The Language Of Worship

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Coco

I grew up reading the King James Version of the Bible. That’s what my Dad had on his bedside table, and that’s what we used in church and Sunday school. I think the thees and thous and unfamiliar vocabulary made the Bible that much more special, and made me treasure the words that much more.

bible

When I recall verses that I memorized as a child, the words are in the King James language, like the 23rd Psalm:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil:
For thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

In the Episcopalian church, we use a more modern translation of the Bible, so I have had to re-learn the words of The Lord’s Prayer (“… Forgive us our … debts? trespasses? sins?”). But I have come to love the language of The Book Of Common Prayer. I love this prayer of thanks:

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us.
We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.
We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side.
We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us.
We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.
Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.
Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.

From time to time I still encounter unfamiliar words at church, usually in an old hymn. A few weeks ago, it was “unction” that sent me to the dictionary.

From more Google searching, it seems that this word might be more familiar to Catholics (“Extreme Unction” is another name for “Last Rites”), but I had no idea what it meant when we sang, “Thy unction grace bestows.” (You can read the lyrics and hear the melody of the hymn here).

Do you prefer to contemporary or traditional worship language? 

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Three Things Thursday (The Trader Joe’s Edition)

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Coco

Trader Joe’s is a great place to find foods that make healthy eating really enjoyable. Here are my three favorite things to get at Trader Joe’s.

I always stock up on dried fruit and nuts–their prices are amazing! Trader Joe’s is the only place I have been able to find unsweetened dried cherries.

 

Of course these are great right out of the bag, but I love to use them in a “trail mix” blend with dry cereal (like Cheerios or Fiber One) and chocolate chips.

Around Thanksgiving I noticed these, and I was glad to see that they were still in stock after Christmas.

I am very proud to report that the 9-serving bag lasted a whole week, and I wasn’t the only one eating them–although I may have had 8 of the servings!

Another recent find is roasted baby beets (in the refrigerator section).

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The ingredients list is amazing: Beets. One serving is two baby beets (40 calories), but I find that one sliced baby beet is perfect for salad over mixed baby greens.

What are your favorite things to get at Trader Joe’s?

Posted in Food | Tagged | 15 Comments

20 Minute Treadmill Workouts

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Coco

I started doing the Jillian Michaels 30-Day Shred DVD a few weeks ago. I am enjoying the workouts, but don’t want to lose my running conditioning, so I’ve been adding 20 minutes on the treadmill after she’s finished shredding me.

Here are two of my favorite 20 minute treadmill workouts:

Climb up the ladder to 6.8 mph, then down the ladder to 3.7 mph.

Climb up the cliff to 7.0 mph, then jmp down to 5.7 and 3.7 mph.

What do you like to do for a short treadmill workout?

Posted in Fitness, Treadmill Workouts | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Fun Fast Fitness Trampoline Workout With Interval Timer

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Coco

The most amazing thing happened to me in October. I retweeted a “RT to Win” tweet by @jumpsport and won one of their trampolines! I had so much fun at the Jump Sport session at Fitbloggin’ I knew I would love it!

Jump Sport Fit Trampoline

When I first got it (a few days after I won–talk about customer service!), I used it as a warm-up to my weights routine. Bouncing for 5-10 minutes is enough to get my heart rate up and warm up my muscles.

One morning I decided to do a circuit with the trampoline and free weights. I used the timer on my iPhone to time intervals on the trampoline, but the screen went dark and locked after 1 minute. That was frustrating as I had to keep unlocking my iPhone to see the time and start the next interval. 🙁

I decided to search the iTunes App Store for an interval timer app and I hit the jackpot with the free Interval Timer by Deltaworks. This is what the App Store says:

Running foreground, background or with device locked, this reliable app allows you specify an overall time as well as program High/Low intensity interval and rest time between sets.

Key Features:
– Customizable sets, high/low intensity interval and rest for your own need
– Retina display, iOS4 and multitasking
– Continue to run even when screen is locked
– Play your song or playlist during your workout
– Post your workout to Facebook or Twitter
– Save settings as templates

Customizable Features:
–  Number of Sets
– Countdown Time
– Set Time
– Low Interval time
– High Interval time
–  Rest Time
– First Interval (low or high)
– Sound Volume
– Timer Sounds
– Auto Lock
– Vibrate
– Pause during Rest
– Playlist
– New Each Set

This is what the options screens look like:

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This is what the timer screens look like. I love the simple display, and the numbers are big enough for me to see when I am jumping on the trampoline and have my iPhone on the bench nearby.
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(collage of four different segments)

For my fun, fast 30 minute fitness trampoline workout, I set the first interval for one minute (trampoline), the second interval for two minutes (weights), and repeat 10 times for 10 sets.

One minute is good for the trampoline intervals. I do a different move each time–jogging, high knee running, jumping jacks, jumping, twisting jumps, skiing jumps, etc.

Two minutes is pretty good for the weight intervals, but sometimes I finish early or am not quite finished when the interval ends–depending on what exercise I am doing and how many reps. (You can see an example of my weight routine here.)

Of course, the exact time I spend on the trampoline and doing weights is not that important. What matters is that I’m getting in a good workout and having fun!

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

The Resolution Solution

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Coco

It’s the first Monday of the New Year! Have you blown your resolution yet?

the resolution solution

All those specific, measurable, acheivable, relevant and time-limited goals that sounded so good last Monday were begging for modifications and exceptions by Friday night. Even if you made it through this weekend, odds are that you won’t even remember your resolution by Valentine’s Day.

But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to make healthy changes. It just means that imposing a new “law” on yourself–I will get up at dawn to run in the freezing cold every day, I will not eat any more junk food, I will eat kale three times a week–isn’t the most effective way to go about it.

A corny work email got me thinking:

I recently read that nobody was making “New Year’s Resolutions” anymore. Instead, we are all being advised to come up with a list of New Year’s “Solutions.”

I’m not sure what that means for work, but I really think it could be a helpful way of approaching health and fitness goals.

Instead of focusing on what we want to do differently, what if we figure out what has prevented us from changing for the past 365 days, and then implement solutions to those “problems”?

If you really want to get up early to go running, are you going to bed early enough? do you have the right clothes to keep you warm? can you lay out your gear the night before? do you set your alarm with the intention of getting up?

If you really don’t want to eat junk food, have you cleaned out your pantry? have you stopped buying cookies and chips “for other family members”? have you stocked up on healthy snacks? are you choosing restaurants with healthy menu options?

If you really want to eat more kale, have you found some good recipes to try? do you have a kale-loving friend who can share her tips for buying and preparing fresh kale?

My favorite personal resolution-solution story is about socks.

socks

I had just started to workout regularly, and was trying to exercise three days a week. I was finding it hard to keep up with that goal, though. When I tried to figure out what was holding me back, I realized that it had to do with my workout clothes.

I was getting up early to exercise, and would lay out my workout clothes the night before. But, I didn’t have enough good sports socks to get me through the week. If I knew I was going to have to wear saggy or scratchy socks, that would sap my motivation!

Now, you might think that the socks were just an excuse, but once I stocked up on good socks, I was much better at being consistent with my routine.

Do you have enough socks to keep your New Year’s resolutions?

Posted in Fitness | Tagged , , | 6 Comments