Blog: Top 7 = test-run free trail shoes + another wrestling venture + LifeLift progress

This week I test-ran my free shoes, attended another wrestling tournament, made massive LifeLift progress and more…

Here are the highlights, my Top 7, where I recount— from my journal— 7 of the best things from the previous week. Generally, there are more than 7. And, these aren’t listed in order of importance. Furthermore, I choose one from each of the 7 key areas of life— 

👉 Fitness

👉 Finance

👉 Family 

👉 Faith

👉 Field

👉 Friends 

👉 Fun 

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Fitness = T25 + Max 30 mash-up

This week I stepped back into my “random” routine of just doing SOMETHING each day in the area of physical fitness. 

Generally, if it’s cold outside (this week it was), I do something in the garage— usually a #BeachBody workout on the infamously thick flat-screen TV that was in the downstairs den of the house when I purchased it just over 2 years ago….

I moved that TV to the garage, where I have a wrestling mat, a pull-up / dip bar, a weight bench, and some free weights. 

These resources work great and, in all honesty, even though there’s far MORE equipment at the gym, most people who use the excuse that “it’s not a gym” don’t use any more than what I have if and when they go to an actually gym….

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Finance = new (free) shoes

Because it was so cold this week, I’ve got a new pair or running shoes I haven’t yet used.

Hoka.

Those are the running shoes with the thick soles. 

About 10 years ago when the “barefoot running” craze kicked-up, and shoes like Vibram Five Fingers, Merrell zero-drops, and other flat shoes entered the market, Hoka launched with the opposite concept: more cushion for the pushin’. It was completely counter to everything written in the book, Born to Run, which highlighted why thick soles create more injuries and why we should run on hardly anything at all…

I’ve tried both kinds of running and can float back and forth between any of the shoes freely…

But, about 18 months ago I purchased a pair of Hokas. Trail shoes. It was my third pair from the company in the past 6 years or so.

But…

The pair I had began tearing up.

Sure, you could argue that it was the long-runs from mid-Summer to mid-Fall, when I was doing the #75Hard challenge that created the shredding…

But the shoes wore far faster— and got jacked up far more— than that kind of consistent easy running does.

I decided to send them back and see…

I thought, “If they take them back and send a new pair, great. If they don’t, no problem. I’ll just get another pair at some point…”

Turns out, Hoka replied within 3 business days.

“We’ve issued you a credit voucher,” the email said. “Go select another pair of shoes— or anything else you want in the store.”

Done.

I ordered another pair of trail shoes, this one slightly different than the others. And, over the weekend took them for a test-run. 

There don’t have as wide of a base as my other shoes— and, the tan color makes them look more like something a man that’s 75+ would wear as his shoe of choice with tan slacks and a navy blazer (think: wedding, Easter Sunday, etc.). But, they’re light and run extremely well…

I put 10+ miles on them on the first run with no issues at all.

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Family = convos w/ the wife + wrestling tournament w/ Levi and ride-along with Salter

Two things make my highlight reel for last week…

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First, Beth and I had several great conversations. Not all of them “easy” in the sense of “surface.” But each of them good on so many deeper levels…

👉 Our purpose and calling

👉 How we leverage both of our gifts and skill sets, since we are “one” who can accomplish for more together— and have been brought together— than we can as two individuals 

👉 What we want to see in our family, with our kids…

👉 What we want to see happen in our finances…

You can achieve so much more when the conversation flows…

… when people aren’t ridiculed for ideas, emotionally punished for differing opinions, when you share this thing Beth refers to as “open space.”

(We’ll talk more about some of this in a few weeks in our Facebook group, The #Hilltop Hangout— join it at www.Facebook.com/groups/AndrewEJenkins )

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Second, Levi had a wrestling tournament at Mortimer Jordan this weekend. 

We left about 6am and drove the 45 minutes to make weigh-in.  

As always, I drop him off and then head to a nearby coffee shop (Jack’s, which is definitely NOT a coffee shop, in this case) to read for an hour or so— until the matches start.

Levi texted: “One of your former coaches is here. A man recognized me and said he used to coach you.”

In an instant, my mind flooded with faces and places— coaches and practices and matches. I had MULTIPLE great coaches (in fact, not a mediocre or bad one in the lot— at all) my entire run through junior high and high school sports.

A few of them, over the years, made their way from Erwin (where I graduated) to Mortimer Jordan. So, Levi could have run into NUMEROUS men— all of them some of the great ones which are the unsung heroes that create the fabric of growing up, those sturdy and tender men who are as involved in your life as the youth minister and even some of your best friends.

When I arrived for the tournament, I began looking around…

Found several men I know— from far back in the awkward days of growing up and trying to find your place in the world (and, to be honest, we’re still doing some of that, aren’t we?).

I saw former teammates— and guys who were on teams a few years ahead of me but returned to help coach during their school holidays or even after they got off work…

… and was, again, thankful. 

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As the matches began, I stood to the side and watched the Oak Mountain boys. Levi has coaches like I had— guys who care and also teach hard-line aggression on the mat. 

I pondered it all as I saw two former teammates reffing… 

Then, a tap on the shoulder. 

I turned…

It was Salter. 

I had no idea he was coming to the match. But, there he stood— in his pajama pants.

“I wore these,” he replied upon inquiry, “because I had to get up at eight o’clock. And these are more comfortable.”

A few moments later he asked me about my favorite soda. I declined answering, explaining that I had loaded up on coffee.

He bounced back a few moments later and handed me a “Pibb X-tra.”

“I brought $5 of my money,” he said. “So I wanted to get you a snack.”

Later, he brought me X-treme Sour Patch Strips, and noted that “the person who designed them is an idiot, because the rainbow always goes Red Orange Yellow Blue Green… and they got the Green and the Blue backwards.”

Salter stuck around, watched the matches up close with me…

… and talked.

Here we are— with Levi over our shoulder, getting ready to wrestle.

Then, as Levi returned home with his Mom, Salter— at his request— asked if we could go get chicken burritos at Zutigi’s (read: Taziki’s).

“Beth can meet us there in her tiny car,” he offered.

Done and done.

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Field = ready for takeoff on the LifeLift project 

After a few hours of work this week, late Monday, I finished a few webpages for the new LifeLift project.

Here’s where the progress currently stands— 

⭐️ the big book and the smaller books (four) and the workbook are all written

⭐️ edits are done and documents uploaded to the printer

⭐️ proof copies ordered (even sent a few out to several friends this week to begin reviewing)

⭐️ slides (for teaching purposes) are done— going through final edits THIS WEEK!

⭐️ will record some of the training resources THIS WEEK for leaders

⭐️ soft launch with promo so people can see the workbook coming SOMETIME in February!

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Faith = Desperation Church w/ Andy 

Last weekend Beth + I took several of the kids to see Andy Heis at Desperation Church in Cullman. He was a Sunday School teacher and high-level volunteer in the youth group when I was a youth intern at Gardendale’s First Baptist almost 25 years ago.

And, since then, he’s created an amazing family, grown a fabulous church, and developed a next-level team.

They moved into a new facility several months ago, so we decided to sync calendars, go up, and spend some time together. 

Andy preached a great sermon (which he hadn’t planned to preach, when he originally outlined the series— he pulled an audible at the last minute), we enjoyed an un-rushed lunch together, and the kids were seriously chill and easy…

Andy’s focus during his talk: power and love, straight from Acts.

“You preached, basically, part 2 of the LifeLift framework,” I told him, “even though you haven’t seen it!”

I sent him book 2, Presence, (about the Holy Spirit) the next day.

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Friends = Wine-down Wednesday with Randy— without the wine

For the past few weeks, Randy and Paul and I have texted back and forth: “Let’s circle the wagons and get together.”

We volleyed over and over… 

… until one of us (might have been me, but I don’t remember), offered a solution: “What about this afternoon?”

It worked for 2 out of 3, so we did it.

And, we can grab the 3 later, who is sometimes the 1 or the 2 or you know what I mean…

The point?

Make time for friends. 

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Fun = Judah’s movie 

Years ago I watched the entire array of Batman films with Noah and Levi. 

And then we watched EVERY X-Men movie.

And then all the Marvels and other things…

Lately, Judah has been circling back to those SAME movies. 

“Can we watch a series?” he asks.

(A few weeks ago we finished the Mission Impossibles— at his request.)

This week it hit me: he was alive back when I watched those movies with the other boys, but he was took young to see them. He was always going to bed.

What’s the reason for all of this? 

Time.

And un-rush. 

And lack of hustle.

That is, go “all in” when it’s time to go “all in” and work. And go “all off” when it’s time to go “all off” and just enjoy the people around you— whether it’s dining out, walking the neighborhood, watching a movie…

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That’s the highlight reel for the week.

As always, each Sunday afternoon I sit down and preview the week ahead AND ALSO review the week that’s just in the rear view mirror. As I do, I scan the journaling section in the Advance Planner and look at my entries for the “three things I’m thankful for today” and note some of the best moments. 

It helps keep me focused— and helps me remember. 

For every tough day, there are tender moments.

For every season of struggle and strain in which there seems to be too much to do left at the end of the hours you have to do them, there are also those unhurried episodes in which the real magic that makes it all worthwhile occurs…

Download the planner free at www.Jenkins.tv/FreePlannerPDF