2 posts tagged “body”

Yep, that's right... I've officially lost 25 lbs. Since the end of January.  And the cool thing is, the weight is staying off.  I think I've still got about 10 lbs to go, or so, but I'm VERY pleased with the progress so far!  As you can see with the photos below, I have a good reason to feel good about the change!

Mike Close Up (Fall 2006)

Here's a photo of me in the Fall of 2006...

Mike Web Close Up July 2007

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And here's a photo of me today...

Ok, so, here I go! I'm going to go on a personal quest to whip myself into some kind of 'shape'. Yesterday I went to the grocery store and purchased a bunch of specific groceries. I've decided to go on a sort of fast/diet (?). It's a fast because I believe that I need to submit myself to a season of discipline in eating and exercising to develop some more discipline in my life. Also, there are some destiny topics that I will be praying about. Charlotte and I are prayerfully considering different areas of ministry that we're going to be involved in.

What this fast/diet consists of are vegatables (includes other flora-based products such as tea, coffee, nuts, etc.), fruits, and dairy products. I'm also allowing some kinds of foods based on those products, so like last night, I would have broccoli-cheese soup. I'll also allow peanut butter with apples or celery and such. But for the most part, I'm going to be avoiding simple carbs such as breads, convenience snacks, chips, rice, potatoes (I know, kind of a veggie), as well as meats.

This is really going to be an exercise of discipline, as I am a FOOD LOVER. But, I know that my body really needs this season, if I'm ever going to slim down the way I've always wanted to. I'll also be in the gym at least twice a week. I am not sure how long I will do this, but I'm thinking I'll at least do it for as long as our church is doing a corporate fast. I think it's about 40 days or something. But in any case, I really want to discipline my body for now.

In regards to the items of prayer, Charlotte and I both feel that we have different modes of ministry that we need to be praying about. For one, Charlotte is VERY much feeling led to dive more into the Worship Dept ministry at our church (a.k.a. "The Rock"). Over the past year and a half, she's really been embraced by the leadership there, and the combined experiences of music, worship, teaching, and leading are all fulfilling her heart's desire. She truly feels called to be in this role and to pursue it along side the worship dept leaders. I'm so happy for her and proud of her.

I'm also considering being a part of her worship choir. It would mean a change in commitments at the Rock for me. It would also mean that we would have to consider how to have our children cared for while we're both at choir practices. But, as I have been in choir with Charlotte before, and actually have a little vocal training, as well as a sanguine personality, I think this would be a great fit for me. I really enjoyed helping out last week with a special event that included the worship choir. I really do love music.

Charlotte and I are also weighing our future roles in Marriage ministry at the church. We were just recently honored with the request of handling some crucial administration processes with regards to the Marriage Ministry. We've been released to pray about it and talk about it, and are doing such. Of course we would want to respond on that ASAP, but we definitely wanted to take time and pray about it and discuss how we would arrange that into our lives. I'm pretty excited about this particular item!!!

One more thing, I am going to be giving serious thought and prayer toward being involved in another area of ministry. Charlotte and I have talked a lot about this in the past, but now things are beginning to stir in my mind and heart. It's a pretty important and serious topic for me, so we want to be sure that the course I take or don't take is truly guided by the Lord. Be praying for me on that.

Well, that's it for now. If I start slimming down and showing any definition from this process, maybe I'll post some before/after photos on the blog. I'm certainly not wanting to get in front of a camera without my shirt on just yet, but we'll see how it goes! Bless my wife, she thinks I'm sexy no matter what. The crazy thing is, she REALLY does think that. :) Thanks sweetie!