Running For Miracle

Make sure you've read about Miracle here before you read on.

This is the picture of Amanda and I post- Kaelman Run. We both had PR's that morning. (personal records) We are runners. 

We ran that day. We ran a few weeks later, while still lost in the throes of all-consuming grief when a half marathon loomed in front of her and she hadn't put in any miles for weeks. We kept that run easy as I was also in healing mode before my Sugar Bottom Trail race. We ran some killer hills at Ledges when I needed to finish my training plan even though my race was over. We keep running and talking and crying and working it out. 

This week we are running our miles in memory of Miracle. The Twitter group #runchat will sometimes host a virtual run (think virtual race but real miles) in memory of someone and they encouraged Amanda to let them run for Miracle. Read about it at Run for Miracle.

Miracle was alive for 3,701 minutes. That is the goal number of miles we are hoping people will log on their legs for Miracle.

Here's how you can join in:

• Visit Run for Miracle and log your miles in on the form. (She told me it's just a form that sends her an email, so nothing fancy.) You don't have to pledge your miles- that was leading up to this week.
• If you are on Twitter, @amandastvnsn #runformiracle will get her your miles
• Find her on Facebook, Amanda Stevenson, to post your miles on her wall.
• Or leave a comment in this blog post with your miles.
• Or text me, if you know my number.
• Or call me.
• TELL OTHERS!!

You don't have to be a runner to put your miles in. You can walk. You don't have to be fast or far, either. You could even put on your pedometer and see how many miles you get in just in the course of a week (if that's how those things work). The only thing that probably won't really count is if you're into say, push-ups. You love push-ups. You do hundreds of them a day. You can't stop thinking about push-ups. Okay, if you can turn that into miles, then fine, otherwise, that's pretty much just weird.

Amanda told me on Sunday that Rockele is walking to work and is doing it for Miracle!! She is the birth mom who has had no easy road behind or before her. If she can do it, so can you!

So, who wants to run with me? No, really who wants to run with me? On Saturday, October 27 at 7:30 am, I'm going to go running. I want you to come join me. We will be running, rain or shine, about 3 miles. The route I have planned is the same one the Huxley PrairieFest race runs. It's mostly flat and easy. I have a couple of short cut turns if 3 miles isn't your deal. While this is just meeting up with friends to walk or run, I do want you to come, so I'm throwing in two door prize gifts to win. Walk/run with your kids, your dog, your friends.  

Running for Miracle

October 27, 7:30 am

Meet at 306 Northpark Blvd, Huxley (parking only on south side of street)

group pic and door prize drawings before we run so come a bit early

We'll leave at 7:30 am

Run/Walk at your own pace

route is the PrairieFest 5K

everyone can join as every mile counts

rain or shine, warm or cool

gently used shoes donations taken, tie/rubberband pairs together

When you're done, sign your name on the clipboard, logging in how many miles you did and I'll tweet them to Amanda!! You can leave whenever, just make sure you put your miles down before you go. 

You might have noticed the gently used shoe donation bit. Hope Ministries of Des Moines serves the homeless and they take gently used shoes. In other words, shoes that can still be worn. I will collect any of the shoes you bring and take them to Hope Ministries later on. All that I ask is that they be clean and tied or rubberbanded together as pairs. It is ministries like this that help women like Rockele out. Let's support them! 

Amanda and I, post- Des Moines Half Marathon this past Sunday, where she clocked in her personal best of 1:56!! (That's 13.1 miles in less than 2 hours!!)

May all the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. Psalm 67:5

Miracle

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon,

that your ways may be known on earth,

your salvation among all nations.

May the peoples praise you, O God; 

may all the peoples praise you.

May the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth.

May the peoples praise you, O God;

may all the peoples praise you.

Then the land will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will bless us. 

God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him.

Psalm 67

This is the Psalm I read while fueling for for the Kaelman Run on July 7. This is the Psalm I shared portions of to my friend, Amanda, after we finished running and were departing. 

Amanda and her husband, Micah, were in the process of adopting a newborn baby. 

The story begins (does a true story ever really have a beginning?) when Micah offered a ride to a woman and her two boys on a cold wintry day. They formed a friendship and eventually Meisha gave her life to Christ. Fast forward, the beginning of June this year, Meisha calls Amanda and says her sister is pregnant and plans to give the baby up for adoption and would Micah and Amanda want to adopt the baby. I get a call from Amanda the next day informing me of their decision and wanting me to, you know, PRAY!!! From then on, I spent time connecting with Amanda, listening to her talk out the craziness of adopting within such a short time frame as the baby was due in August, and trying to help steady the roller coaster of emotions of adopting, being in close contact with the birth mom, etc. (like I know about that!) Well, I don't. But I do know a God who is faithful and true and I kept pointing her back to Him. 

Back to race day, 45 minutes later, on my way home I receive a call from Amanda saying that the birthmom had gone into labor and wanted Micah and Amanda there. They were zipping down to Burlington as fast as possible and could I, you know, PRAY!!! 

Two hours later, I receive a text from a friend, Jen, saying that there are complications with the baby and she might not make it. Wow.

The baby girl, Miracle, was born at home, breech position in the care of an inexperienced EMT provider. It all happened so fast there was no time to make it to the hospital! The baby, being premature was on oxygen but later Micah and Amanda found that Miracle had a rare form of fatal dwarfism called Thanatophoric Dysplasia. Her skeletal frame was not growing properly, whereas her organs were. That's a very short description. She would not live long.

Monday afternoon, Jen called me to say that Miracle would be taken off of oxygen that day and would I like to go to Iowa City with her to be with Micah and Amanda. She picked me up in an hour and we headed over. There we met Auntie Meisha, Rockele(the birth mom) and her two boys, and the grandmother. We also met sweet Miracle. She had many, many tubes and whatnot attached to her but you couldn't help but fall in love instantly with her. She was sweetness. We watched her heart rate monitor and oxygen levels (she was on almost 100% oxygen). We saw her refuse to open her eyes for Auntie Meisha but then pop them open when Micah would just whisper "Hi, Miracle." Then finally Jen and I took turns holding her. 

Twice in my life I have now held babies that passed into eternity within hours. I sat there and I loved her. I cried for her. I cried that sometimes giving your Yes to Him is the hardest thing in all the world and yet you still do because you want His Name to be made known on earth. So you pray, hope, cling, and put your trust (sometimes blindly) in Him because He says He is just and faithful and true and you don't even know how that can be right.

Just a little passed midnight I received a text from Amanda saying Miracle was gone. She lived 2 days, 13 hours, 41 minutes.

Sing to God, sing praise to his name...

his name is the Lord...

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. 

God sets the lonely in families. 

Psalm 68:4-6

Miracle had no father. In technical terms, yes she did but he didn't want her. God is Miracle's father. While Rockele isn't a widow, she needed someone. God provided. Micah and Amanda have family. Rockele has family. In Micah and Amanda's dreaming of making their own family, God set them both together as a new family. 

The hymn sung at Miracle's celebration of life service, more beautifully sung than I have ever heard, was "His Eye is on the Sparrow"

Why should I feel discouraged,

Why should the shadows come,

Why should my heart be lonely

And long for Heaven and home?

When Jesus is my portion,

My constant Friend is He;

His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He cares for me.

I sing because I'm happy.

I sing because I'm free.

For His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches o'r me.

God cares. God sees. Through the yes of Micah and Amanda in many little things and later in many great things- God was being made known. Through the small but my how that tiny girl packs a punch story of Miracle, His salvation is going out among many.

To read Micah and Amanda's story more fully, go to The Making of a Family. You will have to search the tag Miracle Renee to read everything Amanda has written.

In my next post, Running for Miracle, you can read what people all over the world are doing to remember Miracle this week.

   

Psalm 25

Grace for when I can't let go of the past...

Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;

according to your love remember me, 

for you are good, O Lord.

Blessing for when I swallow hard the pride...

Good and upright is the Lord;

therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

Comfort for when the path seems random...

He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.

Prayer to pray when I don't know what to pray...

Show me your ways, O Lord,

teach me your paths;

guide me in your truth and

teach me

Why...

For you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all.day.long.

verses from Psalm 25

We're done with the summer read through of the Psalms but I'm back in them again. This time around I'm making lists.

 

In the midst of all this grasping for words to tell the world who He is, I felt challenged to find out exactly who the Psalmist says He is. So far, who He is and especially what He does is way longer than any other list. I'm overwhelmed by what HE DOES. It's this paying attention to what He does, who He is that will cloak my words, not by stumbling through, but with truth and authority that comes from Him. Make most of Him with His own glory!

You could read through them again with me and try making your own lists.

Here's what my Psalm lists are categorized as:

• Who God Is
• What God Does
• Who the Wicked Are
• What the Wicked Do or What is Done to the Wicked
• Who the Righteous Are
• What the Righteous Do
• Blessings of the Righteous

Go through chapter by chapter and write down what you read relating to each category ( add more categories if you want to).

Now what to do with these lists once you've taken time to write them out: read through them. 25:1 "Lift up your soul" to Him. Ask Him to examine your heart. Pray them. Don't know how to pray? Then use the words straight from what you read. You probably want to say what it says anyway so why re-invent it? God doesn't need flourish-y language to know your heart. A prayer to start with is 25:4,5 (see above) or anything you are drawn to in your reading. You might need to get humble and ask for forgiveness. He wants you there. Then you are teachable, guidable. He's no ogre... "All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful" v. 10. Leave the questionables up to Him. You say to yourself, 'Gee, I just don't know about this enemy thing (or whatever).' then that's not your thing to worry with. 'He (meaning the Lord) will instruct him (meaning the person who fears the Lord or you, hopefully) in the way chosen for him (him specifically). Then look for Him to work it out. And make a list. A thankful list. And pray the thanks back to Him.

 

Getting Ready

Yesterday's post started way earlier than that afternoon's trip to town. It started with a prayer earlier that day. 

The summary of that prayer was this "Help me get ready".

And that prayer came out of desperation. Not desperation to hear from the Lord (which one might naturally assume), but to be content with the charge he has given me for the time.

To get ready.

That's it! That's what I know God wants me to be doing right now. Getting ready.

Ready for what?

I HAVE NO IDEA!! 

But I do know the things that are on my "Get Ready" list. It seems forever long. And somehow, no, not somehow, in my very sin-natured, self-reliant way, I've forgotten the very Person who can help me get ready. I've taken it upon myself to get my checklist done and then think that God will be waiting for me at the end with the "what" part.

I'm finishing up the last few chapters of Psalms from my summer reading and at the same time, diving back in at the beginning for women's Bible study. I read a big chunk, about nine chapters, in one sitting. I took them in whole. As I read them, both now and in the past, I am continually in awe of David's boldness in his prayers.

Psalm 17: 6,7 says, "I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer. Show the wonder of your great love..."

I realized right in the middle of my struggle to be content, I needed to ask for help being content. So I just flat out asked him. Show me. Help me get ready.

How does that relate to a homeless person? Well, in a round-about-ish way. Because I don't know what is around the next corner for me and my family. Bill doesn't know either. But I do know what I can do even if it just a very little thing. And until Bill and I know what the next "thing" is (which we sort of don't believe in- we believe God wants our "Yes", our obedience), this is just a step in that obedience. 
And because I want to make more of Him. Just plain and simple. More.
Finally, (if you've been able to hang on this far) I want to put the very words of life into something understandable. I've been searching a long time for a way to break down the Christian vernacular and put it into something graspable. But that is a very risky proposition and not easily done. (Hopefully I'll get to write soon about that, too.)

I'm thankful for that woman with the cardboard sign- she gave me words to share with you.

Psalm 138

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;

before the "gods" I will sing your praise.

I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for you love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted.

May all the kings of the earth praise you, O Lord, when they hear the words of your mouth.

May they sing of the ways of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord is great.

Though the Lord is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar.

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life;

you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, 

with your right hand you save me.

The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;

your love, O Lord, endures forever-

do not abandon the works of your hands.

Taken Over

Hey, there. How's your Psalm a day reading going? Do you know we're down to the last 10 or so days? I sort of fell quiet on encouraging you and then Psalm 119 came and went and nothing for me. Truth is? Truth is, I've had to play catch up several times. It's ok. It's ok for you too. 

I've been struck by a few Psalm in particular and hope to share them with you. Here's the first one. 

Psalm 117

Praise God, everybody!

Applaud God, all people!

His love has taken over our lives;

God's faithful ways are eternal.

Hallelujah!

I'm not sure how I came to read it in the Message version but I did. And I love it! It's not Him, dictating our lives; no dictating allowed. But his LOVE? It woos us, charms us, flows over us, steps in for us, saves us. That is something to rejoice in! 

His LOVE has taken over our lives!! 

Chosen

Psalm 23:5 says “You anoint my head with oil.”

Anointing one’s head with oil was a way of signifying a person chosen out of many for a particular thing. The easiest example to think of is David being anointed as a young boy to be king. Chosen by God from all His people, from all David’s family and brothers.

Psalm 23, yes, written by David with this image very fresh in his mind, is not just for him. It is for us all.

I have been chosen by Him. He picked me. It is not just some random chance thing by God where He ended up with me in some dumb luck draw. He purposefully drew me to Himself. And God doesn’t change his mind. I am always chosen by Him.

John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you…”

Revelation 17:14 jumping in the middle of a thought- “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”

I AM CHOSEN!!

Sometimes a Mystery

… but very real. How are you coming with reading your Psalm a day? I’m on Psalm 55 today. We are a little over a third of the way through the Psalms, by the way.

I don’t get all of Scripture. God packed it tight in one book! And the Psalms are sometimes difficult to understand. Like, is David talking about a real enemy, or an enemy of God? Does he really want God to bring down his enemies? How can David pray such a thing- shouldn’t David pray that all his enemies would really turn to the Lord?

I don’t know.

But David was a real man. He really did start out as a humble, smelly shepherd boy; the youngest, the smallest of the family. He really did grow up fighting lions and giants. He really did sing songs and play a harp to soothe a king that would eventually turn on him. He really did have a best friend. He really did have an affair and kill a man. His son really did die. He really was real.

And throughout the majority of his life, he really did know and love God. Yes, God inspired the words that poured from David’s pen but David wasn’t just the translator- He lived a life in communion with God. (Yes, he did totally mess up, too. Read Psalm 51.) These are just as much David’s heart as God’s heart.

I find them very real. Sometimes a mystery, but very real.

Ask God to help you to understand clearly when you read them. You won’t get it all. That’s not the point. The point is to commune, to quiet yourself before the Lord. Perhaps that part of the mystery of the Psalms. You can’t just plow through and check it off. They are meant to lead you to intimacy with Christ.

Just encouragement for the day. 

 

The Psalms on the 31st

Oh, hey! This here’s called a blog and sometimes it gets updated.

So while I’ve yet to get y’all up to speed with the end of May, I’m just checking in to see how your Psalm a day reading is going. Remember that little thing? Yes, well, I’ll admit there have been some days where I didn’t get it read at all or didn’t do it first thing. It’s ok. I read the days I missed and now I’m trying to read it aloud to the kids at breakfast.

I’ve got two things for you today.

One is that I don’t read a Psalm on the 31st day of the month! (I’m a rebel!) Well, the honest answer is that math isn’t my thing. That or I just don’t want to put forth the mental effort. This is what I do. I skip the 31st day of the month but then start again on the first. So on June 1 I’m going to read Psalm 31; on the 2nd- the 32nd Psalm. For me it just keeps it all neat and tidy. You don’t have to do that. I’m just sharing what I do. (If you have missed or fallen behind on the readings you could use this day to catch up. Do so- these Psalms are not long.)

Second is that I was inspired by Psalm 29. I read that on the 29th, of course, which happened to be the first day I officially considered the kids and I on summer break. I was awed by how the very voice of the Lord is mighty, glorious, strong and holy. In a holy and poetic way, David recites some attributes of the Lord almost as if he needed not only to worship but also to be reminded. Then David makes it personal: “The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.” v. 11

As a Christ-follower- a dwelling of the Holy Spirit- that same power is in me!!

Do you know how much I needed to be reminded of that?!!! I cannot parent, mother, be the person my kids need me to be on my own strength!! It is only from the Lord and in His power.

I prayed this very Psalm over my summer.

I hope you are spending time is the Word this summer even if it isn’t reading through the Psalms. I’d love to hear what you’re reading. Encourage us all.

I’m Busy, How ‘bout You?

Well, friends, I’ve been a tad bit busy and I know I’m not the only one. It’s spring and that means a whole new flurry of sports, concerts, school projects, field trips, graduations, outdoors activities and more. I was not kidding the other day when I said my Google calendar looks like someone used it as paintball target practice. Every day I get a new paper from school or email about this thing or that. I’ll be honest, there is about one time every day when I feel like collapsing into a pile of tears over the sheer amount of things going on.

There’s  nothing left to cut out. I’ve trimmed the edges pretty close lately.

And then there’s a phone call from a friend needing a listening ear. Or a friend and her whole family are sick with the flu and could I possibly take the girl staying with them to get college questions answered or try to pass a driver’s test. Or a girl has life/boy issues that need talking over. Or a boy needs a snuggle just because.

These stop the to-do list. These are the best energies and affections. If I trim these out, I trim out life.

Right now, by the time my feet hit the floor in the morning, my mind has already been racing through the day’s activities. To be sure, I am one bleary-eyed girl as I find my Bible app or open my Bible to read the Psalm for the day but that’s what I’ve got to do. I am praying (no really, I am) that you are too.

This is a non-trimmable. (Yes, I will make up words.) You are too busy not to first be watered with the living Word.

Today is the 9th, so if anything, grab your Bible and read Psalm 9.

 

 

The Psalm Project

My Bible study group just wrapped up our study of Galatians and Ephesians. We took a good look at the end of Ephesians where Paul exhorts us to put on the armor of God and to stand firm. Now I’m not going to go into the whole armor of God thing except to say that almost all the pieces of armor he lists are of a protective or defensive nature. There is only one that is a true offensive weapon- “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” As always, our leader asks us how we are going to stay in the Word over the summer- another study, personal study, etc.

This was my morning on Tuesday.

• Wake and jump in the shower
• Walk out of bedroom dressed but hair and make-up not done
• Try to wake youngest
• Greet middle good morning
• Notice pee all over just yesterday mopped floors
• Clean pee up
• Attempt second wake up of youngest
• Start making breakfast and lunches
• Finally get youngest up
• Kiss husband good-bye on his way off to work
• Wish oldest good luck as she leaves early for marching band practice toting my griddle and other pancake making items to school for a speech
• Finish lunches
• Hug middle good-bye as he leaves for school on his bike
• Find missing shoe for youngest
• Take dog out so there is no more pee on the floor
• Take youngest to school
• Drive by the hardware store hoping its open
• Go home
• Heat oven to warm up cinnamon rolls for Bible study
• Finish hair and make-up
• Pull cinnamon rolls out of oven and re-plate onto serving platter
• Head back to hardware store for brown spray paint
• Find out spray paint on styrofoam will melt the styrofoam
• Choose regular latex paint
• Swing by oldest’s school to drop off paint
• Discover oldest’s speech class outside watching someone give a speech on how to ride a unicycle
• Pull up anyway
• Watch oldest turn 14 shades of magenta and hide behind her classmates (which only worsened the situation)
• Wave hello to some nicer classmates
• Drive off to Bible study

Bible study started at 9 am.

And here’s what I’ve noticed about summer- there’s even less quiet time. I don’t send my kids to school to get away from them but the fact is when they are there, they are not here thus quiet time is a little easier to come by. But even so, as I admitted today to the women at study, I am my own distraction. I find something to fill my thoughts with even if I never call a friend, turn on the radio, click on the computer or some other thing.

In my running, the more intense I’ve gotten over the last few months, I have noticed it matters what I put in my body for fuel. It also matters when I fuel up. It’s the same with my other training- the kind that “has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” 1 Tim. 4:8  It matters what I fill up with.

And today I’m going to challenge you to make it matter when you get you start your fill up. I got this idea from my friend Tori and I think she got it from someone else. Anywho- it’s not my original idea.

Before you scroll through your email, update FB status, text or tweet, listen to the news, or even… READ MY BLOG!… take up the sword. I’d love it if you’d read through the Psalms with me. One a day, that’s it. You can read through it on your Bible app, or pull the red ribbon to right page, it doesn’t really matter to me. I’d just love it if you’d do it.

“But today is the 2nd and I’m already behind and I’ve read your blog before reading my Bible and it’s not the morning and there are 150 Psalms and that will take forever and, and, and…”

Uh, no one is forcing you to read this right now; it will still be here when you are done. I‘d also like to point out I say nothing at all in comparison to the God-breathed.  And it’s only 18 verses if you do it right now. And the point is to challenge ourselves and do it- there is no one right way. And if you get behind, you can catch up- God’s not going to flunk you. And if you don’t think you can catch up, then skip ahead. It won’t take forever. But it means more than forever.

So here’s the deal- read one Psalm a day first thing if you can (though peeing on the floor is not acceptable, so take care of business). Try not to check it off the the list but pray and ask God to reveal Himself to you while you read. I’m trying not to make it complicated. You can journal, you can cross-reference, you can Hebrew word study if you’ve got the time, but that’s not what this time is about unless it really does become something you can spend more time on. ‘K?

So, who’s with me?