Disappointments

1

Labels: , , ,

At some point in our lives, I will let you down. Your friends will let you down. Your significant other will let you down. Your parents will let you down. Your kids will let you down. As much as I would like to tell you that it will not happen, it will. I am not saying this to be a downer (bad pun, I know, sorry) but to help us through those times.

As a popular saying goes, "expectations are everything". If we know that people are going to let us down then we can prepare ourselves for it and expect it. That way when the time comes, we may not overreact or get upset about it and make the situation worse.

Think about the times you have been disappointed. How did you act when it happened?

  • Did you shut down and distance yourself from them? 
  • Did you yell and shout at them? 
  • Did you internalize it until so many disappointments built up into a big explosion?
  • Blame and question God? 
  • Bring up past issues that should have been buried away? 

I think through my life, I have resorted to every one of these at one time or another. We all have different ways of dealing with difficult situations and each have our coping method that "works" for us. But do any of these really work? I would answer no.

We are all human beings. Which means we will all fail, disappoint, and sin. Our pastor is doing a series on friendship right now and how to improve our relationships. This Sunday, he said that maybe we should all have a fistful of "forgiveness cards" ready to hand out when someone fails us. Honestly, how much better would life and our relationships be if we knew the important people in our life would forgive us? I think it would help us to try harder to think about them more and put them above ourselves.

God is the one person we can count on to never fail us. What about that perfect job I prayed about really hard and didn't get, didn't He fail me then?? No... our human minds can't see the whole picture, He has a plan for each and every one of us.

God never stops loving us. Never stops forgiving us. We continue to sin against Him, turn from Him and even if you curse Him or deny Him, He will still love you as much as ever!! Truly believing this and knowing this gives me so much joy... I hope that you can feel the same way! 


So, forgive a friend today of something you have been holding a grudge for. It will feel amazing and should help out your friend as well. 

An underrated word...

0

Labels: , , , ,

Serenity: the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled.

Serenity prayer with a few more lines.
This "state of being" is something that we can work on and strive for, and one that God and the Bible can help us realize. There is a rather famous poem/ prayer that I think about to help me stay focused.

God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things that I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And the wisdom to know the difference.
- Credited to Reinhold Niebuhr

What an amazing prayer. Let's break this down a little bit:
  • Grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change: There are things in this life that we cannot control and to be able to accept that is a step in the right direction. Life has enough pressure, stress and worries that we do not need to add to them.
  • To have the courage to change the things I can: There are times that something needs to change; whether that be our actions, our environment, our thoughts. . . and they are not going to change themselves. The change is not always going to be easy or feel good, but if that's what you feel is right, we need the courage to make that change. 
  • To have the wisdom to know the difference: This is the toughest one... how in the world do we know the difference in the moment. It's impossible to know for sure, but with prayer and faith in God, you have something to refer to while trying to decipher the two. 
Lets dig into the Bible a little bit to see some verses about turning to Him, tough times and worrying: 
Psalm 32: 8- I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go, I will counsel you and watch over you. 

1 Peter 5:7 - Cast your cares upon the Lord, for He cares about you.

Psalm 27:5 For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in his dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. 

Matthew 6:27- Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

So when times feel rough and you are down, think about this prayer and how much God is in control. All we have to do is give our problems and issues to Him. This is not to say that we get the answer we always want (we all know that isn't true), but that He will guide us through whatever it is.  

Back from my hiatus...

1

Well it's been over a month since I posted on here and for no other reason other than being so busy. I got married to my amazing wife, took a road trip to watch my best friend get married and just trying to get back into the swing of things.

Being married is great and I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else. It is such a blessing. As I start with the next chapter in my life, one main thing is up in the air and asking God for guidance is crucial at this point.

What does He want me to do? 
We feel like Park City is where we need to be, so now we just need to figure out what to do. This site goes hand in hand with what I would love to do full time. Making exercise and wellness a ministry. I need to meet with a couple people to discuss making it a non-profit organization and if I can pay the bills with it. If not, then it needs to be just a part time thing and I need to figure something else out. I really enjoy coaching basketball, so something with the school district would be awesome. I love teaching people and kids, being a positive person in teenagers influential lives is probably my favorite part of coaching ball. I can teach PE right now so that would be great, but may have to wait a year or two or possible more. Another very viable option is to continue to do personal training, either on my own or at one of the gyms in PC. Other than that, I need some help from friends and God to help me find a job that I can strive at.

In this time of uncertainty in our lives, having God as our rock is helping keep us feel steady. Also, with so many people having much less than us, its hard not to be thankful for the things we do have. Not to mention having two great kids, a great relationship with my parents, a church that is so alive, a growing relationship with God and an phenomenal wife.. hard to complain when the non-material things in my life are going so well.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A fairly random (but inspiring) quote from Korn member Fieldy, about being asked about peace in Christianity.
"Yeah. I think I do [have peace]. It's somewhat like peace, but it's not like you become a Christian and [your] problems go away. I still have my everyday struggles of life and situations that come my way. But I found the difference now is when difficult situations come my way, I'm on a strong foundation and I know how to handle the situation. I don't know how, but following and walking with Christ, He shows me how."

Prayer and exercise

0

Labels: , , ,

This last weekend, I ran the Wasatch Back Relay with a group of people from my church. For those of you who do not know, the Wasatch Back Relay is a 24 hour running event that involves 189 miles and 12 people. Each runner takes 3 legs ranging from 3 to 9 miles and varying levels of incline or decline. 

I was added to the team about a month before hand and it was a busy month at that, so I didn't get to train much. I also made the decision to run without music; so it was just me, the road and God. 

It was an amazing experience. It was my first true event of any length or difficulty so it was fun from that aspect alone. But the closeness I felt with God as I ran was even better. I am not going to sit here and say that I saw angles, or a figure of Jesus talking to me, but it was like talking to my best friend, father, mentor,  and boss all in one. It made me realize that there is no doubt we need to keep a constant open conversation with God. 

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 tells us to be joyful always and pray continually. If we give God the things in life that stress us, He will give us the energy to take care of our bodies and help each other.
We should feel comfortable going to God with anything and talking to Him in a normal conversation, no need to be formal or worried about "doing it" wrong. (1 John 5: 14-15)

So next time you don't think you have the energy to start a workout or finish a workout, say a little prayer and ask God to help you with the things that are stressing you out. As a matter of fact, do it right now. And again in 15 minutes. And again in an hour. . . .

Being Prepared

0

Labels: , , ,

God has a will for us. We do not know what it is, but we need to strive to live out His will, not ours'.

How do you do this if you don't know what it is?

Pray and be prepared. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Ask for His guidance to know what He wants from us and to help us live out his will and not ours.

We need to be prepared in many aspects:

  1. Mentally- We need to be prepared for His answers to our questions and requests. (It's not always what we want) - Psalm 32:8
  2. Spiritually- If we are meditating on His word, the Bible, we can know that what you are hearing/ feeling is Biblical and not satan trying to guide you down the wrong path. Ephesians 6:11
  3. Physically- Maybe God's next calling for us is to work with the children in our church or a mission trip to Africa, we need to have our bodies prepared to serve God in any way we are asked. 
This is where exercise and health come into play. If we are lazy and out of shape, we may not be able to answer the bell so to speak. So next time you are struggle to start a walk, run or workout... remember that God may call you to do something that is more physical than what you are doing now. 

Grilling season!

1



It's summer time, which is awesome for so many reasons! 

The warmer weather means more time outside. Whether it be playing at parks, going for hikes, golfing or good ol' running/ walking. 

It also means that we can dust off the grills and start BBQing!


Here are a couple tips on Tasty Tuesdays for BBQ healthily:
  1. Grill a lot of chicken. Chicken is versatile, good source of protein, and the Vitamin B6 is good for energy. 
  2. Use spices and herbs to your advantage. Spicing up meat can help take away the need for calorie laden sauces and cut down on the sodium.  
  3. When choosing meats, keep this in mind:
    1. Fish or skinless poultry is best.
    2. Look for lean or extra lean for the lowest fat content
    3. 4 ounces is one serving size. So keep your meat serving to just that, then supplement your meal with a salad and vegetables.
  4. Do Kabobs, they are great because you can mix vegetables and meat!
  5. Make a tin foil dinner. Throw some extra lean ground beef and veggies in a tin foil and let it cook. Another great way to get some more vegetables in your diet. 
  6. Use lettuce for your hamburger bun. 
Happy Grilling!!!  

Why do you listen to music?

0

Labels: ,

For me, it all starts and ends with the lyrics. When I played basketball in high school, I listened to rap and hip hop.. then I woke up one morning and realized I was a kid from rural Utah and couldn't relate to 99% of the lyrics. So I stopped listening to it. 

Now, most of my music consists of Christian or country. On Music Monday's, I am going to try and pick songs that are upbeat and have great lyrics. This week's selection: 

Matthew West- Out of My Hands

First four lines of the song go like this:
"There you go changing my plans again
There you go shifting my sands again
For reasons I don't understand again
Lately I don't have a clue"


It talks about how He has a plan for us and we have no idea what it is or it may not even make sense at the time. How there are too many things that we can't control and so it's out of our hands and into His will. 

It's an upbeat song and easy to sing to. (which may or may not be a good thing for others ha ha)

Here is the iTunes link to the song. 

Matthew West - Happy - Out of My Hands

Hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Loss of a hero

2

The word hero gets thrown around entirely too much. 

"Tiger Woods is my hero." 
Golf, yes. Life, no.  

"The Beatles are my heros"
Music, yes. Life, no. 

A lot of the time, we are guilty of labeling someone that is good at what they do - a hero. When in all actuality, they may have completely different views that we do, someone that you wouldn't want your kids looking up to. 

But yesterday, a hero was lost yesterday. John Wooden has left this world. 

For those that don't know who John Wooden is, he was the best college basketball coach there ever was. Here are just a couple stats from his career:
  • 10 National titles in 12 years
  • 88 straight games won
  • 38 straight wins in the tournament
No doubt he was a very smart X's and O's coach, but it went beyond that. He was a teacher, mentor and some of his past players called him a parent figure. He cared for his players as people, supported them throughout their lives. He lived the life that he preached and the life that so many of us strive for. Someone you can tell your children about and feel good about it too. I will end this post with some quotes from the man they called Coach:

"Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books - especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance everyday."

"The most important word in our language is, love. Second, is balance. Keeping things in perspective."

Check out this video: Amazing, amazing man

I may do more posts about this guy and his philosophies. They go hand in hand with my beliefs and Christian beliefs.

RIP Coach...

My favorite word:

0

Labels: , ,

Hallelujah


To me it really signifies my appreciation for what I have. It is used 24 times in the Old Testament in the Bible and when broken down it means "Praise Yahweh".. 


Yahweh is a personal name for God. The best known meaning for Yahweh is "He brings into existence whatever exists" but there are many theories on this. 


What word is your favorite word? Any words that have a slightly different meaning for you? 


Trying saying Hallelujah when something good happens to you... 

Being alert and self-controlled

0

Labels: , ,

The Bible talks a lot about self-control. Here is one example:
1 Peter 5:8 "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

What does this have to do with exercise and health? A couple of things really...

First, it can take self-control to go do something rather than sit on the couch and watch your favorite movie or television show.

Second, one of the side effects of exercise is that your mind is sharper and more alert, which in turn helps you have more self-control. I have no doubts that God made our bodies this way to help reinforce the activity that you do.

So.. next time you don't feel like working out or going for a hike, say a little prayer and ask God to give you the energy because you want to live a life for Him and have self control (or something along those lines). You may be surprised that the workouts you don't feel like doing, can be the best ones!

Welcome to June!

2

Labels:


We are already in the sixth month of 2010! I can't believe how fast time goes...

Here is another tasty Tuesday tidbit...

Salad are a good meal, especially when you add chicken, turkey or other meats. But the calorie and fat count can get out of control when you drown it in dressing. Here is a great tip, I heard a while ago and use every time I get a salad. Put the dressing on the side and dip your fork in it and then get the salad. The dressing will be the last thing you taste which makes it seem like there is a lot on it, but when your done with your salad, you will have hardly used any.

Also, in general just stay away from the creamy dressings.

Hope this helps.. It gets to be frustrating to me when I see people trying to eat healthy with a salad and it ends up not being very healthy.

God bless.

Happy Memorial Day..

0

God bless all the people who have served, are serving or are going to serve.

It takes a certain kind of special person to do that. I am so thankful for all of you because I don't know that I could ever do it myself.

Freedom of religion and just freedom in general is something we too often take for granted. So on this day, let's take a moment and appreciate it.

A verse to meditate on...

0

1 Thessalonians 4: 7-8

7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

My thoughts and observations from meditating on it:
1) For God did not call us to be impure-
In context, this is talking about lust and sexual behaviors, but it goes beyond that. When we as humans flood our bodies with alcohol, sugars, fat and inactivity... that is not pure behavior. I am not saying we need to give up a glass of wine, a piece of cake or a lazy afternoon enjoying His beauty. It's all about moderation. (Ephesians 6:9- do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery)

2) God gives us his Holy Spirit-
If you remember in my first post, we looked at 1 Corinthians 6: 19, which talks about our body being a temple to the Holy Spirit. This is a gift from God, so we need to honor it. If we do not take care of our bodies, it's like slapping Him in the face.

Take some time and think about this verse, pray about it and see where God leads your heart.

Tasty Tuesdays

1

Labels: , , ,

Another feature I want to start on Life's Race by Grace is to give something tasty and healthy on Tuesdays. Whether it be a product or recipe, the goal is to help us make healthy choices rather than 4 Oreos and milk (not that I would ever eat that.....)

Today's Tasty Tuesday spotlight: Larabars
What: A snack bar made of nothing but all natural ingredients, often only three or four..
Where: I have found them at Whole Foods, and many grocery stores... we just got a box at Costco too

When: I eat these around workout time, for a sweet snack, light breakfast...

In a world where preservatives and endless amounts of sugar are used and consumed, these are a refreshing change. Plus, they taste like the flavor they say... Peanut Butter Cookie, really tastes like a peanut butter cookie!

Music Monday

0

Labels: , ,


Sometimes we are not able to hike in the mountains or play a game for our workout, leaving us trudging on a treadmill or cardio equipment.

This is where music comes into the picture. It can be motivating. Pass time. Help you focus. Get you to your second wind or third...

On Mondays, I will be highlighting a song that accomplishes most, if not all, of these things.

Today, I bring you a song I could probably listen to all day long.

The Words I Would Say by Sidewalk Prophets

It's catchy, upbeat and motivating. Here are is the chorus:

"Be strong in the Lord and,
Never give up hope,
You're going to do great things,
I already know,
God's got His hand on you so,
Don't live life in fear,
Forgive and forget,
But don't forget why you're here,
Take your time and pray,
These are the words I would say"

Here is a link to the song on iTunes:
Sidewalk Prophets - These Simple Truths - The Words I Would Say

Hope you enjoy and can use it during your next workout!!


Does God really care if I exercise?

1

Labels: , , ,

Yes, yes He does.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul wrote that our bodies were bought at a price and that we should honor God with our bodies. This is in chapter 6, verse 19 and 20, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

At this point he was talking about sexual impurities, but this applies to so many other parts of our lives. Our bodies were bought at a price.

A large price.

An enormous price that we cannot fathom.

If we focus on taking care of our body, then we will be able to better perform God's will for us. This means eating the right things and being active. Get off the couch, don't watch as much television and go for a hike, play a sport, swim, chase the kids, run, walk... just do something! It helps.