Doing the Right Thing With Right Motives

Have you ever been so focused on a goal that everything else starts to blur? As I logged on here I was shocked to see that it had been over a month since I last posted. Part of the reason is that I became really ill for about 10 days. Another reason is that I have been really focused on getting in shape by working out with a program called P90 by BeachBody. However, I missed 10 days of working out due to an illness.

Now this is where I started to think and wonder if I was going to get off track or get discouraged. I started to think about why I started working out in the first place and what my real goals were. Then I tried to work out again only to find out that my body and health were not back to 100%. I actually had to go back to the workouts I started with 2 months ago. This did not discourage me and in fact I was more encouraged by the fact that I got back in there and did my best. I'm not sure how long it will take me to get back to where I was just 2 weeks ago. Actually it doesn't really matter how long it will take. This bring me to "Doing the right thing with the right motives".

I believe that many people try to do the right thing with the wrong motives only to find themselves very frustrated. Take for instance, loosing weight. People will do almost anything to loose weight. The weight loss industry is a multi-billion business in the United States. People are doing everything from surgery, to ointments, diet pills, fade diets and even diet foods shipped right to your house every month for the rest of your life. For most of these people the main goal is to loose weight. Now loosing weight is a good thing and there are many health benefits with a proper healthy weight. But stop and think about this for a second. Should weight loss be our goal? Isn't this the very reason 90% of the people that loose weight will gain it right back with a little more each time? People loose weight for weddings, class reunions, and every other reason under the sun. Personally I think this is the wrong approach all together.

Let me use an example to prove my point. If you smoke and develop lung cancer, would it make any sense at all to fight the cancer by only taking Chemo Therapy and not stopping the smoking? If you knew that the smoking was causing the illness why would you continue to smoke and only treat the illness with drugs or surgery? It would seem to me that the intelligent thing to do would be to change the things that caused the illness. If you relate this to being over weight it really is the same thing. The obesity problem in the United States is only the symptom or illness but it is not the problem. It is in fact the result of the problem. Our lifestyle is causing an obesity epidemic in our society. Our dietary lifestyle consists of too much fast food, fried foods, sugar, empty calories and not enough exercise. We even will drive around for 5 minuets to wait and get a closer parking space so we won't have to walk an extra 100 feet.

So, now you're asking, "What's your point"? My point is that instead of trying to loose weight we should try to change our lifestyle which caused the weight gain. It's actually much less stressful than constantly denying yourself that piece of pie or Birthday cake. When I started my transformation my goal was to change my lifestyle. I wanted and still want to eat more healthy and more intelligently. I want to exercise in a way that will make me more healthy and lean at the same time. I know that if I do these two things that the weight will take care of itself. If my goal is to loose 20 lbs, what will I do or shoot for once I reach my goal? I have reached that goal many times and I simply went back to the same lifestyle I was denying myself of and guess what. Yes, I gained the weight back.

So if I do the right thing, which is to eat healthy and exercise I can actually relax and allow my weight to become what ever it will become. My motivation is health and lifestyle not weight. Now that information is worth what I call, "Real Money". You can transfer this information to any aspect of your life and I guarantee that you will be more successful. This is true in your business, education, relationships, hobbies, or any goal you have in life. Think about what you really want and why you want it. Boil it down to what are real goals and what are really benefits. If you make a benefit a goal I promise you will experience frustration.

Just my thoughts,

RiceBurnerMonk

I was abducted by Aliens

I was abducted by Aliens. I'm sure that this could be the only explanation for the events I'm about to share with you. When I decided to start working out with p90 and p90x from BeachBody I knew that what my real goal was not just to loose weight. What I wanted and still want is a serious lifestyle change. However, the events lately lead me to believe that things may have gone a little too far. Now, I feel that my weight, health and progress with my workouts are fine. I have actually lost 9 pounds in 30 days and my clothes are loose and my strength, agility and stamina are all getting better every day.

However, I live just outside of Dallas, Texas and the weather today was supposed to be sunshine, partly cloudy and a high of 72. I left the house after my morning workout to take care of some things with my wife's car. I only took my sunglasses because of the great weather I was about to enjoy. I Swear, and I'm not kidding, I think that I and my family were abducted by aliens and transported to Seattle. At least that is what the weather feels like. It's not 72 with the sun shinning, it's actually 58, cloudy and we are under flash flood warnings, (Again). We are on track to be the wettest fall on record. So I must be in Seattle, except the scenery is nothing like Seattle. So, I must be on another Planet or something, because this could not be North Central Texas.

To add to this, when I got back from running into town, I found my Daughter and Mother out in the yard with their cameras. They were taking pictures of two Peacocks in my yard. Yes, I said Peacocks and let me answer your question now and get this out of the way, "I Don't Know".

So, to help me deal with my massive confusion and bewilderment from the events of the day I'm thinking about going back into my workout room and pushing play one more time. For those of you outside of the BeachBody program that means working out to the DVD.

This is a strange land I woke up in this morning. I hope there is some decent trout fishing here because Texas just doesn't offer much. On top of that it's so big you have drive forever to find any decent trout waters. I know there's water here because it's everywhere I look. No Really, there is MOSS growing in my YARD! I'm ready to go back home now.

Just my thoughts.

RiceBurnerMonk

Sore Muscles

Sore Muscles and what it means. I'm 27 days into my workouts using P90 from BeachBody. Today my left arm is really sore which does not surprise me because I'm right handed. The other day I had to do my "Fit Test" which I actually should have done 27 days ago. I'm still getting all the tools I need for my workout room and so the only dumbbells I have are 10 lbs. I got to arm curls and I was supposed to do them until failure. Well, I stopped at 75 because I kept pausing and pushing it but the 10 lb DB's just were not heavy enough to cause failure. I had a feeling I was going to pay for this later but that day I seemed to be fine. On the next day, Friday I was scheduled to do more Weight training and once again I pushed it a little harder because the 10 lb weight. I was able to do more reps than they were doing on the training DVD and I decided to just go until the next set started.

Last night my left arm started to really bother me due to the soreness from the 2 days of workouts. Today I'm still very sore but only with my left arm. Being right handed this actually makes sense. With weight training what happens is that the muscles are pushed to the point of breaking down and tarring and the soreness comes from the healing process. Those that train hard know all to well the common quote "No pain, No gain". This comes from the pain of the healing process of torn or broken down muscles.

So what does all this mean? Well first it means that my exercise is doing some good by pushing my limits. I'm actually able to do more in the workouts today than I was when I first started. That's a good thing and it is very encouraging. So if I keep pushing Play and keep pushing my intensity level that I should keep getting stronger and better. Secondly it means that my body is responding to the workouts and my muscles are healing. Soreness is different than strained or damaged and hurt muscles. If you can move your muscles and work out the soreness to some degree you know that you are not hurt just sore. Also, the pain is different when you are sore than when you are hurt. Soreness is more like a dull pain and it tends to lessen as you move around and stretch. When your hurt the pain is very sharp and tens to get worse if you start moving around and stretching.

So, pain is not a bad thing you just need to learn to read it and listen to your body. The same is true with most things in life. Life is a struggle and every pain is telling us something. Sometimes you have to back off and let things heal before you start pushing it again. That's whey your actually hurt. Sometimes you just have to get in there and start moving again even though you know that when you do it's going to hurt a little. That's when you know you are growing and moving past your comfort zones.

I guess I can say that even though I'm sore today, it's still a good thing. Now, if my left arm will just not fall off when I put my shirt on I'll be in good shape.


Just my thoughts.

RiceBurnerMonk

A New Transformation

Real Transformation will impact every aspect of your life. I started on a journey 3 weeks ago that is changing my life every day. As a matter of fact I'm seeing the impact and implications of this journey that I believe will improve my lifestyle and life. I know, you're saying by now, "get on with it and get it out already". I don't blame you, I'm the same way. I made a new commitment to get healthy and started a program called "P90" from BeachBody.com.

Now I have started workout routines many times in my adult years. For the last 30 or so years of my life I have been a member of many gyms, bought and rode bikes, stayed fairly active with some sports but in the last 6 years or so I have seen my weight and health start to go south. I must admit that I have tried and started this same program 2 times before. I failed both times. Now you ask, "so what makes this time so different"?

#1. I will say personal determination. I know that at 53 years of age that if I do not make it happen now I might not ever make it happen. I want to finish strong not go out with a whimper. So it's now or never.
#2. A willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed. I got to the point where I did not care who thought I had lost my mind or anything. I refused to let anything keep me from my goal. Years ago I read a book on debt by David Ramsey and he said that to get out of debt you have to have the attitude of a gazelle. You have to run like your life depended on it and be willing to expend all of your energy to survive. I have made up my mind to have the same attitude about my health and weight.
#3. Accountability. This time I asked a few people to hold me accountable. I do not mean "Encouragement" but real accountability. I told them that if all I needed was encouragement I would have already done it or at least been in better shape than I am. So, they have my permission to even get in my face and make me mad if that's what it takes to keep me going.
#4. Support. I have also jumped into getting support from others that are also doing this some program on the BeachBody website using their Message Boards. I have to admit that this was a stretch for me. To jump into a conversation with people that I don't know to talk about stuff that I'm still trying to figure out and knowing all along that they are ahead of the curve. Well that took a few days to get up the courage for. But I have started talking to some people and asking for their help and advice.
#5. Results. After only 23 days working out, not counting a few rest days, I have lost 5 pounds, a little over an inch in my gut and my energy level is up and my abilities to do the workouts are 100 % better. I'm only in level one and can not wait to get to the top.

Now, some of the other benefits are that it is forcing me to be more regimented with my days. It's helping me to be more organized. At least I'm seeing a start with my diet and exercise and I expect to see it spill over to other areas. I already feel better about myself and feel like I'm actually accomplishing something beneficial. That in and of itself impacts my relationships with my family, the people around me and my faith. I know the verses that say, "If God is for us who can be against us", but I feel the greatest enemy we have is ourselves. The person that scares me the most, well, it's me. How many times have we let ourselves down? How many times have we not followed through with a promise to others or God? To make a keep a promise to yourself, well, that's huge! You actually start to believe that you can do it. Whatever that might be. You actually start to believe that you can make a promise and keep it. Doubt and self hate is our greatest enemy.

I think we give up in many areas of our lives and it even starts to show in our health. We stop doing the things we want to do because we start to believe that we just can't or we are too old, or we tried that before. I started to hear people say things like, "when you got to be your age". I started to look around and decided that I could not stop time or change my age but I could change my attitude. I can't change my hairline but I could do something about my waistline.

In closing, last night I asked the men in our bible study, why can't we make the same decision to transform our approach to our spiritual formation? Why don't we pull out all the stops to make sure that we grow and become stronger spiritually? What are we willing to do to change the way we are for the way we know we should be? I do not pretend to know what or where you are in life but personally I do not want to stay the same. I'm not satisfied with the way I am and I plan on doing something about it even if it kills me. At least no one will be able to say that I did not try. At least my family will know that I loved them enough to give it my best. At least I can leave a legacy for them that can push them to a higher level. Think about this, most people remember how you finished this life. What will that look like for you? I'm on my way to change mine, want to join me?

Just my thoughts,

Paul

Transformed, Your Life Redefined

Transformed, Your Life Redefined, is a new sermon series we started today at 4 Winds Church. The first in this series was a look at "Discipleship". I believe that the average person going to a church on any given Sunday wants to see their faith actually make a difference in their lives. More than just going to a service hoping that the preacher is "on". I mean, why go if it's just going to be the same thing every week with the same results and the same struggles each Monday - Saturday? Here is where there seems to be friction between our internal desires and outward expressions.

Even though we know that we are called to be a disciple most people in the church today probably don't even understand the word. To be a disciple you have to be willing to be not only taught by another but also to take on those values and teachings held by the teacher. In other words, you actually become "like" the teacher or Master. To do this one has to be willing to give up everything that does or could get in the way of that transformation. Jesus said it very clearly in Luke 14:33 where He says that you can not be His disciple if you do not give up everything else important to you, including family. When we follow Christ it is an "All Or Nothing" venture. I believe that most Christians approach following Christ like cramming for the final exam. If we can just pass the test by getting the bonus question right we can get into Heaven. However, Christ said that eternal life was not where you live but in "knowing the one that the Father sent". Once again we find that it's about having this "Relationship" that is most important. Yet, in our modern culture I find that all we really want to do it "pass the test". How sad is it that the very transformation we would really like to have, we are not even aware that it's our attitude that keeps us from attaining it. Do we read and go to school to learn "truth" or just to get a degree so we can make money? Do we go to church so we can pass the "eternal exam", or to be transformed so we can live the "abundant life" Jesus promised?

Jesus said that if we loved Him we would keep His commandments. What did He command us to do? In the great commission we find the He commanded us to "make disciples". We also find in scripture that we are supposed to teach people who in turn would be able to teach others as well. So here is where it starts to get real messy.

How many of us are willing to have someone else speak spiritual truths into our lives on a regular basis outside of listening to sermons? How many of us are willing to put aside our personal agenda in order to pursue a transformed life in Christ? How many of us are willing to pour our lives into someone else as the scriptures commands us to? When we refuse to teach, train and lead others we are stopping up the flow of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We were created in Christ for the very purpose of helping others grow in their faith in Christ. It is what He commanded us to do. Jesus even said that He would be with us to the very end of the age as we do what He commanded us to do. For Christians to experience real transformation, there must be a willingness to live out a "Life On Life" life. Without this willingness there will simply be more of the same results from the same approach and attitudes. If you want your life to be transformed, start helping others grow in their faith. Start looking for a Mentor to pour truth into your life.
You will have to be willing to be like "Young Grasshopper" from the TV show "Kung fu". You're going to have to Google that one.

Just my thoughts

See Jonah Obey

Jonah finally did obey God and fulfill his vow as a spokesman for God. Yet we still see a hard heart in Jonah as he preached. The Scriptures tell us that Nineveh was a 3 day walk around the city. That's a large city even in today's standards. Yet we find that Jonah only walked one day through the city preaching. It is as though Jonah walks straight through the city to just give it a once over if you will. This means that about 2/3 rd of the city did not hear the message at all.

Now, in spite of the half hearted effort of Jonah, we see that the city repented! The movement within the city was great enough that it reached the ears of the King and he issues a decree that everyone was to fast, pray and repent! Sort of sounds like a modern day politician watching the opinion polls if you ask me.

Here is where the story gets very interesting. The city repents to the point that the Lord holds back His judgement and does not destroy them. Since the Lord can see the heart we are forced to concede that they must have truly repented, at least to the fullest of their understanding. These Ninevites were a ruthless people that were so violent that the surrounding peoples hated them with a vengeance. Yet they repent at the preaching of Jonah. The sad truth is that we do not find any proof that any of the Godly people of Israel came to teach, disciple or mentor these people. With this void in teaching and training in the word of God we find that they revert back to their old ways in 1 generation. Approximately 37 years after the preaching of Jonah and the staying of Gods wrath we find that the Ninevites attack the northern kingdom of Israel and destroy them. Then in 612 BC the King of Babylon teams with other kingdoms against Nineveh and not only conquers them, but totally destroys the city down to the foundations. The city was lost for 2000 years never to be inhabited again. This was the fulfilment of Gods warning to them.

What would have happened to both the Ninevites and Israel if they had only reached out to them and trained them in the word of God? What would history look like if Jonah and his fellow countrymen, would have seized the day? In their hatred of the Ninevites they sealed their own destruction and revealed their own wicked hearts. It was this hard hearted issue that God points out to Jonah in chapter 4 of the book of Jonah. God proves Himself in this little book as the one who forgives and judges. He is righteous and holy in the display of both.

Are you helping someone else grow in their faith today? Is there a void of real discipleship in the church today? Are you being a part of the solution? Christ commanded us to "Make Disciples" not to work harder so we can get a raise. Did I just do a little meddling just then? If there is a moral void in the church today, who is at fault? If marriages are falling apart in the church at the same rate as those outside the church, who is at fault? If "Christians" are falling back into their old habits and ways, who is at fault? The story of Jonah, Israel and the Ninevites is one that maybe we as American "Christians" should take heed in. Before we start blaming the government, or people groups for the trials in this world maybe we should look into our own hearts and ask, are we doing everything the Lord has asked of us?

Don't just do what God says, put your heart into it. Look for ways to fulfill the ways of God in your life and those around you. We do not need a newly spoken word from the Lord, we have the scriptures. Jesus said the "if you love me you will keep my commandments". So, we have our work orders for the day, "make Disciples". Be one today. Help a fellow believer grow in their faith. Pour your life into another and watch the fruit of your labor as they start to help others. Now that's a garden worth working in and a pay raise that will reap eternal returns.

Just my Thoughts

See Jonah Pray

The story of Jonah is a story of a man called by God to preach His word and yet he runs from the presence of God and refuses to preach the message given to him. I'm sure that anyone reading this will know the story of Jonah and the whale. Jonah runs from God and finds himself as the first passenger on a submarine. It is during this dark time in the belly of the whale that Jonah prays to God and admits his rebellion. We also see is this prayer a reference to his crisis prayer as he was on the verge of drowning. At the bottom of the sea with the weeds wrapped around his head he finally calls out to God.

I think this is the most sad part of the story. Jonah could not have gotten any lower before he prays to the God he knows! What causes a person to run from a loving God? What is it in us that we are willing to sink so low before we will admit our failure? The obvious answer is sin, but if we believe in Jesus and profess to follow Him, why do we have to fall so far before we turn back to Him?

The scriptures are clear that if we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive our sins. In spite of our faithlessness, God is always faithful. What He says He will do, we can be sure that He "will" do it. How far is too far in our waiting to call on Him? The scriptures also talk about the judgment of God. It seems that we constantly want to test the patience of God. In our day of adrenalin junkies, it would be wise to not go to the edge of God's patience. When we get to the very bottom of our lives and then look up to the Lord He is always there to forgive, but the climb back up can be a long one. Even though God saved Jonah and used him to preach and bring revival to Nineveh I believe he still held the scars of the partially digested skin. I have seen people brought back from the edge of destruction by the grace of God and yet still carry the scars that now proclaim God's mercy. God will and can take our destroyed lives and make something beautiful and useful out of them. Our past even though it never goes away, God is able to use it and change our perspective on our own lives and His ability to restore and use us.

Today, I would rather not hit bottom before I decide to look up. Today I want to start off by praying to the Heavenly Father that I know loves me. Today I want to end my day by praying to the Heavenly Father who helped me through the day. Today I want to plan on starting my climb tomorrow from a better position than I started from today.
"Prayer" It can make all the difference in everything in your life today. Why wait until you hit bottom. I don't know about you but I would rather ride in a sail boat and be able to have a better view of the sunset than ride in a submarine and stare at the walls.
I think I'll stop writing now and go talk to the Father....

Just My Thoughts,
RiceBurnerMonk