A Bit Late...

A dear sister sent this to me on Wednesday, but in the wild and crazy this week I haven't gotten to post it until now. Perhaps we'll miss Fitness Friday this week in favor of just this?

Good morning beloved,

Thought of you and wanted to celebrate the anniversary of this saint's passing into glory. A day like this do we all long for; when we shall see him as he is!

The day before his death, Owen wrote to a friend...

I am going to Him whom my soul has loved, or rather who has loved me with an everlasting love—which is the whole ground of my consolation…I am leaving the ship of the church in a storm; but whilst the great Pilot is in it, the loss of a poor under-rower will be inconsiderable. Live, and pray, and hope, and wait patiently, and do not despond; the promise stands invincible, that He will never leave us, nor forsake us.

The next day, William Payne, a Puritan minister of Saffron Waldon, arrived to tell Owen that the first sheets of Meditations on the Glory of Christ had passed through the press. With uplifted eyes and hands, Owen replied...

I am glad to hear it; but, oh brother Payne, the long wished for day is come at last, in which I shall see that glory in another manner than I have ever done, or was capable of doing, in this world.

328 years ago today, (August 24, 1683) John Owen met his Savior face to Face. He was buried in Bunhill Fields beside many of his Puritan contemporaries.

Few there are that die so well.

Fitness Friday!

Welcome Friday!

I am currently sipping a morning cup of tea in a bright and sunny kitchen getting geared up for another day. This week is almost over and so is my summer holiday. On Monday, things (school) will be again as normal. It's been a fabulous holiday: Trip to England, Cassie's wedding(!), visit with the Blairs, and our 6th annual Edisto family reunion were just a few of the highlights. Meanwhile, I've worked through a couple of books: Passion and Purity, by Elizabeth Elliot; The Problem of Pain, by C.S. Lewis; The Chestnut King, N.D. Wilson; Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be, by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck; One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp.

AND...the moment you've been waiting for (or "for which you have been waiting" to be grammatically correct)!!!

...I started a new habit of exercising! SarahB can tell you that for years I have been untouchable on the subject: disinterested and unmotivated. In a little over two months I've gone from no exercise to jogging/running a couple times a week.

I began by walking our dog (Tebow) and adding a few jogging intervals to keep him paced with me. (He's a Jack Russel /Greyhound mix.) It worked tremendously well. And, it was good for both of us! After that, a friend of mine, Brianna, suggested that we run together. Now I had a partner! (Which helps a lot in the area of motivation.) After two weeks of running together, we ran a 5K. It was hard! However, it felt really great to work so hard and feel so good afterward. Since then, we've been training to run a 5K on Labor Day.

This morning, we ran a flat course and timed ourselves. In the next two weeks we will be running the entire 5K distance to practice leading up to the event.

That concludes this Fitness Friday update! Have a marvelous weekend!

Sports Announcing

*Danelle, this post is written with you particularly in mind*

Over the summer (actually for the past four summers) my brothers have played rugby here in Charlotte. Our family has enjoyed learning the game and Daddy has found a treasure-trove of games on You Tube (some as far back as 1994). After lunch we've started watching 20-30 minutes of rugby before we get back to the school and work, etc. This was a "conversation" that the boys had while we were watching the other day – just a little peek into personalities:

Noah: "Oh yeah, come on! Do your stuff! Nail it! Drive it!"
Ethan: "I don't really care what you do, just make a point."

Still Counting How He's Always There in Grace

"How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings."
~Psalm 36:7

#598-621 ...of the thousand, endless gifts...numbering His love...

598. long Monday conversations with dear friend – so good and He knows how to cheer us on our way

599. moderate workout...modifying it for the sick days

600. yes!...Cassie's house today

601. late night prayer times and He hears and oh, how it rejoices and soothes quiet this faint-weary, struggling heart

602. just this: how He takes all that's broken and sin-wracked – all this ugly and makes beautiful. Just how He takes the black and broken notes of this life and turns them into the beauty-song of grace

603. knowing enough of Him to trust...on cloudy days the sun's still shining

604. "ya know, the Lord's not really concerned about our comfortableness"...and how it rings true today

605. hard thanks...still good and so faithful and oh, how He helps us to trust until that day – oh for the faith to melt into sight

606. pearl earrings

607. all the laundry folded and stacked neat so late on Saturday...still good

608. fifty-six pairs and twelve strays and the feet that they hold

609. sweaty workout clothes and prayers on the run – how He loves to hear

610. just this morning

611. waking the boys up gentle, whispering of His Day in the dark

612. all this joy spilling over on His Day

613. fellowship and eating together

614. "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity."

615. ice cream with chocolate sauce and friends on a hot afternoon

616. how He provides a cool place to worship on so warm days and us all cheerful and working hard to carry books and bulletins and cups of water

617. singing so loud – how it cheers the heart

618. red hymnals

619. the way good friends can just talk with each other

620. curtain rod getting hung

621. chocolate chips

Fitness Friday

Well, I was going to write a post about running shoes but.... I decided to write my workout schedule instead. It seems logical to begin the Fitness Friday post venture with my fitness routine. Hopefully (!) Lily will write hers next week and then... maybe a post on tennis shoes.

So, here's my normal, when everything goes as I plan, fitness schedule, without explanation (for now) or apology:

Sunday:
The Lord's Day. It's a taste of Heaven: we don't count carbs; we don't read how many grams of sugar are in anything; we don't jog or sweat (except for church clothes reasons) or strengthen and stretch. Really? Do you think we'll be doing all that in heaven?

Monday:
running (usually, but sometimes I just do resistance training and no cardio)
legs and lower body muscle strengthening

Tuesday:
jump rope for 10 minutes, run for 10 minutes and bike for 10 minutes
arms and upper body muscle strengthening

Wednesday:
STEP aerobics (sometimes...I haven't been able to get a STEP yet so this is a bit tricky and it depends on how motivated I am. But when I do it, I do it on Wednesdays and when I don't, I bike)
legs and lower body muscle strengthening

Thursday:
off day

Friday:
bike
arms and upper body resistance training

Saturday:
running
legs and lower body resistance training

Ten Followers and Tuna Recipe

This recipe is the result of some follower envy and comment love today. A friend of mine (yes, I'm privileged enough to know this hilarious, godly lady in real life) asked for the recipe that I mentioned here (#282). It's been a fun round of comments today resulting in this recipe. Enjoy! It's one of my most favorites.

Sesame Seared Tuna

4 (6-8 ounce) tuna steaks
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup sesame seeds
wasabi paste
1 tablespoon olive oil

1. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, honey and sesame oil. Divide into two equal parts. Stir the rice vinegar into one part and set aside as a dipping sauce.

2. Spread the sesame seeds out on a plate. Coat the tuna steaks with the remaining soy sauce mixture, then press into the sesame seeds to coat.

3. Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet over high heat until very hot. Place steaks in the pan, and sear for about 30 seconds on each side. Serve with the dipping sauce and wasabi paste.

This serves 4-6 people (depends on the gender ;)