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Here’s the frustrating thing. I found out that “ye-olde-mechanical-scale” is the most useless tool known to human kind.

Yeah. I actually started out much higher than I thought - 185lb, rather than 178. *sigh* Seven pounds heavier.

So I decided to toss ye-olde-mechanical-scale (yeah, think “shotput”, “caber toss” or “metallic frisbee”), and purchase one of ye-newe-fangeled-electronic-scales-that-measure-everything-except-my-butt-size. Fortunately, there was a sale on at ye-olde-Homesense.

So… as of last night… I was at 175.2lb. I’ve dropped 9.8lb. I’ve got 30lb to go.

Woo. Freakin’. Hoo. I know, I know - I’ve still lost a pile of weight in 29 days… but I was hoping to be closer to my goal, at this point.

Its funny - I’m doing about 9.5km of running on each of Mon., Wed. and Saturday. The first 2km are agony. The last 7.5 are fine. Thank God for endorphins!
I’m not using the car, unless I have to go into the city - so add between 3km and 8km of walking a day.
On Sun., Tues. and Friday, I do the weight stuff. Two sets of what I described, with two 10lb dumbbells. I think I’m going to move up to three sets in a couple of weeks.

My stress level is a whole lot lower… even though I feel like I’m drowning in a pile of stuff that is remaining undone. And, yeah Dave, I am actually feeling physically better - well - after I get my sore body out of the bed in the morning.

Food is beginning to taste better… and I’m not craving the greasy stuff like I have in the past.

No “Iron Man” for me, though. *grin* I’ll leave that to you “little” brother!

Now, if I could find me an archery based bi-athalon, I’d give it a try!

However, this year, the association has decided to lay out guidelines for membership. Which, in many ways, is just fine. Organizations should lay out clearly what the boundaries are.

The difficulty? I don’t know if I can agree with the guidelines in a way that would be keeping with the integrity of the organization. What do I mean? Well… if I were allowed a wide ability to interpret the text, I could say, “Yes, I agree with it… though I probably don’t mean what you mean by it.”

The - - Ministerial Association is a group of ministers and fellow Christian brothers and sisters…

I’m ok with that part.

…who commonly confess the Old and New Testaments alone to be the Word of God.

I begin to have difficulties. I believe God’s “Word” (see Jn. 1.1), existed long before the text of the Old and New Testaments were set down… and is an active part of the scholarship that helps us to inform those texts. If the Spirit continues to move in the world, can not there be divine revelation outside of the canon? As a Christian, the Old and New Testaments are my primary texts… but must that hold true for one who is not a Christian?

We also believe in the Triune God…

Again, not a problem.

…and in salvation by faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Yeah, a show stopper for me. Who am I to put bounds on God’s grace? Having said that, my understanding of Matthew 25, the whole “judgment of the nations” passage, could allow me to agree with the statement. I read Matthew 25 as a response to ‘right action’ by all the peoples of the world, rather than ‘right belief’. But that would be “salvation through Jesus Christ”, rather than “salvation by faith in Jesus Christ”, no?

We also confess common agreement to the Apostles’ Creed.

Ok… let’s take a look at what was sent as the “Apostles’ Creed”. Interesting. Not quite the one I learned way back when.

We believe in God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth.

I know its picky, but the Apostles’ Creed was an individual statement, not communal. (Yeah, I said I’m being picky!)

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

No problem.

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

Still no problem.

born of the virgin Mary

As long as I can follow the use of the term ‘virgin’ from its Isaiah origins, no problem.

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

Ok. (Well, not really ok, suffering under anybody sucks… but I can say I believe it happened.)

was crucified, died and was buried.

Yep.

He descended into hell.

I know the latin is ‘inferos’… but I’d probably go with the Church of England’s translation ‘to the dead’. Still, its only a quibble.

The third day He rose again from the dead.

Ok

He ascended into heaven

I could say ‘I agree’ to that.

and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty

Nice allegorical ring to it - ok.

From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

Ok.

We believe in the Holy Spirit,

Yes.

the holy Christian Church

Again, an interesting change from ‘Catholic’ to ‘Christian’… but I can agree to it)

the communion of saints,

Yes.

the forgiveness of sins,

Yes.

the resurrection of the body,

The immortal body… sure.

and the life everlasting.

Ok.

So… you see my dilemma. Can I maintain both my integrity and that of the Association by signing on?

I’m also not sure how long I’ll keep this going. I’m really bad a long-term stuff, unless I build a habit. I can do that. Just as my beloved. I make the bed every morning, now. (You can pick up your jaw, Dad.)

The running isn’t difficult, nor is it painful. The weight training isn’t particularly difficult, or painful. The exercises focussed on my abs, while not being painful… are difficult. I know I’ve got abs in there, somewhere… but they haven’t got much in the way of endurance at the moment.

Its the time in-between that is sore. The time when the muscles are re-building themselves. I understand that the soreness isn’t something that will stick around for long… and just about the time it fades is when I’m supposed to add another set onto the programme.

Today’s exercise list: The Sunday circuit training, abs exercises, and 3539 steps (2.3km) walked.

My legs are tired!

I’m going to post about something real tomorrow.

I had a wedding this afternoon. I didn’t realize that I walked quite that much during a wedding service.

Exercise: 9370 steps = 6.03km… and swimming with Happy Child for an hour.

I’ve got this handy diet and exercise tracker on my cell phone. The tech will always make me stop and think.

So - tomorrow I have my first ‘by myself’ weight day. I hope not to drop the dumbells on my feet.

We had a grand time, traveling from:
Maple Ridge, BC (home) to Kamloops, BC; (where we visited a real live animal rescue centre) -
then from Kamloops, BC to Jasper, AB; (where we wandered, and saw a bear swimming in the river, and canoed on Pyramid Lake, and went up a mountain in a tram) -
then from Jasper, AB to Edmonton, AB; (where we celebrated my 40th, and had a wonderful meal with my partner’s cousins and their children) -
then from Edmonton, AB to Drumheller, AB; (where we climbed the inside of a T-Rex, wandered the Tyrell Museum looking at dinosaur bones; and picked waterbugs out of our beds) -
then from Drumheller, AB to Lethbridge, AB; (where we went on a magical nostalgia tour of the places my beloved’s mom and dad used to live and explore; and we went to Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump, and the the North West Mounted Police museum to see a musical patrol) -
then from Lethbridge, AB to Lake Louise, AB; (where we canoed and wandered and hiked and generally explored) -
then from Lake Louise, AB to Vernon, AB; (where we slept)
then from Vernon, AB to Maple Ridge, BC.

In 15 days.

My partner and her mother are excellent planners.
My partner and her mother and our daughter are wonderful travelling companions.

I”m just about ready to go back to work.

Just about.