Safety Day

Today I attended a special seminar at my second employer, Brooklawn Child & Family Services. It's a great place with great people and has been an unbelievably rewarding experience for me. I work with kids who have some issues to work through because of past trauma in their lives. To see a kid respond and know that someone cares about them is worth more than gold. That's what I believe we at Brooklawn do. We let kids know someone cares. But today was "Safety Day". Basically, that means they run you through pretty much every test known to man.

I got my blood pressure taken, a BMI done, blood sugar read, waist measured, bone density tested, pulse taken, and I was also tested for TB (and I got a free massage at the end of it!). All these tests are basically for insurance purposes to make sure that nothing we have to do is going to kill us. But it was fun for me. There were people skipping some of the tests because they weren't all mandatory, but I really enjoyed seeing my results in everything. Below, I've posted what the numbers said about me.

BMI: 26.5 (About 5% "Over Ideal Weight", but the lady let me know that muscle weighs more than fat and that my numbers were perfect for my size because of my muscle build.)

Waist Size: 35 inches (That's one inch less than what I've measured, but she measured in a different way than we do for the Becoming Bane project.)

Blood Sugar Reading: 107 (It had been one hour since I'd eaten and the lady said my numbers were perfect!)

Heart Rate: 73 beats per minute (We were up walking around, so my numbers should be between 60 and 100 beats per minute. After the lady took my reading she looked at me and said, "Do you exercise?" And I told her I did. She said, "That explains why your numbers are so good." That made me feel great!)

Osteoporosis Screening (Bone Density): I'm actually at such a low risk for osteoporosis that the scale doesn't have a number for me. (The lady said, "You're off the charts, but in a good way. I've just gotta draw in on here what you would be.)

Blood Pressure: 139/76 (This is not a great reading. You want these numbers to be at or below 120/80. My bottom number is great, but my top number is high. Derek and I were able to figure out the issue and we're going to test again on Sunday to see if we were correct.)

All in all, it was so cool to see that my results of overall fitness are going so well. It's not just that I'm gaining muscle, but my entire body is responding in good ways.

(These are the papers which show all the results from all my tests taken today.)

As the church, we are a body. The amazing thing is that when one part of us is doing really well, that typically causes all the rest of the parts to do well. However, if one part is failing, it causes all the other parts to suffer as well. At church, are you someone who complains all the time and never tries to help? Are you someone who only shows up occasionally and never really gets connected? Do you feel like you don't even need church because you're doing just fine on your own?

None of these things are healthy responses. We are meant to be together - as a church. We are meant to all work together and do things we can't do alone and experience God in ways that we can't alone. Without the entire body functioning together, we can never be everything we were made to be. If you are missing, the body is hurting! Get plugged in and get to work because we need you! Don't be the part that makes us all suffer. Be the part that encourages and helps everyone succeed along with you.

We were meant to be together: Learning, living, serving, worshipping, and loving together. Don't try to do it alone, and don't make someone else do it without you.

SPECIAL BONUS STORY ABOUT CHURCH:

As just a side note, I would like to say something that really meant a lot to me at church tonight. One of my students brought me a Christmas present. She showed it to me in the box all wrapped and through the front I could see some chocolate chip looking cookies. Now, I don't eat a lot of cookies or anything, but it meant the world to me that she would make those and bring them to me. But what happened next changed my entire mindset. She looked at me and said, "They're chocolate protein balls." How thoughtful!!! It was amazing to me that she not only thought to bring me a gift, not only thought to make me something, but also thought through my concern for my diet and made me something so special. I will forever remember that gift as an absolutely amazing one. Thank you so much!!! That's just one of the cool things that comes from having a loving church family.

"If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.
All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it." (1 Corinthians 12:26-27 NLT)

Till next time homies, 
Peace and much love.