Depth of Mercy!

I've been downloading and listening to John MacArthur's series on the Book of Romans while I'm on the treadmill.  Since he preaches verse-by-verse, I'll be able to walk a lot of steps before he finishes all sixteen chapters.  In fact, the first sermon in the series, covered only the first "word" of the first verse of the first chapter of Romans.  What was the word you ask?  PAUL." I'm now ready for the fifth in the series and he's still on Romans 1:1-7.  

I'm learning so much and enjoying them immensely.  One of my favorite parts, so far, is how he incorporates quotes, poems, song lyrics and more into the sermons; many of them from the preachers of old.  The other day he quoted the first two verses of the Charles Wesley hymn entitled, "Depth of Mercy." 

The first thing I did after finishing my walk was to find the rest of the hymn. I know that the lyrics from today's contemporary Christian music can be powerful; but, oh my goodness, the words of this hymn are amazing.

Depth of mercy! Can there be
Mercy still reserved for me?
Can my God His wrath forbear,
Me, the chief of sinners, spare?

I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face,
Would not hearken to His calls,
Grieved Him by a thousand falls.

I have spilt His precious blood,
Trampled on the Son of God,
Filled with pangs unspeakable,
I, who yet am not in hell!

I my Master have denied,
I afresh have crucified,
And profaned His hallowed Name,
Put Him to an open shame.

Whence to me this waste of love?
Ask my Advocate above!
See the cause in Jesus’ face,
Now before the throne of grace.

Jesus, answer from above,
Is not all Thy nature love?
Wilt Thou not the wrong forget,
Permit me to kiss Thy feet?

If I rightly read Thy heart,
If Thou all compassion art,
Bow Thine ear, in mercy bow,
Pardon and accept me now.

Jesus speaks, and pleads His blood!
He disarms the wrath of God;
Now my Father’s mercies move,
Justice lingers into love.

Kindled His relentings are,
Me He now delights to spare,
Cries, “How shall I give thee up?”
Lets the lifted thunder drop.

Lo! I still walk on the ground:
Lo! an Advocate is found:
“Hasten not to cut Him down,
Let this barren soul alone.”

There for me the Savior stands,
Shows His wounds and spreads His hands.
God is love! I know, I feel;
Jesus weeps and loves me still.

Pity from Thine eye let fall,By a look my soul recall;

Now the stone to flesh convert,
Cast a look, and break my heart.

Now incline me to repent,Let me now my sins lament,

Now my foul revolt deplore,
Weep, believe, and sin no more.

If you'd rather listen than read, click here for a beautiful version of the hymn sung by the Soundforth Singers of Bob Jones University.

Walking is Good for You

I got my Fitbit more than a year ago and it, along with the Daniel Plan book, helped change my life.   I reached my goal weight last September, but I'm still careful about what I eat and I still try to walk 10,000 steps per day.  Since we moved to our new apartment I have been walking on the treadmill almost every day.  

Yesterday, however, was different.  We had several errands to do, but instead of driving, we decided to walk.  We left the apartment about 3:00 and got back home about 5:30.  Halfway through we stopped at the Galerias Mall, rested for a bit and had a snack.    

Altogether, we walked a 5K, and along the way I was able to buy several of the things I needed for the sewing ministry. 

Yes, walking is good for you!  If you don't have a Fitbit or another type of pedometer, I highly recommend you get one and get going!

What's for dinner?

I reached my goal weight sometime in the last month.  

Happy dance for sure.  Since then I have been trying to transition from weight-loss mode to maintenance mode.  For some reason, the transition always seems harder than it should be. 

For most of my life, dieting was the farthest thing from my mind as I was blessed with a fast metabolism.  In fact, it wasn't until after my kids were in high school, which put me in my late 40's, that I had my first, first-hand experience with a "diet."  Here was my plan--join Weight Watchers, lose the necessary weight and continue as before.  After a certain number of months/years, I would regain the lost weight and one of two things would happen:  1) Become my calorie-conscious self again or 2) Resign myself to the addition of 5 pounds and continue as before.

Anyway, the idea of maintaining a healthy weight was difficult.  I was good at dieting, but not good at what came after. So, fast forward to today and the thing is--I don't need to lose any more weight.  First, I can't afford to buy more new clothes in smaller sizes and I don't need to be at my pre-children fighting weight at this point in my life.  So, I've realized I need a strategy to have a successful transition.  There seem to be a couple of options:  1) Eat slightly larger portions of the same, healthy foods, 2) Reduce my activity level (walk fewer steps), 3) Ease up on the legalistic approach to the diet and occasionally enjoy something that is on the "not as good for you" list (can anybody say dessert), remembering that the Daniel Plan book encourages 90% compliance or 4) Do a combination of the above.  

One thing I know for sure, I want to stay on the healthy side of eating . . . now that I've cut most of the "white" from my diet (white rice, white bread, white pasta, white sugar), there's no reason to go back.  I also intend to stick with the organic choices, where possible, and to keep water as my beverage of choice.  That being said, I plan to monitor my weight and increase the protein portion sizes, if necessary, and, enjoy a protein-rich fruit smoothie for breakfast or snack each day.  As to reducing my exercise, I'd rather not back away from the 10,000 steps my body has become accustomed to walking; well, I probably could stop obsessing about reaching the daily goal to the point of walking around our neighborhood at 10:30 p.m.  So, I'm trying to think of my daily steps in terms of a weekly goal rather than a hard and fast daily goal.  

Anyway, this blog was supposed to be about dinner . . . . so my new approach to lunch/dinner has been taking advantage of the recipes in Cooking Light magazine.  (I'm so grateful for the technology that lets me subscribe to the magazine on my Kindle.)  Not every recipe makes the cut--some I don't like, some call for things that are impossible to get here in El Salvador and some, in my opinion, don't meet the Daniel Plan recommendations.  So, without further adieu, here are three of our recent meals:

Jamaican chicken with pineapple salsa, bean medley and sliced tomatoes.

Tilapia Veracruz, quinoa and roasted asparagus

Chicken thighs with peach salsa, Parmesan polenta and fresh green beans.

I'm not planning to become a food blogger (which is a good thing because my photo-taking skills are sadly lacking,) but I am trying to take the time to record the successes.  The proof in the transition plan is not what I'm doing/eating today, but what I'm doing/eating over the next six months.  For that, you'll just have to stay tuned.  

It's about the talk, not the walk

Before anyone jumps to the conclusion that I typed the title backwards, let me say that the reversal of the words was intentional.  While I agree that the age-old adage to "walk the walk" is more essential and, likely, more important than to "talk the talk," today's post comes from a different point of view. 

****If you just want to know the answer to the riddle, skip to the last paragraph.

If you are interested in the whole story, read on.  While in Kansas City during the holidays, I had my annual physical.  Although nothing was greatly amiss, the numbers were increasing and by numbers I mean weight, cholesterol, including triglycerides, blood pressure, etc.  It could be argued that most of them were not greatly outside the normal range for a woman my age; but, nevertheless, my doctor suggested it was time to halt the increases and, even better, reverse this trend.  Before we left Kansas City, I purchased the book, "The Daniel Plan" written by Pastor Rick Warren from Saddleback Church in California.   One of the things about that particular book that grabbed my attention was that it doesn't identify itself as a "diet"book, but rather a as a multi-faceted "get healthy" book.  In fact, the book suggests that a healthy lifestyle requires all five of the following:  faith, food, fitness, focus and friendship. 

I will admit that the whole concept was very convicting.  Here's a quote from the first chapter:

"Before you can make any healthy changes in your life, you must first believe those changes are possible.  Even more important, if you want God's help you must trust him to give you his power to change.  Jesus said, 'According to your faith let it be done to you' (Matthew 9:29).  If you don't trust God to help you get healthy, all you are left with is willpower--and you know from experience that willpower doesn't usually last very long."

There's so much more in the book on this subject, but a little taste is all I wanted to provide.   As a result, after returning from the states in January, I embarked on a journey to get healthy.  On January 10, I started following the food and fitness recommendations in the book.  I am still working to wrap my head around the concept that this is a new lifestyle, not a diet, and that I need to set more long-term goals than short-term goals.  So far, the food part has been easy, well, except for the extra prep work that is required here.  Two examples come to mind.  First, all fresh vegetables and fruits have to be washed and disinfected (15-20 minutes) before they are ready to be consumed and second, some items have to be "homemade" (almond milk, almond butter, applesauce, vegetable broth) because they are not available here.  

In the chapter on fitness, Pastor Warren suggests that a person is more likely to start (and continue) with a type of exercise they really enjoy, i.e. bike riding, dancing, aerobics, basketball.  That sounded great, but there wasn't anything on his list (and it was comprehensive) that sparked my interest.  As a result, I defaulted to something that everyone can do, that's easy and that costs nothing--walking.  My son and daughter-in-law gave me a Fitbit for Christmas (in February) and it has become a great motivator.  I've now realized that my day does include time to exercise, and I'm trying to make choices to walk instead of sit.

My morning now includes a walk around our safe, gated neighborhood.  I don't have a iPod or other .mp3 player, so I found walking alone relatively boring.  Then I realized that it was the perfect time to "talk" with my creator. Why hadn't I thought of this before?  Why have I struggled with prayer time and been so easily distracted by every single thing going on in my house when all it took to start talking was walking.  Let me tell you that there's nothing better than talking to someone who wants to hear every word, who is infinitely interested in everything you do and say and who loves you more than anyone else.  That's the answer to the riddle--my daily "walk" is about the "talk."  How long do I walk?  So far, at least 30 minutes, but longer if my Father and I have more to discuss.  I think, perhaps, that my higher numbers were God's way of encouraging me to find time to talk to Him.