I hate that word

A few years ago, I trained a cheerful, down-to-earth; speak her mind, and high-spirited lady. She was very likable and an easy to talk with. Unfortunately, I was unable to help her reach her ultimate fat loss goals. At the beginning of each week, she would inform me of her past weekend diet. Typically, her verbal food journal would end with my sigh of anguish followed by words of encouragement about the fundamental dos and don’ts towards losing body fat. Before I could complete my spill, she would say, “I know, I know, I know”… However, I would still give my speech repeatedly exclaiming – DISCIPLINE; in which she would respond, I hate that word! I hate that word, too. 

Sometimes, I play the role of a workaholic. I use to believe there were all pros and no cons to working hard, until recently when my body starting ‘acting out’. The month of October was a scary one. It included a series of tests for diagnosing multiple sclerosis, a month long annoying eye twitch and a week of right side facial numbness (TMJ), along with swelling of my right knee, and hernia in my right groin. 

Every one of my symptoms and medical issues could have been caused by something other than fatigue. However, I’m convinced that my symptoms were brought on by a lack of rest and sleep. With the significant amount of research connecting fatigue to preventable diseases, you would think that this personal trainer would get more rest. Well, I didn’t and I’m hoping that I’ve learned my lesson.

We all struggle with something that adversely affects our overall health. I’ve found that the warning signs normally aren’t enough for most to discontinue their unhealthy habits. Typically, it takes our life being derailed or feared lost before we seriously deal with an issue.

In Genesis 19, there’s a story about a family visited by angels. They were told to leave their city because it was going to be destroyed. The family hesitated. The bible states that under God’s compassion, the angels grabbed their hands to promptly direct them to safety. While the land was being destroyed, they were encouraged not to look back. Unfortunately, the family’s mother looked back and lost her life.

To me, this story portrays the typical stages of decision making in most people’s lives. We are offered words of wisdom, specific instruction, and grace; with this, our eventual outcome depends on our willingness to accept sound advice and follow through. No matter how much we desire a positive outcome; we have to be discipline in completing the necessary steps for a better quality of life.

My encouragement: Don’t look back. If you choose to look back, quickly and positively reflect. Deal with the past by moving forward and replacing those old destructive habits with positive, life-building traits. Tell someone (whether it be a ‘hater’ or a friend) what you plan to do for consistent accountability. Then, Commit your ways to God and be discipline in consistently following the steps needed to improve.  

My goal is to rest smarter and more. What is yours?

“Hey dad, there’s beer in the fridge!”

If you are a follower of my blog, you are aware that I have occasionally exalted my parent’s; however, they were not perfect. In the most honorable and respectable way that I can say this, my dad was an alcoholic. I place much emphasis on ‘WAS’, because while I was in college, he completely discontinued drinking. Unfortunately during my childhood, he did not provide the best example of ‘what is considered’ healthy alcohol consumption. Due to this, I believe, an unhealthy view of drinking was developed.  I have always been ‘wishy-washy’ towards social drinking.  

When our oldest son was younger, my wife and I chose to call any type of alcoholic drink - grown folk’s juice. He would ask, ‘Hey, what are you drinking? May I have some?’ Our consistent reply… ‘No, you can’t. This is grown folk’s juice’. As he has become older, we didn’t hide the occasional wine bottle or mixed drink. However, he has never seen beer in the fridge. The other day while grabbing a few items at a local Wal-Mart, I came across the beer cooler. A desire quickly crossed my mind and I followed my thought to purchase a six-pack of 8 ounce Coors Light (I’m a lightweight!). After drinking two, I pulled the other four from the freezer and placed them in the fridge. The very next day, while I was outside tending our flower bed, my oldest son opened the garage’s entry door and yelled “Hey dad, there’s beer in the fridge!” Immediately, I was embarrassed and thought, “Great, son... Thanks for sharing… Would you like to mention how I backed up the toilet, too?” However, instead of yelling at my kid, my wife and I decided to use this as an opportunity to visit with him about alcohol. 

We discovered that my son judged me based on his discovery of beer. He felt that I (we) shouldn’t drink at all. We were surprised by his judgment. Mostly, our amazement centered around his views on alcohol. We’ve never taught condemnation of drinking; as a matter of fact, we did the exact opposite. We drank wine and margaritas in his presence; however, he has never witnessed us drunk or hosting parties including drinking.  

I did my best explanation of how ‘a drink’ was not considered a sin and closed the dispute acknowledging his entitlement to his own views. My only saving grace was reflecting on his love for soft drinks. One day, after witnessing his onslaught of ‘suicides’, his mom and I limited him to a one cup (filled with ice) soft drink per outing. Even after explaining soda’s lack of nutritional value, he continues. At an early age, he was taught that soft drinks are liquid candy to simply be enjoyed as a treat. I informed him that alcohol was the same, but for adults over the age of 21. Thankfully, he didn’t bring up its mind altering affects because my argument possibly would have been highly ineffective.

Now, I’m processing our conversation.  What comes to mind is 1 Corinthians 14:33, which refers to God not being associated with confusion. The bible passage includes this scripture within God’s instruction for orderly worship. Here are more scriptures that come to mind: 1 Corinthians 10:31-33. These three verses encouraged the following: 1. whatever you eat, drink, or do – do all to the glory of God, 2. cause no one to stumble in their faith by your actions, and 3. allow what you do to lead others to Christ. This group of scriptures was under ‘Do all to the Glory of God’ section. Combining the subtitle of these two passages, Orderly Worship + Do all to the Glory of God, I’m wrestling with a different conclusion.

My wife and kids are well aware of my passions towards allowing the bible to govern our life. I would have to admit that it would be quite hypocritical to not allow my spirit to be transformed by these scriptures. Also, I believe that I would be doing my son a huge disservice by not revisiting this issue. Although, I still do not believe that ‘a drink’ will send you to hell. I now have a different point of view. My consistent goal is to align my spirit with God’s view. To accomplish a level of worship and actions that is pleasing to Him. Based on what I read and my son’s drinking perception, I have some serious praying and decision making to do.

The first step to aligning your will with God’s will is accepting His way of salvation.
http://www.intouch.org/resources/all-things-are-new/content/topic/how_do_i_accept_jesus_as_my_savior_all_things

Charge It 2 da Game

Ever had a time, were you simply didn’t want to get out of bed; when you just wanted to turn off the alarm instead of hitting snooze multiple times? Have you ever wanted to punch (in the face) someone who tailgated you, while obnoxiously honking their horn eventually cutting you to arrive at their destination 15 seconds earlier? You may not have experienced these scenarios, but I’m confident that there have been times throughout your life when your emotions almost got or did get the best of you.

If ‘old me’ could go back in time and talk with ‘young me’, one of the main topics addressed would be not to base my decisions by my emotions. Some of the biggest mistakes in life, I’ve made, were created by how I felt at the moment. Without using discernment and looking at the obvious end results, I began a many failed pursuit. Some people believe that experience is a good teacher; however, looking at the world’s current affairs and society’s repeated offenses; I would strongly argue with this school of thought.In most cases, deciding not to act on your initial emotions leads to a better outcome. Unfortunately, this is slowly becoming a lost art. The discipline and will power needed to forgo an immediate response is becoming extinct. This principle is needed to attain a sustainable quality of life.

One of my biggest struggles as a young adult was spending money (that I didn’t have). In 1998, there was a rap artist by the name of Silkk The Shocker. He released an album entitled ‘Charge It 2 da Game’. This became my slogan when I used my credit card to purchase something that I needed to maintain an image, ‘Charge it to the game!’ Without going into great detail of this end result, anyone who owns a credit card knows how this story can and will conclude. Luckily for me, I had an epiphany and became really good friends with a Dave Ramsey fanatic, who encouraged me to pay off and stay out of debt. Is this emotionally, mentally, or socially easy to do? Absolutely not, but all people in high amounts of debt know, that living debt free truly gives one peace of mind and freedom to thoroughly enjoy life. So why aren’t more people making a decision to stay clear from relationship destroying debt? Consider their emotions.

Bad financial decisions are only one example of the ‘shoot from the hip’ emotional response. Proverbs 29:11 states ‘A fool expresses all his emotions, but a wise person controls them’ (God’s Word Translation). This is such a valuable amount of wisdom wrapped up in one sentence. Take heed. Think about the consequences of your emotional decisions. Even when you thoroughly process and ‘marinate’ on deciding; allow yourself to be challenged. What are the qualifications of your advisers? Do they have a track record of on-going success in the areas that you ponder?  Remember this, God covers it all. Challenge him in your decision making to give you an answer. Instead of picking up the phone, ‘drop to your knees’. Connect with Him through Jesus Christ, so you can petition with boldness as a righteous child of God. 

If you desire to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please click on the link below.

http://www.intouch.org/resources/all-things-are-new/content/topic/how_do_i_accept_jesus_as_my_savior_all_things