What have you been listening to this week?

California Gurls!

California Gurls (feat. Snoop Dogg) – Single – Katy Perry

Paparazzi

Paparazzi – The Fame Monster (Deluxe Version)

What do you think about my first Monday mixtape?

What songs did I miss?

And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.
And if our God is for us, then who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what could stand against.
What could stand against.

Our God by Chris Tomlin

Our God – Passion: Awakening (Deluxe Edition)

As @jesusneedsnewpr writes on his blog:

And apparently, according to Pat Robertson, if you give Muslims an inch they will demand foot-washings five times a day in restaurants all over town…

Unbelievable.

What they don’t tell you is that Nashville and the surrounding areas has one of the largest populations of Iraqi citizens in the United States. The Muslims here only desire a place to worship.

So what do you think?

Should Muslim’s be allowed to build a Mosque wherever they please?

(Found at JesusNeedsNewPR)

Consider how you act on Facebook.  Have you ever wrote a status, read it and then deleted it because you thought it would cause an uproar.  Have you ever uploaded a picture because you thought it improved what people thought of you?  Have you ever deleted a picture because you didn’t want people to see how you looked in that picture?  Have you joined a group because it is the “cool thing” to do?

Listen to this story, from Christine Rosen, author of Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism:

I know a young woman—attractive, intelligent, and well-spoken—who, like many other people in their twenties, joined Facebook as a college student when it launched. When she and her boyfriend got engaged, they both updated their relationship status to “Engaged” on their profiles and friends posted congratulatory messages on her Wall.But then they broke off the engagement. And a funny thing happened. Although she had already told a few friends and family members that the relationship was over, her ex decided to make it official in a very twenty-first century way: he changed his status on his profile from “Engaged” to “Single.” Facebook immediately sent out a feed to every one of their mutual “friends” announcing the news, “Mr. X and Ms. Y are no longer in a relationship,” complete with an icon of a broken heart. When I asked the young woman how she felt about this, she said that although she assumed her friends and acquaintances would eventually hear the news, there was something disconcerting about the fact that everyone found out about it instantaneously; and since the message came from Facebook, rather than in a face-to-face exchange initiated by her, it was devoid of context—save for a helpful notation of the time and that tacky little heart.

While this example is out of the norm, it does illustrate the denial of responsibility that occurs on Facebook.  So often, we post status updates, links and personal information regardless of who it might offend.  We make private meetings public by writing on people’s walls, regardless of who may feel left out.  We tag photos of ourselves with friends because we look real good in them (regardless of how our friends look).  We are overly cynical, sarcastic, and even downright mean to another friend, determined to express whatever angst is going on inside us at the moment, unworried by the pain that it may cause someone else.

In this way, Facebook pushes our “monarchy” button and makes us feel entitaled to do and say whatever we feel like in that particular moment.  And why not?  We are rewarded for such behavior.  Rosenberg, when discusssing this type of communication, calls it “life-alienating” and for good reason.  When we deny our responsibility for our words and actions (regardless of if you do this subconsciously or  you realize what you’re doing) we effectively depersonalize our friends, dismissing their thoughts and feelings as less important than our own.

And of course, we are diminished in the process.

Have you considered a break from Facebook?

I was born on October 26, 1989 weighing in at 10 pounds six ounces. I was a big baby!! From there, I never did lose any of that baby fat. All throughout elementary school, I was the fattest kid, with nicknames such as jelly roll or jelly legs. It wasn’t until just recently that I realized how hurtful those words are. I was to stupid to realize it then.

As any middle-schooler does, I started to see myself as the guy I was. I finished an entire pizza in one sitting. I would go back for seconds…for thirds…even for fourths if it was good enough. I continued at this deadly rate until my sophmore year of high school.

High School

In my sophomore year, I took the required health class, not looking forward to it at all. Little did I know, but it would end up saving my life. We watched “Supersize Me” (which you should watch if you haven’t yet) and I was blown away by the effects that eating McDonalds can have on your body for thirty days straight. While I didn’t eat at McDonalds for every meal, I did eat school lunches every day and was still eating multiple helpings of my favorite foods.

Once I realized how unhealthy my habits were, I changed the easiest one, school lunches. In the one week after quitting school lunches, I dropped 10 pounds.  Yep, 10 pounds in one week and all I changed was my diet.  I continued to change my eating habits and by the time I graduated, I was down to about 280, losing about 40 pounds in just two years.

I was pumped to head to Grace for college, so that I could work out in a gym for free.  As I have mentioned multiple times here on the blog, I was unable to attend.  That left me at Columbus State Westerville campus.  On numerous drives home from evening classes, I would stop at Arby’s and pick up a roast beef sandwich and fries.  Unfortunately, I was unable to control that and I put on 20 of those 40 pounds that I lost, right back on…

Summer of Change

That brings us to the summer of 2009.  A constant theme in sermons, Bible studies and discussions that I heard and was a part of, was that of honoring your body in every aspect of your life.  As I considered my own life, the biggest area (no pun intended) was that of my weight.

At 290 pounds, was I honoring God?

Could I do the things that God may call me to do?

How could I improve so that my life is a living sacrifice?

In discussing this with Dave, we decided to both change for the better.  We didn’t do anything serious until April 5, 2010.

It’s go time!

Dave and I started P90X on April 5, 2010.  I wasn’t prepared to work out like that.  We completed about 80 days of the P90X and ended up with awesome results.  In those 2.5 months, I was able to drop 20 pounds.  The biggest improvement wasn’t the weight I lost (though I was really impressed by that), but the thing I am proudest about is my pant size reduction.

When I started P90X, I was wearing a size 46.  Now, after completing P90X and beginning to train for a 5k, I can now fit into size 40.

Where I want to go

When I look back at where I have been, I know for a fact that I am never going back.  I am running with the goal of running the Race for the Jug.  I will be losing another 20 pounds and I will be sitting at 250 pounds, 70 pounds from my high.

I’m never going back, will you keep me honest?

Links of importance:

It can be the difference between having a good night or a bad one.

It can be the difference from going to one college or going to another.

It can be the difference from having a date to prom, or not.

It’s a word that I cannot stand.

NO!!

Saying it.

Hearing it.

I discussed my fear of the word no over a year and a half ago.  Here’s a little snippet:

I was sitting in the waiting room of our doctor’s office last spring having a conversation with a family friend that we have known for a long time. They actually were the ones that sold our old house and helped us find the one we are in now (not that it really matters to the story at all). Anyhow, she was asking me where I was going to go to school and she told me about her son. Her son went to Ohio University for Film Studies and after one quarter, decided that it was a waste of his time and money. He was answering questions that the professor couldn’t answer.

So, he lived with the mantra that the worst thing anyone can say to you is no. He started at on a few local jobs and eventually made it to the top of the filmmaking world, working with Spielberg and other influential filmmakers.

That just floors me. When you think about the truth behind it, it’s full of it. All they can say is no. Sure, you might lose some money (application fee for a college, gas money, plane ticket, etc) or friends, but that’s all you can lose.

You’re still a human being. You’re still alive. You still have the support of your family (hopefully).

Why don’t I live like that more often?

Because I’m afraid.

I’m scared of what others might think of my decision.

I’m scared of how it could affect my future.

I’m afraid of the word no.

I don’t want to use it…

…and I definitely don’t want to hear it uttered to me.

I’m afraid of rejection.

from My Motto's

Rise And Sing by FEE

Hosanna by Starfield

Song Of Hope (Heaven Come Down) by Robbie Seay Band

Awakening by Chris Tomlin

I Will Rise by Chris Tomlin

Amazed by Phillips, Craig & Dean

How He Loves by David Crowder Band

Your Love Is Strong by Jon Foreman

Our God by Chris Tomlin

You Alone Can Rescue by Matt Redman

There you go!  All the links head to Amazon, FYI.

The definition of Awakening is rousing into activity.  God, awake us, as Christians, into activity.  Let us never slumber.

³⁷ Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

We are those laborers!  We must go out into the world with a passion!!