First Impressions

It may be accented by the fact that it's a Sunday but the pace in Ecuador today was nice and slow.  Several times Jamie caught me wanting to move faster than we needed to, or even wanted to.  I found it difficult to relax sitting on a bench or stopping to watch children play and interact.  The speed of life is slow...and I like that. It's good to remind ourselves that we can slow down; we don't have to rush to the next thing.

Jamie and I are here to get to know the culture, learn the language, and follow Jesus.  We’ll see what that looks like the longer we’re here, but for now, we are wait. Psalm 33:20-22:

           

            We wait in hope for the LORD;

            he is our help and our shield.

            In him our hears rejoice,

for we trust in his holy name.

           

            May your unfailing love be with us, LORD,

            even as we put our hope in you.

Nomads

I suppose the journey always continues, and such is the case for Jamie and I as we let the world know that we are moving away.

We have mixed emotions about this kind of move.  On one hand, we are VERY excited about what the Lord will do through us, but on the other hand, we are saddened by the loss we have felt and will continue to feel when leaving the ones we love.

It reminds me of the call of Abram in Genesis 12.  He left his homeland, his job, his friends - everything - to follow G-D's call.  I feel that maybe G-D has laid this upon us for a season.  Jamie and I are nomads - sojourners on this earth.  The beauty and difficulty of this kind of life is that we have homes in many places, and we have homes in none.  We are caught in this desire to follow Jesus no matter where He leads, but we struggle (or I should say that I struggle) with wanting to "settle down."  It's not a life I would necessarily choose - going from one place to another, moving from one house to another - but G-D has called us forward.  He is moving us beyond our comforts, beyond our expectations, beyond our ability to see, and He asks us to trust Him.

Buckle up blog readers.  The journey continues...in Ecuador!

White Rock Marathon

We did it!  Jamie completed 13.1 miles and I 26.2, and we are both exhausted!  The rewards, however, far outweigh the pain and rain we suffered through to achieve our goal of finishing our respective races.  So sit down, relax, and let me take you through our Sunday race....

The weather was cold and wet, with highs in the mid-40s and lows in the high 30s.  Jamie, Justin (our brother-in-law), and I woke up at 5:15am, put on all of our clothing - including rain gear strategically purchased at Goodwill, and were out the door and at the park by 7:15am.  We dropped off our stuff at the World Vision tent (more on that later), and headed for the starting line.

We joined 25,000 other runners at the beginning of the race and before we knew it the race had started!  Justin and I ran our first mile in approximately 11 mins (2 mins off of our target pace), and so we spent the next 12 miles or so getting back on pace.  This was somewhat easy to accomplish because both of us had plenty of adrenaline and desire to pass fellow runners.  We ran into family members at 1.5 and 8.5 miles who spurred us on to conquer the 26.2 mile jaunt through Dallas.

I must say that the first 11 miles were an absolute BLAST!  Justin and I danced around puddles and people as we plunged through the course.  We weaved between cars and dodged obstacles as we meandered from water stop to water stop.  We laughed, told jokes, gave high-fives to spectators and made sure that everyone new we were going to dominate this race with style and humor.

It was at mile 8.5 that we took off some of our rain gear, which proved to be a terrible mistake come mile 17 or so as we ran around the lake.  Though we finished the 13.1 miles in 2:05 - only five minutes behind our target pace, mile 17 became our undoing as the wind tore at our already cold, damp bodies causing cramps - first for Justin, then for me.  All rhythm was lost, and we never really regained it.  The Dolly Parton Hills came up from miles 20-23, and they were absolutely grueling.  Picture yourself standing at the base of Mt. Everest knowing you have to hike up every single step of the way to get to the top in that freezing snow and no oxygen.  OK, so it wasn't that bad, but it was close.  I wish I could say we coasted to the finish line after this, but nothing could be farther from the truth.  Every step for me was an act of discipline - placing one foot in front of the other, pumping my arms, telling my back to quit slouching.  At 25.9 miles, Jamie, Jana (her sister and Justin's wife), and Randy (my other Dad) met us and ran with us for a tenth of a mile or so as we neared the finish.

This act meant so much to me.  I was ready to walk the rest of the way, but when I saw Jamie cheering me on and then joining me...I could not have asked for anything more.  Justin and I said goodbye to our brides and dad, continued the rest of the race, and crossed that finish line at 4:43.05.  Yes, we were off of my goal of under four hours, but we finished!

We finished.  We got our medals and t-shirts, our hot coffee and pancakes, our sore muscles and fatigued minds, and headed to the car, hot showers, and some Pei Wei dinner.

All being said, it was a full day, and it was worth every moment!

Worry

It's a word that can be preached on all day long, and people would still go home unsettled.  We worry about everything - food, clothing, stock market, sports' teams, deadlines, quotas, and family members.


As a minister, I get bombarded with different kinds of worries: is so-and-so still coming?  Who will teach?  Or preach? Or lead worship?  How many were in class?  How much money was collected?  The worry engine never quits.


Our adult class has been going through the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 on Sunday mornings, and the pinnacle of the sermon centers on three self-giving disciplines that alleviate worry: giving to the needy, prayer, and fasting.  When one practices these three things, worrying seems to be placed on the back-burner because the focus shifts from oneself to others and to G-D.


So, to us worry-warts out there (yes, I am one of you), let's practice giving, praying, and fasting, and then step back and let G-D worry about the rest.  After all, each day has enough trouble of it's own; why add our worries to the list?

No TV

Since it's been nearly a year (ok, 361 days), I thought it would be appropriate to blog...something. And so, I am.

My wife and I have been married for 5 years, 1 month and 7 days - not that anyone else is counting - and in that span we have had cable for approx 6 months (and it was free). Now, understand that we enjoy many things on television - Food Network, DIY Network, HGTV, and of course the finals in any major sporting event (with the exception of ice hockey and croquet). We know, too, that television offers wonderful information on traveling, history, science, art, and news, and all of these things ALMOST make it worth it to fit the bill for some dish network. Almost, but not quite.

You see, we aren't bombarded with 1000s of commercials every single day. We aren't tempted to watch the next show after the one we wanted to see is over. We have time to watch shows that we really like, over and over and over again.  (Can you really get enough of "I Love Lucy" or the "Cosby Show"?)  The TV is not the focal point of our living room. Or bedroom. Or Kitchen. We can play games like Scrabble or Battleship - both of which my wife KILLS me - and not worry about when to catch the latest game.

And for nights like tonight when Monday Night Football looms and I still have to run 14 miles, we can go up to Anytime Fitness and for 2 hours and 2o minutes, I can watch the game from the treadmill.

So you see, it's not that we don't watch television - we do. It's that we control our intake of it and don't let it control us. Are we better than others who have TV? Not at all! There are moments when we are downright jealous of you! But for us, going without it has worked. We like not having it around.

And I hope it stays this way for the next 5 years, 1 month and 7 days.

Mark 5:24b-29

Last Sunday in Bible class the subject of our physical posture in prayer was brought up. Everyone agreed that we can talk to G-D at any time, but many were slightly uncomfortable with the idea of kneeling.

Which is cause for concern.

Notice the posture of the three people Jesus encounters in Mark 5 - the demoniac, the synagogue ruler, and the bleeding woman. Every one of them falls at Jesus' feet. Now, this was not some proper, take a knee kind of thing; this was desperation. Demons needed exercising, a dad needed resurrection, and a woman needed healing.

Darkness reigned in their lives - hope almost depleted. And they fall at the feet of Jesus.

As we pray, let's practice this kind of posture. This kind of desperation. This kind of hope!

Diversity Sunday

George Pendergrass brings with him several ACU students from all over the world to be with us at Early Church of Christ this week. I'm excited to hear the Bible read in French and a prayer said in Chinese. I'm excited to see so many different cultures and ethnicities converging on our small hamlet and expanding our sight to different parts of this earth.

It's a shame that we so many times remain content to stay in our churches with the same views, the same messages, the same color, the same socio-economic status. Life in the early church (not the Early Church) was a collection of peoples from all over the world who in many ways had only two things in common: they were human and they knew Jesus.

I hope this next Sunday opens our eyes to what G-D is doing in the world; I hope G-D shares a glimpse of His goodness that He gives to ALL humanity. I dream of a day when we will all be ONE in Jesus - a day in which differences (black/white, female/male, rich/poor, free/slave) are appreciated and not condemned, cherished and not diminished. That day arrives as we witness G-D's incredible creation displayed in so many unique ways.