I will confess that I don’t get too excited about the Olympics, but I do love to hear some of the stories that come from the games. So many of them act to inspire and encourage us in life. The Apostle Paul uses the imagery of competition and marathons when he describes how we should be in our faith. In Hebrews 12 he has just finished talking about the heroes of the faith—Abraham and Noah and Isaac and Jacob and even a prostitute named Rahab.

Then he writes in Hebrews 12 that we should let their example inspire us in our life’s race: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith . . . so that you will not grow weary and lost heart.”

Just like the heroes of the faith, there are amazing stories of courage, discipline, and endurance that come from the Olympics which inspire and encourage us in the race marked out for us. One of my favorite Olympic stories comes from the 1964 winter games in Innsbruck, Austria. In the two-man bobsled competition, a British team driven by Tony Nash had just completed its first run, putting them in second place. Then they made a horrible discovery.

They had broken a bolt on the rear axle of their sled, which would put them out of the competition. At the bottom of the hill, the great Italian bobsled driver Eugenio Monti, who was in first place, heard of their plight. Without hesitation, Monti removed the bolt from the rear axle of his own sled and sent it to the top of the hill. The British team put the bolt on their sled and then completed their run down the mountain, winning the gold medal.

Monti’s Italian team had to settle for the bronze.

When asked about his act of sportsmanship, Eugenio Monti deflected any praise saying, “Tony Nash won because he was the best driver.” The story of Monti’s selfless act spread. And because of it he was given the first De Coubertin Medal for sportsmanship. This award is named after the founder of the modern Olympics and is one of the noblest honors that can be bestowed upon an Olympic athlete

A greater story comes from the well known life of Eric Liddell. Born in 1902 to Scottish missionaries, as Eric grew he had two loves in life—sports and Jesus. He loved to share the gospel and he loved to run. He excelled in both. As his fame in athletics grew, he drew large crowds to hear him preach. Some newspapers questioned his commitment to running since he was spending so much time preaching. As the 1924 Olympics neared, it was thought that Eric could be the first Scot ever to win an Olympic medal in track.

His best event was the 100 meter dash, but when the schedule for the Olympic races was published, the first heats for the 100 meter dash was on a Sunday. Eric held a conviction that he was never to race on Sunday and refused to do so. Instead he entered the 200 and 400 meter races, events in which he was not nearly as dominant. The press attacked him mercilessly and called him a traitor to his country. But Eric held to his convictions. On the Sunday of the 100 meter trial, Eric preached in the Scottish Presbyterian church in Paris. A British runner, Harold Abrahams, went on to win the gold in that race. But Eric saw this as just a part of God’s plan. He finished second in the 200 meter dash, but there was still one race to go—the 400 meter dash. He qualified for it but was far from the favorite. On July 11, 1924 Eric Liddell prepared to enter the stadium when the team’s trainer handed him a small, folded piece of paper. It quoted 1 Samuel 2:30 “Those who honor me, I will honor . . .”

If you saw Chariots of Fire, the 1981 Academy Award winner for best picture, you know what happens. Eric Liddell won the 400 meter race, setting a new world record of 47.6 seconds. He was the first Scot to win Olympic gold in track. The next year he returned to China as a missionary and during World War 2 died in a Japanese POW camp. One of his most famous quotes is “When I run I can feel God’s pleasure.”

I believe that when we act selflessly like Eugenio Monti or when we have the courage to act on our deepest convictions like Eric Liddell we can sense God’s pleasure with us. Wouldn’t it be great to always be as clear in our own lives as to what is truly important and worthy of sacrifice?
At our church we are beginning a series on September 7th called “the One Month to Live Challenge.” We will look at what we would do if we knew we only had a month to live. That’s the great clarifying question of the day. What is so important that if you only had a short time to live, you would do it . . . or say it . . . or be it? We’ll be reading a great book by Kerry and Chris Shook by the same name. I hope to see you all in church on September 7th as we begin this revealing series and I hope that God will work in your hearts. I you cannot attend First Church of Christ, I encourage you to go to our our church’s website and listen to the sermons as you read a chapter each day from the book. Please let me know if you would like more information about the series.

How time flies when you’re hungry. Exactly four weeks ago I began the dreaded liquid diet to prepare for my Lap Band surgery. The first couple days were rough as my body (and mind) went into junk food withdrawal. But I soon settled into the groove. I had the surgery exactly two weeks ago. It went without a hitch and now I am pretty much healed from it. Having just finished the two week post surgery liquid diet I am now beginning to work in some solid food. Since starting the liquid diet a month ago I have lost about 25 pounds. Sometimes I feel like I have lost weight and I look in the mirror and can see it. But most of the time I don’t see it. But I do feel better. The mind does funny things as Kathy Brandt from our church tells me. She lost several hundred pounds and says that sometimes her mind still can’t see the weight loss. So I’m not getting too hung up on that. I also decided to stop weighing myself for a while. I was getting too hung up on it. With the liquid diet the initial weight comes off pretty quick but it slows down. So I will weigh myself every couple weeks and not every day.

The food thing has been harder. I have realized just how much my life revolved around food…almost using it to medicate. Feeling down? Eat! Feeling good? Eat! It’s so much a part of our lives. Eating when not really hungry. Overeating because it’s there. Feeling like your day is not right if there is no stop at the golden arches. For the most part if I stick to the plan and eat what and when I’m supposed to, I don’t get hungry. It’s amazing. Tonight for dinner I had about 6 oz. of Liverwurst and 6 ritz crackers and I was comfortable. I was supposed to eat a half a banana but couldn’t because I was full. That’s crazy! After so many years of overeating until stuffed, it is beginning to feel good eating just enough to not feel hungry. For the first time tonight I was watching others eat good food I love–Mexican–but wasn’t envious. I have chosen a life, a new way of life, that isn’t dependent on food to feel good. I think it’s starting to get easier. The Lap Band is a tool, but the decision is still mine. Eat to live not live to eat!

In my last post I wrote that I was awaiting the date of my Lap Band weight loss procedure. Not an hour after I wrote that, Hurley Bariatric Center called with the dates of my surgery as well as the other stuff that goes along with it. My surgery will be on May 29th at 9:30am. I am amazed at how God worked this all out. The last two months have been crazy in life and church with Easter and meetings concerning our church’s building impending building program. Also as soon as summer gets going I will have other things happening like taking my favorite wife to Chicago for her birthday at the end of June as well as riding my motorcycle.

It seems that in a span of several months God chose the best time to arrange this. What does Psalm 31:14&15 say: “But I trust in you, O Lord; I say ‘You are my God.’ My times are in Your hands . . .” How true this is. Another life Scripture that I love is Jeremiah 29:11: “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

I want to be a person who is happy, contented and feels good. Who is confident. Whose clothes fit and doesn’t have to worry about small booths. I have determined that when I have lost a considerable amount of weight one of the first places I’m going to go is McDonald’s. “Right into the dragon’s lair?!?” you say. I’m not going to go there to eat. I’m going to go there to sit in their booths and at their tables with the fixed chairs. They are the smallest seats in the world–which really doesn’t make sense. Anyway, I don’t want to be so consumed by food. I want to be a man who isn’t referenced by others as “Big Guy.” I want to stop shopping at stores with inferior overpriced clothes with labels like Big Dog, King Size, Big Daddy, or any other offensive names. I don’t know of any “Big and Tall” person to whom those brand names would appeal.

This is not who I want to be. But it is more than all these things. Moreso, it’s just a realization and conviction that I am not living to the potential for which God created me. I want to be the best instrument He can use. I want to be the best dad I can be. I want to be more like the man my wife married twenty years ago. As another favorite Switchfoot song declares: “There’s more to life than just getting by.” 

Next week I will be starting a two week liquid diet to get ready for my surgery. I am so glad that the Bible is true and that “man does not live on bread alone.”

Have you ever waited for something for so long you wondered if it ever would get here? For over a year and a half I have been waiting for something that most people would rather avoid than pursue–surgery. For much of my life I have battled being overweight. It began as a young kid before I ever really remember consciously making a decision to eat a Big Mac instead of Cottage Cheese and pineapple for lunch. It just seems that I am predisposed to putting on weight easier and more quickly than others. Overweight as a child, I thinned out in my teen years due to a growth spurt, dieting, and a mom who made me begin exercising. Every night for several months we would walk the neighborhood. Notice I said “we.” Mom didn’t just tell me to get walking, she did it with me (I probably never said thanks for that, mom, but Thanks). With school activities, football, and everything else the weight stayed off through most of college.

Not long after marrying the weight started to creep up again. For a couple years I kept it at bay by running and dieting. For a year, Lori and lived right by a golf course. She was pregnant and so while she was busy being pregnant I would go out every night and jog around the golf course. I discovered a real fondness for running. I want to run again. After we moved I would run at the high school track to keep the weight off. But as a pastor with a pretty busy and sedentary life the weight came back with a vengeance. Folks who have never battled weight have no idea how hard it is to lose and maintain. And so through the years I have had many well meaning friends give me advice on losing weight. I’ll admit that my inner responses to them were not always so kind. Like most grossly overweight folks (and especially pastors) I would cover it up with humor. I never really thought of it, but perhaps God gave me a gift for humor as a way of dealing the immense inner pain young children go through when overweight. And I am now able to joke about it even though it hurts.

Did you hear about the preacher who told his staff that he wasn’t going to eat KrispyKremes any more? Yet the next morning he came in with a box of the deep fried demons. They asked him what was going on. He said that he was really tempted as he drove by the KK, so he prayed ot the Lord “If it’s Your will for me to eat a donut then show me by opening up a parking space right by the door.” “Sure enough,” he said, “on my 12th time around the parking lot a spot opened up right by the door.” Anyway . . . Although my weight has been fairly stable for the last few years, I never in my life thought I would weigh what I do now. How much is that? I’ll tell you later . . . after I’ve lost a good chunk of it.

Lately my health seems to be going downhill rather quickly. Add to that just my ability to be a good dad to my kids, pastor to my church, and most of all husband to my wife. I just reached the point where I have to do something. So a year and a half ago I started researching weight loss procedures and going to informational meetings. It didn’t take long to decide after prayer and talking with those who have gone this route that I need to do this. Not long before I began looking into this, Lori had begun working with the state and so now our insurance will cover such a procedures. God is good. But it was a long process to get everything done that needs to be done for the surgery. Just yesterday, I got the call from Hurley Bariatric in Flint that I have been approved having crossed every t and dotted every i. In the next couple of days the schedulers will call to give me my date. It will likely be the end of May or early June.

I am having a procedure called the Lap Band System. In this, a small band is placed around the top portion of the stomach to restrict the amount of food you can eat and provide a full sensation with less food. Then every so often they fill the band with saline to decrease the size of the band to assist in further weight loss after hitting a plateau. This procedure is less invasive than otherkinds of procedures and tends to provide a more lasting maintenance of weight. Initial weight loss isn’t as fast as the stomach bypass procedure, but I felt it was the better choice for me.

I just decided that I can continue to struggle with weight and probably not be successful or, at age 41, I can get this done and get the weight off and get my life back. This is not an easy quick fix. It will require a lot of sacrifice, lifestyle change, and work. But I am ready . . . past ready. I don’t want to live the rest of my life in this condition. Moreso, I don’t want those in my life to have to live with me in this condition. So please keep me in your prayers and check in as I will be journaling my journey to health on this blog. I was struck this morning by the words of a song by the group “Switchfoot” called This is Your Life. “This is your life-are you who you want to be. This is your life-are you who you want to be-this is your life-is it everything you’ve dreamed it would be-when the world was younger and you had everything to lose.” I love everything about my life. I have great kids. I have a wonderful wife whom I love more than I could ever say. I pastor a church with wonderful people and amazing potential. But when I look in the mirror the man I see is not who I want to be. I like the song–we only get one life in this world. One life–one chance to be all that God made us to be. This is my life, and I’m going to take it back!

“…I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.” Ephesians 4:1

This morning I was getting Becca, our 7 year old, ready for school. We were running late as it was but then she had a knot in her shoelace. I worked at it with the skill of a surgeon wearing catcher’s mitt. I think one of the greatest abilities that God has granted to mothers is loosening knots, especially in shoe laces. I don’t know how many times one of our kids has had a knot in their laces which I could not unravel. Often the knot would be pulled tight, in many misguided attempts to free it by simply yanking on it harder. It always seems that my fingers are too big, my nails are too short, my finger tips are too calloused by years of playing the guitar, and my patience is too short to do the job. I just want to yank harder. Yet, Lori always seems to be able to loosen the knot and restore the lace to its proper form. “What is the trick?” I wonder to myself. More slender fingers? Longer Nails? Maybe just a more sensitive touch? Perhaps, a little more patience? Or, how about a keener understanding of what makes knots so . . . knotty . . . in the first place?

In his book, Next Door Savior, Max Lucado tells the story of a man who used to sit on a park bench for a few minutes each morning. He liked to watch the kids gather and play at the bus stop. One day he noticed a little boy of five or six who missed the school bus. He was trying to loosen a knotted shoelace. The doors of the bus closed and he was left alone—just he and his hopelessly knotted lace. The boy was quietly sobbing when he saw the man on the park bench. The boy approached the man. With tear-filled eyes he looked at the man and asked, “Do you untie knots?”

No one has such insight into the knots we make of our lives as does Jesus. Sometimes we look at them and we think we can fix them by just pulling harder. That’s what our instinct tells us—just keep pulling and maybe, somehow, we can coax that knot out. Yet, Jesus would work His way into the very fibers of our lives and untangle even the most stubborn of messes—if we let Him.

That’s not to say it will be easy, or quick, or painless. Maybe Jesus will need to take a pair of scissors and do some cutting in our lives—some painful spiritual surgery. Is your knot caused by an unhealthy relationship, divisive attitude, unbiblical actions, materialism, greed, or a host of other sinful choices? Jesus can untie even the worst knots and messes.