Nine Months

So the last nine months have been hard.

If you would have told me last June that over the course of the next nine months I would deal with my father having one pretty serious stroke (plus two mini-strokes), summer classes, training 100 teachers, teaching a new grade for the sixth time in seven years, three family members dying, two illnesses of my own (one of which I'm waiting to find out what exactly it is), and some more stuff that just won't make it into this post.

I wish I could say I've been the model Christian.  That I've trusted God at every turn and humbly accepted every single day as a gift.

Mostly, it's been a lot of questioning.  A couple of tears, and many, "Are you certain about this, Lord?"

Thursday evening I came home with what soon turned into a migraine headache.  I went to bed at six pm, hoping that turning in early and taking my medicine would end that headache.  I awoke at midnight, where I spent a half hour throwing up.  Then my other sickness kicked in and I was awake until about six a.m.  Friday was not a pretty day for me. 

I serve a big God. One who still loves and forgives us even when we are less than perfect. And one who knows our every need.


Last night, sitting in my bed, in the midst of just trying to recuperate, I felt God speak to me.  And he told me, "You're right where you need to be."  I turned off the tv and just sat, trying to soak in the moment, making sure I wasn't imagining things.  And I really felt assured it was God.  It reminded me of Zephaniah 3: 17, "The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.  He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but rejoice over you with singing."

I felt like I was being rejoiced over.  And I do know, according to Romans 8:28, that God will work all this together for His glory. 

I once read a read a quote that said, "One of the kindest things God ever did was put a curtain over tomorrow." 

And for that, I am thankful.

Did Someone Say Newsboys?

So my BFF went to Winter Jam yesterday with the youth.  Due to the fact that we live in different towns and if you're over eight, I generally don't know what interests you, I had no idea the event was taking place or who was even there.  She rattled off some good people, people I've seen before, but the closing act brought back memories.

Yes, friends, she said, "Newsboys."

Let's take a stroll down memory lane...

It's the spring of 2003(?) and a certain ex-Newsboy (for the sake of this post, we'll just call him Phil Joel, because that's his name) was coming to lead worship at UK.  This would occur at Memorial Hall, in the evening. 

Now at the time I was residing at the UK Wesley Foundation, which presented me with friends and a slight dilemma.  Memorial Hall was a mile away and I walked to class all the time.  I didn't feel like walking, so in a fit of laziness I just decided to drive my veryownself and anyone who cared to traipse along.  Laura and Trevor came with me. 

It was a beautiful evening as we walked toward Memorial Hall.  I don't know what time we arrived, but you had the three of us walking toward the building.  As we are walking, the following conversation occurs:

Laura: "So who are we seeing again?"
Me: "Phil Joel."
Laura: "Who's that?"
Me: "You know that group the Newsboys?"
Laura: "I think so."
Me: "Apparently he used to be in the Newsboys.  That's all I know." 

In the midst of this discourse, Trevor turns around and starts motioning for us to stop talking.  For the life of me, I couldn't understand why.  There was one guy headed toward us-one long haired, hippy looking dude.  Who was on the phone.  Why was Trevor wanting us to hush?  It's not like when Laura and I get together we're loud.  (If you know me at all, you know how noisy I am on my own.)

As soon as the Mystery Dude walks by, Trevor shakes his head sadly and hisses through clenched teeth, "That's him!"

"Huh?"  (Evening is not my most prolific time of day.)

"That guy who just walked by-that was Phil Joel!"

15 minutes later, sure enough, the same guy on his cell was the guy leading worship.

This is why you can't take me anywhere!

Lesson From The Treadmill

It's a cause-an-effect relationship.

Due to the cause (eating whatEVER I've felt like for the last three months), there is an undesirable effect (you're not stupid-you can infer).

So, I headed back to the gym this month after some serious procrastination.  (January meant the gym would be full of all the New Year's Resolution folks, and February is was just too cold to get out of the house unless it was completely necessary.  I sat around this month for ten days trying to figure out how I could procrastinate, and couldn't think of anything-then it snowed the next day.  Thanks a lot, March.)

To help get my muscles warm, I always start off by walking on a treadmill.  It's not much, but it helps get me ready before I move on to an elliptical.  The longer I walk, the faster the speed gets until I'm almost running.  The other night, I was almost jogging and thought to myself, "Wow, this feels good.  I haven't run in forever.  Maybe I should keep running."

Then the other side of me kicked in, "Don't do it.  You burn more calories on the elliptical.  It's easier on your joints.  You haven't been on an elliptical in forever."

I had an internal battle for 90 seconds until I hopped off the treadmill and discovered all the ellipticals were taken.  Thinking it would be no big deal, I went and lifted weights, certain once I was finished one of the machines would be available.  No such luck.

So I did what my mind had been telling me-got back on the treadmill and started running.  Only this time, it was much more difficult.  And I wished I had just stayed on earlier.

This incident reminds me of 1 Thessalonians 5: 19, "Do not suppress the Spirit."   When you feel like God is calling you to do something, do it then and don't put it off.  If I had done that, it would have been much easier to keep running.  I'd already found my pace, so it was just a matter of distance from that point .  Also, while the other choice was the more logical one, it turned out not to be the right choice for me at that time.  And last, when I did choose to obey, it was much harder to complete my task.

To make a short story long, when you hear God speaking to you, do it-whether it's running on the treadmill or speaking to your neighbor, just plain do it.

Can You Hear Me Callin'?

Today, the Kentucky Wildcats left for Atlanta for the SEC Tournament. 

What's a good Bluegrass girl to do? 

See below.



We're ready to bring that title home!