Sunday Morning Freewrite Fifteen: Well Update

Well-Watered Soul/Well-Adjusted Heart

On this momentous occasion, I am combining SOUL/HEART in one. It seems like I talk about my SOUL, and when I get down to the HEART part, it has already been covered in SOUL. Our SOUL and HEART are intertwined. So, I am going to do my updates this way from now on. (Not that anyone care or reads these things, but I need to have it that way in my mind!)

Well, my soul is watered today. Nancy keeps telling me that when she goes on her big runs up into the hills, she has a spring that reminds her of me, and she prays for me based on the spring. She keeps saying that is always flowing, even in the heat of summer when all the other springs in the area are dry. Then she texts me and tells me. How sweet.

What is our constant Source? Duh! Jesus! But I think that many go to other springs that do run dry in the heat of summer. I went to a banquet called the Parade of Champions last week, and I just saw the futility of looking for our source at anywhere else but the capital "S" Source! Glory in sport. I dreaded going, but it was lovely to see old friends, and many of them were honored, but the tone was women's sports was the pinnacle of it all. It sort of made me gag. I prayed that God would show me why I was there since I really am not that into sports anymore (even though I am a college athlete). God sovereignly place my coach before me (I think I already free wrote about this, but it bears repeating) when she was supposed to be at a head table and all the table people requested to sit with her. At the end of the banquet she said (with a thick Japanese accent), "Little Carol, you were my 'ground'.  I sometimes get all the teams I ever coached mixed up in my mind, but I will never forget you."  My husband said, "Do you me Little Carol 'grounded' you?" She replied with an affirmative, "YES!"  I think it was because I just saw through the futility of all it all even back in 1978 at 19 years old. Aki (my coach) knew that I knew that there was more to life than putting a silly orange ball through a ring 10 feet above the ground, and it certainly wasn't something one gave their life to.

She has since retired and seen more of the spiritual side of life. She always introduces me as "Coaches Sweetheart." I love that woman.

After she said that, I embraced her and kissed her on the cheek with a tear. There was a reason why I came to that silly event! It is all about the people you encounter along the way and even silly events or silly sports put you in contact with those you would never encounter any other way.

If only I could convince my kids this because we have trained them to think sports are stupid, and we have neglected to really help them to see the benefits.  My bad.

Anyway, I also ran into a girl who is a former basketball player (1999-2003) who is a follower of Jesus. It was nice to sit next to her and be encouraged at her love for Him! YAY God.

Woops. Fifteen minutes is up, but I will keep on going because I want to do a full update. Maybe ten more minutes will do it. (Oh that was Leslie telling me she was going to church and not my timer, but it almost was because there was one minute to go!)

Well-Educated Mind

I am loving this. See my quote from Audrey Assad below about good art, books, and music. Love her philosophy about that.

I am loving the Invitation to the Classics list which evaluates classics from a Christian worldview. I didn't like 100 Great Books. I won't be recommending that list to anyone, and I am thinking I like the ITC one even better than The Well-Educated Mind list, but really the TWEM list taught me a ton that I really appreciate but did not necessarily enjoy where I am enjoying everything the ITC one puts out. They are discrete and protective of my spiritual side. There are some books on the TWEM list I think SW Bauer should take out! YUCKY!

Anyway, I am starting The Shorter Summa, and I love it. I don't think I need to read all of the Summa Theologica by Aquinas. The Shorter Summa is really all I need. It is concise and thoughtfully abridged. Thank you Peter Kreeft for saving me from 3,000 pages of too much theology for anyone's good!  I say read the Bible for your theology!

I am also reading quite a few Early Reviewer books through LibraryThing and Tyndale Publishers. I like writing these. I wish I could become a "travel the world restaurant reviewer"!

Well-Tuned Strength

This is probably one of the things I am most excited about. I am seeing as I move suddenly and get in and out of cars that I don't have those little twinges of pain that I have thought I had to live with for the rest of my life. I cannot remember if they were also not present before my November 2009 injury, but my back and neck are definitely BETTER. My massage therapist even said she noticed how much more responsive my back was to her. The muscles are aligning again because I am nipping any little tweeks in the bud and making sure I am doing those back exercises FAITHFULLY every day! DUH! What was I thinking not doing them? I guess I didn't know what they should be. The trainers would give me ones, and those were just NOT good for my back. I should have known and told them NO. Most athletic trainers are JOKES. I had three pretty bad ones at the club (and one bad massage therapist). I should have just told them, "HEY, I know my body, and we have to modify that one for my back safety." Those physical therapists have YEARS of training in the body, and I should have gone to them after my injury, but my insurance was lousy at that time. Now we have good insurance that pays for more preventative stuff instead of just when we have an immediate injury. BEST investment I ever made, and those physical therapists are much cheaper than the trainers anyway ($16 per visit versus about $60!).

I think I am canceling my membership at that club and going to another place that is 1/3 the price and will add my kids at a much cheaper rate too. They also have rewards for workouts, less snooty people, and classes on demand. So, I can have a class at a time that fits my schedule (i.e. in the afternoon versus right in the middle of my best writing time in the mornings). The only drawback is NO POOL, but I think if I train for a triathlon again, I will just go to the aquatic center and get a nice pass for the time I will train for it.

So, I really think I am on the mend to the pre-November 2010 body. I still am not tracking my food intake. That is, by far, the hardest thing for me to do! But I am very faithful to get daily exercise and am not overeating, but I could lose 5-10 pounds still!

Perfect. I am done! Thirty minutes of freewrite today. No proofreading but pressing!