Marathons and bombs do not go together!

So I woke up this morning to my dog greeting me. It's such a wonderful thing to wake up to a dog AND a husband! In the past this doesn't usually happen!

As I got ready for the day I realized that the Boston Marathon was on this morning! Jared and I had spent a good deal of time last night talking about Boston as we were thinking of taking one last quick trip before our lives went into overdrive busy. We were looking at the map, picking out things to see, where to stay, things to do...normal touristy planing stuff. Naturally the Boston Marathon came up in conversation as we are training for our first marathon.

It was awe inspiring this morning to watch these athletes run faster than I've ever sprinted for miles and miles and miles! Even though you were looking at the same camera angle for minutes at a time, just watching the people run and jockey for position, thinking through the tactical and psychological parts of the race were thrilling! I was rooting for the American girls and I am really excited for their 4th and 6th place finishes!

Jared and I then went on with our day. We worked out, took care of our dog who's got an upset stomach, etc and then find out that minutes before I looked at my iPad's news, there was a bomb at the same race we were watching just hours ago. I was on the verge of tears watching runners who were running such a great feat either not be able to finish or be injured before they got across the finish line. I thought about my own upcoming marathon. Would the same thing happen at mine? It's always a possibility. Would I go even if that was a possibility? Will people run the Boston Marathon or any other race next year?

And before I go on, I know nothing I say will probably make any difference. I don't expect people to listen to me. There isn't anything I can say that will ease the pain of those who lost loved ones. They are going to have a long road through greif along side those who were injured and have a long road through recovery. The mental and psychological trauma will take time and patience to get through and it will be hard.

Unfortunately, as a society, we are not a stranger to terrorism. Nothing I say will make a difference, change what happened, or help with what road lies before those people involved. But for me and those that are mentally sorting through the unnecessary violence that happens in our culture, this is my response. Terrorism is meant to make us fearful. Fear will make us do life different. That different life will not be the full life God has planned for us. We will constantly live negative, paranoid, looking for someone to blame as we life in our unforgiveness and fear.

As the victim of a violent crime, I've had to deal with those thoughts and process through them in my own way. But as I've become a runner, I've learned that runners are the types of people that push through pain. They hear their bodies say, "Stop!" and allow their minds to push the body further. They accomplish feats that inspire us! They defy limits and say, "I can do the impossible." That's why we love sports. That's why comebacks in competitive games are some of the best moments in sports history. What looks impossible becomes possible and gives us hope for the rest of our lives.

So the answer to my questions? Will people run the race next year? My immediate response was yes. Because we are not a people who quit at the point of pain but run through it. We don't disregard it, but we fight through it. We run in remembrance of pain but also in the remembrance of the victory over pain.

God has victory over death and He is the one who will give us the strength to run through the pain.

Everlasting God

One of my favorite songs is "Everlasting God" written by none other than my church back home, Fellowship. It is one of those songs I love to belt out in the car and no matter where I land on the mood spectrum, that song always makes it go up!

I was reminded on many of my runs recently that God is really everlasting. Recall if you will, your history classes. Remember Abraham Lincoln or James Bowie or [insert favorite historical character]. We could even go back further and talk about people in the Bible. Moses, David, Adam, Abraham, Rahab...you name it! I know surely I am speaking for myself (wink, wink), but I tend to almost raise these people to an elevated platform. I remember only the good things these people have done so I think of them as these heroes that  did amazing things.

Let's take George Washington for example.


This is what Wikipedia has to say:

1st President of the United States
In office April 30, 1789[nb] – March 4, 1797
Vice President	John Adams
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	John Adams
Senior Officer of the Army
In office July 13, 1798 – December 14, 1799
Appointed by	John Adams
Preceded by	James Wilkinson
Succeeded by	Alexander Hamilton
Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army
In office June 15, 1775 – December 23, 1783
Appointed by	Continental Congress
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Henry Knox (Senior Officer of the Army)
Delegate to the Second Continental Congress from Virginia
In office May 10, 1775 – June 15, 1775
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Thomas Jefferson
Delegate to the First Continental Congress from Virginia
In office September 5, 1774 – October 26, 1774
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Position abolished
Personal details
Born	February 22, 1732 Westmoreland, Virginia, British America
Died	December 14, 1799 (aged 67) Mount Vernon, Virginia, U.S.
Resting place	Washington Family Tomb Mount Vernon, Virginia
Political party	Independent
Spouse(s)	Martha Dandridge Custis
Religion	Deism[1] Episcopal[2]
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Great Britain United States
Service/branch	Virginia provincial militia Continental Army United States Army
Years of service	Militia: 1752–1758 Continental Army: 1775–1783 U.S. Army: 1798–1799
Rank	Lieutenant general General of the Armies (posthumous: 1976)
Commands	Virginia Colony's regiment Continental Army United States Army
Battles/wars	French and Indian War  • Battle of Jumonville Glen  • Battle of Fort Necessity  • Braddock Expedition  • Battle of the Monongahela  • Forbes Expedition American Revolutionary War  • Boston campaign  • New York and New Jersey campaign  • Philadelphia campaign  • Yorktown campaign
Awards	Congressional Gold Medal Thanks of Congress

Talk about a resume! So with all this experience and prestige he had behind him (hello...first President of the United States) I thought that this would have given him the confidence to deal with anything in life. 

However, someone made a new billboard. I run by it now all the time. I have no idea who made it, but I like it. It has a picture of George Washington kneeling in the sand saying, "Lord, I trust in you. Guide my in your ways." The quote is from his journal that he kept the winter he was stationed at Valley Forge.

God was there for George Washington when he needed to ask God for guidance. George Washington had difficulties. He had pit days. He was faced with history altering situations that I am sure caused a great deal of stress. And who did he go to for help? Jesus Christ.

Jesus has been comforting and leading people all through history. He is timeless. He is EVERLASTING. People in history (including your favorite historical figure) have experienced many of the same feelings you are now and God helped them when they asked. 

I have been recently been listening to Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis (talk about MY favorite historical figure). He talks about how when it comes to moral standards, we typically hold everyone else to high standards but relax them when it comes to ourselves because we give ourselves excuses on why we don't apply to the moral standards.  We have an inside scoop on us. We're tired, hungry, busy, have more important things to do, whatever and so we don't have to extend the same courtesies that are expected from everyone else.

This thinking happens in our view of God too. We see God helping people and changing their lives, past or present. But because we know our inward sin and understand the full extent of our depravity we say that God cannot do the same in our lives as He does in others. This is a lie. 

The problem we have with everyone else is that we don't see the behind the scenes. When it comes to dealing with others, we don't see that someone is tired or dealing with stressful situations and so we get mad when they don't say hi or cut us off on the highway. When it comes to historical figures, we don't get the stories of internal struggles in our schools. We hear and get tested just on the results of those inward struggles. When it comes to God working in the lives of those around us, we don't fully understand their deepest darkest secrets and so we say, "God can't help me. I've gone too far in my sin. My life is too much of a mess."

My question is why CAN'T God do the same for you? When we find out that a stranger is dealing with cancer we treat them differently and give grace to them when they snap at us after a chemo treatment. When we find out that George Washington himself bowed a knee to God in his most difficult situations it changes our view of him from an elevated platform to a position that looks much more like our own. When someone opens up and shares about the full extent of their past, it allows us to understand they aren't much different then ourselves and there might be a chance that God can use and change us too.

The truth is, God can do anything. God is everlasting. The almighty. He was the beginning and He will be the end. God used the broken and "too far gone" people all throughout history. I found this pin on Pinterest and I wanted to share:

Talk about the unlikely being used by God! However, God wants to use you BECAUSE you have your problems. He wants to take them and transform them in a way only God can. God wants to show the world Himself through your deepest fears, insecurities and failures. Don't discount them. Give them to God. Then, watch what amazing stuff He does next!

God's Love

So last night Jared and I had the privilege of attending the Redeemed Gala at the Bayou Music Center! It was amazing and full of tons of people!

One of my favorite parts was definitely the entertainment. An acappela group called Homefree performed. It was AMAZING. I love the show, "The Sing Off" so I was in acappela heaven watching these guys live! You can check them out at the link below!

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=Wfm2eCN6Aug&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DWfm2eCN6Aug

One song they performed was Josh Turner's "Your Man." One part of the lyrics stuck with me all the way to today. They say:

"I can't believe how much it turns me on
Just to be your man."

I thought this was a weird thing to say at the time.

As Jared and I were in the car most of the day moving stuff for our Garage Sale at church (Advertisement: Raising money for Kids Camp! April 20th!) I had much time to ponder these couple of lines. I don't know what Mr. Turner was thinking when he wrote this song but I thought about it through my situation (a marriage between a man and a women who made a commitment to each other for life, just FYI). As I thought about it that way, I thought about Jared. Out of all the women in the world he chose me! As I thought about that I thought about one of my favorite characters in the Bible, Esther. She, out of all the girls the king could have chosen, was chosen by him. I always thought she would have been scared, yes. But when I think about Jared choosing me, there is this feeling inside of me that I don't know how to describe. The best I can do is say that I feel loved. I feel cherished. I feel special. There's this flutter in my heart, I almost feel weightless and all I want to do is kiss Jared. I imagine Ester may have experienced some of these things even if the marriage was "arranged." After all, she helped save the king when people were plotting to kill Him! But Jared choosing me causes me to love him and want to express it to the world!

Let's take it a bit further. In the Bible is says is 1 Peter 2:4-5, "As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." God chose us because He loves us! Just like my feelings toward Jared, knowing that God chose me and loves me makes me feel that inexplicable feeling again and all I want to do is show the world that I love him the more and more I realize the extent of his love. And this feeling is actually different than the one I have for Jared. When it's God I'm loving, this feeling is greater and deeper and more powerful because God is greater and deeper and more powerful than Jared (sorry babe but you know it's true).

So my hope for everyone else that I meet is that I hope they also realize the depth and the breath of God's love for them. It's one thing to ask him to be your savior; it's another to accept his love and let it infiltrate your life.

The best way I can finish this up is to quote another song that I absolutely love. I don't know the author, but it's called, "The More I Seek You." Think of is as brain candy for your next run!

The more I seek you
The more I find you
The more I find you
The more I love you

I wanna sit at your feet
Drink from the cup in your hands
Lay back against you and breathe
Feel your heart beat
This love is so deep
It's more than I can stand
I melt in your peace
It's overwhelming

The Point of Christmas

I've been so excited for this Christmas and came across this passage that made me giggle on the inside. So naturally, I need to share it with the world! :)

Merry Christmas!

Ressurection

Today’s message is about restoration.

The Lord has been telling Israel about their sins, about all the destruction that was coming to them. He told them that they would be taunted and dragged away from their land by foreign nations. It’s gotten to the point where the Lord even says it will be so bad, parents will eat their children because they will be so hungry!

But the Lord takes a turn in Ezekiel 36. He starts foretelling the restoration of the people of Israel. He says, “I am furious that you have suffered shame before the surrounding nations.” Why is He furious? It’s because “I was concerned for my hold name, on which my people brought shame among the nations.” The Israelites had done evil, gone away from the ways of the Lord. They were no longer glorifying His name. What we have to realize here is that the Lord does not want people to glorify His name just because He has an ego. He want’s people to glorify His name because He made all things and knows the best way to live on the Earth. The Law Moses wrote had instructions on how to deal with disease and keep the nation clean long before the people ever knew about germs. If we do what He says in the Bible, we are living the way we should and pointing other people to the best way to live, which is by the glory of God.

The flip side of it, is He loves us! He is sad that His people have gone astray. You remember the whole “I hope they repent” part that I wrote about two days ago? God did not want His people to suffer, but they had to be punished for their actions. God is perfect and cannot be in connection to His people without their judgement being paid.

Here’s my favorite part:

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. Your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”

He is already telling the people of His plans for Jesus! Jesus provided the ultimate sacrifice that was finally enough for our sins and we are washed clean (symbolized by baptism) and we are given the Holy Spirit to guide us in our day to day lives.

But we have to be the first to initiate:

“I am ready to hear Israel’s prayers and to increase their numbers like a flock. They will be as numerous as the sacred flocks that fill Jerusalem’s streets at the time of her festivals. The ruined cities will be crowded with people once more, and everyone will know that I am the Lord.”

He is ready to take the dead and destroyed and revive it. But He has to hear their prayers first! Same thing goes for you and me. Have you prayed for God to restore what’s dead and destroyed in your life? Pray to Him and He will make it known that He is the Lord!