Mentoring

Turning 45 with 50 Pounds Less of Me-Blog Post by Angel Flores

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About four years ago I weighed 257 pounds (although I carried it well :-).  I didn’t hate myself, but I knew I wanted to live a long life so I set a goal for myself: I want to dance at my grandkids weddings.  This meant I would have to live a long time and arrive there in good shape.

This started me on a path toward working out and changing how I look at food.  Like most people, I like to eat.  On second thought: I LOVE TO EAT.  It’s so central to who we are as people and since I love hanging out with people, enjoying company over a great meal makes the experience even better.  So in all of that hanging out, I packed on some pounds.

Sometimes the thing you want MOST will require you to give up something you like A LOT.  

Thankfully I didn’t have to give up social eating, I just had to change the way I did it.  I started doing Weight Watchers on my phone, got serious about working out and learned what it meant to stop eating when I was full.  That might sound funny to some, but I regularly ate until I was stuffed (hey I’m competitive). Now I haven’t been in full fitness mode for the whole last four years.  It’s been a journey and sometimes I get serious about it, other times I slack off and plateau.  In January I was 223 pounds.  I had plateaued there for a while between 218 and 222.

So in January at my church, we each chose “one word” for the year.  A single word to provide focus and direction for the year and mine was “press”. Part of that “press” for me was to choose a physical goal for myself so I chose to enter a jiu-jitsu tournament in May. I had never done jiu-jitsu before but that’s another story.  I decided to enter in the 200 pound weight class so I had about 4 ½ months to drop 22 pounds.

The reason I’m boring you with all of this is because yesterday was a milestone for me in a couple of ways:

1.     I turned 45 years old. Man, I have had a blessed life, I have a beautiful wife and some amazing kids.  I am surrounded by great friends and family, I pastor a great church and I have more than I’ve ever deserved.  I also have many friends who didn’t make it 45 times around the sun so I don’t take a single day for granted.  I’m happy to turn 45.

2.     I weighed in at 207 pounds.  That puts me at 50 pounds lost since I began this journey.  I know I still have a way to go, but I’m glad to be where I’m at today.

This whole fitness thing is a journey.  For what it’s worth, here are a couple of things I’ve learned:

1.     This is a marathon, not a sprint.  Make small changes that you can sustain over time.  Next time you go to the grocery store, buy a few healthy things you can munch on when you watch TV.  Start out with some kind of exercise you enjoy.  Don’t kill yourself, just focus on a small sustainable change.  If you change a little everyday, over time that equals a lot.

2.     Don’t beat yourself up.  You are where you are because of the choices you’ve made.  Just accept it and move on, don’t dwell on it.  Don’t revisit it.  From here on out, you will make better choices, not just for you but for your spouse, for your kids.  Decide you will dance at your grandkids weddings (maybe even on the bar!)

3.     You’re probably not exhausted, you’re just uncomfortable.  If you’re not used to exercising at all, one walk around the block will seem exhausting. But chances are: you’re not exhausted, you’re just uncomfortable.  When you’re uncomfortable, you have a choice to make: will I quit or will I push past this, even just a little?  Exhaustion is rare, but being uncomfortable is going to happen, EVERY WORKOUT.  So learn what that feels like and push a little past it every time.  Over time you will find that line moves as you get in better shape.

I hope this encourages somebody.  Thanks for reading, talk to you soon.

Building A Masterpiece-Guest Post by Houstan Aragon

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When you hear the word Masterpiece it invokes a certain image to everyone, and that image can be vastly different from person to person. The experts say that when you study something for 6 years you will obtain a Master’s degree in any number of fields in education. According to Webster’s dictionary  a masterpiece/s is a work of outstanding artistry, skill or workmanship–An artist or craftsman’s best piece of work. Well this got me thinking about all the factors that go into a masterpiece; having a Godly gift, patience, perseverance, humility, diligence and discipline for a great period of time while continuing to ever so slightly tweak the process so that the next time it becomes easier.

Thinking of doing all of these principles and how you then begin to apply them to the many facets of life; I believe the bottom line is change. I’m sure that we have all heard that the one thing in life that is constant is change, and as oxy moronic as it sounds, it is absolutely true. If you are not doing at least one thing every day to better yourself from the day before than in essence you are going to fall behind. Which brings me to the beginning of this year of 2018. In lieu of setting another New Year’s Resolution that I will mostly not accomplish, I chose to focus on one word and using that word in all the aspects of my life for the betterment of myself and those around me. The word I chose was Change.

   Recently I feel there has been a lot of transition happening in my life, and I feel like I am not on solid ground as I have been taking on great challenges that have been earned and bestowed upon me. The way I see it, I can either rise to meet those challenges or I can succumb to my fear of doubt, fear of regret, and fear of not being good enough to handle these new and scary responsibilities while knowing all my failures and short comings from my past.

Here are a few things that I have gained from the Lord and His word:

  • The regret of doing or not doing, the failures you’re holding onto: God can take those experiences and teach you wisdom.
  • The pain that cuts you to your core when you feel that you have let yourself or others down and the disappointment that comes with that: God can and will use that you draw you closer and closer to Him.
  • Your life is never too messy for God, as He is our maker. The things in your life you feel ashamed of, how broken you may feel at the ugliest of moments are the exact things that God will use to mold you into precisely who you are meant to be and that is what make you, YOU! It is the parts of a tapestry of those experiences that makes each of us works of art.unnamed

When we bring our messes, mistakes and insecurities to Him and go all in, laying it all down before Him, He can then make us into His perfect masterpiece.

I thank you Heavenly Father, which you have taken my messes and transformed them into such beauty. Doing Your work in our lives with intention, much as a craftsman does to perfect each work into a Masterpiece.

Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a pure Heart, oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit with in me.”

Faith-Guest Post by Eric Gibson

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Hi, my name is Eric Gibson and I have been at Mosaic for about two years now.

I came from Los Angles, Ca., and once I got to Colorado the first thing we looked for was a church. My former sister in law told us about a church she was listening to online. She told us the pastor (which was pastor Angel and his wife Diane) was coming over to talk and have dinner, and she invited us to join them. It was great! He told us about his church and asked us to check it out.

We lived in Loveland at the time and the church was about a 20-minute drive from our home. It was in the winter, snowing at the time, and I was thinking that’s a long way to go to church! You know, for me to drive and deal with snow in my wheelchair. But, I did go and it was great. The best thing for me was the greeters at the door. The smiles on their faces were so helpful, the hugs, and handshakes were awesome. I felt the word of God was deep to me and I made my mind after the first visit that this is where God wanted me at.

I got involved in the Discovery class to find out more about Mosaic and to find out how I could be a part of the Dream Team. After a while Ray and Caiti, the youth pastors, asked me to be a part of the youth group and of course I said yes because my past is all about the youth.

As a former gang member from L. A. I have been working with the youth for about 25 years. In 1993 I was shot five times in a drive by shooting, leaving me paralyzed from the waist down and using a wheelchair for the rest of my life. So, I felt this was the best fit for me. Working with Ray and Caiti is great and of course the youth also are great. I have been able to share my testimony with them is several ways.

I truly love this group and watching them grow in the word of God has been amazing. Just a few weeks ago I had my good friend Anne Kleehammer donate books to all of our youth. The book is called, Ten Secrets of Overcomers, and it’s about ten great people and how they have overcome some traumatic events that happened in their lives. And yes, I am one of the overcomers who is able to share my true story of triumph. I believe the youth is our future and youth at church is the best way to help them understand the good and bad things of this world. My job, along with Ray and Caiti, is to give them the best understanding that we can from different perspectives, and that is what we do. We have a great time with them every Thursday night at Mosaic at 7:00 pm.

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One of the greatest things for me, is when Ray and Caiti went on vacation and asked me to take over the class a few times and trusted me with the group. We had a blast and it gave me time to get to know the youth in a better way. Thank you guys for trusting me with Gods youth!

To me this is what church is about- to help them understand the Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.

The people at Mosaic are the Church, it’s not the building and that’s why I love my church and I will continue work with the youth here. Thank you to Ray and Caiti, Pastor Angel and Diane, and the Dream team for welcoming me into Mosaic.

Someone will help you

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This week I was reminded of a book I read years ago called: “Self-Made in America” (by John McCormack – if you haven’t read that book, read it). This book taught me the power of asking people to mentor you.  Since then, over the years I’ve asked various people to mentor me and to help me grow.  When they agree, then in each instance, I take it upon myself to make the meetings happen.  I will call or email them (or their secretaries) to get me on their calendar and then I will drive (sometimes hours) or fly to meet them (all on my dime) so that I can spend an hour with them because they have some bit of knowledge that I want.  It might be an idea they’ve developed, a skill they possess that I’m trying to refine or they have achieved a step I’m trying to take.  Whatever the case, I want something from them, so I pursue them and I make it happen.

If God has burned a desire in your heart, He has also provided you the access you need to the people that can advise you on how to make it happen. But if you sit back and wait to be given “a shot” it won’t happen. Most often you have to make the first move. That usually begins with SERVING. You’ll never be given a platform to preach on, a song to sing or a class to teach if you’re not willing to mop some floors, run a vacuum or hold a door open for somebody.  When it’s time for you to do what God wants you to do, NO ONE will be able to hold you back, but until that time, stop trying to promote yourself, just be faithful and let God build the firm foundation in you now, so He can add on the weight of responsibility later.

Be faithful, serve and God will do His thing when it’s time.  That’s some free mentoring right there.  😉

Thanks for reading, talk to you soon.

Angel Flores

Lead Pastor – Mosaic Church