Raise the Gaze

121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore. Psalm 121(KJV)

Morning Exhortation

Never expect God to do a miracle when proper prior planning, hard work, and patience (God’s ordinary means of grace) are enough to get the job done. When Peter was in prison chained between two soldiers, God sent an Angel to bring him out. His chains fell off and the locked gate opened by itself before them. Once outside in the street though, the Angel left Peter to carry on alone by his own ordinary means (Acts 12:1-11). And so, God deals with each of us today. When a miracle is called for, faith receives the will of God. But to expect a miracle to make up for poor planning, a lack of effort, or a desire for instant gratification is to tempt God (Exodus 17:7). Thus, is wisdom profitable to direct in all things (James 1:5).

Wisdom is harder to define than it is to recognize. Wisdom is the God given ability to do all that we know is right (Proverbs 2). Wisdom is needed for both spiritual and physical matters as the one affects the other in this life. Doing all that you know to be right spiritually and physically is to sow precious seed that will surely bring forth the harvest of a totally transformed life (Hebrews 12:1-2; Galatians 6:7, 5:16-26; James 4:1-10). Ask God for a singleness of eye that is focused on Christ (Matthew 6:22-23; Ephesians 5:14). Be quick to turn from all that leads to darkness and death (1 John 1:9; Psalm 81:10). Hunger and thirst for righteousness and you will come to know (Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 5:6). Build on eternal things as true progress only happens with gains in faith, hope, and love (Colossians 2:1-3; Hebrews 6:11-20; 1 Corinthians 13:13).

Here’s what my numbers looked like today:

• waist circumference: 35.5″ (measured with tape parallel to the floor at belly button level)
• body weight: 215.0 lbs.

Today’s Workout

My workout this morning was a little rushed. I’ve been getting in a second workout at lunch time for the past few weeks. Just a walk that has now become a Ruck with a 20 pound rucksack. We’ll have to see how long it takes me to get back to my earlier Army minimum of 40 pounds. Spring is in the air though. The weather getting warmer means that a noon workout brings the sweat with its the need to shower after. Not a lot of time for all that during lunch, so this morning I’ve decided to move my Ruck right after my morning workout with weights. Then there is this post. Progress pictures and blogging both take time away from my morning routine. I managed to get it all done by the grace of God.

The emphasis of this morning’s workout was power. My favorite tool for power is the kettlebell, and the snatch is the Czar of kettlebell moves. This is the second time in the last two weeks that I’ve done a snatch ladder. Last week I used a single 16kg kettlebell. Other than getting me breathing hard, the 16kg proved to be fairly easy. Bumped it up a little to a 20kg kettlebell this morning. Great workout! Tough, but no so tough I needed to fall on the floor like a mass of limp noodles. I’ll probably repeat this workout one day next week to see if I can do the whole ladder without sitting the kettlebell down for a break.

I also warmed-up with 5 minutes of jump rope. It has been about 15 years since the days when I used to do 10 minutes of jump rope to warm-up before every workout. I’d like to get back to that. Right now though, I’m so out of practice that I think I caught the rope on my feet more than jumping it. Let us remember not to despise small beginnings (Zechariah 4:10)