Forklifting is for Sissies

There is no tired like the combination of physical AND emotional tiredness.  It has been a crazy week so far.  And today is only Tuesday.

First I would like to state that I passed my forklift recertification at work this morning.  That was fun.  I hadn't been on a forklift for months and it felt good.  Makes me feel like a MONSTAH!!  With the mere pull of a lever, I can lift things many, many times my own weight!  Must admit, having been away from the orange beast for so long, today's reunion was definitely a bit of a power rush.



THENNNNNN... there's CrossFit.  WHOLE different ballgame.  Haha!



CrossFit has whooped my butt both yesterday and today.  We've been doing exercises that are challenging me to hang in there and keep moving even when my mind says to stop.  Stopping for a few seconds, or longer if the coach doesn't see you (ha ha) is very tempting.  And, granted, sometimes you really need a break.  Just make it a short break; otherwise, at least for me, I lose some of my momentum and picking up that dumbbell/barbell/kettlebell again, restarting whatever motion you had been executing, is hard.

Yesterday's workout had a time cap of 15 minutes.  I finished at 15:12.  Looking back, I see all the times I paused for longer than I should have.  Sometimes I get in a pity-pot mindframe; like, screw this,, I quit... then I pace around in a circle for a little while before I get back to whatever I was doing.  And if I added up all the chunks of seconds I wasted that way, I probably could have shaved close to a minute off my time.



Lessons to be learned and applied going forward.

Part of today's workout was laying on the bench and pressing a dumbbell, one arm at a time, as heavy as you could for as many reps as you could get.  I love that kind of thing, where my right side has to work out independently from my left side.  It kind of feels more... fair... plus, my right side can't be lazy when there is no left arm there to carry more of the load.  So, that was awesome.

Also today, the coach mentioned that, in order to get intensity out of a workout, you might use less weight in order to be able to move for longer at a time.  So I used a "wimpy" weight... well, not wimpy; I used a weight that was best for ME at my present level of fitness and ability.  I took a 35 pound bar, put a 2.5 pound disc on each end, and got after it with my big forty pound burden.  Ha.  It was still hard!  The movements weren't really heavy for me; my muscles were not burning when I finished.  I just knew my abilities from a cardio point of view.



So my 40 pound little buddy and I executed 21 hang cleans, 21 front squats, and 45 single jump ropes.  Then 15, 15, and 45... then 9, 9 and 45.  My time today was 7:49.  And I was proud of that.  Sure, there were people who used a lot more weight than I used AND did DOUBLE UNDERS and STILL finished 1-2 minutes before me, but today was good for ME.  I kept moving almost the whole time and, when I paused, I kept the pauses very brief.

I feel it a little bit in my biceps but, otherwise, I'm ok; just tired.  Ha... yeah, that's all I feel right NOW... ask me again in the morning!  Hahaha.........

TOMORROW's workout will include dumbbell lunges, rowing, sit-ups, kettlebell swings, plus several other delightful sweat-dripping activities.



So I'm gonna keep chipping away at this weightlifting stuff.  Maybe *I* will be able to lift a forklift one day.

Not really.  LOL



So I'm going shower now and go watch TV in bed, then go do it all again tamarrah!

Between the Promise and the Answer

I have read Exodus 2 this morning and have gotten so much out of that one chapter, I could end up writing an e-novel.  WOW!!  God's word is so rich with truth and HOPE.

So let's start here:

Exodus 2:23-25 (NLT) -  "Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God.  God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act."

Let's not think about the years to come, wandering around in the desert... let's not think about before, when the Israelites were brought into Egypt by Joseph in order to save their lives... let's just focus on THIS SINGULAR MOMENT, right here.

The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for around 400 years.  And God got them out.

The Israelites had been crying out to God, God heard them, and decided to act in order to get them out of Egypt, out of slavery, and on their way to the land He had promised them years and years ago.

Three points here:

1.  God hears.  

The above passage says, "God heard their groan."  God's ears are well-attuned to our voices.



God is consistent in His character, and is ALWAYS listening.  He is never too busy or distracted to hear what we say.

Ps. 34:17 The LORD hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles.

Ps. 18:6 In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.

Psalm 77:1 (NAS) My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud; My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.

2.  God keeps His promises.

Here is the promise to which this passage refers:

Genesis 12:2-3

And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

Great big promise!  But God is able to complete what He has started in us.

Joshua 21:45 - Not one of the good promises which the LORD had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.

Numbers 23:19 - "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

1 Thessalonians5:24 - Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

God speaks not one empty word.  God will always, always deliver.

3.  God has perfect timing.  

Sometimes we pray and pray for something; we long and long for it, and feel hurt or even abandoned when the answer to our prayer doesn't come as soon as we wish it would.  Reading these verses reminds me that God has a much bigger view of life, of His plan, than we do.  Check out I Corinthians 13:12:

"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.  All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me completely."

We don't know all of the "why"'s right now.  We are not promised immediate understanding of God's reasons.  BUT!  We are promised that we DEFINITELY will understand it all one day.



So... why so long to get the Israelites out of Egypt?  We can list hundreds of guesses, but the truth is we just don't know for sure... yet.

But, scripture speaks for itself to shed light on God's reasoning:

1 Corinthians 2:11 - For who knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.


"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8, 9 

Lamentations 3:22-23 - "The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness."

Check out this clip.  We will understand it better...  BY AND BY

God is FAITHFUL!  Hold on!  And know God has heard your prayer, He WILL come through for you, and He will do it in His perfect timing.



And keep reading the Bible.  Anytime you need your hope refreshed, you will find that refresher in God's word.

Alright!  Later, folks!!

Mama

I just woke up from dreaming my mom died. It was colossally horrible... a heart attack or something... but the loss was so immensely hard to take!

In the dream, I kind of remember being told by a doctor she hadn't made it... then I was in a living room with a bunch of family members, comforting each other and sharing memories.

In the dream, I went off by myself for a little while. I came across my mom's set of keys. Like any other normal day, I picked them up and went to put them in their right place just outside the kitchen (in the house in my dream where we were).

Setting her keys in their tray, I was overwhelmed with grief and sadness like I, in my waking life, haven't felt in longer than I can remember.

In the dream, the pain was almost as forceful as being hit by a big pickup truck. I started sets crying then sank to the ground, my back against the side of a counter top.

"I HURT SO BAD!" I cried out. "I hurt SO BAD!!" Over and over, sobbing, shaking with the intensity of an earthquake and crying oceans of tears.

Without a word, my sister came and sat down beside me. No words; she just hugged me and hugged me, and that was the best thing she could have done in that moment.

I woke up with tears in my eyes, hearing the thunder outside and feeling it reverberate through my chest. Thinking, "This is how it felt in that dream; like thunder inside my chest."

That was one of those dreams from which recovery is hard and gradual.

I love my mom enormously. I texted her to say I loved her and asked how she was doing, whether she is working today.

"Yes. Love you too."

Best three little words in the world. 🌞🌷🌸

About Being Strong, and Knowing You Have Worth

So I didn't go to CrossFit this evening.  I was tired, I am sore, there was crazy traffic, I was almost out of gas, etcetera... but anyway, here I am, showered and happy, sitting in my quiet room at home before 5 p.m.  Very nice.  😀



So let's ease into Exodus, chapter 1.  Here, for our convenience, I have copied and pasted the text.  Let us begin.

These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who moved to Egypt with their father, each with his family:
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin,
Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.  In all, Jacob had seventy descendants in Egypt, including Joseph, who was already there.

In time, Joseph and all of his brothers died, ending that entire generation.  But their descendants, the Israelites, had many children and grandchildren. In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land.



Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done.

(Here begins the conflict; the previous Pharaoh had put Joseph as his second hand man, more powerful than everyone but Pharaoh himself.  Pharaoh took great care to honor Joseph's requests and gave land and provisions to Joseph's family.  Now Joseph, his father and all his brothers are passed away.  Here comes this new king who's like, "Joseph WHO?"

He said to his people, "Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are.  We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don't, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country."

{"All these Israelites got me like..."}

So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king.

But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became.



So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy.
They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.

Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah:  "When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live."





(Sorry... LOL... no but seriously...)

But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king's orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.



So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. "Why have you done this?" he demanded. "Why have you allowed the boys to live?"
"The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women," the midwives replied. "They are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly that we cannot get there in time."

(Here we have an example of God perhaps honoring a little white lie??  Hmmm.  That's one to think on.)

So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful.

And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.

(Look at God.  Look at what God always does.  You stick with God, God will do right by you E-V-E-R-Y time.)

Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: "Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live."

(Apparently, Pharaoh did not know many women very well!  We can get a notion and make ruckus better than or equal to men!  haha)

I have to stop here and give props to those 2 midwives.  Those two women "feared God" and were strong enough in their beliefs to do what their GUT told them was right.  Ane their bold actions produced results that influenced, eventually, the rest of the world!

Strong women.



Never see yourself as inconsequential.  Your life, and your contributions, have VALUE.  I'll admit, I struggle with that, myself.  Comparing myself to others, weighing the abilities or the roles of others against mine, and feeling less-than.  But I see in this chapter, that is not the case.


You be you.  And you do what YOU do best.  And God says this to you:

Jeremiah 29:11New International Version (NIV)

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I urge you... cling to that promise.  You're not just a whoever or a whatever.  You belong to the One who IS Love.  And that One is always with you, always listening, eager to hear your voice, waiting to strengthen and comfort you.