Pastor A

At least I have your attention… now of course I don’t think YOU are stupid – it would obviously be others… In fact, growing up in West Virginia, we were forbidden to even use the word “stupid,” so I apologize to my mother when she reads my post.

You ask, “So you think people are stupid?” In answer to your question, no, I do not think people are stupid. I know people are stupid. Sorry, mom.

First, let me explain what I mean by the word stupid. If you do not know any better, then you are ignorant. If you know better, then you are stupid. There is such a big difference. I will forgive you (for a while) for not knowing any better. The ignorant cannot really help being ignorant. But once you know what you are doing and do nothing about it, then would not that fall under the category of stupid? Is there forgiveness for knowing and not doing?

So you don’t believe me and are perhaps “offended” by my introduction today. Allow me the opportunity to prove it to you.

STUPIDITY FACTOID #1

We eat things we know are not good for us. We eat things that make us fat, clog our arteries, raise our cholesterol, and lots of other harmful things. Even after we are diagnosed with these problems and are told exactly what not to eat and what we should eat, we still eat the stuff that is bad for us! We continue to eat the stuff that will eventually kill us. Do you call that intelligent?

Perhaps an interesting comparison: we know that suicide is a sin. None of us would argue that statement. Why is it that shooting yourself and ending your life in a split second is a sin, but overeating, smoking, and drinking (which kills you over a 30-year span) is not? The end result is the same. It must not be killing yourself that is really a sin after all. It must be how long it takes to do it.

STUPIDITY FACTOID #2

People put things that are full of carcinogens and other toxins in their mouths or light them up and suck hot fire and smoke down into their lungs. Does that sound like an intelligent thing to do? No, it sounds pretty stupid. Then after being diagnosed with cancer, or emphysema, or some other death-causing problem, they are told that the only way to live is to quit smoking, yet many still continue to smoke. What is that really called?

Of course the simple thing to do is to sue the company that makes the cigarette because they made a product that gave you cancer. How smart is that? They did not give you anything. You willingly went out and spent your own money, stuck the cigarette in your mouth, and fired it up. You did it not once, but thousands upon thousands of times. You must have wanted cancer. The tobacco company printed the warning on the label telling you that you would get cancer if you smoked their cigarettes and you still bought them and smoked them anyway. We need people who will take responsibility for their choices!

Tomorrow we will look at #3 – if you are not too mad to return tomorrow!

Have a great day – make wise choices today – Don’t try today; DO today!

Now that I have returned from China, I return to blogging about our Do 12 in 12. How are you doing on your 12 goals for the year 2012? I am ahead on my reading and behind on a couple of my other goals. I am going to get caught up!

However, one of the areas that I have been reading is in the area of health and the progressive destruction that Americans have with their own bodies. It is quite disturbing! So I have decided to merge some of the experiences that I’ve had with counseling and that which appears to be true regarding our health.

I am becoming more convinced that you do NOT have to be sick… generally speaking. Just hear me out over the next couple of days before you dismiss my thought process. I believe that for most people, you can be healthy. It is a choice. I would like to encourage you to choose to be healthy. You ask, “Are you saying that I choose to be sick?”

I believe that you choose, on some level, everything you are experiencing in life. And yes, even sickness to some degree. Here is my argument: when you are full of frustration and negativity, your body reacts in negative ways. As a result, you will not sleep well. You may end up with stomach problems or even get ulcers. You will be nervous. You will have migraines. You will accelerate the aging process. You may develop high blood pressure or heart problems. Your immune system will become affected. Some even believe that negativity can even result in cancer and other devastating illnesses.

I do not have medical training to be able to prove any of what I just wrote, except that I have read those who are in the medical profession. Across the board, they agree 100% with what I just wrote. However, I am sure of this: psychological and emotional problems always manifest themselves physically. I know for certain from personal experiences that when the stress levels are lower, I sleep better. My body has more energy and functions better on every level when my life is right spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.

Is this all an oversimplification of health and illness? Maybe, but I like it simple.

I do know this for certain, there are things that you can do to become healthier. Your health is a temporary condition. It is on a sliding scale and it can and will change in either direction. And except in extreme cases (and sometimes even then), your health can be changed by things as simple as diet and exercise.

I have concluded that until we are ready and willing to DO something different about our current situation, we will continue to be unhappy, lazy, and unhealthy. So, over the next couple of days I would like to lay out a case that we MUST DO something about our personal lives through diet and exercise. I certainly recognize that I am not an expert in this area, but I have read, studied, and researched this area so it is time that I at least put it in writing. I know this: Nothing will contribute more to your health than a proper diet and exercise. But then again, you know that already.

I find it increasingly more fascinating that people “know” how to feel better and live better; yet, they choose NOT to do it. It is time to DO!

Don’t try today; DO today!

Chicken Dinner – including head

Friends: Mr. and Mrs. Andersen

Teenage guys at midweek meeting

Friends: Mr. and Mrs. Tolson

Four day old baby!

Mexican food in China

Group of friends at Red Orange Restaurant

My buddy: Ava

Another friend: Mrs. Laterza – acting as herself!

Another good friend: Jesse

I had the wonderful opportunity to meet on Saturday morning (15 hours ahead of Tucson) with one of our TBT supported families for breakfast. We were able to discuss different ways that TBT can help his ministry. After breakfast, around 8:45 a.m., I walked to a “Christian Bookstore” around 1.5 miles from the hotel. This was the actual sign on the building. They had a large variety of Bibles and dozens of books that you would recognize that have been translated into Chinese. While at the bookstore I secured a wonderful gift for the children of TBT. Or at least I think it is cool… we shall see!

After returning to the hotel, I checked out from my room and took my last taxi ride to the airport. The driver dropped me off at Terminal 3 and I walked to the United counter. It took less than two minutes to check-in. I took the subway train to the “E” terminal and then cleared security without any problems. I had around 1 1/2 hours to kill so I went to Pizza Hut for lunch. This was my first American food in a week and it was quite delicious. I then boarded the plane and we set on the runway for forty minutes before takeoff. The flight was uneventful and we landed a few minutes early (10 hours and 18 minute flight) at the SFO airport. I cleared immigration without incident, retrieved my two bags from the carousel, and then proceeded to clear customs. For the very first time in all of my travel, customs stopped me to inspect my bags. It turned out to be a minor inconvenience.

I then boarded the plane for TUS and texted Jonathan to let him know I was on my way home. He texted back, “Tucson or Phoenix” and then I called Shelli and she said she was headed to Phoenix as soon as visitation was over. A simple text – it sure averted a disaster. So I am home and it feels great to be back in Tucson.

So… today (Saturday) will have 37 hours in it instead of 24 hours. One can definitely accomplish much in a longer day! The trip to China was great, as always. It is amazing to see other families serving the Lord in China and to see so many Chinese Christian families. Now that I’m back I will try once again to upload a few photos from my trip.

My blog has been blocked here in China so I am going to type quickly before it goes back down. It is actually around 23:45 on a Friday night here in Beijing. I just finished a four hour dinner meeting with three of the supported families here in Beijing.

A couple new adventures have happened outside of the scheduled events. Everything we do is by taxi cab, so I have been in a couple hundred taxi cab rides in all of my trips in China. Yesterday the taxi cab driver missed the turn to get to the hotel – so instead of going to the next exit and navigating his way back to the hotel, he does a u-turn and goes against the expressway traffic back to the exit! People were blowing their horns and flashing their lights. I was ducking for cover! First time that has ever happened in such a scary manner; only to be followed today with an even more frightening event. I jumped in the taxi this morning and the female taxi driver turns left out of the hotel into oncoming traffic. The highway in front of the hotel is a two-lane highway and it is one way. She is talking on her phone and trying to use her stick shift and going the wrong way. A huge bus is coming toward us blinking his lights and blowing his horn and she does NOT move out of the lane. The bus swerves and misses us by a few feet. She is oblivious to the fact that she almost killed us and that she is going the wrong way on a one way street. I said “STOP!” I open the door and get out of the cab! I still don’t think she has a clue what happened.

The second incident which was interesting to behold and all of my China team members will be able to picture this… I arrive at the Silk Market today for a couple hours of walking around and looking for any deals. As I walk in I see my “best friend” as she calls me. I said that I would like to pick-up an X-large North Face jacket and that I would come back later to pick it up. I didn’t want to carry it around while I was at the market. She said, “OK” and that she would hold it until I came back. I walked around the market for about one hour when I noticed something strange. There were police all over and they were carrying bags and dragging the bags on the ground. They were full of… you guessed it… North Face jackets. They raided the market today and took every North Face jacket they could find. You must understand that there are seven stories and hundreds of vendors!

I go back to see my “best friend” and she said, “You should have come back sooner. Would you like a ‘Jeep’ jacket now?” I guess North Face had complained about all of the knock offs and so the police handled it. So no North Face jacket on today’s trip to the market!

I met a genuine Chinese Christian at the market today. I was looking at her shop and she asked me, “Do you worship Buddha or God?” I said I worship God and asked her who she worshipped. She said she was a believer and that she goes to a house church in her apartment building. Even through broken English she was able to tell me her testimony and it was sweet.

Yesterday I was helping one of our supported families with their daughter’s coat. Her sweater was pulled up inside the arm of her coat. She looked at me and said, “My mommy does it better.”  Although, after reading her a Dr. Seuss book, we were pretty good friends.

The Chinese government is now allowing bookstores to sell Bibles. This is a major breakthrough and really eliminates the necessity of ever smuggling Bibles into China. It is now legal for a Chinese person to own a copy of the Word of God and they can even buy a copy at the Three-Self Church or a bookstore. In fact, tomorrow morning I am going to the local bookstore to look at the Bibles on sale and to take a couple of pictures before I begin my journey back home.

I am meeting for breakfast with one of our supported families to discuss camp. There is a real need for workers so I am going to find out the details and see if there is anything that TBT might be able to do to help.

Tomorrow much will happen… breakfast at 7:30, walk to the bookstore, gather up luggage and take taxi to airport, check-in and wait for flight to leave, travel for 18 hours before arriving back in Tucson. I guess it is time to head for bed.