The Journey

Greetings,

I have pondered over the past few months if I was ready to take the plunge into blogging. For the most part, I do not have a lot of time to spend responding to e-mails let alone reading the blogs of other people. I guess I decided to start a blog to be a place for me to express my views for others to read, for accountability, and for the purposes of journaling the journey I desire to be on.

This blog has several purposes. First, I desire to have a place to post my spiritual and theological thoughts for the reading of my congregation and anyone else that might stumble upon these posts. Secondly, I am starting a journey of health and weight loss for the next 12 months and for the rest of my life. I have struggled for the past decade to regain a control on my weight and a disciplined lifestyle of eating right, exercising, and getting enough rest. Thirdly, I hope that the sharing of spiritual insights gained while on the treadmill will help others who desire to make changes in their lives (especially changes that directly impact being a disciple of Jesus Christ) to see that there are others who struggle and who are trying to make changes.

This blog is going to be my internet accountability. I am going to document my journey to get my life in order. I will be honest about my ups and downs, but I have every belief that a year from now, I will be celebrating the joy of overcoming a great obstacle. As well, I am excited about having a virtual pulpit where I can infuse the realistic struggles of life with practical spiritual and theological perspectives that will hopefully help others on a similar journey.

I want to get healthy for myself, my wife Emily, our daughter Anna Claire, and for the purpose of giving the Lord my whole life, even my weight and health.

In the writings of the prophet Zechariah, he ends his work with a beautiful telling of what life will be like after the Lord destroys all of the evil on the earth and He makes a way for all who will come to worship Him in His Temple. He describes that everything will be sanctified for the purpose and use of the Lord. He uses this phrase, “Holy to the Lord,” as what will be inscribed on everything, even the horses used for war. I want my life to have that same inscription. For this to be so, I must surrender everything to Jesus so that I may be completely His. Holy to the Lord means everything, even our quest for better health. I must put the same effort into keeping my body healthy as I do in keeping my spirit connected to Christ. If I do not, I cannot with integrity call others to give their all.

Please join me on this journey to wholeness and holiness. I did not get this way over night, but I am committing to doing what it takes to fix it. Please pray with me, respond to my posts, and share your own wisdom and encouragement for all to see.
Blessings,
Pastor Brad