3 Squares

Everyone I know understands that a healthy life includes a healthy diet which usually includes, breakfast, lunch and dinner. You may have even heard the term 3 squares a day, or 3 square meals a day. This Idea of being square eludes to blocks and by extension buildi9ng blocks which form a good foundation for daily living. I still remember being taught in school the nutritional chart and the different categories of food groups and the concept of an ideally balanced diet. Even now many years later balance is considered to be the key to our lives. Work verses play, leisure verses exercise, junk food verses whole food and many other moderations including how much meat we eat, fruit and vegetables.  Even those of us who perhaps don’t have the greatest balance in some of these areas still agree that 3 squares are important.

So it is surprising to me why it took so long to figure out that what I apply to my physical being should also be applied to much spiritual being. Just as my body requires certain things for health, maintenance and growth, so too does my spiritual being. Many times I have wondered why I feel disconnected, uninspired and even despondent because God feels so far away. The reality is that it is I and not him who is far away. I need to feed my spirit on 3 squares just like my body. Prayer, meditation in the word, and listening to his spirit are the key elements to this growth. If I want to be a more whole, and a more complete person, should I not concern myself with more frequent feedings from his truth? And how much more important is it than the actual feeding of my body? I mean if I believe in life everlasting; one which is comprised of eternity in the spirit and not of earthly flesh is it not of even more importance? It must have been for Jesus even requested of Peter to “feed my Sheep” three times (aka 3 Squares).

John 21:15-17

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁵ So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.

¹⁶ He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

¹⁷ He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

So I have a new challenge to pursue, a new race to run for I wish to grow strong in my faith and the best way I can see right now is to dig into 3 squares a day. For those of us with children this is even more important because we are charged by God to feed and be responsible for our children, so I encourage you as well to make sure they get all their physical and spiritual nutrition. Even the veggies!

Think outside the box

I don’t know about you, but I am a creature of habit and routine and once one has been established it is hard to change. This can be good or bad depending on the habit; balance in life is the key to living well. Of late I have noticed that I have been spending too much time in front of the “box” that we call TV. I admit it I am a bit of a junkie when it comes to movies or a good series like, House and Madmen. The trouble is, if we are not careful we can be sucked in and it can change from a treat or occasional, to the norm.

As I said, recently I have noticed that my time allocation has been shifting from things I should be focused on, to what’s on the box. Because of this other areas in my life are beginning to suffer, such as sleep, studies and even my relationships with others. My priorities have become skewed, just like it would with any other singular focus. I am sure you have heard the phrase, “too much of a good thing.” Well, for me this is certainly the case.

In life, each of us can get caught in one of these ruts. We can find ourselves comfortable or resistant to change, this is why I believe strongly in the art of discipline/fasting. In order to regain balance, sometimes one must take drastic measures to restore the proper level of importance to the things in our life. Although to some this might seem drastic or crazy for a guy like me, who defines himself as all or nothing, it’s just right. So with October rolling around, I have decided to take a break, a little vacation and focus on thinking outside of the box. I challenge you to do the same with something that is too BIG in your own life.

My Wife, My Hero

Many of you know this already, but I adore my wife and she is my hero. Despite the frequent rumors, she rescued me and it was not the other way around. Merna, my wife is vision impaired this in no way means that she is disabled! I hate that word, because it is full of ignorance and lacks the understanding that we are all differently gifted from God.

What I mean to accomplish by writing this blog is to open people’s eyes to how wonderful she is, how courageous and how good God is. Now I do need to point out here that even with my understanding of who she is this is only a fraction of what I am sure she has to cope with on a daily basis. I want you to imagine what it is like to not be able to see by closing your eyes, feel the darkness sink into to your mind. I know that you’re probably like me and can stumble around in the dark at night to get that glass of water or use the washroom, but think of being outside of an environment that you know. Slowly go through all of the daily routines, like taking a shower, picking out your clothes, walking to the bus, finding a seat, knowing if you’re on time or simply seeing a Tim Horton’s you can pull into for that first coffee. Now go over them again with no or low vision. Can’t find the shampoo that your husband moved, not sure if your shirt matches your pants or shoes, not being able to see the construction on the sidewalk, missing the bus because he stopped short of the actual stop, and not knowing where you are or simply what stores are available. I hope you don’t have to use the washroom right now; you might be walking into the men’s room instead of the ladies.

What I have described above is a fraction of what my lovely wife deals with daily and if you couple this with good intentioned people, who grab her, pull her cane or simply walk over it to get on the bus first then I think you will start to understand her better. I don’t know about you, but I have doubts that I could do it. Simply living seems to tuff, except that for her it isn’t. She lets nothing stop her from doing what she wants to do; trial and error does not phase her. Top that off with all of her abilities, like crochet, harmonica, piano, cycling, singing and her continuous offers to assist those around her and you being to have an appreciation for how wonderful she is.

So I will close this letter with thanks to God for bringing her in my life and guiding her on a daily basis. Truly I have been blessed as a man to know so great a woman.

Benefits of Sleep

My brother posted a challenge on Facebook the other day, one which I have chosen to accept. Now only after I had done so, did I learn that he was not the author of the challenge but simply an advocate of the idea. The premise of this challenge was to create a piece of writing without electronics, but with the old school pen and paper. The perception being that by doing this exercise, it would result in better content and writing. And so here I am writing today about sleep, the subject my brother David suggested. As you can see I have typed the resulting piece from the original chicken scratch.

As I am both fond of sleep and know many of its values, I think this was a good choice. Sleep is an essential part of life and takes up and makes up about one third of our day and by extension life. I suggest that it is very important to all of us and that the benefits of sleep are numerous. Here are the ones that I personally value the most.

Sleep is great for repairing the body. During this immobile state, all of the body’s miraculous energies have the opportunity to focus inwards. Scars heal, nails and hair grow, blood is made and even our spines are rejuvenated. Did you know that while you are laying down the individual parts of your spine swell? These fluids which are lost during the day; after the effects of gravity and the whole day have been pressing you down are once again allowed to pool and be absorbed.  That means that you are taller in the morning then when you go to bed.

Not only is does our physical being and body reboot, but so do our complex minds. As we sleep our brain switches into housekeeping mode and begins the filing of information. Memories that have been taken in during the day are sifted and transported from short term to long term memory. Many times I have even awakened during this process by the solving of a problem that occurred during the day. I am sure that if I were to interview people, that they would have similar stories of their own sleeping Eureka moments.

As with both the mind and body, our spirits are refreshed as well. Today in our fast paced environments we are constantly bombarded by information, stimulation and anxiety riddled issues. This overwhelming condition can only be reset through sleep. If you are like me, you can sometimes get too wrapped up in things and then they can override all other reasonable thoughts. This worry or obsessing state is not only damaging but also stops you from moving forward and impacting other things that you wanted to accomplish. Sleep is the ultimate perspective reset. My problems never seem to be as large or as important the following morning as they do in the present moment. The simple fact that my existence is established daily, every morning, brings new attitude and appreciation for life.

So let us not be childlike and struggle against this great gift, but let us rejoice that come the morning we will feel more than just refreshed, but new and full of life in the knowledge that with sleep comes energy, perspective and good health.