Week 4

I am now on week four of my get healthier plan! So far I have lost 17 lbs and and have kept up with the Couch Potato to 5K program that my church is doing! It sucks that I have to get up at 5:30 MWF of each week but it really makes my days go by much easier with more energy. Along with the exercise that I have added I have also started watching the stuff that I am eating. For one I have cut down the amount of carbs that I intake during the day! Also I have cut down on the amount of food that I eat. This is my attempt to blog my progress! I still suck at this but eventually I will get better.

I hate running!

I was reminded this morning at 5:10 why I hate running so much! Most people want to go do it before the sun wakes up! That is not cool, I go to bed after the sun and then choose to get up before it rises, not cool at all! But on the plus side I increased my distance by 1/2 mile from day one to day two of the program. Also I have had more energy these past few days. It really is funny how you work you body out and some how or another you have more energy during the day. Only God could come up with a concept like that! Now I am off to impact team with my youth.

Couch Potato to 5k!

Last three weeks I have been in the Biggest Loser at FBC Tifton! So far I have lost 13 lbs. and I have had to get smaller pants! I am super excited! But tomorrow I will be starting something that I have never tried before. I will start training for a 5k. That is right Jacob McGhee Russell will be running in a 5k not walking but running the whole thing! There is a program called "From Couch Potato to 5k" that will help me progress at slow intervals to where I am able to run the 5k. I really am not to for sure about all this because it starts a 5:30 am (for those of you like me that is in the morning and I am not a morning person). Just thought I would let you know about that stuff!

Humble Pie!

Tonight I had the privilege of serving some very special kids in Tifton! They were our Backpack Blessings kids. If you do not know what backpack blessings is let give you a short run down. The schools in Tift Co. have identified students in their schools who are not getting enough food and so on the weekends our church partners with other churches in the community and we pack food in small backpack for them to take home and bring back after the weekends. Tonight we FBC Tifton's annual Backpack Blessings Christmas Party!

While at the party the kids and their families fed a full Christmas dinner of Turkey, stuffing, rolls, sweet potato yummyness, and a table full of cookies and other really "healthy" stuff that only comes at Christmas. Then there were games for the kids to play while the church hooked the parents up with some awesome things for these kids. First they got a full turkey dinner boxed up for them to cook on Christmas day. Along with the dinner each child received three weeks worth of backpack food since the kids were out on break! Then each child had a bag pack specifically for them with new clothes and shoes and PJ's and a jacket and a toy

for their parent to give them on Christmas Day! In addition to those thing SANTA and Mrs. Clause came to visit and they gave each child a stocking full of goodies and a toy for each of them!

Then after all of these things had been passed out our Sr. Pastor Bro. Wayne gathered all the children around and read them the story of the very first Christmas! While he was reading the story some of the kids had the opportunity to dress up as some of the characters and act it out! Now there were 125 children who were served tonight along with many more who were parents or aunts and uncles or grandparents. It was a very special night because the smiles on the kids faces were of pure joy and it was over some of the simplest things. It really cause me to stop and think about all that I have and how I take all of it for granted.

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs."

John 21:15

Happy Birthday Jesus!

So tonight was our church's "Happy Birthday Jesus" party for the children's ministry. It was a pretty rockin' time. I was asked to play the part of Joseph , aka I was Jesus' daddy for a couple of hours. It was a really cool time to get an opportunity to just really interact with people from church that I don't normally get to. But while we were getting the last second stuff set up I had the mom of one my 8th grade boys come up to me and tell me how much she appreciated me be his Sunday school teacher. Because one Sunday on their way home she asked him what he had talked about in class and he really grasped the concept we had covered that day and took it to heart. When I heard this I was really taken aback, because in SS we have a group of boys who are really rambunctious and I did not know how much they were paying attention. That just made me more thankful to God that I was able to be apart of their lives and invest in them.

Tonight we had our community wide Thanksgiving service; and let me tell you Pastor Chris brought a message that rocked me to the core! Pastor was from one of the other churches in the community and he opened up God's Word and brought it to life. Pastor made one statement that caused me to stop and think. He said, "Are you serving the blessing or the one who does the blessing? Cause if you are serving the blessing you will run the other direction when the blessing is gone." That is so true cause there are many people in our church who serve until their feeling get hurt or have someone call them out on something or do not get the appreciation they think they deserve. If you serve God then he will abide in you and there will be no need for someone to give you accolades cause we are working for the one who has our best interest in mind. So I am going to ask myself every day who am I serving the blessing or the one who is doing the blessing?

So to the few people who still check this blog I am sorry that I have not been more faithful to post on it!

Here is an update:

September was a month where there was nothing big that happened but it was super busy with the little everyday things! Then came October! This is my favorite month of the fall season. First because it is the month of my birth, and for my birthday this year I was able to go home and spend it with my family and friends! That weekend was a time of refreshing myself. Then when I came back to Tifton I hit the ground running. I started to prepare for a big milestone in my career in student ministry. I was given the opportunity to bring the message on Wednesday night at youth on the 27th. This was huge growth experience for me because I was able to bring the word and share part of testimony with the youth at FBC for the first time. To be honest I was so nervous that I almost peed on myself, but I put all my trust in God and let him use me and guide me through the service. Then on Saturday October 30 came one of the coolest things I have seen since I have been in Tifton. It was the night of THE GREAT PUMPKIN HUNT! This is a big scavenger hunt across Tift Co. where my boss has placed 12 clues all around town to lead the youth teams to an undisclosed location where we had hidden THE GREAT PUMPKIN. This was a blast to watch and be apart of while watching the youth try and start to think like my boss, because all the clues are a little warped like my boss's mind. The Sophomores pulled out the win which is unusual because the Sr. are the ones who typically win.

Well that is the highlight of the Oct.