I Wish Above All Things

3 John 1:2

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

For those of us raised in the church, we have heard this scripture countless times. It has been a favorite scripture among those who preach the "prosperity" gospel. I like prosperity. I am all for it, however, this is not God proclaiming that above all things, it is His will that we prosper.  Besides, this is John in a letter "to my dear friend Gaius."  It is an opening greeting. That is not to diminish it's importance on how we can apply it, but we have to be careful about creating some sort of doctrine on salutations. 

If I were to create a doctrine based on this, it would be about health. I wish that you may be in good health. How does that happen for you? In order for us to prosper, for the majority of us, we must work for it. There are a few who have inherited prosperity but I don't hang with many that have. In fact, I don't think I know anyone who has inherited their prosperity. I don't know anyone who has gained prosperity through the lottery either. Most every one I know who lives in prosperity worked for it. The same goes for good health. You have to work for it.

I know, you are saying to yourself "here he goes again." That is correct. Here I go again. It is my passion to see my family, friends and acquaintances be in good health. After all, who wants bad health? So, how do we obtain good health? In some cases, diseases, injuries, birth defects, etc. has come our way and we can't ever obtain good health. However, most people just don't care enough to strive for being healthy. I know. That was me for about 50 years. I was never concerned with it and as a result, I found myself obese and with high blood pressure. I was disgusted with myself. As most of you know, I changed my life and wrote about my experience in "All My Strength." So, it is now my passion to see you live in good health. I can leave you with the same thought as John left with Gaius: I wish for you prosperity and good health even as your soul prospers!

Weight loss plans...which one?

We sure do see a lot of time-based weight loss plans these days. If you will go to "Google" and enter in "7 day weight loss," then "10 day weight loss," and "15 day weight loss," you will see plans with each of these. In fact, I think you can put in most any amount of days and there's a plan to lose weight. Guess what? All of them work. There are also "challenges." You can "Google" that as well and see many plans that are going to challenge you to lose weight. For a fee, of course.

Why are there so many weight loss plans? Is this necessary? Do you get the feeling that it is just a money making deal for the originators of these plans? ABC did a report recently stating that $10 billion dollars are spent each year by 100 million people in the United States. How is that working? We are still obese. I think most of us know that diet plans do not work long term. Have you ever known anybody to lose weight and gain most, if not all of it back? We all have friends and family who have done that. I did too. It seems as though I have lost thousands of pounds on weight loss plans. I hesitate to call them "gimmicks." What is the deal with all these plans?

Here is my take, in case you wondered. In my book, All My Strength, I mention that every diet works if you follow the plan. In fact, I have no problem with people who need to lose a few pounds going on a diet. But what about the obese? I was obese. A diet wasn't going to work for me. I needed more. I needed to change my life and I did. I did a lifetime change,  not a 90 day challenge. The change we need to become healthy and fit is for life, not for a period of time.

Can you imagine the preacher asking you to go on a 20 day challenge to live for the Lord? Just try Jesus for 30 days and see how that works for you? No, it does not work that way. Your belief in Jesus is for life. There are no plans to let you try Him out for a while to see how it works. The same goes for becoming healthy and fit. It is for life! If you are obese, you have to change your life, not try a diet plan. I would love for you to purchase my book by clicking on the link above but it is really just a matter of eating real, healthy food and getting your heart rate up at least 30 minutes every day. That is basically what I did and I lost 110 pounds in 16 months and have maintained for more than 2 years. That is because my life has been transformed by the renewing of my mind. What about you? Don't just try a 7 day diet or a 30 day diet or a 60 day challenge, change your life for life.

Running in All Fifty States

Many people have on their "bucket list" to visit all 50 states. At age 56, I entered into the state of Nebraska for my 50th state visited. I really never thought about it until it occurred to me a couple of years ago that I only need four states. In 2010, we went to New England and I picked up Vermont and Maine. In 2011, we flew to Denver and drove up to North Dakota and back down to Nebraska completing the goal of visiting all 50 states. Cathy will complete her quest for 50 a little later this year. I wonder how many couples in America have visited all 50 states?

I am now admitting that I have a goal of running in an event in all 50 states. Realistically, it will be very difficult for me to do, but I have placed it on my "bucket list." I enjoy traveling and I enjoy running so it's a match. This weekend, Cathy and I are flying to Milwaukee to run in the Hank Aaron Trail 5k. Wisconsin will be my 12th state running in an event. That's not too bad considering I started 2 years ago. I chose this particular race because I was a fan of Hank Aaron when the Braves moved to Atlanta from Milwaukee in 1966. In fact, my nickname was "Hammer" in those years. I can't wait to get the t-shirt!

The folks at the Hank Aaron Trail have asked me to speak for a few minutes about my weight loss experience and how I utilized the trail here in Forsyth County. They are promoting healthy and fit living and want to demonstrate what can happen if someone will get out there and walk, bike or run on their trail. I am excited about the opportunity to briefly tell my story. I am also looking forward to running on the Hank Aaron Trail through Milwaukee.

The quest for running in all 50 states continues. I have run a race in Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maine, Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois and Oregon. If the Lord lets me live and helps me live in good health, I have many years left to run. I am thinking about doing 5 states per year. I wish the folks at the "Four Corners" would sponsor a race. That would be pretty cool to knock out four states with one run. I ran in the Flying Pig 10k in Cincinnati that crossed over to Kentucky giving me two states with one run. I am looking for more of those types of races.

Why am I doing this? Because in order to stay fit, I believe that you have to find something fun to do. If it's not fun, it's work and most will quit. I love to run. It's what I do. I run for freedom. Freedom from unhealthy and unfit living. What about you?

Thoughts about Freedom

No doubt when you saw the title to this blog, you immediately thought about our wonderful country. You probably had a picture of our troops and the flag in your mind. I thought of it as well as I typed it. But, that is not what this blog is about. You may have noticed that my blog page is "I Run For Freedom." What does that mean? Let me take a few minutes to explain.

If we are not free, we are bound. There are many things that bind us. Bad habits come to mind. Everyone of us have either experienced or have family or close friends who have been the victim of bad habits. Many times those habits have led to illness or even death. I can think of several in my circles. When one shakes a bad habit, they are free from the habit. So, the opposite of bondage is freedom. We love freedom but not at the cost of kicking the habit sometimes.

In my case, I was bound by food. I had to eat but I made the wrong choices which caused me to be overweight for most of my adult life. Of all the bad habits in our culture, overeating seems to be the most prevalent. Unlike most bad habits, we over-eaters are bombarded with ads that tempt us. I know, there are alcohol ads but they do not promote alcoholism or getting drunk. In fact, they warn against things such as drinking and driving. Not so with food. It's not that they invite us to overeat but they run ads about unhealthy food choices all the time. So, we are tempted often by these ads. Overeating is, with apologies to the group Chicago, a hard habit to break. It is a bondage. The opposite of bondage is freedom. I can say that I once was bound but now I am free.

I run for freedom. The reason I run is to maintain a healthy and fit lifestyle. I enjoy running but it's the motivation of staying healthy that drives me. I know that you all are watching me, waiting for me to gain the weight back. I have maintained for 2 years and will continue to do so. I enjoy my freedom. I run for freedom. You should try it. If you are bound by a bad habit and want to be free, decide and do it. I know that some have addictions and have to have help but I'm not talking about that. I am talking about those habits that you know you can quit if you'll just decide to do it. Especially those habits that can lead to illness and death like overeating.

I hope that you will order "All My Strength" if you haven't already. It is my story of how I kicked the habit but you can apply it to yours. I know that in your heart, you want to choose freedom over bondage. So, why not start? You can order my book HERE. Even if you don't order my book, make a decision today to be free. You may want to run for freedom like me or go another route like biking, hiking or walking, but do it! You'll be so happy that you did.