Saturday, September 13, 2008

My focus has weakened in the last week and I am really going to have to get it back to meet my Covey goal by the 26th. I am not disciplined with my time so I need to set some goals in regard to that. On tap today, getting this house in shape. A pile of stuff here, a pile of stuff there - it adds up and today it gets taken care of.

My stats for today:
Type: Treadmill
Route: Custom program 2
Time: 30 minutes
Average heart rate: 120
Maximum heart rate: 143
Calories burned: 200
Down 2.4 from last Saturday

I was reading the "7 Habits" book this morning while on the treadmill. Ironically, today's topic was time management and prioritization. I think this will be a great chapter for me because that is a huge challenge for me. I tend to side track easily and can fritter a whole day away on trivial stuff that, while fun, really doesn't get me where I need to go. The Google calendar has been a tremendous help because I can see at a glance what I need to get done for the day.


Word of the day:
Gospel
Lk 6:43-49

Jesus said to his disciples:
“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,
nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.
For every tree is known by its own fruit.
For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,
nor do they gather grapes from brambles.
A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,
but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;
for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command?
I will show you what someone is like who comes to me,
listens to my words, and acts on them.
That one is like a man building a house,
who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock;
when the flood came, the river burst against that house
but could not shake it because it had been well built.
But the one who listens and does not act
is like a person who built a house on the ground
without a foundation.
When the river burst against it,
it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”

Thoughts from the cornfield:
One of the things that riled Jesus most was hypocrisy. We had a guest speaker from the diocese a while back, Ed Haugen who is in charge of the deaconate formation. He spoke on authenticity and our need to live authentically. We can't just talk the talk, we have to walk the walk. But what does it mean to walk the walk? My walk is unique - no one else walk exactly the same path that I do, but if we are living authentically we eventually end up at the same destination. The words that jump out at me from this passage are "from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks." What is in our hearts? We would do well to guard the things we allow to enter our hearts because eventually, no matter how we try to spin it, the truth comes out of our mouths. In another passage Jesus says "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." What do we treasure - things that last or things that perish?" It is worth thinking - no it is worth praying about.







God bless our troops!