Sing to God

It is good to praise the LORD
and make music to your name, O Most High,
to proclaim your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.
For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD;
I sing for joy at the works of your hands.
How great are your works, O LORD,
how profound your thoughts!
-Psalm 92:1-5

Psalm is a book of songs, an entire book, dedicated to songs. If I am not mistaken, it is also the largest book in the Bible as well.

Music plays a significant role in our lives, theres no question about that. Its everywhere, and it cannot be avoided. Its as if God knew the role music would play throughout history, and in our lives.

David writes these songs, no matter his strife. He sings out to God when things are good, when things are tough, before a battle, after a battle, David sings to God in ALL situations.

For me, I love to sing, but I am not "blessed" in the vocal cords. I love to sing in my truck, because I can turn up the music, sing at the top of my lungs, and I am happy. When I sing, and I get into it, its like I have been taken to another world.

When I sing in church, I dont sing loudly. Sometimes I dont sing at all. Sometimes I just like to hear those around me sing, and worship through their song.

God wants to hear our songs. God wants us to sing, to Him, in all occasions. Its weird, its like prayer, but its not really prayer. It more like praise, or worship. God has given us a book of examples, in hopes to motivate us, to sing songs of praise and worship, to God.

When was the last time you sang a song to God, to worship and praise Him, when you weren't in church?

Lastly, think of Job. Think of his life, he got upset at God, but he also sang to God, and even though he didn't understand what was happening, he praised God. God took care of him, and gave him more than he had lost. That doesn't mean he forgot about what he lost, but he has the option to look back and not just see the loss he suffered, but he can look back and choose to see how God used the situation and how blessed he is now.

Sing your songs to God, sing when your joyful, sing when your upset, sing whats on your heart to God.

Psalm 51:10-15

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.
Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

More on the Subject

In my last post, I talked about how God is making some changes in my life; I can now expound on the subject.

As you may have read, in between the lines, I believe God is pushing me to work with the poor. Its been a long time since I have considered this. Too long. I wasn't sure the extent to which God wanted me to get involved, however that message is becoming clearer and clearer.

My wife and I have discussed this, and prayed about it for a while, but within the last two weeks, the puzzle pieces are coming together.

On Monday, I emailed the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission, and asked if they were in need of help. I let them know I was available, and supplied a brief note of my qualifications. A few hours later I heard back, affirming that they could use the help. This was not a big shock by any means. I received my volunteer form that I needed to fill out before I start working. The person who I turned it back into is to be on vacation or leave for a week or so, so it wasn't a big rush. I glanced over the application, and started filling it out.

I was emailed the hours of their kitchen, and needed to fill out what hours I would be able to fill. This is where it became complicated. See, this fall, I am returning to college to finish my degree. I setup and appt. on Thursday to discuss my classes with an adviser.

So Thursday came, and so did my appointment. As we talked, I discovered that at the end of this fall semester, I would be eligible to graduate, with not one, but two degrees. I was in shock. Whats even more shocking, was the classes I have to take.... are pretty easy classes (except 1 math course).

This takes me back to Monday. As of Monday, my wife and I have agreed that I will no longer be working at my current job. It has been a difficult decision, yet we put our faith in God, that He has our best interest in mind. He has provided for us in every way imaginable, and the situation that we are in is no coincidence. He has plans, and we will trust and obey.

Today, I had to break the news to my supervisor, and good friend, that I will not be staying on after summer camp ends. It has been very difficult, as I want to end on good terms, yet I want to make sure that as I leave, my voice is heard.

God brought me to Gull Lake Ministries for a reason, and that reason became apparent just weeks after I started. One of the two cooks fell, and broke her hip. By the start of retreat season, she was back and working, however I felt God still wanted me there. I stayed, and for the most part, have enjoyed my time there. Now, God is leading me in another direction. I believe its because of two reasons: He had work to do in me, He had work to do in those around me. While I am unsure of what is completed and what is still in progress, I know what He wanted changed in me. I believe that it has happened.

God has been teaching me compassion. It hasn't really set in until recently, that I need to become more compassionate to those around me. Its something that I have really tried to work on, and while the progress is slow, I believe it is happening. Maybe thats why He is pushing me to work as a volunteer, maybe not. I think the important thing, is that it I am aware of it, and will be working to learn this trait.

While I do believe this is something I could learn, while at Gull Lake Ministries, its not where God wants me. I will be leaving at a very critical time, and while it really does disturb me to do it, I must listen to God's will. He has a plan for those still there, and I will continue to pray for all of them.

As with all things, I look forward to see how God will work, and I will continue to seek out His plan for my life. It doesn't always make sense, but faith requires action, and you don't usually get to see where your going; its only when you look back, that you see the path God created, just for you.

Where is God?

Sunday I was able to attend church again. Its been a while, as most Sundays, I have to work. Its amazing how I can be gone for so long, and on the one Sunday I attend, God uses it to work on me.

I was shocked, because it was before the sermon, and was merely something most would consider small, and minuscule, yet it hit home with me. While I cannot tell you what it was at this time, you will surely know before long; God is making changes in my life again.

Something I got out of Sunday's sermon, however, I also found to be relevant, and wanted to share. The sermon was taken from 2 Kings, chapter 5. A man named Neeman, commander of the army of the king of Aram (a Syrian king), had contracted leprosy. God had placed a young Jewish girl as a servant in Neeman's home.

As Neemans condition grew worse, the young girl is overheard saying: "If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."

Neeman goes to the king, and shares this information with him, and asks for permission to go, to which the king agrees. Actually, he not just agrees, he gives Neeman gifts of clothing, gold and silver. This really tells you how important Neeman is. The king also sends a letter, that Neeman may give to the Israeli king.

Anyway, Neeman goes to meet the Israeli king, who cannot heal Neeman, and thinks that this whole thing is just a way to Syria to go to war with Israel.

Elisha, God's prophet, the man who Neeman was supposed to see, heard what was happening, and tells the king to send Neeman to him. (Our pastor put in a quite witty comment here about how all too often we depend on the government to fix things, when we should have gone to the church first... I agree)

Neeman goes to Elisha's home, knocks on the door, and Elisha tells his messenger to say to him, "Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."

Neeman is pissed. I would liken it to calling tech support, getting passed around, and when you finally get someone who can fix your problem, he tells you, just reboot windows, it will fix everything. I digress. Neeman expected a big show, a big to do, not to bath in a river.

So Neeman has a servant who convinces him to do as commanded. He does, and of course, it works. Neeman returns to Elisha's home, and wants to give him all these gifts. Elisha refuses, admitting that it is God who heald him, not Elisha, as such, Elisha cannot take credit.

Here is the interesting part. Neeman asks if he can take two mule loads of dirt home with him. Why dirt? Why would he want to take dirt home? Sounds kinda of strange huh?

Neeman worshipped many gods, but it was the God of Israel that saved his life. Neeman recognized the true God, and he wanted to take Him home with him. Neeman most likely thought that the God of Israel, lived in Israel, and by taking home the dirt of Israel, he would also take God with him.

This is where I leave the sermon, and take up another path. All too often, we mark certain places with God's dirt. We put the dirt in church, so when we go, we can be with God. We put it at the dinner table, so that when we pray, we are with God. We put God where we want to meet with Him, and we lose sight of where God put Himself, so that He can meet with us.

We have all felt seperated from God, even after salvation; and I think its because we have moved the dirt around, and forgotten where God truly is. God lives within us, and too often, we try to seek Him out in locations, or buildings, and we dont find Him. We look for the big showy god, the Monty python god, where clouds open up, and gods head pops out of heaven. Our God speaks to us, when we are ready to listen.

Sunday, I was ready to listen.

USA Triathlete Demographics

While I was looking to find out what age group I belonged in, I ran across some really interesting information. The page I stumbled upon, was from the USA Triathlon organization's website.

It broke down the demographics of their members, and I found it really interesting.

For example, the average of the USA Triathlete... is 38. 38!! 59.6% are males, and 39.5% are female. Since 2000 female USAT membership has grown from 27% of the total of the annual members to over 38% at the end of 2008.

63% of USAT members are married; and 44% have children living at home. Only 5% are widowed, divorced or separated.

The average income is an astounding $126,000. 50% of all USAT members are making between $75k - %199k annually.

These stats really are amazing, and I cannot help but consider how being physically fit improves your job status. It is a well known fact that someone who is overweight is usually paid up to 10% less than a person in average physical condition, so this is not a huge surprise to me; but the actual amount is amazing to me.

If you want to read more, click here.

Busted!

I betcha his wife aint happy with him! Its one thing to glance, but its completely different to get busted doing it... and Obama got busted.

The girl he is checking out??? Her name is Mayora Tavares, and she is 16. Mayora was at the G8 summit in Italy as part of the J8 – a group of 53 people aged between 14 and 17 who have been meeting in Rome since the start of the week. The group were there to discuss how the lives of young people around the world can be improved.

The Mental Commitment

I have been going at it now for over two months, and I have made significant gains in my training. I can run 6 miles straight, and I have lost 22lbs of body fat; my clothes dont fit anymore, and my neighbors think I am extreme.

I have purchased books on training for triathlons, and am learning great forms for strength training for each of the three events. I have created a weekly schedule and am working hard to follow it, yet sometimes, at the end of the day, I still ask myself if I have made progress.

So much of exercising is mental, its not even funny. This month I have decided to, sort of, back off from pushing myself to "break records" in my training, and really focus on my foundation.

I am not flexible. I have never really been all that flexible, and I realize the importance of it. So this month, I am incorporating 1 hour of stretching into my workout, nearly every day (5 of the 7 days). I already can feel a difference in my flexibility, which tells me I have a long way to go still.

Another aspect of training I have added, is walking. 3 days a week, I plan to just go walking. It sounds kind of silly to walk, when I am already running at distances greater than I expect to run in a race next year, but walking is good for me. It works different muscles, and it improves your run. It helps me burn fat, which is currently my main target.

As I have started to properly build my foundation, my mind seems to be under attack, from itself... again. I had my wife take some photos of me, so that I can see my progress. Needless to say, it got me down. Its amazing how this could happen, I mean, I am doing really well, but my mind seems to forget that.

My wife took photos of herself, months ago, when she first set out to lose weight. We took some new ones the other night, and compared them to before. We saw some really good changes. I guess this is what brought me down, I dont have "real" before photos. I remember at the time thinking that I should take them, but alas, I never did... and now I am beating myself up over it, literally.

Its kind of strange, but on some days, when I feel I have really pushed myself and worked hard, when I get into bed at night, those are the nights my mind tries to tell me I am at a loss. I cant really explain it, other than it really does feel like a war. I strike hard in the morning, afternoon and evening, but come bed time, my enemy seeks revenge.

It is depressing to believe you are doing really well, and then hear yourself tell you that you aren't. I really wish I could pin point where this negativity comes from and move on with it, but I am struggling with it.

I can admit however, that in the morning, God has renewed me, and I am ready to fight another day. Sometimes I start a little later than I want to, but I start. The commitment is still here, because I am willing to fight for it, and I am not ready to give up on it just yet.

End of June Stats

So June has come and gone, and I dont feel like I have actually trained all that much. Maybe its because I still havent started my swim, maybe its because I have made new changes to my exercise schedule, maybe its a little of everything.

The big exercise events of the month have been in the last week really. I ran for 6 miles straight, no breaks, no slowing down. I prepped for the run, and anticipated running for more than my normal routine 3.1 miles, but wasn't sure how far I would actually go. I ran the 3.1, and planned on 4 miles, but when I hit 4 miles, I still felt good, so I figured I would continue. Once I hit my normal turn around, I considered running the full 6 miles. Knowing that was a big task, I decided on just running to the house, and see how I felt, if I felt good, I would continue.

When I could see our mailbox, I started to evaluate the situation. It was sprinkling, but tapering off; the wind was gusty, but I have ran in worse, and my body was holding up fine. I knew that the rain was going to start again, and remembered seeing thunderstorm warnings on the news. If I stopped at the mailbox, it would have been 5.6 miles, which is still a huge increase from 3.1 miles... The problem was that I wouldn't have been content, I wanted to see what I could do.

I ran past the mailbox, down to the stop sign, and made my final turn back towards home. I picked up pace a bit, and started to grin. I now knew I would complete it, I had raised the bar. I havent been out running since Monday, but I plan on it tomorrow.

My second big accomplishment this month has been creating an actual schedule for my exercising. This has been difficult, mainly due to work, however we now have a hard copy schedule for work. This has allowed me to design a pretty good workout, based around what I need to work on, and give myself enough time to recover; as well as set times to eat (a big priority).

I am happy with my numbers this month, especially when I look back at the beginning of the month, and recognize I just started running this month. I started our excited that I could run 1.5 miles without stopping, and 30 days later, I am able to run 6 miles without stopping. If I didnt record my exercises, I would feel depressed. Even now its difficult knowing I havent ran in the last 2 days. In fact today, I didnt even get out and walk today!

All in all, this month stats are:
Run: 33.8 miles
Bike: 73.9 miles
Elliptical: 20.2 miles

To recap last month, I had:
Run total: 0 miles
Elliptical total: 38.55 miles
Bike total: 57.6 miles

I dont think I will track my elliptical stats anymore, as I am changing the way I log my info. I have joined a free website, called BeginnerTriathlete.com, where I can log all my info for free. Its pretty easy to use, and is more convenient than writing down everything. The site has some other great info as well. If you want to look at my profile, you will have to register on the site, my username is Layneh.