DedicatedDevoted
We are a dedicated married couple devoted to Jesus, unpacking all that life has to offer. We aim to help others live a DedicatedDevoted life to Jesus Christ.
DedicatedDevoted
Finding Balance & Overcoming Obstacles: Fitness, Faith, and Community
Ever wondered how to balance the chaos of personal and professional life while keeping your faith front and center? Join us, Jared and Cora Colombel, as we navigate this complex terrain on our latest episode of Dedicated Devoted. We've got a lineup of personal stories and reflections that range from reminiscing about our most talked-about episodes, like "Breaking News Shattering the Glass Ceiling" and "The Last Supper Controversy at the Paris Olympics," to the deeply moving episode about our son Parker's limb difference. Discover why these episodes struck such a chord with our listeners and get a sneak peek into the kinds of thought-provoking topics we're excited to bring you in the future.
Finding balance is more than just a buzzword; it's a necessity. In this episode, we pull back the curtain on our own experiences with gym memberships, turning these hubs of physical activity into places of community and personal growth. We discuss the transformation and newfound confidence that come from consistent gym attendance, and we address the stigma often associated with gym culture. From the initial unease to the eventual comfort, we share how overcoming these obstacles can lead to a supportive community that encourages everyone to find their own path to well-being.
Lastly, join us as we delve into the fusion of fitness and faith. We explore how gyms can be more than just places to work out; they can be mission fields for sharing our beliefs. With personal anecdotes and a focus on the importance of standing firm in one's faith amidst societal changes, we highlight the role of faith-based apparel as conversation starters and the broader spiritual implications of maintaining physical health. Whether you're interested in the intersection of faith and fitness or looking for ways to strengthen both body and soul, this episode offers a rich tapestry of insights to inspire and inform.
Hello and welcome to Dedicated Devoted. I'm your host, jared Kolenbel.
Speaker 1:And I'm your co-host, Cora Kolenbel.
Speaker 2:On today's episode, we're going to be talking about something interesting which has to do with what types of things do you find to be personally interesting?
Speaker 1:All right, before we impact today's episode, just a reminder of how you can support the podcast. If you haven't already, please check out dedicateddevotedcom and learn more about the podcast, some awesome ways that you can support us and how to live a dedicated, devoted life On to the show.
Speaker 2:Well, on today's episode, what I would like to do is actually talk a little bit about what things are interesting to us. The reason why I want to do that is I think we have some very heavy episodes that we covered and we just went through probably five different chances to record.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I think that we have probably met our wit's end today. But we're going to power through this one and before I do that, I actually want to share some of our other episode titles, so if folks want to listen to them, they can. Interesting fact Cora, do you know I'm going to ask you a question and then I'll give you the interesting fact. Do you know which show has the most downloads so far out of all the episodes we produced?
Speaker 1:Oh, I do not Take a guess. Is it Breaking the Glass Ceiling?
Speaker 2:Yes, it actually is. So it is Breaking News Shattering the Glass Ceiling and 19 Facts About Tim Walls where we actually go a little bit into the parody of the glass ceiling breaking.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That's a really fun episode, but it's kind of a heavy episode too. Some people might think it's what do the kids say these days? Cringe, maybe A little cringe. You have political commentary by you and I, but it was a very good episode. That's the one that has the most downloads so far and then in second place it's actually tied. Do you know which ones? Do you have a guess which ones are tied?
Speaker 1:No, I'm going to let you tell me.
Speaker 2:Okay, so it's a tie for the multiplicative effect of marriage, the joyous challenges and the power of love. That's really about how God takes all great things in marriage and he multiplies the outcome. You and I got to talk about that one on our anniversary, so that was pretty cool. And then the other one that was tied in second place was the Last Supper Controversy at the Paris Olympics and Preparedness for the Master's Table. That's one that I tackled solo. That was a really great episode and it was a shorter one, but those are the two that were tied in second place. And then some of the other episodes that we have are the Democratic National Convention Passing the Torch or Political Coup, and then we have Finding Home, the Transformative Power and Lasting Bonds of Christian Community. And then here's probably the one that I would say is the most interesting that people should pay attention to. What do you think that one is?
Speaker 1:I don't know.
Speaker 2:It has to do with your little Nino.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I know I that's probably the one that's the most interesting to me, but I don't know what's interesting to people.
Speaker 2:Well, I think this one and the titles kind of lend themselves to what the subject is. But for those on, for those out there that are in listening land, grieving the loss of a limb, navigating limb differences together is actually about our son Parker's birth, and it's very weighty. There's a lot of heaviness in there. That's one of the first episodes that we ended up launching. So my encouragement to the audience all two of you out there is go and take a listen at some of these other episodes.
Speaker 2:What we're going to be doing is we're going to be teeing up a few more episodes that I think are going to be very, very interesting. They're going to be very heavy, though they're relevant right now in society. They're things that people are talking about. So, before we tee that off, I want to talk about the things that interest us, and the reason why I decided to go into a little bit of a segue into these other episodes is, first, I think that most certainly, folks need to know that these other episodes are very interesting and poking into them is going to be very informative and helpful, and so that's going to be something I think is um is noteworthy. And then the other thing I wanted to say is the things that interest me are what we're doing right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Which is what?
Speaker 1:Talking.
Speaker 2:Talking, talking, podcasting, whatever it might be Right Informational stuff. I'm not even going to call this talking. I'm going to say we're just goofing off.
Speaker 1:Yeah, right now, for sure.
Speaker 2:We have all of these really cool sounds. I'm going to going to call this talking. I'm going to say we're just goofing off. Yeah, right now for sure we have all of these really cool sounds I'm going to have to activate one of them, but we're just talking. Yeah, but you're a natural conversationalist, wouldn't you say?
Speaker 1:Oh, definitely.
Speaker 2:How many?
Speaker 1:times did I fall asleep on the phone when we first met and you just talked my ear off? I don't know, because you didn't tell me till after the fact. So I didn't know that you fell asleep, I just kept talking.
Speaker 2:More than I can count. Yeah, I am probably not a natural conversationalist, but because I've been with you so long, I have to be. It is a lot of work. I'm sure it is. It is a ton of work, but I think the results have demonstrated that hanging out with each other has really yielded a lot of value in terms of the things that we pick up from one another. So I love talking. I got to add to that.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:I love teaching as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I do not like teaching, but I like talking.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Well you have different talents.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, totally Teaching is not my talent.
Speaker 2:You could teach.
Speaker 1:Some things, but that's not my passion. Let's just say that.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:If I had to teach stuff? I'm actually really good at processes and teaching stuff, but I do not like teaching stuff.
Speaker 2:I think teaching has a reaffirming effect for me, so I'm able to learn. That's sort of my learning process, and I really do enjoy teaching. More specifically, I think I really like teaching things that have to do with Bible doctrine and theology and I'm not super in-depth with that, but that's a pretty cool sweet spot for me in depth with that, but that's a pretty cool sweet spot for me. The things that I do enjoy, though I turned this podcast into an opportunity for you and I to collaborate. This is our personal time. This is my gift to you.
Speaker 1:Oh, thanks You're welcome.
Speaker 2:We have fun right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, we have fun, we have a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:I think that, when it comes to the things that we enjoy and the things that we do, it's very easy to get caught up in the day-to-day life. Wouldn't you say oh yeah, severely overweight, and I know that I can really shed some weight and get right back to where I need to be, and so my current objective in life, when it comes to the physical side of me, is really to bring that weight down.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And as part of that, I want to make sure that I'm eating good, I'm exercising right, but the third thing that I think is super important, that I neglect. You can agree with me or disagree on this.
Speaker 1:Can I say it Sure Sleep.
Speaker 2:That's the fourth thing. Yeah, kind of.
Speaker 1:Okay, so third thing that you neglect the third thing that I neglect. Oh man, I don't know, I thought it was sleep.
Speaker 2:That's part of it, okay. The third thing that I neglect is personal time.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:That's why I wanted to explore this topic a little bit with you, because I think it'll give our listeners a little insight into you and I and the things that we enjoy and, more importantly, why personal time and having hobbies and things that we enjoy doing is really a big part of our life. I don't think God has designed us to be working robots all the time.
Speaker 1:No, definitely not.
Speaker 2:Americans you could maybe say Westerners are very prone to overworking.
Speaker 1:Well, I think for most people it's the goal to survive. I shouldn't even say goal, but it's how they survive.
Speaker 2:It is how they survive throughout the world, but as Americans, we're some of the prosperous people in the world.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And we have everything that you could imagine. But we work so much and I think that oftentimes there's a lot of neglect with that. We overwork and we neglect family. Whatever role you assume, whether it's a wife or a husband within your household, grandmother, auntie, whatever the case might be, I think those roles, oftentimes when we overwork ourselves, we neglect the roles that we're really called to, such as a father. I'm supposed to spend time with my kids. That's a really important one. There's all kinds of things that I think we are supposed to be doing, yet we get very consumed with trying to earn money, trying to get things that we really don't need. I think that there's a great opportunity to emphasize personal time, and I think that comes in a couple of different lenses, which we can probably talk about here in just a bit. But personal time and hobbies and things that interest us, I think are very important.
Speaker 1:Yeah, totally.
Speaker 2:So what kind of things are you interested in?
Speaker 1:I feel like it changes pretty much, like maybe every year, every couple of months.
Speaker 2:That sounds very expensive, but continue.
Speaker 1:It is. But well, it seems like it's been cheap lately because I haven't came up with any new hobbies. I feel like lately I've been kind of slacking when it comes to being creative. I've been doing some drawing.
Speaker 2:You're a creative type though? Yeah, but I would classify you as a creative type.
Speaker 1:I just haven't been doing as much as I used to do, but some of the things that I enjoy are going to the gym. That's one of my favorites.
Speaker 2:It's not pronounced gym, it's gyme.
Speaker 1:The gyme okay.
Speaker 2:Most people confuse that, but it's okay.
Speaker 1:Well, I'll get it someday, so that's probably one of my favorites right now.
Speaker 2:Hobbies. Well, let's talk about the guy real quick.
Speaker 1:Okay, cool.
Speaker 2:So you like going to the gym? Yes, I recall years ago buying membership after membership and being like you should go to the gym with me and you're like that is so stupid.
Speaker 1:Well, and it was super cheap too.
Speaker 2:It was not cheap.
Speaker 1:No, no, Then it was cheap.
Speaker 2:It was 10 bucks a month, but but no you know, then it was cheap, it was 10 bucks a month, but but no, I paid for more expensive gym memberships.
Speaker 1:Well, not for me. You did the $10 for me, but one year I remember I asked for a gym membership and you you paid for the whole year, which was like I don't know. I think they gave you a discount, but let's just say it was 10 bucks a month for the whole entire year and I went twice. So if you add that up, it's probably it was probably about $60 a visit.
Speaker 2:Oh, it was more than that. That was a very it was twice Very expensive gym membership.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you don't go very often, then you know you're definitely paying these companies big money. But, um, currently, at the gym that I go to, if anything, I'm probably robbing them, Cause I use it pretty often.
Speaker 2:I think that's the goal of a gym membership is you try to make sure that they lose money? Yeah, yeah. The majority of their members they're actually making money off of, but every time you go you're making them poorer or yourself stronger. Let's look at it from the positive. Yeah, so it's a good thing.
Speaker 1:No, it's really good and it's been really good because even going a lot, you get to know a lot of people. I've been able to encourage a lot of people, even encourage people to join. There'll be people at the front desk and right away I just start talking a bunch of stuff to them and pretty soon, like they join, and then I'm like, oh, then they join the gym and then I start talking to them and then we're all friends, you know.
Speaker 2:Well, the gym is a form of community. I think that that's something that you have down there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, totally, especially here. I don't think I've ever had that at any other gym. It could be because I didn't go often enough, but I feel like where we live it's definitely such a small town that you kind of see someone you know anywhere you go, which is pretty cool to me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think the gym has the butterfly effect, and not in the sense of what one thing affects another but, more that people, when they go to the gym, they really hate it, and then, when they start feeling better about themselves, they turn into butterflies.
Speaker 1:Oh no, totally. So I made a post on social media a while back ago and it was about constantly wearing sweaters to the gym, right? So when I first started, I had a lot of videos of myself, or I should say a few and in every single video I'm wearing a sweater because that felt comfortable to me. It didn't feel comfortable to show my stomach or even let anybody see anything else, right, that just felt comfortable. And as I got more comfortable I stopped wearing sweaters. So now it's kind of a reminder when I see and it's mainly women, but I do see men new people come to the gym and they're in a sweater. It just reminds me of, like, where I started almost three years ago actually was constantly wearing sweaters.
Speaker 2:And I think that there's obviously a really strong culture there and you meet a lot of really great people. One of the things that just popped into my mind regarding that is when it comes to the gym and finding community there and other people. I think that there's a little bit of a stigma and maybe this is just in my Christian walk where you look at people who are trying to better themselves and they feel good about themselves physically. I think that there's a point of vanity where they're just really into themselves. But I think what I did is I peanut butter, spread that all across all gym goers. So I started going to the gym two years ago and it was such an uncomfortable feeling. I went into the gym and I was just like I don't want to be here. I think that you know, it's just a lot to deal with as a man. It's hard to deal with because you have people who are just dressed in all sorts of ways.
Speaker 1:And I think that there's boundaries.
Speaker 2:Wouldn't you agree, when it comes to clothing, that there's boundaries For the Christian? There's boundaries that we need to abide by?
Speaker 1:What are your thoughts on that? I think like I didn't even realize so much at our gym how people dress, because I feel like at the time that I go, which is usually in the morning, people are dressed pretty appropriate for the gym, um, but then when I talked to a few other gym members who are men about clothing before they talked about a certain time, they're like the girls really kind of show a lot more skin and uh, I guess me personally have not really seen that at our gym, but when I go to the big gym in Albuquerque, that's kind of when I see more women dressed with less clothes. Let's just say that. And I say women because the men there's some men that actually wear some stuff. That's maybe a little questionable, but I have to say for the most part it's probably women.
Speaker 2:This brings up a really good topic about men and lust.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I think it's. We're in a day and age right now where you just have everything you can imagine. Pornography is available anywhere, at all times you have. You just have all kinds of external attractions and detractions, and when I go to the gym, that was one of the things that I kind of worried about right away is you see things you shouldn't see.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And it really requires that you have a heart that's been refined. You know, if you go to scripture, it was Jesus that said it's not the things externally that defile us, it's the things internally that defile us, the things that come out of us that defile us. And one of my big things is, as I've gone to the gym and I'm sharing this with you the first time I remember we served in a church for some time and we had a pastor there, pastor Allen, and he had mentioned that when he goes to the gym it's eyes, you know, it's eyes forward and no glances, because that's what the gym invites now.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Lots of um, lots of sexual attraction and lust, and I I think it's on both sides, I don't want to just say men and women.
Speaker 1:Totally.
Speaker 2:Like I see my gym. We refer to them as your gym and my gym. Yeah, but my gym is in town, and when I say in town, not our hometown, I have to go into work.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And my gym. You see more of a social club.
Speaker 1:Well, see, and I don't notice it, like you're saying, because you're a man. So if you're saying you could see it on both sides, like I don't notice it with the women, right, because I am a woman, so it's not very common for women to be looking at me, you know, if they look at me, it's like totally different, right? So you're saying it from your perspective, like that there are women who check guys out too, or yeah, yeah, that's what I mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I'm saying that I don't, I don't notice that because for me it's like you notice men checking you out, not women.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I have to be really careful with that because, like, for instance, this morning I saw a guy spotting a girl and I was like you see, these people have never worked out before. Yeah, and you already know right. It's like the guy goes up or the girl goes up to the guy and she's like I can't lift this 10 pounds, Can you spot me? And you're like do you really need a spotter? These are the kind of stupid narratives that are going through my head and so I got to, I got to turn away and just be like it's game time focus, Do what you're here for. That to me is the gym. It's about the focus of the individual, getting your goals. For me it's losing weight. But I tell you, having a prepared heart going into any place, whether it's a gym or any other venue very, very important thing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I feel like that might be something that you see more at your gym, because I feel like there's a different age group at your gym, cause at my gym I don't see that Like um. I feel like if anyone's ever asked for help, it's legitimate, right, like the chick is lifting heavy weights. I've never seen anyone help someone that was a stranger and it's like barely anything right and you're like she could pick that up or he could lift that.
Speaker 1:Usually it's like they really do need help and I have to say yeah, I have to say that at our gym, just from what I've noticed, if I've even ever asked anyone to spot me, it's always been someone I know. But I know from past experience I had a guy asked me to spot him and I didn't know who he was and I didn't know why he asked me and it wasn't until like months later that I finally asked him one day and he said, because you seem like the toughest person here that I could ask, cause you know, when I go it's usually seniors. So he didn't trust any seniors to like pick up 200 and some pounds off his chest, but he did trust me.
Speaker 2:So I was like, oh thanks, you're the person who could pull a bar off my throat if I dropped it on you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, probably, yeah, and so I didn't know why he asked me, but that's later on I realized.
Speaker 2:Maybe just a stretch.
Speaker 1:I think for anybody, probably more modesty can go. I mean, I guess it could be good for anybody. But I don't even think personally that it's all about what you wear to get attention. I think sometimes it's just your personality. You know, just being an outgoing person you'll attract a lot of people, and not saying in a sexual way, but just in even just people just want to be around you, people want to talk to you, people want to say hi because they know that you're going to be responsive, I guess, to them. You're not going to ignore them, you're just going to be nice, no matter what the conversation might be.
Speaker 1:And I say that from my own experience that it really doesn't sometimes matter what you wear. Sometimes you just attract people. I'm saying you can wear stuff and you attract people, but I'll be honest with you, those people don't come up and talk to you. So if you're dressed, maybe slightly provocative, or you question your outfit, those guys might stare, but they're not going to come say hi, they're not going to come talk to you. Typically they won't come approach you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, where the energy flows, the people go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so I feel like it's just like I have a lot of people approach me all the time men and women to talk, but it's because they know I will be nice and talk to them as well.
Speaker 2:Well it comes back to. People are searching for community, yeah, they want to have an outlet and they want to be plugged in, and that's a really important thing in our society right now.
Speaker 1:Even at our gym I'll see some people, like some guys that I've known for a long time. They'll show up and I'm still. I'm working out and 10 minutes goes by, 20 minutes goes by, 30 minutes goes by and they're still just saying hi to everybody. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:Like they haven't even started their workout yet and you're like, holy smokes, this person is still having a conversation with people. It's their outlet. They're looking for an opportunity to talk and chat and then also get a little bit of health. I don't want to neglect that.
Speaker 1:No, because they are. They're pretty healthy people. It's just, it's not about just fitness and getting strong and getting muscular and get it done in 30 minutes.
Speaker 2:A lot of times. It really is about, like you said, community and getting to know people. Well, one of the things I don't want to misconstrue is that going to the gym is purely work. We're talking about personal interests and hobbies, and so for a lot of people, going to the gym really is a very healthy outlet for them. Very healthy.
Speaker 1:Well, and I know, for me it's a big difference because at the gym that I go to currently, I know so many people there so it feels like I could really sit and talk to people. If sometimes someone's having a bad day, I can spend some time to find out what's going on or how I can help or whatever. Or you know, sometimes it's been someone's daughter who dies and so just talking to them about that has been my, my, my, like whole gym session. But at the big gym that you go to and I've gone to also in town um, that one I don't have that, you know, all my interactions with people have been more, I guess you could say, superficial or like you know, like good job and that kind of thing. It's not like.
Speaker 2:Nobody ever tells me good job.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, I've had that a lot lately. People have been really friendly.
Speaker 2:And I work out with my good friend, yeah.
Speaker 1:People should get it from someone, Right. But no, I'm just saying that it's. I feel like I've built a community at my gym, where, in Albuquerque, I try to stay to myself. So if anyone comes and approaches me, I'll be friendly, I'll say thank you, you know, if they think I did a really good job, but we don't have any deep conversations like we have at our gym.
Speaker 1:I've I've known when people have had strokes you know, I've checked on them for that. Um, you know when they've had a baby being born, like anything in their family. You know, a divorce, getting married, um, today a little girl at the gym celebrated her first birthday. So, um, as I'm just walking by, uh, two of the ladies I know, one's like a friend and one's the mom, and one of the friend goes oh, by the way, she's one today, and so I'm, I'm doing my bench press and I'm like, oh, that's cool. And then, after I finished my set, I went up to the little girl and I said happy birthday. And the mom goes. Everyone's been telling her that today, that she, she doesn't know why everyone keeps telling her that, and I just thought it was really cute yeah.
Speaker 1:So I said congratulations on a whole year. But at the other gym I wouldn't care about anyone else's birthday or baby's birthday or no one near, nor would anyone tell me it's their kid's birthday, no one cares.
Speaker 2:If you really cared about that little girl, you would have done a one rep max for her.
Speaker 1:Well, you did I did, but not at that gym.
Speaker 2:So today, today, you had your deadlift max, and what was that?
Speaker 1:270.
Speaker 2:270. Not bad.
Speaker 1:You don't have the hand clap thing on here or anything like that, I do have the hand clap. Oh do you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, good job. 270. 270, yeah.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I did hit a max but, not at that gym.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I will say that I warm up with 270, so yeah, nobody cares. In all seriousness. So I got a question for you. Okay, Do you find opportunities to share Christ, or do you find it hard to share Christ in the gym? Because I see it as a mission field.
Speaker 1:No, I don't find it hard. And why don't you not find it hard to share Christ in the gym? Because I see it as a mission field. No, I don't find it hard.
Speaker 2:And why don't you not find it hard?
Speaker 1:Because I also feel like the gym that I go to there's a lot of Christians there, okay, so a lot of times Kind of representative of our area?
Speaker 2:Yeah, it is, but not all people who say that they're Christians are Christians. I mean the majority of people that I've met, who say that they do. They don't have the fruits of the spirit to demonstrate that and so I'm very weary of that.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, like, even like I was saying, like the friend of the mom that I talked to today, like she's inviting me to Bible studies and that kind of thing. So I have to say there's some that are not Christian, but like one lady today told me about her knee surgery next week and she's trying to make sure she stays nice and safe. So she did because she just got COVID like a week ago. So she's like I have to keep making make sure that I don't get sick, because then I won't have the surgery. She's a Christian, you know. So we can, I can say like I'll pray for you and she's not going to get offended or tell me anything rude, you know, and I know, I know she's a Christian because we've spoke with her before, you included. But I have to say, for the most part, most of the people are Christian. I guess that I really hang out with and I know there's not, it's not everybody, but again I feel like the community has a lot of Christians.
Speaker 2:Yeah, about two years ago, and maybe it was the last 18 months ago, I decided that I was going to start becoming a billboard for Jesus.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I got cheap Amazon Jesus shirts.
Speaker 1:And they're cheap because they've been peeling and all that stuff They've been peeling and everything.
Speaker 2:But the case in point is, I think that I've been a pretty strong advocate for the faith and there was a time period where that kind of slipped. You know, I was going through a lot of drama and trauma with my last job and just how everything was unfolding there, so I kind of put my faith in the backseat and I told myself this and I do this even at my work right now I tell myself I'm going to live out my faith versus telling people about my faith.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I'm like, if you, if you want to know, then come and talk to me. So I wear these shirts to try to invoke conversation and provoke thought and go hey, what, what is that that you're wearing?
Speaker 1:And so well it's a good opportunity that that you're wearing and so it's a good opportunity. Yeah, and I think when you first got them, though, um, I think I thought to myself like this is not going to work right, like wearing them is great, but no one's going to ask you anything, no one's going to say anything, like it's not going to be a conversation starter. And since you've been wearing them, it actually really has. You've told me a few times where people have come up to you and I feel like a lot of the people who've talked to you about the shirts, it's more people who've backslidden.
Speaker 2:It's people who are looking for some connection to try to progress.
Speaker 1:Some reminders too, of like ah, jesus is king.
Speaker 2:That's how God works and I do think it's an opportunity. Part of me is a little bit of a fire starter.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I know that.
Speaker 2:I want people to be provoked by the shirts that I'm wearing, because it really does give me an opportunity to engage intellectually, and that's where we talk about things that we enjoy. I light up when it comes to stuff that's intellectually stimulating. If I can get into a subject that I find to be just enthralling, at the time I'll go deep into that subject, and I think apologetics is one of the arenas that I really enjoy. I still need to wrap up my master's in apologetics, but apologetics are just awesome and I think that there's so much rich history around that, and so there's just some things that I just get so excited about, and that's definitely one of them. Huge advocate for construction and construction methodologies, anything like that I really enjoy, which is why I'm in the industry I'm in, but the shirts themselves are really an opportunity for me to wear my faith, because I think there's a lot of fear out there right now. People just don't want to be pinned as the hateful Christian.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, it's very easy to be pinned as that too.
Speaker 2:It's going away very quickly too. The pendulum is swinging to the other side, where I think far too long we've been silent, and now a lot of people who veer on the conservative side, or you could say Christian side, are really starting to say I have to live my faith.
Speaker 1:And I don't know, I don't even think. It's just that. I just think a lot of people have common sense and they're also using it, if that makes any sense.
Speaker 2:Oh, for sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's not even people who are Christian, but they're kind of like none of this makes sense. Why are we doing this? Like eventually, you get to that point where you're like this is stupid.
Speaker 2:Well, I-.
Speaker 1:Christian or not?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I've said it, I think before that the reason why I'm a Christian is the biblical Christian worldview is the most intellectual and rational worldview, and I'm a rationalist and evidentialist. I have to see and know and feel and see data, and there's just so much to the Christian faith that I think is really attracting people. I know that we did an episode that was titled Cultural Christianity and unfortunately it didn't record, and in that episode I talked about the attraction to Christianity. And when I say attraction I think that the world, the exterior world, is looking inwardly at what we're doing and they're going. That just kind of makes sense. They figured out what life is, what death is, what joy is, what peace is, what happiness is, and they're suffering and they're still happy. There has to be something to this.
Speaker 1:Oh no.
Speaker 2:So I think that it's a great opportunity as a mission field and I have met some very interesting people and I've encouraged people and I'm going to continue to do that because I think it's a great opportunity. What I'll say is there's a lot of other people who advocate for much different things at the gym with their attire, and so I'm choosing to do the same thing, but to to vie for my worldview.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I think, um, I think, like I said, with that stuff it just depends, but I I think that I've seen way more in the city gym than I have out here in the country gym the country bumpkin gym right.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, like people just way different. Like, I think, um, the big gym, the country bumpkin gym, right. Oh yeah, like people dress way different, like, I think, the big gym. I rarely see anyone wear jeans or anything like that, but at my gym it's like the main attire for most of the old guys there. They like to wear jean pants.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:There's nothing wrong with that either. It just seems uncomfortable to wear, but it's like. Well, whatever.
Speaker 2:There's no wrong way to go to the.
Speaker 1:Gaim, no, definitely not.
Speaker 2:You want to go to the Gaim in shorts? You do that right. You want to wear flip-flops and walk on the treadmill? Don't do that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 2:If you're out there listening, you know who you are.
Speaker 1:Yeah, oh, we've had a few of those. Usually there's like at our gym there's sometimes they're like the big guys. I think there was that big guy I was telling you about with. He would like lift so much weight, but then he would wear flip flops.
Speaker 2:I'm like this guy's going to. Don't wear flip flops at the gym. One thing that I've seen and I saw it today is the machine hog.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:These two gals were taking weight, and I remember, so it was a squat rack.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And they're taking the bars up on the squat rack and they're taking the plates off of it and I looked at it and I was like why is it so high, yeah. And then some guy screams from the other side I'm using that and he's the biggest guy I've seen in a long time. They started putting the weight back on. Oh no. And they're like we're so sorry.
Speaker 1:But I'm like like, where were you? Yeah, you weren't even here. Like, yeah, he, he was doing something else and we all know who, who that guy is. Well, I kind of did that today. I felt really bad, but I was doing, you know, uh, deadlifts, and since I was doing the weight that, I said, um, like, well, I was getting to 270 right. So I was already like at 260, some. I had to use the restroom. So I thought, okay, I just finished a set like, like or not a set. I finished one and then I thought I better go quick because I have to use the restroom but I still have a few minutes to actually do some resting. Um, so I left my water bottle there and I ran to the bathroom, came back and, you know, no one needed it. But I figured at that point if someone really needed it they'd have to take all the weights off and get started. But I hate doing that. But technically I would still have to wait like three minutes before I try to lift again.
Speaker 1:So I try to make it less than three minutes to use the restroom and come back. But, um, but if someone were to be there and be like, oh, I want to use it, I'd probably be like, okay, well, that's my sign to be done you know, Cause occasionally, um, you have that, but again, I feel like that is more of your gym problem, not my gym problem. Most people at my gym are pretty nice about letting you work in or saying no go ahead, joris. Or just not being rude about like holding all the weights.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you just got to be quick. I've learned and it only really takes one time that most people, including the gym employees, frown when you pee in the corner.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I haven't tried that yet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, it saves a tremendous amount of time, but it's just frowned upon. So for all our listeners, don't try it. Just rush to the restroom. Don't hog the weights.
Speaker 1:Well, you have three minutes two to three minutes if you're going heavy, so there's plenty of time, even in a big gym.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but all those hip people are like listen, I'm on a, I'm on a Tabata, I'm on 20-second intervals. Come on, let's go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, maybe, but that's another thing though I like about my gym versus yours is I feel like there's a big difference in what the women can lift. I know that there are strong women at your gym so that's the city gym but when I go I don't see them. So that's the city gym, but when I go I don't see them. So you know, I'm kind of like the only like masculine looking chick there you know, lifting a bunch. Yeah, because they're all cute, you know, and they're not sweating at all. They have like makeup on and everything. And I'm not kidding you, when I went to the bathroom I was drenched in sweat.
Speaker 2:And for our listeners, it's totally acceptable if you have a ton of makeup, but if you're not sweating, what are you doing at the gym?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, I mean, there's nothing wrong with either one. I've worn makeup to the gym, uh well, but not on purpose, my mantra is I go to the gym to sweat like a pig. Oh yeah, no I if I leave and I'm drenched.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's disgusting, I get it, but if I leave and I'm drenched and my body hurts, I'm like good job.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but what I'm saying is, if you're lifting heavy, you're sweating.
Speaker 2:For sure.
Speaker 1:So that's usually my thing. I rarely have seen anyone sweat at your gym.
Speaker 2:Well, you haven't seen me in the morning.
Speaker 1:I'm talking about women, okay, they always look really cute and they're not sweating at all.
Speaker 2:One of the things I think that is very important about this conversation is you and I. Actually we do have some similarities when it comes to fitness. I just haven't been able to achieve it in quite a bit of years. Yeah, really struggling, and this is something that I'm going to cover on a future episode on what it means to be a masculine man in our culture, because there's so many things that are stigmatized, and I think strength is one that's included. You see a big, strong man and you go ugh and I don't mean you and I, but I think the culture as a personality sees that and they go ugh and everything's just so backwards. And it's good for men to be strong and for men to be good providers and to be prepared and ready. And this brings me back to one thing with the commonality that we have with the gym, vitality and life is really important, and I think feeling good about ourselves is important. If we don't feel good in our skin, we just don't feel good in our skin.
Speaker 1:Well, and I think that what you're saying is like seeing strong guys, it's like. But until you've actually tried to get stronger and you see what it takes, you realize how much work it is, you know. So, seeing those really strong men and women walk around sometimes it seems like an easy thing. And that's what I like about sometimes seeing women on social media that are honest, because you'll see their before and afters and you're like holy smokes, like how many months did it take? And they're like my five-year transformation. You're like holy smokes, like three years sometimes. So sometimes I've seen a two-year transformation and it's amazing, but for the most part it takes years. It just doesn't seem like that because you see them already super fit. So the fact that for me it's been almost three years of this and just even seeing where I'm at now, I realized like it's a lot of work. No matter what, it's a lot of work.
Speaker 2:It's the consistency that I think brings that success. But I believe our society has sort of molded us to think that person is probably on steroids. It's easy results. They're so vain and I've pulled away from that as I've tried to work on myself. I'm like I would love to be strong and good looking and not have high cholesterol and have more strength and endurance.
Speaker 1:Even less body fat.
Speaker 2:Less body fat. To be prepared One of my big things is to be prepared and I feel like I've been sharpening myself intellectually for years and I look at my body and I go this doesn't represent the temple of God.
Speaker 1:Well, and I think even like, not necessarily even a certain weight, but even just like your clothes not fitting, that's uncomfortable.
Speaker 2:Oh.
Speaker 1:And you could even be like a decent size. But just having things not fit right and feel uncomfortable in your own clothes is not a good feeling.
Speaker 2:There's a certain cue for me that I'm not where I need to be. It's when the band around my underwear roll. Oh, my love, handles are pushing it down and I go. What happened? That is not a good feeling.
Speaker 1:Well now think about that. But think about wearing leggings. That's exactly the same thing. If you have a little bit of that stomach fat, your leggings just roll right down. So you're constantly picking them up.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So I mean it's the same for women too, but I know for you that's been an issue in the past is having that happen, it's uncomfortable, you don't want to be you know fixing your underwear every couple of minutes.
Speaker 2:Well, here's a term that was new for me and I covered this on. I think it was the controversy at the Olympics episode and it was fat phobia, I think it was the controversy at the.
Speaker 2:Olympics episode and it was fat phobia, and I do think that we've glamorized being unhealthy. Right, I'm big, I'm fat, I'm here, I'm queer, get used to it, right, and it's like there's nothing glamorous about that. But I think that our society has tried to downplay really the things that God doesn't want us to partake in gluttony, overindulgence. There's all of these things where it's like sins have codified themselves in person and they're present and we go, that's okay.
Speaker 1:Well, because only some sin matters.
Speaker 2:I think so. I think there's an overemphas emphasis on sexuality. That's one. That's one that it's like, okay, this is a really big one. What do you mean, though?
Speaker 1:Well, no, we, we pick and choose which, which stuff matters, right? So like it's it's a sin to do this, but it's not a sin to overindulge.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and it is.
Speaker 1:Yeah, totally Even to take care of your body. Like you know, like you said, it's our temple, but if you're just over consuming and feeding it garbage and it looks like garbage and feels like garbage, then what?
Speaker 2:does that mean? It means, we're our own idol.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And what we're doing is we're serving ourselves. Yeah, and then we reap the benefits of worshiping ourselves.
Speaker 1:But people get offended by that.
Speaker 2:And this is where I think, as Christians, we need to speak truth and say God doesn't desire for anybody to be unhealthy. I get that people are sick. Some people have ailments, they're predisposed genetically to certain things. For me, I look at myself and I go. I know that if I'm the temple of the Holy Spirit, I know I can do better.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I don't even feel like super great about myself now, but I can definitely do better. I heard something the other day on a shorts clip and it was somebody describing how they gather all the food they're going to eat for the week and they pray heavily over it, and I thought that's different and the way that they said it is this food is going to become me, it's going to metabolize I don't know if that's the right word into me, and so I think about and I and that's that concept of a holy temple is if you were, if you were a physical holy temple, what would you allow into that temple?
Speaker 1:Well, if you think about most temples, it's not many things that are unholy for sure you have to stay out.
Speaker 2:This stuff has to be holy.
Speaker 1:Even some temples don't allow certain religions in them. Like certain, people have to stay out you know, because you're not part of that religion, so you must stay out. So is that how we must think of it, with food and garbage is like you don't belong here and you just got to wait outside for your brother's wedding. We had to wait outside. We didn't get to go inside. It's like you are garbage. Stay outside.
Speaker 2:You get to just look.
Speaker 1:You get to just like we got rained on. You can smell we got, we got rained on. I remember that.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, like you're not allowed here. I think that's a great analogy is when it comes to our bodies. We've, in our culture, allowed so many things to permeate our bodies, to enter our bodies, whether it's through the eye gate, the mouth gate, the ear gate. There's so many things that are problematic. I described going to the gym and being enticed with lust.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I allow that in.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You can dress, however, but I allow that in. Yeah, and I'm not saying that that is something that I do all the time. I have to be on guard all the time because of how society approaches men and sexuality. So I'm like block the eye gate. Yeah, make sure that you protect, because once you let that in, it goes directly to the heart. So it's like protect that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and that's what I think about when I think of what women wear is it's kind of how you look at it, right, Like maybe it isn't appropriate, Maybe it is provocative, but at the same time you still have the choice to look or not to look.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's just what sin's about.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:And it could be different for every person. It's all subjective. It could be a skirt, tight pants, a big muumuu.
Speaker 1:whatever the case might be, yeah, because people find different things attractive that you would maybe never even think to look twice at. But someone else might say I actually really like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's the things from within that defile us, not the things from outside.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I think that that's a really important aspect. So, when it comes to this vitality aspect of living our lives and trying to ensure that we're usable for the Lord, I think the longevity portion is really important. We're around, longer we're with our family, longer we have more energy. We have more enjoyment, and one of the things I really think of is what could God do with a person who's on fire for Him and around longer. So many opportunities, right? I think it's a really great thing to protect our bodies and ensure that what we're doing is we're living onto the Lord with eating. I think that that's a really great one too. Diet is the second thing I'm starting to dive pretty deep into, and what I'm trying to do is, as that woman had shared, I'm trying to ensure that the things that I'm taking into my body are good for it and that they're healthy, and so really really great stuff.
Speaker 2:I know that you are far more than just a gym rat. You're an artist, you are a musician. You actually on our on our YouTube or not YouTube page we didn't post that there I need to but on our Facebook page, we posted a video of you and Giovanni Maserati you and Giovanni Maserati singing 10,000 Reasons, and so you're a very talented person and I would love to dive deeper into some of the other subjects. But as time goes on, I'm sure we'll get to share with our listeners some YouTube shorts or something to that effect stuff on our Facebook page For our listeners. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, if you're curious about certain things, we'd love to get fan mail, even hate mail. At this point we only have two listeners, so if we got hate mail from each of you, we'd have two really rich emails to actually dive into.
Speaker 1:But if you're interested?
Speaker 2:yeah, you and I.
Speaker 1:No, you.
Speaker 2:Okay, and then I report out to you interested?
Speaker 1:yeah, you and I know you Okay, and then I report out to you, okay, yeah, sounds good.
Speaker 2:We would have some really great stuff, and you can always end up emailing me at Jared at dedicated devotedcom. That was not supposed to be the button. That was what I think was one of those horns that you hear at a sporting event yeah, that's exactly. As Cora and I opened up this episode, we just goofed off for quite a bit of time and just had a really good time as a couple.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And I left all the old sounds up. So, with that said, thanks for hanging out with us today. We aim to help others live a dedicated, devoted life. If you want to come alongside us in partnership, please check out dedicateddevotedcom and make sure to subscribe. Join us next time for another episode of Dedicated Devoted. We post a new episode every week and we hope you join us. Have a good night.
Speaker 1:Have a good night.
Speaker 2:Have a good night.
Speaker 1:Or day, whatever or day.
Speaker 2:Whenever you're listening. Rough, rough episode today, but we wanted to get something out. God bless y'all.