Most of you know that one of my favorite hobbies is training for and participating in Triathlons. Exercise is a wonderful way for me to stabilize my emotions and cleanse my spirit.
About 6 weeks ago I got word that the Ohio Ironman Triathlon had been postponed until next year.
Was I surprised? Not really.
Was I disappointed? Heck yeah.
For a couple of weeks, I kind of floundered with my training schedule and my flap of skin around my belly that I refer to as my “geriatric roll” began to blossom.
Lori must have sensed I was a bit lost and/or observed my “geriatric roll” coming back and out of nowhere said, “You may not be able to do triathlons this year but you can always do a Jayathlon.”
“Jayathlon” is a term we coined years ago where I would pick a day and do a triathlon all by myself.
I begin the “competition” with a swim in the pool at the Piqua YMCA and proceed to jump on my bike and ride the bike trail for several miles and then throw my bike in the back of my truck, put on my running shoes and run. I usually cap this gargantuan effort off with three Spanish hotdogs with cheese, a large order of fries and a large root beer from BK Root Beer in Piqua.
That was probably TMI…but who cares?
Lori’s words got my rear back in gear.
For the last four weeks, I’ve been training for a “Jayathlon” scheduled for late September. This past week I found myself cruising through my workouts and not needing as much time in between workouts for my body to recover. My key performance indicators (KPI’s) were indicating that I was back in racing shape.
It took me two weeks to get out of shape and four weeks to regain my fitness level.
It’s that way with everything we do when it comes to setting and achieving goals.
If you want to become really good at something, it takes practice.
Our goal as Christians is to not simply believe in Jesus it is to become followers of Jesus by putting into practice His way of living.
Believing takes little to no work.
Living His way takes practice.
It’s one thing believing I can do an Ironman triathlon, it’s another thing putting in the work to actually accomplish the goal.
How much time are you spending with Him each day?
Said differently, how much time are you spending training your spiritual muscle?
Are your thoughts, words, and deeds, representative of a person who is following Christ, or are they of someone who simply believes? Many times the behavior of a believer-only is no different than the behavior of a nonbeliever.
As I noted previously, I have key performance indicators (KPI’s) that tell me when I am in race shape.
What KPI’s reflect that you are in Jesus-following shape?
Paul created some great Jesus following KPI’s almost two thousand years ago:
- Love
- Joy
- Peace
- Patience
- Kindness
- Goodness
- Faithfulness
- Gentleness
- Self-control
BTW…I took up tennis and the drums as hobbies a year and a half ago and suck at both because I never practice. I “believe” I will be good at both…someday. 🙂
P.E.A.C.E.
Jay@EagleLaunch.com
