Recently I've reached a significant target in my weight loss and fitness regime.
I've now lost right on three stone in weight.
Which is a miracle in the world of Gary Lacey.
because.
I.
Love.
eating!
I love burgers, fried breakfasts that are made up of bacon, eggs, sausage, fried mushrooms, fried bread. Then I love doughnuts, cake, cream, Chicken Korma, any form of Chinese, fried breakfasts, pie and chips, fish and chips, spam fritters and chips, custard creams and did I mention fried breakfasts?
Sadly.
The days of eating that stuff have gone forever!
This was after a trip to the doctors four months ago now. The doctor gave me a dressing down about my lifestyle.
He said, and I quote, "Its low fat lifestyle for the rest of your life now Gary."
The doctor had looked at my lifestyle and saw that I was eating way too much bad fat and I was happily walking towards some really serious health issues that he reckons were not that far away!
I had to see a nutritionist and a dietry coach. What a happy bunch they are. Bringers of bad news for people who like food.
Sausages soon turned into salmon.
Fried breakfasts turned into cereal.
Doughnuts turned into fruit, especially grapes and bananas.
A total change of lifestyle, including exercise which includes cycling and power walking every day. along with some training on how to manage stress better.
The result is a way thinner and fitter Gary with energy to burn!
I was reflecting on this period of my life today.
And.
I remember the day, even before I went to the doctor, and committed my then unfit conditioning to God.
I prayed a simple prayer.
Lord will you help me to lose weight and get fitter in body, in my psychological state, and in my spiritual life.
I felt straight away the Lord say to me, "Yeah Gary but your going to have to make some changes, your going to have to work hard, but i'll help you."
Yeah.
Today I remembered that prayer.
I had a guy come in to Sanctuary today and ask me about helping him to improve his prayer life.
I asked him what state his current lifestyle of prayer is like.
He said, "It's full of words and not much feeling! He said he knew he had to do it, and as a christian worked hard to do it. But he felt there was a nothingness to it.
Then he said something interesting. "Its like full fat milk, I feel the way I pray is full fat and bad for me!
Which was really interesting seeing as I had been thinking about my lifestyle change.
So I was straight in.
I shared my weight loss story and suggested he take some of the principles I had learned and apply them to bring about a lifestyle change in his prayer life.
The first I asked him was what he felt were the "full fat" things he was doing in his prayer life. He said he had got used to saying and asking for the same things, in the same way and in the same words all the time. he said he felt he went round the houses to say anything to God.
So we decided together he needed to go for a low fat prayer life.
So we practiced just saying stuff to God in a natural, direct way. Stop using daft ancient words etc, just talk straight.
He liked the taste of that.
He had got in the habit of traditional setting time aside and just sticking to that. Kind of Full fat prayer! Of course theres nothing wrong with that and there can be everything wrong with that all at the same time. prayer rhythm is good, vital in fact but not at the expense of a lifestyle of prayer, you know, speaking to God all the time, randomly, relationally, like a mate when you need a mate, like an awesome king, like a counsellor, like a helper, like an advisor like, well, all the incredible things God is.
Thats a low fat prayer life.
Its good for you.
Its essential for a healthy spiritual life.
Its essential for a vitality to our mission.
Maybe theres someone out there who is reading this and thinking yeah my prayer life is a bit dull. Maybe theres someone out there who is reading this thinking, my prayer lifestyle could do with a change for the better. Maybe there is someone out there who is thinking my prayer lifestyle is not happening!
Is it time for a change of lifestyle?
Prayer lifestyle.
The Spirit of God says, "Yeah, you'll have to work hard and take responsibility for the change, make it happen! But I will help you."
Prayer has had a bad press in the church.
It doesn't have to be a dry lifeless chore.
Its the most exciting thing ever. Because its the none negotiable exchange between us and God and such is the life in our relationship with him.
Maybe its time for a change?
Maybe its time to start?
Take my doctors advice in a spiritual sense. "its a low fat lifestyle for the rest of your life!"
Blessings
Gaz
I've now lost right on three stone in weight.
Which is a miracle in the world of Gary Lacey.
because.
I.
Love.
eating!
I love burgers, fried breakfasts that are made up of bacon, eggs, sausage, fried mushrooms, fried bread. Then I love doughnuts, cake, cream, Chicken Korma, any form of Chinese, fried breakfasts, pie and chips, fish and chips, spam fritters and chips, custard creams and did I mention fried breakfasts?
Sadly.
The days of eating that stuff have gone forever!
This was after a trip to the doctors four months ago now. The doctor gave me a dressing down about my lifestyle.
He said, and I quote, "Its low fat lifestyle for the rest of your life now Gary."
The doctor had looked at my lifestyle and saw that I was eating way too much bad fat and I was happily walking towards some really serious health issues that he reckons were not that far away!
I had to see a nutritionist and a dietry coach. What a happy bunch they are. Bringers of bad news for people who like food.
Sausages soon turned into salmon.
Fried breakfasts turned into cereal.
Doughnuts turned into fruit, especially grapes and bananas.
A total change of lifestyle, including exercise which includes cycling and power walking every day. along with some training on how to manage stress better.
The result is a way thinner and fitter Gary with energy to burn!
I was reflecting on this period of my life today.
And.
I remember the day, even before I went to the doctor, and committed my then unfit conditioning to God.
I prayed a simple prayer.
Lord will you help me to lose weight and get fitter in body, in my psychological state, and in my spiritual life.
I felt straight away the Lord say to me, "Yeah Gary but your going to have to make some changes, your going to have to work hard, but i'll help you."
Yeah.
Today I remembered that prayer.
I had a guy come in to Sanctuary today and ask me about helping him to improve his prayer life.
I asked him what state his current lifestyle of prayer is like.
He said, "It's full of words and not much feeling! He said he knew he had to do it, and as a christian worked hard to do it. But he felt there was a nothingness to it.
Then he said something interesting. "Its like full fat milk, I feel the way I pray is full fat and bad for me!
Which was really interesting seeing as I had been thinking about my lifestyle change.
So I was straight in.
I shared my weight loss story and suggested he take some of the principles I had learned and apply them to bring about a lifestyle change in his prayer life.
The first I asked him was what he felt were the "full fat" things he was doing in his prayer life. He said he had got used to saying and asking for the same things, in the same way and in the same words all the time. he said he felt he went round the houses to say anything to God.
So we decided together he needed to go for a low fat prayer life.
So we practiced just saying stuff to God in a natural, direct way. Stop using daft ancient words etc, just talk straight.
He liked the taste of that.
He had got in the habit of traditional setting time aside and just sticking to that. Kind of Full fat prayer! Of course theres nothing wrong with that and there can be everything wrong with that all at the same time. prayer rhythm is good, vital in fact but not at the expense of a lifestyle of prayer, you know, speaking to God all the time, randomly, relationally, like a mate when you need a mate, like an awesome king, like a counsellor, like a helper, like an advisor like, well, all the incredible things God is.
Thats a low fat prayer life.
Its good for you.
Its essential for a healthy spiritual life.
Its essential for a vitality to our mission.
Maybe theres someone out there who is reading this and thinking yeah my prayer life is a bit dull. Maybe theres someone out there who is reading this thinking, my prayer lifestyle could do with a change for the better. Maybe there is someone out there who is thinking my prayer lifestyle is not happening!
Is it time for a change of lifestyle?
Prayer lifestyle.
The Spirit of God says, "Yeah, you'll have to work hard and take responsibility for the change, make it happen! But I will help you."
Prayer has had a bad press in the church.
It doesn't have to be a dry lifeless chore.
Its the most exciting thing ever. Because its the none negotiable exchange between us and God and such is the life in our relationship with him.
Maybe its time for a change?
Maybe its time to start?
Take my doctors advice in a spiritual sense. "its a low fat lifestyle for the rest of your life!"
Blessings
Gaz
