Countdown to Triathlon – 171 Days, 24.42 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 68 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

GOD GIVES ME A LIVE BIRD RIGHT AFTER SHOWING ME A DEAD ONE (OR WHAT WAS LEFT OF A DEAD ONE – ONE FEATHER ONLY)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - I believe that the turning point for this entire bike ride exercise - 18 months of preparation and three days of actual bike ride occurred at this exact time. 

I believe that when I saw that feather; when I straightened my back in determination and raised my chin, setting my jaw I turned the corner in my then present and future attitude.  My bike and I literally turned a corner, but then my attitude and behavior did also.  

turning point
n.

1. The point at which a very significant change occurs; a decisive moment.

2. A moment when the course of events is changed

 3. A point at which there is a change in direction or motion


The Journey - Installment Sixty-Eight

           

        I continued to ride to the end of ten miles at which time I stopped, turned my bike around and took a short break, drinking some water and eating an energy bar.  I had stopped my bicycle along side the road that was bounded by three feet of weeds to my right in front of a barbed wire fence surrounding a pasture of cattle.  As I got back on the bike and started to ride again, slowly at first, but picking up speed gradually, a bird flew out of the weeds and hovered at my right shoulder.  I was startled, to say the least, and turned my head toward the bird.  We were only a few inches apart as it hovered there beside me for a short distance. I was eyeball to eyeball with it.  As I looked into its little beady eyes,   I remember questioning God out loud asking, “Okay, Lord!  What does this mean?”  At that instant the bird flew off – I don’t even remember which direction it went. When I think back, I was in a forward motion on the bike with my head turned toward the bird.  The bird was facing me, otherwise we would not have been eyeball to eyeball.  But how was it able to fly alongside of me, sideways.  Only God knows.   I would suppose that the bird had a nest in the tall weeds and was trying to get me away from her eggs.  However, the incident seemed to me as being God-inspired.  Think about all of the incidences of God's creation which were interjected into my traiing.  There were dead birds, snakes, a huge hawk with a snake in its mouth.and now a live bird hovering, looking me in the eyes, God does use His creation, whether it be animal, mineral or vegetable to teach us and show us His mighty power.  He uses wind, volcanoes, lightening, waves in the ocean and any part of his magnificient creation that He feels like using.  It is up to us to see it and understand what the message is.  I had never in my life had a bird fly along side of me and look me right in the eyes as that bird had done.  It was immediately clear to me that I had absolutely no idea what that meant. 

            After continuing home and preparing for church, my husband Bob and I discovered that particular Sunday a visiting missionary, a man named John Earle from a ministry called Sports World, was to speak during the service instead of Pastor Don.  John explained that his group, former professional athletes, visited public schools and gave their testimony about the Lord.  I was amazed that people were allowed to mention Christ in public schools because I didn't think that was a possibility.  He told a story of how he had been in college, expecting to be drafted by the NFL, a chance of a lifetime. He had worked toward that goal his entire life.  At that time he had weighed over three hundred pounds and had been having trouble with bones in his feet breaking. He was so concerned and upset that he might miss the opportunity to be drafted by the NFL, that he found himself alone in his dorm room crying out to God.  At some point he began to ask God to forgive him for his unfaithfulness. He told God that he knew that God had been with him all his life and that God had blessed him so much.  He said he realized that God loved him and that God didn’t have to prove Himself to him anymore.  At that very instance, sitting in the pew next to my husband, I wanted to shout out, “God, you don’t have prove Yourself to me anymore either.  I don’t need any more dead birds.”  Then, the early morning incident of the bird flying beside me made sense.  I saw that bird as representing God and that He had been flying or coming along side of me, this entire time I had been in training.  What a revelation that was to me! I had known it all along in my head, but hadn’t truly felt it in my heart.  Now I felt confident that I no longer needed God to show me dead birds in order to cause me to remember that He loves me and that He is with me. Beginning at that moment, I rejoiced in my new-found assurance.  I was literally a new woman!

Come back Tuesday - going to Mendocino for a few days.  Maybe I'll get some good pictures to share of the whales in the ocean.  It is Whale Watch weekend in Mendocino and Ft. Bragg.

Countdown to Triathlon – 172 Days, 24.57 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 67 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

Can we conceive what humanity would be if it did not know the flowers?
Maurice Maeterlinck

 I had to get pictures today of our camelias and the neighbors' Tulip trees (from the Magnolia family)Pictureds taken today at 3:00 pm, Wednesday, March 2, 2011.  We're expecting rain tonight and tomorrow so that might be the end of the blooms.  Just had to share with you and I wanted pictures anyway.  The camelias were all planted by my Mother-in-law many years ago. 

Neighbor's Tulip tree photo taken today, 2011.





















AND NOW, FOR THE Pièce de résistance (or the best one)

That same tulip tree in the photo above - only instead of 2011 the pictures below were taken of Bob and I in 1968 - much skinnier and with brown hair no less.





What a stud!

We were mere babies -

Bob was 26 and I was 24
This was taken just before we left for the Army in Kentucky.


Was I ever smart!  It is hailing right this minute so it is so great I got the photos when I did.  Probably many of the pedals are all over the lawn now.

 One last picture - our kumquat tree in our front yard.  I make kumquat marmalaide with them.

I'm still not getting much exercise because of my arm and not getting very much sleep either.  Next week though, I'm going back in the pool and at least do the conditioning class even if I can't swim laps.  Now back to the bike ride story.



The Journey - Installment Sixty-Seven
        As I rode along that early Sunday morning, crying out to God about my problems, I happened to glance down to my left because something caught my attention.  When I looked, I only saw what appeared to be a grease spot in the road.  I turned my head back so that I was again looking forward down the road ahead. I had just turned my head forward when it seemed almost like an invisible hand had placed itself on my right cheek and pushed my head to the left and downward.  In that brief second, while I was still in forward motion on the bike, on the very outer edge of that grease spot, I saw one feather.  I immediately realized that it had been a bird but that it had been run over by vehicles so many times, it was flatter than the proverbial pancake.  I know for sure that I would not have turned my head and looked on my own since all I saw was a grease spot - no reason to turn and look down.  Again, as I had so many times before, cried out to God to please forgive me for my unthankful and unfaithful spirit regarding His mercy, grace and His provisions for me.  I told God that I was so sorry that I have continued to complain and grumble, even after such a long time. 

(Here is a good spot to ask anyone reading this blog, where do you see yourself?  If you picture a scale with grumbling, complaining and gripiing on one side and thankfulness and positive attitude on the other side, which side would be heavier or be holding the most?  We know what the answer for me at this particular time and day in the story.)

        After telling God how sorry I was, I straightened my back, raised my head, set my jaw as I rode, tears streaming down my face and announced to my Heavenly Father that now I understood why he had not given me someone to ride with the last several months because I was destined to ride alone in the bike ride. I told him that if that was His plan then I was okay with it and I would ride by myself if that were necessary.  I made up my mind that I would stop complaining. I told God that I was sorry to criticize Him for giving me a hybrid bike and that I knew I could not have ridden a road bike.  I realized that even though my bike was heavier than recommended, it was the one He intended for me to use – He hadn’t made a mistake! And, if the Lisa on the list wasn’t my Lisa , I was all right with that too.  As I turned the corner onto the next road, I could feel in my heart that after almost a year of complaining, crying, and grumbling, not only had the bike and I turned the corner, but so had my heart.  I felt different inside and for the first time full of confidence!

Philippians 1:6
...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
NIV  

No more whining!!!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -

Countdown to Triathlon – 173 Days, 24.57 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 66 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -

With all the discouragement I was experiencing, what was I forgetting?  The motto of this ride – The power behind me is greater than the task ahead of me” Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power – Ephesians 6:10.  Boy oh boy!  Did I keep forgetting that motto.

This is what I saw yesterday.  The almond orchards are all in bloom.  Unfortunately for the farmers, we had a hard frost this last weekend and today it is gloomy, windy and raining.  Very nerve-wracking times for the farmers.

The Journey - Installment Sixty-Six

When I thought I had exhausted all the names of the women on the list, I was surprised to see one more that I had missed. I had been glancing down the column that listed the home city and found Atwater, which was only about thirty-five minutes away.  When I followed the line over to the left side of the page, the name “Lisa ...” was listed.  My heart must have briefly stopped and I exclaimed out loud, “Lord, that can’t be my Lisa, can it?”  Lisa and I had been Tupperware managers together many years before and I hadn’t seen her for some time.  I had always had great respect for Lisa because she lived her love of Christ at all times, even when in a group of non-Christians.  I was always impressed with her sweet demeanor and cheerfulness and the fact that she always prayed before a meal, no matter where we were or with whom we were sitting.  At that time, early in my Christian walk when I first knew Lisa, I was not likely to say grace in public and was quite amazed to see Lisa give thanks to God wherever we happened to be eating.  Praise to God that I am no longer such a wimp or coward about praying in public!

            I remember that Lisa had an unlisted phone number and tried Friday night and all day Saturday to find a way to contact her.  That Sunday morning, I had still not been able to reach Lisa.  I had decided to do a short 20-mile ride before church. As I rode, I was once again crying, tears streaming down my face and bemoaning the fact that God had given me the wrong bike.  I cried also because the Lisa on the list was probably not the Lisa I knew, and that I probably would be riding at the back of the group all alone.  Never having been on an organized ride before, except for the one at the Wine and Cheese Festival earlier in the fall, I assumed that I would ride alone because I would be so slow.  I didn’t realize that on the Focus on the Family Ride, we would be accompanied by a Focus team member who would always be the last one in the group, bringing up the rear to be sure no one was left behind

 

Countdown to Triathlon – 173 Days, 24.71 weeks to Race Day (No installment today.)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -

Someone, and we won't say who, said: "I'm not a crook!"

Well I didn't mean to fib,either.  Honest!  I did intend to post for this morning like I said i would.

We had a really busy weekend.  We celebrated my mother's 88th birthday and the family took her out to dinner.

My mom and I







Then, on Sunday one of our daughter's gave our youngest daughter a baby shower.  The theme was Hawaii.  Here are a few photos.

There were diapers inside the centerpieces.

The cake

Laurel, due in April - it will be a boy.

We had hula and Tahiti dancers







We had Hawaiian food.

Laurel and our 17 year old Granddaughter, Taylor who flew in from southern California.



Opening gifts

One of the gifts I put together for the baby's room.  The photos are the ultrasound pictures.  The invitation is at the top right.







So this morning when I should have been posting the blog, I was taking back rental stuff, extra food to the Salvation Army and putting things away.  Then, this after noon I drove my Mom home to Sacramento and Granddaughter Taylor to the airport to fly home.

The Journey - Installment Sixty-Six - tomorrow.  I'm worn out today and just can't do it today!

Countdown to Triathlon – 178 Days, 25.42 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 65 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -

The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, 'O God, forgive me,' or 'Help me.'
Billy Graham

The Journey - Installment Sixty-Five
  Utter Panic and Discouragement

       On a Friday, about two weeks before the bike ride, I received a letter from Focus on the Family discussing the upcoming ride.  The letter re-iterated that we should not ride a mountain bike or a hybrid in the bike ride.  It also listed the riders, their addresses and phone numbers.  I had been expecting to see about 50 riders on the list and was shocked to see only 20.  The notice about the bike caused me to panic.   I now owned a hybrid and it was definitely too late to purchase another bike, a road bike, and train on it. I questioned God about his providing my hybrid bike and got myself quite upset about it.  When I thought about the 20 riders, I panicked even more.  With 50 riders, I had figured that there would be some riders that would be as slow as me and quite possibly I would have someone to ride with at the back of the pack.  I was sitting on the edge of our bed at the time.  After reading this letter and I remember throwing myself down on the bed and sobbing.  As I threw myself down on the bed and sobbed, I felt in utter despair.

To understand my mindset at this point, remember that I had never done a bike ride other than the one the previous October and it was only 29 miles.  I knew I would be riding with people who rode with ease and I knew I would be the worst and slowest rider in the group; probably the most overweight and the oldest.  Beside, my knees were so painful all the time that I really couldn’t picture myself  riding very far.  That thought upset me the most because I would be letting down my family and friends and all the people who had been rooting for me and contributing to Focus on the Family in my name.  Most of all I’d be letting down my God.

When I finally pulled myself together again, I began to look at the list more closely.  I thought that perhaps I could call a couple of the women who were entered in the ride and who lived in the general area and maybe we could find some time to ride together before the actual bike ride..  I definitely wouldn’t have called the men, if for no other reason than they would not want to ride with such a slow poke. I assumed or pre-judged  that I would be the only really slow bike rider.  I called several of the phone numbers and received no answer.  I remember leaving a message on the recorder of a lady named Terri who lived in Modesto, not far from our town of Hughson. She was to play a big part in the three day bike ride with me.   I called one woman who was part of a husband-wife team who would be riding together.  She said they had been riding together for quite some time.  I had been congratulating myself that I could now ride about twenty miles or more without stopping to rest.  I asked her how far they rode without stopping and she informed me that they don’t stop at all. That comment certainly burst my self-congratulatory balloon. Well, those people were definitely not in my category, either. One woman lived in the mountains and I didn’t call her because I figured that she had legs of steel if she was riding on steep grades.  I continued to judge people and situations even when I have no knowledge of them.  Later on the bike ride I discovered that the woman I thought would have legs of steel, would be out in front of the pack and would not ride with me because she would be too fast, couldn’t ride with us at all because of health issues. She was not able to take part in the Focus on the Family Bike Ride.   Pre-judging people and situations has always been a problem for me and has created many false impressions. Would I ever learn?

Come back Monday to see the surprise name on the list.  Have a great weekend, everyone.

Countdown to Triathlon – 179 Days, 25.57 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 64 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

The Journey - Installment Sixty-Four

        A few weeks before the ride I was having some anxious moments about whether I’d be able to complete the ride or not because of my knees.  I had been attending a physical therapist for help with my ever-worsening knees.  In fact, it was recommended to me by the physical therapist that I visited that I should dispense with riding about a week before the ride.  That made me even more nervous because I wondered if that would have great implications on my ability to ride in the actual bike ride. The therapist outfitted me with some special knee braces and an electrical muscle stimulator which was battery powered that was to be worn the first day of the bike ride.  When I mentioned that I would be wearing this battery operated stimulator to my high school email group, they commented that they had their own “bionic woman”. 

One of the men in the email group, Rick  who lives outside of Denver, Colorado, wrote and said that he knew that this ride was definitely going to be accomplished because we have such a great and awesome God.  He reminded me that our Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills.  He told me he had even written a song about that Scripture from the Book of Psalms.  The origin of the song began in his mind after college.  During college, one particular time when either he or his room mate were going through a difficult time, his room mate who was a Christian, told Rick that he wasn’t worried  about the situation because his “Father” owned the cattle on a thousand hills.  Rick wasn’t a Christian at the time and thought to himself, “I wonder if his father really does own the cattle on a thousand hills?”  It wasn’t until years later after Rick had become a Christian himself that he came across that verse in Psalm 50:10 That led him to write the song, Cattle on a Thousand Hills”.  Rick sent me a copy.  His encouragement and his song were very dear to me and made the psalm (see below) much more special. . 


Psalm 50 

¹ The Mighty One, God, the LORD,
   speaks and summons the earth
   from the rising of the sun to where it sets.
² From Zion, perfect in beauty,
   God shines forth.
³ Our God comes
   and will not be silent;
a fire devours before him,
   and around him a tempest rages.
⁴ He summons the heavens above,
   and the earth, that he may judge his people:
⁵ “Gather to me this consecrated people,
   who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
⁶ And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
   for he is a God of justice.^[a][b]
 7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak;
   I will testify against you, Israel:
   I am God, your God.
⁸ I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices
   or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
⁹ I have no need of a bull from your stall
   or of goats from your pens, 

¹⁰   for every animal of the forest is mine,
   and the cattle on a thousand hills. 
¹¹ I know every bird in the mountains,
   and the insects in the fields are mine.
¹² If I were hungry I would not tell you,
   for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

        If God could own the cattle on a thousand hills, know every bird in the mountain and the insects (by the gazillions) are his then He could certainly see that this pitiful woman would complete the bike ride.

Countdown to Triathlon – 181 Days, 25.85 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 63 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -

NO WHINING!

The Journey - Installment Sixty-Three

MORE ENCOURAGEMENT FROM OTHERS
 

        I was still involved with my drapery business when I wasn’t riding the bicycle.  One of my customers at that time was a Jewish doctor and his wife.  I had been telling her about the ride and my experiences and I commented one day that I was just like the children of Israel, grumbling and complaining and whining.  She was amazed at the story and I told her everything that the Lord had been doing.  A week or so later, Bob went to install blinds in her home.  When he returned that evening, he had two buttons that she had given to me, one with a magnet on the back and one with a pin to wear when I ride my bike.  The buttons read: “Whining” with a line through the word.   In other words, “NO WHINING”.  I wore that button every day after that and on the actual three-day bike ride.  The really great thing about this incident was that I was able to share very openly with this Jewish woman about what Jesus was doing for me.  I didn’t hold back anything and she listen politely and with amazement.

          

     Another couple who were customers of my drapery business lived in Modesto and were really interested in hearing about the story.  While Bob installed their draperies, I told them all about the bike ride, from the beginning up to that day.  They were both Christians and tried to encourage me.  They also sent a donation to Focus on the Family in my name.  I expressed my concern about not being able to finish the ride.  The bike ride was at this point only about five and a half weeks away.  I told them that even after all God had done for me, I still was concerned that I would let Him down along with everyone else who was counting on my finishing the ride.  The next day, the husband called me and told me to read Proverbs 3:5:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

    And lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him

And He will make your paths straight.”

Another translation of this says, “He will direct your paths.”  I really needed to hear this at this particular time and be reminded of the fact that God was the author of this ride and that it was He who would direct me if I trusted Him with all my heart and would quit looking to myself for understanding.  I read that Scripture over and over again in the ensuing weeks.