The myth of Fat and Happy

Ok, for some of you I know the word FAT is an insult and when you hear someone say that they are fat you want to take up defense for them.  The truth is the first step in truly having a healthy lifestyle and mindset is admitting that what you are is fat.    The second step is the hardest and most heartbreaking. It is doing something about it.  You see, I am fat.  I am overweight by every known standard given by any health standard.  I am not just fat I am ... dare I say it?  Obese.  But this isn't the worst part, the worst part is that I have chosen not to do anything about it.  I sneak through the drive through of Zips (paying cash of course so it can't be recorded!), I buy Cheetos (the devil's snack) out of the vending machine at work and I refuse to move...yes move, as in exercise.

All of this spells out the continuation of a lifestyle that I know will only lead to early onset of diabetes, joint problems as well as a litany of other health problems!  I live with a man who runs marathons, works out everyday, and yet...yep!  I sit here and Facebook or watch my mindless tv shows.

So this all to say that I suppose for some that living in a world where your butt bursts out of your pants (Hate to admit it but  happened to me this week at work!) and your body bumps all show up in your clothes, they can be Fat and Happy... I am not happy.  Fat, yes.  Happy, no.
This is where the tough part happens.  I must move.  I must do something!

I have a friend who has just by moving lost 60 pounds in one year (Way to go Carol!), a friend who has already logged in 200 running miles since January and has gone down a size in pants (Way to go Penny!) and even my office counterpart has lost 10 pounds by counting calories (you are my hero Terri) but me?  I am going to step out of my comfort zone and join (UGH) yet another gym.  But this time I am not going to do it alone.  My trusty sidekick of a sister also belongs to the gym and together we are going to make some changes.  I have to have someone who calls me one my slothfulness.

You see, when you are fat you are scared.  Lazy to some but really you are scared.  You are scared to try again only to not succeed.  You are scared to walk into a gym and realize how fat you truly are, you are scared to publicly admit that you can't do it on your own.  That is why so many of us don't do anything.  At least at home we are safe...safe from ourselves really.  People at home love us even when we don't love ourselves.  People at the gym aren't passing judgment.  They are there to get better themselves and are often there to say something complimentary to us!  At home we are safe to eat whatever we want and hate ourselves in private.  At the gym, we quickly realize how hard we have to work to sweat out the fat we have just taken in.

Being fat is painful and the pain we cause ourselves can take years to remedy.

Jami was such an example of having fun while working out...she wasn't afraid to run, box and to move.  I want to be that fearless, I want to face the world and say, "I can do it and I am doing it".  I have previously worn her sweatbands while working out and now will make sure I take them to the gym with me as a constant reminder of who I can be.  Fearless and Fantastic!

I am glad I don't have to do this journey alone, if you want company please let me know.  I refuse to compare myself to others, I refuse to look at others and say "what about me?", I was born with short genes but I don't have to stay fat, I can and must do something about it and then continue to do something about it for the rest of my life. Not for today, not for 2017 but for a lifetime of being happy and healthy!

Varsity or Junior Varsity Church?

In my life I have been very blessed to have churches that have helped develop my faith over the years. From Kennewick First Baptist (now South Hills) to after college at Grandview Baptist to Temple Baptist to Calvary Chapel to the Living Room Church to New Vintage Church to now my church home of Columbia Community Church (C3).  Yes, there is that theme in the beginning of "Baptist" and that foundation truly hasn't ever left.  My belief in once saved always saved through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to my comfort and fluidity of the King James Bible to my ever listening for the trumpet sound of Jesus coming back, all these are what makes me who I am in my walk and in my life as a Christian.

Whether it was my Sunday School teachers, years of AWANA or even the small groups that I have had the blessing to be a part of, my faith has never been something that I have taken lightly, it is something that I have debated with others about and yes, my faith has been the compass to my journey in life.

Lately though I have been made more aware of an underlining competition among the church goers! I don't know what has spurred it on but I know with my own church journeys there were murmuring of "real" church teachings, music appropriateness and even the dressing down of church members.  I am not talking about the preferences but of the, dare I say, pride-filled comments about the spiritualism of the members and not the message.

I was beginning to see that at times it is the message not coming from the pulpit but from the members that is often seen as divisive and yet it is important to note that it is the members that are called to go out into the world (Mark 16:15) to share the message of what Jesus did to save the world.  The pastors job is not only to preach the word but to be blameless (Titus 1:7), it is with these qualities that the pastor leads the rest of us in the flock!  So I began to look to see what the Bible says about all of us that are listening; Jesus, himself, was an example to the rest of us in Luke 2:46, "Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions."  Jesus is the perfect example, we are to both listen and ask questions.  How many of us spend time in church listening but then walk out not asking questions, not being part of a group where we can go deeper into the message that we just received?  How many of us are content with an hour or two a week?  What hours the doors are open, what services are being offered and of course the number of small groups are offered all are being touted as reasons that one church is better than the next but regardless of these things, it was and remains a heart issue that is based on our relationship with the Lord.  What good is it that we are there when the doors are open or if we belong to every group in the Church if our hearts aren't right?

I am not sure when the number of baptisms, prayers for salvation and church attendance were medals to be pinned on the chests of the members inside the church.  For truly only God knows. Romans 8:27 tells us "And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God."  

I love the fact that we, here in the Tri-Cities have many solid Bible-believing churches to go to.  I love the fact that my children have become active in the one they call home. I just wish we could agree that each Bible-believing church someone calls home will be accepted and not seen as a challenge to another.  You see, we don't need MORE division but LESS division.  The verse that jumps out is Philippians 2:3 "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves."  Whether it is your love of the ones that go to church with you, the music you listen to while there or even the personality of the pastor that draws you in, the foundation should be that you are there and that you are letting the joy of the Lord be your strength.

Most of all let us remember that we are called to love, over 300 times in the Bible, love is referenced. Love God and love others, even those that call another church their home.