What the??

Yes, it's true. I've been sucked into the world of blogging. Why? Not sure. I know I have stuff to say. It runs through my head constantly. Maybe I just need to type it out and see what happens. At least it will clear a little space in my head. :)

So, what does embracing opportunities mean? About a month ago, I've been challenging myself to ignore the obstacles we face and embrace them as opportunities. You know what I'm talking about. We all have to face situations where we don't see the end result... or the end result seems impossible to get to. Practical example: You have a pair of pants you want to get into, but your physical shape keeps you from getting into them. This can be viewed as an obstacle. One response could be that you're not ever going to fit so don't try. Now you've given in. Any positive thought has been sucked out of you. Another response is to decide you're going to find a way to get into those pants. You start watching what you eat, exercising regularly and focusing on your goal. Before you know it, you can get into those pants and everything else you've wanted to get into it.

That story was mine just a year and a half ago. One Sunday morning, two Christmases ago, I realized I had one pair of dress pants I could fit into. Then I realized I had worn them the previous two Sundays. As a music pastor who is often on the platform in front of the congregation, this is a problem. But, I had no other options. Or, so it seemed. I had to do something. I was determined I was not going to buy a whole new wardrobe.

My wife had bought me a pair of pants right before this moment and there was no way I was getting into them. I hung them on my closet door as my goal pants. Then, through the help of my awesome wife and my friend Chris, I began working out, balancing my food intake, and developing the mindset I had weight I needed to lose. You know what happened, two months later I could fit into those pants. Two months after that, those "skinny" pants were too BIG!! Wow. I couldn't believe it. Diet and exercise actually work!! :)

From there, I began running a lot. Nine months ago I began training for a marathon. Never saw that happening. One sprained knee later, I'm not running right now. I'm also not running my marathon. This is another obstacle. Does this mean I'll never run a marathon? No. It means I won't be running the one I thought. I'll get to it. When I'm better. My sprained knee has allowed me to spend more time focusing on my ministry with the kids and youth of Fairhaven Church. These guys are awesome. I can't imagine my ministry without them. These guys are not the future of our church, they are the present.

I guess this is where we'll start. I'm sure there's more to say, but we'll get to it.