Not your Cross to Carry!

I had a thought this morning while running 100meter dashes with a 15lb barbell, just part of my work for the morning… Well let me back up. I have been doing CrossFit Loveland for the past 5 weeks. If you haven’t heard of CrossFit watch the video at the bottom. I have been doing CrossFit for several reasons…

• I am morbidly obese (as the Dr.’s say)
• I have tried bootcamps –> Weight Watchers –> HCG –> Dieting –> Gym Membership to no avail!
• It kicks my butt ever single time & I feel amazing afterwards
• I’m seeing results
• I’m feeling confident
• The community & encouragement is like nothing I have experienced before
• It’s a focus on overall fitness, not just my gut, or my muscles, it’s everything!
• At 321 lbs at 28 something had to give!!!

That last one is the kicker for me. I have always been a big guy. Always! I’m Broad shouldered so will probably always be ‘stocky’ but I have always been large. Low 200′s in High school to mid 200′s in college, to low’s 200′s in Northern Ireland, to now in the healthiest state in the US & with in 5 years of moving here weighing around 215lbs I have put on 100lbs! What gives???

1st and foremost horrible eating habits. The stress of ministry plays a factor, but ministry doesn’t make me go grab 20nugs from McDonalds & a large fry & Coke. Ministry may take a lot of time & make things more complex in figuring out when & how I can go work out, but it is on the lower reasons. My eating habits suck! To many lunch meetings & not great choices!

I would say 2ndly & possibly the most important when I actually think about it… I don’t take Gods love for me & desire for me to have a ‘full abundant life in Him” (John 10.10) Serious! Nor do I take serious the fact that He has made my body to be good & a temple pleasing to Him. I have made excuses my whole life as to why I’m fat, I’ve ignored the sinful behavior that perpetuates the weight. Is being unhealthy & overweight a sin? If there is something you can do about I feel it is. I’ve lived it!

If you are overweight and reading this hear me please, as a big guy myself I am not trying to attack or make you feel like crap, but in looking at the love & truth of God I can take His grace & mercy for advantage & not try to live a healthier (less heavy) lifestyle for Him, for my family, for my church, for my community… for me!

So what ‘gave’? A number of things I guess. I got tired of making excuses! I got tired of struggling to buckle my freaking pants! I mean really! I got tired of flying in an airplane and wondering if I would have to ask for an extender seat belt… I mean you can jump rope with the 1st one!!! I got tired of mentally feeling that each time I get up to share Gods hope for peoples lives that people can’t possibly take me seriously because my weight tells them a different story of hope. Hear me on this, I am my hardest critic I know. No one has ever said anything to me about this or anything like it, even though it may have been for my betterment. But the way I’ve been living isn’t life, and more importantly this isn’t the kind of cross God has called me to bear, nor is it for you!!!

So back to my 100meter dashes carrying a barbell. As that cold bar straddled my back this morning & my trainer had me going back forth he instructed me to take some time to pray & ask God about thoughts of our next steps with planting DayBreak Church (click here for more information). As I was running & praying I saw my shadow with the bar across my back & was reminded of Jesus carrying the cross, the cross he was nailed to & died on for the sins of all people! Then the thought came to the cross we are also called to bear. I’m not sure if you have ever had God speak to you, whether audibly, through another person, through a feeling, emotion or what ever, but in that moment I felt a powerful word and thought hit me

This is not the cross I desire for you to bear!

I felt that I have made my weight a burden, a cross that I’m called to bear. And well honestly it has been one. I’ve made it a cross and in that I have made it a distraction. God never intended for the cross I bear to be unhealthy eating habits or being over weight. That stuff is merely sin, baggage, and baggage that is meant to be dropped off and left.

I want to bear the cross of caring for my family & loving through the hard times, I want to bear the cross of loving a city in need of Jesus… not the cross of high blood pressure, swollen ankles, jeans not fitting, hard breathing from sitting up in a chair (haven’t got that yet). The bearing of a cross is not about us, it’s about Jesus, it’s about the beauty of tomorrow, it’s more than overcoming, it is embracing Him who overcame!

I felt burdened to write this, to encourage those of you out there who are struggling with weight, or struggling with something/anything that keeps you from the hope of tomorrow! God has more for you than this! I have made 28 years of poor choices that have lead me to here, and not even 28 days will get me to a healthier place, but it is a start. My hope is that you too can take a good hard look and ask yourself, “Is this really the cross I’m called to carry?” If it is about you, probably not! If it is a short sighted thing, probably not! If it is a mistake in your life, probably not! The cross leads to life! Dig deep my friends & experience the Good Life, the Greater Life today!

I am reminded today God has something so much more in store for me and of others around me, for a city even! I am glad my soul is waking up to this truth “You matter! Get it in gear! It’s time to make a difference!”

As promised… the video…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_QUJlRdy-4

The Best Youth Ministry Sale!

If you are in Student Ministry, Youth Ministry, Parent Ministry… well ministry at all you need to check out Simply Youth Ministry’s 40.40.40 sale starting today!

For 40 hours, up to 40% off and 40 free backgrounds for your ministry go check it out!!! click here to spend your churches money or your tithe for the month

Tell um Brit sent you… not really it doesn’t matter just go check out these great deals!

Unfair or Unsafe…

So as I was driving home yesterday from a long day at church I saw 4 teenagers standing on a corner holding up a sign for a fundraiser they were doing for ____________. You can fill in the blank cause the kids are there for everything, youth groups, cheer camps, choirs & bands, school fundraiser. I see this a lot. It is not an unusual thing at all, and in fact our student ministry has done it as well.

What got me thinking this about this more was that this particular corner last week my wife and I pulled over to help a young pregnant teenager. She had wording written on a piece of paper in a spiral notebook. We stopped to hear her story and see how we could help. As we pulled in a cop pulled in a few minutes after us asking us to leave and the girl to move along. At the time we didn’t think anything about it but seeing these ‘more well off’ kids standing on the same street corner asking for money caused me to ask…

What is the difference here?

I know we have a panhandler and then you have a fundraiser… but why is one who is in need forced to move on, while others who are desiring something more (new skirts, new trumpets, new shoes, bus to go on a mission trip) they can wave their signs and get hand outs.

I’m not sure how I feel, but the big Justice filled Gospel question comes into my mind and makes me wonder, why is one ok and the other is not.

What are you thoughts?

What I meant was…

We rarely get a chance to repeat ourselves. We live in a world of sound-bytes and quick quips. It feels like more and more people are becoming ‘great politicians’ with their speech. I believe it is because many are realizing that people here and react to what first comes out of our mouths.

We don’t give people much of a chance to explain, to unpack, to paint a better picture for us. We go with what first pops out of their mouth. When I was younger and first starting in ministry I recall many a time when I hadn’t fleshed out an idea that I would just take off and hope to land it at some point with out to much turbulence. I have learned that this style is a great way to lose ‘passengers’ in your conversation & teaching.

The more I spend time in Proverbs I see time and time again comments on our words, choosing the right words, not overly using words, not wasting words, sharing encouraging words and others. Our words are either Life or Death (Proverbs 18.21) not only to the listener but even to us as well. When we speak our words rarely get a second chance.

So why say all of this. choose your words wisely, be ever so slow to speak. Begin to see your words as an actually currency in your life and to others. Don’t be quick to bankrupt yourself and regret what you invested your words in later.

So as a parent learn to be slower with your words with your children so that you know you are encouraging and giving life to spur on your child

…to your spouse don’t be so eager to be ‘right’ all the time, you might find yourself wishing you could take back some words…

…in ministry be SUPER intentional with every word that is ever used. You are speaking the very gospel that saves and every word either draws near or pushes away. Don’t be careless cause you may never get a chance to share it again.

So instead of wishing you could take something back or wish you could say it over again, slow your speech and speak the words right and well to begin with.

What would you do with…

What would you do with $398,000,000? It’s a simple question. It is crazy thinking just how much money that is, and even crazier thinking that out of the millions of people buying tickets for the MegaMillion price of $500,000,000+ the ‘odds’ of someone winning is like 1 in 180million. Those aren’t great odds, but still exciting.

So, what would you all that money? You say it wouldn’t change you, but it would. In what ways do you think?

Your invitation to Lent

Lent doesn’t have to be just another 4 letter word in our christian vocabulary. I wrote about it last year being a word that we use as a time to give up things that bring us pleasure. You can read more about that here…

I wanted to give out this invitation to join in this season. It is a powerful christian practice that allows us to draw nearer to the suffering of Christ, ultimately the pleasure and intimacy of God. Strangely its something that we can do anytime of year, but practically it is a time where the Christian Church looks at Jesus suffering, time in the wilderness leading to His execution and death on the cross, all proceeded by his glorious resurrection.

Why is lent for you? Because God’s love is for you, His grace, His provision, His wounder, His Kingdom is for you and for me. Lent is an invitation to experience not only the suffering of Christ but the joy and presence of of that love, grace, provision, wonder and kingdom God has for us.

There are a few ways you can except this invitation…

• Giving up a thing that brings you great pleasure – many give up things like food or technologies that bring them joy for a 46 day period leading into Easter. This removal of normal things causes one to find pleasure else where…in God
• Fasting – giving up foods and drink. This is a widely practiced aspect of lent. Fasting can be from removing certain food groups, certain kinds of drink from ones diet.
• Spiritual Disciplines – instead of listing them out you can Google spiritual discipline practices or check out this link here. These are practices that help us draw closer to God and Christ-likeness. There are some great practices here for sure. I will posting some each week if you want to keep coming back here.

There are so many other ways and so many disciplines one can enter into. My encouragement is that you would draw nearer to God these next 46 days leading into Easter. Make this a time for you and God, not for others and God. This is your invitation, not your students, not your churches, not your children or your spouse. This is your invitation.

I’d encourage you to subscribe to this blog if you would like to know more about spiritual practices and disciplines. Throughout this season I will be posting a lot about them and my journey in them as well. You can subscribe by clicking here