Thursday, November 3, 2011
Half full or half empty
Have I digressed or progressed? I am sabbathing, hardly watch tv and June packs me a lunch. Progress perhaps. The list of people to pray for gets longer and longer. My time gets shorter and shorter. I read that it is not about wanting to sabbath but needing to sabbath, especially when you don't think you have the time. That is when you need it the most. Lord give me strength each and every day to live a life that is pleasing to you. I have been going 100 mph at work since I got back. Maybe time to take a breather and just step back and look at what I have done in just a few weeks. Reassess and then adjust. I love work, I love my home. I just don't do anything else anymore except an occasional workout. I don't watch tv anymore, I hear it on in the background as I stare into my laptop screen. Balance and rhythm, balance and rhythm I keep telling myself. Saying is one thing, living it out is another. Well, this exercise because more and more crucial as I enter the busy holiday season. The rule of life will get tested for sure at Christmas. I am looking forward to the challenge.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Monday Oct 17, 2011
I did it. 6km jog on Sat. Yup and I am still sore all over. Felt pretty good though. I will attempt another run this week and soon as the screaming pain in my legs stop. Any day now. I have been sabbathing well. Broke it this Sunday though to edit a promo video for work. Didn't feel bad at all. Beginning to understand the monastic life...slowly. Exercise, sabbath, no fast food. It is becoming rhythmic. Ok, maybe the one run doesn't count as rhythm, but still felt good.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Day 18
I did it. I got home from work- saw that June and Rhys were both asleep( it was 7pm) I changed and rode the exercise bike for 15 mins, ran for 20 mins, and then did some light weights. I am sore today. How sad- but it is a start.
If you just read this blog, and not the other one- then just to let you know, I am sharing this sunday
Oct 9, at my church
details:
9:30am- Tenth Avenue Alliance Church-11 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver
10:30am- Kitsilano Highschool-2550 W 10th Ave Vancouver
11:30am- back at Tenth Avenue Alliance-11 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver
7pm-(for all you football fans and late night saturday partiers)- Tenth Avenue Alliance Church- 11 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver
hope to see you there
If you just read this blog, and not the other one- then just to let you know, I am sharing this sunday
Oct 9, at my church
details:
9:30am- Tenth Avenue Alliance Church-11 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver
10:30am- Kitsilano Highschool-2550 W 10th Ave Vancouver
11:30am- back at Tenth Avenue Alliance-11 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver
hope to see you there
Sunday, October 2, 2011
day 7-14
Is that right? Work has gotten pretty busy, which is the irony because the whole concept of the rule of life is balance. But, we keep talking about small steps, so I am taking the teeniest of weeniest steps in trying to achieve this balance. I am home for supper by 6:30 about 3 times a week. I have been able to leave the blackberry at home on the weekends. I stop checking it at 9:00pm Sat night for 24 hours and start up again Sunday night.
here again is my rules of life:
1. Caring for my body: Getting adequate sleep, exercise and practicing healthy eating habits
- exercise 3 times a week
- sleep min 7 hours a night
- eat better
2. Daily Prayer
- setting aside time such as when I am waiting for Rhys to fall asleep, or early morning when I first wake up
3. Daily Devotion- trying to keep it fresh and not feel like a chore or something I have to do
4. Having a sabbath- the blackberry will be off from 9:00pm sat to 9:00pm sun
I am still struggling with the exercise portion- a few of my co workers rode up from vancouver to whistler a few weeks ago on a saturday, so I really don't have any excuse.
I am eating better- no fast food and a packed lunch a few days a week.
It is currently 9:54 and I am going to put Rhys down and go to bed.
So again the point of this is not to feel like these are chores but to make them intentional habits. I hear that you have to do the same thing everyday for 2 weeks before it becomes a habit, so I will keep pressing on.
Daily prayer and devotion. Time will always be the excuse but I am taking the attitude of wanting to seek the time instead of trying to cram it in. It can be anywhere- it is a long drive to coquitlam in the mornings, and even just taking 15 mins midday to rest my hands- yup the numbness from chemo is still there.
The Sabbath has been great. I turned down the whitecaps game because I wanted to spend the afternoon with friends and family. Well worth it. There are days when I don't see Rhys because I leave the house at 6:00am and come back after she is asleep. This makes the weekends all the more precious. Yes, my golf game might suffer and so will my poker skills. Small price to pay- especially when your 3 year old, puts her hands on her head and keeps yelling dammit, dammit, dammit- whoops- I wonder where she learned that from...got her to say, Ah man instead.
Yup, Old habits die hard... which is good because once some of these rules become a habit, then they will be hard to break.
Laterz
here again is my rules of life:
1. Caring for my body: Getting adequate sleep, exercise and practicing healthy eating habits
- exercise 3 times a week
- sleep min 7 hours a night
- eat better
2. Daily Prayer
- setting aside time such as when I am waiting for Rhys to fall asleep, or early morning when I first wake up
3. Daily Devotion- trying to keep it fresh and not feel like a chore or something I have to do
4. Having a sabbath- the blackberry will be off from 9:00pm sat to 9:00pm sun
I am still struggling with the exercise portion- a few of my co workers rode up from vancouver to whistler a few weeks ago on a saturday, so I really don't have any excuse.
I am eating better- no fast food and a packed lunch a few days a week.
It is currently 9:54 and I am going to put Rhys down and go to bed.
So again the point of this is not to feel like these are chores but to make them intentional habits. I hear that you have to do the same thing everyday for 2 weeks before it becomes a habit, so I will keep pressing on.
Daily prayer and devotion. Time will always be the excuse but I am taking the attitude of wanting to seek the time instead of trying to cram it in. It can be anywhere- it is a long drive to coquitlam in the mornings, and even just taking 15 mins midday to rest my hands- yup the numbness from chemo is still there.
The Sabbath has been great. I turned down the whitecaps game because I wanted to spend the afternoon with friends and family. Well worth it. There are days when I don't see Rhys because I leave the house at 6:00am and come back after she is asleep. This makes the weekends all the more precious. Yes, my golf game might suffer and so will my poker skills. Small price to pay- especially when your 3 year old, puts her hands on her head and keeps yelling dammit, dammit, dammit- whoops- I wonder where she learned that from...got her to say, Ah man instead.
Yup, Old habits die hard... which is good because once some of these rules become a habit, then they will be hard to break.
Laterz
Sunday, September 18, 2011
day 6
saturday was a blur but i did begin rule 4, blackberry gets put down at 9:00pm on sat and will not be touched for 24 hours. I'm very excited but also nervous, they don't call it a crackberry for nothing.
day 4
Was at a work function all day. I need to find a way so the rules don't seem like a chore. I was at a charity golf tourney all day. That may count as exercise, as I tried to walk as much as I can. So lets check on progress. My pastor sent me a chart to help with this
while i would like to make the exercise one an annual event, thats not good. Ok, need a more intentional effort on the caring of the body, i have been getting lots of sleep but the exercise is tough and eating better is harder when you are at work, I need to pack a healthy lunch...
I have started a prayer wall. well, i have got a sticky post it pad to put up names of people I am praying for. Thats a start I guess
as for daily devotion, i began downloading different apps on the ipad. so it keeps it all fresh and interesting daily,
1. Caring for my body: Getting adequate sleep, exercise and practicing healthy eating habits
- exercise 3 times a week
- sleep min 7 hours a night
- eat better
2. Daily Prayer
- setting aside time such as when I am waiting for Rhys to fall asleep, or early morning when I first wake up
3. Daily Devotion- trying to keep it fresh and not feel like a chore or something I have to do
4. Having a sabbath- the blackberry will be off from 9:00pm sat to 9:00pm sun
You… | Rule of Life |
Daily/regularly | |
Weekly | |
Monthly | |
Quarterly/seasonally | |
Annually |
while i would like to make the exercise one an annual event, thats not good. Ok, need a more intentional effort on the caring of the body, i have been getting lots of sleep but the exercise is tough and eating better is harder when you are at work, I need to pack a healthy lunch...
I have started a prayer wall. well, i have got a sticky post it pad to put up names of people I am praying for. Thats a start I guess
as for daily devotion, i began downloading different apps on the ipad. so it keeps it all fresh and interesting daily,
1. Caring for my body: Getting adequate sleep, exercise and practicing healthy eating habits
- exercise 3 times a week
- sleep min 7 hours a night
- eat better
2. Daily Prayer
- setting aside time such as when I am waiting for Rhys to fall asleep, or early morning when I first wake up
3. Daily Devotion- trying to keep it fresh and not feel like a chore or something I have to do
4. Having a sabbath- the blackberry will be off from 9:00pm sat to 9:00pm sun
day 3
Gil's rule of life:(attempting rule of life)
1 . Caring for my body: Getting adequate sleep, exercise and practicing healthy eating habits
- exercise 3 times a week
- sleep min 7 hours a night
- eat better
2. Daily Prayer
- setting aside time such as when I am waiting for Rhys to fall asleep, or early morning when I first wake up
3. Daily Devotion- trying to keep it fresh and not feel like a chore or something I have to do
4. Having a sabbath- the blackberry will be off from 9:00pm sat to 9:00pm sun
You know how sometimes you get yourself all worked up for something you are going to do. Then you begin to do everything to get ready or setup to do the "thing". You spend time in scheduling and making plans to how to execute the thing. But then you don't actually get around to doing the actual thing. That's me this week. Also getting back into my work schedule was interesting. Waking up at 6am takes time to get use to. I started setting up a plan on how I was going establish monastic rhythm. I found myself making excuses like...the monks probably didnt have to balance budgets or attend 5 meetings a day. Haha. excuses excuses.
1 . Caring for my body: Getting adequate sleep, exercise and practicing healthy eating habits
- exercise 3 times a week
- sleep min 7 hours a night
- eat better
2. Daily Prayer
- setting aside time such as when I am waiting for Rhys to fall asleep, or early morning when I first wake up
3. Daily Devotion- trying to keep it fresh and not feel like a chore or something I have to do
4. Having a sabbath- the blackberry will be off from 9:00pm sat to 9:00pm sun
You know how sometimes you get yourself all worked up for something you are going to do. Then you begin to do everything to get ready or setup to do the "thing". You spend time in scheduling and making plans to how to execute the thing. But then you don't actually get around to doing the actual thing. That's me this week. Also getting back into my work schedule was interesting. Waking up at 6am takes time to get use to. I started setting up a plan on how I was going establish monastic rhythm. I found myself making excuses like...the monks probably didnt have to balance budgets or attend 5 meetings a day. Haha. excuses excuses.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
day 2
hmmm. I had 5 meetings at work today and had a chicken burger at wendy's for lunch. Off to a rough start.
small steps, I am going to bed now, because i have to wake around 6:15 tomorrow and that will give me 7 hours. i know that doesnt sound like much but for a guy who use to sleep 4-6 tops pre-cancer- 7 is a big improvement.
perhaps a bigger step tomorrow- again the idea is not out of duty or obligation but trying to set some rhythms and plus I think i read somewhere that it takes a person two weeks of doing the same thing before it becomes a habit. Also when it comes to exercise, you have to do it for 30 days before you get to feel the positive effects. Until them, you just gonna be super tired as your body gets used to it. So patience gil, give it a few weeks.
day 1
I did nothing- I was so busy, I couldn't do anything but I guess I should try to explain what I am trying to do before I tell you I didn't do it.
I have selected a few rules of life- some areas that I want to improve on. In order to try and establish some rhythms and intentionality in these areas, I am trying to examine my life- trim the fat so to speak and come up with something realistic and attainable. The four areas I have decided to work on is the following, in order of importance:
1. Caring for my body: Getting adequate sleep, exercise and practicing healthy eating habits
- exercise 3 times a week
- sleep min 7 hours a night
- eat better
2. Daily Prayer
- setting aside time such as when I am waiting for Rhys to fall asleep, or early morning when I first wake up
3. Daily Devotion- trying to keep it fresh and not feel like a chore or something I have to do
4. Having a sabbath- the blackberry will be off from 9:00pm sat to 9:00pm sun
So those are the 4 areas i am working on- not all at once as to not over exert myself
but as for day 1- I did do my daily prayer and read a short devotional but that was it. Not much of a start. But again, its about intentionality and balance. I need to be patient.
I have selected a few rules of life- some areas that I want to improve on. In order to try and establish some rhythms and intentionality in these areas, I am trying to examine my life- trim the fat so to speak and come up with something realistic and attainable. The four areas I have decided to work on is the following, in order of importance:
1. Caring for my body: Getting adequate sleep, exercise and practicing healthy eating habits
- exercise 3 times a week
- sleep min 7 hours a night
- eat better
2. Daily Prayer
- setting aside time such as when I am waiting for Rhys to fall asleep, or early morning when I first wake up
3. Daily Devotion- trying to keep it fresh and not feel like a chore or something I have to do
4. Having a sabbath- the blackberry will be off from 9:00pm sat to 9:00pm sun
So those are the 4 areas i am working on- not all at once as to not over exert myself
but as for day 1- I did do my daily prayer and read a short devotional but that was it. Not much of a start. But again, its about intentionality and balance. I need to be patient.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
day 0
I was asked by my pastor to participate in this kinda experiment. He is writing a book on a concept called- rule of life. its kinda hard to explain but here goes. monks live in this state of rhythms that shape who they are and what they believe. this experiment is trying to see if living in such an urban society, whether these rhythms can be accomplished. i know i am not explaining this very well but basically- i am trying to find a few things in my life that i am trying to change or work towards improving- instead of a routine, its more about developing a rhythm in doing things so they are not forced or obligated, but being intentional in devoting time to a specific area of my life. I figured the first blog worked out pretty well so i am going to use the blog world to journal through this 3 months experiment. it is a lot easier to explain in person and if you are interested, please call me and we can talk about it, (sorry ken, I hope i am not butchering the concept)
ok so very simple, i have outline 4 areas of my life that i feel need some structure, some rhythm. I have listed them from greatest importance to me, to least. I am going to try and introduce them slowly into my life. many of these things I am doing already but not with any kind of intentionality or consistency. tomorrow will be day 1 and we will see how it goes.
Is this enough to make you curious? Have I said a lot and also nothing? Will you check back in tomorrow to see what the heck I am talking about. I think I will leave it at that. More tomorrow...later
ok so very simple, i have outline 4 areas of my life that i feel need some structure, some rhythm. I have listed them from greatest importance to me, to least. I am going to try and introduce them slowly into my life. many of these things I am doing already but not with any kind of intentionality or consistency. tomorrow will be day 1 and we will see how it goes.
Is this enough to make you curious? Have I said a lot and also nothing? Will you check back in tomorrow to see what the heck I am talking about. I think I will leave it at that. More tomorrow...later
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