Too much fun

I'm a bit sore today from a weekend of fun.  The kids have been really enjoying playing on the computer, but recently they have lost interest.  This makes me very happy, but also a bit tired because they want to physically play with me and it can be exhausting throwing them and running around.

We pretended to be star wars characters and had a good time.

Impressed by my wife

I'm really impressed by my wife. Yesterday we went jogging after dinner. We have been doing 4min jog, 1 min walk, 5 times. But yesterday we tried something different, we just wanted to see how long she could jog. So we did our regular 5 minute warm up walk, then got to a nice walking trail so we didn't have intersections to deal with. We went for 10.5 minutes. Mapped it this morning. 1 way is .4mi, not sure on the accuracy of that, so I changed google map settings to km, which gave me 650 feet, which is 0.40 mi, so miles is a fine measurement. Oh yea, that is one way, so we aren't that slow. We went 0.8 miles in 10.5 minutes. I think this is great.

So here is the impressive parts, besides just doing that. There were several moments where she thought she wouldn't make it.

• She didn't think she could run there and back, and was just planning to run there.
• Near the end there was an uphill portion she didn't think she could do.
• She thought she would have to sprint in the end to make it, but maintained the pace instead.

Also, for most of the run she had the dog leash, so she had that as well, and let me tell you, our dog isn't the easiest to run with.

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How to Improve Memory, part I

I'm beginning to wonder what little tricks and tips there are to help me remember things. I know by practicing you get better, and I've read that is true for memory. I also think I do well when I write things down. But does that mean it will work for typing too?

So I want to learn Eph 5:8-10

"for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light ( for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord."

Ephesians 5:8-10

I would also like to remember life better. So maybe I can do that by blogging more consistently? Or maybe I just need to go back to the tried and true journaling.

Perhaps I will start by doing a bit of research on some "expert" tips and tricks for memory.

Another Bike Commuting update

Well, I didn't realize how I would just stop blogging pretty much, then use this to track commuting.

Today was my first ride with a bike trunk bag instead of a backpack. It was great. My back wasn't all sweaty and the ride just felt better.

On Tuesday I bought a bike rack and bag from Tom's bicycle shop, but had trouble installing it my bike doesn't have any attachment points for a rack, and the p-clamps that came with it are too small for my frame. Ended up going for a walk with the family to ace hardware and bought some bigger p-clamps and some washers because the clamps had larger holes that the nuts could fit through. Went on well, took some work to get it level.

So now the problems I have with it. The bag doesn't fit on the rack if I have my saddle bag, not sure why, this seems unusual, though I haven't researched it. Also, the rack bag is much smaller than my back pack and my clothes arrived wrinkled. I read that I could roll them and that should help prevent wrinkles, but I'm tempted to upgrade to a larger bag. Currently I have the banjo brothers #01040, and I'm looking at upgrading to the #01070. The 1070 has bungee cords on top and side panniers, not too found of the side panniers, because I was thinking I may want to get real ones, and it requires more effort to attach and remove. But I do like the bungee cord on top to strap things down that don't fit in the bag.

My goal with the bag is to carry my lunch and clothes, so I want to be able to take it off and on the bike easily. But maybe that shouldn't be the solution. Maybe I should just take things out of the bag and leave the bag attached to the rack.

So many options.

Great Ride today

Had a great ride today. I'm learning just how much motorists influence my ride. Everyone was really polite, and there were some people out exercising that exchanged "good morning" and a smile.

A bit warm, I do think getting rid of the backpack will help, but it is a surprising amount of money needed to get a rack and bag. Should be under $100, but over $70.

Made some adjustments to fit on my bike because after some long rides I wasn't feeling great. Actually the only adjustment I made was to move my seat to the front after watching and reading some articles on bike fit. I can tell I'm getting better at working with a bike too.

Anyways, got to work this morning feeling wonderful so I thought I would share.

Bike Commuting Link

http://commuteorlando.com/ontheroad/animations/narrowlane/narrowlane.html

I know most are drivers, but please understand some of the challenges presented in this video.

Again failing to keep up with basic habits

Ephesians 5:8-10

for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord, therefore walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

Learning move about parenting

So I listened to a good radio broadcast from Family Life. Link It is on discipline. The point is to address the heart. Get the child to answer easy questions and admit disobeying. One thing that caught my attention is when they talk about how much you have to do it, and how exhausting it can be. So they offered this verse, which I think I'll work on memorizing this week.

Gal 6:9

"Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary."

I decide to add verse 10 after looking it up.

" ¹⁰So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith."

Galations 6:9-10

"Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith."

Gal 6:9-10

Verse 9 seems to say more about being a parent, but verse 10 really belongs with it, and I feel the verses still apply to parenting just fine. It might be somewhat harder to memorize, but not that bad.

Priorities

So I was writing out some priorities I felt I should have in my life. I used a tree structure, and started with growth as the root. That branched out to spiritual, mental, physical. Spiritual and mental came together for memory. I can improve my memory by memorizing scripture which contributes to spiritual growth. Physical growth was boring and only went on to working out, which is something I should probably do, if you need any scriptural reasons just ask my brother, or consider you body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God. Mental growth had some more areas, but most overlapped with spiritual, one that didn't was learning new things, so keeping up with news, improving my vocabulary...

For some reason spiritual growth seemed to have the most, leading to fellowship, prayer, daily scripture reading, studying the scripture (which again lapsed with mental growth).

So after doing this I looked and was wondering where parenting fit in. I hadn't written it down yet. What about leadership in my family, and teaching others? Then I thought about the "With me" principle. These is basically that we are all on a road toward maturity, and we should be doing it with others. So all of these items should be done and encouraged with others. To make it all even possible I will need accountability.

This may not make much sense to people, but it was a fun little exercise. Still needs some evaluating. Like evangelism needs a place. But maybe that is simple an application that is done when studying and reading scripture.

I am to grow my relationship with God and with others.

Happy Sad

Rom 12:15 "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn."

Same event, as long as you know the person that died is in heaven in glory. But they will be missed.

Titus 3:7 "so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."

New Project

Need some design help. The main idea is a castle bed for Katie on her 3rd birthday. May end up waiting longer, not sure. I have a main structure idea and hopefully will get around to posting some pics of my sketches, or even screen shots of the model.

I have three towers that I'm not sure what to do with.

I've thought of boring things like shelves or drawers that will be useful for organizing things, but it would be nice if it was geared more to play. A tower is about 2ft square, so there isn't a whole lot of room to work with.

Maybe a ladder on the inside that goes up to a trap door to enter the top bunk?

Maybe a fireman's pole to slide down?

What other features are there to make this more interesting.

The reason there is no forth tower is that I plan to make a tunnel to a slide in the back right corner.

One tower I plan to cut windows in to climb up from the outside. This would be the main way of accessing the top level.

I would like to make a sliding door/secret passage, but not sure where to put it.

What about some board space? Chalk board, white board? Should I put a metal plate behind it so you can stick magnets on it?

What about doors? I was planning on making the front just an open arch, but kids seem to love doors. Windows to the outside of the house will be in the back center, so I was wanting to do some cut outs that would project a fun image inside.

What about a light switch that controls a rope light that runs around the inside?

Right now the design is for the top bunk to be empty, but what about putting a tower or room up there?

Climbing net? Maybe a rope bridge between two towers instead of a wood platform.

Fake fireplace would be fun, not sure where to put it, but probably in the lower section. Though that area I want for sleeping mainly.

So I could use some more ideas as I design this. I have a basic structure design that I like, but want to add more.

The Basics

So what should some basics of Christian discipline be?

Scripture Memory

Reading the Word

Prayer

What else? Also, what are some reasonable goals, and then what is too much?

My guess:

Memorize a passage a week. Ps 53:10 is for this week. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." NASB

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." ESV (matches the song better)

Would it be reasonable for a small group leader to expect and challenge the group to memorize a passage such as Ps 53:10 in two weeks? I think a month is too much time and doesn't offer a real challenge.

Reading the Word. Daily. Good place to start is 3 times a week I think.

Prayer, pretty much hand in hand with the Word. But probably more so than reading the Word. Pray with your kids, pray at a meal, pray before bed, pray when studying God's word, pray with a group.

Is it unreasonable to expect this from a Christian group? Why does this basic foundation seem to be such a challenge sometimes? Writing it down and looking at it, it seems so easy.

First Place

Col 1:17-18 "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything."

So I have been neglecting this blog, but I think it helps me memorize, so I decided to post. Went over the life response today, interesting question to answer.

In what specific area will you make Jesus first in your...

personal life

family life

professional life

social life

So it is a multi-part question, but I think it helps. Similar to making new year's resolution in my opinion, but at least this way it really matters.

Gift giving

Talked with some guys over Thursday breakfast, and one had an interesting tradition. The adults don't exchange gifts, but they get together to provide gifts for a needy family. The justification is giving gifts between them has become too mechanical with a wishlist and pretty much just shopping for someone else. I like the idea of giving to a needy family for Christmas very much. It seems more like what Christmas should be about. It shouldn't be a chore to buy a gift for everyone on your list. They don't really even need anything, and it is reciprocated anyway, so over all there is no net change.

Tis the Season

Well, it does seem to be a season where things become very busy. This morning I had my quiet time and saw that it had been over a week since I had it. I also thought about how I haven't been doing well with my scripture intake. Anyone else having trouble keeping their priorities straight?

So now I'm going to try and get back to spending time with God and His word. Things have been busy with Christmas parties and also a few times of me being sick which wasn't pleasant.

Hope everyone is having a good time this Christmas season. For some deeper thought, why do we celebrate Christmas or birthdays in general? I haven't researched it much, but it isn't from the Bible that I've seen. Going through the gospels this month looking at the Christmas stories. Read Mark 1 this morning and that is what made me wonder about celebrating Christmas.

True Knowledge

During my time in God's word this morning I read Colossians 3. Specifically what stuck out to me was verse 10, "and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him-- ".

This stuck out because another memory verse is 2 Pet 1:2-4

So now I'm curious, and run a search for "true knowledge" on biblegateway.com

1. Colossians 2:2
   that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself,
   Colossians 2:1-3 (in Context) Colossians 2 (Whole Chapter)
2. Colossians 3:10
   and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him--
   Colossians 3:9-11 (in Context) Colossians 3 (Whole Chapter)
3. 2 Peter 1:3
   seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
   2 Peter 1:2-4 (in Context) 2 Peter 1 (Whole Chapter)
4. 2 Peter 1:8
   For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
   2 Peter 1:7-9 (in Context) 2 Peter 1 (Whole Chapter)

Interesting, so let's try a search of knowledge, this may be a bit long. 153 results found. A couple are from Genesis dealing with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But over all the Bible seems to be in favor of knowledge. So why is blind faith a term that is associated with Christians? This should not be the case.

On a completely different subject, had a great ride into work this morning. A bit foggy, but over all good. I over dressed for the temperature, but that is just because I'm out of practice I think. I pulled over after the first 2 miles and took off my jacket, I still had a long sleeve base layer with a t-shirt over it.

Hope everyone is having a good day and spending time reading God's word as well as talking with Him.

The Family

Slow Fade by Casting Crowns

I am part of a wonderful family. My dad is there for me, and he taught me to be a man. So what can I do to improve upon what he has given me, and pass it on to my children?

I'm thinking one good thing would be a clear picture. So this would be modeling. I should be the one he wants to be like, not some athlete.

I also need to point them towards Jesus, and a lot of that should be done in modeling too.

I think most important to model is having time. A model needs to be observed. If I model a busy life where I don't spend it with my kids I am just wasting my life.

A Passion for Riding

I don't think I have this. I enjoy riding, and I really don't like driving, so it is a wonderful mode of transportation. But I don't think I really enjoy just getting out and riding by myself. If I went out to ride with friends/family that is different, because I enjoy spending time with them doing whatever.

Now someone with more passion for riding then me is Jason Kearney. I think my desire is more to avoid the car. If I was closer I think I'd prefer to run/walk, but a bike gives me speed. It has other advantages as I think about it. A disadvantage is cost and time. Besides the initial cost of the bike, you need equipment for it, such as a pump. As far as time go you need to maintain the bike. This wouldn't be a big deal if I actually got rid of the car, but with a car and bike, the bike is just another vehicle to take care of. But as I thought about that, if I ran then I would have to take better care of myself, I wouldn't want to damage my knees. With a bike my knees are pretty safe, if the bike fits properly.

I didn't have a lot to say, but felt I should post before it becomes foreign to me. Maybe I just need to ride with others more often to build the passion. My little girl is almost 1, so now I need to get some infant bike helmets and we can go riding as a family.

What Should I Do?

In the most general since your purpose is to glorify God.

How you go about this is the harder part. I would say one way is to invest your life in others. This is where stay at home moms really stand out. They realize the importance of children, and desire to spend time with them. Unfortunately so much time with kids can be really exhausting, so it is nice that others can spend time too.

I think one thing our culture lacks is the real feeling of community. The church has moms n' tots once every other week, which seems way too infrequent to me. But when our small groups meet, it is only twice a month, which in my opinion is pretty bad as well. fortunately it seems most small groups meet more often, but I'm always discouraged by the turnout.

Maybe my perspective will change when the kids are actually in school and have friends in the neighborhood. Though that seems far away fortunately. Sometimes I wonder how my kids will do in their purpose to glorify God. Right now they need so much more training it seems, but I don't know if that will ever change. I think I always feel like I need to learn more, so I look at others the same.

Some Small Things are Key

So I just stared 1 Kings. Well, I found the first 18 verses to be pretty impressive. We did the story of Samuel for the four year old class a church a couple months ago, but I don't remember teaching them one important part of it.

Quick background, Hannah wanted a child, but hasn't had one. She is really sad and won't eat sometimes because she is so sad.
So, she prays and makes her petition known.
Now comes the part I think we skipped over in class. Verse 18 "So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad." She doesn't have a child yet, but she is already happy. The lesson for the children was that when she got her baby she was happy, but this is totally different. She was happy before she had her answer. She spoke to God and then trusted Him. Now I'm curious how she would have been if she didn't have a son.