Strippers and Scripture
As a skier, I love the cold.
As a runner, I hate the cold.
So, I have a treadmill. I believe it was invented by the world’s most boring human being who neither runs nor has a soul.
Today, with frost covering the ground, I decided to tap into my inner Jane Fonda and do a workout video. Since I’m not the yoga-pants-to-brunch-soccer-mom type, I chose Carmen Electra’s Fit to Strip. Yes, that’s right. And let me tell you – there is a reason strippers have amazing bodies. You try to suspend yourself upside down one handed from a inanimate object. My abs are so sore it hurts to sneeze.
I won’t be finding employment swinging from the rafters anytime soon but I feel good having started off my day breaking a sweat.
Routine is boring but necessary. Brushing our teeth, daily chores, working out has to be automatic. So often routine turns into rut. Our marriages get stale, our exercise routines get mundane. Our jobs become monotonous. I’m not Oprah (nor am I Carmen Electra, obviously) so I don’t have any great advice for avoiding the rut. However, I am mindful of it.
We need to change it up. Do something different at work. Be an encourager. Take the stairs. Park farther away from work. When you take a bathroom break, do a few squats. Tomorrow, do a few more. Meditate. Pray. Let God be a part of the routine.
Most mornings, my father recites by memory Psalm 90 from The Message. (I have not memorized a bible verse since the 7th grade.) He recites it every morning – the entire thing. (I can’t remember where I placed my grocery list 10 seconds after I wrote it.) But verses 12 & 17 apply.
12 Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well!17 And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us, confirming the work that we do. Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do! Psalm 90:12 & 17 (read the entire verse here.)
Lets strive to live well. Shake off the rut with me. Get up and Run to Win.
If all else fails, hop on the pole. (Just don’t blog about it. People will judge you…)