iamsureofthis

My name is Matt and this is my blog.

I'm designing a vocational program for adults with developmental disabilities at a non-profit in Plano and my wife teaches at a daycare in Las Colinas.

I enjoy reading, writing, and thinking.
I run. A lot. Like Forrest, only I shave.
I like bacon, coffee, and peanut butter.
I love Jesus, His Church and my wife.

  1.   This morning my pastor, Caleb Southerland, shared more about the four week of fasting our church family is embarking upon. More details can be found here, but for accountability purposes, I’m sharing how Rebecca and I will be participating. The four weeks are broken down between food in week one, time in week two, noise in week three, and unnecessary spending in week four…more details on that link I shared previously. Here’s how we’ll participate: Food - Sweets. It’s no secret I burn thousands of calories a day with my workouts, but often I use that as an excuse to throw down on epic bowls of yogurt, cookies, and delicious cupcakes. So, beginning Monday, Rebecca and I will be forgoing desserts, sweets, sweeteners, and other added sources of sugar and focusing our prayer on unity in our church and with The Church. Time - Social Media (both) and food logging (me). Rebecca and I spent the last few days thinking through what we spent the most time doing outside of the necessities like work and sleep. We both spend a lot of time i the Social Media realm and it’d be impossible for me to completely comprehend how much time I spend logging each bite of food and each step of exercise. So, Rebecca and I will be deleting all social media apps on our phones and I’ll skip logging my workouts and meals while we focus our prayers on a culture of grace to overwhelm, transform, and exude out from our community. Noise - Unnecessary phone calls and texts. Rebecca and I both make many calls and texts, and that’s not a “bad thing.” But often they can morph into noise. So, Rebecca and I will have our phones, but use them for emergencies only and focus our prayer for influence in our families, jobs, neighborhoods, and cities. Unnecessary spending - eating out, random purchases. Rebecca and I enjoy eating out, but for this week we’ll stop doing so and also make only purchases that are necessities and focus our prayer for the planting of churches and missional communities. Pray for us and our wonderful church during this season of letting go of the world and pressing into the person of Jesus.

    Full image link →

    This morning my pastor, Caleb Southerland, shared more about the four week of fasting our church family is embarking upon. More details can be found here, but for accountability purposes, I’m sharing how Rebecca and I will be participating. The four weeks are broken down between food in week one, time in week two, noise in week three, and unnecessary spending in week four…more details on that link I shared previously.

    Here’s how we’ll participate:

    • Food - Sweets. It’s no secret I burn thousands of calories a day with my workouts, but often I use that as an excuse to throw down on epic bowls of yogurt, cookies, and delicious cupcakes. So, beginning Monday, Rebecca and I will be forgoing desserts, sweets, sweeteners, and other added sources of sugar and focusing our prayer on unity in our church and with The Church.

    • Time - Social Media (both) and food logging (me). Rebecca and I spent the last few days thinking through what we spent the most time doing outside of the necessities like work and sleep. We both spend a lot of time i the Social Media realm and it’d be impossible for me to completely comprehend how much time I spend logging each bite of food and each step of exercise. So, Rebecca and I will be deleting all social media apps on our phones and I’ll skip logging my workouts and meals while we focus our prayers on a culture of grace to overwhelm, transform, and exude out from our community.

    • Noise - Unnecessary phone calls and texts. Rebecca and I both make many calls and texts, and that’s not a “bad thing.” But often they can morph into noise. So, Rebecca and I will have our phones, but use them for emergencies only and focus our prayer for influence in our families, jobs, neighborhoods, and cities.

    • Unnecessary spending - eating out, random purchases. Rebecca and I enjoy eating out, but for this week we’ll stop doing so and also make only purchases that are necessities and focus our prayer for the planting of churches and missional communities.

    Pray for us and our wonderful church during this season of letting go of the world and pressing into the person of Jesus.

  2.   Upcoming Races… FWRC Labor Day Race - 15K (9.3 miles), September 3rd  - I’ll be running with Gary, a fellow worship pastor from Ft. Worth. Rebecca will also be doing the 5K and gunning for a sub-36 time. NTTR Rugged & Raw Trail Race - 20K (12.4 miles), September 29th  - This’ll be my first trail race at the Cedar Ridge Preserve and Rebecca will be volunteering at the aid stations. Rockledge Rumble Trail Race - 30K  (18.6), November 10th Also in the more distant future…Turkey Trot (8 miles), Santa Run (3.1 miles), and the New Years Double…back-to-back marathons on NYeve and NYday.

    Full image link →

    Upcoming Races…

    • FWRC Labor Day Race - 15K (9.3 miles), September 3rd
        - I’ll be running with Gary, a fellow worship pastor from Ft. Worth. Rebecca will also be doing the 5K and gunning for a sub-36 time.
    • NTTR Rugged & Raw Trail Race - 20K (12.4 miles), September 29th
        - This’ll be my first trail race at the Cedar Ridge Preserve and Rebecca will be volunteering at the aid stations.
    • Rockledge Rumble Trail Race - 30K  (18.6), November 10th

    Also in the more distant future…Turkey Trot (8 miles), Santa Run (3.1 miles), and the New Years Double…back-to-back marathons on NYeve and NYday.

  3.   It’s time for a race report! Looking back, I’m still blown away at what God has done in and through me in less than a year exercise-wise. The exercise leg was the final leg in my “race” to get healthy and fit. By the time I started running, I had lost about 40 pounds (288 to under 250) by diet alone. The diet was the easy part, I never thought I would be able to run…hated it as a kid in school, and didn’t like the idea of a 250 pound bearded wonder running through the heat of summer 2011. But run I did… Long story, short…I kept a healthy diet, regularly exercised (5-6 days a week, no less than 30 minutes a day), and began to compete in running races to keep things interesting. My first “official” 5K was run in 41 minutes…but good enough for third place (only three guys my age!!). I kept running, the distances kept lengthening, and the times kept running. In fact, December 2011 I ran a 5K in 23 minutes and have since run that distance (not in races) in just under 21 minutes. In March, I ran my first marathon while battling IT Band Syndrome in 5 1/2 hours. March is also when we moved into our apartment in Valley Ranch and shortly thereafter purchased a used Trek road bike for $200. I had only hoped the bike would keep be fit while rehabbing the ITBS…little did I know what was just a few months a way. I check Running in the USA everyday, specifically for races around Irving to get to know people in my running community. One day I noticed a Triathlon and thought, “Why not?” So two weeks ago (Memorial Day), I started swimming. I continued I run and bike, knowing these two legs would be of no concern come race day. My form in the water is terrible, but I kept a fairly respectable pace, had an open water swim under my belt, and had the fitness that’d make up for the rest…I was ready! So, on Sunday, June 3rd, I jumped in the water with all the My First Tri participants to swim 300 meters, bike 12, and run 2 miles. The gun went off and so did I… I finished the swim in just over 7 minutes, the bike in just under 40, and the run in 15. My transitions were quick, and my final time was 1:08…good enough for ninth place. The atmosphere was electric, the course was hard but fun, and finishing in the top ten was a nice bit of icing on the cake. But that wasn’t even the best part. The best part was having my lovely wife by my side the entire time cheering me on, encouraging me to give it my all, and making the entire event seem like one long date with the one I love. I am so thankful for her support while I’ve gotten healthy…she’s been by my side every step, and I most certainly couldn’t have done it without her. Up next? Olympic distance triathlon, followed by a half Ironman, and then an Ironman. Also, swim lessons. ;)

    Full image link →

    It’s time for a race report! Looking back, I’m still blown away at what God has done in and through me in less than a year exercise-wise.

    The exercise leg was the final leg in my “race” to get healthy and fit. By the time I started running, I had lost about 40 pounds (288 to under 250) by diet alone. The diet was the easy part, I never thought I would be able to run…hated it as a kid in school, and didn’t like the idea of a 250 pound bearded wonder running through the heat of summer 2011. But run I did…

    Long story, short…I kept a healthy diet, regularly exercised (5-6 days a week, no less than 30 minutes a day), and began to compete in running races to keep things interesting.

    My first “official” 5K was run in 41 minutes…but good enough for third place (only three guys my age!!). I kept running, the distances kept lengthening, and the times kept running. In fact, December 2011 I ran a 5K in 23 minutes and have since run that distance (not in races) in just under 21 minutes.

    In March, I ran my first marathon while battling IT Band Syndrome in 5 1/2 hours. March is also when we moved into our apartment in Valley Ranch and shortly thereafter purchased a used Trek road bike for $200. I had only hoped the bike would keep be fit while rehabbing the ITBS…little did I know what was just a few months a way.

    I check Running in the USA everyday, specifically for races around Irving to get to know people in my running community. One day I noticed a Triathlon and thought, “Why not?”

    So two weeks ago (Memorial Day), I started swimming. I continued I run and bike, knowing these two legs would be of no concern come race day. My form in the water is terrible, but I kept a fairly respectable pace, had an open water swim under my belt, and had the fitness that’d make up for the rest…I was ready!

    So, on Sunday, June 3rd, I jumped in the water with all the My First Tri participants to swim 300 meters, bike 12, and run 2 miles. The gun went off and so did I…

    I finished the swim in just over 7 minutes, the bike in just under 40, and the run in 15. My transitions were quick, and my final time was 1:08…good enough for ninth place.

    The atmosphere was electric, the course was hard but fun, and finishing in the top ten was a nice bit of icing on the cake. But that wasn’t even the best part. The best part was having my lovely wife by my side the entire time cheering me on, encouraging me to give it my all, and making the entire event seem like one long date with the one I love. I am so thankful for her support while I’ve gotten healthy…she’s been by my side every step, and I most certainly couldn’t have done it without her.

    Up next? Olympic distance triathlon, followed by a half Ironman, and then an Ironman. Also, swim lessons. ;)