Lent Day 26

When I made the commitment to give up “laziness” and do cardio exercise every day, I had no idea what particular exercise I was going to do.  I know I started out jogging around the yard, sit ups, and push ups, but that was for lack of creativity.  The important part was to simply make myself get up and get going in some fashion, even if it meant dancing around like a teenager in front of a mirror practicing dance moves.  Fortunately, I had a better imagination than that. 

Almost a month into this and I have learned a lot about exercise.  Exercise can build our bodies up in strength and endurance surprisingly fast.  I have learned how much my body can take before I simply give out.  I think I know why God wanted us to rest on the Sabbath.  I have learned the joy of having a partner to take along.  The most important thing I have learned about exercise is that it doesn’t matter what you are doing, just make sure you’re having fun.  Some exercises are not work at all.  For example, playing an outdoor game with your kids and having a blast may make you forget that you are burning calories.  Yesterday, I walked with friends and family in the zoo.  Today, the family cleaned out the chicken pen.  Both smelled similar. 

Christy and I took on a real challenge with the chicken coop.  We have had chickens for about two years now and never did a full cleaning like this.  We shoveled so many wheelbarrows full of chicken poop that I lost count.  Tyler joined in the “fun” with a full size shovel.  I used the tractor to dig up a section of the garden to have for replacement dirt.  This should make for some great soil in the garden.  We shoveled so hard it made us just about collapse.  Before I started, I grabbed some work gloves.  Just before we finished, I remembered to put them on as my hands were about to get blisters.  It sounded like hard work, but Christy and I always make a great team doing project / hobbies together.  She keeps me motivated . . . trying to keep up with her.

Girls always like the “good ole country boy”.  I don’t believe that has anything to do with them looking like Bo or Luke from the Dukes of Hazard.  Rather, I believe it is because country farm work makes you physically and mentally stronger.  It makes you feel accomplished like a real man, which is something you cannot get from doing Pilates at the gym in the strip mall next to Starbucks.  Sure a spinning class will . . . actually, I don’t know what they do in a spinning class and I hope I don’t find out.  

Another benefit of fun exercise with the family in the farming manner is the quiet time.  Sure there is the occasional “stop throwing dirt on my shoes” or “you’re not doing it right”, but generally we find ourselves working too hard to speak.  This gives us plenty of time to be quiet and listen to God.  The preacher talked about this today.  We are supposed to listen to God and then be witnesses to each other.  However, we have to be careful to only witness what we truly hear God say to us.  I think the only thing I heard Him put in my heart today was “you’re doing fine Ben.  Go take a bike ride with the family now.”  And we did.  What a great day of family time . . . and exercise.