Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...
Check out my bubby's blog if you want a humorous look into our typical Christmas tree tradition
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Bi-sexuals and church... What would you do?
I know I have been on this Vince Antonucci kick, but you have got to read this post. If you say you have a heart for the lost, read this and think again. Do we just have a heart for those people that are like us, or how far out of our comfort zone are we willing to go. This story is actually really funny. I do fear Ken and I will probably deal with a lot of this type of ministry in France. I know God will give us the grace to love and minister to them, but I have to admit, it is scary to think about.
One time I was standing in the lobby after a Sunday morning church service when a couple I had never seen before walked up. I said, “Hey! Is this your first time here?” They both smiled and she said, “Yes.” He immediately chimed in, “We loved it!” “Yeah,” she added, “We didn’t know church could be like this. It was great.” “We have a question for you,” he said, “but first, I’m John, and this is Michelle.” “Nice to meet you, I’m Vince.” “So anyway,” he continued, “here’s our question. We’re both bi-sexuals, and when we got married, I promised Michelle I wouldn’t sleep with any more women.” “And I promised John I wouldn’t sleep with any more men,” Michelle added, right on cue. “But we still both sleep with people of the same sex,” John continued, “That’s okay, right?” . . . I said, “That’s a really good question. Would you want to get together some time and talk about it?”
They said sure, smiled, shook my hand, and left. As they walked away, I thought, “Why do I have to deal with this? It’s personal. It’s their business, not mine. I don’t want to have to tell them they’re wrong. I don’t want to make them mad. Why do I have to deal with this?” And then I realized, it’s because I’m following Jesus, and God has never really changed much. If Jesus were here, he’d hover around in the lobby a little, and then dive into the dark, chaotic messiness of that bi-sexual couple’s lives and he would bring light, order, and beauty. So, if I’m following Jesus, of course that’s where he’ll lead me. And so the question was: Well, do I want to follow Jesus or not?
Pretty soon I was meeting with that couple, trying to explain that God loved them, and that his primary concern was not to get them to stop sinning, but to experience his love. Once they experienced his love, it should lead them to stop sinning. And then their lives would be marked by light, and order, and beauty, in places now dominated by darkness, chaos, and messiness. Surprisingly, they weren’t mad. They were curious. They wanted to talk more. Eventually they wanted to change. They struggled. They fell back into old sin patterns. They asked for accountability. Michelle requested that my wife and I drive by the “Rainbow Cactus” every Saturday night to make sure her car was not in the parking lot of her favorite gay bar. If it was, she said, please come in and drag her out. The Rainbow Cactus was not a place I was excited for Jesus to lead me into.
In many ways following Jesus during this time and in this couple’s lives led my wife and I into darkness, chaos, and messiness. And we didn’t want to do it. But we did. And we learned that although it seems easier to just hover in the lobby, it’s always better to follow Jesus, even as he dives into the sin of other people’s lives.
We have to jump in the chaos and deal with people’s messiness (because that’s where God is and) because otherwise, we can’t follow Jesus.
One time I was standing in the lobby after a Sunday morning church service when a couple I had never seen before walked up. I said, “Hey! Is this your first time here?” They both smiled and she said, “Yes.” He immediately chimed in, “We loved it!” “Yeah,” she added, “We didn’t know church could be like this. It was great.” “We have a question for you,” he said, “but first, I’m John, and this is Michelle.” “Nice to meet you, I’m Vince.” “So anyway,” he continued, “here’s our question. We’re both bi-sexuals, and when we got married, I promised Michelle I wouldn’t sleep with any more women.” “And I promised John I wouldn’t sleep with any more men,” Michelle added, right on cue. “But we still both sleep with people of the same sex,” John continued, “That’s okay, right?” . . . I said, “That’s a really good question. Would you want to get together some time and talk about it?”
They said sure, smiled, shook my hand, and left. As they walked away, I thought, “Why do I have to deal with this? It’s personal. It’s their business, not mine. I don’t want to have to tell them they’re wrong. I don’t want to make them mad. Why do I have to deal with this?” And then I realized, it’s because I’m following Jesus, and God has never really changed much. If Jesus were here, he’d hover around in the lobby a little, and then dive into the dark, chaotic messiness of that bi-sexual couple’s lives and he would bring light, order, and beauty. So, if I’m following Jesus, of course that’s where he’ll lead me. And so the question was: Well, do I want to follow Jesus or not?
Pretty soon I was meeting with that couple, trying to explain that God loved them, and that his primary concern was not to get them to stop sinning, but to experience his love. Once they experienced his love, it should lead them to stop sinning. And then their lives would be marked by light, and order, and beauty, in places now dominated by darkness, chaos, and messiness. Surprisingly, they weren’t mad. They were curious. They wanted to talk more. Eventually they wanted to change. They struggled. They fell back into old sin patterns. They asked for accountability. Michelle requested that my wife and I drive by the “Rainbow Cactus” every Saturday night to make sure her car was not in the parking lot of her favorite gay bar. If it was, she said, please come in and drag her out. The Rainbow Cactus was not a place I was excited for Jesus to lead me into.
In many ways following Jesus during this time and in this couple’s lives led my wife and I into darkness, chaos, and messiness. And we didn’t want to do it. But we did. And we learned that although it seems easier to just hover in the lobby, it’s always better to follow Jesus, even as he dives into the sin of other people’s lives.
We have to jump in the chaos and deal with people’s messiness (because that’s where God is and) because otherwise, we can’t follow Jesus.
Monday, November 12, 2007
OBX Half-Marathon 2007... I did it!!!...okay... God did it!!!
I completed my first half-marathon and did it in 1 hour and 31 minutes (pictures here). It was such an awesome experience. After spending the last 4 weeks feeling horrible because of a flare up of my arthritis, I was really concerned about this race. The Saturday before this race I ran a 5k (3.1 miles) and my hips hurt, and even my muscles were affected. I felt the worst I had ever felt running, and that was the week before I was to be an invited masters runner at this half-marathon.So, last Sunday I dug into my "natural remedies" and started drinking lots of specific herbal teas, eating organic, eating mostly only raw vegetables, and taking specific supplements that had helped me cure arthritis inflammation before. I wasn't sure there was time for all this to really clean out my system, but I just prayed and did what I could.
I did a few runs in the water last week. One was about an hour and 15 minutes mimicking an 11 mile run, and I was able to do one long run on Wednesday (11 miles) proving to myself that I could actually finish this race.
After getting to the race and hanging out with all these elite athletes, being wined and dined, and housed at a luxury beach house, my heart was not just to finish, but to run a great race. When I crossed the line I actually broke down and cried. It was really interesting how emotional I was. I ended up in 12 place over all the women, but at the 10 mile mark I was in 9th and cruising. After hurting pretty bad for the first 4 miles and after a non-invited runner (girl) came up and passed me something just kicked in and I picked up the pace and passed her and never slowed down.... until the 10th mile and "the bridge". My legs had started tightening up, but even with that I kept telling myself, "it's going to hurt whether you go slow or fast, so keep up the pace"... but at the bridge with 3 miles to go my legs were rocks. My muscles were so hard I continued in much pain gritting out the last 3 miles. 3 girls passed me, but I knew I was laying every ounce of me out there, and I was so happy when I crossed the line. I just conquered one of the biggest physical and mental challenges of my life and I won, and the tears flowed to show it.
It was such an awesome weekend. But not only was I blessed with an awesome race, Ken & I got to know a lot of amazing people and share with them alot about us. I am really going to miss many new friends who really understand my love of running (and now the love of marathoning), yet continuing to live life in a real world. For pictures and my husband's take on the weekend, go to my hubby's blog.
Ken will also want me to tell you that I was the overall Masters Champion and the NC Masters Champion and that I broke the Masters record by about 10 minutes. God was so awesome. Because of those two things I actually won enough money for us to buy Christmas presents this year and a Christmas tree, and all the other fun things that go along with the Christmas season.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Priorities, Trick or Treating, and a Half-Marathon
I can't believe I haven't blogged in over a week. There have been so many great blogs in my head, but not enough time to sit down and blog. I praise God because He is really helping me get my priorities in order: God, husband, kids, church, then friends/blogging/running/TV watching/cleaning house/organizing.... Not: kids, getting and keeping house clean and organized, blogging, church, running, and then God and husband.
I once again look forward to my quiet times early in the morning (something that hasn't happened much in the past 7 years when we started having kids)... which then in turns helps me organize the rest of my day.
We had a lot of fun trick or treating... and I did look up the history of it to see why many Christians are so against it, and I couldn't really see what all the fuss was about. We just treated it as a celebration of "All Saints Day" and celebrated all the saints that have gone before us in serving the Lord with their life. So we took a princess (of course), Spiderman, a train engineer, and Bibleman, door to door to beg for candy in hopes that they would get the kind that we like. (Admit it parents... you eat your kids candy)
Well, there have been a number of other great posts I have forgotten about, but the best one now is that my husband and I are sitting quietly in a really nice beach house at the Outer Banks (OBX) in NC preparing for me to run my first half-marathon. I am an invited masters runner and have had everything paid for, and get lots of special treatment. I say all this not to brag, but to say how humbled I am to get to be a part of all this. Our kids are also not with us, so it's a little bit of a marriage getaway. I have to laugh thinking I have to run 13.1 miles just to have a vacation with my husband, and he just gets to enjoy all the perks without doing a thing.
So if you are up at 7am eastern time, pray for me. I will be running hopefully no longer than an hour and a half (8:30am). The reason I really ask you to pray is because my knee has been hurting alot lately, and my arthritis really went wacko a couple of weeks ago. I have been going organic and taking lots of supplements in hopes to be able to show up and make a decent showing in appreciation of being an invited athlete. I have run very little the past few weeks, and just want to honor Christ with my race because we have gotten to share with most of the people we have been hanging out with (all the elite athletes and a few others) what God has called us to do, so they know we are Believers. I want them to see Christ in us in conversations, but also in just knowing that God wants His people to succeed and are blessed when they follow Him.
Well, I guess I better get to bed, I have to be up at 5am. The race is at 7am. I don't know why they feel they must start these races before the sun comes up. I mean we are already proving how maniac we are by running 13.1 miles, or (for those running the marathon) 26.2.
I once again look forward to my quiet times early in the morning (something that hasn't happened much in the past 7 years when we started having kids)... which then in turns helps me organize the rest of my day.
We had a lot of fun trick or treating... and I did look up the history of it to see why many Christians are so against it, and I couldn't really see what all the fuss was about. We just treated it as a celebration of "All Saints Day" and celebrated all the saints that have gone before us in serving the Lord with their life. So we took a princess (of course), Spiderman, a train engineer, and Bibleman, door to door to beg for candy in hopes that they would get the kind that we like. (Admit it parents... you eat your kids candy)
Well, there have been a number of other great posts I have forgotten about, but the best one now is that my husband and I are sitting quietly in a really nice beach house at the Outer Banks (OBX) in NC preparing for me to run my first half-marathon. I am an invited masters runner and have had everything paid for, and get lots of special treatment. I say all this not to brag, but to say how humbled I am to get to be a part of all this. Our kids are also not with us, so it's a little bit of a marriage getaway. I have to laugh thinking I have to run 13.1 miles just to have a vacation with my husband, and he just gets to enjoy all the perks without doing a thing.
So if you are up at 7am eastern time, pray for me. I will be running hopefully no longer than an hour and a half (8:30am). The reason I really ask you to pray is because my knee has been hurting alot lately, and my arthritis really went wacko a couple of weeks ago. I have been going organic and taking lots of supplements in hopes to be able to show up and make a decent showing in appreciation of being an invited athlete. I have run very little the past few weeks, and just want to honor Christ with my race because we have gotten to share with most of the people we have been hanging out with (all the elite athletes and a few others) what God has called us to do, so they know we are Believers. I want them to see Christ in us in conversations, but also in just knowing that God wants His people to succeed and are blessed when they follow Him.
Well, I guess I better get to bed, I have to be up at 5am. The race is at 7am. I don't know why they feel they must start these races before the sun comes up. I mean we are already proving how maniac we are by running 13.1 miles, or (for those running the marathon) 26.2.
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