Change of topic

I had planned on writing about a certain "ah-ha" moment I had this morning, but wanted to put this out for your consideration (and flame, if you feel so inclined).

Ron Paul was interviewed on beliefnet.com. You can read the full article here. An interesting quote from it is this:

---quoted text below---

[Do you] consider yourself an evangelical?

Yeah, I do. But I’m not sure that every single person that uses those labels are absolutely uniform and that people know exactly what they mean… some evangelicals get a little bit annoyed because I’m not always preaching and saying, “I’m this, I’m this, and this.” I think my obligation is to reflect my beliefs in my life. I like the statement in the Bible that when you’re really in deep prayer you go to your closet. You don’t do it out on the streets and brag about it and say, “Look how holy I am.” If a person has true beliefs and is truly born again, it will be reflected in their life.
---end quoted text---

Well, for my $0.02, that hits it right on the head. I don't want any more public officials touting their religiosity and claiming that makes them more fit or others less fit for service. It seems to me that every time I hear of a public figure, whether that be politicians or entertainers, I usually end up thinking "I wish they wouldn't have drawn attention to themselves as models of faith and morality." If I recall correctly, Bill Clinton professed to be "an Evangelical Christian" and could quote bible verses with the best of them. All it take sis one seedy interlude with an intern and a cigar to shatter a man's integrity forever. I wish he had not said anything.

Maybe if more people (myself included without question) kept their faith behind closed doors and let it work out in their lives we wouldn't have politicians claiming a religion to win loyalty and votes. I'm sick of empty professions of faith from obviously shallow hypocrites.

Politicians: Show me what it means to you in how you live and how you govern, and I'll let that influence my vote.

Christians: Maybe if we banged fewer bibles and lived more like people changed by faith, others would be drawn to know more about that faith and Jesus instead of wanting nothing to do with us or Him.

Don't ask...

I did no working out last night. I worked late, Sandra was not feeling 100%, she went shopping for things we need, I bathed the kiddos, sat up with the baby, fell asleep exhausted.

I'm working all weekend, so I don't expect to do any working out this weekend, either.

Ugh....

Encouragement

Below is an email that I got from Sue in how she has trained herself to exercise and get in shape. She was going to post this on the blog, but the word limit cut her off and I thought it was good stuff, so I wanted to post it here.

Of course, my new excuse is that my wife and the kids have been sick since I last posted on this topic, so I haven't had a chance to work out. I'm literally going on a few hours of sleep a night, and I'm too tired. I know that is most likely only my "excuse du jour" but that's OK, too. I'm going to get started tonight if all goes well. I'll post tomorrow with the update. (Yikes, that seems like accountability!)

==================
Message from Sue below
==================

Greg, Greg, Greg . . . I'm feeling ya buddy. I was going to call, but decided an email would work. Hear sympathy in my voice, with an underlying sternness. Anyone can talk themselves out of anything (it's too early, it's too late, I'm too full, I'm too hungry). Anyone can talk themselves into anything (this is perfect, I feel great, this is a good thing).

I needed a set scheduled day and time. I couldn't do every other day; on the night I had to workout I'd think how good it was not to workout the night before and talk myself out of it, so I workout consecutive nights – Sunday-Thursday at 8:00 p.m. no ifs, ands, or buts. I take off Fridays and Saturdays and live a little – I'm worth it. If it works better for you, workout Monday through Thursday, leaving a night for flexibility and if you do workout all four days, you've worked out more than half the week.

Eliminate all the obstacles. Leave the door open so you see it all the time. Put your workout shorts/t-shirt in plain view, right there to see all the time, I even put mine on a half hour beforehand to get me in tune and also so the family remembers. Put an old pair of tennis right by your machine to use, so you don't have to wait for your daily ones to dry. You need a timer to set at 30 minutes the moment you walk into your workout room so when someone comes in you can say I have 12 minutes left – just about done. You have to set a scheduled time like 8:00 p.m.; right after the girls go to bed. If the girls happen to stay up a little later to finish a movie, we high-five and blow kisses as they go by and they know I'll be in in 16 minutes to give them a sweaty, stinky hug and kiss – they get a kick out of this actually.

Lastly, keep in mind it takes three weeks for something to become a habit. Not only for you for it to become a habit, but for your family too. They will learn and understand it's time for you to workout and respect that, your guilt does go away. You are the only one that feels the guilt, they don't. Squeeze out some willpower and you need to start your workout tonight my man, you can do it. By three-weeks time, by February 1st, it will be a habit and you won't think anything of it when it comes to a workout. You will be fully in sync - mind, body and spirit.

Love ya! ~Sue

How are your resolutions going?

Well, here we are, 10 days into the new year. How are your resolutions going?

I resolved long ago not to tie resolutions to the new year. To me, if something was worth doing, it was worth doing right now and not waiting for the new year. I try to do things that way. However, this year I decided that I would start working out 3 times a week and that I would wait until after the Christmas rush to begin.

Well, I bought a nifty home gym. I tore apart half my old office to fit it in there with the stationary bike. I researched workout plans. I came up with a workout plan. I put the plan in a spreadsheet. I'm all ready.

I have yet to work out...

I just can't seem to muster the energy after working all day to tell my kids I have to stop playing with them so that I can go into the "gym" and work out. I'm tired. I get up early and stay up late trying to cram all the other good things into my life. My youngest still likes to get up several times in the night to eat, and while I don't have to feed her, I am a light sleeper and wake up anyway. I just can't figure out how people do this.

Any suggestions? I really want to be in good shape for my kids, mostly. We started our second round of children later in life, and I want to be able to do things with them all throughout their childhoods. I don't want to be the "old, broken dad" who could never do anything too exciting. I just really need to figure out how to work all this in.

Clarifying

I had a discussion with a good friend about my "Common Sense Principle" post, where they wondered if I was talking about them. They wondered if I was sending a message to them without trying to seem offensive and avoid confrontation. I assured them I was not, and as I read that post I started wondering if I had actually made more people think I was talking to them. Let me explain my last post.

I'm following the political caucuses and am constantly irritated by politicians who say they are champions for the middle class, yet line their pockets with money and favors from special interest groups. That was reason number one in my last post. Republican, democrat; there ain't a dime's worth of difference in either of them.

I also work for a government agency. It's difficult to decipher the real goals of the people I work with daily - and I'm not saying that they are all wrong or deceitful. I'm simply saying that the way government seems to work in my decade of public service is that everyone tries to tell everyone else just enough to get them to do whatever it is they want them to do. Whether that is to vote for them or to buy a pen, it makes no difference. We have trouble being up front and honest in most communication. Contrary to cinematic assertion, I think we *can* handle the truth.

So I apologize to you, my good friend, and hope that you understand my last point better today. I also have not missed the irony that I did exactly that same thing in that last post. I said only enough to help people think what I wanted them to think. I'll try to do better next time.

I also promised that, should I have an issue with them, I would not blog it to them. I will come directly to them. Who knows, perhaps 2008 will be the year of the new, improved, straight-talking Greg...

Common sense principle

I'm just wondering if there is such a thing as common sense any more. Too often it seems to me that people love to get hung up in debate over secondary elements, and if we simply apply the principle of common sense the answers will be clear.

I recently heard someone tell me that when a person will not respond to logic or common sense, there is something they are not telling you that blinds them to both. That helps in dealing with the frustration, but not the irritation I always feel when I find out someone has a hidden agenda.

Politicians are the worst for this, aren't they?

Hi, Sue...

2008 has begun. We shared the turning of the calendar with dear friends (although we celebrate EST new year instead of CST now that we all have little kids...). It was a great evening of feasting, friends and fun.

We talked about what we plan to work on this coming year little bit, and as I woke this morning I decided that I would make an effort to keep my blog updated this year. Sue always mentions it to me when I see her, so my first blog of the year is simply to say "Hello, Sue."

To everyone, I hope your year turned over safely and among dear friends, too.