Biking with Butterflies

Today was a perfect October day! Naturally, I took the opportunity to go biking. The sun was bright and glorious and the air was as clear as clear could be. The sky outdid it's blue adornment while the trees displayed their rich autumn colors. The temperature was a perfect 70 degrees. I was ready for a great ride and a great ride it was!

The one fun thing about my bike ride today was all the butterflies I saw! A couple of them flew right in front of my face and others flew right next to me while pumping my way up hills. Seeing the butterflies made me think about their recent change from caterpillar to butterfly. Seeing the fall colors of the trees also made me think of change. Life is continually going through change. Nature indeed changes.

A year and a half ago I would have thought I'd still be running at 45. But things have changed. Now I bike and swim more than I ever used to. My individual health has changed. Can't put on running shoes when your knees aren't working as good as they used to. Also a few years ago, I would have thought my children would all still be young tikes. But things have changed and they are growing up in very special ways. My family is changing at a faster pace than I ever would have thought. Change comes to one's own community too. Whether in one's neighborhood, one's church, or one's work place - new friends and folks come while others move on. Everything's a movin' and a changin' except for one extraordinary constant - God! Hebrews 1:17 says that there is no variation or shifting of shadow with Him. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever!

To know that God will not change is a comfort, but the fact that change comes to everything else in life can be challenging. Yet while a challenge, it's also a great way to learn to trust God's hand of providence ruling over the changing life.

The butterfly seems to soar with such ease almost as if its load is lighter and freer. What if we could look at change from that perspective. Perhaps the challenge that change often brings would slip away and be warmly welcomed instead. When I think about the fact that I've had to turn in my running shoes for biking wheels, I realize it hasn't been too bad after all. Besides, I get to bike with butterflies in October and move much swifter with less jostling than when I used to run.

Swimming at 45!

Today's my birthday! And one of the things I wanted to do today was go swim laps, especially since I got a new triathlon swim suit for a gift. So, I did! And I'm happy to say that even in my mid-forty's - half way smack dab in the middle of 40 and 50, I can still swim a mile! I had a great workout too. Here's what I swam:

• 300 yd warmup free
• 200 yd free
• 100 yd flutter kick
• 2 x 200 yd free
• 100 yd flutter kick
• 100 yd I.M. (25 butterfly, 25 back, 25 breast, 25 free)
• 200 yd free
• 100 yd flutter kick
• 100 yd I.M.
• 200 yd free
• 50 yd warmdown free

Total yds = 1850 yards which is just about a mile! Actually, this is what I've been pretty much doing. It's just the first time I did it at 45! Good job ol' body of mine!

I thank the Lord for these past 45 years He has graciously given me to be alive! I am believing that the best is yet to be as I, by God's gracious and merciful ways, continue to press on to know and serve the One who gave me life, not just once, but twice - Jesus Christ! First, born of water and then born a second time by His Spirit! John chapter 3!

Well, with all the running, swimming, and biking I've done up til now, my lungs should not have any trouble blowing out all 45 candles!

Biking Around Road Obstacles

Recently they've been doing a lot of road repairs in my subdivision, and thus on my bike route. It makes for a more perilous path which requires a little more attention than usual. I've had some close calls almost falling off my bike because I was watching the road repair man direct traffic so I could pass by while my front tire fell into a huge pothole! My bike wobbled and I was losing balance, but somehow I managed to stay on the bike and pop out of that hole! I passed by the guy with a smile of relief on my face and said, "Wow, there was a hole there!" As I rode by him, I heard him say, "Yeah, there's a hole there!" I just started laughing at how silly I must have looked!

Another time I was almost hit by a car who must have not realized how the road narrowed. We almost collided! It really was a close call and I was so thankful for the angels that must have been riding with me. I felt a tad shaky after that encounter, but I managed to get a grip and I kept peddling away.

Then there's been rocks everywhere! I've had to dodge them like never before. I can not believe I haven't popped a tire yet with all this road work being done.

All in all, I have managed to get back to my house in one piece!

As I continue to walk by faith on the spiritual path God has set before me, I continue to be confronted by various obstacles that would try to hinder my way. For sure, the enemy of my faith would love to see me falter. But I am holding onto the grace God surely supplies. Disappointments, heartache, and loss are some of those obstacles of late and once again I take them to Jesus and leave them at His feet. The things I cannot understand, I embrace by faith that God in His providential way is using these things to conform me more into Christ's image and to also teach me more of the cross and the road of suffering. Phillipians 3: 7-14 are verses that hit home with me during these recent spiritual road obstacles. They are hard words yet they have a way of bringing not only comfort but increased desire to truly own those words and make them my heartbeat. How I love my Jesus and how I want to press on toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Him! So, I keep walking on this road of faith, maybe a little wobbly, but still walking, determined to stay the course that Christ is worthy of. Onward Christian Soldier! Somehow and someday, by God's grace, I am confident that I will get to His House in one piece too!

Triathlon Completed!

I am happy to write that my friend and I did what we set out to do! We completed our triathlon! Overall, I was pleased with how we did. I did happen to have a couple of problems with my bike - my gears were not cooperating when I was pumping up a few of those beastly hills and one of the pads on my back brakes were slightly rubbing against the wheel on occasion. Believe it or not, I actually biked 4 seconds faster than I did the last time I did this bike course. My swim time was 5 seconds slower though. My runner did her part and we finished in fifth place. There were only 6 teams - 3 male teams and 2 women teams and 1 coed team. We finished first among the other women team. It was a great day and I was happy to have trained and pushed myself to do this event.

Since I didn't get much sleep last night, I came home and took a nap. The rest of the day was restful spending time with my family. At the moment it's about 9pm and I feel pretty tired. Hopefully, I'll sleep really good tonight! Thanks to my awesome computer geek son, I can enjoy (and anyone else taking a look at my blog) the above pic of "triathlon buddies!" Psalm 133!

Ready or Not for Team Tri

In a couple of days my friend and I will team up together in a local triathlon - ready or not. I actually feel more ready than not and am excited about it! I had a really good work out in the pool yesterday and plan on resting now until race day. I feel stronger on my bike too than I felt even a couple of years ago. I am hoping to beat my last 18 mile bike time. I'm not so sure about beating my last 300 yard swim time only because last time I swam it it was the only part of the triathlon I did. Since I'm doing both the swim and bike legs of this triathlon, I feel I won't be able to go all out on the swim. I'll have to keep some reserve in order to do well on the bike course. But I am really pumped about doing both and having the 2008 Olympics going on right now is really motivating! Michael Phelps and Dana Torres are just incredible to watch! Not to mention how encouraging Torres is since she is a 41 year old woman!

I am thankful that I can do what I can do. Slow and steady is still my main objective. My best will be someone else's crawl time. But then again, my best might also be someone's dream race. So, ready I feel and ready to go! Let's now just pray for some really great weather!

Biking in the Heat

I've been pretty faithful about keeping up with my biking and swimming schedule though I haven't been logging my training. But I am feeling lots stronger and that feels really great!

Today was probably my toughest day on my bike route due to the heat. I actually had to use part of my water bottle on my head. I poured it right on my helmit and it went right through the air holes onto my head and boy did it feel awesome!

I recently looked up my race results from the last time I did this particular triathlon that I will be doing again in a couple of weeks. I now have a specific time to shoot for during the 18 mile bike ride as we'll as a goal swim time. I'm really looking forward to this triathlon!

I am reminded that the Lord would have me either "hot or cold," not "lukewarm" in my love and devotion to Him! So, I want to be seeking the Lord with all that is within me for that is sure to bring an intensity of heat to my soul. The saying of "being on fire for the Lord" is what I want for my life. Compromise in Christianity it seems is becoming more and more prevalent and so I need to train my soul not to give in to it. There's too many Christians being overcome by compromise. For the sake of my Jesus, I don't want to be one of them. I am so thankful for good friends in Christ that are not only godly examples but who also hold you accountable to stay on the straight and narrow!  Friends like these help you stay on fire for Jesus!  So bring on the spiritual heat, Lord; bring godly friends my way, and by Your grace I will continue to walk in Your Ways!

Logging Update and Thoughts on Prayer

So far I'm pretty pleased with the hours I'm getting in to prepare for the August triathlon. To quickly update I swam 1800 yards yesterday, equivalent to about 1 mile. I even snuck in two lengths of butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke. On 7/5 and 7/6 I was able to ride my bike for 50 minutes each time. I'm feeling more comfortable on both the bike and in the water after being on the side lines for sometime. Last week I swam 1800 yards on 6/29 and 7/1. I rode my bike on 6/30 for 50 minutes.

After all the July 4th feasting and celebrating I am now trying to be more selective about my diet. We're going to try to stay off sugar as well as try to drink more water.

As I begin to feel more comfortable with physical exercise again, I'm going to try to discipline myself to use my mind to pray as I swim or ride. I recently read some great stuff about prayer by Charles Haddon Spurgeon in His Morning and Evening devotional book, one of my faves! He writes:

It is interesting to remark how large a portion of the Scriptures is occupied with the subject of prayer, either in furnishing examples, enforcing precepts, or pronouncing promises. What does this teach us, but the sacred importance and necessity of prayer? We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives. If He has said much about prayer, it is because He knows we have much need of it. So deep are our needs that we must not cease to pray until we are in heaven. A prayerless soul is a Christless soul.

Since we must not cease to pray, I might as well redeem my time and pray while I swim and while I bike! It's actually nice to let the mind have a break. To just think on nothing. It's so easy to do that. It takes much more effort to concentrate on prayer. But I want to try to get my mind to the place where my swimming and my biking can be another place I can call a sanctuary. Then its doubly beneficial! Good for the body and good for the soul!

Working with Your Exercise Equipment

I went on my second bike ride since deciding my exercise sabbatical was over. It went well. I rode for about 50 minutes and made sure I pushed myself when going up hill. The thing about biking and even swimming is that you don't feel quite in control. In both of these exercises you must work with the bike and work with the water. Running is different. You definately feel a sense of freedom that you don't sense when you bike and swim. At least I don't anyway. So, needless to say, I'm trying to once again get a feel for my bike - the steering, the braking, the peddling, and the gears. I'm trying to get a grip on feeling comfortable with various speeds, watching the pavement for rocks, glass, cracks and bumps, not to mention being able to turn my head with my helmet on in order to look over my shoulders for cars as I turn or cross roads. Balance is key in all of it. Sometimes I think about tires popping, brakes malfunctioning, or feet slipping off peddles at a crucial time. When I ran, I never had these issues. I just ran. I could let my mind think, pray, and reflect. It definately takes more discipline to incorporate these things on a bike ride and I'm not there yet. I have to get more comfortable with my biking skills.

My potential triathlon runner said yes! So we're signing up for a mid-August Tri! I'm thrilled. The game plan will be to bike two days and swim two days each week. Hopefully, that will work for me. And prayerfully, the Lord will keep the door open because we're aiming straight for it and fixed to walk right through it!

Back in the Water

It wasn't much, but I made my first attempt to get my swimming muscles in shape again. I just swam about 1200 yards, but it actually felt like enough. The familiar sites of the pool - goggles, cap, the black line, the lane ropes, and that familiar smell of clorine, greeted me as if they were happy to see me once again. I was glad to jump in and get back in the water! My hope is to swim at least twice a week and bike at least twice a week.

After I got home, I checked out the triathlon event online and even called a friend to be a potential runner. She is quite open and so I'm hoping to register this week after I get my runner locked in! It will be fun to be triathloning again, even if I can't do the whole thing myself. I am thankful that the Lord has allowed my health to be such that I can at least still ride my bike and swim. I am pretty out of shape so I have about 7 weeks to get it in gear! This is going to be interesting to see how my body responds. I feel a little too eager which could cause me to train too hard and too fast so I need to keep my head on right in regards to getting back in shape. I must remember that for me, "slow and steady wins the race!"

In the Bike Saddle Again

I went for my first bike ride since last December. It went well and I actually got my heart pumping pretty good when I was working it up the hills. I probably pushed it a little more than I should have so we'll see how I feel tomorrow. My bad knee is now my good knee and my good knee has become my bad knee. I can't seem to even believe that!

After walking the running route the other day, my right knee gave me a fit the next day. It felt fine though during the bike course. I was very happy about that. I really don't want to go through any more knee surgerys this summer. Last summer's knee surgery was enough for me! I guess we'll see how it goes as I continue to throw by body back into physical exercise.

During my bike ride, I did get a crazy idea. I thought maybe I could do a partial triathlon this summer. To make it a bit more challenging, I could do the swim and bike portions instead of just doing the swimming and get a friend to do the run portion. It's just a thought, a happy thought which I may definitely pursue.

Walking the Running Route

I think its probably been about a year since I've ran. Hard to imagine! In fact, I haven't done any exercise since before Christmas. Really, hard to believe. But it's all been good and I think my body has actually enjoyed the sabbatical from physical exercise.

Today I decided the sabbatical was over. So, I walked my short 3 mile run route. It was both bitter and sweet. Walking certainly is less challenging and takes longer. But it was so good to see all the familiar sites and hear the familiar sounds I used to hear when I'd go running. It was good too to be able to reflect on life's most recent happenings, think about the Lord and on the things I read earlier from His Word today out on that familiar course! Yep, the sabbatical is over, some of life's crazy and momentous events have passed (first high school graduation in our family to name one of them), and my body is out to feel a little pain from physical exertion once again!

Anticipating Spring

I must say that even though I have not been able to run, I am still anticipating the wonderful season of Spring! While Spring has been my most favorite season to run in, I am pleasantly surprised by the contentment I seem to know these days. Of course, I must give credit to whom credit is due and thus I thank the Lord for His continued work of grace in my soul. Spring is well on its way; I cannot run; but it is well with my soul nonetheless. Wow! God is very good to me!

Spring brings out many marvelous wonders! But the most grand is the celebration of Easter! The day that the Lord Jesus victoriously defeated the ultimate of all ultimate competitions! He overcame sin and death and Satan. He won the race and now I am running on in the spiritual after Him. It is this race that I am fixed upon! The celebration of Easter reminds us that we have fallen from the glory of God. There is now the stain of sin upon our life. And only our perfect Jesus and His willingness to go to the cross and bear our so deserved punishment, can satisfy the justice of a Holy and Loving God! Jesus - The Name above all names! "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and are saved." Proverbs 18:10!

In his commentary on Proverbs, Charles Bridges reminds us that the "sense of danger, knowledge of the way, confidence in the strength of the tower - all gives a spring of life and earnestness to run into it. Here the righteous - the man justified by the grace, and sanctified by the Spirit of God - runneth every day, every hour; realizing at once his fearful danger, and his perfect security." And so, I am running every day, every hour! The threat of Satan's schemes to lure me into the snares of sin are always darting my way. But the name of Jesus, is my strong tower! I run to Him and am saved from the power of sin! Easter, for the penitent, brings salvation from the penalty of sin! But, Easter, for the converted and redeemed, reminds us that we are being saved from the power of sin, in the here and now!

As I run this day, I gloriously anticipate the Spring of Heaven where I will be saved from the presence of sin! Spring is coming! Earth's Spring and Heaven's Spring! And I am running with all my heart! It is full of running! It is full of contentment!

Shoebox Coins for a Pro-Life Cause

Today is recovery day 182. No reflections from running yet. But I do have some reflections none the less and they relate to the recent anniversary of the grievous Roe vs. Wade decision made 35 years ago.

My reflections actually are on a very special boy who made his own decision about how he could contribute to the Pro-Life cause. His church, in their efforts to keep the Pro-Life cause before the congregation, gave a challenge during one of their services to the children, teens and adults. The challenge was to fill two large sized baby bottles with money that would then be given to the local Pregnancy Resource Center. The children were to give coins, the teens - dollar bills, and the adults - checks . Later that same day, the special boy told his parents he was thinking about giving his entire collection of coins he had been saving in a shoe box for some time. He wondered if it was okay if he did, since he, his younger brother, and their mom were all competing to see who could collect the most coins in separate shoeboxes for the sole purpose of spending the combined amount on some fun family event at a later date. The boy's mother and father were quite surprised at his idea and told him to do what he believed the Lord put in his heart to do with the coins. He decided he would give his shoebox of coins to help save unborn babies. As you can imagine, the parents were very proud of his decision.

The day of the pro-life service had come to bring all coins, bills, and checks to church. When the boy was reminded by his mom to bring his shoebox full of coins to church that evening, he had told us he had read a verse earlier that day about giving. It happened to be part of his regularly scheduled Bible reading. It was 2 Corinthians 9:7 - "Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver." He thought it was really neat how he got to read that verse on the very day he was giving his shoebox coin collection away.

As his mom pondered these things upon her heart, she began to feel a prompting by the Lord to do likewise. But she had a little struggle with it. So she thought, maybe I can just give "some" of it. So she opened her shoebox full of coins and took out a portion to bring to church. However, during the service, her son's example was pressing in hard. Even the songs during praise and worship pressed in - "Not even my silver or gold will I withhold" were words that were being sung by the congregation. Then those words in Acts 5 which describe what one couple did - "kept some back" came to her mind. It was then that she knew what she needed to do. She needed to follow her son's example and let go of all her shoebox coins for this pro-life cause!

Yep, that mom was me. And that boy was my son. I confess I wanted to keep the coins for my family, so we could have a little extra to do something fun. I did not want to give up my shoebox full of coins. It had become a small piece of security to me. Something to fall back on when my kids needed a "pick me up." After all, ministry life can be tough, and they do sacrifice certain things. Those were my excuses.

Truly, I continue to learn about surrender. And this learning to live a surrendered life means there is nothing we lean on or hope in. Not that we live without being good stewards of our finances or material possessions. But that we find our continual well being and joy in the Lord's provision. We simply lean on Him, always, continually, daily. Moment by moment. Holding nothing in our hands. Keeping nothing in our grip. Ready to follow the Lord's leading and bidding. Especially when the Lord speaks his bidding through a special boy who became quite the godly young man right before his mother's eyes.

I am hoping that one day in heaven my son and I will meet a soul that was saved because of our combined shoebox coins!