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Day’s Verse:

“Those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

Isaiah 40:31

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Today I had a sobering experience. The people who usually bring me home from church couldn’t (although they roped me into spending next Sunday afternoon with them), so I decided to walk home instead. It felt about 40 outside, not too chilly, bright sunshine (give or take). Fairly good walking conditions, and though walking along Main Street and Park Ave in doesn’t provide the most pleasant scenery, I resolved to undertake this adventure. I had no idea how far it was; in a car, distances change. I guessed somewhere between three and five miles, which is eminently doable even for somebody as out of shape as I. Walk, walk, walk. After fifteen minutes I realized I was near Clark, and guessed I’d walked a mile. Another fifteen minutes later, there was Walgreen’s, my official halfway point between Clark and WPI. Forty-five minutes after I left First Alliance, I straggled into our garage, thoroughly sick of my warm down coat and polarfleece scarf. Total, I figured it for about three miles since I’d walked what I knew to be one mile in 15 minutes. Checked online: surprise, surprise – 3.4 miles from 18 Trowbride Rd to 1411 Main St. All I have to say is Thanks, Sloan. I still pace myself ridiculously accurately, and it’s all XC’s fault… And, frankly, I feel pretty lame for having taken so long to walk a measly three-ish miles. Makes me realize how out of shape I still am. *Sigh* But at least I can do 32 girl push-ups, where a month ago I could do about 3. Anybody want to go on brisk walks with me?

Exercise is a funny thing, at least for me. Once I start doing an exercise daily, I’m loath to stop; but once I stop, I never want to start again. This walk, for instance: now I’ve walked a ways, I feel tired but better about myself for having done it and now I would like to take such walks daily. But tomorrow when I can’t find a walking-buddy, it’s colder outside, and I have nowhere to go particularly, I won’t go. The next day I may think of it, but it will feel like there is little to no point because I didn’t go the day before. In fact, it’s not just exercise that has this phenomena: it’s any repetitive activity that requires commitment, going out of your way to do it. Being a Christian is such an activity. You can “ask Jesus into your heart,” but to be a Christian is to a little Christ. Daily Christ submitted himself to His Father in prayer; daily He served others; daily he showed what the action of love is. In the end, Christ chose to give up his life for humanity: He chose it! God-in-flesh couldn’t have been forced to die when He could have called a host of angels to stop the proceedings. As Christians, our highest priority needs to be submitting our desires to the Father, dying daily to our fleshly desires and living as the new creations that God has made us through His Son’s sacrifice. According to the sermon today, God asks us to exchange our life for the life He plans for us; we begin living that new life when the old life has died: being crucified with Christ is the only way to begin truly living. Galations 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me”. That isn’t something that simply “happens;” Paul chose consciously to give up himself to live more fully through Christ. Just like once you quit exercising your muscles become flaccid, so our spiritual lives become flabby if we stop consistently dying to the worldly desires that constantly assail us.

On a different note: How abnormal is it that I spend a fair amount of time sitting and petting my sheepskin non-pillow? It’s just so fuzzy and alluring! Also, Byron’s “Manfred” makes me appreciate that I don’t have to read more Gothic plays, because if I did I doubt I would be able to get out of bed in the morning: too depressing. For those of you whose papers I’ve edited in the past, or those of you who have a great deal of time on your hands, or those of you who are feeling particularly masochistic, please read and comment on my MBWII paper. Short! Fun! Just what you need to unwind! (If you do so, just email me the modified document.)

Finally, POLL: what’s your top “guilty pleasure” song? The song you have that everybody seems to hate, but that you really like and listen to in secret? Mine is either Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red White & Blue” or Celene Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.” (Blushes)

– KF –

Countdown:

1 week 6 days

3 thoughts on “3.4 in 45

  1. uhhh………

    march 17.

    Oh, and I can’t believe you listen to My heart will go on!!

    I don’t know what mine would be… I don’t think I’m embaressed about anything I listen to. Ok, maybe Christina Aguilera, “Beautiful”. But it’s a good song, and I’m not embaressed to say I listen to it…

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