Bike Excursion

Wow! I'm still feeling the good effects of a twenty-six mile bike ride we took yesterday. (Minus a few sore spots.) We joined Matt and Helen on the Mohican Valley Trail, riding from Danville to Mt. Vernon on a paved path, which used to be a train track. Mile after mile, easy-going, beautiful country and woods, imagining the train rides of years gone by, crossing the bridges, watching the river flow, throwing pretzels into the currents to see whose would win, drinking Cokes and peeling clementines for break, talking and laughing,... I loved it... I felt so ALIVE. The last five miles proved to be some of the best for me...not necessarily the most enjoyable... but rather a lesson in sheer determination... having my mind on a goal that seemed impossible but making up my mind to pedal those last miles.

Hey, Happy Birthday, Monica! It's so unique that you and James have the same birthday! Probably sort of a bummer in the sense of not having the special days spread out. For us, we even think ours is plenty close... three birthdays and our anniversary all within 2 1/2 months.

Discoveries

I made two neat discoveries this week...

First, I was reading John and Kendra's site, and found the radio stations they like. Nice praise and worship to listen to through the day. Meet The Mullets... our great friends from church. http://web.mac.com/jnkmullett/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html
Click on "About Us" to find their favorite music.

Second, it works great to do my ironing outdoors! Gerald put up a retractable clothesline around my porch, where I always hang our shirts and dresses to dry. So about 3:00 the other day, I went out and ironed the clothes before I brought them in. I felt accomplished.. laundry and ironing finished in one day.

The Early Christians

Gerald and I have been reading the book, "Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up" by David W. Bercot. It's a fascinating book, comparing the beliefs of the first generation Christians to ours today. They had the advantage of talking directly to the apostles, living in the culture of the day, and not having Scripture tainted with assumptions passed from generation to generation.

Here's a few quotes to give you a peek into their way of thinking. They knew that to choose Christ meant to carry His cross.
"He who chooses to live well for eternity, will live in discomfort for the present. He will be subjected to all types of troubles and burdens as long as he is on the earth, so that in the end he will have divine and heavenly consolation." --Lactanius
"The prison does the same service for the Christian that the desert did for the prophet. Our Lord himself spent much time in seclusion so he would have greater freedom to pray and so he would be away from the world. ... The leg does not feel the chains when the mind is in heaven." --Tertullian
""Bring on the fire and the cross. Bring on the packs of wild beasts. Let there be the breaking and dislocating of my bones and the severings of my limbs. Bring on the mutilation of my whole body. In fact, bring on all the diabolical tortures of Satan. Only let me attain to Jesus Christ! ... I would rather die for Jesus Christ than to reign over the ends of the entire earth. " -- Ignatius (In a short time, he was torn to pieces by wild animals in a Roman Colosseum)

Let's see, how does that compare with my outlook on life? How often do I try to pray away pain? Do I expect God to give me a comfortable life if I love Him... the American dream? Is my mind in heaven or is it consumed with the things around me?