Muscle Confusion and the April Challenge

In athletic training, there is a term tossed around: Muscle Confusion. The basic gist is that your body tends to plateau during your training and that you need to change things up in order to keep progressing.

That was the basis for my April Challenge. I don't want to stay on a plateau spiritually, physically, emotionally, intellectually or any other -ally. I want to continue to grow and be better. I think the April Challenge helped me along that path...

Spiritually, I have incorporated different forms of "worship" into my daily life for 27 of the last 30 days. Some days have been incredible, some days marginal, but all days habit-forming. This is an easy addition to my spiritual regimen.

"Enter His gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with Praise."  Psalm 100

Physically, I have broken through the 5 day a week barrier and have enjoyed more physical and mental energy as a result of daily exercise. This, too, has become a bit of a habit, or perhaps an addiction (I love those endorphins).

"Do you not know  that your  body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you  were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."  I Corinthians 6:19-20

Confectionally, I have exercised great self-control and except for a few serious lapses in judgement (Chick Fil A Milk Shake, A&W Root Beer Float, Ben and Jerry's Free Cone Day), have held back the draw of the sweet tooth.  I did this mostly to see if I could, and now will go back to the philosophy of dessert is good.

 

"Everything in moderation."    -Aristotle

Cindy and Mandy,  how did you do?

Vote Early, Vote Often

Take a look at the poll over there on the left. Now, stop just looking and start voting. I'm interested in your opinion.

Falling Off the Wagon

I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.   Acts 20:24

I know what is important. I know that we should all finish well. And I know that for me, at least part of the April Challenge will be ending today (truthfully, yesterday).

I set out to take 30 days and devote them to worship, exercise and to not eating dessert. As of yesterday at about 1, I have officially fallen off the wagon in that third area. I plan to keep worshipping and keep exercising but I also plan to not only enjoy the birthday cake brought to my office for me yesterday, but to also enjoy Free Cone Day today at Ben and Jerry's and 31 Cent Scoop Night tomorrow at Baskin Robbins. I hope you don't think less of me, but even if you do, I can handle it.

I'm finishing well with worship and exercise and admittedly cutting a 3-day corner on the dessert component.

Where do you cut corners?

Little Big Adventure Results

That's right, take a close look at that picture. Those are actual real medals hanging from our athletic necks. Katey and I took home the bronze medal in her 13-14 year old age group. There were over 150 teams in the Little Big Adventure and we had the 24th fastest canoe time. We struggled with both the mountain bike course as well as the run course but encouraged one another all the way through. 

Our initial strategy was to sink canoes, tip over bikes and push runners down, but we decided to go the good sportsmanship route instead. It paid off and was an incredible experience together. All you DC folks might consider the Gaithersburg Little Big Adventure coming up in October. Highly recommended...

Little Big Adventure

This weekend Katey and I are road tripping down to Richmond to participate in a triathlon together. And when I say, together, I mean we both have to cross the finish line together as a team. Our training has been weak for this one, but it should prove to be a great time.

By the way our team name is "Katey is Cool".

I'll post post-race pics if we survive.

Joining Together

Destiny is exactly 37 days away from participating in a really cool work of collaboration. Where we work together for something bigger than ourselves.

One Prayer is an opportunity for the Church to gather together. It is an opportunity to communicate across ethnic, denominational, and economic boundaries. It is our opportunity to ask and answer the question:

At Destiny this will be our message series for the month of June. We will get to hear Greg's answer on June 1st and then we will get to hear the answers of four other nationally known leaders within the Church.

Who would you like to hear from?

Craig Groeschel
Perry Noble
Mark Batterson
Ed Young, Jr
Mark Beeson

Suggest someone?

Hannah Montana: Cliff Notes for Parents

If you are not already a Rhett and Link fan as a result of Are You Destinized, this might just tip the scale for you.

But, if you do not have elementary-aged girls in your house, go ahead and skip the clip, it won't make sense to you anyway.

Third Week of April Stats

In the April Challenge, I'm nothing if I'm not consistent.

-Good worship through  the week.

-Consistent exercise. It was good to log some miles on the bike this week.

-An A&W Root Beer Float after a weekend lacrosse game keeps my 1 dessert per week streak alive. (Not necessarily something to be proud of...)

Tabernacles and Water's Edge

Last night I enjoyed hanging out with the middle school and high school folks who make up Water's Edge.  These folks are eager to grow and were ready to worship as we gathered together in the Manor House garage. We walked through the Old Testament tabernacle and allowed it to shape our worship together. 

How many of the elements of the Israelites' worship make it into your daily life?

Gates:  Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. (Ps 100)

Altar of Sacrifice:  Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, this is you spiritual act of worship.  (Romans 12:1) 

The Laver:  Confession.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)

Lampstand:  Don't destroy yourself by getting drunk, but let the Spirit fill your life. (Ephesians 5:18)

Table of Showbread:  Thanksgiving.

Altar of Incense:  Praying for others.  May my prayer be set before you like incense...  (Psalm 141:2)

Mercy Seat:  Intimacy with God.

I Scream, You Scream...

In the interest of public service I am compelled to tell you about two life-changing events happening in a strip mall near you. Both of these events happen during the month of April (see April Challenge) so I will attempt to eschew both of them, but would encourage you to reach out for your nearest dairy delight.

Tuesday, April 29th is Free Cone Day at all Ben and Jerry stores.  Leave your wallet at home and pack up the fam for this one...
And then on the following day, Baskin Robbins is hosting 31 cent scoop night from 5-10pm. Check the cushions of your couch and try a new flavor. If you don't like it, you can always splurge on another.
This is obviously a classic picture of poor planning on my part. If I'm going to choose a month to avoid desserts in 2009, it is definitely not going to be April.

It is nice to have options...

The doors are off the Jeep. A little cold this morning but should be great this afternoon.

Pop Goes the Church

I'm about halfway through Tim Stevens' Pop Goes the Church and am feeling confirmed in where Destiny is headed and how we plan to get there. In fact, so much so, that I ordered 8 more copies for the Destiny staff team to go through together over Subway subs.

Here is a taste of this challenging book:
I hope you choose to leverage (pop culture). I think you will when you see how full of hope the culture around you is (82).

Instead of trying to categorize art as either sacred or secular, good or evil, positive or negative--let's engage the culture in a conversation (93).

Second Week of April Stats

Week two of the April Challenge was not as easy as week one. It started out slow and I tallied a mere 17 out of 21. Here are the highlights (and lowlights):

-Personal worship* did not get going this week until Thursday!
-Best time of personal worship involved a Jeep, a windy road and a Passion CD.
-No desserts until Thursday when a Chick Fil A milkshake called my name and I remorsefully enjoyed it down to the last slurp.
-Consistent exercise was the best of the week.

*Here is a quick note about my worship goal. I do pretty well in connecting with God through prayer and a pretty consistent devotional life, but do not spend enough time in worship which for the sake of this challenge is strictly defined as praise to God through music. It takes many forms in our lives but for April I'm trying to increase my musical worship. 

Here's to week #3!

Know, Grow, SERVE

"You gotta serve somebody." -Dylan

"The high destiny of man is to serve rather than rule." -Einstein

"Be nice to others." -Mrs Springer, my first grade teacher

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve..."  -Jesus (Mark 10:45)

Today, Clay, Katey and I will be spreading mulch at the local Abused Women's Shelter. This is a simple task that will engage me and my kids in service. Our whole world is wrapped around ourselves and occasionally we need to look beyond the mirror and serve others. (With the expecatation that the "occasionally" becomes routine and a part of how we live our lives.)

What does the Destiny logo make you want to do?

This post from Church Marketing Sucks has me wondering...

Here's some interesting research that looks at Apple's branding and its impact on viewers:

[Researchers at Duke University] found that exposing people to a brand's logo for 30 milliseconds will make them behave in ways associated with that brand.

Surveys found that people felt similarly about the two companies in every way except creativity, where Apple came out ahead, and competence, which was IBM's perceived strength. After exposing them to the brands, the researchers asked subjects to describe as many uses for a brick as they could.

Most people mentioned a door stop or a paperweight. "But the subjects who had seen Apple's logo also came up with uses like tying it around my roommate's foot and throwing him in a deep pond ... "

So Apple's brand makes you a creative psychopath. This follows Scott Magdalein's recent post, Brands Are Bigger Than Logos. Your logo is the figurehead for your brand; when people see it, do they feel creative? Bold? Confused? Your brand is who you are; your logo is a way to reinforce your brand at a glance. (link via clusterflock)

What does the Destiny logo make you want to do?

Take the Doors Off

It is cloudy and cold today, but they tell me spring is coming.

The true sign of spring for me is not the birds chirping or the lawnmowers purring. It is the amplified sounds coming out of the speakers of my Jeep once I have taken the doors off.

I'm putting together a Jeep playlist for the warmer months and here is some of what I am going to include:


I first heard Dave Barnes at a Drive Conference at North Point and have been playing his stuff with the top down ever since.






Jack Johnson is the quintessential surfer-rocker and is a must for any outdoor laid-back activity. I like the old stuff better, but this new cd still makes the cut.






You may be surprised that Amy Winehouse makes this list, but if you avoid the explicit lyrics, this is some good tunage.




What would you add to this list?

First Week of April Stats

We are now 6 days into the self-imposed April Challenge and out of a potential 18 "points" I have amassed a first week total of 16 points. Not too shabby...

-No desserts were consumed during this first 144 hour period.
-Exercised every day but Sunday and on that day I took a nap.
-Worshipped every day and even tried to worship via Youtube with Emily on Friday, I'm not giving myself any points for that one.

I'm enjoying this so far. I'll let you know how I feel after another week without ice cream...

Katey: An Intertainment Star

Katey made it onto the Rhett and Link show last night. Just go to about 9:14 or so and have a listen...




It's good to know how she really feels about the new addition to our family.

Daddy Dotter Day

Thought this Index Card was appropriate as Em and I enjoy another Daddy-Dotter Day together today.

Twitter in Plain English

Is anyone else out there Twittering or is it just Mo and I?

Family Q's

I was convicted by these questions as I rolled through blogs today. These 10 come from Craig Groeschel over at Lifechurch.tv.

1. Am I closer to my spouse today than I was a year ago?
2. Have I read God’s word with my family this week?
3. Have I prayed with each member of my family this week?
4. Do my children know they come before the people in the church?
5. Are my children joyfully experiencing Christ at church or do they resent the church?
6. Does my spouse feel close to me spiritually?
7. If my spouse could have me change one thing about me, what would it be? (Why haven’t I changed in this way? What am I going to do about it?)
8. Are we honoring the Sabbath as a family?
9. Do my wife and kids enjoy being around me?
10. Can my family clearly articulate our family values and vision?

How did you do? So what are you going to do about it?