I just noticed on Sharon's blog that she is actually publishing on her blog how far she runs every day. That is pretty bold. The whole world will know if you fail.
On the other hand, it isn't a bad idea. Both to run and to publish your intentions. So I am about to publish mine. But first, background.
Several years ago I started having problems with my feet. A little over 2 years ago I was down to where I was about to give up walking. But that is so impractical that I decided, no, I can't let it happen. So I started counting how many steps I walked. Ten steps to the kitchen, fifteen steps to the mailbox. Etc. I got up to 600 (steps each foot) the first week. I got up to 1500 steps/week pretty quickly, partly because I got more diligent about counting. It was 150 steps to the corner stop sign, so I didn't have to re-count that part. I even give myself some credit for standing still. Washing dishes, e.g., is really hard on feet. Waiting for the bus, standing around after church--quite an ordeal actually.
I hope you don't think I'm crazy for counting steps. I'm not crazy. Particularly. But if I do only what I feel like and what doesn't hurt, I won't do anything. And if I get really ambitious and do too much one day, I might be down for three days. So it's the only way.
Diverging for a moment, I once read an article about a woman who wanted to lose weight. She figured that the only way to do it was to count how many bites she was eating, and then cut the number down by a third. She did this for some time. Eventually she got tired of counting, but by that time she had gotten used to what was the right amount to eat, and it had become a habit, so she didn't need to count anymore. I admire people with that kind of determination. I don't have a weight problem, but I know that food is a complicated issue, and I rejoice anytime I see someone get the victory.
It's the same kind of issue when puny people (and others) try to change their habits and eat more and exercise more. 1 Cor 9:27 "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection." Probably one of the hardest battles you'll ever fight.
So anyway, I have been counting for two years now. I got up to about 7600/week last year, PTL. That still isn't enough to go shopping or do a whole day of housework, but it's something.
But I got stuck at that number for several weeks, so I decided to try something new--I'm going to run every day. Ha-ha-ha! Funny? No, fun! I am desperate for more exercise, and I don't have room for an exercycle (boring, anyway), or a rowing machine (not quite so boring).
So, uh, well, this is embarassing but, I'm hoping to run, uh...maybe I'll put the actual number on my next blog.
February 11, 2012
February 8, 2012
Non-towels and Summer
When you put a towel in a puddle and stand on it, it should absorb water, right? And if you put a towel in a bucket and it's hanging over the edge, water soaks upward, doesn't it? Or at least it does when I don't want it to. But my newest dishtowels from Wal-Mart don't absorb water at all. You can drown them and they still don't get wet. After an hour in the washing machine they get wet, maybe with the help of detergent.
And that's life.
I accidentally defrosted the refrigerator, which it needed anyway.
Spring is on it's way. I have an urge to do spring cleaning. I have an urge to thoroughly organize, clean, paint, buy some pictures or hangings for the walls. But I probably won't. I'll just do a little cleaning and organizing and I'll open all the windows wide first chance I get.
Israel doesn't really have a spring. It's just winter and then summer. But spring is a state of mind you acquire after living in Indiana for a while. Summer is even better than spring. In the spring you start having hope that the gloom is not going to last forever. You start realizing that you're still alive and that you like being alive. But in summer, it's...summer! And you hurry to enjoy it, because you know it won't last, and you can't waste a minute.
Summer -- we all have seen --
A few of us -- believed --
A few -- the more aspiring
Unquestionably loved --
by Emily Dickinson
And, as is usual for Emily Dickinson, the rest of the poem is about the vanity of life. Now don't you tell me she's weird. I love Emily Dickinson. But I'd hate to stop where she did, spinning my wheels, and stopping short of faith. It's true that everything under the sun is vanity. But you can go beyond the sun, to the Son, and then everything becomes new.
"In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
And that's life.
I accidentally defrosted the refrigerator, which it needed anyway.
Spring is on it's way. I have an urge to do spring cleaning. I have an urge to thoroughly organize, clean, paint, buy some pictures or hangings for the walls. But I probably won't. I'll just do a little cleaning and organizing and I'll open all the windows wide first chance I get.
Israel doesn't really have a spring. It's just winter and then summer. But spring is a state of mind you acquire after living in Indiana for a while. Summer is even better than spring. In the spring you start having hope that the gloom is not going to last forever. You start realizing that you're still alive and that you like being alive. But in summer, it's...summer! And you hurry to enjoy it, because you know it won't last, and you can't waste a minute.
Summer -- we all have seen --
A few of us -- believed --
A few -- the more aspiring
Unquestionably loved --
by Emily Dickinson
And, as is usual for Emily Dickinson, the rest of the poem is about the vanity of life. Now don't you tell me she's weird. I love Emily Dickinson. But I'd hate to stop where she did, spinning my wheels, and stopping short of faith. It's true that everything under the sun is vanity. But you can go beyond the sun, to the Son, and then everything becomes new.
"In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
January 17, 2012
Easy Life
I have a relatively easy life. For some it is not so.
Psalm 69:16-18
"Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies."
Psalm 69:16-18
"Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies."
January 16, 2012
New Year Resolutions
The New Year is a good time to re-evaluate and re-prioritize. They say that if you make a formal resolution, and publicize it, you are at least ten times more likely to succeed than someone who doesn't. Even so, most New Year's resolutions are broken by the end of January. The way to avoid that is to make a specific, easy resolution that doesn't have to be continued for a whole year.
One of my resolutions was to think about the things in my life I am dissatisfied with and either do something about them or quit complaining. Many times I do nothing about something because it seems like such a small thing it's hardly worth it. But if I do it anyway, sometimes it turns out to do more good than I would have thought.
e.g. One thing I am very dissatisfied with is having to be confined to a dark apartment all day. One day when I was particularly disgusted, I looked outside and saw that it was bright and sunny. It was also cold and windy. But if I want sunshine, there it is, just go get it. So I determined I would take a one-minute walk. You can't freeze to death in one minute, and if one minute out of 1440 of sunshine is all I can have, I'm going to have it. So I walked for one minute, found the cold not so unbearable after all, kept walking, turned the corner and sat down on a bench in the sun. Immediately the wind stopped and I sat and soaked up the warmth of the sun for about 20 minutes, and felt so good I took my coat off and walked all the way around the block!
Another problem I always encounter is wanting to do more of everything. Learn more Hebrew, write more music, do more sewing-cleaning-cooking-exercise, or whatever. It isn't possible to do more unless I do less of something. Less sleep, maybe. Nope, not in the winter. I really need more sleep, too. The only thing I can do less of is wasting time. When do I waste time? Not sure, but I think a lot of time is wasted in little bits here and there, I just need to catch myself doing it.
Another thing that would help is to do the obvious, not the urgent. If you compromise with the obvious, pretty soon everything becomes urgent and you're in a trap.
And it's obvious that it's past lunchtime, so quick, decide! eat it or skip it?
Eat!
Eat what?
Carrots!
Bye!!
One of my resolutions was to think about the things in my life I am dissatisfied with and either do something about them or quit complaining. Many times I do nothing about something because it seems like such a small thing it's hardly worth it. But if I do it anyway, sometimes it turns out to do more good than I would have thought.
e.g. One thing I am very dissatisfied with is having to be confined to a dark apartment all day. One day when I was particularly disgusted, I looked outside and saw that it was bright and sunny. It was also cold and windy. But if I want sunshine, there it is, just go get it. So I determined I would take a one-minute walk. You can't freeze to death in one minute, and if one minute out of 1440 of sunshine is all I can have, I'm going to have it. So I walked for one minute, found the cold not so unbearable after all, kept walking, turned the corner and sat down on a bench in the sun. Immediately the wind stopped and I sat and soaked up the warmth of the sun for about 20 minutes, and felt so good I took my coat off and walked all the way around the block!
Another problem I always encounter is wanting to do more of everything. Learn more Hebrew, write more music, do more sewing-cleaning-cooking-exercise, or whatever. It isn't possible to do more unless I do less of something. Less sleep, maybe. Nope, not in the winter. I really need more sleep, too. The only thing I can do less of is wasting time. When do I waste time? Not sure, but I think a lot of time is wasted in little bits here and there, I just need to catch myself doing it.
Another thing that would help is to do the obvious, not the urgent. If you compromise with the obvious, pretty soon everything becomes urgent and you're in a trap.
And it's obvious that it's past lunchtime, so quick, decide! eat it or skip it?
Eat!
Eat what?
Carrots!
Bye!!
Psalm 8
Important words/phrases from Psalm 8.
| אָרְחוֹת | paths | תִזְכְּרֶנּוּ | you will remember him, be mindful | |
| יֹנְקִים | sucklings | תִפְקְדֶנּוּ | you will visit him | |
| עוֹלְלִים | babes | תְּחַסְּרֵהוּ | you will make him lower, diminish | |
| שָׂדָי | field (poet.) | תְּעַטְּרֵהוּ | you will crown him | |
| מִתְנַקֵּם | avenger | תַּמְשִׁילֵהוּ בְּ | you will make him have dominion over | |
| לְהַשְׁבִּית | to still | יִסַּדְתָּ-עֹז | thou has ordained strength |
January 4, 2012
Psalm 7
Lots of violent words in this Psalm.
| זֹעֵם | he is furious | עָוֶל | iniquity |
| יִלְטוֹשׁ | he will sharpen | שָׁקֶר | falsehood |
| פֹּרֵק | he tears to pieces | שַׁחַת | ditch |
| יִרְמֹס | he will tread | עַבְרוֹת | rage |
| יְחַבֶּל-אָוֶן | he travaileth with iniquity | מָוֶת | death |
| חֲמָסוֹ | his violence, violent dealing | דֹלְקִים | persecutors |
| רֵיקָם | vainly, without cause | חִצָּיו | his arrows |
| פֶּן-יִטְרֹף | lest he devour | חַרְבּוֹ | his sword |
| רְשָׁעִים | wicked ones | קַשְׁתּוֹ | his bow |
| רֹדְפַי | my persecutors | עֲמָלוֹ | his mischief |
January 3, 2012
Breathe Cold Air
I wonder if anyone ever figured out how much energy is required when you breathe cold air compared to when you breathe warm air. Cold air makes me so sleepy. I've been sleeping an extra hour or two every day.
I've been eating more sugar, too. Not by choice--I don't go to the store and look for more sugar to eat. But when someone offers us free food, and that includes sweets, I almost never say no. The best I've tasted so far is a little log that has wheat shreds on the outside and is loaded with nuts and flavor.
I've been eating more sugar, too. Not by choice--I don't go to the store and look for more sugar to eat. But when someone offers us free food, and that includes sweets, I almost never say no. The best I've tasted so far is a little log that has wheat shreds on the outside and is loaded with nuts and flavor.
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