10 Ways to do Exercise without a Gym

Check out this great article in the Sydney Morning Herald about the Fitness industry losing it’s way.  It also details plenty of good exercises you can do from home that wont break the budget and will build some strength, increase tone and lose fat.

Here’s a few more:

1. Go for a 15 minute walk twice a day (or one 30 minute walk).
2. Take the kids with you. Or your spouse.  Good 1-on-1 time too.
3. Wash your car by hand (save money too).
4. Mow your own lawn.  Give the kids a go if they’re old enough (a small break for you!)
5. Take the stairs.  Park further away. Go the scenic route.
6. DIY. Renovate, strip wallpaper, paint, tile, clean, mop.  It’s all more calories down the drain.
7. Play with the kids. Wrestle your boys (daily), play soccer, cricket, tip, barbies (probably just girls), dolls, dancing, running (Josie (2) loves this right now).
8. Use the Wii’s active games (or PS Move, XBOX Kinect) and get moving.  Try Wii Zumba Fitness Party. That’ll get you moving!
9. Try adding some strength increasing moves.  Have a go at pushups, situps, dips, chin ups, squats and others.  Start easy, start small and work up.
10.   Make small lifestyle choices.  Huge changes rarely work.  It’s normally a far better option to start eating better and exercising more gradually.  Try it.

Any other good non-gym exercises you know?

Why I love the Warrior movie so much

Warrior is a man’s movie around a MMA (mixed martial arts) global tournament.  I have to say it’s become my favourite movie for men and my fav movie of 2011 too.

Here’s why I love it so much.

Guys need movies like this.  Movies that deal with guy problems and promote attitudes that men should adopt.  Problems like alcoholism, isolation and estrangement.  Good qualities like fighting for your family, loving your kids and your wife, forgiveness and trust.

I love it because it’s pretty clean.  Very little course language, no sex, some alcohol abuse, no drugs.  Movies like that are hard to find these days… especially ones guys will actually watch.

I love it because it values family.  Families are the cornerstone of society.  Men can become fathers too easily but it takes a change of attitude, lifestyle and selfishness to become a dad.  Dads are really important.  Dads love their kids, spend time with them, discipline them in love and really care for them while providing them with a good role model.

In Warrior we see a dad (Paddy – Nolte) trying to bridge an impossible gap to his sons (Brendan and Tommy) after being absent and abusive as a father when they were younger.

We see Brendan (Joel Edgerton) playing a father who loves his 2 girls and desperately wants to keep his family home.  Tommy (played by Tom Hardy) pledges any winnings from the tournament to a family who lost their dad by his side in Afghanistan next to him in the war.

‘Fight for family’ and ‘Family is worth fighting for’ are two of the taglines the movie uses in promotions.  I love them!  It’s so true in our pluralistic, anything goes society where the family is under attack from so many sources we need messages like this, in blokey, tough, quality movies men will actually see.

How good is the fighting too?!  Such a good flick.  Watch it with some guys!

View the trailer here.

What I love about the KONY 2012 campaign

Firstly if you’ve not seen the video, here it is

So far the video has been watched by 45 million people on YouTube and 14 million people on Vimeo.  It’s an emotional video created by charity Invisible Children to stir people’s hearts to create awareness of Joseph Kony the leader of the LRA.  The LRA are involved in many evil actions including abducting children and forcing them to become child soldiers in Uganda, Congo, South Sudan and Sudan, Africa.

The Kony 2012 campaign isn’t perfect… but there are a couple of things I love about it.

Firstly the way social media like Facebook and Twitter have been leveraged, promoted and actually used to spread the word and garner support for this great cause.  This is what I probably love the most about the whole thing.  All of a sudden the campaign has hit the news, the desk of politicians, the media and the feed of almost everyone’s Facebook and Twitter… all because people decided it was worthy to Share.  We’ve seen the power of the Share in this campaign.

Secondly, this introduces new possibilities in advertising, evangelism, awareness and campaigns everywhere.  With the right combination of motivation, a great cause, emotionally challenging media and clever marketing anything can go viral and amass supporters number in the multi-millions.  Incredible.

Thirdly how it motivates people to action.  This actual campaign has awareness at it’s core.  Making the world and significant people know and stand up for this social issue is the heart of the campaign so that legislation and action can take place to arrest and remove Joseph Kony.  Hopefully people who ‘Share’ or watch the video wont assume that they’ve done their part by those basic actions.

Lastly, it shows the power of social media.  Social Media is officially a game changer now.  If there was any doubt in the minds of business leaders and advertising agencies anywhere there should be no more.  Facebook and Twitter are 2 of the most powerful mediums on earth.  Leveraging those for good or evil (such as the 2011 Egyptian Revolution) can bring powerful success.

Defeating Discouragement

Last Sunday I preached this message which I think everyone needs to hear.  Discouragement is living without courage.  I think we settle in our spirits for a standard of life that lacks courage.  We’re so used to living with so little courage that it becomes the norm.

Here are 6 ways you can defeat discouragement in your life.

1. Remember God gave you a Spirit of faith

2 Timothy 1:7 says, ‘For God did not give you a spirit of timidity but of love, power and sound discipline.’  When you realise that God has given you His Spirit of faith, you can believe that things are going to work out for good. You can be bold and courageous and you ACT from that place.

2. Remember God is with you!

In Joshua 1:5-9 God tells Joshua not to be afraid but to be strong and courageous (3 times!) because He would be WITH HIM.  God is with you and promises never to leave you or forsake you when times get tough.  Press into Him and feel His presence around you.

3. God fights for you!

In Nehemiah 4:19-21 Nehemiah is rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem and he tells the people not to worry because ‘God will fight for us!’.  When you’re discouraged don’t forget to pray. Pray puts God to work for you. Prayer releases the power of God’s hand to intervene in a situation and change the results.

4. You’re already victorious!

2 Corinthians 2:14 says that we are captives in Christ’s triumphal procession.  He leads us in victory wherever we go.  You work FROM a place of victory not TOWARDS it.

5. It’s worth fighting for

Marriage, family, ministry, kingdom, life… all worth the hard yards.  All worth getting back up after you have failed countless times.  2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says that our ‘light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory bigger than them all.’  Your present will soon be your past.  Don’t give up.

6. Remember what God has done

In Deuteronomy 4:9 Moses tells the people what to do.  To remember God’s goodness and not to let it slip from their hearts.  The people were disheartened.  Guard your heart because it’s the wellspring of your life (Proverbs 4:23).

Winston Churchill said, ‘Success is going from one failure to the next without loss of enthusiasm.’

Defeat discouragement in your life.  Don’t give up.  Let the presence of God put fresh faith in you today.

Download my sermon notes here.  Mp3 here. PowerPoint here.

Hows Your Paperwork Life?

If you’re not careful at home you can lose bills, create a mountain-high mess of random paperwork and it can end up costing you money, time, stress and tension at home.

Who needs that?!

Our paperwork is diverse at home because we have family, church and business related stuff all at once.  It can get out of hand.

One thing we’ve tried (and continue to try!) is called Paper Flow.  It’s a book you buy from Kikki K and it’s unbelievably helpful when it comes to sorting out a decent SYSTEM at home/office for managing paperwork.

I’m currently setting up the Paper Flow system for church.  It’s a good time of year to get organised and take away that stress for the rest of the year.  Plus you’ll be able to find stuff, FEEL organised and know that bills are paid on time.

Check it out at www.paperflow.com.au. Brilliant!

It’s worth pushing through

Life, ministry, marriage, family, work…. it all gets hard sometimes.  We get frustrated, let down, we stuff up, we make mistakes, things dont work, we lack enthusiasm… sometimes it’s like life is against us.  Sometimes we get sick of pretending we’re excited about everything.  I get it.

BUT IT’S WORTH PUSHING THROUGH!

It’s worth it.  Marriage is worth it.  Life is worth it.  Ministry, kingdom, church work is worth it!

It’s worth reinventing your marriage even though it takes effort, thought, reading, overcoming hurt, forgiving, trying new things and learning to love better.

It’s worth overcoming self doubt, self esteem problems, lack of purpose, lack of money, relationship issues, whatever!  Life is worth fighting for.  It’s your most precious commodity and you’re worth it.

It’s worth pressing in closer to God when ministry/connect group/church isn’t working out as planned.  Get a release in your spirit from God.  Allow HIM to teach you something new, lift your spirits, refresh your vision, adjust your attitudes.  There’s a purpose in this.  Go to God to find out what it is.

I’ve been in a funk today.  I’ve decided to get out of it.  It’s worth trying.  It’s worth pressing into God, asking for help, getting the Holy Spirit on you and rising above the funk you’re in.

Don’t be continually driven further into the ground because you think there’s no way out.  There is.  And it’s worth the effort.

Push thru!

James 1:2–4 – ‘Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,t whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.’

2011 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,300 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 55 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Lights out might be killing your marriage

Guys are visual creatures right?  We don’t know why but that’s just how God made us.  Our wives just have to get changed in front of us and we’re in the mood for love.  Often it’s less than that.  We are visually stimulated.

Women are often self conscious about their bodies.  If they’ve had kids, chances are they’re in the majority of women who’s bodies didn’t bounce back to pre-child days.  Most women struggle to lose post-baby fat and it makes them even more self conscious!

So there’s a dilemma when making love.  Men like lighting (flood lighting if possible) and women often prefer pitch black can’t-see-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face darkness.

The problem I have with this dilemma isn’t just that I don’t get to see my wife’s gorgeous body when we’re making love, it’s that in the normal course of life I see more of OTHER women’s bodies than I do my wife’s!!

This is frustrating and creates a unhealthy, unsustainable sex life and could drive men to look elsewhere to satisfy their craving for visually stimulating sex.

THE SOLUTION?  Candles.  Candles enable the man to see and they bring light that flatters the woman enabling her to be less self conscious and more confident.  Candles (or your mobile phone torch – but candles are better) are a happy medium and create a win-win for both sides!

Try it out married couples!

Straining gnats and swallowing camels

I’ve thought about this verse a fair bit lately.  It comes up most often when you’re confronted with a person suffering from religiosity.

Matthew 23:23-24 – “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”

This is Jesus talking to the Pharisees (religious nutters of the day).  They would give to God one tenth of even their spices but they failed to love and value the bigger things like justice, mercy and faithfulness. 

Careful, religious legalism seems good to your soul but that’s where it stops. There’s no actual fruit and everyone around you feels small and is forever being corrected by your spiritual elitism.

Religiosity is focused on the small matters to make sure everything’s perfect.  Did you say that right?  Did you cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s.  Now this is fine when you’re an aircraft mechanic but we’re talking a relationship with God that’s been smothered by a monster sized dose of grace!

Lighten up peeps!  Jesus is more concerned with a person than a principle.  He didn’t die for rules to be enforced but for a relationship to be established that would bring right living THROUGH that relationship.

We get it back the front too often.  Let’s embrace the bigger God picture with a real appreciation for His grace but keep allowing His empowering presence to help us live right too.

Lessons from The Philippines #2 – Honour

This trip challenged me in ways I wasn’t expecting.  We were introduced to the Pastors daughter and she came up, grabbed my hand and put the back of my hand to her forehead.  This happened on a number of occasions with other kids as well, some as old as about 15!

I asked Pastor Nonon and Teeny about it and they said it’s a sign of respect.

2. They know how to honour

I was a little blown away by the level of honour in the Filipino culture towards leaders, older people, even older kids.  We have a lot to learn about honour in Australia.  Maybe I should preach on it one day.

I was continually referred to as ‘Pastor’ (think American twang on the ‘r’ there), they kept giving me money as an ‘honorarium’ for preaching/ministering.  The team got given cash too.  More than once.  They wouldn’t let us pay for anything.  Not ziplining, not airsoft (like paintball but more painful), not meals.

It was humbling.  To be in a city and country where there are obviously many people who are poor but to be honoured with financial blessings… and many of them?  I was gobsmacked.  It got uncomfortable.  Awkward even.

But it showed me what true honour looks like.  And there’s a reward guaranteed by God for those who give honour… to those above them (leadership) beside them (peers) and those below them (entrusted to them).

Jesus said in Matthew 10:41 that anyone who receives a prophet or righteous man properly will get a significant reward.  Major lesson we need to learn especially in Australia.  A certain cycle of blessing is prevented when the honour isn’t being made.