Adventures at the Shedd Aquarium

On our way to a wedding in Wisconsin, we decided to stop at the Shedd Aquarium on the east side of Chicago.  Once we emerged alive from the abominable traffic and arrived at the aquarium, the day was great.  The temp was a perfect 75F.

We enjoyed every display inside the aquarium.  If you stop and look at everything, the entire aquarium takes about 3-4 hours.  Sandra's favorite was, of course, the otters.  She's a big otter fan.  We doubled back to them for a second look, needless to say.  I didn't get any pics of the otters, but here are some pics of the 2 story aquarium.

The aquarium is located inside of a very large green space that stretches for well over 9 miles along the coast of Lake Michigan.  A greenway encompassed the isthmus on which the aquarium was located, so we walked it of course.  The entire day was a great adventure, but we are both grateful for the fact that we don't live in Chicago!!

"O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.  So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts."  

                                                                                                     Psalm 104:24, 25

Awake and Sing

"Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead."

Isaiah 26:19

Undoubtedly, this is one of my favorite verses concerning the promise of a righteous resurrection.  In the middle of severe times and heavy burdens, Isaiah looked ahead, in faith, to the resurrection day of the righteous who are in Jesus the Messiah. 

Recently, friends of ours have said goodbye to someone they love.  By God's grace, those who left were redeemed by the blood of Christ, and for those of us who also are resting in Jesus' righteousness, we will see them again.  This is more certain than all the temporary things that seem so certain but are not.

"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, 

And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"

John 5:25, 26

A New Addition to the Family

OK, so this may sound weird, but I'm very excited about a new set of coated dumbbells. They don't damage flooring. They're easier on the hands. I found these on sale through Amazon. Normally, these would be about $1.50/pound, but I got them for less than a dollar per pound. That's very good for this style. 

Now, I have the next step up from the 25 pounders. Bet you can't guess what the workout this morning was ... Strength training!

"For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved."

Psalm 21:7

I love this verse. God's mercy is what keeps me day by day. We had a guest speaker in the service yesterday. He shared a testimony about witnessing to a relative. I've been needing to do the same thing, so today, the Lord helped me to do that. I'm grateful for people who encourage me to do right. Such is just one more example of God's sustaining mercy!

First of More Cool Mornings to Come

"The eyes of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest them their meat in due season."  Psalm 145:15

We are completely dependent upon the Lord for everything.  I'm grateful for the cool breezes that He sends our way, especially after months of heat and humidity.

Fall isn't here yet, but the cool morning and dryer air today tells me it's not far away 🍂🍁

Sandra and I were able to open up the garage and do our workouts with a refreshing and cool breeze blowing through the space.

Today was leg-day. 

3 sets of each move for 12 repetitions

Walking Lunges with Dumbbells

Romanian Dead-lift

Box Jumps

Bulgarian Split Squat (8/side)

Goblet Squats

On the last set of Goblet Squats, I did a jump squat every other squat move.  I used a 25-pound weight.

A New Favorite

 I had to take a business trip to Florence, KY (near Cincinnati) recently.  The plan was to have lunch at Tropical Smoothie Cafe, but as I was walking toward the restaurant, I noticed Bibibop Asian Grill.  Hmm??  What's that about?  I decided to check it out.

Basically, it's like a Chipotle, only with Asian food.  They have fresh ingredients, and you can get healthier options like broccoli, kimchi, and sweet potato noodles.  I went for the purple rice, broccoli, kimchi, Korean BBQ, purple cabbage, and black beans.  It was very good.  I found a new favorite while travelling 😉

Too much sodium intake is always a challenge when eating away from home.  I'm sure this place isn't low sodium, but it's better than McDonald's!!

A Favorite Cereal

I enjoy a good cereal to fill in the missing calories when I'm having a breakfast smoothie.  The problem is, most standard cereals are packed with added sugar.  For instance, Cocoa Puffs and Honey Nut Cheerios both have 12g (3 sugar cubes) per 1 cup of cereal, and I suspect that is on the low end if you examined some of the other cereals that are available.  

Sandra and I also eat gluten-free, so finding a healthy cereal can be a challenge.  Recently, we came across Seven Sundays brand cereal.

With real ingredients like sunflower protein, dates, etc., this GF cereal is both tasty and fairly healthy.  It has 1g of added sugar and 5g total (dates make up the other 4g).  Fiber is 3g/serving.  Not bad, and protein is at 5g/serving.  It's only 170 calories per cup, so it makes a perfect filler for a breakfast that needs "just a bit more."  It's also a great snack.  I like the cocoa flavor best, but the cinnamon is nothing to turn your nose up at.  

We try to get 25-30g of protein per meal and 5g of fiber per meal, so little wins like this cereal help!

Perfect Morning to Run

 The thermometer hovered around 62F this morning.  That's good running weather for August if you ask me!  After numerous mornings of "feels like" 85F, I was lovin' my cool morning run 🏃

I did 3 miles this morning, but my tracker didn't pick up the whole thing, so it showed up as 2.76 miles.  

This verse stood out to me as I read my Bible the other morning ...

"He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich."  

Proverbs 21:17

Living above one's means and "having it all now" are common themes in today's society.  People can't stand to miss a pleasure or forego a luxury.  Credit card companies are loving the money made from all the debt that's being racked up on credit cards.

Have you heard the saying, "He has money because he doesn't blow money"?  This verse reminds us all to be content and to live within our means.  I don't need to have a new pleasure every day.  I don't need what my neighbor has.  So many people are running around acting rich and "buying" things, but it's so superficial because they can't afford what they are buying and they don't even own it truly.  

Live simply, expect less, give much.  God is good, and He supplies my every need.

Lessons in Waiting

Sandra and I have been listening to the same audiobook that deals with the subject of waiting upon the Lord.

The book mentions Psalm 40:1.

"I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry."  I like how David arranged the wording of his prayer.  He doubled the Hebrew word for "waited" by coupling both the verb and infinitive forms together so that the idea is this ...

"I waited ... and waited ... and waited for the LORD ... ."  David was deeply focused upon his God Who he knew would not fail him.  What happened?  God was inclined toward David and heard him!

If you're a child of Christ who's going through a tough time of trial and waiting, don't be discouraged.  Keep seeking God.  Keep looking to Him.  Keep waiting on Him.  Keep letting Him grow your spiritual "muscles."  Keep letting Him make you more like Jesus.

Exercise this morning was a series of bodyweight moves.  I worked 40 seconds and rested 20.  This is a common time interval for me.  They say that 40-45 seconds of time under tension is optimal for muscle growth and strengthening.  The circuits consisted of pushups, single-leg squats, bodyweight rows, pull-ups, lunges, sit-ups, crow-pose (hand-stand with knees on elbows), and jump squats.

Sandra made an amazing dinner of pork noodle stir-fry with veggies.  Delish!!

Bodyweight Exercise

 The beauty of bodyweight exercise is obvious.  It doesn't require any equipment for the most part.

Recently, I've been reminded of the benefit of this type of workout. To add a little something new, I made handles suspended from heavy rope so that I can do bodyweight rows. 

Normally, you'd do rows with dumbbells, but bodyweight rows add an extra challenge. 

I attached them to my pull-up bar. This movement provides counterbalance to the pushup motion. 

Here's a sample bodyweight workout.  Give it a try!

40 seconds of work, 20 seconds of rest

Pushups (as many as you can in 40 seconds)

Squats

Rows

Lunges

Hollow body hold

Repeat this  circuit 3 or 4 times.

If you have a pull-up bar, use that for a round instead of rows.

Having a Fixed Heart

 "He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD."  Psalm 112:7

I have noticed, that when my mind wanders from the things of God, I find myself anxious, disturbed, angry, or upset in some way; however, when I get into the Bible and fixate my mind on the things of Jesus Christ, I am calmer, more focused, and more loving and caring toward others.

Where's your trust?  Where does your mind spend most of its time?  Here's a friendly challenge.  Keep your Bible in front of you every morning or evening.  Memorize a small piece of Scripture.  Remember that, if you are a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, you are a missionary here.  This isn't our permanent home.  Every believer in Jesus Christ is destined for a much better future.

"O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee."

Sandra and I discovered that Tropical Smoothie Cafe will make any smoothie without the added sugar.  This is good news because I travel for work, and I'm always on the lookout for healthier options.  Anyway, their website lists the ingredients in each smoothie, so I made my own knockoff the other day.

It's called a Chia Banana Boost.  I can't remember the exact ratio of ingredients that I chose, but it went something like this ....

1 tabls of chia seeds

1.5 frozen bananas

3 tabls of natural peanut butter

almond slices

1/4 cup rolled oats

cinnamon

3 smaller dates (pitted)

1 serving of collagen (added 10g of protein)

It wasn't bad.  It enabled me to get some chia seeds in which I don't often do.  It ended up being about 27g of protein.

Psalm 112, Strength/Cardio Mix, and Tracking Down Electrical Issues

"Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.

A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion."  

Psalm 112:4, 5

No matter how dark life gets, I will always have the light of Christ in my life.  Because my God is gracious, I want to choose gracious behavior.  Because my God is full of compassion, I want to choose an attitude of compassion.  Because my God is upright, I want to be upright, even though uprightness is becoming less popular (even in professing Christian circles).

I appreciate the instruction and encouragement of these verses.  It's good to lend and share what God has given to me.  Putting others first and being generous are great antidotes for bitterness and selfishness.

Today's workout routine consisted of a run that mixed strength and cardio.  I started off with a 3-minute warmup session and then performed 8 pullups.  

I followed this with a 12-minute run after which I did 20 pushups and 20 air squats.

I followed this with another 12-minute run and then did 20 more pushups, 10 chin-ups and 15 crunches.

After all that, I did a 5-minute cooldown session.

My work took me to a tractor far out in the middle of nowhere.  I followed the GPS on my phone to the "edge of forever" and then turned left into a hay field.  After 2 hours of testing, I found a power wire that had high resistance somewhere in the harness.  Solution?  Replace the harness.  By the time you spend the labor to expose and test the harness, you may as well replace the whole thing.