I’ve always felt like I’ve struggled with my weight or struggled with my confidence of what I think I looked like. It wasn’t until I got into running in 2004 that I really started to feel more confident about who I was and where I was going and how I perceived myself.

Since coming off the road in 2000 from playing 200 shows a year, my life took a better turn in some respects but health wise, I actually got worse. In a four year period I gained 45lbs and it wasn’t 45lbs of muscle either. I was traveling still, but not as much, eating out constantly and sitting in meetings at Starbucks a few times a week. Today I’m healthier than I’ve ever been and still about 20lbs away from where I want to be to race well. The difference is I have a lot more lean muscle mass and a lot more endurance than the average person.

The difference for me came when I decided that diets weren’t for me and trying to attain a certain weight wasn’t my thing.

Why?

I always quit to early or if I hit a certain goal I slowly went back to old habits. It was as if I was saying to myself… “ok, you are here now. You met a goal. Now what?”

Ah! Good question! Now what? Heck if I know! Let’s EAT!

That’s when I started to figured out that if I want to be healthy, feel healthy and look healthy then I need to change my lifestyle, not just my diet.

So I did.

Slowly.

I’m still not the healthiest eater but it’s under control now more than ever. Most of our meals are made at home and there are certain foods I tend to stay away from. Foods I don’t need, don’t make me feel well.

I’ve placed myself in a situation that holds me accountable by association. Does that make sense? I am surrounded by those who are very aware of what’s going into their bodies and that inspires me to treat myself better.

Also, I found a way to have an active lifestyle in a sport I love. Triathlon. I can go run when I want, bike when I want or jump in the pool. For some of you it might just be one of those… or it might be hiking, golfing, racketball or tennis. Whatever it is… it’s active and gets the heart pumping.

This way, if I want to be better at the sports I love to be active in, then it’s worth it for me to take care of my body in way that I can enjoy it’s benefits even more.

It’s a lifestyle now… not just a diet… not just a fad… and not even close to being an escape from life’s normal responsibilities.

It’s my responsibility to be as healthy as I can be for my wife and kids. For my job performance and the people I work with. For the relationship I have with my friends and family… and for those I want to inspire to get off the couch and do what seems to be the impossible.

It’s the clear mind I love having and the ability to feel grounded in who I am now.

Knowing that I am confident with who I am and how I perceive myself.

Who cares if I’m a little heavier than I was 10 years ago…

I feel better than I’ve ever felt and my outlook on life is healthy.

So the question for you is this.

What will it take for you to change your lifestyle to be a healthy one? What are the benefits you experience from living a healthy lifestyle?

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In yesterday’s post I said this phrase… If I can do it, You can do it.

But I got to thinking… I didn’t know I could do it… until I saw someone else do it.

I don’t want you to think of all the things I do in my life that I just go out there and do them without a little inspiration or direction… or a swift kick in the pants from a friend.

Nope…

Before I ran my first half marathon, I talked to a friend who was twice my weight… they had run one too.

The first time I went to swim with the group I’ve trained with for the past few years, I thought everyone in the group would have less than 10% body fat and could swim like Michael Phelps.

Nope…

The people I swim with are all shapes and sizes and have vastly different careers. Some are fat, some are skinny, some are weak and some are just down right slow. But all of them have raced or are about to race in a triathlon.

There are those who are in great shape and can out race most anyone… but you know what? They had to start somewhere too and be inspired to go for it as well.

When I went to race Ironman Louisville, I watched a guy talk about how he had lost 200lbs while training for the big race. He weighed in for the race at 200 lbs.

I’ve seen people go from flat broke to money in the bank.

I’ve seen people go through the hardest, most painful crisis in life and slowly transform their lives into healing and restoration.

I’ve watched amputee’s ski the dark face of a steep and dangerous mountain… and never look back once… or think twice about flying down that steep slope.

I’ve seen all of these people do what would seem impossible for them and yet it wasn’t.

Why do I say this?  Because as much as I denied wanting to do a triathlon publicly, privately I was dying to do one…. Just one.

All I needed was one person to inspire my way. All I need was to hear the words… You can do it.

It was at the point I said… If they can do it, I can do it…. And I have… about 20 races worth.

But it starts with one.

One person who you can look at from a distance… or one person you actually know who is doing what you want to do.

One person is all it takes.

It doesn’t matter if it’s sports or writing your first book or singing in front of people for the first time.

If they can do it, I can do it.

But I’m going to let you in on the key ingredient… the one little secret that most people miss. It’s the one thing all of us who have gone beyond ourselves have…

Desire and determination.

You have to WANT to do it and not give up.

The bottom line is this… If you want to do it, you can.

If you really want to do it, you will find a way to do it. If it’s a lack of money that is keeping you from doing whatever it is, then you will find a way to do it.

Because again, you have to WANT to do it and your desire and determination to do it will get you there.

And believe me, If they can do it, I can do it… and we can do it.

Right?

Do you think so?

Tell me about a time where you saw someone and thought.. “Heck! If they can do it, I can do it!” then tell me… did you do it? If not, what are you waiting for?

Over the past few weeks I’ve been transitioning over to life in Colorado Springs, CO from life in Franklin, TN. Literally, I did it in two trips. Two 20-hour drives broken up by visits with family along the way.

Even though is been hectic and busy, it’s been fairly smooth. It’s given me a chance to process life, change, plans for living in a new city and creating a new community of friends all while maintaining relationships with my friends in Nashville and Franklin as well as those in other parts of the country.

And most importantly, it’s giving me great opportunity to process a new life with my future wife and her two amazing kids.

I guess it’s given me a new perspective on being diligent with the time I choose to spend with people.

In that diligence, I find myself back in Nashville this week for meetings and maximizing the opportunity to see friends. Some I didn’t get to say bye to and some I just need time with.

Here’s what I’m learning this week.

Friends are important. I know you know that… But I mean, True friends that will go that extra mile with you.

Friends who will dig deep into life.

Those kinds of friends right now are blowing my mind in their love and friendship.

You see, some people have several friends who can go deep with them and some only have one… and when it really counts, sometimes all you need is one.

One really good friend.

So as I transition my life in many ways over this next year, I’m leaning on my friends to be just that… Friends.

And in those friends, I’m challenging myself to see where I can give back to them.

Why?

Because I love my friends.

Are you giving back to your friends when they have given into you?

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I’m not really sure how to write this post.

It’s taken me three days to get to this version…

I wrote a version that was very detailed and emotional, but honestly… it was a little too much for me. So I’m just going to throw it out there and go into greater detail about some future plans in other posts.

Here it goes…

I’m moving to Colorado by June 1. It’s coming up pretty soon. For those of you who read my blog, follow me on twitter and are my friends on facebook, this will not be much of a change for you and our online interaction.

For those of you who live in Nashville and Franklin… this is a big change. In fact, I’m still rolling out the news to some friends but those I live in community with on a daily basis know this has been coming.

This has been the hardest decision I’ve had to make in a very long time and it all comes down to one word… Leaving.

Leaving Franklin… my friends… my community… my way of life… 15 years… it is nothing short of a big deal.

However, I’m moving for the best decision I’ve made in a long time…

I’m getting married to an amazing woman.

My fiancée lives in Colorado Springs with her two wonderful kids. So in order to take advantage of the kids summer break, transitioning to a new city, getting married and the simple fact that we want to live in the same town… I’m packing up the dreams God planted… (Sorry, couldn’t even resist that last line.)

I’m going to miss my Franklin campus the most and the triathlon community that swims, rides and runs all over Nashville. I’m going to miss my little cottage of a place on Main Street and walking down the street to eat and hang out with friends. I will miss my Nashville coworkers, who are some of my dearest friends, but I get to work with them daily and travel the world with them, so that’s good.

I’m really going to miss running Tuesdays, Thursday and Sunday’s with Randy and the great conversations we have. I’m going to miss Tuesday Night Mexican dinners and I’m really going to miss the Tuesday morning mentoring group. I will miss all of this more than you can imagine… I cherish every moment I can.

As for my job with Compassion International… it isn’t changing.

I’m still Artist Relations guy and have committed to be back in Nashville once month for meetings.

Our Compassion Artist Relations team in Nashville is very strong and growing in presence. Thankfully, I work for a boss (and an organization) who believes in our team’s ability to get the job done no matter where we live. I love that I work on a team that is strong, flexible and can be mobile at the drop of a hat.

I work with the best.

Moving to Colorado Springs is also going to give me the chance to dive into some other areas of focus Compassion is working on. Some projects which are very close to my heart and passion for influencing others to help children and their families who are living in poverty in the developing world.

So… There it is. If I could throw out a request it would be this… Please keep us in your prayers. Transition, planning a wedding, meeting new friends, blending a family, travel and work. It might make us a little crazy, but a little extra prayers wouldn’t hurt.

As is the fashion here on this blog, I generally ask a question…

What was the biggest transition you have been through?

I woke up today. Opened up the blinds to let the sunshine into my little cottage of a house, turned on the highlights of the royal wedding and thought about the weekend ahead.

I’m excited! This is a great weekend to be in the Franklin / Nashville area.

The Country Music Marathon is tomorrow and the Franklin Main Street Festival starts tomorrow as well.

The weather is going to be great and the time with friends even better.

I’ve written Why Saturday Is My Favorite Day Of The Week and I’m pretty sure that tomorrow is going to be over the top.

I’m looking forward to cheering on my friends Daniel White, Brian Seay and Jennifer Nutt as they run tomorrow. Anytime I see my friends run in an event like this I can’t help but to be completely excited and moved.

So… here are two suggestions for you if you are in the area.

• Go cheer on runners tomorrow. Make your way to finish line and yell like crazy as runners cross the finish line. You never know the feeling these runners have as they cross the finish line. It’s an amazing moment and hearing people cheer you on is emotional. I love it.
• Make your way down to Franklin Saturday or Sunday and enjoy our little main street festival. It’s the heart of who Franklin, TN is. It’s part of what makes this great little community magical.

So… here’s to Friday and looking to the weekend! It’s going to be a great time. Make sure you take advantage of every moment…

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a calf injury that came up while I was running. Since then it’s been difficult to get back to that place of healing so that I can go run the way I want too… or simply put… I’ve grown impatient with my progress and am trying to force healing by not taking the time I need to rest. Frustrating… even for someone who has dealt with pain quite a bit. I’ve tried my usually tricks and it comes back to that key factor I always submit to in the end… Rest.

So I’m letting the injury rest this week so the pain will heal… and by letting it rest I mean no running. In the meantime, I will get on my bike and work the other muscles around the injury to build them up and support said hurt.

One of the many advantages to being a triathlete is the three sports (swimming, biking, running) support the body well when it comes to injuries. You can take a break from one sport to heal unwanted pain while still continuing to train in a way that promotes healing around the injury.

It often reminds me that when my heart is hurt, I need to take whatever steps to rest and give it a break in order to heal.

Do you know what I mean?

For me, if I’ve been hurt by someone or am in a tough situation that has been hurtful, I eventually need a break from the situation. I need to be able to tell myself You’ve dealt with this the best way you know how, time to give it a rest. Walk away from it… or them… for a while and allow yourself time to heal.

Any time I’ve done this, I can eventually come back to the situation or the person in a much better place. I tend to come back stronger and my heart is in a healthier place to deal with the situation or the person who hurt me so that the real healing can happen.

While I’m resting I usually take steps to build up other parts of my heart to help support the hurt side of my heart. I seek out friends or situations that help bring me safety, confidence or help me grow in other ways so that my soul, my mind… and my body are all ready to better support that side of my life I’m giving the rest too.

As I decided to take a rest from running this week, I kept coming back to this parallel between healing the body and healing the heart…

Knowing it’s ok to rest our hearts when there is hurt… Knowing it’s ok to rest our legs from running when there is hurt… But it’s up to us to take that step and decide when and how to rest.

Rest… it does the body.. and the heart… good.

Thoughts?

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In JR High and High School I had a tutor. I never felt like I didn’t understand what I was learning in school, I just didn’t apply myself like I should which sometimes resulted in lower grades. As it turns out, my tutors where a pivotal influence in my life.

Here’s why.

In JR High I went to the Sylvan Learning Center in Fort Smith, Arkansas, which is still going strong today. My main tutor there was a man named Robert Lowrey. We called him Bob. He was an excellent tutor. He was able to break things down for me in a way I could understand them better.

But do you know what I remember most about Bob?

The time he spent asking me about my life. What I was interested in and what was going on at school. If he sensed I was frustrated, he would figure out why and talk it through with me. Over time I trusted Bob, so if I walked in and need to talk to someone, I could talk to Bob.

Bob helped me gain confidence. He helped me in school, but I walked out of each session knowing I had a friend who listened and gave me advice. He was someone who cared and someone who was willing to push me in a way that made sense to my teenage mind.

Looking back… I know he was mentoring me and giving me little pieces of life I needed in order to go the next step into my teenage years.

In high school, I had another tutor. Her name was Ms. McCray. She was the bomb as well. I learned what I needed to learn and I did better in school. But can you guess what I remember most about her?

All the time she spent getting to know me and asking me questions about my life as a teen. What I was into and how I felt about things going on around me. She dug into my life.

When I went on to being a freshmen in college, she called me and asked if I would help her. She was directing the high school play and needed a band leader. I said yes I will do anything you need me to do. The play was Fame and it was a blast playing live in a setting like that. One of the dancers in the play went on to dance for Janet Jackson and was the red Power Ranger in the movie and TV series. Cool huh? She had amazing influence in our Fort Smith, Arkansas lives.

So what did I gain from her? More confidence. I felt validated. I felt like I could do more, go a little further in and go after my dreams.

So… Thanks mom and dad for making sure I had people in my life that would give me a little better teaching and a whole lot of mentoring. I know you were just trying to keep my grades up, but I guess you never counted on the end results that were more valuable than the grades. It’s probably one of the many great gifts you have ever given me. Confidence… Understanding… and the ability to dream.

How about you? Any pivotal moments in your life growing up? Was there anyone who played a role like that? A teacher? A coach? A tutor?

**Side Note.. What I experienced as a kid with tutors is the main reason I love how Compassion International works with kids. The tutors become these life changing mentors. I see it every time I visit them… and every time I think about Bob and Ms. McCray – Every time for the past 10 years of taking trips overseas.

You never know the impact you are going to have on a kid’s life.

Don’t forget it.

I’m a fairly patriotic guy. I love my country and everything that makes it unique. I love our heartland and all the things that make America a melting pot of a wide variety of cultures. I’m thankful this country was founded on principles of freedom. I love the word liberty and I love the colors red, white and blue.

But there’s nothing I love more than our flag and what it stands for…

Michael W. Smith plays a song in his show called There She Stands. It’s a song about the American flag. The short version of why this song was written is this.

Six weeks after 9/11. Michael was sitting in the Oval Office having a conversation with Former President George W. Bush. (Michael’s relationship to the Bush family starts with his longtime relationship with Bush 41. President George H.W. Bush)

As Michael tells it, he and the President, George W. Bush, were talking about the events of 9/11. As the President talked he looked up at Michael and said “W… You should write a song about the flag.” So… six months later, Michael wrote There She Stands. Why is this important?

Every night, Michael plays this song with the video (you can watch it below). Without fail, half way through the song, the audience stands in honor and respect followed by a roaring applause at the end of the song. I get goose bumps every time I see it happen.

This past week, I witnessed this all happen again only this time, as I was standing at the back of the auditorium, I watched people stand… One by one… Those that stood first were all over 60 and they stood proud. Some even stood with their hand over their heart. As I watched this all unfold I cried… and any time I cry in a situation like this it’s over how much I truly love America and the freedom we have to be who we are.

Consequently, I cry during the Star Spangled Banner as well. It just freaking moves me.

So I ask you… What does the flag mean to you? I asked last week what the heartland of America means to you… but now I want to know what does the flag mean to you? If you’re not from America, what does your flag mean to you?

P.S. here’s the video…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj9Fa6IFM8Q

I’m trying to figure something out and I need your help in answering this question…

What is the heartland of America? No… I don’t really need to know where it is exactly as much as What it is… What does it mean to you?

Is it baseball and apple pies? American flags and Chevrolet? Ford Trucks and BBQ? Farms, cattle, crops and a good pair of boots? All things Texas? (slight joke for Keely Scott)

Is it the American Way? What is it?

I’m flying home from Phoenix as I write this. I’m looking down over our great country and there are crops for miles around. Roads and farm houses all playing their part in the American dream.

You see, I grew up in Arkansas where my world was filled with music, family, church and friends. Weekends at the lake spent waterskiing and swimming. Rock n Roll and concerts, basketball games, swim practice, soccer, football, church pot-luck and the rodeo with the occasional two step thrown in for good measure in my college days.

So… if you wouldn’t mind, take a minute or two and leave me a comment. Tell me what the heartland of America means to you.

What does it feel like, smell like, look like, taste like… whatever you want to say.

I really appreciate your help and look forward to your answers.

Last year my friend Lindsey Nobles kept telling me I should read Donald Miller’s book A Million Miles In A Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life. Well, I finally did… and I loved it. But before I get into why I loved it, I should tell you a couple of things about my reading habits.

1. I love to read, but my best times to read are when I travel. I seem to be able to focus without having to deal with much distraction at all. If it’s a long weekend of flying around the country, even better – more time for me to read.
2. I’m purposefully late to the game on some things in my life. When I first heard about Donald Miller, everyone I knew was reading Blue Like Jazz. Then one night in Denver at a music industry showcase, I got to meet Donald Miller backstage. He was funny and completely engaging. Plus he is friends with my Big Tent band mate, Randy Williams, which provided for a quick prank call to Randy’s voice mail with Donald’s humor all over it.

So… here I am. I have finally read a Donald Miller book and the one I read first was exactly the book I needed to read. Here’s why:

I travel a lot and because I do, I meet all kinds of people from all walks of life. Somewhere along my own journey I heard a phrase that has stuck with me… Everyone has a story.

It’s true isn’t it? Some people have these great stories about the journey of their life. But others… not so much.

Then there is the immediate story. The one you don’t know, the one you don’t see… all in the one that stands right in front of you. You might know them, you might have just met them, you might have just done business with them, you might be standing there not paying attention and say absolutely nothing to them or in my case as I write this post… I might be sitting next to them on a flight.

That person has a story they are living out right as we speak. Whether they realize it or not… it could be a tough story of life or one of happiness and success… All the same… It’s a story and it’s unfolding.

In all of my travels and meeting different people, I sometimes look at who I am and wonder… Am I really living out my story well? Am I even living? Do I know that my life is truly worth living? And not just living for me… but living in such a way to encourage others to live their lives well… or better?

You see… I’m all about a person’s story. It’s what makes us unique. It brings a certain character and flavor into our voice, our decisions, our relationships and the way we interact with life.

As I read the book, I wondered in and out of Donald’s story feeling inspired for different reasons to make the most of the opportunities I have in my life. But the greatest take-a-way I had was this.

My story has many chapters. With each chapter come new characters, twists and turns. My story is mine to live, mine to own and mine to grab a hold of and not let go. And all I could think was…

I’m ready to live a better story for myself. I want to live a better story. I’m going to live a better story.

As I finished Donald’s book, my flight was literally coming in on approach into Portland, Oregon while finishing the last page. (Fitting since it’s where Donald lives.)

Donald… Thanks. Thanks for having such a great way with your words, your humor and for telling a great story. Most importantly, thank you for continuing to live a better story and telling us about it… the good times and the bad.

I loved your book.

Spence.

Question: Thoughts on living a better story?

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