“Josh, why don’t you just hire a gardener?”  (Clueless)

My movie taste typically do not include “chick flicks” but come on, who doesn’t like the movie Clueless, or at least can appreciate the thought provoking and intensely deep story line. (Ha ha)  In the movie Josh, Cher’s ex step brother, is telling her how he might get Marky Mark to plant a celebrity tree. Cher looks at him with an adorably confused look on her face and  in all seriousness says “Josh, why don’t you just hire a gardener?”

So I’ve been thinking lately about the saying “The grass is always greener on the other side…” It’s quite a thought provoking statement.  Reality is that usually the “grass” does look “greener on the other side.” At some point in our lives most of us have followed that road thinking we were in for greener pastures and realized, we should have just hired a gardener… Just kidding. The point I want to make is… the grass looks greener because someone is on the other side of the fence working hard to keep it that way.  What we see is a “better life“ but what we often don‘t see are the trials they had to persevere through, the hidden scars and the secret struggles.

It’s all about perspective … Going back to our ever wise Cher in the movie Clueless… in another conversation with Josh she says, “Oh.. You  think I’m just a ditz with a credit card.” How often do we look at someone and think, they have the perfect life, or if only I had what they had, I would be happier. What if we took just one second to look at what we DO have instead of what we don’t. I think most of us would find, we are quite blessed and things could always be worse. So instead of gazing longingly at your neighbor’s “green grass” get up, grab the clippers, set the sprinklers, and get to work! I guarantee your days will look brighter and your burdens will feel a little lighter.  And don’t forget, we don’t have to hire a gardener, because the Master Gardener already paid the price for us!

Mow on!

The feminist movement has done a great job of “emasculating” the men of the world. Now I realize I probably lean toward the extreme as I grew up in a very traditional home, with a younger brother who played war games in the back yard, climbed trees and loved torturing my baby dolls. I was all girl and he was all boy. Not much has changed except that now he has actually been to war, and I no longer have baby dolls. I believe God created us man and woman, each with unique traits, abilities and instincts. Somewhere along the way the Devil did a great job of selling woman this lie that men shouldn’t be “manly,” they should be sensitive, and gentle. Instead of watching football, they should read books, instead of a baseball hat, they should highlight their hair and instead of collecting guns they should collect stocks. Now none of the later are bad in themselves, but I think you get the point. Men have to “play down” their manhood to blend in and not be “offensive.” But not when it comes to MMA!!! They can cheer, yell, scream, high five, and fully let their testosterone have a hay day. It’s exactly what they need – an outlet, a place to fully embrace their manhood.  The cage is turning wussies into warriors and I love it!

And girls… believe me.. this is something you definitely want to embrace. God gave men these tendencies for a reason – to protect and care for us. It’s not a competition of who is stronger – we are each strong in our own areas. If we allow ourselves to embrace the role God has given us and created us for, I promise you, we’ll all be a lot happier and more fulfilled.  Guys – be patient with your girls, explain to them what you love about MMA, help them understand.

Let’s all go be warriors in life – no matter what – we will stand and FIGHT!

I love music and I’m a firm believer in working out with an iPod, because believe me you will absolutely get a better work out. Two Reasons – First, people are more likely to leave you alone and not talk to you, which means you keep your heart rate up and burn more calories during your work out. Secondly music is motivating. Get the right work out playlists on there and I guarantee you’ll work out harder and longer. On the other hand fill it with Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers and forget it… you might as well go do yoga, and eat ice cream.  In addition to increasing the intensity of my work out, I also find music to provide many parallels to life lessons… The real exiting discovery for me is when I find the same lessons in MMA, and can link the two.  Allow me to explain…

After a summer filled with going to amateur fights around the Puget Sound I was left thinking some of the guys tapped too soon when caught in a choke hold.  I thought why don’t they take the gamble, and try and hold on a little longer? Does the choke hurt and what is the worst that can happen? You just go to sleep, right? And it actually takes a lot of energy for the other fighter to try and choke someone out, so there is the chance that if you keep fighting and can find a way out, you’ll gas them in the process.

So being the practical person I am, I decided to ask a fighter to put me in a rear naked choke and choke me out. Well he did and it was lights out for me. I felt no pain, the light just slowly started to fade and eventually it all went black. That’s when the crazy dreams start… a million and ten crazy dreams flash before you… This experience reminded me of a song by Skillet, “Falling Inside the Black.” Essentially being choked out is exactly that, you just “Fall Inside the Black,” and who knows how long you’ll stay there unless someone wakes you.

So my challenge to you this week is always keep fighting, find a way out, DON’T ever let yourself “Fall Inside the Black.” But if you do, make sure you have a good support of friends and/or family around you to pull you out. Or hey, let us help too– that’s what Fight Pastor is here for. We got your back!

Fight Chick’s Play List Suggestions:

Game on – Disciple
Indestructible – Disturbed
Say Hello – P.O.D
Monster – Skillet
I Will Not Bow – Breaking Benjamin
Smack Down – Thousand Foot Krutch
Eye of the Tiger – Survivor
Let’s Go – KJ-52
ShowStopper – TobyMac
Fire it Up – Thousand Foot Krutch
Click Click Boom – Saliva
Movin’ – Group 1 Crew

She’s the girl with zebra heels AND Nike’s, a Nordstrom Card AND a NRA card, a headband AND a sweat band, she curls her hair AND dumbbells, she carries a patent leather hand bag,  but hits a heavy bag,  … She’s Fight Chick! Tough enough to get in the cage, but cute enough to hold the cards.

So why does the girl who can shop with the best of them, and take 2 hours to get ready, love MMA? Glad you asked!

1. Year round action: Every other sport has a season – start and finish, MMA just keeps rolling…  Can’t wait for the next UFC Fights… turn on VS and watch WEC anytime.

2. Accessible: I remember one of the first local fights I went to at Little Creek Casino, both Jamie Varner and Urijah Faber were there. Jamie was cornering his guys and Urijah was so willing to meet and mingle with his fans. They both hung out in the locker rooms and were super gracious to the amateur fighters. When was the last time you saw a NBA player at your local High School basketball game?

3. Tough, Tougher and Toughest: I really don’t think your typical “fan” truly understands how hard these guys train, AND how much they train for usually less than 15 minutes in the cage.  Not only do you have to have metric tons of cardio, you have to be skilled in so many disciplines. Oh and then there is the weight cut… you think the sauna in your gym is relaxing… try staying in there till you puke, then going back in again.. Running on a treadmill in a plastic suit and not drinking any fluids for over 24 hours. Where do I sign up for that job right?  MMA style work outs are catching on and there’s a great reason for that – they are killer! I’ve incorporated many MMA type drills and circuits into my work outs and have seen awesome results.

4. Mutual Respect: What more does Dana White need to do to get rid of the ugly perception that MMA is just for angry guys with something to prove? Take a minute, stop, listen, and watch. Sure there is always the exception to every rule… but for the most part these fighters are truly grateful for the honor to get in the cage, and they have the utmost respect for their opponent. What I love too is that you see it at every level: local, WEC and UFC. I just attended the AX Fights in Edmonds with a friend who had never been to a fight. One of her first observations was “There sure is a lot of hugging.”  I personally think the high level of respect comes because each guy knows the ‘hell” the other has gone through just to step into the cage and go toe to toe for three rounds.

We’ve just begun to scratch the surface… so stay tuned cause this little girl here is gonna set a new pace for all you Fight Fans!