So, I decided to look into the trials to see how our students/alumni were doing.  Here’s what I found.

 

Stephanie McCann is on the Canadian Olympic Team for pole vaulting.

 

Brian Clay finished first in the decathalon tonight, earning a spot on the USA Olympic Team!!! 🙂

 

Vanessa Wilhelm, Mary Sauer and Jesse Roberge do not appear to have advanced very far in the trials, but still, they made it that far! Only 24 athletes in each event qualified for the finals, across the entire USA. Amazing…

 

Vivian Chukwuemeka, from Nigeria, will compete later this month. Given that she already went to the Olympics in 2000, and that she is the best shot-putter in Africa, I can pretty much say that she’ll make it! I actually know her from my psychology class last year.

 

Put her name in Google and be amazed like I was–this woman is INCREDIBLE! 🙂

 

Now that I “know” some people who are in (or possibly in) the games, I am getting excited about watching the events.

Anyway, just wanted to update. Go APU athletes! 🙂  

APU’s track team has been the National Champions for at least 2 years in a row now, and we have some stellar athletes on our team.

 

Six of these have qualified to participate in the Olympic trials! Four of these are American, one is Canadian and one is Nigerian. The woman from Nigeria is the best shot-putter in ALL OF AFRICA! And she goes to our little school?! Amazing.

 

Check out this article about our hopeful Olympians! I’ll keep you posted as I know more. The trials end tomorrow, so I can’t wait to hear the results!

There are many things running through my mind today, some connected, some not…so I decided to share a few with you all to see what your thoughts are…

Yesterday, as I was returning some books on tape to the Glendora Library, I caught sight of a license plate that has stuck in my mind since then.

It was on a BMW X5 (an SUV)…and it said “WORLDLY.”

Hmmmm….

That struck me as being incredibly odd! First of all, that isn’t a common word that people use, unless they are familiar with religious terminology, generally. Secondly, is that really something to be proud of?

Maybe it struck me so much because of the lessons that the Lord has been teaching me lately, about giving up the things of this world and replacing them with things of eternal value…about being “crazy” in the world’s eyes (the MercyMe song)…all I know is that I have thought about that license plate quite a bit in the past 16 hours or so.

Another thing…

As I was “hanging out” with God yesterday, I was reading through I John, and this verse really stuck in my mind:

“Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.” –I John 2:6

Wow…

What does that mean for my daily life? What does it mean to “walk as Jesus did”?

“We are called by God to live as our uniquely created selves–our temperament, our gene pool, our history. But to grow spiritually means to live increasingly as Jesus would in our unique place–to perceive what Jesus would perceive if he looked through our eyes, to think what he would think, to feel what he would feel, and therefore to do what he would do.” –John Ortberg

One more thing…

The Lord has been teaching me more and more about what salvation is really all about…it isn’t about saying a prayer…it isn’t about going to church every Sunday and/or Wednesday…it’s about making Him the LORD of your life…it’s about being a disciple…and I think the church has lost sight of this. We get so caught up in the numbers game that we, in a way, bypass the Great Commission–which doesn’t say “Go and save all the souls that you can…” but rather says to “Go and make disciples…”

Wow…

In saying this, I am by no means saying that I have this down, or that I am actually living out these things in my daily life…to the contrary! Each day brings my feeble attempt to live life as the Lord would have me to live it.

The Lord is making some radical changes in my life, and I don’t know where He is going to lead me next…all I know is that I now have responsibility for these things which He has taught me…

“If you are weary of some sleepy form of devotion, probably God is as weary of it as you are.” –Frank Laubach

May my devotion and walk with the Lord not be “sleepy,” but rather alive, exciting, and ever-changing.

So, sometimes I am forgetful when it comes to my past…I forgot about my addiction to caffeine 3 years ago, and how even the tiniest dose of the “drug” can affect me now, after quitting “cold turkey” for nine months…

Well, this morning I decided that I needed Starbucks…and since a venti was only 40 cents more than a grande, I got a venti Java Chip Frappaccino…

…on an empty stomach…

Yeah…I definitely have been feeling those affects now!

So, here’s my advice: Don’t have that much caffeine on an empty stomach, especially when you are a former addict…if you do, you will be light-headed and a bit jittery all day.

First–check out the blog of Chris Jensen, another friend of mine from Northern California. He is one awesome musician, and is sold-out for Jesus Christ. Link is on the right.

Last Friday, as I was driving through the golden foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, a song popped into my head…I decided to stop my CD player and turn on the radio, in hopes that I might hear this song…the Lord answered my prayer, and the song came on within 10 minutes.

I have spent a great deal of time over the past few weeks pondering the greatness of God, and have been so humbled and mystified by His love for me…for all of us…why does He love us so, when we continually stray from His leading, or we deliberately choose to go our own way…

As I was in Yosemite National Park this weekend, I was just amazed by the incredible beauty around me…by the lack of light pollution that allowed for thousands upon thousands of stars to be visible…of the detailed landscape He has created for our pleasure…

Why? Why did He do this?

I know that the Bible gives us plenty of answers, especially in 1 John…but it is still a beautiful mystery to me…and I like it that way!

If you haven’t heard of this group “Casting Crowns” before, PLEASE check them out! They are absolutely incredible…I am SO thankful that Duane introduced me to them on my 21st birthday, because their lyrics have been so convicting and thought-provoking.

Here are the lyrics to the song…

Who Am I

Lyrics by Mark Hall

Music by Casting Crowns

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth

Would care to know my name

Would care to feel my hurt

Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star

Would choose to light the way

For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am

But because of what You’ve done

Not because of what I’ve done

But because of who You’re

Chorus:

I am a flower quickly fading

Here today and gone tomorrow

A wave tossed in the ocean

A vapor in the wind

Still You hear me when I’m calling

Lord, You catch me when I’m falling

And You’ve told me who I am

I am Yours, I am Yours

Who Am I, that the eyes that see my sin

Would look on me with love and watch me rise again

Who Am I, that the voice that calmed the sea

Would call out through the rain

And calm the storm in me

I am Yours

Whom shall I fear

Whom shall I fear

‘Cause I am Yours

I am Yours

(c) 2003 Club Zoo Music / SWEC Music

(Admin. by Club Zoo Music) / BMI.

All rights reserved. Used by permission.

(Song based on Psalms 52 and 139 and Ephesians 2)

What a wonderful song, and what a wonderful God…

Well, another long weekend has come and gone…I loved Yosemite–except for the dust, bugs and bears…it was gorgeous, and everywhere I looked there was something to remind me of God’s amazing love for us all!

I will post a picture or two later this week.

So, I am back in Southern California, after another 1000 miles of driving.

Our family reunion was wonderful, as usual. We had 59 family members there this year, which is awesome. I am truly blessed with this family!

I met some friends this morning for breakfast, which was awesome…God has blessed me with my friends, as well, and I praise Him each day for these blessings!

Not much else to say right now…I’m exhausted, and I’m ready for a nap. I’ll post more tomorrow!

Well, I’ll be back to blogging in 5 days or so…it’s off to Yosemite National Park and our annual family reunion for me! 🙂 There’s plenty of prior posts to keep you occupied! 🙂

Here is the summary of the devotion that I promised to post…(this was given to girls, so that explains the male references throughout.)

Suppose your boyfriend/husband brought you a red rose…a symbol of affection and endearment. Your heart is filled with joy at this gesture, and you smile. How thoughtful! Flowers mean so much to most girls…

You thank him, and he gives a response…but not the response you expected by any means.

“Oh, it’s my job. I’m supposed to do that.”

(At this point the girls got so upset–it was funny!)

How would that make you feel? The value of that gift is immediately diminished, and I know that I would feel very upset at that kind of a response.

Why did he give the flower if it had no meaning? Why would he waste his time choosing the flower, delivering it, etc. if he didn’t really want to be doing it?

And yet, don’t we do that to God continually?

We sing songs about being “lost without You”, and other such phrases…but do we really mean those things in our hearts? Or are we just singing because we are expected to, because that is just what you do at church…I mean, what would people think if they saw us NOT singing?

We give money in the offering, because we are “supposed to.” “It’s our responsibility.” Do we give with a “cheerful heart” (Proverbs), knowing that our humble contribution is going to help God’s word be spread throughout the world?

The list is endless…

When we bring God a flower of praise, are we doing it because we choose to, or because we “have” to?

I gave each girl a red rose at this point, and asked them to recall this phrase whenever they saw the rose:

“Love God because you choose to, not because you have to.”

This lesson was presented to me in a chapel service last Spring, and has stuck with me ever since. In each journal that I begin, I have a dried flower taped in there with that phrase written above it…and I am working on loving God because I choose to, and not out of any obligation.

Today I choose to love and serve God…after all, it is truly the least I can do!