Friendship

Proverbs 17:17 says, "A friend loves at all times, and a brother [sister] is born for adversity." Friendship was never meant to be shared with someone for pure recreation and enjoyment. It was never solely meant for sharing good and fun times with others. However, it was a relationship created by God to strength one another, to encourage one another, and to walk with one another on days that are hard, bad, scary, and downright terrible.

My heart is heavy today. Today is my last day to live in Northwest Arkansas, and today is the day it's final.

These are my friends Kasey (left) and Melissa (right). The kind of friendship we've shared thus far has been far from the typical lunch dates and birthday party celebrations. I met both of them when they visited the church I pastored.

Melissa and her husband were first. I remember the day like it was yesterday. A few Sundays before Easter, it was a cold and windy day, and I was standing in the foyer, excited that we had visitors. Heath and I invited them over for dinner, and we became fast friends. Kasey and her boys visited for the first time about a year later, and I was excited when they returned the second Sunday! Her husband was able to come then too, and the three of us (as well as our husbands and children) soon started our weekly Sunday lunch dates.

I honestly believe that God put us together for the tumultuous times that we didn't even know were ahead. We've walked together through health issues, family/marriage issues, financial hardships, job changes, illnesses, and just plain 'ole bad days (and plenty of good ones too). We grieve when one of us grieves, and we share in one another's joy.

You see, this is the kind of friendship that tells the truth, even when it hurts, is uncomfortable, or makes us angry! We've committed to encourage one another and hold one another accountable in our lives and more importantly, in our relationship with Christ. We want what's best for one another, even if it's not what we want to hear!

Proverbs 24:26 says, "Giving an honest answer is the sign of true friendship."

For the past (almost) two years, I haven't been their pastor. But I'm still their friend. And they're still mine. We've met (we've tried) to meet once a week to catch up and do Bible Study, and share the Word of the Lord. A relational bond is quite strong. Emotional ties are hard to break, but a spiritual bond...those ties are impossible to break.

Even if I never live in close driving distance to these two ever again, I have a spiritual bond that will never be forgotten. How I'm thankful that God joins people together in friendship. And oh, how I'm thankful for technology that will allow us to see and keep in contact with one another.

Today, I have to deal with the fact that this is my last night in Northwest Arkansas, and I can no longer drive to the local McDonald's to see them in person. But I'll be thankful that my God knows no distance  and holds us all in his hand.

Banking Your Weight Loss

Ok. I admit it. I'm a bit of a nerd. I enjoy all things banking, and I enjoy weight-loss. I think the reason I like these things so well is because banking and weight loss both fit into a nice little neat package and it all just boils down to the math. If you follow the rules, great things will follow. So, I've created this nice little post to help you understand how to lose weight by banking.

1) Always balance your checkbook. It goes without saying, that if you're going to keep an accurate picture of your bank account, you must keep a checkbook register. Most people don't write checks anymore, but I am astonished at the number of people who settle for just glancing at their online banking. There are TONS of transactions that pend for days at a time, only clearing after you've mistakenly spent money that you really didn't have. This results in high overdraft fees and trying to dig your way out of temporary debt. These fees can be avoided if you simply keep a register. 
How does this apply to weight loss? You must keep an accurate accounting of your nutritional deposits and withdrawals just like in a bank account. There are free websites and apps that will help you get (and stay) organized. Fitday.com is my favorite, but myfitnesspal.com also boasts great helps. These handy little things will give you an accurate picture of what exactly you've ingested that day, and if you enter your activities and exercises, it will automatically calculate your calorie burn. Weight management simply boils down to calories in/calories out. Logging your food intake and activities to keep you from having to pay back any "overdraft fees" from overspending on your calorie budget.

2) Diversify your investments. When you want to invest money in order to get a great return, you need to diversify your investments. You wouldn't want to put all of your savings into one stock. What if that stock does poorly? You've lost your entire savings! You want to invest in different stocks, bonds, IRAs, CDs, and other options in order to target the best area for investing. This allows you to have little risk and to maximize on profit!
How does this apply to weight loss? Over time, your body tends to get too accustomed to the same workouts. If you're only walking and not doing any other kind of workout, how is that helping your arms? If you're only lifting weights, how is that helping your bum? If you're only riding a bicycle, over time, your muscles that are used to peddle that bicycle will become tone, but the rest of your body will be neglected. It's best to do multiple activities and to change them up a bit whenever you can. Your body will become overall more healthy if you diversify.

3) Don't borrow more than you can afford. Everyone knows that it's not a good decision to borrow money that you are unable to pay back. Why put yourself in a financial bind when it's not necessary? Sure that new car may smell and look wonderful. It may be fun to drive, and it may be nice and clean. But what's going to happen a few months from now when you have to decide whether to pay the mortgage or that car loan note? Wouldn't it have been better to have bought something you could afford so you could actually enjoy your purchase instead of regret it?
How does this apply to weight loss? Don't think for a minute that you can walk that piece of cake off after dinner. Don't fool yourself into thinking that just because you ate at Subway you can afford to add the cookie. One cookie has just as many calories as that healthy sandwich. Yes, it does. Look it up. AND, it will take you over 45 minutes to walk off ONE cookie. Now, was that 2 minutes of pleasure worth the 45 minutes of sweat...for ONE (1), UNO cookie? Now, if you've been disciplined all day, and if you have logged your calories and activities and see that yes, you CAN afford the cookie, then go for it! You deserve the reward. But don't think that everything will just work itself out, if you really can't afford the calorie payment. It's harder to repay than you think.

4) Keep your pin number and debit card secure. There are thieves out there prowling around looking for ways to steal your money. They will watch you at the ATM and at the Point of Sale Terminal just to watch your fingers. If they can get their hands (or their eyes) on your information, they will wipe you out faster than you can say, "skinny."Yes, and they will make your bank account skinny too. When you buy something on the internet, be sure that you're shopping on a reputable website that keeps your information safe and secure. It's your money, and they want it. You've earned it. They haven't.
How does this apply to weight loss? There are thieves out there just waiting for you to fail at weight loss because they themselves haven't done it. They haven't disciplined themselves, and quite frankly they're jealous. A person at work will bring you a cupcake...everyday. Yes, yes it happened to me. They will purposely bake things on holidays and birthdays to try to make you fail. Even though you've obviously lost the equivalent of an elementary school child since you've seen the loved one, they will purposely not say a thing. They will say and do things like that to steal your excitement and joy of your accomplishment. Don't let them. Keep it secure. It's your's. You've earned it. They're jealous.

I hope this little post has entertained (and helped) you in some way. May you never think about banking or weight loss in quite the same way!

Resurrection

So I have a new show. Resurrection on ABC caught my attention because it's a lot like Alcatraz that only ran for part of 1 season. In the show, these people, who were thought to be dead, actually reappear, some from 32 years ago. BUT they're the same age as they were when they died. It's like time has stood still for them, and they don't remember anything about where they've been for the missing years. It's quite captivating and intriguing because it's something we just don't see in every day life. The resurrection from the dead of our loved ones would be awesome to say the least!

However, I was thinking. Resurrections do and HAVE happened in everyday life. Recently, I heard about a man in Mississippi that woke up in a morgue in a body bag. He had been pronounced dead, and when the mortician went in to start the embalming process, the man was moving his legs inside the body bag. Imagine that...he got to leave the funeral home out the front door!

Stories like these are numerous, and it often brings questions about how often this happens. In fact, it has happened more often than not, but yet, we fail to believe. Jesus brought Lazarus back from the grave after three days! Jesus also raised a girl from the dead after her father just simply asked! But the greatest of all resurrections was when Jesus rose from the grave. He defeated death, erased the curse of sin from humanity, and made it so we could now approach the Father in the throne room.

So why is that we live in doubt? We live in fear? We live in hiding like that veil in the temple still separates us from the holy of holies? We don't walk in confidence knowing that God's Son became the ultimate sacrifice. Instead we settle for a life of trying to appease God and still make sacrifices that He doesn't need or want! We're rather sacrifice the blood of a Lamb, in today's terms, working ourself to the bone trying to appease some thought-up angry God, than allow Him to change our hearts and live in victory and freedom.

We have indeed seen resurrections. And we still see them today. God is the same miracle-working God that He was over 2000 years ago. He hasn't changed. His powers haven't diminished. I still believe He can and will resurrect physical bodies, but I just believe that maybe He's more interested in resurrecting spiritual lives. He longs to give us new life and purpose and hope. He longs to make strong our spiritual muscles and strengthen us to run the course of life through His strength instead to trying to do it on our own. When we live life attempting to assert our own plans and wills, settling for asking Him to bless OUR plans, we limit Him, and we limit ourselves.

As spring has (hopefully) sprung, our attentions are turned toward Easter and the never-ending aisles of peeps and jelly beans. Countless posts on Pinterest remind us of the cute bunny cakes that we believe we can make only to find a crumbled mass of cake crumbs and lime green coconut littering our kitchen counters and floors. Jesus is speaking to me this Easter of the power of the resurrection and the new life He came to bring. I want fresh new growth in my heart this spring. I love to open the windows in the spring and just allow the fresh air to flow through. Aren't you hungry for that in your soul too? He can and WILL bring the Resurrection.