Day #176: Can't Stop for Nobody

Galatians 5:7 (NIV)You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?

Day 176 was electrifying for me as a believer!!!

You never know what's going to happen jogging in the hood! Especially when you don't have headphones to make you look busy in the groove. Since I didn't have headphones on, it was an open invitation for people to try to talk to me as I jogged by.

I saw a young boy (around 16) who I've known for years but haven't seen in awhile. He was a PSK (Preacher's stepKid) from a church where I use to throw concerts at long ago when I was his age now back then(did you catch that? lol!). Since I last seen him, His step dad & mom split, dad moved out of town, Mom got cracked out & he is being raised by the streets.

As I was running, he sort of skipped towards me, looking like he wanted to talk. 1 universal rule about running is that you don't stop running for nobody! So I acknowledged him & kept it moving. Wanna know what he said really loud for my sleeping kids 3 blocks down to hear? "You ain't gon stop (for me)?" He obviously didn't know the rule.

Here's the punchline

As I jogged back around the 2nd half of my loop, he saw me again! This time, realizing I wasn't going to stop, he starting jogging with me...in his school clothes. He realized that if he wanted to talk to me that he was going to have to run with me. Some friends of his saw him running with me and said "you trying to lose a few pounds also?"

Once we parted ways, I jogged half a block and was back home! I wasn't tired at all! In fact I was amped! I probably could have jogged another 2 miles because of how I hyped I was.

Spiritual Application

As a Christian, you can't let anybody stop you from running this race! In order to achieve the prize, you can not stop! If anyone asks you to stop (in the form of a man/woman, popularity, money, you name it), you must keep moving! When you decide not to stop for anyone, people will either diss you or get with you. Those who really have your best interest or are intrigued by you will get on your level to be with you. Don't compromise. What's rewarding is when you allow your faith to be open, people will notice & it will open the door to share your faith in Jesus Christ with them! And that my friends will charge you up.

Be encouraged today! Don't stop for nobody!!! (I know, poor english lol)

Bless God,

Regis aka K-Drama

Day #50: Undignified Run (Praise)

If I had to describe my run with 1 word, the word easily would be "Undignified."

I weighed myself this morning & I lost another 3 pounds!!! I have lost a total of 19 pounds in less than 2 months (50 days)! Wow! My faith being put into action garners RESULTS!!! Starting to see why today's run was "Undignified"?????

If you don't then keep reading...

I was STUPID AMPED! I woke up an hour early and was wired! I grabbed my phone, loaded my songs and ran with grace. I gave little to no thought to my body and I noticed that was already half way through 1 mile before the 1st song ended! I was running like a madman!

Well I finally started feeling the burn from running so hard, but I pushed through it and got a 2nd wind. I was on my final stretch (a little more than 2 blocks away from home) & I thought to myself "I got nothing to lose, so let's lose it all" and I ran full speed. I was dumb tired, but then out of nowhere,I started PUSHING MYSELF! I started saying "Make War" & "you can do it" really loud and HONESTLY COULD CARELESS WHO HEARD ME (trust me, I was LOUD!).

As a result of pushing myself, I ran my fastest mile @ 9 minutes and 35 seconds! I beat my record by 1 minute and 3 seconds! It was worth it and my body was SHOCKED! It's still tired as I write this blog. But that's definitely gonna add tone and definition to my body!

So get to a level spiritually where you could careless about dignity. Lose your dignity that you may accomplish the aptitude God has created you with that our Father may smile upon us!

Day #43: Sin Hurts, But There's a Grace Period

Day 43 I felt just as sluggish as day 1! This 1 is kinda long, but if you real the entire "essay" (lol) I know it'll encourage you.

3 minutes into my jog I felt so bad! My sides hurt! My stomach hurt (not from eating too much either), my legs hurted also! Before I even started, I didn't have a will to run. And I know exactly why!

Before Thursday, April 8th, I had been eating super healthy! I was working out 5 times a week. Jogging 1 mile M-W-F & weight training on Tuesday & Thursday. I had the mentality of keeping up this regime throughout my 3 1/2 day stay in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

When I touched down @ UNC on Thursday, I didn't lift weights or anything b/c my flight was early in the morning. I figured I'd do some push ups, crunches, etc. after I touched down @ the college. However, after I touched down, I was SUPER HUNGRY and needed something to sustain me for the next few hours. Since we were on a College Campus, the students/alumni that hosted me decided to take me to an ALL YOU CAN EAT dining hall! There was so much food to choose from. However, the problem was that 97 % of the food was unhealthy and the 3 % that was healthy wasn't the best on the menu as far as taste.

Day 1 of 3 1/2 @ UNC-I ate a burger w/o cheese (the bun was bad though...carbs) a salad with lite italian dressing, chicken noodle soup & an apple juice. For dinner I had a 6 inch turkey sub (no cheese), apple juice

Day 2 of 3 1/2 @ UNC-I THOUGHT I was eating vegan food (I made my status about this so you may have seen this) but really the sign was WRONG! I was wondering why the food was so good! I was led astray. Also my next meal wasn't until 3:30am the next morning (very bad to eat that late at night, but I was EXTREMELY HUNGRY AFTER RAPPING AND PARTYING FOR THE LORD!

So by Day 3 of 3 1/2 @ UNC-I didn't care anymore. I rebelled. I ate 2 chicken biscuits from Bojangles (at least I had OJ w/ it LOL), a Chipotle styled burrito & 2 cups of very sweet tea.

And finally Day 3 1/2 of 3 1/2 I ate another Bojangle biscuit (this time porkchop) with more sweet tea! When the prodigal returned home, I tried to eat right with a chicken caesar salad from Target, but it was NASTY! I ate some chicken noodle soup when I got home.

This is why I was in pain while I ran. However, I never stopped and b/c of that, I actually ran my fastest time of 10 minutes and 38 seconds (I beat my fastest time by 17 seconds).

The thought that came time to mind is that sin hurts but God's grace is sufficient! A lot of time we feel bad b/c of whatever sin or sins we commit. And as Christians we should feel bad (conviction). However, 1 sin doesn't wipe away all the good stuff you've done. But 1 action by Christ Jesus does wipe away all of our sin. It is not our actions that save us. It's His grace. So keep running, knowing that His grace is more than enough. And while you're running, eat healthy and hang around people who eat just like you. Phillipians 2:12.

Day #36; The Stopwatch Doesn't Lie!

Day #36 I was AMPED!

I had a lot going for me today mentally. I saw my stomach going down, I've been eating better & I just knew I was losing weight. So I just wanted some more exercise to contribute to that!

I gotta admit, I wanted to be able to write on here today that I beat my fastest 1 mile jogging time. And guess what ya'll? I shattered it by 40 seconds. I ran a mile in 10 minutes and 55 seconds! Whew!

I felt good running today. My dude in the faith that lives in my community (he's actually coming over tomorrow to help me on a track cause he's a drummer) saw me running and he cheered me on! That's when I really started running fast.

Some days you may not feel like running. But everyday won't be like that. Some days you will feel like running! Be encouraged today.

Day #35: 11/1440 minutes

Day 35 carried no motivation initially.

I woke up this morning like "run again"? After my alarm went off, I wanted to hit the dismiss button & go right back to sleep.

You would think losing 11 pounds in 1 month would serve well over enough motivation to keep exercising because keeping that pace up would garner great results. But it didn't. I still just felt like being lazy.

In the bed I kept thinking, "What if I ran the past few days? Where would be at in my goal right now? I can't let another day go by in which I don't do what I commit to do."

Then the thought came. The time I exercise is a very small fraction in my day. Usually it takes me 11-12 minutes to jog a mile. There are 1440 minutes in a day. This is only temporal. For the rest of the day I will be proud that I am working towards my goal. That motivated me today!

I know I even feel like this spiritually sometimes with my talent. Though I have accomplished a lot to only be 25 musically, these things have little to do with my motivation. If I relied on those things for motivation, I would be 1 lazy dude, wasting his life away. Initially what we do is temporal. But somethings will have an eternal effect and some things will die when it's finished.

So I try to think like this. What we do to gratify ourselves only satisfied while doing it. Most times we end up regretting what we did and we feel more empty. But what we do for Christ will last forever. So choose today whether or not what you do will expand the hole in your soul or it will fulfill you through Christ Jesus.

Day #30: The Natural Tummy Tuck

I really needed Day 30!

I hadn't ran since Wednesday due to sick children & the fatigue of traveling & the demand on my services!

I woke up today like "I'm not going to let 1 more day go by where I don't work out like how I been working out"

Before jogging, I weighed myself & I was very confident that I lost weight b/c when I look in the mirror, I noticed my stomach didn't hang over my pants like last week or the week before. So needless to say, I was optimistic.

I stood on the scale and it read 236.8! WOW! In 30 days, I lost 11 pounds on my own with God's help and support from my community of friends and associates! No P90x, no insanity, no program. No diss (pun intended) but good ol will & discipline did the job. I actually exceeded my goal for what I wanted to lose this month. I wanted to lose 10 pounds! I beat that by 1 pound!

Also, I jogged a mile in 11 minutes & 36 seconds. This is my fastest time by 1 second! And I'll take it!

Today is been a good day. All the HARD WORK truly does pay off. Going to continue to watch my sugar, watch my carbs, watch my salt, eat healthy, drink plenty of water & of course, NO SODA!

Day 17: An Effortless 11:42

Day 17 challenged me in such a good way.

I didn't know if I was going to be able to run today b/c I woke up a hour late and I still needed to spend time in God's Word & pack my bags for my 6 day trip to San Antonio/Austin, TX for the SXSW festival!

Nevertheless, I have became a pro at travel b/c I pack my bags so much. It has became automatic. So I had 30 extra minutes! I went in the bedroom & told my wife "I'ma go run real quick"

I grabbed my iPod out the car and went for a mile. Usually I gradually increase in speed as I run. This time I didn't. I wasn't mentally prepared to run. I haven't ran a mile since Day 12 (Friday). It's been 5 days.

However, when I crossed the invisible finish line, I noticed that my time was 11 minutes and 42 seconds. That's my 2nd fastest time,beating Day 12 by 10 seconds. I was only 5 seconds away from smashing my fastest time!

DO YOU KNOW HOW ENCOURAGING THAT WAS!!!???

So imagined if I would have gradually increased my speed! I probably would've beat my record by at least 15 seconds. Plus I haven't ran in 5 days and did that!!!??? OH I'm excited about running Friday (Day 19). I'ma have to map out somewhere to run b/c I'll still be in San Antonio.

Well be encouraged today. Don't underestimate yourself! Go hard by faith!