’s post? How do we expect to change when we don’t put in the time and effort?
Well, I’ll give you a few pointers, of which I’m also working on and always striving to achieve.
You must be anchored! Just like in the previous post, if you aren’t securely planted in your Godly ways, your past habits and distractions around you will engulf you without any hesitation. One way to stay anchored is to have the Word of God in your mind, always.
Second, worship in the presence of a pure heart. Meaning, when you go to church and worship Him, do it with a clear conscious, not worrying about work, or kids, or your significant other. Be in the light of Jesus and only Him. Worship is a connection with Jesus and there must not be anything between you and Him.
Third, you must surround yourself with other believers. This support system is critical to your growth in Christ. They will accept you for who you are. You don’t have to worry about ‘putting on a face’ or acting just to fit in. They will pick you up in His name when you are down. They will pray for you. They are your brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.
Just recently, I took part in a Friday night Bible study. If you told me I’d be at a Friday night Bible study three years ago, rather than partying, I’d think you were crazy. But that’s how God works. He’s amazing. And to think of it, I really haven’t had a group of Christian friends I could turn to. I’ve always had secular friends.
And when I was there, in the presence of my brothers and sisters in the Lord, a light bulb came on, “where have I been for so long, not to seek out this support group myself?”
If you can do the three things mentioned above, your faith WILL develop. It takes time of course. It takes dedication. It takes sacrifice. It takes giving yourself up. But next time someone asks you, what’s the most important thing in your life, you can truly say, my relationship with Jesus Christ!
So what’s the answer to yesterday’s post? What is more important to you than Jesus?
We’re all so consumed by an ever-fast, non-stop society and world, it’s easy for us to get caught up. We can easily get swept away if our feet aren’t anchored securely. Do not neglect or ignore your salvation. Remember, God doesn’t want you to “barely” make it to Heaven.
It’s hard for people to stay consistent with their Faith, including myself on some days because we’re ‘slow to learn.’
Meaning, the average time spent in the Bible is equivalent to our mood, feelings, and emotional sacrifices to the Lord.
Think how long you spend your time doing everything else: reading other books (not going to mention the new craze, The Hunger Games), other books/novels, watching TV, being on Facebook, Twitter, or reading other blogs.
How do we expect to change and grow in Jesus if we aren’t spending the time with Him and in His word?
Please comment and check in tomorrow for the last part.
Just ponder about this question for a minute or two, please.
What came to mind? Family? Friends? TV? Your enormous movie collection? Your dog/cat? What truly was your initial thought?
Today’s daily embrace is about what you value the most in your life. What holds the most significance in your heart?
Whether it may be a past love, broken relationship, passed family members, and so on; all of these circumstances should be very dear to us, but it shouldn’t be the most important thing.
Each and every day, we’re tempted. We’re tempted by our past habits, tempted by the Internet, tempted to pick up the television remote, tempted to simply procrastinate our lives away. As a result of these temptations, and giving into these temptations, we begin to paint a picture of what’s important.
Our life’s canvass begins to be painted right in front of us, whether we’re conscious of it or not.
Think about this, what’s more important to you than Jesus?
When we suffer, our close ones suffer. Whether it’s brother, sister, mother, father, friend, cousin, etc, our suffering goes beyond ourselves and affects the people around you.
Our relationships may go deeper than what you expect. When there’s something wrong, people pick you up. Family helps family. Friends help friends. Our social network is much stronger than a tweet or message.
Lives become intertwined.
Shared thoughts, experiences, loves, and hates are many things people around you get to know about yourself. We’ve been put on this Earth to give back to them. Our second heart beat is our family and friends. When we suffer, they do. Even if we don’t see it, there are other people in thought and anguish when one is suffering. And it’s our opportunity to get our thoughts and feelings out there.
Rather than holding things in, even from your family, who knows you the best, is counterproductive. We need our family to share our feelings and ideas in the tough times. Shying away from your family is the last thing you want to do. Don’t lose contact. Don’t keep them in the dark. Remember, with God’s grace and His choice to bring you into this world through your parents! Give them all the honor and glory, even if you may be polarized from their views and thoughts. They’ve lived longer than you, so why not take advantage of their wisdom and knowledge?
Once again, go to them, call them, talk with them about your issues and problems. Ask them for help. Realize you’ve been wrong in trying to do everything on your own and being isolated from the one’s who truly love you. If you don’t have family to turn to, talk to friends, and most importantly, give praise to God the Father, who already knows your problems and will help if you put Him first in your life. You must be willing to give in to your stubbornness…
Have you ever been inconsistent? Have you ever experienced “falling off the wagon,” so to speak? Yes, of course, we all have one way or another.
Whether it’s sticking to your fitness and nutrition goals, relational, studying, or spiritually, our lives are always filled with these moments of regression. Even though we may lose sight temporarily, the simple solution is to realize what you’ve done, refocus your energy, and get back up. Sometimes, if we don’t catch it in time, it ends up turning into a vicious cycle of doing well, then bad, doing well, then bad. This behavior isn’t good.
We must realize our mistakes, learn from them, and move on. Yes, we make mistakes all the time. You may be judged by others based on your mistake. You may feel low. You may feel dejected. You may feel regret. But the important thing is how you bounce back from these mistakes. Rather than regressing often or even in a predictable manner,, and defeat it!
How are we ever going to grow as a person if we’re continually making the same mistake over and over? How will we ever grow spiritually if we’re always behaving in the same sinful manner? We may be devoted to our schooling, careers, or hobbies. But is this a healthy devotion? Are you truly devoting your time to God and not making the same mistake over and over? We aren’t completely devoted to Him until we eliminate distractions in our lives to put Him first.
Just remember, it’s a choice. He doesn’t make us love Him. He doesn’t make us worship Him. It’s our own choice. Are you willing to live for Him or for earthly things?
You cannot move on or grow if you aren’t brutally honest. You must admit to your mistakes. You must be willing to lose to gain. If you’re not honest with yourself and those around you, then you won’t be able to grow.
The hidden feelings will only dwell and build up on the inside. This is the only way you’ll truly gain forgiveness from God or others. Even though you may feel completely vulnerable for your regretful actions or feelings, this must be done in order to give yourself wholly to someone.
It’s sacrifice.
It’s about acceptance of past mistakes and characteristics that may not be perfect. You cannot sacrifice if you aren’t completely honest to reveal your mistakes and issues. If you’re not willing to give your all, then you won’t be able to change for the better. If you’re not willing to accept your past mistakes and to be honest with yourself, then you’ll travel through life being stubbornly selfish, unable to open up and truly feel at ease with yourself.
We all have a lot to learn, even from ourselves. We must learn from our mistakes, but we must admit to them first. And I’m not saying I haven’t done this because this is part of my growing process as well. This is something I’m always working on and I hope you can too.
I recently messed up an online order, whether it’s because of the auto-correct or not and forgetting to double check the information, I’ve experienced the stressful calls to correct the mistake.
From one packaging source to the next, call representatives are sending me different ways, to where the answer is according to them. But to find out, some sources weren’t the answer. Other sources said to do this and the problem will be solved.
Getting directed and redirected several times, looking for answers has been very frustrating. It shouldn’t have even been a problem if I wasn’t careful and thorough. This instance is very practical to everything else in life.
If you don’t have an eye opening experience of how you’re living your life, then you have no barometer of what to change or modify. It’s tough because for some, it may seem impossible to fix.
Once you’ve found the mistake or issue, you must take the road untraveled, and do everything necessary to fix the problem.
God will help you through this journey. Ask Him for patience and determination to make this personal change. Without Him, all the brunt of the stress and anxiety may be overwhelming and swallow you whole. Keep your Faith strong so your package can be delivered without any complications.
Before I get into the daily embrace, I apologize if some of the posts are similar. I’m going to talk about reciprocity today. This means an exchange, cooperation, or mutual effort.
Just as I’ve mentioned before, we’re torn between doing things for ourselves and doing things for others. In effect, when we do things for other people, we expect something in return. “I did this for you, so I should expect something in return.” Have you ever felt like you haven’t been recognized for doing something nice?
Whether it’s for a loved one or not, have you ever felt you’re the only caring one in the relationship? Well, I’ve experienced both sides. First, with my egotistic behavior and background, I let my interests and needs come before family and friends. There wasn’t any reciprocity. There wasn’t mutual effort taking place on my side. I wasn’t putting in the time and effort necessary for healthy relationships. For it to work, both parties must be willing to put the time and effort in.
But now, the shoe is on the opposite foot. I now understand and empathize with the people that were trying so hard with me before. Receiving nothing in return isn’t a bad thing. Rewards are nice, but aren’t necessary. Experiencing no reciprocity has really made me grow as an individual and as a Christian. Even if you may be the only one putting in effort and trying to make things right, we must not give up or give in simply because we aren’t getting anything in return.
Find courage. Find strength.
Be the one that’s willing to accept whatever fate there may be, even if it’s putting yourself in a position of opening yourself up to which you’ve never before. Rise above ones that may say it’s impossible. Rise above yourself for a change and realize it’s much bigger than you. Rise above everything else, just as Jesus did when He died on the cross for us. Remember His pain, remember His suffering.
We’ve lost sight of being kind. There are only a few people in my life that simply do things out of shear kindness. There’s no “what’s in it for me” attitude. It’s hard to not do something for someone and expect or want anything from them.
We’ve been trained as humans to expect something in return for our work or services. Consequentially, our random acts of kindness go unnoticed or unappreciated. And kindness doesn’t take much work either. Holding a door open or picking up something that was dropped, these passerby situations are little tests of character.
Are you bigger than yourself to stop a moment, forget about your problems and issues to serve others? We were put on this Earth to serve others. If you seem like your kindness and appreciation of others is going unnoticed, think again, because the only one who ALWAYS sees, will reward you! “Keep the good fight of faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your confession in the presence of witnesses.”-1 Timothy 6:12
Have you ever thought about how easy or hard previous generations had it? With the ever fast technology of today, I honestly think Generation Y has had the roughest time.
Being introduced to computers and other like technologies or even born with the concept of the ipod, there’s simply more distractions now than ever. We’re bombarded each and every day by creative, brain-washing marketing. The marketplace is battling each and every day for new customers, willing to do anything to gain one.
And we’re the consumers. We’re a roaming herd, searching for items to buy. We’re here for the picking.
But these cannot be any excuses to serve God. When we want to be fully committed to Him, we must eliminate these distractions from our lives so we can be separated and prepared for Him. All of our interests and hobbies must come second to His work. It could be as simple as listening to other genres of music or beginning new habits, such as waking up to read a daily devotional. Rather than aimlessly watching tv, read a few chapters of the Bible.
I know it’s so hard to eliminate things you’ve been doing for so long and attached to, but try as hard as you can! The more and more you disassociate yourself with these things, the more you realize you don’t really need these outlets. You don’t really need much at all. Happiness and satisfaction will come. Have patience. We just have to ask ourselves, are we prepared to live for Him and in doing so, can we separate ourselves from things or people in our lives that’s been keeping us from His ministrations in us?
Loud voices are very audible. Especially for some of you who’ve been to a concert, it doesn’t take much to realize we’re sensitive to loud noises and voices. But it takes a lot to hear, or even listen to a whisper.
There’s a difference between hearing and listening. Hearing is just recognizing the audible sound, whereas listening is to actually interpret and understand the words. We exist to listen to His words. We exist to listen to His whisper.
The devil always speaks loudly, in your guilty pleasures and joys, making reasons and understandings for these actions. The Lord doesn’t match this for a reason. He doesn’t overcome these loud voices. He doesn’t have to match the volume. His truth speaks louder than the devils words.
On this special day of Easter, He overcomes, and His resurrection gives us the opportunity to live and be saved from the mistakes and mishaps we’ve all experienced. Don’t listen to the loud voices that tempt us each and every day. Instead, keep your ear open to the whispers of His plans for you.
You are all special. Each and every one of you were meant for something great. Have a wonderful and blessed Easter!
Dejection. What is it? It is depression. Grief. Sadness. Sorrow. When we try to find the source of depression, we realize it’s all about lust. You have either satisfied a lust or haven’t. Lust essentially means you must have it at once and you’re willing to do what it takes to get it.
When we’re talking about spiritual lust, we turn to God to answer our problems instantly. We’re now demanding things from our Provider. As a result, we begin to get dejected and depressed. This is wrong in His eyes. It took me a while to grasp this concept and this daily devotional passage.
And maybe I’m wrong.
But we must not find an issue in our lives, almost unconquerable or life-changing events to turn to Him. He lives in everyday things, people, and family. We must be faithful and happy each day He’s gifted us on this Earth. It’s so hard to dwell on the past, for all the mistakes and regrets, but we must always turn to Him. No loneliness, no emptiness. If you put all your effort into having a relationship with God, He will provide for you whatever is missing in your life.
We must take that leap of faith and trust in Him. I promise you won’t regret it!
“There is a prospect of a thrilling time ahead for you.”
This isn’t a scripture or saying from a respected president or philosopher, but more of fortune cookie ingenuity. Why have I kept this slip for quite a while now? Why have I kept it on my desk, where I spend the majority of my time? Do I keep it in front of me as a reminder of something bigger? Of course, that’s why I did it. But why a fortune cookie?
To put simply, I was looking and searching in the wrong places for answers. Just how I’ve mentioned in previous posts, we tend to find ourselves lost among the distractions and emptiness of material goods, including “wise” sayings of politicians, philosophers, teachers, coaches, and other respected persons. Fortunes predicted by chinese food establishments are false hopes.
As wise and philosophical they may seem, our lives shouldn’t be constructed around such things. Instead, put your faith in something more resolute, the Bible and the true proclamations of the future you will have in Him. I am now throwing away the fortune. No longer, no more, am I living a life for anything but Him. There’s life, there’s a future. There’s a thrilling time ahead for all of us. Not because some Chinese fortunes say so, but because of the lives WE may live through His sacrifice!
Today, I caught myself aimlessly traveling from one store to the next, looking, searching amongst various products of the stores, not looking for anything in particular. Store after store, walking between hundreds of isles, there wasn’t anything specific I needed. Instead, I found things I’d like to have. But torn all the while, putting things back, picking them back up again, then finally leaving them behind, I juggled items the entire day. With an initial goal in mind, I found myself getting side tracked, seeking out my own interests and “so called” needs.
It’s interesting because it took me a while to think about something to write about today and this was a perfect metaphor. All our lives, we look here and there for answers. We expect things to go our way because we’ve put in the time and effort. But all the while, we’re aimlessly traveling around with no purpose, with no goal in mind, besides pleasing ourselves. And life isn’t about that at all. We’re not here to please ourselves. We weren’t created in His eyes to go to bed every night, “well, what did I do for myself today?” “Did I do all I can to please myself today?”
Everything isn’t about us, but for Him who died for us. We’ve been sold to think of ourselves first. But, this concept is the farthest from what really matters. Ditch selfishness and adopt selflessness. The more and more we forget about our own interests and wants, the better off we will be!
I just want you to know, my goal isn’t trying to change you, whether it’s from your faith to your health. Both things have also been a learning process for me as well. Each and every day, it’s something new. Something I’ve learned about a Biblical story which I was either oblivious of before or just didn’t know.
And the same for different kind of workouts and exercises, I just want to reiterate I’m not proclaiming myself above you. This journey has been fantastic for me. The more and more I devote myself and time to Christ, the more my life becomes more clear. Before, it was all about me, me, me. Everything was driven by, “what’s in it for me?”
Sometimes I catch myself falling back into my old ways, but a little voice says, the pleasures you got before were only temporary and you regretted doing it, so why even start? Also, these have been my experiences. I’m not trying to preach because I know it can get very frustrating to hear or read, “do this, do that” and everything will be perfect. That’s not my goal.
My goal is to share my experiences and hopefully people will feel the same fullness and learn from the mistakes I’ve made.
Going to get right into it. Bounce your ideas off of people! Decisions and ideas that have been swirling around in your head will sound the same. Ask your family or friends what they think. This way, you’ll get another perspective on things, rather than doing something off the cusp. They’re there for you.
Find time in the day to simply give them a call, even if it’s for a few minutes. We’ve taken relationships for granted. With all the technology out there, sending a text is so easy to do. So use this to your advantage. Use these people as backboards. They’re there to support your shot, so it can go through the basket. Yes, that was a lame metaphor, but it’s true. Same thing goes with praying. For so long, my dad always told me to pray about it, pray about it, pray about it. Doesn’t matter what it was, pray about it! And he’s right. God is the ultimate backboard. Serve Him. Make time for Him. I’ll be honest, trying to find time has been tough. But some things that I did before, like watch movies before bed, I now read the Bible or like books. Remember, the excuse “I didn’t have time” isn’t going to fly when your standing in front of Him being judged. Seek out His advice and also other peoples. We can’t survive on our own!
Facing our fears is a challenge for all of us. And they’re very tricky if you don’t know how to handle them. They may come as a surprise or they may be known and continue to loom, waiting, expecting you to fight back. This is exactly what we need to do, fight back.
If it’s a school presentation or exam coming up, the anxiety that builds up because we need to do well, is self created. Remember, our fears, our anxieties are all created within us. Our mind is so powerful that it implodes on itself, resulting in fears, anxieties, nervousness, etc. The longer and longer we put these off, the more it builds and builds, creating a “mountain out of a molehill” for you of older generations. So how do we handle such issues? How do we handle nervousness or fear?
When the first sign of fear or nervousness rears it’s ugly head, you must confront it as soon as possible! Because once again, if you don’t, it’ll continue to feed off of your endless, doubting conscious. What if this happens? What if that happens? What should I say? Will people make fun of me? Should I say this now or later? All of these endless questions that go through your head is part of the process. Once you begin to question yourself, you have to act now! Don’t let these doubting questions overcome your initial thoughts and beliefs. It’s so often we find ourselves doubting and regretting doing or saying things, simply because our mind was running wild, with “what if’s” and “should I’s.”
Have confidence, and remember, don’t worry about what other people think, because there’s only one that’s judging you, Him. And do you think he cares if you messed up? No, keep your faith strong and He will relieve you of your fears!
Just as I suggested yesterday, try to take a step back from things. Taking a step back from your career, school, hobbies, etc will give you a good grasp if anything is controlling your life.
If you find something that’s consuming your time more than anything else, you’ll have to reevaluate what’s really important in your life. Just as I mentioned to my friend yesterday, don’t be consumed by something that’s new and exciting. It’s a slippery slope. We’re humans. We try to do things well. What’s the point of doing something if we don’t buy the most, train the hardest, or prepare the longest? So why not dive into things head first, all gung ho?
This is where we need to pump the breaks. As much as we want to dive into things, we can’t. We cannot expect ourselves to continue whatever it may be for a long period of time. We will simply get burned out. Taking a step back will also help to understand these items, hobbies, or habits aren’t permanent. These aren’t vital to our character. These aren’t vital to our personality.
The most valuable things in our lives should be things not seen. Our relationship with the Lord, our personality/character, and our relationship with our family and loved ones. Granted, we do see evidence of each, but we must not be controlled by things of this world. So too often, we absentmindedly buy things, simply to fill a void or get satisfaction. Tell me, how long are you satisfied?
Are those new pair of jeans making you more desirable in God’s eyes? Remember, I’m not perfect. I’m experiencing all of this as yourself. Being a newly devoted follower of Christ, I’ve encountered challenges and problems associated with myself. Some things that’s been apart of me and my life for so long have actually been distractions from Him. So do me one favor, take a step back from your daily ritual and ask yourself, are you doing things in the best interest of yourself or the best interest of God?
Have you ever noticed when you’re with a group of friends at a social gathering, whether it’s at a bar or sporting event, how often people conversate with their phones? So what’s the point of even traveling to these social gathering places if you’re not going to conversate with each other in person?
Yes, all you skeptics may say, well, I’m doing both, talking to the friends here and talking to friends elsewhere. But why not give your full attention and not worry about sending a text, “omg, fyi, this is so boring, I should have never came.” Do something about it! Give your all to your friends and family. That includes your attention.
Put the cell phone away and ignore it, why not even turn it off. People will survive a few hours without your funny complaining text messages. My point is we need to realize the technology we’ve become obsessed with is ruining our relationships. Everything is so superficial now.
Take Facebook. People on Facebook are only living their lives through their best lens. They aren’t going to post bad pictures of themselves or anything to deter other peoples’ perspectives. We’ve become so obsessed with other peoples’ lives and celebrity status. Why not physically embrace and actually put the effort into sustaining relationships?! The same goes for our relationship with God. We’re not fooling Him when we aren’t putting in the effort, even though we want so much out of the relationship.
We try to deny mistakes and inadequacies in our lives. Consequently, we begin to live through an ideal, yet unrealistic Facebook lens, that we try to deny or neglect all the bad things that happens in our life. We simply cannot do this in our relationship with the Lord. But the good thing is, He can carry the burden of all of our troubles and issues. But first, we must accept Him into our lives, truly give time to Him and put Him ahead of everything else.
Have you ever made a mistake/s in your life? We all have. But have you made a mistake so big that you try to deny it’s existence and you try to move on by cutting yourself off from anything associated with that incident?
Well, I have. It’s not good.
Even though we all want to forget about all the mistakes we’ve made, it’s not realistic about how you should handle such a situation. We must embrace all the consequences, as hard as it may be. Whether or not we know it, the distance we put between the incident or the people associated, the more we’re hurting ourselves and also the people involved. But what’s there to worry about? Are you afraid of embarrassment, disappointment, deceit, lying, etc?
Whatever the reason may be for avoidance, there’s going to be a day of reconciliation, that you’ll eventually have to face this issue. The more we can face our problems and issues, the faster forgiveness may come. Nothing is unforgivable, whatever the circumstance may be. God is waiting for you, if you haven’t sought Him out yet. He died on the cross for us, so we can be forgiven. There’s no such thing as unforgiveness in His eyes. I ask Him forgiveness for my past actions all the time. I’ve come to accept my mistakes I’ve made in the past. Reminisce with friends and family of previous behavior, don’t dwell, and to ask forgiveness from the Lord is the only thing you can do, He will take care of the rest.
What’s the longest you’ve ever been on the road, alone? The longer the trip, the more your thoughts invade your attention. Whether these are good or bad thoughts, we get stuck and consumed by our inner self.
Intricate, unanswerable questions plague our intimate conversations. What if? Should I? Shouldn’t I? What happens if I do this or that? These questions are strange, remote to our answerability. Our expectations of the unknown are usually ideal. But it’s the uncertainty that invade our ideal perspectives. It’s hard because we always want the best or expect the best from circumstances.
We live in an ideal, high expectancy society in which such things like the “American Dream” is possible and expected for us to believe and think. So of course, when we travel along, destination and outcomes unknown, we still expect some decency and benefits to go our way. Traveling a long distance only to be let down, whether it’s to visit someone or shop to find nothing, we get to experience that emptiness of the disappointment.
Our lives are filled with these moments of let down. Whether it’s from traveling long distances or doing bad on a test or exam, our outcomes may not be what we expected or wanted. Instead of focusing on the outcomes, we need to reflect on the process and the journey of travel. We tend to forget the tedious and time consuming effort that goes into the exhaustive preparation.
Same goes with relationships and our relationship with God. We need to put so much more time into these relationships than we may get out of it. But, it’s necessary to give our time to Him, even if things aren’t going our way, we still must continue to serve Him. He will never disappoint YOU!
Uncle. I give up. I give in. I surrender. These terms are signs and concessions of defeat. Whether we’re hurt or mentally/physically spent, giving in and admitting defeat is very difficult. We’re human. We hate admitting our faults and wrongs.
During our upmost difficult times, we don’t know when to surrender until it’s too late. Or other times, we’re too stubborn to ask or seek help. It’s as if we always want to swim without getting wet. But instead, our bodies must be submerged to be able to swim.
A similar correlation between our relationship with God. We must surrender ourselves completely. We cannot simply dip our toes into the water, expecting our problems to be solved. A complete submersion is necessary for God to move in your life. Surrender yourself completely to Him, always!
It’s so hard to do all the things we have scheduled for the day. Have you ever done so much in one day that you think it’s already the next day?
It’s hard to get consumed by the things we NEED to do. It’s hard because there’s always this and that, people to see, things to do. We calculate and estimate our schedules weeks, even months in advance, to schedule weddings, weekend visits, and other such things. Do you schedule time for God? Do you leave room on your schedule to simply pray and ask Him for patience throughout your hectic schedules?
If you continue to tell yourself “I can’t” or “I’m too tired,” then you will be. But God says, “You can do all things” and “I will give you rest.” You simply have to leave room for Him. When life is hitting you like a freight train, these are the moments He’s expecting you to call to Him. As a result of your obedience, He will come into your life in His way, in the most unexpected, yet powerful circumstances and will change your life! All you have to do is make time from the time you think you don’t have.
We have the tendency to work through our problems, negative qualities, and weaknesses. Think about this for a second, have you ever found yourself in a situation where your conscious is thoroughly going down a mental checklist of bad vs. good and your resulting action is carried out because YOU think it’s acceptable?
In other words, we make excuses, take it a step farther and think the excuse itself is understandable. We become satisfied with not only the excuse, but also the action associated with the excuse. It’s as if we can live with our bad habits. It’s as if these bad habits aren’t detrimental. But in retrospect, they are defacing our character.
Trying to deceive ourselves. Not accepting reality. Discrediting conviction. We’re all guilty of this, aren’t we? “No, it cannot be. This couldn’t happen to me of all people.” As I said before, these psychological games we play with ourselves are a Catch-22 situation, an endless loop of problems turning into excuses, excuses turning into problems.
In relation to exercising and a healthy diet, straying away from such things like: waking up for an early morning run, eating a healthy, protein filled breakfast, or practicing healthy food selections when eating out, will be a domino effect. It’s so easy to hit the snooze button early in the morning. And what’s always going through our mind at the time the alarm goes off? “I’m so tired, I can just sleep instead of running or working out.” We’ve all been there.
We explain away our problems, so blamelessly and comfortably. And it’s not until we’ve put on weight or experience a health issue we become conscious these small actions and habits are detrimental to accomplishing our goals.
Could you imagine looking through a catalog of eye colors, hair color, body shape and type, muscle size, height, weight, and other character qualities, physical characteristics, or immunity to diseases, just as if you were shopping for an engagement ring, with all different styles and sizes?
My Sports Ethics course has really open my eyes to the notion of “designer children” and this idea’s infinite implications. The idea is essentially to choose what your child will look like, how much hypertrophy they may acquire, eye-hand coordination, good looking features, and so on. Now, understand, this topic was under and associated with performance enhancing drugs, for example, anabolic steroids and their use among athletes in sports.
In retrospect, designing our children would be a performance enhancement, beyond the luck of children being born by two athletic parents or physically blessed people. Do we or should we allow such a practice to even take place? Can we be ok with playing God, all for the advancement of superior physical/athletic abilities? If we love exercise, fitness, bodybuilding, do we want to give our children a “step above” everyone else to advantage them to be a fitness model/bodybuilder? Or is it ok to alter the genetic code for health purposes, to diminish or prevent cancer or other diseases?
Obedience, such a simple idea, right? Whether this means to be obedient to our parents, significant others, or to the Lord, we must listen.
The culture we live in today promotes a sense of independence, uniqueness, and selfishness, but we need to get away from this concept. We need to forget about ourselves sometimes. Just as the Bible describes, we must be obedient to His calling and His plan. We may not know much about what He has in store for us, but we must follow blindly.
More importantly, we must continue to serve Him and be courageous, even though we may not see light at the end of the tunnel. It’s hard, I know, to put trust in anything these days. We need to let go of our selfish fears and put our trust in the Lord. We must go through these rough times, issues, or distractions so He can truly save us when we think we cannot be saved.
There’s a purpose for all of us. We were put on this Earth for a reason and His reason only. We must stay consistent with our relationship with Him. Whether we understand our purpose or not, WE need to be obedient and put all of our trust in Him.
I had an interesting experience this morning. With my early alarm set, and the coffee timer set as well, I was ready to meet the world early.
God had other plans. Instead, I don’t even remember waking up to my early phone alarm, but only to wake an hour and a half later on my own. I feel and look to where my phone is usually kept, but it’s nowhere. I feel and search around my bed, underneath the pillows, underneath my blankets, but it’s nowhere. I quickly jump out of bed, turn on my light to search high and low for my phone, but it’s nowhere. Heart beating faster and faster, worry comes over me, did I throw it somewhere? Did I talk to someone half asleep on the phone? Was I angry because the alarm went off?
All of these doubt questions were quickly seen in my frantic hustle and bustle on the Internet; having Skype call my phone, didn’t have enough credits for that, IMing Facebook friends to call my number, no one was online or responding. More doubt came into my mind because my phone randomly turns off on it’s own. So has it turned off the only time I need to find it?
Taking a breathe was necessary. Taking a step back was necessary.
It was the typical question we always ask when we lose things, “if I were (blank), where would I be?” I don’t know why, but throughout all the scattered items on the floor, I got down on my knees and searched under my bed. There it was. Towards the foot of my bed. Now, you may feel like that was a dramatized, longed out story, it was, but it was metaphorically powerful in my life. After listening to a sermon by my church back home, some of the words the pastor spoke ran deep. During their fasting challenge for 21 days, anyone may fast from anything. And that made me think.
These things we “cherish” or “love” have no meaning compared to what we truly need in life. We’re just sold and told that we cannot live without these things. This was simply the case this morning, with my phone. I was scared because if I didn’t have my phone, I’d be lost to the rest of the world, without contact, without existence. But why did I worry? Why have I put all my trust in a device that stores all of my friends and family’s contact information? When people get severed from their bad habits or unhealthy choices, an emptiness falls upon them. A piece of them has been taken away. All the while, I felt empty because I had no contact with someone I always send a ‘good morning’ text to.
This empty feeling isn’t good. If we’re solely relying on man-made things for happiness, then we’ve got it wrong. Fullness can only be acquired through serving God and letting Jesus Christ come into your life. We will no longer feel empty. We will no longer be frantically searching around to find answers.
Life is all about juggling tasks, loves, finances, relationships, etc. It’s about balance. It’s tough to realize when a habit, hobby, or even a passion turns into an obsession. Not only is it tough to realize your own faults, but you also realize how your decisions have impacted people around you.
I can tell you, I’m very competitive. It’s my nature and make-up. Everything I do in life, I want to do well and if I don’t, it’s very tough to accept because I simply failed. If you don’t have a support system, loving friends and family, it may be very tough to realize that you’ve been falsely living your life for temporary successes. Sad to say, I didn’t realize my mistakes until after I lost. It wasn’t during, but rather after.
Live a life for Him, put Him first in your life and everything else will come. Try to eliminate distractions from your life that may deter His plan for YOU. You’ll quickly realize, the joy you’ve been getting from the temporary successes is only a fraction of joy you’ll experience, compared to living a life for Him, where you can begin to have ever-lasting successes.
I know this is probably a common topic for a post. But do you procrastinate? That’s a simple answer. It’s like asking, do you breathe, right?!
I know we’ve all done it from time to time. Procrastination seems to be an inevitable product of life. But why do we procrastinate, instead of being productive and getting things done?
For one, we think time is unlimited. We think there’s always time to do it. We think there’s always tomorrow, or next month, or next year, or the generic term “later.” Who says we’re guaranteed extra time? Who says we’re guaranteed to wake up each morning? We expect it because we’ve played the game of chance for so long. “Well, I’ve been waking up every morning ever since I’ve been alive,” so what’s to say it’ll happen tomorrow, or next month, or next year? In retrospect, we’ve been gambling with our lives. We’ve been betting the house each day, expecting a big payout the next. What if we lose? What then?
Procrastination doesn’t let us see beyond now. “Oh, I’ll just work out tomorrow.” “I’ll go to the grocery tomorrow and finally buy healthy food.” “Once I have enough money, I’ll get a gym membership.” “I cannot afford to live healthy right now.” So what’s ‘now’ to you? What’s more valuable now? Would you rather sacrifice your health now and have adverse consequences later in life simply because you procrastinated now?
Whatever you do, whatever you may feel in your heart, do it! Because God doesn’t guarantee or promise us tomorrow. Your belief of “more time” has nothing to do with the reality of perpetual time. Time is always moving. Time is always lost. So don’t take your time for granted. Get prepared for His return and take care of your bodies NOW!
Have you ever called a business and the first response is “your patience is appreciated?” It’s great to hear this, not the seven minute wait time, but in anything we do, patience should be valued and appreciated more. Most of the time, an apology or “I’m sorry” is the result of waiting, but should your patience receive more recognition?
It all depends on what you’re waiting for and how much work involved. If it simply is a phone call, just as I have (and still is experiencing), then don’t expect too much in return for your patience, even though your “hold is important to them.” But when we’re talking about other things, such as losing weight, gaining muscle, finding someone to have a relationship with, we all have to understand how patience is valued in different situations.
Life is a waiting game. Nothing is instant. Even though we’ve been taken over by instant gratifications of such things like Red Box where we don’t even have to visit a store to get a movie, but a box that spits out DVDs, even worse, you can access movies from an online account, not having to venture outside of your own home or the confines of your favorite chair, or fast food where the food is already prepared and only takes a few minutes to reach your hands or even mouth.
We’ve been spoiled. Patience is no longer necessary and its highly undervalued. And it’s only going to get worse. Instant news updates, instant Twitter and Facebook updates, instant text messaging and calling, we’ve eliminated patience from our own social communication hierarchy. This is one reason I think divorce is so high in our country right now. People are always searching for better, for more. Isn’t that what we do when we browse the Internet, even for pictures to post on our blogs? We’re always looking for that perfect picture, “nope, that one’s not right, nope, that one isn’t bright enough, nope, that one look awkward.”
One of my favorite scriptures is from Isaiah 40: 31, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” We must practice patience. We must learn there’s true value in waiting. Even though it’s so hard to understand and comprehend when nothing is happening, things are always moving in the right direction, even if it’s through other people, which you cannot see. When it comes to weight loss, have patience, embrace all the work you’ve been putting in and realize it’ll all be worth the emotional ups and downs associated with a body transformation.
Be patient. Be diligent. Never lose sight of your goal, even if you are waiting.
Have you ever felt like you were going nowhere? Whether you felt like there are no opportunities for advancement in your job or you’re just stuck in a ‘boredom rut?’
It’s definitely problematic in all of our lives, to get stuck in this crevasse where you can’t wiggle your way out. You’re trapped. Your lost. It’s like we’ve stepped into a snare or trap and cannot get out. Even though life has the tendancy to be difficult and throwing us off the path, we must follow our hearts, have faith in God to lead us in the correct direction. It’s not easy, I know.
After graduating college, I was stuck in a rut. As many of you may know, once you’ve accomplished one big step in your life, there’s a short waiting period until you move onto the next step. And you have to apply to hundreds of jobs in the process. All the while, not having anything to fall back on, besides your accomplishment of graduating, you don’t have any job stability.
But with patience and perseverance, I didn’t obtain one, but two jobs! One was in a career field I was very familiar with and the other I wasn’t. And the second was fitness.
Most of the time, our plans never go the way we want. New opportunities create brand new perspectives on future career options. But, it’s inevitable we’re all going to deviate from our initial plans. It’s a fact of life. Whether we may see one of these snares in front of our path, we may step into it without even knowing. We must try to continue on.
Maybe something has been placed in front of you to take advantage of. Maybe you’ve stepped into one of these snares along your path and you don’t know what to do. It doesn’t matter who you are, you must find something to make you go on. What motivates you? What/who encourages you? The great thing about being a believer is that Faith doesn’t mean we know where we’re going or being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. He will provide a path, even if that means deviating from you own.
Don’t you love off days? Off days as in taking a break from exercise. Whatever program you may be following, it’s critical to have an off day each week. And I know it’s hard because we may feel guilty sitting around, not exercising. Try to resist as much as you can because of the following:
1) Phyisically speaking, rest is necessary so the muscles can repair, rebuild, and strengthen. Get away from the idea that muscle is built in the gym. Yes, being in the gym does help with hypertrophy, but the growing and increasing strength doesn’t happen in the confines of a fitness center. The critical R and R helps the body to replenish energy stores and repair damaged tissues. When you exercise or lift weights, there’s a constant breakdown of muscle tissue and glycogen, as well as water loss.
If you don’t have a rest day, please take a break! This will prevent overtraining, even though you may feel completely fine.
2) Psychologically speaking, rest days can help maintain a better balance between home, work, and your fitness goals. I’ve been guilty of my fitness goals taking over everything else. Rest days will give you the opportunity to reevaluate priorities in your life and spend proper time with God, family, and friends. It’s so easy to get addicted to exercise, from the endorphins, reducing stress, seeing results, and so on, but you must always have a healthy balance.
2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” The focus of this scripture isn’t physical exercise, but instead, Paul uses athletic terms to teach us spiritual truths, to show Paul viewed physical exercise and competition in a positive light. According to the Bible, our spiritual health is more important than our physical health, we aren’t to neglect either aspect of our health.
The past few days, I’ve been a little down, whether it’s from trying to get back into the swing of things or an illness coming on. But have you ever had those days you literally just want to do nothing?
No motivation. Nothing seems to make you feel better. Yes, we’ve all had those days, and maybe today you may be in the same boat. Maybe you’ve been dealing with a physical injury, depression, or relationship problems. I know life can be hard. There’s an infinite amount of problems. Does that give us the green light to give up? No! I understand there are some debilitating and serious issues that may prevent some from doing things, but it’s our life. How much we put into it is what we’re going to get out of it. This goes the same with our relationship with God. Do we spend more time doing other things in our life that distracts us from His presence? And in the face of adversity, these moments of illness should be when you turn to Him the most. “He can turn your fear into comfort.”
This morning, I chose to take advantage of the weather and go for a run, tackle this issue head on, see if it’ll help. Yes, it was tough and burning, but at least I attempted. Sometimes, it only takes an attempt to change your mindset and mood. Never give up. Test your durability. Are you going to pass or fail?
Do you ever get into a music “funk” when nothing really sounds good? Either you’re listening to the same radio station that you know all the songs or your ipod is just getting outdated.
Today, I encountered such an issue on the way back to school. My radio station preferences are usually Klove (http://www.klove.com/), WBCL (www.wbcl.org/), The Blast (www.theblast.fm/), RadioU (tvulive.com/radiou/) or any other Christian radio station. At one point, I was switching back and forth from one station to the next or just losing reception; I couldn’t stay on just one station.
Once I exhausted the radio stations, I brought out some old cd’s. Yes, those round things we use to call compact discs. I have tons of them in my car. I was quickly reminded of how my life was tainted with such aweful music in my past. Rap songs are by far so degrading with simply awful, random lyrics. (Lil Jon is the worst)
That brings me to the title of the post. I use to listen to hardcore rock music when I worked out. You know, the scremo type you can barely understand what they’re saying. But now, I am finding motivation in better, more meaningful Christian rock music like: Jeremy Camp, Skillet, Thousand Foot Krutch, Blindside, Kutless, Red, Ashes Remain, 12 Stones, Fireflight, Manafest, TobyMac, and so on.
Music is such a powerful tool, whether it’s for preaching His word or to sing about dogs and drinking (e.g. country), music tells stories. God given talent helps these musicians paint unbelievable pictures that are so relieving or motivating to us, the listeners. You can either use this music to help encourage or to follow the degradation most music of this day and age portrays.
Today’s daily embrace, involves an eye opening experience at a thrift store today. Long story short, I was there to find a tea cup/plate set. All the while I was browsing through the isles, I couldn’t help, but imagine relying solely on this store for everything including: clothes, shoes, appliances, and so on. I’ve been on both sides of the wealth spectrum, with a very poor childhood, I relied on ‘hand-me-downs’ from my brother and cousins. My parents provided as much as they could to my brother and I. And while my dad was in and out of jobs, my mom’s salary wasn’t enough to be completely well off, but more so, just enough to get by. Do I regret anything from my childhood? No, never! My parents did a good job not letting their financial stresses affect us. We were in our own little ‘creative bubble’ where we provided our own fun. We didn’t need the superficialness of video games or other toys to have enjoyment. I remember taking trips to the thrift store as a child. Not thinking anything of it, I thought it was normal not to have something new. As the years went by, my parents began to settle into their careers, providing more and more, now able to live very comfortably. Having experienced the low of lows as a child and experiencing the comfort of a middle-class lifestyle, I am able to see and appreciate things more. Most people may not even fully comprehend and understand the hardships of people that rely solely on thrift stores. I hope we can all reflect on how good we have it in this country, even if it means buying household items from thrift stores. To have such resources available to the poor is an outstanding reflection on the power of giving. Serve others by giving and in doing so, may provide for many. Visit your nearest thrift store and see if you have a similar experience.
Life is a marathon. It’s of course not a sprint. Should we look at life as a marathon or sprint? A marathon by definition is a contest of endurance. An activity that requires prolonged effort or endurance. It’s an undertaking. It’s laborious. The definition is exactly what we think of when someone says marathon. But I’m not talking about running a marathon, but metaphorically describing how we live our lives. As some of you may know, when you’re training for any sort of long distance race, such as a marathon, or triathlon, you don’t jump into the race itself. Your training starts out slow with short distance running. I’m not a long distance runner or anything, and actually hate it, but it’s just like fitness training. There’s a systematic, tiered system in which one travels through to be the most advantageous. If the pre-training is too fast, muscle strain and fatigue may result in burnout. With that, motivation and self-doubt begins takes over, creating a “I have to” mentality, rather than a “I want to” mindset. It’s the same with how we live each day. Do we “have to” serve others every day because we’re contractually obligated or do we “want to” serve others because we sincerely care? Remember, life is a marathon. It takes work. It takes regular amount of patience, hard work, and dedication. But, as much as we know life is precious, we must not look at life as a sprint. Especially when you find yourself in a relationship with a new person or to rekindle an old relationship. Take your time. Embrace the timely manner in which you get to know someone. Cherish the experiences, the novelty of getting to know someone. Time is worthless if you don’t embrace it in the present. Treasure the slow, thorough process of getting to know someone. Our relationship with God isn’t quick. It isn’t a sprint. The marathon may be exhaustive, but the benefits will be infinite in His name.
Have you ever followed a recipe to the teaspoon, to find out only when it’s too late that you’ve made a mistake? Tonight, I found a healthy recipe for sweet potato waffles. Well, I was so excited to try this novel mixture of ingredients that I rushed the process and essentially resulted in small, “hamburger looking” messes of pancake. Yes, the waffle maker was a complete fail. My point is, I didn’t have discipline. Even though I’m not a stranger to the kitchen, being patient and having discipline is essential to cooking. This is especially true with a healthy diet. It is much easier to get a burger or pizza after a long work day, rather than cooking a meal lasting an hour or so after preparation. But is it worth the wait? Of course it is! You’ll be more proud of yourself after making and eating a healthy tuna sandwich and salad, rather than driving five minutes to pick up a burger and fries, only to feel guilty after. It’s essential to stay disciplined to your goals. If you are truly dedicated to your goals, you’ll take the time out of your day to prepare healthy food at home. And remember, the key is to set specific goals. Once you’ve set a specific goal, design a plan to stay consistent and true to accomplishing your goal. Nutrition and a healthy diet is the key to seeing results. What you eat is much more important than exercise. When talking percentages, nutrition (i.e. food and water intake) makes up about 80% of the results, and exercise is only about 20%. For example, I’ve worked with many people about losing weight and exercising. Especially ones that aren’t seeing results. Of course they’re working their tails off in the gym, but it’s much more than what you do in the gym. Remember, it’s about calories in vs. calories out. If you burn/move more than what you eat, you’ll lose weight. And if you eat more than what you move, you’re going to progressively gain weight. So as much as you may be doing in the gym, make healthier choices and decrease food intake throughout the day. Discipline yourself. “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.”-Proverbs 25:28
So, after quite a few posts about my Faith and living a life for God and Him alone, I shall begin to emerge our Faith and fitness; as to the name of this blog implies. Today, I’m going to write about the power of a plan. Earlier, I was in the process of writing an outline for a research paper. I’m getting ahead of things and doing all the necessary initial steps, before delving into writing the entire piece. Most of you already know, doing a substantial amount of research even before writing an outline is critical to forming the thesis and purpose of a paper. By following the proper steps early on, it’ll give you a roadmap and keep you consistent. Rather than straying off on tangents, the roadmap will help you stay consistent and true. It’s the same for your fitness and nutrition goals. The more specific you can be, the better. “I want to lose 20 lbs. by June.” That’s not enough. Be more specific. “I want to lose 20 lbs. by June because…” It’s critical to have a ‘because’ in your goal. The statement after the ‘because’ will be your ‘powerful why.’ A ‘powerful why’ will be the reason for waking up at 5am. It’ll be the reason to motivate you in the hardest of times. “I want to lose 20 lbs. by June because I want to fit into my tux or dress for a wedding. I want people to be in awe and thrilled at how I look.” So take your initial goals, and make them grow. Make them more and more specific. The more specific they become, the more accountability you put on yourself. “Oh, I’ll wake up early tomorrow to work out.” When 6am comes along, “I’m so tired right now, I can sleep another hour and a half; I’ll just work out after I get off of work.” Your specific goals will help you get past these excuses. Goals can be and are motivating and encouraging only if they’re specific. If you give your goals a makeover, your body will also get a make over.
Read or reread Part I first. Sharing our experiences and hardships doesn’t make us better than others. It’s not BOASTFUL. You are essentially just showing the hungry where to find the bread. Sharing doesn’t give us the right to stand above or on top of people. It’s not meant to belittle people. Or to say, “well I experienced this, I did this, I did that.” It’s not about outdoing or showing off our accomplishments in the face of sufferings. It’s giving other people HOPE. It’s about giving people a chance. While we’re sharing with others, it’s imperative to just share, not fix. We’re not MECHANICs. As much as we think we can fix people, we can’t. The only way is to admit we aren’t in control, share our experiences, and not trying to fix people. God is the only fixer. He’s the only one that can truly change people. Whether it’s our bad habits or what, the ultimate goal shouldn’t be to “fix” someone. One thing that can be done on top of the aforementioned things, is to listen. Accept them and their sins. There’s power in listening to others. No talking, no judging. Have you ever went to someone, tried to open your heart to them, and they seem to insert their opinions too soon? A quiet, listening ear may be unfamiliar to people. If they’re in a controlling relationship or family pressures, people may not have the freedom to talk freely. Don’t be afraid to offer someone a listening ear. Accept them for who they are. Don’t try to be a MECHANIC and solve all of their problems. Just be there for them. Serve others by simply listening.
First, we are not in control. We have to get over the fact we aren’t the CONDUCTOR. As much as we think we’re in control of our lives, we aren’t. God is the ultimate CONDUCTOR in our lives. Whether we may believe or not, there are things of higher power at work in our lives. Why do things happen, whether it’s good or bad? Does it seem like certain things have happened at the right time; jobs have lined up at the perfect moments? Things out of our control happen all the time. And for you naysayers, it’s not by shear chance something happens. But rather, through the grace of God. Well, what if I don’t believe? What if His word doesn’t have any meaning in my life? The Bible has the answers for you! Now, it’s up to you to figure out why things have happened in your life. Unbelievable and shocking moments will help you through this journey. Why or how did these doors open for me? Second, whether these circumstances were life-changing or not, use these experiences to SHARE with others. We all have very personal secrets, weaknesses, pains, and problems very few, or no one knows about. I know it can be hard, but try to open up and admit to character flaws. By opening yourself up, you can minister to others’ pains and problems. We can correlate and empathize with people going through similar circumstances. God uses our pains and hurts to help and minister to others. At least that’s His plan. Whether or not we choose to SHARE, that’s our decision. It’s easier to sulk and feel sorry for ourselves, rather than acknowledging our individual problems. Just remember, whatever you may be experiencing, it hasn’t been the first time. It’s not new. Someone has similarly gone through the same thing. Once you begin to open yourself up, you can give HOPE to others suffering similar hardships. Be willing not to be the CONDUCTOR and SHARE your weaknesses.
Being creative and thinking outside the box is something we have lost sight of. Today, anything and everything is available at the click of a button or flip of the switch. What has happened to our creativity?
Technology has made our lives so easy and has paved the way for a lazy lifestyle. But there are times when accommodation and modifying your lifestyle is beneficial. For example, being back home, I don’t have access to a fitness facility. Instead, I know it sounds weird, but I’m beginning to think outside of the box, exercising outdoors with logs, swing sets, chopping wood, jump roping, running with a full wheel barrel, and so on. Sometimes, I believe we need to adapt and accomodate with what we have. When we don’t have such luxuries, we give up. But why? Why not make do with what you have?
I’ve found myself always looking for more. In the past, I’ve never been able to quench my thirst, whether that was my fitness goals, health, or grades, I was never satisfied. It’s hard to know what you have until you no longer have it. If you’ve been blessed with certain qualities or abilities, use these to your best ability. Don’t try to be someone you aren’t. Settle for what you have. Submit yourself completely. Provide others with the characteristics God has blessed you with. Accomodate to the ones that need you. “Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper and be satisfied.”-Proverbs 13:4
When it comes to exercise and nutrition, there’s little room for compensation. When we find ourselves in a “devil on one side and an angel on another” situation, whether that’s from our sugar cravings or busy schedule, giving way to excuses, we begin to make amends with ourselves and justify our reasons not to stay disciplined.
Our temporary allowance leads to a payment of disappointment and regret, even though our remittance was reasonably self-prescribed. Essentially, our reasons and excuses were good enough at the time to deter our actions to acquire our goals. Whether that be losing weight or toning our muscles, we prescribe our own compromises. It’s understandable. Are we willing to sacrifice our well-being for temporary highs or cravings? Can we stick to a plan? Can we stay dedicated, even if that means eliminating unhealthy behaviors in our lives?
Recently, while I was visiting friends, I told them upright I’m not going to be drinking. Did I feel weird? Did I feel left out sometimes? Yes, of course I did. But I still had a great time. While I was the “party animal” in college, I no longer live this lifestyle. At this point in my life, I know there’s much more than having fun and drinking until blacking out. There are two things I’ve learned from this lifestyle transition.
First, you must be willing to not give in to peer pressure. Second, you must be willing to face criticism for your healthy choices. In the act of saying no, you’re compensating or “rewarding” your hard work in the gym and the kitchen. As the title of the post says, “selective compensation,” there are times when it’s not appropriate to adjust your behavior and other times can be the best choices you may make. Repay yourself for the hard work and new lifestyle, but never overbalance and regress from your ultimate goals.
I recently had a short bout with my dad about recycling. My parents are no longer going to recycle simply because of how little they received in return from the recycling center. My refuting argument was not about the money, but about the premise and reasons to recycle. My dad’s first response was, well the Lord will take care of the Earth. Not refuting that argument at all, but in response, this doesn’t give us the freedom to not care. Granted, I’m not a huge advocate or practitioner of recycling. Aren’t we more satisfied with things when we “think” our good behaviors are going towards a healthy cause, for example, recycling? We recycle not only because we think it helps save the environment, but we’re also against the idea of carelessly handing materials and waste. So even though, it takes a lot more work to carefully clean all plastic containers, lids, and so on, we’re doing it for a purpose. My second refuting argument was in relation to our bodies. Even though we cannot take our physical bodies to Heaven after we die, it doesn’t give us the freedom and right to eat ourselves to an early death. Our bodies are temples of God. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” My interpretation of this verse is specific to my field of work. Good nutrition and physical exercise is necessary to keep our bodies young. Yes, some may adopt this lifestyle specifically for aesthetic purposes, but we should not rely solely on “satisfying the senses.” There’s more important reasons to honor and glorify your own body and conversely, someone else’s body. We must fuel our physical bodies with proper nutrition and active lifestyle. Additionally, and above all, we must fuel our spiritual bodies with prayer, the Bible, and fellowship with other Christians. Don’t trash your body. Adhering to this premise is hard, I know. It takes work. It takes time. And it takes patience. Remember, success takes time, but it’s always worth the wait!
If you live in Columbus, OH and interested in personal training, be sure to shoot me an email with your health and fitness goals at ffembrace@gmail.com. Or simply to chat about anything, I'm happy to hear from you.
I will get back as soon as possible, with rates and all sorts of weekly/monthly options, from in-home to group personal training sessions with friends.
I'm excited you are taking this step to invest in a healthier, better you!!
Have you ever found yourself hysterically scratching, excessively grabbing, intensely pulling yourself up the hill of life, only to unexpectedly lose your grip or footholds and fall from the peak? Wherever you may be, we’ve all experienced this abrupt fall, the sudden callback, the rediscovered pain, the reckless reminder of brokenness. 
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