Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 133

Nearly Missed a Birthday

I was going to write yet another story of my sister Pat, in honor of her birthday today. I kind of ran out of time, so plucked some pictures out of the archives. 
Happy Birthday, Pat. Instead of turning 56 today, you will always be 39.
1972 -in our basement, surrounded by a few of our favorite things.  1985- the night before my first wedding. 1985- with our mom at my first wedding 1981 - at a waterfalls in the UP 1993 - at OKunDeKun Falls in the UP 1997- in Las Vegas 1998, June - at Lake of the Clouds in the UP.
Possibly the last picture I have of Pat, taken just a year before she died. 

My Broken Heart

On Sundays I usually write an inspirational blog. Over the years, something that has happened in the past week has sparked an idea which I was able to support with Scripture, finding a Bible verse which went along with my job or my running or something in the news, for example. Not that I ran out of things to say, but a while back, I started sharing random Psalms, because they are beautiful. A few months ago, I switched to Proverbs, because it never fails to amaze me how they are still relevant today. In all these inspirational posts, I have avoided preaching and avoided controversy.  I don’t want to offend anyone and I don’t want to start anything. I just want to share my feelings and what’s in my heart, and my hope is that someone will have a better day because of it. The end of June, I ran smack-dab into a wall, one which has left this big gouge in my heart and it feels as though blood is still oozing out of it. I’ve had a lot going on and have a ridiculous amount of stuff to deal with in the next three months, and I don’t seem to be able to deal with any of it because of this wound. I know that I need to hand it over to God and let it go, that as a believer, God will take care of things, that He has it covered, but my soul just keeps screaming out in pain. I’ve wanted to share this with you for two weeks (it’s only been two weeks? It feels like months), but I didn’t know where to begin and now I don’t know where to go. OK. I just need to say it.On June 26, the United States Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is legal in every state. That Sunday morning, I shared the following image:  And got slammed for it. As much as I wanted to unfriend some people or take down my Facebook account completely, I tried to stay out of it as much as I could. But here is what I believe and you will not sway me. This is not up for debate. Anyone reading this can believe whatever they want. I do not hate anyone anywhere for their views, but if you feel the need to share, I won’t respond. Because, as already stated, my beliefs are not up for debate. (And yours aren’t either.)  I believe that a Christian marriage is between one man and one woman. If any government wants to make marriage that looks like anything else legal, that may be the right of the government and then the right of anyone within that government to seek such a marriage. And everyone can call it a marriage, but I do not believe that it is a marriage which the Triune God that I believe in condones.I believe that this God of mine is the only One who has a right to judge anyone. If you are straight or gay or lie or cheat or steal, there are things you do which I hate, but just because I do not like some of your actions, does not mean I hate you. I want to love all people, but I am a sinner too. I screw up a lot and ask God for a lot of forgiveness.  And God sees the sins I commit as the same as the sin which homosexuals commit. But it is up to God to judge me and everyone else.I believe that everyone needs to recognize their sins and ask for forgiveness. God gave us some rules, the Ten Commandments, so that society would run smoothly. He knew it would be impossible for us to follow them, so that’s why God the Father sent His Son to die for all those sins.  God will forgive everyone’s sins and He wants to welcome everyone into His loving arms.I believe that it breaks God’s heart to see the world falling further and further away from Him. He knows what’s coming, He knows how the world will end. But God the Father also knew how His Son would die, and He knew that it had to happen that way. The legalization of gay marriage in the United States is only one in a long list of events pushing us closer to the end of the world as we know it. I believe God will bring me back for the New World, and I want as many friends and family to join me for that glorious day. But I don’t believe God has called me to preach that message to you. I do believe that He is calling me to at least share this post. Do with it what you feel called to do. 

Tour de Timm's Hill

On Tuesday morning, I posted a blog about getting back on track, running the race, pushing through the pain. Or maybe it wasn’t that dramatic. It was ironic however that later that day, I would do those things, but again, much less dramatically.
Years ago my cousin’s wife Mary was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. It is one of those sucky diseases that rob people of so much of their lives. And I won’t go into detail, but Don’s family had already had enough of another sucky disease, Huntington’s, and it sure didn’t seem fair that something had to hit his wife next.
A while back, while waiting for his car in the shop, Don saw a spot on TV for the Tour de Fox. He sent an email and before he knew it, he had signed up Team Mary to participate in a walk up Timm’s Hill, just down the road from where we all live. 


(This wasn’t the spot Don saw that day, but it’s all I could find on YouTube.) 
So a group of us met at noon on Tuesday out at the highest peak in Wisconsin. And showed our support by hiking the 300 hundred feet to the summit. 
Some even went up the tower. 
I hung out and did what I tend to do too much of – took pictures. This is Don talking to Sam Fox, the guy who started this whole thing. And what a nice guy he is.   Everyone else taking pictures after we got back down the hill. 
And of course the day wasn’t complete without some driving around and taking more pictures. That’s the tower on Timm’s Hill as seen from Hill of Beans restaurant. I thought I had blogged about it before, but couldn't find it. Hmm? I may have to do that next.  
To learn more about Mary or donate to her team, click on this link.  It's not too late. 

Getting back on the track

Both of my grandfathers had passed away well before I was born. I was only a few years old when my mother’s mother died so I don’t remember her at all. The memories of my father’s mother are sketchy at best – mostly things I put in my head from the few pictures I have of her. I didn’t know the feeling of loss or sorrow until a few years after she died, 40 years ago today.
I know I’ve shared this story before, maybe not in great detail, but I’ve still written it. This summer, though, having just missed running in my second 5K due to bursitis and tendinitis, this story seems more pertinent. I never thought I would miss running, but for the last five weeks, I have felt like a lame racehorse on a short leash, my ability to run curbed completely.
When the greatest filly to ever run broke her leg in the Match Race against Foolish Pleasure on July 7, 1975, she didn’t know how to stop. Her jockey tried pulling her up, but Ruffian kept running until her leg was shattered and bones were sticking out. She was rushed into surgery but when she came out of the anesthesia, she was still running. Her thrashing undid all the work the vets had done to repair her leg and she had to euthanized.
I’d like to think I had that kind of spirit, maybe not the kind that does me in, but at least the kind that keeps me going against the odds. Or at least keeps me going when I am in pain or have writer’s blog or have too much going on and don’t have a spare minute in the day or have many minutes in the day and waste every one of them.
You may have noticed that I haven’t blogged in a while and those are just some of the reasons why. I haven’t had a surge of inspiration or an “ah-ah” moment that is going to motivate me, but hopefully I can at least get back on the track. 

Happy Father's Day

Wishing all the dads out there a Happy Father’s Day and thanking them for good advice.
My children, listen to your father’s teaching.    Pay attention so you will understand.2 What I am telling you is good.    Do not forget what I teach you.3 I was once a young boy in my father’s house.    I was like an only child to my mother.4 And my father taught me and said,    “Hold on to my words with all your heart.    Keep my commands and you will live.5 Get wisdom and understanding.    Don’t forget or ignore my words.6 Use wisdom, and it will take care of you.    Love wisdom, and it will keep you safe.7 Wisdom is the most important thing. So get wisdom.    If it costs everything you have, get understanding.8 Believe in the value of wisdom, and it will make you great.    Use it, and it will bring honor to you.9 Like flowers in your hair, it will beautify your life.    Like a crown, it will make you look beautiful.”
10 "My child, listen and accept what I say.    Then you will have a long life.11 I am guiding you in wisdom.    And I am leading you to do what is right.12 Nothing will hold you back.    You will not be overwhelmed.13 Always remember what you have been taught.    Don’t let go of it.Keep safe all that you have learned.    It is the most important thing in your life.14 Don’t follow the ways of the wicked.    Don’t do what evil people do.15 Avoid their ways. Don’t go near what they do.    Stay away from them and keep on going.16 They cannot sleep until they do evil.    They cannot rest until they hurt someone.17 They fill themselves with wickedness and cruelty    as if they were eating bread and drinking wine.18 The way of the good person is like the light of dawn.    It grows brighter and brighter until it is full daylight.19 But the wicked are like those who stumble in the dark.    They can’t even see what has hurt them.20 My child, pay attention to my words.    Listen closely to what I say.”
Proverbs 4:1-20 (International Children’s Bible) My dad, eating bread but not drinking wine, surely giving good advice to my brother and sister back in 1952. 

What has inconvenienced you?

“An Inconvenient Year” by Yvonne Joye
If you know me at all, have read many of my blog posts, you know that sometimes I’m unconventional. I don’t always look at the world the same way as other people. I can find humor in inappropriate instances and sorrow in comedy. And having had my world ripped to shreds by my sister’s cancer, I came to the edge of that reality, peeked in but was spared, while my sister, my best friend, was not.
In Yvonne’s great memoir of her own cancer journey, she allows the reader to peek over the edge as well. And she doesn’t hold anything back. She thinks like I do and I can appreciate that, such as her great concern over not shaving her armpits the morning of her breast exam. Now, come on, women, haven’t you all had the same fear! And never told anyone before.
Yet, Yvonne writes with beauty and poise. And shares all of her pain, the physical and psychological. Many of us women can tell ourselves that losing all of our hair is no big deal – every time I get mine cut, I am tempted to ask my hairdresser to just shave it off – but I think everyone of us is attached to our hair in a way that even we don’t understand.
Of course, we are even more attached to our families, our loved ones. We would willingly take on any and all pain and fear if we could only spare them. But sometimes that just can’t happen, but life goes on.

So, if you are facing the cancer journey, have a love one who is, or just want to read about another strong woman’s journey, read “An Inconvenient Year”.  
(A side note, Yvonne is writing from Dublin, Ireland, so some of the words and grammar she uses may not be familiar to American readers. For me that took nothing away from the story, only made it that much more real.)  

Another Wise Proverb

6 Go watch the ants, you lazy person.    Watch what they do and be wise.7 Ants have no commander,    no leader or ruler,8 but they store up food in the summer    and gather their supplies at harvest.9 How long will you lie there, you lazy person?    When will you get up from sleeping?10 You sleep a little; you take a nap.    You fold your hands and lie down to rest.11 So you will be as poor as if you had been robbed;    you will have as little as if you had been held up.(Proverbs 6:6-11New Century Version) 
Half of my front yard has been taken over with ants. The ground is mushy when you walk over it because it is solid ant homes. They are productive and I am lazy in my efforts to eradicate them. Reading this, I am indeed feeling pretty lazy. Those darn ants. I even took a nap yesterday, first time in a long time. Hmm? Not good. But isn’t there another proverb, somewhere, that says something like, “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Not in the Bible anyway. 
I still believe, however, that the writers of the Bible knew what they were talking about and that their words were inspired by God. Rest is okay and is necessary to productivity. Laziness however crosses the line.  

How productive will you be this week? 

No Photo Friday - Bicycle

I’ve shared a few photos from my youth, and there aren’t too many left. I have many more pictures from my childhood, but they are all only snapshots in my head, vivid memories of a time long past. Today’s picture is of Daisy.
Growing up, I never thought of us as being poor. We had everything we ever wanted. We went on a camping vacation every year, Mom drove a decent car, Dad had a truck. I wore mostly hand-me-down clothes because that’s just how it was. And I didn’t have a new bike until I was a teen-ager because my old bike worked just fine.
Her name was Daisy. I think Dad picked her up at the dump. She wasn’t fancy but she had all I needed - two wheels, a frame, a seat and handlebars. I’m pretty sure she even had fenders. Her original color was tan or orange or something else non-descript, but one summer I found some old paint in the garage and colored her cream. 
From Day 1 she had a problem with her chain. It slipped more than it stayed on. I knew nothing about bikes at the time, but in retrospect, it should have been an easy fix. Dad was incredibly mechanically-inclined so why the chain could never be made to stay on is beyond me. Maybe because I never complained about it. Daisy was small enough that my feet just reached the ground, so I would push along without using the pedals. As her chain became more persnickety, I was growing taller so my feet hit the ground that much easier.
She would always take me where I wanted to go and since we lived in the country, I rode her mostly through our trails in the woods. Occasionally I would let her take me down the road down the hill past our house – a scary proposition, as a single-speed bike with no chain meant a bike with no brakes.
Ahh, but I was a kid. We knew no fear back then. All we knew was the freedom of summer and having two-wheels under us.  

What are you Weight-ing for?

This is only to be eaten as a reward and not as a nightly snack, even if the red fruit makes it look healthy. Working in the medical field, I would have to say that the number one health issue affecting our patients is obesity. People who are overweight are at a much greater risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, arthritis, and in my opinion, mental health issues such as depression. Statistics say that a loss of just 10% of your total body weight can decrease these risk factors. That means if you are 200 pounds, losing only 20 pounds will make a difference. To which you are probably saying, “but I can’t even lose 20 pounds.”
My Story
I really hate talking to patients about their weight. I know the first thing are thinking is, “but you’ve never been overweight, you have no idea how hard it is to lose.” (Or maybe they aren’t, and I haven’t looked in the mirror lately!)
But I used to be skinny, weighing a lot less than I do now. I ate a ridiculous amount of sweets and a big bowl of ice cream every night. I also had a metabolism to keep up with it. I’m not so young anymore, and if you read my blog last Friday, my body can’t keep going like it used to. The more anyone slows down, the more those calories cling to you.
It wasn’t easy, but I lost five pounds this winter. I know, that’s not much, but that still didn’t mean it was easy, so I get it if it isn’t easy for you either.  But I don’t want to gain it back again, so every day I am on that scale and if a half pound finds me, I know there will be no snacking today.
Your Story
So where do you even start? I wouldn’t suggest any kind of diet, fad or otherwise. No one can stay on a “diet” for the rest of their life and to lose the weight and keep it off, you have to do this the rest of your life. If you can make one of those diets work to lose the weight and then switch to life-long life-style changes, good for you. But the pounds will jump right back on if you don’t do something.
Cut back on portions, use a smaller plate if you have to and no second helpings. Add more vegetables and a few less meats and breads. Cut out red meat completely if you can (my biggest saving grace – I just do not like the taste or texture of beef, it is just yucky). Cut back on sugars, candies, chocolates, but if you live for these things like I do, you have to allow yourself just one little treat once in a while. Remember, you are going to do this for the rest of your life. Can you really give up the goodies forever?
Helpful Hint
I know I just said that I weigh myself every day. That is okay if you are at or near your goal. If you still have a lot to lose, weigh yourself once a week and pick a day when you know you will be thinner. If you can’t help but cheat on the weekends, wait until the end of the week to weigh in. If you shoot pool or throw darts on Wednesday and know you will have a few drinks that one and only night of the week, weigh yourself the night before.
One Last Thought When you go to the doctor and they tell you that your BMI is too high, don’t let that bum you out. BMI is the ratio between your height and weight. According to the BMI chart, which some supposed expert made up, you have to be nearly anorexic to have a BMI which does not put you in the overweight category. Even most of the medical people I know feel this number is too low. So ignore it. You have to set your own goal and work towards it; don’t let some random number dictate to you who you should be.  Lots of these should be on your plate, except maybe the green tomatoes, which I have heard can cause a bellyache. 

be anxious for nothing

Here are a few more Proverbs for your enjoyment and enhancement! All are taken from the 12thchapter using the New International Version of the Bible.
Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,    but whoever hates correction is stupid.
The Bible doesn’t pull punches and isn’t afraid of being politically incorrect. Let’s just call stupid people stupid.
A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown,    but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.
I can totally picture a hen-pecked husband, perhaps a husband from a sit-com who has an overbearing yet lazy wife. She sucks the life right out of him.
The righteous care for the needs of their animals,    but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.
It always makes me smile to think that God is a proponent for animals. If He cares about them, He certainly cares about all of us.
Anxiety weighs down the heart,    but a kind word cheers it up.
I know so many anxious people. Every day, at my job in the medical field, I have patients tell me their blood pressure will be elevated. “Why do you say that?” I ask. “Because it always is,” they answer me sincerely. To which I tell them to go to their happy place, take a deep breath and just relax. Don’t let your worries weigh you down. Just think happy thoughts. 
Which reminds me of this verse.
 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6,New King James Version)