March Update: 47.5 Pounds and Counting

At the start of the year, I made some commitments publicly on another platform: weight loss, daily steps, morning and evening prayer, cutting out soda and junk food, daily Spanish study, and reading. I've been posting updates on Facebook, but this one belongs here too because I’m starting to feel much more at home on Substack.

March numbers:

• 10,000 steps/day (I averaged 12,228)

• Lose 10 pounds/month (lost 12.5 in March; 47.5 pounds since Jan 1)

• Morning and Evening Prayer, every day

• No soda since the first week of January

• Spanish studied daily

Four books read

The March reading list: N. T. Wright's God's Homecoming, Kevin Vanhoozer's Hearers and Doers, Tolkien's The Two Towers, and Wesley Hill, Easter. The latter book is really exceptional and worth reading this Easter season.

What I didn't expect from all this was how much the physical change would affect my vocation. Preaching takes energy. So does reading carefully, writing daily, and showing up for people who are struggling. For years, I ran on caffeine, fast food, and willpower. Something is different now. I'm not sure I have better words for it yet, but the calling feels less like pushing and more like breathing.

More to come after April.