ClydeStyle

Category: Taking Responsibility

  • Us big folks have to stick together!

    Here is my pre-summer appeal for America to wake up to the fact that we are waaaay too big! When I say way too big, I mean fat. America is obese and I would like to do something to help.

    I’m not talking about any diet you have ever heard of. This blog is specifically for big folks like me. As an experiment for the summer, please join me  in three months of healthy eating. I call it the plus, minus, plus diet (+-+). For the first month, you still eat everything you normally eat and I just want to add some things to your diet. Then, for the second month we will eliminate a few things. Finally, the third month we will add some additional things and see what Mr. Scale says then. (I’ve learned to respect the scale!) This will just cover June 3 – September 3. If you like it and this diet works for you, email me and I’ll give you the next three months. The next set is called minus, minus, plus (- – +). I lost 100 pounds in 13 months doing exactly what you are going to read next. Now of course I went from eating everything to being a pescetarian who doesn’t eat any dairy and still no bottom feeders. This happened in my ninth, 10th and 11th months of dieting, but I’ll talk about that at another time. The bottom line is I feel great and I want you to feel great too! Ready?

    For June:

    Eat whatever the heck you want (or just what you are currently eating), but you have to eat these additions first. It does not matter if you are diabetic or not. Make the proper adustments.

    You are to add five servings of fruit and five servings of vegetables. Two servings of vegetables can be cooked, but the rest (five pieces of fruit and three servings of vegetables) MUST be raw! When I first started doing this I thought it would be hard. I didn’t know the variety of vegetables I know now and I didn’t know how to appreciate a good green salad. I made green smoothies and  you can knock off two of each category that way. Be creative and make sure you get the quality stuff…you deserve the best! This is the point when I discovered the Whole Foods Market!

    The next thing to add is filtered water — lots of it! Undoubtedly your biological system needs to be flushed out so 60 to 80 ounces of filtered water would be appropriate. This is easiest to accomplish by just making water your drink of choice. Wake up in the morning and drink 20 ounces of water before you do anything. This will jump start your organs and help flush out anything leftover from the previous day. If you do it this way, it makes reaching 80 ounces easier. Your urine should be light yellow or clear — that’s what you are going for — clear pee! 🙂

    For July:

    You are going to look hotter than July when you take away the following things from your diet. You do not need to eat processed foods, dairy or red meat. I would love it if you would drop these things completely, but I know it is not realistic for everyone to do that. So, to make this as guilt free as possible, (and don’t forget to carry your additions from June into July), make an effort to eliminate these things. If you cannot go cold turkey, then start with a meatless Monday, or eat processed foods for just 10 days out of the month. Red meat should be treated like a delicacy and it would be better to eat chicken and fish than the red meats. You also need to stop all fried foods. It’s too hot to eat fried food anyway, is it? Purge these things from your diet and get active. Most of the time we eat because we’re bored. Get out an enjoy the summer!

    For August:

    At this point you should have had some level of success and you should be emailing me about the next phase. This month is easy because all you are going to add is consistent exercise. You should have more energy, but all you have to do is something that is consistent and will make you sweat. Walking is awesome! You need to take just 30 minutes each day (yes, seven days a week — it’s only three and a half hours!) to raise your heart rate, break a sweat and have fun. Consult your primary care physician before beginning any exercise program. This would be a great time to start with a personal trainer if you can. If not, there are several million books and dvds — the goal is to exercise. I strongly recommend getting a partner to exercise with. You two can be accountable to each other and be a source of encouragement. Don’t forget to carry June’s and July’s routine into August.

    There you have it! My + – + diet to a new and better YOU! Make sure you pray and meditate at the beginning and end of each day. I’m here if you need me!

  • Memorial Day: A call for true patriotism

    We have reached another Memorial Day weekend and with this being a presidential election year we really need to pray for the families of our fallen solders and our country.

    We hear a lot these days about patriotism and we have been desensitized by politicians and the media to think that being patriotic means to be obedient to the state.

    In these troubled times we have been discouraged from speaking out about our country’s debt being the result of wars we had no business participating in. Our economic crisis is the result of one thing only: Greed. Jesus said in the Gospel of Luke: “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Our greed has caused the death of many, homelessness, financial destruction, loss of dignity, self respect, worldwide shame and dishonor.

    The media still hasn’t run a story about the few that benefited from our wars. I have yet to see the documentary that exposes the truth about the last 20 years of how our government has performed. The closest the media has come to this feat is a recent book by MSNBC‘s Rachel Maddow called Drift. I highly recommend it. She created a wonderful history book that paints the complete picture of what happened during the administration of the last 10 or so presidents. It’s very interesting that the Revolutionary War was all about patriots fighting government abuse of the rights of the people. Back then, a 2 percent tax hike was TOO much.

    In the 21st century, when do we reach too much?

  • Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of victory, but for what?

    For years I celebrated Cinco de Mayo thinking that it was the equivalent of the Fourth of July for Mexico. I grew up with Mexican neighbors, I still love Mexican food (minus all that cheese) and never did any of them ever correct my thinking. Cinco de Mayo is the celebration of the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

    In the spirit of unlikely victories I’d like to say that I am dissatisfied with the way civil rights is rationed out in Christian America. Our civil rights movement of the sixties advanced African-Americans some. Not that African-American’s have arrived by any stretch of the imagination, but it just seems to me that those who have been through a struggle would reach back with empathy  to help others going through a struggle.

    Based on our history, you would think that on a massive scale, the Jewish nation would have done more things to assist African-Americans in their struggle. I’m not at all saying that nothing has been done, but with the reparations as a result of the horrible Holocaust and the fact that Jews maintained their identity through that process, Jews had information that would have changed the state of African-Americans today. Now I say this fully aware that most of the houses sold by Jews from the 60s-80s were sold to Blacks because Whites would not live in homes formally owned by Jews. Southfield, MI is a perfect example of this. There have been educational, healthcare, housing and other services given to assist African-Americans which were funded by Jews. These things were great helps in the struggle and they specifically dealt with the RESULTS of the struggle. I don’t know of anything done to PREVENT the struggle — and that’s my point. After slavery, Blacks needed direction and guidance. There was a need to know how the financial system functioned and ownership of real estate. Other than Tulsa’s Black Wall Street (and we know what happened to it!), this knowledge was missing. I wonder what if the Jews taught Blacks how to succeed much like the Native American taught the pilgrims how to succeed what would things look like now?

    Fast forward to the 21st Century and African-Americans should be doing more to help Mexicans and Hispanics in their struggles with this nation. The very same struggles that we are still trying to overcome. Granted this should be the responsibility of everyone including federal, state and local authorities. When you start running statistics you will see that Jews went through some very horrible things here in America. African-Americans are still going through some horrible things in this country. And Mexicans and Hispanics are catching hell right now. From being kicked out of our country, to not having their healthcare disparities even addressed, to not receiving fair wages and benefits for work and poor education.

    I don’t mean to sound harsh or offensive, but we need to stop accepting the unspoken pecking order that ranks the races.  I want to do something about this. I’m not sure what exactly, but I would like to do something to help with this cause. I realize that there are a lot of causes out there, but this Cinco de Mayo I would like to not only celebrate the Battle of Puebla with them, but I also want to end that celebration, by asking them what I can do to help. What about you?

  • Don’t blame me!

    It seems as though we struggle with admitting when we’ve done something wrong. Have you ever heard the phrase: “Throwing someone under the bus?” This phase has it’s roots in the sports arena and has crossed into business and other fields where colleagues who failed to pull a project together eventually end up playing the blame game. This is not your ordinary finger pointing session, this is when someone deliberately uses truths or untruths against you. By definition the phrase means to sacrifice another person (often a friend or ally), who is usually not deserving of such treatment, out of malice or for personal gain.

    Imagine working on a project and when asked by the supervisor why deadlines were not met, one of your colleagues says, “well so and so was late to our planning meetings!” Now, who was late or on time to the meeting is irrelevant to why a deadline was not met. Some present-oriented thinking people would argue that it does, but I beg to differ. You have to examine with of all the facts to bring up, why was one person’s tardiness so high up on the list?

    In another scenario, one delivery guy is subbing for his colleague when he gets to a client who has a complaint. The complaint is that the normal driver is slow and not too friendly. Instead of supporting his teammate and reassuring the customer that the information will be passed on to the proper people, this driver decides to join in on the criticism. He says things like “I’m not surprised!” or “we’ve had other reports of this from other customers.” Another one bites the dust. Hung out to dry by a fellow employee …but why?

    The worse situation to be in is when you find yourself selling out a friend for personal gain. Or can you image allowing your words to crucify someone else because you don’t like them? Either way if you are this type of person, you don’t deserve to have friends. The Psalmist wrote in the 55 division, verses 11-14: “11 Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets. 12 If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were raising himself against me, I could hide from him. 13 But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, 14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship as we walked with the throng at the house of God (NIV).

    This proves there is nothing new under the sun, but the person who would perpetrate a friendship only to violate that bond by throwing you under the bus is in a sad state of affairs. Don’t allow them to bring you down. Forgive them and move on! Your character is not in question, it is theirs. Misery loves company, so don’t join them!

    My favorite incident of someone being thrown under the bus was when Kobe Bryant was caught cheating on his wife and in an interview said something to the affect of, “you guys are coming down on me, but Shaq is cheating on his wife too!”

  • Christian politics?

    Is it possible to be a Christian in politics?

    It seems like election time brings out the worst in us. We hear Christians speak of patriotism as if it were in the bible.

    We say things that are in direct conflict with the teachings of Jesus, but we still claim to belong to him.

    How can those who have much, not help those who have less? How could we think that Jesus would just be okay with this?

    Jesus said for us to love our neighbor as he has loved us. Jesus loved us enough to actual give up his life for our sins. He rose from the dead with all power in heaven and earth. His victory in the grave was so profound! In the midst of this victory, the apostle Paul explains (eph. 4) that Christ “led captivity captive and gave gifts to men.”

    These wonderful gifts were used to perfect the saints, equip the body for ministry and build up the saints.

    My point here is this, there is nothing we have that we acquired on our own. Without Christ, we are nothing.

    If I’m middle class and know that I HAVE because HE lives, then what right do I have to judge? How can I tell someone to simply pull themselves up by their boots straps when I didn’t do that? Many of the rich in our country are living off “old” money. Their grandfathers and great-grandfathers gave them a huge head start in real estate, finances, education and status. They were able to take these wonderful resources and grow them 10 and 100 fold or more.

    There is a great divide in our country between those that have and those that don’t. And the viewpoint of the rich regarding the poor seems so judgmental. I think Mitt Romney summed it up well in his statement that he doesn’t care about the very poor. Newt Gingrich followed up Romney’s comment by saying he cares about the very poor and opportunity needs to be shown to them so that they can “stop being poor.” I don’t think he realized what he said. Can they really just “stop being poor?”

    I see God using those who are poor and struggling in a powerful way. I believe these folks are there so that God can see the true intent of the rich. Will you help or will you hurt? 

    We would be foolish to believe that any of the candidates on either side really care about the poor when we are still spending far more money in foreign relationship and war than we do on the needy in our own country.

    I have been truly blessed to be able to provide for my family. And I am mindful and very much in touch with those that are struggling. As Christians we cannot say we honor God and turn a blind eye on those that are suffering.

    We all need to do what our scope of influence will allow us to do because in this economy, you never know when things can go south. And for those who believe they are untouchable, you are grossly underestimating God!

    Learn this lesson now before God takes you to school!

     

  • Another year

    It seems that the older we get, the faster the years go by.

    We were just ushering in 2011 and now it’s over. The end of the year becomes a time where we are able to reflect on the things that happened and make changes if needed.

    It’s a time where we should be deciding to end bad relationships because the year has revealed to us that there is no benefit in them.

    It’s time to take control over the things that this year has shown us are out of control.

    It’s time to rededicate our lives to the people who matter the most to us.

    It’s time to talk to God about purpose, plan and repentance.

    It’s time for us to make sure that we don’t miss out on the real important things in life because we’re too busy chasing the superficial things.

    Don’t let 2012 come and go without you experiencing the things that matter most. Make sure you seize every moment to love someone, admire things God created like sunsets and rainbows and mentor someone that needs you — what God has hidden in these types of relationships make life worth living.

    And finally, do the best you can to eliminate stress, the Western culture diet and revenge out of your life. All three of these things can kill you.

    Lord thank you for allowing us to see another year. Grant us the courage to make the most of it and honor and glorify your name in it.Amen!

    Happy New Year my friends!

  • Truth or consequences?

    Jesus, on one occasion, said to let your yea be yea and your nay be nay.

    He wanted us to honor our words. If you say you are going to do something, make sure you do it. Keep your promises. Don’t say things that you do not mean. All of these things speak to the character of the one saying them.

    Our society has a hard time keeping its word. From government and politicians to the pulpits and preachers and everyone in between, we struggle to keep our word.

    It has been so bad that once we are found not keeping our word, the response is so callous and matter-of-factly stated, “oh well.” ” It happens.” “Get over it!”

    Wives are not keeping promises to manage the home; husbands and fathers are not taking care of their families; whole school systems have failed to keep their promises to educate; and the governments deceive.

    What judgment are we to face because of this? One of the seven things God hates is a lying tongue. We need not to make this too complicated. Imagine a world where everyone kept their word? Imagine a world where honesty is the most important thing and not profit?

    Don’t get caught living in lies! For we must realize that we are not merely lying to men, but to God and his judgment is coming.

    Let’s make 2012 a better year by presenting ourselves open and honest before God and mankind.

  • Your love of tennis means nothing

    It seems in these trying times we live in that it is getting more difficult to navigate our relationships. One would think that we all needed therapy as sometimes it seems that we can’t do anything right.

    Either we are not working together or we’re going in two different directions. Or we are being to critical or not critical enough. We are too self-fish, too demanding, too righteous, too lazy … well you get the picture. I want to share a concept with you that may shine some light on how we are supposed to get along and how we can gravitate toward the positive and benefit both parties — and we do this with tennis.

    Now I’m not asking you to go play or watch tennis. What I want to do is borrow a few concepts to make a point.Imagine your troubled relationship as a doubles team in tennis. To play doubles in tennis you have to know a little bit about the strengths and weaknesses of your partner. Not only do you have to know them, but you have to use their strengths and protect their weakness. Did you catch that? I said you must use their strengths and protect their weaknesses.

    Some tennis players are slow moving to their weak side. Others might have a strong right hand, but a horrible back hand. When you learn these weaknesses and strengths you are able to set up your partner in a way that they are going to look like a pro. So if my partner is not as strong going to her left, guess who will play on her left side? You got it. Now, if I don’t play on her left side once I figure out that this is a weakness for her, shame on me!

    If my partner has a strong right hand, then my job when I serve is to place the ball so that when it returns, it comes to her right side. Of course, it’s impossible to make this happen every single time, but you can manipulate that serve enough that it happens more than enough to win.

    Why would I want to do that you ask? Well if I view my partner as truly being my partner, I have her best interest in mind. If you are not sure of this, you need to have a heart-to-heart with your partner and see if she or he feels that you hold their best interest. What a wonderful opportunity life provides if the significant other feels that you don’t have their best interest. Take this challenge and honor your mate by letting him or her know that you admire their strengths and you promise to protect their weaknesses. Humility will make them say it back to you. Where as love means absolutely nothing in tennis, it means everything in true relationships.

    Tennis anyone?

  • The whole equals the sum of it’s parts?

    In some instances the whole does equal the sum of it’s parts. But there are other instances when the whole is either greater or less than the sum of it’s parts. Why does this matter, you ask? Well, to fully understand the scope of any relationship it’s important to know what each participant in the relationship believes about the whole.

    Aristotle is first credited with saying the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts. In theories of proximity the whole is equal to the sum. In relativity, Einstein is credited for saying the whole is less than the sum of it’s parts. His logic was that the sums are greater by themselves than they are with a whole. Think for instance about the Miami Heat. LeBron James makes less money being one of the stars as opposed to being “the” star. As an individual he is worth more than he is playing with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.

    So when it comes to relationships, there are some people who believe that the whole is greater than the sum. There are others who believe that the whole and the parts are equal. And still others who think that the whole is far less than the sum of the parts. If you are in a fulfilling relationship then it makes sense for you to believe that the whole is bigger than the sum of the parts because you and your mate both contribute to the relationship and sacrifice to make it work — for the greater good (the whole).

    Someone in a not so good relationship may feel that the whole is not worth the parts. Many who have gotten divorced have already arrived at this conclusion. If you have a lazy partner, or one who does not handle his or her business affairs properly, it makes it difficult to keep focused on the big picture (the whole). If you are the one that handles everything, makes all the money, takes responsibility, manages all the problems and you view your partner as simply another mouth to feed, then your whole is definitely less than.

    If you have recovered from a bad relationship and are on the rebound, you are now looking for balance in your life and relationships. You now begin to search for a relationship that will be equal to the sum of it’s parts. This new relationship is where the parts are “equally yolked” and you see your partner as an equal partner working in concert with you. You two are like-minded in thought and action and you share the same values.

    We find ourselves in various types of relationships. Right or wrong should be determined by the views of both parties in the relationship. If you are struggling in a relationship, I encourage you to seek counseling. EVERYTHING YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED CAN BE FIXED, IF YOU REALLY WANT TO FIX IT. All fixes take time. And if you both have a desire to allow the whole to be greater than the sum of it’s parts, then commit to making it work and seek professional help now.

  • Resolutions should be a way of life

    Of the 50 percent of Americans who make resolutions, 90 percent of them break their resolution by the middle of January.

    It seems that the end of a year gives us a temporary conscience. It bothers us enough to acknowledge that there are things in our lives that need fixing, but nothing about the New Year makes us want to do anything more than admit it and move on.

    We know that there are people who don’t need to be in our lives and there are things we need to just flat out stop doing. Whether that is ending a destructive relationship or maintaining a healthy blood sugar level, we need to be far more serious about this.

    Here is a practical way to keep your resolutions. Don’t do a resolution for a year; do them by the day, hour or even minute.

    A resolution is a way of admitting we’re wrong and need to be better regarding something in our life. Why not make the idea of resolving ourselves a way of life? What would be wrong with keeping the imperfection ever before us – even to the point of letting others know that you recognize the need to change in this area. Then legitimately work on it. Really commit to the change and raising the bar of expectation in your life.

    By doing this daily, I think you will find that those around you will begin to acknowledge a different you. After all, that’s what we all want anyway, right?