Week 2 Day 1

Here we are at Week 2 Day 1 of training for a 5k. The routine this week has added 30 seconds more running and 30 seconds more walking per cycle. This means that after a brisk 5 minute warm-up walk, I am jogging for 90 seconds followed by 2 minutes of walking. I repeat the jog/walk cycle 6 times in 21 minutes. Then I cool down for 4 minutes. I enjoy the challenge and structure the training offers. Looking forward to the other two days this week to workout - Thursday and Saturday. My left hip hurts a little bit, but I am sure it will get better with time. Thank goodness for the day or two of rest between workouts. The shoes my sister-in-law helped me pick out are comfortable. I feel that they offer me good support around the ankles. Tonight I also had the nerve to have David take my picture to post. Periodically I hope to post photos. For those of you on this journey as well, thank you for inspiring me!! I will post the photo as soon as I get it from David.

Week 1 Day 3

Just got back from a work out on the journey toward running a 5k. I feel great!! Listened to podcasts as well on the topics of goodness and faithfulness - two fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23. Hoping to remain faithful on this journey. It is a real test of commitment, though I look forward to the work outs. Maybe it's because I go at night and in the afternoon. Mornings may have been one of my hurdles.

The journey to 5k continues...

Day After Week 1 Day 2

I am not as sore as I expected that I would be today. I have kept moving doing laundry and trying to tidy up a bit. I feel like my life is getting more into balance. Perhaps taking up running is helping me to get centered - centered physically and centered spiritually - important ways to be centered that affect the other aspects of one's life. Now it's time to take my incredible husband out for dinner because he is so amazing. I am thankful to God for bringing him into my life.

Journey Toward 5k

Again, it's been a while since I have blogged. I keep reading lots of amazing blogs from family and friends. I am watching cousins and children of friends grow up through photos and blogging. It's time for me to share about a new journey on which I am embarking...a journey of preparing to run a 5k sometime in 2011!!!

In May 2006, I was the heaviest I have ever been in my life and was not exactly feeling good about myself. I was enjoying the life of eating out and overeating carbs when I got stressed out over papers and tests. I was in my second semester of seminary and had been dating David (now my husband) for six months. As I look back, I met the man of my dreams when I was at my heaviest and he was still attracted to me. I had always told myself that no one could possibly love me until I weighed the ideal weight for my height.

On May 5, 2006, I joined Weight Watchers and weighed in for the first time. David had been on the Weight Watchers Program before and said he would join again if I wanted to join. While I was not happy with my weight, I knew that this was the beginning of a journey toward better health. Over the next fifteen months, I lost almost 40 pounds on WW. It was not always easy, but I had some great women who got up with me at 5:30 am three mornings a week and we walked briskly around the sidewalk track on the campus of Saint Paul School of Theology. I had another friend who walked with me a couple other days in the week. I felt a sense of freedom as the pounds came off. I felt better about myself.

I kept loosing some after I got married, but I let the stress of my last year of seminary get to me and I cared less and less about staying on WW Program. By the time I moved back to Alaska I had gained back all but 17 pounds. Over the next two years I lost 10 pounds and then gained it back and then a little bit more. I was not liking how my clothes were fitting me. I was no longer feeling good or the freedom I enjoyed.

Finally at the end of August 2010, I was ready to get back on Weight Watchers online and really loose some weight. I would like to get pregnant at some point in the near future and could not imagine being any heavier. Fortunately David was ready to be in WW program again too. It really makes a difference to have your partner on a similar journey. I went to the local diabetes prevention department at the hospital and joined their "Step-by-Step" program. I bit the bullet and weighed in. They agreed to weigh David and me each week, because that accountability is what helped us to be successful in the past. I have lost about 17 pounds over the last four months. I have been feeling the same sense of freedom that I have felt in the past when I have lost weight. I am enjoying this journey despite the holiday yo-yo.

At Thanksgiving, I found out that my sister-in-law will be running the Boston Marathon in 2011. I want to be there for her as she finishes. Before I found out about her challenge, I had been thinking that one of my short-term goals is to do the running leg in our local triathlon. To accomplish that goal, my even shorter term goal is to run a 5k. I just began this week training using the couch-to-5k program as outlined online. I got inspired the other night when I looked online for touristy things to do in Boston, should I actually go to watch my sister-in-law finish the Boston Marathon. I noticed that one of the touristy options was to do a tour while running a 5k. I thought, "What an amazing way to see a city I have not been to in 19 years!!" So here I am training. I have since found out that there will be a 5k in Nome at the end of August this year. There are many reasons to train for this 5k. The greatest for me is the sense of accomplishment and to continue my journey to better health. I have been overweight most of my life and really want to be a much healthier weight.

This first week, I have been running on a treadmill at the local recreation center in the evenings. Did Day 1 on Tuesday and Day 2 tonight. Day 3 is Saturday. Five minute brisk walking warm up followed by 20 minutes of jogging 60 seconds & walking 90 seconds. I cool down for another 5 minutes. It feels good so far. As I have been doing my workouts, I have been listening to sermon podcasts. Both my body and my spirit are getting challenged!! Worship & exercise together!! What an awesome combo! God is there on the journey too!

Join me on this journey...

Early in the Morning

Early in the Morning

Early in the Morning

Early in the Morning

Early in the Morning at the break of day the stone was rolled away

The above words are from a song I learned my Senior Year in the high school when I was a member of the Youth Choir at Stevensville United Methodist Church in Stevensville, Michigan. This song was swimming in my head as I was preparing to preach at the ecumenical Easter Sunrise Service in Nome, Alaska.

I preached on the Resurrection of Jesus according to the Gospel of John - John 20:1-18. I want to share with you what I shared with those present at the Easter Sunrise Service in Nome, Alaska on April 4, 2010 at 7:30 am.

When I was in high school I was in the Youth Choir at Stevensville United Methodist Church in Stevensville, Michigan. Each year we would practice and perform musicals. Two of those years, we performed musicals that took us through the whole liturgical year – Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost and into Ordinary time. While I did not have much confidence at all in my voice back then, I wanted to be part of the Youth Choir because it was a way for my sisters and I to get involved when we first moved to Stevensville. Also, we heard that the Youth Choir went on Choir Tours to places like Chicago!! Exciting!

The words to the songs I learned 15 plus years ago still stick with me. It’s amazing the lasting impact that something from your youth has on you later in life. Even others who were in the Youth Choir when I was, remember that song. “Early in the Morning” was one of those songs that has stuck with me and reminds me of the hope we have because Christ overcame death.

Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb where Jesus was laid after his death. It was a tomb given for him by Joseph of Arimathea. Mary saw that the stone had been rolled away. So she ran to the disciples to tell them. Simon Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved (tradition tells us John) raced each other to the grave like two silly children who could barely contain themselves with curiosity. The beloved disciple gets there first, but Peter is the first one to enter the tomb. They see that Jesus’ body was gone. Then they run back to where the others were gathered. Mary Magdalene remains at the tomb weeping. She looked inside the tomb and saw two angels – one at where Jesus’ head would have been and one where Jesus’ feet would have been. They ask her why she is weeping and she tells them that “they” have taken my Lord away and she does not know where they have laid him. She then turns around and sees a man whom she presumes to be a gardener. The “gardener” asks her the same thing the angels asked her. Her reply is much the same, though because she thinks he is the gardener, she asks him where he has laid him if he took him away.

Then Jesus says her name, “Mary.” She turns to him and says, “Rabbouni! Teacher!” He instructs her not to hold on to him, but to go and tell the disciples that He is ascending to the Father, to God. Mary went right away and told the other disciples, “I have seen the Lord.”

Early in the morning at the break of day the stone was rolled away. Here we are early in the morning on Easter Sunday gathered to encounter the Risen Christ with other Christians from around the community. We encounter the Risen Christ through music. We encounter the Risen Christ through prayer. We encounter the Risen Christ through scripture. We encounter the Risen Christ through the presence of others. We encounter the Risen Christ in a variety of ways. Like Mary Magdalene did that first Easter Morning we come to this place, expecting one thing and perhaps finding another. Perhaps it is a tradition for us to wake up early and come to this service every year. Celebrating Easter for us becomes a tradition - a body memory as we celebrate this miracle each and every year. Some of us only attend Church on Easter assuming that encountering Christ in the midst of community once a year is all we need for our spiritual well-being. Not so much.

Early that first Easter morning, Mary encountered the Risen Christ. She did not recognize him as such because she was so overcome with grief that she thought he was the gardener. Her eyes opened when Jesus called her by name. As the Great Shepherd, Jesus knows each of us by name and claims each of us as children of God. By calling us by name Jesus seeks to have a relationship with each of us and draw us close to God. Even when we turn away from this invitation again and again, Jesus reaches out to us revealing himself and revealing God. Jesus never give up on us.

Early that first Easter morning, Jesus had a mission for Mary to share the good news of his resurrection and his ascension that would take place soon. After Mary has seen Jesus, she goes and tells the disciple that she had seen the Risen Lord and delivered the message that Jesus was going to be ascended to the Father. Though John 20 does not say this, we could imagine that Mary Magdalene would have run joyously and as fast as she could with the message that she had seen the Lord. Jesus sent her on a mission and she took it seriously. She was excited that she had seen the Lord and wanted to tell others.

The other day I got my hair cut several inches and was so excited about it that I not only wanted to share it with my husband, David, but I wanted to share it with the world. So, I took a photo of myself and posted it on Facebook right away. As soon as I posted the photo of my new hairdo, I got lots of positive comments from my friends. Even the woman who cut my hair responded that I was fast in my posting. I replied that I when I am excited about something I cannot wait to share it with the world!!

What would it be like if we were as excited about the resurrection of Jesus as we are about the superficial transformations in our lives? What would it be like if we were as excited about something eternal as we are about those things that are temporal? Those of us with Facebook pages could share the Good News of the Resurrection of Jesus on our status reports. When we encounter someone on the street, we may get weird looks, but we could say, “Christ is Risen!” Maybe they would respond by saying, “Christ is Risen Indeed!” We could make someone's day with such a statement!

While writing and saying the words “Christ is Risen” to others is one way to shared the Good News, living our lives in such a way that expresses that message is also powerful. In the midst of adversity, we can choose to put our whole faith and trust in God that God would sustain us and see us through the difficult time. Even through our hard times, we can be a witness for God.

I, and others in the Youth Choir at Stevensville United Methodist Church, encountered the Risen Christ through the learning of songs and performing them for others. These songs continue to stick with us years later as something in our world reminds us of the songs we learned. Not only were we sharing the Good News with people in our congregation and people in churches and nursing homes across Chicago, but God was impressing upon us the Good News so that we could truly experience it for ourselves. Throughout our lives those songs have stuck with those of us who were called to be in the Youth Choir at Stevensville UMC over the years. What a blessing to be able to embody these words and encounter the Risen Christ, not just one time a year, but throughout our whole lives. Encountering the Risen Christ is a journey - a lifelong and worthwhile journey.

Thanks be to God, Amen.

* The empty grave photo is borrowed from the following website and was found through Google Images: suemartist.com.

The Journey of Lent

My last sugary dessert before giving them

up for Lent. This is a Dole Whip from

the Dole Plantation in Hawaii.

David and I actually shared this!

David and I after officiating our first wedding

together. This was my first wedding to officiate.

Well, here it is again. We find ourselves in the Church Season called Lent. Some of us give up things for Lent while others add something meaningful to their lives. The intention is that either way, giving up or adding, will allow each individual to grow closer to God. This Lent, I am giving up sugary desserts. This means that when I am stressed and want to eat every piece of candy or cookie in sight, I will reach for a piece of fruit and think again about why I am reaching to fulfill that hunger that can only really be satiated with time spent with God. I often wish that I did not stress out about certain things, but I do see this as an opportunity to get closer to God and God's purposes for me. God called me here in this time and this place, so God will equip me with all that I need to serve God's people where I am now. Why sweat the small stuff when God has already gone before and worked them out? Why is that so easy to forget? Why is that so hard to live into?

Recently, my husband and I officiated our first wedding together. Not only was this our first wedding to officiate together, but it was the first wedding I ever officiated. The coolest part for me was that my first wedding was on a beach...in Hawaii!!! How many people can say that? Life's journey certainly takes unexpected turns at times! It was a beautiful day with a beautiful couple and beautiful guests. What was amazing to me was the imagery the bride and groom selected in the first part of the service - hands. When the bride's sister gave her to be married to the groom, the sister took the bride's hand and placed it in the groom's hand. Hand in hand this couple will journey through the rest of their lives together. Not only that, but God will be holding them in God's hands. When things get tough, God will offer an outstretched hand, perhaps in the form of a hand of one of the guests at the wedding or one of the many loved ones who absolutely love this couple. Accepting an outstretched hand does not mean giving up, but is an act of faith to journey through the most difficult times and become stronger and closer to God and each other as a result.

Where are the outstretched hands during this season of Lent? Where did Jesus find an outstretched hand when he was tempted by the Devil in Luke 4:1-13? The outstretched hand was consistently scripture. However, by the third time the Devil tried to tempt Jesus, the Devil recited some scripture. Jesus saw through the Devil's misuse of the scripture and still did not give into the Devil's temptation. Even when we are tempted by something that at first seems good and righteous, we must be careful that we do not get carried away. Fortunately for us, when Jesus was tested and/or tempted, he remained strong and did not give in.

This Lenten season, as I look to what God is trying to say to me, my hope is to deepen my understanding of scripture - to really live into them as a servant of God and disciple of Jesus. Sugary desserts, though very delicious and enticing, do cause some of us to gain weight that affects our health in some negative ways. Also, I have come to depend on these sugary delights when I have become overly stressed. I am depending or relying on these desserts to give me the comfort that can only really come from God. Instead of reaching for sugary desserts, I should be reaching for God and God's Word more than I have recently. My hope is that during this Lenten season you would grow in your relationship and understanding of God and scripture as well. May God bless you as you journey. Let us journey together with God.

Story Corps

This afternoon I shared a few slices of my life with two women in my community who are serving the community of Nome through the United Methodist Church as well. Story Corps provided this particular opportunity for sharing. Ever since the Story Corps interviewer came to town in October 2008, she has been encouraging me to tell my story. It has taken me six months to figure out a) who is going to be my conversation partner? and b) which of my stories am I going to tell? I chose these two young ladies who are not only my neighbors, but also current young adult missionaries through the UMC. I was once a young adult missionary through the UMC as well, US-2 in fact. As I told my story, I started with experiences from my childhood and then the ladies asked me questions as they came to their minds.

This afternoon as I told my story, I relived memories of moving to and living in the Cote D'Ivoire and my experiences of being the only white girl in my class and learning to speak French by immersion. I also talked about moving to Iowa, then to Vermont, and then to Michigan as a child. In the midst of telling my story, I realized that I consistently found acceptance in each of the churches I attended throughout my life. Even when I did not always feel accepted by my peers at school, I did feel accepted at church.

From an early age, I was singing in the choir, going to Sunday School (or Sabbath School in Cote D'Ivoire), and attending worship regularly. In Vermont, I even took part in the leadership of worship on Children's Sunday. Throughout my life, I have had mentors on my journey who have given me opportunties to be in church and worship leadership. My roles have varied from having a role in a play to reading scripture and from leading prayers to preaching. I thank God for those who have been with me along my journey at various times, ultimately pointing me to where God was leading me. If it were not for my mentors, I would never have worked with Junior Highers, served as a Time for God volunteer in England, served as a US-2 in Alaska, gone to seminary, or become a United Methodist Pastor. One sister in the ministry called me a brave woman on twitter yesterday - I consider her a mentor as well. Many of all ages have inspired me.

As a result of this Story Corps experience today, the questions I am reflecting on are as follows:

"How are we as the Church mentoring young people today and empowering them for leadership within the church?"

"What am I personally doing to empower young people within the church?"

"What else could we be doing to develop our young leaders within the church?"

If we think that our children and youth are our leaders of the future, we are wrong - they are our leaders NOW!

I invite others to reflect with me on these questions. Happy Reflecting!