Old habits die hard, new habits, not so hard

OK, so last week, I posted that I'd really messed up.  This week was my  week to make a serious comeback and be able to say that I'd turned around.  I was back on the wagon, I was {insert your favorite cliche here}.  I was very sure of myself.  Guess what?  If you guessed I didn't do that great this week again, you'd be right.  I did better than last week, but only ran about 3.5 miles all week... I ate better, but not the way I know to eat.  I read some in my Bible, but not the amount i wanted to and let's not even mention my sleep (or lack there of). 

I've heard before that the folks that are hardest on overweight people are people that used to be overweight themselves.  More than once, I've caught myself wanting to go up and give folks advice.  Tell them my story, "look at me, I did it, you can, too if you really wanted to" type discussions.  This is the opposite of what I want.  As my blog says, I want less of me.  I want to be used to help people, not to promote how good I am ('cause I really ain't that good).  I want to use what God has helped me do to help others... not to promote me.  This week has been a me week.  I want the rest of the weeks I have to be a me help others week. 

The thing that has been going through my head all weekend, thinking of what I was going to write, is "let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall".  I don't remember what version of the Bible that's from, but the scripture is 1 Corinthians 10:12.  I needed that reminder.  I've been proud of this and proud of that, not in a good way (like I'm proud of my kids), but in a "look at me" way.  I'm sorry to you my friends, family and those I haven't even met. 

This week, I want to be more humble, more meek, I want there to be less of me... less of my physically as i take off these prideful pounds and less about me.  I want to point others to my Saviour and Lord this week because it really is about Him.

Thanks for reading.  As always, may He increase and i decrease,

shane  

I'm human

OK folks, I absolutely blew it this week.  I was kicking myself and am reminded that, despite what I often think, I am human.  I make mistakes.  The big thing is to learn from them and move on.  If there's nothing to learn, just admit I made the mistake and move on.  I want this blog to be about the analogies I see between eating healthy/excercise and what I see in the Bible.  So far, this applies to both the physical and spiritual realms. 

I ate like a moron all week and didn't excercise...  Honestly, I screwed up... I ate a big piece of pecan pie al a mode from Char this week.  I felt bad afterward and the pie wasn't as good as I remembered.  It wasn't worth it.  I had a burger this week.  It didn't taste very good and I felt bad afterward.  It just wasn't worth it.  My tastes have indeed changed.  I need to get back to eating properly and excercising and move on.

This is true in my spiritual life as well.  I haven't read my Bible as much as normal this week and I feel bad.  We'll skip the rest of the things I did (or didn't do) this week that I feel bad about and just say my tastes have changed there as well.  It just hasn't been worth it.  There are things that we do (or omit from doing) that we remember as being great, but afterwards, we think "really?  I used to like that?"  Our tastes of what we want to do/don't actually do change (see Char reference above).  The important thing is that we give these things to God and ask for forgiveness and move on.  His word tells us he casts our sins as far as the east is from the west (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20103:11-12&version=NIV) and does not remember them after we ask for forgiveness (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2043:25&version=NIV). 

As I begin a new week, I have to remember that I am human.  This doesn't give me a license to eat horribly and not excercise nor does it give me the right to commit blatent sins without a second thought.  This means that I will slip up in my fitness routine... it's gonna happen.  It also means I will sin this week.  That's gonna happen as well.  The important thing is what I do afterward. 

Hope this helps you in some way. 

May He increase and i decrease,

Shane

Blog inspiration

A year ago, I weighed 265 - 270 lbs.  Think about that, that is roughly 1/4 - 1/2 a full grown cow.    With the help of God and an awesome trainer (Terry at http://www.liverightnowonline.com/), I'm down 90-100 lbs to a more reasonable 170 -175 lbs. I've struggled with my weight for a long time and have known I needed to do something about it, nothing ever worked.  Terry got me on a lifestyle that is not difficult to maintain and actually worked for me. 

Now the "real" part to me.  The part that makes this a passion for me.  I am a Southern Baptist, but more than that, I am a Christian, a set apart child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  I am, as the saying goes, blessed beyond measure.  I believe, better I know, the God of the Universe gave me this body to be a good steward of.  He tells us through his word that it is His temple, he lives in and through us and this is the way I treat the gift He gave me?  This is the way I treat His house?  If I abused my next door neighbor's house this way, I'd be put in jail.  Still, day after day, I vandalized a much more valuable gift from a much more loving and caring source.

It is my plan to write things on this blog at least once a week that will make you think about your relationship with God and/or the body He entrusted to you.  Please subscribe to get updates and I welcome your comments, questions and input.

May He increase and I decrease,

Shane