Christian Business Owners: Get fit. And if it doesn't stick? You don't pay.

How God can use your health as a testimony:

15 months ago my wife and I led a session at a Building Biblical Relationships event. Shared our story, mistakes, lessons, Gods goodness, etc. After the session, my mentor and old business partner came up to me laughing and shared an inside joke they had about MY marriage. The joke was: “Gabe had to drag his crotch through broken glass on hot asphalt for his marriage.” And when they shared it I didn’t even laugh. Because it was true. 8 year ended engagement with former fiancé after a paid for wedding. Met my wife across the world in Croatia. Dated long distance for 14 months between Florida and Canada during one of the toughest business seasons of my life. Waited till marriage. Wasn’t perfect but waited. Then our wedding in Florida gets cancelled 2 days prior because of a hurricane. We evacuate to Nashville, start calling venues while driving up the I-95, plan a wedding in 36 hours, Fox Nashville picks up the craziness and runs a story on it. Set up venue ourselves (with help from fam). Finally get married and can breathe for a bit. The way they talked about it felt kinda of like “haha man hopefully no else has to go through something like that!” But that energy doesn’t sit right with me. Not that life HAS to be crazy or chaotic. But I’m glad we went through what we went through. Of course we had a part to play. We made our mistakes. Learned our lessons. But a Hurricane cancelling your wedding 2 day prior? Cmon guys. God was testing us. I understand that some people want an easy life. A “wait till it makes sense” life. A life where everything goes according to plan. But my wife and I personally think that’s small. Because you know what - we have been through some absolute crap. And if you know me personally - or you’ve been following closely here through the last year, you’d know what we went through after that event absolute TRUMPED the challenges my mentor and old buissiness parter were joking about 😂. They were hoping no one else had to go through something like we had. Lol. We went through even tougher challenges directly following that. And I’m NOT saying “it happened to us”. We have a part to play. We MADE choices and dealt with consequences. But man, it’s been worth it. My wife and I will swung for the fences of life and we will keep swinging big. We’ll keep taking risks, dreaming, putting everything we have into what we believe God has called us to. We know we’re going to make mistakes. We know we’re exposing ourselves to more potential pain. We know people might joke “they went through a lot for that.” But guess what. We don’t care. We understand the risk of climbing the next mountain top. We understand there will be a valley. But the Word of God says his rod and staff will comfort us. He will make a table for us in the presence of our enemies. And his goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our lives. (Psalm 23) So, My wife and I? We HAVE been through some crap. But it’s all been worth it. The bond that’s formed. The trust that’s solidified. The gratitude that’s created. The intimacy. The true intimacy that we get because we’ve seen each other - utterly broken… It’s an experience like no other. And it reminds us of the Joy we’ll receive in eternity, in perfect intimacy with Christ. So - remember, if you’re going through it right now, it will all be worth it. Drag your crotch through the broken glass on hot asphalt. You’ll have a story to tell about how good God is on the other side.

Dad hours go so hard.

Note to self: Every trial you’ll face will be worth it.

Your wife will love the man you become through the process of disciplining your body. The abs won't hurt either.

Biblical mindset shifts from a Christian business owner who got to 10-12% body fat.

I hate that my wife is so healthy. It’s really annoying that she stays so fit. It sucks, knowing she has the energy to take care of our daughter. I’m absolutely pissed that she honors the temple of God. So tired of her setting the example for taking care of herself for our daughter. Really annoyed that she’s set up for more pleasant future pregnancies, and safe deliveries without drugs. Hate that when we’re spending “mommy daddy” time together I’m literally in all of God’s creation and get to take it all in. Literally hate when she gets ready for date night and looks hot. It’s so annoying. Hate that her being healthy makes it easier to take care of myself. Gosh. Having a healthy spouse sucks so much. Wouldn’t recommend.

Left: 206 lbs Right: 171 lbs 5’10”. On the left I was clinically overweight. Had a blood test done and my glucose was right on the line of pre-diabetic. I was turning to food for comfort. Drinking alone. Very far from God. Don’t let anyone fool you. The physique on the left, even though there’s some muscle and a slight outline of abs… it was very far from healthy. And it wasn’t a lack of knowledge. I had just finished studying kinesiology at UCF. The physique on the left was the result of internal wounds that I was numbing with food. When you see someone with the physique on the left - even though they might look similar to or better than most everyone else, do not be fooled - they are not “healthy”.