Don't Take Your Schedule for Granted

 It is 31 Dec 2021. This AM I ran, then paused at the gym to lift weights and then ran (a little) and walked (a lot) home. My workout sched is to run 3x per week--typically M, W, F, and lift weights on either Tu or Th. If I miss a workout, like I did M & W this week, it is a high % of my exercise routine and seems to really set me back.

As I was working out, it struck me. Back in the Prof days I was extremely busy. I taught, worked with students, did research, published papers, went to meetings, and also took care of the bills, mowing grass, etc., etc., etc. In the midst of this I ran 5x per week and lifted 2x per week.  Whew!

Now with more free time than ever in my life, I work out less!  I am Shocked.

I attribute it to scheduling. In the Prof days, I had most of the time, every day, scheduled. I had deadlines. Semesters started, mid-termed, and ended. All that is gone.

If you want something done, give it to a busy person.

Indeed. busy people stay busy, stay moving and get a lot done.  I don't.

Maybe I need a schedule.  We shall see...

Here is a random photo shot from our back steps.  Nothing to do with the post, but it's a photo.

Life Review: Christmas Treasure Hunt

 We sometimes try to put a little extra "twist" on our Christmas celebrations. We have long had the tradition of the "Christmas pickle" which is a pickle-shaped tree ornament that we hide each Christmas morn. The one who finds it wins a prize.

This year, we wanted to gift  our kid's families with some cash, but we wanted to have a bit of fun, so, we devised a treasure hunt of 8 steps.

Clues for Christmas Treasure hunt 2021

#1 Back in the old days “we’ve got pot” meant something different. If you can find some pots near you, you’ll find the next clue. 

#2 How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? The biggest pile of wood holds your next clue good.

#3 The Yellow rose of Texas may be in Texas, but it ain’t here. Find some roses and you’ll find a steer (not the TX kind). 

#4 Many years ago there was no such thing as a “doc in the box”, but there was such a thing as a dock. Visit the dock, now look for a box.

#5 Fort Morgan ain’t the only fort in AL. Visit this fort and don’t stop, and you’ll find a “Hamma” on top.

#6 London Bridge may be falling down, but at Bishop Bridge a clue is found.

#7 The mail don’t run on Christmas Day, but visit this box anyway.

 #8 This here one is your final clue, your big prize is inside a shoe! (Inside)

Bad Decisions

 Early in the Fall I made a major booboo. I needed a little paint, and I had picked up a paint can on our property that seemed like it was full of paint. The can was pretty rusty and the nozzle long gone.

So, I need a little paint, I have a little paint, what could go wrong?

So, I went in to my shop area in the garage. I tried to fit another nozzle on the can, to no avail. I still needed paint, and assumed the pressure was long gone from the full can, which is likely why it had been discarded in the first place.

So, I decided to drill a small hole in the top to get access to the paint inside.

I shook the can, and at some point it SHOULD have occurred to me to do this outside. Instead I proceeded to drill into the can at my work bench.

Yep, you guessed correctly. The pressure in the can was very high, which produced a fine spray of paint that surprised me at its height and duration. Not wanting to turn the autos white I quickly moved the can off the bench to the floor--thus painting all sorts of stuff on and in my work bench.  

Clever, huh?

So now, I have a reminder every time I walk past my work bench. A little more thought, a little slower action would have diverted a small, but annoying disaster.

Oh well, at least no one was hurt. And, on the plus side, I get reminded over and over of how bad a decision I can make in haste.

Haste not, waste not.  Thanks for the reminder.

A BAD Road Race

 Last year I ran my first race in a looooong time. My family and I ran the Tuscaloosa YMCA's Ruldolf 8k run. It was fun and every family member was a winner in some category or another.

This year, for various reasons, only Anna G and I ran the 8k. I finished in 45:10 and ran my WORST race ever. My pace for this race was a miserable 9:02 per mile. Last year I ran it in 8:34 per mile.  Why the difference I ask?

I suspect I ran the race poorly, running too fast early on and then slowing precipitously. Also my training was greatly disrupted by our extensive travel during the key prep time. I wish I kept better running records, but really how important is that in the greater scheme of things.

In fact, as I told myself, who even cares that I ran badly? I still won the Great Grand Masters award for being the first male over 60 to finish.

Determining what really matters is important, and a road race at age 71.8 hardly matters. It probably matters more that I was able to run it, than how I finished the race.

What really matters?  This is a crucial question for us all.

Does my life reflect what I say really matters? That is a even a more crucial question for us all.

Fall Flower Planting

Today, 4 Dec, Brenda and I set out some winter pansys and some decorative cabbage. The inpatients had entertained us for the summer, but the cooler weather has killed them back.

Planting for a new season is an issue of faith. We buy the plants, put them in places we think they will thrive, and then we wait and see.

As the line from Princess Bride says, “Sometimes the magic works.”

When the “magic works” we are rewarded with beautiful flowers for a long time—just like we did this past summer.

These flowers in their beauty are a gift from G^d.

Thanks you L^rd!

A Little Reading and Reading More

I am reading these over next few months:

Religion 101 by Michael Kruger

God Space by Doug pollock

Seers Sayers Schemers and Saints by my friend Dave Dishman

Sacred Endurance: Finding Grace and Strength for a Lasting Faith by Trillia Newbell 

Here are some recommendations from the last year:

1.      Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund

2.      The Boys in the Boat

3.      The Final Days of Jesus by Kostenberger     

 Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity―and Why This Harms Everybody, by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay    

5.      Crazy Love by Fran Chan

       Sent by Heather and Ashley Holleman

There are 2 books I would NOT recommend on racism and here are 2 that I would (though not well organized).

Voices of Black South Carolina: Legend and Legacy by Damon Fordham; 
Black Charlestonians: A Social History, 1822-1885 by Dr. Bernard Powers.

So, what are you reading now and what books would you recommend. Feel free to comment.

Stoner, a novel about an English Prof

One of my Prof friends recommended to me the John Williams novel, Stoner, about an english Prof at the U of Missouri. 

I inquired as to my friend's viewpoint? I wonder if the Stoner story is closely representative of many Profs? I was saddened by the lack of purpose and hope in his life.

He grew up in a “normal” home, but never seemed to connect with his parents. He fell in love with Literature, but never could say why. He endured a loveless marriage in which he was able to father a daughter from whom he seemed to draw meaning early in her life. He seemed to experience true love in his affair with Katherine Driscoll, but that was merely a short segment of his life. He found some reward in teaching well, but there was no indication of ever having a mentor relationship with any of his students.

Stoner seemed to have only 2 friends and (Finch and Masters) and 2 enemies (Lomax and Walker).  Even with Finch they did not seem to be able to go very “deep.”

He dies in the end, as we all do, but seemed to do so without ever considering the big questions of life such as, “Why are we here?” or “What is our purpose in life?” He simply lives, teaches and dies. That is profoundly sad to me, but maybe it happens a lot.

I sincerely seek to learn how often a less-extreme Stoner happens in Higher Ed.

What do you think?

A Little Sweetness About the Honey Bee..and Honey

There are about 20,000 species of bee and about 8 of those species make honey. The Scriptures have a good bit to say about honey. In Gen 43:11, we read that honey was one of the gifts that Israel's sons carried to Egypt as a gift to the great administrator, Joseph. In Exodus 3 and many passages afterwards, we see the Promised Land as a land of milk and honey. In Judges 14 we read this interesting story of Samson, "7 Then he went down and talked with the woman, and she was right in Samson's eyes.8 After some days he returned to take her. And he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion, and behold, there was a swarm of bees in the body of the lion, and honey. 9 He scraped it out into his hands and went on, eating as he went. And he came to his father and mother and gave some to them, and they ate. But he did not tell them that he had scraped the honey from the carcass of the lion."

This was the set-up for a riddle that Samson posed about the strong and the sweet, and his wife betrayed the answer to Samson's enemies.

Honey comes up again in 1 Samuel 14:27

"But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath, so he put out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright."

Hmm, there's an interesting effect.

Also,Proverbs 16:24 “Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” and Proverbs 24:13 “My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.”

There are 60 mentions of Honey in the Scriptures, and heere is the last one I will cite, Proverbs 25:16 “If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.”

But don't forget that John the Baptizer ate honey as part of his diet.

So, learn from the honeybee and learn more from the Holy Scriptures. 

Blessings,

Another SS Term Draws to a Close

 Tomorrow, 5 Dec is the last Sunday School of our Fall term. I missed much of the term with travels out of town and out of country. This term our class has been focused on “G^d keeps His Promises”. We studied the book of Joshua.

It was a great book to study. Basically it starts with Joshua (real name Yehoshu’a-G^d saves), who shares the same Jewish name as Jesus. In many ways, the story of Joshua is a preview of the story of Jesus. Joshua is a man of great faith, who is fearless due to his confidence in G^d the Father.

Joshua is a deliver who leads G^d’s people to the promised land. Jesus is The Deliverer who leads us, enables us, to reach the Promised land of Heaven.

Joshua warns the Jewish people that they will not be able to obey G^d.  Take a look at their track record—not too good—about like ours. We are in trouble, just like the Children of Israel.

But G^d keeps His Promises, and because of the perfect sacrifice of the Christ, we escape our troubles due to His grace and mercy.

Joshua is one of the BIGGEST heroes of the scriptures…but he doesn’t equal Jesus.

Thanks be to G^d that He keeps His promises, and He accepts us by His mercy and Grace.