The Lutheran Zephyr

Health Insurance for Clergy, for Church Employees, for All

The church is not immune to the health insurance crisis that is sweeping the nation.  From the worse-than-average health of clergy today to the huge ranks of retired clergy supported by church plans, the church is facing a crisis that pits the costs of health care against mission funding.  Today's Washington Post has a nice article on this issue (Escalating Health-Care Costs Hit Churches: Insurance for Pastors Draining the Coffers), including a quote from John Kapanke, president of the ELCA's Board of Pensions.

Particularly in this election season in which health care will be a major issue, we in the church should be involved in conversations about health care - both nationally and within our church, for the two are intimately connected.

Jesus came that we might have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10).  Quality health care for all of God's children is part of the abundant life God intends for us.  Let us work toward a future where heath care for all is no longer a dream, but the reality.

Life, Blog Updates

This weekend Northern Virginia is expecting an ice storm.  Oh, to live in a climate where rain is rain and snow is snow, and ice appears only in the freezer.  Oh well.  That's not where I live.  The storm is supposed to be pretty bad - they're calling for freezing rain to fall all day, on top of 1-2 inches of snow that will fall tonight.  Ice skating, anyone?

My lovely wife is sequestered in a hotel through Sunday, making a concerted and focused effort to get her (insert expletive here) dissertation done.  She is so close, but with a new full-time job and three children at home it is tough for her to find the time to write.

Two out of three kids in my family are sick enough to make sleeping difficult, but not sick enough for the doctor to be able to do anything for them.  Did I mention that my wife is in a hotel this weekend?

I've applied for copyright permission from Augsburg Fortress Publishers to use an amended form of Responsive Prayer on my new Daily Prayer Delivered blog.  A friend reminded me that I was probably violating copyrights by posting this material online, so I made my petition to my former co-workers at Augsburg Fortress.  I'll let you know what they say to me.  (For a good, short plea for a new approach to copyrights and permissions for liturgical material, check out this post - The Church and Copyleft - from Father Chris, an Independent Catholic priest who was raised in the Lutheran Church.)

I've been dabbling with a custom theme on this blog, but Typepad doesn't make it easy for amateurs like me.  If this blog looks funny to you, it's entirely my fault.  But I'm tired and I'm not fixing it for a few days.  Here's the banner I was toying with:

Have a good weekend.  For all who are battling ice and snow, please be safe!

No More Cheez-Its

I'm giving up Cheez-Its.  Not for Lent, but forever.  After eating six of these suckers tonight I spent the evening nauseated as if I had feasted at Taco Bell followed by a never-ending roller coaster ride.  This ain't the first time, either, that I've suffered a Cheez-It attack.  It is the first time that only six of the damn crackers did this to me, however.

I love cheese crackers - particularly Cheez-Its and Goldfish.  The Goldfish are still fair game, so to speak, but they have moved to the Watch List.  As much as I love the taste of these things, they're terribly unhealthy and they do unpleasant things to my innards.  And considering my most recent physical was nothing to boast about, something needs to change.  I'll start with the Cheez-Its.

O Where, O Where Did My Disciplines Go?

The results are in from my annual physical, and they've got me pretty down:

I'm overweight.  I'm out of shape.  I have bad cholesterol.

Things have to change.  But with three children, a church job, little disposable time or income, and questionable will power, how do I make a change?

And after a week in which I feel that my lack of self discipline led me to prepare my sermon and adult forum at home on Friday and Saturday nights rather than during the week at church, I'm feeling pretty crummy about the state of my disciplines right about now.

Things have to change.  I need to make the time and space for better habits, better disciplines, better living.  But how?

Perhaps I should start with reading a Joel Osteen book . . . ;-)

Fitness Failure #27

(Writing from a hotel in St. Paul, MN, where I am briefly in town for my cousin's wedding - congrats Rob and Caitlin!)

Yesterday I wrenched my back while picking up my pudgy 11 month-old daughter off the floor.  Those of you who are unfortunate enough to frequent these pixels know that back in February I was stricken with a similar ailment doing the same thing.  This current wrenching is not as bad - I can walk, for instance.  But once again I am reminded that I am:

a) not 18

b) not in shape

c) overweight

And how many times over the past 10 years have I vowed to exercise, eat healthier, and get in shape?  I made this vow back in February, and at least one other time over the history of this blog.  How the hell do I do this?  Do I need a Martin-Luther-in-a-storm kind of experience to scare the bejeezus out of me to finally change my ways?  With 14 years of relatively bad habits under my belt, two little kiddos and a third on the way, and with internship and my wife's new job approaching - how the heck do I improve?

My Fitness Evaluated

Today I went to the YMCA for my fitness evaluation.  I underwent various tests - strength, flexibility, blood pressure, heart rate (at rest and after three minutes of exercise), sit-ups and push-ups, among others.  They punched all the numbers into a computer that tells me my body age (using the Polar Body Age system).  Here's what I learned:

I'm not as unhealthy as I thought I was.  I've been concerned/ashamed about my weight for a while, and I was gratified to learn that I'm not a fitness lost cause.  But I'm not out of the woods, either.  I've got work to do.  My test showed me that:

• my blood pressure (128/79) is at the high end of acceptable, but is not ideal.
• my cardiovascular system is working pretty well - I achieved a level of "good," a Max VO2 of 50.  I'd like to get that number up to about 52 by the end of the summer (the higher the number, the more oxygen I can use during exercise)
• my bicep strength is at the high end of "fair," but my sit-ups and push-ups are at the high end of "poor."  I'm a weakling.
• my flexibility is "fair."  Even when I was in great shape I was not very flexible.  I'm not terribly worried about this one, but I do hope to be able to touch my toes eventually . . .
• body fat: 22.3% (she used calipers to measure the fat on about seven parts of my body).  This is "moderate," but they recommend that I get down to about 14-19%.
• I am 6'0" tall and weigh in at 230 pounds.  I should be in the 190s or lower, depending on muscle mass, etc..  I've got work to do.
• Overall, my "body age" is 32.  Whodahthunkit?  I'm 32 years old!  At least it didn't calculate my body age in the senior citizen levels . . . .

As a former high school track "star" (oodles of medals, a state championship, etc..) this is terribly pathetic.  I know (in my head) that I am not an 18 year-old running the 1600m in the low 4:20s, or the 800m in the mid 1:50s.  But emotionally - in terms of my ego - it is hard to separate myself from that memory.  I know running, I know fitness, I know exercise.  But when I go for a run today, or when I lift a few weights, the experience is completely embarrassing and pathetic.  It is hard to return to a familiar task at a much lower level.  But rather than try new tasks - swimming, bicycling, aerobics, etc. - I hope to turn my knowledge of running and fitness into an asset as I strive to get into shape.  I may never run a five minute mile again - or even a six minute mile - but I hope to return to the point where running up the stairs is comfortable and easy, where jogging for 30 minutes is routine, and where looking at my stomach is not a cause for shame.

I'll share updates throughout the summer.  My goal: to get below 220 lbs and gain a little upper body muscle before the end of the summer . . . Four cardio and three strength workouts per week this summer should help.

I used to be a track star

It's true.  Back in high school I was a track star. 

Nearly every weekend I collected a few medals or even a trophy at track and cross-country meets, some for individual accomplishments and many more for my role on a relay team.  My highlights include running a 4:23 mile (at that time the third fastest in my school history) and leading off for the 4x800 relay team, which set a school record, won the state gold medal in 1993 (my senior year), and clocked one of the fastest 4x800 relay times in the nation that year.  Most importantly, I was healthy and in shape, and looked pretty darn good in that skinny yet muscular middle-distance runner's body.

Well, let's just say that today is a different story.  I weigh in at around 230 pounds, which with my 5' 11" frame is slightly on the rotund end.  Indeed, at my height and weight I fall somewhere in between "overweight" and "obese" on WebMD's Body Mass Index scale (link opens a new tab or window).  This is not good.  I don't like being obese - not only for the harsh connotations of that word, but also for the impact it has on my health.  Cancer runs in my family and, as I've seen countless times in the hospital, healthy and fit patients fight disease much better than overweight patients.  But cancer fears aside, I can't run up the stairs or go for a long walk pushing the baby stroller without getting winded.  That's just pathetic.

I've tried working out and improving my diet.  A few years ago I did the South Beach Diet for about a month or two, and last year at this time I was running several times per week, a practice that lasted about three months.  Yet with countless Americans, I have failed to sustain my dieting or exercising habits over the long haul.  In the end, I return to the Goldfish crackers, pork roll sandwiches, and the convenience of sodium-laden prepared dinners such as Hamburger Helper.

This is not an announcement of a new diet or exercise regimen.  No.  Rather, I'm starting this thread simply to give myself a dedicated place to think and journal about my health (I'm contemplating starting a new blog on the topic).  When he was my age my uncle battled testicular cancer and, thanks to his great health, he won the fight.  But how would I fare if I was stricken with cancer tomorrow? Furthermore, as I look forward to a career notorious for it's health pitfalls - parish ministry - I want to make my health a high priority and key learning goal during my congregational internship next year.

You're welcome to walk with me - but not too quickly at first, lest I get winded - on this journey of reflection on health, and how it impacts or is impacted by my work, family and faith.