Sarah Palin is fair game to be called every nasty, degrading term for females and their anatomy by the liberal press. It is crude and repulsive, yet she's "Sarah Palin," hated by liberals and therefore, non-human. We see a different standard in effect when it comes to Sandra Fluke, who testified before Congress that women can pay more than $3,000 for contraception during three years of law school. She noted that her school, a Catholic institution, does not provide birth control coverage. In questioning why the government should be expected to pay for Ms. Fluke's recreational activities, Limbaugh crossed the line from sound argument into sexist insult. “What does it say about the college coed . . . who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex?” Mr. Limbaugh asked on his Wednesday program. He said this makes her a “slut” and “prostitute.” Apologies have since been made for his remarks, yet the uproar still continues. While I completely agree that it is positively ludicrous for anyone, male or female, to stand before Congress and say that it is too expensive for them to buy their own birth control - they want to have fun so someone else should pay for it for them - I completely disagree with his rude remarks. Ms. Fluke, if you want to screw around, pay for it yourself; Mr. Limbaugh, bite your tongue and show some common decency.
I would like to point out that Rush is far from alone in making rude and derogatory comments about females. Unfortunately, conservative women are fair game. Where was the outrage, the hue and outcry from females and liberals when these remarks were made? Apparently, Sarah Palin is less than human. The faithful wife of one man, who did not ever stand before Congress asking for her birth control to be paid for, has been called a bitch, a slut, a twat and other lovely terms while liberals have sat back and chuckled. Here is a small listing of the vile & reprehensible sexist comments made in the media about conservative women, Sarah Palin, included:
--Keith Olbermann calls Michelle Malkin a lipstick meatbag
http://www.mediaite.com/online/olbermann-calls-michelle-malkin-a-lipsticked-meatbag-malkin-responds/
--Left-wing Rolling Stone editor Matt Taibbi wrote on his blog in 2009, 'When I read [Malkin’s] stuff, I imagine her narrating her text, book-on-tape style, with a big, hairy set of balls in her mouth.'" Taibbi, in a profile of congresswoman and presidential candidate Michele Bachmann, called her “batshit crazy.”
-- Bill Maher calls Sarah Palin a “dumb t*at”
http://libertylog.org/?p=2367
---Ed Schulz calls Laura Ingraham a right-wing slut (He's also called Sarah Palin a "bimbo")
http://taylormarsh.com/blog/2011/05/ed-schultz-calls-laura-ingraham-a-right-wing-slut
--- Sandra Bernhard issues “gang rape” warning to Sarah Palin
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/sandra-bernhard-issues-gang-rape-warning-sarah-palin-article-1.321411
--Sly Sylvester (talk show host) said “…I had heard at one point Rebecca Kleefisch (Republican Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin) pulled a train, but that must have been a different story I was reading about.”
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pull%20a%20train (just the definition of pulling train)
-- David Letterman calls Sarah Palin a slut
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEvkOPidWkY
--Keith Olbermann implied that female conservative commentator S. E. Cupp should never have been born
http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-spokane/keith-olbermann-implies-female-conservative-should-never-have-been-born
--Jimmy Fallon’s drummer played “Lyin' Ass Bit*ch” song during Michele Bachmann’s appearance on his show (ABC called it “quite the trick”)
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/11/jimmy-fallons-drummer-grounded-for-bachmanns-bitch-song/
--Cloris Leachman calls Sarah Palin a slut on the Wendy Williams show
http://www.wendyshow.com/2011/01/04/cloris-leachman-sarah-palin/
If there is going to be all sorts of outrage, disgust and clamor over Limbaugh's asinine behavior, let's kick this double standard and be just as outraged and disgusted over the foul comments made about these Republican women.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
No Room for Christian Cliques
Years ago my friend, Diane, and I took our children to the kick-off meeting for a Christian homeschool group in south central Florida. It would be our first year homeschooling and our daughters were just kindergarten age. Games were being formed for the children of various ages so that they could get to know each other - kickball for the older kids and a game of duck-duck-goose for the younger. Diane and I happily brought our girls over to the duck-duck-goose circle, looking forward to watching our girls have some fun and play with the many children their age.
Four families that seemed to know each other well were there and were organizing the game. Their children already knew each other well and took seats near each other in the circle. (It turned out they all held positions of leadership at the same church). Our girls sat side by side, eager to be a part of the fun. It was not to be.
As the game progressed, it was apparent that the children who knew each other would only pick their friends. Over and over they kept picking from amongst themselves. The parents watching laughed and cheered them on. No regard was paid to our little girls or the few others that were new to the group. One of the children from those four families yelled, “Mommy, you play, too!” and with that two of the mothers joined the circle. We watched as these mothers also picked from amongst their own children. Kids were being picked, two, three, four, five times. The mothers were repeatedly being picked by the children. Not one of the adults running the game suggested that only children who hadn’t had a turn could be chosen so that everyone would have a chance to play. Needless to say we were shocked. Sorry to say, our dealings with this particular group of “Christian” homeschoolers never got much better.
When I was little my parents enforced various rules rather strictly. One of those rules was that you never went outside with a snack unless you had something to share with everyone. Another rule was that you never handed out birthday invitations in a group setting unless everyone present was being invited. You didn't make plans with one friend in front of another unless you were inviting that friend, too. My mother used to tell me, "The more, the merrier. You wouldn't want to be left behind, would you?" If you saw someone sitting alone, you were to make sure that person did not feel alone. You didn’t ditch one friend for another friend but made the situation inclusive, not exclusive. Do not, absolutely, do not leave anyone out. In short, you were to treat other people the way you wanted to be treated: “…thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Leviticus 19:18
I’ve seen the bad behavior above many times over the years. Too often it was delivered at the hands of “Christian” children and parents. I had a friend who became very disillusioned when time after time, she tried to get her children involved in church activities – youth group, kids clubs, etc., only to have them left out, excluded not warmly welcomed into the fold. Mother and daughters alike were made to feel of no importance, not worth getting to know. It wasn't for wont of trying to be friendly. The mom eventually turned to rec league sports feeling that there was more actual kindness and exclusiveness. I have to add that her girls didn’t have six eyes or big green horns. They were sweet, pretty little girls and after years of this treatment, the mother and children developed a cynical attitude toward the church. A "friendly" church or group where the friendships are insular repels newcomers.
However, instead of illustrating only bad behaviors - it is important to recognize the good behavior as well. I have seen particular groups of believers who are not only loving and welcoming, but expect it of their offspring. I remember the welcome, the patience and the kindness extended to one girl who arrived to attend a weekly kids’ club. She was not an easy child but that group showed so much love to her. She didn’t a family willing to drive her places and so a few parents in the church took it upon themselves to make sure she had rides and did not miss the opportunities available to the other children. This child, who had been bullied at school for years, had new-found confidence. The efforts of parents and children who were taught to be inclusive gave her church kids who stuck by her at school – a support system. She was no longer alone and easy pickings. She was transformed.
In 1 Peter 5:8 the Bible teaches that the devil is on the prowl like a lion, seeking out someone to devour. Who is more vulnerable than those not protected by the group? It's the weak or the stragglers that are easy prey. As believers, we should be edifying one another. Walls crumble, not just from the battering onslaught of an enemy; walls crumble due to the erosion of neglect.
Friendliness is a gift. I like to think of my Uncle Gene who “Never Met a Stranger,” my friend’s father, John, and Pastor Rick, who never failed to make a person feel welcome. None of these men stopped at the first meet and greet with their welcoming – they made a point of always recognizing the people around them. I also think of youth pastor, Mark, who never allowed a child in his presence to feel left out. Even if a child stopped coming to youth group, he made it clear that that child was a person worthy of his continued care. He called. He went to games. The Bible says that “He who has friends must show himself friendly,” and it has been warming to know that there are those who recognize the shyness and uncertainty of others and take the first steps….and often the second and the third…in order to bring others into the fold, into a sense of unity and belonging.
We all need role models like this – and we should follow their lead. Being imperfect humans, we will fail. However, we need to correct ourselves. We need to look around, open our eyes to those around us. Is anyone sick? Lonely? Having a difficult time fitting in? There will be those people that it is harder to get to know or more difficult to understand. Many people are not outgoing or just simply feel awkward in social situations. Not everyone is a kindred spirit; yet everyone is of value. No amount of youth retreats, mission trips, etc. will teach this - and what good is it to teach ourselves or our children to reach out into the unknown, if it is second-nature to neglect those in our own circles? It is our responsibility to show kindness, compassion and welcome. Not pity – for it is we that are pitiable if we neglect the potential friends that God has placed in our path.
James 2:1 – 4 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
1 Corinthians 10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.
Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Romans 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
Hebrews 13: 1 Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Matthew 25: 35 I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.
Matt. 25:40 Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren you did it to me.
Four families that seemed to know each other well were there and were organizing the game. Their children already knew each other well and took seats near each other in the circle. (It turned out they all held positions of leadership at the same church). Our girls sat side by side, eager to be a part of the fun. It was not to be.
As the game progressed, it was apparent that the children who knew each other would only pick their friends. Over and over they kept picking from amongst themselves. The parents watching laughed and cheered them on. No regard was paid to our little girls or the few others that were new to the group. One of the children from those four families yelled, “Mommy, you play, too!” and with that two of the mothers joined the circle. We watched as these mothers also picked from amongst their own children. Kids were being picked, two, three, four, five times. The mothers were repeatedly being picked by the children. Not one of the adults running the game suggested that only children who hadn’t had a turn could be chosen so that everyone would have a chance to play. Needless to say we were shocked. Sorry to say, our dealings with this particular group of “Christian” homeschoolers never got much better.
When I was little my parents enforced various rules rather strictly. One of those rules was that you never went outside with a snack unless you had something to share with everyone. Another rule was that you never handed out birthday invitations in a group setting unless everyone present was being invited. You didn't make plans with one friend in front of another unless you were inviting that friend, too. My mother used to tell me, "The more, the merrier. You wouldn't want to be left behind, would you?" If you saw someone sitting alone, you were to make sure that person did not feel alone. You didn’t ditch one friend for another friend but made the situation inclusive, not exclusive. Do not, absolutely, do not leave anyone out. In short, you were to treat other people the way you wanted to be treated: “…thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Leviticus 19:18
I’ve seen the bad behavior above many times over the years. Too often it was delivered at the hands of “Christian” children and parents. I had a friend who became very disillusioned when time after time, she tried to get her children involved in church activities – youth group, kids clubs, etc., only to have them left out, excluded not warmly welcomed into the fold. Mother and daughters alike were made to feel of no importance, not worth getting to know. It wasn't for wont of trying to be friendly. The mom eventually turned to rec league sports feeling that there was more actual kindness and exclusiveness. I have to add that her girls didn’t have six eyes or big green horns. They were sweet, pretty little girls and after years of this treatment, the mother and children developed a cynical attitude toward the church. A "friendly" church or group where the friendships are insular repels newcomers.
However, instead of illustrating only bad behaviors - it is important to recognize the good behavior as well. I have seen particular groups of believers who are not only loving and welcoming, but expect it of their offspring. I remember the welcome, the patience and the kindness extended to one girl who arrived to attend a weekly kids’ club. She was not an easy child but that group showed so much love to her. She didn’t a family willing to drive her places and so a few parents in the church took it upon themselves to make sure she had rides and did not miss the opportunities available to the other children. This child, who had been bullied at school for years, had new-found confidence. The efforts of parents and children who were taught to be inclusive gave her church kids who stuck by her at school – a support system. She was no longer alone and easy pickings. She was transformed.
In 1 Peter 5:8 the Bible teaches that the devil is on the prowl like a lion, seeking out someone to devour. Who is more vulnerable than those not protected by the group? It's the weak or the stragglers that are easy prey. As believers, we should be edifying one another. Walls crumble, not just from the battering onslaught of an enemy; walls crumble due to the erosion of neglect.
Friendliness is a gift. I like to think of my Uncle Gene who “Never Met a Stranger,” my friend’s father, John, and Pastor Rick, who never failed to make a person feel welcome. None of these men stopped at the first meet and greet with their welcoming – they made a point of always recognizing the people around them. I also think of youth pastor, Mark, who never allowed a child in his presence to feel left out. Even if a child stopped coming to youth group, he made it clear that that child was a person worthy of his continued care. He called. He went to games. The Bible says that “He who has friends must show himself friendly,” and it has been warming to know that there are those who recognize the shyness and uncertainty of others and take the first steps….and often the second and the third…in order to bring others into the fold, into a sense of unity and belonging.
We all need role models like this – and we should follow their lead. Being imperfect humans, we will fail. However, we need to correct ourselves. We need to look around, open our eyes to those around us. Is anyone sick? Lonely? Having a difficult time fitting in? There will be those people that it is harder to get to know or more difficult to understand. Many people are not outgoing or just simply feel awkward in social situations. Not everyone is a kindred spirit; yet everyone is of value. No amount of youth retreats, mission trips, etc. will teach this - and what good is it to teach ourselves or our children to reach out into the unknown, if it is second-nature to neglect those in our own circles? It is our responsibility to show kindness, compassion and welcome. Not pity – for it is we that are pitiable if we neglect the potential friends that God has placed in our path.
James 2:1 – 4 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
1 Corinthians 10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.
Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Romans 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
Hebrews 13: 1 Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.
Matthew 25: 35 I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.
Matt. 25:40 Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of my brethren you did it to me.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Day 2 in Vibram FiveFingers
Yesterday Rhianna and I took our new Vibrams for a spin around our normal cemetery route. I was amazed by how different it felt to run with this barefooting feel. It seemed to "open up" my calves. My calves are notoriously tight and well, I don't have a problem with shape or muscle there. Running in these shoes made it feel like I was elongating everything. Also, it felt good the way the toes grip the ground.
I was anxious to see how this good feeling translated to cross-training so we wore them to Body Boot Camp. You get so used to the idea of shoes with shock absorption and cushioning that the thought of plyometrics without that is a little curious. Well, there is a lot to be said for no cushioning and shock absorption except the God-given kind. It was AWESOME. Rhianna was so impressed by how she felt - she said it made her feel like she could jump even higher (and that would be impressive, indeed, because she is like a Tigger). Plyometrics felt great; everything did. The balance benefits were noticeable immediately, but particularly with the single legged deadlifts. Also, they made all of the yoga stretching feel more natural.
It was as if someone had dropped off a black suitcase with a superhero suit (like in Greatest American Hero). We felt injected with energy. So torqued were we, that even after the 65 minute kick-butt class I had put together, we still felt like running. We head out for a 55 minute trail run, cell phone cams ready for the beautiful scenery. I got to experience stubbing my foot on a big root - almost wiped out - but it DID NOT hurt more than when I do it in standard running shoes. Rocks were no problem. Now there were some acorns on steroids that did feel uncomfortable, but I'm pretty sure they would have felt uncomfortable in any shoe. Running on the trails - which have experienced a bit of erosion since our last run there - gave our feet an amazing sensory buffet of different textures. Rocky ground, sandy ground, pine needles, grass, roots and clay, stubbly who-knows-what. Rhianna likened it to a massage. And hills - running up hills felt good. Actually good. Really! And I usually am not a fan of hills.
I can't imagine going back to regular Asics or Sauconys. The freedom to feel the ground beneath you like never before is just too wonderful. Then there is the way it seems makes all my muscles feel more fluid. The Vibram site talks about the biomechanical advantages of barefooting running...well, now I'm a believer.
And...I really don't mind if my feet look funny! Rhianna plans on getting a pair of hot pink ones for in the gym. I wouldn't mind going with grey or khaki.
I was anxious to see how this good feeling translated to cross-training so we wore them to Body Boot Camp. You get so used to the idea of shoes with shock absorption and cushioning that the thought of plyometrics without that is a little curious. Well, there is a lot to be said for no cushioning and shock absorption except the God-given kind. It was AWESOME. Rhianna was so impressed by how she felt - she said it made her feel like she could jump even higher (and that would be impressive, indeed, because she is like a Tigger). Plyometrics felt great; everything did. The balance benefits were noticeable immediately, but particularly with the single legged deadlifts. Also, they made all of the yoga stretching feel more natural.
It was as if someone had dropped off a black suitcase with a superhero suit (like in Greatest American Hero). We felt injected with energy. So torqued were we, that even after the 65 minute kick-butt class I had put together, we still felt like running. We head out for a 55 minute trail run, cell phone cams ready for the beautiful scenery. I got to experience stubbing my foot on a big root - almost wiped out - but it DID NOT hurt more than when I do it in standard running shoes. Rocks were no problem. Now there were some acorns on steroids that did feel uncomfortable, but I'm pretty sure they would have felt uncomfortable in any shoe. Running on the trails - which have experienced a bit of erosion since our last run there - gave our feet an amazing sensory buffet of different textures. Rocky ground, sandy ground, pine needles, grass, roots and clay, stubbly who-knows-what. Rhianna likened it to a massage. And hills - running up hills felt good. Actually good. Really! And I usually am not a fan of hills.
I can't imagine going back to regular Asics or Sauconys. The freedom to feel the ground beneath you like never before is just too wonderful. Then there is the way it seems makes all my muscles feel more fluid. The Vibram site talks about the biomechanical advantages of barefooting running...well, now I'm a believer.
And...I really don't mind if my feet look funny! Rhianna plans on getting a pair of hot pink ones for in the gym. I wouldn't mind going with grey or khaki.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Obsessed or Dedicated?
Obsessed or Committed?
“Probably millions of Americans got up this morning with a cup of coffee, a cigarette and a donut. No wonder they are sick and fouled up.” Jack LaLanne
I saw a great quote a few weeks back: “Obsessed is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated.” As a fitness enthusiast I have been called obsessed to my face a few times and I’m sure behind my back many more. Other fitness fanatics that I know have received the same scorn from those firmly planted on the couch. The above quote explains in a nutshell just how I feel about the label.
The dictionary definition of obsessed reads:
–verb (used with object)
1. to dominate or preoccupy the thoughts, feelings, or desires of (a person); beset, trouble, or haunt persistently or abnormally: Suspicion obsessed him.
–verb (used without object)
2. to think about something unceasingly or persistently; dwell obsessively upon something.
The connotation is negative. However, the definition for “dedicated” is quite positive.
–adjective
1. wholly committed to something, as to an ideal, political cause, or personal goal: a dedicated artist.
2. set apart or reserved for a specific use or purpose: We don't need a computer but a dedicated word processor.
Michelangelo said it well when he stated, “The great danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”
Ever since I can remember I loved the feeling of movement. The wind in my face, the spring in my step, the stretch of a limb. As a young girl I was always flipping around on gymnastic mats, running around the block, swirling around on a frozen pond. One of my earliest memories is of watching Jack LaLanne and his exercise show, I had pulled up a chair and was following along doing chair squats along with Jack. I think I was age 3 at the time. My friend, Michele, and I spent hours creating gymnastic routines so we could do what Nadia and Olga before her had done. On the pond, we were Dorothy Hamil and Peggy Fleming. My parents never supported me doing any school athletics; although in elementary school I was in rec league softball. However, I read all the fitness tips in Glamour and Mademoiselle and after the high school day was done, Michele and I walked and we ran together. As a teenager I discovered yoga and then at age 17, aerobics. Around that time I also purchased my first copy of Runner’s World and quietly dreamed of running a marathon someday. By age 18 and 19, I had discovered Rachel McLish and “Flex Appeal,” Gladys Portugues’ “Hard Bodies.” I was hooked.
At that time I was working at a Department of Defense facility outside my hometown. There I had my first experience pumping iron. I loved the gym facility and happily got up extra early to start my day lifting and running. I would hit the gym for some weight training and then run around the back roads that were encased in the Army facility. A quick shower, a long time blow drying and off to my office. It was wonderful and I *felt* wonderful.
Eventually, I moved away and to another state – New Mexico. There I hiked and walked, did body weight exercises at home. The money wasn’t flowing freely and there was no affording a health club. When I moved to FL just after the birth of my first child I availed myself of the sunny weather to walk and run some more…and it was there that I discovered step aerobics. I especially loved the dance step videos created by Victoria Johnson. She was an inspiration!
Three children came along and I still worked out in whatever way I could. Walking – a lot, step aerobics, light weights. Fitness was a part of my life and never left. It was as much a part of me as were my hazel eyes.
Sometime around 1999 I discovered Oxygen fitness magazine and Muscle & Fitness Hers. Gone were the magazines I considered “fluffy.” This was *real* meat and potatoes fitness advice. Bill Philips published “Body for Life” and it seemed the world was learning how to pump iron. I wanted badly to get back to the lifting days and around that time we bought a Weider home gym and some free weights.
Time passed and I joined a gym, I began to run in 5K races with my friend, Julie. I was never Speedy Gonzales, but if the turnout for my age group was low I sometimes ended up with an age group award. I didn’t matter – I did for the T-shirt and for the sheer joy of movement and fellowship with others who enjoyed it the way I did. I ran a 10K, then a 15K and eventually I ran that marathon I always dreamed about.
There were definitely trials and tribulations along the way. I suffered from Graves’ disease in 1996 and that slammed me back a bit. When training for the marathon, I *gained* weight and found that my thyroid had gone the other way – hypo. I had to go through the whole slow, arduous process of getting my thyroid back in order (and that is another story entirely)…but I kept at it. Even when my legs felt like they were made of wood, I ran. I lifted. I moved....and it helped me.
I’ve explained how fitness was such a part of my life – and at first glance you might say, “Okay, so maybe she IS obsessed with it.” BUT hold your horses! During that time my life was full of so many other things – fitness was just a part, a dearly loved part, but not the whole. During those years, I worked, I had babies, I taught Sunday school, children’s church, AWANA club – I wrote poems, published a few articles, homeschooled my children, taught Shakespeare appreciation from a Christian perspective, became an outreach childbirth educator, volunteered for a presidential campaign…I had a very rich life, a life of many facets.
And here’s where I make my stand take issue with “obsessed” and say a resounding “NO!” to that misnomer and “YES!” to the adjective of choice, DEDICATED.
Through thick and thin, ups and downs, busy seasons, dry seasons, regardless of what was going on in my life – I made fitness and movement a PRIORITY. As necessary to my life as the air I breathe, I made a commitment to serving my body well, with doing my utmost best to take care of my physical health. I’d been to the scary side of disease and had been forced to lay low after surgeries and thyrotoxicosis. I knew my body wanted to be well and to function at its best, so I fought back for fitness and health.
My hero, Jack LaLanne said this, “By exercise. I'll tell you one thing, you don't always have to be on the go. I sit around a lot, I read a lot, and I do watch television. But I also work out for two hours every day of my life, even when I'm on the road.” It’s not an obsession – it’s a dedicated part of each day. It’s about DISCIPLINE. Accountability to the only body you have, to take care of it and help it to function at it’s best.
Another quote from Jack, “I do it as a therapy. I do it as something to keep me alive. We all need a little discipline. Exercise is my discipline.”
Isn’t that the truth? Discipline is not a popular concept nowadays, but I believe we need it just as much as ever – if not more. I’m glad I have it – that discipline that allows me to keep a regular exercise program also serves me in other areas. It helps me to do what needs to be done, it helps me to be organized and productive. It just plain helps (and that is another blog, as well).
To the folks that have called me obsessed, I’m sorry for you. I’m sorry that you haven’t discovered the joy of purpose and of a healthy habit. I’m sorry that you are blind to the difference between obsession and commitment – oh, that you would receive your sight! It’s my wish for you that you find the exuberance of movement and you work to make it a regular part of your life. I hope that you are never satisfied with just the status quo, but that you find the exhilaration that comes from pushing harder, going further, doing more. May you find peace, love and fitness.
“Probably millions of Americans got up this morning with a cup of coffee, a cigarette and a donut. No wonder they are sick and fouled up.” Jack LaLanne
I saw a great quote a few weeks back: “Obsessed is just a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated.” As a fitness enthusiast I have been called obsessed to my face a few times and I’m sure behind my back many more. Other fitness fanatics that I know have received the same scorn from those firmly planted on the couch. The above quote explains in a nutshell just how I feel about the label.
The dictionary definition of obsessed reads:
–verb (used with object)
1. to dominate or preoccupy the thoughts, feelings, or desires of (a person); beset, trouble, or haunt persistently or abnormally: Suspicion obsessed him.
–verb (used without object)
2. to think about something unceasingly or persistently; dwell obsessively upon something.
The connotation is negative. However, the definition for “dedicated” is quite positive.
–adjective
1. wholly committed to something, as to an ideal, political cause, or personal goal: a dedicated artist.
2. set apart or reserved for a specific use or purpose: We don't need a computer but a dedicated word processor.
Michelangelo said it well when he stated, “The great danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”
Ever since I can remember I loved the feeling of movement. The wind in my face, the spring in my step, the stretch of a limb. As a young girl I was always flipping around on gymnastic mats, running around the block, swirling around on a frozen pond. One of my earliest memories is of watching Jack LaLanne and his exercise show, I had pulled up a chair and was following along doing chair squats along with Jack. I think I was age 3 at the time. My friend, Michele, and I spent hours creating gymnastic routines so we could do what Nadia and Olga before her had done. On the pond, we were Dorothy Hamil and Peggy Fleming. My parents never supported me doing any school athletics; although in elementary school I was in rec league softball. However, I read all the fitness tips in Glamour and Mademoiselle and after the high school day was done, Michele and I walked and we ran together. As a teenager I discovered yoga and then at age 17, aerobics. Around that time I also purchased my first copy of Runner’s World and quietly dreamed of running a marathon someday. By age 18 and 19, I had discovered Rachel McLish and “Flex Appeal,” Gladys Portugues’ “Hard Bodies.” I was hooked.
At that time I was working at a Department of Defense facility outside my hometown. There I had my first experience pumping iron. I loved the gym facility and happily got up extra early to start my day lifting and running. I would hit the gym for some weight training and then run around the back roads that were encased in the Army facility. A quick shower, a long time blow drying and off to my office. It was wonderful and I *felt* wonderful.
Eventually, I moved away and to another state – New Mexico. There I hiked and walked, did body weight exercises at home. The money wasn’t flowing freely and there was no affording a health club. When I moved to FL just after the birth of my first child I availed myself of the sunny weather to walk and run some more…and it was there that I discovered step aerobics. I especially loved the dance step videos created by Victoria Johnson. She was an inspiration!
Three children came along and I still worked out in whatever way I could. Walking – a lot, step aerobics, light weights. Fitness was a part of my life and never left. It was as much a part of me as were my hazel eyes.
Sometime around 1999 I discovered Oxygen fitness magazine and Muscle & Fitness Hers. Gone were the magazines I considered “fluffy.” This was *real* meat and potatoes fitness advice. Bill Philips published “Body for Life” and it seemed the world was learning how to pump iron. I wanted badly to get back to the lifting days and around that time we bought a Weider home gym and some free weights.
Time passed and I joined a gym, I began to run in 5K races with my friend, Julie. I was never Speedy Gonzales, but if the turnout for my age group was low I sometimes ended up with an age group award. I didn’t matter – I did for the T-shirt and for the sheer joy of movement and fellowship with others who enjoyed it the way I did. I ran a 10K, then a 15K and eventually I ran that marathon I always dreamed about.
There were definitely trials and tribulations along the way. I suffered from Graves’ disease in 1996 and that slammed me back a bit. When training for the marathon, I *gained* weight and found that my thyroid had gone the other way – hypo. I had to go through the whole slow, arduous process of getting my thyroid back in order (and that is another story entirely)…but I kept at it. Even when my legs felt like they were made of wood, I ran. I lifted. I moved....and it helped me.
I’ve explained how fitness was such a part of my life – and at first glance you might say, “Okay, so maybe she IS obsessed with it.” BUT hold your horses! During that time my life was full of so many other things – fitness was just a part, a dearly loved part, but not the whole. During those years, I worked, I had babies, I taught Sunday school, children’s church, AWANA club – I wrote poems, published a few articles, homeschooled my children, taught Shakespeare appreciation from a Christian perspective, became an outreach childbirth educator, volunteered for a presidential campaign…I had a very rich life, a life of many facets.
And here’s where I make my stand take issue with “obsessed” and say a resounding “NO!” to that misnomer and “YES!” to the adjective of choice, DEDICATED.
Through thick and thin, ups and downs, busy seasons, dry seasons, regardless of what was going on in my life – I made fitness and movement a PRIORITY. As necessary to my life as the air I breathe, I made a commitment to serving my body well, with doing my utmost best to take care of my physical health. I’d been to the scary side of disease and had been forced to lay low after surgeries and thyrotoxicosis. I knew my body wanted to be well and to function at its best, so I fought back for fitness and health.
My hero, Jack LaLanne said this, “By exercise. I'll tell you one thing, you don't always have to be on the go. I sit around a lot, I read a lot, and I do watch television. But I also work out for two hours every day of my life, even when I'm on the road.” It’s not an obsession – it’s a dedicated part of each day. It’s about DISCIPLINE. Accountability to the only body you have, to take care of it and help it to function at it’s best.
Another quote from Jack, “I do it as a therapy. I do it as something to keep me alive. We all need a little discipline. Exercise is my discipline.”
Isn’t that the truth? Discipline is not a popular concept nowadays, but I believe we need it just as much as ever – if not more. I’m glad I have it – that discipline that allows me to keep a regular exercise program also serves me in other areas. It helps me to do what needs to be done, it helps me to be organized and productive. It just plain helps (and that is another blog, as well).
To the folks that have called me obsessed, I’m sorry for you. I’m sorry that you haven’t discovered the joy of purpose and of a healthy habit. I’m sorry that you are blind to the difference between obsession and commitment – oh, that you would receive your sight! It’s my wish for you that you find the exuberance of movement and you work to make it a regular part of your life. I hope that you are never satisfied with just the status quo, but that you find the exhilaration that comes from pushing harder, going further, doing more. May you find peace, love and fitness.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Frosty Friday Five
A sprinkling of the stuff on my mind this morning:
1. I caught up on my workout blogging - Sweat Report. At the gym today I heard an old favorite by Van Morrison. Gotta love Van Morrison!
Wild Nights - Van Morrison
When I headed out to the gym this morning the windchill was -27F. Now that is COLD.
2. Researchers studying how hormones influence behavior reported this week that women with higher levels not only feel prettier, but they appear more attractive to others. Earlier this week, U.S. and British researchers showed that male financial traders whose finger lengths indicate high testosterone levels in the womb made more money.
3. I always wonder who is it who wants to be hired to be a sniffer for sweat studies? This week a report was released about a pheromone study done by Rice University psychologist Denise Chen and her colleagues. 20 heterosexual males were asked to stop wearing deodorant and scented products for a few days. Cotton pads were placed in their armpits and they watched some arousing fare. Those sweaty pads were removed and new pads were put in place to be worn while the men weren't stimulated. 19 courageous women were recruited to sniff the pads while simultaneously undergoing brain scans. According to the study, "Sure enough, the women's brains responded very differently depending on which sweat they sniffed. (And no, none of them passed out.) The sexual sweat, but not the normal sweat, activated the right orbitofrontal cortex and the right fusiform cortex, brain areas that help us recognize emotions and perceive things, respectively."
Basically, the gist of it is that you can probably smell someone is interested/in the mood whether it is something he wants to divulge or not.
Interesting factoid: A quarter of all people with smell disorders find that their sex drive disappears. To me that says that not all people with smell disorders have their pheromone receptor damaged. Definitely an fascinating science to explore.
I wonder how much sweat sniffers get paid? It's a pretty stinky job!
4. According to the Associated Press, booze sales are not recession proof. As the economy has slumped, so have beer sales.
5. I am reading a wonderful book: "A Stroke of Insight" by Jill Bolte Taylor, PHd. At age 37 this neuroanatomitist had a hemorrhage in her left brain. Being a brain scientist, she knew what was happening to her and was amazingly able to keep it together to get help. Within just a few hours she could no longer walk, talk, read or write. The book chronicles what it was like over the next 8 years - and what incredible lessons she learned. Turns out the Oprah did a piece about her and you can view it here.
1. I caught up on my workout blogging - Sweat Report. At the gym today I heard an old favorite by Van Morrison. Gotta love Van Morrison!
Wild Nights - Van Morrison
When I headed out to the gym this morning the windchill was -27F. Now that is COLD.
2. Researchers studying how hormones influence behavior reported this week that women with higher levels not only feel prettier, but they appear more attractive to others. Earlier this week, U.S. and British researchers showed that male financial traders whose finger lengths indicate high testosterone levels in the womb made more money.
3. I always wonder who is it who wants to be hired to be a sniffer for sweat studies? This week a report was released about a pheromone study done by Rice University psychologist Denise Chen and her colleagues. 20 heterosexual males were asked to stop wearing deodorant and scented products for a few days. Cotton pads were placed in their armpits and they watched some arousing fare. Those sweaty pads were removed and new pads were put in place to be worn while the men weren't stimulated. 19 courageous women were recruited to sniff the pads while simultaneously undergoing brain scans. According to the study, "Sure enough, the women's brains responded very differently depending on which sweat they sniffed. (And no, none of them passed out.) The sexual sweat, but not the normal sweat, activated the right orbitofrontal cortex and the right fusiform cortex, brain areas that help us recognize emotions and perceive things, respectively."
Basically, the gist of it is that you can probably smell someone is interested/in the mood whether it is something he wants to divulge or not.
Interesting factoid: A quarter of all people with smell disorders find that their sex drive disappears. To me that says that not all people with smell disorders have their pheromone receptor damaged. Definitely an fascinating science to explore.
I wonder how much sweat sniffers get paid? It's a pretty stinky job!
4. According to the Associated Press, booze sales are not recession proof. As the economy has slumped, so have beer sales.
5. I am reading a wonderful book: "A Stroke of Insight" by Jill Bolte Taylor, PHd. At age 37 this neuroanatomitist had a hemorrhage in her left brain. Being a brain scientist, she knew what was happening to her and was amazingly able to keep it together to get help. Within just a few hours she could no longer walk, talk, read or write. The book chronicles what it was like over the next 8 years - and what incredible lessons she learned. Turns out the Oprah did a piece about her and you can view it here.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Thoughts on a piece by John MacArthur, etc.
I'm planning on writing about false unity in the church, but this article by John MacArthur entitled "Raising the Error Alert" caught my attention today. Here is a snippet (click on the link for the full article):
Bible teaching, even in the best of venues today, has been deliberately dumbed-down, made as broad and as shallow as possible, oversimplified, adapted to the lowest common denominator-- and then tailored to appeal to people with short attention spans.
Sermons are almost always brief, simplistic, overlaid with as many references to pop culture as possible, and laden with anecdotes and illustrations. (Jokes and funny stories drawn from personal experience are favored over cross-references and analogies borrowed from Scripture itself.) Typical sermon topics are heavily weighted in favor of man-centered issues (such as personal relationships, successful living, self-esteem, how-to lists, and so on)--to the exclusion of the many Christ-exalting doctrinal themes of Scripture. In other words, what most contemporary preachers do is virtually the opposite of what Paul was describing when he said he sought "to declare . . . the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).
Not only that, but here's how Paul explained his own approach to gospel ministry, even among unchurched pagans in the most debauched Roman culture:
I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)
Notice that Paul deliberately refused to customize his message or adjust his delivery to suit the Corinthians' philosophical bent or their cultural tastes. When he says later in the epistle, "To the Jews I became as a Jew . . . to those who are without law, as without law . . . to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (1 Corinthians 9:20-22), he was describing how he made himself a servant to all (v. 19) and the fellow of those whom he was trying to reach. In other words, he avoided making himself a stumbling block. He was not saying he adapted the gospel message (which he plainly said is a stumbling block--1:23). He did not adopt methods to suit the tastes of a worldly culture.
Paul had no thought of catering to a particular generation's preferences, and he used no gimmicks as attention-getters. Whatever antonym you can think of for the word showmanship would probably be a good description of Paul's style of public ministry. He wanted to make it clear to everyone (including the Corinthian converts themselves) that lives and hearts are renewed by means of the Word of God and nothing else. That way they would begin to understand and appreciate the power of the gospel message.
--I've heard some try to say in his Mars Hill discourse that Paul was appealing to the culture by adapting to it yet he was not. He used a piece of their culture to point the way to God. That false understanding is often used to justify "seeker friendly" churches where outsiders can feel comfortable about all this Jesus stuff. Guess what? It's not comfort that leads us to Christ - it's stumbling. It's falling headlong into Him and denying ourselves. He's a stumbling stone and a rock of offense according 1o 1 Peter 2:8.
Itching ears crave to be tickled, so easy listening from the pulpit is trendy and hearing the "whole counsel of God" is not. Here's what John MacArthur says about "seeker friendly" churches in this article taken from his book "Ashamed of the Gospel."
-o-
And on another note -
People are frail. People trip up, they fall, they sin. What happened to grace? What happened to mercy? And what happened to standing up for what is right and true? What happened to bearing with one another, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave us? It seems like Colossians 3:13 and Ephesians 4:32 are too often tossed out like yesterday's news.
A friend called the other day hoping for help finding a good church in the area. Recently their pastor was forced into resignation by a board that has done this before. From all accounts this man's service really turned around that church after a very low time - and yet a group of power members under the banner of "church leadership" did not consult the rest of the Body or ask them for prayer about this decision (feeling they did not have to) and made a decision that has emptied their church. The rest of the body was expected to accept that decision and show unity...or leave. Most chose to leave. I definitely understood what she was going through - I told her we must live in parallel universes.
It gets very disheartening to hear once again of a church stabbing its own. It's shameful really - and so often it is done in the name of "church unity" and "obeying the leadership." How often do we see something done to someone else, something that seems terribly unjust and no matter how the Scriptures are bent and twisted, it just doesn't seem quite right. And yet we stick around - for all the wrong reasons. For fellowship, out of obligation, etc. Chances are that the discernment which screamed "This is wrong" will still be inside, crying out until you find out in the hardest way possible that you should have listened. Or worse yet, you might become numb to that voice. That deafness, I believe is, far, far worse.
If you do stick around, yet make your feelings known that you are not in agreement and don't want to be party to that sort of bogus Christianity, then guess what? You can expect to be an entertaining source of gossip. You will be called "poison" and other things. Unless you're willing to sit back and see injustice and all its ill fruits, you can expect a target drawn neatly on your back. It shouldn't come as a shock, after all Christians have a reputation for shooting their own wounded.
The - for want of a better word - cool thing about that is that when you find yourself being persecuted, there can be an amazing peace. What an opportunity it is to identify even in the slightest way with the mockery and suffering that Christ was up against! When you find yourself betrayed by those you thought were friends, who led you to trust them...you can rejoice knowing that it was a friend that betrayed the Lord. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:18 "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us."
Bible teaching, even in the best of venues today, has been deliberately dumbed-down, made as broad and as shallow as possible, oversimplified, adapted to the lowest common denominator-- and then tailored to appeal to people with short attention spans.
Sermons are almost always brief, simplistic, overlaid with as many references to pop culture as possible, and laden with anecdotes and illustrations. (Jokes and funny stories drawn from personal experience are favored over cross-references and analogies borrowed from Scripture itself.) Typical sermon topics are heavily weighted in favor of man-centered issues (such as personal relationships, successful living, self-esteem, how-to lists, and so on)--to the exclusion of the many Christ-exalting doctrinal themes of Scripture. In other words, what most contemporary preachers do is virtually the opposite of what Paul was describing when he said he sought "to declare . . . the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).
Not only that, but here's how Paul explained his own approach to gospel ministry, even among unchurched pagans in the most debauched Roman culture:
I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)
Notice that Paul deliberately refused to customize his message or adjust his delivery to suit the Corinthians' philosophical bent or their cultural tastes. When he says later in the epistle, "To the Jews I became as a Jew . . . to those who are without law, as without law . . . to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (1 Corinthians 9:20-22), he was describing how he made himself a servant to all (v. 19) and the fellow of those whom he was trying to reach. In other words, he avoided making himself a stumbling block. He was not saying he adapted the gospel message (which he plainly said is a stumbling block--1:23). He did not adopt methods to suit the tastes of a worldly culture.
Paul had no thought of catering to a particular generation's preferences, and he used no gimmicks as attention-getters. Whatever antonym you can think of for the word showmanship would probably be a good description of Paul's style of public ministry. He wanted to make it clear to everyone (including the Corinthian converts themselves) that lives and hearts are renewed by means of the Word of God and nothing else. That way they would begin to understand and appreciate the power of the gospel message.
--I've heard some try to say in his Mars Hill discourse that Paul was appealing to the culture by adapting to it yet he was not. He used a piece of their culture to point the way to God. That false understanding is often used to justify "seeker friendly" churches where outsiders can feel comfortable about all this Jesus stuff. Guess what? It's not comfort that leads us to Christ - it's stumbling. It's falling headlong into Him and denying ourselves. He's a stumbling stone and a rock of offense according 1o 1 Peter 2:8.
Itching ears crave to be tickled, so easy listening from the pulpit is trendy and hearing the "whole counsel of God" is not. Here's what John MacArthur says about "seeker friendly" churches in this article taken from his book "Ashamed of the Gospel."
-o-
And on another note -
People are frail. People trip up, they fall, they sin. What happened to grace? What happened to mercy? And what happened to standing up for what is right and true? What happened to bearing with one another, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave us? It seems like Colossians 3:13 and Ephesians 4:32 are too often tossed out like yesterday's news.
A friend called the other day hoping for help finding a good church in the area. Recently their pastor was forced into resignation by a board that has done this before. From all accounts this man's service really turned around that church after a very low time - and yet a group of power members under the banner of "church leadership" did not consult the rest of the Body or ask them for prayer about this decision (feeling they did not have to) and made a decision that has emptied their church. The rest of the body was expected to accept that decision and show unity...or leave. Most chose to leave. I definitely understood what she was going through - I told her we must live in parallel universes.
It gets very disheartening to hear once again of a church stabbing its own. It's shameful really - and so often it is done in the name of "church unity" and "obeying the leadership." How often do we see something done to someone else, something that seems terribly unjust and no matter how the Scriptures are bent and twisted, it just doesn't seem quite right. And yet we stick around - for all the wrong reasons. For fellowship, out of obligation, etc. Chances are that the discernment which screamed "This is wrong" will still be inside, crying out until you find out in the hardest way possible that you should have listened. Or worse yet, you might become numb to that voice. That deafness, I believe is, far, far worse.
If you do stick around, yet make your feelings known that you are not in agreement and don't want to be party to that sort of bogus Christianity, then guess what? You can expect to be an entertaining source of gossip. You will be called "poison" and other things. Unless you're willing to sit back and see injustice and all its ill fruits, you can expect a target drawn neatly on your back. It shouldn't come as a shock, after all Christians have a reputation for shooting their own wounded.
The - for want of a better word - cool thing about that is that when you find yourself being persecuted, there can be an amazing peace. What an opportunity it is to identify even in the slightest way with the mockery and suffering that Christ was up against! When you find yourself betrayed by those you thought were friends, who led you to trust them...you can rejoice knowing that it was a friend that betrayed the Lord. As the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:18 "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us."
Saturday, January 10, 2009
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