Baby Steps...

Good Monday morning from Casa de Keil in West Clinton...

As some of you may have noticed on my Facebook and Twitter, I have been starting to use the treadmill.  Since Stephenie moved to SE Oklahoma, she left the treadmill with us so mainly Dad can still run and train for his 5K's and to keep himself healthy.  After the first of the year, I decided to start getting on the treadmill to get healthy myself.  So I started out walking on the treadmill for 10 mins about twice a week.  I have since started (as of today) to go every other day (Mon/Wed/Fri), still for 10 mins.  Once that's pretty well established, I'll bump it up to 15 mins and so on.

I said when I started that I may not get to the 5K or half-marathon pace that Dad and Stephenie are at, but at least I am making an effort.

As for my appetite...that's another ball game all together.  Yes, I see pics of different things like a Jiggs Wooly Burger or watch shows on Food Network or go on food sites and my taste buds go bonkers.  That's another thing I need to tackle too without going off the deep end.

It's going to be a labor of love for me, I know...especially (if you have read my previous blog entries) since I'm doing my best and following what God wants me to do.  But as we know from Romans 8:28 (NIV) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

That's about it for right now.  Until next time...

Need Protection? Call Psalm 91!

As I am writing this, today is January 15.  I believe I've shared this before on here, so if I have, bear with me.

It was on this date in 1991 that my faith and who I was got put to the test in a major way.  In case you have forgotten, it was about this time in 1991 that our Armed Forces were in the Middle East getting ready to kick Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.  I was in the Army National Guard at the time here in Oklahoma and our unit was on "standby".  I knew that meant that there was a possibility I could have been sent over to fight, so I really had to learn to trust in the Lord.  And fittingly, Psalm 91 was the Scripture that immediately came to mind. From the New Living Translation...

1Those who live in the shelter of the Most High

will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2This I declare about the Lord:

He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;

he is my God, and I trust him.

3For he will rescue you from every trap

and protect you from deadly disease.

4He will cover you with his feathers.

He will shelter you with his wings.

His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

5Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,

nor the arrow that flies in the day.

6Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,

nor the disaster that strikes at midday.

7Though a thousand fall at your side,

though ten thousand are dying around you,

these evils will not touch you.

8Just open your eyes,

and see how the wicked are punished.

9If you make the Lord your refuge,

if you make the Most High your shelter,

10no evil will conquer you;

no plague will come near your home.

11For he will order his angels

to protect you wherever you go.

12They will hold you up with their hands

so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.

13You will trample upon lions and cobras;

you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

14The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.

I will protect those who trust in my name.

15When they call on me, I will answer;

I will be with them in trouble.

I will rescue and honor them.

16I will reward them with a long life

and give them my salvation.”

I took this to mean that if our unit was called to go, I have this assurance that God and His angels would protect me.  Of course you know the rest of the story...after kicking Saddam's butt out of Kuwait, President Bush the elder called a cease-fire and that was the end of that.

So I can imagine what the men and women today who are having to go to Afghanistan are going through...and those who have gone over all this time.  They don't know what's going to happen over there, but (at least to me anyway) they have the assurance that if they trust in the Lord and seek refuge in Him, He will protect them.

Forgiveness is NOT an Option!!!

First blog post of 2013 and I already have to break out the soapbox...

As you know, Baltimore Ravens LB Ray Lewis is playing his last round of playoffs starting today.  While he may be a lock to have a bust in Canton (Ohio), some people are making a mountain out of a mole hill about an incident in his past...I'm talking about him being acquitted of a murder charge several years ago.

With that in mind, I bring up this point and it has been brought up so many times in several different scenarios...if a Loving, Just and Righteous God can forgive Ray Lewis, why can't we?  Why do we fish for something that's been put in the Sea of Forgetfulness?  Answer me that!!!