Week 2

For some reason this week was tough. I had a lot of fun and interesting things on the calendar but I think it was a case of too much of a good thing. I did manage to get all my training runs and classes in but it wasn't easy. I'm proud of myself for forging ahead no matter what and not giving myself permission to skip something with the justification that it's early and I'll make it up later.



My saturday run was only 6 miles. That's the shortest "long run" I'll be doing between now and the marathon. I left the house around 4:30 in the afternoon. My sermon wasn't done but I was stuck and I figured a run would clear my mind and help me refocus on the task at hand. In the end it worked and I'm really glad I didn't postpone my run until Sunday.



As I left the house, the sun was shining and it actually felt warm on my back. I worried that I'd dressed too warmly. But by 5:00 I was feeling the chill as the sun dipped and it moved toward night.

I struggled some on this run because there are a lot of people who haven't done a very good job of clearing their sidewalks. I really don't want to fall and hurt myself so it was slow going much of the time. Still, I stayed within my normal pace of running about a 10:30 mile on my longer runs. I felt good as I walked in the house. I always feel good right after a run. It's an awesome high!



Bryan Sirchio returned from Haiti on Thursday with a new project in mind. The group he traveled with took two truckloads of supplies to our partners in Haiti including a few tents. While they were in Haiti and talking with the leaders of the SPARE Program and of CONASPEH (two Haitian organizations we partner with) it became really clear that there is a growing urgency around providing shelter. Too many people are still living out in the elements with little to no protection from the sun and rain. Haiti's rainy season is approaching and it is now crucial to do what we can to provide some better shelter. This is how our "Tents to Haiti" project was born. The goal is to send 15,000 tents to Haiti between now and March 15. If you can help with that project, go to http://www.tentstohaiti.org/ for more information.



The Psalm this week was Psalm 99. This is a Psalm of unabashed praise and adoration of God and God's holiness. It lifts up God's faithfulness to God's people throughout Israel's history and encourages the people to worship and praise God because of how great God is and has been with them and for them.



I'm not always that comfortable focusing on God's holiness. It seems this emphasis places God so far away from me, so high and exalted, unreachable, untouchable. I tend to imagine God in more intimate, personal, present with every breath ways. Still, I appreciated the reminder that God isn't only one thing and doesn't only act in small, intimate personal ways. God also is able to act in large, world altering, game changing ways. And for this I am also grateful. I want God to act in large ways because the challenges of the world are large and we need a God who is up to meeting those challenges and whom we can trust to be attentive to the big picture.



It is this great and holy, high and mighty wonderful God who is watching over the people of Haiti and over all of us with love and compassion and looking for ways to act in the world through us and in spite of us to bring healing and wholeness, peace and redemption to all that is broken and in need of transformation. We may not see God's work in Haiti or in our world now but I trust God's presence and God's activity and am grateful that it doesn't all fall on my shoulders!



Have a great week - catch ya next Saturday.



Tisha