Notes from March 23rd Meeting

by Tami Newton

Before Pastor Keenan Smith came up to inspire us, Sheila Hall asked a few of us to go up and share why the Crosby Meltdown has meant so much to us. Dolores Garcia, from team Healthy Expectations, shared that Sheila had taught her so much about food and that she now eats boiled eggs and many other foods which were not a part of her diet before the Meltdown. Dolores acknowledged that she had even more to learn and more weight to lose and she was going to continue her journey. I shared that the Community Meltdown was the launching point for me to lose 64.50 pounds and that positive energy from Curves is the only way I survived a personal tragedy last year. Connie Harding, from team F.R.O.G, shared that she has lost 54 pounds, since last year's Meltdown, and thanked Crosby Church for opening their doors for us to be able to hold such an important event that teaches comrade, nutrition and fitness.

Afterwards, Sheila showed a short film called 212 degrees from http://www.simpletruths.com/. It brought out that at 211 degrees water is hot but, that at 212 degrees, water is steam. The significance of water turning to steam is that steam can move locomotives and many other machines. This film showed the small margin that Olympic and pro athletes actually win competitions. So, in our quest for goals in our lives, we need to remember that just that 1 degree can be the difference between losing and winning.

Sheila Hall introduced Pastor Keenan Smith to the group as one of the four most important men in her life. Pastor Smith has been at Crosby Church for seven years and was previously a member of "The Power Team". Pastor Keenan shared that he had eaten about 5,000 calories per day when he was in training for "The Power Team". However, whenever he left that intense regiment, he had to make adjustments to his diet. He said that we are always changing and that we have to make wise choices and decisions that affect our lives in a positive way.

The pastor said that while we all want to be successful, it is more important to be significant. Michele Perez, member of team F.R.O.G., wrote down the following words from our meeting:
"It's not ONLY about being Successful At What You Do, But Being Significant Enough To Make An Impact" -Pastor Keenan Smith.

The Pastor shared the poem, The Dash, with us and it is as follows:

The following is a poem by Linda Ellis © 1998.

I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend. He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning to the end.

He noted that first came the date of her birth and spoke of the following date with tears,But he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth...And now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own; the cars .... the house... the cash.What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard ... are there things you'd like to change?For you never know how much time is left. (You could be at "dash mid-range")

If we could just slow down enough to consider what's true and real,And always try to understand the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger, and show appreciation more,And love the people in our lives like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect and more often wear a smile...Remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.

So, when your eulogy's being read with your life's actions to rehash...Would you be proud of the things they say about how you spend your dash??

This poem is about a gravestone and states that there is always a date of birth, dash and date of death on all tombstones. He said, while both dates are important, the most important thing in every life is "the dash". You see, "the dash" is everything between birth and death.

When we add significance to our lives, we turn it up one degree. Significance is the influence we have in other people's lives. Sometimes we might miss our goals but the life choices and changes we make, give our life significance. God has a destiny for all of us. The pastor referred to Habakkuk 2:2, " "Record the vision, and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run." God gives us visions so that we can take them and run with them. God puts things into motion and purposes and places us.

We have a predetermined destination and we all make good and bad choices during our lives at almost every moment of our lives. These choices actually determine our destiny. We are a spirit, living in a body, possessing a soul. We are suppose to take care of our body because it is the temple of the Holy Ghost. We need to make sure our temple gets plenty of exercise and nutrition . We need to make sure our spirit and soul gets nourishment and exercise, also.

Pastor Keenan Smith explained that there are Six (6) stages of a vision:

1. Our life is filled with many dreams.

2. We cull through the dreams, to come up with an actual vision for our life.

3. We begin tooling ourselves to produce the results of our vision. For example, during the Meltdown, we have had many speakers who have taught us about food, exercise, supplements, goal setting, etc. These will be our tools to realize our dream and vision to lose weight and become a more positive influence in our lives.

4. We begin to be filled with infectious desire. Our new vision and accomplishment of some of the goals makes us energetic and that energy begins to flow from us and out to other people. People see us and begin to believe they can also implement dreams and visions in their lives. This infectious desire begins to pull people up and sharpens them. Just like there are positive people in your life who help tool and sharpen you, you become that kind of person to others. This is when the team dynamic is created.

5. All of a sudden the pieces of your dream come together and it takes on a life of its own. Eventually, this vision grows larger and we have to increase and stretch our faith.

6. Your destiny unfolds and your goal is reached.

God takes us from where we are and makes us who He wants us to become. We are the apple of God's eye and he only wants what is the best for us. Self-esteem is not near as important God-esteem. Humans fail and relying on ourselves is a big let down. If we rely on God, He will always lift us up and always show us that He loves us. When we fail, He wraps His arms around us and lifts us up and encourages us to move forward.

Will your life's DASH have significance?


Connie Harding reminded everyone that the Big Loser final team weigh in numbers are due by midnight, March 25Th. Sheila Hall announced that team photos would be taken by Connie, after the meeting.

Next week, Tuesday, March 30Th, is the last meeting of the Crosby Community Meltdown Challenge and the new Big Loser team will be announced. The leaders in the contest are Crosby Crunchers, Mustard Seeds and Shape Shifters. Does your team have what it takes to overcome these leaders and become the new champions of the 2010 Crosby Community Meltdown Challenge?