As Christmas approaches I am voluntarily listening to more and more of my favorite Christmas songs and carols. Some of 
my favorite traditional carols are “Joy To The World”, I can almost hear the angels proclaiming it when it is sung, “Silent Night”, I especially love the story behind the origin of the song found here, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”, and “The First Noel”. Some my favorite non-traditional Christmas music of late is from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Just pick any of their Christmas themed albums. Growing up I fell in love with the Snoopy Christmas songs from The Royal Guardsmen. Songs like “Snoopy’s Christmas“, and the follow up “The Return of the Red Barron”. Speaking of Snoopy, who doesn’t love the Vince Guaraldi Trio and their “Christmastime Is Here“, and the classic “Linus and Lucy“. But one of my favorite non-traditional Christmas songs was written by one of my favorite Christian artists, Steven Curtis Chapman, or as I like to refer to him .. SC2 from the retro DCtalk days. The song is from SC2‘s 1995 album “The Music of Christmas“. Below is the wonderful video from the song. Enjoy!
Author Archives: barrydean
Christmas Is All In The Heart
Moving on to Phase 2
I have been a bit lax in my weight management updates lately. So in order to remedy that I am going to write about my 
end to Phase 1 of the program and what I might expect in Phase 2, which begins in less than two weeks.
This past Wednesday I did the follow up nurse visit for the weight management program I have been on for the past 12 weeks. The results of this visit are very encouraging for a loser like me. Here is the list:
I have lost 43 lbs.
I have lost a total of 8 inches around my trunk.
I have lost 2 inches in my neck.
I have dropped 36 lbs of body fat.
My BMI has dropped 6 points.
I have dropped 7% body fat.
I will update the results of my lab work in a following post.
Infinite and an Infant
I found this eloquent quote from Charles H. Spurgeon related to the birth of Christ. 
Infinite, and an infant. Eternal, and yet born of a woman. Almighty, and yet hanging on a woman’s breast. Supporting a universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms. King of angels, and yet the reputed son of Joseph. Heir of all things, and yet the carpenter’s despised son.
Hats Off To The Bull – Chevelle
This is an album I have been looking forward to since their live album release hit the stores. Chevelle is a Chicago based band. I have been listening to them since their first release, “Point #1”. My fondness was 
cemented the day I read they named the band for their dad’s favorite automobile. I am also a Chevy fan. Chevelle was first introduced to the market under Squint Entertainment, a Christian record label which created quite a controversy for them. They may have finally moved beyond the label of Christian band to a band who is serious about their faith. I am not sure what that means specifically but on to the album review. A couple of aspects of the band that attracted me to Chevelle are; they write their own music, and they are a three piece band. They have been compared to other bands like Tool, and Helmet, but I got into Chevelle long before I heard any music from those other bands. In my estimation there is only a slight resemblance in sound and style. Some music critics have described Chevelle in such terms as “a kind of controlled chaos, a beautiful darkness, a gentle rampage of aural velocity”. I will agree with that description. In my own experience of listening to their music and seeing them live I would describe their music as melodic restrained chaos. This pattern holds in their latest project titled “Hats Off To The Bull“.
The album begins with “Face To The Floor”. A heavy melodic groove that starts the Chevelle motor just fine. This track was first leaked to radio back in September of this year and is getting some nice airplay on rock and college radio stations. In an interview earlier this year, drummer Sam Loeffler, stated that the song is about the Ponzi scheme stuff going on in some corporations today. Next up is “Same Old Trip”. The song is typical Chevelle and yet not with some cool backing vocals mixed in during the chorus. “Ruse” is up next, and it reminds me of some of the pieces from their “Wonder What’s Next” album, one of my favorite Chevelle albums. The “Meddler” has many layers to it. It has some very cool guitar vibrato which makes the song almost atmospheric. “Pinata” is a quick paced song reminiscent of “Mia” from their “Point #1” album, and yet contains an almost clean rock sound mixed in, and some rare lead guitar work.
Kill Me Heal Me
One of my favorite songs to workout to is by a rock band called Skillet. The song is called “Kill Me Heal Me”. The song is 
about the power of Christ killing our old man or our old self, but healing us by saturating us with Christ’s spirit. The song is reflective as I continue to replace my old self with the new mind set of eating the right foods and exercising to increase my energy and burn off my old self. The amazing thing is that God is even in control of this physical transformation in me as He is in control of my spiritual transformation. I would like to share some of appropriate verse lyrics from the song.
Break my bones and reset me
Piece by piece you break me
Pick up the cross ’cause it’s killing time
How can I scream when the pain is
Such a release I get the courage
To pick up the nails ’cause it’s killing timeBreathing your love
You’re ferocious
You’re in my lungs
Resuscitate
Craving your electricity
Feet to my pain you give
Wings to my fear your peace
Inhabits my blood
Your love is thick
As of my last weigh-in I have lost a total of 31.5 lbs. My waist line has been reduced by 4 inches. My energy levels are amazing, my blood pressure is always in the normal range, and endurance continues to increase. I am able to bend over and tie my shoes without straining. I am able to climb stairs anywhere I go and not be out of breath. I actually prefer to walk the stairs instead of the riding the elevator. It is all part of the transformation of my new lifestyle.
Check out the music with lyrics below.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Another brick
It’s been over two weeks since I’ve posted any updates. As of (Tuesday 11.15 (my last weigh-in during class) I have lost a total of 25.1 lbs.
That is another brick in weight since my previous posting. My clothes are starting to fit me differently now. I have dropped at least one pants size in the waist. I am praising God for giving me the funds, courage and strength to continue this program. I have also purchased some resistance bands for added strength training and a EA Sports Active 2 game program for the Wii game console. This will be a nice addition to our variety of exercises. My bride has begun to use the new game program as well. See inserted picture for a glance of our new fitness tools.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Update:
This afternoon I went down to the basement where my skinnier clothes are stored and tried on some 40″ waist jeans. Fit!! Win!! I have dropped nearly two full waist sizes.
To God goes the glory!
Four bricks
I am very happy to report that as of last night’s weigh-in before class I have dropped another 4.4 lbs for the week. That is a total of
20.2 lbs of my former self since I began the HMR program. In order to draw a comparison for this loss I searched the Internet for a picture of 20 lbs of fat. I was looking for fat because fat is basically what I am losing because I am also working out and exercising. In my search I have found the image attached to this article. The image shows a comparison of 5 lbs. of fat to the weight of a regular sized brick. Using this comparison I can conclude that I have lost four bricks worth of weight. I think the image of the fat is a little more impressive. It is much larger in size. By exercising consistently I am hopeful to replace the fat I am losing with muscle, which will burn calories more effectively.
In related news:
Earlier this week I had my annual physical and my doctor has taken me off of one of the two hypertension medications I’m taking. He also told me that by achieving my goal of under 200 lbs, I should be able to completely come off of all the medication. Praise the Lord & Woo Hoo!!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Losing again
I wanted to update anyone who is still tracking with me on my weight loss. My weigh-in at class showed I had lost another
3.6 lbs for the week. That puts me at a total of 15.8 lbs in 4 weeks. Woo Hoo!!
In class we discussed what Phase 2 will look like once we get there (Phase 1 is 13 weeks). We also discussed what would be expected of us at the end of Phase 1 before we can move into Phase 2. We had a member from another class with us last night and they commented that the biggest difference between the two phases, for them personally, is that Phase 1 is safer. This makes sense because Phase 1 is very regimented and structured. Phase 2 is created to help wean us off of the structured diet into a world where we have to plan our own meal contents.
I’ll mention just a few things I have noticed in the past 4 weeks.
I am feeling so much better. I am not as out of breath doing normal daily lifting, stair climbing, and brisk walking. I have begun to work out with free weights and getting that good muscle soreness that tells me the muscles are getting stronger. I have worked up to an hour long workout. I am learning to enjoy exercise more because of the benefits it provides. I am eating right which includes a least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. My energy levels are ever increasing. My blood pressure is consistently in the good range. It averages around 115/70 each day. I am fitting into pants I haven’t been able to wear in a year or so. My overall attitude has improved, and I sleep much better at night.
Soli Deo Gloria!
Occupy Entitlement and the Pursuit of Holiness
This morning as I was clearing out my overnight emails, and preparing to attend my regular Wednesday morning bible study on the
pursuit of holiness, I encountered an email which had been passed along to me from a dear brother in Christ. The email only contained a five minute video called “Three and a Half Days“. The video is about how someone would deal with what is going on with the protesters who are protesting under the now popular heading of “Occupy Wall Street”. After taking the time to view it, I was prompted to think about how Christ would have us think about entitlements. This subject will be raised again in my mind during our morning bible study.
In our morning bible study we are reading and discussing through the book “The Pursuit of Holiness” by Jerry Bridges. This week the discussion was over chapter 13, “Holiness and Our Wills”. One of the points from the chapter we discussed is that as believers in Christ we are to submit to the will of God. In order to do this it is important to understand how our will functions. There are two factors that carry huge weight in our will. These are our mind, and our emotions. The mind reasons, discerns, and makes a judgement. Our emotions bubble up with our personal likes and dislikes. These two factors help to determine our will. To choose or refuse to act in line with God’s will.
These faculties were implanted in man’s soul by God, but were corrupted through man’s fall and sin. Our reason (or understanding) was darkened (Ephesians 4:17-18); our desires were corrupted (Ephesians 2:1-3); and our wills diverted (John 5:39-40). Therefore, it is incumbent upon the believer to renew our minds (Romans 12:1-2), set our affections (desires) on things above (Colossians 3:1-2) and to submit our wills to God (James 4:7). (* citation below)
Easy A(ssignment) w/ Update
Ok, this has nothing to do with my one of my daughter’s favorite movies with Emma Stone. It has everything to do with
my HMR assignment for this week. I “like” (click FB link here) this kind of assignment. We are to create, consume, enjoy a hot drink made with an HMR meal replacement shake mix. I looked at several delicious recipes to accomplish this assignment but like most things I put a BarryDean slant on it. I call it the Hot Mint Cocoa. The ingredients are pictured in the attached photo.
Hot Mint Cocoa
8 oz. water
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 heaping scoop of HMR vanilla shake mix
2 shots of Peppermint Paddy SF DaVinci syrup
I nuked the water in a mug for 1 minute and then poured it into the blender. I then added the shake mix, the cocoa, and the syrup. I then blended all this in the blender for about 10 seconds, poured the mixture back into the mug and enjoyed.
Notes: I heated the water first because the shake ingredients seem to have an easier time of blending together. I also use the vanilla shake mix instead of the chocolate and add unsweetened cocoa for that chocolaty taste because the vanilla seems to have a sweeter taste to me.
Update:
Last night for class I weighed in for a loss of 3.4 lbs. for the week. That is a total weight loss of 12.2 lbs in three weeks. The weight loss is great, but the increased energy, attitude, and better sleep ranks much higher in my achievement stack. I am able to walk over 2 miles at a rate of about 3.2 mph, I am doing 30 minutes without stopping on the elliptical trainer, and working out with weights for about 45 minutes every other day. Can I just say “I wish I had started this earlier.” ? But I believe in a sovereign God, and He is giving me the strength to do this now.
Soli Deo Gloria!!
Upon This Rawk 