I have been trying to step up my cardio work a little bit in recent weeks, and so I’m inching up my attempt to regain some cardio fitness. For a while now, I’ve limited my cardio work to the cross trainer, which felt less intensive than a run on the threadmill. I started out by just doing the one or two runs of not more than 4-5km each time, and mixing it up with cross trainer, steps or even bicycle work. After a while I pushed both the distance and speed button up a little each week.

 It has been about 3-4 weeks now and I’m starting to get back to the 8-10km, 3-4 times a week type of range. A good week was 32km but that was 4 days of an hour each. Slow as…

 Yet, I feel better already, and more alert. Calluses and sore legs notwithstanding. This morning it was a 9.3km in about an hour – definitely heading towards the 10-11km an hour mark. That was the benchmark of yesteryears, when I had more hair and less waistline. In fact that was more than 10 years ago now. To reclaim grounds lost so long ago, seems daunting but it is just good to have a feel, have a shot almost, at a landing on those grounds again. I could almost hear the little girl cheering me on – “run Forrest…”

 

A pair of old couple friends came over for lunch on Sat. TT and Maudrene are pastors and missionaries whom we’ve known for a number of years, from when we were in Malaysia. TT was involved in a series of meetings between Tham Fuan and Jason and the way it all went pear shaped while TT was away in Malaysia and Russia caused a lot of grief and so when TT came back, he started to meet with several people.

We had lunch in our home. Tress and I went and bought some takeaway from Madam Kwong’s, and prepared bits of supplementary dished. We talked and cleared up a few things.

That night Tress and I went to the Hii’s home and were treated to a wonderful home cooked “meehoon kueh”. Jason and Mel were there as well.

We returned to St Alfred’s on Sunday morning. There was a men’s weekend away so about 50-60 people were missing. There was still a sizeable congregation but other than we’ve been there for just over a month now, those extra empty seats made us sit closer to the centre and a bit more to the front. That turned out to be a good thing because we were treated to another fabulous piece of preaching.

Matthew 12:46-50 was given a focus that was so sharp and refreshing. The usual takeaway of us becoming brothers, sisters and mothers of Jesus by doing His Will, was given a deeper level of treatment – how Jesus is to affect our worldview as opposed to where Jesus fits into our worldview. That was a bigger ask and it’s the sort of preaching which has been sorely missing – not just in LifeGate but unfortunately, in many churches in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne (especially Asian churches).

I’m very grateful for this find. Thanks, Kiddo…