Sharing in Spanish

Today was one of the first days in a long time I was able to share about God in Spanish.  I have before in the Dominican Republic of course, maybe I should specify it was one of the first times in a long while that I've almost cried while sharing about Christ in Spanish.

I was picking up pizza with our shop's manager, Robert.  He too has a young son, maybe 2 years old so slightly older than David.  What God has taught me the most about His character lately is how much He loves me as His own child.  It's hard to imagine that God loves me infinitely more than I love my son.  Furthermore He even delights in me.

Frequently I've been so hard on myself that I don't see the value that God places on me simply because I'm His child.  Spiritual myopia blinds me to what God Himself says about me.  

In the past, I've always viewed God as Judge.  He is Judge to be sure, just read Revelation if you don't believe that.  He judges everyone in the end.  Simultaneously, He takes great delight in us as His children.  We can find great rest in that truth.  

As we were waiting for our pizza I was describing all this to Robert who was pleased to hear it and in agreement.  Then I shared how I can't imagine God sacrificing His only Son on the cross and Robert reminded me of Abraham in the Old Testament as a precursor to Christ to show how faithful God is to his people.

I thank God that as I grow in my knowledge and use of Spanish I can use it to glorify Him more and to different people.  What a gift that is, to be able to share about His glory in 2 languages.  Now it's finally occurring to me why I needed to learn Spanish in the first place, to witness to those I wouldn't be able to witness to without it.  Of course God uses Spanish speaking people to minister to other Spanish speaking people.  But it's an honor to be called to this cross cultural work and work alongside local believers in order to encourage and equip the saints in my second language.

May you realize as you read this how much God loves and delights in you, simply because you are His child and He has chosen you to be adopted into His family.  What a great privilege it is to be called children of God, and that is what we are!  That's somewhere in one of the letters of John I believe and I can say that now as much as at any other time in my life.  Blessings be to Him who is able to do all things.

Weight Loss Advice (for myself :) )

I listened to a podcast this past week that talked about how when someone gives another person advice, it helps them know what to do themselves.  Most people already know what to do, they just don't do it.  It's a matter of cognitive dissonance according to the podcast, in Christian circles it's known as hypocrisy.  The idea is that when we verbalize to someone else what to do we want our own actions to live up to our advice.  With that in mind, here's my take on weight loss advice to help myself in the process.

There are a bunch of different theories on how to lose weight, some say to cut carbs completely like keto, others say to cut meat and meat products completely like vegan.  I've read several diet books this year and there are some common threads among each of them.  First, cut way down on sugar if not eliminate it completely.  To be clear, processed sugar.  Processed foods in general seem like a bad idea.  Beyond that the books have different advice, so that's probably where I should start, just cutting out processed sugar and processed foods in general.  I wonder how far I'd get if I just simply did that.

People swear by keto and vegan both, but they're basically opposites.  Keto is almost all meat, so much meat that you'll feel like it's coming out of your nostrils.  Vegan is no meat, which can make it hard to stay full if you're used to a lot of meat in your diet.  Fiber is the key to staying full on that diet, and a lot of veggies are full of the stuff.

Some basic guidelines I think are helpful...

Eat more veggies and fruits

Drink more water

Cut out soda or at least limit it way back

Cut out processed sugar and processed food in general or at least limit it way back

Cut way back on the consumption of greasy stuff like burgers and fries

Cut back on meat intake, you don't need nearly as much meat as we've been sold in the American diet marketing machine

What worked for me before was going part time vegan, basically vegan during the week and then allow some meat on the weekend to keep it manageable.  That obviously increased my veggie intake which was a great thing.  I also lost about 25 pounds quickly which was awesome and welcomed.

The problem with short term diets though is that it's easy to lose weight and much more difficult to keep it off.  Hence all the talk about 'lifestyle' as opposed to diets.  Really though, I think a lot of people who claim to have made a 'lifestyle change' have made it for less than a year typically.  I think the part time vegan (or perhaps even veggie so it's less strict) is doable over the long term.  I'll of course have to make allotments for when we visit others but for the most part I think it's largely sustainable.  It seems healthier than some of the low carb options like keto or Atkins.  I always wonder about heart health on those diets.

Food tracking is another commonality among a lot of diets so maybe I should try that too.  Seems like most people say you can track food until you have a pretty good idea of what kind of foods you're likely to eat and what their macros are.  I don't like counting calories or anything like that but maybe that's a good strategy over the short term anyway.

Anyway, it's time for me to make a change.  I've been fitter (although I don't look it since I have my sugar gut) than I have been in years from working out a lot more.  Now it's time to add the weight loss.  A friend once told me "Weight loss happens in the kitchen.  Fitness happens on the bike."  Obviously biking was his favorite form of fitness.  I love working out which is great, I know a lot of people hate it but I usually love it.  

Now the nutrition part is what I really need to change.  Thankfully I have a beautiful wife who makes amazing and healthy dishes, just time to give up the free sodas at work and the snacking.  Easier said than done.  Consistency is so important in all areas of life and what separates those who achieve their goals from those who don't.  Here's to the eternal optimist inside me who always thinks this time I'm going to be consistent.  Don't worry about the occasional falling off the wagon but rather assess if you're moving in the right direction on a regular basis.  You've got this.

Hopefully someone else will benefit from this blog entry too, who knows?  :)

Blessing Muslims

Earlier tonight we shared a meal with our Muslim friends and another of their friends from Turkey.  It was a wonderful meal but I'd like to focus on what happened beforehand.  We were saying 'Enjoy' and I was folding my hands unconsciously like I always do because I usually pray before meals.  Then they asked me to pray for the meal.

And so, I prayed a prayer of blessing over our friends.  It caught me off guard to be asked to pray by our new Muslim friends but perhaps it shouldn't have after they invited themselves to our church.  By the way, it hasn't worked out yet for them to come, so please keep praying about that.

Praying a blessing over our friends got me to thinking this is a much better way to engage our global neighbors than our current foreign policy.  What if we preemptively prayed and preemptively loved our neighbors near and far rather than started preemptive wars?  This most likely sounds idealistic to some but surely it's closer to the heart of the Gospel than a shock and awe campaign.

A wonderful meal followed my prayer and we are so grateful they invited us into their home.  We have learned before that Muslims are often known for wonderful hospitality, really a Middle Eastern cultural value regardless of religion.  It is humbling wherever you are when others share what they have with you and something we can all learn from.

We are beyond grateful God has put this couple in our path and we intend to simply be faithful friends as they get ready to have their first child in January.  When times come to share our faith we will obey as I did when I prayed tonight.  Most of the time we just want to be genuine friends that reflect the light and joy of His glory.  We want to be a blessing to our Muslim neighbors as well as any other neighbor.  I pray the same for you who are reading this, that you may be a blessing to anyone you call a neighbor.

Miscarriage and afterthoughts

Its been a while since I've written.  In the meantime we had a miscarriage which was fairly traumatic and which we both still feel the emotional effects of at times.

Life moves on of course, and with a little one you can't simply sit in your grief very long.  I'm so grateful for David, especially now.  Before I was head over heels about him but now there's a deeper sense of gratitude after the loss.

We go on walks in the morning and evening which I know I will always cherish.  He's already a fast little guy and loves running around the loop at our apartment complex park.

Delighting in my boy who brings me great joy makes me realize my Father in heaven sees me the same way, only infinitely more.  How can God delight in me that way?  All I see is my own sin, yet I'm hidden in Christ.  Christ's sacrifice covers and removes my sin so that I might draw near to Father God.

My hope is in Christ alone.  A miscarriage is a terrible way to be reminded of that fact.  We had hopes and dreams concerning our little one, yet ultimately we place our hope and grief in the only One who truly understands us.