To live a healthy lifestyle takes real courage and committment. A stunning example of that determination is the lifestyle change that has been made during the last six months by my friend Tim Collins. Tim is widely known throughtout this area and in the local music community as the former host of the WHEO "Saturday Morning Back Porch Bluegrass Show." His radio nickname was "Tumbleweed." Tim, an avid bluegrass music fan, is a loving husband, father of 5 children, and a concerned citizen who is involved in his community. He is highly involved as a leader in the Boy Scouts and is heads the citizens' organization known as "Friends of Fairystone," a support group for Fairystone State Park.
Physically, Tim, whom I love and respect as a friend and former colleague, has been obese ever since I've know him. In fact, Tim was once so huge that he could hardly queeze into the small WHEO control room. During a recent homecoming interview on my morning talk show "Community Conversation", Tim told me that the weighing devices at his doctor's office lacked the capacity to determine his actual body weight as he always maxed out the scales. In order to get an accurate measurement of his weight, Tim asked and was granted permission to be weighed on the highly-accurate industrial scales at a local recycling business. Whooooa! Tim weighted a whopping 451 pounds!
With a strong desire to improve his own well-being and to be healthier and more active husband and father, Tim decided to do something about his obesity. He determined in February of this year to make a complete lifestyle change. Tim was introduced to the Isometrics Diet and became involved in a competitive weight loss program offered by this "billion dollar" company. In the 6-month period of the competition, Tim lost 115 pounds, earning him and his wife Janie a trip to California where he competed in the finals of the competition. Although he began the competition a month later than other competitors, Tim narrowly missed winning the competition, placing second and earning a substantial cash consolation prize. Since he began his lifestyle change last winter, Tim has lost 150 pounds. On the morning of our Tue., Aug. 25th interview, "Tumbleweed" Tim dropped below 300 pounds for the first time. "I was so excited" at reaching that milestone, Tim said in our radio interview. Tim said he is still considered obsese but he is proud of how far he has come in such a short time and plans to persevere.
In shedding all those pounds, Tim has supplemented his rigid diet with increased physical activity. He rouinely walks 3-4 miles over some rough terrain along the trails at his beloved Fairystone Park. Tim told me that he has targeted joining the 200 pound weight loss club by the end of this year. Seeing the determination in his eyes and the newfound vigor on his face during our interview, I am certain that the Tumbleweed will soon accomplish his personal goal.
As one who has come to appreciate the benefits of fitness and proper diet in recent years and one who works out regularly, I am amazed at what my friend Tim has been able to accomplish. Obesity is a national epidemic spread across the age spectrum. I highly commend Tim Collins for setting a great example for others who are battling the growing problem and facing the health risks associated with obesity. Tim case is a case study of we can do if we believe in our cause and pursue our mission with our full vigor and determination. I'm proud of you Tim! Maintain your passion and stay the course, buddy, and, in the words of an old western classic, "keep drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds."
Lots of love all,
Richard
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
The Power of Prayer
Not a day goes by that my heart isn't touched in some warm way by the things the people who listen to my radio show and that I meet in the community say to me or do. Recently, I wished one of my most faithful listeners and Facebook friends, Lisa Anne Williams Goins, a happy birthday (Aug. 12th) and also learned that it was the anniversary of the birth of her dear late mother, Patricia Williams. I also sent Lisa a happy birthday wish on Facebook that day. Her reply to my message so touched my heart that I wanted to share it with the readers of this blog. Lisa's Facebook message to me is a prime example of why it is important that we pray for each other. Prayer is powerful. Here is Lisa's story.
Lisa recalled that when she and her sister Kim Young were little their mother would wake them up on their birthdays singing "Happy Birthday to You". When the girls grew up and left home, their mother would always call first thing on the morning of each of their birthdays and sing to them the happy birthday song. "I sure miss that," Lisa told me in her reply message.
Lisa said that in her prayers on the night before her birthday she told God how much she missed her mother's singing on her birthday and how that, knowing it was impossible, it would make her day to hear that familiar birthday song again. Lisa added, "I thanked Him for my blessings and went to sleep."
The following morning (her birthday), Lisa said that after she had put the kids on the school bus to start the new school year, her telephone rang and a lady on the other end of the line asked if it was Lisa that had answered. Lisa replied in the affirmative aand said that the caller immediately started singing "Happy Birthday" to her. "I cried and thanked the lady on the other end and told her how she made my day and she told me she loved me and my family. I didn't even ask her name," said Lisa. Then, as she hung up the phone, Lisa noticed on her caller ID that the call had been placed by one of the ladies of her church, Stuart Presbyterian. "She didn't know how that made me laugh, smile, and cry, but they were happy tears, for she was a part of answering my prayer from God," Lisa told me. Lisa recalled that the same lady had also said a prayer for her three years ago when she was diagnosed with melanoma. At her next doctor's visit, Lisa learned that the melanoma had been completely and successfully removed and that she would be fine.
"I believe in prayer and them being answered when it is the right time and I truly believe in angels," said Lisa, adding, "I have a personal one here in Patrick County and her name is Winky!"
Lisa told me in a later Facebook message that after her mother's death, she didn't want to celebrate her birthday anymore without her. Now she looks at it differently. "Now I have a new faith that it would be alright to enjoy the day again. I know she (her mother) is still with me and my sisters and brothers just like she promised," Lisa concluded.
Thanks to Lisa for listening and for sharing that very touching example of how our prayers for each other can make all the difference in the world. Let's all lift each other up in prayer, including our loved ones, friends, neighbors, leaders, and, especially, those around us who are less fortunate than we are. Prayer is powerful.
Each day on "The Great Day in the Morning Show" (M-F 6-10 a.m.) I honor prayer requests and also share words of praise that my listeners report to me. If you would like to add a name to the morning show prayer list or share with my audience your words of praise for God's blessings in your life, call me at (276) 694-3388, email me at rtrogers@embarqmail.com, fax your prayer or praise requests to (276) 694-2241, write me at WHEO, 3824 Wayside Rd., Stuart, VA 24171, send me a message on Facebook, of just tell me in person. I often scribble down prayer requests on paper napkins, the palm of my hand, or anything I have handy to write on. Let's surround those in need in our community with a wall of prayer. As Lisa Anne Williams Goins well knows... there is power in prayer!
Keep me in yours,
Richard
Lisa recalled that when she and her sister Kim Young were little their mother would wake them up on their birthdays singing "Happy Birthday to You". When the girls grew up and left home, their mother would always call first thing on the morning of each of their birthdays and sing to them the happy birthday song. "I sure miss that," Lisa told me in her reply message.
Lisa said that in her prayers on the night before her birthday she told God how much she missed her mother's singing on her birthday and how that, knowing it was impossible, it would make her day to hear that familiar birthday song again. Lisa added, "I thanked Him for my blessings and went to sleep."
The following morning (her birthday), Lisa said that after she had put the kids on the school bus to start the new school year, her telephone rang and a lady on the other end of the line asked if it was Lisa that had answered. Lisa replied in the affirmative aand said that the caller immediately started singing "Happy Birthday" to her. "I cried and thanked the lady on the other end and told her how she made my day and she told me she loved me and my family. I didn't even ask her name," said Lisa. Then, as she hung up the phone, Lisa noticed on her caller ID that the call had been placed by one of the ladies of her church, Stuart Presbyterian. "She didn't know how that made me laugh, smile, and cry, but they were happy tears, for she was a part of answering my prayer from God," Lisa told me. Lisa recalled that the same lady had also said a prayer for her three years ago when she was diagnosed with melanoma. At her next doctor's visit, Lisa learned that the melanoma had been completely and successfully removed and that she would be fine.
"I believe in prayer and them being answered when it is the right time and I truly believe in angels," said Lisa, adding, "I have a personal one here in Patrick County and her name is Winky!"
Lisa told me in a later Facebook message that after her mother's death, she didn't want to celebrate her birthday anymore without her. Now she looks at it differently. "Now I have a new faith that it would be alright to enjoy the day again. I know she (her mother) is still with me and my sisters and brothers just like she promised," Lisa concluded.
Thanks to Lisa for listening and for sharing that very touching example of how our prayers for each other can make all the difference in the world. Let's all lift each other up in prayer, including our loved ones, friends, neighbors, leaders, and, especially, those around us who are less fortunate than we are. Prayer is powerful.
Each day on "The Great Day in the Morning Show" (M-F 6-10 a.m.) I honor prayer requests and also share words of praise that my listeners report to me. If you would like to add a name to the morning show prayer list or share with my audience your words of praise for God's blessings in your life, call me at (276) 694-3388, email me at rtrogers@embarqmail.com, fax your prayer or praise requests to (276) 694-2241, write me at WHEO, 3824 Wayside Rd., Stuart, VA 24171, send me a message on Facebook, of just tell me in person. I often scribble down prayer requests on paper napkins, the palm of my hand, or anything I have handy to write on. Let's surround those in need in our community with a wall of prayer. As Lisa Anne Williams Goins well knows... there is power in prayer!
Keep me in yours,
Richard
Monday, August 10, 2009
The Bears of Lover's Leap
Tourists visiting the scenic Lover's Leap Overlook in Patrick County will not only see one of the most spectacular views anywhere but they may see a bear or two as well. Many bear sightings have been reported at nearby Fred Clifton Park where the hungry bruins have ravaged trash cans in search of food and scraps left by picnickers. The bears have become such a problem that the Patrick County Recreation Department is sending workers to the park two to three times per week to clean up the litter and debris left by the bears and to repair damage to park facilities. Just up U.S. 58 at Henrietta Crafters, aka Lover's Leap Birdhouses, at least 7 different bears have been sighted and photographed. The bears of Lover's Leap have become such a spectacle that videos of them have been posted on YouTube, where you can watch them reacting to a sprinkler system, eating peaches from a tree (this bear has appropriately been nicknamed "Peaches"), raid bird feeders, and stand on their hind legs. You weblink is www.youtube.com/user/loversleapbirdhouses.
"There are a bunch of bears", said Patrick County Recreation Director Clyde Crissman in a recent telephone interview on my morning talk show "Community Conversation" on WHEO Radio. Crissman estimated that some of them weigh over 500 pounds. "Someone is going to get hurt if they don't do something about" these bears, Crissman added.
Several other WHEO talk show callers have warned citizens to beware of the bears, especially at Fred Clifton Park, located adjacent to Lover's Leap in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Patrick County. One citizen told me recently that a family picnic was recently prematurely ended when a tourist advised the husband, wife, and their children that there was a black bear behind a tree just feet from the picnic table where they had just spread their meal. The family hastily departed but not before taking a photo of the intruder.
In an effort to thwart efforts by the bears to raid the trash cans at the park, Patrick County officials are trying to develop a bear-proof garbage can but concede that it may be a futile effort. Dr. Lock Boyce, a Patrick County veterinarian and county supervisor, recently suggested on his weekly radio show that relocation of the bears may be the only long-term solution to the problem.
Not only are the pesky bears wreaking havoc at the Fred Clifton Park, a public park facility, but they are also causing damage to crops and gardens of private residences in the mountaintop area. One irate resident of Vesta called my radio show Monday, Aug. 10th, to report that bears have ravaged the family corn crop causing extensive damage to the family's garden. This caller also asked Dr. Boyce, my regular Monday morning guest, if compensation is available from the county for damage caused by bears. No such financial relief is available in for losses caused by bears, the disappointed caller was informed.
One benefit of the increased bear sightings may be hightened tourist activity in the county. Some local officials and residents speculate that the more talk and media hoopla made about the bears the greater the chances that more curious visitors will be drawn to the county to see what was once a relatively rare sight...a bear in the wild.
And those are the bear...I mean...bare facts.
Blessings...
Richard Rogers
"There are a bunch of bears", said Patrick County Recreation Director Clyde Crissman in a recent telephone interview on my morning talk show "Community Conversation" on WHEO Radio. Crissman estimated that some of them weigh over 500 pounds. "Someone is going to get hurt if they don't do something about" these bears, Crissman added.
Several other WHEO talk show callers have warned citizens to beware of the bears, especially at Fred Clifton Park, located adjacent to Lover's Leap in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Patrick County. One citizen told me recently that a family picnic was recently prematurely ended when a tourist advised the husband, wife, and their children that there was a black bear behind a tree just feet from the picnic table where they had just spread their meal. The family hastily departed but not before taking a photo of the intruder.
In an effort to thwart efforts by the bears to raid the trash cans at the park, Patrick County officials are trying to develop a bear-proof garbage can but concede that it may be a futile effort. Dr. Lock Boyce, a Patrick County veterinarian and county supervisor, recently suggested on his weekly radio show that relocation of the bears may be the only long-term solution to the problem.
Not only are the pesky bears wreaking havoc at the Fred Clifton Park, a public park facility, but they are also causing damage to crops and gardens of private residences in the mountaintop area. One irate resident of Vesta called my radio show Monday, Aug. 10th, to report that bears have ravaged the family corn crop causing extensive damage to the family's garden. This caller also asked Dr. Boyce, my regular Monday morning guest, if compensation is available from the county for damage caused by bears. No such financial relief is available in for losses caused by bears, the disappointed caller was informed.
One benefit of the increased bear sightings may be hightened tourist activity in the county. Some local officials and residents speculate that the more talk and media hoopla made about the bears the greater the chances that more curious visitors will be drawn to the county to see what was once a relatively rare sight...a bear in the wild.
And those are the bear...I mean...bare facts.
Blessings...
Richard Rogers
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