Exercise Made Easy

Exercise

I’m talking about what works for me without going to a gym or using fancy equipment. I have deteriorating knees, which makes walking uncomfortable, yet I can ride an exercise bike. Go figure. Arm exercises are good to get the heart rate up—aerobic exercise. For maximum benefit, we need that and muscle building exercises. For women, light weights three to five pounds or inexpensive resistance bands work fine for toning muscles. They usually include exercises in the package. Of course if you have medical problems, check out any ideas with your doctor.

All Movement Helps

Any activity you do counts and can be done in increments instead of all at once. Ten minutes vacuuming, mopping, cleaning the toilet, etc.; doing yard work, especially cutting down shrubs and raking or hoeing (all using the arms a lot, you’ll notice); lifting objects at the grocery store and into the house; climbing stairs and carrying laundry. See? Exercise isn’t so hard.

How Much 

 

The amount of exercise needed and the intensity to go at it changes depending on the study of the day. I don’t pay attention. Thirty to forty minutes a day, (again, can be in increments) three days—every other day—on strength building, the rest aerobic where you work up a sweat and breathe hard enough to make talking slightly difficult—more is too much—works fine.

Traditional Exercise

Walking, biking (stationary or outside), swimming, hiking, dancing around the house, DVD programs—all good aerobic activities. For strength training, I do squats every day to keep the muscles around my knees strong, which I hope puts off knee replacement surgery a good long time. They’re also supposed to be good for sciatic nerve pain. Have a sturdy chair or other piece of furniture nearby you can hold onto for balance if you’re just beginning.

Keep the knees just behind the toes and don’t bend them more than ninety degrees. I use to think you had to keep your back straight and at ninety degrees from your legs and couldn’t do the squats. Keep the back straight, stick your tush out, and bend at the waist as far as necessary to get the thighs at the correct angle from the feet.

Wednesday—easy but effective strength exercises.

Jesus' Power From Satan

Jesus Accused of Being Satan’s Pawn

{Matthew and Luke} A demon-possessed man also blind and mute was brought to Jesus and healed. The astonished onlookers wondered if Jesus could be the Son of David (chosen by God to save his people). {Mark} Jesus entered a house where the crowd pushed in so that he and his disciples weren’t able to eat. His family heard about it and went to take him in hand, saying, “He’s out of his mind.”

{Matthew, Mark, and Luke} The Pharisees (Luke says the onlookers) accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons. Jesus said, “Every city or house fighting amongst themselves will be ruined. If Satan drives out Satan, how can his kingdom stand? Can anyone enter a strong man’s house and rob him before first tying him up? If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is here in your midst.”

For or Against

Jesus said, “Every sin and contemptuous attitude toward the sacred will be forgiven except that attitude toward the Spirit. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven but not against the Holy Spirit. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me (sinners to the kingdom of God), scatters (drives them away).”

{Matthew} “Watch out for false prophets who act as meek as lambs but are ravenous wolves. Their deeds show who they are. You do not pick grapes from thorn bushes. Bad trees are cut down and put in the fire. Only those who do the Father’s will enter the kingdom of heaven. The rest will be told, ‘I never knew you.’ ”

Personal Thought: There’s a later passage that says no one comes into the presence of God except through Jesus. Here, I think he clearly says the Holy Spirit takes precedence even over him. Non-Christians may not call on the name of Jesus. Doesn’t mean they don’t know God’s Holy Spirit. They can be with Jesus, follow the spirit of his teachings, even if they learn those teachings elsewhere.

Tribute to Robin Williams

An Astonishing Range of Talent

I’ll never forget the wonder as I watched Robin Williams in Awakenings. Familiar with his comic work, this nuanced performance of a shy, insecure doctor more comfortable in research than treating live patients, who became a caring and determined advocate for the afflicted, had me riveted to my seat. I had no idea the boisterous comic possessed such a subtle range of acting skills.

After hearing of Mr. Williams’s death, my eighteen-year-old stayed out in the living room with me, wanting to talk, wanting comfort, forgetting video games for the moment. Aladdin’s genie, Jumanji, Mrs. Doubtfire—we watched those movies as a family many times. Mr. Williams’s roles crossed age, gender, and preferred movie type boundaries.

Living His Beliefs

More important, in person he came across as a down-to-earth, caring guy. Even in his raunchiest stand-up comedy, his personality and beliefs came through. He told men to appreciate natural beauty in women, not just the enhanced, implanted variety.

Mr. Williams’s charity work included Comic Relief, fundraising events hosted by him, Billy Crystal, and Whoopi Goldberg, and raising funds for many other charities and disaster relief funds. He performed with the USO in Iraq and Afghanistan and supported St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Personal Demons

He battled depression, no doubt exacerbated by his alcohol addiction. Mental illness is like the chicken and the egg. Which comes first, the emotional symptoms that people try to self-medicate with substances or do the substances cause the symptoms. Depends on the circumstances. Some illnesses are congenital and medical science is not exact. Just getting a diagnosis can be harrowing. From personal family experience, I found good, useful help sinfully hard to come by. Dredging up the patience and optimism needed for the trial and error required to find a treatment that works, is sometimes the straw that breaks the camel’s back for the afflicted.  

Mr. Williams went into treatment a number of times. His TV series, The Crazy Ones, was cancelled after one season and his film roles seemed to have slowed down. One can’t help wonder if that contributed to Mr. Williams’s depression. What a horrible shame if the legacy he left behind didn’t please him and validate his sense of self-worth. He will be one whose work will live on through posterity and bring joy and laughter forever.

Healthier Meal Tips

Rote Meals

Predictable meals make buying and cooking ingredients easier. It doesn’t mean the same meals every day, rather meals of similar design—lean protein, a grain, vegetables, fruit, and a dairy serving. Fish twice a week still seems to be recommended by all dietary experts. Canned tuna counts. Salmon is overused, ecologically speaking. Farmed fish uses a lot of antibiotics, though supposedly farmed shrimp is okay. Wild caught can be more expensive but is healthier bodily and planet-wise.

Tilapia’s a good choice. Top it with tomatoes for moisture and other vegetables of your choice. I like onions, mushrooms, summer squash, and kale. Cover and bake for twenty minutes at 350 degrees, easy and tasty. If you hate cutting up vegetables, buy frozen ones and just pour on. They can easily be steamed in the microwave for any meal.

No Meat Occasionally is Good Meat

Non-meat meals several times a week help with the pocket book, the environment, and controlling how much fat you consume. Beans, nuts, and a whole bunch of grains I can’t spell (most are simply simmered with water) have high protein and fiber. Explore the grocery shelves.

Fiber’s an important component in managing weight. It keeps blood sugar from spiking and falling so rapidly, which prevents hunger between meals and helps with cravings. Along with the protein-rich foods above, vegetables and fruits of course contain good amounts of fiber and other properties that help with digestion.

Digestive problems are usually eased by consuming high fiber foods and fewer sugary and saturated fat foods. Not so bowel diseases. Those require medical advice.

Wednesday—exercise. If anyone wants more information about anything discussed in these posts, leave a comment and I’ll be glad to answer.

Hoping to Accuse Jesus

Lord of the Sabbath {Matthew, Mark, and Luke}

One Sabbath, Jesus and his disciples walked through grain fields. Hungry, the disciples picked some to eat. The Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look, your disciples aren’t following the Sabbath laws.”

Jesus said, “David and his companions entered the house of God and took the consecrated bread meant for the priests when they were hungry. The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. (Matthew: If you understood these words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ (Hosea 6:6) you wouldn’t condemn the innocent.) I tell you one greater than the temple is here. The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

Personal Thought: The Sabbath was made for man—one of the least quoted and to me, most important passages of the Bible. The Sabbath is for our benefit—all the fundamental believers and their strict rules about observing it is like following the letter of the law instead of the spirit of it—justice and redemption.

Excuse to Accuse Jesus

Jesus went into the synagogue and saw a man with a shriveled hand. Hoping for a reason to accuse Jesus, the Pharisees asked, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

Jesus said, “If anyone has a sheep that falls into a pit on the Sabbath, won’t they lift it out? A man is much more valuable than a sheep. {Mark and Luke} Which is lawful, to do good and save life on the Sabbath or to do evil and kill?”

They kept quiet. Angered and distressed by their stubborn hearts, Jesus told the disabled man to stand before everyone and stretch out his hand. It was completely restored. The Pharisees plotted with Herod’s people how to kill Jesus. {Matthew} Aware of their thoughts, Jesus left. Many followed him and he healed their sick, warning them not to tell who had healed them.

Fulfilling Prophecy (Isaiah 42: 1-4) {Matthew}

“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out till he leads justice to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope.”