Day 90

Workout- Fit Test
Bible Reading- Revelation 18 - 22

I've done it! I'm done! I have followed the P90X workout plan, Blogged, and read the entire Bible in 90 Days! I am so stinking proud of myself. I have a long history of wanting to accomplish things and never quite following through with them. I am awesome at setting goals, however completing them is quite a different story. Here are some overall general observations that I have from my experience.

- I am stronger and more disciplined than I give myself credit for.
- I sometimes quit before I should. I've learned that I can persevere.
- The Bible is a complete story from Genesis 1 all the way to Revelation 22. It all fits together.
- I still can't say that I love reading scripture. However, I've done it as an act of obedience.
- God doesn't always call us to do things that we particularly enjoy.
- My wife and my daughter are worth the sacrifice of time, sweat, and pain that is required for me to be healthy for many years to come.
- I am worth the sacrifice of time, sweat, and pain that is required for me to be healthy for many years to come!
- I have an incredibly supportive wife
- good writing requires a concerted effort. It just doesn't happen.

Overall, I would say that this has been an awesome experience. It has been extremely difficult and I won't say that I have loved it. It's been good however to see that I can set a goal like this and accomplish it. I have to give a huge thanks to my beautiful wife for being so supportive. Not only did she do the Bible in 90 days with me, but she also didn't complain about the time commitment for me to do my workouts as well. She knew why I was doing it, and went the extra mile to take care of the baby and the house while I was busy working out. I appreciate her so much!

Alright, now on to the results. I didn't lose a ton of weight and I won't be gracing the cover of any fitness magazines anytime soon, but I am still happy with my results. At the beginning I could only do a measly 12 push ups. This morning I did 30! That's still not an incredible amount, but for me that is a huge improvement. I have also lowered my resting heart rate by about 10 beats per minute. Overall, I think I am accomplishing my goal of being healthier. I have also lost 12 pounds in the process and can fit into clothes that I previously could not. Here are some pictures from before and after. You can see the biggest difference in the side picture.

Thanks to all of you who kept up with my progress and encouraged me! I am going to take a week off and start the P90X program again. I must be crazy! My two brothers have talked me into it. If anyone out there is wanting to start up, let me know and you can join me! I especially could use someone to actually work out with, because that would keep me from slacking off!

Thanks again everyone!

Day 89

Workout- Core Synergistics
Bible Reading- Jude 1 - Revelation 17

I am almost done!!! I started the final book of the Bible today!! And it's a really weird one. This book really makes me wish that I had taken a class on Revelation while I was in college. Not that I would have paid that much more attention than I did in any of my other classes, but I think I would at least feel a little more informed. It's all just so foreign to me. I have a hard time picturing what the "end times" will actually look like. I definitely don't go through life living with the possibility of those times in mind. I'm just trying to make it through the day.

What would life look like if all of us lived our lives like it was going to be our last? Would we love people more? Would we spend more time on what was truly important? Would we stop being scared of sharing our faith with others? I'm not really sure what that would look like for me.

It is some thing to keep in mind though. If I believe the Bible to be true, which I do, then I should know that a time is coming when Christ will return. So why do I not always live like I believe it? Maybe this week I can focus that. Instead of worrying about what my business and stress, perhaps I can focus on the really important things. Maybe gain a little perspective.

Perhaps we could all do that.

-Michael

Day 88

Workout- Stretch X
Bible Reading- James 3:13 - 3 John 1

It's soooooo close! I am sooooo ready to put this challenge to rest. 2 more days!!

Today we decided to attend bedside baptist for church this morning. It was a wonderful sermon by Pastor Sheets today. It was a much needed morning for us to relax around the house today. We don't make it a habit to skip church, but given the pending craziness that is about to descend upon us, we decided that we needed a restful day. We had breakfast together and then laid on the couch and watched a Sandra Bullock movie marathon that is playing on ABC today. Then Breanne dawned her cape and became super woman and cooked dinners for us to warm up throughout the week. We wont have any time between work and VBS so warmed up dinners are the plan for the entire week. And now we are relishing the last few precious hours that we have left before we have to go to church tonight. It's going to be fun and it will all be for a good cause, but it's going to be I-N-S-A-N-E. Wish us luck.

-Michael

Day 87

Workout- Kenpo X
Bible Reading- Hebrews 1 - James 3:12

It's a good thing that this challenge is going to be over soon because this week is going to be CRAZY!!!! I was asked to help out with the vacation bible school at our Church and it is starting tomorrow night with a big kick block party and will run every night until Friday. Breanne and I were trying to figure out logistics of picking up baby after work and getting to VBS by 6. We may or may not get to eat this week. We will see. Amidst all this we have to pack at some point in time for our whirlwind tour of the southwest for vacation. We are leaving early Saturday morning. I'm beginning to stress out over all of it.

For VBS, our theme is Egypt. I am playing Joseph and will be acting out his story to all of the kids each night. It will be quite difficult, but I will do my best to refrain from breaking out into song and channeling my inner Donnie Osmond. If you have a puzzled look on your face, you should know that Donnie Osmond played Joseph in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat" on Broadway. I was in this show in college as "Asher", one of Joseph's brothers. The music of this show is fantastic and is already stuck in my head.

So I will do my best to keep my sanity this week and somehow finish these last 3 days with as much enthusiasm as I can muster. "Go, Go, Go Joseph"

-Michael

Day 86

Workout- Core Synergistics
Bible Reading- 1 Thessalonians 1 - Philemon 1

It's late and I almost went to bed without blogging. so here it is. Now you know that I at least didn't slack off with the two major tasks of this challenge. I'm just a slacker when it comes to blogging. I'm just running out of things to say. Maybe I'm just out of time in my day to come up with something clever.

4 more days!!!

-Michael

Day 85

Workout- Cardio X
Bible Reading- Galatians 3:26 - Colossians 4

Every now and then a crisis occurs in our house and I am always surprised at how well we handle it. Tonight Breanne was cooking dinner. She had put some chicken in the oven and apparently it needed to be on a pan that had sides on it because some juices started to drip on to the bottom of the oven. These juices then caught on fire. Breanne was on the couch and I was in the kitchen. I look over and see the flames through the glass on the door of the oven and start exclaiming, "Fire... There is a fire in the oven!" Breanne came over and told me to grab the fire extinguisher. Calmly I did and promptly put the fire out. I have never used a fire extinguisher before, but I had no difficulties using it. So the fire was out and dinner was sufficiently ruined. Although annoyed, both of us kept our cool and never once panicked. We did an awesome job!

So after the fire fiasco, I promptly went to Little Saigon and picked up a couple of orders of fried rice. They were delicious.

-Michael

Day 84

Workout- Rest Day
Bible Reading- 1 Corinthians 15 - Galatians 3:25

6 more days... 6 more days... 6 more days.

that is all that is running through my head right now. I guess you can also count things like "Why is it so hot out side" and "Why am I so busy all the time".

Those two thoughts and "6 more days" are consuming my brain at the moment. Thus preventing me of having anything else of much meaning to say today.

-Michael

Day 83

Workout- Kenpo X
Bible Reading- Romans 15 - 1 Corinthians 14

I am pretty sure that I have super powers. I know you are jealous. You might think that it is something glamorous like flying or shooting laser beams from my eyes. Let me assure, this is not the case. My power is great but it is nothing as cool as this.

What is this mystery power you ask? Well, let me tell you. I have the power to single handedly disable any computer without even trying. That's right. Put me near anything resembling a computer and I can crash it in 10 minutes flat. Amazing I know, but this is the burden I must bare. I am not sure what the problem is, but anytime I have some sort of electronic device, I will more than likely break it. If I don't actually break it, I will some how make it do ridiculous things defy even the most intelligent members of the geek squad. It is the most frustrating thing ever! The motherboard on our laptop completely died on us within less than a year of owning it. Currently the USB ports on my laptop are not functioning properly, I can never get Itunes to work right for me twice in a row, and my Ipod is acting glitchy as well. Ahhhhh!!! And here is the crazy part.... I don't do anything out of the ordinary with these devices! I go on the internet and that is all. I rarely ever download anything! I pretty much check my email, write my blog, and go on FaceBook. That is all! This should not be enough to break my computer. It's not like I am running extensive programs or downloading everything I can find. My computers should not be acting up like this. But this is the story of my life. I have a long history of broken computers in my past to prove it. I just don't know what I do to them to cause all these issues. My only conclusion that this is some sort of super human ability that I have. I must remember what Spider Man said. "With much power comes much responsibility".

-Michael

Day 82

Workout- Legs and Back
Bible Reading- Acts 28:17 - Romans 14

I know that I only have 8 days left, but I am getting exhausted. I feel like I should be all amped up and ready to finish these last few days with a strong positive attitude, but in reality I am just tired! I cannot wait until I am able to take a break.

Addmittedly, my workout was quite pathetic this morning. I had a major case of "the Mondays". Perhaps tomorrow will be better.


So that is my mantra for the day. 8 days left... 8 days left... 8 days left.

-Michael

Day 81

Workout- Cardio X
Bible Reading- Acts 16:38 - 28:16

We have a very crabby baby on our hands! She is being very much unlike herself. We are wondering if she is teething. Based on my extensive Internet research (extensive meaning one google search), babies typically do not start teething until they are seven months old. However, it can happen earlier. She has some of the symptoms that the website talked about. She seems to be extra drooly, she is tugging on her ear, and she is chewing really hard on her hand. And worst of all, she is super, super cranky! We all tried to take a nap today and she was having none of it. When we lay her down, we will typically let her cry for 20 minutes before we go and rescue. 90% of the time she just falls asleep. Well, after 10 minutes or so of crying as hard as I have ever heard her, we went and got her. She fell asleep in moms arms after she got her calmed down. So, she got a nap, while we didn't.

Alas, I hope this is only a phase and will pass soon. I want my happy baby back.

-Michael

Day 80

Workout- Back and Biceps
Bible Reading- Acts 6:8 - 16:37

I discovered something glorious today! Breanne and I went to Hobby Lobby to pick up some crafty things for her. Whilst shopping we discovered that they have put out all of their fall decor! I was so excited! Autumn wreaths as far as the eye could see. There were pumpkin decorations and all shades of artificial fall foliage. I don't know what it is about Fall, but I just love everything about it. I love the smells of all of the fall themed candles. I love the warmth that the decor adds to your house. I love back to school supplies! Even though I am not actually purchasing said supplies, I still love them. Today, has officially engaged my longing for this season to get here.

Alas... I still have about two months of summer to go before fall officially begins. I suppose I will make it, but it won't be fun.

-Michael

Day 79

Workout- Plyometrics
Bible Reading- John 15:18 - Acts 6:7

I'm ready for a vacation. I don't even really need to go anywhere and do anything fancy. I don't want to go site seeing or be busy doing tons of things every day. I can't even say that I necessarily want to go anywhere either. A week at home sounds awesome. I just want to get out of bed at my own leisure, cook breakfast for the family and just putz around the house all day. Maybe do some work around the house, but only a little bit. It is vacation after all.

But alas... that is not an option. No rest for the weary. In a few weeks we are going to New Mexico for a week. That promises to be fun. Super busy, but still fun. We will be doing a lot of visiting and catching up with friends and family which is always nice. Maybe we can find a pool or something to go and relax by while we are there. hmmmm.... time to start searching now.

-Michael

Day 78

Workout- Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps
Bible Reading- John 6 - 15:17

The end is so close that I can taste it! I only have two more weeks left and then I am finished! Well... sort of. My brother's have talked me into another round of P90X, but that is beside the point. I am just really excited to see that I am almost done with my first round of working out and that I have almost read the entire Bible! I feel very accomplished.

I'm hoping all this confidence isn't premature. I still have 13 days left so I need to keep my nose to the grind stone and finish strong.

-Michael

Day 77

Workout- Rest Day
Bible Reading- Luke 20:20 - John 5

Jesus asks the disciples, "Who do people say that I am?". They respond with words like, "Prophet and Messiah". Then Jesus digs a little deeper and asks them "Who do YOU say that I am?". It's a tough question sometimes. Reading the books of the gospels in a concentrated format forces you to answer this same question. Is he truly the son of God or was he simply a nice man. Did he truly perform miracles or were all of these events overblown stories of good deeds. What do you believe of these stories to be true?

Personally, I believe that Jesus truly is the son of God, empowered to do the miracles described in the books of the Gospels. I can't say that I always understand it, but I believe it. I believe that he healed the sick and the hurting. I believe that he brought the dead back to life. The tricky part is, is that I don't feel that you are allowed to believe some and discount others. I can't say that Jesus gave the blind man his vision but didn't really feed the five thousand. If I am going to accept some of them, then I have to accept all of them.

Of course the biggest miracle of all is that He would forgive our sins, allowing us to have eternal life. Do you believe this? I guess the necessity of believing this hinges on whether or not you believe there is more to life than just what we are doing day to day. If you think that what we are living right now is all that we have, then I suppose the idea of grace and forgiveness is null and void. However, if you place your hope in a better life to come, then the need to believe that Jesus came to redeem us is infinitely greater. In my opinion, the need to believe this exponentially increases our ability to believe that this is true to begin with.

So... If we can get to the point that we believe the most difficult miracle of all, (Jesus dieing for our sins so that we may have eternal life), how can we even begin to discredit all the other miracles described in the gospels? So I guess this brings me full circle to the original question. Who do you say that He is? Is he a living eternal God capable of performing miracles in your life or is he simply a nice guy in the history books?

-Michael

Day 76

Workout- Kenpo X
Bible Reading- Luke 10 - 20:19

Going into this challenge, I think I was most excited about the blogging portion. I feel like I am a fairly thoughtful, well spoken, and funny guy when I want to be. The down side is that the obligation to write mixed with the lack of time have forced this part of the challenge to be the biggest drudgery ever. I think it has been motivating in that I know there are people that check this on a daily basis to see what I am up to. So I complete my blog as a means of proving that I am not slacking off. It is also demotivating as I don't feel that I have really said anything of any substance. I'm not looking the change the world here, just hoping to produce something that is not merely a recap of what I did for the day.

And I feel that I have failed. I'm really not trying to be a downer here. I'm just realizing that this blog is fulfilling a more utilitarian purpose. I'm having to rethink what my goals for this are. It is serving the purpose of keeping me on track and for now, I am ok with that. I can be creative later.

-Michael

Day 75

Workout- Legs and Back
Bible Reading- Luke 2 - 9

I'm exhausted! It was such a good weekend, but now I am laying here in bed barely able to keep my eyes open. I'm also sunburned from swimming today, but that is beside the point.

I'm very proud of myself for keeping up with my program over the course of this weekend. I could have very easily decided not to do it as there were many other things that I would have rather been doing. But I stuck to it and even put a really good effort into it. Yay me. Only 15 days left!

- Michael

Day 74

Workout- Cardio X
Bible Reading- Mark 9:14 - Luke 1

Happy 4th of July! I love this holiday for two main reasons. One, I enjoy watching the fireworks, eating watermelon, and all the other various activities that come along with it. Two, I get a day off of work! Tomorrow I don't have to go in and I am extremely excited about that.

Now I know these are shallow reasons to enjoy this day. It just comes down to the fact that I am not all that patriotic. I am extremely grateful to live in the country that I do and that I have soldiers that are willing to risk their lives to protect the freedoms that I have. (Big thanks to my brother Thomas for all that he is currently sacrificing in order for us to live the way that we do.) So please don't think that I am ungrateful. I just don't feel the need to sing "God Bless America" while holding a sparkler.

I suppose a lot of my unpatriotic sentiment stems from the fact that people can't separate their religion from being American. Jesus didn't come to redeem only America, so I don't understand why we make such a big deal of it. People get very bent out of shape with our church because we don't march down the center isle with the American flag and sing "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" on this day. I for one am grateful of this. As Ed Stetzer said today on his twitter account, "Today Christians will worship God and celebrate being Americans-- please be sure to not confuse the two in worship". I cannot agree more.

It's the confusion of these two principles that irritates me to no end and kind of steals any last bit of patriotism right out me.

With that said, I will stop. This is treading dangerously close to getting me starting on my God and politics soap box and I don't think you guys are ready for that.

-Michael

Day 73

Workout- Shoulders and Back
Bible Reading- Matthew 26:57 - Mark 9:13

It's been another one of those days where one activity leads right into another and there is very little downtime. I did happen to get in my required workout and bible reading so that is good. Seeing that it is now nearly midnight, I will have to leave my thoughts at that and head to bed. Sorry.

-Michael

Day 72

Workout- Plyometrics
Bible Reading- Matthew 16 - 26:56

I need to vent a little frustration. As most everybody knows, I work for an insurance agency. On a typical day, I sell policies and also service existing ones. I also spend a lot of time on the phone talking to people. There is one particular conversation that I have with people on a daily basis. It involves their premium. I have to listen to people complain all the time about how much they pay and it's getting a little annoying. Now I know that no likes to pay for their insurance. Mainly, this is because it is intangible. You can't hold on to it or display it in your home. You end up feeling like you are paying for nothing and I get that. So here are some bullet points that I wish I could share with people when they yell at me, but I can't because that would be unprofessional. So I am sharing it with all of you.

- Insurance premiums increase. It's called inflation people. It just happens and you need to deal with it! Everything else in this world is increasing so why shouldn't your insurance? You honestly can't expect to pay the same premium that you were paying 10 years ago.

- If you replace your 2003 civic with a 2009 Silverado 1500, your premium will increase. Don't be an idiot and expect it to stay the same. You just put us on the hook for a possible extra $10,000 to replace your vehicle. This isn't rocket science.

- You're not just protecting your car against physical damage. That is not the only purpose of auto insurance. When you rear end someone we are on the hook for a possible $50,000 lawsuit. That's why you have insurance. It's not meant to cover all the stupid little door dings on your vehicle!

- If you make a lot of claims, then we will cancel you. Don't act so surprised! Insurance is not a right. It's a privilege and if you are costing us too much money, then your privileges will be revoked.

- If you have a suspended license, don't waste my time and ask me for a quote. I can't give you one.

There are more frustrations and maybe I will add to this list later. For now, I think I feel a bit better. So the next time you have to talk to your insurance agent, be nice to them. They have people yell at them all the time.

-Michael

Day 71

Workout- Chest and Back
Bible Reading- Matthew 5-15

I just can't think of anything interesting to say tonight. It's hard work to write a blog every day. It's even harder to write something that is at least fun, if not worth while to read. So in the interest of not wasting your time, I think I will leave it at this for the evening, rather than jabber on about nothing in particular. Have great night everyone.

-Michael

Day 70

Workout- Rest Day
Bible Reading- Zechariah 11 - Matthew 4

H-A-L-E-L-U-J-A-H! I am done with the Old Testament!!!! I feel like I have reached a major milestone. I forget how long it is. Now that I see that it takes 70 days of dedicated reading to finish it, I truly realize how much is in it! Especially compared to the New Testament which will only take 20 days to complete. Now that I realize that I only have 20 days left I feel a slight compulsion to kick it up a notch with my workouts. I was a little bit lazy with them last week because I was so busy all week long. I still got them done but it was a far cry from being my best effort. I'm hoping that I can really do a good job these last three weeks and finish strong.

In other news, my lovely wife has turned 28 years old today! She has a friend that refers to your birthday as being your "Princess Day". If anyone deserves to have a princess day, then it my wife. Honey, I hope that you have the best Princess Day ever! You are such a wonderful mommy and a fantastic wife! I am so extremely blessed to have you in my life. I love you so much.

-Michael

Day 69

Workout- Kenpo X
Bible Reading- Habakkuk 1 - Zechariah 10

If my day had a soundtrack to it, it would definitely be "The Flight of the Bumblebee". Not stop form waking up to this very moment, I have been crazy busy trying to get things done. Even as I end this, I have to go and finish making Breanne's birthday cake. Tomorrow she is turning 28 and it is our tradition for the spouse to make the birthday cake. This year I have opted to make her favorite, which is pink cake with rainbow chip icing. I am trying to make it a little bit more exciting by dying the icing purple (her favorite color) with food coloring, but I am not having an immense amount of luck with that. It's a little grayish. Oh well, I think I should get an "A" for effort.

-Michael

Day 68

Workout- Legs and Back
Bible Reading- Amos 9:11 - Nahum 3

Baby Piscia has arrived! Welcome to the world Jackson Stephen. Personally I have been so excited for this day to come because I know the joy that a baby brings. Simultaneously, I have been dreading it! For those who don't know, Joni works at my office with me. It's a small office with only 3 employees so when one takes 10 weeks off, we definitely feel it! My workload has instantly doubled and I am not very excited about that. So I will put my nose to the grind stone and pray that a gin and tonic will be waiting for me when I get home. I'm pretty sure that I will need it.

Hopefully these next 10 weeks will go by quickly!

-Michael

Day 67

Workout- Cardio X
Bible Reading- Hosea 13:7 - Amos 9:10

I am currently experiencing one of my most favorite things in the world. As I am sitting here typing, my daughter is laying next to me squeezing my arm and cooing. She has the biggest grin on her face too. I have no idea what she is saying, but I can't help but think that she is thinking that this too is one of her most favorite things to do as well. I know that she won't always want to lay on the couch next to her daddy so for now I am going to cherish the moment. I will stow it away and pull it out on the day that I realize that she would rather hang out with some boy than to sit on the couch with her old man. A boy who will inevitably be some ungrateful punk that I highly disapprove of.

So that's what I am going to do. Enjoy the moment. She is only three months old now, but it feels like just yesterday that I held her in my arms for the first time. Pretty soon she will be crossing things off of the list of life's milestones. Crawling, walking, talking, telling me no, getting sassy... Let's dwell on the cute things for now. Life happens. It comes quickly and before we know it, it is all over. I'm just trying to enjoy it as it comes. I know she has to grow up, but part of me hopes that no matter how old she gets, she will always need her daddy.

-Michael

Day 66

Workout- Biceps and Back
Bible Reading- Daniel 9 - Hosea 13:6

If there were an award for "Husband of the Year"... then I think I would be a good contender. Not because I am so incredibly awesome. That is merely a side effect of being me. I deserve this award because I do things with my wife to make her happy, even when I really don't want to.

This weekend there was a Beth Moore, "Living Proof" conference in St. Louis. Breanne is friends with Travis Cottrell, who is the worship leader for these events. She really loves this guy and the way he and his team lead worship and really wanted me to go with her to this conference to experience it. So I agreed.

Those of you who don't know who Beth Moore is, then you may be asking yourself why this is such a big deal. Well, these conferences are primarily attended by women. There were a few men there, but the predominant hormone in the room is by far, Estrogen. So there I was surrounded by 7,500 women in Capri pants. I have never felt more out of place in my life. All of the male bathrooms in the building had been re purposed for feminine use. So when it came time for me to go I was in real trouble. I searched high and low for a place to go that wasn't surrounded by hordes of women. Finally I found the one bathroom in the entire stadium that had not been taken over. At least that is what I thought. While the bathroom was intended for male use, I was told I couldn't go in as twelve women felt the need to take over this last sanctuary of testosterone. I patiently waited my turn, which was quite aggravating. I'm a man! I have never had to wait to use a bathroom in my life! Anyway... I digress.

All complaints aside, I really was pretty good. Anyone that thinks that women cannot teach the word of God need to listen to a little Beth Moore. She is freaking incredible! Pretty hilarious as well, which is always nice. Overall, the women were very accommodating and did not give me too many sideways glances. No one asked me why I was there as if I was some sort of spy who had crossed some invisible enemy line. I was welcomed with open arms. Despite feeling welcome, I still felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb. My wife was happy that I went with her and I suppose if I had to, I would do it again. This is how much I love you honey.

-Michael

Day 65

Workout- Plyometrics
Bible reading- Ezekiel 47:13 - Daniel 8

Thank God we are done with the major prophets! Ezekiel has been been a chore. Parts are good, but others have been rather laborious to read. I only have five more days and I will be in the New Testament! Woo Hoo!

This morning I was uber productive. I got out of bed at 6 and did my workout. Then I mowed my yard! All of this before I went to work. I am awesome! I am definitely feeling more motivated about this whole working out thing. I am finally seeing results. Breanne talked about a guy who told her that she had to commit to working out for 8 weeks because it takes that long to begin to see results. I am in week 10 and I feel like I am finally making real progress. This morning I weighted myself and was really excited. I have lost 12 pounds! My goal is 10 more. I have 3 1/2 more weeks left to do it!

-Michael

Day 64

Workout- Chest, Shoulders, & Triceps
Bible Reading- Ezekiel 36 - 47:12

So I just typed up a big long blog about how busy I am and how this weekend is going to be pure craziness. After all of that, I decided that I was done complaining and was going to have a positive attitude. Then Blogger decided to malfunction as I was posting and I lost all that I said before. I'm annoyed and don't feel like rehashing all of it again.

The cliff notes version is about going to my dad's this weekend. Breanne signed me up to go to a Beth Moore conference with her. We are going because she is friends with the worship band and wants us both to hang out with them and to introduce them to Julia. It will certainly be an interesting weekend.

-Michael

Day 63

Workout- Rest Day
Bible Reading- Ezekiel 23:4 - 35

I am exhausted! Working out until 11:30 last night as worn me out! I am so glad that today is my rest day! I officially have four weeks left for this cycle of the program. I am getting pretty excited! I feel like I can tell a difference and I am doing a lot better in my workouts as far as being able to keep up too. Its very encouraging.

I am making a last ditch effort for these last few weeks of trying to eat better. I am not going to eat fast food and I am not going to drink any soda. For those who have been following my blog then you know how difficult this will be for me. Even writing this I am thinking about hamburgers and french fries. As the end draws near and have also been thinking about what I want as my celebratory meal when I am finished with this round. I still have not forgotten my post from several weeks ago about wanting a big horseshoe form Darcy's pint. I think that is still the front runner. Anyway, for now, I am committed to being good! I think I can... I think I can... I think I can...

-Michael

Day 62

Workout- Kenpo X
Bible Reading- Ezekiel 12:21 - 23:39

As I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel, a new wave of insanity may be washing over me. Separately, my two brothers have asked me about the P90X program. It is beginning to look like all three of us may be giving it a go. Me for round two, and them for their first time through. How in the world do I get talked into these things? I will finish this program around July 20th and will have a few weeks off. Then, sometime in August, I will start up again. This time around I will not be doing it alone. Well, I will still literally be alone, but my brothers will be doing it in there respective homes. Matt lives in Collinsville and Thomas is serving in Iraq. Apparently he needs something to pass the time, so I will be happy to help. See what a good brother I am? Nothing is set in stone yet, as they have to round up all the necessary equipment, but it looks like I will not be done with this anytime soon. sigh.

It will be fun though. I'm oddly looking forward to it. How weird is that?
-Michael

Day 61

Workout- Legs and Back
Bible Reading- Lamentations 2 - Ezekiel 12:20

I have been without internet for the last day or so due to the ineptitude of Comcast. I affectionately refer to them as Comcrap. I won't rehash my annoyance here as I will thankfully be rid of them as of Thursday. I am praying that AT&T will not let me down. I have very high hopes for them.

This week my schedule is completely out of whack! My church is doing something called "Garage-A-Palooza". For those who don't know, my church meets in an old auto service garage. Hence, the "garage" portion of the title. I don't know what the technical definition of a "palooza" is, but it's a darn good time as far as I am concerned. Anyway, "Garage-A-Palooza" is a one week activity camp for 1st - 5th graders to come to our church to participate in different activity groups and also learn about God. They get to do different activities such as horses, juggling, basketball, drama, sewing.... and on and on. It's a really fun week and a great chance for kids to learn new activities and find out more about themselves and God. This year I am taking a less involved role and simply running sound. It's been fun sitting in the back and watching all of the kids sing along with the songs. There is a stark difference between the adults who stand still in church and barely show emotion and the kids who aren't afraid to jump around and look silly all in the name of singing to God! At what age do we lose that freedom? These same adults who stand still on Sunday morning will lose all inhibition when around these kids and look just as silly as they do! There is just something that is contagious about the joy of children having fun and worshiping God. I wish adult services were more like this!

-Michael

Day 60

Workout- Cardio X
Bible Reading- Free day

I did my workout yesterday, but Comcast shut off our service a week earlier than I requested so I couldn't post anything yesterday. I did do it though so I can safely say that I have yet to miss a day. They supposedly have it back up and going, but I have not been home to check. I will have to to today's blog later tonight... hopefully.

-Michael

Day 59

Workout- Shoulders & Arms
Bible Reading- Jeremiah 48 - Lamentations 1

I am one dedicated guy! I have been busy all day long today and finally had some free time around 9:30 this evening. I seriously considered just going to bed. However, I had this nagging thought ringing in the back of my head that just made me do it. I have gone 59 days so far without missing a scheduled workout so I just couldn't let myself do it now. So I did it. Go me. Now I'm exhausted and need to go to bed. Goodnight.

-Michael

Day 58

Workout- Plyometrics
Bible Reading- Jeremiah 33:23 - 47

As long as I am in confessing mode, I may as well share another one of my deep dark secrets with you. I may risk much ridicule and scorn with this, but I feel that I need to get this off of my chest.

I don't really like summer. Gasp! In fact, the older I get, the more that dislike begins to fester and I foresee it eventually turning into hate. There, I said it. As a kid I used to love it. You didn't have school and you could go swim at the pool every day! What is not to like?

Now I'm an adult and all the magic of summer has faded. I work every day and it is so hot. The only outside activity that I get to do now is mowing the yard. I don't go on any vacations and I don't know anyone that has a pool. This morning I was outside at 7am and I was sweating! Nothing about that is ok!

So there you have it. I'm the freak show that doesn't like this time of year and I already find myself longing for the crisp fall air. I day dream of shades of oranges and reds in the trees. I want to go to a corn maze and the pumpkin patch. I want eat candy corn and pumpkin pie!

sheesh... if I'm already like this, imagine what I will be like when mid August hits! Bleh!

-Michael

Day 57

Workout- Chest and Back
Bible Reading- Jeremiah 23:9 - 33:22

Hello, my name is Michael... and I am an addict. I freely admit it. Everyday I am tempted. Currently I am 2 days sober.

What is my drug of choice you ask? McDonalds. I can't help myself! They are my absolute favorite and don't you dare judge me! Worse yet, is that McDonalds is right next door to my work. It's just so easy to run on over and get something. My coworker was heading over to get lunch and asked if I wanted anything. I said no. Then I revised my comment and admitted that I always wanted something, but I didn't need anything so I resisted the temptation. The fact of the matter is that you could ask me at any point in the day if I would like some french fries and if I was being honest, I would probably say yes. I know they are horrible for me. I know that you can leave them out for months on end and they won't decompose. I've seen "Supersize Me". I just don't seem to care! They are too darn disgustingly delicious! I can't help myself! Fries, hamburgers, chicken nuggets, frappes, egg mcmuffins..... I Mc-love it all! Please don't think any less of me.

So, now you know my dirty little secret. Maybe I can get started on some sort of 12 step program. If anyone out there wants to be my sponsor, just let me know.

-Michael

Day 56

Workout- Rest Day
Bible Reading- Jeremiah 10:14 - 23:8

I did my 2nd set of progress pictures last night. I am fairly happy with my progress. I'm not hardcore dieting so I can only expect so much. Overall, I am proud of myself for what I have accomplished so far, and am looking forward to seeing what happens over the course of my final five weeks of the program.

*Sorry for anyone who really had no desire to see me shirtless. Quickly click the red X in the corner and try to go to your happy place. The mental images will eventually subside.

Day 55

Workout- Cardio X
Bible Reading- Isaiah 66:19 - Jeremiah 10:13

It has finally happened! It has taken 55 days to get there but the day has finally arrived. My alarm went off this morning at 5:45 and I woke up without that feeling of annoyance that I normally feel. I got right out of bed and I actually wanted to work out this morning. I worked really hard at it and was drenched with sweat when it was all over. I even enjoyed the process! How crazy is that? The weirdness pursued as I sat down to do my reading for the day and I really enjoyed that today as well. What has come over me?

Breanne and I started discussing last night how we have both been in a funk lately. I think we all have those times and we are both definitely feeling that. I think adjusting to life with a baby is wearing on both of us. This is compounded by the fact that if I'm in a funk, it puts her in a funk, and then it all snowballs. As you have surely read over the past few weeks, you can see my funkiness in my blog. I just have not been very chipper.

So I am hoping to change that. I've been praying for change and maybe this morning is a glimpse of that. I also had the joy of being able to put on my "skinny jeans". In fact, I am wearing them today. Yesterday I was wearing a pair of size 36 jeans and today I am wearing a size 33! Woo Hoo!

-Michael

Day 54

Workout- Kenpo X
Bible Reading- Isaiah 52:13 - 66:18

Hooray! Yesterday somebody at church came up to me and actually asked me if I had been working out. Woo Hoo! I feel like I look different, but it is really reassuring to have somebody else notice too. I take a new picture on Wednesday and I am hoping to tell a difference. Maybe I will be brave enough to actually post my progress this time. We will have to wait and see.

I'm feeling light on things to say today so I will call it quits for today. If I think of anything else of interest to say I will log back on to let you know.

-Michael

Day 53

Workout- Core Synergistics
Bible Reading- Isaiah 41:19 - 52:12

While I don't particularly enjoy working out in the morning, I always feel very accomplished when I can get all of my tasks for the day done early. Then I don't have to think about them for the rest of the day. Now I can joyfully consider what my afternoon and evening will look like. Right now, I am foreseeing a nap in my future. that is of course if the baby is cooperative. I'm hoping to help her learn of the great joys that a nap has to offer. If it's nice out, which very likely will not happen as it looks quite gloomy out, I would like to get in a game of disc golf. I haven't got to play in forever and am feeling quite deprived. Although, there are few things that are better on a rainy Sunday afternoon than laying on the couch and watching a movie. Ahh... so many options and not nearly enough time to do them all. sigh.

-Michael

Day 52

Workout- Stretch X
Bible Reading - Isaiah 29 - 41:18

I did manage to get 2 of my three tasks done yesterday. I wasn't going to work out, but Breanne made me. Way to go honey.

So consider this my blog from yesterday. Today's blog to come later.

-Michael

Day 51

Workout- Core Synergistics
Bible Reading- Isaiah 14 - 28

I am past the half way point and I can't help but reevaluate why I am doing this. It's not fun, it's really time consuming, and it hurts. So what is my motivation for doing this? As far as the workout goes, my motivation is pretty obvious. I want to be healthier. I want to be skinnier. I want at least the vague semblance of a bicep. As I evaluate my progress thus far, I think I am making baby steps towards achieving this. I don't enjoy working out and I really don't enjoy the pain I feel after doing so, but I at least feel accomplished.

As far as the Bible reading goes, that is a harder motivation to define. I hear some Christians talk about how the Bible has shaped their faith and how they feel God's presence when they read his word. I can't really say that this is a common occurance for me. I never have that craving to dig out my Bible and just start reading. I'm not sure what that says about me, but if I am being honest, this is the case. So again, why am I doing this? I think for me, it is more of an act of obedience. God calls us to read His word and I have set the challenge for myself to do so. I can't say that I feel changed yet, but like the working out, I at least feel accomplished. Not to say that I haven't benefited from it so far. It's hard to buckle down and read the Old Testament. However, it is good to see the history of where we come from. To read about how the creation of the world is eventually connected to the birth of Christ and the redemption of this world that we live it. It's all one connected story. Albeit weird at times and sometimes boring... but connected none the less. So while I do an aweful lot of complaining, I do think that this exercise is overall beneficial to me, and quite difficult! Only 39 days left! Hopefully I can keep at it and finish strong!

-Michael

Day 50

Workout- Cardio X
Bible Reading- Isaiah 1 - 13

I.... am.... exhausted! I have been going non stop all night! After work I came home and mowed the yard, did my workout, helped Breanne finish setting up her new garden, took a shower, took out the trash, and cooked dinner. Whew. now I am tired and ready for bed. I am also really, really sore. Once I finally sat down I could feel the exhaustion wash over me. Now I am trying to find the motivation to remove myself from the couch and actually go to bed.

1...2....3... go.

-Michael

Day 49

Workout- Rest Day
Bible Reading- Ecclesiastes 3 - Songs of Solomon 8

Oh glorious rest day. You were everything that I had hoped that you would be. That two extra hours of sleep in the morning make a huge difference in the way that I feel. If only I could sleep in every day.

So it has been a really long time since I have read the Songs of Solomon. I always knew that they were a little out there, but parts of it are down right scandalous! It's really quite beautiful as it is going back and forth between a man and a woman who are very in love, but some of the things that are say will make you blush a little bit if you are not ready for it.

Tomorrow I start Isaiah and I am not looking forward to it. The last time that I tried to read through that book I had a really tough time. If I remember correctly it is a lot of prophesy in it and without the proper research, this all goes way over my head. Oh well, here's to hoping that I get a lot more out of it this time.

-Michael

Day 48

Workout- Kenpo X
Bible Reading- Proverbs 20:22 - Ecclesiastes 2

Day 6 has struck again. I got out of bed and started my workout, but 10 minutes in, I could feel the wave of laziness wash over me. The 6th day of working out in a row just leaves me worn out. I wish I had time in the afternoon to get a workout in, because there is just something about the morning that I despise. I am so not a morning person! I think it might be the fact that I am the only person awake. I get just a little jealous of the ones in the house that are still snuggled up in their beds. Does anyone out there have any good motivational ideas for me. Something that can get me up and going? Lately I have been dragging!!! Maybe I could take a quick walk down the street and back, just to get me going. I might start trying that.

Tomorrow is my free day! I am super excited about that.

-Michael

Day 47

Workout- Legs and Back
Bible Reading- Proverbs 8 - 20:21

I feel like I have just gone through a thousand fortune cookies, without all of the Chinese food goodness. That must mean that I am in the book of Proverbs. It's such an odd book and I just don't know what to do with it. It certainly has good pearls of wisdom, but how am I supposed to apply them? Is this book meant to be read in one sitting or is it better to just pick a few out and ponder them individually? I'm not sure what would be best. What I do know is that I probably only soaked up about 15% of what I was reading. The rest of it flew in one ear and out the other. Anyone have any thoughts on some practical applications for this book, because I am out of ideas.

Maybe I can go get some Chinese food and ponder this. Mmmmm.... Crab Rangoon! That's it, I need to go to First Wok. Who's with me?

-Michael

Day 46

Workout- Cardio X
Bible Reading- Psalm 135 - Proverbs 6

I finally finished all of Psalms today. This is a book that is great to read each chapter individually on an occasional but it is really difficult to sit down and read all 150 chapters in a short time period. There is no narrative going on so it is really difficult for me to stay concentrated on what I was reading. I also had to tackle all 176 verses of Psalm 119 and I can honestly tell you that I have no idea what it was about. I think I spent the majority of that chapter wondering when it was going to be over, but it just kept going and going. Overall, I really do enjoy the Psalms, but I think they are better when you just read a few at a time. Since it is Sunday, I will leave one of my favorite Psalms on here for you to read. I hope it provides a good focus for you as we go to worship God today.

Psalm 149

1 Praise the Lord !

Sing to the Lord a new song.
Sing his praises in the assembly of the faithful.

2 O Israel, rejoice in your Maker.
O people of Jerusalem, exult in your King.
3 Praise his name with dancing,
accompanied by tambourine and harp.
4 For the Lord delights in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.
5 Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them.
Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds.

6 Let the praises of God be in their mouths,
and a sharp sword in their hands—
7 to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with shackles
and their leaders with iron chains,
9 to execute the judgment written against them.
This is the glorious privilege of his faithful ones.

Praise the Lord !

-Michael

Day 45

Workout- Back and Biceps
Bible Reading- Psalm 109 - 134

What is that way off in the distance? If you look waaayyyy off you can see it. It looks like a tiny little speck of light. I think it just might be the light at the end of the tunnel. Today being day 45, marks the official half way point. I look back and I think that it doesn't feel like I have been doing this for that long, but then again, it feels like I have been at this forever! It's weird like that. Anyway, I am so excited to know that I have more days behind me than I do before me. I'm very proud of myself for sticking with it for this long. Maybe the downward slope that is left is just the motivation I need to put more effort into it. We will see.

-Michael

Day 44

Workout- Plyometrics
Bible Reading- Psalm 89:14 - 108

I did it. I got up early and both worked out and did my reading. I didn't exactly have a smile on my face, but I at least got up and did it. I don't understand those people who supposedly love to work out. What kind of masochist enjoys getting out of bed early and torturing themselves? I refuse to believe that anyone actually enjoys working out. If given the choice between doing push-ups or running and sitting on the couch with a bag of Doritos, you had better believe that I am choosing the Doritos every time! Anyone who tells you differently is a liar! I have come to terms with this. I will continue with this challenge and keep working out, but I don't have to like it and I'm OK with that.

-Michael

Day 43

Workout- Chest, Triceps, and Shoulders
Bible Reading- Psalm 69:22 - 89:13

So yesterday was rough. It was just an overall bad day. Today was better. I voted that I didn't have to work out early this morning because I was working a 1/2 day today. So when I got off of work I came home at one o'clock and I started my workout. I feel like I did a pretty good job of putting in a good effort into it. That's always a nice feeling, even if I am exhausted afterward. The workout was not all I did today. A weird wave of motivation came over me and I ended up mowing, weed eating, and raking the yard. Then after that I came inside and I vacuumed the house and living room furniture. How weird is that? I suppose I am feeling a little bit today than I was yesterday.

-Michael

Day 42

Workout- Rest Day
Bible Reading- Psalm 45:15 - 69:21

It was a ho hum kind of day. I was really happy to have the rest day, but am overwhelmed with a feeling of blah. That's where I am at for the day. Nothing of great consequence to report. I'm not feeling very confident at the moment. The end.

I know this does not fit very well with my resolution of being positive, but I suppose we are just going to have to live with it for the day. Tomorrow is a new day and I will just have to be positive then.

-Michael

Day 41

Workout- Legs and Back
Bible Reading- Psalm 25 - 45:14

Today was rough. So rough in fact that it took two tries. I got up early, as I normally do and I began to get ready for my workout. I put on my shoes, grabbed a big glass of water, and got out my towel. I popped in the DVD and got started. That's when the overwhelming feeling of laziness descended upon me. I could not for the life of me get motivated. I sort of half completed the movements required. After about 15 minutes I just knew that I wasn't accomplishing anything and that if I just continued I would only finish with a feeling of disappointment. So I quit. I turned it off and I sat on the couch to do my reading for the day. I resigned myself with the fate of having my workout looming over my head for the rest of the day. this evening after work, Breanne and I went grocery shopping. As soon as we got home from that, I begrudgingly put on my tennis shoes and got to work. This time, I put a lot more effort into it and actually accomplished something. I'm hoping that this mornings flub was simply me experiencing my "day six slump". Day seven of each week is my rest day and for the past few weeks, day six has been a bear! I'm really hoping that I can get over that. At least tomorrow is my rest day and I can start again strong for week seven.

-Michael

Day 40

Workout- Kenpo X
Bible Reading- Job 42 - Psalm 24

For those of you who tuned in yesterday, we were left with the ever so lame cliffhanger of when I would decide to work out today. Would I get up early and do it before I left Missouri or wait until I got home after driving for 5 hours? The answer is neither. We left my mom's house in Ash Grove Missouri and made our way to my dad's house outside of St. Louis. While there, Breanne talked me into going ahead and doing my workout while I was there. Reluctantly, I agreed and went ahead and did it. Today, instead of two year olds to manage while working out, I had 2 dogs who were very interested in what I was doing. I'm glad I went ahead and did it, because I really would not have been in the mood for it when I got home this evening. I am beat! I am now forty days in! I'm really glad that I have stuck with it for his long. Although, when I say that I still have fifty days left, I am not so encouraged. Ah well... at least I am almost to the 1/2 way point.

-Michael

Day 39

Workout- Cardio X

Bible Reading- Job 25 - 41

What a day! We woke up and went to church with my sister. Then we came home and the madness began. 11 adults, 1 teenager, and 4 children all invaded my moms house for a BBQ. It was utter craziness. Fun, but utter craziness. In the midst of all of this, I managed to pull myself away and do my cadio workout. Today's workout added an extra bit of challenge as I had a 2 2 year olds who wanted to join me. They made it as far as doing 3 jumping jacks and decided that the toys in the room were a little more interesting. I guess I will just have to keep searching for a new workout partner. Tomorrow's dilemma is deciding what time I am going to work out. Do I get up early and do it before we leave for home, or do I post pone it and do it when I get home from after for 5 hours. Decisions decisions. Tune in tomorrow to find out what I did. I'm sure you are all on the edge of your seats in suspense.

-Michael

Day 38

Workout- Back and Biceps
Bible Reading- Job 8 - 24

The 90 day challenge has gone on the road. This weekend we have made the 5 hour trek to Ash Grove Missouri to visit my mom and the rest of my family. This means that I have to get creative with doing my workouts and Bible reading. The hardest part is actually going to be finding the time. On the car ride, Breanne read the book of Job to me. And what an exciting reading that was! Talk about a buzz kill. Anyway, we completed it without causing any major traffic difficulties. I managed to get my workout in before we left town, so today was not a huge challenge in that regards. Tomorrow is when I have to get creative and really work at getting everything in. Can't wait for that. Note the sarcasm!

-Michael

Day 37

Workout- Plyometrics
Bible Reading- Nehemiah 13:15 - Job 7

I know I made a resolution yesterday to not complain as much, but I need to deviate from that for a short bit. I apologize in advance. As far as my 90 day challenge goes, everything is going fine with that. I have no complaints there. At least not for today. I need to take a moment to vent about my last two days of work. For those of you out there who are not in the Springfield area, we had a torrential downpour here that resulted in flooding. Go to www.sj-r.com to look at pictures of the mess we have. Houses have a foot of sewage water in their basements and cars had water up to their side view mirrors! It's been absolute madness here! Now, on to the complaining. I will first direct my complaints to the insureds. I realize that you are upset about having a claim on your house/car. I get that. However, you are not the only person in Springfield to have a claim, and we are working as hard as we can to get you taken care of. Yelling at me about it will not make this process move any faster. Also, to the ones who do not have the Back-up of Sewer and Drain coverage, I'm sorry that you have a messed up basement. I truly am, however it is an optional coverage that YOU declined to take. We show it to everyone that we write a policy for and you have to tell us not to put it on your policy. Otherwise, you would have it. You also have a renewal sent to your house every year that lists your coverages. If you don't read it to see if you have the coverage or not, that is not my fault!

Whew. I feel better. Complaining is officially over. I'm very excited that I have a three day weekend coming up because I need it!
-Michael

Day 36

Workout- Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps
Bible Reading- Nehemiah 1 - 13:14

Today is a new day. I'm going to make a conscience effort to not be a "Debbie Downer" for a while. I think I was just getting a little run down and I needed a break. Yesterday I got to do just that and I think it made a world of difference. I started out the morning with getting out of bed feeling very well rested and without any back pain!! That hasn't happened in ages! Because of this, I think my workout went better today too. I definitely put a lot more effort into it. I may regret that tomorrow when I am really sore, but for now, I am happy about it. I am starting feel like I am able to tell a difference in my body too, which is very encouraging. There is nothing too dramatic going on, (I won't be posing for any Men's Health Magazine covers anytime soon), but I think I am making some progress. I've been trying to find ways to trick Breanne into having me flex for her, so that is been fun. I ask things like, "Hey honey, did we ever get those tickets in the mail yet?". "No", she naively replies. "What Tickets?". "To the gun show!". Then I laugh because I think I'm hilarious. This morning I told her that I thought we would have to add an optional rider onto our homeowners policies to make sure we were fully covered. "Oh yea..." she hesitantly asks. "I think we need to add the guns endorsement!". That's right... I'm that awesome!

-Michael

Day 35

Workout- Rest Day
Bible Reading- 2 Chronicles 35:16 - Ezra 10

I was soooo needing a rest day from working out. I think a morning to sleep in a little bit was just what the doctor ordered. It felt incredibly good to sleep a little bit longer and not have to get up and work out. Hopefully tomorrow I will be feeling like I am ready to start back again. I have had a small moment of encouragement recently. Breanne was putting some of her winter clothes away to swap out for her summer clothes. Inside that box was a bunch of pants that I had put in the box that I could no longer fit into. I stored them away in hopes that I would one day be able to fit into them again. Well, the day is drawing closer that I actually can! I tried them on and all of them at least buttoned and zipped! They were still a tiny bit snug, but I am confident that by the time that I reach day 90 they should fit me pretty well! It's nice to know that I am at least making a little bit of progress.

-Michael

Day 34

Workout- Kenpo X
Bible Reading- 2 Chronicles 23:16 - 35:15

I am having a very "Blah" day. I have zero motivation. I came up with a ton of excuses as to why I didn't want to work out this morning. My head hurts, I'm tired, I'm still really sore from the previous two days workouts... The excuses went on and on and it caused me to have a very lackluster effort in my workout. It's crazy because Kenpo us usually one of my favorite ones to do. Not today though. I didn't want anything to do with it. I'm really annoyed with myself.

The lackluster effort also carried on over into my reading today. I am almost done with 2 Chronicles and I could not be happier about that. I am not really sure as to what the point of 1st and 2nd Chronicles is, because it is basically repeating everything that I already read in 1st and 2nd Kings! My eyes kind of glazed over and I know I was at least looking at all of the words but I would hate to find out how many I actually comprehended. I would probably be a little embarrassed.

Maybe I can put a little bit better of an effort in tomorrow.

-Michael

Day 33

Workout- Legs and Back
Bible Reading- 2 Chronicles 7:11- 23:15

It's late and I'm exhausted. I started my Bible reading earlier in the day and could not manage to finish it until now. It is extremely hard to get excited about reading 2 Chronicles at any point in the day, however, this lack of excitement is exponentially increased when you try to fit it in at the end of the night. Especially if you do it while lying in bed and you are simply trying to hurry up and finish your tasks for the day so you can go to bed. I'm not naming names... I'm just saying that it would be difficult.

-Michael

Day 32

Workout- Cardio X
Bible Reading- 1 Chronicles 24 - 2 Chronicles 7:1-10

At church we have been going though a series called "God's Redemptive Story". We are basically starting with Genesis and going through the entire bile highlighting all of the major stories. This entire process has taken a year and today was finally the last day of this series! It seems like it has taken forever! This morning John asked me to share what I thought to be the major takeaway point form this entire endeavor. I don't feel that I had any major insight into this, but this is what I came up with.

God has had the end in mind from the very beginning. He didn't create the world and just wing it. He knew where life was headed from day 1. From my reading yesterday, God shares with David that one of his descendants will reign forever. That descendant was Jesus. All they way back in the beginning of the Bible, God knows that he will send his son to redeem us. That's a pretty reassuring thought.

That says to me that God has that same plan for us. He knows where we have been and from day 1 he has had a plan for us. No matter what we are struggling with and what troubles we may have, he has a plan for us and a way to redeem us. Amen!

-Michael

Day 31

Workout- Biceps and Back
Bible Reading- 1 Chronicles 10-23

I am currently praying that my very cranky baby is actually going to go to sleep. I just gently laid her down in her crib and slowly tip toed out of the room all in an effort to not wake her up. It seems to make me feel better if I quietly repeat to myself over and over again, "don't wake up, don't wake up, don't wake up". We will see. Julia finally going to bed is actually allowing to finish my tasks for the day. And quite the busy day it was. I woke up early for a garage sale that our whole neighborhood had. later I played an abysmal game of disc golf with some friends. It was a very sad game. Anyway, I came home after that and helped my wife sweep the driveway. Then I did my workout. Later we made a trip to Target and County Market. After getting home from that, we had dinner and I finished my reading for the day. We followed this with giving Julia her bath. And now she is asleep and I will be following her very shortly afterward. I'm exhausted! What a day!

-Michael

Day 30

Workout- Plyometrics
Bible Reading- Free Day

As my alarm buzzed incessantly this morning I began to have a debate in my head. To get up, or not to get up. That was the question. Of course I knew that I needed to get up, but I really did not want to. All I wanted to do was stay in bed. So I began to map out the rest of the day, trying to figure out where else I could fit a workout in. After much debate, I decided that it would just be best to go ahead and do it. My desire to workout was not going to magically grow as the day progressed. So I reluctantly swung my feet out of the bed and forced myself to get up. I staggered into the living room and I made myself do the workout. Yay me.

I was happy to learn that my reading plan gives you two free days! One at day 30 and another day 60. So I suppose this is actually the Bible in 88 days. I suppose 90 just sounds better. I guess this means that I have officially hit the 1/3 done mark. That's exciting! Just two more months left!

-Michael

Day 29

Workout- Chest, Biceps, and Triceps
Bible Reading- 1 Chronicles 1-9

The makers of P90X have appropriately divided up their program into 3 phases. Each lasting approximately 30 days. Give or take a few days. I am now officially 1/3 of the way through the program and have 2 phases left. I took my 30 day follow up pictures last night. I am not completely thrilled with the progress. I don't think you can tell much of a difference. I have only lost 3 or 4 pounds so there really isn't anything major going on. I think I have lost an inch or two around my stomach but that is pretty much it. I'm hoping for some change to really start happening in this next section. Along with phase 2 comes a new workout that I haven't done yet. It's the "Chest, Biceps, and Triceps" workout. Otherwise known as "30 Different Varieties of Push-ups From Hell". It was awful. I'm horrible at push-ups anyway. I always end up doing girl push-ups anyway. One segment I completely missed, because I was so completely baffled at what he was doing. He was doing a push-up and then on the way up he pushed off the ground so that both feet and hands went a foot of ground and he clapped his hands in between. He did 20 of them by the way! I just stood there with my mouth open thinking "You have got to be out of your mind if you think I am going to get anywhere close to doing that!". Once he was done, I collected myself and moved on to the next exercise. Maybe next time I will at least do some regular push-ups while he is going insane with his. Oh well. Better luck next time.

-Michael

Day 28

Workout- Rest Day/Walking
Bible Reading 2 Kings 15:26 - 25

What a glorious thing it was this morning to to not have to get up at 6 am. It's so weird to think that I actually felt like I was "sleeping in" to not wake up until 7:45. I'm a lazy bum! I sure do love my sleep though. Anyway, today was my rest day and I greatly enjoyed every minute of it. Breanne and I even went for a walk this evening. I strapped the baby in the carrier and we were on our way. It was pretty fun! She seemed to enjoy herself.

I'm feeling like my Bible Reading is getting a little monotonous. I think its just the repetitive nature of the book of Kings. I was talking with a friend the other day about the effect that reading scripture can have on you. I hear stories of people who talk about how the word of God has penetrated their heart and changed their lives. I'm sad to say that I cannot say that. Not because it sounds a little sappy to me, but simply because I honestly am not sure that that has ever happened. I was encouraging my friend to try reading some scripture because it is not something that he has done in a while and to stick with it, because it might not be a life changing experience in the beginning. If he is like me, it probably won't be. I have decided that for me, this whole reading the Bible in 90 days thing is an act of discipline. It is my prayer that God will honor this and show me how his word will fit into my life and shape my faith.

-Michael

Day 27

Workout- Cardio X
Bible Reading- 2 Kings 4:38 - 15:26

There are times when I look at how long I have been doing this, and I feel like time has flown by. I say wow... 27 days! That went by quick! I will be at day 90 in no time. Then there are days like today when I feel like it has been waaaay longer than 27 days and that I will never be done with this. I'm not quite sure why I feel this way today, but I am just worn out. Anyone have any ideas as to how I can get an extra boost of motivation?

Maybe it's just the weather. It's May for goodness sake! It should be over 65 degrees outside. It should also be sunny. I'm sick of rain and all of this dreariness. It's made everyone extra crabby and I am sad to say that I am not immune to this. Everyone's clouds of gloom have slowly eroded away at my usually sunny disposition.

Alright. That's enough complaining. That's not going to get me anywhere. Perhaps tomorrow the sun will come out and lift my spirits. Dang it, now I'm singing songs from Annie in my head.

-Michael

Day 26

Workout- Core Synergistics
Bible Reading- 1 Kings 16:21 - 2 Kings 4:37

Now that I am several weeks into my workout challenge I have had a few people ask me if I can tell a big difference. I honestly cannot. I haven't lost any weight so its really hard to measure if it is making any difference. Next, people ask if I have more energy. This is met with a resounding no. I'm getting out of bed at 6 am and working out. Of course I don't have any more energy. I'm exhausted! Really at any point in the day I could take a nap. I don't understand the whole having more energy concept. I just don't see that happening. I will just have to revisit this concept later to see if I feel any different.

-Michael

Day 25

Workout- Stretch X
Bible Reading- 1 Kings 7:38 - 16:20

This challenge is infinitely harder to do on the weekends. My entire routine is completely thrown off. Yesterday and today we were out of the house most of the day. the small amount of time that we did stay at the house was spent cooking dinner and doing laundry. It was a hectic few days, but we had a lot of fun as well. Better yet, I persevered and got my workouts and bible readings in both days! Major props to my lovely wife for letting me do those things while she took care of the baby. She is so awesome and very supportive!! I love her to pieces!

-Michael

Day 24

Workout- Core Synergistics
Bible Reading- 2 Samuel 23 - 1 Kings 7:37

I did do my workout and Bible reading yesterday, but I failed to get to my blog. We went to St. Louis to the Botanical Garden and as soon as we got home we went to a dinner party. We didn't get home until 11:30-ish so blogging had to be cut for the day. I suppose if there is one component of my challenge that would have to be left out for the day, I guess the blogging portion is the one to choose.

Oh well, this will have to do.

-Michael

Day 23

Workout- Kenpo X
Bible Reading- 2 Samuel 12:13 - 22:51

Basic math escapes. It's rather sad really. Very basic monetary transactions throughout my work day are routinely done on my calculator. It's just the way that I am. I've come to accept it. However, there is one exception to this general rule. I am a mathematical wizard when it comes to calculating exactly how many times I can hit the snooze button on my alarm clock and still get up in time to not be late in the morning. Early this morning I was woken from a dead sleep with the alarm going off. Drearily I slam down on the top of it to stop it. Without a moments hesitation I cracked one eye open to glance at the clock to see what time it was. 5:45 AM. Knowing that my snooze lasts for exactly 9 minutes, I know that I can snooze twice and wake up at 6:03. This would give me enough time to pull myself out of bed and still get a work out in. And this is how my morning began. Today was a little unusual, as I was meeting a friend to work out with, so I actually had to get out of bed this morning. On other days my ability to multiply by 9 can be mind boggling.

But alas, today I did get out of bed within an acceptable number of snoozes. My routine was a little different today as I met John Wentz at Southwest Campus to work out with me this morning. It's really helpful to workout with a friend. You have someone to push you and motivate you. I had a really good time. After I showered and got ready for work, I noticed that my size 36 jeans were a little loose on me today! It's the first glimmer of actual progress! Hopefully this is a good sign of things to come.

-Michael

Day 22

Workout- Cardio X
Bible Reading- 1 Samuel 28:20 - 2 Samuel 12:12

I have not been very happy with the blog portion of my challenge thus far. What I had intended it to be and what it has become are two different things. I wanted it to be a place where I could express what was going on, but do so in a creative manner. What it has become is as last minute description/regurgitation of what I did and read for the day. The end result is making the writing portion of this challenge to be a huge drudgery. What I am writing is not a reflection of who I am, creatively speaking.

So, with that being said, I will spend less time recapping what I did and read. Instead, I will talk about other things. Any revelations or thoughts concerning my experience will definitely be shared, but I will try to put more thought and effort into it. It seemed as if I was recapping what I did as a means of almost proving that I was actually doing it. I suppose you will just have to trust me from now on.

-Michael

Day 21

Workout- Rest
Bible Reading- 1 Samuel 16-28:19

Today was the last day of week three and as usual, the last day of the week is a rest day. Today I decided that I was actually going to use it as a rest day. It was everything that I hoped it would be. I tried to sleep in, but woke up to the humongous clap of thunder at 5:30 this morning. This led to the baby waking up and the dog to be terrified. Both ended up in bed with us. We were one big happy family. I did eventually get back to sleep and it was wonderful to not work out this morning. I didn't miss it one bit.

Back to grind stone tomorrow.

-Michael

Day 20

Workout- Kenpo X
Bible Reading- 1 Samuel 2:30-15

I have officially worked out for 20 days straight! That has never happened before! I definitely felt like I did a better job of putting some additional effort into my workout this morning. I really had a good sweat going. Kenpo is still one of my favorite workouts that I am doing. It's a pretty fun one to have to do. It's tiring... but still fun.

I read some more of 1 Samuel. I was having a hard time with the reading today. There is just so much fighting and war going on. The Israelites seem to constantly be fighting one people group or another. I have no reason to question God's plan, but was all of this really necessary? Can't we all just get along? This is just the pacifist side of me coming out, but it gets tiring to read about so much death.

-Michael

Day 19

Workout- Legs and Back
Bible Reading- Judges 15:13 - 1 Samuel 2:29

Guess who forgot to set their alarm clock last night? That's right! Fortunately I still woke up in enough time to get my workout it. I was rushing it to get a shower in before I had to leave for work, but I made it. I have a new resolve to work harder this week on my work out. I slacked off a little for the weekend so I need to come back strong and work harder this week.

I finished up Judges and Ruth today and got a start on 1 Samuel. Yesterday I got to the point to where I was 20% finished. That felt good. That is a very tangible number that to me, shows progress. I learned that I have several people that are following along with my progress and are cheering me on. That is encouraging to know that I am not doing this by myself. I have people who don't want me to quit! So, now on to the other 80% that is left. I can do it!

-Michael

Day 18

Workout- Cardio X
Bible Reading- Judges 3:28-15:12

I don't know what my deal is this weekend, but I am so not in the mood for working out at all. Thus proven by my lackluster effort that was put forth in both of my morning routines. I still got up and did something, which is more than I was doing before all of this, but it was still pretty pathetic. Oh well, tomorrow is a new day.

I read the fun story of Jael today. The Israelites are fighting the Canaanites and a woman named Jael does something awesome to ensure their victory. The Canaanite King Sisera is running away from the Israelites and he seeks shelter in the home of Jael. Noticing who he was, she allows him to stay with her. She then gets him drunk and when he passes out she kills him by driving a tent stake into his temple! Who says the Bible isn't cool?

-Michael

Day 17

Workout- Arms and Shoulders
Bible Reading- Joshua 15-Judges 3:27

Along with my arms and shoulders today, I was supposed to do the Ab Ripper workout. I will have to forgo the ab workout for a while. I have been having some trouble with my lower back lately and a lot of the exercises in that workout put way to much strain on my back. It's supposed to be a good pain when you work out. Not shooting pain. I injured it about three years ago when I was shoveling snow. The pain comes and goes but lateley I have been feeling it more. I'm hoping it gets better soon. I did complete the main part of my workout which is good. That way I don't feel like too much of a slacker.

Today's reading in Joshua was pretty dry. The book was listing out all of the various territories and cities that were divided up amongst the 12 tribes of Israel. I can only read through lists of towns that I can hardly pronounce for so long before my eyes start to glaze over. I finished the book of Joshua and began to read Judges. Surprise, surprise... the Israelites begin to turn away from God and he has to raise up various people called "Judges", who fight for the people and turn them back to god. This book is a pretty good one, and as my friend recently said, it reads like a Tarintino film. It's pretty brutal. The second judge we meet is brought up to release the Israelites from the rule of king Ehud. He does this my killing the king by stabbing him with a foot long dagger that gets lost in the kings fat up to the hilt of the blade. Who know that the bible could be so graphic! I knew of this story but it has been forever since I actually read the details of it and it took me by surprise. I'm actually kind of excited for tomorrows reading!

-Michael

Day 16

Workout- Plyometrics
Bible Reading- Joshua 1-14

With the encouragement of my wife, I was able to roll myself out of bed this morning and do my workout. I still broke a sweat but addmittedly, it was a lackluster effort at times. Some days I'm just more motivated than others.

Today I started the book of Joshua. Joshua is successor to Moses as the leader of the Israelites. He has been entrusted with the task of running out all of the people groups that currently live in the land that God has promised to the Israelites. I have a little trouble here with these sections because it seems so brutal. I know that God says that all of the people they are killing off are corrupt idol worshippers who are capable of unspeakable evil, but it still seems a little much. Is it necessary to actually kill them? Can't God just run them out himself? It just reveals the wrath of God and I have a hard time picturing it. I much prefer the "buddy god" or "grandpa god". I don't like to see God as one who is angry. These passages definitely help me to have a more well rounded vision of who God is. We should all have a healthy fear of God as well as abounding love for Him. After all, he wouldn't get angry with us, if he didn't first love us.

-Michael

Day 15

Workout- Chest and Back & Ab Ripper X
Bible Reading- Deuteronomy 23:12-34

Thus begins another week of my 90 day challenge. The end seems so far away at this point. I'm really trying to stay motivated, but that is difficult when I am so sore! I find myself dreaming about what I want to do as my reward when I finish. At this point I am leaning towards a giant horse shoe from Darcy's. Doesn't that sound amazing? Speaking of things unhealthy, I went to the doctor for my annual physical. As I was already aware of, we discussed my higher than normal cholesterol and my predispisotion to all ailments heart related. It was quite the uplifting experience. It was also a reminder as to why I am doing this. They were going to have me do my blood work now to check my cholesterol, but we decided to wait until I have finished my 90 days and we will check it at that time. I'm praying for some very tangible results to make me feel better.

I have officially finished the Pentateuch! It's an exciting milestone. I did take a moment of silence at the end as we concluded with the death of Moses. Poor guy did all that work to get the Israelites into the promised land and he dies just before they get there. God would not allow him to enter. Moral of the story, when God tells you to do something, you had better DO IT! He is one serious dude who you do not want to tick off! Moses spends several chapters outlining the various punishments and plagues that will fall on the people if that do not honor God. It all sounds pretty self explanatory. Follow God... do what he says. It should be pretty simple, but for some reason the Israelites just keep messing things up! It's pretty easy for me to get all high and mighty and point my finger at their short comings. That is until I stop and think about where I fall short in my life as well. Thank God for grace and his understanding!

-Michael