Sunday, March 18, 2007
* Subvert Dominant Expectations
Psalm 33:4 - The Message
4-5 For God's Word is solid to the core;
everything he makes is sound inside and out.... (emphasis added)
I hate seeing people not living up to their potential. I hate seeing ME not living up to MY own potential - which is why I am always trying to make changes for the better. And with what seems like such a culture of underachievement these days - just simply DOING WHAT IT IS THAT YOU ARE SAYING THAT YOU WILL DO will set you apart from others. I fail at this all the time, though hopefully the frequency will become less and less. Maybe overall we're just "spoiled" from being so blessed and we just feel like we should expect all of the good things to come to us without having to work for it anymore.
The Maker's Diet states "Americans seem to accept poor health as a normal consequence of aging...Fully one half of your nerve cells are located in the gut, so your capacity for feeling and for emotional expression depends primarily on the gut (and only to a lesser extent on your brain). By the time you add together the number of nerve cells in the esophagus, stomach, and small and large intestine, there are more nerve cells in the overall digestive system than are in the preipheral nervous system. Most people would say the brain determines whether you are happy or sad, but they have their facts skewed. It seems the gut is more responsible than we ever imagined for mental well-being and how we feel."
....He loves it when everything fits,
when his world is in plumb-line true....
SO, being passionate / creative / actors / artists / musicians / people, that others might look to for inspiration, how much better can we inspire them if we are even in better touch with our OWN "gut" and feelings? And I submit to you, that we JUST MIGHT be in better touch with our own gut and feelings if we put good things into the core of our bodies.
There seems to be a natural progression that we go to college, graduate and spend our 20's running our bodies down my drinking / smoking / poor nutrition / etc. and then spend the rest of our lives just trying to manage our health instead of striving to have as good of health as we're capable of so that we can really do what we're called to do in this life. Many people don't do what they're CALLED to do as they get sucked into the "get a job just to make money to survive long enough to pay the next bill to justify keeping a job" rut. These are those that will even moreso look to those that are inspirational for inspiration (welcome to the department of redundancy department?!) whether that person is a worship leader, performer or whatever. Even if they don't feel called to get up and take the microphone, they might feel inspired that just because you're doing what it is that you're called to do, that they too can possibly make their dreams a reality.
When you create, you honor God as God is a creative being. The Reformation all but did away with creativity in the "church," but thankfully we are righting those wrongs more and more.
There is always a debate by those that believe that performing should be completely separate from leading worship. And understandably, we don't want our leadership positions to be filled with those that are solely about self-promotion and fake "look at me before you look to God" types - there is enough of that in certain religions. The fact is, that by following your calling - if that calling is to be a performer - then THAT in and of itself IS an act of worship. Performing can very easily be the by-product of worshiping. Not everyone is called to perform or be on stage - so those that are, and those that do, are just being who they are supposed to be. And we all know in our hearts when we are touched by someone's positive influence from stage when they are doing what they're called to do vs. someone who is engaged self-glorification.
A bird that flies, flocks, eats bugs, builds nests and does bird-like things is not BRAGGING about being a bird - instead, it is honoring God just by simply doing what it was created to do. The biggest band in the world leads tens of thousands into WORSHIP (whether they realize it or not) every night that they PERFORM, just simply by doing what it is that they are CALLED to do. And U2 would not still be around and making the impact that they make without this inextricable connection with God above.
And the expectation of poor health thing can be applied to many other things especially since we're Generation X or Y or whatever the hell they're calling us these days - the generation of "casual fridays." It seems to tie in with how people present themselves. I certainly don't judge underprivelidged people or those who have less as God knows I certainly don't have much and I don't dress up every day by any stretch and I don't workout EVERY DAY.
BUT I do try to do the best I can with what I have and I think - no, I KNOW - that once we feel better about ourselves and the way we look (which VERY often ties in with wellness and what we put into our bodies), the way we then begin to present ourselves with the way we dress and the shape of our bodies when we are out and about is an outward expression of inner confidence. The #1 most attractive body part - as rated by men and women alike - is a flat, toned midsection. A strong core. Attention to detail. The realization that you're only as strong as your weakest link. Core weakness leads to myriad problems - but when your core (physical and spiritual) is strong, so will the rest of your body and life be.
Isaiah 55:2
Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.
I have just seen so much of people who have creeped up to 30 or passed 30 already and they've just resigned themselves to the fact that "oh well, its just supposed to happen as i get older." Its ok, I'll just get on a good HMO plan and get plenty of pharma to keep me going. And then invariably, every few years, the dung hits the fan and everyone scurries around worried about their prescription drug plans because they are so reliant on big brother instead of putting their faith in something bigger. Which I think is bulls**t. This is what I've tried to get across in my bio on Bravo Fitness - only without using the word bulls**t. You MUST not rely on a company to give you a health insurance plan. You MUST work to not be any bigger of a burden on the best health care system in the world by TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOURSELF. Even the best man-made system in the world will fail one day. When the fallible nature of man is involved, something WILL break down. And what then of all of those that have built their trust upon this "sandcastle?"
The more selfish we become, the more our divorce rate will continue to rise. The more self-centered and less god-centered we become, the more we will look to government and social programs to fill the void of our lack of faith. It is a tenement of virtually every belief-system worldwide that one should be charitable and look out for those less fortunate. WE should be the ones - through our faith - running "programs" for those in need. Not the black-hole waste-pit of ANY government, tax code, beauracracy or political-party. As our faith wanes, our programs will wax larger and larger until like a millstone it will drag us to the place that we deserve - to our knees so that we have nowhere else to look but up.
This selfishness can also be a cause of relationships that fall apart. "Oh well, we're together now, I exercised to be in shape for her and dressed up and acted proper enough in public enough to get her, now I can let myself go behind closed doors." Or, even in front of closed doors. How does that make the other person feel? And it goes both ways ladies. Not that you do EVERYTHING in your life for the other person as ultimately you are accountable to God, BUT it does make the other feel special when you still try to impress them after being together for a length of time - and not just with staying in shape to keep her attention from wandering to someone who will make her feel special by trying to impress her, but with anything that you know she likes that you can do to make her think of you first. Throw that towel in the dryer so that it will be warm when she gets out of the shower. Maybe a picnic lunch on a day when shes not having such a good day. And when you've made a commitment to someone - especially a life long commitment - then there's always going to be a need to make things new or renewed and special for the other person. Keep her satisfied with YOUR affection so that she won't have to look elsewhere.
....Earth is drenched
in God's affectionate satisfaction.
The underlying theme is that we should simply ALWAYS strive for excellence and not give in to underachieving since the world EXPECTS that. The world expects you to be fat, out of shape, and sick. The world expects you to stifle creativity and go with the way things have always been done. The world expects you to bounce from lover to lover without a second thought as to what you could have done better to wait for the right one and / or to keep your attention focused on the right one you've actually gotten instead of having a wandering eye. Being normal is being in debt, out of shape and hopeless. Don't be normal. Subvert the dominant expectation and your life will become what it truly is supposed to be.
Have a strong life.
4-5 For God's Word is solid to the core;
everything he makes is sound inside and out.... (emphasis added)
I hate seeing people not living up to their potential. I hate seeing ME not living up to MY own potential - which is why I am always trying to make changes for the better. And with what seems like such a culture of underachievement these days - just simply DOING WHAT IT IS THAT YOU ARE SAYING THAT YOU WILL DO will set you apart from others. I fail at this all the time, though hopefully the frequency will become less and less. Maybe overall we're just "spoiled" from being so blessed and we just feel like we should expect all of the good things to come to us without having to work for it anymore.
The Maker's Diet states "Americans seem to accept poor health as a normal consequence of aging...Fully one half of your nerve cells are located in the gut, so your capacity for feeling and for emotional expression depends primarily on the gut (and only to a lesser extent on your brain). By the time you add together the number of nerve cells in the esophagus, stomach, and small and large intestine, there are more nerve cells in the overall digestive system than are in the preipheral nervous system. Most people would say the brain determines whether you are happy or sad, but they have their facts skewed. It seems the gut is more responsible than we ever imagined for mental well-being and how we feel."
....He loves it when everything fits,
when his world is in plumb-line true....
SO, being passionate / creative / actors / artists / musicians / people, that others might look to for inspiration, how much better can we inspire them if we are even in better touch with our OWN "gut" and feelings? And I submit to you, that we JUST MIGHT be in better touch with our own gut and feelings if we put good things into the core of our bodies.
There seems to be a natural progression that we go to college, graduate and spend our 20's running our bodies down my drinking / smoking / poor nutrition / etc. and then spend the rest of our lives just trying to manage our health instead of striving to have as good of health as we're capable of so that we can really do what we're called to do in this life. Many people don't do what they're CALLED to do as they get sucked into the "get a job just to make money to survive long enough to pay the next bill to justify keeping a job" rut. These are those that will even moreso look to those that are inspirational for inspiration (welcome to the department of redundancy department?!) whether that person is a worship leader, performer or whatever. Even if they don't feel called to get up and take the microphone, they might feel inspired that just because you're doing what it is that you're called to do, that they too can possibly make their dreams a reality.
When you create, you honor God as God is a creative being. The Reformation all but did away with creativity in the "church," but thankfully we are righting those wrongs more and more.
There is always a debate by those that believe that performing should be completely separate from leading worship. And understandably, we don't want our leadership positions to be filled with those that are solely about self-promotion and fake "look at me before you look to God" types - there is enough of that in certain religions. The fact is, that by following your calling - if that calling is to be a performer - then THAT in and of itself IS an act of worship. Performing can very easily be the by-product of worshiping. Not everyone is called to perform or be on stage - so those that are, and those that do, are just being who they are supposed to be. And we all know in our hearts when we are touched by someone's positive influence from stage when they are doing what they're called to do vs. someone who is engaged self-glorification.
A bird that flies, flocks, eats bugs, builds nests and does bird-like things is not BRAGGING about being a bird - instead, it is honoring God just by simply doing what it was created to do. The biggest band in the world leads tens of thousands into WORSHIP (whether they realize it or not) every night that they PERFORM, just simply by doing what it is that they are CALLED to do. And U2 would not still be around and making the impact that they make without this inextricable connection with God above.
And the expectation of poor health thing can be applied to many other things especially since we're Generation X or Y or whatever the hell they're calling us these days - the generation of "casual fridays." It seems to tie in with how people present themselves. I certainly don't judge underprivelidged people or those who have less as God knows I certainly don't have much and I don't dress up every day by any stretch and I don't workout EVERY DAY.
BUT I do try to do the best I can with what I have and I think - no, I KNOW - that once we feel better about ourselves and the way we look (which VERY often ties in with wellness and what we put into our bodies), the way we then begin to present ourselves with the way we dress and the shape of our bodies when we are out and about is an outward expression of inner confidence. The #1 most attractive body part - as rated by men and women alike - is a flat, toned midsection. A strong core. Attention to detail. The realization that you're only as strong as your weakest link. Core weakness leads to myriad problems - but when your core (physical and spiritual) is strong, so will the rest of your body and life be.
Isaiah 55:2
Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen to me, and you will eat what is good. You will enjoy the finest food.
I have just seen so much of people who have creeped up to 30 or passed 30 already and they've just resigned themselves to the fact that "oh well, its just supposed to happen as i get older." Its ok, I'll just get on a good HMO plan and get plenty of pharma to keep me going. And then invariably, every few years, the dung hits the fan and everyone scurries around worried about their prescription drug plans because they are so reliant on big brother instead of putting their faith in something bigger. Which I think is bulls**t. This is what I've tried to get across in my bio on Bravo Fitness - only without using the word bulls**t. You MUST not rely on a company to give you a health insurance plan. You MUST work to not be any bigger of a burden on the best health care system in the world by TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOURSELF. Even the best man-made system in the world will fail one day. When the fallible nature of man is involved, something WILL break down. And what then of all of those that have built their trust upon this "sandcastle?"
The more selfish we become, the more our divorce rate will continue to rise. The more self-centered and less god-centered we become, the more we will look to government and social programs to fill the void of our lack of faith. It is a tenement of virtually every belief-system worldwide that one should be charitable and look out for those less fortunate. WE should be the ones - through our faith - running "programs" for those in need. Not the black-hole waste-pit of ANY government, tax code, beauracracy or political-party. As our faith wanes, our programs will wax larger and larger until like a millstone it will drag us to the place that we deserve - to our knees so that we have nowhere else to look but up.
This selfishness can also be a cause of relationships that fall apart. "Oh well, we're together now, I exercised to be in shape for her and dressed up and acted proper enough in public enough to get her, now I can let myself go behind closed doors." Or, even in front of closed doors. How does that make the other person feel? And it goes both ways ladies. Not that you do EVERYTHING in your life for the other person as ultimately you are accountable to God, BUT it does make the other feel special when you still try to impress them after being together for a length of time - and not just with staying in shape to keep her attention from wandering to someone who will make her feel special by trying to impress her, but with anything that you know she likes that you can do to make her think of you first. Throw that towel in the dryer so that it will be warm when she gets out of the shower. Maybe a picnic lunch on a day when shes not having such a good day. And when you've made a commitment to someone - especially a life long commitment - then there's always going to be a need to make things new or renewed and special for the other person. Keep her satisfied with YOUR affection so that she won't have to look elsewhere.
....Earth is drenched
in God's affectionate satisfaction.
The underlying theme is that we should simply ALWAYS strive for excellence and not give in to underachieving since the world EXPECTS that. The world expects you to be fat, out of shape, and sick. The world expects you to stifle creativity and go with the way things have always been done. The world expects you to bounce from lover to lover without a second thought as to what you could have done better to wait for the right one and / or to keep your attention focused on the right one you've actually gotten instead of having a wandering eye. Being normal is being in debt, out of shape and hopeless. Don't be normal. Subvert the dominant expectation and your life will become what it truly is supposed to be.
Have a strong life.
The "Core" of the Matter
1 John 3:18 (NIV)
"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
Step back a moment from your life. Picture yourself on a day to day routine. Maybe you're flying along in a sort of "out of body" experience - hovering over yourself and watching yourself as you go about your responsibilities. A sort of "Its A Wonderful Life" slash watching yourself play yourself in a real life movie type of experience.
How many times do you circle the parking lot to find that choice space up front?
How many stairs do you climb to get to that meeting - or do you opt for the elevator?
How often do you send an instant or text message to someone instead of walking over for some good ol' face to face? (and what unspoken benefits of real human interaction do you miss out on by resorting to electronic communication?)
Although, much unhealthy exercise that is performed is grueling and punishing to the body and we must watch the limits to which we go to be healthy and in shape, the majority of us don't come close to even a minimum recommended daily allowance. ESPECIALLY our core strength - lower back, abdomen, obliques, etc.
In any given day you possibly:* Are sedentary while sleeping (hopefully!).* Walk short distances to your car and then sit virtually motionless while you drive to and from work.* Sit at work all day (barring any short breaks or long breaks for short walks if you're lucky).* Head home and sit for dinner.* Watch TV until bedtime.* Then repeat.* Ad nauseum.
In this scenario, our core strength goes down the tubes virtually overnight. We're no longer "hunters and gatherers" thus most of our time is spent in the same square mileage of the same town. Due to weak core strength, its no wonder that we carry the same chronic pains and problems from year to year - if we're lucky they don't get worse each passing year. Weak core, leads to weak spine, which leads to pinched nerves, poor circulation, poor transmission of signals from the brain to the rest of the body, unnecessary ailments, etc. More than likely, a NEGATIVE vicious cycle is created (along with more pain and ailments) that becomes harder and harder to get out of.
We spend our 20's partying it up (some of us longer than that and maybe some of us earlier than that??) thus letting our wellness go straight to hell. Then we hit the 30's and beyond and the rest of our lives are spent just trying to MANAGE health problems.
We need a new trend.
Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)
"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."
Enjoy life while you're young. Enjoy life when you're old. Enjoy life when you're in between. You only get one chance. But don't destroy the foundation needed for a long healthy life. Spend your early years developing a firm foundation that will allow you to fulfill God's purpose for your life. No facet of your life will more quickly take your focus from your destiny and distract you with needless chronic ailments - one after the other - than neglecting the most precious thing you have and one of the most important things that connect you directly on a minute by minute basis with your Creator.
Your physical being is temporary but necessary.
You're beyond your 20's, 30's or 40's? Maybe even FAR beyond these decades? There's no time like the present to take a step back from something that's not working and implement PURPOSEFUL changes that will take your life back from the destructive "band-aid" oriented vicious cycle of HMO's, medical mispractice & malpractice, and toxic pharmaceutical cocktails - often more prescriptions are taken than are needed just to offset the maladies that come from the first one that was prescribed to begin with.
Freedom never felt so good.
Bicep curls and bench presses are ok. But how FUNCTIONAL are they when applied in the day to day life of average men and women everywhere? Reaching to put tupperware away in the bottom cabinet doesn't require the ability to perform a bench press well - it requires healthy core strength. If you're not working your ENTIRE body during your workouts, YOU'RE WASTING YOUR TIME.
You can never do enough cardio to offset the poor nutrition that we have sunk to collectively as a nation. Even those who are "doing just enough cardio to offset the wings and beer" they are going to consume later that night, couldn't be on a track that is more wrong.
Participate in functional fitness. If you're not ramping up your training for an event - choose low to moderate impact fitness for healthy longevity. Your body simply exists to move and bring light into the dark places. And by simply moving - with actions and in truth - you honor God.
Have a strong day.
"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
Step back a moment from your life. Picture yourself on a day to day routine. Maybe you're flying along in a sort of "out of body" experience - hovering over yourself and watching yourself as you go about your responsibilities. A sort of "Its A Wonderful Life" slash watching yourself play yourself in a real life movie type of experience.
How many times do you circle the parking lot to find that choice space up front?
How many stairs do you climb to get to that meeting - or do you opt for the elevator?
How often do you send an instant or text message to someone instead of walking over for some good ol' face to face? (and what unspoken benefits of real human interaction do you miss out on by resorting to electronic communication?)
Although, much unhealthy exercise that is performed is grueling and punishing to the body and we must watch the limits to which we go to be healthy and in shape, the majority of us don't come close to even a minimum recommended daily allowance. ESPECIALLY our core strength - lower back, abdomen, obliques, etc.
In any given day you possibly:* Are sedentary while sleeping (hopefully!).* Walk short distances to your car and then sit virtually motionless while you drive to and from work.* Sit at work all day (barring any short breaks or long breaks for short walks if you're lucky).* Head home and sit for dinner.* Watch TV until bedtime.* Then repeat.* Ad nauseum.
In this scenario, our core strength goes down the tubes virtually overnight. We're no longer "hunters and gatherers" thus most of our time is spent in the same square mileage of the same town. Due to weak core strength, its no wonder that we carry the same chronic pains and problems from year to year - if we're lucky they don't get worse each passing year. Weak core, leads to weak spine, which leads to pinched nerves, poor circulation, poor transmission of signals from the brain to the rest of the body, unnecessary ailments, etc. More than likely, a NEGATIVE vicious cycle is created (along with more pain and ailments) that becomes harder and harder to get out of.
We spend our 20's partying it up (some of us longer than that and maybe some of us earlier than that??) thus letting our wellness go straight to hell. Then we hit the 30's and beyond and the rest of our lives are spent just trying to MANAGE health problems.
We need a new trend.
Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)
"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."
Enjoy life while you're young. Enjoy life when you're old. Enjoy life when you're in between. You only get one chance. But don't destroy the foundation needed for a long healthy life. Spend your early years developing a firm foundation that will allow you to fulfill God's purpose for your life. No facet of your life will more quickly take your focus from your destiny and distract you with needless chronic ailments - one after the other - than neglecting the most precious thing you have and one of the most important things that connect you directly on a minute by minute basis with your Creator.
Your physical being is temporary but necessary.
You're beyond your 20's, 30's or 40's? Maybe even FAR beyond these decades? There's no time like the present to take a step back from something that's not working and implement PURPOSEFUL changes that will take your life back from the destructive "band-aid" oriented vicious cycle of HMO's, medical mispractice & malpractice, and toxic pharmaceutical cocktails - often more prescriptions are taken than are needed just to offset the maladies that come from the first one that was prescribed to begin with.
Freedom never felt so good.
Bicep curls and bench presses are ok. But how FUNCTIONAL are they when applied in the day to day life of average men and women everywhere? Reaching to put tupperware away in the bottom cabinet doesn't require the ability to perform a bench press well - it requires healthy core strength. If you're not working your ENTIRE body during your workouts, YOU'RE WASTING YOUR TIME.
You can never do enough cardio to offset the poor nutrition that we have sunk to collectively as a nation. Even those who are "doing just enough cardio to offset the wings and beer" they are going to consume later that night, couldn't be on a track that is more wrong.
Participate in functional fitness. If you're not ramping up your training for an event - choose low to moderate impact fitness for healthy longevity. Your body simply exists to move and bring light into the dark places. And by simply moving - with actions and in truth - you honor God.
Have a strong day.
Fearful and Wonderful Synergy
Psalm 139:14
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
You are fearfully, wonderfully and NATURALLY made!
Every cell in your body is connected to its Creator. Every cell is crying out to be exercised, worked, used, fed, regenerated, and given thanks for. Moving is edifying and GLORIFYING to God for that is what he made you to do. GO into ALL nations we are called to do -- if we don't use it, we'll lose it.
Every existing cell in your body will be replaced with a new one within 5-7 years. Will the NEW cells be added to a foundation of muck and mush and nutritionless "food?" Will your health and wellness be set up to collapse under the weight of not having prepared for the future by preparing your finances, family, faith AND your well being?
Or will the new cells - the new YOU - be constantly built and rebuilt on a foundation that is stronger and stronger? You are NOT engineered to fade away and weaken until the day you take your last breath. You ARE engineered to keep a strong metabolism and outlook until the day you are called to glory. Give your new cells a reason to LIVE and your life will change.
Every cell in the lining of your GI tract is regenrated every 48 HOURS! If things "hang around in there" by not eating enough healthy foods and fibers, the likelihood that it will poison you from the inside out is NOT A LIKELIHOOD, IT IS A DEFINITE CERTAINTY!
Truly, literaly and figuratively, you are not the same person you were 5 years ago. New cells are there to replace the old. New experiences come to pass to bring wisdom and insight. Even the delicate valleys and crests in the shape of YOUR brain are unique as your OWN thoughts and experiences cause the shape of your "grey matter" to change over time.
The farther you go from man-made, chemical laden, artificially colored / flavored / sweetened water, drinks, foods and personal care products, the closer you will grow to God and His purposes for your life.
As you train, you have probably noticed that you've had good days and bad days. I would wager that you could trace some of your bad days to poor "fuel" - an order of fries snuck here and there, too little water being consumed, etc. I know that I can notice a clear difference in my own performance when I do those things.
I began changing my cheat day from Sunday to Saturday because I was noticing a HUGE lag in my body responding during my Monday workouts after having eaten not as well as usual on a Sunday. So now, with the cheat day on Saturday, I've had another full day (Sunday) to replenish my body with good things so that I don't miss a beat when Monday / early week workouts come.
And of course we all need our down time to relax our eating habits for a bit. BUT, remember how you perform with good and bad foods and PLAN FOR IT. Remember the old saying "garbage in, garbage out." You will be amazing for your exercise or for events for which you may be competing if you put good things in. And you will be amazing as compared to yourself. It doesn't matter what times others log, it only matters that you compare yourself to -- YOURSELF. A race begun -- for someone who has never taken this step before -- is already a race won.
As you change your body, you WILL change your life. There is no other option. It is a universal truth. Diversity will come. But you will be stronger because of it.
Be well and give thanks for every step you take and every breath you make. They are the best gifts.
Have a strong day.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
You are fearfully, wonderfully and NATURALLY made!
Every cell in your body is connected to its Creator. Every cell is crying out to be exercised, worked, used, fed, regenerated, and given thanks for. Moving is edifying and GLORIFYING to God for that is what he made you to do. GO into ALL nations we are called to do -- if we don't use it, we'll lose it.
Every existing cell in your body will be replaced with a new one within 5-7 years. Will the NEW cells be added to a foundation of muck and mush and nutritionless "food?" Will your health and wellness be set up to collapse under the weight of not having prepared for the future by preparing your finances, family, faith AND your well being?
Or will the new cells - the new YOU - be constantly built and rebuilt on a foundation that is stronger and stronger? You are NOT engineered to fade away and weaken until the day you take your last breath. You ARE engineered to keep a strong metabolism and outlook until the day you are called to glory. Give your new cells a reason to LIVE and your life will change.
Every cell in the lining of your GI tract is regenrated every 48 HOURS! If things "hang around in there" by not eating enough healthy foods and fibers, the likelihood that it will poison you from the inside out is NOT A LIKELIHOOD, IT IS A DEFINITE CERTAINTY!
Truly, literaly and figuratively, you are not the same person you were 5 years ago. New cells are there to replace the old. New experiences come to pass to bring wisdom and insight. Even the delicate valleys and crests in the shape of YOUR brain are unique as your OWN thoughts and experiences cause the shape of your "grey matter" to change over time.
The farther you go from man-made, chemical laden, artificially colored / flavored / sweetened water, drinks, foods and personal care products, the closer you will grow to God and His purposes for your life.
As you train, you have probably noticed that you've had good days and bad days. I would wager that you could trace some of your bad days to poor "fuel" - an order of fries snuck here and there, too little water being consumed, etc. I know that I can notice a clear difference in my own performance when I do those things.
I began changing my cheat day from Sunday to Saturday because I was noticing a HUGE lag in my body responding during my Monday workouts after having eaten not as well as usual on a Sunday. So now, with the cheat day on Saturday, I've had another full day (Sunday) to replenish my body with good things so that I don't miss a beat when Monday / early week workouts come.
And of course we all need our down time to relax our eating habits for a bit. BUT, remember how you perform with good and bad foods and PLAN FOR IT. Remember the old saying "garbage in, garbage out." You will be amazing for your exercise or for events for which you may be competing if you put good things in. And you will be amazing as compared to yourself. It doesn't matter what times others log, it only matters that you compare yourself to -- YOURSELF. A race begun -- for someone who has never taken this step before -- is already a race won.
As you change your body, you WILL change your life. There is no other option. It is a universal truth. Diversity will come. But you will be stronger because of it.
Be well and give thanks for every step you take and every breath you make. They are the best gifts.
Have a strong day.
