Just when you think you're getting over, it happens. I'd gone several days without posting -- (I had my reasons: a hectic schedule in NC with a wedding, then straight from there to annual conference in VA. There's always a reason to not do what we've committed to doing) -- and just when I thought I was getting over, my friend Robin blows me up and announces the blog to my friends on FB. Not that it was a secret, but when you tell people stuff, they tend to take notice (so all y'all with google accounts, just follow me if you want, and you can be alerted whenever I have a new post).
First the wedding. It was just AWESOME!!! Whitney Lea Campbell and Ross Matthew Christensen wed in Holy Matrimony at the First Presbyterian Church in Durham, NC on Friday, July 30, at 4:30 in the afternoon. The rehearsal was on Thursday, and I flew into NC on Thursday morning. The plane was delayed by thunderstorms, but I got there within an hour of when I said I would. My room wasn't ready, so I used the hotel bathroom (Hampton Inn, where my brother works and where I get the family and friends discount) I used the hotel bathroom to change and go over to the Duke Sports Medicine Department. About a year ago, I saw something like "fat comedian" on tv. He went through all these physiological tests to measure just how fat and out of shape he was. He did it at some elite sports testing lab in California. This was shortly after the 2008 summer Olympics, and I'd heard all about various athletes' physical capacities, so on a lark, I emailed Duke to see if they had anything like that. They did. It's called the K-lab, and it's where they test elite athletes. So I went and they measured body fat in something called a bod pod, max VO2, and I got some swimming coaching lessons. The first test was in about June 2009. Now that I've lost 100 lbs (only 94.3 from the last time I weighed there), I thought it would be good to test again.
So ANYway, I got over to Duke, did my testing, and then went to the wedding rehearsal. The Church wedding planner, a woman named Kate, was phenomenal. She had incredible precision and really had a knack for doing weddings. I also think she drove the big pickup truck in the church parking lot plastered with "People of Faith for Obama" bumper stickers. The wedding was lovely -- Whitney's colors were champagne and pink, we did a tying of the knot in addition to the exchange of vows and rings, and the reception was at the Carolina Inn (in Chapel Hill), my first time being on that property.
Saturday I got to visit family and run around Chapel Hill; Sunday I got to visit St. Joseph where I did not preach, which was good because I had to leave at 12:30. Hopefully they're inviting me back in October to preach for Founder's Day.
From NC, I came up to the DC area, to Vienna, VA. The good news is that I'll see Diana, a friend from Milton, this week. She's not at the church conference, she lives in the area. This will be our first opportunity in 35 years to sit and have a conversation, so I'm excited about that.
The conference is an annual meeting of preachers and other members of our church. Every year I'm reminded of our character -- we're not the frozen chosen, we're not necessarily holy rollers, we're not all that theologically astute -- we're just a bunch of people who love the Lord and who love the traditions of our church. Even when they don't make a whole lot of sense. I've posted previously on some of the things we do, and while I came downstairs to post about the church, I didn't realize I'd go on for soooo long. I'll write more on the church later.
I want to note that my body is constantly improving, and I'm going to continue working on it. I'd like to maintain good health into triple digits, and I believe it's possible, even for a person who's lived with cancer and diabetes. I'm not going to post my physiological profile here, but I'm going to try to live as long and as well as I can. Towards that end, I started the day with a swim at 6 am, then had another swim this evening. I want to get to a point where I do two-a-days, and here at conference may be the only place I ever have time for that. I'm thinking if I can just get the body into the habit and develop a bit of momentum, that perhaps I could build on it and continue the good works.
All that to say that I really want to get to bed at a decent hour, so I'm not going to the concert or anything else; I'm going to bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment