KnightOfHvn

I'll toss in another for Calm. I'm a fan.

My first thought on reading that was, "Dude, that sucks." Then I had to laugh.

I feel pretty safe to talk here, so I'll give it a shot. I'm a fairly traditional Christian. I hate the hymn "Just As I Am"...I have only heard it once where it wasn't sung as a dirge requiring me to put my head down and beg for death or deafness as a form of freedom. I do follow some of the Law that was laid down, but only some. I heard enough of the arguments about some of the cruel seeming laws that were in place in the Old Testament and simply point out to people that Jesus said in the New Testament that there were two important rules: Love God with all your heart and Love your neighbor. Everything else is tied up in that. As for some of the debates that get stirred up, the things that make me mad and no one seems to see that they're doing it is that anyone who berates Christians as bigots is being bigotted themselves. You pick a single one and their actions prove you right, go ahead. You attribute me with someone else and it's going to be a fight (my temper is one of my sins I'm working on.) I've pretty much been of the mindset of "You aren't breaking the law, you aren't hurting anyone, it doesn't cost me money and you're not doing it on my lawn? I don't care." I may disagree with you, but it will be an intelligent debate and will end when you, I or both say "We're going in circles, let's just drop it and move on." Thank you to all of you who may disagree with me on my foundation, but are willing to just acknowledge that I'm different from you and that doesn't hurt anyone.

1. Design and write the script for a video game 2. Step foot on all 7 continents 3. Try Capoeira

When I was in college, I worked a stint in a tire factory doing the 7 to 7, Friday through Sunday. Took me forever to get back to normal after the contract ended...I remember some of the other workers and I would sneak out to just sit under the stars because we'd forgotten what the night looked like.

That made me laugh. We've often said that we need Mr. Jackson to run our Helpdesk.

Oramac just described a variation of my lifting list. I do Tai Chi, too, so there's some oddball New Age tracks in there, too.

I wanted to just reply, but I'm glad I got to see this comment before just hammering on it. It doesn't have to be profane. Heck, telling someone to "Go self-fornicate" and watching the stupid expression on their face is pretty satisfying. I've had comments. I weigh 322, if my scale at home is accurate. Been on steroids for several years, still managed to lose a few pounds and am working on a set of goals. My coworkers used to rib me about it until I made it clear that it was off limits. Losing your temper when you're the second biggest guy in the room, grabbing someone by the front of the shirt and getting nose to nose with them as you ask "Was that wise?" tends to do that...but I had to apologize later. The jokes did end, though... That being said, I agree with most of what is being said here. I don't think size matters for appearance reasons. I do know that it limits you. For me, the key point is: are you healthy? The women in the room are going to snipe me for this, but my wife and I had to have this conversation regarding both of us, which started my journey here. I'm a kidney transplant recipient and being overweight hurts the kidney. I work every day on that. I told my wife that I was worried about her weight...because she was the donor almost seven years ago. Six months ago, we find out that her biological father (no communications, just for explanation sake) had to have a transplant due to his diabetes. She has it all through her family, has shown a few potential signs and now this. If you feel bad and want to do something, do it. Fight for it. I'll pray for you on my good Christian days and light your enemies on fire on my days I need forgiveness. Just make sure your healthy.

Part of me feels like I shouldn't have opened this thread. Reading some of the entries had me back in sixth grade, the chubby kid in sweatpants, staring at the pretty girl across from him as she says, "I don't care if you fail me, I'm not dancing with that." I could hear the italics. I never understood PE. All of my instructors except for one was a heavy set male, tucked in shirt, whistle and a hat. They all yelled, they all said that if you didn't hit their markers, you were a failure. My eighth grade year, the madman of the day told me that I had three pitches to hit the ball or he was going to hit me in the stomach. Missed two, hit the third...and almost took off his head. "Satisfied?" It wasn't until my last PE coach that things turned around. He pulled me aside before the first day, "You don't want to be here, do you?" "No." "You've had some ***holes for PE teachers before, right?" "Yeah." He was quiet for a second. "I looked at your grades over the years. Ds and Es in that, As and Bs in everything else. You dress out every day and you try, you'll get a B, I guarantee it." I never worked harder for a PE coach in my life. I liked that guy. Amazing attitude for a Football Coach.

It's hard to say that to a parent sometimes, I've seen my wife struggle with this a bit. She's always stunned when I do it to her father. I'd first lay out the ground rules. "Mom, I'm working on it. I've made [XYZ changes, I'm doing this, I'm walking every day, I'm kicking a goat and making it chase me around the block, whatever...] You calling me and bringing it up makes me feel like I'm not accomplishing anything and is being discouraging. I understand that that's not what your goal is, but it's what your succeeding at." Then suggest limiting calls. Make a point of saying that you aren't trying to kick her out of your life, but that she's pushing you into negative spaces with her questioning you. Finally, only if you have to, make it clear that the limits are going to be enforced whether she agrees to them or not. Just because the phone rings does not mean you have to pick it up. I do this all the time. It sometimes keeps me from saying something to someone that I will regret later. Another thing to do is look at the behavior. If she's done this all your life, then now would be a good time to remind her that your an adult, that you will have to make your own mistakes and successes and that you know you can ask for help. If she hasn't done this all your life, what's the trigger? You don't have to share here, of course, but I've seen adults I work with do this when the last kid leaves the house or if there is a death in the family. I don't know what could have caused it here, but if this is a new behavior, you might suggest to her some of the things from the blogs. Maybe she needs to join a church group or a club or something with social interactions. Just a few thoughts. Good luck and I'll pray for you.

Dunn, NC here, so not too far from you guys. I'll keep a look out for a meetup opportunity.

I've seen some good mottos here. Mine depends on my mood. The angel on my right shoulder says: Galatians 6:9 "Do not become weary in doing good, for at the right time you will reap a harvest if you do not give up." The devil on my left, however says: "Dreaming frees the soul, energizes the spirit and allows you to do things that would get you thrown in jail if you really tried them." Of course, there's always my fall back, "Sleep is for the dead, I'll worry about it then."