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!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Here are my stats for this morning:
Time: 30 minutes
Route: Treadmill
Average heart rate: 114
Maximum heat rate: 131
Calories burned: 202
I am using a different heart rate monitor. I don't like it as well as my PS15, but until I find that, I guess this will do. I have to cut the calorie total in half for this one because it credits me far too many for the work out - like two times too many.

I was reading the "Habits" book on the treadmill this morning. I need to go back and read again with my highlighter in hand. There is one section in the intro that says to read the book as if you were going to teach the principles to someone. Ironically enough, I skipped right over that - never saw it. In last night's reading Covey talks about setting goals. My goal for today - and only for today - is to stay in value rather than personality mode (hmmmm, kind of like my inner brat - Mary Ann) - to stick with my food program and not let "Mary Ann" sabatog me. This, to me, is the most important message in the book. Our values are the source from which personality flows, and if we are stifling or ignoring those values, we are not living authentically. We know when we violate our values - or we should, if our consciences are in working order.

I just visited the Biggest Loser site. The new season premiers on September 16. Can't wait! I just hope that there is another "Bette-Sue" type character. I just loved her!

On the home front:
I have a meeting this afternoon and then more inventory. Inventory is bearable because I use a laptop to take it and I can listen to internet radio while I am doing it.

I finally finished the choir letter I have been working on. Our choir is going to do a CD in memory of our friend John who died suddenly last October. I don't know why I have procrastinated with it. Today, I put my procrastinating personality aside and got it done. Writing the letter was the hard part. Now that it's done, I can enjoy the rest of the day.

Word of the day:
Matthew 24:42-46
Jesus said to his disciples, "Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves their allowance of food at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives."

Thoughts from the cornfield:
A friend of mine has a shirt that says, "Jesus is coming, look busy." This would be hilariously funny if it weren't so true. Many of us, including me, go through life "looking busy." And what are we doing when we aren't looking busy? Often we're worrying about how busy our neighbor is and whether he is just looking busy.

This all gets back to authenticity and it ties in so well with what I am reading in the "Habits" book. If we are operating from a Character (or Value) ethic, there is no need to "look busy." We ARE busy. We are doing what we need to do. And we are doing it because there is nothing else we would rather be doing. How wonderful if we lived as if we wanted to get caught doing what we should be doing.


God bless the troops!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Here are my stats for this morning:
Time: 30 minutes
Route: Treadmill
Average heart rate: 113
Maximum heat rate: 140
Calories burned: 208

On the home/business front:
Only six more days until the Country Sampler ad comes out. I waver between nervousness that the ad will flop, and excitement at the possibility that we will be swamped with orders. I am hoping that the reality will be somewhere in between.

Update: I just got a call from Sue Koller at Country Sampler. I goofed - the ad comes out on October 1. That's good news because it gives us a little more time to get ready. Thank you to the reader who was responsible for me getting the "heads up."

In the "7 Habits" book I am still reading about the first habit, that of being proactive rather than reactive. I can see where I tend to be reactive and it doesn't work very well for me. The chapter could be summed up with the Serenity Prayer - in that it is wasted energy to to wallow in worry about things over which we have no control. This chapter in the "Habits" book really opened my eyes to what that means. I have a habit of letting worry disable me - almost as if my not worrying will bring about disaster to the person I am worrying about. It kind of speaks to what Nina once said to me about worry and prayer - I could do either, but which would do more good? Worry is definitely reactive while prayer is proactive. Ah, a paradigm shift. Or a God moment.


Word of the day:
Matthew 23:23-26
Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence."

Thoughts from the cornfield:
Ah, once again those pesky Pharisees are caught in the act of being themselves. Appearances, always appearances. Takes a lot of energy to keep up appearances. One can only wonder what these people could have accomplished if they had expended their energies working from the inside out. Jesus must really have loved those Pharisees to give them so many warnings. Seems like every "woe" Jesus called them on was tied to hypocrisy. We would do well to learn from their mistakes, no?



God bless the troops!

Monday, August 25, 2008

Here are my stats for this morning:
Time: 30 minutes
Route: Treadmill
Average heart rate: Don't know, can't find my PS15
Maximum heat rate: Don't know, can't find my PS15
Calories burned: 208

I had to use a different HRM watch this morning because I can't find my other one. I need to stop today and get a tiny screwdriver so that I can change the batteries in my defunct one. My good one is hiding somewhere since coming back from vacation where I remember using it for one of our hikes. (No, Nina, I did not leave it in the bathroom at Bond Falls).

It felt good to get on the treadmill again. I watched Biggest Loser - my favorite season(3) and read the 7 Habits book. I can't wait for the new Biggest Loser season to start. I need to know that I am not on this journey alone.
In the "Habits" book, I am beginning the chapter on Habit 1 - Being proactive.

On the home front:
A few years back, this would have been the first day of school. Now we wait until after Labor Day. But still, it feels like the summer is officially over. It went by way too fast. At the beginning of the summer I had a list of things I wanted to accomplish. Most of them went by the wayside. But I did get stuff done. The girls and I have over 150 stockings waiting to be personalized and sent to their new homes. I streamlined my soap and candle making process. Worked out some bugs in both areas. Made a dent in organizing the work dungeon. Got a lot of Grandma time in. So all in all, it's been a pretty productive summer - still, it went too fast.

I have a lot to do today. I need to get a load of laundry done, and then I am meeting 2 friends for lunch. Despite the pile of other stuff that I need to do, this is a priority because last year it kept getting put off and then never happened.

After that I have to go in and do some more inventory at the school. Then I need to get some stockings done - September 1 is looming ever closer.

On the lowcarb front:
Today is the day I start get my tush back in gear regarding workouts.
As far as lowcarb plan goes, I am still finalizing a program that I can stick to. I picked up a free book at a garage sale the other day. "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." I never paid much attention to this book because I thought it was about being a great CEO. Since it was free, I brought it home. I was wrong. It's basically about getting out of your own way - about the effectiveness of the Character Ethic vs. the Personality Ethic. The substance vs. the veneer. It's about authenticity. It's about our perspective on life and how it affects every aspect of our lives. It's about affecting change from the inside out. It's about being more than a whitewashed tomb. It's a very good book.

Word of the day:
Matthew 23:13-15
Jesus said to the Pharisees, , ‘Woe to you, blind guides, who say, “Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.” You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? And you say, “Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.” How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it.

Thoughts from the cornfield:
Symbolism over substance. With God, all is sacred - without Him - nothing is.
Let those who have ears hear.


God bless the troops!