Saturday Morning Walk

Saturday mornings are wonderful! Often we get a lot of extra sleep (like last Saturday when we were asleep until almost 11!). Today we did sleep in until almost 9, but then it was time to move. I have a brand new awesome pedometer that John gave me for Christmas. I've been using it for almost 2 weeks and love it. As I enjoy exercise that gives me constant feedback, wearing a pedometer is my favorite way to encourage myself to move. So, as I'm endeavoring to get 10,000 steps a day 6 days a week, I was eager to get up and run outside.

It has been warmer here (up in the 50s for a couple days), but this morning as I got ready to go, the temperature was 21 and "felt like 9." So, I added my coat to my clothes and decided to walk fast instead of jogging (it's annoying to run with a coat on). John told me he wanted to sleep longer and that he felt it was too cold to walk outside so I headed over to check out a path I've seen near our house.

To my surprise, as I drew near to the path about a mile from our house, I saw John crossing the street in front of me! He had planned to get in front of me and take a picture without me knowing he was there - come back here and post it on my blog while I walked! Boy would I have been shocked!


But as he was spotted, he decided to walk some with me. That path was short - just to a park and then it joined a street. So, we enjoyed a nice walk through a park and some neighborhoods.

I'm looking forward to weather that's above freezing in the mornings so I can more fully enjoy the outdoors. We have a wonderful trail only a mile away that would be perfect for running and walking. We are also next to a track that I could use if I want to see how fast I can run. I'm enjoying getting back into running once again. It's been eight months since I was consistent in exercising and a few pounds have been creeping onto my frame.

I walked right into one today!

My coworker was messing with me this morning by telling another guy how he should watch out for me since I can get so angry and upset at people. He told the guy that the way to know if I was mad was to watch if I got up and walked around our building. I agreed that was true. He then told the guy that’s why you could find me out walking first thing every morning! I just had to laugh!

I do walk or run in the mornings, but it’s not because I’m mad at the world. I like to think that I am a very calm and typically easy going person. It’s pretty hard to get me emotionally upset at someone or something. But there was one time in the 5 ½ years that I’ve worked here that I got upset at a guy who wouldn’t stop talking. He was unwilling to listen to what I said and just kept going on and on about whatever it was he thought I should do. Finally I just got up, left my office and walked outside. I took a short walk around our plant. By the time I got back I think he had gone back to his office. The walk really did help - so I would definitely recommend it if you are frustrated while talking with someone!

Clouds and Stars

Psalm 8

1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens

3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?

The last few morning have been clear and cool. I could see the stars as I walked. At times I thought it was probable that I would trip since I kept looking up at the stars. Those verses from Psalms 8 about the stars and man kept on going through my mind. Looking at the stars reminds us how small we are in comparison and yet God still cares for us.

This morning was cloudy as you can see in the picture. I could not see the stars. But, they were still there. I guess that's how it is at times in our Christian life. We can't see that Jesus is with us, but he is in both the clear and cloudy times.

Cool Mornings and Faith

The weather has finally turned to fall. The mornings have been cool which is great for walking! I'm trying to get back into reviewing memlok verses while I walk, and this morning Esther 4:14 made me think about the passage in a different way.

Esther 4:12 When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"
15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."

Esther had previously told Morecai that she could not go before the king because she would probably be killed if she went without an invitation. Mordecai's response to her is interesting. He says "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

That doesn't sound like a very certain or faith filled response. God didn't appear to Mordecai and tell him that Esther should go before the king and would be safe. Or, if God did tell Mordecai, he seems to not have been sure of the outcome. Esther made her decision to do as Mordecai asked. However she too had doubts and said "If I perish, I perish." She made her decision and also prayed and had others pray for her safety.

It's interesting to see how God used their decisions as steps of faith (however shakey) to save the Jewish people. We know how that story turned out. God protected Esther and used her risk in a good way.

We don't know how our small uncertain steps will turn out. I know I often make a decision without being certain it's something that "God wills." There are so many examples of God appearing to individuals in the Bible and telling them exactly what they are to do. Sometimes I get discouraged since that is not how I've found God to direct me. This example of Esther is an encouragement that God can use and does direct us even when we're not sure.

Good Habits

This morning I thought about habits in my own life and how they work. It's amazing to me how powerful a habit can be for good. According to dictionary.com a habit is "an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary."

Most of what I do is because of habits. There are many habits learned as a child that carry on for a lifetime. One example is bringing my Bible to church on Sunday mornings. That's a habit I didn't think much about until I saw how many children don't bring their Bibles - that habit hasn't yet been developed by them, but hopefully will be at some point. Other examples are things like brushing teeth, drinking coffee (or hating the taste as I do), reading before you go to sleep and more.

There are many bad habits that can be developed. A habit is I guess similar to an addiction. It's something you do just at times because you have an unconscious desire to do it. If aware of habit forming things, you can look at situations and consciously choose a habit that you would like to carry on for life. For example, in college if you eat in the cafeteria you could drink coke products with every meal. I do like coke (as people in the south call all varieties soft drinks) and could have easily developed that habit of drinking it most of the time. I do also like water and had a habit of drinking it with meals due to how I was raised. Since I realized that if I started a "coke habit" in college I would probably want to continue it later, I chose to drink water as a default and only occasionally drink coke.

It seems most of what I hear about habits deal with breaking bad ones instead of developing the good. Usually a bad habit can only be broken if it is replaced with something else. A google search for "bad habit" brought 1,890,000 results and "good habit" brought 402,000. So from that unscientific survey, we read and write more about the bad ones.

But, back to this morning. When I was about half a mile down the road, I wondered why in the world I do this. I don't really like to get up early, I don't like to run, I don't like being hot (or cold) so why in the world am I outside before light? The answer for today was simple: it's a habit. I don't think much about what time to set my alarm for each night. It goes off around 5 and I get up a little later, get my shoes and head for the door.

If you dig deeper into my reasoning, you'll find that I consciously chose to develop that habit almost two years ago and that I do enjoy having exerted energy in running. I also enjoy being outside each day. I walk instead of running every other day and I like walking as well because it gives me a chance to somewhat randomly thing about strange things like this.

There are other habits that I would like to develop. I have an idea of what a "perfect Miriam" would do and at times try to introduce a new habit. Things like keeping an organized and filed office at work, or always straightening my room at home, or stretching before and after I run are a few of the habits I don't yet have, but wish I did. I've tried at times to establish these habits, but haven't yet had success. As I think about these and other habit, I think I will chose one and strive to implement the action long enough to make it a habit. The real question is: which one shall I chose?

Interpretation of Events

When I pray for something specifically and then something in the realm of my prayer occurs, I take note. Sometimes the event that occured should not be taken as an answer to prayer but may indeed be a temptation or just an event to remember and look back upon.

Let me give an example. Over a year ago, while walking one morning I was praying and asking God if He could and would provide me with a husband. I knew that God can do all things, I just wasn't sure that he would or if that was something that he was concerned about for me personally.

Well fast forward about two days. I was at work and a friendly guy, who I didn't really know more than surface work stuff about, asked me if I would go out with him. I completely didn't see that one coming, and was quite rude by responding with the first thing that came to mind which went something like "aren't you a lot older than me?". The rest of the conversation was awkward as I told him no.

Now, as humans it would be easy to take the two events which happened in close proximaty to one another and interpret them into divine guidance that this is the man that I am to marry. It's tempting to do so and so easy in many areas to misinterpret God's will. In the case of being asked out by that guy it wasn't really hard to decide. Although he was nice and friendly, he was older than I, he alreay had children (whether from previous marriage or girlfriends I don't know), I don't know if he's a Christian, and our standards are different. He was not really the kind of guy I want to marry.

My non-inspired interpretation of that event is that God wanted to show me that he can indeed act at any time and in unexpected ways, that he does care for me personally, and that he is not bound by the circumstances of my life. It's almost more that he was reaching down and showing me that he can give me what I ask for, but it's probably not really what I wanted. (I need to be more specific in my prayers I guess!)

But in other situations, other prayers and other times the same question arrises. How is one to know the proper interpretation of what occurs in areas where you pray and something unexpected happens. When a circumstance occurs that answers a prayer in a way that you either want or that doesn't contradict biblical standards, how much should one attribute that circumstance to being an answer straight from God? Am I so warrry of turning a circumstance that God intended to test me or to show me his presence into an absolute guidance by God's hand that I miss his direction? There is a feeling a peace that He gives when one makes a decision that makes you think that it is of God. I wish (like many others I'm sure) that God did audibly speak or write us personalized emails when we pray to tell us what he plans or if a situation is an answer to a prayer. In fact, the emails would be best because then you could print them out and have them for a reference! However, for the time being, I must just trust God's character, rest in confidence of His direction and continue to pray for His guidance and thank God for his providence.

(Side note on providence as defined in Westminster Shorter Catechism Question #11: What are God's works of providence? God's works of providence are his most holy, wise and powerful preserving and governing of all his creatures and all their actions.)

Miles and Blueberries

This morning started early after enjoying a game night at Kevin and Candi's house with my sisters last night. We had a blast playing a lively game of Dutch Blitz followed by Pictionary and some delicious brownies as well as a game of Balderdash. It was one of those nights that you don't want to see end. But since I knew I was planning to walk early the next morning with Pam, we eventually had to call it a night (or early morning!).

At 5:30 this morning, Pam and I started our walk to Doug and Lori's to get some exercise (and blueberries!). We brought Pam's 1 year-old Joel with us in the stroller which doubled as a great berry holder on the way home. I had walked to Doug and Lori's house alone before, but never with a friend. The time sped by and the miles were quite enjoyable when spent talking to Pam. The mouthful of blueberries from their amazingly abundant bushes was satisfying like nothing else afer our 1.25 hour (4.5 mile) walk to their house. We picked berries for two hours and then headed back. After showering and eating lunch, I crashed - sleeping all afternoon. The weather was nice with a cool morning and cloud cover there for all but the last 30 minutes of the walk back. We are so blessed to be able to pick blueberries each year from Doug and Lori's bushes. We freeze the berries and are able to enjoy them year round.