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December 23, 2011 in
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Furniture For Sale
I am selling a few items before my move to Asheville. Here are pictures of the items and links to their listing on Craig’s list. Let me know if you are interested in any of them.
Greg.
Planting Roots in Asheville
When I was sixteen years old I felt the Holy Spirit’s call on me to full-time gospel ministry. As I have developed and grown in that call through the last seventeen years God has blessed me with various ministry opportunities. Looking back over those years I can see where God has allowed me to experience many different seasons all filled with great joys and, at times, biting pain. It has been through those experiences that my faith has been strengthened and my will to make His renown known, assured.
For roughly two years now I have felt a stirring within me to plant a church. When I first felt this call I set my sights on Charlotte, NC. Up until a month ago Charlotte was strong on my radar. So strong, in fact, that last year I had put a deposit down on an apartment there. But through God’s sovereignty I have not moved. This desire of mine to plant a church has been bathed in prayer and counsel. It is through that prayer, counsel, and God’s gracious hand that I realize I have more to learn before I plant anywhere as a lead pastor.
At the end of next month I will be moving to Asheville, NC to be a part of a church my friend, Lance Crawford, is planting there called, Grassroots. Lance’s vision for the church in Asheville corresponds with mine for Charlotte. When I first heard about Lance’s desire to plant in Asheville, I was excited for him and his team but never considered being a part of Grassroots outside of supporting them through prayer. I felt God had called me to Charlotte and that was where I was going to be headed. But, in the spirit of Proverbs 16:9, the steps of my plans are being established be God.
For about a month now I have been wrestling with a desire within me to move to Asheville and be a part of Grassroots. This desire has completely taken me by surprise. As I began to pray about the possibility of moving to Asheville and being a part of Grassroots I felt the Lord pressing upon me that it wasn’t about the location but about the message; the Gospel.
I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am to be a part of Grassroots and sharing the love of Jesus to Asheville. This next season of my life will be unlike any other. I am excited to see how God will move in Asheville, and through that, move in me.
Greg.
Six Month Update
Six months ago, on May 11, 2011, I started my journey to a healthier lifestyle with the AdvoCare 24-Day Challenge. You can read more about my results from that challenge here. In some ways it is hard to believe six months have passed already. I can remember when I first started this journey I wanted to lose a pound or two a week. “Only a pound or two a week!,” I would frustratingly think. But I couldn’t be more thankful for the slow, steady, and healthy way in which I have been losing weight. I have tried the quick fix diets only to be back to my starting weight, if not heavier, within days of stopping the diet. Being able to change my eating habits and getting regular exercise has allowed me to be smart about my weight loss.
As of this morning I have lost sixty-six pounds and thirty-nine total inches. When I stop and think about that I just shake my head. I have always wanted to lose weight, but was never able to imagine myself losing any significant amount of weight. Honestly, if you would have told me I would be down sixty-plus pounds in six months, I would have figured you too be a very optimistic person. But, man, I am here. Crazy!
Measurements
(Beginning/Today)
Biceps: 20″ / 15″
Neck: 20″ / 18″
Chest: 62″ / 54″
Waist: 54″ / 44″
Hip: 56″ / 49.5″
Thigh: 32.5″ / 27″
Calf: 18.5″ / 16.5″
Total: 263″ / 224″
As people started to physically see a difference in my appearance, they would ask me how I have been able to lose the weight. So I thought I would share some of the changes I have made in my life to help in the weight loss. I will give a brief look at each of these with plans to write a more in-depth blog post for each soon.
AdvoCare 24-Day Challenge. It all began here. The weight I lost in those 24 days was the catalyst I needed to continue on my journey. I can’t say enough about the challenge or AdvoCare products. The other products from AdvoCare I use are: Catalyst, Omegaplex, Meal Replacement Shake, LeptiLean, MNS Max E, and Spark!
H2O. This is 95% of what I drink. Literally. I never thought I would be able to say that, ever. I have always needed something to drink with flavor whenever I ate a meal. Not anymore. Truthfully, as weird as this sounds, I actually crave water.
Nutrition. This is a massive part of my changes. They say in weight loss its 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. I used to have it the other way around thinking I could work off of super-sized fries and double-cheese burger. Not so. In past if I was eating something green it was probably a candy of some sort. Now, just about every meal I have has a green vegetable in it. Recently I have been concentrating my nutrition around a Paleo diet. I would say I am eating Paleo roughly 85-90% of the time.
Exercise. This has been key in my weight loss. I have had weeks where I would eat well, but didn’t exercise and I won’t lose much weight, if any at all. I try to do a cardio workout at least six days a week with muscle development workouts mixed in.
LoseIt! I have never been a fan of journaling my food intake. But for some reason I love using the LoseIt! app on my phone and web to track what I eat. You can invite friends to join in and track each others progress. It has been a good motivator when I start to crave something unhealthy. Knowing it will show up on daily and weekly tracker has discouraged some food choices on more then one occasion.
Holy Spirit. I am no fool to think that I could do any of this without the power of holy spirit within me. Left to my own vices I would keep eating how I have been without a care in the world. But I knew that my previous eating and health habits were only hindering me and my quality of life. I have much more to say on this in a later post.
Thank you all for your encouragement along the way and for the road ahead, it never gets old.
Greg.
The Shoulders of a Homeless Man
I recently came across Rich Mullins’ The Jesus Record. He recorded some of these songs, including the one below, in an empty church just days before the automobile accident which claimed his life. Rich is best known for writing the song Awesome God.
He was a unique man who was passionate about Jesus and his relationship with Him. Rich’s music has always brought warmth to my soul. I am thankful to have stumbled upon his music again.
“You Did Not Have A Home” — Rich Mullins
Oh, You did not have a home
There were places You visited frequently
You took off Your shoes and scratched Your feet
‘Cause you knew that the whole world belongs to the meek
But You did not have a home
No, You did not have a home
And You did not take a wife
There were pretty maids all in a row
Who lined up to touch the hem of Your robe
But You had no place to take them, so
You did not take a wife
No, You did not take a wife
Birds have nests, foxes have dens
But the hope of the whole world rests
On the shoulders of a homeless man
You had the shoulders of a homeless man
No, You did not have a home
Well you had no stones to throw
You came without an ax to grind
You did not tow the party line
No wonder sight came to the blind
You had no stones to throw
You had no stones to throw
And You rode and ass’ foal
They spread their coats and cut down palms
For You and Your donkey to walk upon
But the world won’t find what it thinks it wants
On the back of an ass’ foal
So I guess You had to get sold
‘Cause the world can’t stand what it can’t own
And it can’t own You
‘Cause You did not have a home
Birds have nests, foxes have dens
But the hope of the whole world rests
On the shoulders of a homeless man
You had the shoulders of a homeless man
No, You did not have a home
Birds have nests, foxes have dens
But the hope of the whole world rests
On the shoulders of a homeless man
You had the shoulders of a homeless man
And the world can’t stand what it can’t own
And it can’t own You
‘Cause You did not have a home
Tom Booth and Matt Maher singing You Did Not Have a Home
Foto Fantastic 5
I neglected to post any pictures last week, so this week might have a few more pictures then normal. Oh, and I all but stopped using Instagram now. I have found an app for my phone I like much better, Snapsneed. Enjoy.
Greg.
If you are only looking in the temporary, you’ll find nothing but reasons to indulge the passions of the flesh. But if your looking to eternity, then you’ll pay any prince in obedience. — Matt Chandler
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18)
Turkey Trot Training: Update 2
It has been roughly two-weeks since my original Turkey Trot Training post. I would love to say that my training has been going swimmingly, but I can’t. I did get out and run the course once more after my first run and shaved a whole minute off my total. Unfortunately I have not run since then. My schedule after work has kept me away from my New Balances.
I have, however, gotten out on my bike twice in the last week. Riding my bike seems to be less stressful on my body right now and is a lot of fun. I have had this bike for years and have ridden it all of 10 times. Honestly.
There is only a few more weeks left to train for the Turkey Trot. I need to make it a priority to get a few runs in every week. If I can work on my discipline I know that I can get four runs in during the week and at least two rides in on the weekends. I figure the best thing for me right now is to continue to perform a lot of cardio heavy workouts in an effort to lose more weight which would then allow me to run and ride faster and further.
Today I went to the Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail. The main trail is asphalt and flat. As I was riding along I noticed what looked like some off-road bike trails. On my way back I turned off and followed one of the trails. Since I didn’t know where the trail lead I went about a mile or so and turned back. The trail was a lot of fun to ride. It was made mostly of hard clay and had small jumps along the way. (I was too chicken to actually jump any of them, but I might give it try soon.)
When I got back home I pulled up a map of the trails and see that the one I was on is just over seven miles long. I am thinking about getting up early tomorrow morning and riding all seven miles. If the whole trail is like the section I rode today, it shouldn’t be too hard for my current skill level.
Greg.
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