Weight Loss (slow and steady), Lent Week 3 and Other Notes

Three weeks into Lent and the benefits of more healthful eating habits are quite evident. Two of the biggies for me have been no fast food and taking the stairs instead of the elevator at work. I can now make the 80 stairs to the fifth floor sign-in station without being too out of breath and no longer avoid the occasional trip downstairs for some fresh air on breaks. (Week 1 I never went downstairs on break because it meant having to climb the stairs when it was time to go back to work!)

Although I haven't completely shunned junk foods, I have cut back on them quite a bit. To be sure, I've had some doughnuts, cookies, candy bars, potato chips, etc., but rarely snack between meals now and have only had seconds at a meal once in three weeks. I've cut back on the afternoon sodas (and associated caffeine) and I think that is helping me to get a more restful sleep. In addition to all of that, I believe the one day per week, 24hr fast is a good healthful practice and I've used it to get back on track after a less disciplined weekend. The end result is that I've lost 15.8 pounds in the same three weeks.

I do realize that Lenten sacrifices aren't supposed to be about personal benefit. However, Christians often refer to the body as a temple and quite frankly, most of our temples are in great states of disrepair. For the most part, we feel pretty comfortable talking about five of the seven deadly sins. Those are the ones that are your sins and we tend to lie about them being our sins (Incidentally, while telling lies is definitely wrong, it's not on of the seven deadlies.) Gluttony is not one that we want to talk about because it's pretty hard for a guy that's 50 pounds overweight to talk about gluttony without a bit of shame. And we don't talk about sloth because we're not really sure just what that is but we think it has something to do with being lazy but is probably more than that (it is) and...well, it's just easier to avoid the possibility that we might be guilty of that one, too.

Back to the temple thing...

I'm just trying to clean things up a bit; be a better steward of the physical body that God has given me. I'd like to take these simple habits and make them a part of my normal routine well beyond the dates of the Lenten calendar. It is my hope that after six weeks, they will be habits and will just come to be the way I eat. I do expect that the rate of weight loss will slow as I continue to lose weight, but hope that it will continue to drop off until I reach a more healthful and maintainable weight.

I've also managed to restrain myself from controversial political posts and comments over the past week or so. It's funny how I can post some things that I see as relatively neutral but are received with anger or as misrepresentations of the truth. (sigh)

As always, thanks for your comments and encouragement. I appreciate the anonymous comments as much as I do the ones that identify the reader.

John <><

"Beware the Ides of March."
On this date in 44 BC, Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Roman Senate.

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Why do I go to church?

If you are a frequent reader of Out of My Hat, you already know that I am a follower of Jesus. Most might simply say that I am a Christian, but I feel that the term has become too generic in its meaning and is often misused and misunderstood.

This post is purely a sharing of my heart and is not meant to be an offense to anybody. It is certainly not meant to be critical of other believers. I just want to share the reasons that I go to church ask why others go to church. To be fair, the reason for this post is some confusion (on my part) over a recent sermon that I heard. I know that several pastors/preachers read Out of My Hat and this is not meant as a critique of their messages. I'm just wondering why we do church the way we...do church.

So...
Why do I go to church?

The simple answer is that I go to worship.
I go to worship my God.
I go to worship my God with other like-minded believers.
Together, we worship our God.

That's pretty much it.

It may sound strange to hear a preacher say this, but I don't go to church to hear a good sermon. I go to church to worship.

On most Sundays, I would be happy to sing praise and worship songs for an hour! I would be happy to stand before my God, praising, thanking, worshiping in song or prayer ... and then going out to lunch with some friends, never having heard a preached message.

To be honest, the structure of our services often confuses me.
It would appear that our services today are structured to center around "The Message."  Maybe that's the way it is supposed to be. Maybe the "You get out of church what you put into it" mentality of actually getting something out of church is how I should view the whole worship service.

But to my way of thinking, worship is about giving; not about getting!

If our purpose in going to church on Sunday morning is to get something from the experience, are we going to worship God or are we going to exploit His good nature and see what we can get from God? Are we coming with open hearts to meet with Him and honor Him as God, or are we coming with open hands to receive gifts and blessings that we somehow think we deserve because we managed to show up on a Sunday morning.

Two very different attitudes.

Time for a story break.

Back when my kids were young and we were pretty new members at Hopedale, there was a man named Gil Mitchell at our church. Gil was a friendly, white haired man that had a stick of Wrigley's Spearmint chewing gum for every kid in church on every Sunday morning, every Sunday evening and every Wednesday night. The kids didn't have to ask Gil for a piece of gum, they just had to show up and Gil was there with gum.

They might say, "Good morning, Mr. Gil!"
Gil would say, "Good morning, sweetie," (it didn't matter if it was a boy or girl, it was 'sweetie') and give them a piece of gum.

Sometimes a child would come up when Gil was speaking with somebody. The child would just wait patiently until Gil reached into his pocket and, without a word exchanged between them, handed him/her a piece of gum. A quick "thank you" from the child and off they ran!

In a simple way, I think this story gives us a picture of God. I'm not implying that the kids worshiped Gil. I'm just saying that they never had to ask Gil for a piece of gum. They knew that just being around Gil (in his presence) was enough to get them a blessing. That was just the way Gil was.

And it is the way God is. It is His nature to bless His children. When we gather for worship, it is the nature of God to bless us. When we stand before Him giving thanks and praise, it is the nature of God to bless us. He just can't help it. He wants to lavish His love on us. And I know that the blessing often comes as He speaks to us through His Word. But part of me really wonders why we need so much sermonizing about His Word.

Is it so unclear that we need countless commentaries and a degree in biblical studies to understand it? Is it really necessary to listen to a preacher read a few verses and then expound upon them for 30 minutes or so? I know that sharing some cultural background and historical notes can give better understanding to the Word. And I know that learning what the Bible has to teach us is important.

BUT--
Is that why we go to church?

When a sermon turns to social issues or becomes about government oppression of (our) religious freedoms, I tend to turn off and feel a little bit cheated. If sharing persecutions is to encourage us to pray for one another or to realize that we're not alone; that's okay. We need encouragement and we need to encourage others. But if talking about the banning of crosses or other religious symbols or activities on public lands is to incite anger and outrage, what good is accomplished?

When will we stop expecting a secular society to behave like followers of Jesus?
And when will we, as followers of Jesus, stop behaving like a secular society?

I really believe that our time of corporate worship is for God and God alone. I don't think that He should be expected to share that time with mothers (on Mother's Day) or fathers (on Father's Day) or veterans or country (on any of our patriotic holidays). He is God and should have all of our worship.

Our church activities on Sunday mornings will not change laws or governments. They are not meant to.
Our church activities on Sunday mornings will not change lives. We are powerless to do that.
Our church activities on Sunday mornings will not even change us until we are willing to give ourselves as living sacrifices to our God and Savior.
Our church activities on a Sunday morning will never convince a lost world that they are living lives contrary to the will of God. Only God can do that.

The world has more than enough messengers of gloom and doom.

We have been chosen as His messengers of Hope.
We have been chosen as His messengers of Truth.
We have been chosen as His messengers of Life.

And so my message today is a simple one:

God loves you.
And Jesus died for you!

John <><

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The Way. The Truth. The Life.

From time to time I feel the need to make this very clear to my readers and friends. I have a number of friends that are not followers of Jesus. I truly appreciate my readers that have different religious beliefs and yet choose to read my posts anyway. I do want to maintain a dialogue that allows us to freely share the things that we each believe.

However, a couple of things have prompted me to write this now--a letter from an atheist to the Christian Left Facebook page, and a conversation with an unbeliever.

It is important for you to know that even though I accept that we don't all have the same views on God, Jesus, heaven, hell, afterlife and a host of spiritual things; it doesn't mean that I think that there are many ways to heaven or that all religions have eternal value before God.

A friend recently commented that he could talk to me and I wasn't like other Christians that were always wanting to tell him that he's going to hell if he doesn't believe in God or in Jesus as Savior. I told him that I wanted him to know that he could always talk to me and I would do my best to answer any questions that he might have. But I also told him that it was important that he knows that I also believe that ... well, that he's going to hell if he doesn't trust Jesus as his Savior.

In the Bible, Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

And I believe that. With all of my heart, I believe it.

Regardless of your beliefs, you are welcome to stop by and read my posts. You are welcome to disagree with me. You are welcome to leave comments or ask questions.

And if the Holy Spirit is tugging at your heart and you are not sure of how to respond, you can contact me by comment, Facebook message, e-mail or phone.

John <><

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Why Can't We All Just Get Along?

It's a simple question.
It's too bad that the answer doesn't appear to be quite as simple.

At the risk of stating the obvious and simultaneously offending both sides of an argument, sometimes we need to stop talking long enough to really hear what the other side is saying. We have as much of an obligation to make sure that we are understanding the other guy as we have to make sure that they understand us.

For example:

Let's look at the mandate that employers or insurers are required to provide benefits that go against their beliefs; in this case, contraceptives.

One side sees the issue as a religious freedom issue; the other side sees it as a women's health issue. Since these are very different perspectives, it is no wonder that they can't come to a solution. Personally, I think that the Catholic Church or any other religious organization has the right to decide that they are not going to provide for benefits that are contrary to their beliefs. And employees (or persons eligible for coverage) have the right to choose not to work for them or attend their schools.

The President's solution that insurers would provide the benefits at no cost to the employer (Church) or the employee was faulty in that the insurers are not going to provide the coverage for nothing; they're in business to make money, not give it away. Addressing the problem from the employees side without consideration to the insurer's needs doesn't help any more than the Church ignoring the desires of its employees. It seems reasonable to me that the three parties involved (Church, insurer, insured) should be able to work something out and the government isn't really needed here. I do realize that the persons eligible for coverage aren't always employees and don't always have an organization or union to negotiate for them, but their desires can still be addressed.

Is it unreasonable for the employer to negotiate for the insurers to make optional coverage available at a cost to the insured?
Is it unreasonable to understand that if you choose to work at a Catholic hospital or University (or attend a Catholic university) certain things won't be covered and you accept that as a condition of employment (or enrollment)?
Is it unreasonable for the Catholic church to recognize that not everybody that is eligible for coverage is of the same faith and may have some different needs and expectations than members of their own faith?
Is it unreasonable to try to understand an issue from another person's perspective rather than always insisting on our own way?

Why is it that when what you want infringes on my rights, I'm outraged; but if what I want some how infringes on your rights, that's just too bad for you?

It seems as if our society has digressed so far that we no longer want to live as a society. We are no longer the United States of America. We are now either red states or blue states. We don't want ideas from our political adversaries (because we know that they will be stupid ideas) and we don't plan on compromising on any of the ideas that we have. We have decided to hate one another rather than to help one another.

Our politicians make outrageous claims and promises of how they will represent the people and then only take care of the people that have the money to keep them in office. I used to be very much opposed to term limits. I'm not anymore. Today, I believe that limiting terms will also limit corruption. I really wish that my senators would represent Missouri, my congressman would represent my district and businesses that don't directly impact our state would be unable to "buy" their loyalty.

Media outlets, religious leaders, even celebrities, are all trying to convince/compel/coerce you into voting the correct way. They'll beat up and belittle one side, and praise and worship the other. There seems to be little loyalty to the truth (unless we're only talking about the stuff that each side chooses to believe as truth).

Ugh! November 6 seems like such a long time away.
It going to be a long year...

John<><

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Lent: Week 2

Ending week 2 of Lent has had some grand benefits. I have continued to take the stairs instead of using the elevator at work. I've even added some trips (intentionally) downstairs on breaks. I am continuing with a day of fasting (actually a 24 hour fast) each week. I have been carefully avoiding any over indulgence. I have only had seconds once in the two weeks and have had no desserts. I've also given up fast food. The biggest thing with that is not stopping for a breakfast sandwich of some kind on the way to work in the morning.

I have fallen a day behind in my Bible reading; more from not reading the full day's amount for each day rather than from skipping a day. I have been much more purposeful in talking about church and spiritual matters in the workplace or with people that I encounter in other situations.

I'm thinking that I also need go back to a political silence on Facebook. While I don't mind sharing my views, I do realize that they often incite some fairly intense debate. So much of today's political environment is about "I'm right and you're dumb." Unfortunately, that often makes its way into otherwise civil people's discussions, as well. It is generally more subtle than politicians and pundits, but there, none the less.

So, about the benefits...

The Bible reading has been the subject of a couple of discussions at work. That's good stuff.
It also reminds me of some of the grand things that God has done and reminds me of his faithfulness still today. I think that it is through the Bible reading that I'm feeling led to be a kinder, more gentle John and less inspiring of political discourse as long as it continues to be unreasonable and divisive.

I'm less winded when I get to the top of the stairs which means that the pauses to catch my breath before actually entering the breakroom or work areas (where people might make fun of the overweight, out of shape, fat guy) are getting shorter. I've also managed to lose a few pounds (11+).

I realize that this post is mostly for me; a place to journal for my own benefit. I've considered that actually publishing this post is a bit like long faces of the fasting Pharisees. In part, it is to remind myself of what I've committed to doing and in part to see if there is any worthwhile point to it. I don't view God as a god that takes pleasure in our suffering, but I do think that the humility that comes from submission is a good thing to have before The Great and Mighty One.

Here's some Good News:
God loves you
...and Jesus died for you.

Share that with somebody today!

John <><

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Let's Do Some Magic!

It's just five short weeks until Easter Sunday!

I'm pretty excited about getting invited to Forest Park Joplin for the Easter Sunday children's program. The really good thing is the opportunity to share at a new venue and for a different church. The challenge will be the amount of time that I (1) need to fill and (2) need to keep the kids' attention.

A one hour magic show is a long time for kids.
Heck, a one hour anything is a long time for kids. Their attention span just isn't that long. I have found that you can keep kids entertained for longer; you just need to find a way to reset their attention span at a point before you lose it. Once it's reset, you're good for another thirty minutes or so.

I'm going to design a program that runs about 30 minutes, breaks for a brief (but planned) interlude and then finishes with another 20 minute set. That will mean two opening effects (the first one stronger than the second) and two good closing effects.

An additional challenge will be that there are two services and apparently some kids will be at both services. Do I keep the two services identical or do I change a few effects for the second service?
I'm still trying to decide on that.

There are a couple of routines that I haven't used in quite some time that I would like to use for this event. I'm glad for the five weeks to work on them and plan a program that includes them. It's going to be fun!

In addition to the Sunday at Forest Park, I have a date to participate with the Missouri Baptist Convention at the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland MO on April 21st for the Weekly Series Spring Opener. This will primarily be a walk around event which is outside of my usual type of performance. I've only done a few walk around venues in the past (and really enjoyed them) so I'll also be preparing for this event.

I am glad to have the opportunity to expand my experiences and hope to do more of the walk around types of venues. Both of these upcoming events should be a blast! Sometimes I think that it is unfair to call this kind of service ministry. Shouldn't ministry be more like work and less like fun? I'm am truly blessed to be able to have fun for the Glory of God!

John <><

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St. Baldrick's Update

After only a few days there seems to be a little bit of local interest in getting to see John with a bald head. Siblings have made donations that are higher than their previous donations and co-workers are ganging together to try to raise $300 of the additional $500 needed to push the boys up to the $2000 mark; donations and commitments are already coming in.

I'm hopeful that some of my church friends will also add a few bucks towards the cause. And I'm sure that my follicle challenged friends (that I may have teased at one time or another) will want to have their moment to get back at me and toss 20 bucks or so in the pot.

If you need to read the original challenge, you'll find it here.

Maybe a few of our relatives that have reconnected through Facebook will encourage these young guys to continue in their community endeavors as they are already working to help people that face challenges far greater than their own. All you have to do is click on the link here, then on the "make a donation" and you're on your way.

There may even be a few classmates or NATCA members that have dealt with childhood cancer (or any cancer) and want to take part.

I make no promises about doing this again next year. This may be your only chance to see me with a shaved head (unless nature steps in). Next year it may have to be Uncle Steve!

Give early! Give often!

John <><

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