THE QUEST II

THE QUEST II

WELL HERE WE GO AGAIN ! I am a little more than embarrassed to be writing, then on the other hand I am excited and eager to share what new truths the Lord is teaching me. The Quest, that is the original quest, was well worth it. If you have not read The Quest  then  please do so.  Be sure to read the last entry. Through my Christian walk,  I have discovered a few truths the LORD  has taught me, in spite of myself.  Quest II will be more of an open journal and written with complete candor and straightforwardness, and as I share my up's and down's, I will also pass on some spiritual truths to you.

Like in the original quest, I am keeping a record of my weight loss or possibly my weight gain. Please keep in mind  that loosing weight is only part of the quest, yet when one is undisciplined physically; it's almost a certainty that they will be undisciplined spiritually.

I know that many struggle with weight lost. I have talked to several of you. Know that we are a triune, three in one,  consisting of spirit, soul, and body. We are created in the image of the living God. We are to be completely  controlled by Him.

 

Update #1: One of these truths I will share now: appetite, sin, and especially sex sins are all connected. When I say sex sin, I am not necessarily talking about blatant adultery, but those hidden thoughts of lustful sins. When self is destroyed, i.e., appetite, lust, anger, pride, etc. then victory comes, but when we feed those sins, whether by food or thought, we feed the flesh and thus sin. This is one reason it is important to keep our bodies in subjection. Whether one is in good shape or an obese slob,  food can still be a controlling factor. I am not sure where all this is going, but keep reading as we explore more of Quest ll. 

09-28-04                         230

09-30-04                         228

Update #2 Obstacles to Walking: A few days ago the weather was cool with light rain, so I decided to go to where I used to train now and then when it was raining, and that was the Denton Civic Center. I wrote  about  some of my experiences there several times in the original quest. I thought,  since I am just starting back walking, how nice it was to have as indoor place to exercise. Upon arriving,  I immediately noticed the large availability of parking places. As I got out of my pickup and being the observant janitor that I am; I also noticed that the entrance way looked unkempt.  Then I saw the sign on the door: closed until Spring of 2005. This was not a good thing! I finally ended up walking at the local mall off the interstate, and it was anything but a good walk, it had far too many distractions. However, I made up my mind, and made myself a promise,  like I did on the first quest, come rain or shine, I will walk my walk, and so far, I have kept that promise.

The Christian life has its share of obstacles. God has never promised rose colored  pathways, but He has promised  strength for difficult times. I have had more false starts than the average person, but I am still above the ground and God is patient. Your life may have its share of difficulties, and it may not seem fair. But someone has correctly stated: "we are not a product of our circumstances, but our decisions."

10-05-04                         220

10-08-04                         219

10-09-04                         218

10-16-04                         216

Update #3: As I was walking and listening to this week's Torah cycle, (Gen. 1:1-6:8) I was reminded how the lust for  food  has been a detrimental part in man's downfall.  I continue to have  a proclivity to overeat. I struggle with food on a daily basis. I have dreamed about food, even waking up and biting the air.  

We in the Western society are spoiled with a fast food joint on every corner and a buffet restaurant on every block.   They appear almost ubiquitous. There is indeed a surplus of eating places in the United States and we have fallen victim to them. I am not saying  that suing  McDonald's is the solution;  that's ludicrous,  but I am saying stop patronizing them so much.  Let the Lord control your appetite. Don't be an Esau and sell your birthright for a bowl of soup. We in the Church are in high gear for a thrill a minute,  but a  convivial life style is lacking, not only in substance, but it drains the spirit. Self gratification is the antithesis of  self denial. Whether we feed our flesh with  an overabundance of food, or impure thoughts; both are damaging and can and will run interference with your communication with the LORD.  I know from which I speak, for I am guilty of them all.

10-18-04                       216

10-28-04                       210

Update #4:  Few people greet me on the trail that I walk and say to me: "my, how Brobdingnagian you look today". (Brobdingnagian is a word from Swift's Gulliver's Travels referring to the people of the land of Brobdingnag,  who  were gigantic.) Neither do they stop me and say how Lilliputian I am  looking. Lilliputian is another word from Swift used in reference to the inhabitants of the land of Lilliput, who were extremely small. Actually what few people I  do meet on the trail say absolutely nothing, at best they nod. My point is this: Losing weight is a tedious and tiring task, and you may or may not receive a lot of accolades. One does not become obese overnight, neither does one become a candidate for Fitness Magazine after one salad and two laps around the track. It's a discipline. It's a major life style change in one's total behavior.

The Christian walk can also be slow and tedious. Certainly there are mountain tops and there are also valleys, but a lot of it is the every day grind where situations present themselves and we must deal with those situations and deal with them correctly. The Christian life is a total change in behavior.  II Corinthians 5:17 says: Therefore if anyone is in Messiah (Christ) he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. If someone is really a believer in Yeshua, he will make a radical life change; however that change may take longer than really necessary. I have wasted so much time in my walk with the Lord. I  know that is one of my biggest regrets.

Update # 5: My first motivation for losing weight is to please the LORD. I believe we are to present ourselves to Him at our best in all three areas, spirit, soul, and body. Secondly,  it's to please my wife, Barb. But next to Barb, I want to please me. This is not the sin of pride, it is survival. It is not a sin to be fit, au contraire, it is a sin to be a glutton. I am not writing to castigate anyone. I know about gluttony, I know about having a prodigious appetite. I came across a verse years ago and I think many should commit it to memory: "Whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things."

11-06-04                       205 

11-11-04                       203

 

Update #6:

Some have asked just what I do to lose weight. The answer is not that complicated and it's certainly not novel. I eat sensibly and exercise. I have never taken a diet pill or anything to enhance weight loss. Basically this is what I do.

1. I eat no unclean foods.

2. I eat at least one large salad per day with little dressing. I use olive oil much of the time. I also include a fair amount of fruit in my diet.

3. I have cut out cokes, sweets, and the like by 70%

4. I drink a lot of water and clean out my system with psyllium at least twice a day.

5. I stay out of fast food places. I eat a lot of veggies, chicken, and fish. I eat red meat maybe once per week.

I seldom eat late at night. If I eat between meals, I eat a pickle, or rabbit food.  I, with the help of the LORD control food and do not let food control me.

As for exercise I do the following: 

Walk Walk Walk...

I walk between 3-6 miles per day, six days per week. When I walk I usually wear a pair of 3 lb. leg weights, with a pair of 2 lb. wrist weights, along with a 10 lb. backpack. When I am wearing my headset and my safari hat; I think my weird appearance is somewhat heightened.

Walking is affordable by almost everyone. I certainly do not dress for style, but I do dress for comfort. When I     walk, I often listen to teaching tapes, such as Torah teaching tapes, Bible tapes, vocabulary building tapes. I also listen to the radio, consisting of conservative and Christian talk shows. Then there are days I have no input coming in. I enjoy the stillness and the silence. Walking is an excellent time to pray. I spend at least one hour to as much as two and half hours walking. Other than normal yard work and the rigorous routine of a janitor, this is basically my exercise program. And it works!

I can't stress enough how we are a triune: spirit, soul, and body. It is imperative that all these parts are disciplined.  I believe if one is really controlled by the Holy Spirit he will live a disciplined life.

There is a book that I recommend, and I have not read all of it, but it's called " The Maker's Diet" by Jordan S. Rubin. It's a sensible approach to good health. Losing weight is a total life change. I was a "foodaholic"; a better word is glutton.

If you are reading this, know I am praying for you. You can do it. I did it but went back to the same old life style, but I have started again. You can do it too, but you will have to say "Enough is the Enough!" God bless you as you begin to lose those pounds you need to lose.

11-15-04                      205

11-18-04                      203

11-24-04                      201

12-03-04                      199

Update #7: It has taken  far longer than I anticipated to drop below 200 lbs. I would get down to 201 and for a day or two drop back down to 200 but then back up to 201 or 202 and even 205.  I will admit a few days I was slightly discouraged but I knew I must "keep on keeping on", no matter what the scales indicated. Finally I am under that dreadful 200 lbs.

The goals we have in our Christian walk are not always reached with  great alacrity but those God given goals will come in time. They will come in His time; we must continue to run the race and not look back.

12-09-04                    195

12-22-04                    197

01-05-05                    190

01-12-05                    195

01-20-05                    194

01-24-05                    190

01-29-05                    193

Update # 8: I have hit a unconscionable stalemate on my weight. I can't seem to get below 190 lbs. I am walking almost everyday and I have even purchased a George Foreman video workout tape. Yet I am not making any kind of progress. Since the first part of December of 2004 I have remained basically the same.  Am I discouraged?  Yes. Am I going to stop trying?  No!  Discouragement is a feeling, nothing more. I know what I must do. I can sum it up in three words. "Keep on trying".

This is exactly how it is in the Christian walk. Many times you reach a stalemate, a situation in that further progress seems impossible. You seem to be going nowhere. What do you do? You certainly do not give up!  You keep going on. You keep trying. You may try increasing your prayer life, Bible reading. so on and so forth, but you keep in the race. We are never told to quit. It's true in losing weight and it's true in your Christian walk. I have been in these situations so many times that I should have made them  into a work of art. You may or may not know the reasons for the situations, but more important are the solutions. Don't give up - tomorrow is a new day.

01-02-05                     194

03-10-05                     199

05-07-05                     230

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

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