Greatest Freakout!

One of the most helarious videos I've ever seen! Just to make it clear, this kids mom DELETED his World of Warcraft account...this is just as funny as it is sad...these people are addicts.

Not So Fast Anymore

I failed in my sugarfast...not to temptation however, but to health. I found myself sleepless at night with a raging headache and sweat dripping from me. At first I thought I was just de-toxing from sugar and continued but a call to Dr. Cliff Sheets, my friendly neighborhood nutritionist, quickly put that to an end. He told me that by completely cutting out sugar from my life had drained my glucose levels and my adrenaline glands were beginning to malfunction (I think). In short I ran down stairs and had an apple at 3 o'clock in the morning. I was 4 days into the fast so the sugar definately buzzed me as I suddenly found myself wanting to go running or lift weights. I am still however going with the 21 day fast from purchasing myself necessities with my own money. I know that it is something that you would give up for lint but I didn't think of it at the time. I also think that I have a sort of problem with saving for something only to blow all the money on a random day after making it halfway to the item I originally intended to save my money for. We all have that problem though. I am hoping that these three weeks will help settle my urge to spend cashmoney and that I pray for patience because I need it. I mean there is this video game that is calling for me....only I cannot buy it. Awesome.

When Words Mean Nothing

One of the most valuable things that we all hold in our lives is probably our words. No not our ability to speak, but how much strength and weight our words hold with others...if that makes sense. For example, someone falsely accuses me of stealing. I am asked if I did indeed steal and I say no and give my half of the story. If I am trustworthy then my words will hold weight with the person and they should believe me. I don't know if that example helped but please continue reading and hold on to this speck of hope that you will understand. ' (speck). At a very young age everyone picks up lying for some amount of time. Depending on the parents, they might jump on you right away or let it go for awhile finding it cute, but either way we learn to lie. Some begin to quickly learn it's consequences while others quickly learn that there are no consequences if you do not get caught. People that live a life lying eventually earn that reputation and people find them hard to trust at points. What are we if we cannot be trusted? Are we nothing? No we are a person whose words fall upon numbed ears. I say numbed because if you are used to someone lying to you then you eventually just ignore them and live your life. If your words hold no weight you are in a serious hole. People need to trust you, people need to hear you. If people can't then you can never have a deep relationship with a girlfriend, friend, even God. Your relationship may seem deep but if you can't tell the truth to your friend, then who can you? More than likely you are lying to yourself...especially about the intimate relationship thingy. We CANNOT go before God and wear a mask while we scream, "Here I am Lord, all of me." You CANNOT go to your friend and tell them that you are their for them as your condensates on the mouth of the mask that covers your face. If you do...you just might the reply, "who is there for me? certainly not my friend because I don't even know who you are." Maybe not those exact words but I hope you are getting the idea. Still holding onto the speck of hope I gave you? EEEEEEExcellent. To quickly get to my point I leave you with this. Our words our so powerful. They can raise spirits or tear down the strongest of men. They can encourage and rally and they can bring tears as well as cause harm. First, keep the weight of your words strong as you hold others trust in you....don't live behind that mask, and final, use their weight for good...you have them for a reason.

I'm Just That Fast

Today at church it was announced that we have 21 days until easter, that is what I understood at-least. My pastor requested that anyone who wanted to join him in fasting for the 3 week period. If people wanted they could do the actual fast where meat is not eaten and other sorts...that kind of fast. Then he said that for those who were not willing to do that, we could do another type of fasting where each week he announces something we must go without for the remainder of the 21 days. Today it was sugar, so I proceeded to make my life sugarless!!! It is not all bad actually. It is a good chance to avoid unhealthy foods with better reasons than just to get healthy. Now I feel that I am bringing honor to God every time I pass on a candy bar. To take it a step further however I decided to give up (this gets confusing) using my own money to but personal necessities. This could be shirts, shoes, movies, video games, etc... Unless I actually need it then I cannot purchase it. This I will do for 3 weeks and at the end I will give $100 as tithe on the next sunday. I realize that unnecessary purchases are a major factor in my life and I am hoping to teach myself to save my money rather than blow it all. I truly do feel that I am going to grow closer to God, now just pray for me that I do not slip up!

I HAVE Changed

In the past year I have lost up to 40 pounds. People tell me that it is impressive for someone as young as me to lose that much weight. Ya to toot my own horn I agree, but if they realized how I felt before I lost all the weight...when I was at my peak 215 pounds. It was actually easy to lose the weight, frustrating, but easy.
When you walk into my room you may notice that above my bathroom doorframe I have a whiteboard with the phrase, "I am going go changed the way people view me, I am going to change the way I view myself." That was exactly where I started. I did not like the way that I felt people viewed me and I hated the way I viewed myself. My two best friends are those two guys with the perfect genes. Athletic and built, so after growing up with them it is only natural to view myself as being like that...but I wasn't. I was a chub tub. It was so frustrating taking off my shirt and seeing my reflection in the pool water or a mirror. God it was so frustrating. I remember how angry I would get, or how low I would fall. Not that I was always angry or sad, it was mostly my alone time where I wasn't around my friends that I felt like that. I had no self esteem at the beginning of my junior year. I was pretty much at rock bottom, and I was somehow still falling. At night I in some way entered my own little depression. I felt a great deal of darkness in the world and this was all over me being such a big guy. I finished off the football season, and yeah I had lost a few pounds but really did not look any different. I was tired of walking through the mall and getting looks from people, those lay off the cookies looks. You say that I probably didn't get them but I did. At school I just felt like the funny chubby kid that everyone likes but just because he's funny yet further than that I was just the chubby kid. It was around December that I began going to a new church. This church changed my life as it taught me to involve God in every aspect of my life. Well, not so much taught as encouraged. Every church teaches that I guess but very few encourage. I began praying for God to help me lose weight and end my frustration. I cannot stress how much frustration I felt. I don't know why but one day I just decided to do this. When we pray for God to do something, like lose weight, he gives us opportunities to do so. I've blogged about this before. Well I decided to make a plan to lose weight. I would eat perfect during the week and then splurge on the weekends. I added more workouts and more protein. My trainer Jason as well as my nutritionist Cliff Sheats played large roles. They are incredibly encouraging. Eventually my friends pointed out that I had lost weight. But it wasn't enough, I did not feel any different when I looked in the mirror. Summer hit and I swam, I swam a lot. I had been told that swimming was the quickest way to weight loss. I believe it now. That summer I went from 195- 174. A 38 waist to a borderline 32. Life became more fun. I walked differently and I felt good. When people looked at me I felt good about it. I myself am a trophy of my success. Look at me, this is what I have accomplished. This is the milestone in my life. My first big thing in life to look back and be proud of. I'm not full of myself I'm just proud. People don't realize how low I had gotten in self-esteem. I mean I was so low. I felt hatred in places where it made no sense. To climb out of such a deep hole is a big climb. I'm at a high point and I plan on staying. If you look at my whiteboard it now says, "I HAVE CHANGED the way people view me, I am going to change the way I view myself."

If you don't believe that I was a chunk before my weight loss just dig up some pictures of me from the past 4 years...you'll be surprised. My friends were. They told me that I was never fat, but when they saw my old pictures they couldn't believe it...neither could I.

In His Demand

In life I've seen that we have many phrases and answers for certain times and situations. We feel pain we say, "Ouch!". Things are looking down we say, "It will be okay". We have to go to the bathroom we say, "I gotta go to the crapper". And in death or seemingly confusing situations we refer to it as being in God's perfect plan. As a child I have been taught that God has a plan for me and everyone else yet mine is different and special from any others. Of course as a kid I hear that and then shrug my shoulders as I walk off to the nearest sand box or mud pit. Now that I am older however I tend to think about it from time to time. It is mentioned more often in church as well as school and I pay more attention to it. As we grow older I believe that His plan slowly unravels, but for some it is apparent to them much earlier and others much later. I still do not entirely know what His plan for me is but as of now I think it is to find joy in life as I live it and share that joy with others as I help them to find it. I think someday it may change, possibly to something less broad or perhaps it will not change at all. Who knows maybe I will be a Kagillionaire when I am 20 or maybe I will be that homeless man that you deny giving a few pennies too. Either way God has a plan and I am in it. My name is Andrew and I am in his demand.

To Live and Be Let Down

Of course there are supposed to be disappointments as you go through life. I've heard that many of them happen during high-school... some have also described it as a time of enlightenment or realization. Basically, these realizations can be very frustrating and that is what I am going through right now. My old school Trinity was hard because the kids that I pretty much grew up with were falling right in front of me. 3 of my best friends in my bible study were caught drinking and were kicked out, as well as another one was caught stealing in school. That was in 8th grade. Now in 12th grade things have not seemed to change. People that I looked at for so long and saw them as a model for a christ like life... well not so much. It's not like I don't like them anymore they are all still close friends of mine it is just kind of a shock when someone you've known for awhile flips the lights on and then you can really see. It is an honest let down. You can't really do anything either you are just stuck there watching... as bad as it is to say sometimes I wish I felt the freedom that they had. I find myself envying them however I soon realize that I have an excellent life and I don't want to change anything about it. Such is life.