Day 1

Hi my name is JW and I am starting a personal journey. I say it is personal because I do not believe that anyone will be reading this blog. I am a pastor of a small church in a small town in east Texas and I am overweight and out of shape. There I said it...I am glad that is over. I was a school teacher and football coach for 11 years before I went full time into the ministry. It has been an adventure moving to the small town and adjusting to a pastors schedule. What is so bad about a pastors schedule? There is no structure unless you create it yourself. As a school teacher I had a very defined work schedule. Obviously, the school bell shaped and directed my day but now there is no bell, no principal, just me. What is this blog all about? It is about me becoming half of the man that I am right now. I want to get in shape, lose weight, and eat healthy...so my children will have a Dad in ten years and my wife will have someone to share the next 20, 30, maybe even 40 years with. Currently my eating habits are horrible. Is it bad when the people at the drive-thru know you by name?
Where do I begin? I am not a complete health idiot...I have been a coach for ten years and I have been involved in sports for more than half my life. This morning I toured the local gym and it was really nice...it has everything that you need for weight training. I visited with Eunice who is the owner along with her husband ( I did not get his name). She is a nutritionist and was also a competitive body builder. They have owned and operated this gym for 20 years. That is a feat by itself. I will begin my workouts tomorrow morning...the plan is to work out every morning after I drop my daughter, Olivia, off at school. I purchased a family plan so,my wife, Joley could go and workout as well. I also want to start a prayer walk everyday here at church. I would just spend time in the afternoon walking and praying for the community.
Eating is the obvious next priority...I will use this blog daily to try and record what I am taking in...As far as calories, saturated fat and sodium. I have cut out carbonated drinks (diet cokes) and plan on replacing them with water. I have decided to cut the Aspartame as well...no artificial sweeteners at all. I will be eating five to six small meals a day. I will be using the body for life eating plan because I really saw success with that before. Why did I quit? LAZINESS and summer vacation. I no longer have a summer vacation so hopefully that will not become a stumbling block. This blog will hopefully be a motivator as well...maybe even accountability...That was one of the things that really helped the last time that I began this process...I had an entire coaching staff to keep me motivated and they held me accountable... So, grocery shopping tonight and my weigh in and first workout tomorrow.

I will leave today with this scripture...
Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

This scripture is referring to Paul knocking out the bodily impulses that would keep him from his mission of winning souls to Christ...He was no shadow boxer, just waving his arms without effect...Paul may be referring to such fleshly sins that disqualify a man from preaching and leading the church...one being blameless and above reproach in sexual purity, because such sin is a disqualification from church leadership.

This self-control (through Christ) could be applied today to a lot of areas in our lives not just sexual purity...self-control of my eating...my workouts...my bible study...and many others. My prayer today is to thank God that by His Grace and Mercy I still have a day one... to start disciplining my body, getting in shape, eating right...and that I will have self-control as I travel through this journey. I give Him all of the glory for this day and for the day that I will finally be half the man that I am now.