10/24/2009

Reasons Why Exercise are Dangerous

As you know, Angie and I have been exercising with a trainer. She bartered her web design services for the training. I'll post a link to our trainer's website when it's finished.

This morning I got up early to exercise before I came to work. Two things happened.

As I was putting on my shoes I hurt my knee. I mean, that activity isn't what did it. I've had a little bit of pain this week for some unknown reason, but it really started to burn when I squated down to get the shoes.

I put some ice on it the burning was so bad and I headed downstairs to exercise. I gave it a few minutes and started to do the routine - there wasn't any pain once the burning passed.

I was doing pretty good and then something terrible happened!

I had a weight in my hand and slammed said hand against one of the ceiling beams in the basement. My pinky finger was squashed between the weight and the wood. It hurt!

I stopped exercising and sat down. I scraped a bit of skin off, but it wasn't really bleeding. the finger was a little swollen and it was hard to bend it.

I went upstairs and Angie and Nila tried to talk to me. The pain was so bad, I couldn't even think! Angie tried to get me to go to the emergency room, but I could bend the finger and the pain subsided a bit.

Angie then tried to get me to call of work, but I think it was because she wanted me to drive her places not because of my poor finger.

Anyway, I put a Hello Kitty bandaid on it and it's fine now unless I lean on it.

I survive to fight another day!

10/03/2009

$9 Billion Wasted

Each year $9 billion is spent on debt, debt service and maintenance on US church buildings - building real estate worth over $230 billion.

That's according to Pagan Christianity?, a great/frightening/disheartening/encouraging book about the pagan roots of Western Church practices and traditions.

The book is full of things that'll make you think twice about what you know as "church," and I recommend it.

The $9 billion figure stands out because it's ridiculous. The US church spends $9 billion on buildings? Really? Wow, what a waste.

Here's list of things $9 billion could buy:
  • 9,000,000,000 vaccinations against meningitis, measles, polio or other deadly epidemics (Doctors without Borders.)
  • 3,571,428 sponsorships providing full-time residential care for children in an Arms of Love Children's Home, which includes all meals, housing, houseparents and other staff, a private education, clothing, medical care, recreation, and all other costs of full-time care for a year (Arms of Love).
  • 1,285,714 heart surgeries for Iraqi children (Shevet Achim).
  • 900,000 international homes (Habitat for Humanity).
And that's per year. Think of what a decade of targeted giving could do.