Lone Star 5k/10k

 As I make my final preparations for the Lone Star 5k/10k

{I will be running the 5k portion}

I thought that I would humor you with something I found on Pinterest

Via

Hope Y'all are having a great week!

I can't wait to recap the race and let you know how I did!

Thank you again for all of your support and encouraging words. 

They have definitely provided me with the strength to keep going and not give up on my goals. 

Keeping Up With the "Bloggers"- The Need For Authenticity

Things are going to be a bit different on the blog from now on. This is something that has been on my heart for weeks... which is yet another reason why I took an extended amount of time away from the blog.

I'm done trying to keep up with what all of the "experts" say you should/ should not do if you have a blog.

{Though they offer reasonable, heartfelt advice based off of their own experience in the blogging world;

 I have had enough. I am tried of the rat race and I'm tired of trying to keep up with the "pro" bloggers}

I can't do it anymore. I simply cannot keep up with what all of the veteran bloggers suggest you should do in order to find your niche/ your voice in the blogging community. Whether its following advice like, "make sure to blog every day, whether you feel like it or not" or "be sure to craft your headlines to attract more readers" or "track the number of hits you get on your blog every day so you can obsess over see what topics your readers want to see." This is all valid advice for those who are trying to make a living off of their blogs, but this was not my motive or objective for having a blog in the first place. I am not trying to earn a paycheck off of my writing. If that were to ever happen one day- awesome- but I am not going to sacrifice who I am in order for that to happen.

I'm done trying to write in such a way that caters to my readers/potential readers/etc. I'm going to write about what is important to me: lessons that God is teaching me while I am imperfectly chasing after Him and attempting to bring Him glory out of the broken pieces of my life. If that is something that interests you- fantastic! I look forward to continuing this journey with you. If that is not something that you wish to read, then it has been a pleasure getting to know you! Of course, I am going to throw in posts every now and then on other things that I am passionate about: my family, fitness, our journey to running a half marathon, our desire to adopt a daughter, etc. But know that the bulk of what I will be writing about from now on will come straight from my quiet times- sitting at the Lord's feet. That is why I started this blog to begin with.

I sincerely hope that you will continue with my on this journey, as I have thoroughly enjoyed your company thus far :)

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Hey Y'all!

I know... it's been AGES since I have posted. March has always been an incredibly busy month for our family and honestly, blogging was simply at the bottom of my priority list. I do apologize. Between a round of illness, Spring Break, t-ball season starting up, Rylan's birthday, Greg traveling for work... I tell ya, it's been a whirl wind.

Now that things are calming down a tiny bit, I'll get back into blogging more consistently. I look forward to linking up tomorrow with Nicole again over at Moments that Define Life for her Listable Life series. Hope you'll join us!

Fitness Lessons learned over the years...

One of our boys was getting a haircut yesterday at Sport Clips. I love Sport Clips. I wish the price wasn’t so high for a simple haircut, but I love the fact that ESPN is on all 20 of the TVs in the shop. There’s a TV within sight of anywhere, so when conversation reaches an awkward moment with your stylist, you can zone out on ESPN and whatever Stephen A. Smith is ranting about. Anyway, a commercial comes on for P90X, of which I am a HUGE fan. Trust me, it works. Oddly enough, immediately after that, another exercise infomercial comes on touting another celebrity- this one being an MMA champion, explaining the benefits of his program vs. all others. The hair stylist struck up a conversation with me about other workout routines she had seen, and which one she thought worked the best.

Let me let you in on a little tip:

Male or female, ALL WORKOUT PROGRAMS WORK!

Each one says it will help you lose weight the fastest. They’re right. As long as you do them, and follow a balanced, more wholesome diet, you will see results. Whether Tony Horton, Tito Ortiz, John Cena, Kathy Ireland, Chuck Norris, or any other celebrities recommend a routine, every single one of them will work if you follow the steps.

Also, certain diet pills promise to make you shed the pounds without having to modify your diet, which usually means eating the same fast food and freezer dinners while popping a magic pill. You may see results, but will it initiate real change, which is crucial to weight loss and results? How about 90 days of changed eating habits vs. popping a pill and eating goop?

I will say that, since college, I did not exercise, did not eat well, ate too much, and generally lived a rather sedentary lifestyle. In college, I had a size 34 waist, which was loose at times, could run a 7 minute mile, and ate salads, fruits, and vegetables for lunch and dinner. Breakfast was my spoil meal, where I ate all the carbs, fat, and protein I could handle. Hey, there’s a diet option! Oh yeah, and I ran 6 miles in the afternoon after class. I can say now, after today, that you can eat under 1500 calories a day, and eat all the fiber, protein, fats (with some left over), and carbs (with some left over), along with all the vitamins and minerals your body needs, AND BE FULL AND HAPPY!

I don’t mean to sound like I know it all. This is just what works for me, which if I had a good marketing team and some $$ to invest, I could make a fortune off of TV marketing that plan, or I could write a book (See? Everything works!) When I feel like I know a lot, I just run down to my local GNC and get schooled on nutrition and supplements. I know a lot of what to do to get skinny, I just don’t really always like to do it. Change happens when you work to make it happen.

Now I’m all in on this fitness challenge with my wife. Megan can tell you that when I get an idea in my head and a determination to make a change, at least physically- it’s hard to stop. Maybe I’ll post “after” pictures.

Greg