Try harder

Today was kind of a rough day. I started out at work, getting my annual flu shot. Now, I'm not sure whether there's really any effect of how you feel that day; I never had really noticed anything before. But I've heard they can make you feel a little yucky.

Then I went to the doctor for a 9:30 appointment. No big deal - just making sure my prescriptions are up to date, going over test results, and the like. Blood pressure was good, previous blood work was fine. But to get ready for my next follow-up, I did have to go to the lab to update the blood work. They filled somewhere between 6 and 8 tubes - I wasn't counting, but they took some blood, no doubt about it.

So when I got back to work after lunch, I noticed something right away: I was getting a little short with people. Patience was not overflowing, as I could feel annoyance bubbling to the surface. I think being low on blood and having the remaining life fluid gunned up with a vaccine may have been getting to me. So, on to the point...

I was in a meeting with two of our other actuaries, going over some data and how we might organize it to minimize manual work. Impatience bubbled up, and the numbers on the screen were just running together. I wasn't picking up what they were putting down.

At that point, I sent up a short, silent prayer. (When you're lacking patience, "it's what you do.") I simply asked the Lord to send me a little patience and power from his Spirit. And then I felt it in my spirit - an answer from the Lord, as clear as if it were audible.

"Try harder."

And it hit me. I was letting my impatience stand in the way of my effort to really follow what I was being shown. So, with renewed energy, I started asking more questions. Specific questions. And before I knew it, three things happened: I understood what I was looking at, I provided helpful feedback, and...I felt patience starting to take over my psyche.

Now, folks, as believers we have the power of the Resurrection at our disposal. It can be released through prayer and dependence on God. But he wants us to take a step of faith. After all, Moses was instructed to move forward before the Red Sea was parted. In my case - in this case - it was simply taking a closer, slower look at the data. Actually putting forth an effort. And so I did.

And that, friends, was the highlight of the day. When we feel God working through us for his glory, it makes it all worthwhile.

I wonder how that will happen tomorrow.

It's over

If you are the one who reads this blog regularly (hi sis!), you may remember the post last month about my broken foot.

Because of it, I had to wear this thing around for the last four weeks:

Well, today the doctor told me I could take it off. Yay! And since it was on my right foot, that also means I can drive. Freedom!

I still have to be careful. Doc said no playing sports for a month, and I need to be very careful not to turn it again.

But more than that, I need to make sure I don't forget the lessons I learned. I still need my family. I still need my friends. Just because I can get around now doesn't mean that I shouldn't depend on people who love me. And most of all, I learned that being dependent is good, and that means depending on the Lord.

Lord, keep me mindful that I'm still broken without your presence. I need you. Don't let me forget to be dependent.


Now...where are those car keys?

I give up

That's right...I give up. I give up trying to figure out how the human body works when it comes to gaining and losing weight.

If you follow this blog, you may remember two posts since the end of the year. First, I wrote about how I was serious about getting into shape. Then, last weekend, I shared little bit about how this past weekend I was getting over a cold. Well, needless to say, those two don't mix. If you're sick, working out is not very practical.

In fact, I was stupid last week and made things worse. I worked out at least twice after I should have stopped, and I think it made things alot worse.

So today I was finally ready to get back with the program. Enough with using the congestion as an excuse to procrastinate on exercise. Enough with the idea that I needed to make sure I was eating enough to help my body recover. Back on the wagon!

It was time to step back on the scales. For the first time in over a week. I was not looking forward to it. After all, I had worked for six long weeks to get into better shape, and the result had been a whopping 5 pounds of weight loss. (I do believe I've added a little muscle too - but still, it was a little discouraging.) So now it was time to see the result of a week's slouching. Would I be starting over?

Heck no! I had lost four more pounds. Four. MORE. Pounds. How could that be??

Don't get me wrong  - I'm thrilled. It's good to jump back on the program knowing I'm not starting over. I just can't figure it out. Maybe it's a delayed effect from the previous work. Maybe it's the body shedding some weight from being puny. I don't know.

But I do know this - I'm going to double down on my work. I'm going to count it as a blessing and keep on keeping on. The lesson? For me it's this: keep doing the right thing and don't worry about the results. They will come.

This is what Coach Saban teaches about football. Don't focus on winning, focus on the process...the wins will come. It's a great lesson for life too. God doesn't call us to be successful, he calls us to be faithful...success will come from him. Well I guess it applies to good health as well.

So look out, I'm back at it. But I'm not going to ever make sense of it. So I give up...on that.

Shaping up...I mean it

I don't care for New Year's resolutions. I really don't. It never has made sense to me that we have picked an arbitrary day, January 1, as the day when we promise ourselves that we'll do something different with our lives. Oh, I do it. But it still seems random to me. And we all know that they often don't last.

So I'm going to claim that it is just a coincidence that this week I have decided to get serious about getting myself back into better shape. I will try to convince everyone (and myself) that it's not a New Year's resolution; it just so happens that football tailgating, snacking while watching games, and Christmas food have gotten me to this point. So, since those things are over, it seems like a logical time to reverse the trend.

Good physical health is a tricky thing. I believe that many of our reasons for dieting and exercising are not the best. We want to look better. We want to be more attractive to the opposite sex. We want to live longer. We want to feel better. We want to keep from having to buy new, bigger clothes. None of these are bad things. But I don't think this list includes the real reason that I need to get serious.

Looks are fleeting and temporary; we will eventually grow old and wrinkled no matter what. And no matter how long we live, we are going to die. No matter how healthy we were. Feeling better as we grow old is probably the best of the motives listed. Who wants to be a burden to their family in their old age? But it's still not the best.

The real reason for me is much, much more basic. It's simply this: God has put this body in my care, but it does not belong to me. Like everything else in creation, he owns it. So...if I have been entrusted with the care of someone's house, shouldn't I make sure it stays in good repair? Well, to me, it should be the same with my body. I should realize that it is not mine, and the owner is trusting me to take good care of it.

I haven't been doing that lately. Not too long ago, I was doing the ropes course at Windy Gap. And everything else my high school friends were doing. That would not be so easy now, and I'm not happy about it. Probably for every reason I've listed, but hopefully mostly because I know God wants me to take better care of what he has entrusted to me.

So I'm ready to shape up. I mean it. I started Monday, and I plan to follow through. Not because it's January, but because it's now. God grant me the resolve to follow through.

Ready. Set. Go.