roadtrip!

Yesterday I finished a 3 day long bike ride across the state of Ohio.

Crazy as it sounds..................it is. ;-)

My brother had this idea about a month ago that he wanted to go on a bike trip, so with the help of my grandfather (who, at age 76 [??], is amazingly fit!), they planned a 4 day bicycle trip across the state of Ohio. Somehow my dad and I got suckered in too. (Ha, but it was a great trip!) The original idea was to start with our back tires in Lake Erie and end with our front tires in the Ohio River. And thus began our 250 mile saga.

We started on Saturday afternoon near Toledo and biked down to Findlay on the first day, which is about 70 miles - 10 miles more than we had planned. It doesn't sound like much - it's barely an hour drive by car - but it took all of 8 hours. We averaged around 14 miles/hour, but with stops for lunch, dinner, bathroom breaks, and one flat tire, that's what it came out to. We were battling the wind almost all day, so we were exhausted by the end!

The second day we started out at 8:30am, and with the help of the wind to our backs, we averaged around 17 miles/hour and made it to our planned destination by 3:30, so we decided to keep going! We ended up in Urbana, OH, having ridden 95 miles! I think we ended up "in the saddle" for about 9 hours that day. You might appreciate the "good luck" message my sister wrote on the back of my dad's pack:

As we assessed things that night, we realized that although we had planned on a 4 day trip, if we could make good time again, we could finish the trip in 3!

So after my brother and I stomped my dad and grandfather in a game of Rook that night (a very rare occurrence!), we set out the next morning with the goal of making the last 80 odd miles in one day. Again, we were blessed with the wind to our backs and mostly flat roads, as we were on an actual bike path that day, so we made good time.

About 15 miles away from the river, however, it started raining. It was drizzling at first, but it turned into a pretty heavy shower in a few minutes. We knew we were close (mom was picking us up in the car at the river), but we weren't sure exactly how close, so seeing as how none of us wanted to get wet, it was suddenly every man for himself - we flat out booked it. The last 7 miles or so we were averaging around 20 miles/hour (which is about as fast as you can go on a flat when you're laden with 4 days of supplies and you've already been going for 8 hours) and we still hadn't made it to the river by the end of the trail. It stopped raining after those 7 miles, but we had to find a way to the river still, and by the time we were given bad directions by 4 different people, it took another 5-10 miles winding through the city of Cincinnati until we found a way to get to the river.

After we made it, we called mom to tell her where we were, and she and a whole entourage of family came to pick us up! Although the trip had gone very smoothly overall, we must have looked like a mess! We were all soaked from head to toe, mud spattered up and down our clothes, sunburned from the last 3 days, out of breath, and all very sore!

It was a great trip, though - a great experience, and some great memories! :-) Would I do it again??

Well....not right now. ;-)

oh, my family... haha

I took my crazy little brother and sister to school this morning, and wanted to give you a snapshot of what our ride in the car looked like, ha..

David (a junior in high school, sitting in the back seat, obviously annoyed): Emily, put the visor up.
Emily (a freshman in high school, sitting shottie, answering equally annoyed): Why? It's not bothering you.
David: It is bothering me or else I wouldn't ask you to put it up in the first place. The sun isn't even in your eyes - it's behind us.
Emily (getting more flustered): So why do you care?? IT'S NOT BOTHERING YOU!
David: It IS bothering me!!! I can't see out the windshield, ok??
Emily: Well why do you need to see out the windshield??? Just look out on Aaron's side!!
David: EMILY, JUST PUT UP THE VISOR!!
Emily: WELL AT LEAST YOU COULD ASK ME NICELY INSTEAD OF YELLING!
David: I already asked you like 4 times!!!!
Emily: No you didn't! You just keep telling me!!
David: ::sigh:: Emily, can you please put the visor up.
Emily: ::sigh:: Fine. (puts the visor up) Happy now??
David: (grudgingly, with a hint of sarcasm) Thank you! ....FINALLY..

Haha, oh man.....I just sat there and cracked up! ;-)

"my prayer for them is that they would be one..."

So this weekend I drove up to Dayton, OH with my grandparents and some other family for a weekend family reunion of sorts. On the way up we were talking and someone in the car made an observation that I've never thought of before and left me thinking...

First of all, it is well understood that our country is unified under one document: namely, the Constitution. It is also well understood that there are many differing interpretations of various parts of that document. Some people interpret it liberally in some parts while others interpret it more conservatively. Yet the fact remains that although our country is made up of an EXTREMELY diverse population, yet, somehow, all of us are able to live peacefully, under the authority of one document that no one agrees on how to interpret. Curious.

And my question is: why can't the church do the same thing??

Our situation is strikingly similar: the church is also made up of a diverse population, universally claiming to submit to a very difficult document that has been interpreted in many different ways, namely, the Bible. The only difference is that the United States of America has managed to remain a unified population, able to act as one and respond with one voice, while the church of Christ is sorely lacking in that capacity. What's wrong with this picture?

Why has an enormously diverse and pagan population like the United States of America been able to remain unified with so many different views, while the church of Christ, which is SUPPOSED to be unified with a common foundation, has effectively splintered into hundreds of sub-denominations every time another leader has offered a slightly different interpretation of a Biblical passage?

Even Paul said that in order for a body to function correctly, it needs diverse parts with diverse functions working together, so why is it that the church today has divided itself into subcultures according to its spiritual gifts? This is another puzzling issue along the same lines...

Some would argue that although there are many different denominations today, solid Christians in those denominations still consider themselves brothers with other Bible-believing Christians, and thus that the church is unified. But the fact is that the church is not unified. There are still denominational boundaries. There are still those who refuse to worship in this church because they use a drum set in worship or those who refuse to attend that service because they lay hands on the sick or those who refuse to take communion with these believers because they use real wine instead of grape juice.

It makes me very upset thinking about all of this, but even more upset because I have no answers to offer. It makes me upset to see a pagan society understand more about unity than the church of God. I don't even know how to end this, but it's been on my mind this weekend and so I just wanted to share. As you think about it, I hope it will make you a little upset too. Pray that God would show us how to pray and show us how to treat each other better every day. Pray that we would not get caught up in one-way thinking, but that as we encounter other believers, all the time our attitude would be that of Paul in his letter to Timothy: that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners -- and I was the worst of them all."

It is easy to point the finger, but change always starts with us.

summer 09!!!

After a grand total of 21 hours of sleep, two 8 page papers, three 5 page papers, one final exam, one 20 minute presentation, a lesson plan portfolio, and soccer fitness testing, I finished my last 5 days of my junior year of college.

That was last week. For when I was a student, I spoke like a student, I acted like a student, I reasoned like student.....but now that I am on summer break I have put studious things away.

Or something like that, right? ;-)

Anyway, my sister and I made it down to Kentucky safely where we are staying with the family for a couple weeks (wooo!!). And ALSO, my best friend from high school in Spain (Michael) came up from Florida to visit for a few days, which is pretty much the coolest thing ever. I haven't seen him or even really talked to him for about 2 years now - it's awesome to see him again!

So today consisted of Michael and I doing some house work for my grandmother in the morning, then playing racquetball with my brother in the afternoon, eating my FAVORITE home cooked meal EVER for dinner, playing the nutmeg soccer game in my grandma's empty garage after that, getting a haircut, and then having mom's apple crisp and ice cream for dessert (which also happens to be my favorite dessert in the whole wide world). And now I am sitting on the back porch on the porch swing, soaking in the summer breeze, listening to the crickets, and watching the full moon rise in the clear sky. So needless to say, it was pretty much the most perfect day ever. :-)

I should probably be getting to bed since I have to be up early tomorrow, but I have one more update that could use some prayer. Last week I got an e-mail from the guy who is coordinating my overseas student teaching opportunity next spring - you might remember that I had my heart set on going to Morocco? Anyway, he e-mailed me to let me know that due to that school trying to get accredited next year and getting a new high school principal, they didn't think they could take me on in the end. He then proceeded to explain that my next 3 preferences (3 schools in Ethiopia, Pakistan, and Israel) have also all fallen through for various reasons. All I need to do now is submit to him another list of a few schools that he can look into for me, so it's not a huge deal, but it was disappointing news and I could use some prayer as I try to figure out how to move on from here. And please also remember my trip this summer to China... More updates on that to come!

Finally, I realize how terrible I have been recently with updating this site, but now that summer is here, you can be expecting much more from me! :-) I will be around!

Hang in there, my friends - and be an encouragement to one another. Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Take time to be still. Take time to play. Reach out to the marginalized around you. Preach the Gospel boldly. Remember your first love. Remember how much you have been forgiven. And make the most of EVERY opportunity that comes your way. Never lose your joy. :-)