Archive for the The Journey Category

So you’ve started a diet. A fat-busting endeavor. A torture chamber called, “This sucks!” And you really don’t want to do it because you like the foods you eat. I mean, who doesn’t love French fries and pizza and Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches with extra cheese. But you are tired of the struggle. Your back hurts. Your knees groan. Your pants are shrieking at you, “DO NOT EAT THAT!” And, well, it’s just time.

So you go online and you look for a detox. Or a pill. Or a regimen with guaranteed results. And you plunk down some cash and give it a go. And, at first you see results. But then you hit a plateau. And you just really, really want your old favorites.

Oh, boy! I know exactly where you’re coming from. I mean, I played the yo-yo game with my weight for years. Lose  20 lbs, gain 40 lbs. Until finally I gave up and decided (yes, it was a choice) that it was impossible to lose weight and I may as well just eat as I pleased.

Which was a lie. I believed that lie for far too many years and I was miserable. I was sick inside. I felt like a wretched nobody because I was powerless over my food addiction.

And that is why I write. If you are reading this and you want to get healthy–you can trust me. I’ve been there. I know how horrible it is and I want to help.

So I’m going to give you some advice for free. That’s right. No money will exchange hands. No looks of condemnation. No expectations either. Consider this a warm hug on a cold night. Because I want you to know that you really don’t have to spend a bunch of money, or join a gym, or do a cleanse. All you have to do is learn to embrace the vegetable of gladness.

Did I lose you already?

I know. Vegetable is a four letter word. Except that your body really does love vegetables. I mean, even taters are vegetables. And you can still eat them (in moderation). You just have to learn how to cook them without frying them and buttering them to death. And you will have to eat smaller portions.

“Oh, ack!” You say. “Shoot me now!” You say. “I want lasagna!” You say.

Dear friend. You are precious and dearly loved and you deserve better than the physical life you are living right now. You already know that or you wouldn’t be reading this. You want hope. And I’m here to give it to you.

Tonight I thought about you and pulled out some veggies. They may not be something you think you like. You may even stick your tongue out. But bear with me. Have a little faith. I’m not trying to poison you. I promise they will taste good.

So I pulled out a pan and rubbed it with butter. Yes, I love butter and so do you. I just try to keep it light.

Then I layered the pan with brussels sprouts.

Then I layered in fresh bell peppers, onions, mushrooms and one diced serrano pepper. Then I sprinkled them with paprika pepper, pulled some fresh thyme and rosemary from my plants, and put on 2 tablespoons of butter.

And then I covered them with tin foil and put them into a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes until they were all toasty and sweaty. And then they lost the foil and cooked for another 15 minutes uncovered. And when they came out…

So, Dear Reader, I know you said you don’t like vegetables, but please give these a try. They are tasty and super low calorie. These can be a meal by themselves or you can add your protein of choice (fish, chicken, or another lean meat).

I know you want to lose weight. I know you want to feel better. I know you don’t have a lot of hope right now that you can eat food that both nourishes your body and satisfies your taste buds. I also know that each healthy choice you make is a good choice. Each healthy choice–whether it is going for a walk instead of watching a movie or eating veggies instead of French fries–matters. So just start with today. This moment is yours. That is how positive change happens. One choice at a time.

Go forth and conquer!

 

“Now it is quite true that there will probably be no occasion for just or courageous acts in the next world, but there will be every occasion for being the sort of people that we can become only as the results of doing such acts here.” C. S. Lewis

Whoever thought of exercise as a courageous act? Certainly not I. Courage is for heroes.

And what is hero anyway? Isn’t a hero someone who puts others before himself?

One of my favorite heroes is not a real person. In the stories I have read, he was a hero disguised as a ranger. His name was Strider and he was not at all what he appeared to be. He entered the story at a most opportune time and much to the relief of the little fellows he laid down his life to protect. Of course, he didn’t look much like a hero. With muddy boots and a dark green hood that cast a shadow over his face, he was mysterious and unwieldly. He convinced his new hobbit friends that they needed a guide—and so they did. Thus, readers were introduced to a king in the form of a servant.

“I am older than I look. I might prove useful. You will have to leave the open road after tonight; for the horsemen will watch it night and day. You may escape from Bree, and be allowed to go forward while the Sun is up; but you won’t go far. They will come on you in the wild, in some dark place where there is no help. Do you wish them to find you? They are terrible!” – Strider

There are many heroes to choose from in The Lord of the Rings stories. I have always been taken with the quiet strength of Sam Gamgee but I find Strider a most beautiful representation of true honor. He was a king—the rightful king of that land—and knew what it meant to sacrifice for the greater good.

In my youth I wanted to be a hero but I had no concept of sacrifice. I lived for the moment and for Queen Me. I was self-indulgent, greedy and deceitful. Of course, I pretended to be brave but my words (gossip!) and my thoughts (vanity!) revealed the shell game. Liars chase lies with more lies like a drunk chases drink. We always think this one will be the last. Unfortunately, the people we lie most to is ourselves.

Now maybe you are thinking, what does this have to do with exercise? Well, Dear Reader, I’m glad you asked.

Physical activity requires courage—especially if one has long been inactive. Exercise is painful and—let’s be honest—fearful. It doesn’t always feel good and there is not usually an immediate reward. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned after losing weight, it is that exercise is worth the pain. If one can be mobile, one should be mobile because our purpose is far greater than living only to ourselves. We live in community and the people around us need us just as much as we need them.

I need look no further than my own neighborhood for examples. The elderly couple across the street is not able to rake leaves. The woman down the street has MS and at times can barely move. Others can’t walk, drive or leave the house. Even if they have resources, they need somebody who is able bodied to help with any number of household tasks. Some will say it’s not my responsibility but I don’t think that is true.

Exercise is my way of keeping my body in shape so I can help others. Eating foods that nourish my body instead of poisoning it is my way of rebelling against a selfish, self-indulgent lifestyle. It takes courage to abstain from ice cream, cookies and my mom’s homemade fudge—just as it takes courage to keep my tongue from speaking lies or gossip.

So, no. I’m not trying to kill you. I simply want to peel back the curtain to show you that there is more to life than you. If you are reading this and know you are overweight, it’s time to do something about it. Stop making excuses. Excuses are for cowards. I know because I once was one—and at times—I still am. By God’s grace I am learning to face my fears and correct the toxic behaviors that make me less human.

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” James 4:17

“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” Hebrews 10:26-27

I follow Jesus—not because it is easy—but because He loves me. I know he is the only way to peace and joy. He came to set me free from sin, and when I surrendered my life to him—yes, especially the food I put into my mouth and the quantities thereof—he rescued me.

Strider’s real name was Aragorn. He accompanied Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Merry on their journey to destroy evil. He served and protected them at great cost to himself—not unlike the way Jesus walks with and protects me. He gave me the courage to walk around the block at 310 pounds, and again at 305 pounds, and again at 170 pounds. I still rely on his grace and mercy to keep me from consuming those foods that poison my body and would hinder me from doing the work I need to do for his kingdom.

“We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.” Romans 6:6-7

Exercise is an act of obedience. For some people—like me—it is not natural and comes at a high cost. But if this simple call to care for the only body I get for my whole life is God’s will, who am I to argue? He has a plan and a purpose for me far beyond what I can think or imagine and I don’t want anything to hinder it.

 

She woke up this morning and her heart hurt. The dream was painful, but even more so the reality. She considered the day and squeezed her eyes tight. She pulled the covers up over her nose and whimpered.

“Too much.” She whispered.

But after a few minutes the children called and she had to get up. Had to get ready. Had to choke back the tears so they wouldn’t make the pancakes too salty.

She knew nobody noticed. Or cared. No one said, “Thank you, Mom” or “You are beautiful.” Instead they scarfed the food down and ran away as quickly as possible.

Her voice on the phone was ragged. “I don’t know how much longer I can carry on. The weight of life is just, well, heavy.” And I listened for as long as she was willing to talk. And I cried with her because that’s what friends do.

She talked about the New Year and said, “It’s more of the same. What’s to celebrate?” The tremble in her voice reminded me of a gull–sailing over the ocean, looking for hope in the form of a fish.

After a time I said, “Do you know what I think Jesus would say to you right now?”

And she said, “Look, I’m not really religious.”

I said, “That’s okay. Neither am I.”

And she laughed. “Yeah, right.”

And I said, “Jesus said, ‘Do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!'” (Luke 12:22-24)

And she said, “Huh.”

And I said, “Jesus sees the monotony. The loneliness. The irony and the opaque. He thinks you are beautiful and he loves you. Just the way you are–love handles, gray hairs, crows feet and all.”

And she said, “Jesus is weird.”

Today if you are reading this and you feel the weight of the future like a millstone around your neck, if your hopes are as shriveled as your pocketbook, and your thoughts as dark as the depths of the sea, take heart! You are seen and loved by God. And if you don’t have the good fortune to have a friend to talk to, know that you can talk to Him and He will hear you. And if you have courage, you can surrender your life to Him and He will give you a new heart, and even better–glad and beautiful dreams that will all come true! He will even be your treasure–if you let him.

My friend was sad but she is beginning to see that there is light beyond this dark world–light that can shine into even the darkest corners of the human heart. This light is the happy hope of the nations! This light can even make the drudgery of single parenthood, the cruelty of an unwanted divorce and the not-enough-money-to-make-ends-meet facts of life wisp away like clouds on the river dissipates in the sun.

He is yours if you want him. He is standing at the door. All you have to do is invite him in. If you do, this will be the best new year you ever experienced.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” – Ephesians 2:8-9