You need a good road to heaven

You need a good road to Heaven

Barb and I are walking a good trail

If you want to begin a walk with God, it starts by faith with knowing Christ as your Savior. Has anyone ever shown you from the Bible how you can know God through Jesus Christ and know for sure you are going to heaven? May I show you?
What do you want to read first the good news or the bad news? You can scroll down to the heading you like to read first.
The bad news:
The Bible tells us “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23 We have all done things wrong. The 6 of the 10 commandments deal with human behavior show us what we need to know. We have all lied, stole, disobeyed our parents, hated, had sexual thoughts toward
others we shouldn’t have, coveted others belongings or relationships.
You may argue one area but we have all done

Bad roads are very
difficult to travel.
A bad road to
heaven won’t get
you there

something
wrong.
Because of our sin, we don’t meet God’s standards for entrance into His Heaven. We fall short. If you and I wanted to throw a rock to South America from Liberia, I think you could

throw farther than me. But both of our throws would come up short of hitting South America. It is even a greater problem of going to heaven. We can’t get there on our own. Every funeral shows us that as we look at the body of a loved one.
In Romans 6:23 the Bible tells us in Romans 6:23a, “For the wages of sin is death,” A wage is something we earn and because of our sins we earn death. Death comes to us all. In any culture and at any time you would have to agree that is bad news.


The good news:
Staying in the book of Romans we read in 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love
toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus died on the cross for you and I. He took on Himself our sins and paid the penalty for our sins. If

The Gospel is a good road to heaven.

When I was a young man, I was a missionary,
Pastor, Teacher in Grand Bassa.

you were dying of cancer and someone took that cancer in their body where you were free from it that would be good news for you and your family. Well, that is what Jesus did for us.Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For He (God) made him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Jesus). It certainly shows God’s love.

Ephesians 2:8, 9 tell us more of the good news. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

The Gospel is a good road to heaven.

We have to trust in Jesus to save us from sin and its wage of death. We cannot do it ourselves. When we die we are helpless we can’t move. Only God can take us to heaven. The shell is left to this earth until the time God raises the body and gives it life. Until then our soul and spirit go to heaven.
We express that trust in the Savior by prayer. Romans 10:13 says, “For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Call on God to save you and He will. Now you can begin your walk with God.

My friend Moses and his son working hard to harvest cassava.

Life can be hard to earn a living providing food and shelter for your family. Knowing God by believing His Gospel starts us on a new journey of faith. Heaven is sure, listening and reading God’s word will help us discover truths to live by that are good for us. Our burdens and cares will continue but now there is a change. God will see you through the “shadow of death.” Along with the way blessings and God’s care will happen.
Contact me, Rev. Bill Reeves Jr. at bbbbsa@sbcglobal.net I would love to hear from you.

Overcoming the mountain of "the Black dog"

Winston Churchill describes the depression that he experienced calling it by the name “the black dog”. Charles Swindoll writing about this Psalm referred to the experience David had as what his father had called being “under the pile”. Some refer to it as interpreting life “seeing blue”. Sometimes when we experience long-term stress it gets to us.

At a time like this, it is no time to study the book of Job, look at dark things or even difficult questions. Sometimes we still have to bugger on. Churchill could not postpone WW2. Abraham Lincoln suffering depression had to carry on to save the union. And here in Psalm 13, David had to find hope to carry-on in a 12-year struggle of survival against the threat of death by Saul. 

Long-term stress can take its toll.

How do we get through it?

Psalm 13 just being six verses (see picture) can be very helpful. Psalm 13 we described as a lament Psalm. This type of psalm fits well with the picture of a mountain. At the base of a mountain is the emotional outcry of feelings we find hard to express. It is good that we have someone we can actually share these things with. Because I see people in the Bible expressing them to God is a great encouragement. God is someone we can always share our feelings. We cannot always act our feelings where they would be harmful to us or to others, we can share them with God. Look carefully at the "how longs" in verses one and two. 

Ps. 13 Overcoming "the Black Dog"

From our perspective, we may feel these things but eventually, we're going to have to confront them. Does God forget us? Does he hide his face from us? Note verse two painful thinking comes from within ourselves. Our state of mind is not how God sees things. 12 years David has been harassed by King Saul to the point of death. That is a very long time but soon David will not only survive but triumph over his enemies. Hard to see that in the struggle.

We discover in these lament Psalms a point where the difficult feelings turn to prayer and off for a rational prayer request. We saw that in verse three. David wants light=life to be restored in his life. He needs God to heal him. (Psalm 23:3)

In verse five we see the next necessary step in the healing process as we focus on God's faithful love and deliverance (for David from Saul) for us the mountain of "the black dog." Confronting the lies of depression always begins with some truth that contradicts the depression. Hope begins to grow. 

As their depression lifts, we see the mountain of the black dog thrown into the sea. If you look at Mark 11:22 the mountain Jesus was referring to was the Mount of Olives. Now you can stand in front of that mountain with the loudspeaker and you will never see the mountain thrown into the sea. We know the mountain will be there until Jesus comes back. The mountain that Jesus is referring to is the significant obstacle that we face that causes us to cry out with strong emotional language. 

Finally, as we look back we see how Lord was with us. Note David saw God’s care as being very generous. Whatever the mountain we face it is good to know that God wants us to experience life being blessed. Looking back how did we get through it? We see the Lord as being there.

We all suffer loss and face disappointments, God wants to hear us. We start at the base of the mountain as we begin our climb to prayer, faith through the darkness to life. Keep walking

Urgent prayer and other matters if we face a violent attack

I had been reading and meditating on Psalm 59. In verses 4 and 5, David is asking God to rouse Himself and wake up to move with urgency to protect David from assassins. King Saul had seen some bad hombre, agents, to kill David. The setting for this prayer is given to us in 1 Samuel 19:11-18. David's bluntness in talking to God intrigues me.  This is an epigrammatic psalm which means it is concise, clever and amusing style. The Psalm is a planned composition from beginning to end. His purpose is to teach people that God does hear and will punish wicked people who live and do evil as if God doesn't exist. Sounds like news in the daily paper, doesn't it.  In verse 7 these assassins respond, "Who hears?" David's overacting with awake and arouse are part of the epigram in which God laughs, vs. 8
Our experience we may ask God to wake up, we may feel He delays action but we can rely on the truth in Ps. 121:2-7
2 My help comes from the Lord,

Whether off the back of a bench
Using a tree can be used for starters.

Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel 
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper; 
The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
David's plan that night was to be lowered from a window in the darkness and use his stealth and speed to run away to safety. He was keenly aware of the danger and made a military analysis of his foes. Ps. 59, 1-3; 4a, 6,7, 121, 14, 15.
In light of David's ability to be aware of the danger and know when to run or when to confront evil got me thinking about our strategies to deal with those who may want to harm us. Bear Grylls advise on survival is to make the best plan you can and give it 100% and continue to work at it. We may lack his skill set and training but each of us could be aware of our strengths and weaknesses and plan something that gives us the best chance to survive.

Or a harder push-up off the seat
These are good ways to increase
body strength to assist your self-defense 

(In your own security plan think it through. My ideas may get you thinking, but there are certainly better ones out there. so think it through.) Note David’s plans for security involved escapes, running, fleeing, guile, retreating to well defensible positions, hiding, and at times confronting his opposition. We too should wisely see our options. 

See danger ahead move away from it. Evil out to harm you seek shelter and refuge. Abuse comes to mind. 

In your home secure windows and obtain strong doors and locks. Have your phone ready and you know danger lurks call as soon as you can 911. Take self-defense class and do 20 pushups. Always be aware of parking lots or walking. Walk with a friend. 

Staying in abuse or visiting dangerous places is not wise. 

Whatever tools you may use to survive a violent attack know how to use them legally and with skill. David used all these strategies and he still had to pray for God’s safety. We cannot presume and ignore danger singles. But we know God is key to our protection. Prayer is one of the weapons confronting evil, but if the bad guy is coming in then we have to flight or fight. If we choose non-violence then we have to be prepared for the consequences. Giving up may help us survive. Or it could be the worse thing to do. 

 Awareness, preparation, and moving away from danger the best options. Danger usually comes in ambush.

David’s praying is not easily deduced from 1 Samuel  19:11-18. Prayers in danger are usually short and to the point. Keep walking

May be a recumbapnt Is for you

 Just a simple noate my  recumbent bike has really been a blessing this week. I have done different types of biking and each one gets started pumping and help circulate the blood. With Barb doing physical therapy some of the moves I need Needed to do to help my joint health it was a good review. Barb is making progress and I am doing the same with my spin class and intermediate workouts. The rip come and bike is so useful to bike a couple miles and vary the resistance pushing a blood pressure breathing harder and making some serious distance. Doing 20 minutes 30 minutes is like walking the dog at night and really helps blood sugar. I do some stretching and strength training and I’m sleeping like a baby. My compression socks also bring Greg comfort and care to my feet. Wearing shoes is a good thing. Getting out with my family and social outings with my bike or scooter is lotta fun If you were having a hard enough time moving around invest in a $200 recumbentIt will be well worth the cost. Have fun

In the same way we battle health concerns that matter we can look at our brain heath too.

Dear reader, can you identify whatever health problems you have? 

Let's began with things that matter. Do you have problems with your heart, your arteries? Do you have problems with high blood pressure? Think through if your brain affected by your artery health?

Do you have problems with cancer? Is part of your problems with cancer-related to cancer is you're trying to prevent the disease? If you are battling cancer does that battle interfere with your ability to combat infections and disease?

Do you have problems with blood sugar, diabetes?

These kind of problems are the problems that normally threaten our life. I think we all agree that there big problems. Sometimes the fear of them causes us not to seek out help until they become more problematic and even life-threatening.

Whether or not you made these problems public or not it's totally up to you. I think it's a good idea to tell people who can help you deal with these things, but not everybody indeed needs to know. If you choose to publicly endorse some type of action that may help others, how you do this has many options and it's totally up to you.

Cardiovascular, diabetes and cancer has always been at my focus in walking with the fat-man. As the years of past, I've added dementia to my list.

My first goal was to prevent an early heart attack that many of my family has experienced. One of my favorite uncles passed away in his 50s with an early heart attack. My uncle Bruce was one of my favorite relatives. My brother died in his late 50s. My father was 68 and my mother was 71. I am now 67. On one level I enjoy each day of life, but on another level, I would like to outlive my parents. Years ago I made a magical number of 83. I thought about this back in my 30s when I came up with that formula. I thought that would be a good long life. I still think so. I may not get there but it is a good goal.
In my thirties whatever I thought about being older getting there is a lot different.

As we get older we begin to understand the aging process in personal ways.

There is another area of health that aging brings its problems. Our brain health can be affected by aging. Dementia is something that we should become more informed about. There are things that we can do that may help us for several years. 

What about depression, anxiety? What about the possibility of withdrawing and becoming isolated? Is our world becoming dark? Are we experiencing the"black dog"? 

Do we have negative friends and relatives that we need to set boundaries?

Losing mobility or the ability to be independent changes our relationships as well. Open your intervention to capable doctors and therapists to help you change living with depression. Thankfully most people never experience clinical depression, but at least 255 of us do.

One of the things that we can do when we get older is to understand what is important to us. We often get an ability not to care what other people may think about it. Use that for your favor if you need to reach out to develop your medical team to include the brain. 

There is no need for guilt or shame here the brain is a complicated and wonderful organ. As we get older probably have so many things wrong with it much of which we probably have discovered yet. But there is a great hope for depression and anxiety. We can live on the upbeat in our senior years. Today is a beautiful day, blue skies a nice summer temperature. Good time for a summer drink, an outdoor grill, taking in a deep breath count every good thing we may have going. Thank you, Lord, thank you, friend, that you Rover, etc. Thanks for this day. Keep walking.

As always follow your doctors advise. 

peddling along

A summer day in the '70s, I'll take it. I went for a very long bike ride. On my Liberty bike peddling is not hard at all. I kept my bike at the lower speeds cruising along at 7 miles an hour. Going up inclines I put the power up a notch or two. I wore my sun shirt and it was perfect. Along the way, an elementary girl was selling lemonade like in the old days. I took a second look and said to self, "I got to stop." The drink was cool and I threw it in the basket when I was done.
I am still in the game with my app to lose weight. The one thing I noticed is how easy it is to regain the weight. Vacation I stayed pretty close to the target and I got a lot out of swimming every day. I still enjoy swimming in the Gulf. I think I was quite a sight with my hat, sun shirt. In the water it all worked, no burn, no tan swimming was easy.
Listening to The Grey Mask written by Patricia Wentworth 1928 of a retired school teacher now investigator mostly of thefts. The reader with a British accent sets the

mood for the mystery. Always nice to go back in time without the writer rewriting history to make it fit today's trends and sensibilities. The time period goes back to when my parents were born. My paternal grandparents were in their 20's. My maternal grandparents were a little older. My grandfather Criss would have been 43 and Grandma Criss would have been 30. Before the depression and after WWI. Just imagine if they had the live photos you can take today. To see them in animation. The book was popular in its day and like many novels, we read a different place, people of money different from our own. I enjoy audible books.
My Florida book this year was a Jack Reacher novel. Nothing like a hero who can do anything he wants to defend or get justice and keep moving.
Finished my month with Dr. Roy Zuck devotions on Ecclesiastes. In Devotions for Kindred Spirits the month of May, Dr. Zuck challenge me to rethink the book in a more positive message. A life lived with God pondering life's difficulties or a life without God leading to its own consequences.
Summer cool to experience. Keep walking

Learning from tragety and a funeral

I was reading a counselor who was instructed what to say and what not to say at a funeral of a tragedy. I created a note highlighted below in blue as a response. I think it is easy to say the wrong thing at a funeral. We may know the survivor or maybe we know the deceased. We may or may not know both of them. 

With each of us, there is our first funeral. I know many people who never going to funerals. My first funeral was at age 16 when a childhood friend had died with two others in a car accident. More and more people are getting cremated. More and more people are not connected to a church. Many people do not even like to talk about death. Many children are not encouraged to go funerals. Family seeking to protect the children also keep children ignorant about death and loss. For many adolescents,  funerals are first attended at the death of the schoolmate killed in an accident or suicide. With little experience and knowledge, they have to encounter death so tragic we are all wresting for understanding.

Nobody is encouraged to read the Scriptures and learn from the Lord about these things and there we are grasping at the wind.

The counselor went on to encourage the reader not to say anything to offend, but in essence really not saying anything except I am here for you. Which in itself is a good thing to say at a funeral especially if it's true?

This is what the counselor said 

What NOT to say:

• “I know how you feel.”
• “I understand.”
• “I’ve been there.”
• “This reminds me of when I… (your personal experience of tragedy).”
• “I’m sure God has a reason for this.”
• “I know that (the person who is gone, hurt, etc.) is in a better place now.”

I suppose each line there can be anger - do you!

Here is my response in part not to be said at a funeral. Loss and death are big issues. I quote ancient wisdom that should force us to battle this in our brains. Each funeral should teach us something and give us wisdom regarding our own death. Only in God can our spirits rise to heaven upon death. We need God.

(I get it, to listen. But to not say anything may not be of the Spirit either. We are to grieve with those who grieve. We too may be experiencing the pain of the loss. There are words of comfort. We live in an age that encourages ignorance and non-offense. We refuse to learn at funerals. 

Consider Ecclesiastes 7:2-4

2 It is better to go to a funeral than a feast. For death is the destiny of every person, and the living should take this to heart. 3 Sorrow is better than laughter because sober reflection is good for the heart. 4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of merrymaking.

Also Ecclesiastes 8:17 “NET© then I discerned all that God has done: No one really comprehends what happens on earth. Despite all human efforts to discover it, no one can ever grasp it. Even if a wise person claimed that he understood, he would not really comprehend it.” 

We are to wrestle with these things not avoid them. The Bible reveals more and our loss should drive us to seek God’s wisdom.

Instead, we cremate and are quickly encouraged to move on. Many now avoid the experience altogether. Ignorant, not learning, we ignore our own death and refuse to come to the Lord. Reeves) Keep walking

Like most crime novels we vicariously enjoy the world of the rich and famous. Life is full of puzzles to solve or not

Sitting at pool site in Naples,
Florida. Looking out waterway
to the Gulf

It is said, you can't take it with you. This was my first trip to Naples, Florida other than a prior pass-throughs on the way to the everglades. Stayed at a Charter club in Old Naples. Affluence everywhere. Water, tropical and money. We all seem to love it.
Looking at the homes of the rich and famous tell interesting stories. Many of the homes are not even lived in but for a few weeks a year. One home bought a neighbor's home, for around 20 million, tore it down and uses the land for a dog park for their dog.
Tom Selleck built a home designed like the one used in Magnum PI. He never lived there. Politicians from both parties live there and the who's who from business, writers, famous from all walks of life.
Where I was located is near the city's dock where boats are entered. Took a sunset cruise and had the view these homes have every night. That day had rained all day but the evening the skies cleared had we a had a great sunset.
Vicariously I think we all enjoyed being in the world of the rich. Our novels, movies,

A floating mushroom

media place our imaginations with the rich and powerful. No matter your political view we strive to be on top. One of the themes of the wisdom books of the Bible deals with our relationship with money and power. It can be a blessing or a curse. Wealth can benefit many or oppress many. Reading the ancient writings helps us gain insight
"For he will take nothing with him when he dies; his wealth will not follow him down into the grave." Ps. 49:17
Along with the homes of Port Royal, the home valued at millions will be torn down upon the sale or death of the owner only to be rebuilt for bigger homes or even a dog park for an owner's dog to do his business. One owner needed 8 more inches in a room for a statue he bought traveling to Italy. He tore down the mansion and rebuilt the same mansion only the room was given 8 more inches. I have many friends travel to Italy and take in the sights (we all like to be affluent) and wish they could buy art, products but don't have enough room to fly it back. Unless they are a hoarder there is no room in the house. 
The problems of wealth and poverty will always be with us and it is good to read, study, meditate, apply what we learn in Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon throughout our life. Not that we figure it all out, which is impossible, but that we grow in skills with our relationship to God and others.

Out on the Gulf- Can you see the curve of the earth? God's paintbrush

Consider the blessings of wealth enjoyed or not.
Ecc 5:19 To every man whom God has given wealth, and possessions, he has also given him the ability to eat from them, to receive his reward and to find enjoyment in his toil; these things are the gift of God.
Ecc 6:2 God gives a man riches, property, and wealth so that he lacks nothing that his heart desires, yet God does not enable him to enjoy the fruit of his labor –instead, someone else enjoys it! This is fruitless and a grave misfortune.
In my devotions the other night I came across curious verses, 
"Be not overly righteous, and do not make yourself too wise. Why should you destroy yourself? Be not overly wicked, neither be a fool. Why should you die before your time?" ESV "It is best to take hold of one warning without letting go of the other warning; for the one who fears God will follow both warnings." NET 
I know we are all sinners and we all sin, but thankfully we did not sin to our deaths. We learned from our past sins to a wiser life. I also know we can never reach perfection in this life, nor solve every life riddle we encounter. No, it is good to enjoy a sunset, enjoy the blessings God gives and learn from our trials to trust the One who can take us to heaven. Politics, power, money, poverty are always in conflict. How are we living, loving, sharing and caring? We have enough to deal with ourselves. Keep walking

Act of kindness

Sometimes an act of kindness comes your way in unexpected ways. This 4th of July I was with my family down in Naples Florida enjoying the beach, the Gulf, grandkids, kids. I was going down to the water and as I entered the water a rather gentle wave got me off balance and down I went. Two young men quickly came to my aid and brought me back to my feet where I reach the depth to swim and move. I went from feeling like a beached whale to a confident swimmer.
I really appreciated their help and even tossed a football around with them on overthrows. I have to say I enjoyed my sun shirt, played all day in the sun without a burn.
Later that day sitting in a chair that wasn't meant for the beach broke, a family behind me loaned me a

chair for my size. I fella with broken English said to me "happy 4th of July." I was able to see the sunset and fireworks. I returned the chair upon leaving to a family I did not know but gave me an act of kindness I will not soon forget.
Having Cerebral Palsy can be very humbling at times. I hate it to have a need of others, I would rather give. But there are times when people bring out their best.
I was 8 years old at a camp for CP kids when I was promoted to help other kids more disabled than myself. It was in the water again where I was helping kids enjoy the water. I still remember a girl about 16 who was so tight she could hardly move. As I remembered her she had the face of an angel. She passed away later that summer, but on that day I helped her she had a smile on her face.
I must have played in the water for two hours. So thanks fellas for picking me up and thanks again to strangers for the use of a chair. I know they won't read this, but I won't forget. Keep walking  

Helping the little grey cells spiritually. Online support - cool

One of the challenges we face as we get older is continuing our own growth spiritually. I have been personally talking to friends fighting burn out and are depressed. As they share their stories it helps me in my own life to focus on activities that build up and encourage the mind and spirit.
It seems my interests are many but new studies through the net have really encouraged me. Listed below are 6 sites with excellent resources for continual growth.
For my friends they have their work cut out for them.
https://www.biblicaltraining.org
I am taking a graduate class on Proverbs that is really stimulating my mind and spirit. Many of these teachers have different theological prospectives than I do, but the desire to know the truth of it makes it worthwhile. Good stuff
http://bible.org is a Cadillac of Bible study. The Lumina study tool is outstanding. Follow the menu and there is a lot to experience and learn.
https://www.biblegateway.com tops
https://www.studylight.org I have used this site for years. With many of these sites, you will find interactive material with great library support.
https://waynestiles.com/livethebible/ I do a lot of internet travel with Wayne to the Holylands. I am doing a study with the podcasts in the Gospel of Mark. A very good study.

Below is a blog entry on Biblegateway. It gives you reading levels of various popular translations.

Two levels are given for example. I worked 15+ years helping kids improve their reading. A Big thanks to Nancy, Dee, Marci who helped this ole boy learn how to help the kids.
KJV 12+ - 17+ which means it was written at 12th grade+ reading level and is best understood at a graduate level after 4 years of college. Many people through the years through vocabulary acquired have learned to understand this Bible at a lower reading level but it takes work. It can be a great Bible to work the little grey cells as we age. Much like studying a foreign language.
My favorite Bible NASB 1964 11th+ and understood with a senior college 16+. It definitely helped raise my reading level. After reading the NASB the KJV was a breeze.

My new favorite translations for study and reading pleasure the NIV, NET, NKJV, HCSB are at 7+ level and best understood at a 12+ (senior in HS) reading level. These translations are easy to read as you grow in vocabulary understanding. Not everybody agrees with the writer including me. Working with HS students generally finding books that are 2 years below their own lexile level they could read well for comprehension and understanding. So I would say NIV 7+, 9+ and so on.
Newspapers tend to be a 5+ understood best at 7+-10+ reading levels.
What happens if one has a lower lexile level than the Bible translation? Over time low readers may have higher listening skills and audio Bibles are wonderful. People can gain experience and growth in vocabulary acquisition. With greater recognition comes understanding. It takes work and learning coping skills such as listening, The Bible acted out. Preaching and explaining the meaning in language and experience people understand. Why Bible art in churches? Was this a way to help lower readers understand? A picture is a thousand words. We can never underestimate people who are often smarter than you might think. Of course, there is the other side of it where people have college degrees and are dumber than rocks.
Of course, there is God Himself interacting with the reader revealing His truth to the simplest of saints. How do you measure that? Keep walking

bible-translation-reading-levels

Sharing new ideas to help strength and weightless as we age.

I came across an article from the Cooperized newsletter related to strength training as we age. It is to our advantage to learn to use resistance training as we age. I have read many studies that show we can slow the rate of muscle loss or even add muscle well into our 90's. We are not all at the same level of health and with our doctor, we can design a fitness program tailored to our needs and health.
There are a variety of tools out there and gyms to use at home or the gym fit for seniors.
Combining walking, biking, running, swimming, gardening, housework there are ways to boost our war to 150 minutes of active movement we need as we age.
In the Article, Lean In and Tone Up Patrick Fisher Cooper Fitness Center Professional Trainer shares the benefits of building lean muscle and practical ways to develop a routine. Because most of us are on some calorie reduction diet we are not taking in the time or calorie intake of muscle builders to bulk up.

60 and after he recommends 45% of our fitness is
strength training. This helps muscle loss and bone
density.

In the article, he talks about changing reps from 12 to 20 or 30 reps which will keep the body challenged to develop muscle definition. 12 reps more weight, 20 to 30 less weight. Several weeks for each one.
Dr. Ken Cooper shares a chart on how the % of cardio and strength training changes as we age. The older we get the more strength training we need.
In practical terms, this helps our heart, brain, and ability to keep us independent able to do what we need to do. Muscle is one way to increase our metabolic rate. Losing muscle makes it harder to lose weight. Keep walking

https://cooperaerobics.com/Health-Tips/Fitness-Files/Lean-in-and-Tone-Up.aspx

I ran across a good article giving four reasons why it is difficult to lose weight, by K. Alicia Fetters contributor to USNews June 10, 2016. You can read the article by clicking the reference follow.

Who we are genetically influenced is health. In 2007, researchers identified a common gene variant by 20 or 30%. "The genes are in our jeans."

In the past 30 years, this gene is not changed but our environment sure has. Fetters writes, “Modern society is set up for us to consume more calories than we burn every day. We just eat more than we did in the past. A lot of food that makes us fat is advertised healthy. Woe is me!

Our bodies are programmed to not want us to starve. In the past, this is many people alive, but today this drive is easily manipulated by her current environment of food, food, food! Our biology and hormones actually working against us to lose weight.

If we lose weight there is a drop in our basal metabolic rate, the number of calories you burn just being alive.

Fetters illustrates this by comparing two men who both way 200 pounds. One of them has always weighed 200 pounds. The other used to weigh 300 pounds and lost weight to two 200 pounds. They are now not equal, for the one who lost weight will have a lower metabolic rate. They will actually walk and fidget less than they used to.

I wonder if the 300 pounders always tended to exercise less than the 200 pounders? If the exercise habit doesn’t change that might explain the metabolic difference?

Obesity can contribute to long-term dysfunction in appetite and rewards centers of the brain, as well as insulin and leptin resistance encouraging fat storage, increased hunger, Fetters reports. 

Not surprising with age there's a natural decline in the metabolic rate.

Binge eating disorder affects approximately 2,000,000 Americans any a clinical level. Why do we eat pass what we need, memories, emotions coping skills learned in childhood affect how we look at food.

What can you do to make weight loss easier?

Just realizing that weight loss is hard can relieve some of the confusion and frustration for those who are 

struggling to lose weight. Almost 2 months ago I started with the premise that losing weight is hard. The reasons may be complicated and in personal experience compromised by so many difficulties. Knowing that losing weight is hard has a way of taking away the lifetime burden of it. My effort right now is can it be done. This is part of a long-range goal for me to attempt. 

We need may not be able to control the environment around us, we can take control of our personal environment in our reaction to it. I can use the app my net dairy to eat only what I have investigated and planned and ignore the calorie-rich environment. Divide what I eat out to fit my plan. Choose portions within my range to lose weight, including my fun foods. Use the information gained to live within a plan to lose. 

Like any health plan get the support you need. 

One idea as weight is loss learn to do muscle resistance known to increase our metabolic rate

Weight loss is hard, especially if we have been fat for a long time. Can weight loss really be done? The US News article explores the problems. If I lose weight, what might then can I expect? What information and plan gives me the best chance? Think through the article and questions for yourself and keep walking.

https://health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/2016-06-10/4-reasons-its-so-hard-to-lose-weight-and-how-to-bust-through-them

Exploring why is so hard to lose weight

I ran across a good article giving four reasons why it is difficult to lose weight, by K. Alicia Fetters contributor to USNews June 10, 2016. You can read the article by clicking the reference follow.

Who we are genetically influenced is health. In 2007, researchers identified a common gene variant by 20 or 30%. "The genes are in our jeans."

In the past 30 years, this gene is not changed but our environment sure has. Fetters writes, “Modern society is set up for us to consume more calories than we burn every day. We just eat more than we did in the past. A lot of food that makes us fat is advertised healthy. Woe is me!

Our bodies are programmed to not want us to starve. In the past, this is many people alive, but today this drive is easily manipulated by her current environment of food, food, food! Our biology and hormones actually working against us to lose weight.

If we lose weight there is a drop in our basal metabolic rate, the number of calories you burn just being alive.

Fetters illustrates this by comparing two men who both way 200 pounds. One of them has always weighed 200 pounds. The other used to weigh 300 pounds and lost weight to two 200 pounds. They are now not equal, for the one who lost weight will have a lower metabolic rate. They will actually walk and fidget less than they used to.

I wonder if the 300 pounders always tended to exercise less than the 200 pounders? If the exercise habit doesn’t change that might explain the metabolic difference?

Obesity can contribute to long-term dysfunction in appetite and rewards centers of the brain, as well as insulin and leptin resistance encouraging fat storage, increased hunger, Fetters reports. 

Not surprising with age there's a natural decline in the metabolic rate.

Binge eating disorder affects approximately 2,000,000 Americans any a clinical level. Why do we eat pass what we need, memories, emotions coping skills learned in childhood affect how we look at food.

What can you do to make weight loss easier?

Just realizing that weight loss is hard can relieve some of the confusion and frustration for those who are

struggling to lose weight. Almost 2 months ago I started with the premise that losing weight is hard. The reasons may be complicated and in personal experience compromised by so many difficulties. Knowing that losing weight is hard has a way of taking away the lifetime burden of it. My effort right now is can it be done. This is part of a long-range goal for me to attempt. 

We need may not be able to control the environment around us, we can take control of our personal environment in our reaction to it. I can use the app my net dairy to eat only what I have investigated and planned and ignore the calorie-rich environment. Divide what I eat out to fit my plan. Choose portions within my range to lose weight, including my fun foods. Use the information gained to live within a plan to lose. 

Like any health plan get the support you need. 

One idea as weight is loss learn to do muscle resistance known to increase our metabolic rate

Weight loss is hard, especially if we have been fat for a long time. Can weight loss really be done? The US News article explores the problems. If I lose weight, what might then can I expect? What information and plan gives me the best chance? Think through the article and questions for yourself and keep walking.

https://health.usnews.com/wellness/articles/2016-06-10/4-reasons-its-so-hard-to-lose-weight-and-how-to-bust-through-them

One bowling ball down

Weigh in day, lost a bowling ball, 16 lbs. Reset a new goal through September 31 lbs. Clothes are fitting better. Each day I know where I am at.
The can and how is happening, but how will I do in the long run. It helps to know foods and drinks that I enjoy can still be enjoyed. Choosing amounts that are healthful the app helps me plan.
This is all new for me so will it work into new habits?
I plan to continue researching why this stuff is hard for us to achieve. Keep walking. 

Reporting on the immune system, read a good article

Matt Richtel, a Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter for The New York Times, wrote an article published in the New York Times, What is the Immune System?

Our body is filled with all sorts of organisms. It is our immune system that ignores most of them as harmless as it is looking for threats to our bodies. When they discover a threat they seek to remove it. We need the immune system and our job is to support it.

I read recently were some cancers have adapted abilities to fool our immune system. It kind of reminds me of the many ways bad people have adopted new strategies to get away with crimes and good people countered. The whole business can be complicated.

Matt writes “inflammation can feel like a stuffy nose, sore throat, tummy ache, fever, fatigue or headache. Yes, the symptoms of an immune response feel lousy, but you must suffer a little to keep the rest of your body healthy over the long term.” 

The art is to develop a balance. To know when to support immune system and help your body fight the battle in side and experience the stress of life which is normal.

There is always a priority working in the body for survival. If we think we are going to be eaten by a lion then our

body sends out chemicals that energize and focus our body to fight or flight. All energy used in the immune system is diverted to get out of Dodge while we can. As long as the threat continues our immune system doesn't work as effectively. In the modern world our predators are two legged. If, we spot a  danger we should have heightened senses and be prepared to fight or flight.

The problem Mr. Richtel points out if this threat last too long or more likely is an imagined threat lasting too long our immune system loses its ability to fight the internal bad guys.

What is real and what is imagined, it is good to identify. Letting go of unwanted stress takes work, but it is worth it. 

So our job should be to support our immune system by sleep. It is during the sleep cycle that our immune system does its best work. Good sleep is #1

Exercise can:

• “Exercise that relieves stress helps modulate the adrenaline cycle that can be so detrimental to health. 
• Aging people who exercise regularly develop more T-cells (key immune cells) than their sedentary contemporaries. 
• Exercise is crucial to avoiding obesity, and obese people experience increased inflammation.” Having less inflammation allows our body to have more resources for what matters.

When we are sick and exercise will actually work against us. There is a time to rest.

Learning to reduce stress is also very helpful. Taking time for deep breathing, meditating on the good thoughts can help the body to direct its energy to the immune system fighting the good fight inside our bodies. Let go of negative thoughts and worries and focus on the positive realities that are the opposite of painful thinking. 

Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones. Proverbs 16:24

Being exposed to germs helps us fight off germs. Dirt can be our friends. It is a good article to read with links to research. Keep walking

https://www.nytimes.com/guides/smarterliving/improve-your-immune-system?searchResultPosition=1&redirect=true