What Makes You Worry?

Okay, I’m going to admit it:  I’m a closet worrier when it comes to my kids.

When Brendan (our 7-year-old) was much younger, his pediatrician detected a heart murmur in his heartbeat.  We were sent to a specialist.  I was scared to death.  I’ve heard too many stories on the news and my mind was racing.  The doctor told us that it was definitely there and to watch it but that he’d probably be okay and that he might even outgrow it.

I’m not going to tell you exactly what went through my mind, but suffice it to say, I played multiple scenarios in my mind.  I mean, it’s THE HEART.  It’s a pretty stinkin’ VITAL ORGAN.   “Woe is us,” I thought.  

He’s 7 now.  Heart murmur: gone.  Not there anymore.  Now what good did all that worry accomplish?  Nothing.  If anything I guess it at least reminded me how much I love my son (he’s a great kid, by the way, not that you asked!)

Over Christmas break we noticed a small lump on Brayden’s back.  It’s about 2 inches tall by 3-4 inches wide.  We took him to the doctor and he didn’t think it was anything serious but wanted to monitor it.  He said it didn’t feel like a tumor but he wanted to be careful and keep an eye on it.  We waited a few weeks for it to go down on it’s own.  It didn’t.  It grew. I was out of town when Annette called me early last week and said, “They want to schedule an MRI.”

Now I have to be honest here: my heart just sank.  MRI= serious business, right?  The emotions I had about Brendan’s old heart murmur all drudged up and reared their ugly head.  I got scared.  I worried.  I’m still worried.  We’re wrestling with the insurance company to get it scheduled.  I don’t have a date scheduled.  I’M READY.  LET’S DO THIS THING.  WHAT IF THIS AND THAT AND…

And then, the still, small voice of the Lord.  Reminding me of a beautiful passage found in Matthew 6:27.  Jesus said, “Which of you by being anxious (worrying) can add a single our to your life?”  My Savior said that.  Good point Jesus!  And remember when Jesus the Savior was asleep on the boat, and the storm arose and the disciples were absolutely freaking out and they woke him up?  He quieted the storm for them… but was obviously dismayed.  The Savior, the One who Colossians says “holds all things together”, was on the boat with them, and yet they were scared.  

So, I know I’m not alone.  A group of men were being tossed about in the waves of life and the One who could save them was right there with them.  They worried needlessly.  I admit sometimes it feels worlds apart.  I mean that was 2000 years ago and He was physically right there.  He’s not sitting here sleeping on my couch.  So, I get afraid sometimes.  I worry.

Finally, I think of the words of Paul in Philippians.  This verse gives me comfort and strength.  It reminds me that there is One higher than I that knows my needs.  He gives a rip about me enough to put these words here to remind me to go to Him.  Not to me.  Not to those scary thoughts in my head.  To Him.  Just Him.  Maybe if you’re still reading, you need to be reminded of this today as much as I do:

“Do not be anxious about anything (don’t worry), but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Phil 4:6-7)

May we be anxious about nothing, but rather, trust in Him.  May we live our lives as an example to others that our faith is more than a system of beliefs- it’s a call to a radical life of action and faith.  James says that faith without works is dead.  My work here is to trust Him.  I can’t fix it.  I can’t make it be okay.  As a dad I want to but this time I’m conceding to Him to take care of it.  Capable hands.  Powerful hands.  Calming hands.  This is where the rubber meets the road.  I wait.  I trust.  I’m renewed. Praise be to God.

What makes you worry?

 

Lost

No, I’m not blogging about the fact that Lost is not on tonight (although I’m a bit sad about that). I wanted to share briefly that today is a major milestone in my life: I’ve officially lost 40 lbs (actually just barely shy by a couple of ounces but I proclaim victory nonetheless!).  This is a BIG deal to me because I’ve been working my tail off and I’m so grateful that God has allowed me to stay healthy enough to work hard and stay focused.

I’ve had several people say “what are you doing?” to which I reply the cliche, “eat right and exercise.”  Now as basic as that seems, that’s just the truth.  I’ve eaten right and exercised a minimum of 3 days a week (and most weeks 5 days a week).

There are certain things in life that there just isn’t a quick fix to.  I didn’t get fat overnight; there’s no pill or potion that is going to get me thin overnight.  As a leader, change doesn’t happen overnight.  It takes hard work, perseverance, and probably most importantly, an acknowledgement that things do need to change.  I’m praying that my perseverance will spill over into other areas of my life.  Sometimes life just boils down to irreducible minimums.

Eat right and exercise.

What do you need to simplify and go for?

 

Texas BBQ

I gotta love me some good ole Texas BBQ…  if you’ve never had it you’re missing out for sure!There’s a place in town here that I think is the best… Cackle and Oink (seriously, that’s the name)… So we rolled through there the other night and I saw something on the menu that made me laugh, and so I took a pic and thought I’d share it with you…

Can you find it?  It’s like the 7th thing down on the list… post a comment with your thoughts on exactly what that is and if it made you laugh!  First one to find it wins this prize: I will think of you next time I eat me some Cackle and Oink!!

 

30×30 Feedback

as I’m thinking through my 30×30 campaign (if you don’t know what that is see here and here), I’m thinking that you or someone you know could stand to be encouraged during this time.

How many of you want to lose some weight the next few months? Post a comment and tell us your goals and what you’d like to see happen the next few weeks.

 

30×30 update…

Hey friends, here is a quick video update about my 30×30 campaign.  If you haven’t read about it yet, you might want to get up to speed here…  Tell your friends.  Send a note… encouragement good!! Fat-bad!!

 

30×30

I’ve tried and tried the past couple of years to get in the gym, change the way I eat, and lose some stinkin weight.  I’ve started well a few times, but something has come up (like the Chinese buffett!!).  It’s a sickening feeling to think that I’ve been fat for 10 years.  10 years, folks!!  My whole 20′s, spent overweight, out of shape, and miserable.

I have an idea, and I need your help.  I have an idea called 30 by 30.  In 3 months, I turn 30 years old.  I think I can lose 10 pounds a month, therefore, I can lose 30 pounds by my 30th birthday.  It can happen.  We joined the gym for 3 months as a family.  There’s no reason we shouldn’t go.  

Starting Monday, I’m gonna try to eat right and be in the gym a minimum of 3 times a week.  I need to do this.  My wife needs me to do this.  My boys need me to do this.  They need me to be around for a long time.  My church needs me to do this.  Finally, if my body truly is the temple of the Holy Spirit, I need to honor that.

So I need your help.  I need your encouragement, it really keeps me going.  And I need some creative ideas as to how to keep this campaign in front of me every day.  Some ideas how not to stall out.  Some ideas as to how to market this thing so that I have a huge network of accountability.  I’ll post pics of my progress, etc.  

Send your ideas over.  And if you get freak super bored, you can even say a prayer for me.  That I will be committed.  That I’ll take this seriously.  That I’ll succeed.  I will, I will!

Thanks in advance!

 

Every Man needs to read this post…

Tim Stevens shares a dilemma he’s facing over on his blog.  He’s about to see a great friend and fellow blogger, Tony Morgan, for the first time in a long time, and Tony’s a known hugaphobe… so the dilemma is, does he hug Tony or not?

Someone thankfully sent him a link to a YouTube video that is basically a tutorial on How to Give a Good Man-Hug…  

This is a dilemma we have all faced, so thanks Tim for sharing your journey, let us know how it goes!!

Tim’s original post is here… and the followup is here…  and the video is here…

 

Don’t Touch My Brain

I remember either reading something or seeing it on one of those shows where they are doing brain surgery where they said that if you touch a certain part of the brain (obviously a surgeon) that the recipient of the touch has a feeling that God is in the room.  I can’t explain it but it sounds plausible.  I think it was trying to give explanation to out-of-body experiences.

Point?  Not one.  I am just writing and the Ambien is starting to kick in (yes, I have had trouble sleeping for years, since I was a kid, actually).  It seems to make me feel more positive or spiritual or appreciate spritual talk or something like that.  

Okay, I’m having trouble typing at this point.  Have fun, kids!

 

It’s time

a few months ago on here I mentioned I was going to start a new workout (new as in actually start working out).  But that petered out quick.  Things at the church were 90-nothing (always are, that’s a good thing) and I was taking 6 hours of graduate coursework.

But it’s time.  I’m tired of being fat.  It’s been 10 years since I got fat.  I’m tired of the way I feel.  I’m tired of the way I look.  And I’m tired of not being able to take my shirt off at the beach

Seriously though.  Tomorrow, I’m going to the gym and getting a membership.  I’m gonna start with some healthy stuff this weekend, heading towards Monday where it’s go-time.  Protein shakes, chicken breasts, weights 3x a week, cardio 3x a week,gazelle-intense as Dave Ramsey would say.  I’ve been working very hard at getting some thing organized in my life and I’m really ready to go.

I hate asking for help but I thought if I posted here and you guys checked on me there’s no going back.  So would you help encourage me?  Pray for me that I’ll be dedicated, focused, gazelle-intense.  That my wife will get the husband she’s wanted for a long time.  

I’ll post updates as I go, looking forward to the new me!

 

Is it a sin to turn your cell phone off?

Well this past week I was on vacation and I tried a little experiment: leaving my cell phone in my bag and not using it at all. I succeeded to go from Sunday till Friday with I think only 1 turning-on because I needed to call home or something. The rest of the time I left it in my bag on silent or off.

This was so freeing. It was so nice not being a slave to that thing. My wife commented that it made vacation so much better not having to hear my phone go off or me have to answer 20 calls a day. Even when I set some boundaries and leave it on silent for x amount of time, I feel like so much of my life revolves around using my phone. It would be different if I had a cool phone like the iPhone, but on my pile it’s reduced to just answering other people’s calls.

How about you? What’s the longest you were able to go without using your phone? Do you feel like you can set boundaries and say “I’m spending time with my family tonight, therefore I’m putting it on silent for a few hours” without fear of getting chewed out by someone? What’s your experience?