Week Four in Review

So far in 2012, this was the toughest week I've encountered - quiet time wise and food/exercise wise.  I was out of town for four days and not really able to select where we ended up for dinner.  I also couldn't control lunch.  Then our dinners ended up being Asian, Italian and Mexican.  Strangely enough, the Mexican was probably the healthiest of all the choices.  It just isn't easy to eat out and make healthy, WW friendly choices.  I still ended the week with extra "bonus" points, I just wasn't able to keep up the weight loss. I also wasn't able to exercise.  While the hotel had an exercise room, treadmills where the only option and those make my knees hurt too badly to exercise effectively.  So, I ended up gaining a bit but I'm still down overall from where I started 2012.  Now I'll get back to correct eating and exercising this week.  Hopefully next week will be a better week.

Spiritually, I've moved into Job during my quiet times.  It was hard staying on task when stuck in a hotel but I did manage to read each day and spent time considering what I was reading.  Job is an interesting book to say the least.  This week I've been reading the back and forth between Job and his so-called friends.  Reading his friends' responses has challenged me to think about how I offer support to my friends when they are going through crisis.  Job's friends all twisted theology to fit their understanding and offered what ended up being judgmental, unhelpful responses.  I can't bring examples of where I've done something similar to mind but I'm sure it has happened.  I am hoping and praying the next time I am confronted with this situation, I can respond more like Christ than like Job's friends.

I've been thinking a lot about racism this week too.  We've been undertaking an undoing racism project at work and our monthly meeting was this past Monday.  Often, these are tough conversations that leave me sitting with thoughts and feelings for a while.  This was a very productive conversation but I still feel like we aren't really getting anywhere.  Of course, we aren't going to get all that far because there's not been a heart change in any of my co-workers.  They are still coming at this from a secular, world perspective.  We are making steps to think about race and privilege in all of our work (hiring, policies, trainings, etc.) but as for deep, long-lasting change, I'm not convinced it comes about without the lens of the gospel.  Obviously, I'm still processing my thoughts...

I have finished my first full week with my iPhone and if you could be in love with inanimate objects, I would be in love with my iPhone.  Of course, not having my email accounts deleted is a help but the phone is just more functional than my Droid was.  I got all my music transferred over and loaded onto the iPod app on my phone.  I discovered it will work in a docking station (hotel had one) so that will be my next "techie" addition. :-)  I have also discovered a new app that will change my world while traveling.  I had a noisy neighbor at the hotel this week and my co-worker recommended I download a white noise app.  Who knew these even existed?  I quickly searched for one, found a free one and downloaded that bad boy.  I spent the next two nights blissfully sleeping to the sounds of rainfall.  Couldn't hear the noisy neighbor or noisy hotel doors banging closed.  This has changed my travelling life forever!  Yay for iPhone apps!

I have almost finished my first Pintrest craft project and hope to have a pictures and details post up later tonight or tomorrow.  I also have the book review I promised last week coming. More next week.