Jesus and a 6 pack
Jon
P. Voyles Sr.
Copyright © 2012 by Jon P. Voyles Sr.
Smashwords Edition
All
rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means –
electronic, mechanical, photographic (photocopying), recording, or
otherwise – without prior permission in writing from the author.
All scriptures used in this book are from the New King James Version, copyright 1983 Thomas Nelson Version.
Take note that the name satan is not capitalized. I choose not to acknowledge him, even to the point of violating grammatical rules.
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN-13: 978-1468152234
ISBN-10: 1468152238
Learn more information at:
www.jesusandasixpack.com
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Table of Contents
FOREWORD
MY STORY
110%
BALANCE
ACCOUNTABILITY
MECHANICS
WHERE'S MY 6 PACK?
FOOD
RENEW THE MIND
IDP
SHORTCUTS
CORE TRAINING
RESISTANCE TRAINING
LIGHT A FIRE
TRAINING PROGRAM
CONCLUSION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As always, I have to acknowledge my Abba Father! Without You, I am nothing and I have nothing worthwhile. Thank You for your faithfulness to me in all things. Thank You for protecting me in ways that I didn’t even know that needed protecting. Thank You for healing me and providing! You are an Awesome Dad!
My bride Nancy, thank you for your encouragement, support and for believing in me! Thank you for being my “Editing Ninja” and how you are able to bring me back to center! You rock!
Thank you to my kids, my family and my friends for all your support and encouragement.
Very special thanks to Joe Vasquez from B.MightyCreative for the absolutely fantastic work on the graphic design of my book cover. It is simply amazing! You took my simple drawing to a whole new level! To contact Joe, check out his website at www.bmightycreative.com, you will NOT be disappointed!
I want to acknowledge you, the reader of this book! To encourage you to read this book with an open heart and willingness to let God speak to you. I wrote this with you in mind because God told me that you were something special and always on His heart!
Foreword
Jesus and a 6 pack; what in the world is this book about?
Let’s start with what it is not. It is not the next “self-help” sensation. If all it took were self, life would be easy.
We need God.
This book will focus on revealing to you that God is faithful in all things. He was faithful to me in all the physical and spiritual challenges that I have faced, as well as the ones I still deal with everyday. He remains faithful. But in order to walk in victorious balance regarding the physical and spiritual, we will need to learn, and unlearn a few things so that we can walk in the fullness God has called us to.
The core purpose of Jesus and a 6 pack (JAA6P) would be to help you realize that there is amazing potential and calling on your life. It is to help you be all that Jesus died for on that Cross, and to know that He desires for you to walk in your full calling spiritually and physically. As much as some people try, you cannot separate the flesh and spirit. If you separate the flesh and spirit, it is called death. My point is that while you are on this side of the daisies, you are to bring both under submission.
Combine faith and fitness to not only overcome, but to EXCEL through life’s battles.
If you look at someone who is physically fit, they may epitomize the ideal picture of health and wellness (example, they may have 6 pack abs). Do you have the picture in your mind of that person? Look deeper at their spiritual life. Are they saved? Do they have true hope? The body that they are working so hard on will someday fade away, of that we are guaranteed. The mortality rate in the world is still 100%. Eternity is a long time; where do you want to spend yours? Focusing on physical fitness alone would be a short term plan, and a losing proposition.
In all fairness, let’s also look at the Christian in the church. They may have hope in the eternal. They may be spiritually fit, but lack the self control that scripturally we are told to walk in as a believer.
Galatians 5:22-23 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
If you struggle with self control regarding food, you are not alone. That is not an excuse though because it is still called gluttony.
Proverbs 23:20-21 20 Do not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat; 21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
The Bible tells us to not mix with drunks or gluttons; apparently God is no respecter of persons here! Both are addicts and idolaters. I have seen believers that were anti-alcohol, but I wouldn’t dare get between them and a buffet. I might lose a finger!
You can hear all kinds of messages in the church warning us of the dangers of alcohol or drug abuse. That same Christian can go from the church sanctuary to the basement for a potluck lunch following the service and eat 6000 calories in one meal! Where is the discipline and balance in that?
What kind of a witness are we if we live like a glutton while trying to help the alcoholic? We are not living what we preach! We are trying to convince nonbelievers that we walk in discipline, freedom and self control? Not to mention that it is hypocritical to not take care of your own temple!
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.
Gluttons are not walking in the full calling on their life any more than alcoholics. They can’t be, because they have their own idol. I found over 60 scriptures that focus on gluttony and discuss the dangers, sin, idolatry, and examples of overeating. Safe to say, there is no shortage of scripture from God warning us about what to eat, how much we eat, and our relationship with food. That is the key right there, our relationship to food is a monumental issue!
I know this because it is my struggle. It is something I have learned a lot about over the last 10 years. I struggle with keeping my weight under control and exhibiting self control. I could easily be 300 lbs if I didn’t keep this in check. I understand your plight, because I have to bring my flesh under submission daily in order to lose weight, and especially to keep it off. I know that what God had shown me will help you too.
Proverbs 28:25 (KJV) 25He that is of a proud heart stirreth up strife: but he that putteth his trust in the LORD shall be made fat.
I used to read this verse and think to myself that I must really trust the Lord! I am joking, of course.
The Centers for Disease Control state that more than one third of U.S. Adults (over 72 million people) and 17% of U.S. children ore obese. From 1980-2008, obesity rates doubled for adults and tripled for children.
Health Consequences of Obesity
Coronary heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure
Type 2 diabetes
Cancers (endometrial, breast and colon)
High total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides
Liver and gallbladder disease
Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
Joint problems
Infertility
Mental health conditions
Studies by the Obesity Task Force show that 1.7 billion people should lose weight and that 312 million are at least 30 lbs over their recommended weight. I must not be alone.
The truth is you are not alone either in this battle.
Your struggle with weight loss is no joking matter, but there is no reason why we can’t make it fun!
Personally, it really gets under my skin to see all the incorrect information out on TV and the media in general about weight control. At any time of the day or night you can turn on the TV or open a magazine and read about the “latest fad in weight loss, 3 easy steps to a slimmer you, or the secret to a 6 pack abs.”
That information is nothing more than an advertisement for a product. If you really want to change your physical appearance (and keep the change), you have to change from the inside out.
It isn’t any different for your spiritual condition. You accept Jesus into your heart, and from that choice you begin a metamorphosis into a different person. It doesn’t matter how you clothe the outside, until the inside changes you are lost.
Throughout the book I will be transparent to my own sin, weaknesses and struggles in both the physical and spiritual so that you can see that you are truly not alone.
In my weakness, He has been strong.
I have found that in all things I should give thanks. I want God to be the core of my life and learn to walk with Him to victorious living, now and in eternity.
Here are some housekeeping issues with regard to this book:
I refer to satan as ORF throughout the book, Ole Rat Face, and that is as affectionate as I want to be with him.
I use the New King James Version for all of my scriptures (unless stated otherwise) and I have a tendency to put emphasis on particular areas where I am focusing my thought pattern, so if you see something underlined or with bold font, emphasis mine.
If you are looking for justification to live a life of lies, false evidence, half truths, sin, idolatry, plan to fail, or are looking for excuses, do not read this book. It will totally mess up your theology.
If I can do this, YOU can do this!
I am not a personal trainer, but I will show you what worked for me, even with all my physical limitations.
I am not a nutritionist, but I can show you how understanding the basic principles of food helped me to lose the weight and to get on track with my goals. You may have allergies to certain foods or you may be diabetic, and that is why you should always consult your physician with questions.
This book is solely for information and educational purposes and is not medical advice. Please consult a medical or health professional before you begin any new exercise, nutrition, or supplemental program or if you have questions about your health.
Chapter 1
My Story
Let’s start with a little background of my life. I graduated high school a bean pole; I was 135 pounds and about 5’10’’. As a matter of fact, I was so skinny I had to run around in the shower just to get wet. I grew a few inches in college to 6’1”, but couldn’t put any size on. As a matter of fact, when I went in for x-rays the doctor just held me up to the light. I had less muscle tone than a canned ham.
I joined the Navy and began lifting weights with my buddy Dan (he was a tree trunk) and I grew to 160 pounds. Dan taught me to eat and eat and eat everything in order to put size on. It worked, but not nearly as effectively as if I had eaten properly. After I got out of the Navy I lifted weights but still didn’t eat properly. I was under the impression the only way to gain muscle was to eat a lot of food, and I mean a lot. I would go to a buffet and literally eat 8 heaping plates of food at one sitting. I am very sorry to anyone that had stock in Golden Corral at that time.
In 1994, my L4 and L5 discs were ruptured while playing softball which made me unable to exercise or lift weights for almost two full years. I still ate wrong, now out of habit. That was when I began to gain a lot of weight. Most of it was from the inactivity and depression of living on the couch with my injury. It didn’t help though that they had prescribed me steroids for 6 months, and what that did to my metabolism.
On November 15, 1996 a miracle happened (more on that statement later). I was finally recovering from my back injury when a fully loaded semi ran a red light going 55 mph, with no brakes, and T-boned my pickup at an intersection. He hit me just in front of the driver’s door.
I still struggle to this day with the pain and physical injuries I sustained from that wreck. As a matter of fact, as I write this book, I am sitting here with a heating pad on my back to relieve the stiffness and pain.
Until the summer of 2007, I was under various different doctors’ care for my pain. I’m still in pain; I just don’t have good insurance, so now I have had to learn on my own how to deal with it on a day to day basis.
For a long time, I couldn’t exercise; literally the pain was just too great. In March of 2002 I was released by the doctor to begin exercising and was told I could slowly begin to lift weights again; no heavy weight, be extremely careful, use good form, etc.
I decided that since I was now 240 pounds with a 40+ inch waist, the best thing I could do was not eat and exercise a lot. That is what I had always thought was best. WRONG! I lost steam quickly trying to accomplish that plan. A dear friend (I love you Charles) loaned me a book to read. It was Body for Life by Bill Phillips. I was shocked at my ignorance of proper nutrition and as well as my ignorance to how the mechanics of the body and metabolism works.
Charles gave me that book on April 23, 2002 and I began the program the very next day. I was so excited I read the entire book that night. This is when all the years of improper eating and ignorance to proper training stopped. I was driven and focused. Nothing was going to stop me. After all, if it worked for all these other people, why not me?
It made sense and it charged me up with knowledge, hope and focus. I hated the shape of my image in the mirror (I looked like an egg with legs) so I took ownership of my situation. I could sit around and complain about my constant pain from the wreck and weight gain, or I could do something about it. I chose the latter.
There are those that play in the game and there are others who watch. You are either a talker or a doer. I am a doer. Yes it was work and sorry to tell you, it took discipline, commitment and vision. But I refused to be one of those people who say they are going to do it, but don’t.