Day 6

 Monday day six.

Monday was a good day. I am trying to relax which does not come easy for me. Call it an Ernewein trait or not, slowing down unless I am exhausted is hard to do.

For the most at the gym, I tried not to look at the clock. I managed to get in two hours of solid work at the gym in the cardio section. Yet I found myself looking at the clock thinking of what might need to get done later.

Let's see how today goes. I have the gym, a Zoom meeting later today and I am stopping by church to drop off some items for our Kids helping Kids program.

Blessings & peace out

Pp

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy."

1st Peter 1: 13-16

Day 4 & 5

 The weekend...

Weekends can be dangerous for me. More down time means more time to make mistakes in my consumption of food. 

Saturday was not a bad day, but Sunday evening went a little awry. French fries were the issue and the worst part was that they were not really that good. Typically problem, put food in front of me and at some point, it will be gone.

Lesson learned

New week ahead, improvements to make and goals to meet

Peace, and love

Pp

Day Three

 Day Three

A good day for sure.

Day three was the first full day of being on vacation. But I still confined on time at the gym. Something that I have to work on.

One hour on the elliptical, 25 minutes on the treadmill with an incline and 20 minutes on different type of elliptical that really focused on my quads. I followed that up with 15 minutes in the sauna.

Devotional verse for the day.

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,  for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1st Peter 1: 8-9

Faith...

To have faith is a great gift of God, that is saving faith. 

Faith, to believe in something that we cannot touch or even feel. To trust in HIM is an incredible gift.

Something to work on for sure

Peace out

Pp

Day Two

 Day two felt a little more comfortable for me. 

On the fitness side, I was able to get some quality time at the gym. One hour on the elliptical, followed by twenty five minutes on the treadmill with a gradual increase on incline. No issues at all, it began to feel like I had stopped going. I finished the workout with a ten minutes in the sauna. 

Other notables for the day, my friend Chris has signed up for Ironman Texas! That was really cool news. He is a very dedicated athlete who should have no problem with the physical side of the event. We are going to work together to help him understand all the nuances of long distance events. Should be a great 6 month journey.

Much to be thankful for also. Dinner with my pastors and their wives. It was a nice evening to get out and enjoy some good company.

Blessings on this day

Peace out

Pp

 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

1st Peter 1: 6-7

First Day of a Three Month Journey

 They say every great adventure begins with the first step. Well, let's be honest, I don't know "if they" or just  "I" say it. 

November 1st was the first day in my month long vacation which will be followed by two months off from my normal duties at The Village. 

The idea is for me to rest, recharge and return to ministry in February ready to go. It seems like the past few years I have burned the candle at both ends. Combine that with the pressure and drama of church members, the time came for me to throw in the towel for a break. 

Yesterday was a good day. I was able to make it to the gym and get back on my favorite style of elliptical machine. I got an hour on it and felt good stepping off. Today I will rotate between the elliptical, the treadmill on an incline and maybe even try a stair climber. I have more time today than yesterday.

Since yesterday was All Saints day, I helped my brother clean the gravesite of my maternal grandmother. I did not know her, but if she was like my mom, I am sure that I would have loved her.

Have a graceful day in the LORD.

Peace out 

Pp

From 1st Peter 1 verse 3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into  an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade, kept in heaven for you. 

Time for some other things

 Yes, it is time! Time to ride and time to get back into taking care of myself. No escaping this one. The last two years have not been kind to me. 100 percent my fault! I have to own that. 

So from now on, I will posting some basic thoughts and training.

Today was an hour on the stationary bike and trying to curb my "out of control" appetite. If you believe in the power of prayer, then I would appreciate your prayers. Things have to change on my end.

Take care and have a great day!

This photo is from a trip to Florida after the hurricane there in 2022. Just a reference photo

Time to get riding!

It's been a while

It has been a while, has it not? A year almost has passed by since I last posted something to this site. Numerous times throughout the year I have thought about cancelling this site and saving a few dollars, but that has never happened. As I approach Christmas, I cannot help but think about my parents and in this month, my father. He passed away in December back in 2007. Fifteen years ago, the world lost a good man and I lost my best friend. Since that time I have lost a good many best friends. Keith and Tony have been gone years now. Not sure about you, but good friends are hard to find. When it comes to good men, that also is something that the world seems to be missing. That generation of guys who would sacrafice for others. I recently had a weird conversation in Cancun with a couple from England. Not sure if the man was joking or not, but he defifently believed that Americans had impossed their military might on the world over the years. Not wanting to pick to big of a fight, I did say something like, "we saved you guys" a few times. Men like my father, fought and died for the freedom of others.

My father flew in a PBY aircraft in WWII. He was drafted in High School and got a deferal so he could graduate with his class. He was sworn in and attended basic and his class to become a radio operator. Then he was assigned to the PBY. Can you imagine doing all that at 18? Why am I talking about this, sometimes life is overwhelming, but we all need to take a break and refocus. My break is over and I am ready to get back to work! Enjoy your Christmas break, see you on the flip side as they say Peace, love and a lot of Jesus!!!

IM Training Update

IM Training Update Who has been to the Normandy area in France? I was fortunate to be able to visit there in 2018. One of the most impressive sites was the scaling of the cliffs at Point du Hoc. A highly motivated group of American Army Rangers made that incredible climb under fire and captured the enemy position. Wow! Pictures do not do this cliff justice. I could not imagine doing this. The reason I bring this up, some days I feel like I am climbing an impossible cliff. That I guess is just life, but I feel that way. The last three weeks have been good. I am still to scared to get on the scale, but I have been able to tighten my belt two notches, on my way to a third hopefully this week. Workouts have been good, but I still have avoided the pool. I finished a three hour bike last week and hopefully this week I will be able to knock out a 3:30 bike. Last week I was also able to get in a long treadmill workout of 7 miles. I managed 5 yesterday without issue, so this next week I will do an 8 mile adventure. I guess if you keep knocking out things, it might not seem so hard.... We shall see Peace this beautiful day P

Weekly Wandering

Are you a day dreamer? I remember as kids that if you were accused of day dreaming you could have been thought of as a slacker or not focused. Is it just me or did society just rob us of our childhood? 

Think about it, we always talk about what we wanted to do as kids. We dreamed about running on to the football field with the Cowboys or Redskins. Or joining the military, only the glamour side, sitting with head out driving a tank in Europe. Who knows.... but it was fun to dream wasn't it?

Then someone told us that dreams were no longer acceptable... All of a sudden you have to pay bills, so you get a job and the endless cycle continues...

I often look back at pictures in my phone and wish I could go back to Scotland. I dream of living there, squeaking out a living, having a humble life enjoying the beauty of the Highlands. But then reality strikes, and I will leave it there. Most people would laugh at me for suggesting that I sell everything and move. But that is how I feel. 

Mumford and Sons has song called "Hopeless Wanderer", maybe that is what you should call me, a hopeless wanderer...

Well I have to stop wandering for now and get back to work. It's Saturday morning, I need to finish up a sermon for Sunday, ride a bike and do other things this day. Always something!

This week has been decent for getting back into the swing of working out. Yesterday I spent 1 1/2 hours on the treadmill, nothing great, just a steady cardio workout. Today I will hit the bike for a few hours. Food intake is my challenge, I had a pretty good week. Still have a lot of room for improvement, so we will see....

Peace and love

P