Day 19

Good workout this morning.  I hit the groove with my ab exercises, and I did 237 lbs. on the leg press, which is about 20 lbs. higher than I've been doing.  I'm still not happy about driving to the gym in the dark, but there's only so much complaining you can do, right?

I want to mention something today about motivation and teamwork.  Ecclesiastes 4:12 says that "a cord of three strands is not quickly broken."  Too often we assume that each of the three strands needs to be doing the same thing for this to work, so we fail to get started on something if we lack another person with the same needs.  Here's one truth:  no one else has the same needs as you.  Similar, sure, but never exactly the same.  And while three strands of a rope are pulling at the same weight, each one has to carry a slightly different part of the load to work.

My other two strands aren't hitting the gym or doing any kind of special diet.  In fact, one of them doesn't even really know what's going on.  My wife has been supporting me ever since she realized I was serious about doing this challenge.  She's made do with a house that isn't as clean as I usually try to leave it for her, and she's bought food and fussed over me every time I've weighed in and then taken off my shirt for her.  Let's face it, that's a great motivator.

The third strand is my daughter.  I decided a couple months ago that my daughter isn't going to know her skinny daddy.  She still has a year or so before she'll start having those early memories, and I want the daddy she remembers to be the one I want to be.  Quick fact--your children marry people like you.  And on that front, it's definitely not about the weight or how I look.  I want her to remember a daddy who is disciplined and strong.  She is my third strand.

Today's prayer country is Vietnam.  Believers in the south of the country have an easier time than those in the north, especially in areas where anti-Christian gangs exist and are sometimes hired by the government to cause problems for local believers.  One such gang attacked a church earlier this year.