Ah, olive oil. Years ago, I took a group of young people over to Italy. For months afterwards, a group of them and I would sit around doing a Bible study, all the while dipping pieces of bread into a mixture of extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Heavenly.
Over the years, I’ve grown to love olive oil, and have tried many different types.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent all weekend trying to catch up. Catch up on yard work. Catch up on rest. Catch up with friends and family. Catch up on reading. Catch up on work.
So often, we use these long weekends to re-group, get back on track, and relax a bit before we have to start all over again. Today being Memorial Day, I think we need to pause and remember why this day came about, and not take it for just another day off.
I’m in my second week of doctoral classes at Catholic University of America. Actually, if you throw in the on-line component (six weeks), I’m more than half way through the semester. Thanks be to God 🙂
One of the real joys of being on campus is that I can visit the National Shrine, which sits on campus. One of the largest Catholic churches in our hemisphere, the Shrine is a remarkable place.
Earlier this week, I walked by one of the side entrances, and looking up, I read this passage from James (1:22), which is above the doorway. I hope you can make out the words in the photo, but if not, they read: “Be doers of the Word and not hearers only.”
On Friday, I dragged myself home from my first week at Catholic University. Let me just say they don’t mess around there. Doctoral studies are hard, much more than I anticipated.
That being said, it’s also a joy to be back in a great learning environment. There’s a lot to do, and a lot to learn. Somehow, I have to put it all together, but I think I’ll pull it off.
When I got home last night, I was too tired to work in my garden. But this morning, I was out there bright an early.
It’s been some time since I last quoted from the book Grace In Every Season, written by Catherine Doherty. Sadly, this book is difficult to find now, but I recently found that you can still get it through Madonna House, the community that Doherty founded.
So often, many of us are hardest on ourselves.
This is a shot of my mom and sister on their last visit to Maryland a few years ago. I’ve had the chance to take mom to Assateague Island to see the famous wild ponies a couple of times, and that’s where this photo was taken.
The kids in my 5th grade class are going to be pretty happy that today is the last day of Religious Ed.
From my perspective, we’ve had a great year, and I think they’ve learned a lot. Since I began teaching this group two years ago, the kids have really bonded and they support each other well. They also have a good rapport with me, and being with them on Tuesdays is one of the highlights of my week. That being said, I’m looking forward to the break, not just from them, but from our entire program of about 1,000 children.
When I wrote my post about control the other day, I didn’t think that I’d be writing a part two. Something happened yesterday got me thinking, and I wanted to share it with you.
I was meeting with my chiropractor yesterday, and he was asking me about the medications I take on a daily basis.
One of those that I have to take each and every day is called synthroid, and it makes up for my slow-functioning thyroid. Before I realized I had thyroid issues, I was feeling really run down all the time, and it seemed like no matter what I did for exercise, I just couldn’t loose any weight.
Once my doctor put me on this medicine, my metabolism kicked in and I started to feel much better, and the weight came off pretty easily.
Now, here’s the reason for today’s post. When I told my chiropractor about the medicines and supplements I was taking, he asked me how I was taking them. First thing in the morning, all at the same time. That was not the answer he was looking for.
He told me that I shouldn’t be taking my synthroid with my daily vitamins, because the two don’t react well to each other. In fact, the synthroid more than likely isn’t being absorbed properly. Instead, I should take the synthroid, then wait a couple of hours and take my daily vitamins. That way, everything will be absorbed into my system properly. Wow, I wish my regular doctor would have mentioned this to me, especially because he is aware of everything I take. That being said, I’m going to make an appointment with him to review what the Chiropractor said, just to be sure he’s right.
So, the point of this is that the control I spoke about the other day can be spun many ways. We need to look at our lives, especially those areas where our care has been intrusted to others, and review things from time to time. This will ensure we are maximizing our potential to live healthy lives. Sound like a good plan?
If you or someone you know has diabetes, you can sometimes feel a bit like this mountain climber.
It takes tremendous discipline and control to reach the summit, and the risks involved might be enough to keep you off the mountain all together. Fear of failure (falling, dying) probably has something to do with it.
When dealing with diabetes, most people start out great after receiving their diagnosis. They eat right, exercise, keep close tabs on their blood sugar numbers, and check in with their doctor on a regular basis. In the end, its a lot of work, and if the person doesn’t get the results they want, they quickly give up. They end up coming down the mountain of diabetic life, tired and exhausted, just burned out. I’m told that’s how it goes with the vast majority of people who deal with this disease on a daily basis. Maybe it’s gone that way for you. If that’s the case, there’s hope!