| In May, Rick and I plan to compete together in our very first 5K race. I possess no aspirations of winning or placing, only of finishing and most importantly, getting my t-shirt. You know, first things first. The race consists of 3.1 miles of mainly flat terrain with a few rolling hills, so it shouldn't be too difficult. However, I currently do all of my running inside a gym, and that means I'm going to have to get a little practice outdoors before the run takes place. South Georgia in May is usually steamy, so I'll definitely need to get adjusted to the heat. Not to mention the gnats. Thankfully, I've already got the running while pouring small cups of water over my head thing down to a science. |
posted by Christie
Monday, March 13, 2006
| As I said on Heath's site, I love new musical arrangements of old, theologically rich hymns. One of my favorites, for years now, has been "Come Thou Fount" written by Robert Robinson sometime in the mid to late 1700s. However, last night as our congregation sang that tune, as we often do, I noticed an obvious alteration to the original lyrics. Where Robinson wrote about raising "Ebenezer," we instead sang "Here by grace your love has brought me." Although the latter is a great message, I see no need for the revision. Why attempt to improve upon the biblical idea of Ebenezer? I do understand the case for relevance, but what a wonderful opportunity Robinson's hymn affords us to explain the background passage in 1 Samuel 7 and God's redemptive work throughout the history of His people. Although it's just my opinion, I prefer the message contained in the original. |
posted by Christie
| We have been busy the past several days. Last week we realized that a nagging drainage problem in our yard had to be solved quickly. So Rick spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday carefully removing a 12 inch x about 40 foot section of sod, digging a trench, backfilling it with rock and installing a drainage pipe. I assisted through things like moral support, making sweet tea and providing interesting conversation. In the end, it was actually quite sad that we spent several hundred dollars on something that we buried. In other news, this is the last week I will be employed at my current job. Logically, my quitting is not a great move, but we believe it's where God is leading us. Despite all the good reasons telling me I probably should work, we feel that there are better reasons why I shouldn't. I don't know what the future holds, but for now, I'm going to enjoy staying home, ironing Rick's clothes, cooking exquisite dinners, and basically refining my skills as a domestic goddess. It should be fun. |
posted by Christie
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
| Over five thousand missionaries within the Southern Baptist Convention have committed their lives to spreading the Gospel in the United States and Canada. March 5-12 has officially been designated as the Week of Prayer for North American Missions. Each day during the emphasis the North American Mission Board highlights a particular missionary and their work. Today's feature missionaries Randy and Denise Chestnut, use non-traditional methods to reach out to their community in Cleveland, Ohio. With over 177 nations represented in Cleveland, the Chestnut's have the opportunity to spread the Gospel among a culturally diverse people. Through hosting block parties, basketball tournaments and health clinics they are able to share Christ with people who might never walk into the doors of a Cleveland church. The Chestnut's along with the rest of our NAMB missionaries are supported each year by the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. The national goal for this year's offering is 56 million dollars, of which 100% will go to support mission work in the United States and Canada - an area where statistics tell us that three out of four people do not know Christ. I encourage you to give and pray. Both actions are a necessity for our missionaries, and a great priviledge for us. |
posted by Christie
| After resisting for quite some time, I have finally given into the intense pressure and created a MySpace account. Now, what's next? |
posted by Christie
Friday, March 03, 2006
| For lack of a better word, I think I experienced a full fledged "Charlie Moment" the other day. Here's how it went. Guy next to me on the treadmill: (speaking of his much younger, muscular friend) My buddy decided not to work-out with me today. Me: Oh. Guy: He's being lazy. Me: Oh, really. Guy: Yeah. And I don't look quite as good with my shirt off as he does. So I'm keeping it on. Me: Okay. Guy: He always wore one until he started getting ripped. Then he had to show off. Me: If I had worked that hard I would work-out without a shirt on, too. I turned red, the guy looked away, and I decided to not even try and dig myself out of that one. Hopefully, he understood what I meant, and not what I said. Oh, God, guard my lips. |
posted by Christie
Thursday, March 02, 2006
| Another new link, Veritatis Amatori. This site is written by a friend from college and in his own words includes "blatantly reformed ramblings posted with undetermined frequency." You should definitely check it out, looks like he's gonna have some great stuff. |
posted by Christie
| I've noted before that I don't really like to take medicine. And I especially don't like to take medicine prescribed to other people. That is a major no-no as far as I'm concerned. However, yesterday I ended up breaking the pharmaceutical cardinal rule and received a good reminder of why I won't ever do it again. The story begins with my dentist appointment. Well, actually with my heart murmur. I have one, so I'm required to take antibiotics a few hours before any dental procedure, due to an escalated risk of bacteria from my mouth entering the bloodstream and causing endocarditis and possibly death - a long, violent and painful one I'm told. The problem is that I forgot about getting a prescription filled and ended up taking some antibiotics that Rick had. However, about 15 minutes after ingesting the 2000 milligrams, I was walking into the gym and it hit me that I was allergic to the medicine I just swallowed. I tried not to panic, assumed I would be fine, attempted not to go hypochondriac on everyone, and decided to just monitor myself for any signs of a reaction. And what are the signs you ask? Redness of the skin and difficulty breathing. Well, after running the third mile on the treadmill, there's a high probability that I would suffer from both of those problems. The gym might not have been the greatest place to keep a check on myself. However, despite the enormous odds stacked against me, I burned about 500 calories, got my teeth cleaned, hopefully averted a deadly heart infection and my windpipe has yet to swell shut. Miracles never cease. |
posted by Christie