Lent Day 21: A day of surprises

Over 900 lbs. Who knew fish got
this big? The surprise news item of my day.

Here's what surprised me today:

• I zoned in on my first surprise during morning devotions. I'd never noticed that Jesus ate the Last Supper and washed his disciples' feet before Judas left to betray him. I wonder, have I ever willingly eaten with or "washed the feet" of someone who was about to double-cross me, knowing their intentions? (John 13)
• I love love love speaking in front of a group. (Yeah, I like it that much, which surprises me every time.) Getting up in public makes my heart sing. I feel energized and happy, not nervous. How could it be such fun when I hardly spoke for decades? (My spouse is a gifted communicator so I've heard a lot of great talks. But that's rarely opened the door to speaking opportunities. For an event, you'd book a seasoned pro rather than an unknown part-timer, wouldn't you? Makes sense to me.)
• Speaking makes one a better speaker or "practice makes perfect." This year, W and I preached together most Sundays. It was a new skill for us, started by accident last September: I included him in my first-ever "6-minute-window-before-he-preaches" and he asked me back to the platform during Q&A, after his talk. We've never looked back. Our relaxation while co-speaking comes from confidence in God, trusting our partner, and sharing our voices. Speaking together has made solo talks easier, too.
• People thrive in a healthy team setting. Once again, I've been delighted by the sheer pleasure of a high-functioning team. Kim Martinez (Get Unstuck Bootcamp) facilitated our speech-coaching session today. She rocked as our team leader. Four women presented their talk. The following critique and the discussion were as much fun for me as speaking.
• Our two-year-old granddaughter is pretty good at singing "Happy Birthday." Apparently she's had a lot of peers to practice on lately. I was impressed.
• I laughed aloud with delight at W's bday card. He couldn't find an English one he liked, so it was Spanish - a precursor for guessing meaning in another language (we don't speak Spanish). Funny. And sweet.
• My Indonesian word-of-the-day is kelici (pronounced "cullinchee"). Guess what it means?

My first-ever Spanish birthday card
from my decidedly not Spanish husband

Thank you all for your birthday wishes and the kind words throughout the day. Friends are a true treasure, the best gift I can imagine.

Read more:
*[God says] My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand at attention. Isaiah 48:13 ESV

*For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God's promise to Abraham belongs to you. Galatians 3:26-29 NLT

*For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 1 Timothy 2:5-6 NLT

*Worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water. Revelation 14:7 ESV

Moravian Prayer: Magnificent Creator, maker of everything—arbiter of distant galaxies, weaver of the very air we breathe—help us to take our proper place in this world you have created and praise your name forever. Amen.

30-Day Spiritual Bootcamp

Rebekah Metteer calls her book a "devotional and workshop," but Faith, Friendship, and Focus is a spiritual bootcamp for women. Here's the idea: get a few friends together, set aside a month of days, and plunge into these life-changing, soul-expanding spiritual disciplines.

My physical bootcamp trainer, Mark Haner, is a really nice guy. He never shouts, always encourages, and pulls you forward. But by the end of the half hour, your body has had a workout. I highly recommend his 3X/week gym session OR his online 5X/week option.

Rebekah is similarly a great encourager. Her book takes you and your girlfriends along a path of stretching your spiritual muscles, understanding God's plan for your lives, and ordering your priorities. She presents four daily prayer chores (physical reminders of our spiritual reality) and a daily focus word, prayer walks, a fast, and other encouragements. There's room to journal your progress, too. And it ends with a celebration with your friends!

I highly recommend this book to women who value:

• new life in their spiritual journey
• spiritual community as a part of friendship
• new ways to learn about God
• flexible structure that fits into your day

Have fun! It may hurt a bit. You'll learn things about God and you that surprise you. And you'll finish the month with a new awareness of your walk with Christ.

Let us know how it goes!

Rebekah's blog is "Take the Leap." Click here.

Lent Day 13: Worth a sweat

Ladies perspire. They don't sweat, according to Victorian manners.

Nah. Not true. In the women's exercise "bootcamp" I attend a few times a week, we sweat. The trainer Mark Haner motivates a group of diverse women to action. We work together at 3 levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Mark may be nice (he never yells or criticizes) but he tells us what he expects, walking around the room gently correcting and assisting us to better form. (Check out DIFY. Routines are available online; try his free 2 week trial session complete with music and timer tracks.)

I'm awful at this. Out of shape. A mess of "not fit." But I'm encouraged rather than deterred by the workouts. I may join the online sessions as we begin to travel but I'm not quitting. I'm not as sore as I was 4 weeks ago, not even after doing three circuits on Monday (pushups and 4 other tortures paced by 20 seconds of squats = 15 sets of squats. Yeah. Ouch, right?) The first time we did that routine, most of us could hardly walk until Thursday. Mark promised to think up new things for April. Lucky us.

Actually yes. Lucky us. Though exercise isn't the most fun part of my day, I can feel my muscles begin to emerge from slack to engaged. From soft to more distinct. I chatted with one of the women who pumps out advanced pushups and pullups while I struggle with the beginner sets.

"I've been doing this for three years," she said. "I could hardly do any of this when I started. You'll get better. Trust me."

Life is like that. Things worth doing take effort and sustained, habitual engagement.

Here's a triumph to share: I can usually find the first three chords on my new guitar. I'm slow on transitions. The guitar sound isn't very pretty (but it's not too awful either = a Seagull S6 acoustic). I'm now starting on scales, relearning the patterns that come naturally to me on piano. But I am SO happy about those three chords. Just saying. (Strum strum strum. Guitar break.)

When you start something new, keep this in mind:

Real Simple's Thought of the Day

1. Others have done this successfully. You and I are probably not the least gifted on the planet. The thing that interests us is worth a good try. We may succeed. (That core assumption helped me in childbirth: I considered that millions of Chinese women had successfully given birth. The likelihood that my child's arrival would kill me were low. OUWIE, it still hurt!)
2. Any effort is worth our best effort. Is this worth your time and trouble? If so, put your heart and soul into it.
3. Look forward to mastery. You may have a long way to go but doing this give you one more win on which to build the next. My success as a piano teacher helps me apply chunks of information - theory as well as pedagogue - to this new endeavor.
4. Get good mentors and teachers. From the library, I signed out an armful of guitar lesson books. Each one teaches from a different vantage point. I check methods online. I'm learning a lot through these mentors. Eventually I'll need a face-to-face teacher to boost me through roadblocks.
5. Persist. It takes time for the body and mind to create reflexes. Our brain is rewiring new habits of prayer, scripture reading, music lessons, job skills, or exercise.
6. Accept your limitations. I'm never going to be as fluent as someone who started in their teens. Big deal (not)! I'll be MUCH better than if I hadn't tried. That's good enough for me.
7. Enjoy! While practice is arduous and tedious at times, note how much better you are getting. I actually can imagine and put my fingers on an A chord (the easiest) without too much thought. I couldn't do that last week. Playing that chord makes me happy. Knowing I will take the A chord for granted in a few weeks makes me even happier.
8. Thank God for the ability to learn. Gratitude makes each accomplishment sweeter, whether it's hard won or comes naturally.

Read more:

*David had said to his troops, 'Whoever is first to attack the Jebusites will become the commander of my armies!' And Joab, the son of David's sister Zeruiah, was first to attack, so he became the commander of David's armies. 1 Chronicles 11:6 (NLT)

*Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:23-26 NIV

*God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. The joy of Jerusalem was heard far away. Nehemiah 12:43 (NLT)

*The entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that Jesus was doing. Luke 13:17

*Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 NIV

Moravian Prayer: To you, Sovereign God of all creation, we raise our voices in glad thanks and praise. Your blessings preserve and sustain us. Alleluia! Alleluia! In Christ our Savior’s name we pray. Amen.