Unforced Rhythms of Grace

The week I joined a yoga studio for a two week unlimited trial.  What attracted me to it was mainly TRX.  For those who are not familiar with TRX suspension training, it was developed for Navy Seals in the field.  Basically there are two bands that can be anchored to anything sturdy.  You use your own body weight while you hold onto the handles to do squats and lunges etc.  I was really glad to have a friend along with me the first time I went.  It was a very challenging workout for me.  I spent most of the week feeling sore but I went a total of three times last week.  I also went to yoga twice.  The first one was called PhysioLogic Lower Back Pain.  It combines physiotherapy and yoga techniques to help address lower back issues.  I really enjoyed it.  The second was Introduction to Yoga on The Wall.  It was crazy.  You end up with a band around your hips, your feet on the wall suspended in the air.  That said,...

Late in the year I had resolved to post more often.  My last post was January 20th.  I didn't realize it had been so long.  There are times when I just don't have a coherent thought to post.  I need time to be able to look at my life in retrospect.  I am not there yet.  That said, I am re-engaging the exciting things that make life more interesting.  Tomorrow I start a two week trial at a yoga studio less than a block away from where I work.  I want to try yoga again but what really attracted me to the studio was that they have a TRX studio.  I am both excited and intimidated by the prospect.

At the beginning of the year, I committed to doing the daily devotion guide that was handed out at our church around Christmas time.  There is a significant amount of reading each morning.  I found it tough to get up early and do it.  Yet as time has gone on I have found that I have settled into a rhythm.  It actually feels like the normal thing to do. I am not a very patient person.  I wanted to feel like I was getting a message from God every morning.  I wanted to understand something new and be able to quote something I learned on my blog.  I wanted to ponder God’s word and feel wiser.  That hasn’t happened. Here is what I have noticed.  I have this increasing awareness of my flaws and my broken state.  I can’t link this to a specific scripture I have read.  I just know that I am hyper-aware of all of the sin, failings, and empty places.  I am aware of the dreams I had and have somehow abandoned.  I am aware of the wo...

This week has been really hard.  Getting up early every morning to do devotions is not easy.  Add to that, I joined a challenge to work out 2012 minutes this month which is just over an hour a day.  So getting up early and working out more has made me very tired.  The devotions haven’t been immediately fulfilling.  I thought I would have a take away every day or at least most days.  That hasn’t happened for me. I am hoping that the devotional discipline will be like working out.  When I first started working out it was awkward and unnatural.  I kept on because I had been given a program to follow. Eventually working out became more natural and I feel like something is missing when I don’t do it. I don’t always enjoy exercise, but I know it is something I need to do. In this case I am also following a reading plan.  I am pondering the devotional thought each day along with many others from my church community.  My hope is that it will be...

In June I attended a two day conference called The Storyline Conference in Portland.  Basically the idea is to think of your life as a story and if it were a story, what would you want that story to be? When I wrote the recap of 2011, I found myself thinking of the story.  There were ups and downs but overall, I made progress.  So I want to tell the story of 2012.  I know that the reality will end up being different but that’s okay.  Starting on New Year’s Day I will begin the practice of daily devotion by using the devotional we got at church.  This will center my day and give the first part of it to God.  I will make coffee and breakfast at home and do my devotion before I leave in the morning.  I will also use this as the inspiration for weekly blog posts during the year. Each day I will also track my food and I will exercise 4-5 times per week.  As I get stronger with my running and working out I will take on new challenges.  One...

It doesn’t seem like that long since I posted my goals for 2011.  I decided to choose 11 goals that would propel me forward.  They gave me direction.  Although I have to say that most of them evolved, I am further along then I was last year.  I will make some new goals for this year.  They are already brewing in my mind.  If I review this year’s goals, I think it will help me make even better goals for this year. 1.  Run a 5K in under 40 minutes – I have continued to work on running.  I will not have run a 5K in 40 minutes.  What has happened for me this year is that I have done distances a bit further than 5K (three miles.)  My longest distance so far is about 4.5 miles.  I have found that if I try to push too hard, I end up injuring myself. 2.  Spend one afternoon (or evening) per month taking pictures – I think I spent about four afternoons taking pictures.  I loved doing it.  I find it relaxing.  I would...

I was sitting on the bus doing my bible reading plan.  The passage I read was this: 1 In the beginning the Word already existed.       The Word was with God,       and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him,       and nothing was created except through him. 4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,       and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness,       and the darkness can never extinguish it. (John 1: 1-5, NLT) I have read this dozens of times, like everyone else.  I have tried to understand the part about ‘the Word’, the Word being Jesus and how that actually works.  The thing is that I got stuck on that and didn’t read the part about how the light shines into the darkness and the darkness can never extinguish it. I was awestruck....