A Note to My Father

Wow, Lord, this has been a doozy of a week so far, and it's only Wednesday morning. I have started a number of second sentences to this note to You, but the words of our language keep falling short of expressing what I want to say. So, I'll start with what I know. I know you are perfect. I know you are strong and majestic and full of mercy and grace. I know you love - you are love. There is no end to your care and love for us. Thank you. Thank you for knowing us. Thank you for drawing us near, even when we arch our backs & pull away like a toddler trying to get away from the protective arms of a parent or when we hide away and pretend that we are alone. I praise you today for your goodness, for your grace, for your patience. I praise you. All that I know to be true.

My heart literally hurts today, Lord. With each beat there is an accompanying ache. I notice my breathing today, almost like I need to remind myself to take in the vital air. As I do, I breathe in your Spirit. I fill my chest and my heart and my soul with your Spirit, whose very job description is to guide and bring peace. That is what I so need today. I need guidance. I need peace. Where should my steps take me? Show me. Move my feet for me. How should my hands minister? Guide me. Allow me to touch, to call, to love with you as my puppet master, reaching out as you see best. How should I implore to you? Use the Spirit to hear the cries of my heart and those of my dear friends who are hurting so profoundly today. Fill in the words that do not come.

There is a lot of confusion around us right now; there is so much we don't know. Once again, as I get caught up in just thinking about those questions, I have to remind myself to breathe. To breathe in your Spirit and your peace. You are the constant. You are the one that will never change. When all else is chaos, you are the peace. So I rest in your peace today and I hand over my pain. Through loss, heartache, and pain, your strength will be made evident. Be glorified, Lord. We love you and want to honor you today with our heartache.

Your humble daughter

You Want To Put That Where Exactly?

Just in time for my health post, I went in for some of those necessary physical check-ins. It is national breast cancer awareness month, so with my doctor's orders I had my first...[ahem]...mammogram. I do not see myself as being old enough to have mammograms, but hey, better that than the alternative. Girlfriends, it wasn't something I would choose to do for weekend fun, but it is definitely tolerable. I just had no idea that things could be...maneuvered in such ways.

Good news - my mammogram, thyroid, and blood sugar tests were all good - the latter two being areas for which I am at high risk for problems. My one problem are? Cholesterol. Ugh. Looks like I have one more good reason to get those tennis shoes laced up.

And One, Two, Three!

I have several friends right now who are trying to take better control of their bodies through diets. There are some pretty creative ideas out there on how to lose weight. How about the Alternate Day Diet, where you basically alternate between starving and indulging. Just thinking about the Cabbage Soup Diet makes me nauseated. There's all those single food diets, where you pack your gills with one food, like watermelon or grapefruit. There's a million choices: Adkins, Weight Watchers, low-carb, low-calorie, pills, powders...it is a dizzying array.

Here comes confession time. I have gained 20 pounds in the last few months. *cheeks blushing, head shaking side to side* Excuses aside, my health needs to be kicked in gear once again. Here's some interesting things I found on Psychology Today:

The government has long espoused moderate daily exercise—of the evening-walk or take-the-stairs variety—but that may not do much to budge the needle on the scale. A 150-pound person burns only 150 calories on a half-hour walk, the equivalent of two apples. It's good for the heart, less so for the gut.

I don't like where this is headed.

"Radical changes are necessary," says Deirdre Barrett, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School and author of Waistland. "People don't lose weight by choosing the small fries or taking a little walk every other day." Barrett suggests taking a cue from the members of the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), a group of more than 5,000 successful weight-losers who have shed an average of 66 pounds and kept it off 5.5 years. They had one thing in common: vigorous exercise for at least an hour most days of the week. She estimates they burn an extra 2,800 calories a week.

Did you catch that? Vigorous exercise for at least an hour most days of the week. I didn't think this was going in the direction I was hoping, which involved more Heroes watching and blog writing. Well, alrighty then. I want to be motivated. I want to be healthy. I want that for my friends as well. So let's get to it, shall we?

Fall Family

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Testimony

If someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.
I Peter 3:15

Our Wednesday evening gathering at PUMP is focused on exercises designed to help us better "discover our faith", while letting I Peter 3 equip us for sharing our faith more effectively. I'm glad we are having a dialogue about this subject, because it surely does not come naturally to most of us; we often don't know the words for our story. But all Christians have a story about receiving the treasured gift of hope; we all have an amazing story of redemption to share. We all have a before and after.

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Check Here

The Presidential election is less than one month away. It has been quite a race. There are two good, qualified men ready to lead our country. Anticipation and passion runs high as debates air, political maps are drawn, and sides are chosen. So I now take this opportunity to publicly declare my position. I whole-heartedly, proudly, and without hesitation declare my political party as [drum roll]...UNDECIDED. For some friends and family out there, the fact that I don't see one or the other candidate as Satan himself will be a travesty in their own eyes. At this point I just don't see either choice will be such a terrible one.

I came across a site that has been really informative for me. It's worth your perusal. The Matthew 25 Network has as its mission to support candidates who share the Gospel mandate to put faith into action, to care for our neighbors, especially the most vulnerable.

Since I don't advocate for one particular candidate at this point, though, here's another site that offers a nice interview with the other candidate. This interview narrows in on a conversation about faith and Christianity.

Blog Freakiness

If any of you happened to stumble across my blog on Friday, you would have seen the aliens that took over my beloved landscape of words. Apparently whomever held the keys to my lovely "Japanese Fleur" template images got caught up in the stock market frenzy and forgot to pay the bills. Allan was not available to save the day, so horror of horrors!, I had to attempt salvation myself. Voila'! Okay, not quite "Voila!", but I did manage to get something started. If I mess it up enough, Allan will be concerned to the point that he will just have to intervene. At least that's my sinister plot. In the meantime, just ignore it if you see things appear and disappear while I try to figure this thing out myself.

Hmmm...I wonder what will happen if I do this? Oops.

Update: It's been three days and his concern has not spurred him to action yet! He had to work almost all weekend, but that's not a good excuse, is it? Oh, my sad, sad blog.

Hello, my name is blog.

A new friend of mine was talking to an old friend of mine about me recently. My old friend was liberal with his generosity as he described his perception of who I am and the friendship we shared (he has selective memory issues). The most interesting point he made, though? He stated that he has gotten to know me best through...you ready for this?...my blog. This weekend when my father-in-law was discussing our blogs with Allan and I, he pointed out how he is often surprised at the level of personal revelation I make. And, just this evening, another friend revealed that his wife is "lurker" of this site, enjoying the opportunity to get to know more about my life.

I find those comments interesting. Is it okay that someone feels like the best way to know me is through their computer? There are many discussions online about this topic. I'm curious what you think. Can you get to know someone through a blog or do you have to have face to face interactions for it to be an authentic relationship? Do you find it easier or more difficult to express yourself in this format? What about it is so appealing to some - the perceived anonymity? the opportunity for a stage without interruption? the ability to make a false front?

Talk amongst yourselves.

Give Money Away!

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