A Day in Bath

Love this Quote

Good morning everyone!!!! Are you ready for a brand new month??

A photo posted by 🍏🍋Cici-The Juice Chick🍉 (@itstartswithjuice) on Mar 31, 2016 at 4:50am PDT

Thursday Thirteen Freewrite

"No fruit's gonna' come through you unless you remain in me."  That is the line of the Soothing Worship set that I listen to by Jon Thurlow. I have been a bit more frenetic than I would like this week. It is understandable since I am starting a new term. I am not sure how much longer I will teach because going to and from campus and all the paperwork is much more work than just going to an athletic club and teaching an open class. I love the challenge though. I really do like the challenge. I also love the results, seeing students improve from the beginning to the end of the term. It is inspiring for me.

I have many returning students. So, I see that as a very positive sign that people are enjoying my class. I had one guy wonder when it was going to get harder, but I want to start everyone at the same spot if they have all been at different classes. I want to get us all up to snuff on things like breathing, concentration, control, centering (core), precision, and flow. So, I think it is best to start at the beginning and work forward on their journey. If it is not hard enough for them it is because they are not doing the more advanced way to do the exercise. 

Anywho, back to that "No fruit's gonna' come though your unless you remain in me." I want today to be a day of transition for me. Sure, I need to do laundry and will continue reading my books, but I am going into prayer for 12 hours with a group of wonderful people on Friday and Saturday, and I want to prepare my heart in every way possible. I must center. I must focus. It should not be too hard. I am so looking forward to having a day of solitude in the near future. That is on my list of "things to prioritize."  

I took a spill and almost tumbled down the stairs. I did start to tumble, but I grabbed the rail to stop my downward tumble. I wrenched my arm back and scraped it, but it is better than the alternative of going down the stairs. My knee also got a bit contorted on the other side too. One thing that did not tweak is my back! Strong core does it again! YAY! I am so grateful for a consistent plan of Pilates in my life. It really does help to teach.

Hmm. Maybe I should teach a weightlifting class, and I would be more consistent in that too. Seriously was very consistent from October to February, but then I pulled my Lat muscle on my left and then my ribs got out of place because of it. That took about a month to recover! LOL! 

It is no matter. After this prayer event this weekend, I just have one other weekend commitment (April 22-23) until either June 4 or 25, and I will no longer be teaching by then. So, I will be able to handle a busy weekend. I will also be done with my Celebration of Discipline group by May 17. Yes, even by June 1st, my life will slow down considerably. I also don't know how much longer Will will have the SNAP Pilates classes go with only two people coming lately. Many of my consistent regulars have not been able to come (for many good reasons too!). 

Spring always seems to be busier than other times. 

There goes the thirteen minute timer. On to other things. Primarily some good time with God!

Wednesday Ten Freewrite

Well, wouldn't you know it that I would not do a freewrite yesterday even though I had decided to do one everyday this week! LOL!

Yesterday was sort of a wash because I felt really run over. I thought it was because I had a super busy Monday, but it was because I rode my bike to class and back in the sunshine and the POLLEN! Those flowering trees are so beautiful, and I like them very much; but they do not like me!!! I ALWAYS forget to take Allegra preemptively! So, I paid for it yesterday until I realized that I could take a shower, wash my hair, and get any remaining pollen out of my system. I had showered but did not wash my hair!  So, I am going to try and ride my bike today, armed with Allegra. We will see! I have Thursday to recover so I should be OK! 

I am still deciding what to do about my weekend plans. So, we will see what I should do. I have been too busy getting my classes up and running for the new term. That always means making up grade sheets and having things change as people add and drop willy nilly. 

I am happy about my classes. I don't seem to have a complainer yet. I had a complainer in my second class last term, and it was so discouraging. Nothing I did was every right. She never said a positive thing to me the entire term! So far, no complainers in sight! 

I think it has only been five minutes of this ten minute freewrite, but I really need to get ready for class. I hope to get through all of the 19 exercises. I got through 14 in my first class and through 16 in my second class. So, I think I can get through all of them today. :) 

Well, ta ta for now!  

Monday Freewrite Fifteen

Just a reminder of what a freewrite is for anyone reading this blog randomly and wondering what the heck it is that I do on a regular basis on this blog of 12 years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_writing

Well, that was a fun day so far. I think I have two classes that are very engaging and very full! I have about 63 students between both my classes. 

I always enjoy Pilates I because they are "clean slates" and not polluted by impure Pilates (so many hybrids out there - not pure Pilates, not bad, but some people who have done it the other way are shocked at the pure way). I have several returning students this term. The most I have ever had. I miss some of my old ones though. Such great students. I got feedback from a friend who has a girl in her sorority house who has me, and she liked how "engaging" I am. That is nice to get feedback so soon after leading my classes. :)

Well, we had a superb Spring Break. It really was quite perfect from beginning to end. The thing that we all commented on is that we all truly like each other in our family. Therefore, it was so easy to be together on a 16 hour car ride down to Southern California and back. I am going through withdraw though because the kids have gone back to college and George has gone back to work. Thus why I am doing a freewrite and recalling the sweetness of the time.

We left on Saturday, March 19. We rode down and picked Michael up in Ashland. Then we drove down to Santa Nella to Pea Soup Anderson's. It is our tradition (and the first [and last] time the boys had every eaten a Twinkie when they were in the pre-teen years). We left early and went down to stay for four nights with my brother and his wife. Their son is out of the house which probably helped the enjoyment of the trip because he could be very cruel and mean to the kids when they were growing up. He lives in Arizona. So, we hung out with them on Sunday. My brother was alone and caught us up with all that is happening with their life. Then my sister in law came home, and we had a nice tri-tip dinner. My sister in law is THE HOSTESS WITH THE MOSTEST.  She LOVES cooking for people, and who are we to deny her that pleasure?

After that, we walked Shark Tank with my brother, and he explained to me the negotiations. I did not get the "business and financial gene" like my mom and brother. After that, we watch The Passion by Tyler Perry. Excellent and edifying!

We woke up and my sister in law went out to workout and meet with my other sister in law for a lunch planning meeting. My brother went to work, and we went to spend a delightful couple of hours of tea with Dave and Lynn Hunt. What a delightful family! Their son and his family are living with them now so it was fun to meet him. They are moving back to Africa in May. So I am glad we went and visited. 

After that, we went to see my grandparent's grave. Then, we went to In n Out Burger for the kids' first experience. (I went and got Pho). Michael got a haircut, and then we went and met Jerome and Terri for dinner at Macaroni Grill. Just love, love, love those two people. I call Terri my "Texas  Twin"! We are both tall, left-handed, and born in the same year! So fun. The boys took pictures while we were there. (Another thing is that the boys are totally into photography now!)

We came back and watched Dancing with the Stars with my brother and sister in law. 

Then, we got up very early Tuesday morning and went and met with my financial broker. I inherited my mom's. So, he is in SoCal. We learned a lots, and we have a plan of action that we hope to complete before we go on our summer vacation. 

Then we went to the ZOO! So fun. Perfect day for it. After that, we met Susanne and her two kids in Balboa Park and had lunch and walked around together. Paul had never seen Balboa! They have always just gone to the zoo!

After this, we came back and went to see Easter Mysteries.  This is a Passion Play from Peter's perspective! My brother and sister in law's nephew was Judas in the movie. It was very good, but we were the ONLY people in the theatre. So, of course, my brother made jokes, and we laughed about some funny things that I better not mention on this blog.

On Wednesday, Holly fixed us a huge, huge breakfast.Then we all went to La Jolla and went sea kayaking! SO FUN! We saw seals, sea lions, and dolphins.  After this we went to Alphonso's for Mexican food. My brother and I used to go there in the 70's, and they were closing down the following SUNDAY to move to Solana Beach. Alphonso was there and took a picture with us (he is probably in his 80's now).

Then we came home and showered up. We ate leftovers and went to bed early.

We woke up earlier than expected and were out the door by 4:10 am for our trip back up north! We made it to our favorite spot, The Railroad Park Resort where each room is a real train caboose. It was only 2:30 so we went on a hike to the vista point for Castle Crags, to the Sacramento River suspension bridge in Dunsmuir, and Hedge Creek Falls. Then we went to the Pizza Factory (our tradition) in Dunsmuir and saw that the Oregon Ducks were playing Duke. We ate our meal and watched the rest of the game. They creamed them! 

We fell asleep early and got up and hiked around the resort. We left by 11 am check out and came to Ashland. We had lunch at the PIE + VINE. YUMMY! We left Michael there in the residence hall and got back to Corvallis at about 6 pm. 

Perfect vaca in every way!

(I went way over the fifteen minutes because I wanted closure on my typing. In the spirit of the freewrite, I am not proofreading this. I am sure there will be many mistakes!)

9. Rick Steves London 2016

This book is worth every penny you spend on it. Yes, there are a few inaccurate statements. For instance, according to Rick, Henry VIII beheaded "several" wives. He only beheaded two, which Rick does say in another part of the book, but two is "a couple" and not "several." There are also inaccurate prices, but I am sure he published this before the new summer 2016 prices came out. He also does not include the Handel and Hendrix House which I think is an important part of history of the area (Both musicians had apartments in the same building generations apart, and it is now a fine museum in London.)  He mentions Handel in the Westminster Abbey, National Portrait Gallery, and British Library sections, but there is no mention of this House. Curious to me. 

I am sure I will find other little oversights and inaccuracies here and there as I travel there this summer, but I found this an entertaining read (yes, I read the whole thing). I know I will not be able to go to all the places he mentions, but I had so much fun reading about them! 

I read most of it on a 16 hour car journey with my family, and I had a fun time quizzing my family through the "British-Yankee Vocabulary" section. We knew that Dr. Seuss' Sleep Book lines were altered in the British version of the book, and now we know why! (We lived in a former British Colony - Malaysia.) Let's just say that even though the words "fannies" and "crannies" rhyme, you cannot use these words in a British version! LOL!

The Discipline of Simplicity

Discussion Questions from DVD and chapter:

1. How would seeking the kingdom of God above all else produce the inward reality of simplicity?

2. What are some barriers to seeking the kingdom above all else?

3. Name some of your "many selves" that clamor for attention and make life more complicated. What ways have you explored for attempting to put them under the control of the divine arbitrator?

Discussion question from "Soul Talk" with Dallas and Richard:

How does simplicity allow one to be freed from the bondage of material things?

Favorite paragraph:

Plain speech is difficult because we so seldom live out of the divine Center, so seldom respond only to heavenly promptings. Often fear of what others may think or a hundred other motives determine our "yes" or "no" rather than obedience to divine urgings. Then if a more attractive opportunity, or a situation that will put us in a better light arises we quickly reverse our decision. but if our speech comes out of obedience to the divine Center, we will find no reason to turn our "yes" into "no" and our "no" into "yes" We will be living in simplicity of speech because our words will have only one Source. Soren Kierkegaard wrote: "If though art absolutely obedient to God, then there is no ambiguity in thee and . . . though art mere simplicity before God . . . . One thing there is which all Satan's cunning and all the snares of temptation cannot take by surprise, and that is simplicity." (p. 81-82)

Archimedes declared, “Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth.”  Richard Foster talked about finding and clearly articulating an Archimedian focal point or “place to stand”) concluding that “We have such a focal point in the words of Jesus”:

Matthew 6:25-33 (The Message):

“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.^[1]

---

^[1] Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (Mt 6:25–34). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress. 

Productive Monday

I led a workshop on Saturday, and there was a lot of interaction with people, people, people. So, I was pretty tired on Sunday. So, I took the entire day off, and this morning, I was a machine! 

I updated both of my syllabi for Spring term, sent them to my department, uploaded them on canvas, and published both my Canvas courses for the Spring!

Then I sent my handout for the April 2 Listening Prayer set I am doing for two focused prayer days up in Portland to the people I am meeting with for a Skype meeting at 1 pm.

I also got all the details of the storytelling workshop I am doing, communicated with all the people I need to communicate with about this and began listening to my stories again, sending Jonah to my girlfriend (really need to shorten that one - too long!). 

I am SO GLAD I got a new iPhone. For some reason, songs were not transferring to my iPhone 5. I wanted to wait until the iPhone 7 came out but it was just not working properly anymore. Getting this iPhone 6 so late will help me to get the 7 when the 8 comes out (because I am so cheap). 

Now I have the rest of the week to work on my taxes! YAY! 

7-8 A Harmony of the Gospels and Gospel Harmony Book Club

This is a reread, but I heartily recommend that you use it to read through the four gospel accounts in a chronological way. It is so enriching! 

I wrote a devotional book to go along with reading the four accounts chronologically. 

The links are below.





Online: http://gospelharmonybookclub.blogspot.com/

Downloadable Word Document: 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/469660/BBC%20NT%20Books/Volume%201%20The%20Harmony%20of%20the%20Gospel%20of%20Jesus%20Christ.docx

Friday Freewrite Fifteen

If I were more of a "J" personality type, I would do these every Friday, but alas, I am not a strong "J" at that.

So here I write.

The last two weeks have been so interesting. I have had to be honest without being offensive on three occasions. The most major of the three turned out BEAUTIFULLY. There was so much growth on my part, and the other person's very teachable self. It is just how God instructed me to approach this person when we started a little study group in February. Through the whole process, I have closure of a ten year mystery. I just finished up my gospel readings today with Jesus saying, "It is finished!" I truly believe that it is finished. I am still praying for an apology from one of the parties from ten years ago. I have imagined myself writing a letter explaining the whole story because that person only got part of the story. But my husband advises against that, and I am encouraged by Jesus' words to Peter after His resurrection to not look at the other man. Jesus said, "You follow Me!"  So I will not concern myself with the other man in this situation. I will just follow Jesus, and the result of the release because of that situation ten years ago is that I am free to, "Make disciples of all nations."  That is Jesus' calling for us. I must obey, and I would venture to say that I was not obeying that calling by doing what I was doing in that previous situation. I am now in God's place, and there is no bitterness toward those who wronged me because, "I am in God's place."

The other situation, I was honest, but the person was too insecure to acknowledge. I handled it well when I saw their reaction to my honesty, but I will not do it again as that would be throwing out "indigestible pearls" to that person. I did not do wrong in honesty, but I need to be selective with my honesty (as in the above case). 

The third case of honesty was in a defensive manner. I did not do that in the right spirit, even though I felt the behavior was offensive to me. That was quickly resolved with both of us apologizing for what we said. Very quick and brief. That third person has maturity, and I was just as much to blame for my response that was not led by God! 

I am very happy to be growing. There was pain in the process, but it was only slight, and a "shout of joy" definitely came in the morning! YAY GOD!

I have so many things to get done, but I am glad I spend three hours this morning with God before getting on with the taxes and workshop prep! Oh, I also need to set up my Canvas pages for my two Spring term classes at OSU and get ready for a personal training appointment at 2 pm. God is so very good. 

One thing I am very excited about it that my hubby, George, is home every other Friday! His boss is letting him work from home!!! Oh, my heart be still! I cannot contain my joy even though sometimes it is so very hard for us to be in the same room and not talk to one another. I am so grateful for a soulmate like George. When he came home last night, we celebrated with a late dinner together (furnished by the good "Free lunch" ladies who know I love leftovers), and I showed him the England itinerary I have been working on (instead of preparing for the workshop and doing my taxes . . . lol).

Well, it is that 15 minute time. So good to process on the keys this morning. 

Celebration of Disicipline Daily Readings

I am going through this book with some women. After we finish and discuss a chapter and watch the DVD lesson (only about 25 minutes), we are given optional daily reading in Scripture on the subject of the chapter. 

Here is a link to all the readings on a PDF:

http://www.azsom.com/uploads/3/0/5/6/30561575/reading_schedule_-celebration_of_disciplines15.pdf

I wanted to have all of the Bible reading for each discipline together on Bible Gateway. You can click on the chapter title to go to that page:

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES Foster p. 1-11

PART I: THE INWARD DISCIPLINES

MEDITATION p. 15-32

PRAYER p. 33-46

FASTING p. 47-61

STUDY p. 62-76

PART II: THE OUTWARD DISCIPLINES

SIMPLICITY p. 79-95

SOLITUDE p. 96-109

SUBMISSION p. 110-125

SERVICE p. 126-140

PART III: THE CORPORATE DISCIPLINES

CONFESSION p. 143-157

WORSHIP p. 158-174

GUIDANCE p. 175-189

CELEBRATION p. 190-201

I will add more links as we continue in the book. 

6. The Healing Timeline: God Shalom for the Past, Present, and Future

This book has some real merit. I had a client come to me years ago. She had gone to this author's workshop, and she had done her timeline and had a memory that she was stuck on. So, she came to me to do some listening prayer for it. I never knew what this was until my friend loaned me her book this year. 

In short, it incorporated listening prayer for a painful memory. Then, you go one year beyond the memory and give the client cues for a memory from that year. You go on and cue with one memory from each year up until the current age of the client. Then you go back and do listening prayer for that event again. You keep going back to the memory and repeat the timeline afterward until there is "neural integration" between the painful child and the adult. Each time you go back, the client is able to apply more maturity to the memory. I am sure I am not explaining this perfectly, but it makes sense! 

The only thing I have a problem with is that she "suggests" what Jesus might say, and I don't think we need to speak for Jesus in the memory. He is more than capable of speaking for Himself! I think I could incorporate what I use in listening prayer (God intervening and me facilitating that) and integrating the timeline into it. 

I wanted to go to her workshop in Bellevue in April, but I am too busy. Maybe next year; but if this intrigues you, here is the information for the conference and more about the author:

http://healingtimeline.com/page9.html

Thursday Morn Freewrite

I am letting my fingers fly freewriting for fifteen (oh how I love alliterations). 

I am listening to whatever plays on my iPhone. It is Christmas music right now. So fun. 

I have such peace today. It is Thursday. It is the day I go, "Ah!" I am done with all my classes, and this Thursday I have already entered all my enrollment points for Wednesday and won't be doing it at the last minute on Monday morning.

The weather is going to clear up in the afternoon, but I did take a little walk around the block and so good for my soul as I worship to Great is Thy Faithfulness. How do people live their life without the Lord? Tell me how?

I taught all three classes yesterday, and it felt so good. I decided to do no correcting. I have spent the last three weeks walking around the classroom correcting gently. If they don't have it by now, they will not have it. My Pilates I class is already universally doing all the movements very properly, having had no previous experience with Pilates. There is one, but I don't know if that person will ever be able to do them properly due to physical limitations, but that person is not going to get hurt doing them. That is my goal. My Pilates II class, not so much. They have a lot of bad habits from previous instruction, and they probably think they are doing it correctly. The ones that do the best in that class are the "clean slate" ones! Again, they are not going to get hurt doing the moves though. Really no one in that class will. So, I feel like I have done my job! I have one person in the second class that is critical, but she has pretty bad form, even though one of her previous classes is from a very good instructor (and the three other people from that woman's class have beautiful form). 

All in all. I think it has been a very good term. I only have one student that thought she didn't need to come to class anymore if she changed it to Pass/No Pass. Don't know how she got that. That is the hardest part for me. A few that I recommended take it Pass/No Pass never followed through to do it, and they won't get an "A" but not my responsibility. I am learning to let it go, but my shepherding heart wants to train them to be responsible. But that was their parents' job long ago. :)

Thursday is definitely my day off. I love this day. I am fasting and praying as an application from the last two days of Celebration of Discipline. I felt that last time went much better than the three previous times. We stayed more on track. It has added quite a bit to my schedule as Tuesdays used to be my day to catch up on things, and Thursdays were my day to be able to go up to see my sweetheart. But I have loved the recharge of the disciplines. I have been practicing them diligently for the last 37 years (Summer of '79 cemented in my life. No going back. The benefits were so evident. for me in that area. Summer of '81 put a punctuation point on it. Thank you Navigators. I will FOREVER be grateful for all you have done for me!), but there is something about going "back to the basics" and seeing the lights go on for others in this area, that I find so wonderful!

There you go. It is time to stop. I am tempted to proofread, but I must press the button and press on with my day to pray for the world and read the Celebration of Discipline chapter (study) for this week! :)