Solitude

The other word that has taken a hold of me these last couple of months is Solitude. Actually my last entry on Solidarity what supposed to be combined with this one, but as I was writing the words kept coming and well, we had a full blog. (I must write how I talk which as my husband can attest, can be a bit "wordy"- whaaaat?!)

During the training for Run for the Border, I've been given this unexpected gift of Solitude. For someone who is well connected to life; her family, her schedule, her friends, activities, and social networking- this was one of the biggest surprises of committing to this run. One thing about running this length of miles is that while it takes a lot of time to run the 50 miles, it takes even more time to train for it.
I underestimated the amount of time this would take out of my normal routine. At first I fought that a bit- but now I've learned to enjoy the purposeful break out of my normal life.

It's there on the long stretch of road that I'm left alone with my thoughts, my feelings, my problems for hours. It's also the very place that God has always shown me things, imparted wisdom and ideas to me, talked to me, convicted me. There, I am disconnected from life; no interruptions, no laundry, no "To Do" list, no phone calls, and no errands.

Most of us have these quiet places, not necessarily for devotions but for just simple communication. For some of us it has just been a very long time since we have lingered there. Maybe this is the gentle nudge needed to make that a normal place. To get away so that you can hear again, so that He can refresh you, heal you, and restore you back. I love that Jesus modeled this himself many times in the New Testament as shown in Matthew 14:23.
I know some people who use their garage time, during gardening, time while doing dishes, when they are driving, and for years when the kids were younger my quiet place was folding laundry- super glamorous huh?

I think God is his goodness would've orchestrated this mini season of life just to have me get time away with Him. I know I've needed this time to process, to reflect, to align, to remove, to prepare me, and to pray for a lot of people. When you have two hours plus on the road at a time you can get a lot worked through. I used to joke that I could solve world peace when I was out on a good run, sometimes I think I came close.

The song that has been a theme for this run for me and as it gets shuffled through on my playlist has risen like a prayer;

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

And I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior


"Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)" Hillsong United

Solidarity

This word has taken on significant meaning`for me these last 6 weeks of training for Run for the Border. Solidarity in the Webster's definition means: unity (as of a group or class) that produces or is based on community of interests, objectives, and standards.
Erik and I are running this 100 miles with a team. A team of people who have held us accountable, who have similar goals in mind, who challenge us, and who encourage us.
Honestly I had never set out to run anything long distance. Before this, the very longest I had ever run was 10 miles and that was only one, single, time. I like running but make no mistake, I don't LOVE running. In fact I have never gone on a run and it not hurt a little. I almost always at least for the first two miles, want to turn back and set my little bum back in my comfy chair and switch on the remote.
Each and EVERY time I mentally go there.
Needless to say it is a very good thing I have a small community to pull and push me a little. When I am out on a long run, it's just me and the pavement stretched out on the long road before me. I feel very alone in that moment and this is the group that so far has held me accountable to finish the course that has been set out before me.
Solidarity at times has been my sanity. There are many training days when I'm at about 8 miles in, and I realize I'm just over 1/2 way to the end and I have nothing left, I am totally spent. My left hip hurts, my stomach is cramping up on me, I'm hot, I'm thirsty, I've dodged the 3rd car that "didn't see me", and there is a line of sweat that continues to trickle into my burning eye and I want to quit. Total "baby-girl" fit, huh?

That is the moment that I see this person in my mind.
.
At almost every training run I go on, I picture this man and the struggle with in the miles he has trudged, (with out proper shoes), to simply get the food to his camp- to HIS family. Those boxes from Feed My Starving Children weigh 50 pounds each, and he carries 5 of them, through unpaved roads, and through a swamp. Somehow that puts my temporary pain and discomfort into perspective.
I have also realized that the solidarity factor in this run reaches far beyond our running group. I am running a relay of sorts, each of us doing a small part of a very big picture. Some start the race by giving financially, there are others who give up a meal and raise money in very practical ways through Hope for Dinner, then the pass off happens again when another person gives of their time to pack the food at Feed My Starving Children. There are a few who raise money/awareness for Run for the Border by biking or running hundreds of miles through out their training and the final run. Then of course there are countless others who are praying for these precious people along the way, and finally we run along side these missionaries and villagers who finish out this race by trudging these boxes of meals into the villages where hungry mouths are fed.

Solidarity has played a very huge part in this race for me personally. Realizing that we are all working together for a common goal, and relating to one another with in that. I know that God has made our human hearts for relationship not only with Him, but with each other. If relating closer than I have before with someone else's struggle/pain is a goal God had intended for me, then that mission is being accomplished.

This verse I learned years ago in VBS has taken on new meaning these past few months in Galatians 6:2 it says, "Carry each others burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." I have heard God whisper, "there is caring in the carry Diane." Sometimes I have to push the pictures of this man and others I have seen away in my mind. Sobbing and running make for a really messy work out. (I've tried it, super awkward.) I remember the week Paul Hurckman from Venture spoke during a Sunday morning at our church and tears had started to roll down my cheeks, a lump started to fill my throat, my heart decided it was a good time to start racing, and I thought, "Stop talking, you are wrecking me here." I looked around quickly and hoped this was normal, but no one else looked on the verge of running out of the room. So I sat there and let God chip away at the parts of me that needed a little more "Diane" removed, and allowed myself to feel part of God's heart for these people 1/2 way across the globe.

Solidarity summarized in short says, "I'm in this with you."
It says, "I obviously don't live where you live and I don't pretend to really fully grasp all that you deal with, but I want to know more, I want to help where I can, you are not alone."
Not all of us will obviously help with this specific endeavor, but there is a place for each of us to fill in the worlds we live in. I think too often we can live fragmented unto ourselves, when God really wants us to come together and get behind one another whether that is in your neighborhood or across the world.

I was visiting the MLK memorial last summer in Washington DC and this quote struck me again in a new way, perhaps awakening and preparing me for this short season I am now in. Martin Luther King's quote, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." I have been thinking that through for months and am seeing that quote take root in my life. Just about the time when I am putting dinner on my table for my family of five, I think about this woman serving dinner to her family and I am reminded that her lack must affect my abundance. It is, and hopefully we will never be quite the same.

A Little Bit on the "Hope Campaign" from Hayley. In Her Words....

Hey there! This is Hayley Skoog. My mom and “Office Jesus”, (AKA Paul Hurckman), asked me to write something on what I think about the Hope for Dinner campaign for her blog. When I first heard about Hope for Dinner, I got pretty excited and wanted to do something. Last time when I had an opportunity to do something like this, my parents said no because they thought I wouldn’t be dedicated enough. So this time, I kind of wanted to prove them wrong. I decided what I would do to raise money is to bike around Orchard Lake, (which is 4 miles around), and get people to support me. My goal is to bike 200 miles. I also plan to bike alongside those that are running in the Run For The Boarder 100 mile, 4 day run in July. Also, when I’m biking, I wear this shirt that says “Bike 4 Burma” on the back, so people know what I am doing. I also wanted to make a webpage to spread the news and to get some people to support me. I talked this over with my parents and this time they did say yes. So far, I have gone 66 miles. Doing this is really fun, but also it makes me feel great that I can do something to help other people.

When I was younger, I always wanted to help others, but I felt so helpless and thought I was too young. I learned later on in life that you’re never too young or too old to help the Kingdom of God. For me being a young teen, I didn’t know what I could do. I realize you don’t have to just go on a 100 mile run or bike across the state. What Emma and I did was throw a birthday party, and instead of presents we asked for donations for Hope for Dinner. Also for our birthday, we went to Feed My Starving Children, and were able to see and pack firsthand the food that the money we are raising is going toward.

There are so many simple things you can do to help others, sometimes it’s just asking God what he wants you to do and then doing it. These people in Burma and others places in the world have nothing and while they are starving and thirsty, we are “busy” with our friends, schedules, phones, and trying to get the latest upgrade for our phones. We get caught up in the worldly things that our culture says is right, but God’s word does not say the same. It says in Matthews 6:24, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Yet we cannot serve both God and money.”

Lately, I’ve just been more aware of what I have and desire to be even more thankful for it. I look at my life and I just think that I am really blessed. I have a great family, great parents, friends, an amazing church, and even though I don’t always enjoy this, a great school. Sometimes you can get caught up in your own life and not enjoy just the simple things. I was thinking about this on Friday night, we were sitting by the bonfire and spending time together as a family. I was really sad thinking about the end of school and I was already worrying about high school. My mom asked what was wrong and I told her. She replied back, “You should be grateful for everyday that God gives you. You are not promised the next month, week, or the next day. So live in this moment right now Hayley.” I learned from her that I should live in the very moment I am in, and enjoy what God has given me for this day.

So what I can do right here and right now, is help in my own way the Hope for Dinner campaign. I can pray for the Burma refugees, I can give what I have, and I can bike- in hopes of raising some funds and awareness to some people in our world that really need it.

Here is some pictures from our birthday celebrations. If you are interested in supporting please click this link right here. Thank you!

Teach Us to Number Our Days....

I love the verse that is the core of this blog in Psalms 29:10, "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

That verse has been mulled over in my mind these past few weeks. "Teach us" must mean that this concept doesn't come naturally with in us. It certainly hasn't come naturally from my personal experience. When my little ones were very young I definitely went through seasons and phases that I would wish the days away. Anyone who currently is dealing with potty- training, teething, and 3am feedings may chime in with a healthy "Amen." right about now. There has been seasons of "hard" recently that I have been VERY guilty in wishing a phase or difficult season away, but I may add that I am getting better at all of this.
I am progressing at the counting my days part of this verse too or at least making my days count; in the hard times, in the "stuck" times, in the mundane, in the days of this spring that seems to forget that winter is indeed over. (Minnesota, where is your reset button?) We've all been reminded lately in watching the news that our days are indeed numbered. In light of the massive tornadoes in Oklahoma, the tragedy at Sandy Hook, in hearing of friends with the diagnosis of cancer, to the simple thing of getting our friend's graduation open house invitation for their child which I could have sworn was still in the 7th grade. I'm reminded that our days here on this earth are indeed numbered.
For me it is finding the divine among the ordinary. It is using what is in my hands TODAY, instead of waiting for the hope of more abundance in my tomorrow. Seizing the moment to do good, and taking time to let God interrupt my sometimes frenetic pace. For some of us it is taking a meal to a friend, forgiving a grievance, listening to EVERY story your junior higher relates at the end of a school day, praying for a spouse, rocking that sweet baby just a little while longer, taking time to connect with that person behind the cash register, helping mow the neighbors lawn, believing the best about someone and not listening to the worst, saying yes to a mission trip, or just spending time in simple quiet to allow the truth of God's word wash over the hard and thirsty parts of our souls.

The last part of this verse is profound. It says, "that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Interesting that in counting our days, we gain wisdom. As I've been pondering more and more about that, I was thinking about the contrasting opposite of that verse. In blending our days into a puddle of the ordinary; the "if only I had...., the I'm bored's, the someday when's, the I'm stuck, the let's just get through this" phases-scripture implies that we are binding our hearts up in foolishness. I think the Psalmist wants to remind us that when we don't grasp our day to day ordinary moments and combine them with God's purpose, then waste and foolishness are not too far away. I'm often drawn back to the story in the bible with the Feeding of the 5000, when the little boy stopped, used the very little that was in his hand at that moment, and allowed God to use him to help usher in the miraculous amongst a very ordinary day.

I'm not sure about you, but I could use more wisdom in the world I live in. More than before I am learning to whisper words of prayer through out my day. To pause and to allow God the interruption rights he is entitled to. To allow His divine plans to surround my temporal world.

It makes for a life more exciting to live, inspiring to be around, and if a little more wisdom leaks over into my life in the process, I'll take it. I need it.
Now off to hear some compelling story of what happened at the junior high lunch table this week.
Stay tuned.