Bike chains and dog chains...

There are times when, as a woman approaching her fifties, I sense that time is running short to do all the 'fun' things that should be done before I hit the pearly gates! 
So, today, I was persuaded to bike ride with twin twelve, soon to be thirteen year old, boys...and mind you, bike riding should be something that's done daily, at least that's what Caleb thinks, and I told him we could do that...

It all began when Isaac came to me and with a Middle Eastern accent, told me that they'd filled my tire (and not blew it up!) and wanted me to take a spin with them...and holding my hand, he drew me away from a letter I was writing...(sometimes these two just amaze me with their wooing skills!)
I told dad I was going to take a ride with the boys to which he responded, "You should take a ride with the boys!  Do you have a horn or can you say honk, honk?"  I honked and he gave his approval...off we went!  (He's been in a really goofy mood lately, very witty and just a hoot!)

Coming around the corner of a street named, 'Anaconda' (that should have been my first clue), a dog came running out of a house when a woman opened her door and a man carrying his little girl walked in.  Immediately the dog began barking at us as we rode by and I heard the woman yell the dog's name, but she didn't seem to care and closed her door.
The dog kept pace with us, barking, hair raised on its back and would wander into a front yard and then come back barking...I thought to myself, 'all bark, no bite' just as this dog came into the street and BIT ME! 
Immediately, Caleb dropped his bike and went after the dog!  I mean literally went for the dog...I was concerned he'd get bit, but instead the dog wandered back into a yard.  With great aim, Caleb took off his helmet and threw it at him, hitting the thing square in its back (broke his helmet!!!)!  The dog began whimpering, and wandered back toward it's house, which is where I was also headed! 

I felt so honored by my son's chivalry that I'd do it all over again just to see the man in him rise up to protect his mother!  That's my boy~

This was a big dog, not a little yipey thing, either!  I knocked on the woman's door and when I told her, she asked if I was ok, and I told her, "NO, your dog just bit me!"  She apologized profusely, but I told her to keep her dog in her yard...I was too overcome to even think of saying all the things I'd thought of on my way to her house!!!!  That was a good thing.  One never knows if maybe one is going to the same church or worse...I see her in a situation where she'd need ministry and I was the ranting woman she'd had at her front door!!!

Well, my nerves have somewhat settled and I checked my leg...no open flesh!  But I just drove to get the address and when I made a report so no one else gets bitten, the man said she'll get between two and six tickets!  Wow!  Very painful lesson! 

Who would have thought that today would have turned out like it has so far?  Yet, I did what I set out to do:  GET MY HEART RATE UP!

Have a great weekend.  Won't be around again until after we get back from the Coast...with tons of pictures, too!!!

Do you Fly?

Since the beginning of this new year, I've been kicking around the pebble of good health, the cost of picking it up and putting it in my pocket. 

Sometimes, just kicking the stone seems like enough exercise!

Our son, Josh, is staying with us while he figures out what his future holds.  He is in great health...he runs, lifts weights and generally eats good and buys these green drinks that have the name 'Naked' written on them. 

So, lately he's been asking me if I want to run with him, to which I laugh and say I'll walk and he can run...we've gone out once, tho he's asked often like last nite when mom came home from the hospital and I had to redo all her meds according to the hospital's discharge papers.

 I laughed because it was a joke to think I could just pick up and go...although it would have been a great stress reliever!

But today, as I've been reminding myself...

He loves me, I'm His, my body is His...

 so walking for my health is no big deal...plus the temp was in the 60's and school went great and we were finished before 2:00.  So out we ventured.

It was delightful to listen to the boy's conversations about so many different things...like Isaac asking, at first, "Mom, why do people let their dogs wander?"  And when I didn't respond, "Mom, why do dogs let their owners wander?" All just to see if I was listening to him.  We just cracked up and discussed that dogs don't have the control they should over their owners! 

Then he says, "I can't walk with you anymore because I"m going to lose too much weight and these pants are gonna fall down!"  They actually did slip down below his undies as he was running in front of me and I had to stop running from laughing so hard! 

Such a dry sense of humor.

Anyway, we walked for forty minutes and although I felt my muscles twitching, I felt exhilarated and wanted more.

I grabbed my MP3 player and headed out to the trampoline...

ALL BY MYSELF! 

For another twenty minutes, I flew-straight into His arms and we danced and jumped together.

While flying, I had a few revelations:  

(don't ya just love it when you're feet aren't on the ground how you can hear better?)

I'd been listening to lies... 

'If you get up on that trampoline, you might hurt yourself or get too tired or any number of things could go wrong.'  

Ha! 

Every time I jumped a little higher, I had to laugh at myself at how ridiculous I must have looked, but yet how freeing it was to be doing it.

(Sidenote:  As I sat here writing, my dad came up with chocolate covered cherries and offered me one...when I said 'no thanks', he continued with why I could/should have one...'You've jumped, right, and all the sugar is gone!'  I stuck up my hand and said, "GET BEHIND ME, SATAN!"  He said that wasn't nice...to which I reminded him that Satan knows my weaknesses and those are one of them!)

Another revelation was that He was laughing with me.

 Jesus was with me on that springy circle and He was for me having fun and we were having fun together...

Life has been very challenging since mom came back home.  She is still in a lot of pain, her meds are different, I have to cook a meal for her (and she's become very picky, too!) each time (no sandwiches or letting her rough it on her own) and she requires being watched in order to be sure she eats (her appetite has dwindled tremendously), just like one would care for a baby.

My time is not my own, even more so now, and her health  is literally dependent on me (staying alive) by being aware of her needs ahead of time and meeting them.

I am not complaining because I see this as a season and I have thrown myself into it in order to celebrate her and the time we're together.  But...as a result of these changes, I have felt guilty to do anything for myself or have any 'fun'...another lie I believed...ugh!

Then I saw how exhilarating and fun life can be when I let go of the boulders that I'd been dragging around, stooped down and picked up that little pebble of health and dropped it in my pocket.

Flying isn't really that difficult; it just requires one to jump and grab hold of His arms-whether or not one is on a trampoline! 

Do you fly?

"But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."

                                                                                                                          Isaiah 40:31

Holy Yoga?

Ever thought yoga could be holy?

I didn't.

Not until I actually went to a class at my church last night and experienced the presence of God-a spiritual experience.
Really didn't want to go.

I felt tired, irritable, not 'feeling' like going out of the house-

all the reasons I needed to go!

When it came time, I threw on some 'stretchy' pants and a huge tank top-clothes I hate to wear out-and no makeup, hair in a ponytail and obeyed my husband's encouragement to GO!
I couldn't find the classroom...missed the sign at the door and wandered everywhere-upstairs, down, back up, looking horribly dressed and with no color-by the time I found the classroom-in another part of this huge campus, my heart rate was up and I was ready...
Anyone who says that yoga is for sissy's ought to take a class. This was tough-mind you, I'm definitely out of shape-and my bloated stomach didn't help matters...but I can guarantee, I'll be at every class I can after this one.
There were all different women, ages and sizes and even a guy. The music was rich, deep and the ambiance was very relaxing. The teacher is 56 yrs. old, but looks much younger and she is in love with Jesus.
The workout went on for about an hour and then the last fifteen minutes was time to lay in the presence of God and commune with Him. With my eyes closed, I had no idea the instructor was going to place a lavender scented washcloth on my eyes and then a few minutes later, she began to stroke my arms with lavender oil and when she walked away, all of a sudden, the tears began to flow.
I could have stopped them, I'm sure, and was wondering where they were coming from, but I let them flow. I had a vision, which I won't share, because when I thought of sharing it, Jesus asked me if I share my times of intimacy with my Love, to which I thought, 'No', and then He told me I don't have to tell others what He shows me every time.
I left that encounter with a fresh understanding of my body being His temple, and desiring to take care of it.
If you ever get the opportunity to take a Holy Yoga class, do it! You'll be hooked and the benefits of learning what it means to be in His presence will propel you into a greater relationship with Jesus.