Ahhh Wheat, How I've Missed You!!!

Celebration! The six week trial diet is over; I have conquered my will and stomach's desires long enough: it's time to enter gluten back into the diet! The interesting thing to me over the last few weeks (when the GF & DF diet was to be really taking effect), my energy level has been low. Really low. Right when I was supposed to be feeling better than ever, I was constantly so tired and energy-deprived that it hurt. My synopsis: my body needs brain food (BREAD!!!)

We decided that dairy's a lot easier to avoid (or at least limit), so I had my first pizza pie in a little over a month last night! I really missed pizza, especially because my diet didn't keep Chris from partaking. The funny thing is, when eating it, finally, I couldn't help thinking, "What was the big fuss over? This isn't THAT great." I know those are pretty much blasphemous words to Chris, but the grease-bomb wasn't worth the stomach ache later that night through the next morning. I felt like Michael Scott when he downed the fettuchine and then ran the Rabies 5k.

So I might have to pass when he wants to order pizza again.

Today I didn't have any glutenish things, I guess feeling that I should ease it in, and I guess because I still have a bunch of rice cakes and other GF things lying around waiting to be scarfed. And boy, did I scarf them! I think doing all kinds of things and being at home, alone, around all kinds of foods beconing me is not a good combination with not ever eating a full, sit-down meal. Hmmm.

I did come up with a new (for me at least) creation, involving slicing up a potato (I did both regular and sweet), spraying a cookie sheet with Pam olive oil, sprinking the potato slices with salt and pepper, and baking for about 30 min. My version of sweet potato fries! Yum!!!

So apparently this is the end of my diet, and though it is disappointing in the fact that it did not help me, it crossed out gluten and/or dairy as the cause of my chronic muscle tightness (back to the drawing board there), and it benefitted me in other ways as well. An exercise in self-control is always a good thing, and this was as close to fasting that I've ever come. It helped me release food as my idol by first showing me that it has become one (at bare minimum because I think about food constantly), and I had to release my control from it in many situations (esp. with other people). Looking back at my hopeful outcomes, my complexion, sadly, only got worse, but I did lose a few pounds, that I will hopefully keep off by keeping the ice cream away! So this exercise wasn't a total disaster!

As for the near future, I'll continue with soy instead of dairy milk and other things, but I'm not going to pick cheese of things,pull chocolate chips out of cookies, or anything freakish like that. I'll minimize my dairy intake, not do away with it. And I'll try to limit my gluten, instead of basing every meal on my bready-carbs. I am going to have a big heaping bowl of cereal (the thought fills me with so much joy!) tomorrow, but I'll try to have more rice/potato options and less hamberger helper/pizza - I'll leave those to Chris!

So, farewell, my gluten-free blog, for apparently God made wheat for me to enjoy! :)

One week to go!!!

As of today, I've completed 5 weeks of the 6 week trial, and am feeling a mixture of encouragement and melancholy over this whole deal. Both ends of the emotional spectrum jointly because I feel absolutely no different now from one month ago. I'm bummed because for goodness-sake, I went through all this crap for nothing?!? Yet thankful because who would want to live her whole life without some of the best things this world has to offer? :)

Since I've already diagnosed myself as having no problems with either gluten or dairy, it's be extremely tempting to cheat these last few days, well maybe it was only last night. We were over at Chris's 2nd cousin's house, who happens to be a great chef/baker/epicurian/whatever, and calling my name was this pumkin pie with cake in it thing and cool whip on top. The thoughts, "This whole diet's not doing anything for you anyway... What would one little bite do?... You only have one more week left, anyway..." Crowded and controlled my thoughts all evening. It was terrible. And I almost caved. I even picked up a spoon...

But then my knight-in-shining-Northface-armor came to my rescue: "ALI! What the HECK are you thinking?!?! You've made it this far, and you're going to throw it all away NOW?!?"

My wonderful husband has a way of smacking sense into me, so I resisted. Whew... that was a close one.

Other than that, I'm just tired of thinking about food all the time: what am I making for Chris (that he'll eat & that he hasn't already eaten 3 times in the last 3 weeks), do I have enough rice and chicken/beef on hand for when I'm starving upon home-arrival? BLAHHHHHH. Not that I don't think about food all the time anyway, but this is like double the thoughts I'm used to.

Awesome randomness: In our school district, an employee may participate in a heath-screening in order to lower insurance costs. [Score!] Well the screeners aren't exactly RNs, and so a lot of funny things go on there.

1. My body fat was measured by a little handheld thing at 16%. That's lower than I was in college and like marathon runner level. I'll TAKE it!!!
2. The lady taking my blood pressure didn't want me to roll up the sleeves of my sweater. Then when the pump broke, she sighed, "Oh well," and wrote down some random numbers: 112/80. I'm thinking a little high for me, but who cares - I guess that evens out the body fat % in my favor.
3. They didn't tell me not to eat (and I always have a snack right after school - that day an apple with PB), but then they did a glucose count from my blood, which was 82. Apparently this is fairly low if you're fasting, let alone if you ate 45 minutes prior to the exam. I remember taking the blood exam after fasting, and it was like 62, almost hypoglycemic. No wonder when I need food, I need it NOW!!!

Week 4, VivaGirl

As it's already Tuesday on week 5 of the diet, I guess I must comment on week 4. As of right now, I have less than 2 weeks to go in this 6 weeks of seeming torture, but as I've noted, it hasn't been that bad at all! Soy milk for regular is a trade fine with me, and I am such a bland eater that plain rice and chicken doesn't bother me a bit. The only things I really miss are (of course) real ice cream and real cereal. This week I made the mistake of trying soy ice cream (because it was on sale). BIG mistake. HUGE. I mean, it's okay, but that Rice Dream stuff is worth every penny of its outrageous $4.99. As for the breakfast foods, oatmeal doesn't take too much longer to make (since I also always make eggs), but the extra effort at 5:20 is not a welcome experience most of the time. Organice rice millet cereal is fine, especially when covered in a fruit entourage of bananas, strawberries, and blueberries.

I don't know if I wrote on this last time, but a loaf of GF bread (mind, it is less than half the size of a normal loaf) costs a whopping $6! If I had to remain on the GF diet, I would most likely resort to baking my own bread, which demonstrates how desperate I'd be to save a few bucks per week.

Having family in town this past weekend frightened me a little, dietarily, anyway, but there were no glitches! Steak & potatoes, BBQ (which is kind of weird without the accustomed Texas toast), and lame-O salad at our favorite pizza place. Eh well, it's just weird having to be so conscious about where we're eating and what I'm allowed to eat there.

Observations: My muscles are feeling pretty good, though there are many veriables interupting the controlledness of this experience: I'm receiving chiropractic care (with pretty much physical therapy wrapped in, since I'm doing stretches/exercises each day), I've actually been able to exercise a bit (walking, jogging, stair-stepping), and I've received and am wearing orthodics (which are supposed to help everything). As far as my energy goes, I've been pretty tired, but I've been burning the candle at both ends too. I'm not complaining about being busy like every other human being, but my body requires a lot of sleep, and I have self-diagnosed a phobia of sleepiness. If I were allotted a superhero power (I've actually thought of this before), I would opt for sleepless energy. Seriously, imagine how much you'd be able to do if you had perfect energy, 24/7, and never needed sleep. I'll name my alter ego "VivaGirl" since viva means life or lively. I would have changed the world by now, as apparently it's only the necessary evil of slumber that's stalling my success. And with that, I think it's time for me to hit the sack.

Tolstoy on Free Will

I had a great conversation with a colleague and fellow Christian today on the idea of free will. He, being a closet-Calvinist (what I call all Christians who do not yet realize that they are Calvinists), reasoned, as most pre-Calvinists do, that he chose God, and must have chosen God, for forced love is not love at all. Therefore, his un-forced love for God must mean his will is free to choose heaven or hell. There were more good points to his argument, but that was the thrust of it.

I completely agree that all people have the responsibility to choose whom they serve, just as it is our responsibility to keep all of God’s commandments. However, the built-in problem is that we are sinners unable to follow all God’s commandments, unable to choose what is good. I agree that I chose (and choose everyday) to follow Christ, but my question is: What made me choose Christ?

That’s where we get to the heart of the free will argument: no will is truly free. Every single choice I make, from the clothes I wear to the food I eat, I chose because of some other factor beside myself. Example: I wore a skirt today because I must look professional for my job, the weather is nice outside, I bought the skirt for ½ price, knee-length A-line skirts are in style (tho’ when are they not?), it looks good on me, it goes with the shirt color I feel like wearing, etc…… And the same list of prescripters could be given for the shirts I wore, the food I ate, and list goes on. For every decision I make.

Leo Tolstoy, in his masterpiece, War and Peace, (which I finished, finally, a week ago, yay!) discusses at length the notion of free will, though not from a theological standpoint (he makes that clear in the epilogue), but solely an historical one. He uses the same line of reasoning I demonstrated above, though much more pointedly, that though people FEEL that they are free to choose whatever they wish, their choices are actually governed by countless outside agents. His main analogy is of a person dropping his hand to his side, as if saying, ‘See, I just chose to do that of my own free will.’ Tolstoy argues that you dropped it in the direction you did because it was free of obstacles that might hurt your arm, because that way was most comfortable to you, and because you don’t have a prior arm injury that would’ve prompted you to otherwise drop your other arm, foot, or anything else. And let’s not forget that fantastic law that you’re depending on to make your “choice”: gravity.

I’m pretty sure that this line of reasoning is what made his novel so controversial: he quite adamantly downplays Napoleon’s impact on his own reign, going so far to say that Napoleon wasn’t that great of a general/emperor/war expert/whatever, but that really he was just in the right place at the right time and the people under him would surely have done the same things no matter who was leading. Quite a scandalous notion, having written this about a generation after Napoleon’s career, but the ideas are very logical, in that by the time the one general (the farthest removed person from the battlefields) hears of what is going on with the millions on the various battlefields, synthesizes the various reports, figures out a plan of action, and orders it of the various messengers who then take it back to the various battlefields to the millions, the time would have already passed for the necessary decision and Napoleon’s decrees would be moot. So therefore Napoleon really didn’t lead his troops when they were in battle; he was just an observer, being (as Tolstoy puts it) a pawn of fate or God.

If even the greatest (or the perceivably greatest) among us do not have a truly free will, then how much less do we normal people have one. The last words of his last epilogue frame the reason why people invented – and why they cannot let go of – the notion of free will: we trust our feelings more than our reason. Reason clearly tells us that every decision we make has a cause; it’s not just generated within us at random. Likewise, the Bible clearly shows God to be a God who chooses, from Jacob (“… whom I loved and Essau I hated…”) to Israel (“Mine elect” to Christ (“chosen before the foundations of the world” as the way to salvation) to each Christian. The theological idea of free will was invented long after the scriptures were written and considered heresy by the Christian Church many many times. And yet, for some reason, people would rather hold firm to an extrascriptural philosophy that elevates man and belittles God, and quite frankly all but claims salvation to be a work of man. Why do people do this? Because it fits with their feelings.

Tolstoy compares this to Copernicus’s discovery that the Earth moves around the still Sun. People refused to accept this because “the difficulty of recognizing the motion of the earth lay in abandoning the immediate sensation of the earth’s fixity and the motion of the planets, so in history [and theology] the difficulty of recognizing the subjection of personality to the laws of space, time, and cause, lies in renouncing the direct feeling of the independence of one’s own personality. But as in astronomy the new view said: ‘It is true that we do not feel the movement of the earth, but by admitting its immobility we arrive at absurdity, while by admitting its motion (which we do not feel) we arrive at laws,’ so also in history the new view says: ‘It is true that we are not conscious of our dependence, but by admitting our freewill we arrive at absurdity, while by admitting our dependence on the external world, on time, and on cause [and in theology, the work of the Holy Spirit], we arrive at laws.’

“In the first case it was necessary to renounce the consciousness of an unreal immovility in sace and to recognize a motion we did not feel; in the present case it is similarly necessary to renounce a freedom that does not exist, and to recognize a dependence of which we are not conscious” (War and Peace, 1306).

Don’t trust your feelings, for they often tell you what you want to be so, where as your reason, through meditation on scripture, will tell you what God wills to be so.

Week 3: No turning back now... halfway there!!!

Until I logged onto the blog, I seriously thought I had completed week 4... and now I'm a little perturbed. :( If I could only fast-forward to the Shake's Frozen Custard at the end of this long, dark tunnel... Oh well.

Week 3 did have some surprising highlights: I wore a pair of capris Mom had bought me that had never fit loose enough to wear in public! I felt like sharing that info with everyone I saw at the high school girls JV golf tournament, Tuesday, but realized that would be vain, braggy, and weirdly irrelevant. So I'm sharing with you now! I confirmed when I stepped onto the scale at the gym today that I'm 4 lbs lighter than 3 weeks ago. Note (more to myself than you): I'm not in this to lose weight; that's just a side-effect of not eating ice cream every night. To tell you the truth, I thought I'd lose more just from that life-style change. Maybe all the RIce Cream and rice milk chocolate bars are holding me back from skinny jeans. Which is a fine trade-off, if you ask me.

Being such a creature of habit, I noticed today how this really isn't too hard, now that I've somewhat got the hang of it. On Sunday, I boil eggs for my lunch salads, I boil rice for dinner throughout the week, and brown turkey for the turkey/rice/black beans/salsa dish. I have chicken in the freezer that only takes 25 min to bake, sweet potatos, fruits, asparagus, snacks (rice cakes w/PB & honey are my fave), and I'm good to go! Planning and cooking for Chris as well gets a bit tricky for me, especially since we've been on different schedules lately. Thankfully, he's laid back and understanding, though I'll have to coax him into making his own Hamberger Helper every once in awhile!

When I returned from Whole Foods today and glanced over the receipt, I noticed (since there was no price tag) that the GF bread is $6 a loaf! Yikes! And this bread is about 1/2 to maybe 2/3 the size of normal bread. For now, I keep a loaf and sliced turkey in my fridge at school (beats the tar out of making a lunch every day!), along with salad (to supplement for the mini-ness of the GF sandwich), but that might have to change due to the recession and all. Just kidding, my overall stinginess.

I also noticed that I really do miss ice cream. Bad. I may have mentioned this before, but this emotional addiction is a tough habit to break. I wonder how soy milk pudding is??? I had (until this moment) forgotten that I have GF cookie mix. I'll have to whip that up tomorrow and try'er out.

Subjective Outcome Measurement: this week, I've felt a little below average on the energy scale. Granted, there's been a lot going on: subs to prepare for, golf tournaments, crazy kids, etc., but the main thing that's weird is my energy while working out has been pretty low. Doing the stairmaster (a.k.a, the gauntlet) has been much harder than usual, forcing me to lower the level at which I climb (humiliating, even if I am the only one who sees me doing it). This morning, after 20 minutes at a fairly low level, I got side stitches and had to demote myself to the treadmill. Ouch. Where I walked for 10 minutes and then ran till I needed to stop. Five. Minutes. Later. Double ouch. Definitely going to inform the doc of this. Clearly ice cream feeds my muscles the nutrients they need to perform at their peak.

Week 2 Complete and Waiver-Free

Week 2 of my gluten and dairy free diet is almost over, which leaves me with 4 weeks to go. I've somewhat figured out my eating ruitine, which has naturally morphed into a healthy 5 small meals per day. My snacks have gotten bigger (rice cake with PB, apple with PB, celery with PB, or Cliff Bar), and my meals (I'm guessing anyway) a bit smaller. I've concocted a new staple: rice, ground turkey, and salsa, that I will add some kidney or black beans to next time. Yum. Other than that and the Barnezy Tacos I made tonight, I'm A-okay with blandness: chicken and rice.

I tried some soy protein power in a fruit smoothie the other day, which was disgusting, but Chris informed me that the kiwi I added or the rice milk was more likely the culprit, so I'll try again tomorrow for lunch.

The energy level is returning and so are the spirits; Dr. Iodice told me I should start really feeling changes during week 3, so hopefully this week will be big for me! The traps and hip flexors have still been really tight, but that's most likely due to shrugging while I sleep. I think it's been better the last few days, since we've added a huge wedge-pillow under my knees.

As far as temptations to cheat go, I'm not going to lie: I've had a few. I keep Little Debbie snacks in my class (for reward jar Fridays), and yesterday that Nutty Bar called out to me. I'm proud to say that I resisted its little chocopeanutbuttery voice. And tonight while Chris and I were walking, we passed by Sarpino's Pizza... ooohhhh pizza. How I miss you! I never thought I'd say this, but I'd rather give up dairy than gluten. Cutting out my beloved ice cream is probably the best change I could ever make for my heath. And besides, I've found many chocolaty substitutes! I've already mentioned Rice Dream ice cream, but today at Whole Foods, I found a rice milk chocolate bar on sale for 79 cents. After eating a bite (and then a few more!), I'm heading back tomorrow to buy out their stock! Tastes just like Dove milk chocolate. :)

There's only one more full week of golf, and then hopefully I can get back to the gym... or even more hopefully, the running trail (as my new in soles should be coming in soon!). I weighed myself this afternoon at the gym, and though I'm not in this to lose weight, and though I'm not sure how accurate the gym scale is or how good it is to weigh in the afternoon, I weighed 3 pounds less than the day I began the diet. My jeans fit the same (which is the only way I normally gage weight), but my tummy stays about the same size throughout the day (whereas it formerly would bloat). So that's nice. Other changes: the first week or so, my complexion actually worsened, which was very frustrating, but now it's getting better. I'm not sure if that was due to the increase of estrogen in all the soy I'm intaking now. Interesting.

This week's going to fly also, with 2 golf tournaments and 3 dr appointments, so unless I briefly blog about War and Peace (which I'm hopefully finishing tonight!!!), I'll recap the week next weekend in between laundry loads! :)

One Week Down, Five to Go...

So it's Sunday, and that means I've survived one week sans-gluten and dairy. Quite an accomplishment, if you know me even somewhat. You know, I think I can do this thing! Mom and I played in a golf scramble, and together we fired a 7 under! I'm tellin ya, we were pretty impressed with ourselves! I'm now wishing I would've gone to Dr. Iodice about 5 years ago, my body felt so good on the course, but I guess I'd be on the pro tour or something instead of teaching kids, which has far more significance; so I take it back I guess.

The OSU football game was depressing enough, but the brisket, chicken, rice, chips, and salsa were fantastic; though the free ice cream snacks were tantalizing. I did try the new vitamin water with 10 calories. Blahhhhh. I remember that vitamin water itself didn't have enough flavor for me (why everyone doesn't just drink Propel baffles me). My energy level was pretty low for the most part, though I'm not sure how much of that can be attributed to the 1500 miles I've driven in the last 3 days and how much of that's due to the diet.

At Whole Foods tonight, I picked up so GF cereal!!! We'll see how it works out; I still got some oatmeal, as that's working pretty well for me now.

The hardest facet of this challenge seems to be all the planning that goes into meals where Chris is concerned. Do I make the GF stuff for him to (depleting all my GF resources)? Or do I make 2 seperate meals (who wants to do that?)? I made a big o'pot of rice tonight and baked chicken strips (non-breaded), but we ate almost all the chicken, so that'll have to be a per-nightly thing I guess. I've also got some sweet and regular potatoes, with the inevitable question: what the heck am I supposed to put on a potato if I can't eat dairy?!? I'll ask the doc that tomorrow. Also thinking I can brown hamberger meat and put it on top of the rice for me and make hamberger helper for Chris? Is that lame??

The really frustrating thing for me right now is that I haven't been able to exercise at all since this started. With teaching, golf practices and meets, and 3 dr. appt's per week, I'm not sure how much better my body's going to feel if I'm not working out. hmmm...

In other (more 6ish) news, I listened to 3 REALLY good Mark Dever sermons on Luke 12, 13, & 14, and am thus encouraged to love my wonderful Savior much more ardently and to love my brothers and sisters much more actively. My goal is to encourage and pray more fervently for others, encouraging them to seek Christ with everything.

Day 4: Things are looking up!

God answered my prayer from day 3 and day 4 was a lot better! I slabbed some peanut butter on a rice cake thingie for my planning period snack and added some boiled egg to the salad with crab meat for lunch. Much better. Also, I think the dark chocolate Chris and I picked up at the store last night helped curb my craving (and keep my attitude up) for the afternoon.

Golf practice was rained out, so I munched on some apple slices with PB before going to the chiro. The exercises he's giving me are training my core/scapulas/shoulders/hips to function as they should, utilizing stabilizer muscles instead of straining weaker muscles (which is apparently what my body has been doing to itself).

Upon leaving the chiro office, we ate at Chipotle (I've actually come to enjoy the chicken burrito bol) and drove down to Tulsa. We're attending a memorial service for Chris's uncle who is now in the presence of the Lord due to cancer. It'll be great to spend time with family and celebrate his life and what God did for him.

Being the OCD person I am about food, I brought an entire bag filled with GF snacks in case the catered lunch is sandwiches or something of the sort. After the memorial, we're headed back to KC. Chris has his board exams Friday and Saturday; I'm teaching school Friday, and then driving back down to Oklahoma to spend the weekend with my family: playing in a golf tourney that benefits a college ministry and going to the OSU/Houston football game. The football game is the only thing that concerns me - I hope they don't confiscate all the Cliff Bars I try to smuggle in!

Day 3: Hunger Pangs of Death

Today my tank was on low. I guess that teaching a full day takes a bit more out of me than a Labor Day off, and my body didn’t like the different (or lacking) energy source. Anyway, I’m praying that it doesn’t get worse than this, or else I’m going to have to figure out ways to keep my stomach from eating itself. My oatmeal and eggs carried me until about 10, when my tummy started to squeal out of desperation. I usually eat a few almonds and sip some tea on my plan, but today I scarfed a handful and another fistful of GF (gluten-free) crackers as well, probably simultaneously.

Lunch was probably my biggest mistake of the day. I meant to bring apple and celery slices to dip in peanut butter, but forgot them, so all I had was my wimpy salad with some crab meat. Oh yes, and some more GF crackers. My crustacean friend wasn’t too appetizing, and I didn’t get my usual chocolate bite, so my kids saw me in rare form today. I think I snapped at one unsuspecting (though totally deserving) little twerp for rocking in my seat, then leaning over my podium, then sitting on his desk and rocking it back and forth. Not to mention that he must weigh 180. I don’t even know what I threatened him. But I then apologized, explaining that I hadn’t had chocolate in 3 days.

On the way to the golf course, I began stuffing all I could down my throat, but since all I had were GF crackers and rice cakes, that didn’t amount to much. My golfers figured out the weird taste of the GF crackers: burnt popcorn. Bingo. The munching continued throughout the round – I was fiercely hungry!

When I finally got home to the 2nd-time’s-a-charm rice spaghetti, I felt a little better, though tired. However, I’m becoming quite fond of the Rice Dream ice cream stuff. Wish I could haul that sweet chocolaty goodness with me all the time!

When I told the chiro at tonight’s appointment about my troubles, I think he dismissed me as an addict who’s undergoing necessary cleansing. I think he’s right…

Day 2: The Blues Strike

Today was a bit harder. I don’t know if the lack of serotonin-producing foods I’m used to is playing with my emotions or if other stresses are more to blame, but this afternoon I was in a pretty bad mood for me. I’d describe it as being on edge, on the verge of crying, what most of us women would call PMS symptoms (the emotional ones, anyway). Weird, and needless to say, I’m ready for this feeling to be over.

After talking to my mom, it could be the lack of control I’m feeling over my diet. Chris, his friend Alan, and I didn’t eat lunch till 2:30, because we were shooting a video of exercises and techniques for my chiropractor’s website. We went to Chipotle, where the chicken burrito bol is lacking bread, though Chipotle has some spice that always makes my stomach feel funky. Then we went over to a friend’s house for a cookout, and I felt kind of rude asking to see labels of all the foods they had (I’m still not sure what all is in things). Steak, salad (I had to pick out the feta cheese!), apples, grapes, and almonds were great, but then I started to feel anxious about getting home.

The day before going back to school always riles me up; I guess it’s the feeling of being unprepared. I got a lot of grading done this weekend, and have the next two weeks planned out, so the feeling is a bit absurd, but nonetheless it’s always there. Maybe someday, when I’m a seasoned teacher, it’ll go away? Hope so?

Tomorrow, I have FCA at 7 a.m., and I’m bringing the donuts… I can’t imagine rice-donuts. That’s got to be the grossest thing ever! Then after school my girls have a golf meet at the local par-3. And then I have a dr. appt. Busy day! Lord, help my attitude to be glorifying to you!

Day 1: Rice Cream, Anyone?

So far, so good! The scrambled eggs and organic oatmeal with strawberries, bananas, blueberries, and cinnamon on top kept me full all through church, Sunday school (& teaching those 3rd graders sure does take it out of you!), and grading some papers afterwards. My decently-sized salad with 2 boiled eggs was nothing to write home about and had to be backed up with a midafternoon banana.

For dinner I made regular spaghetti for Chris, and boiled some rice spaghetti for myself… ick. Maybe, if absolutely necessary, I could get used to the weird, soupy texture of it, but I’d be happy to get some alternative solutions.

The highlight of the food day was the Rice Dream Chocolate Caramel Chai (non-dairy ice cream). Definitely worth the $4 pint, since I don’t need much to get my chocolate fix. I think I’ll get some Silk chocolate milk tomorrow for when I finish my tiny little pint of chocolate gold.

I received some encouragement from Chris’s study partner, a collegiate trackster, who said that his coach wouldn’t let them drink dairy. Apparently I’ll run like the wind blows when I get all the cow out of my system. Makes sense, seeing as cows aren’t the fastest mammal. I went for a speed walk tonight, and whew, I was cruising! Now I’m off to some speed reading!

Last Day of Comfort Food…

Tomorrow I begin my quest toward health, so I ate my last bowl of cereal, my last piece of bread, my last slices of pizza, and my last bowl of ice cream for 6 weeks (or maybe more if this does the trick). And I enjoyed every bite of each.

At Sams I stocked up on salad, fruit, asparagus, chicken, and beef, and I even found some gluten-free crackers. Tried them… hmm… different? And this is gross, but they made me burp, and I hope that doesn’t happen again.

Who knew that Whole Foods was a gluten-free paradise??? I got organic oats for breakfast (apparently Quaker Oats has some wheat in it), soy milk (of course), dairy-free ice cream, organic produce, and gluten-free spaghetti and cookie mix!!! Crazy things they come up with these days! It’s like I’m not even going to miss anything! Well, I wouldn’t go that far.

Today, Chris gave me the whole “If you mess up once, don’t just throw in the towel” speech that I’m sure most dieters need. However, I think I’ll be able to manage, especially since there are so many alternatives out there.

Things I’m looking forward to:

• Feeling better – duh
• Better complexion – I’m pretty sure the chocolate = zits thing is an old wives’ tale, but there’s probably some truth to it.
• The (hopefully) upped energy and improved athletic performance – since I’ve been aching to improve my 40 time.
• Losing a few pounds – no ice cream every night should do that by itself!

Gluten- & Dairy-Free Ali Begins Sunday...

My favorite food is ice cream. Extravagantly chocolate ice cream. And to be perfectly specific: chocolate ice cream with brownie, cookie dough, peanut butter, fudge, and caramel. But all that’s about to go. In fact, everything with milk in it is about to go. And if that’s not completely terror-striking, everything containing gluten (wheat) is going out with it.

No, I’m not trying to lose weight, though the thought of that byproduct is helping to ease the pain a bit. I’ve been seeing an amazing chiropractor, Dr. Kirk Iodice, who is solving all my body’s ailments through his House-esque differential diagnoses of anatomical and physiological motion exams. After a few weeks of observing and coming to the bottom of my many, many problems, he wants to run an experiment at the chemical level: my diet.

My chronic stiff neck, tight hips and traps, and other various ailments have many structural issues behind them, but I may also have a minor allergic (of sorts) reaction to gluten and/or dairy. When Dr. Iodice prescribed the regimen sans all the foods I basically love for 6 weeks, with no hesitation I informed him that I hated his guts. I love the cereal I eat every morning (and sometimes for dinner), I am known for my religious sandwich-making ceremony at lunch, and I never make pasta without garlic bread. Not to mention the ice cream… nightly.

So I think (this is after I’ve had time to cool off and change my attitude) that this might be a good thing. In the last month, I’ve figured out that I’m not so much competitive as self-motivated, and this is a chance for me to test that. Because it will be a test that requires all my strength of mind to overpower the addictions that I’ve created to the all-powerful force of chocolate.

Dr. Iodice gave me a few days to prepare myself mentally – mostly because I do all my grocery shopping on the weekend – so this Saturday I’m stocking up on fruits, veggies, lean meats, soy milk, and all the gluten-free products resembling bread that I can find.

Sunday begins my quest. I’ve decided to blog my way through the pain, so you can enjoy the agony of ‘health’ and hold me accountable. What kind of Ali will emerge from this milky, bready grave I’d been digging for my body? Stay posted to find out!

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom

King Soloman, the wisest man who ever lived, stated, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” I usually pass over this statement with affirmation but little thought, but something caused me to ponder over it a while today: that is completely the opposite of how most people today treat God. I remember when the “Jesus is my homeboy” shirts came out and was appauled that this style followed the doctrine that has been harped on from too many a-pulpit for the last umpteen years: the familiarity (sans-holiness) of God. We are encouraged not to fear God, but quite the opposite, really; namely the errantly overused saying that He accepts me “just as/where I am.” We make up a false god who is all about us and doesn’t care what we think about Him, when clearly the God of The Bible requires that we desire Him above everything (even ourselves).

Because I think this heresy has trickled down into our family practices – and thus giving me students who have no concept or fear of authority – I often analogize this by God calling Himself our Father. I have a great dad. Probably the best. I respect him, love him, try my best to obey him, seek his council, and love to spend time with him. I know that everything he does, he has my best interest in mind. Do I fear him? Heck, yes, I do! (More so when I was under his roof, of course, but that’s the vantage point from which I’m drawing this analogy.) Why do I fear my dad if I know he loves me? My dad wants the best for me, demands my very best, and has the power and authority to punish me when I don’t do what is right. When I don’t give my best or make a poor decision, he responds with anger and consequences. Because he loves me.

Why do people buck at authority? Because they think they know better than the authority does, I suppose. But though you may be more intelligent than government officials, administration, or even your own parents, do you have the audacity to say you have more intelligence that the God who invented the idea of intellect? Even more so than my human father, our heavenly Father demands perfection and has justice on His side to eternally punish those who aren’t perfect. That’s pretty fearsome. And it’s not until one understands the righteousness God demands and the justice He pours out on all who fall short, that a person can then understand God Himself becoming one of us and undergoing that punishment on our behalf. That is why the fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of wisdom; it is the beginning of the Gospel of Good News in Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Camping Trip to Clinton Lake

Clinton State Park is a great park for KS. Many of the sites are pretty much in open fields, but many are tucked into wooded areas. There are many clean bathrooms and showers. The lake is bigger than I expected, and this park would be awesome for a Sea Doo or boat get away. :)

This was Chris's and my first time camping together without anyone else, so as expected, we encountered some problems:
1. Thanks to the faithful GPS and the wrong address selection (who knew there'd be 4 "Clinton State Park"s?), we got lost on the way there and ended up on the opposite side of the lake, so it took about an hour extra to get there Fri night.
2. I didn't bring charcoal, thinking we'd gather firewood for our brats and smores (I'm the more old-fashioned type of camper), but this idea terrified Chris and we had to go to the store to get charcoal and lighter fluid.
3. The worst happening was the air mattress going flat. We were in Chris's Avalanche tent, and didn't bring our sleeping bags (or their air mattresses), and the truck bed is hard and has ridges. Needless to say, we didn't sleep much at all. I recall tossing and turning, my butt finally hitting the floor, thinking 'Surely it's almost morning as I've woken up about 30 times,' and then looking at my watch: "1 A.M! You've GOT to be kidding me!"
4. We had to leave at 7:30 to go pick up a chair that Chris wanted to buy (off Craigs List) from a guy in Topeka. We got a great Zero Gravity chair (worth $1300) for $350. It was pretty much a steal, so worth it, but we didn't get to hike any of the park's many trails like we had originally planned for that morning.

I'm thinking it was good for us to experience the kinks of our first camping experience alone together, so we'll be more prepared next time!

Notes from Estes Park #1

We arrived in Estes Park, CO, yesterday, and we logged 6.5 hiking miles within the first few hours of arriving. I was not in the right mindframe for it (not expecting to do anything that intense the first day), but Wild Basin is a beautiful, water-filled hike. It wasn't too steep, though there were some pretty good parts a bit off the trail. We climbed up above Ouzel Falls, where we caught a nice view of Longs Peak and felled trees (not by man, of course, but we couldn't figure out if by disease, fire, avalanche, or whatever else). I'm feeling pretty good the morning after, and I'm thankful that the soreness of the steriod shot in my foot is wearing off and it feels great today! I'm sure Dad is hurting today, though.

The best part about Griffin Family Vacations is the mass amounts of food we bring but will most likely never eat. Mom, Joy, and I each brought about 10 gallons of food items, from granola to trail mix to cereal to candy bars (in case I can't find a more ice creamy way to satisfy my chocolate fix). In Denver, we ate at Proto's Pizza, a stone's throw from REI outdoor store, and it was AMAZING! After our hike last night, we dined at The Stone Inn in Estes, which has incredible buffalo burgers and sweet potato fries. YUM! Then Joy, Asher, and I got some coffee at Kind. Their Kind Shake (ice cream, expresso, and chocolate - my favorite things) is unbelievable! Needless to say that all the hiking I'm doing on this trip is just so I can eat like a maniac!

Joy and I have decided that for the rest of our lives we are going to make it a priority to spend a week in Estes Park every year. This place is so magnetically magnificent. It doesn't have the curb appeal of the Tetons of Jackson Hole, WY (the most breathtaking site in the US in my opinion), but it has something about it that makes it an adventurer's second home. Someone asked me earlier this summer why I wouldn't want to visit another part of CO since I've been to Estes the last two years, and I responded, why would I want to go anywhere else? The best of CO is here.

Archetypal Wonderings

The other day, I was talking with a friend who showed me a short film he was in, where a girl dreams that he overcomes many obstacles in quest for her. I made the observation that it’s true: all girls want to be rescued. Each woman wants a man to be willing to fight a battle for her, pursue her at any cost to him, slay the dragon, climb the tower, and rescue her from the evil witch’s spell. All those Disney movies didn’t make bank for nothing. The same storyline that we find over and over in fairytales, legends, and folklore across the globe is written on our hearts for a reason. It’s the gospel.

I first heard the word “archetype” when I was assigned as a summer project for my preAP 10th grade English class a paper on the archetypes in The Lord of the Rings’s prequel, The Hobbit, and in the Star Wars trilogy. My research of the assignment’s prompt led me to the Latin roots: arch, meaning ‘first’, and typ, meaning ‘print’, or of course, ‘kind’. So an archetype is the first of its kind, or really, a model for a reoccurring character-type, symbol, situation, etc. For example, in Star Wars, Darth Vader is an archetypal Satan (devil/evil) character, the light saber is an archetypal symbol of magic/knowledge/power, and Luke goes on an archetypal quest of self-discovery while in pursuit of The Force. You get the idea.

It has since intrigued me that most – arguably all – archetypes are not confined to culture, but span across the globe, which has caused many scholars to inquire of the human collective conscious, or subconscious if you’re Freud. Why do we all have these same ideas of truth, beauty, love, fulfillment, etc? I would argue that the best archetypes are written on our hearts because they are a portrait of the gospel.

The ‘plot’, if you will, of the gospel (put in fairytale-ish terms), starts with the King choosing a bride, for His Son (Eph 1:4). As all princess brides should be, she is to be pure, beautiful, and faithful. Of course, it doesn’t take long into the Bible to see that she (we) mess that up, and through evil’s deception, she is placed under a curse and unable to save herself (hence, damsel in distress). Like Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, et al., we are unresponsive, “dead in [our] trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1). Here’s were the climax of the story comes: our Prince, Jesus Christ, despite our imperfections and even outright rejection of Him, tackles unfathomable obstacles to get to us. He leaves His throne and condescends to humanity, he blamelessly overcomes fleshly sin, and he even defeats the real archetype of evil himself, Satan. But this tale doesn’t end there because He still has to release the curse’s grip on His beloved. He buys back her purity by giving her his own through taking her sin and shame on Himself on the cross, dying the death she is sentenced to, and receiving the wrath of a holy God on Himself. Prince Charming can’t go this far, though, because if he dies, then the princess would have no one to marry; so to die for the princess is noble, but it doesn’t make for a good story. However, Christ our Savior did die, and then rose from the dead because sin and the grave had been conquered; our debt has been paid in full, “tetelestai” (John 19:30). The princess (believer) is saved from evil and free to marry her Prince, sin/death is conquered, and the Prince is exalted.

Sadly, I didn’t make this connection during the conversation, as I rarely do, but thought about it late into the night afterwards. What if the Author and Perfector of our faith planted the archetypal storyline into our “collective subconscious” to preach the beauty of His salvation to our aesthetic psyche?

Your 3 Words

My last assignment of the year was extremely short: three words. The students were to either summarize the year, describe themselves, or motivate others with no more or less than three words that captured their personalities. It was fun to put this together, and it was a pleasure to teach such a dynamic and sweet group of kids!

Meekness vs. Passion

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (Matt. 5:5)

I’ve always had a little trouble reconciling the notion of meekness with my inherent and cultivated passionate personality. Dictionary.com defines meekness as being “patient; docile; overly submissive,” which in my mind never fit with the athletic mentality of confidence and zealous exertion. The adage, “Meekness is not weakness, but power under control,” helped the issue, but still didn’t solidify anything for me. But John MacArthur, in his Grace to You study of the beatitudes, shed light on this seeming controversy, and pointed out how one can be both meek and fervent.

The key is the object of your passion. If you are passionate about yourself – your promotion, your recognition, your success – then of course you are not humble, submissive, or gentle, and therefore not meek. If, on the other hand, you are passionate about God and His glory, then you can be humble about yourself and assertive about Him. Jesus was the perfect embodiment of meekness. He did not care how people affronted, ridiculed, beat, abused, or even killed him personally. He took it. However, when people were blaspheming God (i.e., the temple incident in Mark 11), He retaliated with righteous anger. So we are to be passionate, just not about ourselves, but about God’s Holy Name.

This visual helps me so much because I’ve always found it easier to focus on what TO do, rather than what NOT to do. Before, meekness always seemed like negative (don’t promote yourself, don’t desire your own way above others’, etc.), and it does carry that, but it also carries the positive: focus on God, His holiness, and what He deserves. I deserve nothing, which is why I should not promote myself, and also why I should be patient in affliction. He deserves everything, which is why I should be zealous about proclaiming His truth, and give my all to protect the sacredness of His renown.

Meekness is an abandonment of self for an adherence to God.

The Number Game

The game is to list as many numbers as you can connect to your life. I got to fifty, which took me a while, but it was really fun! Comment about your favorite, and try your own!

1 – is for the “Audience of One” – I live for the Soli Deo Gloria!
2 – is for my incredible two parents, Stan and Candy, who reared me in fear and knowledge of the Lord.
3 – is for the holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
4 – is the average number of meals in a day for me, the fourth being the most important, ice cream.
5 – is for my age when the Lord called me with His irresistible grace to serve Him.
6 – is for the sports I’ve played/coached competitively: Golf, Softball, Basketball, Soccer, Cheerleading, and Track.
7 – is for the pairs of flip-flops I own. Chaco flip-flops are the best things my feet have ever known!!!
8 – is my favorite number. Reason: as a catcher, I loved the 8th Commandment: “Thou shall not steal.”
9 – is for the number of FCA camps I’ve attended: 5 as a camper and 4 as a huddle leader. FCA camps rock!
10 – is for how many minutes it takes me to run a mile. 
11 – is for my anguish if I’m ever up this late on a school night. My bedtime is 10 pm (hey, 5 am comes early!)
12 – is for the months Chris and I knew each other before he proposed You can see the video on youtube (search “Proposals” and we’re #1)!
13 – is for my age when I received my first kiss. How scandalous!
14 – is for how many days Chris and I knew each other before he told me he was going to marry me. Yeah, that’s hard core. Refer to #12: now that seems like a long time to wait, doesn’t it?
15 – is for my age when I decided to pursue golf. I realized that I’m white, short, and slow, so I’d have a better chance on the links than on the court. I’m sure Pat Summit is still mad at me, but she’ll get over it.
16 – is how many hours Chris and I spent climbing and especially descending Longs Peak – elev. 14,259 – in Rocky Mnt. Natl. Park. I’ve never felt so awesome and foolish – awesome when we summated, foolish when I spent the whole way down throwing up.
17 – is my age when I got into my first car accident. I slid on ice with my brother in the car. After it was over, he told me that I swore like a sailor, but I don’t remember a thing. It’s also the year I found out I was a Calvinist in American Literature class. The teacher talked about TULIP, and I thought, “So, isn’t that what the Bible teaches?” ha!
18 – is for the number of holes on a golf course, the age I went away to college, and how those two merged to bring me to Oklahoma State. Playing golf there disciplined me in the art of perseverance, drive, and humility.
19 – is for the birthdays of my mom and brother. I just realized that.
20 – is how many friends I have on facebook. Times 100.
21 – is for my age when I moved into the Pi Phi house and met my roommate and now best girlfriend, Joy.  That’s also the same year I was engaged and married to my best boyfriend, Chris.  What a year!!!
22 – is for Asher's baseball number. After elbow surgery, I'm thankful God had another plan for him.
23 - is for Colossians 3:23 - "Whatever you do, do it with all your heart, as serving the Lord and not men." One of my all time faves.
24 - is for my basketball number, which I chose because 2 x 4 = 8 (ref. #8). I know, but I think I was 12 when I thought that was cool. I also know a lot of other numbers add or multiply up to 8, but 24 was the prettiest.
25 - is for the number of resolutions I made this last New Years.
26 - is for the number of months of blessed and incredibly fun matrimony!
27 - is for the movie, 27 Dresses, of which I am the complete opposite! I'm praying to be a bridesmaid in one wedding in my lifetime!
28 - is for the time I spent every morning in the car on the way to school either: talking to Mom, listening to John MacArthur via bott radio network, or dancing; but I'm always drinking coffee in my Kind Coffee tumbler!
29 - is for the of books in my "to read this summer" list.
30 - is for the minutes of jam session I have in my classroom every morning before my kids enter at 7:20... If they only knew... But let's keep it where they don't.
31 – is for the number of minutes I can spend on a tredmill, stair-stepper, or gauntlet before I lose focus and start thinking about all the other things I could be doing right now. My threshold on the elliptical is about 12.5 minutes. (I don’t like it very much.)
32 – is for how many verses I memorized in Philippians until I gave in. Sorry, Lacey, I’m such a loser! For those of you who might check, that’s to chapter 2, verse 2.
33 - is for the number of times I said "fixin' ta" in front of Zac until he finally broke me of it. Thanks, by the way.
34 - is for Asher's high school football number. A few concussions and a broken foot later, I'm glad he finished that one, and baseball, too.
35 - is for my basketball number in 6th grade (because 3 + 5 = 8, see #8), but then I came to the conclusion that 24 was such a prettier number.
36 - is for the average par in nine holes of golf. Why was the front nine always so much harder for me to break this?
37 – is for the number I throw out there when I mean a lot. For instance, I’ll tell my students, “There were about 37 essays that did not follow instructions. Prepare to be dominated.” Something like that. If I’m giving a made up statistic, it’s 87%, just because it sounds like a randomly overwhelming majority.
38 – is for the number of students in my 5th hour. Okay, there are 28, but I think a few of them have multiple personalities.
39 – is for the year before 40. I cannot imagine being that old. I hope I have my Masters before then.
40 – is for the score I’d usually record on the front nine. I figure that it’s because I don’t like math, and it’d be easy for me to figure out what I’d need to shoot on the back nine to keep it in the 70’s.  That was the biggest load of bologna ever.
41 – is for the number of books on my bookshelf right now. Yep, I just counted.
42 – is 24 backwards. So if you saw me in my basketball jersey through your rearview mirror, this is what you’d see. Well, kind of.
43 – is how many items my husband has bought (or as he says, “Stole”) on ebay this year.
44 – is how many he’s sold. In the black, baby!  haha
45 – is how many minutes I spent running with my parents’ dog, Aggie, the other day. It was the longest run of my life to-date. I’m still amazed!!!
46 – is for the approximate amount of time you’re actually watching an hour-long program. Fourteen minutes of commercials is about thirteen minutes and 59 seconds too long for me.
47 – is the ugliest number in my book. Bleh!!!
48 – is the number of minutes a child in my class gets to behold BRILLIANCE every weekday.
49 – is the age of my grandma. She’s been 49 for what seems like forever, and that’s what I convinced her to put on her license plate: 4EVR49. You rock, Mimi!
50 – is the age of my amazing mother, who will kill me because I just called her “mother,” but probably not since she most likely won’t read this far… Just kidding, Mom. You know you’re the best thing to happen to energy since sugar.

I could think of more, but I doubt you’d want to read it.

6th hour Body Paragraph (copy and paste into Word)

6th hour Body Paragraph:

There are many such heroes present in The Outsiders. Many boys in this story go beyond their appearance or themselves for others. For example, Johnny Cade is usually a shy, scared boy who is too timid to take action. However, when a group of Socs is attempting to drown Ponyboy, Johnny finds courage to protect his friend by killing Bob, the Soc. When Ponyboy realizes what had happened, Johnny tells Ponyboy that he stabbed Bob because “I had to. They were drowning you, Pony. They might have killed you” (52). Johnny reveals that he acted on behalf of his friend. He knows the consequences of his actions and that it will mean jail for him, or worse, but he makes the decision to sacrifice his own life in order to save his friend. Johnny’s heroic deed must have rubbed off on Ponyboy, because they both later save children from a burning church. As their friend Dally is driving them back from Dairy Queen, the boys notice the burning church, hear the children screaming, and despite the parents’ warning, rush into the burning building. After they rescue the children, one of the grateful parents exclaims that they are “the bravest kids I’ve seen in a long time… are you just professional heroes or something?” (84). The parent is so overwhelmed because the boys came out of nowhere and risked their lives to save complete strangers. Above all, not only did Johnny risk his life, but he ended up giving his life for these kids since he died as a result of the fire. Thus, two of the main characters in this book do not look like typical heroes, but they become heroes when they selflessly consider others’ lives above their own.

5th hour Paragraph (copy and paste into Word)

5th hour Body Paragraph:

A person should get to know othes instead of stereotyping because judging others is hurtful to both sides. Stereotyping is judging people based on appearance, friends, background, and financial situation, regardless whether the information is true or false. Prejudging someone can hurt their reputation, keep one from getting to know others, and thus keep one from becoming friends with others. In The Outsiders, two feuding groups stereotype each other. The Socs, or stereotype each other. The Socs, or the rich kids, stereotype the Greasers as juvenile delinquents and good-for-nothing hoodlums. The Greasers, on the other hand, stereotype the Socs as spoiled brats who get everything they want and pick fights for fun. Ponyboy, who does not fit his Greaser stereotype, nevertheless judges all Socs as the same throughout the book. His feelings toward the Socs change when he talks to Randy , the “super-Soc,” at the Tasty Freeze. After Randy reveals the problems he and other Socs go through, Ponyboy “remembered Cherry’s voice: Things are rough all over. I knew then what she meant” (117). Ponyboy is recalling an earlier conversation with Cherry Valence, the beautiful, independent Soc. She and Randy teach Ponyboy that even those who seem to have it easy go through rough times. He begins to see that his stereotype of the Socs was wrong. Ponyboy starts to overcome his tendency to stereotyp when he sees Bob’s picture in the yearbook. Up to this point, Ponyboy “had not given Bob much thought,” because Ponyboy only thought of Bob as the horrible Soc who beat up Johnny and who Johnny killed to save him (140). Now, however, he starts to see Bob as a regular guy and even ponders, “What was he like?” (140). This is a maturing step for Ponyboy because he realizes that Bob is not that different from him, and therefore Ponyboy should have given Bob a chance as a person instead of just a Soc. Ponyboy learns that a person is an individual worthy of being known and should not be lumped together with a group.

4th hour Paragraph (copy and paste into Word)

4th hour Body Paragraph:

In life, everybody has problems, but adversity can make a person stronger because it teaches valuable lessons. Even if someone’s life seems obstacle-free and easy, nobody is perfect even if they seem so on the outside. Each person has his own set of hardships that will either make him or break him. Adversity, or hard times, can help a person learn about himself, about those who care for him, and about what is really important in life. In The Outsiders, Ponyboy learns these lessons through dealing with his hardships and learning about other people’s problems. He learns that even the Socs have trying times, even though it appears they have everything they want. When Ponyboy meets Cherry, the beautiful, intelligent Soc, at the movies, in their conversation, she reveals to him, “We have troubles you’ve never even heard of… Things are rough all over” (34-35). Cherry means that the Socs have different kinds of problems than the Greasers do, but they are just as tough as the Greasers’ problems. Most of the Socs do not seem to respond well to their hardships, but Randy, Bob’s best friend, changes his life for the better because of Bob’s death. Randy decides that fighting is useless and that he wants better than the meaningless life he had in his clique. Not only does Randy learn from his adversity, but Ponyboy does as well. Ponyboy faces tremendous trials in The Outsiders, such as: his parents’ death, gang rivalry, fights, murder, hiding from the law, concussions, dying friends, and others. Because of all he has been through, Ponyboy decides to write his theme about the life of the Greasers because “someone should tell their side of the story, and maybe people would understand” (179). Ponyboy writes his theme to help not only people like himself, but also to help all others too. This shows that his adversity has made him more open, aware, understanding, and loving of other people. He wants to use his experience to help others, which shows incredible strength. Ponyboy and Randy demonstrate how a person can grow through adversity.

1st hour's paragraph (copy entire paragraph and paste into Word)

1st hour Body Paragraph

A person should get to know others instead of stereotyping them because it is better to understand an individual than to lump them into a group. Stereotyping is assuming that someone is the same as their group and judging another person based on their looks, their clothes, their background, or their financial situation. Stereotyping keeps one from getting to know others and creates many problems. Many such problems from stereotyping occur in The Outsiders. The two feuding groups each stereotype the other, which causes fights, jealousy, and hatred. The Socs, who are the rich kids, judge the Greasers as white trash and good for nothing hoodlums. The Greasers, on the other hand, judge the Socs as snooty, heartless jerks who only care about their social status. Ponyboy, as Greaser who does not fit his stereotype, falls into the trap of thinking that all Socs are the same. Because the Socs jumped Johnny and him, Johnny defended Ponyboy by killing the attacker, and Ponyboy now “hated them as bitterly and contemptuously as Dally Winston hated” (114-115). Ponyboy compares his hatred to Dally because he has made clear in the story that Dally despises the whole world. In this hatred, Ponyboy judges each individual Soc by the group, and thus stereotypes them. When Ponyboy gets to know some Socs as individuals, however, he sees that they are people too and should be considered such. For example, when Randy, the “super-Soc,” tells Ponyboy about his friendship with Bob and Bob’s problems, Ponyboy “remembered Cherry’s voice: Things are rough all over. I knew then what she meant” (117). The Soc, Cherry Valence, told Ponyboy this when she befriended him at the movies. She and Randy help Ponyboy understand that everyone has their own problems, and therefore Ponyboy should not stereotype the Socs’ lives as easy. Because each person’s life is different, Ponyboy learns that he should get to know people and try to understand them instead of labeling them by their group.

The Shanks Produce Patience and Therefore Godliness

“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” ~James 5:7-8

Last week, the sermon on James 5:7-11, struck a chord with me as I was thinking about its application in my life. In our Bible study the following Friday, we were sharing life examples of patience – or lack thereof – and my example of endurance came out all wrong (as my stories often do), and so I’d like to take a stab at achieving its point by writing it down…

When I arrived on the OSU campus as a freshman, my golf game was at its all-time high. I made the traveling squad for the first tournament, to my coach’s shock and seeming dismay, and sparing the details, it all went downhill from there. I don’t know if it was pressure or voodoo, but at the NCAA Preview, I caught some strand of shank-itis (if you don't know what a "shank" is, look it up on youtube) that stayed in my system for about a year and a half.

…This is where I lost the group to whom I was telling the story, for they thought that they needed to comfort me in my golf-esteem. It’s okay – I know I was and am a decent golfer who can beat the Joe Shmo who didn’t spend every daylight-filled minute outside of class on the links. So back to my story…

My first year and a half of college was pretty much miserable. Everyday I’d spend hours shanking ball after ball in front of coaches and teammates – which I’ve tried to equivocate to other sports, and it’d be like a runner tripping over his left heel. Every step. And 4-6 hours spent on the course each day adds up to many painful hours. My boyfriend of 2 ½ years and I broke up, and this made me realize that I had virtually no girlfriends. I never felt so alone and miserable.

Here’s where the patience part comes in. Now, one could say that I endured this trial, which I did of course, but I think, upon last week’s sermon, that the defining mark of true godly patience is one’s attitude. During this time, I was a speaker for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), and, as we’re supposed to, I used my story as my message when speaking to junior high and high school student-athletes. I often focused my message on James 1:2; “… count it all joy when you fall into various trials…” and encouraged them to seek the Lord when things of this world weren’t going the way we wanted them to, and that we must trust that the Lord is using this trial to produce something greater in us. It was good stuff for an 18 year old, but my idea of the “good” that would come out of my trial was that my golf game would come around, I'd win the NCAAs, etc. Hindsight of 5 years shows me just how foolish and narrow-minded my scope was. The idea wasn’t completely selfish: I wanted to be one of those success stories that FCA eats up, and I knew my success could be used to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even so, my endurance through shank-ville was motivated by a Joel Osteen-esque, very worldly ambition: God’s allowing this trial in golf, so surely He’s going to bless my golf game if I’m faithful to Him.

The amazing part is that despite my idiocy in what I thought His plan for me was, God did use this time for my good and His glory, and of course golf trophies were not a part of either. Through becoming an English major, I was blessed with the opportunity to study Jonathan Edwards and many other reformed thinkers, which spilled over into what I read and studied on my own time. In the lowest time of my life in many respects, God revealed Himself to me in ineffable ways of such depth that required absolute dependence on and abandon to Him. He wanted me broken. He wanted me to understand that I bring nothing but my sinful self to the cross, and I guess I needed to feel abject humility in a worldly sense before I could fathom it in a spiritual manner.

In many places of scripture we find that it is God who reveals the major truths to our dead hearts and even the smallest tidbits of doctrine, and I think many times that is because it is He alone Who knows what circumstances will prepare our hearts to really absorb each piece of truth about Himself. He knows what will take a belief from an intellectual accent to a heartfelt conviction, and He can procure that encounter. He alone can break a person to the point that they see the beauty and majesty of the doctrines of grace, and though I had always professed their biblical adherence, it was not until I was in my worldly lowest of lows did I realize that the glory of God is more rightly seen from our lowest vantage point.

Hence, patience is a willingness to submit my will for God’s will, to understand and trust that: a) He is omnipotent and has the power to do anything He pleases, b) He is loving and will do what is best for me, and c) what is best for me is to become more like Christ.

Thank you to any who endured this blurb. I pray that you are blessed in your patience with my rambling, and I hope it made some sense!