I remember in high school there were always people I would overhear saying things like, “Kevin S. Is a good kisser,” or, “Brad is a bad kisser.” Do you recall such discussions? I was just thinking how absolutely lame those discussions were. Can you imagine actually thinking that those people were going to be stuck with the kissing prowess of a sixteen year old?
Do you think the people in the school hallways that said those things will go back to the spouses of the horrific or awesome kissers and engage in an analytical discussion of developmental make-out existentialism? Yeah, you’re right, they probably will.
Today I worked out for 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. I set it on the third, harder level. I was pretty stinky and sweaty when I finished. I have also reached my goal of 10,000 steps as well. I’m confident that keeping this pace up is not only possible, but also going to help keep me on my target of a healthier, fittier Randy.
Breaky: one egg
Snacks: more nuts, carrots and apples.
Lunch was a salad and some fajita fillings with one tortilla and cheese. Some fat, but not horrible.
Dinner was a hamburger, fennel slaw, salad, green beans and some sweet potato fries. All in small quantities so as to not max out calories.
At lunch I worked out for 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. Still sorely disappointed in its actual shape not being an ellipse. Burned over 300 calories.
Breakfast: 1 egg (and some coffee)
Lunch: Apple (braeburn, organic), 6oz yogurt with 1tbsp of peanut butter
Today I weighed myself after lunch. I am aware that is not the ‘optimal’ time to weigh yourself, but lets me honest: weighing yourself first thing in the morning is not really weighing what you normally weigh. My weight may fluctuate by as much as 2 pounds in a 24 hour time period, so I just weigh myself within a 24 hour time period and go with the flow. I ate crumby food today due to lunch out with friends. Let me clarify: the food was super tasty, but it was probably not very healthy. To offset the poor food I worked out and did some Wii boxing, some wii exercises on the Wii fit, and walked approximately 1.5 miles to a super bowl party.
For the record I think I look like I’m having a spasm as I spin my waist on the Wii fit board doing the ‘hula hoop’ game. I am convinced that many of the exercises in Wii Fit are not overly exercising, and they’re not focusing on what I’d like to focus on. Tomorrow I’m going to make time to work out on our elliptical machine. Sadly it is not actually shaped like an ellipse, but they tell me that exercising on it moves the bars that I stand on in an elliptical pattern. The programmer in me sort of wants to write a Flash animation to find the ellipse and help inform you about it… but the tired man in me is ready for bed.
See you tomorrow!
Data:
Weight: 179
Exercise: Wii fit junk, walk to super bowl party, shouting and cheering for the Cardinals, stood up in front of Sunday School class and in a somewhat animated fashion stood still with brief bouts of pacing back and forth.
Penn Jillette wants me to share the gospel with you. He is an atheist, but he reminded me that you, even if you are not a Christian, still have a soul, and that should matter to me. It does. I know that you’re probably tired of hearing religious people cram religion down your throat. I’m sorry that other Christians, or myself, may have gotten it wrong and tried to present anything but what matters most toward you. So, in an attempt to clear things up here’s the gospel in simple terms and with some simple definitions to help clarify things.
The Gospel
The gospel is simple. So simple a child could understand and believe it: Jesus Christ died on the cross, was buried, rose the third day (read it in the Bible – I Corinthians 15:3-4). In doing so He satisfied God’s requirement of justice for sin. Sin that you and I have committed and that separates us from God (read it in the Bible – Romans 3:23-24). In doing so God extended His love and grace to the whole world!
What is Grace?
Grace is the unlimited, unmerited blessing of God due to the totally adequate work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Lets break that down because that sentence is like a t-bone steak, and it needs some dissecting to get to the good stuff. Grace is unlimited: that means that even Adolph Hitler, had he believed the gospel before death could be saved. It means I don’t have to worry about out-sinning God. It means that I don’t have to worry about losing my salvation. It means I can rest in God’s grace. It means having knowledge of eternal peace with God. Grace is unmerited: it means that I can’t earn it, I can only believe the gospel and receive it. It is like a birthday present from a total stranger that is a check for a million dollars. I didn’t earn it, it is a gift! Since I didn’t earn it, I don’t have to work to keep it – its a gift. Blessings of God is a bit tougher to describe because it has to do with relationship with God. Blessings is not just stuff, it is the reception of God Himself into our lives (God isn’t against stuff, its just that He doesn’t only operate on the earth – Ephesians 1:3 tells us we’ve been blessed with every heavenly or spiritual blessing – read it in the Bible). The totally adequate work of Christ on the Cross: this means that Christ’s death on our behalf was satisfactory to God so that when God looked at Christ and those who believe the gospel and are therefore identified with Christ he was satisfied and could have awesomely intimate relationship with them. This is why Ephesians 1:4 can tell us that we’re holy & blameless (read it in the Bible). Christians are not perfect on the earth, but before God they have been declared holy and blameless as He is holy and blameless.
God wants a relationship with you. Belief is a simple act, but you know it comes with consequences. Once you have responded to the gospel – in either belief or unbelief – you know that that decision will come with ramifications. I encourage you to ponder the gospel message. Eternity is a long time to be wrong. I have personally spent hours and hours of my life studying to make sure I’m not putting my trust in absolutely insane, highly improbable truths. Instead I have found the Bible, God’s book of love, to be True and the source of truth. Hell is not described as a great place to be, it is described as a place with weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is described as a lake of fire. I don’t want to pass up this opportunity to ask you to read the verses quoted and ask yourself where you will spend eternity.
Think About It
I don’t agree with Penn’s reflection on God, that He doesn’t exist. But I ask you to consider this: I’m not trying to con you, I don’t want a notch in my Bible cover, I don’t expect to get “Jesus Points” [instead of brownie points or merit badges], but I really care about you. If you’re reading this it means something to me, you mean something to me. Ask questions in the comments, email me (randy@randypeterman.com), or IM me (if you need that information I’ll email it to you) and we’ll discuss this. I’m not looking for fights, so if you think you’re going to find that here, you’re at the wrong URL, but I am being genuine because I want you to be there with me in heaven in awe as God reveals more of Himself to us for eternity (read it in the Bible).
Consider putting your trust in Christ to make you right with God rather than trying on your own. To do so just pray and be really honest with God about your failure to meet His standards of perfection, trust Him for His work through Christ on the cross, and rest in the assurance that you’re adopted into His family. Then consider finding other Christians who can help you learn about the Bible – I’ll be the first volunteer.
I pushed my gut out to make it look worse than it really is
I’m not obese. I’m not in shape. I’m in the middling ground of just overweight (according to federal guidelines, which I live by like a Lobster lives by butter). Jessica has been slowly pushing me to consider working out, which is pretty much the last thing I’d like to do besides maybe stab at myself with a rusty nail. Working out is something that I’m glad I’m done with when I actually do it. I feel better when I do it. But I also feel better when I stop stabbing myself with rusty nails. No more!
I’m starting the rest of my life tomorrow – short as February may be – because I’m going to start working out in February and participate in a fitness challenge put together by Caleb Jenkins for developers called the Fit In February Challenge. Developers who probably ought to get their rears in gear and out of chairs (comfortable as chairs may be), eating less pizza (tasty as it may be), and getting their hearts racing with exercise instead of Mountain Dew (sweet as it may be).
The Plan!
I am planning on walking over 10,000 steps a day, doing cardio for 30 or more minutes a day, and pumping weights (which I have in my office so that I can use them while code builds on my 386 chip). I plan on eating healthy and you can discover some tasty snacks on my food blog and eat along with me. OK, maybe you can’t all eat with me, but I’m hoping this will be a great start to a beautiful relationship with the new healthier, sexier (I really, really should never say that about myself), fitter and developier me. I’m pretty sure developier is not a word, but developerer sounds even dumberer.
I’ll be exercising this blog, too. I’ll be posting daily what I’m actually doing and being brutally honest about where I’m missing my goal/plan, and also posting about any weight gain or loss. I may actually gain some weight if I build muscles, but there’s plenty of Randy gut to be rid of, too. Join me in exercising, February or otherwise!
A friend of mine was telling me a story about her daughter and how she was reading a story about George Washington. Apparently there was a picture of the Boston Tea Party. The girl looked at the picture of the men dressed as natives with crates and said, “Look, mom! Is that the Indians moving?”
I don’t think U-Haul was around then, and did they have ships if so?
Sorry to not have posted in some time. I am alive and we’re all better from the sickness. I’ve been working long hours for the last couple weeks to help several clients get things done. Still have lots more hours to put things into play like they need to. Right now here’s what’s going with the family immediate and extended:
Jessica: well and working hard as usual on all of the fun stuff
Abby: doing pretty well at school and we’re working on Bible verses and such in the mornings. She’s precious and I love her dearly.
Evie: continuing to blow us away with how she’s growing and learning. She amazes me and I love her. Her cuteness makes me wonder how I will ever get away with not owning several guns and a surveillance system when they get older. Also looking into splice wire.
Kelsey: Working. Many, many hours of working. Also, rocking the auntie position.
Dad (Vern): in Uganda on a missions trip. Keep up with his doings (a few days left) here: nancypeterman.wordpress.com.
Nancy (and Becky & Nadia): in California with various relatives and friends.
Evie, Jessica and I are all sick now. I have to lead music at church this week (and next) and so prayers would be appreciated on our well-being. I don’t want to leave anyone high & dry.
I’ve added one more blog to my wide array of places that I’m probably going to write fewer articles to. I’ve started a food blog because I’ve had some interesting reading lead to some different conclusions than I’ve been applying to my life in the last 8 weeks or so. If you’re not subscribed to the Planet Randy RSS feed you can check out the food site here. At that site you will read about what I’m thinking about food, food related projects such as home made bacon, gardening for fruits and veggies, and restaurants and recipes with good food. Also, food sources. Those are important.
Jessica has been suggesting I eat healthier foods for some time, but it wasn’t until I read “In Defense of Food” which Jason’s Deli sent me as part of a contest that I was shocked into action. If you want to see what motivated me so much you can get the book at the library or buy it on Amazon.com. I suggest it as good stimulating reading, but don’t do something because I did it, think about food yourself.
