Friday 5-15

May is already half over? Holy Crap.

First off, I finally scheduled my ACE exam. June 3rd in Buffalo. Ahhh!! Why I have test anxiety is beyond me. Scared I am rushing a bit fast into it maybe? Who knows. We'll see none-the-less come the 3rd!

Breakfast: - V-Bean oatmeal with an orange.

-1/2 cup instant oats nuked with 3/4-1 cup water. (Yes, water. Not milk. But you can use milk if you want.)
- Once you get the consistency you want, add 2 Tbsp vanilla whey protein and a Tbsp of vanilla extract and stir it in.
-You can opt for some cinnamon too if you'd like to add that!

Had an orange with it. The heck with orange juice, eat who fruits.

Fitness: Yesterday was a brutal cardio session, so my lower body split is still recovering. Did a good chest/back routine today with a focus on pre-exhausting muscling groups with isolation moves before doing compound.

1a) bent rows with dumbbell
1b) Inverted rows on a power rack
2a) Chest flies
2b) Incline barbell bench
3a) Wide grip pull ups
4a) decline push ups (elbows/arms <-- keep them close in your body)

Did a running in place, burpees, and jumping jack body weight interval to finish it off.

Faith: 2 Tim. 4: 7 - I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.

I felt like it was time to take a quick step back. Many of my faith blogs have revolved around the simplicity of Christianity. I wanted to take todays to remind everyone, being a Christian is brutal, tough, hard, consuming, draining, and even possibly burdening at times. Sure, I just made it almost seem like it's a bad thing and makes life harder, right? Well, I over exaderated a bit to convey an emotion that hey, nobody ever promised you a free ride and people speak too much for Gods word, rather then letting God speak his word through us. You don't declair war, then win it right away. It takes time. Battle. Fighting. Pushing onward. Producing a rigerous offense. Most of this, I mean spiritually/mentally. Not literally.

If I had to make a list of the top five things people have done to absolutely rip apart Christianity, one would definitely be this (excuse my silly way of summing it up).

-****Ohhh, come to God. It's so easy. He'll take away all your burdens and lift you right up on high. It's so much easier with Christ.****

False. Shut up whoever you are preeching that. Scripture does talk about leaving your burdens at the door and also on God helping you with them. BUT, scripture also talks about coming to God WITH your burdens. You cannot escape life. It's impossible. You still have to likely go back to dealing with whatever it is you are dealing with even if you do accept Christ. One of the BIGGEST difference between a believer and non-believer, is simply the way we look at things. Being Christian changes our perspective completely. Doesn't make us any different from a non-believer, just see and think differently. We're all humans, regardless.

I struggle too. I'm no super Christian. I have days of my doubts and hardships. I have days where I just want to crack. I see the disgusting filled garbage of this world, and even find myself getting too involved with it at times. I see people hate on this faith I value sooo much daily and it isn't easy. But todays simple few word scripture is an amazing reminder to keep up the good fight.

You don't walk into a boxing ring, and ask your opponent to drop his gloves and let you punch him in the face for a free win. You have to fight to your victory. You have to protect yourself from defeat. You have to keep pushing and pushing until you almost want to puke. Yet you STILL keep pushing because you want that victory soooo much. Brothers, Sisters, let us keep the heart. We should be in this for the long haul. I don't go down to the gym, do 1 push up, then leave and never return. I go to the gym about daily to keep progressing and it gets harder.

Life is full of curve balls, unexpected bumps in the road, crazy roller coaster twists, and so much more. Let us remember that Christianity is not as easy as woofing down a whole ice cream pie from DQ (That sounds like a legit cheat this weekend for me!). It's more like trying to take a bite out of a 4 inch thick piece of steel.

“I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.” -Jewish proverb

Have a wonderful weekend everybody. Keep the heart. Push onward. Keep truckin'.

-Adam