a deep drink

july 31st...i love the end of months. i like knowing that tomorrow i'll wake up and it will be a completely new month...it signals new things, new schedules perhaps, new friends maybe, and possible new beginnings.

my good friend emily, who has been on staff with me the past three years, moved away this week. she lived across the street. close enough for me to come to her trailer everyday after work, just to catch up on the day. we ate meals together, discussed life together, picked berries together. i was/am sad.

a new good friend, calli, who I had really only met one time previously, came to visit this week. we went running up the mountain trails, played with kids, and ate well together. she encouraged my heart. my heart is full. i feel loved.

i feel like i'm drinking deeply from the faucet of life right now. experiencing what it's like to really be rooted to one place, one ministry, one hometown area. to feel loss when someone moves. to share joy when someone visits. to trust God's heart. to not look too far ahead, but rather look forward to another day.

another new beginning.

fruit seasons

The end of May signals the beginning of berry season in W.V. Wild strawberries are the first to come. They hide under their jagged leaves in small patches on the mountain side. Then comes the cherries in mid-June. These are the most fun to pick. Tall trees with their delicious offerings almost out of reach...it's a challenge my friends and I relish! Rasberry season follows in early July. They're easier to reach, and always a bit anti-climatic after the cherries. Soon, we'll hit the Blackberry patches, with their tangy sweetness. I love the summertime in West Virginia.

We like to play and pick cherries at the same time...

The West Virginia state motto is 'Wild and Wonderful' (you can be sure that most people here live up to it, in more ways than one.)

NoiseTrade Widget

Psalm 139

I was reading Psalm 139 with students in my Young Entrepreneur Project summer program yesterday, and was encouraged by God's heart for us struggling humans here on earth. So I thought I'd share a few verses. It's from the New Living Translation (read it out loud with a friend so you can listen to the words too. The NLT was translated specifically for hearing the Word.)

(and by the way, the students loved these verses. I've never seen them take God's word to heart more powerfully than these verses.)


O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.

You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my every thought when far away.

You chart the path ahead of me
and tell me where to stop and rest.
Every moment you know where I am.

You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.

You both precede and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to know!

I can never escape from your spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!

If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there.

If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.

I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night-

but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are both alike to you.

Swim, Run, Bike

This past weekend was a special one. I accomplished a goal that I'd been thinking about, worrying about, planning for, and anticipating this past year. The XTerra triathlon in the New River Gorge. 1.5 mile swim. 8 mile run. 12 mile bike.

I'm glad I finished it. It was an incredible experience.

I'm not exactly sure where I am in this photo, but I'm definitely not in front. This is the start of the race. We were heading towards a class I rapid. My goal was to stay alive, keep breathing, and get to the end of the swim. The current kept me moving quickly. I finished the swim in 35 minutes or so.

Glad to be back on land! (A note to anyone who wants to do a triathlon: wear a wetsuit. It provides extra flotation, abrasion resistance from rocks, and...you just feel cool in one.

Starting the long run.

Ryan is the guy next to me. He works for the same ministry as me, and wanted to do the triathlon too. It was fun to see him at various points in the race.

Also, this picture doesn't do the run justice. We ran on a single track trail that meandered through the woods, up rocks, over creeks, and up to the top of a mountain that was 1000 feet above the river we swam in. It was by far my favorite part of the race.

Heading into the last leg of the race - the bike

It took me over 2 hours to complete the bike portion, but I was just glad to get through it. I felt very unsteady and tired, and took a tumble that landed me over my handlebars and on the ground once. But there was no way I was going to stop. Finish Line, here I come.

My parents, my brother and his wife and son, and my friend Emily all came to watch me compete. I feel like I lived out this dream of mine that at various points in my training, I wasn't even sure I could attain.

A couple years back, my friend Leslie sent me a postcard after she hiked the entire Appalachian Trail. On it she wrote, "Live Your Dreams." I did it. I lived out one of my dreams. And I can't wait for what dream gets planted in my heart next.

Fear

Nobody likes to admit fear. It feels weak, and sometimes just downright silly. I have a friend who's a bit fearful of rollercoasters (okay, it's me). Once during college, I got on a rollercoaster at King's Island and didn't think I was gonna make it. You know that first part of the ride that takes unsuspecting passengers up a slow, creeping ascent into the clouds right before it plunges back down toward earth? I was panicking on the inside during that part. I wanted to get out. But that seemed even more dangerous. So I stayed in. And I made it through. I think I rode on more rollercoasters that day, having worked through that silly fear. It's amazing how strong fear is.

I swam in the New River Gorge today. I was very afraid, very apprehensive. (I'll have you know, it is the same river that people go white water rafting down...and they have to wear helmets!) I think it was the unknown that I was most afraid of. Can I make it? Will I get really tired? Am I going to accidently swim into rocks? How cold is 60 degrees really? And I tried not to listen to those questions. They would only be answered by doing it. By swimming.

A friend came with me to swim, and I think that was what helped me the most. As we stood chest deep in the water, he said, "Ready?" In my head, I thought "never." But my mouth said "okay." I listened to my mouth and arrived on shore 30 minutes and 1.5 miles of water later. No longer afraid. No more unknowns. Yeah for having a friend along to battle your fears!

why you should wear sunscreen

You always hear that it's important to wear sunscreen because of damage from the sun's rays that can cause wrinkles, sun burns, and potentially skin cancer. But you never hear that it's also important to put on sun screen when you get numbers written on your arm for a triathlon. Otherwise...