I’m trying some interesting methods to generate lucid dreaming. Part of that is spending some time awake about 4.5 hours after I first go to sleep. The brain goes into REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep about every 1.5 hours. You are generating an Alpha rhythm then. The longest time periods when you are dreaming is early in the morning right before you wake up. You can see the areas when I’m dreaming around 5:30am, 7:00am and around 8:20am. My sleep quality does go down a bit. It’s actually pretty common for me to wake up around 4:30am anyway. I normally spend at least thirty minutes in prayer then.

Did some Brain Training and studied Español.

Added the episode “Plant Yourself” to my podcasts ready to release. I’m nine weeks ahead now.

I got a sticker out of the palm of my hand this morning. That gunky looking stuff is alcohol cleaner to keep the site antiseptic. Normally, I let it go a few days. It’s easier to get out then.

I redid the wrapping of this extension cord. Kathy had left it a total mess. It’s easy to do. I’m super disciplined about how I leave cords. My Papaw always told me, “Careful use gives long use.”

Had a fun talk with my buddy Anthony this afternoon. He hurt his back. Had a good prayer time with him.

Some interesting sections from one of the books I’m reading called, “What Doesn’t Kill Us.”

Got the groceries.

I put my windmills back outside. I use this set up to determine wind direction. The top one is pointed North.

I use these to determine wind velocity. Of course, I have apps that tell me exactly how fast the wind speed is. But this is an easy visual way to see it.

I went for a 12.21 mile bike ride. My goal is at least ten miles or an hour plus every day. When the weather is this nice and I don’t get a chance to work out, I get frustrated.

The cranks on my bike seem to be wobbly. I’m taking it in to my bike guru to have him take a look. I watched some videos on the problem on YouTube last night. I did what they said, but it still seemed loose. They were pretty scary talking about what could happen of it came off!

Fortunately, I have Jesse/Kathy’s bike to ride. They never use it and I got it completely tuned up. It’s ready to go! That makes it easier for me to give mine up. I can take a couple of weeks to get back!

Every two weeks, I’ve been sending an email to what I call the Research List. It’s about 650 Youth Directors that haven’t worked with us YET! I’m doing a series on how to grow their youth group.

Also includes a button to press to see what we offer for their group’s mission trip. Research says that people have to have at least eight interactions before they have even a chance to remember you.
Admin duties now.

Brain Training!

Spoke at Rockbridge Baptist church this morning.

They are the home sponsoring church for Whirlwind Missions. Ashley hurt her knee last night so she wasn’t able to come. She was missed!

Bill Cordrey is one of the pastors and is the President of our Board of Directors for Whirlwind Missions, Inc.

I studied Spanish when I got home.

Went for a 19.85 mile bike ride.

I used my new pulse oximeter to measure my heart rate and oxygen saturation in my blood.

Watered my green friends in my inside garden this evening. Beauty!

I’ve been pretty aggressive about tracking all my health data in Apple Health. This is something new for me. I used to only track mileage of my runs/bike rides and calories burned. Now I track a LOT of data including brain training, sleep quality, heart rate, O2 saturation among others.

Admin duties now.

Brain Training!

Español!

Rode my bike 12.83 miles. Perfect weather!

I used my new pulse oximeter today. I had a variety of readings depending on where I was in my ride.

Next time, I’ll probably take a pen and a notecard to record the readings.
Captured and released squirrel #54. I saw three at my feeders today. Seems endless.

Jesse and I went to the Avengers Endgame this evening. Super good!

Admin duties now.
Ready for our speaking engagement at Rockbridge BC tomorrow morning with Ashley!

Sleep study!

Did Brain Training and Español!

Took Penelope and Everly to the Peachtree Dekalb Airport for lunch and play in the park! Super windy. Enjoyed getting my little pocket kite out to play with.

Everly got a good nap in. She’s such a sweetheart. Penelope only slept about twenty minutes.

The power went out at our house for about forty-five minutes. I called the power company and the power popped back on while I was on the phone!
I’ve really enjoyed this book about one of my new heroes, Wim Hof.

I got a booboo on my finger. Can’t tell if it’s a splinter or poison ivy or
just my imagination.

Had a great dinner with Jesse. Always lively conversation.

Released a new episode of Verbal Surgery -656- “Smile Placebo.”

Change how you feel by how you use your body!

Click on the title and GROOVE!

Uploaded to server.

Link on Facebook.

I got a new Heart Rate/O2 sensor! Wasn’t happy with the iPhone versions.

I’m looking forward to adding this to my list of health related data.

I can take a picture of it with my camera, then take pictures of the pictures with my iPhone to keep all the data together. Notice the time stamp which will correlate with Runkeeper while I’m exercising.

I sent out my part of our newsletter to our 931 subscribers!

Admin duties now.

Happy Birthday to Kathy! We had a fun little party together last night.

I find my sleep study very interesting. I find it particularly interesting that I’m not snoring.

I continue to practice with the MUSE device plus Wim Hof breathing techniques and am having very positive results.

Español!

Always fun to talk with my buddy, Anthony. His webinar last night was very interesting.

I got a message from my friend Bharat in India. I had a nice chat with him today.

It still amazes me that I can talk with video to the UK and India! We were setting up a time to get together when he’s here in the ATL for his son’s wedding.

I wrote and produced my newsletter for the month.

I printed out the newsletter so it can be photo copied by our partners at FBC Doraville. Also printed the labels.

Sent out my bi-weekly newsletter to the Youth Directors that have worked with us in the past. Hopefully, many of them will come back!

I recorded a new episode of Verbal Surgery called, “Breath of Life.” It’s very good. I now have over nine weeks “in the can” ready to be released.

Went to FBC Doraville to check on the mail. I like to keep those checks deposited!

Went to Azalea to check on the kids. No homework. They are testing. But I still like to go see them.

Ashley, Kathy and the girls and a friend of hers went to the Aquarium today. They had a grand time! You get in free if it’s your birthday!

The girls have fun playing!

Kayla is very proud of her hamster.

It’s a family affair!

We always encourage reading.

I listened to Spanish radio on the way home in my car and when I rode on my bike.

It looked like it was going to rain, and I started getting cold, so I cut my ride short. I still did 7.85 miles.

Productive day!
Admin duties now.

I saw two raccoons at my feeders last night. I was so happy.

Woke up early. I was glad I fell back asleep for a little while.

Brain Training!

Español.

Good chat with my buddy, Anthony in the UK.

Also enjoyed talking with Bob Burns, another fun friend. He’s in Scotland.

Came home to work on the other 2/3s of the back yard. It’s a mammoth job and the grass/weeds grow so fast! I need to keep it mowed so we don’t have snakes.

I picked up a bunch of sticks. I took this picture when I was just getting started!

I love my Gorilla Cart. I use it all the time! Put some air in her tires today.

About 30 psi.

I continue to fill up the pit in my back yard, and the mushrooms continue to empty it. I thought for sure it would fill up when I started putting big logs and sticks in it. Nope.

Spent about an hour clipping vines off of my fences. What a hard job.

I’ve mentioned this before, but my yard is almost a 1/2 acre. That’s big, kids.

Over the 20 years I’ve lived here, the yard has gotten a lot better. The back yard when I bought the house was almost totally wild and filled with poison ivy and rocks. I still see some poison ivy from time to time, but I’ve gotten rid of most of the rocks now.

Had a fun webinar hosted by my buddy Anthony this evening. Very interesting and a lively conversation and group chat.

I didn’t go to the mission today. With the testing, there has only been one or two children with homework. I’ll go tomorrow to help.

I released squirrel #52 today. I don’t think I’m making a significant dent on the population, but at least we’re not completely over run with them. I know my bird feeders have seed in them at least three times longer. I actually watched this one trigger the trap. That’s unusual.

Went to Moes for a salad. It’s my current default meal when I’m not eating fruit at home.

Went to Dollar Tree to pick up a few things I was missing for the program Ashley and I are doing at Rockbridge BC this Sunday.

I washed down the garage, driveway and porch when I got home. Another little gift for Kathy.

I sorted and organized 80 bags for Sunday. Didn’t take me too long.

Each bag has a prayer card, a Red Thread that’s been anointed with oil from the Holy Land, a note card, a marker and two tiny Snicker bars.

I also got some goodies for Kathy for her birthday tomorrow. She liked the candy, and balloon. I made some cards for her. The big surprise? I had $70 in a couple of the presents. She wasn’t expecting that!

Admin duties now.

I like this quote by Angelus Silesius.

Last night, I was looking into how to manually add data to my Apple Health app. In particular, O2 saturation and heart rate. I’m getting a small device that measures both. It is very highly rated device on Amazon, but it’s not an app. I’ll have to add the information on my own. I don’t consider that a deal breaker, if the data is accurate. The apps I have on my phone just weren’t cutting the heart rate cake.

I had a greatly impacted night’s sleep. I “wrote” my sermon that Ashley and I will give on Sunday in the middle of the night in my head. It’s based on the acronym REACH. I think it will be very good. But certainly didn’t help my sleep.

Practiced Brain Training.

Español.

Released a new episode of Verbal Surgery -655- “Lies and Self Talk.”

We become who we tell ourselves we are! Edit yourself with your inner dialog and feel good, NOW! Just click on the title and groove!

Uploaded to server.

Link on Facebook.

I’m promoting my podcast on Twitter now.

Had a fun chat with my best friend Anthony.

I recorded a new episode of Verbal Surgery called, “Sound of Growth.”

I’m curious as to why one single sprig will grow when the rest are chilling.

I’m enjoying this book. Very interesting. I’ve been taking cold showers for two weeks now. It hardly bothers me at all any more. Toughens me up!

I picked up supplies for the presentation on Sunday with Ashley at Rockbridge BC.

One of the prayers I regularly use.

While I was at the Dollar Tree, I saw this. What’s with the fascination with smiling poop?

I blew my roof and cleaned out my gutters this afternoon.

The last big rain storm we had I noticed that the rain was hardly coming out the gutter spout. Almost all was going over the edge of the gutter. Only one reason for that: completely stopped up. Sure enough the gutters were clogged with leaf litter.

I had to clean most of it by hand.

WAY better now. To have paid all that money and then have them be so clogged up was crazy. If you keep them clean they’ll last a lot longer. The metal doesn’t deteriorate as rapidly.

Helped the kids at the mission. Hardly any homework, so they enjoyed making crafts.

Penelope was enjoying Oreos! Wow!

After the mission, I enjoyed dinner at Taco Veloz with Bill, Deborah and the grand girls.

Went by FBC Doraville to check the mail and pick up some supplies I needed for Sunday.

Got gas on the way home. .14 jump since yesterday. Ouch!

When I got home, I mowed the top part of my back yard. Lots of poison ivy. Really is weird how I go into handling venomous snake mode when I’m dealing with it. I feel especially happy when I can get a big root out like this.

I pull up every sprig I can find by the roots before I mow.

I like to track what I do.

I put the new recording of VS on my Mac. I’m currently nine weeks ahead.

Didn’t sleep as well as I have been.

Brain Training. Go!

Español!

Cleaned and refilled my feeders and water baths.

Watered my indoor garden.

Had a great time with my dear friend Carl Barrington.

I thought his family picture looked great!

I helped fix his recliner chair.

Went to FBC Doraville to check on the mail. Also picked up our bag of Easter eggs!

Had fun helping the kids with their homework.

Penelope helped me pick out the candy for the Candy Throw after the Easter story.

Ashley did a superb job of talking about Easter.

The kids seemed to really pay attention.

Love that the Grandgirls participate in the ministry!

Then the Easter egg hunt! Ours is more like a “gather” than a hunt!

We let them pick up the empty eggs a few times, then gather all the empties together. Over the years, I’ve learned that the best way to do the candy is to throw the pieces to them. It’s a fun game and that way we can throw stuff directly to the children so everyone gets plenty. Putting stuff in the eggs was WAY too labor intensive and the little kids usually got hardly anything.

It was a fun group! We had a great time. And the candy was on clearance–Half Off! Yeah, baby!


Listened to Spanish radio on the way home.

I went to the church to drop off the eggs and our projector and saw the driveway cordoned off! Wow. The pavement had completely given way.

Deposited checks on the way home. Thank you, Lord!

Mowed the grass when I got home. I wasn’t sure how it would go with my hurt hip. Did fine. Amen!

My nemesis, poison ivy, was back! Yanked out as much as I could by the roots. After finishing the yard, I used my special anti-poison ivy oil medicine on my arms and legs and my face to make sure I didn’t have any reaction. Can you spot it in the picture?

Sprayed the plants again with the fungicide.

Blowing is usually the last step.

I thought the yard looked a lot better.

Plus the back deck.

Good work out!

Edited the video I shot at the party.

Admin duties now.

I liked this quote from Xenophon.

Brain Training!

Practice pays off.

Slept.

Practice.

Español.

Went to Westside BC for Easter!

The kids were very involved!

Pastor Ben spoke on, you guessed it, the resurrection!

I’ll never forget my trip to Israel and seeing the Garden Tomb. Fantastic.

We had five of the kids make professions of faith.

My Easter lunch.

Went for a 19.12 mile bike ride.

I could have gone much further, but I decided to come home and mow the grass. When I got home, my hip was hurting too much to push a mower. Didn’t hurt at all when I was biking!

The Yellow River was mighty full and running fast!

Because my hip was hurting, I decided to go to Evergreen and do some hot water therapy. I always feel like a Kardashian when I go there.

I liked these balls.

Added some material to my Twitter feed: my sermon notes!

Rested. Played some Black Ops. Went to eat an Omelet at Metro Cafe.

Admin duties now.

Grandgirls spent the night Friday, so I’m doing my admin duties on Saturday. FYI.

Brain Training!

Resting heart rate and O2 sats.

Powerful thunderstorms rolled through our area Thursday evening, giving us almost 4″ of rain. Whoa.

Español!

Recorded “Penultimate Goal” at Evergreen Lake. It was full!

Saw this car in the parking lot when I went for lunch.

And this on the side of a van. Isn’t that like step #1?

Went to Lowe’s to pick up some paving stones to keep Jesse from tromping in the mud when he parks his car.

I’m sending an email to our supporters (over 900) every week. Two weeks I have our newsletter (one with mine, the other with Ashley) the other two weeks I’m sending a link to one of my podcasts and the other a chapter from Story Tim. They also have an opportunity to donate to our ministry. Please!

Mailchimp is a new program to learn for me. There are always pieces that you have to figure out. I’m getting better every week.

One of my new disciplines is to keep a dream journal. I bought a small digital recorder so I can record what happened, rather than try and write them down. That was waking me up too much. The next day, I listen to the entries and title each dream so I can remember what it was about.

Cleaned my fish tank. Harder than normal, because the light got messed up and I had to unplug and get needle nose pliers after it. All working now!

The grand girls came over around 5:30 pm. I took them to Goodwill and the Dollar Tree. Highly recommend both locations to grandparents!

Penelope said she was putting the cones out “for safety.”


She cracks me up the things she says. This morning, I asked if she wanted milk in her cup. She said, “water.” I asked, “why?” She said, “Because it’s better to hydrate.” What?!

Friday, April 20th

I ran Sleep Cycle last night when the girls had the sleep over. Said I got a 51% sleep quality. I think that was optimistic. It’s just part of the gig! Still a blessing!

The next morning we did cereal.

Penelope had a really big supper. Wan’t very hungry this morning.

After Ashley, picked them up, I started on my normal disciplines.

Listened to Spanish radio.

Roads are still too wet to ride. I’m really careful about that since my last near fatal crash.

Admin duties.