Over the past several months I’ve been seriously re-assessing my understanding of my Christian walk.  A number of things have happened to jar my complacency, and I have developed an ever growing hunger to really understand what it means when Jesus says “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10b)

I started to share about this journey a couple of weeks ago and since then I’ve finished listening to Wayne Jacobsen’s “Transition” series, and am just finishing up his book “He Loves Me! Learning to Live in the Father’s Affection” and I am being deeply challenged, moved, and hugely encouraged.

So much of my faith has been based on religion – not hard to understand when yoou realize I  grew up as a traditional Baptist!

But religion keeps us as far from the heart of God as rebellion.  In fact, I’ll bet God prefers rebellion, because it’s at least usually honest, where religion is not.

Anyway, I’m very grateful for the fact that my training is going to soon be forcing me into longer and longer walks.  It will give me much more time to listen, study, and focus on walking this new path spiritually, while I train for the physical part of my marathon.

Can’t wait to see where it leads…

Happy walking!

Darlene

It’s been a while since I’ve done a more “spiritual” post here. Mostly I’ve been focusing on the training. However, I never walk without listening to something, and lately I’ve been deeply challenged by some teaching that I’ve been working through on my walks.

I was born into the church. I could probably count on one hand how many Sunday morning (now Saturday night) services I’ve missed in my almost half a decade. Add to that all the Sunday evening services back when they were part of the “routine” and untold hours of volunteering as a Sunday School teacher for all ages, a youth leader, a musician, etc., I’ve spent probably half my life in some kind of religious setting. I’ve participated in everything from very high latin catholic masses to “no rules” Charismatic frenzies; I’ve been to church in dozens of countries, in several languages, and I’ve even been a missionary. I love the church. I love the lifestyle, the people, the teaching, the music. I love being a part of something that matters.

The truth is, however, that while I take my faith very seriously, and while I’ve striven most of my life to serve God faithfully, some nagging feeling in my gut is telling me that somehow, I’ve “missed the point”. For such a long time I’ve felt “stuck”. Way back in my missionary days half a lifetime ago I met a God who was actively involved in my every day. Everything I was asked to do was so far beyond my capabilities, it was literally “trust God or screw up beyond redemption”. I had no idea how to do that, but I learned quickly – on the job. And God showed up, BIG. I began a relationship with Him that had vibrance, joy, passion, delight, and lots of surprises.

Now, living in a safe city, with a wonderful husband who provides well, two kids with no issues whatsoever, and pretty much able to have/be/do anything my little heart desires, I feel so far from God and who He revealed Himself to be all those years ago. I’m in such a “safe place” that my need for God seems minimal.

And yet, I’m so hungry for Him.

A couple of months ago, in an attempt to help my husband who’s having much the same struggle, I bought the book “So You Don’t Want to Go to Church Anymore” by Wayne Jacobsen and Dave Coleman. A fictional book that really challenged the way I saw church and what it meant.

You see, most of my Christian upbringing has been about duty and behaviour: how often I attend church, how much I read the Bible, how well I memorize scripture, how many people I win to the Lord, how many hours I spend in volunteer ministry, etc. It has little, if anything, to do with relationship – either with my fellow man or with God Himself. And yet, isn’t the Bible just one long story of God’s heart longing for relationship with His people?

Somewhere we’ve allowed this to degenerate into a guilt fest – we are constantly checking to see how well we measure up. How much more we can add to our list of accomplishments. How squeaky clean we can make ourselves.

Through my walking and listening, I’m learning about a whole new way of living out my faith. Jacobsen’s book led me to his website which in turn has led me to some more teaching about transitioning out of the guilt of the religious mindset.  In other words, how to be a Christian without being religious.

I’m deeply challenged by what I’m hearing.  I’m seeking God’s heart to learn how to move forward here – or not.

Wherever this takes me, it’s bound to be an interesting journey! 

I’ll keep you posted.

Happy Walking

Darlene

Darlene

Every now and then I hit a place in my walking where I need to take about a week off.  Because I’ve never had problems starting up again, I allow myself this grace.  It happens about once or twice a year.  No biggie.

About a month ago, such a time had arrived.  I just needed a break, so I took a week off.  That weekend I got the dreaded flu, and the following two weeks, while there were no messy flu symptoms, I was so tired as to be useless.  I did do a couple of walks, but not enough to brag about, and each one left me drained and exhausted.

Following that my husband and I took a week off and went to Montana.  Training wasn’t even slightly in the picture.

In the meantime, due to complications with getting the winter version of my “funky feet” I succumbed and bought a pair of Skechers.  Since having begun with my Vibram 5 fingers, I’ve really only worn shoes with next to no support or cushioning in them, and my feet have loved it.  When I got the Skechers (SUPER comfy shoes with lots of support and cushioning) I’ve been wearing them quite a lot to get my feet used to them, and have hardly worn my normal shoes.

So for about a month I’ve not done much in the way of serious walking, and my feet have also been relaxing in these lovely skooshie shoes.  On Monday I went for my first serious walk in ages, with my Vibrams, and came home with feet screaming in agony.

I told them to “suck it up” and went again on Wednesday.  Well, my feet then went on strike altogether and I could hardly walk.  It meant I had to take a break from walking yet again, and baby my feet, getting them used to the Vibrams again.

What a nuisance.

The moral of the story is “suck it up”.  Don’t get lazy.  And if you DO get lazy, don’t let your feet get lazy too.

Ouch.

Darlene

A couple of years ago I got a call from the Heart and Stroke foundation.  A lovely man was on the other end, and asked quite apologetically if I would be able to canvass for them that year (in February).  The routes were very small, he assured me, and I’d have two whole weeks to get it done, and my own street was available if I’d like to do it.

He must have caught me at a weak moment, because I said yes.

“What?!” he exclaimed, in shock “You’ll WILL?!”   He must have been having a bad day, because you would have thought I’d just handed an eight-year-old boy his first puppy.

We laughed about that, and he told me the person in charge of my area would be in touch.

A few weeks later I got a phone call, set a date to get my packet and some brief training, and I was “in”.

The scheduled canvassing weeks arrived.  I spent one evening going door to door completing the route for the first time.  It took a little over an hour, and everyone was very pleasant, and most were willing to donate even a small amount.  I took note of the addresses where no one was home, and the following Saturday I visited those homes again.  This took another 45 minutes or so.

I came home, added up my totals, and walked over to the route supervisor’s home and turned in my packet.

All done.

This year, not only did they call me again, but now the Canadian Diabetes Association has asked me as well (there must be a shared database of willing volunteers) and I canvassed for them this past Saturday.

It really is a simple way to force yourself into a walk, and it’s a worthy way to help those less fortunate.  A route is usually fewer than 50 houses and you can often get one in your very own neighborhood.  It’s not complicated, and it’s GREATLY appreciated.

Why not give it a try?

I just added 2,000 steps to an otherwise lazy day!

Darlene

To call me a “driven” person is an understatement (friends might use the term “scary”…) There’s something about my makeup that doesn’t allow me to tackle a day without to-do list of at least 30 items. I kid you not. There are always 27 different projects to work on, and I take my relationship with my kids and husband very seriously, so time needs to be set aside for that, as well. This means I live each day highly focused, and heaven help you if you get in my way when we’re not in “relationship” mode!

And there’s something about today’s society that makes this kind of lifestyle something to be deeply proud of. I mean whenever someone asks you how life is, “busy” and “stressed” seem to be appropriate, praise-worthy responses. Weird.

In my Monday’s Post I shared about the trip my husband and I took to Montana and the incredible sense of rest that it afforded us. My own faith stresses highly the importance of Sabbath.

This is an idea that has been buzzing around in my head and my heart for a long time. I actually do start each morning very slowly with time for devotions, praise, walking, and the like before I hit the ground running, but the idea of a whole day of Sabbath every week? That’s tough. Weekends are so short and so fully of “busy-ness” that it’s hard to figure out how to make it happen.

I believe more and more, though that it’s a vitally important part of true wellness, regardless of your spiritual beliefs – or lack of such. It takes some work to make it happen (that sounds like a contradiction in terms…) but the results are well worth it. Here are some links that you might find helpful (if you’re not religious, these ideas can be used as a starting place and be adapted to suit your own needs):

• Here’s a great sermon about the Sabbath from one of the Pastor’s at my church. This will give you some great, balanced teaching about the Sabbath to get you started.
• What is Sabbath? This site will help you explore the idea of Sabbath and offers some good questions and suggestions for getting started. There is also a section on this site specifically for kids, and some specific activities you can try out together as a family.
• Here are some more ideas for things you can do as a family on the Sabbath
• Here is a whole book of ideas put out by the Seventh Day Adventists: 100 Creative Ideas for Sabbath

Of course, you could also try going for a walk as a family (couldn’t miss the opportunity of saying that, now could I?

• You could check out this site for ideas for younger children, and this site has games and activities for the whole family.
• If your family is as dependent on iPods for life and sustenance as our family is, you can download this 99 cent app that creates a sort of treasure hunt while walking.
• You can even download a FREE copy of my “Kids are No Excuse” e-report that shows you lots of different ways to involve your kids with walking

So those are some ideas that can help you get started. I honestly don’t believe it matters what day you chose – pick a day that works best for everyone, and then fight to keep it sacred.

I’d be really interested in hearing your ideas about Sabbath and to have you share in anything you might have tried that works for you. Post your comments below.

Happy resting!

Darlene

Every now and then I come across a really cool book.  This is one of them:  The Truth About You: Your Secret to Success By Marcus Buckingham.

I read it as part of the “review and blog” team of Thomas Nelson, and liked it so much I did it with my kids for school.

The best part of it is that it gives you a whole different way of understanding strengths and weaknesses.  Strengths are not necessarily those things you do well, and weaknesses are not necessarily those things you’re not good at.  Sometimes your biggest greatest weakness appears to be a strength.

For example, I am really good at organizing.  I can come into a room, see what’s out of place, and figure out how to organize that room into something that functions smoothly.  I can also organize people, events, schedules, whatever.  You can show me total chaos, and I will create order quickly, and set up a system for maintaining it.

However, I HATE to do it.  When I look at a situation that needs that kind of management, I can feel myself actually “deflate”.  It takes real effort for me to dive in and do the work.  I can delegate it well, or draw up a plan to have others do it, and that’s fine, but to do it myself?  Yikes.  This is why my house isn’t exactly a poster home for Martha Stewart.

There are other things that really light my fire – like knitting, believe it or not – that I’m really bad at.  However, I love the rhythm of knitting, and the fact that you can see progress really quickly (well, others can.  I take it out just as often as I knit it up).

As a walking coach I can see really well how this applies to fitness.  Many of us choose  fitness program that we’re good at, or that’s “easy”, but we hate it, so we quit.  For me, walking has definitely been my strength.  It’s sometimes hard to get myself out the door, but as soon as I hit the front step, I’m on a roll.

The book shows you things you can do to avoid the areas of your weakness as much as possible, and live your life mostly in your strengths.  It’s written mostly to teenagers, but I got a lot out of it, and wish I had read it when I was MUCH younger.  It comes with a DVD and a special notepad to help you get started.

Pretty cool.  Read it through, and think about it as you’re working out.  Maybe your exercising in an area of your weakness instead of your strength.

Darlene

My husband and I are vacationing in Montana as this is (automatically) posted (gotta love technology!) We’re going for some much needed R&R.

I thought you might be interested in some, too!

We’ve often talked on this blog about making your walking time a time of meditation but how about a new twist? What about walking as a spa treatment?

I tried this out the other day – works pretty well, and it works best in winter! Here’s what you do:

1. Slather a hair mask on your hair, and stuff your hair under a kerchief or a cloth swim cap, and just pull your toque down over top (toque=”wool hat” for you Non-Canadians!)

2. Slather a top quality moisturizing cream (like Avon’s “Moisture Therapy Intensive Hand Lotion”) over your feet under your socks.

3. Put a nail conditioner on your fingernails, massage a good cuticle cream onto your cuticles, and slather a good moisturizing cream on your hands (see the last point) and pull your gloves on over top. If you have good quality gloves you don’t want to get greasy, just pull those cheap 99 cent wool gloves on first, and put the good ones on, on top.

4. If it’s really cold put that same Avon Moisture Therapy on your face just before going out – it will protect your face/lips from chapping.

5. Put a couple of drops of essential oils on your gloves (inhale deeply with your hands around your nose) or on your scarf for energy as you walk.

6. Put soothing music on your iPod as you walk instead of some heavy bass/drum driving music. It will be a completely different experience!

When you arrive home you’ll be soft and beautiful. Pretty cool.

Give it a try and tell me what you think!

Happy Walking!

Darlene

(For those of you who recognize this post, know that it posted itself  TWICE before it was finished last week.  Silly post.  It’s now under control and properly finished.  Take another read if you think  you’ve already seen it!)

So, I’ve been AWOL from my walking since last week. I have lots of excuses, but I’m thinking mostly it’s a motivational problem. I hate the cold. Probably not so legitimate. I’ve also got hit “quick and heavy” with the flu, and found that while the most uncomfortable symptoms passed within 36 hours, I was tired, foggy-headed, and just dragging myself around for a good week afterwards. I decided to take the week off and just go slow.

So what do you think? Was that right? Was that wrong? Was I just lazy? I find I’m a genius at rationalizing my behaviour. Years of practice have made me an expert. It’s hard to be objective.

The good news was that I was out and walking this morning. Last week when I was unmotivated I did put together some great playlists (working through the Bible and a bunch of podcasts I want to catch up with) and they’re all in sequential order, so if I miss a day, I mess up the whole system.  Good way to stay on track!

And I’m back walking my longer distances this morning.  I’ve gotten myself better organized so I can manage longer walks.  Monday and Tuesday is 1.5 hours, Wednesday is off, Thursday and Friday is 2 hours, Saturday is 1 hour and Sunday is 3 hours. It feels great to be back in the game!  Woohoo!

If you’ve been slacking, I hope my new found motivation gets you going as well!

Happy walking!

Darlene