Can it be true?!

If this is true, I am moving to Portland!

"Many cities and counties have outlawed polystyrene foam (i.e. Taiwan, Portland, OR, and Orange County, CA)." *

polystyrene foam is the fancy name for that heinous stuff we call styrofoam!


*http://www.earthresource.org/campaigns/capp/capp-styrofoam.html

"The Two Things At The Very Top Of My Things-I-Never-Want-To-Do List"

1. This morning I woke up at 5:15 am...

2. To go to the gym

Yes, it's true. I got up at an inhumane hour of the morning in order to sign up for a gym membership and exercise. I had promised myself that I would never throw my money away in that fashion, but last week I realized that without a gym membership (and without a safe neighborhood) there was no way I was going to get in a decent amount of preparation for the 5k that I am "running" in less than a month. So there you have it. People can change.

Magnificent Obsession

On Thursday night I went with Kristin Bond and Joe Raymond to see Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W Smith in concert. I grew up listening to the music of both these artists and it was really fun when they pulled out a couple songs from when I was a kid. Geoff Moore even made a guest appearance. The whole concert was really awesome, but there is no question that Steven is my all time favorite. There is no way that I could ever pick one favorite Steven song, there are just so many that I love. One of my very favorites is "Magnificent Obsession". I just love the way he voices his desire for Jesus:

You are everything I want
You are everything I need
I want this to be my one consuming passion
Everything my heart desires
Lord, I want it all to be for You, Jesus
Be my magnificent obsession

Considering that Steven has hundreds of songs to chose from when deciding what to play in one short concert, I was so happy when he played this one on Thursday. I was also convicted.

I tend to be obsessive by nature. But instead of letting Jesus be my one magnificent obsession, I have a horde of very un-magnificent obsessions, some that are downright foolish actually. I have decided that I am going to change that. I want to be able to sing along with Steven and really mean it. This doesn't mean that I can't still enjoy the things I like. It just means that I don't want to be consumed with them in an unhealthy way anymore, a way that distracts me from my obsession with Jesus that I am working on building into a beautiful all-consuming passion.

New Shoes!

Ok, so the first pair are not fun or exciting, but they were very necessary. It's pretty pathetic when you don't even own shoes that you can exercise in. So last night I bought these:




On a much more exciting note, while I was out shopping I found these:




And of course I had to own them!

180

I recently decided to start doing a few new things. The list is not very long, but it basically amounts to a complete 180 from my current lifestyle. These things will require quite a bit of effort and self-discipline on my part as they are all things that I either don't like to do and/or things that I am just not particularly good at. So here they are:

1. Writing

This is one of those things that I am just not good at, which also makes me not like it. But I have a family and friends who would probably like to hear from me once in a while. Of course I also have a blog that I should make better use of. And finally, Mandy and I have decided to become an author and that clearly will involve some writing.

2. Exercising

I have a fairly severe aversion to exercise in general and running in particular, but as I am now participating in Joda's Twilight 5k Progressive Marathon challenge (try saying that 5 times fast) with the ultimate goal of actually "running" a 5k, now seems like a good time to start exercising at all. I am also supposed to be in the midst of a Biggest Loser competition. Exercising would probably help.

3. Becoming a morning person

This one may well be impossible. I am going to attempt to change something about myself that is probably innate. I don't know if I buy into the theory that you can train yourself to be a morning person. I have always loved sleep and I have never been a morning person. Case in point: less than a month after I was born, I slept for over 10 hours straight and scared my mom to death. So why am I even trying to attempt this? I just want to see if I can. I know that is not a very good reason, but since I am already making some other changes in my life, why not this one too.

Note: Mandy and I have also decided to become a modern artist, but that does not make the list because I don't foresee it requiring much effort and I expect that we will be great at it.

*This is not an April fool's joke :)