The Year of the Bear

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Year of the Bear! 2018 Bear is going to be much more focused, a bit more fun, and probably more faithfully maintained as a result. This year the object is writing, and taking specific steps toward becoming an author - I have to admit, I'm pretty excited about it!

A couple weeks ago – it might have been one, time is funny when you’re planning a wedding – a friend and I were talking about whether or not it was a sin not to take care of your body. Apparently it was a disagreement he and his wife had early on in their marriage (since resolved). We talked about pros and cons for a bit, and I offered this solution: At the end of the day, we can all be better stewards of what we have.

I've given you the skinny on most of what I'm about; time to talk about writing. It's what my bachelors degree is in; and it's what I've been doing since I was 8, when I first wrote a story about a leprechaun who learned forgiveness and generosity after his stash of four leaf clovers was stolen. Then, 15 years ago, I started writing fantasy - as most teenagers do, these days.

One of the things you learn, if you're around it long enough and look into it deep enough, is that blogs are supposed to be focused - if you're writing a cooking blog, stick to cooking stuff; if you're writing a fitness blog, stick to stuff about fitness. I get that, but... SQUIRREL!

I’m going to level with you guys: fitness coaches and health professionals probably won’t like what I have to say on a lot of topics. I’m very moderate: I’m not preaching radical lifestyle changes, advocating specific diets, telling you that you have to act this way, believe this thing, and live this life. And there’s a very simple reason for this. I’m not training for the Olympics.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? Run that you may obtain it…But I discipline my body and keep it under control.” 1 Corinthians 9:24, 26 “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1 So what does running and mountain biking have to do with Christ? Directly? Nothing. As far as I know, Jesus never ran or rode a mountain bike. Indirectly? Everything.

At some point in my relationship with my fiancee, I had the bizarre idea to call each other “[adjective] bear” – like, when you’re ready for bed, you’re "sleepy bear," or "tired bear;" if you don’t understand something, you’re “confused bear”; when you know what you should do but don’t want to, you’re “ornery bear” – you get the idea. Now I’m thinking, when we get married and buy a house, we’ll get a giant carved wooden bear for the end of our driveway. I’ve taken on this identity of the bear. Funny how things happen, sometimes.