As you may know, I have been down since Saturday afternoon with a stomach virus. I am back in the office today but am still feeling weak. My voice is shot from being sick all weekend. I'm sure everyone around me is really happy that I can't talk so much! :) I am especially thankful that Mindy, Mary Grace and the rest of the kids haven't come down with it. I'm praying feverishly that they don't!
I begin this week by picking up a happy burden. This Sunday I have the privilege and, yes, sobering job of preaching a sermon on the great doctrine of the Trinity and what it means for us.
The background to this is also very exciting to me. I am beginning a new sermon series this Sunday on the vision and mission of Trinity Presbyterian Church. It is called "Credo: I Believe". It will be an 11 week series that covers such grand topics as the Trinity, the Gospel, the mission of God, worship, discipleship, community, family and more. I am particularly excited about a sermon handbook that will be given out this Sunday with information about the sermon and a song for private/family worship for each week. A collection of musical accompaniments is also being created today for families to use to help them sing the songs. These will be distributed by CD and/or website. My friend Ben Geist has created some beautiful artwork for these sermon guidebooks as well, so I'm very excited about this resource to put into our church's hands.
Now the first sermon in the series will be on the Trinity. It is the doctrine that teaches that there is only one true God, but that this God exists in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each of these three persons are the same in substance, equal in power and glory. The doctrine of the Trinity has stood for centuries as a legitimate litmus test of what is orthodox, historic, biblical Christianity. The early church perfected its understanding of this biblical doctrine in its major church councils at Nicea (in 325 AD), Costantinople (381 AD), Ephesus (431 AD), and finally in Chalcedon (451 AD). One theologian has correctly called the doctrine of the Trinity "the most comprehensive and the most nearly all-inclusive formulation of the truth of Christianity." Roughly speaking, the whole Bible is really nothing but the unfolding of the knowledge of the Triune God - in creation (Father), in redemption (Son), and in the church and future (Holy Spirit).
When we speak of the Trinity, we are peering into the most mysterious, most glorious of all realities. And as Cornelius Van Til once famously remarked, "Every truth is nothing but the externaliziation of the personality of the Trinity," which is a very compact, formal way of saying that every truth we come into contact with is related back to the Trinity. The fact that I am an individual but am also so connected with others in deep relationship is itself an expression of the unity, diversity, personality of the Trinity. This doctrine is an expression of the heart and essence of who God really is. It's mind boggling! The Trinity informs us that God is both unity and diversity at the same time. The Trinity informs us that God is both vastly glorious beyond comprehension, but also eternally a very personal God. In fact, if God were not triune, then there could be no salvation for us.
"The verbal expression of the Trinity is the most difficult job man has had to do," said J. I. Packer. I definitely feel the truth of these words this week! But shame on me and shame on the church that we do not preach on the Trinity often enough. (If we all followed the old liturgical calendar, at least there would be one day a year in which all churches would preach on the Trinity. But the modern church has taken away Ascension Sunday, Pentecost Sunday and Trinity Sunday and replaced it with Memorial Day, Independence Day and Mother's Day. What a shame.) Back to the point: I am very excited to launch a new sermon series on the vision and mission of our church by beginning at the core of all reality: the Godhead. We begin at the place from which all else flows. Our redemption and our mission begin here. So, just as Moses had helpers to keep his arms up as he watched over Israel, pray for me (if you are a praying person) this week as I prepare an important sermon. Pray that my full strength would be restored as well as my voice. And more important, pray that the glory of the Triune God would so grip my own heart this week that my preaching would simply be an overflow of that same glory experienced by my own soul.
Showing posts with label John. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Our 8th anniversary...oops!
We've been a little silent on the blogosphere since we've been home from vacation. This is probably because we came home, unpacked and essentially hit the ground running. We got home late on a Friday night, and then Saturday was spent unpacking and getting our house in order so that Sunday, we could host one of our favorite missionaries (Dan Iverson - Japan) who was preaching that Sunday and spending the night at our house. We probably should have let someone else in the church host him considering the circumstances, but we insisted on hosting him because we wanted the extra time with him...and we had a wonderful visit with him, as usual. Then our denomination's General Assembly was the following week, where all of the pastors and ruling elders in the PCA gathered in Dallas. Then the next week (THIS week), was our church's vacation Bible school (VBS), where I've had to get all 3 of my kiddos up to the church every day by 9:00a.m. and where I've been in charge of teaching the Bible story to the 3rd through 5th graders. It has been a lot of fun, but pretty exhausting as you can imagine.
This hectic pace from vacation until now is probably the reason why John and I both forgot our 8th anniversary yesterday!! What's funny is that yesterday morning, John turned on the computer and I asked him to check my email before I ran off to VBS. While he was pulling up my email, we both saw a notification from my facebook calendar that today was our anniversary! We simultaneously let out a slight gasp, looked at each other and said, "Uh...happy anniversary!" Where would we be without our facebook birthday/anniversary calendar?? Gotta love technology...
These are not our professional pics, but a couple of the only digital ones that I have from one of my bridesmaids. After John got home from a pretty busy day at work, we ate a normal dinner, got the kids in bed early and then spent the remainder of the evening reflecting on the last 8 years of our marriage - how MUCH has happened, how far we've come, and in what ways we need to grow. What's funny is that this isn't the first time we've forgotten our anniversary! Believe it or not, we BOTH forgot our 1st anniversary for the same reasons! We had just gotten back from vacation, John had just been installed as senior pastor at Trinity, we were in the process of packing, moving and, in the meantime, commuting from Dallas, and our anniversary fell on Father's Day, which is a Sunday...a day that John had to get up and preach. So it wasn't until one of my in laws came over to me and whispered, "Happy anniversary" that I nearly fell over. John said that he remembered right in the middle of his sermon. We always joked that it would be really easy for us to remember how many years we've been married since we got married in the year 2000. Now if we could only remember the date!
Here we are, walking happily down the aisle...finally able to relax and enjoy the moment! The pastors who married us (look behind us) were Peter Lillback and Michael Easley.
Here is our bridal party. My matron of honor was my sister, Melanie, and my bridesmaids were Hien Nguyen-Le (my best friend from college), Lillian Campbell (a dear friend who went home to be with the Lord a little over a year after this picture was taken), Lizabeth Swayne (a dear friend of mine from Proclamation PCA in Bryn Mawr, PA who is now with RUF), and Kim Starr (one of my neighbors with whom I became very good friends). John's best man was Joe Gage (his best friend from college and now one of the ruling elders in our church!), and his groomsmen were Mike Emlet (one of his roommates from Westminster and now a counselor with CCEF), Jake Yohannan (another great friend from seminary who became one of our church's associate pastors and has now gone on to plant a church in northern NJ), Claude Taylor (another great friend from seminary who is now the pastor of an OPC church in NJ), and Rick Shurtz (a great friend from Baylor U. who is now an assistant pastor at Gateway church in Austin, TX).
This hectic pace from vacation until now is probably the reason why John and I both forgot our 8th anniversary yesterday!! What's funny is that yesterday morning, John turned on the computer and I asked him to check my email before I ran off to VBS. While he was pulling up my email, we both saw a notification from my facebook calendar that today was our anniversary! We simultaneously let out a slight gasp, looked at each other and said, "Uh...happy anniversary!" Where would we be without our facebook birthday/anniversary calendar?? Gotta love technology...
These are not our professional pics, but a couple of the only digital ones that I have from one of my bridesmaids. After John got home from a pretty busy day at work, we ate a normal dinner, got the kids in bed early and then spent the remainder of the evening reflecting on the last 8 years of our marriage - how MUCH has happened, how far we've come, and in what ways we need to grow. What's funny is that this isn't the first time we've forgotten our anniversary! Believe it or not, we BOTH forgot our 1st anniversary for the same reasons! We had just gotten back from vacation, John had just been installed as senior pastor at Trinity, we were in the process of packing, moving and, in the meantime, commuting from Dallas, and our anniversary fell on Father's Day, which is a Sunday...a day that John had to get up and preach. So it wasn't until one of my in laws came over to me and whispered, "Happy anniversary" that I nearly fell over. John said that he remembered right in the middle of his sermon. We always joked that it would be really easy for us to remember how many years we've been married since we got married in the year 2000. Now if we could only remember the date!
Here we are, walking happily down the aisle...finally able to relax and enjoy the moment! The pastors who married us (look behind us) were Peter Lillback and Michael Easley.
Here is our bridal party. My matron of honor was my sister, Melanie, and my bridesmaids were Hien Nguyen-Le (my best friend from college), Lillian Campbell (a dear friend who went home to be with the Lord a little over a year after this picture was taken), Lizabeth Swayne (a dear friend of mine from Proclamation PCA in Bryn Mawr, PA who is now with RUF), and Kim Starr (one of my neighbors with whom I became very good friends). John's best man was Joe Gage (his best friend from college and now one of the ruling elders in our church!), and his groomsmen were Mike Emlet (one of his roommates from Westminster and now a counselor with CCEF), Jake Yohannan (another great friend from seminary who became one of our church's associate pastors and has now gone on to plant a church in northern NJ), Claude Taylor (another great friend from seminary who is now the pastor of an OPC church in NJ), and Rick Shurtz (a great friend from Baylor U. who is now an assistant pastor at Gateway church in Austin, TX).
Sunday, April 6, 2008
A little too much excitement for one week...
Well, we couldn't just have one McCracken visit the emergency room this week...
As you all know, John was in a car accident on Wednesday. Thursday morning I had a routine 16 week OB check up where the nurse practitioner had a very difficult time finding the baby's heartbeat with the doppler. She had no problem finding mine, which was increasing in pace the longer it took her to track down the baby's heart beat. My OB stepped in to give it a try after she was unsuccessful and found it, but not immediately. After I had let out a sigh of relief (that's an understatement), he told me, "You see, it doesn't matter how long it takes to find the baby's heartbeat; it's either there or it's not...and your baby's heartbeat is most definitely there." A strong 160 bpm, thank the Lord, but MAN! Talk about an anxiety roller coaster. He/she was apparently hiding in a low, deep spot.
On Friday, I packed up to leave for a weekend women's retreat with the ladies in our church. The kids stayed with John Friday night and then went over to Nana and Pop's house for Saturday night so that Nana and Pop could get the kids to church and John could get himself and his sermon to church in a timely manner. I was having a marvelous time out at Pine Cove when I received a phone call Saturday evening from John telling me that Christopher had fallen out of a chair at Nana's house and seriously hurt his arm when he landed on the floor. They said that they had never heard him cry like that before and he cried on and off for the better part of an hour. So John and Martha (Nana) took Christopher to the ER to get an X-ray and sure enough, his elbow was fractured.
Christopher was very upset upon hearing that he had to go to the doctor but John told him that he wouldn't get a shot. Once the doctor came in the room and asked Christopher what happened, Christopher became very animated and said, "Well, I was at my grandmother's house for a sleep-over...and I was sitting on the arm of the big brown chair...and I fell off and hit the floor...and my arm bended all the way back to my elbow and hurt really badly." The doctor very carefully felt up and down his arm asking if this or that hurt and Christopher was calm and aware enough to point to his elbow as the only part of his arm that hurt. They gave him tylenol with codeine for the pain, which John says took effect very quickly because Christopher started saying what a cool place the hospital was and told the nurses and doctor that he knew the body had 206 bones as well as what the skull, femur and humerus bones were. They got a big kick out of that. So he has a temporary splint until he gets a cast (probably by Monday).
John thought this picture was kind of funny because it looks like he lost his right leg along with breaking his arm. Oh, and for those of you thinking it's "lucky" he broke his left arm instead of his right...he's left-handed.
Sarah was so concerned after Christopher broke his arm and was crying uncontrollably (he hardly ever cries), that she came over to where he was and said, "Here Chrio-fer" as she handed him her blanky, which is her most treasured possession. It was SO sweet! I guess she thought, 'Well, this is what brings me the most comfort, so maybe it'll work for you.'
I love this picture because Christopher is dancing around, being silly while Sarah is thoroughly entertained and giggling.
As you all know, John was in a car accident on Wednesday. Thursday morning I had a routine 16 week OB check up where the nurse practitioner had a very difficult time finding the baby's heartbeat with the doppler. She had no problem finding mine, which was increasing in pace the longer it took her to track down the baby's heart beat. My OB stepped in to give it a try after she was unsuccessful and found it, but not immediately. After I had let out a sigh of relief (that's an understatement), he told me, "You see, it doesn't matter how long it takes to find the baby's heartbeat; it's either there or it's not...and your baby's heartbeat is most definitely there." A strong 160 bpm, thank the Lord, but MAN! Talk about an anxiety roller coaster. He/she was apparently hiding in a low, deep spot.
On Friday, I packed up to leave for a weekend women's retreat with the ladies in our church. The kids stayed with John Friday night and then went over to Nana and Pop's house for Saturday night so that Nana and Pop could get the kids to church and John could get himself and his sermon to church in a timely manner. I was having a marvelous time out at Pine Cove when I received a phone call Saturday evening from John telling me that Christopher had fallen out of a chair at Nana's house and seriously hurt his arm when he landed on the floor. They said that they had never heard him cry like that before and he cried on and off for the better part of an hour. So John and Martha (Nana) took Christopher to the ER to get an X-ray and sure enough, his elbow was fractured.
Christopher was very upset upon hearing that he had to go to the doctor but John told him that he wouldn't get a shot. Once the doctor came in the room and asked Christopher what happened, Christopher became very animated and said, "Well, I was at my grandmother's house for a sleep-over...and I was sitting on the arm of the big brown chair...and I fell off and hit the floor...and my arm bended all the way back to my elbow and hurt really badly." The doctor very carefully felt up and down his arm asking if this or that hurt and Christopher was calm and aware enough to point to his elbow as the only part of his arm that hurt. They gave him tylenol with codeine for the pain, which John says took effect very quickly because Christopher started saying what a cool place the hospital was and told the nurses and doctor that he knew the body had 206 bones as well as what the skull, femur and humerus bones were. They got a big kick out of that. So he has a temporary splint until he gets a cast (probably by Monday).
John thought this picture was kind of funny because it looks like he lost his right leg along with breaking his arm. Oh, and for those of you thinking it's "lucky" he broke his left arm instead of his right...he's left-handed.
Sarah was so concerned after Christopher broke his arm and was crying uncontrollably (he hardly ever cries), that she came over to where he was and said, "Here Chrio-fer" as she handed him her blanky, which is her most treasured possession. It was SO sweet! I guess she thought, 'Well, this is what brings me the most comfort, so maybe it'll work for you.'
I love this picture because Christopher is dancing around, being silly while Sarah is thoroughly entertained and giggling.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Pictures from Christopher's 5th Birthday
As promised, here are some pictures documenting our family celebration of Christopher's "actual birthday." He'd been telling people all day, "Today is my actual birthday because it's April 2nd."
We began the celebration by having dinner at our favorite local Chinese restaurant (369 Chinese BBQ). You wouldn't believe how much food Christopher can put away when he eats there. He'll tell you that his favorite food is pizza, but that his other favorites include Chinese fish, Chinese noodles and Chinese beef.
By the way, if you click on the above picture you'll get an enlargement and possibly see the blow to the upper left side of John's head that he received in his car accident yesterday. Then just click on the back arrow to get back to the blog page.
Pop and the birthday boy, being his normal silly self.
Pop and Sarah.
Hannah's first try at Chinese noodles. She LOVED them, along with everything else I put in front of her. You name it - green beans, fish, tofu, chicken, Chinese broccoli, rice - she'll eat it...and with only 4 front teeth! I start my kids young in order to ensure that they'll eat anything Chinese! Hey, it's in their blood, even if they don't look a bit Chinese on the outside...
Nana and the birthday boy.
Christopher and Sarah at the Italian Gelato stand just down the sidewalk. Christopher got a cone with bubblegum flavored ice cream and Sarah wanted a cone "wiff nuffing in it."
She later decided she wanted a lick of mommy's ice cream.
Hannah's first taste of ice cream (raspberry), and she loved it!
Then we headed to Nana and Pop's house where presents were waiting. Sarah just had to join the fun of opening the presents. She would say things like, "Here Chria-fur, wip it wike 'dis."
Along with some new clothes and toy trucks, Christopher got a bunch of new books to read. This particular book (My Book about Me, by Dr. Seuss) is one that we found at the library which Christopher read over and over and over again. So he was excited to have his very own copy to keep.
We began the celebration by having dinner at our favorite local Chinese restaurant (369 Chinese BBQ). You wouldn't believe how much food Christopher can put away when he eats there. He'll tell you that his favorite food is pizza, but that his other favorites include Chinese fish, Chinese noodles and Chinese beef.
By the way, if you click on the above picture you'll get an enlargement and possibly see the blow to the upper left side of John's head that he received in his car accident yesterday. Then just click on the back arrow to get back to the blog page.
Pop and the birthday boy, being his normal silly self.
Pop and Sarah.
Hannah's first try at Chinese noodles. She LOVED them, along with everything else I put in front of her. You name it - green beans, fish, tofu, chicken, Chinese broccoli, rice - she'll eat it...and with only 4 front teeth! I start my kids young in order to ensure that they'll eat anything Chinese! Hey, it's in their blood, even if they don't look a bit Chinese on the outside...
Nana and the birthday boy.
Christopher and Sarah at the Italian Gelato stand just down the sidewalk. Christopher got a cone with bubblegum flavored ice cream and Sarah wanted a cone "wiff nuffing in it."
She later decided she wanted a lick of mommy's ice cream.
Hannah's first taste of ice cream (raspberry), and she loved it!
Then we headed to Nana and Pop's house where presents were waiting. Sarah just had to join the fun of opening the presents. She would say things like, "Here Chria-fur, wip it wike 'dis."
Along with some new clothes and toy trucks, Christopher got a bunch of new books to read. This particular book (My Book about Me, by Dr. Seuss) is one that we found at the library which Christopher read over and over and over again. So he was excited to have his very own copy to keep.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The good news and the bad news...
The good news is that it's Christopher's 5th birthday today! He's very excited about turning 5, about eating out at his favorite Chinese restaurant (369 Chinese BBQ in Plano) and going out for ice cream at Sonic. He's also very excited about his "friends party" which will be held next Saturday, weather permitting. I'll post pictures of him and the festivities surrounding his birthday later on.
The bad news is that John was in a car accident this morning. He was driving through an intersection at HW121 and Preston Rd (one of the top 10 most dangerous intersections in the nation) and got side swiped by a woman running a red light. She hit the driver's side, but thankfully her car went into the back seat instead of the front. John says all he remembers is a big crash and then coming to on the other side of the road not knowing what just happened. Thankfully a witness to the whole ordeal stayed until the police came to file a report. That is an incredibly busy intersection, so it's a wonder that he didn't hit anyone else as he was knocked out of control. We are thankful to the Lord that apart from a scratch and some bruising to his head along with some serious whiplash, John is fine...although he will most likely be very sore tomorrow. The car is a different story... According to John, our little Buick, which was a gift from my mom, is totaled. Bleah. It's a hassle, but in the grand scheme of things I know that insurance will cover this and cars can certainly be replaced. In the meantime, we are thankful that the Lord was watching over John today.
When I told the kids that Daddy was in a car wreck but that he was ok, Christopher said that we should just take the Buick to someone who knows how to fix it. I told him that it was probably beyond repair and then he said, "Well, maybe Daddy could fit inside a VW Bug. That would be fun." I told him that would be fun(ny), but not entirely practical.
The bad news is that John was in a car accident this morning. He was driving through an intersection at HW121 and Preston Rd (one of the top 10 most dangerous intersections in the nation) and got side swiped by a woman running a red light. She hit the driver's side, but thankfully her car went into the back seat instead of the front. John says all he remembers is a big crash and then coming to on the other side of the road not knowing what just happened. Thankfully a witness to the whole ordeal stayed until the police came to file a report. That is an incredibly busy intersection, so it's a wonder that he didn't hit anyone else as he was knocked out of control. We are thankful to the Lord that apart from a scratch and some bruising to his head along with some serious whiplash, John is fine...although he will most likely be very sore tomorrow. The car is a different story... According to John, our little Buick, which was a gift from my mom, is totaled. Bleah. It's a hassle, but in the grand scheme of things I know that insurance will cover this and cars can certainly be replaced. In the meantime, we are thankful that the Lord was watching over John today.
When I told the kids that Daddy was in a car wreck but that he was ok, Christopher said that we should just take the Buick to someone who knows how to fix it. I told him that it was probably beyond repair and then he said, "Well, maybe Daddy could fit inside a VW Bug. That would be fun." I told him that would be fun(ny), but not entirely practical.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
MORE snow!!!
Since we agree with our good friend Shelley in Atlanta that snow in the South is considered a "bloggable" event, we thought that receiving snowfall twice in one week was definitely blog-worthy! And would you believe that it was in the 70s here yesterday? That's Texas for ya. Today around noon, the Dallas-Fort Worth area began to receive a wintery mix of rain, sleet, and ice. Then around 2 p.m., the big flakes (or as we say down here, the BIG OLE FLAKES) began to really fall. This was great fun for the kids and quite a community event for our neighborhood! It was funny to see parents outside throwing snowballs with their kids, everybody taking pictures, and no one with proper snowsuits on, thoroughly enjoying this once-a-year event, if that.
Here is Sarah showing us her big snow ball.
I love this picture. John pointed out that I was taking pictures of them from the window and the kids started running towards me.
Daddy, Christopher & Sarah posing for this rare footage in the snow.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Happy Milestone
From the end of last summer until this morning, I've now lost a total of 25 pounds! (This is John writing, not Mindy - in case you didn't know. We do not want Mindy to lose 25 pounds.) I'm very happy and looking forward to more progress. By the way, I like anything with curry. I had it for dinner tonight and it was very yummy. I'm blessed to be married to a good cook!
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Do Not Fear a Colonoscopy
Today, I (John) had my second colonoscopy. A lot of people avoid them like the plague and refuse to have them done. They are not that bad. If you have any history of colon cancer in your family, as I do, I would love to persuade you to take the plunge.
My first one was about 5 years ago. I really dreaded the procedure, but once it was over I had two thoughts. The first was: "that was it!?" I fell asleep and woke up and it was over. Not bad at all. The second thought was, "Thank the Lord I had one, because they removed two pre-cancerous polyps." My dad was diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 43. Thankfully they caught it before it spread outside the colon. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death. But if it is caught early, it is highly treatable. And the only real way to check for it is through a colonoscopy. I had one at the age of 33, ten years prior to my dad's age when he was diagnosed. My paternal grandmother and many of her brothers and sisters had colon cancer as well. Since my dad was an only child and my sister passed away at the age of 16 of brain cancer, I have no other family history to go on. But I have enough to know that I have a high risk factor. Thankfully, they found a perfect colon with no polyps or problems today.
Of course, the worst part of having a colonoscopy is the night before. Yesterday I fasted all day and then last night drank 2 liters of "Go Lightly". That by far is the worst part of the whole thing, but it isn't that bad, especially compared to getting colon cancer. So if you are putting off having one done, don't be a wimp! If I can do it, so can you!
p.s. - they gave me pictures of the procedure, but out of mercy to you, I will not post them. :)
My first one was about 5 years ago. I really dreaded the procedure, but once it was over I had two thoughts. The first was: "that was it!?" I fell asleep and woke up and it was over. Not bad at all. The second thought was, "Thank the Lord I had one, because they removed two pre-cancerous polyps." My dad was diagnosed with colon cancer at the age of 43. Thankfully they caught it before it spread outside the colon. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death. But if it is caught early, it is highly treatable. And the only real way to check for it is through a colonoscopy. I had one at the age of 33, ten years prior to my dad's age when he was diagnosed. My paternal grandmother and many of her brothers and sisters had colon cancer as well. Since my dad was an only child and my sister passed away at the age of 16 of brain cancer, I have no other family history to go on. But I have enough to know that I have a high risk factor. Thankfully, they found a perfect colon with no polyps or problems today.
Of course, the worst part of having a colonoscopy is the night before. Yesterday I fasted all day and then last night drank 2 liters of "Go Lightly". That by far is the worst part of the whole thing, but it isn't that bad, especially compared to getting colon cancer. So if you are putting off having one done, don't be a wimp! If I can do it, so can you!
p.s. - they gave me pictures of the procedure, but out of mercy to you, I will not post them. :)
Monday, October 22, 2007
Results!!!
As many of you know, John has been on an uphill battle to lose weight and get healthier. When we first got married, I had NO idea what he was up against. I just figured all he needed to do was be more disciplined in his eating and exercising, and everything else would fall into place. Easy for me to say... Well, now that we've been married for 7 years and I've gotten to know John and his struggles much better, I have a much better appreciation for how hard it is to make such a drastic lifestyle change...for the long run. After the Zone diet, Atkin's, Weight Watchers, and countless books on health, fitness and weight loss, gym memberships, personal trainers, dietitians, food journaling, and many other methods, we have seen his weight go down, up, down, up, and basically hover around the same number. Every time he would go in for his yearly physical, his blood tests would reveal numbers that were either the same or a bit worse. For anyone who can relate to this struggle, these kind of results can be very discouraging.
However, John had his yearly physical last week and had very different results. For the past couple of months, John has been meeting with a nutritionist weekly who not only advises and keeps him accountable in the food/nutrition department, but also has him on a pretty rigorous exercise regimen. John has been relentless in journaling all of his food/calorie intake and more consistent than ever in his exercise. John told his doctor that he'd be curious to see if any of this might make a dent in his bloodwork numbers. His doctor said that so much of it is driven by genetics, so don't be surprised if the numbers come back the same.
Drum roll... Well, John's doctor called the next morning saying that whatever John has been doing is making a difference! So here are the numbers for you to see:
Total blood cholesterol should be under 200 mg/dl
last year = 203; this year = 183
HDL (good cholesterol) should be >40 mg/dl
last year = 37; this year = 44
LDL (bad cholesterol) should be <130 year =" 121;" style="font-weight: bold;">this year = 108
Triglycerides (fat in the blood) should be <150 year =" 225;" style="font-weight: bold;">this year = 154
Cholesterol ratio (total/HDL) should be <4.4 year =" 5.5;" style="font-weight: bold;">this year = 4.1!!!!
After years of not seeing his weight budge or any of his other numbers move (at least in the right direction), this was incredibly encouraging news! So for those of you who have been praying for John in this regard, we wanted to let you know that all of John's efforts and your prayers have not been in vain. We certainly covet your continued prayers as there is still a long road ahead, but do pause and give thanks for these first steps in the right direction!
However, John had his yearly physical last week and had very different results. For the past couple of months, John has been meeting with a nutritionist weekly who not only advises and keeps him accountable in the food/nutrition department, but also has him on a pretty rigorous exercise regimen. John has been relentless in journaling all of his food/calorie intake and more consistent than ever in his exercise. John told his doctor that he'd be curious to see if any of this might make a dent in his bloodwork numbers. His doctor said that so much of it is driven by genetics, so don't be surprised if the numbers come back the same.
Drum roll... Well, John's doctor called the next morning saying that whatever John has been doing is making a difference! So here are the numbers for you to see:
Total blood cholesterol should be under 200 mg/dl
last year = 203; this year = 183
HDL (good cholesterol) should be >40 mg/dl
last year = 37; this year = 44
LDL (bad cholesterol) should be <130 year =" 121;" style="font-weight: bold;">this year = 108
Triglycerides (fat in the blood) should be <150 year =" 225;" style="font-weight: bold;">this year = 154
Cholesterol ratio (total/HDL) should be <4.4 year =" 5.5;" style="font-weight: bold;">this year = 4.1!!!!
After years of not seeing his weight budge or any of his other numbers move (at least in the right direction), this was incredibly encouraging news! So for those of you who have been praying for John in this regard, we wanted to let you know that all of John's efforts and your prayers have not been in vain. We certainly covet your continued prayers as there is still a long road ahead, but do pause and give thanks for these first steps in the right direction!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Happy 38th Birthday John!
John's birthday is actually tomorrow (October 1st) but we celebrated it tonight. Since John has been meeting with a nutritionist and has been vigorously and consistently working out at the gym, he has dropped 12 pounds! So we thought we'd celebrate by pigging out on pizza and cake... No, in all seriousness, John's nutritionist told him to go hog-wild on his birthday so that tomorrow it'll all be behind him. So we got his favorite comfort food (pizza) and I baked a deep, dark chocolate cake, served with vanilla ice cream and strawberries...mmmmmm.
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...
Sarah thought Daddy needed help blowing out the candles.
Christopher wants to know why that card is so funny.
Hannah hangin' out with Nana on the floor.
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you...
Sarah thought Daddy needed help blowing out the candles.
Christopher wants to know why that card is so funny.
Hannah hangin' out with Nana on the floor.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
The Carrot Cake Diet
"Lose weight by eating carrot cake!" That is going to be the theme of my first book, which I'm sure will net me several million dollars. You see, last night we went over to our friend's house (Patrick and Kristen). Kristen had a made a homemade carrot cake, and not wanting to be either rude or unappreciative of her labors, I had a slice. It was the only right thing to do. She mentioned in passing that the calorie info was in her cookbook. When we got home, I called her and had her look it up. 650 calories! I had a lot of leftover calories at the end of the day - but I was shocked at the number. Yet this morning, lo and behold, I lost another pound. Which leads me to my groundbreaking discovery: The Carrot Cake Diet! Keep your eyes peeled on Amazon!
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Over-obedience
I finally found a verse in the Bible this morning that I have no problem obeying. In fact, I probably over-obey. Psalm 63:5a says, "My soul will be satisfied as with rich and fat food." :-) Actually, I'm happy to report that the scales told me this morning that I've dropped 10 pounds over the past three weeks. Progress!
Friday, September 14, 2007
A day in the life of John
Mindy wants me to put up a new post, so that our blog doesn't get stale. I guess I'll blog my day. MacBeth speaks of "a tale full of sound and fury; signifying nothing." Here is a record of my sound and fury today... (though because of God's grace our lives never signify nothing!)
I got up at 4:30 a.m. (and feat in itself for this late night man) and got to the church by 5 a.m. to look over my notes for my Friday morning men's discipleship group. We're talking about growing in emotional health this Fall. Specifically, today we talked about gaining the ability to name and identify our emotions, and then (through the Psalms) bring them to the Lord. We talked about how praying is always answering speech: God speaks first, then we answer Him. I opened up to the guys and talked about my own struggles with eating and weight and how much of my eating is often driven more by emotions than by hunger. Learning to identify the emotion in the moment and then redirect that emotion in a more godly, healthier way through the power of the Gospel is my goal. I think the 28 or so guys there really appreciated my candor. I got several emails afterwards. I know I appreciate their prayers and support.
I then grabbed a quick bite to eat and had a 10 am appointment, following by a lunch appointment that lasted for 2.5 hours at Blue Mesa Grill. Enjoyable, but intense conversation with a good friend in the church. After lunch, I finished up the final approval process for the Sunday order of worship and the Trinity This Week (~1 hour). Murphy's Law came roaring back today with the breakdown of the church copier, which prints, staples and folds our Sunday bulletins. So Kinkos will print our order of worship over the weekend. Bummer ($). Afterwards, I answered a slew of emails (~100?) rather quickly. Got home around 5:30. Took a quick 15 minute nap. Then we left to go to Small Group over at the Monroe's house.
Tonight in small group we studied Acts 12, where you see the power of Herod contrasted with the power of God through a praying church. Needless to say, Herod died and Peter was freed from prison. God's dealings with us are so hard to anticipate. But He is good (though not always safe) as Lewis says. We also celebrated the Parks triplet's 4th birthday together with cupcakes and candles. We had good time of prayer afterwards, though I could feel myself getting very tired.
We got home around 10:30, and did the quick routine to get Christopher and Sarah into bed. Mindy fed Hannah, I brushed my teeth, and now here we are in the bed at 11:10 at night. Mindy is reviewing her Scripture memory cards and John is blogging. We'll both be asleep very soon. My alarm is set for 7am.
Tomorrow is a big day. I'm moderating a church-wide meeting at 9:30 a.m. concerning a new strategy that would eliminate debt and open a door to new ministry growth for our church. After that we are off to a friend's birthday party. And I've GOT to get an hour on the treadmill and elliptical trainer in tomorrow, since I didn't get it in today and I'm behind this week on my goal of exercising 4 hours total this week.
I also met this week with a nutritionist that I really like and am very optimistic about the help that she is going to give me. Mindy is excited too. Over the past 6 months, I've explored the option of gastric-bypass surgery or lap-band surgery. After talking to numerous people, I've decided to put that on hold for six months and make a good faith effort with the proper support around me. I'm giving it the old college try, but more really wanting to trust the Lord to help me get through those days where a large pizza seems to be the answer to all sorts of uncomfortable emotions, like stress, anxiety, depression, boredom, anger, etc. So I'm optimistic and praying that this new venture with my nutritionist friend will be fruitful. So that's pretty much a normal day in the life of ministry for me, except I didn't get in very much study time or any exercise time today.
I got up at 4:30 a.m. (and feat in itself for this late night man) and got to the church by 5 a.m. to look over my notes for my Friday morning men's discipleship group. We're talking about growing in emotional health this Fall. Specifically, today we talked about gaining the ability to name and identify our emotions, and then (through the Psalms) bring them to the Lord. We talked about how praying is always answering speech: God speaks first, then we answer Him. I opened up to the guys and talked about my own struggles with eating and weight and how much of my eating is often driven more by emotions than by hunger. Learning to identify the emotion in the moment and then redirect that emotion in a more godly, healthier way through the power of the Gospel is my goal. I think the 28 or so guys there really appreciated my candor. I got several emails afterwards. I know I appreciate their prayers and support.
I then grabbed a quick bite to eat and had a 10 am appointment, following by a lunch appointment that lasted for 2.5 hours at Blue Mesa Grill. Enjoyable, but intense conversation with a good friend in the church. After lunch, I finished up the final approval process for the Sunday order of worship and the Trinity This Week (~1 hour). Murphy's Law came roaring back today with the breakdown of the church copier, which prints, staples and folds our Sunday bulletins. So Kinkos will print our order of worship over the weekend. Bummer ($). Afterwards, I answered a slew of emails (~100?) rather quickly. Got home around 5:30. Took a quick 15 minute nap. Then we left to go to Small Group over at the Monroe's house.
Tonight in small group we studied Acts 12, where you see the power of Herod contrasted with the power of God through a praying church. Needless to say, Herod died and Peter was freed from prison. God's dealings with us are so hard to anticipate. But He is good (though not always safe) as Lewis says. We also celebrated the Parks triplet's 4th birthday together with cupcakes and candles. We had good time of prayer afterwards, though I could feel myself getting very tired.
We got home around 10:30, and did the quick routine to get Christopher and Sarah into bed. Mindy fed Hannah, I brushed my teeth, and now here we are in the bed at 11:10 at night. Mindy is reviewing her Scripture memory cards and John is blogging. We'll both be asleep very soon. My alarm is set for 7am.
Tomorrow is a big day. I'm moderating a church-wide meeting at 9:30 a.m. concerning a new strategy that would eliminate debt and open a door to new ministry growth for our church. After that we are off to a friend's birthday party. And I've GOT to get an hour on the treadmill and elliptical trainer in tomorrow, since I didn't get it in today and I'm behind this week on my goal of exercising 4 hours total this week.
I also met this week with a nutritionist that I really like and am very optimistic about the help that she is going to give me. Mindy is excited too. Over the past 6 months, I've explored the option of gastric-bypass surgery or lap-band surgery. After talking to numerous people, I've decided to put that on hold for six months and make a good faith effort with the proper support around me. I'm giving it the old college try, but more really wanting to trust the Lord to help me get through those days where a large pizza seems to be the answer to all sorts of uncomfortable emotions, like stress, anxiety, depression, boredom, anger, etc. So I'm optimistic and praying that this new venture with my nutritionist friend will be fruitful. So that's pretty much a normal day in the life of ministry for me, except I didn't get in very much study time or any exercise time today.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
I'm at War, though you wouldn't know it
There's nothing about either my appearance or my daily routine that might give you the sense that I am fiercely engaged in a great battle for something of supreme importance. In fact, my life right now is filled many solid, lasting joys. Hannah is a delight and I can't wait to see what she becomes in the months ahead. I can't get enough of Christopher. And I loved to be loved by Sarah. And my wife makes me very happy! Being in a ministry is of course sometimes a burden in many ways, but it too also makes me happy. I had dinner last night with a man who really wants to grow spiritually. That whole conversation made me happy. Though I sometimes am prone to pessimistic thoughts and to see everything through a glass darkly, the truth is, I am a very happy guy with a very happy life. I don't seem to be the kind of guy hunkered down in an intense battle. But I am. And my enemy is strong, subtle, sharp, cunning, effective and elusive.
My enemy is the flesh. My flesh.
That body of sin that resides in me. It corrupts my joys. It twists my desires. It reprograms my thoughts. The flesh takes things in my life that are of minor importance and make them seem as if they are critical. And the flesh takes truly important things and makes them feel distant, remote, inaccessible, uncertain, and small. The Flesh knows my weak spots. It knows which buttons to push. And I'm at war with my flesh. The point of the war is to determine who or what will rule and reign in my life. Fundamentally, what kind of person am I. Where do my deepest loyalties truly lie? Who am I and what are the things that I think, feel, do and say. What rules my heart? What fruits of my life will sprout from what kind of roots in my soul? Oh, there's a war going on inside of me. And even tonight as Mindy and I watched Will Smith's "Pursuit of Happyness" with a little tear in each of our eyes, that same war was being played out in the way that I was going to interpret this movie and appropriate it to my life. So perhaps for me the better part of wisdom will be to push aside all sermon/worship preparation for Good Friday and Easter Sunday later this week, and instead devote the rest of my week to prayer, Scripture and John Owen. But I won't do that. I might just be indulging the flesh right at that point, rather than squaring myself fully towards the duty that must be done to have something edifying to say to God's people this holy weekend. So I'm going to turn out the lights now and pray that the Lord would awaken me at an early enough hour so that I can begin a day given over to His glory through sermon preparation. Tomorrow is going to be another day in the war. It's a good thing that I have a Captain and King who has every resource at my disposal to beat back the flesh tomorrow and enable me to walk with the Spirit.
My enemy is the flesh. My flesh.
That body of sin that resides in me. It corrupts my joys. It twists my desires. It reprograms my thoughts. The flesh takes things in my life that are of minor importance and make them seem as if they are critical. And the flesh takes truly important things and makes them feel distant, remote, inaccessible, uncertain, and small. The Flesh knows my weak spots. It knows which buttons to push. And I'm at war with my flesh. The point of the war is to determine who or what will rule and reign in my life. Fundamentally, what kind of person am I. Where do my deepest loyalties truly lie? Who am I and what are the things that I think, feel, do and say. What rules my heart? What fruits of my life will sprout from what kind of roots in my soul? Oh, there's a war going on inside of me. And even tonight as Mindy and I watched Will Smith's "Pursuit of Happyness" with a little tear in each of our eyes, that same war was being played out in the way that I was going to interpret this movie and appropriate it to my life. So perhaps for me the better part of wisdom will be to push aside all sermon/worship preparation for Good Friday and Easter Sunday later this week, and instead devote the rest of my week to prayer, Scripture and John Owen. But I won't do that. I might just be indulging the flesh right at that point, rather than squaring myself fully towards the duty that must be done to have something edifying to say to God's people this holy weekend. So I'm going to turn out the lights now and pray that the Lord would awaken me at an early enough hour so that I can begin a day given over to His glory through sermon preparation. Tomorrow is going to be another day in the war. It's a good thing that I have a Captain and King who has every resource at my disposal to beat back the flesh tomorrow and enable me to walk with the Spirit.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
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