June, 2009

06/07/2009

Lacrosse Season Finale

#10 is the new long pole defender above

This weekend was Aloha Tournaments Laxsplash lacrosse event. It marks the end of the Kelly Post Midget A season that Josh participated in. It was Josh’s first year as a long pole and he really enjoyed playing some close defense and some long pole middie.

As seasons go it was a great one. The boys won some, and they lost some. Played some really terrific teams, and played some not so terrific teams. But all in all it was a great time for the boys.

lacrosse-huddle

Lacrosse is never an individual sport. That truth is one of many that makes it so appealing to me. Every player matters in every position, everywhere. There is no “stick ‘em in right field” in lacrosse. Every player has to be on their game and working as hard as they can all the time for the team to succeed.

We had some rough games where we really needed to get our butts kicked. But we also had some amazing games where everyone was on 100%. The team jelled over the course of the season.

A team is never just the players. One of the most impressive things about our team, players, coaches, and parents alike, was the level of sportsmanship displayed by all. Our players were great and gracious sportsmen. Our coaches were respectful of the officials while challenging them when needed. They instructed our kids positively. They communicated clearly with parents. Our parents were supportive fans. We never had any inappropriate parents screaming at officials, players or other coaches (although we saw plenty).

From Josh’s perspective he learned a new position, developed some great new skills, and became a real contributor to the team over the course of the season. What more could a parent want?

Many thanks to our coaches, Vince Bagli, Rob Black, and Bill Lansinger for a great season!

Keep moving forward,

Greg

06/06/2009

Speaking of change

Josh before the chop

Josh's mane

Post chop

Maybe it’s time for me to grow my hair out like this classic mullet cut:

gregmullet

06/05/2009

The Change (or lack of change) Culture

Until about 5 years ago I didn’t really believe I could change. I knew I could improve in certain aspects and I knew I could get better at certain skills. But deep down inside in places you don’t share with other people often, I believed that there was some junk in my life that would never change.

I grew up in the church. I went to Sunday school and church religiously, learned the secret handshakes, and figured out the prayer that would get me into heaven. I learned a lot in my head, but when I looked around at the people in the church I didn’t see the kind of radical transformation that seemed to characterize the people who encountered Jesus that I saw in the bible. I was taught a lot of truth, rules, and the right way to do things (some things). But, by in large, people were sort of always the same. Grumpy people stayed grumpy, angry people stayed angry, happy people stay happy. There didn’t seem like there was an expectation of change.

I also experience this as an adult. I have a particular group of friends that I enjoy being with who are all Christians. They are great guys. However, it seems to me it would be hard to look at us and say that we are steadily and progressively becoming more and more like Christ. The culture of this group of friends does not expect that. My observation is that this particular culture does not want to change very much. As a group of friends we are content and comfortable with how things are.

The Living Water of Jesus

Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’.”

It wasn’t until I heard one of my heroes, John Ortberg, speak on change that I realized that when Jesus talked about having living water flowing out of me he really meant it. He meant I could have that kind of life here and now.

This was not the kind of life I was experiencing! This was a life changing shift in my thinking. That was 2004.

Much of the last 5 years has been experimenting and trying on this life with living water flowing out of it. Here are a few of the things that I have been experiencing:

Jesus words are not moral platitudes or strict legalistic rules. His teaching is simply the best way to live. Period. So when Jesus teaches on not worrying or putting aside anger, he is not teaching rules that will simply make us feel more guilty. He is saying “try responding without the anger that you might be tempted to in this situation, see if that isn’t a much better way to live than your current way”. He is teaching that learning how to let go of worry and anger will result in rivers of living water flowing out of us. That’s an abundant life.
God’s expectation (and what ours can be as well) is that we will increasingly be taking off some character traits and and putting on new character traits. Change will come and should be expected. That will become the normal pattern. It won’t always be consistent or easily identifiable. However, it will be progressive.
This process of living the best life ever and putting on a new character will be natural and not burdensome if I am a disciple of Jesus. His yoke is easy and his burden is light. The weight I feel when I struggle with change is usually from me not from God. God-like change will be freeing, even if it is painful at times.
I have a tremendous amount to do with how much I change. It is God’s work in me for sure. But he works when I work and guides me as I exert effort. I do not need to worry about the outcome, he will take care of that also, I simply need to continue to stretch myself into new areas of change.

I still have lots of the junk that was in my life 5 years ago. I still struggle day after day and week after week with some of the same things. This can be discouraging if that’s the whole story.

But there is more to the story than that. God has worked with me, and I have seen steady progress, and I have been able to slowly but steadily put off some junk and take on some better ways of living that Jesus promised. I’m thankful to God for that.

Keep moving forward,

Greg

06/02/2009

The 2009 Summer Intentional Challenge

It’s Time for Change

I like taking summer time and creating a challenge for myself. I use that time to focus on something in my life that I want to change or learn about. Each summer is unique and I haven’t always done a challenge, but most of the last 5 summers I have done something.

In 2006, I was working on letting myself rest more (I’m not always so great at that) so I set some goals for time off and vacation with my family (non-working vacation that is). We were able to take our first ever 2 week vacation at the beach which was fabulous. I also curbed my work time to more reasonable hours and days of the week.

In 2005, I spent the summer listening and reading everything I could get a hold of from on of my favorite authors, Dallas Willard. I learned so much that summer; it changed my life. To this day, Elise and I can point to that summer as a changing point in our lives and our relationship. I owe Dallas big.

Last summer, I spent most of my time managing a new structure at Kanon Construction. We had new faces, new staff roles, and new systems we were putting in place. We also had two key employees leave in the midst of this change that added to the focus I needed to place on the business. It was a season of change and a time to focus on the business.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Here’s a picture of me on May 17, 2005. Greg Rittler 2005

Here’s a picture of me today: Greg Rittler

Notice anything different?

It’s called 46 lbs! In 2005, I weighed somewhere around 200lbs. 4 years and 13 days later I weigh 247.6. That shirt actually fit me in 2005 instead of looking like I borrowed a t shirt from Caleb.

The Nature of Problems

One of the interesting things about problems in general and weight gain in particular is that no one wakes up and says “I can’t wait to pack on a few more pounds during the next week.” Just like no one wakes up and says “I want to struggle with my marriage [relationships, job, family, etc.].” No one wants to struggle with the problems in their lives, but everyone does.

M. Scott Peck told a story that I read when I was 18 years old that still lives in me to this day:

“The parking brake was stuck on a patient’s car, and she knew that there was something one could do under the dashboard to release it, but she didn’t know what. I lay down on the floor below the front seat of her car. Then I took the time to make myself comfortable. Once I was comfortable, I then took the time to look at the situation. I looked for several minutes. At first all I saw was a confusing jumble of wires and tubes and rods, whose meaning I did not know. But gradually, in no hurry, I was able to focus my sight on the brake apparatus and trace its course. And then it became clear to me that there was a little latch preventing the brake from being released. I slowly studied this latch until it became clear to me that if I were to push it upward with the tip of my finger it would move easily and would release the brake. And so I did this. One single motion, one ounce of pressure from a fingertip, and the problem was solved. I was a master mechanic!”

Peck’s point was that we need to take the time to look at our problems if we are going to find a solution. He had never been someone mechanically inclined and didn’t understand cars or emergency brake systems. But he found that when he looked at this problem he was able grasp it and do something about it.

Dallas Willard on Change

Dallas has a simple but important acronym about change that is instrumental in personal growth: VIM.

Vision
Intention
Means

Vision is a picture of the future that you want to make a reality. Intention is a decision to make the changes needed. Means are the tactical ways that you are going to implement the change.

Individually, each of these parts won’t change your life. Together they make a huge difference.

The Challenge

So the 2009 Summer Intentional Challenge is to return to my previous weight of 200lbs. That’s the vision. That’s the picture of the future that is different then today.

The intention is the decision to make it a a reality and a commitment to it. I wouldn’t be writing this today if I hadn’t made that choice.

Now as far as means…

Means

Means are all about action (or inaction if that is what it takes). In the case of losing the weight there is no secret to weight loss. Burn more than you consume and you will lose weight.

I already work out 4-6 times per week. Most of that is running but for most of the past 18 months I have also been training with my friend, Pat March, at Xcel Fit. In terms of exercise, I can tweak some things but for the most part I’m probably doing what I need to.

The bulk of the change that I need to make to conquer this challenge is going to be on the intake end of things. I need to create a calorie deficit of at least 1000 calories per day. I burn about 3000 calories per day on average so I will need to reduce my intake of calories to about 2000 on average.

Here are a few of the means that I plan on using to get there:

“Go to Foods”. I have a bunch of foods that I love that I am going to keep close by to eat when I am feeling hungry in between meals (nuts, granola, yogurt, etc.).
I need to consistently eat breakfast. This has been a lifelong struggle that I need to beat (coupled with not eating late).
Track what I am eating religiously. I am using myfitnesspal.com to track my calorie intake religiously. It has a very comprehensive calorie counter and calculates how much you are burning in terms of exercise.
Planning the menu early. I am setting up my menu for the day BEFORE I start in the morning so I know what I will be eating and make sure that it fits into my plan.
Conscious about fluids. I’m going to be more conscious of what I am drinking (more water, less beer and soda)
Tell people about it. I am telling all of YOU about what I am doing. Having people know your goals and ask you about them can help you stay on track.
Put routines in place that will remind me of my goal. I am putting a chart up on the side of the blog to keep track of my weight. Check in and see how I am doing.
Be consistent. I am going to make sure I get my workouts in each week and don’t skip.

Moving Forward,

Greg