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

Day 14

Workout- Walking/Jogging
Bible Reading- Deuteronomy 8-23:11

Two weeks down! There are very few things in my life that I can say that I put an effort forward and did it for fourteen days straight. How sad is that! Anyway, today was my "rest" day so I decided that I would simply go for a walk/jog around the block. Now when I say walk/jog I simply mean that I walked for 80% of the time and sort of jogged the rest. Running is one of the most detestable types of exercise to me. I absolutely hate it. I can walk all day, but running just kills me. Part of the problem is that I have zero stamina. I just cannot do it for very long at all. This is not terribly surprising however, consider my long history of physical activity, or the lack there of. Anyway, I will simply consider my self to be currently training for the mile. I can do it!

Today's reading brought me one day closer to the end of the Pentateuch. The Israelite nation is right on the cusp of entering the Promised Land. God has spared the lives of the Isaelites so many times, that I have lost count and he is about to usher them into a time of prosperity just as he had promised to them long ago when they were slaves in Egypt. These last few chapters Moses is recounting to the nation their history and all of the laws to live by that were previously laid out in the past few books. It's a little monotonous but I got through it. I'm always surprised at how much detail is put into all of these laws and regulations. Especially in in chapter 23. I was a little taken aback, that's all. I won't recount it here, you will have to read that for yourself.

-Michael

Day 13

Workout- Kenpo X
Bible Reading- Numbers 32:20 - Deuteronomy 7

I had a debate this morning with myself over whether or not I actually had to get out of bed to work out. I was so comfortable in my bed. I could have snoozed a few more times or even saved my workout out for later in the day. I did work a 1/2 day today after all. But, I did not succumb to the sweet siren song of the bed sheets. I fought the temptation and got myself out of bed to do my workout. It was not fun, but I did it. I'm quite proud of myself.

I did work in my reading today as well. Admittedly I need to do a better job of paying closer attention while reading. I find that I end up skimming some of the chapters, which kind of misses the point of why I am doing this. Something to work on I suppose.

-Michael

Day 12

Workout- Legs and Back
Bible Reading- Numbers 21:8 - 32:19

My daughter threw a wrench into my entire day. Last night she decided that she did not want to sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time. So this morning when I woke up at six to work out, she was still up crying. I had to push back my workout and I held Julia for a couple of hours so Breanne could get some sleep. I'm no saint though. I only had a two hour shift. She's the real hero having to do it all night. I feel a little guilty, but really, what can I do. I lack the necessary equipment to handle the situation. She's a trooper and I know I could not handle raising this child without her! Anyway, so I had to forgo the workout this morning and I ended up doing it at eight tonight. I must say, that as much as I hate getting up early in the morning, I really do prefer working out in the morning, rather than in the evening. It should make getting up tomorrow morning very interesting. I'm exhausted. I'm off to bed.

-Michael

Day 11

Workout- Cardio X
Bible Reading- Numbers 8:15 - 21:7

I decided to deviate a tiny bit from the routine that is laid out for me. I was supposed to do the Yoga X workout, but I really, really, really hated the Yoga workout so I decided to do the Cardio one instead. Lucky for me, the first 15 minutes of the cardio workout is yoga! I was overjoyed! Really, the Cardio workout is simply a mix of several of the other workouts all in one. I worked up a good sweat so I feel pretty good about that. Even if I had to do a little bit of Yoga today.

I've been doing a lot of complaining about how boring the last few days of reading have been and how I have no idea why these things are important today. I'm sorry about that. I had a few people give me some good insights that were very helpful. One shared a quote that their bible study had discussed. "All scripture is for us, but not all scripture is about us". Sometimes God just wants us to know the history of where we came from. It doesn't necessarily have to apply directly to our lives. Also, this morning I was sharing with a friend the drudgery of wading through all of the details explained in the book of Exodus concerning the Tabernacle. There is no detail that is left out. He said, "If God cares so much about all of these details, how much more does he care about us and all of the details of our life". Aren't we worth more to Him, than the proper use of lamp stands and placement of jewels on priestly garments? Absolutely we are! Perhaps I can take these thoughts and read with a more positive perspective.

-Michael

Day 10

Workout- Arms and Shoulders & Ab Ripper X
Bible Reading- Leviticus 26:27 - Numbers 8:14

Since today is Saturday and I had nowhere to be, I got to sleep in! I was very excited about that. Julia even cooperated and let us sleep in some! So I eventually got myself reluctantly out of bed and I completed my morning tasks. I needed to work out extra hard this morning as I sort of fell off of my eating right wagon last night. I got home from work last night with a huge craving for a hamburger and fries. Combine that with a gift card that was burning a hole in my wallet and we ended up going to Chile's for dinner. It was so delicious but I ate way to much! Oh well, I just gotta get back on the wagon.

I finished Leviticus today which I was very happy about. Now we journey into Numbers, which is equally boring but less graphic. So far they have kept the discussion of bodily discharges to a minimum. I am so ready to move out of the Pentateuch and get to some more narrative stories. These chapters about different statistics of how much each clan brought to the tabernacle to sacrifice are going to kill me! I kind of want to poke my eyes out a little. I have to sojourn on. I can do it!

-Michael