This IS the day

For those that don't know we have been having all kind of things going on with the family this year. Don't get me wrong it has been a great holiday and Christmas season but there have been some struggles we have faced that we may not have been able to get through if each of us in the family didn't have one another to lean on. Believe it or not I am going somewhere with this.....

Today I was at church with Haley (Whitney was visiting her mom in the hospital so she was not able to make it) It was the first service of the new year and there was a great energy in the room and a big message on the screens about 2013 and the new year. The sermon that was given today spoke to me and inspired me to write this so I figured I would. I told everyone I would be posting more this year and really have not yet but decided this was the best start to a new year to start posting more often again.

The scripture reading was Psalm 118:24 "This is the day the LORD has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it" Now I am not going to spend any time going over what was said in the sermon because that would not do the Pastor Mack Strange any favors as there is no way I could relay the message with the same passion and meaning that Mack gives in all his sermons but I can say this, most of which came from the sermon. Each of us no matter who we are is given the same 24 hours in our day, we all spend those 24 hours trying to cram WAY more time into those 24 hours then we can. I know I am very guilty of it, I spend all kinds of time working my two jobs, trying to be a family man, and studying for my CISSP test (that I passed by the way) and didn't spend the time as meaningfully as I could have during the holiday season. There is one thing about time, when it is gone it is gone, so that time is away but that does not mean I don't have the rest of today and every new day to make the most of it, to wake up and rejoice in the day that I have been given. Think about that for a minute, don't spend time wondering what you are going to be doing the next day or worry over how much you have to get done and how you are going to get it all done. Just wake up and rejoice in the day you were given and make the most of it, if you don't get everything done or it ended up not being a great day because of work, a fight at home, some bad news, whatever just know that soon that day will be over and tomorrow is a brand new gift.

Here is my challenge to everyone, make the most out of your day, spend your time to the best of your abilities, peal yourself away from the TV or Facebook and do something meaningful with your time. Spend time with the family, go for a walk, call someone you have not talked to in a while, volunteer somewhere, sit and pray with someone that needs it, or even walk up to a total stranger or someone you see running and tell them how awesome they are. You never know what a small thing like that can do for someone and their day.

Over the Christmas time the family (Whitney's idea so I won't take credit) focused on making the time about giving and others. We did things such as giving out cookies to the police and firemen, and both of us kept candy canes in the car with little notes on them that we could hand out to whoever we wanted. You would be amazed at the big smiles and the thank you's I got from something so small, what you do to make an impact on someone does not have to be huge, the smallest things can make the biggest difference. Perhaps the person you give a cookie to has had hard times and has not eaten in a day and a half. Perhaps the runner you see is taking their first run after an event that kept them off the road, perhaps even you are finding someone that is taking the first step towards making a change and is worried about the road to come and that one little "way to go" is just what they needed to hear to know they can do it. You don't have to move mountains with a bulldozer, it can be done one stone at a time.

Anyways just something to think about.

We all have long days

I am just lucky enough to have three of them every week for the last 5 weeks now but that is OK because I only have six more long weeks to go. Give me a minute to explain what I am talking about. It is very important to me that Whitney gets to stay home with Haley and work with her everyday on becoming a better child. I am not saying there is anything wrong with putting your children in day care at all there are several out there that are great and they all are held  to high standards. (At least her in TN they are) I think that it is everyone's wish  to be able to have a parent stay home with their child when they are young. I am just blessed enough to have found a way to make that happen.

How it is done

Here is how I do it. I work two (three if you count my Beachbody Coach) jobs. The first one is a full time Senior Technology Consultant for Kraft Technology Group, I help small and medium businesses with IT needs so they don't have to hire a staff, and I now am helping the IT audit group with bank compliance audits and things of that nature. My second job is an Information Technology and Information Security instructor at ITT-Tech. This is where the long days come in. Three days a week Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday (Yes EVEN FRIDAY) I finish my day job at 5 PM and drive 11 miles (normally takes about 40 minutes in Nashville traffic) to ITT where I work from 6 until about 10:30. It goes without saying that it can take a toll on you and make you really tired the next day just so you can wake up and do it all over again. On top of all that I am usually doing a Beachbody fitness program that has me working out up to an hour a day six days a week. Schedule balance is key here!!

How I do it

I wake up everyday at 5 AM sometimes a little sooner depending on what I have going on that day or where I am starting my day, a client office perhaps. I do this so I can get my workout in, for me not getting that little bit of sleep in the morning is worth the benefit I get from working out each day..and trust me the benefits are there you can tell from the pictures I put up in the last post. Once I am done with the workout I have a pretty darn scheduled morning up until work. I eat the same breakfast just about everyday with some changes so I have to cut up my apple, cook my four eggs, heat the oatmeal and decided what type of yogurt I am going to have. Once I am done it is clean up and lunch packing time. I pack my lunch for work everyday, not only does it save money but it is also a great way to see some weight loss. Too many restaurants have meals that "appear" to be healthy but in the end they are very far from it. When I pack my lunch each day not only do I now what I am putting in my body but I know all the nutritional information on it as well. (Huge deal for me) I enter everything I eat into My Fitness Pal and I will talk more about that in future posts. You should check it out because it is free and easy to use. Packing lunch everyday only take about 10 minutes because I normally have a good idea of what I am going to have when I go to bed so it is just a matter of getting together in the morning.

Where does the energy come from?

This might sound crazy but most of the energy comes from the fact that I do wake up early and workout each day, it really starts your day off right and gets the blood going which wakes you up. Not to mention it releases endorphins in the body that puts you in a better mood, and trust me in my lines of work it is needed! I also drink one meal replacement shake by the name of Shakeology everyday, normally as a snack or as a end of dinner treat. It is super healthy and has the same nutritional value of hitting a salad bar 5 times. I truly believe this has a huge impact on my daily energy and mood as well (because that is what my wife tells me) I will go more into Shakeology in future posts but if you want to learn a little more about it you can WATCH THIS VIDEO it gives you all the info you need about it and if you have any questions you can comment below or contact me directly. Think of it as putting premium gas in your car, the better the fuel the better the performance, and that goes the same for the body. 

Why tell you all this?

I go on this rant not to tell you how awesome I think I am (not the case at all) but to show you that a little planning and dedication can really go a long way in starting your journey to a better you. Remember nothing starts without a first step and having a clear plan in that first step, set a goal of what you want to be better at then pick the tasks that you need to do to head to that goal. Once you have that you just start banging them out one at a time until you get there. I was telling Whitney the other day that once I accomplish something it seems much less impressive to me (that is my own flaw) but I have gone from being a 265 lb person to the person I am today who just happened to run his second half marathon  this year and is planning on hitting the treadmill at lunch today to run a 5K. Small steps lead to huge results.

Justin