Bravery!

Men are brave. Most of the time. Unless, of course, a 14 yr old girl takes the rudder of a boat on a large lake in northern Minnesota and announces, "I'm so ready for this."

Then, instead, there is a reaction that some might call fear. Personally, I think it's terror... but what do you think?

The Idiot Dog!

For everyone who's wondered... what exactly does an idiot dog look like? This is him!! Pure idiocy... and love, and kindness, and furry fun.

Working Out Wednesday!

It's been a good week. I weighed in this morning at 196.6 Yay!! Down a couple of pounds from where I was last week, and feeling great. I really have more energy than I did a few pounds ago.

Dh has noticed the changes, too, and in a very positive way. My workouts for the week are:

Monday: upperbody circuit, and walk.
Tuesday: 2 mile run
Wednesday: NYC Ballet workout 1, and lowerbody circuit.
Thursday: 2 mile run
Friday: upperbody circuit, and NYC Ballet workout 2, possibly a stroll with dh later
Saturday: active rest
Sunday: 2 mile run

Of course, the thing is, you can't outrun or outwork a bad diet. In otherwords, all this exercise does me no good if I'm not filling and fueling my system properly with good, healthy, natural foods. I've embraced spinach, and greens of all sorts, hummus and veggies. Lean proteins, and tossed away the processed foods. Giving my body the fuel it needs gives me the energy to workout, and the ability to keep the exercise going.

It occurs to me that in some ways, this fitness journey of mine is a metaphor for our lives in faith. I can't eat junk, exercise and lose weight. I can't fill my mind full of junk, go to church, and really have faith. I cannot, in otherwords, outchurch a bad spiritual diet any more than I can outrun a bad physical diet.

I need to feed myself on His word about situations. Not what the news says, or what a televangelist says, or what a talkshow host says... I need to get my mind full of Him, and what He says. Now, I'm not saying not to read what others have thought of His word, heavens, no!! But we need to be discerning when we do that. For some reason, even though it's harder to read, C.S. Lewis' "Reflections on the Psalms", strikes me as more nutrition for the journey than Victoria Osteen's upcoming book.

It's the difference between sitting down to a meal of spinach salad, chicken breast, and assorted veggies, or a chili-cheese dog with fries. At least that's how I see it. I know that the world is out there, and that the Prince of this World, makes the other food seem so much more tasty... but, if I'm going to be consistent... I have to care about what I'm feeding my mind at least as much as I do about what I put into my body.

Lord,

Give me your wisdom and discernment. Help me see what offerings give me proper food to strengthen my faith, and encourage me. Let me see false doctrine when it appears, and help me to be vigilant about the things I feed my mind as I am about what I feed my body.

Amen!

Be Blessed!!

Tough Topic Tuesday!

Robert Burns, one of my dh's favorite poets (because he's a Scot) once wrote in his poem, To a Louse, "Oh would some power gie us the giftie to see ourselves as others see us." In the poem, a girl is sitting in church with a new hat. She is positive that all the looks and pointing is because of how envious everyone is of her new finery. Sadly, nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that there is a louse on her hat, and everyone can see it.

The girl is feeling pride and joy. Precisely because she is wrongly interpreting the actions of those around her. The disconnect between her perceptions and reality prompts the poet to write the piece. Perhaps, because he has been in the same position before, and he wishes that God would give us this great gift. How many of our embarassing moments could we be spared if we but had that ability?

It isn't ours though. We don't know how others see us. So often, we are convinced of our position... and we don't look at reality. I'm seeing a lot of that in the election campaigns today. Not in the candidates themselves so much, but in those who follow the candidates.

Anywhere you look online you can find evidence of pure hatred, and nasty meanspiritedness towards those who support a different candidate, and towards the candidates themselves. In many ways these well-meaning supporters are like the girl with the hat. They think they are getting attention that is favorable to their candidate. They have an honest belief that they are right and that all the finger pointing is because others agree with them-- on both sides.

Tragically, though, the attention is really that horrified fascination the other churchgoers had in watching the louse on the brim of the girl's hat. The reality is that the negativity and anger have an opposite effect. I don't signal out one campaign or the other-- the fact is that this disgusting behavior spans both parties and both groups of campaign supporters.

I really hope that at some point the Lord does give us the "giftie to see ourselves as others see us." That gift is more desperately needed now, than at any time before.

Menu Planning Monday!

This week's menu is :

Monday: Steak, garlic bread, and green beans.

Tuesday: Blackbean, polish sausage chili with cornbread.

Wednesday: Pesto Chicken Pizza -- recipe courtesy Gourmet Nutrition. I'll serve this with a healthy green salad.

Thursday: BBQ pork chops, greens, and mashed potatoes

Friday: Dh and I date night... dk's frozen burritos

Saturday: Spaghetti, zucchini, and italian sausage

Thankful Thursday and Recipe Review!

Today I am thankful:

1. That my hubby has a good job, and good benefits.

2. That my son and I had a good early a.m. run together talking over his LD debate case.

3. That Jesus loves me!

4. That I get to do all the things on my agenda-- because today is NOT that day! :)

5. For hot coffee...

Okay... last night, I tried a new recipe as challenged by Ann at Life on the Sound. The recipe was for Easy Moussaka, and it came from my More with Less cookbook.

Easy Moussaka:

1 large eggplant, unpared
1 lb ground lamb/beef/turkey
1 onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced (we like garlic so I used 2)
salt, pepper and a dash of nutmeg
2 c. tomato sauce
1/3 c. tomato paste
1/2 t. oregano
1 T chopped parsley
1/2 to 1 c. grated parmesan

Place slices of eggplant on a cookie sheet, brush with olive oil sprinkle with salt and pepper and broil 5 minutes or until golden. Turn slices brush with olive oil and season and brown second side. Set oven to 350 after browning.

Fry together the meat, garlic and onion and seasonings. When browned, add the tomato sauce, paste and remaining ingredients except the cheese.

Layer half the eggplant slices into a 9 x9 baking dish, then top with half the meat mixture, repeat. Sprinkle with grated cheese, bake 40 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

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Family verdict: All eggplants must die!! Seriously, no leftovers, none. Dh, dd, and ds all went back for seconds. What a great sneaky way to get more veggies into the family, and have them like it. This is a definite make again... very easy, quick and affordable. Not to mention delicious!

Now to decide what to make for next week's challenge!

Working Out Wednesday!

I ordered it today. The NYC Ballet Workout... I'm wanting something different than the exercise bike to add in for my non-running days. This comes highly recommended, and I'm told that it does look pretty but also kicks you in the booty. So... I can hardly wait...

Thus far... I'm doing great. 198.4 today on the old scale. Trending downward... a little more every day. :) It's a good week. I'm on track even though I went back to work this week... no missed workouts, no unscheduled food binges... so I'm feeling good.

Today's workout: 15 minutes of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) on my stationary bike. That is getting easier. I may move that to 20 minutes on a regular basis. It feels good... and 5 more minutes can only help.

Afterward... upperbody circuit style workout. I started with:

10 knee pushups
10 bent over rows (5 lb dumbbells)
10 shoulder presses (10 lb dumbbells)
10 bicep curls (5 lb)
10 tricep extensions (10 lb)
15 ab/knee raises
10 shoulder side lifts (5 lb)

Repeated the cycle 3x. and then napped for 10 minutes... I was just wiped out.

As important as it is for me to workout physically... remember we also need to be giving our faith a workout too. Faith is hard to workout. There is such a climate of fear right now about the economy, about the $ stockmarket, etc. In all honesty. the verse that slammed itself into my awareness this a.m. was...

Matthew 6:19-21 19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

How sad. My treasure is in heaven, and I've let myself get distracted from that with the things going on on Wall Street.

Lord... forgive me my fear. Help me to remember, Father, that my treasure is not here on earth but with You in Heaven. Help me to make investments in the lives of others and to be more concerned with that than the fate of my 401k. Thank you.

Be blessed!

Tough Topic Tuesday!

A while back, if you'll remember... I ranted a wee bit about our current economic situation. It was a good rant. A justified rant. And, you know what, it still is!

So... painful as it may be for some out there to read... We are NOT in a recession. We aren't. The criteria still have not been met.

Remember... in order for a recession to exist we need NEGATIVE growth for two (2) quarters. We haven't even had one quarter of negative growth yet. Our economy is STILL growing... not receding... hence... NO RECESSION.

Now... are we experiencing a slowdown in growth? You bet your bippy we are... but slow growth is not a recession. Are people losing their jobs? Yes... we are having some higher unemployment recently than we have had in the past. Are there issues with the stock market... oooh... don't get me started!!

What does that mean? Well, it means that Sen. McCain is right. Our fundamentals economically are still strong. We still have the best workforce in the world. We still have a growing economy and once the issues with commercial paper are resolved, we'll see expansion continuing.

Obviously, it may be more fun to play Chicken Little and yell that the sky is falling... but even Chicken Little could point to an acorn that hit him on the head. The gloom and doomers here can't... we don't have one indicator for a recession yet. There is no justifiable way we can say that we are in a recession. None.

By definition we are not... and we won't be... unless, that is, we allow ourselves to be deceived and to listen to the pundits, and the comics, and the news folk... but that is our choice, isn't it?

Monday's Menu!

Since today was my first day back at my outside the home job... : ) I've made a menu for the week that is easy and relatively stress free.

Monday: Chili, crudites, and cornbread.

Tuesday: left over chili, sandwiches as I have a live chat to do in the evening.

Wednesday: I'm accepting a challenge from Ann over at the Life On the Sound. The challenge is to use new and interesting recipes for the month of October. Mine for the week is Moussaka. I'll post the recipe and the reviews (whether raves or rants) from my family on Thursday. I plan on serving it with some sliced zucchini.

Thursday: Beef in peanut sauce with oriental vegetables and whole wheat noodles

Friday: BBQ ribs, mashed potatoes, green beans.

Saturday: Bratwurst, ww buns, and crudite after church!

Sunday: Fend for themselves-- I've got a week's worth of work to prepare for!! :)

Sunday's Score!

Well, actually... it isn't about a score that I made... although I did do very well on a recent thrift shopping excursion. :) Actually, I wanted to post about a disturbing trend that I find both irl and also among some folks I know on the interwebs. That trend is... keeping score.

Keeping score is a dangerous practice. It leads to discontent, and to developing the resentment flu. It is hard to avoid though. It is a part of our human nature, and it seems to have particular resonance for women.

When Martha chastised Mary for not helping... she was keeping score. She, in effect, said, "I've done more than you. I deserve a higher score." Jesus didn't think so, though. Why? Because He wasn't keeping score. If He did keep score, we'd all have lost the game a long time ago.

It can be easy especially in our intimate relationships to focus on what we do, and not on what is done for us. I know women upset (and I used to be one) because their husbands don't wash dishes, or put babies to bed, or what have you... but they (and I) forget... this is the same man who works 40+ hours a week, takes care of oil changes, mows the lawn etc. We don't give points for the hours in the work week.

Part of the issue is that men and women score things differently. For example, dh could wash the dishes and I'd count that a point. So would he. However, if he takes me out to dinner and a night of jazz... he figures that's a hundred points and he waits for me to catch up in my scoring. :) That's not how I score it though... I'm still only giving that 1 point. So, if we're going to keep score...we need to get on the same page with the values, or we aren't playing by the same rules and everyone gets hurt.

If we are to forgive a brother or sister 70 x7, don't we owe it to our spouses to stop keeping score? Or at least to let them know our ranking system? We are different, men and women, and thank God for that! It does mean that our scores will never be identical.

We need to move past this mindset of "I've done everything for you and you've done nothing for me" to quote Rick Springfield from back in the day. We need to stop adding up what we've done and start looking at what others have done for us. Or better yet... throw away the scorebook... give up tit for tat.

If we do toss the scorebook away and just do for others, including our spouses, because it springs out of our hearts filled with love... I can promise that we will see and reap the rewards. As individuals, we still may not win, but as a family... we're assured the gold medal.

Thankful Thursday!

Today... I am thankful...

1. There will come a day when I can't do what I do, but today is NOT that day. This thought empowers me on a daily basis. Don't feel like doing dishes or laundry... thank God, I can still do that for myself today. Didn't want to run this a.m., but guess what, today is not the day that I can't. So, thank you, Lord, that today is NOT that day!

2. Godly advice and counsel from true Titus 2 women who understand that teaching means building up. Criticism is never heard when offered from an unkind and uncaring perspective. We need constructive criticism in our lives... criticism that builds us up... as well as showing us where our weak points are. I am so glad to have that in my life from www.prairiehomemaker.com, and the blogs I frequent.

3. That my husband is happy in what he does. There was a time about 2 years ago when that wasn't the case. It was agony for him, and for us all. Thank you, Lord, for leading him to the position he has today, and for his happiness.

4. For hot cereal! It was cold out this morning and making a bowl of Red River cereal just hit the spot. Perfect!

5. For the time this morning running with ds. He thinks such deep thoughts, and only really shares them during this time. I truly treasure these moments with him.

and of course, I am forever grateful for the gift of salvation--freely given-- all we need to do is accept it.

Be Blessed!

Work Out Wednesday!

Alright-y then! So far this week, I've got two miles in on Tuesday. Monday, I did upperbody.

I did 3 sets of 10 reps bench press, tricep extensions, bent over rows, pushups, bicep curls, and 3 sets of 15 reps seated ab-kneeups. My abs STILL hurt. And I did 15 minutes on the exercise bike.

I'm going to go to Walmart and buy a fitness ball, a set of 8lb dumbells, and see if they have the NYC ballet workout video. I've heard good things about it from Caustic Musings and www.pinkdumbbells.com so... time to go check it out.

Today: lower-body. I'm planning 3 sets of 15 squats, plie squats, side leg lifts, calf raises, dead lifts. I'll also do 3 sets of 15 crunches and adductors.

Hope everyone has a great day! Be blessed!