Saturday Run Day

We arose around 7 and made our way to our favorite Bowling Green Park - The Loops at Lover's Lane.  This is a large park with a 1.6 mile gravel loop that encircles the park's soccer fields.  I ran with Sandra today.  This is a luxury not often afforded me because we are on different exercise schedules during the week.  Here's our exercise results with a map to prove it 😉

After two laps around, I broke off to make use of the outdoor fitness court.  This is a bodyweight exerciser's dream, replete with pull-up bars and boxes for box-jumps.  Sandra finished a 3rd lap around the park while I did my thing, then I joined her.

The day was so lovely that we decided to wash the car before going to lunch.  We're still enjoying a gift card to Blaze Pizza (a relative's gift from Christmas), so we swung in to get our usual.  We both order a GF half-pizza with small side salad.  Sandra eats 2/3 of hers and gives me one piece.  For me, it's about an 800 calorie lunch which is just right.

I have been using the same workout clothes for a VERY long time.  Let's just say that it was time for some new ones.  Sandra suggested we look at Belk.  I was less than excited because Belk is an "old people" store.  I shouldn't have been so hasty in my judgments.  It turns out that their brand Zelos is very nice and good quality.  The Lord provided some quality exercise clothes that all came off the "70% off" rack.  You can't beat that!!  It's not common to find stuff that fits and looks nice on such a clearance.  I thank the Lord for meeting this need.

Today's Bible study had me in II Kings, chapters 9 and 10.  Jehu is an interesting character.  I'm glad that I never met him 😌 He definitely enjoyed killing people, and he was a deceiver.  God used him to wipe out the house of Ahab, but Jehu didn't follow God.  The Bible tells us that Jehu, "departed not from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat which made Israel to sin."  In other words, Jehu put down Baal worship, but he didn't remove the idolatrous golden calves which resided in Bethel (southern Israel) and Dan (northern Israel).  Jehu had the wonderful opportunity to seek God and do right; instead, he pointlessly murdered the king of Judah and proceeded to keep the status quo of idolatry in Israel.  How terrible to miss such a wonderful opportunity to be used of God and to serve Him!

A Trip to Seymour

 I needed to make a trip to my company's northern-most store - Seymour.  The tech couldn't get a tractor's electronics to calibrate.

Turns out, he was looking at the wrong address for the sensor.  She's working now.

On the way through town, I found a nice park where I could set up shop for a few minutes and answer emails.  The day was beautiful!

After a long day, I came home and did some stretching.  If you've never tried legs-up-the-wall, you should.  Find an empty wall, and place something comfortable on the floor to lay on (unless you have carpet).  Place your legs straight up the wall with your back flat on the floor so that your body is in the shape of an "L."  If this is too intense, you can bend your knees a bit.

Why do this?  It improves circulation and helps relax you.  It's also a good stretch for the back of the legs.  If you stretch your arms straight over your head, you can get a bonus stretch for your upper back and shoulders.

John 5:5-8

5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.  

6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

 7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

 8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

You know the story.  In Jerusalem there was a pool called Bethesda.  This was a special place, because every so often, God miraculously moved the water by an angel.  Anyone who had any kind of disease was instantly cured if he or she could make it into the pool when this happened.

This man couldn't fight the crowds.  He couldn't walk.  He didn't have a helper to pick him up and carry him into the water.  Can you imagine the people fighting to get into that water!

The Lord finds this man, and He heals him.  This man is an interesting character.  The Bible doesn't have much to say about him, so I can't draw any definite conclusions; however, the Bible doesn't mention that ... 

... he thanked Jesus.

... he repented when Jesus found him in the temple later on and told him not to sin any more lest something worse happen to him.

... he followed Christ after his healing.

The Bible does say that he found the Pharisees and told them that Jesus had healed him.

I like to contrast this man with the blind man in chapter 9.  We are given more facts about that guy.  He boldly stood against the bad doctrine of the Pharisees.  He worshipped Jesus when Jesus found him a second time.  He believed on Jesus as Messiah.

The guy in chapter 5 always leaves me wondering a bit.  Was he happy to be healed but unwilling to change?  Did he view Christ as a powerful prophet but not the Messiah?  I don't know.

I want to be grateful for how Jesus has healed me spiritually by forgiving me of my sins.  I don't want people to read the story of my life and have insufficient information to know whether or not I loved God.  I want to be more like the blind man in chapter 9.

Running and Intermittent Strength

A new favorite routine of mine is to run for about a mile and then pause to do some strength training moves.

Today's routine started with a .5 mile run then squats, pushups, and back extensions.  

I followed this with a 1 mile run, lunges, pushups, and crunches.

After this, I ran another mile, then I did one-legged squats onto a bench, pull-ups, and bicycle crunches.

I finished it off with a .5 mile run and stretching.  It gave me an appetite!!

A routine like this works well for those of us who have been inside all day and want to enjoy the outdoors while getting both cardio and strength.  

One-legged squats are an amazing way to ramp up the load on your legs without using weights.  I recommend squatting down onto a bench and then standing up from the bench.

Can't do one leg down and up?  Try sitting down onto the bench using one leg but getting up with both legs.

Hilltop Walk, Coffee, and a Stray Dog

This Saturday was free.  It was definitely a day to slow down, relax, and spend time together.

Sandra and I started the day by going to our new favorite cafe - Cafe Kindness.  They have food that is actually good for you.  We started there with smoothies for our breakfast.

Sandra's was a combo of oatmeal, spinach, and peach, and date syrup.  Mine was blueberry, date syrup, and a combo of other delicious things that escape me at the moment.

We followed this up with a 4.75 mile walk that took us to the top of the hill where the Western Kentucky University resides.  The weather was fantastic.

We found this nice bridge near the very top of the complex that is built on the hill.  When walking, it's good to find some hills.  They work your legs from a different angle and pump up your heart rate for a little extra cardiovascular effect.

On the way back to the car, we came across the grand opening of a new coffee place - Mill House Coffee.  They moved into the same storefront that once housed a Starbucks.  Any business that can displace a Starbucks is alright in my book, so we went in for a coffee.

It turns out, they have outdoor seating and a cozy fireplace!  Not a bad date spot 😉.

We drink mostly decaf espresso, and Sandra uses non-dairy creamers.  This place has both, so they rank OK in my book.

Later in the afternoon, we took a "welcome to the neighborhood" gift to some neighbors, and on the way back, some kids were leading a dog and asked us if we had lost one.

The kids weren't from the neighborhood, and they needed to get back to their home, so we took the pooch.  No one responded to a neighborhood Facebook post about a lost dog, so I drove "Penny" to the animal shelter.  She was chipped, and that happened to be her name.

My verse for that day was from I Peter 1:3 ...

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

Because of Jesus' triumph over death, sin's power over me has been disabled, and I can live a holy life in Christ now, and I look forward to an eternity with Him.  This is possible only by God's mercy.