Bike is FINALLY In!

I picked up my bike today at Peddler Bike Shop. I hope to start commuting to work Monday morning! I'm gonna take it out tonight and go for a test run to work Sunday.
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Really nice ear piece

I picked up a really nice custom molded ear piece from averysound.com. They are great to work with. My blue tooth (I use an original Jawbone) is easy for me to hear now, and it doesn't fall out of my ear now! Can't beat that with a ten foot pole. I've attached some pictures just in case you're not quite cleat about what an ear piece is.
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A Funny Gun Video

Bike Comes in on Tuesday & Why Cool Downs Are Important

The bike that I ordered last Monday should be in and ready for me to pick up Tuesday... so eight days from ordering it. I'm not sure what to think about that, since I can have a used engine from New York to CA in about 3-4 days. I'm not complaining though. I'm really excited to get this bicycle. My fitness plan is really going well and this will only enhance things. As I get more fit, and as I keep on my plan, not only is my body feeling better but my mind feels much sharper. I no longer enjoy overeating either - it leaves me feeling bloated and regretful.

The dog and I went jogging today around noon. Again, we did 1.5 miles plus a cool off. I just want to take a minute to let you know why cool downs are important in fitness. Until recently I never understood this, so I didn't cool down after runs. Here it is in a nutshell: If you aren't in great shape and you don't cool down, your body will pool blood in your extremities. The last time I tried to get in shape, I didn't cool down and when I would do strenuous things, I would think, "Man, my ankles are swelling! It must be because I'm fat." Well, there might be some truth to that, but this time around as I am really keeping an eye on things and cooling down, I'm hardly getting any swelling. It's great. :)

I hope to hit the gym later today after I've had a chance to recover. In the mean time I'm going to head to the office and work on getting everything reinstalled on my computer.

I hope you have a great day. Again, if you have anything you'd like another believer to pray with you about, please just leave a comment and I will pray for you!

Appreciation

My dad has a saying that is good, as far as sayings go: "the greatest sin in the world today is ingratitude." I think that this is very true, if you define greatest as existing in the greatest quantity. We're all ungrateful to a certain extent. The great tragedy of this ungratefulness is that it rarely just festers without harm, but instead germinates in our spirits and causes us to expend a lot of energy. You know what I'm talking about - pouting, whining, complaining, and sulking all take a lot of effort!

The Psalms give us some great examples of how to deal with these situations: bring the goodness of God into the mix. Some folks take this to mean we should deny our reality if we're having problems. They say to speak things that aren't as though they are. When I read Psalms though, I see acknowledgment of the situation, a cry to God, and a resignation to providence.
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The Ebb and Flow

If you're like me with regards to time management, you have enough time to do everything you need to do. What you're (really we're) bad at is spreading things out so that we can work at a leisurely pace. I stayed up last night working on some writing projects I should have started on Saturday and finished Sunday, but I let frivolous things pull my attention away.

Another example is my morning schedule. I wish that I could get to the gym every morning, but I find myself going only at night. The reason, in all honesty, is that I allow my desire for sleep to overcome my desire to get up early and go to the gym.

If I'm to get where I want to be... Time discipline is required. .
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The Truth About Sarah Palin

This made me laugh!

Interesting Take on Abortion

This is nothing new, but it's well phrased. It was posted on a bulletin board I frequent. Here is a link to the original post.

It's so funny to hear people all up in arms about the "constant fight to chip away at the right to abortion."

The reactions are the exact same ones you read about from the 19th century: "They are constantly chipping away at the right to own slaves."

The same old argument, but with the actors reversed: "You can't let them be considered people the same as us! That completely takes away our right to do with and to them what we want!"

Perhaps it helps those who uphold the right to abortion to better understand why getting rid of slavery was so hard and took so long: A lot of people, defending their "rights" (= self-interest), were making the same kinds of arguments you are, and invoking the same financial, personal and philosophical reasons.

And perhaps it helps those who oppose abortion, also, to understand that a long fight to see people's rights recognized is still worth it. It was a couple of centuries from the time some progressives actually said that those of African descent were as much human beings as those of European descent, until that was widely recognized, with all its legal implications, in Western cultures. The generation that started it never saw the end of it. In fact, in some ways, the battle still isn't over. But the tide is clearly in favor of recognizing the rights of all human beings, regardless of their color, sex, or ethnic origin. The fight was worth it, no matter how long it took.

The next step, for that humanity to be recognized regardless of age, is not won. But it is worth it.

I will say it very openly: Yes, I want to see Roe v. Wade overturned. From a legal point of view, it was very bad law. From an ethical point of view, it was very bad policy. From a philosophical point of view, it was very bad reasoning. It should be overturned.

Dare I say it? I think I will:

I have a dream. A dream that one day, even the very youngest human beings, even those still in need of the protection of their mother's womb, will be seen as precious lives, lives to be cared for, not dumped in the trash because they are in someone's way. The battle may take centuries, just as the battle to recognize humanity regardless of skin color has, but it is still a wonderful dream.

The irony is that many of those who will carry on that fight are in their mothers' wombs right now. It's no wonder that, one day, they will fight for the rights of others in their mothers' wombs to get a chance to live their lives.

The every greater irony is that many of those who will continue the fight to protect abortion are also in their mothers' wombs right now. And those of us fighting against abortion are fighting for their right to life, too.

How many of those who, given the chance, would have taken part in the battle on both sides won't get that chance, because someone will decide that they didn't have the right to live? And our law protected that "right" to deprive someone else of the right to live, just because they were in the way...

(Let the insults and negreps from those who want to show their moral high-ground in the debate begin!)

Youtube Music

My dad has recently discovered that you can listen to music on youtube. The funny thing about this is that he thinks no one else in the world knows, and he tells EVERYONE.

Too bad he didn't know how to use computers back in the Napster days!
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Good Health is a Good Thing

Yesterday was a great day. I got a great report from my doctor about the impact of my lifestyle change on my body. My blood pressure is no longer high (it wasn't high for long to begin with, I just... let myself go), it's perfect. I'm losing weight, and even he said "Man, you're changing shape!"

Last night after work, I went to a bike shop and ordered a bike (link to what I got). It should be here this weekend. I'm not sure how good at biking I'll be endurance wise, but I plan to start biking to work twice a week (Mondays and Fridays). This should burn about 450 calories one way, and save me about $40 a week in gas money. If I get to the point where I'm "speedy" then I'll add Wednesdays. I've looked into taking classes on Saturdays next semester instead of at night. If I did that, I could bike to work EVERY day. That would be REALLY great all the way around. My hope is that this will be a practical way to lose more weight, increase my "wind," and save some money on gasoline. Also, I am running a little bit, but my puppy really, really likes to run. Hopefully this will help me to exercise him.

Small Groups

In about an hour, I start my first small group at The Life Church. I'm kind of excited for it. I know I'll be in Memphis for at least two more years, so this is part of my acceptance of that fact. Going beyond that, its part of my effort to really connect. I'm not working 80 hours a week, but I don't have much free time either working full time and going to school part time, either. Anyways, I'm excited to connect.
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Cleaning sponges

I hate that I have to throw away sponges simply because they get dirty. I tried putting one into the dishwasher tonight, and it seemed to remove the smell. Is this safe germ wise?
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A really big spider can ruin a walk

Midnight and I love to walk. We have a route by my apartment that is almost exactly 1.5 miles. Many times small spiders put webs up across the sidewalks. So at night I take my flashlight with me to help spot their webs. Attached to this post is a picture of a web I'm ad I didn't run into. It was at least 4 feet in diameter and had the largest, hairiest, nastiest looking spider in it that I've ever seen. I'm not sure if it wa4 poisonous, bit I'm glad that I didn't just rely on my eyes natural ability to capture light and instead used the flashlight to pierce the darkness.

Now if this were a children"s video, Steve Green would pop out right now and staryt sining a song to the effect of "your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." We're all adults and know that though, right? That said, I can't help but wonder why I and so many other Christians only pull out our lights when we slam into an obstacle so large we can't just fumble over it. We'll come to the good Lord when we need a financial miacle, but we've not allowed his word to illuminate the day to day steps we have taken in our personal finances.

"Free me oh God!" we cry, even though the debt we're in is called that which makes us a slave in scripture.

Other examples could be child rearing, how we treat those around us, etc.

So... Yeah. Just start reading and APPLYING the Word of God folks. Please?
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New Scale

I got a new scale today. Among several things it does is measure your body fat percent. The goal is that as I lose weight, the body fat percentage will drop. I'll let you know in the future how it works out.
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Thought for the Day

I have a few great suppliers I work with in New England... But the majority of folks I talk to there are rude, abrubt, and just flat out unpleasant to speak to.

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Keep Houston in Your Prayers

Houston is not seeing the evacuation numbers that it should be seeing. I have a friend who has three relatives in low lying areas who live in trailers who haven't left. Its a very sad thing. Already, waves of 20' are being reported. We might see loss of life... Which is sad. We need to pray for the safety of our people in Houston.

We also need to pray for the oil refineries there. Whether we see displacement of workers or damage to the facilities, prices in the middle of the country WILL go up... This will hurt us all econically.
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The Goings on and Some Prayer Requests

I have a lot going on in my life right now, as do most people. If anyone has needs or issues, I would be happy to pray for you if you'll just make a blog comment and mention what you need prayer for.

Here is where I'm at:
1. I'm changing some of my non-core theology. This basically revolves around the concept of Baptism on the Holy Spirit and the concept of "initial physical evidence." This is very difficult, as it means I cannot pastor in the AG and will have to go independent.

2. I'm in school and working full time. No biggey. A lot of people make that choice, right? Well, while I'm getting better at time management, I'm not the best at it yet. So, please keep me in your prayers!

3. I'm on a strenuous physical fitness program. I've lost 31 lbs so far and feel great. I just need to keep it up. The next six months will change my physical health for the rest of my life and dictate my energy levels, ability to focus, and how well I do nearly every task I'm presented with.

4. I'm working on becoming a reserve law enforcement officer with either a suburb in the area or the county. Memphis is the most violent city in the country, according to the FBI, and helping change that just seems like the duty of all who are able.
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Oil

Oil will probably fall below $100 on September 12 unless the markets do something crazy. Let us hope that America gets back cheap fuel but that we also have the foresite to develop better ways to supply electricity to power stationary objects attached to out power grid. We are the Saudi Arabia of coal, with enough to supply us for perhaps 500 years. We should be pursuing the production of clean coal plants and the completion of Yucca Mountain so we have a place to store spent nuclear waste and can tus expand our nuclear program. Finally, let us pursue multiple new ways to power vehicles, including an already existing technology with an existing distribution network: natural gas. We are, again, a world leader in reserves.

Let us be thankful for and utilize cheap oil... But let's not rest on our laurels.
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Hebrews

I've been doing a Bible study of Hebrews this fall as part of my daily reading and deeper study. Hebrews is in my opinion the most difficult book to study in the New Testament, with the exception of Revelations, but the depth of theology in it is so incredibly deep. I'm probably only 1/9 worked through the commentaries I'm using to study this and don't feel remotely qualified to offer anything of substantive length yet, but if my readers would be interested I would love to share any nuggets of truth or gems of novelty I stumble across. Just let me know.

And no, I won't post who I think wrote Hebrews. I will only say that due to the heavy use of maritime metaphors and a Vocabulary very different from Paul's writings, I don't think Paul is our author.
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My election thoughts

They can be summed up quickly:
1. Oil dropped below. $100 * barrel in some markets today. Bad for the dems.
2. The Obamessiah only got a 4 point bump after his convention. McCain got 11 point. Bad for the dems.
3. Palin is as good a speaker as Obama and doesn't require a teleprompter. Bad for the Dems.
4. The Obamessiah is not holding up well under scrutiny. For example, his political career was launched in the living room of an admitted domestic terrorist (Ayers - Bombed the Pentagon). There really isn't much one can do to counter that.
5. Palin vs. Obama will ignite evangelicals on the abortion issue. Obama is a babykiller, and there is no way around it.
6. McCain is beating Obama on specifics and clarity of planning. A good example of this is policy on NUCLEAR POWER. McCain has specific financial outlays and scheduling... Obama has nothing but vagueness, save on paying for it. His plan to pay for it is, of course, to raise taxes.

That's a start. I would love to support a third party candidate (or Palin), but with Barack being the most liberal threat this country has faced in an election (well, since the communists were a legitimate threat during the depression), I don't think it would be responsible.
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Mobile Blog

This is a test of a mobile blog. If it works, I'll start blogging more again.
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