OVERFLOW

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV) I heard a story about a rich man who was approached by a poor man who needed a large sum of money, around 140k. They had had a good relationship so the wealthy friend agreed to give the money to his friend on the condition that they meet every Friday morning at 5 am at a coffee shop and in return the wealthy friend would impart some wisdom with his friend and also give him $4,000 for every week he came. Of course, he agreed to the arrangement and when the first Friday came, he showed up at 4:30 am so not to be late and as promised was given insight and a check for $4,000. This continued for several weeks and around the sixth week, the rich friend told his buddy that they did not have to meet anymore and that he would give him the remaining amount of money. He had enjoyed his company and speaking with him on those mornings and would stil

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) I’m sure most of us have played a trust building game sometimes referred to as leading the blind. If you have not or do not know what I am referring to, basically you blindfold one person and attempt to navigate them through an obstacle course with only your words (If you have not tried this, I recommend that you do. It is a great way to help communicate the importance of our words and for building trust). When blindfolded, it takes a certain degree of trust in the person guiding you that they will not steer you into danger and will be leading you on the correct path. Although trust is an aspect of this activity, I would argue that most of us can do it just fine. In terms of a trivial game with very little risk at all, it is very easy for us to trust. Unfortunately, when applied to our lives and the relatio

“17 I was enraged by their sinful greed; I punished them, and hid my face in anger, yet they kept on in their willful ways. 18 I have seen their ways, but I will heal them; I will guide them and restore comfort to Israel’s mourners, 19 creating praise on their lips…” Isaiah 57:17-19 (NIV) It’s amazing how man (as a human race) reacts with varying degrees to challenges, obstacles, and failure. Some will give up at the first sign of resistance and others will complain about. Very few will have the tenacity to stand up to the difficulties that life possesses and take hold of their dreams. It takes an acute eye to identify the source of your discomfort and a wise one to understand how one got there and what is necessary to get out. In the verse for this week, I was reminded and astounded at the fickleness and lack of devotion of the Israelite people. They had seen God and heard His voice. They have had Him fight many of their battles for them and they have heard and witnessed His pow

  “39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (12) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 11:39-12:3 As I reflect on my own life and the road I have traveled to reach where I am today, I am amazed at how it all worked out. When I was younger, I did not appreciate the little things in life and I am coming to the realization that the small challenges in my life were

" And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose .” Romans 8:28(NIV) In June 2013, the US Department of Labor published the results of their American Time Use Survey. The aggregated report outlines the amount of time that Americans spent on various activities during the course of a day. According to the report this is a summarized breakdown of their findings: 7.7 hours a week were spent working by employed persons Men spent an average of 2.0 hours on household activities (Women spent 2.6) 6.0 hours were spent by persons over the age of 15 watching TV, socializing, or exercising Adults living in households with children spent an average of 2.0 hours providing primary childcare The sum of the above listed activities total to 17.7 hours. Assuming you enjoy 6 hours of sleep and the remaining .3 hours of the day are spent on personal care, your day is accounted for. Unfortunately, depending on your

“Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: 8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.” Proverbs 30:7-8 (NIV) In a speech made in 1863, Abraham Lincoln said, "We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us." Agur’s prayer in Proverbs provides us with a beautiful glimpse inside

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith" Hebrews 12:1-2 (NIV) Also, please read Ecclesiastes 12:1-7. Why is it that we (maybe I am just speaking for the men) love danger? During one of my morning drives I decided to drive with my lights off (This was around 4 am). And it may seem like that is something that is not very dangerous at all, but there was a very thick fog that morning and I could not see more than 5 ft. in front of my car. No matter how dangerous or stupid it was, I still wanted to do it. I wanted to drive blind. I finally get to my neighborhood and, at this point I’m about half-way through my neighborhood, I realize that if someone is running in the street I am going to hit him. Why? Because I am not able to see and by the ti

"For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." 1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV) This past weekend (Month even) has been a very busy one. It often happens that when life ramps up, we cut the unimportant things out of our lives in order to accomplish the tasks we identify as most critical. To all my followers, I want to apologize for my having cutting this portion of my life out for a period of time and I will do my best to have more consistency. A years ago, the United States Army deployed a digital "fitness" test to its soldiers and certain respondents received a message that read, "Spiritual fitness may be an area of difficulty. You may lack a sense of meaning and purpose in your life. At times, it is hard for you to make sense of what is happening to you and to others around you. You may not feel connected to something larger than yourself. You may question your

"Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them." Deuteronomy 11:16 I read the story of a man who took a slip of paper and wrote upon it only three letters spelling "G-O-D." He showed it to his friend, who was plainly overcome with greed and the worship of wealth. He took a coin, and after having placed the coin over the slip of paper, asked his friend the same question from a different perspective, "Can you see God?" Of course the man’s friend said that he could not. So it is with all men and women in this life. Whatever things that we place in front of God will block our view of God. Especially in this day and age with technologies like the internet nearly everything we can imagine can be bought from our fingertips. Now I am not saying that objects are evil, or even that the desire for things is wrong. The point that I am trying to make is that when our passions, motivations, desire, will, and purpos

“Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” 1 Timothy 4:15-16 (NIV) As we approach the 6 month mark since the inception of this blog and I wanted to take some time to look at where we were and compare it to where we are now. It is always a good idea to look back at where you have come from in order to ensure that you have not lost your original focus and that you are improving. I wrote in my first post that the purpose of this blog is to help motivate me to grow physically and spiritually and to provide encouragement to others who want to do the same. So let's take a look. Physically, I have made leaps and bounds in my training. I have PR’ed every movement and have been consistent in reducing the time and increasing the reps of the workouts I have done. For those of you reading/following, I hope t

I just wanted to say thank you to all the judges, volunteers, athletes, and audience members for making the Fittest of Overflow competition a success. We had a great turnout for the event and only had two guys "decorate the pavement" (if you know what I mean). This year's two-person team champions are Alex and Ramon Galvez, taking 1st in two of the three events and having the lowest overall score of 6. They were followed very closely behind by Joel and Herson Garcia who finished only two points behind first place. Also, the female team (Eva Estrada and Lili Peralta) did very well, taking first in one of the three events and finishing the competition in 5th place. We had a large age range of competitors from 13-60+, but the competition was very tight still with only 5 points separating first from last place. For those who are sore, I recommend taking a nice cold shower, stretching out those sore muscles , and drinking plenty of fluids to rehydrate yourselves as it  was a

"You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." 1 John 4:4 (NIV)   I don’t know if any of you have ever found yourself in a situation where you thought that everything was going wrong and there just did not seem to be any sign of it stopping. Or maybe you were in a state where you did not think you had any strength left to keep on keeping on. Situations like these can be extremely discouraging and depressing if you allow them to be.   We are all going to face challenges and trials, but we all should understand that we have the capacity to overcome them. It may take a little blood, sweat, and tears but we can overcome them. Beethoven lost his hearing, but was still able to overcome this disability to become of the greatest composers of all time. Abraham Lincoln went to war a captain and returned a private. Albert Einstein could not speak until he was four years old and could not read

I'm back from vacation and I feel refreshed. If you ever get a chance to visit Guatemala make sure you stop by Lake Atitlan.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7 (NIV) When I come to the end of my life, I would like to think I will be able to say that I fought the good fight and finished the race that was set out before me. My race is to bring glory to God in all that I do and to raise, teach, and equip a generation to do the same. While in seminary, one of my professors asked me a tough question regarding the heart of why I am running my race. He asked me, “If you were to die today and you knew that there was a 100% chance of you going to hell when you died, would you still serve God?” It is not enough to just run the race if your heart is not in it. If Heaven, blessings, healing, peace, joy, strength, encouragement..etc is the reason why you run your race, then God is simply a means to an end. He is simply a way for you to attain __________ and if there were another way to get ___________ than you would pursue/serve that. As we run the race, l

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans." Proverbs 16:3 (NIV) Dr. Albert Bartlett, an expert on compounding, gave this scenario. Let’s suppose you’re sitting in a water tight baseball stadium which seats over 50,000 people, and you’re handcuffed to the top bleacher. Let’s say a single drop of water is placed in the center of the stadium and is allowed to double at a rate of 1 time per minute. In other words, 1 drop doubled, equals two drops added to the stadium. The next minute, two drops doubled equals four drops, next minute, four doubled equals eight, and so on. How many minutes do you suppose you'd have before you'd drown? A few months? A few days? Get this — how about 49 minutes?! That’s right;  it would take only 49 minutes to drown completely! What’s even more remarkable is that at 44 minutes, the amount of water in the stadium would only be at 7%! It is unfortunate that so many of us believe that we have all the time in the wo

If anyone is looking for a professional carpenter, give me a call.

"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope." Romans 15:4 (NIV) Recently I experienced some nostalgia when I watched a show from my early childhood, Recess. If you have never heard of this show I recommend that you take 20 minutes out of your day to educate yourself on the wonders that is the show Recess. It "documents" the crazy shenanigans and events of 6 elementary school children during...who would've guessed Recess. Growing up it was one of my favorite shows and, 15+ years later, this fact holds true. There are not many things in our lives, if any, that will be timeless and timely. The word of God is one thing that we can have in our lives that is both timeless and timely. A true constant that is always edifying and teaching us. All scripture is profitable to us and all scripture is profitable to us now. It is a source

"Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” James 1:12 (NASB) This week, my washer machine broke. It was spinning like crazy and the agitator was banging against the walls of the machine so hard it was rocking. I took it upon myself to fix it rather than call a mechanic and, after opening it up, I was able to identify the source of the problem; a broken shock dampening device. I had to order the part online and, after waiting a few days for it to be delivered, was able to fix it. There is something about being a man that loves to fix things. It gives us a sense of accomplishment; especially if it involves our hands. When we reach the ends of our lives, the Bible tells us the faithful will receive the crown of life. The work and the endurance we had on earth will be rewarded in heaven and what a glorious gift that is. That is a much bigger accomplishment in my

" 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth"  1 John 3:17-18 (ESV) Nothing can be more harmful than a bad habit. One habit that I have mentioned in one of my sermons recently was the danger of developing a habit of receiving a conviction from God to do something and doing nothing about it. Unfortunately, this is occurring too frequently throughout this world. Easter is always a good time to refocus our thoughts back on truth and, hopefully, reroute our lives back in the right direction. I am going through my last week of the Crossfit Open and have used it to diagnose my weaknesses so I can focus on improving myself. Gotta get stronger...one day at a time. WOD: Complete the following in as few rounds as possible: 50 Back Squats (140#) 100 Air Squats Work for a minute and complete as many sq

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord..." Colossians 3:23 (NIV) This week began the Open for the Crossfit Games. WOD 1 was a doozy. The workout was as follows: 17 minute AMRAP of: 40 Burpees 30 Snatch, 75 / 45 lbs 30 Burpees 30 Snatch, 135 / 75 lbs 20 Burpees 30 Snatch, 165 / 100 lbs 10 burpees Max rep Snatch, 210 / 120 lbs You can go ahead and check out games.crossfit.com and search me to see how I did. I should have took more rest yesterday, but oh well, what's done is done. On to next week....

"...always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 5:20 (NIV) Been pretty busy lately, so I have not had much time to post up a new blog. I will try to be more consistent and put one up every week. This verse popped into my head tonight as I am getting ready to do my WOD for the night. It's so easy to get bogged down by life, but isn't it great that we have life. I look around at the things in my room and cannot help but feel blessed. And with what He has given to me, I work to use it to bring Him glory. The Crossfit Games are coming up and I am pumped to start this season. I competed last year, but did not register as an athelete and did fairly well. I scored myself against those up there and was aroung mid-pack. This year should be even more exciting...especially since I registered myself as an athelete. No matter how poorly or well I do, I will give thanks to God for giving me the ability to compete.

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”   Isaiah 6:8 (NIV) Many years ago, a rider came across some soldiers who were trying to move a heavy log of wood without success. The corporal was standing by as the men struggled. The rider asked the corporal why he wasn’t helping. The corporal replied: "I am the corporal. I give orders." The rider dismounted, went up and stood by the soldiers and as they tried to lift the wood, he helped them. With his help, the task was carried out. The rider was George Washington, the Commander-in-chief. He quietly mounted his horse and went to the corporal and said, "The next time your men need help, send for the commander-in-chief." Let’s never let pride get the best of us. Remember no matter how big you think you are, God is always bigger and He wants to use you. He has a great plan, but he needs you to man up and do it. WOD : Complete the f

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"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who [ a ] have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 (NIV)   I want to start off with saying that I do not believe in coincidences, I simply believe in God. Having said that, I was housesitting for a good friend of mine this past weekend and they have these special doors that lock once you walk outside (Maybe they are regular doors, but I’m used to the doors that don’t let you twist the handle when its locked). Well, to keep this story short, I found myself locked outside of the house with no phone and no keys. Fortunately, I had called a friend of mine earlier to hang out and get some food and he was on his way. The “God” moment of this story is that he just so happened to be in the area dropping his wife off to work. Also, he usually does not take her to work and when he does, he drops her off around 9. I had called him around 11:30. Some would say its coincidence that he w

"If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell." Matthew 5:29 (NIV) It is always harder to break a habit, than to continue on in one. As the Games (Crossfit Games) approaches, I am glad that I took the time to create a habit of working out and working hard every day. I have seen myself grow stronger each day and I am hitting new records almost every week. I have not only been working on improving myself physically, but also mentally and spiritually. As a man, I understand the difficulty of controlling one's mind. It is a process, but it is also very possible. The first successful step that I took towards controlling my thoughts was to turn to God and have Him renew me and give me the strength and ability to do so. I'm not perfect and on occasion a wrong thought pops into my head, but because I have worked on creating a habit of purging it

"And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:19 (ASV) A while ago I had a couple of friends over for a feast of a lunch. It was amazing! We had over 4 pounds of meat, fresh corn tortillas, all the toppings you can imagine, including homemade salsa. We even had different kinds of desserts to eat afterwards. It was great. I can honestly say that God has blessed me so much and I try to be careful to not take His blessings for granted. Blessings so small such as life, clothes, and the air that we breathe are often overlooked and not regarded as a gift from God, but they are.   When He said that he will supply all my needs according to His riches in glory, I believe it. Hopefully we can all reexamine our lives and recognize His hand in everything.   WOD : Warm-up: 10 Handstand Push-ups 10 Pull-Ups 9 Handstand Push-ups 9 Pull-Ups 8 Handstand Push-ups 8 Pull-Ups ......and so on to...... 1 Handstand Push-u

Exodus 4:13 "But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”   Many times we can be like Moses, fearful and naive. God commanded Moses to speak to Pharaoh in order to bring his people freedom and deliver them to the Promised Land. Rather than show excitement and gratitude for being chosen as the vessel, Moses made multiple excuses as to why he was the wrong choice. When all his excuses failed, he simply asked the Creator of the universe to send someone else! How crazy is this?   Is God asking you to do something? Are you making the excuses that you are too busy, or not knowledgeable enough, or even inadequate? Remember 1 Corinthians 1:27, “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (NIV). Moses was a chicken, had a stuttering problem, and a shepherd when he was called by God. And God turned Him into one of the heroes of the faith and a savior to his people. If God wants to

Thanks to everyone who voted. After the week long poll to decide which family vacation video should be uploaded, the winner, capturing 60% of the vote, is me falling down while snowboarding. Here ya go: WOD: "Dirty Thirty" For time complete 30 reps of the following at 95#: Snatch Clean and Jerk Front Squat Dead Lift Time to beat: 15 minutes

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrews 13:8 (NIV) In a world full of inconsistency it is very comforting to know that there is one thing (I use this word very loosely) that does not ever change. God. Our attitudes change, our interests change, our styles change, and even our schedules change. I know this is true because I see it often in my own life, and maybe you can relate. I also know that I do not consistently do the right thing, but I am so glad that I have a relationship with a God that never changes. John MacArthur says it beautifully, “If ever he loved, he loved me forever. If ever he forgave me, he forgave me forever. If ever he saved, he saved me forever. If ever he promised me anything, he promised it to me forever.” He is consistent and hopefully in certain things we can become consistent as well.   For example, I have been a Crossfitter for a little over a year now and I know that some weeks I would rest more days than I sho

" 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV) And another week has begun...It is so strange how fast time flies without us ever taking the time to reflect on how quickly life goes on. It makes one wonder if they really used their time wisely and if they had done something significant enough to leave a legacy. I pastor a church in NW Houston and one of the core values of the church and its congregation is to leave a legacy. It is a motivational value to drive us, the church, into fulfilling the great commission. Today I read a book written by Sam Martin entitled "How I led one and one led a million". It detailed the life of Sam Martin and how he was able to lead many people to truly know Christ starting at the young age of 17. One of

My family and I went to Taos Valley, New Mexico last week with the babies and it was so much fun. Because my niece and nephew are so young, the amount of activities they could partake in were very limited. They probably enjoyed the saucer sled the most. Luckily I was able to catch some of their fun on camera. While my family was resting or playing with the babies, I spent a majority of my time on the mountain. The view from an elevation of nearly 12k feet is amazing and was a humble reminder of how great God is. By the end of the week, I had boarded all the green and blue routes and I'm hoping that next year I will be able to take on a black diamond or two. Please respond to my poll on the right to decide which video of me snowboarding I should upload. Thanks and don't forget to leave any comments, especially if you do the WOD (Workout of the day) I would like to know your score/time/feelings. WOD : It's gonna be a long one! 20 reps of the following: Wallball (2

Some days are longer than others. I am in my final semester before receiving my MBA and I can honestly say that it is draining. I work every day (except Fridays) at a traditional job, go to school full-time (not online), am very active with my young adult group and church throughout the week, and train for Crossfit every day. Needless to say my days are busy. One thing that I never cut out of my days, no matter how busy I am, is my time with my Father. It is a special time that I have come to treasure and long for. It is what helps me get through each day. Today’s workout made me appreciate all the blessings that He has given to me. Enjoy the workout! WOD: EMOM (Every minute on the minute) for 10 minutes 3 reps of one-hand kettlebell snatch (35#) Rest 5 minutes "Unbroken" 5 rounds of 30-30-20-20-10 reps Push-ups, Squats, V-ups, kettlebell triceps (35#) Perform each set unbroken and with as little rest as possible in between movements. 1 minute rest in

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." I've never been a big guy. In high school, I weighed a whopping 115 pounds. And ever since those puny days I’ve been doing everything in my power to get bigger, faster, and stronger. I currently have picked up some mass and now weigh 165 pounds. I attribute it mainly to me starting Crossfit. Through it, I have become a more disciplined man. Hopefully one day I will be good enough to compete in regionals. A lot of what I used to do in my life was to bring glory and honor to myself. It was not until high school when I truly heard God and my life changed directions. I now live for Him and, in all things, I do them for the glory of Him. Sure I slip up every now and then, but at least there is progress. This blog will hopefully keep me motivated to grow physically and spiritually and document my growth along the way. Here goes to a new adventure. WOD:   A nice easy day Snatch Practice for 15 m