Storage Capacity

As I was driving home recently, I went by a site where a series of storage units were being built. My first thought as I rode past it was, “Really? Another storage unit? Do we actually need this?” I feel confident this was not an overestimation on my part of the number of storage facilities in our community. Obviously there is a demand for them or there wouldn’t be an increase in their supply. It’s a thriving industry as people collect so much “stuff” that they need to store them in other locations. Perhaps if we didn’t insist on keeping things we don’t need there wouldn’t be a continual demand for the construction of more storage units.

We don’t just hang onto physical things however. Our journey through life takes us through relationships, decisions, and unexpected circumstances that lead us to accumulate emotional and spiritual baggage as well. Those life experiences have value as they have shaped us into who we are today and should not be ignored. If we don’t learn to deal with them in a healthy manner, however, we end up hanging on to parts of life that we don’t really need. We harbor resentment, exude bitterness, cling to unforgiveness, wallow in shame, and live in mistrust—the things we cling to out of our hurt. Don’t reject the life lessons from difficult life experiences, but refuse to store up the negativity that often accompany them.

Much like the possessions in life we no longer have a purpose for—we should pick up each of these old scars, carefully examine them, and discard the ones that no longer influence us in a healthy way. Hanging on to them only crowds out space for engaging in new ways of thinking and feeling that take us down healthier pathways.

My Own Appearance

In the past two years I have undergone a radical physical transformation as I've dedicated myself to a healthier lifestyle. At the beginning it wasn't easy to keep my focus, but it has now become a disciplined part of who I am. I feel better about myself and like how my improved health has changed my physical appearance.

Spending more time in the gym has also exposed me to a wider group of fitness fanatics who have obviously been working at this longer than I have. I see many of them coming in to work out in tank tops or cut off shirts that show off their weightlifting dedication. Several times I have thought to myself, "Don't wear a tank top to the gym because you don't look as muscular as that person." Even though I am comfortable with my fitness level, I still find myself caught in the comparison trap.

Comparison can be dangerous to our well being when we find ourselves constantly measuring our success based on someone else. It's not easy to set this aside, but it's essential if we want to keep a healthy perspective on our own progress. I think we can let others encourage us and push us forward into positive life change, but we can't allow their growth to define us. We don't need to look, think, talk, or live just like anyone else. Our confidence needs to come from being the best version of ourselves we can be.

Thinking Ahead

Part of my afternoon was spent in advance meal preparation. I cooked two pounds of sausage and 18 eggs to make burritos for my breakfasts for the next two weeks. It takes about an hour to cook the ingredients, wrap the burritos for freezing, and clean up the kitchen. The benefit is that I now have food covered for the rest of my week at home and for next week while I am at middle school camp. The up front cost of time and energy helps me make a healthier choice because I was willing to plan ahead.

Too many times we are left with poor choices in the moment because we haven't planned far enough ahead. We haven't set back financial reserves, created margin in our schedules, or even thought about contingency options in our plans. Obviously there is no way to be entirely equipped for changes in circumstances, but we can hopefully set ourselves up to be a little more successful if we think some things through ahead of time.

Inching Forward

Sticking to the commitment to making changes in our life isn't always an easy decision. The early days of new behaviors are tough as we retrain our mind and body to behave differently. Our old habits threaten to overtake our new desires and we can become discouraged by the difficulty of this change. There are different studies that suggest it takes 21 days for a new habit to take effect, but I've also seen some that suggest it is closer to 66 days before something is ingrained. I think the exact number might be different for each of us, but there is one common element that helps us keep going--seeing positive results.

When we start to see even small, incremental progress from our new behaviors this encourages us to stay on this new track. Our relationships might start to improve because we've committed to approaching things with a more peaceful attitude. A new runner is able to run for 1/2 mile when that wasn't a possibility before. Changes in muscle tone become more evident after struggling to complete repetitions. Kicking a smoking habit is a bit easier when the cravings start to lessen even if they haven't disappeared completely.

Positive progress makes us aware that what we are doing is working. We all need forward momentum or we'll get discouraged and quit before we can create new, healthier habits.

Know Your Pace

I use an app on my iPhone when I am running to help me track my mileage, running time, and intervals. I have it set to tell me the pace I have set at the end of each mile. This helps me to determine if I am running at my desired pace and if I need to make adjustments based on the total distance I am running. If I am only running 2-3 miles, I know I can set out at a much faster pace because I don’t have to maintain it for long. If I have a longer run planned for that day, I know I have to be careful not to set out too fast or I won’t be able to sustain my efforts over time.

Don’t we do this in other parts of our life? We set a pace that is too intense for us to maintain and end up crashing. We either reach the point of complete exhaustion, engage in unhealthy practices to try to keep up, or suffer from a breakdown of some type. While I believe we need to push our pace some to grow, we also need to make sure we aren’t going so fast we can’t sustain it. Pushing past our limits is possible (and even beneficial) in the short term, but a frenetic pace and maximum intensity isn’t healthy over long periods of time.

Keep Doing It

Some days are more difficult than others. Unexpected events, high stress circumstances, frustrating obstacles, and long hours can dampen your enthusiasm. One of the keys to coming through those healthfully is to figure out some way to re-energize yourself. 

I came home last night after a very long (and in many ways good) day. Before leaving the church I had already made up my mind to run. The cool, rainy weather would not deter me from hitting the streets and in fact, only added a measure of enjoyment to my run. Even though my end-of-day exercise got me to bed much later than usual, it was absolutely worth the effort. I was in a better mood and slept more soundly (albeit in fewer hours.)

We each have a different mechanism to keep us balanced and maintain a healthy perspective. Releasing our stress may be through gaming, exercise, napping, or some other hobby. I would simply encourage people to figure out what helps them deal with their stress in a healthy way and then commit doing it consistently.  

One Year Later

It's been one year since I decided to change my life for the better. We had just returned from our annual vacation and I was tired of the constant roller coaster of healthy vs. unhealthy. My weight had shifted up and down for years in a 20-30 pound cycle and I realized it was not going to get any easier to keep off the pounds as I got older. My wife committed to helping me stay focused and I began a journey of healthy eating and exercise that has carried over to this year. One of my goals for 2015 was to complete a full calendar year of making better lifestyle choices. In that time I've become a runner, tried to encourage people who are making life change decisions, and shed 55 pounds. I keep telling myself that I won't go back to my old way of living and insist on continuing to make decisions that reinforce that conviction.

This might seem like a blog seeking out affirmation from others, but my intent is to actually encourage people to get started on the changes they want to make. Lasting transformation is a journey and it won't happen simply because we wish for it to be true. We are pulled to change due to the tension we feel between our current status and where we would like to be. Some days will take tremendous discipline and willpower, but hopefully the right patterns will be developed which help us all make better choices. Once you start to see positive changes it will only increase your commitment to the right course of action. Transformation won't take place in the next year unless we are willing to do something different from what we are currently practicing. As I often tell people, "You can't change in a day what took a lifetime to create." While this is true, I can start doing something new tomorrow which will eventually bring the change I'm looking for.

What new next step will you take to be transformed?

Good Fuel

There are certain Scriptures I have memorized (not as many as I would like) and I use them when I need to refocus myself. I will find myself speaking them out loud as I drive down the road or when I find my thoughts wandering to unhealthy places. It's a way of recalibrating my mind and spirit while reminding me of what is really important. There is great comfort in these words of power and they have proven to be an anchor for me when circumstances are not always steady.

I certainly don't always respond in the best way, but I believe increased Scripture intake will lead to a healthier (and holier) output. We need to determine what we fuel ourselves with because we will see the offspring of it when we are tested.

Work It

The NBA Finals started last night (non-sports fan readers-don't tune out just yet!) and the Warriors came back to win the Game 1 after being down by double digits. When asked about the comeback in a post game interview, their leading player pointed to their commitment to their system. He said they believed in what they had done all year to get here and didn't panic. They were able to maintain focus on the important things through adversity and do what had proven to be successful.

I would like to keep the same focus in my personal life. There are many good practices which have led me to this phase of life. These are physical, spiritual, relational, mental, and emotional habits which are part of my life system. While I need to be ready to adapt and make modifications as I grow, I can't neglect the important steps that have led me to this point. When I feel as if I am losing, I need to stay focused on healthy habits and keep doing what is right.

All You Can

My (old) standard line was that my favorite restaurant was a free buffet. It's actually kind of sad how much I used to enjoy a buffet. I would rate the various ones by the offering of food and the amount we could pack in to our bodies for the cost. I even have several stories of buffet times with different groups of friends. Even though the food might have been good it was more about the mentality of getting the most bang for my buck. I would go back for multiple dishes even when I had obviously hit my food saturation point. At the end of all that there still had to be one more trip for dessert.  

The buffets always advertised "all you can eat" and I certainly tested that mentality. It probably would have been healthier for me to approach it with the idea of "all I should eat." That would have changed my tactics and been healthier for me in the long run. It's a good practice for many things in my life. There are many things that I can do, but I need to discipline myself to think carefully about what I should do first. It's a principle echoed in the Scripture -all things are permissible, but not everything is beneficial.

Adjust Your Pace

I've implemented some lifestyle changes in the last six months as I work to get a more permanent handle on my health. I started with riding a stationary bike and then progressed to running the steps outside our campus church. In the last month I've moved to running the streets in the downtown area. I've been concentrating on my distance, but also on the pace I keep while running. On my last two runs I have pushed my intensity which leaves me more tired and also decreases the distance I can run. If I want to run farther I'm going to have to slow down my pace.

That's good advice for other areas of my life too. I enjoy the thrill of pushing a little harder in seasons of life and ministry, but I recognize that it shortens the time I can operate at that level. If I want to succeed in the long term, I've got to regulate my pace so I can keep going. This requires self-awareness and the willingness to rest when it's needed. It's a commitment to endurance instead of a short burst of energy that is soon forgotten.

Watch Your Mouth!

A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell. (‭James‬ ‭3‬:‭5-6‬ MSG)

I understand from personal experience the power of the spoken word and how damaging it can be to relationships. This isn't a new problem nor is it only an issue for me. The passage of Scripture above demonstrates the devastating potential of our words and cautions us in our choices. The good news is that we can choose the opposite of the verses above as well.

• A carefully placed, correct word can put out the fire of conflict.
• We can strengthen & build up the world and our relationships
• The right word can create beautiful, unified harmonies while eliminating chaos
• We can restore a person's reputation and protect their character
• At the first sign of impending fire we can quickly put it out with words of peace, unconditional love, and reconciliation

We have always had the power to build up or destroy with our words. Let's carefully choose which list of results we want to describe our speech.

Step One

I am trying to create some positive changes in my life and honestly they aren't always easy to do. I know that I want to be a healthier man in all aspects: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I see the direction that I want to move in and just need to develop the discipline to keep progressing in that direction even when it's difficult. I know that the consistency of my motivation will have an ebb and flow to it and that may be frustrating for my pace of growth. I need to remind myself that I didn't get where I'm at overnight and I won't fix it in one night either. My devoted attention to my goals today will help build another step for tomorrow. Nothing of significance is built all at once, but by being diligently faithful one piece at a time.

Expiration Dates

We had to dump out a full gallon of milk the other day since it was no longer good. That's never usually an issue at our house as we tend to go through milk fairly quickly, but the expiration date was obviously not accurate. It was a brand new gallon that had an expiry date of August 26th, but it was clearly spoiled. I hated to waste the money (and good milk), but it serves as a reminder that everything comes to an end at some point.

That had me thinking about expiration dates in other areas of our lives too. We obviously all have a life expiration date although it is not necessarily known by us. There are other more short-term areas too: employment venues, some relationships, careers, opportunities, and tough (and good) seasons. While we tend to think of this in only in a negative fashion it might help us to realize the end of something isn't always a detriment to our health. We can learn from how things come to a conclusion and hopefully improve our next season. We can begin to anticipate when those moments will take place and prepare to handle them in a more balanced fashion.

There is no way to completely halt these times, but we can decide to be prepared so that we are not caught unawares and left with a sour taste in our mouths.

Telling Time

There's an opportune time to do things, 

a right time for everything on the earth. Ecclesiastes 3:1

I struggled learning to tell time when I was very young. There are a lot of reasons why it was so difficult, but I distinctly remember how hard it was at that age. Of course this was before the age of digital watches and clocks. In fact, we used to be able to call a phone number that would tell you what time it was. It was one of the best ways of making sure that your clocks were accurate and that you weren't terribly off base.

I don't have the same issues anymore (thankfully!) but I don't think that reading a clock is the biggest problem for most people either. We are able to accurately determine what time it is with the technology that is readily available. Sadly, some of us still aren't very good at telling time. I'm not talking about the hours and minutes of the day, but our ability to determine the right moment for thoughts, actions, and words.

There is a time that is right for us to do something and there is a time when it is best for us to be patient. There is a time when we should speak and a time when we should remain silent. There are times that demand immediate action and others that require careful consideration and strategic movements. Our struggle is that we sometimes have a difficult time determining when that season is right and instead handle varying situations with identical solutions. When we treat every season the same way we alienate people around us and become ill-equipped to handle change. Learning to accurately tell what time it is comes from a willingness to be corrected, a desire to learn, and the humility to admit your mistakes. Healthy, maturing people are willing to learn this valuable skill and hopefully get better at it over time.

Wasting Away

Atrophy (noun): degeneration, decline, or decrease, as from disuse; wasting away

I've seen the effects of atrophy up close. In athletic training we would work with athletes returning from broken bones and periods of immobility who had to work to rebuild muscle tissue. In ministry I have witnessed people who have neglected important disciplines long enough to forget how to do what used to be instinct. Both areas represent an important fact for all of us: if you don't use something you will lose it. It may not be gone forever, but it will take some work to get back to a comparable state. This is a life principle that applies to physical activity, spiritual disciplines, relationships, and overall positive life habits.

If we want to avoid a personal regression we can't ignore the practices that brought us to a place of growth. Rest when it's necessary, but be consistent in doing the things that bring good health to all parts of your life. Nothing healthy was ever achieved by wasting away.

Escape Plan

My wife & I are big fans of the show "Burn Notice." We love the action, the character development, and the unique approach to handling conflict and conspiracy theories. We joke with each other about how our lives are different from watching the show as I can now enter a room, quickly identify the exits, decide what in the room can be used as a weapon, and determine the angles that potential threats might attack from. It might prove to be a useful life skill at some point and certainly takes me up a notch on the tough-guy scale if I can pull it off. These acquired abilities would definitely make me a better spy (and hard-core pastor) but they can be devastating when they are applied to our relationships.

I have unfortunately witnessed the post-traumatic fallout of relationships gone awry from intentional (and unintentional) damage. The moment people walk into commitment they start identifying ways to escape instead of methods that guarantee success, are increasingly wary of threats instead of thinking the best of the other person, and are immediately on the offensive with weapons shaped by our words, attitudes, and actions. It makes for good television, but it is far from the best way to build a healthy relationship with people that we care about.

Health Assessment

People often associate good health with an absence of illness. While this might seem to make sense, it doesn't indicate a true understanding of what complete, good health is. The lack of an apparent illness doesn't necessarily reflect how well our internal organs are functioning, our emotional and mental state, the health of our self-esteem, or the well-being of our relationships. For us to accurately assess our personal fortitude and work to improve it, we have to change our perspective.

The problem with shifting our viewpoint is that we might have to admit that our relationships are not as strong as we believed them to be, our character is not as unyielding as we have convinced ourselves, and our personal holistic health is subpar. Ignoring this truth leaves us uttering the cliche (and in this instance false) platitude that "Everything is fine." The truth is that the problems (disease if you will) that we end up facing are most often the symptoms of much larger health issues. We can reject the possibility that something is wrong, but it will eventually become a big enough problem to demand our attention. 

Analyzing our relationship, mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health requires a dose of humility and a willingness to work to correct any deficits we see. Waiting until a bigger problem arises is more detrimental to us and takes longer to recover from. Take an honest look at yourself to see if you're truly healthy and then take a few small steps to improve it now.

New Math

I'm constantly reminded about the need for well communicated, godly vision. This is vital for successful families, passionately focused marriages, thriving churches, and growing organizations. Clarifying that vision helps people make the best decisions with their resources and invest energy in efforts that move along the right pathway. As that vision is communicated it becomes contagious to the people it directly impacts and inspires others to join in. When times are tough (and they will be at some point) it's the clear vision that motivates people to keep pushing forward. It reminds me of a simple equation I came across in my reading:

Need + Vision = Inspiration            Need - Vision = Desperation

There will be times of need in every family and organization. The key factor in thriving is to have a clearly articulated vision that involves everyone and gives people something to work towards during adversity. The hard work of clearly defining & sharing that vision is the only way to guarantee lifetime success.