God Bless Our Troops

Thursday, July 10, 2008

On the lowcarb front:
My stats for today:
Type: walk/jog
Route: Deadend/back/far edge of the woods/back
Time: 30 minutes
Average heart rate: 126
Maximum heart rate: 139
Calories burned: 239
Yesterday's Carb count: 30
I’m down 1 pound from last Thursday
Got out on the road at about 8:05. It is still very hard work. I have done well on the food front - sometimes it is so easy. Other times, not. I am trying for an average heart rate of 126. That's a decent workout. So far I am having to walk more than jog, but as I get in better shape, I will have to do more running to keep my heart rate up.

On the home/business front:
I made Raspberry Jasmine Spice soap last night. I am pouring at a thinner trace and it is making for a smoother topped soap. The house is filled with the fragrance right now. Soon it will be moved downstairs to the curing rack. We got our confirmation letter for the Zonta Club show. I bought some canning jars today and I will be making my Apple Pie candles tonight.
I had a funeral to play for this morning. The family was very quiet. It's hard to read people when they are so quiet. Most of the mourners have not attended church in a long while. It's sad to see the traditions of the parents go by the wayside.

Word of the day:
Matthew 10:7-15
Jesus said, 'As you go, proclaim the good news, "The kingdom of heaven has come near." Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for labourers deserve their food. Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that town.

Reflections from the cornfield:
This scripture passage deals with the commissioning of the twelve to spread the the good news. What they do, they are to do without thought of payment or reward. They are to rely on the faithful for their physical sustenance. This is quite a challenge. Especially in this day and age. We are hesitant to trust God to take care of our needs, much less other people. However, I firmly believe that what you seek, you find. If you seek ill will and malice in others, you will find it. But if you seek the good, you will find that too. Material goods can often get in the way of what we are supposed to be doing as Christians. When the maintenance and pursuit of our stuff takes up more time than we spend giving thanks and sharing our bounty, we are sorely out of balance.

There was a study done recently that I heard about on the radio. It said that giving can release the same endorphins as receiving. But that is probably only true if the giving is done for the right reasons. I would bet that a gift given out of obligation would be less likely to bless the donor than one given out of love. When love is the motive, there is no sacrifice so to speak. The older I get, the more I find this to be true.

God bless the troops!

No comments: