When you type "mzellen.com", it takes you right to the new site.
What is left is administrative stuff.
There are now over 339 broken links (I thought they would resolve, but not yet)
Even though the web sends you to the right place the first time (no redirect), but the address in the address bar still only reads the IP address.
I got the boomwhackers
I got the rhythm sticks...
we're ready to go.
1 Corinthians 15:3
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
When I listen to a message I ask, "could this message have been given if the grave is not empty?"
There are a couple of terms I've been hearing
We speak of these things in terms of what we do for/with others on this earth; if we leave out the "why", we all lose.
To leave this out - we are left with nothing more than a devotional that could be preached in a Mormon church, in a Buddhist temple, in an atheistic social center.
I've heard "Jesus transforms lives" - which is no Gospel at all.
I have a friend whose great-aunt married an abusive man. They joined the Mormon church and he stopped beating her. The Mormon church transforms lives.
September 11, 2001 showed us the power of 19 men in airplanes to transform lives (and not in a good way).
I don't want to have to listen to a podcast in order to hear the Gospel.
At some point I'll get "official" on Thursday 13 again...but for now...
13 "baby steps" - goals that I won't meet, but that are good enough to try for
As I am working on socks, these will fill the "shoes with toes" requirement for work, but still let me show off pretty socks.
I'm currently knitting my first ever sock. I've knitted a lot, but never socks or mittens (double pointed needles). My newest most favorite yarn shop showed me a new method that really works...but...
I started the thing many times (Tom doesn't know how many times.) I ripped it apart, wound the yarn back up and started again.
Each time I used the same pattern, the same needles, the same yarn. I kept doing it and doing it and doing it and each time I discovered a little something that was giving me trouble.
Eventually, it clicked. And I think I'm going to find socks quite rewarding.
It struck me that my walk with God is something like that. I have the right tools. He has given me what I need and He will continue to do so.
Each time I get a little further. Each time I discover something I didn't "get" before. But each time I end up unraveling and beginning anew.
Each and every day, I end up with a greater understanding of my own sin, my failure, my need for a Saviour.
Each and every day, He provides what I need.
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in him." (Lam 3:22-24)
"For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Romans 8:24-25 ESV)
Oh...my...goodness...
Time with my sisters-in-law is not good for the diet. And winter is not good for the exercise plan.
So...baby steps.
This week I will:
follow Weight Watchers Flex Plan (that leaves me lots of room for treats)
Emphasis is on:
I split my supplements into 4 groups, AM, Lunch, PM, and bedtime. That gives me 28 groups of pills. The habit of the week is to remember my supplements 25/28 times.
We finally settled on a church. Well, the kids like it; I settled.
I will not become a "member", but will become active in some of the ministries and studies. There are issues, but this little church does seem to be the best thing going around here that is both acceptable to me and attractive to the kids.
I took the fall off of college (and will take the winter off as well). There's time to decide what to do with the rest of my life.
Right now, it feels good to reconnect with "me", not just barrel through classes.
I moved classrooms again. Each time I move I dread it. Each time I end up glad that I moved. This time...the staff that I worked with last year tell me that I'm blessed that I got moved (I won't go further that that). One of the staff that I worked with last year is the choir director; since I'm not in that room, I'm free to explore music options. I'm starting a bell choir (I'm sure you'll read more)
I took up bike riding. That feels good also. I'm indoors for the winter, but I'm planning a few things for spring.
My philosophy for exercise is to do it the way my ancestors did; they were in it for the long haul. Before exercise was optional, people didn't run marathons, they walked across the country. Life was less a matter of "let's go as fast as we can for as long as we can". It was a matter of "let's go at a sustainable pace for as long as it takes to get there."
It makes more sense in that paradigm to ride at 12 MPH for 65 miles than it does to ride at 18 MPH for 2 hours.
As long as my heart rate is at a workout level, I'd rather go a little slower and enjoy the ride.
My plans are to take a few "overnighters". Ride to my dad's house on the other side of the state - take a spin along the lake shore. Maybe get the gear that I need to go camping on a bike:
the rest is minor.
The last major thing is a new vehicle.
We went to Chicago to celebrate with my sisters-in-law and on the way there the transmission on my car "died". We got there, but would not have gotten home. I am related to a very special woman who made it possible for me to get a 2004 Honda Pilot with pretty low mileage and a lot of features that I like.
I really didn't want a car payment, but life makes it necessary. With a 6-cyclinder SUV, my chosen summer life-style is much more possible. I can put the bike in the back, I can pull the camper up a hill...
As with the bike, there are a couple things that will be added.
Today I reboot the whole diet thing. You all know the routine...
I'm focusing on one habit each week (my weeks start on Friday). This week will be supplements. Next week, water.
The last thing I'm going to mention is something that only a few people will "get". I think I figured out "the sock".
I'm tackling knitting socks for the first time ever and I broke my personal record for the number of times I started the project over again.
I'm using the "magic loop" method and I think what's making it harder for me to accomplish getting started is the fact that I'm left-handed so everything is backward.
But I think I've gotten it (until next time).
Tom is just hoping that he has two socks eventually.
[further note: I've got way too many little blogs for record keeping. Silly, but it works for me. Little by little, as there's something to post, I'll post links. Craft patterns (to keep track of what yarns and tools I use and where I buy stuff); diet logs (nobody here really wants to know what I had for breakfast); cycling information (just when DID I get those new tires and how long did it take me to ride to Sand Lake and back?)
Next post...2009 "goals and objectives" (we do not call them "resolutions", since they are very flexible)