Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Tuesday, September 29,2009

Tuesday, September 29, 2009.

Luke 21:19 In your patience possess ye your souls.
In my walk as a disciple of Jesus Christ, i find the development of a proper character through trial to be a major partner in the journey. The Word has much to say on this subject (as it should being such a big part of the walk overall).
Hebrews 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Hebrews 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Hebrews 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
Hebrews 12:10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
Hebrews 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Now, the human reaction to this process of trial is, "what have i done wrong?". In many cases our sufferings are indeed a result of something we did wrong. But also, there are times when its nothing to do with doing something wrong, but rather, something inside of us that is wrong.
Job, for example is described in the bible as righteous. Yet he suffered horrible calamities that nearly destroyed him. As i have studied his life intensely, i found out what the problem was. Pride. He had a strong pride problem that was not made manifest until he was brought into the heat of trial. Here are a couple of examples of his statements that reveal this.
Job 33:9 I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there iniquity in me.
Job 34:5 For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment.
Job 35:2 ................ My righteousness is more than God's?
It got to the point where the Lord Himself spoke to Job saying......
Job 40:8 Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
But in the end, Job was perfected as he said,
Job 42:5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.
Job 42:6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
Then all that he had lost was restored unto him in a double portion. This is where i am now. Job's problem was pride, mine is a lengthy list that would require a large volume of many pages. But one thing that is definitely getting through to me is the need to develop patience. This precious grace is severely lacking in me and in society at large. Yet, it is an essential element for those who would pass through the darkness of this world successfully and stand on the Sea of Glass with Christ and the redeemed.
Revelation 3:10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
Revelation 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Hebrews 10:36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
Since its my endeavor to be just like Jesus in every way, trials like the one i am in are necessary. This brings me to my diet situation. i believe that one of the reasons i was led to partake of the fruitarian diet is because of the intensity of the trial the Lord knew He was bringing me through.
But i am definitely struggling with the issue of salt. During this journey i have learned a tremendous amount (for which i am literally eternally grateful). But at this point i am just seeking to keep a strong grip on my Lord Christ more than anything else. At some point this fall my plan is to do a short (perhaps 10-14 days) Orange juice fast. Not only because i love OJ but because it will help me overall in my being. i am also planning to go back to all fruit and no salt starting in January 2010. My goal is to do it for 5-7 months this time. i am hoping to get more of an understanding in my own mind regarding my diet and my life in general.
For now, i am going to stay the way i am. Which i suppose is high raw. i still eat alot of fruit, but i am also eating non-raw, vegan items such as the crackers, bulgar wheat and rice cakes i may have mentioned before. My workouts are still stellar and alot of fun. i still cannot do a muscle up yet, but the journey towards it is rewarding. Yesterday i did 320 pushups in 4 sets in less than 20 minutes. Included was one set of 90 (my personal best for this year so far). i also split some wood with an axe, such joy and satisfaction in that workout for me. My muscles are getting noticably fuller. Especially in my chest and arms. This can be expected when one does a consistent 1000 or so pushups per week along with chins and other bodyweight exercises. Why i ever wasted time lifting heavy iron (as i did in 2006) is beyond me.
Our guests are doing fine so far. i suppose i can describe our relationship as iron sharpening iron. i am glad the Lord brought them to stay with us, although i wish the circumstances were better.
As its about lunchtime right now, my menu is still incomplete.
So far i have had a large wedge of watermelon and 6 large bananas. i am about to eat some pecan-oatmeal patties my wife prepared for me with some bulgar wheat. No exercise today, as i am going to be busy and i am planning a serious physical assault tomorrow.
Grace and Peace be multiplied.
todd

Friday, September 25, 2009

Friday September 25, 2009

Friday, September 25, 2009.

2 Samuel 22:2 And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;
2 Samuel 22:3 The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.
2 Samuel 22:4 I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
2 Samuel 22:5 When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;
2 Samuel 22:6 The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
2 Samuel 22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
Been battling with bouts of depression the last couple of weeks. Feels like darkness is just pressing upon me on every side. i have been here before and have learned from experience that the battle is won when i hand onto the Lord Christ with all i have. Days like this its a battle to get out of bed, i feel sleepy much of the time. Like i have no energy. But i fight it with prayer, faith, the Word of God and exercise. i am glad i have these tools as they are life-savers. Today for example, it rained all day. i totally did not want to get out of bed. i would get up and then lay back down, get back up and lay back down. Finally i got up to stay in the mid-morning. i had prayed, read my bible and looked at the news on the internet. i was 60 chins short of my weekly goal and i determined to do them in the park even in the rain. This i did. It was a long, light drizzle really and it was beautiful. i had a great workout and the rain felt so refreshing. i thank my heavenly Father for the fresh air and the strength He gave me today. i ended up accomplishing my workout goals for the week. As i looked back upon the week, i actually got alot done inspite of the depression attack. i cut and chopped a cord of wood, had 6 business appointments, plus did 1150 pushups, 250 chins, 300 one leg squats, 120 tricep presses. Not a bad week as i look back upon it. Especially when i just felt like sleeping and staying in bed. Prayer and the bible are powerful weapons against depression. So are fresh air and exercise.
i ate well also, today being a typical day. Although i must say i ate more crackers than i should have due to the depression. This i am determined to also overcome by God's Grace.
Todays meals were:
Breakfast:
Half a small watermelon, 4 large bananas, 32oz of cantaloupe-mango smoothie.
Lunch:
Soaked bulgar wheat mixed with guac, boiled plantain, chopped tomatoes and 2 oat burgers. 0 c
Exercise:
60 chins/150 pushups/60 one leg squats/30 tricep presses....20 minutes.
Have a wonderful weekend!
todd

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Friday, September 11, 2009

Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Isaiah 32:17 And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.
Isaiah 32:18 And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;
My condolences to all the families of the victims of 9/11. One day (prayerfully Soon) all evil will forever cease and death itself will be destroyed never to appear again forever.
Today we are preparing not only for the Sabbath but also for the guests we are expecting for the Raw potluck. Some of whom wanted to come on Friday and spend the night at our home. i wasn't hungry when i awoke this morning. Whenever that is the case i seek to drink fresh juices, usually orange juice. i was blessed to enjoy that today. At some point i am going to do another juice fast of short duration on just oranges. i love them so much and they are such a great blessing to the living temple. i will probably do it for 7-14 days. Perhaps when i can find a nice deal on a couple of cases of oranges. But i want to do it for the sheer enjoyment of it. People who have lived on fresh OJ for any sort of time can testify to the blessing. The orange is surely one of God's gifts to mankind for our good.
i wanted to concentrate my workout today on my chins/pullups. i still want to keep my weekly goals of calistenic totals. 1000 pushups/250 chins/250 pistol squats/100 tricep presses. i was short on the chins and pushups so i had to make sure i did them today. i went to the park and had a very nice workout.
Here is todays regiment:
Breakfast:
28oz of OJ. Small bowl of raw strawberry shortcake, one large banana. (807 calories).
Lunch:
Bowl of soaked bulgar wheat with steamed plantain and avocado. half a watermelon. (1665 calories).
Dinner:
28oz of OJ. (391 calories).
Exercise:
125 chins/150 pushups/30 tricep presses/40 pistol squats.
i finished the week with 1000 pushups/250 chins/330 pistol squats/130 tricep presses.
Not a bad week's work.
Have a Wonderful Weekend!!
Grace and Peace be multiplied.
todd

Thursday, September 10, 2009

September 9, 2009

Wednesday, September 9, 2009.

Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
i was off from work today. It was a gloriously sunny day with the temperatures in the high 70s. i was able to take full advantage of it with a tremendous park workout. i also ate very well today. Dropping the dips was a good idea for me as my shoulders feel much better although not 100% yet. i am alittle afraid to try another 500 plus pushup day because i don't want to injure myself. Of course that is no guarantee i won't try it anyways ...lol. So i seek to stay below 350 per day. Today i did 250, which felt good (5 sets of 50 along with other exercises which i will detail below).
We have a big weekend coming up with a Raw Remnant potluck scheduled. We are planning on having everything outside in the yard as we are expecting many guests. These events have been of tremendous blessing in that we are able to share raw and vegan foods with different people and witness to them of the Lord Christ at the same time. We believe its much more important to show the truth of the gospel in your life at home than what denomination or church one may belong to. So many attend churches and put up fronts then have completely different faces in their home. We find this to be hypocritical and wish to have a living faith that all can see and be drawn to the Lord we love and serve. These potlucks have served that purpose extremely well as we have had people of different faiths attend and receive blessings.
i seek the prayers of all my christians friends that this weekend will be a great blessing to all who choose to attend.
Here is todays regiment:
Breakfast:
7 bananas, 4 valencia oranges. (1084 calories).
Lunch:
one homemade whole wheat cracker with guacamole, sliced tomatoes and pecan patties on top. (1698 calories).
Exercise:
250 pushups/50 tricep presses/100 pistol squats/75 chins.
Grace and Peace be multiplied.
todd

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Monday, September 7, 2009

Psalms 103:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Psalms 103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
Psalms 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Psalms 103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Psalms 103:5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Monday, September 7, 2009. Very nice and relaxing weekend for the most part. But also busy with our ministry. i spoke and/or taught Friday evening, Sabbath morning, Sabbath Afternoon and Sunday evening. Also had tremendous workouts. Very rewarding weekend indeed. Even though i am not eating 100% Raw Fruitarian right now, i am still getting tremendous energy surges at times. Case in point, on Sunday i was out playing basketball with some young fellows. As we were playing a tall strapping young man strode onto the court. i didn't know who he was but apparently the other fellows did. i found out later he was the star quarterback on the high school football team and also the basketball team as well. He heard me chastising the guys i was playing with because they were tired and wanted to rest and i was still wanting to play. He came over and challenged me to a game of one-one-one. When i said sure lets play full court, he looked surprised but said ok. i heard him tell his friends he was going to take it easy on me and i heard them warn him not to. After i beat him his buddies got a good laugh as he was not able to run with me in terms of endurance. Whatever diet you want to call what i am on now (high fruitarian probably best describes it), its still blessing me.

i was blessed to eat like a king this weekend, even had some durian (both Sunday and Monday). As i started cataloging my caloric intake again, i didn't know bulgar wheat contained so much calories, but very little fat. i add olive oil to it so i am sure that fat is in it when i am done sprucing it up. Here was the regimen for today.

Breakfast:
Half a watermelon, 4 large bananas, durian. (1374 calories).

Lunch:
2 cups of Soaked bulgar wheat with avocado and steamed plantain. 6 cabbage-carrot rice wraps. (1970 calories).

Dinner:
40oz of fruit smoothie. (790 calories).

Exercise:
Morning: 180 pushups/30 tricep presses/120 one leg squats

Evening:
120 pushups/20 tricep presses.


i hope you had a terrific weekend!

Grace and Peace be multiplied.

todd

Friday, September 4, 2009

Friday, September 4, 2009

Friday, September 4, 2009.

Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Revelation 21:2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21:3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Revelation 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.


This is a wonderful promise of the bible and very dear to me. Its a promise of Love. But before it is fulfilled the redeemed will have many hard and trying times to pass through. Its all part of growth in character and spirit. The Fruitarian experiment appears to be done for now. i seemed to have succumbed to salt, although there are many other things going on in my life right now. Both good and trying. Some brethren in Christ, who are dear friends, were suddenly left homeless. We felt compelled to open our home to them. They will be staying with us for the next 3-4 months. The economy is the main culprit, but i believe its for the spiritual growth of us all. They are unemployed and pretty much penniless. i know how that feels and we are honored to have them as our guests. My business also took another turn downward which doesn't help. But we are all encouraging one another and strengthening each other (which is exactly how it should be). i have not blogged in awhile because i wanted to gather my thoughts before i put them down. i had been just gliding along and while in that state the words would come easily from day to day. But with this disruption in life came disruption of my thoughts a bit i guess. Also, i have found that the dips have been hurting my shoulders. They hurt so badly that over the last week i have hardly gotten a good night's sleep. So this week i rested completely about 3 days and worked out 3 days. The shoulders feel good today (i also did 300 pushups). i was pushing the dips too hard for the goal of the Bar-Commission. But i will have to put that on hold. i am thankful it wasn't the pushups as they have been my companions for decades and getting back into them has really excited me. They seem to be a catalyst for my workouts. Hopefully, in time, i will be able to get back to the dips, but i don't know how long that will be. The way i see it, this gives me opportunity to strengthen other areas. Pistol squats, chins, pullups, tricep presses especially.

Now as far as diet. Its not like i have completely fallen off the deep end. i still eat alot of fruit. But here are the non-fruit/non-raw items that i have been regularly consuming over the last couple of weeks:

Soaked bulgar wheat
unleavened homemade wheat crackers
dehydrated pecan-carrot or pecan-lentil patties.

The problem with these is the salt. All of them contain it. Now i have never professed to be 100% sold on getting rid of salt altogether. Perhaps that is why i am still using it now. Maybe thats a problem, but i am not so sure. Time will tell, it always does. But admittedly, although it seems minor, any fruitarian or raw vegan will tell you, there is a big difference with these items and without them. My weight is 191lbs (up from 177lbs in early July). Now my wife and friends all tell me how good i look because my muscles look fuller. But i know its just water. Maybe its psychological, but i liked how i felt at 177lbs better. Again, family and friends tell me i looked sickly, but i dont know.

So i am thinking about my next move. Shall i ditch the salt again and start over? Should i go 100% raw fruit part of the week and use weekends for the above-mentioned stuff? i am not sure. i am not asking for advice on the matter as much as i am just musing. i believe the Lord will lead me and guide me as i have asked Him to. Today was very typical of my recent menu, although i did not get the calorie count:

Breakfast:
one medium/small size watermelon. bowl of black grapes with chopped canteloupe.

Lunch:
16oz of fruit smoothie. Couple of baked whole wheat crackers.

Dinner:

guacamole seasoned with sea salt, lemon juice, cayenne and nutritional yeast. On top of the whole wheat crackers.

i will probably have some OJ later.

Exercise:
300 pushups/60 chins/200 pistol squats/50 tricep presses.

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

Grace and peace be multiplied.

todd