Archive for General
Welcoming a New Year, not dreading it
Well it has been a couple of months but I finally ran my race. I completed the 13.1 miles in less than 2 ½ hours with some of my closest friends. It was a great experience and I would highly recommend it for any of you thinking about running.
Now that I have had a break from that race and have sunk back into bad habits of eating and not running or exercising, I have realized how easy it is to get back into these bad habits. The reality is our nature is to be lazy and to just let things happen to us. When we do this it simply concedes to whatever other people or situations wish for us. However, if we are intentional with our actions, even forcing ourselves to do things that may but difficult but beneficial, we will live much happier and rewarding lives and even have a stronger impact on the lives of those around us. With that in mind here are my suggestions for goals (because resolutions too often fail) for 2010.
- Do things intentionally. This will help you fell much more in control and not like things just happen to you. If you think about things before they happen, researching the possibilities and acting in an informed manor you will be more successful and productive.
- At TL we are faith based. What this means is that we believe in order to live life better, God must be included in whatever is going on. In addition a relationship with his Son Jesus, has a positive infectious effect on your life. Not only benefiting you, but those around you as well.
- Complain less. I found that complaining while running only made things worse. I focused on how hard it was and it made me want to stop. In life if we focus on the negative it makes it harder for us to keep going. If we instead focus on the positive things, or even look for ways to make things positive, we will be much happier where we are and not always looking for a way out.
This is not an end all for how to live, it is only a start. If you have more suggestions for how you have lived life better, leave a comment. You never know the impact it may have on the person that reads it.
What I’ve learned about life from running
I never really thought I’d write something like this. Especially since I hate running. I know hate is a strong word but that’s pretty much how I feel. So why do I run? So I can eat what I want, comradory, and the feeling of accomplishment after finishing a race.
My reasons for running make it hard to come up with life applications. Every time I run I just focus on finishing (a blog for later). All that said here is the first thing I’ve goten out of it.
The more you run the easier it gets. How does this apply? Well in life, the more you experince and the longer you live the more you realize what is important. The more you start to put those things at the forefront of what you focus on.
I have now been running for about 3 years. When I started I could barely make it 2 or 3 miles. The thought of 13.1 miles made me almost sick. But as I worked up and added 1 mile at a time I realized that building gradually I was able to handle the amount of running I had set out to do. In life I’ve seen the same thing. Some people are forced to grow up more quickly causing them to not be able to handle their life quite as easily as if it hadn’t been rushed. I was one of those people. I had to be the man of the house starting in 9th grade. This has caused some problems, both in my relationship with my siblings and now with my own wife and kids. You see what happened was I was forced into a position I was not prepared for and learned to be “the man” in the wrong way. Now some of those wrong ways of handling parenting still exist and I am having to unlearn them and learn the way that my kids need me to be their parent.
In my running I am now able to say I miss it when I don’t get to run and I even say “I’m only running 5 today”, something I never thought I’d say. As I’ve increased mileage I’ve also increased in confidence and have learned that I can run that far. As I grow and mature I’ve learned that I can be who I need to be and that it takes being willing to learn that a little at a time to accomplish being able to keep moving toward the finish without killing myself.
This is only the beginning of what I have learned. I’ll be posting more. Please leave comments, especially ones that promote a Life Lived Better.
New, Exciting news
Teen Lifeline is excited to annonce a new additon to our staff. As of August 15th Chris Hatchett has joined Teen Lifeline as our Executive Director. Having previously served on the TL board, Chris is a welcome additon and will help Teen Lifeline better focus on helping teenagers in our community.
Chris brings 20 years of ministry experience and a passion for helping families in the North Tarrant community and beyond. He has worked with the Richland Hills Church of Christ as Youth Minister and more recently as Spiritual Formation Minister. His role in that and as our Executive Director will complement each other as he is able to utilize resources from both arenas.
Chris is married and has 3 kids of his own. His oldest being a senior and the youngest starting 5th grade this year. He has a lot of life experience to bring to the table to help others deal with the different stages in life.
As we press on Chris hopes to expand our vision and help us accomplish our goal of helping all kinds of teenagers in this community. This will happen through our programs, research, and networking, but also by being accesible to those that need him. If you would like to contact him please call the Teen Lifeline office or email him at hatch@lifelivedbetter.org. You can also read more about him on our staff page by clicking TL Staff.
Help me welcome Chris as we all seek to help teenagers Live Life Better.
Where is your worth found?
This really doesn’t need a lot of introduction. If you have 6 minutes it is well worth your time. If you have a daughter, like I do, it is even more worth your time. As you watch think about how you would share with your daughter, or a daughter you know, the importance of realizing where your worth lies. It is not in how you look, or how popular you are, but rather it is found in something, or someone, outside yourself.
The video disappeared from YouTube but you can find it through the link below.
Don’t let what the world holds up as most important be what drives you. Find something more important and use it as your motivation to be who you know you should be. Let that be what helps you Live Life Better.
Leave a comment about what you think about the video or about what it is that helps you know who you are. Who knows maybe it will help someone else as well.
New times, New Baby
Two things are really on my mind right now.
1. We have a new baby. She will be 3 weeks old tomorrow. We already had 2 boys who we love and are the best ever but she completes our desire in having kids by being our baby girl. It reminds me of a couple of things. First, how much being a parent is about being selfless. I am reminded every day how much I have to give to take care of my kids, not because I have to but because I choose to and I love them more than I want to do what I want to do. Second, it is tough. I don’t want to be selfless all of the time. Sometimes (okay a lot) I want to do what I want to do. It is hard sometimes to remember that I don’t get to do that anymore and so I keep giving, again because I want to, not because I am being made to.
2. Our world is changing so fast. Things always change a lot, but we really are in a time when things are really changing. From MySpace to Facebook to Twitter and hundreds more, our world is so saturated with information and messages sometimes it is hard to filter through it all. This is not about finding out how to do that, but a suggestion to parents to make sure that you set the foundation for your kids before they start (which is very early). As a parent our job is to be proactive in helping our kids grow up. If we give them nothing before they jump into the world of media, we will fail because they will be so overwhelmed. The foundation must be set starting at day one. To do this you must know what your foundation is and then pass it on.
As you read through this you problem thought about the first moments with one of your kids and hopefully about what your foundation is. Share those thoughts and memories and help the rest of us work harder at better ourselves for the good of our kids.
