More Affliction=More Glory; Day215

2Co 4:17  For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!],

More affliction=More glory. I find this so true in my life.  The more I suffered, the more I received glory at the end.  I’ve been riding the Outlaw 100 bike ride every year and every time October comes, I got this feeling “here we go again, 100Miles on the bike, 6 hours of pain and suffering”.  The feeling is normal, we always tend to dislike the things that brings us discomfort but on the other side of the coin, there is this feeling of accomplishment… the “I did it” feeling or “I made it” or the “I’ve been through” sensation.  I’ve read Jim Loehr’s book the “Power of Full Engagement” and he mentioned there not to avoid stress but seek stress instead.  What he meant is don’t run away from problems, find the problem, seek challenges, seek those things that are difficult, seek those tasks at work that no one loves to do.  It’s been a year (I think) since I’ve implemented the “seek stress” attitude and so far the it’s been successful (except for my heart attack). Don’t be scared, the reason for my heart attack was I went swimming in a 66 degrees water for 3 weeks (a 2.4 mile swim non stop) and my body said this is too much.  The pool where I swim during the winter time had a boiler problem and it was not heated.  Being with the attitude of “seek stress”, I was one of the few swimmers that dared the cold water swim.  But overall, this “seek stress” does really works.  Try it.  Now back to the affliction subject.  How so – more affliction=more glory?  I think if life is all positive, no problems, no sickness, no trials, no persecution, no negative situation, life will be so boring and most likely 90% of us will be out of work.   I’ve seen friends who suffered more than I’ve ever experienced in my entire life and I’ve seen them victorious in the end and when I examined the event for root causes/lesson learned, I find it hard to believe that most of the time, the event was designed to make them better and nothing else. So the next time you suffer, celebrate because those are good indicator that you been chosen to experience an everlasting glory.  Easier to say (I know) but really difficult when you are in the middle of the storm.   Anyway, be encourage when you suffer and please never give up.  Remember the poem “Don’t Quit”  ….. and he learned too late how close he was to the golden crown.

It is now 0951 in Texas, the roofer had been banging my roof since 7am.  Britta was working last night and I told her to stay at Bettina’s house but she did not listen.  Her countermeasure – she called in and requested to be off (I like that).  Me, I am going for a long bike ride.  I already took pictures to document the whole project.  When I get back, it will be almost over. Brent otherwise was untouched. He is sleeping like a log.  Brittney on the other hand was just enjoying the notes created by the hammer on the roof.  I think the ROB (rate of banging) = 60 per second. Imagine who can enjoy the event today.  OK, enough writing, time to get started with the long bike ride.  I don’t even know where to go today.  Maybe in the Pflugerville area.

MIT (Most Important Task)
1. 40Mile Cycling
2. 1K Swim
3. Roof Replacement
4. Design a creative Failure Analysis Report for CMP (Powerpoint instead of Excel)

0000, Sleep
0100, Sleep
0200, Sleep
0300, Sleep
0400, Sleep
0500, Sleep
0600, Sleep
0700, Breakfast; journal;
0800, Roofer in action 0800-1700
0900,
1000, 40Mile Bike
1100, 40Mile Bike
1200, 40Mile Bike
1300, 1K swim
1400,
1500,
1600,
1700,
1800,
1900,
2000,
2100,
2200,
2300,
2400, Sleep