Trying something new

Playing with MacJournal I’ve already lost this first attempt at an entry once.

I’m good at starting things ... not so great when it comes to keeping with it long term. That’s the story of my past blogging adventures. Hoping with other things going on in my life that this will help me keep up with my writing goals for the year. It’s not that I’m aiming to get published or have grandiose dreams of being discovered. It’s about my own desire to think through and remember the details of life better. Be that my own experiences or even interactions with those far more interesting and/or brilliant than me.

There have been many times in life where, in retrospect, I wish I would have recorded more ... and so far no times where I wish I would not have put something in writing.

For instance, what was I thinking when I hiked around the coast last summer?

Clean

I love organizing! I enjoy the aftermath of cleaning. Sometimes I even enjoy the process of cleaning. That's what I did for most of the day.

Then I hit the gym to start a new training program.

Press: 50 lbs x 5; 60 x 5; 70 x 10 reps.
Dips: 7; 7; 7; 7; 10
Lat Pulldowns (not sure when the last time I did these was): 50 x 15; 60 x 10; 70 x 10; 70 x 10; 80 x 10
Tricep Extensions (with ropes on pulley): 20 x 20; 30 x 10; 30 x 10; 40 x 10; 50 x 10

Walked on treadmill for 30 mins (5 mins at 15% incline, 10 mins at 10%; rest of it at 5 ... all at 2.5).

Had a largish breakfast and ended up just having protein shake with a banana prior to working out. Didn't seem to effect me, though felt a little low energy on treadmill.

Love how sometimes I think God just really helps me out with not cheating. Starving post workout and as I was shopping for veggies, I thought, "Why not treat myself to some of those dumplings ... will be so much faster than my dinner plans." As Grace would have it ... TJ's was all out. ;-). Thank you Jesus.

Time to clean myself, make dinner and then ... Looking forward to a friend visiting. Day 2 of this new year is almost in the bag and I think it was a pretty good one.

New Beginnings ... avoiding forfeit

It seems like each year I think, "I should discipline myself to write more" ... then the idea of yet another blog, followed quickly by the realization that I don't really have anything interesting to say.

Jesus asked his disciples, "Is gaining everything in this world you want worth losing your soul" (Mt 16:26, Mk 8:36, Lk 9:25)? That's a pretty serious question. The ESV even uses the word "forfeit". This word conjures up images of competition. Every athlete knows there are rules set up to help judge one competitor against another. We train with those rules in mind. In training, however, we have more latitude. For instance, an olympic weightlifter can practice a few parts of the lift instead of all of it. This is acceptable in training. When competition day comes those training days will hopefully help the lifter reach a new personal record.

That makes me think ... what am I doing each day in my life to prepare for the moments when I'm on a platform and the spotlight is on me. Those platforms aren't just in weightlifting meets ... they include moments where we make tough personal choices, moments when I get up to train my soul, to train my body, to train my mind ...

It's another transition day for me where I'm headed towards starting another Whole30 program (http://whole9life.com/start/).

I've also decided on a lifting program to get my strength up for a powerlifting meet in April. This includes more conditioning as well.

Today is a day of rest as I'm still not feeling 100%. Tomorrow, the plan goes into action.

Another year. I welcome it!

Highs and Lows

Proverbs teaches that, "The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy" (14:10) and, "Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief" (14:13).

My heart has been heavy the last few weeks as a few of my friends are ill - with death standing in their paths in a more tangible way than most of us recognize. Even today a good friend of the family, dad to a great friend from High School, is in the hospital with Doctors telling them, "It's not looking good." Those are words no daughter is ever ready to hear. I know some of that pain as both of my parents had complications when they decided to have elective surgery on the same day.

One of the reasons I workout is because it tests my mind along with my body. Monday's lately have been METCON intensive workouts. Think the last few weeks the workouts have taken me over 30 minutes. It's not just a matter of completing the workout. Prior to it I debate how much torture I think I can take. Sure, I could go down in weight, use a smaller box for box jumps or even step them up. How hard will I push? How hard can I push?

Before the METCON I practiced double unders. It seems like such an easy task to pass the rope twice under your feet in a single jump. I see people do it almost daily. For me, a few months ago getting twenty single consecutive jumps was a challenge. Today I had success. It shocked me. Twice.

But that all faded as I was frustrated with my singles during the METCON. And then there were burpees to contend with. Oh, and the box jump - which I almost wiped out on a few times. During workouts like this, when I'm not even doing them RX'd and am sucking wind like it's going out of style, there are always moments where I doubt I'll finish. The success a few heart beats earlier of doing something I could not do a few months ago fades into the pain and doubt of the excruciating moment before me.

Workouts with a strength bias 9 out of 10 times leave me feeling exuberant for hours. Serious natural high. METCONS wipe me out. My stomach usually feels sick and I can't even fathom putting anything in there despite the admonishment for post-workout nutrition. In contrast to the technicolor high of strength work, METCONS build within me a quiet resolve. Each time I work through the point of no return my resolve for future workouts and hardships grows. My doubt and negativity grows weaker.

I have not faced some of the hardships friends are facing. But I pray for them that their strength of character, faith, and hope become stronger through them. I pray their resolve to keep fighting the good fight grows. And I pray their hearts remain soft and full of hope.

Life has many highs and lows. We may have grief in the midst of joy, and joy in the midst of grief. No one can truly understand what someone else is going through - we are all wired differently. I'm looking to grow stronger in body, mind and faith - through the highs and the lows; the failures and the successes.

Thinking Clearly

For years I've blogged on a stand-alone site that defined online journaling before "blogging" was part of our everyday vernacular. I've never been the most disciplined of journal keepers. Most days it's a lack of motivation, and even when motivation was present often material was lacking. One year I attempted to blog my way through Oswald Chamber's "My Utmost for His Highest" (excellent devotional). A friend always referred to this book as "Utmost High". That stuck.

Socrates posited, "The unexamined life is not worth living." What did he mean? And was he correct?

I don't think I'm qualified to judge anyone else's life. However, I will admit that journaling has often lead to thinking more clearly about circumstances in my life. Beyond that, I've often been able to discern my Creator's hand in the circumstances. Even when His handprint was not evident, journaling has helped to lead me to places of hope.

Jesus Christ taught that the greatest commanded was to love God and to love our neighbor. I believe these lead to the utmost high's we can have in life. Those loves are lived out in various arenas including: family, church, work. One arena where spiritual lessons have been brought to life in technicolor as been my body, which I've rediscovered in a fresh way through CrossFit and Paleo diet. These will probably be the topics most examined on this blog.

So here's to another attempt at examining my life and thinking clearly.