"Everything to Lose"


On December 4th 2011, I started a journey that I honestly never thought that I could finish. It's been a year and nearly 6 months time since I started and I am still going strong. 100lbs lost and a lifestyle change obtained.

It started with a goal. A goal that said, I need to be healthy for me, and for my family. I wanted to lose the weight for me. I wanted to be able to tie my shoes without getting out of breath. I wanted to be able to hike to the top of Multnomah Falls and not feel like I was going to die.

The change all started back 2 yrs ago when my dad had a stroke that nearly killed him. He was in his late 50's and on top of the world, in my opinion. I look up to my dad in many ways. He has been there for me and helped my grow into the man that I am today.Through his stroke, I really started thinking about what it meant to "be healthy."

That is when the mental change started. I kinda went to the gym, like 2 times in a month, sorta stopped eating at fast food joints, but I truly never gave it 100%, actually, I would be stretching it if I said I even gave it 10%.

Later that year, there was a man who came into my at&t store that I work at, and he worked for Nike. I treated him well, and he felt like "tipping" me a pair of shoes to show his appreciating for my help on his account. I had never owned a new pair of Nike's.

It all started with those two instances. With a pair of Nike shoes, and everything to lose, I began my journey...

About 2 months later, one of my co-workers, Matt Anderson, noticed that I had started to lose weight. He said "Tim, you've lost some pounds bro."

Matt, if you are out there and reading this blog, THANK YOU! If it hadn't been for that compliment, I don't know if I would have kept going.

I started taking pictures of myself every week.... I am not prepared to release those yet. But when I do put them in a slide show, It will be super cool to see the changes happen. Since this transformation, I have grown physically, mentally, and some ways, spiritually. I find myself more disciplined, and determined to do and achieve things that I never thought possible.

Through this time, my wife has been extremely supportive. She has sacrificed so much of her time to let me be in the gym and working out.

Crystal, Thank you for some much sacrifice and so much encouragement. I love you so much and I know this would have been nearly impossible without you by my side rooting me on!

That's it for now.

It's been a long time since I've last blogged. Feels good just to get this out.

-Cheers
Tim Reed








#weightloss #motivation #pdx #oregonlove

Make peace with who you are.

Love yourself and God.

MAKE PEACE with who you are
and where you are
at this moment in time.

Listen to your heart.
If you can't hear what it's saying
in this noisy world,
MAKE TIME for yourself.
Enjoy your own company.
Let your mind wander among the stars.

Try.
Take chances.
MAKE MISTAKES.
Life can be messy and confusing at times,
but it's also full of surprises.
The next rock in your path
might be a stepping-stone.

Be happy.
When you don't have what you want,
want what you have.
MAKE DO.
That's a well-kept secret of contentment.
There aren't any shortcuts to tomorrow.
You have to MAKE YOUR OWN WAY.
To know where you're going
is only part of it.
You need to know where you've been, too.
And if you ever get lost, don't worry.
The people who love you will find you.
Count on it.

Life isn't days and years.
It's what you do with time
and with all the goodness and grace
that's inside you.
MAKE A BEAUTIFUL LIFE...
The kind of life you deserve.

Lost...

I'm not really sure what is going on. I'm dazed and confused... I'm lost. I feel like I'm playing a game of Marco & Polo, but Polo isn't responding.

Looking back to 2008 in my posts I was sure ministry was right for me... Now I can't even make it to a church service. Where is the vision??? Where is the passion???

I'm sitting in the dark... Literally and figuratively. It's not that I've lost my faith. It's not that I don't believe that God has a plan... I just can't figure this funk I'm in out.

Maybe God is taking a break.... Nope that's not it. Maybe I'm just a selfish idiot that is only thinking of himself. << that's much more likely.

I used to think I had it all figured out. Now I can't seem to see a single foot step in front of me. I kinda feel like I'm looking for something, I just can't seem to figure out what "it" is that I am looking for.

I would like to think that I am waiting on God but truth is, He's waiting on me. Like a game of chess, it's my move.

Shekinah

Shekinah: The dwelling or settling place of God's presence. Awesome term.

it seems like forever ago.

Hello friends and fellow bloggers. It seems as though it has been nearly a year since my last post.... that's too long so let me share with you a piece of what i have gone through in just the last few months. If you follow me on twitter ( Tim_Reed ) or on facebook you probably know that I have made it pretty clear that i am interested in getting healthy and losing weight. This past January i weighed in at a whopping 304lbs. That is twice the size as a "normal" person my height should be. So in efforts to not only lose weight and eat right just so i can take my shirt off comfortably at a swimming pool i have made it a point to have people support me. I feel it will be easier to lose weight that way. Just yesterday i did another "weigh in" and i am down to 290lbs. Pretty soon i will frolicking around without my shirt on and feeling sexier with my rock hard abs and solid core. My goal is to lose another 30 lbs before summer. solid. I have been taking "before and after" shots of myself and already i can see a difference. I am 4 weeks in right now. Wish me luck. and as for my short story/book.... still working on it.

considering writing a book... or at least a short story... i have experienced much, but haven't lived much. i think i could write a book about life... about things.

hmmm.

Awesome Video... makes me laugh so hard!!!

yup!!! Its true

6 years of a wonderful marraige in 6 days! I am excited to celebrate this epic day with my wife at Ocean Shores, WA. it will be a blast!

WEATHER

For the Sake of Adventure and Excitement, I would like to try Storm Chasing. I find weather very interesting and I have ever since flying airplanes as a kid with my mom. Aaron, my older brother and I have this same curiosity for the weather realm. We both have no professional experience, just our gut instinct, drive and our iPhones.

Here's how it is going to work...

Aaron will be our navigator with Doppler Radar on his iPhone and with my innate ability to drive in various kinds of conditions we should be able to have fun while staying safe all in the sake of our childish need for thrill.


^^^^^^^ Doppler on iPhone^^^^^^^

We hope to caputure some really neat pictures like the ones below.

Yes I know this is childish but hey "you only live once" right?

Lightning!!!

Conviction

1 : the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth b : the state of being convinced of error or compelled to admit the truth
2: a strong persuasion or belief and/or the state of being convinced

A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done.

A Word of Encouragement

Love yourself and God.

MAKE PEACE with who you are
and where you are
at this moment in time.

Listen to your heart.
If you can't hear what it's saying
in this noisy world,
MAKE TIME for yourself.
Enjoy your own company.
Let your mind wander among the stars.

Try.
Take chances.
MAKE MISTAKES.
Life can be messy and confusing at times,
but it's also full of surprises.
The next rock in your path
might be a stepping-stone.

Be happy.
When you don't have what you want,
want what you have.
MAKE DO.
That's a well-kept secret of contentment.
There aren't any shortcuts to tomorrow.
You have to MAKE YOUR OWN WAY.
To know where you're going
is only part of it.
You need to know where you've been, too.
And if you ever get lost, don't worry.
The people who love you will find you.
Count on it.

Life isn't days and years.
It's what you do with time
and with all the goodness and grace
that's inside you.
MAKE A BEAUTIFUL LIFE...
The kind of life you deserve.

am i the only one??

So am i the only one out there that has dreams that reoccur in the same place... its like earth but never a place that i have ever been. I don't normally have exact reoccurring dreams but often they occur in the same places that i dream about. It's like my own version of a place i live now.... similar attributes and characteristics.

It's very strange in the head of Timothy Jared Reed. Just sayin...

Easter

Another Easter has come and gone. I thought going into this Easter that it wasn't going to mean as much to me as it used but totally not the case. Jesus has shown me a new fire and desire to learn more about Him and His church.

I have recently tried to over analyze the church, and in a way my view of it has been jaded. Well in the last few days that has all changed. I think something just clicked that said "if I try to understand God then the mystery of Him fades away."

God wants to remain mysterious... if all the answers were right in front of me then there would be no reason for faith. And truly faith is all of we have now. Science is starting to share the same story just from a slower more obscure view. Its important that we don't get blinded by all that the world is telling us.... friends included.

Romans is a great book of the bible for anyone who just wants to "get it"

Paul (the author) makes some really great points that some how just managed to escape me the first attempt at trying to read it. I got it now.

Peace be with you... prayers are always welcome.

my new favorite Owl City song

Aww Inspiring History

It is refreshing

Spring time is so refreshing to me....

Everything from the flowers and trees to the wild weather patterns. Spring is truly one of my favorite times of the year. There is just something very special about the renewing of things and the freshness of new life.

Sometimes in our lives it is important to not get stagnate. We are designed to keep moving... forward in particular. I recently have felt stagnate in my life. Now I just need to get myself out of this rut. The rut of work, eat, sleep, repeat. There is so much more to be a part of and to experience so my recent goal has been to try something new everyday. Should be interesting. New food, new experiences, new trips, new LIFE.

Where have I been????????

Here's the deal.... I originally started a blog at wordpress.com but no one ever really read it so I am coming back to Blogger. If you didn't ever go to my other blog then here is what you missed since about November of last year!



it’s my birthday February 15th, 2010

so today when i got home crystal had cleaned the house in its entirety. she is an amazing wife. i also came to find a magnificent Starbucks mug for my birthday gift… it is awesome. it will go to great use.

tomorrow i turn 25… i will be a quarter of a century old. i have accomplished much in the first 25 years… lets see how much more we can do in the second 25 years.
thank you to my entire family and friends for your love and support. you all make me the man i am today.

blessings to you all,
from a friend, a brother, a husband, a son and prayerfully a father some day. – Tim



The Oregon Coast February 8th, 2010

It’s a bone chilling 35 degrees at the coast this morning… We’re not there yet. We just saw the temps via the web.. All I’ve got to say is you have to be a true Oregonian to want to go to the Oregon Coast when it’s bloomin cold out. But hey it’s gunna be awesome!



Today… February 2nd, 2010

So things are better, I guess I just needed a day off. I enjoyed a lovely salmon dinner with my family today and I got my taxes done which is a huge sigh of relief… All in all things are good. Thank you for your prayers.



Alright I Get It! January 31st, 2010

Today has sucked so bad… Today has got bad from worse. One dumb customer after another. When will the tides change. Is God trying to teach me something???? If so then I Get It!



Winnie the Pooh January 5th, 2010

Last night I had this epiphany of Winnie the Pooh and you, if you’ve been tagged in this note.
Let me just share with you my conversation that I had last night with Travis Fink. For most of you that know me rather well know that in my bathroom above my toilet lies a picture of Winnie the Pooh and Tigger and a sign that says “poohs thotful spot”… i am an avid fan of the old winnie the pooh. My brothers and I used to watch it many times growing up.

So my thought was “which character are you in my winnie the pooh world?”
Lets start with who I am. I am Winnie the Pooh. I don’t think an explanation is required…
Sam, you are Tigger. Always bouncy and really hardcore. He is always in an electrifying & exuberant mood and loves to bounce, bounce and bounce.

Aaron, you are Piglet. Sensible, calm and always there for Pooh when he needs you. Piglet is a very brave animal as supposed to his diminutive size and frame of a timid pink pig.

Levi “Travis” Fink, you are Eeyore. This explains you from our conversation last night. ‘I would have initially made you Owl.’ He is an intelligent animal but tends to keep to himself. Eeyore is a extremely gloomy donkey and has a very bad habit of losing his tail! Mostly, he tends to depend on his friends to find his lost tail for him and thereafter Christopher Robin fixes his tail using a drawing pin. What he simply adores is that his friends remember him on his birthday Jewish Holidays and celebrates it with him. He often says “Thanks for noticin’ me” and “Oh, well”.

Crystal, you are Rabbit… which almost doesn’t make sense b/c Rabbit is a dude in the cartoon but here is my explanation… Since Rabbit is a real animal it is considered that he has brains and the same goes for Owl. He actually makes this clear in a conversation with Owl where he says “You and I have brains. The others have fluff”. He is pushy and takes his own decisions… most important his Garden is sacred to him. This is why I chose you for Rabbit.

Heather, you are Kanga… though you and Aaron don’t have a little “roo” yet you are still the mother in the group. Kanga & Roo are 2 fictional characters that belong to Winnie the Pooh. Kanga is the sole female character in Winnie-the-Pooh and she is 30 inches tall. She is the mother of a young joey (baby kangaroo) named Roo, who is nearly 10 inches tall. Kanga carries her family in her pocket and is the fastest amongst all animals in the forest. She takes utmost care of Roo and shall often warn Roo of possible dangers involved in the activities that Roo undertakes.

Chauncey, you are Owl! He is the wisest amongst all the animals living in the 100 Acre Wood. Along with Rabbit he is considered to be an animal with brains. His intelligence is often called upon to aid a certain bear of very little brain.

Desiree, you are Gopher… always building and seeing things change… you are subtle character in the story of Winnie the Pooh but one that I will always remember for his Voice.

Dad, ‘curtis’, you are Christopher Robin. Everyones best friend and there for everyone who is in need. You are the glue to this story and without you it just wouldn’t be the same. Love you!

This is my winnie the pooh world. I hope this has made you smile



It’s time.. December 7th, 2009

I think it is time to prepare for the Christmas time. When I was a kid Christmas time was my favorite time of the year. I remember my mom and dad making the house so festive. They always made Christmas time so magical.

They taught us about the birth of Christ, and of course the play of Santa and his elves. It was all just so much fun. Now it is magical in a different way. Now I spend the holidays as a grown up with my most amazing wife Crystal. We try to focus the holiday on times spent with family and friends.

Someday I am confident that we will have children of our own to share this time with. Til then we spend it together enjoying just presence of each other and now my dear friend Trav… He is our new roomate from Israel. I have known home for about 6 years but for the last 4 of them he has spent over there. Now he is part of our family and he is going to share Hanukkah with us, and we will share Christmas with him.

So back to my opening line… Tuesday we will be setting up our tree and other types of decorations for both holidays. I look forward to good food, good times, and new traditions.
Peace and happy holidays!



Vision… December 2nd, 2009

So yesterday I read the book of Colossians. There is a lot in this book but one verse really stood out… see recently my struggle has been for “vision.” I have not lost hope for the Calling that is on my life but I have slipped into that “waiting for God’s 5 year plan for my life” rut.

The problem with that is that God doesn’t work like that normally. He has a tendency to work “step-by-step.” We see this threaded throughout all of the bible starting from the book of Genesis all through til Revelation. My favorite story of this is the conversion of Saul… who had his name changed to Paul later in the story but this story is in the book of Acts in chapter 9, if you want to read it… You see this step by step layout for Paul/Saul who later becomes one of the greatest authors of the new testament of all time and one of the most well-known followers of Christ!

Paul writes this verse in Colossians 2.. it reads “ 2 My goal is that they(the church) may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

This verse has so much to it, but it hit home for me because I share this same vision… I am not sure yet how God will use this vision for me for His Kingdom but now that I have this piece of the puzzle I will meditate on it and see how the next piece comes into play.



My new career! November 19th 2009

So last month I decided to search for a job. I was getting tired of selling cars, the dealership seemed to be going in the different direction than what I wanted to go.. Time for change, which I had complete support from my amazing wife … and truth be known it was actually mostly her idea.

So now I am part of the extremely large AT&T family. I work for there “mobility” division which in our area is mostly wireless. Pretty cool stuff I am learning and my store that I am working at is really great. I am still training for the rest of this week than starting Monday I will be at my store. I truly am excited for this next chapter of our life. I am so blessed to have a new job and most importantly I have the love and support of my wife in it!

new blog

Hello World!

I have news!!!!

I have a new blog website that I wish you will please follow. I hope the future blogs on this new website will bless you all and I pray will give you insight to the crazy and fun world of Timothy Reed... enjoy!

timothyreed.wordpress.com

life

Isn't it strange how sometimes in life you just STOP and realize, or notice things in your life that you have never noticed before. They have always been there and we just don't ever really appreciate it until we have one of these moments.

Or maybe we stop and realize just how fragile life is?! All it takes is one moment to change a life... your's or somebody else. Recently on facebook my grandma reminded me of a saying that I haven't heard in a while that really makes you stop and think about things.

She said "remember, 'today is the first day of the rest of this life'."

No matter how screwed up things are, or how perfect life is.... just remember that it could change at any moment and we should learn to appreciate and cherish every aspect of our life.

I find comfort in knowing that at the end of this life something is greater and better lying there for us for eternity!

-Tim