Dear ___________
I've been wanting to write to you for some time and today's the day. It's time...before the second half of this year begins.
Yes, Monday is July 1st. We're at that point in the year already.
Part of my delay in writing you is that I didn't quite know exactly how to say what I wanted to say. But then this morning (Saturday) at 6:47 a.m. I heard the call, literally.
It was the sound of a crow, or a group of crows. They were making that calling/balking sound that they are prone to do when they begin to fly. And that reminded me of the old saying, "As the Crow Flies."
You know what that saying means, don't you? The crow flies straight to its destination. I does not take the round-about way. No detours. No excuses. No wasted energy.
There is the destination and there is the way to the destination and straight-away the crow flies...just as it was meant to be.
I don't know about you, but as I look back over the past six months of 2013 I can see that I have taken too many round-about ways. Too many round-about ways in ministry. Too many round-about ways in life.
I'll eventually get around to talking about fitness in this missive, but first, let's not miss the larger picture. There are certain times in life when it can be helpful to take stock of where we are, where we long or feel led to be, and how we might most directly get there, Lord willing.
Granted, life is a journey and parts of that journey do involve unexpected twists and turns and detours that are filled with deeply meaningful (if not, at times, painful) encounters and experiences along the way. Part of our life is wilderness journey.
But while in the wilderness there are those daily routines to which we must attend. There are no detours in that regard.
Just as in the days of old, food must somehow be garnered, cooked, and eaten. Utensils and clothing and oneself must be washed. Relationships must be attended too. A "to-do list," whether written or plainly obvious, must be completed or at least attempted.
The cumulative affect of one's attention (or lack of attention) to these daily routines can become apparent over time. Measure it however you will, but don't kid yourself--every day in one way or another has an affect on the future.
Yesterday I was re-reading David Allen's organizational book "Getting Things Done." On pages 246-247 he mentions that:
"Long Term" does not mean "Someday/Maybe." Those projects with distant goal lines are still to be done as soon as possible; "long-term" simply means, "more action steps until it's done," not "no need to decide next actions because the day of reckoning is so far away.
And so today I turn to the long-term gift of health and the daily action steps of healthy eating and exercise. This mid-point in the year is a good time to reflect on such things and, if we've been meandering off the path a bit (or a lot!), heed the call of the crow and take a more direct route.
At some point you've expressed interest in taking better care of the body God gave you or you wouldn't be on my list. And perhaps you are already well on your way in that regard. If so, that's awesome and I most certainly applaud you.
Perhaps you know as well as anyone the difference that those daily exercise and nutrition routines make in one's life. Perhaps you can look back over the first half of this year with a feeling of thanksgiving and maybe even a certain sense of accomplishment. For you, what I have to offer may simply be another means for doing what you already do. An option you may or may not want to add to or exchange with something you are already doing now.
On the other hand, perhaps you've been doing pretty much anything and everything BUT taking care of the body God gave you. Perhaps you've expressed interest in various fitness programs (mine and/or others) but pretty much left them all fall by the wayside.
It's actually possible to allow well-thought-out excuses to become a way of life.
"I will THINK about that but not do anything!" can become another task on a perpetual "to-do" list. "Yep, I 'THOUGHT' about that and didn't do anything again. I'm keepin' the faith baby!" Check.
To be honest, even though I've tried to make my system as excuse-proof as possible:
--just 9 minutes/day
--moves that are adaptable to almost any fitness level
--able to be done at home or anywhere else
--able to be done with little if any equipment, etc.
there is really nothing I can do to over-come another person's excuse-driven mentality. That has to come from within. It has to be seen as an escape from what my bishop refers to as "the tyranny of the shoulds" and be seen more along the lines of "look around, the harvest is plentiful..." Taking care of our body is an opportunity and an exercise (pun intended!) in stewardship. It's a way of giving thanks.
I'd like to help you take care of your body beginning on Monday, the very first day of July (my birthday month) and the first day of the second half of this year.
If you've been waiting for me to cut to the chase, it's a simple offer of
23 workouts for $23.00 PLUS a 5-day Vacation Workout series.
More notable than the workouts themselves, however, are the daily e-mails themselves and the video of me doing the workouts too. They serve as subtle reminders to workout and examples of how to do so.
The other day I went to Chicago for a conference and I took my video camera along to film my workouts. One was done in my hotel room. The other was done just outside the hotel on a nondescript side-walk with a mud-puddle off to the left. You could see the Motel 6 sign in the background.
Soon thereafter one of my subscribers wrote:
Pastor Kent, I just wanted to compliment you on your willingness to publicly display today's workout on the streets of wherever you are. That in itself was a witness!
--Best Regards, Butch Piper
ps - I found today's routine to be yet another glute kicker. It seems it's the simpler ones that get me!
Thanks Butch. And yes, I'll include a complimentary link to that video at the bottom of this e-mail.
Anyhow, you can get off to a great fitness start for the 2nd half of this year in EITHER of the following two ways:
IF YOU WISH TO PAY BY CHECK, simply sign up on this link AND then mail a check to: Kent Wilson, 20240 Twp. Rd. 60, Jenera, OH 45841
IF YOU WISH TO USE PAYPAL, click HERE.
Once signed up, you'll receive an e-mail (you might find it in your junk folder) with a Confirmation link for you to click. Once you click that confirmation link, all other details will arrive via e-mail within the next day or so.
The program includes:
--a daily e-mail (for weekdays) with a listing of the day's workout and a link to a YouTube video of me demonstrating the beginner, intermediate, and advanced version of each move in the workout followed by me actually doing the entire 9-minute workout
--An e-mail with the 5-day Vacation workout package
--Money-back guarantee. If you're not happy, I'm not happy.
--MP3 file with the timings for the workouts
--Instructions for how to secure the optional two-stage timer
By the way, each day's workout is a full-body workout that includes 12 total rounds of exercise, usually comprised of smaller "circuits." Each round of exercise includes 18 seconds of focused activity followed by 27 seconds of rest. In all you'll only be exercising for 3 minutes and 36 seconds a day (12 rounds multiplied by 18 seconds). But make no mistake, it IS a workout!
Okay, so about a minute ago I literally heard another crow calling. I suspect the call could mean a couple of things. It could mean that it's time for me to close off this letter and go directly to my next activity. It could also mean that it's time for you to take the direct route toward better fitness by taking advantage of this offer. But only you can answer that call.
May the second half of your year be blessed,
Kent
P.S. I'd love to say that you have plenty of time to think this over, but the reality is that Monday (and the second half of this year) is less than a weekend away. So NOW is the time. Besides, for $23 bucks I give you over twice as many workouts you'll find in most of those highly infomercialized "systems" and without all the hype.
IF YOU WISH TO PAY BY CHECK, simply sign up on this link AND then mail a check to: Kent Wilson, 20240 Twp. Rd. 60, Jenera, OH 45841
IF YOU WISH TO USE PAYPAL, click HERE.
Either way, let's take a straight path toward fitness beginning on July 1st.
P.P.S. The outside-the-hotel workout video can be seen HERE.
P.P.P.S. Please feel free to share this with whomever else you believe might benefit. Perhaps you can connect with them more directly than I.
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