Here is the topic for this week:

Topic: Oprah has popularized the phrase, “Best Life” with a series of shows centered around so-called “experts” talking about how to have, “the best life”.    What is your definition of a “best life” and how do you think [...]]]> Please take the time to read through this post and make comments below.  

Here is the topic for this week:

Topic: Oprah has popularized the phrase, “Best Life” with a series of shows centered around so-called “experts” talking about how to have, “the best life”.    What is your definition of a “best life” and how do you think you are — or are not— fulfilling your conception of it?

I honestly don’t think I have ever seen the “Best Life” series with Oprah.  Maybe being one of only two men in this blog-off (and the other one came up with this topic) that might put me at a disadvantage…I don’t know.  But I do think about what an “ideal” life would be, so I will go off of that.  

I hate to admit it but the ELCA does have a model of wellness that I would like to achieve one day.  It is called a “Wholeness Wheel.”  There are six areas of wholeness that I believe anyone can achieve and if they do; I believe that they will be living a better life if not the “Best Life.”  

Everyone wants to be healthy.  People get healthy physically not only to look good but to feel good and live longer.  As we get older we start to see that bright light at the end of the tunnel and we want that tunnel to continually get longer not shorter.  

I would give myself a low grade on my Physical well-being at this point.  But I am making strides to get healthier and healthier everyday.  As I mentioned on this blog earlier I have lost over 30 pounds in the last year and I am working hard everyday to staying on track and lose more.  I hope to participate in a triathlon this September with the goal of at least finishing.  I hope by this time next year  I will be able to say that I am in much better physical condition.  

From the ELCA website

“Being emotionally well means feeling the full range of emotions and expressing those emotions appropriately.”

I think there are four ways that I maintain emotional well-being

1. Spend time with my family – I love my family more than anything else in the world.  When I come home from a good or bad day at work my kids come up to me and give me hugs and kisses and it makes even the worst day seem bright.  I love my wife and the more time I get to spend with her the better I feel.  She understands me like no-one else can.  I feel lucky to have a great family.
2. Working out-  I love the feeling after a good work out.  I find that when I am starting to feel stressed and overwhelmed I need to hit the gym and spend a little extra time working out.  It helps me relieve all the built-up stress inside of me.
3. Music -  I am a musician at heart.  I love to turn the radio up in my car and sing along.  I also love to play my guitar for hours on end.  Music gives me that creative release that nothing else can.
4. Friends — I have the greatest friends in the world.  When something is wrong in my life they are there for me and I can’t ever thank them enough.  One of the reasons why I love facebook so much is because I am able to connect with my friends even more.  I believe that my friends are the smartest people I know and I always seek advice from them.

From the ELCA website

Whether we are introverted or extroverted, regular social contact is essential for health. 

This is one area that I feel like my wife and I need to improve on.  I am very extroverted and she is very introverted so the way we view our social contacts is different.  Like I mentioned above I love facebook because I am able to relate to my friends on a daily basis.  One thing that is hard for my wife and myself is that most of our friends do not live in the same area as us – so facebook, email and phone calls are our best form of contact.  My wife and I are also new to the area (we have lived here only a year).  We came to CNY not knowing very many people at all and it is taking more time than I would like on meeting people our age that we are able to hang out with on a regular basis.  We continue to work on this and I know that things will turn around sooner or later.

Intellectual well-being

 I can say that I have never been the smartest person in my academic career.  I have never qualified myself as a scholar.  But I do hold a bachelors degree and a Master of Divinity degree.  I am very proud of my accomplishments because I have worked hard for them.  I do like to keep up with my reading and studying, I think it is very important to keep your mind working, otherwise I believe it will start to shut down.  I will always be a student and seek to learn more and more not only professionally but in other ways as well.

Vocational well-being

I never really understood why people are in jobs that they hate.  I have had only one job that I really hated in my life.  I worked there for about 14 days and quit and found something else that I enjoyed much more.  I need to be challenged where I work otherwise I am not satisfied.  I realize that jobs are sometimes hard to come by — however do what you love or you will never be happy.

I do love the job that I have right now. I believe my calling in life is to be a pastor.  I love hearing faith stories from people, I love being there for people during their celebrations and during their more difficult times in life.   I can’t imagine doing anything else in life and being this happy.

I believe that we need to be spiritually healthy as well.  I have friends and family members that do not have a realigous base in their life and I do actually question that decision.  I do not understand what happens when difficulties happen in their life who do they put their trust in that things will turn out okay?  I put my trust in the one who I believe created me and who loves me and who promises me that things will be okay.  When I am having a crappy day I know I can turn to God and pray.  

I will never forget when I was at Luther College, I was having a tough time personally.  I prayed with a friend, we prayed for my family we prayed that God would take all my problems and place them on His shoulders and I believe God did.  That night I cried for 45 min.  It was all the pain, hurt, anger and sadness coming out of me. I felt as though that burdens that I had been carrying for so long were lifted off of me and I felt free once again.  It was a good feeling.

I think of that time in my life when I believe that I am not as spiritually well off as I would like to be.  Right now I think I am at a good place because the last few months have been tough in some ways.  It is when times are tough that I start to fall away from my spiritual disciplines and it is then that I realize that I need them the most and I am able to turn back and pick things up again.

Financial well-being

I can honestly say that money is one of the biggest stresses in my life and the lives of the people I come across everyday.  90% of the debt that I carry is in student loans.  I can honestly say that I am disappointed in the way that seminaries are structured in that regard.  Pastors are generally in the top 25% in education but in the bottom 25% in pay (or something like that).  But that is another blog post for another day.  

We work hard at becoming more and more financially secure. I know it takes time and that is the hard part.  We are at a point right now in our lives where we want to feel secure financially.  It is important — and I know I have lots to learn when it comes to financial success.  I read blog posts daily and I use the YNAB system to help keep finances straight and I abide by the philosophies of YNAB to help us think differently about our money.  

Overall I believe that things are going okay right now in my “Best Life” – I believe that overall I have a pretty good wholeness wheel.  I don’t think it will ever be perfect but I believe that it is a good way to think about your life and how you can have a “Best Life.”

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Here’s how it works:

Enter the challenge between January 1, and March 31st, 2009. Web-based entry form found on this website for offical rules and information.

Use the Cinch Inch loss plan to lose weight and inches and get healthier!

Submit before and after photos (really good ones) along with your [...]]]> Shaklee is sponsoring the Cinch Biggest Loser Challenge!

Here’s how it works:

Enter the challenge between January 1, and March 31st, 2009. Web-based entry form found on this website for offical rules and information.

Use the Cinch Inch loss plan to lose weight and inches and get healthier!

Submit before and after photos (really good ones) along with your Cinch success story (with total weight and inches lost) by June 30, 2009.

The biggest losers will share in $100,000 cash award, with $25,000 going to the grand prize winner, $10,000 each to the next 5 Biggest Losers, and $5,000 each to the next 5 Biggest Losers. Stay tuned for launch of the new website and more details.

For more information on Shaklee’s Cinch Inch loss program, click here

______________________________

I am not eligible to participate in this event but I am willing to help anyone who wants to participate. I have personally made a commitment to lose weight with Cinch this upcoming year. Please let me know if you have any questions!

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There is a great article [...]]]> In an attempt to take my new year’s resolutions seriously I am going to do the best I can to have a positive attitude.  We can put blame on so many people and things and events around us.  The only way that I can succeed is to believe that I can succeed.

There is a great article in Time that explains this way of thinking and the results that can happen from it.

Here is proof positive of our responsibility to ourselves and our fellow men/women learn and practice the art of happiness, regardless of circumstances. I think also this is why the positive, commited, enthusiastic and forward-looking Shaklee family is so attractive to us. Let me know what you think!

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I thought it was a cool thing to have and my intention was to really [...]]]> One of the most popular “hits” on my blog is my list of 100 things to do before I die. I am not sure if people get past that list and read other parts of my blog but it is popular.  

I thought it was a cool thing to have and my intention was to really work on it.  I wanted to really work on the things in that list and if not do them, have plans on doing them in the future.  But for the most part that list has sat idle since I posted it. 

I now have a new list…..since there are so many parts of my life – personally and professional that I would like to improve I have created a list of 13 aspects of my life that I would like to focus on.  Each item I will focus on for a month and my hope is to get it to a place where I can feel like I am maintaining that part of my life instead of trying to make a change (if change is necessary).  

I will post the list in this post and then I will create a new page and I hope that you check in from time to time to see how things are going.  I am also going to look at my list of 100 things I want to do before I die and I will update it and see if there are connections that I can make to other parts of my life. 

The List:

13 Personal things to work on

1.        Weight loss

2.       Exercise

3.       Personal Organization

4.       Family Contact

5.       Friend Contact

6.       Budget

7.       Savings

8.       Spiritual Life

9.       Work on my Novel

10.   Work on my Devotional book

11.   Play my guitar

12.   Learn more about cheese

13.   Dog Training

13 Professional Things to work on

1.        Youth group

2.       Sunday School

3.       Senior Ministry

4.       Inactive Members

5.       Evangelism

6.       Community out reach

7.       Worship

8.       Read Two theology books

9.       Plan Grilled Cheese event

10.   Committee Organization

11.   Visioning

12.   Visitation

13.   Future planning

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The natural way to take responsibility for reducing household pollution

Do you need a ”Danger” sign on the door on the door of your house?

Did you know the average home today contains more chemicals that were found in a typical chemistry lab at the turn of the century.

Long-Term Health Hazards of Household products. Most poisonings happen slowly, over [...]]]> Environment Safe Cleaning

The natural way to take responsibility for reducing household pollution

Do you need a ”Danger” sign on the door on the door of your house?

Did you know the average home today contains more chemicals that were found in a typical chemistry lab at the turn of the century.

Long-Term Health Hazards of Household products. Most poisonings happen slowly, over a long period of time, by daily exposure to toxins in the air, and toxic chemicals that come into contact with the skin. Household products are among the most toxic substances we encounter daily.

What are the Dangers?

A three year old died a lingering horrible death after swallowing 3 oz.
of hair conditioner.   Two weeks after drinking the liquid, which
contains ammonia, the little boy died.
A seven month old died after crawling  though a puddle of spilled laundry bleach,
which gave him 3rd degree burns on 50% of
his tiny body and burned his   lungs from the fumes as well.

Why did these children suffer?

If only they had never been exposed to such hazardous chemicals. Every year, five to ten million household poisonings are reported. Many fatal, and most of the victims are children.   According to the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition,  the average American home has
3-10 gallons of hazardous materials lying about.

In 1993, 1.8 million human poisonings were reported to the poison
control centers in the U.S. Ninety-two percent of the poisonings took
place in the home and 60% of the cases involved children under the
age of five. Many household chemicals may cause subtle and long
term health effects such as
cancer, birth defects, liver damage, or nervous system damage

The real tragedy is, accidents like these can easily be avoided.

Toxic Brew Movie

So what is the solution?

Safe, Effective GREEN Cleaners

Our Products are especially for people who work to reduce the toxins in their personal environment.   These products are just as effective and much more cost-efficient than the name brands people   use.
Look at cost comparison list:  Click here
Some Examples:
Window cleaner – $0.01 per 32 oz.
Spray and Wipe – $0.02 per 16oz.
Super spray plus – $0.20 per 16 oz.
Germicide spray – $0.02 per 16 oz
Fine washable – $0.14 (1tsp in sink)
Laundry prespot – 1.18 per 16 oz
Liquid Laundry- $0.42 per large load
Softener –$0.03 per load in wash
- $0.04 per load spritzed in dryer
Dishwasher Concentrate – $0.16 per load

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Everyone seems to have it, it does not matter if you have a planned routine or not.  What we do in life becomes a routine.  This really became evident to me this morning when I woke up late.  See when you have children you are use to not setting the alarm because more likely than [...]]]> Routine –

Everyone seems to have it, it does not matter if you have a planned routine or not.  What we do in life becomes a routine.  This really became evident to me this morning when I woke up late.  See when you have children you are use to not setting the alarm because more likely than not the kids are up at some crazy hour in the morning.  But yesterday morning they slept in until 8:00am.  This threw my routine off.  I had to rush to get ready for work then I arrived at the office about 20 minutes later than I normally do.  In doing so I missed three phone calls.  But that’s not the biggest problem for me right now.

I don’t want to get into a bad routine which is something most pastors fall into easily.  I don’t want to put my ministry and my family above my personal needs.  I don’t want to have poor personal care habits which I have seen first hand over and over again….I also had terrible personal care habits while on internship.  I want to be able to get up in the morning and go to the gym (once we find one to join) and I want to work out and then have a nice breakfast and work reasonable hours.  I want to be able to recognize when I am at the church too long and I need to go home.  I want this church to be “daddy’s church” for my children instead of “daddy’s home” which it was on internship.

It is easy to get into a bad routine — to get caught up in the work day and stop at McDonalds for lunch instead of eating the healthy lunch that is packed.  It is easy to say that tomorrow I am going to start going to the gym instead of doing it NOW. It is easy to stay alittle later at the church to finish Sunday’s sermon instead of going home to put the kids to bed……It is harder to START a good routine but once it is started it will make a world of difference.

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