Gulp....Gasp

So I've been asked to coach a 4&5 year old soccer team. We had our first practice this past Thursday. It was a ton of fun and my team is the coolest! I'm really excited to be doing this. However I found that after a couple trips up and down the ginormous 30 foot peewee soccer field I am WAY out of shape. My attempts over the last year to get in shape have been anything but successful and last only a couple of weeks totaling just a few hours.

Today after I finished push mowing the yard, I had already worked up a good sweat and decided to add to it. So I did a bit of dribbling the ole soccer ball around the yard like I did in High School. However, unlike High School I was winded before the first song had finished playing in my headphones (about 2 minutes).

"MAN, THIS IS RIDICULOUS! I CAN'T EVEN KICK AROUND MY DAUGHTER'S SOCCER BALL FOR 20 MINUTES WITHOUT GASPING FOR AIR."

It was at that point, I was challenged by an inner thought or my conscience you may think, but I believe it was a prodding by the Holy Spirit (HS).

The conversation went a bit like this as I ran around my back yard.

HS: "You haven't taken care of the body God's given you. You never exercise, and you cram your face with sugar every day. You sit at your office chair, only walking into the office, the bathroom and maybe to the mailbox. What else would you expect."

Me: " I know. But you don't understand, I eat the sugar throughout the day for energy and at night to help me stay awake while feeding Addie. I don't exercise because I don't really have the time with all the stuff I have going on at church and the new baby. By the time the day is over I just want to chill."

HS "Hmm. I see. Well didn't you spend about two weeks redoing the youth room. You spent HOURS putting up new lights, creating musician platforms, a projector screen, and new decor on the wall. Why can't you put that kind of effort into exercising?"

ME: "C'mon! That's the church. I want to make sure the teenagers have an awesome place to meet, worship, learn, and grow. I'm their Youth Pastor! That's my responsibility." I then turned up my headphones as if I could drown out the conversation.

H.S: " Shut Up! You know this 1st Corinthians 6:19-20 and your body is much more important than a stinking youth room. And you even preached this a few months ago 1st Corinthians 9:25-27 and YOU should be making your body do what it is SUPPOSED to do. Not giving in to every little sugar and snooze craving. Besides if you can't take care of your body, the first thing God gave you, how are you going to take care of anything else. Furthermore your role as the Spiritual head of your family is way more important than of the ministry you serve in. AND if you don't take care of yourself....you won't be doing either one very well OR very long."

ME: "gulp.....gasp"