It's hump day...

Boy, does it feel like a hump day. My recently started exercise regimen is killing me. I am not only having to get used to working out - I swam 1,000 meters this morning by the way - but I am also having to get used to getting up at 5:30 in the morning. I think that the getting up is much worse than the swimming. I love swimming. It is so calming and relaxing, but at the same time, such a rigorous work out. I know that sounds weird, but it's the truth. This summer I plan to do a BRICK as many Saturdays as possible. A brick is a traditionally a bike then run workout. I think I would modify it a little to get dropped off at the pool with my bike, then swim a few hundred meters, ride my bike a few miles ending up at my house, then run 3-5 miles. That's my goal, and it sounds completely ridiculous right now, but if I can continue to swim 3 days a week, and spend 45 minutes to an hour on my trainer on an off day, it will be much more reasonable in a few months. The swimming is going to be easier to stay on top of because I can do it at 6 am, but riding my bike will be tougher because it is at home, and I can't do it early in the morning because of the noise. Crystal might kill me if I woke Levi up at 5:30 or 6. Another major goal of mine is to swim a mile in the pool. At 1000 meters right now, I think I can get up to 1600 in a month or so.
Fitness is becoming so much more important to me with knowing what God has called me to do. I will need the energy to sustain myself through hours of draining ministry. Not to mention, whether I end up ministering in Boise or Bend, they are both active towns, and I feel like my best chance to win the lost will be to become more active myself. Maybe next year we will be able to afford some X-country skis, boots and poles for me. I have wanted them for some time now, but it is true that I will have to force myself to use them. I will probably try to convince my brother-in-law to get them also, and I can get him to go out with me.
Ministry is going as well as to be expected. I took one year off last April - after being on the platform every Sunday for over 7 years. I want to be able to look at my calling from a distance - see the forest AND the trees. My year started on April 17th, so I am only about 3 months from that being over technically, but I think it may end up being longer. I am still not 100% about what God wants me to do with my immediate future. I feel like I know the more long term picture, but as with running, you need to take the first step in order to run a mile. The first step is a crucial one for me. If you take the first step in the wrong direction you may never find the correct path.