With some rough math, I concluded 120 miles to be about how much I biked this past week. I am feeling it for sure... I think after a week like this I will make it a priority to stretch and get warmed up before I go out. Everything is very tight and uncomfortable.
I know that it my last post I said that Rachel was leaving today. Well, that changed. Their car is having problems and they don't want to risk driving it out west without someone looking at it. Since tomorrow is a holiday chances are they won't even have it looked at until Tuesday. If they are quick they might have it back on the road by Wednesday and leave on Thursday morning. Set backs... got to love them.
I don't remember if I mentioned this, but lately I have been thinking a lot about how I am able to praise God. More accurately, how I can feel satisfied with my ability to praise God. I had thought that you had to have an ability to praise God. I thought that I would need some musical talent to bring praise to God. I thought therefore, that I was incapable of adequately praising God to the level to which he deserves. Through a lot of thinking, a few really valuable conversations about what true praise is, and God working in me I came to remember Genesis 29:35 - "this time I will praise the LORD"
Before this, Leah is baring children in hopes that they will make her husband Jacob love her more. This was not the case, even after quite a few children. She was looking for satisfaction is what she was doing and what love her husband would give her. Then on her last children she quotes, "This time I will praise the LORD" (Genesis 29:35). I personally view this (and I am probably wrong) a real break through in what praising God should be like. No music, no hopes of recognition or reward, no attention on her at all or anything that I personally thought was needed for praise to be given to God. From what I see, she does not even seem to be looking to be satisfied by her action. She simply, willfully, chose to praise God with the attitude revealed in what she said: This time I will praise the LORD.
I thought that when it came to praising God I needed to feel satisfied or have some sort of response because of what I did. I now see that I don't necessarily get anything in return for praising God. Even though nothing is promised to Leah, I find that because I have this new attitude I am more satisfied with what I am doing. I am sure there is something in the NT about this, but that is for another day.
Praise be to the LORD.
Later
Simply a pilgrim, looking for that city whose builder and maker is God, who enjoys bringing others along on the journey.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Post 100
The latest biking adventure that I embarked on was about 50 miles. I went up to see Rachel at her grandparents for the afternoon. I left from church, which was about half way there to begin with, and than continued the other 15 miles. It was surprisingly easy for how little biking that I have done so far this summer, at least on the way there. On the way back home I found myself struggling up even some of the smaller hills. On top of that, on the way back there are two really big hills which I almost didn't make it up... it hurt.
Rachel leaves on Sunday morning back to her home out west. They plan to be back by Tuesday night. Then the hard part of the summer begins. I don't think that it will be too long though, it is only 13 weeks after all. Most of them I hope to be fairly busy with work. I am finding out though that 40 hours of work isn't that much, I still have lots of free time. I have been working on a few books, and doing some other things, but it is really boring just working 40 hours.
Youth group is really different without all of the student leaders from school. It is me, and three other leaders that go to the church. For the first time that I can recall the students out number the leaders.
It is really different all together without people here for school. Now it is just a few random people here and there just doing there jobs and going home. That is about it.
Later
Rachel leaves on Sunday morning back to her home out west. They plan to be back by Tuesday night. Then the hard part of the summer begins. I don't think that it will be too long though, it is only 13 weeks after all. Most of them I hope to be fairly busy with work. I am finding out though that 40 hours of work isn't that much, I still have lots of free time. I have been working on a few books, and doing some other things, but it is really boring just working 40 hours.
Youth group is really different without all of the student leaders from school. It is me, and three other leaders that go to the church. For the first time that I can recall the students out number the leaders.
It is really different all together without people here for school. Now it is just a few random people here and there just doing there jobs and going home. That is about it.
Later
Monday, May 17, 2010
50.2 mph
So, two weekends ago I biked to church from school, it was about 40-50 minutes from here to the church. A pretty nice ride other than a few rough spots in the road, with a awesome hill at the very end. It is a one mile length of road that is all down hill... very steep down hill. At the top you over look the country side, but before I knew it I was at the bottom. This hill was steep enough that I topped out at 50.2 mph without much effort on my part. This was a new personal record! Before this I had only gotten up to about 40mph with a great deal of effort, but not this time. I just let gravity do the work and even used my brakes at times. It was crazy fun!
At the bottom of the hill I saw a few bikers on the side of the road that waved at my friends and I. After stopping I saw what could have been me. I saw a man who also went down the hill at fifty miles an hour but did not make it down to the bottom. The man hit a bump and crashed at fifty, leaving him very beat up with road rash and broken bones. He was okay, but very lucky to have been as well off as he was. I later found out that he had hit a bump and gone air-born, resulting in a crash.
It was a sobering experience to see what could have been me at the bottom of that hill. Also just to think of our own mortality as humans. We do get hurt and broken like this man did; maybe not as bad but we do to some degree. We are flesh and bone. We posses life and we can loose it. It was scary and it made me think carefully about how I ride now. But I do have it admit, it was crazy fun going down that hill.
I went for a ride yesterday down into the city just for fun. I found another hill that is over a mile long and very steep. I coasted at 46.4 mph without trying. I think I even rode the breaks for a while because it felt to fast for me. I don't think my 25 year old bike was meant to go that fast. Especially since I have rebuilt both the wheels on it. I don't totally trust the thing yet. Yet, it held up and went down and up that hill without a glitch.
Since we're on the topic of bikes, my boss is thinking about getting one soon. I was wondering if I would ever have a similar topic of interest with the man, because he is a cook and I am not. I like food, I like eating food (peanut butter is really good), but I am not a cook. But this was a great opportunity to have a normal conversation with him and just build a friendship. Since he was looking for bikes we did have a short but good conversation about really expensive bikes. It was great.
Rachel leaves sometime either Wednesday night or Thursday morning this week. I am not sure how I feel about that yet. I know that it is going to be a lot different than it was last summer, but I don't know how yet. I guess we'll see how it goes.
For those that were or are wondering, this last semester of school went well. I did good GPA-wise. I had easy classes those, so it wasn't too hard. I also learned a lot about different things concerning ministry and youth groups. I really enjoyed this last semester.
Recently I have been really depressed. Life isn't very fun lately. I haven't enjoyed it or been satisfied with it. I keep looking for an emotional outlet to vent how I feel. I see other people and see how they can express their emotions and get them out, whereas mine just bottle up and get stuck in me. After a while it just drags on you. This is how I felt the last couple of days, but yesterday I think my perspective changed. Mr. C Smith preached the sermon on 1 John 1:1-4 and argued against this idea that I had. The idea that I need something or some process to feel better or satisfied. The reality that is presented in this passage though is very different.
The passage says that we don't need any of these things that I am/was thinking about, but simply says that if we have fellowship with the father (who is God), then our joy will be complete. Simple I know. I don't understand how I missed it. John wrote, "And this [fellowship with the father] we write to you [recipient] in order that your joy might be complete" It that simple.
Later
At the bottom of the hill I saw a few bikers on the side of the road that waved at my friends and I. After stopping I saw what could have been me. I saw a man who also went down the hill at fifty miles an hour but did not make it down to the bottom. The man hit a bump and crashed at fifty, leaving him very beat up with road rash and broken bones. He was okay, but very lucky to have been as well off as he was. I later found out that he had hit a bump and gone air-born, resulting in a crash.
It was a sobering experience to see what could have been me at the bottom of that hill. Also just to think of our own mortality as humans. We do get hurt and broken like this man did; maybe not as bad but we do to some degree. We are flesh and bone. We posses life and we can loose it. It was scary and it made me think carefully about how I ride now. But I do have it admit, it was crazy fun going down that hill.
I went for a ride yesterday down into the city just for fun. I found another hill that is over a mile long and very steep. I coasted at 46.4 mph without trying. I think I even rode the breaks for a while because it felt to fast for me. I don't think my 25 year old bike was meant to go that fast. Especially since I have rebuilt both the wheels on it. I don't totally trust the thing yet. Yet, it held up and went down and up that hill without a glitch.
Since we're on the topic of bikes, my boss is thinking about getting one soon. I was wondering if I would ever have a similar topic of interest with the man, because he is a cook and I am not. I like food, I like eating food (peanut butter is really good), but I am not a cook. But this was a great opportunity to have a normal conversation with him and just build a friendship. Since he was looking for bikes we did have a short but good conversation about really expensive bikes. It was great.
Rachel leaves sometime either Wednesday night or Thursday morning this week. I am not sure how I feel about that yet. I know that it is going to be a lot different than it was last summer, but I don't know how yet. I guess we'll see how it goes.
For those that were or are wondering, this last semester of school went well. I did good GPA-wise. I had easy classes those, so it wasn't too hard. I also learned a lot about different things concerning ministry and youth groups. I really enjoyed this last semester.
Recently I have been really depressed. Life isn't very fun lately. I haven't enjoyed it or been satisfied with it. I keep looking for an emotional outlet to vent how I feel. I see other people and see how they can express their emotions and get them out, whereas mine just bottle up and get stuck in me. After a while it just drags on you. This is how I felt the last couple of days, but yesterday I think my perspective changed. Mr. C Smith preached the sermon on 1 John 1:1-4 and argued against this idea that I had. The idea that I need something or some process to feel better or satisfied. The reality that is presented in this passage though is very different.
The passage says that we don't need any of these things that I am/was thinking about, but simply says that if we have fellowship with the father (who is God), then our joy will be complete. Simple I know. I don't understand how I missed it. John wrote, "And this [fellowship with the father] we write to you [recipient] in order that your joy might be complete" It that simple.
Later
Friday, May 7, 2010
summer
Summer starts tomorrow! Graduations is 9am tomorrow and then the summer begins! A lot has happened since I last updated, and it is because of that I won't be able to update just yet.
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