Tyson & Ashley

Thought I would share another funny story from the weekend up in Council Bluffs.  My youngest daughter who is 5 (known from here on out as “A”) fell asleep on the way up to C.B. Friday night. We finally rolled in around 12:45 in the morning and she awoke along with her sister “T”.  After we were all situated and had the car unpacked, we put the girls to bed in their very own bedroom complete with little TV, VCR, and DVD player.  Thinking they might need a little something to help them fall  back asleep, Ashley’s Mom put on a cartoon for them to watch. We all proceeded to head to bed.

Now you would think the story ended there…but it doesnt. About 2:30 in the morning, “A” goes and knocks on Tom and Carol’s door.  ”Hey, the movie is over. Now what should I do?”  Can you believe her?  2:30 in the morning and she is wide awake!  She proceeds to give Carol a tour of her own house showing her all the rooms and who is sleeping in what room.  She then says “last time we were here, we had popcorn. I think we should  have some popcorn tomorrow.” What a stinker!  Carol  proceeded to get her back to bed about 3 a.m. in the morning and the rest…was a sweet dream.

Tonight the kids and I went for a walk around the block. On the way back, a little “yapper” dog runs across the street barking up a storm.  The owner walks around from the back yard yelling for “Mia” to come home. Mia didn’t listen and continued to bark at us. The owner apologizes and said that Mia got loose from him and wouldn’t return home. My youngest daughter yells back to him while she continues to walk “Maybe you should use a leash next time!”  Oh how I love her, even when she can be so inappropriate!

We are on a mini vacation up in Council Bluffs this Labor Day weekend.  I really enjoy my trips up here. It gives me a chance to unwind with family, take in the sites, and be lazy!  Council Bluffs is where my wife grew up and I love being able to see the things that helped shape the awesome woman she is today!

I am going to sign off now and go spend some time with the family. I hope  everyone has a happy and safe Labor Day weekend.

A co-worker was rummaging through my desk this morning an came across and old pair of glasses that I had.  He forgot that I used to wear them while on the computer and thought it would be funny to see me put them on again.  I complied, we had our laugh and I proceeded to turn around and start working with them on.  I realized what I did and went to take them off. Imagine my surprise when I noticed how blurry the text on my computer suddenly became! I put the glasses back on and everything suddenly became clear again!  The headache that I had been fighting all morning also started to fade.

I only got these glasses when I needed to use up some end of year insurance money.  I never really intended to wear them on an ongoing basis.  Now that I definitely notice a difference when wearing them and not wearing them, I guess I should wear them more.

I have managed to avoid glasses for 31 years.  I think the time has finally come to recognize that I am getting older and things just aren’t as clear as they used to be.  Wait a second… maybe…just maybe…I am tired and a bit stressed and that is causing my gentle eye strain.  Yeah!  That’s it!  I am not getting older!  I feel great! Forget these glasses.  I don’t need them anykljaf…oops.  Sorry about that. I took the glasses off and suddenly was unable to see what I wrote. Crap.

For a while now I have been trying to find a way to tie my faith into my health and fitness world. I have always felt that we need to respect the body that God has given us and do everything in our power to keep this gift runnings at its best.  I knew that such a relationship existed but I never really took the time to try and find the correlation…until now.  One day my wife and I were at Mardells and I was looking through the discount books. Crammed among the books I found an audio-book called “The Great Physician Rx for Health and Wellness” written by Jordan Rubin.

Product Description

At 19 years old, Jordan Rubin was a healthy 6′1″ and 180 pounds. Shockingly, his weight fell to just 104 lbs. in a matter of months. His immune system was at an all-time low, as he suffered from Crohn’s disease, food allergies, anemia, fibromyalgia, intestinal parasites, and a host of other conditions.  After seeing over 70 health professionals, using both conventional and alternative medicines, Rubin was sent home in a wheelchair to die. But his story didn’t end there. Through determination and a powerful faith in God, Rubin refused to give in to disease. Instead, he educated himself on natural health (eventually becoming a doctor of naturopathic medicine), and applied its principles. Now, ten years later, Rubin is fully recovered-and he desires to share the keys to his own good health. These keys aren’t just for the disease-ridden; they are for anyone desiring to live an abundant life of health and wellness.

I found this book to be fascinating.  Hearing what the Bible lists as foods we should and shouldn’t eat was truly eye opening. For example, pork is a food that should not be eaten because of the manner in which a pig eats. A pig is unclean.  A pig if kept in an unclean environment (such as a mass slaughter house) can and will survive off its own fecal waste. That waste gets absorbed into the muscles and eventually in the human that consumes it. This is just one of hundreds of examples John gives in his book.

John preaches many times in his book that we need to eat as close to the source as we can. The more processed a food is, the worse it gets for us and our bodies. Eat clean, eat lean, and eat often. That is my motto and it should be yours too.

What is the first thing you do when you buy a car, new TV, or computer program?  You look for and read the manual and determine the best and most efficient way to use your new product in a manner in which it was intended. You wouldn’t buy a car and put diesel fuel in it would you? The Bible can and is a great owners manual for our bodies.  I highly recommend this book for everyone that wants to get their bodies to run at the potential that God has intended for us.

I have posted an article called “Too Much TV?” on startbeingfit.com. Check it out here.

Today marked the day that many kids went back to school here in Kansas. My two were no exception. For my oldest daughter, it was her 1st day being a second grader. For my youngest, it was her first day of school ever as she entered the wonderful world of kindergarten.

Watching them sit at their desks with excitement in their eyes brings a sense of brief relief.   For with every new day of school bring new challenges and obstacles to overcome. Will they make friends? Will they like their teacher? Will they pick up the curriculum with ease? What in that school lunch?  All we can do as parents is sit back and hope that we provided the right tools and upbringing to help them on their little journeys.  I feel confident in my little girls that they will enjoy every minute of school. But if not, I am here with a soft shoulder and a warm hug to help them along.

I would like to share a story that I find to be humorous. It involves myself, my youngest daughter and a microwave. I have a habit of leaving the microwave door open when I “cook.” My daughter likes to shut it. The problem is that the microwave is above the stove and my daughter is probably around 3 feet tall. This morning, in my haste, I again left the door open. In her usual fashion, she gets a running jump for the door and slams it shut. She then proceeds to walk away tossing her hair. She looks back at me and says “you’re welcome”. Now if you know my youngest, you would know that she is a bit of a firecracker. I had a hard time not laughing. Of course, I then have to try and explain to her that she cannot slam the door like that because it could break. She of course doesn’t understand. Oh to be a 5 year old again.

Over the weekend I performed at 24 hour fast. I decided to do it after listening to an audio book called The Great Physician Rx. The book lists many benefits of fasting including but not limited to:

• Increased energy
• Weight loss
• The resting of vital organs
• Reduced cravings for sugar
• Strong connection to God

I started the fast Friday night after getting Chinese foods with my daughters. It was father/daughter night and I knew my first test of restraint would come when I made popcorn for the kids to eat with their movie. I love popcorn and having bowls of it surrounding me was not easy but I manged to make it through. I drank several glasses of water and kept my mind busy with the movie. Bedtime came and although I felt hungry, I retired for the night. The next morning was a bit of a challenge as I awoke and made the wife and kids breakfast. Being around all that food made me even more hungry. Instead I drank a cup of hot tea and more water. After breakfast we took off to my wife’s school to help her prepare for the upcoming school year. There were times in the morning that I felt hungry,weak, and a bit disorientated but as the day went on, the hunger subsided, my energy levels increased and I regained my focus. I felt great!

One of the main reasons that I performed this fast was that I heard that it would strengthen my relationship with God. The idea was that whenever I would get really hungry, instead of eating I would sit down and pray. This is what I did. I don’t know if was my state of hunger or my increased focus on prayer but that entire day, my relationship with God seemed to be very strong and even after I ate for the day, my exhilaration withheld into the night and the next day.

For anyone interested in fasting, I highly recommend it. I will be performing many more of these in the months to come. Its such a great feeling knowing that I did something to improve my health and my faith.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

On my way to work this morning, I heard the best saying. It was “Don’t live your life as a <blank> that also happens to be a Christian, live your life as a Christian that also happens to be a <blank>”. To use me as an example, I shouldn’t live my life as a system engineer that also happens to be a Christian but I should live my life as a Christian that also happens to be a system engineer. I thought that was awesome and a great way to start my day.