Every year for about the last 15 years, my sister Peggy ("Pooh") and I have taken a fall weekend trip together. We now have eight kids between us, ranging from ages 2o down to 9, which means we have both traveled the marathon of diaper-changing, nose-wiping, potty-training, attitude-checking, sibling-correcting, laundry-folding, home-schooling miles.

Last Sunday, however, Peggy and I participated in a marathon of another kind. On our fall weekend get-away in Maine, we set out to conquer our 2nd 26.2 mile walk/jog together. I will briefly share the "highs" and the "lows" with you, beginning with the "lows".

Lows: we woke up at 4:30; we started the race in the pelting rain; we continued to jog in this cold rain for hours upon hours; my soggy fingers were so cold I felt like I had ten thumbs which means I couldn't get to my sport's jelly beans in my zipper pouch (biggest low); we almost got hit by a bus; port-a-johns were our only option (not); we were directed off-course around mile 17 which means I think we did a 26.3 mile marathon; and finally, we mis-communicated with our shuttle driver with the pick-up location so we stood with frigid aching muscles in the drizzling rain waiting for what seemed like forever. Was it worth it? YES...

HIGHS: walking/jogging with my sister, observing the wet beauty of Maine, finally getting my zipper pouch open, eating my jellybeans, and PRAYING for many of YOU! One of the biggest reasons that Peggy and I are doing marathons has to do with our Walking with Hope Ministry. The connection is that while we are doing each marathon, we take our list of the women who have come to our Hope gatherings, which is now over 100 names long, and we pray and pray and pray. So mile after mile in Maine, we called out your names and asked the Lord to bless you, keep you, help you, guide you, comfort you, and make Himself real to you. This committed time was my highest of highs! It bonded me with my sister and took my mind off myself, and all my lows.

I wonder, are you in a "marathon", or should I say another marathon, of your own right now? Maybe you are in the diaper-changing years, or an attitude-checking season with your children. Or maybe you're on the other end of life of parental-caring or marriage-repairing. From this literal marathon experience I just had in Maine, might I make a couple of suggestions?

One, find a friend to walk through this long haul with you. Life is too hard to walk alone. Encourage one another and build each other up (I Thessalonians 5:11). I would not have made this endurance trek without my sister by my side.

And two, pray. Praying helps divert our attention outside our own struggles; quite frankly, it even helps us to endure our troubles. In the midst of your mess, cry out for another; it will bless both of you! Remember, the power of prayer travels through time and space. What Peggy and I prayed on the trail in Maine, I know God heard and I know God answers. The Lord has heard my supplication, the Lord receives my prayer (Psalm 6:9).

So, another marathon down, and Lord willing, many more to go--bonding with my sis, and praying for you.

One of the biggest "mix-ups" that we humans can make in our personal walk with the Lord is to think that we are the originator of love. I know I spent years upon years in my relationship with God, putting one focused step in front of the other saying to myself, "I love God, I love God, I love God."

How revolutionizing it was for my heart to finally receive what my head had been told in His word even as a child. Listen to this verse found in I John 4:10:

This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

It's as if God is saying, "Don't get it backwards; I loved you... first."

For example, which comes first, grass growing from the earth, or rain falling from the heavens? Or better yet, which is the love-initiator in this relationship, a devoted mother reaching for her newborn baby or the small infant gasping for air? These answers seem obvious, simple. Likewise, God is desperate for each one of us to simply understand His deep affection...

Because... when we finally do "get" this fundamental concept, we then can't stop speaking, singing, writing, dancing, living out this uncontainable love. It pours from our innermost being, and it is better than life itself! Our once focused steps are now freeing steps, accompanied with, "HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME!", which then changes to the second verse, "HE LOVES YOU, HE LOVES YOU, HE LOVES YOU!" Yes, when we are His to the core, we are overcome with the driving desire to chase the world down with the initiating love of Jesus Christ.

So my friend, I encourage you to rest in this life-altering truth...He first loved us. (I John 4:19). And then, run to the world.

Dear Friends,

I would like to introduce a new resource found on my blog site called A Passage and a Prayer. This collection consists of Scriptures, and then prayers that I have written over the last several years concerning the heart of my children. If time permits, take a moment to check it out. I hope it will be of use to you as you pray for any of your loved ones: spouse, children, grandchildren, or friends. Take joyful confidence that our Lord loves to hear and answer the voice of his people!

LINK: A Passage and A Prayer

Summertime brings new growth. For example, there is a crepe myrtle planted by our screened-in porch that I have watched spring up over the last couple of months. Morning by morning, when I go out to sit quietly on the porch, the tree before me seems to be one inch taller than the day before. (It "leafs" me amazed).

By observing this tree, these verses come to mind:

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers. Psalm 1:2-3

Likewise, in our front pasture, a cow just delivered a sweet baby calf that is getting sturdier by the day as he consumes his mother's milk. (I'm sure he thinks the milk is "udderly" delicious). Soon, he will be chomping grass right beside her side.

There is a Scripture that speaks of this as well:

...like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow... I Peter 2:2

These scriptures remind me that I, too, have the wonderful opportunity to grow... spiritually, day by day. I see in the above verses that the "common denominator" of spiritual growth is God's word. So I must ask myself, am I delighting in the law of the Lord day and night, or am I longing for the pure milk of the word? If this is the case, then I can expect something wonderful to happen. Just like a young tree responds to water by stretching its branches heavenward, and a baby calf responds to milk by growing more sure-footed, a willing heart responds to God's word by becoming more and more like Christ each day. As we grow, we will reflect His image, which is full of love and compassion, patience and steadfastness, faithfulness and joy.

My prayer for you and for me is to crave His word, take in and meditate on His word, and then obediently respond to His word. Then you and I (and the world around us) will see growth, beautiful and sturdy growth, that rivals the crepe myrtle in my back yard and the baby calf in the front.

I just returned from our family trip to Florida. There is nothing quite like ocean waves and the white sand. The week was a restful "re-grouping" for the six of us, plus one cherished family friend. I would have to say my favorite activity was taking one-on-one beach-side walks with Mac and then each of my children. At the kids' ages now (20, 18, 15, and 14), it's all about quality time... I cherished each step.

As I felt the sand beneath my feet, one verse kept coming to my mind:

How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them they are more than the sand. Psalm 139:17-18

Another translation, the Message, puts it this way:

Your thoughts--how rare and beautiful! God, I'll never comprehend them! I couldn't even begin to count them--any more than I could count the sand of the sea. Psalm 139:17-18

Just think, if I had reached down and picked up one grain of sand, the psalmist is saying this would represent one rare and beautiful thought of God. And then if I counted the next grain of sand, it would be likened to another wonder-filled truth about God. And the next grain of sand, one more powerful trait concerning God. And the next grain, one more profound assessment of His character. And the next grain...

My friend, our God is an amazing, complex, exquisite, righteous, compassionate, generous, lovely, holy, listening, helping, saving God. And He is... so much more! The more we know of Him, the "bigger" He becomes to our hearts, and we just keep praising and trusting and learning and leaning into Him.

I am home now; how quickly life gets back into full swing (or should I say spin). The sweet walks, and the grains of sand on the beach were left behind as a cherished memory; but His rare and beautiful thoughts I will keep counting for years and years to come.

My son Bink has a 4 year old labrador retriever named Sarge. This big lovable black dog would fetch a ball from morning 'til night if someone had enough energy to keep throwing it. He lives to do what he was created to do... retrieve.

My daughter Emmy has a 7 month old cairn terrier named Juliet. This little energetic white puppy loves to pull, tug, chase and chew. But because her best friend is Sarge, she too has learned to retrieve, something very uncharacteristic of a terrier. So when any one of us throws a ball, Sarge races after it, Juliet pursues Sarge, and then both return in full speed to the thrower... back and forth, back and forth they go.

Recently, however, Juliet has added a new dimension to the game. While Sarge is running with the ball in his mouth, Juliet begins to nip at his heels. This distraction, of course, frustrates Sarge to no end, which results in him often dropping the ball before he gets to his final destination. Nip, nip, nip, drop, drop, drop. In the midst of this "game", we now have to encourage Sarge to keep his eye on the goal (instead of the little nuisance beside him).

I think sometimes "my call" can resemble this picture of Sarge and Juliet. Can you relate? Is there something you know that God has asked you to do... that He has created you to do? And in the beginning of this project or mission, joy and energy and excitement are overflowing; but then, little distractions pop up in your path, and other frustrations "nip at your heels" while you pursue the work God asked you to do. Let me encourage you to keep your eye on the goal set before you. If God has asked you to do something, He will be faithful until the task is complete. Please listen to only three of many verses that I hope will help you "pick that ball back up", and reach your final destination:

Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. (Pr. 4:25)

But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. (I Peter 2:20-21)

...Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God...is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished. (I Chronicles 28:20)

So my friend, keep your eye on the goal; trust Christ with each and every step, and through each and every obstacle that may come your way. He promises to complete the good work that He began in you.

(Meanwhile, I have to go apologize to Emmy for the not-so-good-work of calling her puppy a "little nuisance"...)