Mental Toughness Recap

So this past Sunday we looked at the idea of "McGyvering It". Do you remember the show McGyver he was amazing!! I have never seen anyone in a bomer jacket with a mullet as sweet as his do so many cool things, and all in the middle of stressful situations. So this begs the question, how do you respond in the middle of crisis or stress? From athletes, to zoo keepers we all deal with situations that cause us to scratch our heads sometimes and wonder how in the world that we are going to make it through. I think that the key to all of this is mental toughness. I know for me every morning I am faced with the reality that there is a treadmill and weight bench calling my name and I have a choice to make when my body says no to have my mind say yes. And I can honestly say that for the past 30 days I have worked out 5 days per week and the amazing thing is that my body is responding to my mind telling it what it is supposed to do. To date I have lost 15lbs and have lost a whole pants size. I am stoked and am really loving the way that I am feeling because of it. So I just wanted to encourage everyone where ever you are on this journey of fitness to just not quit keep going and the results will follow. I think that this is true physically, spiritually, and mentally. So here are the key points from this past weekend in case you missed them.

Tools for Mental Toughness:

1. Listen to the experts. PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING Check out success stories in magazines and the Internet - fitness, money, or otherwise - you'll find they are people JUST LIKE YOU. So if they can do it, WHY CAN'T YOU?

Philippians 4:13 (NLT)
13For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.


2. No pain, no gain vs. Patience, pacing, and persistence. PUT INTO PRACTICE WHAT YOU LEARNED. When you realize that failure and handicaps have NOT prevented winners in any area of life, you gain more confidence and courage to pursue your own dreams.

Phil 4:9
9Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.

3. "What next?" thinking. "KEEP MOVING FORWARD" -"Walt Disney" Give yourself solution-oriented feedback when solving your problems. Don't dwell on what went wrong. What are you going to do about it? Spend your energy on moving forward, finding an answer.

Phil 4:12
12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be.

4. Get comfortable with the unfamiliar. Make it a part of your daily routine to do something totally different than what you normally do. You'll be better prepared to handle diverse environments with greater calm and confidence.

Matthew 5:43-48 (The Message)
43“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ 44I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, 45for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selve

5. THINK AND SPEAK WELL OF YOUR HEALTH. THINK ABOUT WHAT IS TRUE AND RIGHT. We tend to make real what is the "main feature" of ourselves. What's YOUR "main feature"?

Phil 4:8
8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right.


6. Don't be a victim of ads and fads. DON'T COPY THE BEHAVIORS AND CUSTOMS OF THIS WORLD. Yes, the world is full of greedy people looking for a fast and easy way to put your money in their pockets. Make sure the thing that impresses you meets your criteria, and satisfies your concerns.

Romans 12:2
2Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.

7. Hang out with people who have already achieved their goals or who are dedicated to goals similar to yours. Avoid associating with people who have the same unresolved problems or who are frustrated by their lack of achievement. You know, the pity parties. "Oh, woe is me. My life is in an upheaval. How about you?" "You poor thing. Woe is me, too. I feel terrible about myself. How about you?"

Proverbs 27:17
17As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend.

8. Focus on desired results. Pure and simple: winners dwell on the rewards of success. Losers focus on mistakes and failure. Do what's necessary NOW. Be in the present. Then you don't have to worry about what happened yesterday or what's going to happen tomorrow.

Philippians 4:12-14 (NLT)
12I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. 13No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heave

9. Expect the unexpected. You can't control what happens and what others do. You can anticipate what MAY happen, and prepare for them as best you can. You can also control your response to what happens.

Philippians 4:6-8
6Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Hope this helps you guys on your journey.

Thursday Morning Thoughts

This week has been a roller coaster week, so to speak, around here and it has prompted me to reflect on a few things that I thought I would share with everyone.

1. Life is really short- Monday night I received a phone call from one of our members informing me that Dr. Forrest Pollock and his son had gone missing in their plane. Tuesday morning the search was over and they had found Dr. Pollock's plane wreckage and there were no survivors. I could not help but think of his wife and other 5 children and a church family that is crushed by this whole situation. I hugged my kids a bit tighter Tuesday night and reflected on the idea of what legacy would I leave if God were to take me home today.

2. Comebacks are awesome- I know that you have not heard a baseball story in a while so here is one for the record books. As many of you know Anthony has been playing his first season of baseball and at the beginning of the season things were not going so well. That is not the case now. He is now batting second and is about to make me go broke because of a deal I made with him that for every hit I would give him $5. Well Tuesday night was the second round of the tournament and our Tigers were down 7-0 in the bottom of the 3rd inning. I told Anthony this game is not over if you guys will just play your game. So that inning they did just that and scored the max 5 runs. So we have a score of 7-5 at the top of the 4th inning well things did not go so well on defense and the other team scored 2 more runs making it 9-5 in the bottom of the fourth inning. Well this was going to be it because there was not enough time to play another inning, however, we were at the bottom of our batting order. You know the guys who struggle a bit when they are up to bat. Well the 5th, 6th, and 7th batter got on base and then scored on pass balls then the 8th batter struck out. So here we were the score 9-8 with batters 9-11 up. Well number 9 leads off with a single up the middle, then number 10 hits a double to right field and the game is all tied up with the number 11 batter up. Now you must know that the number 11 batter has only had 2 hits all season. But tonight was his night, he has a great swing but has just not connected with one yet. Well he takes a strike, then a ball, then another strike, then another ball, then he connects and it is a bomb to right field that goes all the way to the fence. Well, crazy legs as we call him is trucking around the bases and by the time he gets to third he has caught up with the number 10 guy and they both run home for a 11-9 win. WOW!!! Can you believe a bunch of 9, 10, and 11 year old kids have the heart to come back for certain defeat. Why is it that as adults when faced with difficult times we often times quit instead of busting through and see the win? Boy I sure enjoyed watching and learning from theses kids. I want to be like them.

Working out is actually fun- yes I know that this sounds crazy but I am actually enjoying doing this whole workout thing. I am now on week three and I have not missed a day. I am so stoked . I have not checked the weight this week yet because I usually do that on Friday but I will let you know. I trust that many of you have decided to get off of the couch during this series and will continue the journey to fitness. Here is what one person said after viewing the burst training video.

Yeah!!!!
I am so glad I go to Relevant Church!!
I downloaded the Rocky sound track to my iPOD and Monday when the video didn't make it online I went jogging and jammed out eye of the tiger!
Today I am going out to my shed and dust off that old home gym wait bench!
I wasn't going to do it but after watching Paul do the burst training I gota try it ha ha!
You Guys Rock!

Well if you have not checked out the video or tried the Burst Training check out the BLOG. Let me remind you this is pretty intense.

Paul

Sweatin to the 80's is sometimes just sweatin

Well Sunday we launched our "Sweatin to the 80's" series amid some killer 80's tunes, "Eye of the Tiger" to be exact. I think it is amazing how much I feel like working out when I have the right music playing on my ipod. Now I know that there are some people who can work out and listen to sermons or books, but I am not one of those guys. I really need some driving guitar licks and head banging music of the 80's to really get me going. So to help people "get off of the couch" and get moving we have created a workout video with me as your coach. Now I know what you are saying "Paul you as a coach? Don't you need this as much as anyone?" to which I would respond Yes. That is why I am sort of a player/ coach. You see I am actually doing the workouts with you. It is kind of funny and serious at the same time. Check it out at our church blog.

So I thought I would drop in here the main points from Sunday just in case anyone missed out or would like to refer back to the main points of the "Eye of the Tiger" message you can also check out the podcast from Sunday's service on our web site:

Main passage for series

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NLT)
1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. 2We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.

Practical biblical tools for exercise

1. get off of the couch

• stop making excuses for not working out
• we cannot hire someone to exercise for us we have to do it ourselves

Proverbs 26:13-15 (The Message)
13Loafers say, “It’s dangerous out there! Tigers are prowling the streets!” and then pull the covers back over their heads. 14Just as a door turns on its hinges, so a lazybones turns back over in bed. 15A shiftless sluggard puts his fork in the pie, but is too lazy to lift it to his mouth.

2. Stop raiding the fridge

• stop making it about what you eat and make it about how much you eat
• a great web site to help track your food intake for you is Myfooddiary.com
• to many people quite because they hate the food that they have to eat. Start by adding God food back into you diet.

Proverbs 23:1-3 (The Message)
1When you go out to dinner with an influential person, mind your manners: 2Don’t gobble your food, don’t talk with your mouth full. 3And don’t stuff yourself; bridle your appetite.

Proverbs 23:20-21 (The Message
20Don’t drink too much wine and get drunk; don’t eat too much food and get fat.21Drunks and gluttons will end up on skid row, in a stupor and dressed in rags.

3. Get a partner

• Use the buddy system
• Friends don’t let friends work out alone

Proverbs 27:6, 17 (NLT)
6Wounds from a friend are better than many kisses from an enemy.
17As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend.

4. Get moving

• stop watching people work out and start working out
• stop talking about working out and just start

I Corinthians 9:24-27 (NLT)
24Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. 25All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches. _ 27I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

We live in a culture that is obsessed with the physical body. My prayer is that by earning their respect in regards to the honoring the body that God has given me that I may earn a right to share with them about the love that Christ has for them and their body. Spiritually and physically. I do not want to be disqualified from being able to speak into peoples lives.
What about you?

Happy workout.

Paul

the workout video will be up sometime this afternoon. Sorry about the delay.

Sweatin to the 80's is sometimes just sweatin

Well this weekend launches our brand new series "Sweatin to the 80's" and as many of you may know the staff and I started working out at the YMCA everyday for the last two weeks. Well I am excited to say that this past week I have lost 5lbs. I am so stoked about this I can hardly stand it. I know that it is not much but it is a start and I am pumped.

Know I want everyone to know that this series is going to be much more than just physical fitness. We are going to deal with emotional fitness, spiritual fitness, and our churches fitness as a whole. But this week we are going to focus our attention on our physical bodies.

Here are a couple of things I have noticed since I have begun to work out again. And please remember I am not the poster child for GNC. I struggle with a need for some double cheeseburger actions all the time.

1. Having a partner makes all the difference. Knowing that people are depending on me everyday to be there motivates me to get up every morning and workout.
2. When I work out I feel better about myself. I do not know what it is but when I am working out I feel better about my whole appearance even though there have not been significant changes yet.
3. My attitude is better. Maybe I just had a bad attitude before, but now I seem to be a bit more even tempered. My staff may disagree though.

During this journey we are going to be giving you tool to help you along the journey. So start looking at our Blog starting Monday for your first training schedule.