Ugh! The Struggle Continues...

In the year and a half prior to my retirement, I managed to lose 60 pounds.
I was eating well and getting daily exercise.
In the year and a half since my retirement, I've managed to put most of the 60 pounds back on!
Ugh!

Several times in the past year I've said that I'm getting back to healthy eating and exercise only to fail after a relatively short period of time. Then I see pictures or video and decide that this time I'm really going to stick to it -- only to fail after a relatively short time.

So today is the day.
I did weigh myself, but I'm not going to focus on weight.
My focus will be on good health.
I'm going to start walking again -- every day.
We have no plans for traveling during the holidays so that won't interfere with a goal of 100 miles by the end of the year. I get all 31 days of December plus 2 bonus days left in November -- 33 days of just over 3 miles/day. I realize that on some days I may have to find an alternative to walking due to weather, but will make daily exercise a priority.

I don't know that I want to go back to counting calories. I might, but really don't want to do that. I would rather just pay closer attention to everything that I am consuming. If I watch what I'm eating, cut out the crap, and keep portion sizes reasonable, I should be okay. Typically, December wouldn't be a great time to start on a diet, but we are not big into the holiday baking and I'm not at work where people are bringing that stuff in. I do plan on boosting my protein intake and keeping an eye on the grains. We're going to do more daily shopping for fresh produce and try to throw away less than we have been in the past.

There is plenty of activity for today -- laundry, getting Christmas stuff down from the attic, dinner prep, and that long walk.
Better get busy.

John <><
Note: this will also appear on the Unhealthy Guy's blog.

Birth, Life, Death, Rebirth ... The Circle of Life

Life has it's way.
There are good days and bad days; days marked for celebrating and days for mourning.
Most days are pretty ordinary; some are extraordinary.

Some lives end quickly, others linger for more than a century.

Death, a very real part of life, is never far away.
We see it in people we know.
We read about it in people we don't know.

We have learned much through science and have managed to extend life for some.
But all of us come to the same eventual end.
This life -- the one housed in our human bodies -- always comes to an end.

It is not my plan to have a depressing, morbid post today.
It is my hope that you will take a few moments to consider what might be at the end of this journey.

Is there life beyond death?
Is there a judgment for the current life?
Do we recycle through again with an opportunity to do better?
Or does this life's judgment determine our future in another world? In heaven? In hell?

I think that with the certainty of death, it is worth the time and effort to examine what might be next and how we might prepare for it.

I really believe that there is more than the big dirt nap at the end.
How about you?
Is there more to life than death?
And if so -- What?

John <><

Christmas Decorations and Ebenezer Scrooge

Christmas decorations have been up in stores and at shopping centers for a little while.
Now they are popping up around the neighborhoods of our community.

This afternoon (late afternoon) I drove over to my daughter's and son in law's home to bring the ladder and help (a little) get the outdoor lights up. Daniel worked on the outdoor lights while Hannah decorated the tree on the inside. It was nice to visit with them for a little bit before returning to our unadorned home.

We've never been big on the Christmas decorations, but I suppose I will find myself in the attic sometime during the coming week and some simple decorations will be put up.

Bah! Humbug!

Call me Scrooge.
Maybe it's that Christmas is pretty quiet with the kids gone;
Maybe it's that Christmas is just too commercial;
Maybe it's that the people that say they celebrate the birth of Christ are just as commercial as everyone else, but with a holier-than-thou bit of self righteous indignation added in for good measure;
Maybe it's that I really am a grumpy, old curmudgeon;
But I can do without a month of Christmas music on every stinkin' radio station.
I can do without get togethers with people that don't really like each other the rest of the year.
I'm okay with celebrating Christmas for the sake of giving gifts and gathering with families.

But when the Church of Jesus -- the Bride of Jesus -- is disheveled and unkempt, can we really convince unbelievers that our celebration is any different than theirs?
How is our celebration of Christmas holy while theirs is secular and unholy?
Does the little nativity scene make the difference?
What about the big yard nativity with lighted life size figures of Joseph and Mary?
If we have a yard sign proclaiming "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" can we say that all of the commercial stuff is now holy?

I say...
Decorate your homes.
Give your gifts.
Go to your parties.
I will do the same.

Enjoy time with your family and friends. Giving gifts as an expression of caring is a good thing, right? The joy and fellowship of the season are worthwhile things to celebrate, but let us not pretend that they are holy. Let us not deceive ourselves into believing that these things are to the glory of God.

I would, however, urge you to make some time during the holiday season to honor God by remembering and sharing the Christmas story.
God became man and lived among us.
He took on our flesh so that He could die in our place.

God loves you.
Jesus died for you.

Merry Christmas,
Ebenezer Scrooge

Christmas is Coming ... so is Jesus!

It's getting late and I have yet to post today. I'll be happy when this posting everyday for a month thing ends.

Tomorrow morning I'll be preaching at a church about 60 miles from home. It looks like rain is in the forecast, so I'm planning on driving.
It is the beginning of Advent -- the preparation for the coming of the Christ.

At some point, as a kid I thought it was weird that we did the Advent thing every year.
I mean -- Didn't Jesus come like two thousand years ago?

Today, I look at the season as a reminder that we are to be preparing for the Second Coming of Our Lord. It's a little strange that we always see Christmas as a gift received and Easter as a sacrifice made.
I wrote this post five years ago and it will be the basis for my pre-Christmas message for tomorrow morning.

I hope that you are doing more than preparing for the holiday of Christmas and are making daily preparations for the return of Jesus.

John <><

Traveling On...

The hospital where Chris works uses contract surgical techs on a regular basis. These contract workers get paid a salary plus a per diem and are contracted for a set period of time. (I guess that's supposed to be cheaper than hiring them and paying them wages and benefits.) They are refered to as "travelers" since they are not local employees.

Two if them came to join us for Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. I hope they enjoyed the day as much as we enjoyed having them. I imagine that it is difficult to be away from home and your family and friends. I hope that we were a suitable stand in for the day.

Now it is the morning after the long, festive day and while others are fighting crowds for great sale prices on highly coveted items, I am enjoying my coffee in my quiet home and blogging away. It is another reason to give thanks!

Black Friday.
Back before Black Friday was a real thing and stores were just beginning to advertise great door buster deals for the early morning shopper on the day after Thanksgiving, I waited with a small group of people for doors to open at 5AM to buy hand held Gameboys for the kids. I was in, out and back in bed by 5:30.

Another year I got a leather bomber jacket for Chris. When I got to the part of the store with the jackets, a lady had just grabbed an armload of them and was sorting through them for the size she needed.
"Got a small?" I asked.
She looked down, grabbed one and handed it to me.
Again, I was back home in no time.

This year, we are skipping the Christmas shopping and simplifying Christmas -- sort of.
I say sort of because shopping might be more simple than making stuff. I think that Chris has been enjoying the crafting part of this season. We never really want the kids to spend much on us anyway, so this is nice for them, too.
I'm happy enough to have them home for the holidays.

It's pretty cool today, so I don't know if I'll go riding. It is supposed be 60F (15.5C) tomorrow. I've debated (with myself) about putting the windscreen back on for the winter. For now, it'll stay off. When it gets colder, we'll see if I keep it off and tough it out, keep it off and ride less, or just breakdown and put it back on. Since I doubt that I'll be taking any long trips, my guess is that I'll leave it off and keep riding.

I hope that you are one of the fortunate ones that get to enjoy the Friday after Thanksgiving as you please -- whether that is fighting crowds, enjoying nature or just relaxing.
Whatever the case (even if you're working), be thankful!

John <><

Thanksgiving

There are so many things for which I am thankful!

I hope that my gratitude is expressed regularly and not saved up for a day of thanksgiving. I suppose that Thanksgiving is a good holiday to have right before we get into the Christmas shopping season. It is a bit ironic that the masses gather to fight over the Black Friday deals and even the early deals on Thanksgiving day right after giving thanks for their many blessings.

For some reason, this morning I don't really feel like writing about my many blessings.
I am happy to just feel thankful for them.
Sometimes, writing is a good way to express ourselves. I find that it helps to organize my thoughts and feelings in a way that helps others to understand this pea-brained mind of mine.
But I also believe that self reflection and random thinking is a good way to process my thoughts if it is only for me. I don't need to organize the thoughts and feelings this morning for others to understand me. I am grateful for many people and things, but I am most grateful to God for blessing me as He has.
...And I think that He understands me.

Be grateful.

John <><

The Day of Preparation

It is the day before Thanksgiving and so it will be a day of cleaning and preparing for a big meal and for a few guests that will join us for our traditional Thanksgiving feast.

This year we have a huuuuuge monster bird!
Fortunately, we know the folks that raised it and know that there were no growth hormones or any other kind of crap pumped into this turkey prior to its execution and delivery to our freezer a few weeks back. These people moved into their country home early in the year and decided to raise Thanksgiving turkeys for a few friends. We were one of the lucky families.

Well there is cleaning to be done in the house, a little yard work to be done outside of the house and I still need to enjoy a couple more cups of coffee.
Hey, a guy has to have priorities!

Be thankful!

John <><

I Think I'd Make a Good Atheist

Yeah, I really do.
I just finished reading a book Save Me: An Atheist's Letter to the Christian Church by Barney Adler.

It's a good read. It is filled with the questions that every Christian should be asking about their faith. In the end, I think that the author truly wants to believe in God, but simply chooses not to. It really isn't that difficult.

Although there is ample evidence for the existence of a Supreme Being, there is also no hard proof. Proving that there isn't a God is just as difficult as proving that there is. From my perspective (as a skeptical Christian) the evidence that there is a God overwhelms the thought that there isn't a God.

And before you get all crazy about me calling myself a skeptical Christian, I say that because I believe that we should all be skeptics. We should all ask tough questions about the things that we choose to believe. Skeptics aren't people that doubt. They are people that question.

I once made the comment (in a Sunday School class) that I am a man of little faith. The pastor's wife turned to me and said, "John Hill! You are a Southern Baptist evangelist! How can you say that you are a man of little faith?"

I say that because the answers I've found to the questions I've asked lead me to the logical conclusion that my faith is believable and true. It is not a blind faith. It is a faith based on knowledge.
But even with that knowledge, if I choose to not believe in God I know that I could make a good presentation for why I made that decision. I also understand that Christianity goes beyond believing in God. It defines the character of God as a loving and just ruler that is willing to go to great lengths to provide for his creation and yet remain true to His holy nature.

Maybe I wouldn't make such a great atheist, after all. I'd probably a lot like this author and would end up missing this God that I no longer believe in.

My advise to you is -- question everything.
Carefully examine the evidence.
Choose well.
Choose truth.

John <><

Where it all began...

Yesterday a man began the church service with a song about a mama that prayed every night for her family. It made me think about my own parents that faithfully pray for their (our) own family.
They have their individual prayer times, the time set aside to pray together and time set aside to read the Bible -- every day!

I am truly blessed to have them as parents.

Today is their 59th anniversary.
They have raised a pretty cool family.
I have written about our family diversity in the past. Sometimes I think that we are so different that I wonder how we can even be related!

It is too difficult to find words to adequately express how I feel about my family, so I'm not even going to try. I'm just going to say that I am so thankful for a family that loves one another. Great distance has not diminished that love, nor has extremely diverse political views. Our kids are turning out to be wonderful adults that get along very well in spite of not seeing each other very often.
I think that my parents are proud of the people that are their people and make up their family.
They should be.

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad.
Thank you for the years that you have devoted to each other and to all of us that make up your family.
Thank you for your daily prayers and unending love.
Thank you for giving us the tools to make it on our own and mold our own loving families.
Thank you.

John <><

There's frost on the pumpkin!

And everywhere else in the Ozarks this morning!

I took the time to zip the liner into my motorcycle jacket this morning. With daytime highs only reaching 60 one day for as far as the extended forecast goes, I figured it's time.

In a little bit (after I finish my coffee and blogging) I'll be getting ready to preach at Fremont Hills Baptist Church. It is hunting season so that means it's time for Pastor Art to take a few weekends to hunt. Maybe I should ask for my pay in venison!
I'll be back for the evening service, as well.

The next three weeks will find me back at Orla Baptist. I was there last month for a Revival and am looking forward to helping them out while they search for a new pastor.

God has been good to me this fall. I have been staying pretty busy on Sunday mornings. I hope that it continues into the winter (although I'd rather be preaching at a Mexican beach resort through the winter!).

I hope that you are warm and richly blessed on this mid-November Sunday.
Tell someone -- God loves you. Jesus died for you.

John <><