Running Goal ACCOMPLISHED!!!

I made the 100 mile mark today!!! :o) I ran 100 miles in 28 days! Fun, fun! Run, run!

PDX Picks Blog

PDX Picks Blog

Running update

78 miles DOWN!
22 miles to go...
The next few days break down like this:
Sat, 6 miles
Sun, 3 miles
Mon, 5 miles
Tue, day of REST!
Wed, 8 miles... and GOAL accomplished!!! :o)
I can almost smell the 100 mile mark!

drum circle

So last night, I joined a song writing group at Imago Dei. They meet monthly to help each other hone song writing skills or begin to develop those skills in the first place! We experienced a drum circle. Everyone sat in a circle (all 7 of us) and we each played a drum or did something of the percussive nature. Improvising rhythmically at its best! There were djembes, various shakers and hand drums and I used a gourd shaker in one hand and took out my car keys and "clinked" on my glass of water in front of me! I even got a little creative with the remote controls sitting on the table. It was fun. It was great to hear parts of unfinished songs and to critique and be critiqued. God is the inventor of creativity and I'm sure He was pleased as we worked to be more excellent in our craft for Him!

Hiking Beacon Rock

Today, Matt & I hiked to the top of Beacon Rock. We haven't hiked that monolith in years. It was VERY fun! It reminds me of a scene from the computer game Riven. Does anyone remember that game? It's one of the few I played back in the day. It has all these very short switch backs with metal railings climbing the entire rockface. The top affords a VERY amazing view of the gorge looking east & west and Bonneville Dam.

Substitute teacher

So Matt (my husband) has been a substitute teacher at David Douglas High School. This is his third year. Last Friday, 2/8 he took over for a teacher taking maternity leave. He's teaching her language arts class and works mostly with juniors. He has the class for the rest of the school year! He's getting adjusted and reading the books that they'll be studying. Most of all, he's loving it! He would love a contracted, full-time position this fall. His endorsement is in social studies so please pray for an opening. If you know of any openings in Portland area high schools, let us know! Thanks!

Blogger: Jen the Ruminator - Manage Posts

Blogger: Jen the Ruminator - Manage Posts: "Last night we were privileged to have as a guest of our home community, Benjamin Nkusi. He is a pastor of a local church in Kigali, Rwanda. He shared his story of survival throughout the times of war & genocide in his country in April-July 1994. He was captured and almost killed. When the rebels were about to kill him, they asked for his identification card. They dug through his pockets and found his school ID. At the time, he was studying to become a pastor. When they saw the card, they said, 'We don't kill pastors' and let him go with a swift kick in the rear! This can only be explained by a God who sees a bigger picture and had further plans for Benjamin and his family.
It was an amazing and unique experience for me to be in a living room listening to this man and his very real encounters with death. We had the privilege of driving him back to where he is staying while he's in the U.S. On the way he shared more about how God is using him to help the people of Rwanda forgive and reconcile with each other. It is a hard task but God has equipped him & his team and they have made great strides in the area of reconciliation. As Americans we are a spoiled and comsumer-driven people. We take for granted the life we've been blessed with.
Please pray for Benjamin as he teaches a global theology class at Imago Dei. Pray for his family as he's apart from his wife and 4 children. Pray for his ongoing success at reconciliation for the Rwandan people being drawn closer to the God who models reconciliation!
For more on Benjamin and his work go to:
http://www.alarm-rwanda.org/

Link: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/flags/rw-flag.html draft7:"

CIA - The World Factbook -- Flag of Rwanda

CIA - The World Factbook -- Flag of Rwanda

Mother Theresa

Dear Jesus,
Help us to spread your fragrance everywhere we go.
Flood our souls with your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly
That our lives may only be a radiance of yours...
Let us thus praise you in the way you love best
By shining on those around us
Let us preach without preaching
Not by words, but by our example
By the catching force of what we do
The evident fullness of the love our hearts bear to you.
Amen.

--Mother Theresa of Calcutta

Running

So I have this goal... it's a little crazy even for me! I'm attempting to run 100 miles in a month! I started on January 31st and I have 42 miles down to date. Some days it's only 2 miles, other days it's 6 but by February 27th, I will hopefully have completed my goal. I take Tuesdays off so I'm blogging! www.mapmyrun.com is helping me track my progress and find routes.

Thoughts on finding a new church

The transition was harder than I expected. Over the last six months, we've visited many churches. Some good. Some great. Some not so great. The very first church we visited nearly six months ago was Imago Dei Community in Portland, OR. We liked it but we weren't anywhere close to getting through our "list" of churches to visit. After visiting numerous churches, we began to grow weary of the search. Did I need to become more trusting in God's direction and leading even if I wasn't sure about a particular church? Finally we decided to go back to Imago Dei on January 13, 2008. We haven't gone anywhere since! It's been an incredible experience to finally decide to lean on God the entire way! DUH!