The Disciple's Well Part 3

The Disciple’s Well has at its foundation the idea that Jesus has come so that we may have a full and abundant, now and forever life, and that we have a very real adversary who wants to steal that life away.
John 10:10 (NIV)
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Our adversary has been rendered virtually powerless at the cross and is now reduced to tricks, schemes, deceptions and lies. He steals our life away when we listen and buy into his life stealing lies that he shouts at us constantly.
I have been talking about our new reminder for this series, 1 – 2 – 5.
Jeremiah 2:13 (NCV)
13 “My people have done two evils: They have turned away from me, the spring of living water. And they have dug their own wells, which are broken wells that cannot hold water.
I am one of the One More in Christ, I have to choose which of the two wells I will drink from, and to keep focused on the living water I need to keep these five areas in balance:
Praying Well / Eating Well / Moving Well / Living Well / Resting Well
We are talking about praying well and living well on Sunday mornings, so in this Sunday evening series I am going to take time over the next season to get into detail about the three physical areas of our lives that we need to get into balance.
3 John 1:2 (NIV)
2 Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.
We are spending time covering each area. Today, I want to start talking about moving well. Next week we will start talking about resting well. The following week will be about eating well. Then we will dig deeper into each area. So let’s talk about moving well. Let’s start with some scriptures about moving.
Moving Well
1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV)
8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
Our goal in moving well is not about trying to look good so that people will notice and admire us.
Friday, my son Douglas had me doing some promo videos for the church in front of a green screen. The shirt I was wearing was kind of green, so I had to change shirts. I just did this in front of my son without thinking. As I was changing shirts he looked at me with a really funny expression and kind of went, ewww. And then he said “you are old man fit”. I am reasonably fit from running and working out, but at 53 I am never going to look like the fit guys in the pictures. It was a good reminder to me that I am not trying to get fit to impress anyone.
The goal of moving well is to improve our physical health so that we have more energy to engage in the life that Jesus has called us to. A full and abundant, now and forever life with mission and purpose. When we have more energy, we are less likely to fall for the life stealing lies of I am too tires, or I don’t have time.
Here are some of my favorite verses for dealing with the lies that want to keep me from moving well.
Philippians 4:13 (NIV)
13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
This verse is one of the ones I think about at certain points when I am running. As I run, I often feel like stopping. I make a million excuses for why I should stop and walk. Some are very good, well reasoned, completely justifiable reasons for not continuing to run. But, when I keep on running, I hit a place where the arguing in my head stops, and it just feels good.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV)
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Hebrews 12:11-13 (MSG)
11 At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God. 12 So don’t sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! 13 Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!
Last week I talked about my food issues. Remember the Kind bar story! They are great, they just aren’t big enough. I also introduced to you the reality of dealing with food appropriately is about getting your portions under control and understanding the common sense science of eating well. It takes 3500 calories to burn a pound of fat. If you burn 500 calories more a day then you consume, you will lose one pound in a week. That is all it takes. Not magic, not trick diets, just portion control to get your calorie intake under your calorie output. As you start to get a handle on how many calories different foods have, you need to start thinking about how much moving you are going to have to do to burn off those calories. Then you can make the decision, is it worth it. Is eating Kind bar number two worth running two miles for? Cause that is about what it would take. If it is worth it, then go ahead and eat it and then do the moving. Last week we talked about a blooming onion from Outback. 2300 calories. We went to Outback last week for Alice’s birthday. There was a blooming onion and coconut shrimp on the table. I chose not to eat either one. My reasoning was that if I had one bite, I would probably have three or four. In the process, I would add 300-500 calories onto my intake for the day. That would take me an hour of pretty intense cardio to burn off. Not worth it. I had a few grilled shrimp, a small steak, a house salad with dressing on the side. My entire dinner was delicious and under 600 calories. Oh yeah, I also ate the strawberry that was on top of the thunder fudge sundae, or whatever it was called. Looked good, but so was the strawberry. Just not big enough!
I found a blog post I wrote on April 26, 2010 and am including it as an example of how moving well and eating well go together.

Today is April 26, 2010. After a work out at the gym I hopped on the scale and I am weighing in at 308 pounds. That might seem like a lot to most of you, but I have been up as high as 340. This year I have been thinking and praying about getting healthier and ultimately losing weight. My plan of attack had three phases:
Phase 1 – Quit drinking soda’s in general, Coke Zero in particular. I am a huge Coke Zero fan. I easily drank 12 a day. So I quit. I haven’t had a soda of any sort in months. I am still drinking a couple of cups of Baby’s coffee in the morning, but after that I drink water. Lot’s and lot’s of water.
Phase 2 – Join a gym and go at least three times a week. I have been consistently going to the gym three times a week since January. I had a couple of weeks where I only made it twice, but I feel like it has become a habit and I am now enjoying it, which is better than how badly I hated it when I started. I have somehow managed to gain six pounds since I started going to the gym however. It probably has something to do with rewarding myself with food for going to the gym, or for not going, or for breathing, whatever.
Phase 3 – Change my eating habits. I was hoping that the first two phases would make phase three unnecessary. Apparently, not so much. So, today is the day? An exclamation point would be better there, but changing eating habits is tough. I know. I have lost the weight before, twice. If I lose it again, I would like it to be the last time I have to do it. To get things started I have taken a picture of myself on this day, April 26, 2010.

Doesn’t that picture look like what you see after a celebrity gets arrested?
Things can change! Here is a picture of Avery Belle and I on August 10th 2013.

Action Steps for this week:
Praying Well – Let’s keep working on making the Daily Psalt Intake a habit and if you are feeling like taking it to the next level, add the Daily Sage Intake this week.
Eating Well – Keep recording everything you eat or drink throughout the day. I also want you to start looking up the calories for everything you and drink. You should start to acquire some real data about how many calories you are consuming.
Moving Well – Let’s try and move for at least 15 minutes every day this week. I also want you to start journaling what you are doing for moving and start figuring out how many calories the activity is burning. Also, if you haven’t done this you need see a Doctor before you start any exercise program or routine.
Living Well – Live every day trying to do the next right thing.
Resting Well – Keep making this a priority! At a reasonable time, take a few minutes to read the Daily Psalt and Daily Sage Intake, pray and then go to sleep.
Start a journal or use Twitter:
Praying Well = Tweet when you entreat
Eating Well = Tweet before you eat
Moving Well – Tweet your moving feet
Living Well = Tweet before you cheat
Resting Well – Tweet when you retreat