Walk the Walk-Out T-Shirt

For some time I have been considering buying me another MMA shirt. I wanted to buy a shirt from one of those obscure brands that no one really knows about and would separate me from the person who on occasion watches MMA or may not know anything about the sport but the shirt looks cool. So I searched for a few brands and there were some shirts I liked. I also thought about wearing my "Jesus Didn't Tap" shirt (the one given to me when I became the first "sponsored" worship leader by said brand- more on that later) and so I realized that this was the stupidest idea ever. I like the idea of having gear related to my hobby but not to make an image for myself in such a way.

Something similar happened to me a couple of years ago. Now what I am going to say is going to sounds crazy and possibly offensive but this is just what I was convicted of and I am not saying it is wrong if you do it. Anyway, a few years ago I found this website that sold Christian shirts and I wanted so bad to buy one. This is when I was 310 lbs. and I wanted a yellow shirt with the phrase "I BIG" which would have been perfect for 2 reasons: 1) I was big and 2) I BIG stood for "I Believe In God." I never bought the shirt and I am kind of glad I didn't.

I have outgrown the Christian shirt phase and I hope the MMA/JiuJitsu phase passes soon. I realized that as a Christian I wanted to be known for more than a quirky saying on my shirt. I wanted people to not have to read my shirt to know that I was a follower of Christ but rather that they'd see the love of God first. At that point in my life I was not ready to fully give God control of some things in my life thus the shirt was just a front. I am not opposed to wearing "Christian apparel" but I don't let my identity be defined by a shirt.

When it comes to MMA I don't wanna be the guy with the coolest shirt who gets the snot kicked out of him in the first round. Actually, I want to be known for being a coach (too late for me to actually fight) who cares for his students and wants what is best for them whether it is in the cage, the ring or the mat or out in the street. Maybe one day my and my team (when I get a team) will all wear Christian MMA shirts that say....

As a person I am no better than you. As a fighter.... we'll find out!

Peace!

*ps - a walk-out t-shirt (from the title of the post) is a special edition t-shirt that a fighter wears to each one of their fights, they usually have the fighter's name, the event they are fighting in (ufc 110, strikeforce, etc) and more sponsors than a Nascar driver.

*1st shirt from Cage Fighter available at cagefightermma.com

*2nd shirt from Kerusso available at Kerusso.com

Couches

What I'm thinking the couch looked like

So, I am trying a new thing here. I recently came across a really cool blog from another excellent blog, that I came across from yet another awesome blog. Isn't that the way it goes nowadays! Well, she had a really cool assignment that I wanted to try out. The assignment is here (Oh oh! I just learned how to link. Go me!) from Stephanie at Adventures In Babywearing. The gist of it though is to take three minutes and write about a couch from your memory. I have not really let myself just sit and write without any distractions in a long time. So here is my shot at it:

"I am sitting on a couch in a coffee shop. I cannot remember the color but I do remember it being rather square and comfortable enough to sit in but definitely not enough to sleep on. I am the left hand side and my friend is on the (scratch that, I am on the right hand side) left side. There is a boy right in between us and I like him. I am super nervous because my friend is very pretty and funny and I am praying that he does not notice her more than me. We are writing support letters at the end of the summer internship."

Wow! I could not believe how quickly three minutes passed. It was kind of nice!

FYI: I ended up marrying the boy! Lucky me!

Sadness

I am always greatly affected when I hear of someone that I once knew, respected and loved, dying. I lie in bed and think of their families and how they found them or the last time they spoke to them or how there is just this empty body taking up space in this world that once held something so sacred. And I cry. It is only for a night or two and then life carries on and I cannot believe it has happened and I go on to enjoy the moments of my life. Then I forget till another comes along. It is a strange feeling. I lie there feeling really light and almost like I could float away but then the tears hold me down. I no longer feel blood flowing through my veins but tears.

It is not like when I lose somebody I dearly love and was close to. Two years ago, when my grandma died, I felt like I could not breathe. I would cry myself to sleep at night for more than a week and even fall apart doing simple things like getting dressed. Abraham would have to just hold me till I stopped.

I am just praying for the Anders family right now. That they will be able to breathe.

Life's Notes is now the place where you can catch up on the news from Sara, Abraham and Ellie! Not that there is much to read but whatever happens, it will happen here first. You can track Ellie's progress and milestones, Sara's dreams and rants and Abraham's crazy ideas for taking over the world... I mean making the world a better place!

Come back soon and see what is new!