SIS#11 - Self Improvement Sundays

***10 weeks complete - ahead of pace >30 lbs***

Coup d'etat. It's the phrase I like to use when I've accomplished something significant that should not have reasonably happened in that amount of time. I know the term refers to overthrowing a government, but I've used it to mean overthrowing obstacles or barriers in my life. Usually it involves some sort of barbaric yawp and fist pump when no one's watching or listening.

My first weight loss goal is history! The scale told me 42 pounds lost this morning, as I complete my 10th week. One significant detail that I've left out to date: I started at 300 pounds. Ouch! I mentioned that to one of the surgeons I worked with last winter and she was completely shocked. She said I carried it well. Carrying three bills is not something that most of us should get comfortable with for the long haul.

So I'm at 258 and feeling good. If you want to know more about how this happened, just track back through my SIS posts on this blog. But where do I go from here? When I set my original goal, I said I would start with 40 pounds and then reevaluate. So here we are, ahead of pace:

Bold and Broken

Matthew 5:3

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

      for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Poor, like a cringing beggar. We can’t create our own right-standing before God. He’s too perfect. We’re too messed up. Our right-standing before God comes through Jesus. Our personal righteousness is worth about as much as a pile of dirty rags.

So there’s this humility that says “My spiritual wholeness on this earth and my eternity in heaven are completely beyond my abilities and completely in the hands of Jesus.” But how do we reconcile this brokenness with the boldness of living in faith and new life in Jesus?

I’ve shaken the hand of bold, confident men and women of God who possess this “poor in spirit” quality, and it’s awesome to see those godly qualities together! Part of it is about how we handle pride.

The Bible uses pride in a positive sense a few times and in the negative sense many times. Maybe a 1:4 ratio. What that says to me is that we better be VERY CAREFUL with pride, and here are a few guidelines.

First, pride in our heritage can be a positive thing. But we are also warned strongly not to let that be a substitute for true, fresh relationship with God.

Second, in the mentoring relationship, good pride can be felt from student to teacher and from teacher to student. Again, this is in the context of reverence for God and gratitude for His goodness.

(2 Cor 8:24)  Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.

Third, we are told, without restriction, to boast in who God is and that we know Him. We also boast in the cross because it saves us, and in our weakness because it shows God’s strength.

 (Psa 44:8)  In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever. Selah

 (Jer 9:23-24)  This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, (24) but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD.

Fourth, we can be proud of who we are in God, without using that to compare or cut others down.

(Gal 6:4-5)  Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, (5) for each one should carry his own load.

Master, help me to be bold and broken before you. You’ve captured my heart, and my spirit runs to you. I love the strength and wholeness that comes with godly character, so please don’t leave me as I am. I’m so thankful you accept me exactly how you find me, but you love me too much to leave me there. I’m willing…

SIS#10 - Self Improvement Sundays

***9 weeks complete - ahead of pace >27 lbs***

Well, the first 10 weeks of this project are almost done. Then the pace slows to 2 lbs/wk, remember? I managed this weekend to pull out all of my next-lower-size clothes and most of them fit very well! They're all washed and hung up or put away. My wardrobe just got about 5 times better.

I've been walking and testing out the heel. I've had some 7-8 mile days between work and evenings, or on the weekend. The weather has been so nice, so it's great timing to get that mobility back. I'm also grateful to have exercise back in my arsenal as I continue to attack this plan.

Finding God in the Mass

This is a lifelong pursuit: connecting with God meaningfully and continually through a rich variety of prayer and the scriptures.

In Psalm 42:1-2, David says,

As the deer pants for streams of water,
     so my soul pants for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
     When can I go and meet with God?

And this conjures up all sorts of ideas about prayer and the Bible, and I resonate with many of those things...not all.

I attended a Catholic funeral mass today and enjoyed sitting right next to the stage in one of those side-seating areas by the organ. I was half ready to get up for one of the readings or interludes. And I watched as dear friends laid father/grandfather to rest. He was well up in years, but still too young. Cancer. I'm praying for my friends.



And parts of the ceremony were dull, repetitive and distant. And other parts were very rich, sensory and devotional. I really enjoyed the candles and the incense, until we started singing something again and I had difficulty breathing. The hazards of sitting close. The church was stunningly beautiful, located on an island off the shore of Lake Dubay.

And I felt drawn closer to God in some ways, but mostly through the richness of grieving with friends. And there was a couple there whom I joined in marriage years ago. I'll never forget the holy presence I felt at that moment. What an amazing blessing to see their sweet kids and hear of their new adventures.


So I love the quietness of getting alone with God, but he met me over and over again today. Through nature as Lake Dubay strained to thaw on a 65 degree afternoon. Through ritual as an ancient ceremony was introduced to me. Through the eyes of friends as they looked backward and forward through time and contemplated eternity. Through music and smells. Through the kind retelling of the salvation story by a wise, old priest.

So, meet with God. Find God as he reaches out to you in the front seat of your Hyundai or on the sidewalk as you take your evening dog walk stroll.


Thanks God for your breeze through the pines today. Please be close to my friends tonight.

Genuine Care for Others

A couple thoughts from Ross's sermon today at the Northwoods Vineyard in Tomahawk...

Uniformity creates one thing, and that is a system or a religion. When God sees uniformity he splits the seam. God wants unity not uniformity. Why did they nail Jesus to the cross? Because he wouldn't conform.

We say, if it's different it's wrong. And then we say, "I don't need you." This is ingrained in us and it's a pervasive attitude that militates against what God wants in the local body.


1 Cor 12:21-25
21The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.

Jesus at his core was other-focused. Paul was trying to bring the chuch back to honoring each other and being interdependent as we focus on and represent Jesus. No one should be left out.

Ross and Andy visited a lady at St. Joe's in Marshfield with Leukemia and given two weeks to live. She was knitting outfits for the church newborns. We can all have a part!

SIS#9 - Self-Improvement Sundays

***8 weeks complete - ahead of pace (>24 lbs)***

I took some focus off the weight loss this week in favor of another major project: the headaches! It's not that I always deal with headaches, but I really should own stock in Excedrin Tension Headache! So, I've tried all sorts of things to make progress and I decided this week that I'm sick of making progress! I'm ready to be done with it. So Monday I decided I'd go cold turkey the next day. No small feat since I've been clipping at 2-10/day for probably 2-3 years, and there was always another variation in the past.

I decided, for the first time in maybe a decade, I'm going to let my body crash when I need to. I'm done with the over-the-counter chemicals to push farther and always be ready. Day 1 was about as expected, but a little better. I had to leave work a couple hours early and slept a good portion of the evening to keep the tension back. Then there was the eerie feeling the next day...the feeling that I will allow myself to drop whenever and wherever, but not more pushing. Day 2 already was better than Day 1 and I didn't have any major headaches until Friday. Friday was tough, but I was determined to take it or die trying! (a bit dramatic?)

Some People Gotta Learn the Hard Way

So I was reading the story of Cain and Abel early in the book of Genesis the other day. This powerful verse jumped out at me again as it had in the past. Cain seemed to learn the hard way, if at all. And before he infamously slays his brother, God pleads with him with these words:

Genesis 4:7 - "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

In one sense it's a stretch to take these words to heart. After all, the end of the story shows Cain as a convicted murderer, of his brother no less! In another sense, though, God's pre-crime words work for all of us. Do what's right! Make good choices while you are able, before the lure of the act is too strong.


Why is it that some have to learn the hard way? DC Talk had a song like that a few years back.

"Some people gotta learn the hard way
I guess I'm the type of guy who has to find out for myself
I gotta learn the hard way
I'm on my knees and I'm crying for help."

But I think the point of the Genesis story is that we have the choice about whether to learn the hard way or not. That strikes me as a choice for wisdom, learning from someone else's mistake. Not always having to feel the pain of the consequences ourselves.

Wisdom isn't usually very exciting. It's meat and potatoes. It's early to bed, early to rise. It's routine.

So God give me wisdom today. Help me to choose the straight and level path which you choose to bless.

At the Gate - Should we get involved with politics?

Have you noticed the stigma that political involvement carries in social circles? I have, for sure, and I'm becoming more convinced that we're giving away something of great worth when we back out and leave the "dirty work" to someone else.

It's true that the vote is still private. So in that sense you can be highly involved with public policy without making a big deal about it. And some will choose to go just that far. Others not quite that far.

The picture I have is sort of an ancient rural ideal of the elders of the city gathering at the city gate to talk about the goings on of the town and what they support or oppose. I imagine young adults also joining in, perhaps mostly listening and learning, perhaps chiming in. Being at the gate could be contentious, but it would be a good and necessary part of working together as a community.

SIS#8 - Self-Improvement Sundays

***7 weeks complete - ahead of pace (>21 lbs)***

Anyone still with me? Yeah, in some ways it's tougher now after seven weeks, but mainly because I want my goal weight now...and more. I'm thankful. Thankful for a good spring. Thankful for amazing meals from my wife. Thankful for a season of motivation. Hopeful for more.

The plantar fasciitis in my left heel is a little better. I'm doing more icing now and I'm wearing shoes in the house almost all the time. The up and down from basement to second floor without support didn't seem to help. The cool thing is that this early success has come almost completely without exercise. I'm stretching every day, that's it. I'm staying off the heel until it's ready. I may do 3 or 4 miles at work and more working around the house, but then I lay off. No more daily walking goals for now. First the heel has to heal.

The Imitation on the Not Religious blog

One of the blogs I frequent, though commenting less in recent days, is Not the Religious Type. Dave Schmelzer (pictured) and all have been reading through Thomas a'Kempis' Of the Imitation of Christ, a book I've referred to recently. Come time to comment this week and the group is strangely silent! Never one to allow prolonged silence (ahem!), I jumped in with this thought tonight. Feel free to link over there if you like as well...

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Wow, tabula rasa!

I've been reading along in ye olde english version, devotionally here and there. Perhaps this only adds to the "bracingly different perspective". Perhaps my upbringing in a Pentecostal-Holiness tradition makes it feel a skitch more comfortable. The idea of embracing a worldview that is impervious to fad and trend is a double-edged sword, but hey, that means one edge cuts in a helpful way.

I'll include a quote that carries the directness of, say, George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards in the 18th century revivals:

Chapter XII - Of the Royal Way of the Holy Cross

Unto many this seemeth hard speech, "Deny thyself, take up thy cross, and follow Jesus." But much harder will it be to hear that last word, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire."

For they who now willingly hear and follow the word of the cross, shall not then fear to hear the sentence of everlasting damnation.

By the way, I'm only reading the old English version because it was at hand and free.

But I think the "otherness" of The Imitation partly comes from this monastic commitment to look starkly at biblical text and hang the consequences. I suppose there could be a pride that comes with that sort of separation too. But playing hardball with ourselves instead of always coddling and understanding is OK too. There's balance involved.

So, in this quip, we get a window into the motivation of a'Kempis: judgement and eternal consequences later for choices and actions here and now.

There's a church at a major intersection in our town that until recently had huge lettering on the front of the building reading "Prepare to Meet Thy God." I hated that. Stern. Harsh. Uninviting. But in the quietness of our own hearts, we each have some soul searching to do on the preparation front.

On Organizing as Citizens

This post went out before intended, but I kinda like the raw pensiveness of it...

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Anti-conservative talking points:

There's not a dime's worth of difference between the parties.

Politics is slimy. Let someone else do it.

It's just a mud-slinging contest. With all the gridlock, why should I bother to be involved?

...and as we concede our involvement, more power centralizes and the citizens are disempowered.