And Now the End is HERE!!

I havn't written in this blog for a while - mainly because October was such a crazy month with traveling to Atlanta and being given the chance to tell my story to 1500 people or so at the pre-conference opening session. I met a load of great people there, had the chance to encourage a number of pastors and leaders to lead their churches into sponsoring multiple children from a single country with the intention of visiting that country some day. We hosted a dinner for our Compassion Sponsors at Mt Oak and were encouraged to hear the stories of letters they have received and just the excitement of helping to change lives around the world - quite literally.

A number of people have asked me how things have ended up -and so I wanted to set the record straight as to where I am with my challenge.

If you recall the plan was to weigh 210lbs by 20-10-2010 (20th October, 2010) and in the process to inspire 210 people to sponsor children through Compassion or to inspire 210 people to give $100 to Compassion. On October 20th I had the privilege of being in Lynchburg at a conference and connecting again with some of the new friends I have made this year on the Catalyst leadership team. My weight on that date wasn't 210, but instead was 235lbs - 25lbs short of my goal, but 80lbs less than my weight at that same date 1 year ago. I hadn't reached a goal of getting 210 kids sponsored but instead have 41 children now being sponsored by our church alone, and there may be more who have heard my story and taken that step - I won't know that this side of heaven. I think though that one day in heaven I will get a tap on the shoulder from a young woman or man who will say, "You don't know me, but you helped save me. Thanks" That is my prayer.

I also raised nearly $2000 in donations to Compassion this year - so a little short of my target, but you know, rather than being depressed or saddened because I didn't achieve my goal, I am so excited and happy that in the space of 1 year I have changed my life and inspired changed lives in a lot of other people. There are over 40 children who went to school today because of the support now being provided by people who heard my story. OVER FORTY! That is awesome. Our church is now in a position to send teams to serve and to support the work of Compassion in El Salvador. That is awesome. My own personal health and lifestyle have changed completely. That is awesome - for me and my family.

This has been a fabulous journey and I want to thank each of you who have walked this road with me, encouraging me, supporting me, praying for me, challenging me. It has been difficult and lonely at times, but the results have been worth it. I am a little nervous for the next few weeks though because this is usually the time when God speaks to me about the next year and things that He has for me. I will keep listening and will pass the news on as soon as I hear it.

Just to finish this post I want to refer to the title of this post. The End is HERE! is as much referring to the end of my challenge, but it is also an homage to the latest adventure in RPM or cycle/spin class. As many of you know, I have been taking Brad Albert's fantastic/hateful/really?/really? RPM class, and have written about it before in previous posts. Well, I took a little break to let the body rest and decided to jump back in the saddle and go again.

I set my bike up just like before but noticed something a little different about this class - there were fewer empty bikes, and more victims preparing for torture. If you have never been in a cycle class, let me set the scene. Take a shoe-box, add 45 stationary bicycles, drop in a few sweating bodies, pump up the volume and install one instructor who seems to be mainlining speed - and that is RPM. Well, the proximity of the bikes is such that when there is a full class, and the speed-junky instructor yells out, 'Add a gear and stand up to climb' then your face moves oh so much closer to the rear of the person in front of you. Not the rear of the bike in front of you - the rear of the person. Then the immortal words from the front, 'Don't look down, look ten feet in front of you!' As you lift your eyes you are temporarily blinded by the bouncing buttocks that are not ten feet from you, but a matter of ten inches. Resisting the urge to heave is the first instinct and then you bounce your eyes around the room trying to land on something that is much more pleasant to view.

Ok, you have the idea - now come with me to the last class we had. I followed every instruction (mostly) and stood up to climb the hills when requested. The first climb, the first rising from the seat revealed one of those fashion faux-pas moments that really you shouldn't be exposed to. As I stood up and looked 'ten feet in front of me' I noticed that the lady in front had the incorrect belief that wearing black Lycra leggings over the top of silver dollar sized polka dotted knickers would somehow hide the bouncing balls that encased her butt. My dear woman, this was not the case. As I looked forward I was met with the site of polka dot jumping from cheek to cheek encased in their slightly opaque covering. You could excuse this slight oversight if this dear fashion icon wasn't wearing a striped t-shirt - I mean a thin striped t-shirt. Mixing stripes and polka dots? Is the world coming to an end?

For the rest of the class I was left with a quandary as to where to look. If I looked at her butt then my OCD kicked in and I would count dots. Not good! If I tried to look elsewhere then my curiosity kicked in so compromised and played a mental game of Pong with the right cheek playing against the left cheek and the dots becoming a myriad of virtual tennis balls being batted from one side of the crevasse to the other. I know it is strange, but it passed the time when riding up those hills. 

So, in closing, if you are going to raise your rear in the air then please have some consideration for those behind you who might be distracted by your fashion choices. If my kids can color match their undergarments at the age of 4 and 6 then please no more polka dot madness at the gym.

Stuff 90X - I Need To Lose Some Weight!!

So, after a furious bout of writing for my other blog, and a Sunday morning sermon shared with my beautiful wife, I am back in the gym and hitting the cardio harder than ever. I recently blogged about my venture into P90X and to be honest, I may pick it up again. However, I have become one of the millions who started the program and stopped it, but probably one of the few who have stopped because they were not losing enough weight.

When I began P90X I was hoping that it would be the workout that would take me through the end of my challenge and help me achieve my goal. Sadly, even though they were awesome workouts, my weight loss stalled at 40,000 feet. I needed to jumpstart everything again and this week decided that I would increase my workout to a daily 1000+ calorie burn workout with a heavy emphasis on the cardio aspect but still working to include as much weight work as possible.

What a week it has been! So far I am on track with this new plan and so far the weight loss has begun again. Woohoo!! I have a little over 20 days to go and about 29lbs to lose, which, to be honest is not really healthy, but I am going to give it my best shot.

I would also like to re-issue a challenge to all my readers (well both of you) that you consider sponsoring a child through Compassion or, if you already do, then that you would take the challenge to find a sponsor for a child among your friends. I would love to reach my goal of weighing 210lbs by October 20th 2010, but I would even more like to achieve my goal of inspiring the sponsorship of 210 kids.

Next week is the Catalyst East Coast leadership conference in Atlanta GA and there will be approximately13,000 pastors and leaders in attendance. I have volunteered to help out at the Compassion International booth while we are there and I am still hopeful that my story will be told from mainstage during one of the sessions. At this point, my part in this adventure is to continue to work as hard as I can to try to reach my weight, I know that God asked me to step into this adventure and the care of the children and the challenge of sponsorship is something that He can do. I covet your prayers and encouragement for the next few weeks.

If anyone is interested in joining me and Julie on a little celebration meal at the end of this month then start setting some money aside as I have my eyes set on Fogo Du Chao in DC for a night of belly busting food. Just let me know.

'Samuel's Ear' - and an old story

For a long time I have been fascinated with one particular aspect of a relationship with God - the fact that He is a communicator and that He is always communicating with us. I regularly are drawn to passages of Scripture where God is communicating with His people. There are wonderful stories of God speaking to Abram and Moses, telling them things, showing them things that were vivid and in full technicolor. There was the time when God Spoke to Elijah and He did not reveal Himself in fire, or a mighty wind or an earthquake - no, He chose to speak to Elijah in a still small voice. There was the time when a little boy who was living and serving in the temple was asleep and was awakened by someone calling his name. After three episodes where the little boy wakes his master, he is told to listen to the voice and simply tell the Lord that he is listening.

All throughout the pages of the Bible there is communication after communication from heaven to earth. Jesus himself was the epitome of receptive listening when He declared that He didnt say anything unless He first heard his Father in heaven say it and He didnt do anything unless He saw His Father in heaven do it. Wow! That is communication. That is being in tune with someone, watching their every move and following their lead.

So why do we struggle so much with God speaking to us today?

Where are the hands writing on walls, and the voices from heaven directing and guiding us? Why is it that we seem to wander in the dark so much looking for a direction when all we truly need to do is stop, listen and then move wherever He sends us.

I was reminded tonight of how God showed us that our current house was the house He had prepared for us. I remember the afternoon we first came here. I felt this was our home immediately, but it wasnt what we were looking for. I remember standing in the front yard looking at the house asking God for a huge neon sign to appear that said "THIS ONE!" or "KEEP LOOKING!". The signage angel never appeared.

There wasnt a fire, there wasnt an earthquake, there wasnt a mighty wind. There was a still small voice. That voice told me to go read Jeremiah 29:28. Why that verse? Well the house I was standing in front of was number 2928 - and God knew what He wrote at that reference in Jeremiah.

That evening I read Jeremiah 29:17 - because I am a fallen being who cant remember a house number. I was a little surprised and disappointed when I read, 'this is what the LORD Almighty says: "I will send the sword, famine and plague against them and I will make them like poor figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten.'

Not quite the word of confirmation I was looking for. My wife reminded me of the correct address and I read Jeremiah 2928. It says this, 'He has sent this message to us in Babylon: It will be a long time. Therefore build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.'

 The whisper of God told me that this was where He had brought us to - 3000 miles from our old home - to this address, to be here to serve Him.

I have tried to follow the whispers of God whenever I hear them. I have started new ventures, I have stopped existing efforts and I have made some major blunders, but all of them in the pursuit of listening to the whispers of God.

Last week I responded to the latest whisper I believe God spoke - I stepped down from my positions of leadership at our church. This was not an easy decision to make, but I have learned that when the Lord whispers and calls your name you need to stop and say, 'Speak Lord, for your servant is listening' - just like that little boy in the temple so long ago - little Samuel.

I am not sure where this step will lead to, but I know that I can do nothing but follow the whisper. When Moses led the children of Israel through the desert, he followed the cloud and the pillar of fire - it was that simple. Wherever those objects moved to, there Moses took the nation. A straight line journey from Egypt to the promised land would have taken about 11 days - Moses led the people in the desert for 40 years. An entire generation had to pass before Joshua could cross the Jordan.

I do not know how long we will be in this place before the Lord whispers the next step. One thing I am praying for though is that I will have Samuel's ear - ready to listen for the whisper, and once I hear that sound, then I pray that I would have the courage to go where He sends me/us.

This is an awfully exciting journey for us and I would covet your prayers at this time as we seek His face and listen for His voice. I would encourage you to not listen to speculation or hearsay of what we intend to do or not do. When God shows us His plan for us, I will be sure to share it. If it doesnt come from me, then dont listen to it.

God bless. This is going to be an awfully big adventure.

My Life's Sound Track - According to My Wife

We were driving to drop our girls off to their schools yesterday morning and this song came on the radio. I had not really heard it before and it sounded like the normal Christian radio station play list. My beautiful wife Julie, who was sitting beside me, looked at me and said, "If there were a sound track playing for everyone's life, this song would be your sound track."

The song was by Josh Wilson and called "I Refuse". You can check it out here."I Refuse"

I was jolted into listening to the lyrics to see what sort of sound track my life would have according to my wife. She is a smart woman and I think that she was probably right.

What song is the sound track to your life?

What's up with that?

Ok, I have posted pretty much every day this week about my P90-X experiences and have only one more session to do tomorrow before a rest day on Saturday. Then the joy will begin once more. I wont post every day next week unless there is something enlightening or amusing to report, as otherwise it will be more posts with me just whining about how sore I am.

I do have one little issue I think is worthy of some words though. Last week, when I returned home from my vacation, I went to the gym to resume my workouts and weighed in at 244lbs. Pretty respectable if you ask me. I have been maintaining my good eating habits and even added a little more spinach than the previous weeks and so, after a week of P90-X I jumped on the scales to see where we were at. I couldn't believe what I was reading. Instead of 24lbs the scale stood glaring back at me with a number that read 245lbs!! What is up with that?? I am not too sure what is going on, but have you ever watched the Biggest Loser and one of the contestants had been working out all week and never lost a thing? Well, that is me this week. To be honest it is a little frustrating, but I can only think that my body is in shock with the transition to P90-X that it is thinking the world is about to end so it cant afford to shed any more weight as it might need that stuff to get me through this apocalypse.

Well, today was legs and shoulders - or lunges and pull-ups day - and the legs are tired and sore and the shoulders are still not speaking to me. I am sure I will feel this one tomorrow, but then I get to jump out of bed and do something called Kenpo - whatever that is. I had better go watch that DVD to see what is in store for me tomorrow.

Until next time when I check my weight again, everyone think 'light' thoughts so I can shed a few more pounds and inspire more people to sponsor kids.

I Have A Vein!! Ewwwww!

So, blogging a little late, but thought I would jot a quick note about yesterday's P90-X level of misery, I mean exercise routine. Yesterday was Day 3 for me and it was Arms and Shoulders followed by the infamous Ab Ripper impossibility I discussed on Sunday. The day didn't start off so well as my initial efforts at rolling out of bed seemed to be met with complete rebellion from my entire musculo-skeletal system. It seemed that whatever way I wanted to move, every muscle in my body was flat out refusing. This was not good as I had slept through my alarm and was close to being late for the first patient of the day at the clinic.

I eventually restored control over my limbs and forced my aching muscles into action and started my day. I have not felt this sore in, well I don't think I have ever felt this sore. Am I sure this is good for me? Clinic was interesting as I was moving more slowly than most of my patients. I think I may have been going a little quicker than my 90yr old patient, but that is debatable.

The session for today was arms - loads of biceps and triceps stuff with some shoulder work tossed in for good measure. This was another session for Gold's so I loaded up my exercise sheets and headed for the gym. In the DVD that I watched the night before they kept going on about not using too much weight as the repetitions would mount up as the session went on. I selected 15lbs for biceps and 10lbs for triceps. My triceps are not that strong and the left one is still complaining about the tearing incident from earlier in the summer.

The work began, and like a lone sentry I stood swinging from elbow flexion to elbow extension and all the time soaking my t-shirt with more and more sweat. This is why I was doing this at Gold's. Yesterday, when I did plyometrics at home and dumped my wet training gear of in the bedroom it left a rather unpleasant aroma that my wife was not too thrilled about - so there will be no more of that.

To be honest, I was really enjoying this work out. I can do arms. And then I saw it. Oh my goodness. Right there, running from my elbow, across my forearm towards my wrist. This bulging. pulsing VEIN!! I dont know about you, but for me the whole vein popping look is not that attractive. I am not in this to become some muscle bound hulk, but there it was, beating away like a junkie screaming for a fix. The thought did cross my mind that if I ever needed to give blood all I would have to do is 200 biceps curls with a 15lb weight and there would be a vein standing up that the proverbial blind man on a galloping horse could find.

The arm workout was enjoyable, what happened next was just embarrassing. It was time for the repeat of Ab Ripper and so I lay down in preparation for the first of the 11 exercises that were going to turn my beer keg of a belly into a six pack - allegedly. I got as far as the "Wuh...." of "one" and realized that my abs were still on vacation from Sunday night and this whole crunchy frog thing was just not going to happen. I needed to adapt the Ab Ripper to rip them in some alternate fashion. To add insult to injury, my lower back had joined in the pity party and was complaining about being sore or something. Inside my head it was like all the different parts of my body had convened a meeting that I wasnt invited to, but could just hear " Waah, waah, waah, waah..." though the door.

I followed the example of the apostle Paul and sat down and had a donut - well I am sure that is in the Message version somewhere, but I had the NIV so "I beat my body and make it my slave ..." (1 Cor 9:27) and went over to the abs area and punished my core with sets of 25 reps of obliques, crunches, power crunches, Captain crunches and apple crunch - well that is what I was thinking of as I was finishing up.

My work out done, it was time to retire to the solitude of the shower and once more navigate the trickiness of applying shampoo to your head when you cannot lift your arms above your shoulder height. Today was a better day, Yoga tomorrow - yeah, right. I am already skeptical of that one, but we shall see. Oh yeah, that's right - I dont have the Yoga disc, Marty does. I guess I can leave the one piece leotard in the closet for another week. This guy probably should have too. Until tomorrow.

Day 2 - P90-X Is Dante's second level of hell

In Dante's Inferno he intricately describes his idea of various levels of punishment and pain as he describes different levels of hell. I think Dante was inspired by the fact that he was in the first week of P90-X.



I started this insanity yesterday with a back and chest work out that left me feeling like a T-Rex, short arms and all. I went to bed last night praying for the rapture and woke this morning still in bed, so that didn't work out did it? This morning brought with it the idea that today would be my first 'home' workout session and who knows what that would bring. I decided to do the plyometrics session in my living room for fear of other people at the gym wondering what the strange guy was doing on his own prancing around the otherwise empty and silent exercise studio. My fears were confirmed relatively early into the routine when my 4 year old exercised her gift of encouragement and yelled out, "Daddy, you look like a girl!!"


She was ok when she landed from the drop-kick, and she didnt really travel that far anyway. (joke!) I loaded the DVD, pausing only momentarily to consider watching the Berenstein Bears DVD that was already in the machine. After all, you dont want to rush into this exercise stuff too early. Undeterred though I soldiered on. The DVD began, I strapped on my heart monitor and started mimicking what was on screen before me. My 4yr old and 6yr old 'training buddies' kept up pretty well for the first 10 minutes or so but the little one was done when she did get stepped on for real, and yes it was an accident. There is no need to call child protective services.

The next 45 minutes was filled with squatting, sweating, jumping, panting, sweating, lunging, sweating, panting, gasping for air, jumping, twisting, sweating (did I mention that already?) and more bouncing about my living room. I looked at my heart monitor and by the end of the session I had burned 800 calories, and lost most of the feeling in my feet. But 800 CALORIES IN MY LIVING ROOM!! That was pretty awesome, except for the fact that I was downstairs and my clothes and shower were upstairs. I wasn't going anywhere today, I could just stay sweaty. I struggled upstairs like a man who had just finished his first marathon and who's legs had locked up. This was going to help wasn't it?





I made it to the shower only to be faced by the still present T-Rex syndrome. I tried to squirt shampoo in the air and then get my head under neath it before mashing my head against the wall in an attempt to not have to lift my arms up to my head, but that was unsuccessful. Eventually I was clean, sore and feeling like I could face the world.

Tomorrow is shoulders and arms and, joy of joys, the AB Ripper. I think I will head to the gym for this one. More to come in the next installment of adventures of a Fat Man and P90-X. This is worth it, isn't it?

P90-X - Is This A Result of the Fall?

So with only a matter of weeks to go until I finish my challenge (according to the calendar) and a number of pounds to go before I finish my challenge (according to the scales) I decided that I would follow in the immortal words of that famous tubby chef and kick it up a notch. My workouts have been going well, but it felt more like a maintenance program than a continued weight loss effort so it was time to go for broke (although not literally).

I recently borrowed a copy of the DVD based home exercise program P90-X and decided that today was the day to begin this final phase. For those who have not heard of P90-X it is supposed to be that perfect exercise program that gives you that perfect beach body by the end of the 90 days of the program - if you believe the hype and PR machine behind the program. For those of you who have done it I really think that you will understand the feeling behind the first question that went through my head as I was doing yet another set of push-ups as per the first DVD.

That question of course was simple and to the point, "Oh dear Lord, what have I done??"

Through the wonders of social media I had announced to the world that today was the day that I would be starting this program, not really knowing everything about the program. So, the world knew, and some even asked me this morning in church how the first session went. Well, my intention of starting early this morning was foiled by my sweet 4 year old having a restless night and keeping the rest of us awake for a large part of the early hours.  My plan altered such that I went to the gym tonight armed with my list of exercises and the determination that this was going to help take me to my personal finish line.

P90-X uses pull-up bars and dumb bells to provide resistance for some of the exercises and I had neither at home, nor did I really want to sweat all over my living room carpet for the next 90 days. So off to the gym I went to do P90-X without the smarmy announcer dude showing me what a wimp I am.

I did a quick run on the treadmill to warm up and then began the madness. Push-ups, pull-ups, exotic exercises like 'heavy pants' and lawnmowers and 40 minutes of sweat later I was left laying on the floor of the gym pretty much unable to lift my arms in any direction. Who thought of this stuff? I began to think of things that the P90-X stood for. Things like:

Praying 90 times for the rapture
Person yelling 90 eXpletives
Pain 90 times worse than you have ever felt
Paying 90 times more than the outcomes are worth

On the DVD the first workout takes approximately 1 hour (including warm-up and cool down time) and my first work out only lasted about 50 minutes. The reason for the time discrepancy was my inability to actually do as many reps as they do on the DVD. I will admit that my body has undergone significant change over the past 7 months, but pull-ups, seriously? Were we even designed to be able to do those? But, like the DVD says, you do your best and I reckoned that the lack of strength to actually move my limbs was a good indication that I had certainly done that. The 600+ calories that I had burned and the 40 minutes that my HR was in the zone were also encouraging to me. Even if I cant do a pull-up - YET!

As if this bodily onslaught was not enough for the first session I was then supposed to complete a short series of 11 exercises designed to work the abdominal region in what was called AbRipper X. Are you serious? I barely have enough strength to lift the page of exercises I had printed out and now I am supposed to do abdominal exercises? Aye carumba! Well, if this is what the program calls for then this is what the Fat Man will do.

I started the first two exercises, they went pretty well, painfully, but well and then we came to exercise number 3. Something called a 'Crunchy Frog'. This required me trying to balance on my butt, keep my feet in the air and move them in and out all while synchronizing wrapping my arms around my legs when in the full tuck position. Yeah right! That was just not going to happen. Aside from the recurring back issue that I have had, my abdominal muscles had seen what my back and shoulders had gone through and had taken refuge hiding beneath the soles of my feet. They were nowhere to be seen.

If I want that beach body (which I dont really, but I do have some pounds to lose) then I needed to modify the program and use the gym to my advantage for this one. So I headed up to the abs section of the gym and punished my disobedient stomach muscles for deserting the cause in my time of need. The end came and my sweaty mass slowly made its way to the locker room to pass out quietly in a corner somewhere and wait for the end of time.

There is a reason this is a HOME exercise program - at home you at least might have someone who can help you get your t-shirt off after you finish your workout. I got one arm above my head, tried to raise the second arm but realized that it was still attached to a dumb bell somewhere and of no help whatsoever. So there I stood, t-shirt half off, face pressed against sweat soaked cotton trying to muster enough strength to break free from my clothing. I could only imagine how I will feel in the morning. I think I should move the Advil to a place of prominence beside my bed. Trying to get my clean t-shirt on after my shower was even more entertaining as by this point, neither arm was willing to elevate above 90 degrees.

Eventually I managed to get dressed and left the gym, telling two guys who were on their way in that "It is too late for me, but you guys still have time to run away!" The verse, 'resist the devil and he will flee ...' came to mind, but I didnt use it. My problems worsened somewhat as I opened my truck and realized that I had driven the STICK SHIFT VEHICLE - stoopid, stoopid Jason! I found out tonight how much my truck will actually travel in 3rd gear, and it will even start from a dead stop in 3rd gear - sweet!

So here I sit, like a T-Rex, unable to lift my arms and wondering how I will change for bed, and if I am honest somewhat in fear of the Plyometrics session that awaits me in the morning. I watched it tonight and decided that I will do that one at home. It is one thing to prance around when you are following an exercise routine on TV, or even in person, but when you are the only one in the gym prancing around the room doing all sorts of weird contortions then you get the 'weird guy at the gym' tag.

So, until tomorrow morning when I destroy my legs with Plyometrics, I bid you adieu.

PS - Jesus, if you would like to return tonight to save me from what the morning will bring, I am ok with that.

I'm Back!!! - And there is a little less of me to go around.

Well it has been a couple of weeks since I last posted but that was not because I didnt want to write - it was a matter of scheduling and simply not having enough time to get online and post my thoughts.

So, a quick update. July began with a week at home with the family completing final preparations for our Summer StreetReach mission week which pretty much took care of the entire second week of July. We had an awesome time and I will write more on my other blog about our experiences there. The third week of July was another one at home with the kids, this time recovering from StreetReach and preparing for the most awesome 2 week vacation with friends and family at Smith Mountain Lake in Va.

So, where has the Challenge been while all of these other activities have been ongoing? Well, I must say that things are going well, but to be honest I think I am just a smidgen behind schedule. The last time I posted I had just reached the milestone of having lost 60lbs - which was awesome. Our mission week, two weeks on vacation without access to a gym and a little indulgence here and there has meant that I at my weigh-in this morning I was at 244lbs - which is a total weight loss of 70lbs.

Now, dont get me wrong, 70lbs weight loss in about 8 months is an awesome achievement, but I really want to reach this goal on the date that I have set myself. So from here on in I have 10 weeks of hard work, sacrifice and self-control to help me reach my target. I believe that I can do it. I believe that I can reach the weigth loss goal that I set, but that is, and always has been one small part of this challenge. I really want to reach my sponsorship target for Compassion. My best count at this point is that my efforts have inspired the sponsorship of between 40 and 50 children. Again, this is not a small accomplishment, but I set myself a target of 210 kids sponsored and that is what I really want to see happen. I know how to lose the remaining 34lbs - I have no idea how to get the rest of these children sponsored.

I need your help. I am thankful for those of you who have taken the challenge and sponsored a child already, but I have one more request for you. Would you be so kind to decide that you will be an advocate for this cause and take it on yourself to find one more person who will become a sponsor? If you have received that first letter from your sponsor child and had that little hand drawn crayon effigy sent to you then you will feel like I feel - that we should be doing everything we can to use the wealth that God has blessed us with to reach out to those who are in need.

I am now 70lbs lighter than I was last Christmas. I know have 4 daughters - 2 biological girls who are here with my wife and I, and we also now have 2 sponsored 'daughters' who live in El Salvador who we write to, and send pictures to and pray for regularly. This has been an awfully big adventure - and somehow I feel it is only just beginning.

For those of you who like those reality TV shows with the before and after pictures then I have included a few of those at the end of the post. For those who are wondering what antics I can get up to next then you need to stay tuned for the next blog entry because I will be starting P90X in the next day or two. I am sure that will be an adventure in itself.

Thank you for your support, and please consider clicking on the COMPASSION links on this page and start sponsoring a child today. If you have already sponsored a child then become an advocate and leave a message on this post to that effect. I am working hard to meet the weight loss challenge, will you help me reach the sponsorship challenge?

Let's change lives together.

The (less) Fat Man

Celebrating 60 today!!

Have you ever been to a 60th birthday party? The celebration of another birthday takes on a whole new dynamic when the transition of a new decade occurs. It is an awesome thing to be able to celebrate with someone the achievement of them being able to stay upright and breathing for that many consecutive years.

What about an even more rare event - like a 60th wedding anniversary? Have you ever been to one of those? In the list identifying a specific item or gift with an anniversary date, the 60th anniversary is said to be the Diamond Anniversary and this is the appropriate gift of choice for the happy couple. However what two old fogies are going to do with a bunch of diamonds escapes me - so if you are going for this gift then pick something that you might like back and pray that it gets in the will :)

 What do you get the guy who has achieved his own personal 60th anniversary? Maybe a soft chair and a good cup of coffee (hint, hint!). Today we are 1 week from my 'Jump Start' beginning of the next phase of my 210 in 2010 Challenge and today was a good gym day. Hopped on the treadmill, 30 minutes of 'fat burn' workout on Level 10 (it doesnt go any higher!!) and the sweat was on good, then off to lift heavy things until my arms went numb, then back on to the bike to play the dragon chasing game I found on one of the exercise bikes.

So was this the 60 day of my adventure? Nope, was this the 60th time I stepped out and tried something new? Nope - so what was the 60th anniversary all about?

I jumped on the scale, looked down and read the number 254lbs - having started this adventure at 314lbs, today is my 60lbs down, 44 to go day! Every drop of 10lbs deserves some celebrating. Every time I dip into a new 10lbs increment I want to scream out loud and fist pump my hands (if they werent so sore that I can barely lift them over my head). Every time I step on the scale and wait for the number to change I am in anticipation at the next achievement.

Life is all about small achievements. Small achievements grow and accumulate to form huge successes. We do not celebrate the small achievements enough. We do not celebrate the tiny steps and the increments that we use as we inch ourselves towards our goals - and we miss out on the encouragement, on the sense of achievement, on the satisfaction of a job well done. We need to celebrate our successes a lot more.

So here is my cupcake - all for me. In honor of me achieving a loss of 60lbs. Sadly this image of a cupcake is as close as I can allow myself to get to a cupcake, but here we are. Celebrating. (Waves flag in air, wearing a party hat and blowing a little blue plastic horn - sitting alone in my office).

Well, I am celebrating - even if you wont.

My goal for this time next week - to be out of the 250's and to step into the twilight zone - the 40's - the 240's.

See you there - bring cake.

Time For a Jump Start

The past few months have been pretty chaotic at our house. The girls were away for 2 weeks, then a week later, Julie was away for 10 days at her grandfather's funeral and then a couple of weeks after she returned our dog passed away. It has just felt like one thing after another. In the midst of it all I have been trying to maintain my diet, but to be honest, my exercise schedule has suffered. My gym time has been less and less and I need to correct that.

This is a decision of the head and the heart. It is time to jump start this body once more and drive towards my goal.

Are you with me?

Where is your big belly?

I twittered this recently but thought it was worthy of a full post on my blog. There is something so innocent and wonderful about kids and this past week I experienced that with my oldest daughter. Cara came into my bedroom the other day as I was putting on my t-shirt and she stopped right in front of me, reached both hands out and placed them on either side of my stomach. With a surprised exclamation she shouted out, "Daddy, where has your big belly gone?"

This was the cutest thing I had heard in a long time, however I had a moment where I realized that I needed to make sure my answer was something that would not frighten her, but something that she could handle. You see, about two weeks ago we had to say goodbye to our faithful family dog who, from just before Christmas, had lost a lot of weight due to liver disease. I didnt want to say anything that in Cara's little mind would somehow connect Daddy's loss of his belly, with Ollie's loss of weight. In a moment of inspiration I told her that "my big belly had been mean to me and he wasn't my friend anymore." This satisfied her and she left me in piece to continue getting dressed.

Later that morning, as we were sitting on the sofa downstairs, Cara pointed out her discovery of my loss of belly to her mom. "Look mommy, Daddy's belly is gone.." which would have been perfect had she just stopped there. But, 5 year olds have the amazing ability to say it like it is and, as she leaned down on my now reduced stomach, she realized that there seemed to be more to lose. She grabbed my remaining belly fat in between her two hands and said, "I guess you need to keep going until you lose this part too!"

Great, one moment she is my biggest encouragement, the next she is my biggest critic. I wasn't put off by this latest comment, but struck by the simple honesty and truth of her words. When I set myself this challenge, I didnt set it to get half way and feel so good about myself that I just stop and do complete the task. No, I set myself a goal, and I need to keep my eyes on that goal. I set myself the target of 210lbs. I went to the gym today and weighed in - 256lbs. That is 58 pounds in almost 5 months - a little ahead of my target of 10lbs a month.

The goal is still 210lbs, and with the simple words of my daughter in my ears I will be setting off on the second half of my journey with renewed enthusiasm and rekindled desire for success. 210 in 2010 here we come.

As I have continued to say, the weight loss is only the inspiration to encourage people to sponsor a child through Compassion - I need a lot more people to do that. If you are interested in becoming a child sponsor please follow the links on this site to Compassion and begin to change the life of a child today.

Reaching An All Time Low

Wow! It has been a while since I was on here telling my story. A lot has gone down since my last post - including my weight. I hopped on the scales this morning and read the number 259.4lbs - I AM BELOW 260!!!

What a great feeling to know that despite traveling to a conference (not eating the best of stuff while there, nor exercising), almost traveling to Belfast (another long story that I will blog about on my other site) and then juggling my girls, my jobs and my life, that I have still managed to continue to drop my weight and reach an all time low weight for me. I dont think I have weighed in the 250's since I was in my 20's. So excited.


In other news: Dione and I traveled to Atlanta for the Orange conference - pretty great stuff, and I had the chance to meet with Ken Coleman from Catalyst and continue to share my journey on this adventure. He is working on a piece for Catalyst 2010 in October where all being well, I will have a chance to inspire more people to step up and sponsor. I also had the chance to hang out with Aaron Foster (one of the Catalyst team) and it was kind of strange to have people say, "Hey, you are the guy from the podcast! How's it going?" Going to check out some supplement stuff that Aaron uses so when we get to the summer and the last push to lose that final 30lbs or so I have all the right nutrients in place.

I met Mr Jinnohara, the father of one of my students, who lives in Hawaii and heard my story through the Catalyst podcast. That was a trip. it really brought home to me that through the power of media, this message is being spread and people are being inspired.

The most encouraging thing that happened recently occurred only a few days ago. I was sitting with some faculty colleagues in between meetings and they asked what my blog was all about. It was great to share with them my journey this far. Very exciting.

Finally for this little update - I received a message from one of our new sponsors who was very excited that she had received her first letter from her sponsor child. She was thrilled, and I was so happy that not only was her sponsor child now being cared for, but that her sponsor was also being blessed through the communication.

I do need some help though. If you go to a church that you think would be interested in sponsoring children and would allow me a short amount of time to share my story and provide opportunity for them to get involved then please, please, please get in touch with me. At this point I think there are somewhere around 70 children who have been sponsored through 210 in 2010, but my goal is to reach 210 by October. It is time to push the boat out and find more sponsors.

Thank you all for your encouragement and your support. This has been an awfully big adventure.