We are getting back into the swing of regular blogging. My hope is to keep up the pace now that we are close to the beginning of school. Perhaps someone out in blog land reads this. Every so often I get a note from someone who does. Just remember these are fairly unfiltered thoughts expressed here. Spell check is used but other than that it is just whatever may be on my mind. Yes, this can be a bad thing but we will try to avoid too much mindless rambling. This is nothing more than my collection of thoughts on any given subject. I learned early on that not all people will agree but still we blog on!

Tonight my mind is on my physical body. It hurts. Yes, it is a good thing to exercise regularly but after some time it takes a toll. It surely does not help when you are pushing 50. Maybe all the exercise will pay off at the next doctor visit. My family history tells me that a little pain from running and lifting is better than the potential ailments that heredity may provide. This is honestly the primary reason for what I do. The second is simply that my autistic son can be quite the ball of energy. It doesn't seem wise to need traction after a full day of being with him. And so exercise will hopefully pay off when chasing him around from time to time. The last reason is the knowledge that I may have to work long past the usual retirement years. Odds are good that my retirement income won't be quite enough to quit at an early age. Even if there is a career change, there will still be the need to keep going for awhile. This is really not a complaint but just a statement of fact.

Staying in shape is not easy for anyone. A world class athlete works in extreme measures to remain in condition. For me it is hard especially not being a world class athlete. My rank is probably only a notch or two above couch potato. This body is not remotely close to being built for running. God gave me short legs despite also bestowing to me a long waist. It takes me twice as long it seems to get around the track. Yet most days of nights will find me out on the track trudging along the best I can. We usually have lots of Hispanic people at the school when it my time to run. I often wonder if those walking are discussing my lack of speed in Spanish! It is not good for the ego to hear a foreign language followed by laughter. Still we press on slowly like surely. My approach is much like Larry the Cable Guy. I just try to "get er done."

Let's aim for a spiritual application tonight. Exercise is a lot like growing spiritually. We talked about that some tonight in our prayer meeting. We can know tons about running styles but still resist actually going out our self. We may learn all the techniques of weight lifting but never hold a bar of iron in our hands. We need to actually apply our knowledge into actions that will shape us. My running/walking plan developed over time with lots of trial and error. My weight lifting approach is born of the same idea. There is still a lot of reading on exercise but it has to fit my need or ability. Whatever we do in spiritual growth is developed by a similar process.

We tend to expect people to grow in exactly the same way that we do. But every person is different. Some will enjoy spending lots of time reading the Bible. Some may focus on picking up only a verse or two along the way. There are some who pray wonderful prayers. Some others may talk to God in a more conversational tone. The examples are endless but the one central truth remains. We all can grow though it will reflect how God wired us. We just have to start somewhere in our life. You may start slow but my promise is that if you continue that you will see your entire life shaping up. It may even hurt at times. But the pain of letting God be God is far less than not being ready for real life. Now it's time for another Advil here. Got to feel better so I can enjoy my exercise all over tomorrow!

Bro. Trey