Is the pope Catholic?

When someone asks me whether I'd like to use more clickbait post titles, my answer is of course, "Is the pope Catholic?" I'll let you chew on that while I move on the actual content of this post.

This is just a quick post reflecting on the challenges of eating healthy as a dad. While I have actually been relatively disciplined about getting out and running (I'm training for a 1/2 marathon in April), my weight continues to inch back up as I very undisciplined-ly eat whatever. For a synopsis of the overall fluctuation of my healthy or unhealthy habits, click here. The challenge I face on a daily basis is whether to say yes or no to those delicious gluten-free peanut butter cookies (they're gluten free, NOT fat free!), or whether to eat just another serving of mashed potatoes or that candy bar in the community stash at work. I'm a nurse, I know how food works, and I continue to say yes to the crappy food that offers empty promises of satisfaction and equally empty but belly-enlarging calories. The challenge is not really food, it's self discipline.

I had the privilege of speaking to a gathering of Catholic young adults this summer on the topic of "Health and Spirituality". I quoted a longtime friend who told me long ago, when I asked him how he managed to stay to fit in the midst of young fatherhood, “I look at my diet and other health choices as supporting God’s plan for my life”. This comment really stuck with me. If I eat like Michael Phelps but exercise like my 92-year-old grandpa, while expecting to be fully engaged in God's plan for my 7th-child-on-the-way home, I'm missing something, and it will show...not just physically but also spiritually.

I think that in many ways our habits in areas like exercise and eating are a way to gain insight into our spiritual life. Don't take this as doctrine, as it's just my opinion, but I notice in my own life that when I'm not disciplined in prayer, kindness, charity, humility, etc...I'm not disciplined in most areas. I eat the extra cookie, my portions are huge, I don't exercise. I'm undisciplined. If you ever hear someone say "I don't have time to exercise or eat right with all the things I do for my kids", that's just an excuse. After all, it takes no time to reduce your portion. It takes no time to say no to that Milky Way you're craving. And those little self-denials will in turn help us more easily say "yes" to good and healthy habits. Discipline.

Advent is a good time to reflect on our discipline (anyone hear a discipleship post brewing?). As someone commented on the post I linked to earlier, "Every time you give up on eating an ice cream or other goody, give the money to charity instead." Good advice. Let's make our self-denial a sacrificial offering in prayer or almsgiving to someone in need. And we'll all be better, and fitter, for it.

Happy Advent!

Dad stuff

My friend Mary over at LetLoveBeSincere suggested that I write more about the Catholic father/husband perspective. That's a really challenging task, because there are a lot of aspects of fatherhood to be covered. There are dad blogs out there but not near as many as mom blogs, and perhaps it's because men think they don't have a lot of things to share. But that's wrong. We do have things to share...we're just busy doing lots of those things. Case in point: as I'm typing this, literally the words you're reading now, my beautiful almost-three-year-old walks to the front door, smiles her precious smile, and holds up a little bottle saying "they're bubbles daddy!"...and proceeds to spill most of the bubble mix on the entry tile.

Isn't that what being a daddy is? Doing things with and for our kids because we love them and they need us? Cleaning up the bubble spills, mowing the lawn, doing the dishes, laundry cleaning and folding, changing the diapers, or vacuuming floors keep us busy whether we have one child or ten...deep down it's not about cleaning up the seemingly endless stream of toys the kids seem to poop out on their way through every room, it's about knowing they're engaged and feeling loved...taking "Dad time" to read a story, play Legos, or (most importantly) talking with them about Jesus and His love for us. These things are (or should be) more important than presiding over cleanup. (>pause< previously mentioned almost-three-year-old is shouting "Daddy! I go'd poopoo on the pot!".....OK I'm back)

As dads we can get distracted by the daily stuff. The aforementioned tasks can be time-consuming and endless. Plus, the little irritations we face can keep us distracted from what's truly important. I know I'm not going to go broke because the kids leave every basement light on or the doors open for me to find when I get home from work, but I wish they'd turn off the lights and close the doors to preserve the electric bill and a bug-free home! But you know what? If I have to choose between turning the lights off and the alternative of not enjoying my little energy-users, I'll choose enjoying the kiddos every time. Being a father teaches us that showing our children love is more important than worrying about the messes, the open doors, the house lit up like a moon beacon. Wanting our children to understand that respecting their things is a worthwhile effort, but first and foremost we want them to know that by showing love to them and to each other, we're reflecting God. And we set the tone.