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Ch-ch-changes

This morning I decided to come up with new lyrics for Old 100th or the Doxology for use during our children's service. I love "praise God from whom all blessings flow", but it's hard to explain some of those concepts to a 3-year-old. I was trying to keep the same scan (number of syllables in time to the music), but I kept trying out different sentences. This floated to the top of my consciousness several times today until I finally solved the problem.

At one point, I was showering at the gym when I realized, I was singing to myself, not opera-style, but loudly enough that people nearby could hear me. I didn't stop, though, but kept going.

The novelty in this sentence isn't that I kept singing, it's that I was doing it in the shower at the gym. The gym that I have managed to visit every day this week.

Like so many people, I've made many resolutions about getting in better shape. I've joined gyms before. And I've never made it past about a week and a half. The effort would get to me. I wouldn't make the time and I'd always have excuses.

However, in mid-October, I decided I was done with that. I sought a new gym location. I made a new plan. I wear my workout clothes out of the house every day. The idea was that even if I didn't workout, I was still developing a habit. I've now worked out consistently for 3 weeks and I feel like a commercial.

I have more energy!

I have more stamina!

I feel stronger!

I'm happier!

In all honesty, I realized the other day that I haven't wanted to lay down on my couch and take a nap for a few weeks. And I'm really looking forward to working out. In fact, I feel disappointed when I realize I need to quit what I'm doing and get to work.

Which brings me back to my original point. I don't entirely know how, but my mind works in a different way when I'm exercising. It's like I can feel the synapses firing with new frequency and connections. Problems turn in my head and surface and I feel things coming to light. Exercise is helping me be better at my job.

This is still a new discipline for me, but the fact that I'm enjoying myself is going a long way toward becoming a habit.

New lyrics:

Thank God for everyone I know
For sky above and earth below
Thank God for moon and stars and sun
Thank God for family, food and fun.

Comments

LoieJ said…
Good for you on both counts. Maybe my husband, a lay person who attends the weekly text study at our church, has the right idea. He's rigged up his ski machine with a board to hold his Bible, so he exercises, a lot each week, but on Tuesday evenings, he reads the lessons. BTW, our church is one of 30 in the ELCA using the new narrative lectionary.
November 19, 2010 at 7:05 AM
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