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.