Oh, just some thoughts

In a recent chapel at my office, our President’s wife led the devotional time. Denyse spoke about Psalm 57. Some of the phrases that stood out to me during her talk: “A steadfast heart”, “A defiant faith”, “Refuge in the Lord”. It is pretty incredible when you read Psalm 57 along with 1 Samuel 21, 22… and you get a feel for what David was really facing.

I have been in somewhat dangerous situations in my life (that I know of). I have been in the back of a pickup truck, riding through remote roads where the local police had issued a warning to all about kidnappers in the area. I’ve walked at midnight along streets riddled with drugs, prostitution, confused and angry people. Have I ever been running for my life from a political giant? No. In fact, I have never been in a situation where someone actually threatened my life. But many people in this world have. Many of my brothers and sisters face this threat daily. And some are now in the presence of our Father because of their steadfast faith.

The fears I hear around me in my community tend to revolve around fear of losing personal rights, power, favor, money etc…which is kind of funny to me because those things are not really spoken well of in the Bible. So why are we afraid of losing them? Anyway, I digress. David was facing the possibility of losing his life. Yet look at Psalm 57 and the prayer of his heart. Throughout that passage he is giving praise to God. It was as if David was saying, “Your glory is more important than the resolution of my problems” (Denyse’s paraphrase). There was a focus on God being glorified in the midst of crazy and fearful circumstances.

A friend/co-worker of mine is currently going through his second fight with cancer - all at the ripe old age of 27. In one of Ben’s recent blog entries I was reminded of the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3. This is a story that I learned from the time I was very young, but I don’t think my teachers ever included verse 18. “But if not…” Those three concluded that no matter the outcome, they would still only worship God. In the midst of all the circumstances I face daily, is my heart ready to respond in praise and true desire to see Him glorified in all? And if God does not answer in the way I think is best or according to my logic, is His praise still coming from my heart and mouth? Is my heart steadfast? Do I have a defiant faith? Am I taking refuge in the Lord? Is His glory more important than the resolution of my problems?

Swimming in My Mind These Days...

"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.

"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."

From The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Only At the State Fair

Last Saturday I went to the Colorado State Fair with my friends, Ben and Lisa. Images from the Grant County Fair in Moses Lake were floating in my mind as we drove to Pueblo. Flashbacks of showing sheep and rabbits for 4-H, trying my hand at cooking- only to have the judges give it poor marks (some things never change) and the thought of all the fun-but-horrible-for-you "fair food" were instantly coming to mind. I have to say, I think I will always have a soft spot in my heart for my "home fair".

I had a great time with Ben and Lisa as we explored everything from the rides, to the animal exhibits (what's up with the "exotic bird" exhibit only consisting of pheasants?), to the 4-H baked goods, arts and crafts buildings. We watched the lumberjack show, some of the pole vaulting competition (yes, there was a pole vaulting competition) and Lisa was brave enough to try her hand at one of the games. Alas, no bright pink monkey was won. We finished our time trying out the funnel cakes, which were covered in powdered sugar (see proof below). It quickly covered our clothing, but it didn't help when I accidentally dumped my plate of powdered sugar on Lisa's leg. Oops.

It was a great day!

Bike Ride Video

I still have not perfected the art of "videoing while riding". This probably means I shouldn't do it because one of these times it will catch me crashing as a result. But then again, that would make for an interesting video...

We had a great day - 16 of us from OC taking a 38 mile ride from Palmer Lake, CO to Fountain, CO. In the video I mentioned mileage, but it's hard to hear me because of wind or how I am holding the camera - it's kind of shaky. The day was beautiful - lots of blue sky - and not too hot. Towards the end there were a couple of spills resulting in bloody elbows, but overall, everyone finished pretty much unscathed. We all decided this needed to be an annual event as we celebrated over burgers and milkshakes at a local 50's diner. One of the riders was so inspired he is now trying to get us to sign up for a half marathon in December. Hmm...not sure about this one, Harold. We'll see how I feel in November :o).

Mourning with AIM

This morning in chapel, we received news that AIM has lost two of their missionaries in a plane crash: Frank Toews and Ryan Williams. News like this is so heartbreaking and yet I am so grateful that these men were committed to Christ and therefore are now with Him. Each was a husband. Each was a father of 4 children. The global missions family is small and I know this sad news is affecting many in Kenya and the rest of the world. One of our missionary families in Kenya was very close to the Williams family and they are grieving the loss of a dear friend. Please hold these families in your prayers.

Snapshots

Here are a couple of shots from last Saturday's run. For those of you on Facebook, these will be repeats :o). I ran with 3 friends: Aaron and Sarah Livingston and Grace Spaulding. Aaron and Sarah had to take off after the run, so they aren't in the pictures, but Grace is! (Yay Grace - thanks for running!) It was a great day with over $12,000 raised to help with the health clinic in Kibali.

Okay, so I really need a better "tough" face. I finished 8th in my age group. Yes, there were more than 8 people in my age group :o). There were 39. Woo hoo!

Negatives but Mostly Positives

Pet Peeves of the Week:

***Use of the word “fodder”

***My work computer deciding to automatically restart without my permission

***People commenting on my appearance

Things I’ve Enjoyed This Week:

***Reminder to “live in the unseen” II Corinth 4:16+ (Thanks for sharing in chapel Rich!)

***Running

***Lightning

***Seeing pictures of my older sister in a sombrero for her birthday celebration

***Eating falafel and hummus

Sharing a Mountain with Kevin Bacon...Running for Rwanda

My blog entries have been few and far between this summer. This isn't because things are bad or slow, it's been quite the opposite. I have had a great summer, kicked off with my sister and brother-in-law's visit in June. Shortly after came OC's annual Pikes Peak climb. OC plans this event in the spring and usually there are between 10 - 30 people who join for the all day climb. I had been able to conquer the mountain in 2005 and 2007, so why not try again in 2009? The unusual factor this year was the weather. Colorado Springs has decided to change climates with the Northwest for this season and we have seen more rain in June than any other June in the last 100 years. This led to snow hanging around the summit much later into the summer than normal. Our leader decided the week of the hike that we would just go to Barr Camp, rather than summit. His friend had hiked the mountain that week and said that for the last mile, the snow came up to his knees and hips in some places and the trail wasn't clearly seen. Our group was still excited to go - even if just to Barr Camp.

Another fun thing was that Kevin Bacon was going to be hiking the mountain that day. He was doing a fundraiser for cancer, along with his brother and band. I kept my eyes peeled for a chance to sneak a peek at the star of one of my favorite 80's movies, Footloose, but alas, there was no sign of Kevin at all that day. Later, I found out that he and his brother took a shorter, but steeper route on the other side of the mountain. So technically I did share the mountain with him that day. One of my teammates who hiked up beyond Barr Camp that day, said that on his way down a man with a video camera came up to him on the trail and asked him to say into the camera, "Bacon is at the top!". My teammate was completely confused and wondered if they were serving free breakfast at the summit, but he complied and said to the camera enthusiastically, "Bacon is at the top!". Later, when he told his wife she said, "That meant Kevin Bacon reached the top." We had a good laugh about that one. I can see why he may have been thinking about food - he and his son went about 11 miles in (22 miles round trip), whereas most of us just went 7 (14 miles round trip). It was a good, long day and we all were pretty tired when we finished. We ended up hiking more in miles than we would have if we had just gone right to the top. :o)

July has been full of work activities, but I have also been getting ready for my next 5K event, which will be tomorrow. Since these events cost money, I have been selective in choosing which ones I want to be a part of. The run tomorrow is called "Run for Rwanda". We will start running at 8:00am and at the exact same time (4:00pm their time), a group in Kibali, Rwanda will be running as well. All proceeds go towards funding a health clinic as well as other development programs for the Kibali community. I am excited about this run and am hoping there is a good turnout in support.

The next "big" event in August will be a 35-40 mile bike ride put together by some of my co-workers. I haven't been training too much for this one - the weather has been a bit rainy for biking. But I did get in a 25 mile bike ride last weekend, so I am not too nervous (yet I am laughing nervously to myself as I type this, so maybe I am nervous about it). It will be fun no matter if I am huffing and puffing my way through it.

I mentioned work...things have been a bit tight for our organization - as with all non-profits - and they've had to make cutbacks. So far I've just had some hours reduced, but we will see. There is a lot of shuffling going on trying to get our operations under budget, so when the dust settles, who knows what it will look like. I am not worried. I know that if they have to let me go that God has something else for me. But as of now I still have a job in a ministry I enjoy, so I am thankful.

I think that's it for this "catch-up" entry. I hope you all are having a good summer! Peace be with you.

Rely on the love God has for you... I John 4:16

Garden of the Gods - Vacation Part 2

I have no idea why I am calling this "Part 2". This was the actually first day of events when Chris and Lisa were here. We never were able to get to the Garden when there was blue sky. We had plenty of overcast and stormy weather that week. Oh well - it is still beautiful - and look ma! No sunburns!

I had so much fun having Chris and Lisa here - I think I've only said that 20 times already. It really was a great week. We had lots of time to just relax, play games, take walks, watch Wipeout (and why do I still have American Chopper episodes taping, Chris?? :o) ), visit some local sites and listen to some good 'ole Colorado thunderstorms.

Chris and Lis - let's make this a tradition! :o)

Moments That Made Me Laugh