Welcome to Nolan's World

Fresh New Start Update, July 31, 2009

There will not be an "official" weigh-in tomorrow.  Lots going on here with the passing of Alison's grandmother and a crazy work schedule getting a bit re-juggled.  

June was the month of stellar success.  July was "plateau" month.  I am still down 30 lbs., but 50 by September 15 looks far away right now.  

I have been keeping up with exercising even on tough eating days.  Travelling is definitely a "routine" killer as far as my eating goes, so I am glad that we will be home in August!

I have not and will not lose hope.  I will get over the hump of July and do my best to have an awesome August.  I hope to be down at least 35 lbs. total by August 15.  This is definitely a "marathon" of getting healthy...

...even though I really wish it could be accomplished in a hundred yard dash!!!

Thanks for your prayers and continued encouragement.

A Story Worth Sharing?

Is the sum of your life a story worth sharing?

Let me put it another way...suppose you were to listen to someone else share the story of your life...would it be a tale worth hearing or would you be bored to tears?

I am becoming more convinced every day that most followers of Christ have bought into the myth of "external existence" rather than experiencing eternal LIFE!

We must learn to embrace this life...NOW.  You and I are not guaranteed to live in this life one minute beyond the one we are living right now.  

We should learn to more actively capture moments to laugh, love, serve, give, share, bond, hug, high-five, celebrate, teach, learn, dream, shout, sing, applaud, thank, help, grieve, and hold.  

Every day brings us a new recipe but one essential ingredient to living well is "savoring" the moment. 

He who learns how to live well will always have a story worth sharing!

I Really Miss Blogging

I just wanted you to know that I really miss blogging more regularly.

I promise it's me, not you.

3 jobs comprising about 55-60 hours of work a week right now+a little time for exercise+a little time for the family=very little time and energy for blogging (or much else for that matter)  :(

This crazy busy season is just that...a season

I realize my entries have been a little sparse

I look forward to writing more regularly soon

I plan to be doing at least 2-3 updates a week for the rest of the summer...hopefully more

Hope you'll hang in there with me

Have a blast this weekend!

Big-Time Goals, Bite-Size Chunks

My life has been full of CH-CH-CH-CHANGES over the last three months.   I have had a few people ask, "What's up with all the changes in your life?  What are you doing different?"

One common thread in all of the positive movement in my life recently is has been the result of practicing this principle that I simply call "Big-Time Goals, Bite-Size Chunks." 

Here's the plan I have been following:

You have to start with the goal...WHAT do you want to accomplish or change in your life?

Next, you have to determine HOW you are going to make those accomplishments or changes happen in your life?  Remember, the WHAT (Goal) will continue to define and re-define the HOW (strategy).  You then measure the effectiveness of the HOW by how close you are getting to the WHAT.

YES, it's that simple.

One living, breathing example of the "BTGBSC" principle from my life:

Our upcoming vacation/anniversary gift.   We have never done anything super-cool for our anniversary.  We bought ourselves a nice painting for our first and have done overnight getaways and small gifts for the rest.  For our 10th anniversary, I wanted us to do something memorable.  After talking with Alison and looking at options, we decided that we wanted to take Madalyn and go for a week's vacation to Disney World in September.  We also committed that we would pay for the trip in advance.  We had to put down a $200 deposit to reserve the trip and we figured the worst that could happen was that we would lose that.

The big-time goal: A week's vacation at Disney World, paid for in advance.

The bite-size chunks: Making extra money to pay for the trip by getting a part-time job (Nolan), being queen of the coupons and sales papers (Alison), eating out less and adding that money to our little Disney envelope, and putting every spare dollar as often as we could into the Disney fund!  We kept the goal in front of us almost every day.  We schemed, strategized, and planned to do everything we could to have the payoff of achieving our goal!

The Big-Time Goal was set a little less than two months ago...the Bite-Size Chunks have already paid off!!!  As of today, all we have left to do is save a little more spending money, but the plane tickets, park tickets, hotel, and meals are all paid for!!!  

This will be a memorable trip for many reasons, but one of the biggest memories for me is that HUGE things can happen by setting a GOAL and living each day with a focused STRATEGY to achieve it!!!

What big-time goal do you need to take a "bite" out of of today???

Book Review: From Eternity to Here

"Deep within God’s Word lies a wondrous story like no other. A drama that originated before time began. An epic saga that resonates with the heartbeat of God. A story that reveals nothing less than the meaning of life and God’s great mission in the earth.

From Eternity to Here presents three remarkable stories spanning from Genesis to Revelation. Each story traces a divine theme that is woven throughout scripture. Seen together, they offer an extraordinary glimpse into God’s highest passion and grand mission. What you discover will forever change your view of life, the church, and our magnificent God.

From Eternity to Here presents the sweeping saga of God’s greatest passion. Comprised of three thematic stories, each theme explores the timeless purpose of our God and His plan and mission for the church."

What I enjoyed about From Eternity to Here:  the concept of the book is different and it is very "readable."

What I didn't enjoy about From Eternity to Here: I never really "connected" with the book...in fact, the only reason I finished it was because I had agreed to blog about it.  I also thought there were some theological overstretches and liberties (I have a hard time picturing God, Creator of all, as "homeless") that I just did not agree with or enjoy.  I really did "want" to like this book; so many people had written such nice things about it, and I just had high hopes for it.  One of the pledges that I made when I started reviewing books on the blog was that I would always be honest.  I really wanted to connect with this book, but it simply didn't "speak" to me.

This book has been billed as the perfect follow-up to Francis Chan's Crazy Love.  I feel that comparison is completely off the mark.  While From Eternity to Here has a good premise and a few good ideas, it is simply not anywhere close to the category of Crazy Love. 

Overall Grade for From Eternity to Here: C+.

Fresh New Start Report, July 14

Total Weight Lost since June 1: 30.6 lbs

Weight left to lose before Sept. 15--19.4 lbs.

Definitely had a plateau over the last two weeks.  Multiple factors contributed (muscle gain, travelling, July 4th celebration, etc.).  I was thrilled to have a loss of any kind.  Should be home most of the next two months which definitely makes things easier.  Another huge challenge has been making time for exercise and eating right along with balancing the three jobs I have and the ministry projects I am attempting to start (in my spare time).  Fortunately, I have been able to do a minimum of 4 hours exercise every week and most weeks have been closer to 6 hours.  I am finding out that exercise can be a huge stress release!  Seeing LOTS of progress in my endurance level (the amount I can run at a time; I have been walk/running almost 5 miles several days a week; I can tread water at a fast rate for over an hour on pool workout days) and I am definitely "feeling" thinner.

The Road Ahead--20 lbs in 2 months.  Eating healthy.  Exercising frequently.  Drinking water like a wild man!  We can do this!!!

A Message I Sorely Needed

LifeChurch.tv kicked off it's annual "At the Movies" series this weekend.  I just finished watching and participating in early worship service this morning.  The movie that was featured was "The Bucket List," a movie I have never seen.  

What a timely message that hit my soul with a message of affirmation to some things that God has been revealing to me recently.  

I am honestly glad that I was able to participate in this service online...I didn't just cry, I WEPT, loudly sometimes (might have been a little embarrassing had I been in public).  

Due to the copyright agreements and restrictions involved with doing a sermon like this, you have to watch this message LIVE (no podcasts or archives that you can check out)...

FORTUNATELY, lifechurch.tv has SEVERAL broadcasts of this worship service today and the rest of the week...check out the opportunities here.  I promise you this would be an hour well spent.  I pray that the Spirit of God impact you through this worship opportunity.  I am truly grateful that I took the time to be ministered to, have my heart broken, and spend a few moments in worship and adoration of my Savior.

Now, I am on to look for a copy of the movie and to start my own "bucket" list!

Ouch!

A.W. Tozer was truly a prophet before his time.  It's almost difficult to believe what is printed below was written over 50 years ago because I think it so clearly reflects the landscape of the modern and even postmodern American church:

"We in the churches seem unable to rise above the fiscal philosophy which rules the business world; so we introduce into our church finances the psychology of the great secular institutions so familiar to us all and judge a church by its financial report much as we judge a bank or a department store.

A look into history will quickly convince any interested person that the true church has almost always suffered more from prosperity than from poverty. Her times of greatest spiritual power have usually coincided with her periods of indigence and rejection; with wealth came weakness and backsliding. If this cannot be explained, neither apparently can it be escaped.

The average church has so established itself organizationally and financially that God is simply not necessary to it. So entrenched is its authority and so stable are the religious habits of its members that God could withdraw Himself completely from it and it could run on for years on its own momentum."
- A.W. Tozer, Tozer on Christian Leadership

Fear or Enjoy, You Choose

"CLICK!"

That is the moment of commitment in the world of roller coasters.  Once that harness or bar that holds you in comes down and "clicks," your options become very limited--you can scream like a little boy or girl, hide your eyes, pray for it to stop, or...

you can realize that it's what you signed up for the minute you heard the harness click, and just enjoy the ride.

  

One of the things I have been reminded of this week is that we "sign up" to lose control when we follow Christ.  When we say, "You are Lord," we have allowed the harness to "click"and the ride of a lifetime awaits us.

It will often be terrifying, make us feel a little queasy, and at times we will all want to scream, "Please, just let me off this thing!!!"  

I wonder how sick Jesus is of the fact that so many of us try to turn the Christian life into a kiddie ride with no thrills, chills, or dangers? 

 

When you look at the Scriptures, do you see a safe ride for the those who chased after Jesus???

  

If you signed up to be a Christ-follower, you have two choices: 

stay terrified (Exhibit "A")

 

or

 embrace and enjoy the ride (Exhibit "B")!

 

What is your choice???

May you find exhilaration as you follow Christ into the darkest places to proclaim the light of His Love.  Fear is momentary and the fact that the Holy Spirit is with us ALWAYS should put our nerves at ease even the scariest times.  Embrace a life that may take you into circumstances that just may terrify you...that may very well be EXACTLY where God wants you!

If a life of adventure is too much for you, don't follow Christ...just stick to the kiddie rides!

How Big Is Your Faith?

I have been thinking quite a bit about how Jesus compared faith to the size of a mustard seed: "I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible."--Matthew 17:20 (NLT)

The lesson I am learning: The size of our faith is connected in direct proportion to our view of how big God is.  Small God=Little Faith.  Big God="Nothing is impossible with God"-sized Faith.

Could your world use a dose of Big God "Nothing is impossible with God"-sized faith??? 

I love the term that I first heard from Craig Groeschel--Practical Atheist!  It takes virtually no faith be be a practical atheist because you pray to God, but you live like the weight of the world rests on your own shoulders.  Sound familiar, oh follower of Christ?

How many of us can 'fess up and say we have lived like that at least once this week (if not today)?

I WANT to trust that God can do exactly what He says--the "otherwise" impossible!!!  I can only see Him show up in that way when I allow Him the opportunity to use life in a way that may terrify me!  I desperately long to have a heart of faith that reflects back my view of a Gigantic, Unstoppable GOD!

How big is your faith?