austinklee

I am a firm believer that all problems have roots.  Treating the symptom of your problem isn’t going to solve that root issues that causes the problem.  I blogged a little bit about this at the Character Fitness Blog this morning.  Last night a bill was passed in the United State House of Representatives that I think ignores the root problem with health care in the United States.

The bill focuses on the cost of health care and that it just isn’t fair that some people cannot afford to pay for insurance, or that they get denied for having a pre-existing condition.  (Notice they haven’t done the same with auto insurance, but you can bet your bottom dollar if I come in with a pre-existing condition of a lot of wrecks I won’t be covered there.  But, I digress)  That isn’t the problem with health care in the United States.  The root of our problem is that we lead un-healthy lives.  There, I said it.  We are an unhealthy country.

We should treat the root problem instead of just treating the cost issues.  This was no more evident than in a tweet I read from @dewde‘s wife, @dewdette:

The problem isn’t that this woman who is pregnant can’t afford health insurance, the problem is that she doesn’t know that its not good for her or her baby to smoke.  (Or she doesn’t care.)  In either case, giving her free heath care will not solve her real problem: She doesn’t know better.

So, you can throw all of the money you want at getting people access to health care for free, but it still doesn’t address the main issue: You have to TEACH them the right things to do.  The money would be much better spent providing everyone with lessons on why your kids shouldn’t eat chicken fingers every night, or why McDonald’s is not “just as good” as cooking at home.  People need to learn that health care, just like education, starts in the home.  You have to choose to be healthy.

The federal government is not doing anyone a favor by putting a band-aid on the health care system.  We have a gaping wound that needs major surgery.

Here’s an ode to my favorite restaurant:

If you can’t see the video please go to austinklee.com.

There is an article in an online-newspaper in Australia today about a woman here in the United States that is taking a different approach to health and fitness than I am.

Apparently she is trying to get to 1,000 lbs.  She needs to eat 12,000 calories per day and restrict how much she moves so she doesn’t lose weight on her way to that interesting goal.

Only in America.

I decided today to really open myself up online.  I am participating in a new way to get fit and be healthy.  The idea is that if you turn it into a game it will spark the competitive nature in all of us to keep our momentum long after we decide to be serious about it.

I was skeptical at first.  When I met Day I thought he was going to be just like all of the other trainers I met in Atlanta.  I thought he was going to talk about things you have to do, things you can’t do anymore, and tell me how horrible I was as a human for not being in the gym all the time. Continue Reading…

Courtney and I are moving out of our apartment and into a house.  A 3 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom,1 Car Garage house.  We are not buying the house, just renting it for a couple of years.  To us, however, its OUR house.

I am not sure what it is about moving that get me all excited.  Probably, its the fact that I get to throw out a bunch of stuff.  Courtney is a keeper of stuff.  (Not like on Hoarders, but she doesn’t like to throw a lot of stuff away.)  I on the other hand don’t keep anything.

Chances are that if you mailed me a card I read it and tossed it immediately.  (Yes, even you, Mom.)  I loved the sentiment and I am truly grateful that you sent me a note, but I just don’t feel like keeping a card that I know I won’t read again.  I throw out clothes that I haven’t worn, old computer cables and cords, I don’t even keep magazines more than a couple of months.

I like moving because I can start over.  I can get rid of all the crap that has built up and start fresh.  But, moving is hard.  I have to go through everything and pack it up, load it in a truck, move it to the new house, and then unpack it all.

I kind of think sin is like moving.  Its good to get rid of the sin in your life.  Praying and asking forgiveness for your sins is great, but that’s not the hard part.  The hard part is getting to the point that you are willing to admit your sin.

Just as hard as it is for Courtney to throw away old Christmas cards, its hard for me to bring my sin before God.  I have to choose it, he won’t do it for me.  Its not fun…but in the end I get a fresh start.

I just wish I would listen to myself more often.

In about an hour I am heading out to meet with my new personal trainer.  I honestly don’t know what to expect.  Here is a picture of me taken in 2003 right before I graduated from college and another taken just 2 weeks ago.  I believe I was around 175 in the top picture and 222 in the bottom picture.  When I saw the difference between the two pictures I knew that I needed to do something before it got out of control. Continue Reading…

One of the most common objections to Christianity that I hear goes something like this: “You are all a bunch of hypocritical people.  You are supposed to be happy and perfect.”  I don’t blame them for this statement.  I kind of think that as Christians we have done a horrible job of explaining that perfection and happiness isn’t the goal.

It doesn’t help that they probably don’t read the Bible.  All you really need to refute this argument is a Bible.  You don’t really need any particular verse.  Just show them how many pages the Bible has and then ask them this, “If belief in Christ was all you needed for happiness and perfection, don’t you think this would be a shorter book?”

Honestly if it were that simple then all of the stories in the Old Testament would sound like this, “God found favor with _______ and he/she lived happily ever after.”  And the New Testament stories would sound like this, “_______ trusted in Christ and lived happily ever after.”  Christians know this is not the case.

David paid for his sins long after he started fully following God and Peter denied Christ three times the night that Christ was crucified (and was later crucified himself).  These men were not perfect and had terrible things happen to them that certainly didn’t make them happy.  Interestingly enough you cannot find a place in the Bible where it guarantees happiness or perfection.  In fact the Christian life is described as difficult and hard.

We should work hard to tell others that Christianity isn’t about perfection or happiness.  Christianity is about a relationship with Christ who died for our sins.

And what ever you do: DO NOT use this phrase: “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.”  I throw-up in my mouth a little every time I hear it.  (And puppies die when you say it…just kidding…maybe.)

Lots of people are talking about Lent on Twitter and Facebook today.  For those of you who don’t know what this Lent stuff is, basically it is a period of 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday that is to symbolize the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert prior to beginning his ministry.

Jesus fasted for 40 days while in the desert.  (Traditionally fasting indicates that someone went without food.)  So, the biggest feature of Lent is to “give something up” for 40 days.  People give up Ice Cream, Alcohol, Cigarettes, Candy, Sweet Tea, Fried Food, Caffeine, and all sorts of things.

This year I noticed that people have been saying things that sound like this, “Well, I think I will give up chocolate this year for Lent.  I don’t eat chocolate all that much, so it shouldn’t be too hard to make it until Easter.”  In my mind this defeats the purpose of Lent.

Lent isn’t a check-the-box exercise to get Jesus Points.  Lent is a time for Christians to remove something from their lives that could distract them from focusing on the sacrifice Jesus made for us.  I wonder if our insincere adherence to Lent causes people who aren’t Christians to add another reason why Christianity isn’t an option for them.

I know posting has been a little sporadic.  I am planning on getting into a daily posting groove, so hang in there!  I have recently changed my blog theme to the Standard Theme and I am working with a designer on a permanent logo and blog design.

Please stay-tuned!  I will still make some posts.  If you are an RSS subscriber or email subscriber, this won’t make much sense…so head on over to austinklee.com and poke around!

Thanks for being patient!