Pressin' In: A Collage of Thoughts

There are so many things I want to write about.  I have so many aspirations, hopes and dreams swirling in my head each day. I am not one to multi-task very well, but tonight, as I type, I will try to say a few different things on my heart and mind.
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First, I just want to say that I sense there is a great distraction in our generation of Christian women.  Women are getting so absorbed in hanging on every word of their favorite Christian author/public speaker gal.  I, too, have a few favorites in the world of Christian women encouragers/authors/bible study writers/conference speakers.  And I, too, understand how cool it feels to go to a conference or a retreat and be in the same room with women of such faith and such influence.  However, one thing I hope we all remember is that we are all given the Holy Spirit and we are all able to pursue God to the same degree and passion these "famous" women do.  We all can know Jesus Christ intimately by reading God's Holy Word and we all can learn how the Holy Spirit speaks to us individually by prayer and daily seeking Him.  We who believe in Christ are all called to follow Him; to know Him deeply--knowing His heart on the issues of our times by spending time in God's Word, praying, etc.  We can't just let the "famous" ladies of our faith do all the work for us.....do all of the growing in the LORD for us.  We must go after Christ ourselves!!  Our husbands, boyfriends, children, friends and family members are looking to us......wondering if we'll take the plunge and love GOD with all of our hearts and all of our minds and all of our souls.
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Second, how is it that Christians are more known these days for complaining about the government and school policies and protesting about their rights being restricted INSTEAD OF being known for how much they deeply love people with God's love....for how much they sacrifice for their neighbors and friends....for how much they teach others the amazing story of the Truth?  When is it going to be that this country first acknowledges it's Christian citizens have a deep passion for their Savior BEFORE they acknowledge the Christian citizens' stance on politics, moral issues, work ethics, marriage, etc??  We Christians in America have no legit reason to try to "hide" our faith/our passion for Jesus Christ.  We are not being hunted down to be killed for our faith like our brothers and sisters are in other countries.  We have the freedom to pursue Christ openly in this country and yet, MANY of us Americans claiming to know Christ don't take that opportunity. WHY?  Friends, you are missing out on so many blessings and adventures by keeping your spiritual growth at bay.  I urge you to hoist the sails of your soul and let the Holy Spirit of God breathe life into your spiritual life.  I urge you to sail in the winds of the Spirit and let Him lead you, provide for you, protect you and strengthen you.  There is no better time than right now to stop stalling; and start your pursuit....again and go after God.  Christian means to be a follower of Christ. And a follower of no one else.
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Third, along the same lines of the second, I am appalled at all the time Christian people are taking to fight with each other about their beliefs on abortion and homosexuality.  The fighting isn't in terms of actual fist fights, but it is word fights that are so nasty and evil. How does this type of behavior become so normal in such a large number of American Christians. Once again, I believe it is the lack of time Christians are spending with their Savior--reading the Holy Word of God daily, praying and speaking the Good News to others.  If we Christians were daily doing the things that Christ commanded His people to do, the arguments and fights probably would be much different.  The more quality time a person spends with His Maker, the Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, that person will begin to see his or her world through the eyes of the LORD and not through the human eyes of wicked intentions.  Now, I too, have my opinions on abortion and homosexuality, but if I do not have the right audience and the prompting of my Lord and Savior to speak of these opinions, I will not.  It is not helpful for the body of Christ is be looking for a fight.  We are to "seek peace and pursue it".  Psalm 34:13-14 says, "Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.  Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it."

What I urge all the Christian women who are reading this blog to do, starting today, is to get on your knees before God (whether figuratively or literally) and repent of all the things that are holding your affections that are not Christ.  I urge you to lay all of your selfish ambitions and deep rooted opinions at the foot of the Lord Jesus and ask Him to sift through each one, showing you each one of those things that is dishonoring/displeasing in His sight.  Jesus speaks to the church of Ephesus through the apostle John in the book of Revelation. He says to them, "I know your works,  your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.  I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.  Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ....He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."-Revelation 2:2-7   I don't know about you, but these words Jesus Christ spoke to the church of Ephesus seem to be right for my heart to hear, too.  I feel like I relate a bunch with these believers who lived in Ephesus.  Their city was filled with wickedness and the worship of false gods. Our country today has a bunch of the same characteristics (mentioned in full in the book of Ephesians and Romans).  I read these words from Christ and I am broken.  I....no, WE all need to hear these words and be moved.  We need to be moved to repentance and humility before the Holy God.  Being right with God (righteousness) is THE MOST important thing a believer can do each day before all the other important things; like standing up for what we believe...raising our children, being a the best friend, spouse, employee we can be, etc.  In everything, we need to remember the words of John the Baptizer when asked about what he thinks of the new guy called Jesus who was on the other side of the Jordan river baptizing folks.  John the Baptizer made sure to tell them that he himself was not the Christ and that "He (Christ) must increase, but I must decrease"-John 3:30.

Once we take time to go before God and repent of the junk we have collected in our hearts each day and we find out those things that dishonor Him, I strongly urge you to pitch those things as far from your heart and mind as you can.....RUN from them. Give up those things to God.  He can take care of them....get rid of them, by His power.  And if you are living in the blessing of being a child of God, you are bought and paid for.  You are Christ's.  You no longer live for yourself.  Galatians 2:20-21 says, "I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.  I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose."  We are not our own anymore, if we are born again Christians.  And this verse 21 is saying that if being right with God was able to be achieved through living according to the book of the law, then Christ died for nothing. And we know, as believers in Christ......as believers in his death and resurrection, that Christ died for us. John 3:16-17 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

Not for the Weak

Anyone want to be described as the following?
wimp, baby, caitiff, chicken heart, chicken liver, chicken, coward, cream puff, crybaby, daisy, featherweight, fraidy-cat, jellyfish, lily liver, loser, milksop, momma's boy, namby-pamby, pansy, pantywaist, puppy, pushover, scaredy-cat, schlemiel, sissy, wuss, wussy, yellowbelly

These are synonyms for the words wimp, weak, and pushover. (thanks to google thesaurus)

For as long as I have been considered an adult, I have been trying to figure out why Christians look down on their brothers and sisters in Christ who are pursuing a pure life. It's not easy, nor wussy. It takes great courage, great mental effort, and great discipline. People love to make fun of those who keep their lives clear of the "evils" of our world. Fellow "Christians" find it a fun past-time to point out the folks who are attempting to keep their slate clean.  

What's up with that?!  Are you offended by what I just said?  Have you made fun of folks living with a open hatred toward stuff that is wicked and evil? Maybe that's why you're offended. I don't apologize because that's not something I should apologize for. I encourage you to let these thoughts sink in, sister. Living a life of purity is NOT for the faint of heart.  Without the strength that comes from God's Holy Spirit, we cannot live life purely....at least for very long.  It's just not natural for humans to exist with a clean slate. Duh! That statement is no revelation to anyone. It's clear through the history of time.

What I am trying to get at is....that this is the beginning of many posts on the topic of purity.  I haven't posted a blog on this very often because I, too, deal with the understanding that I fail at being pure at all times. I struggle exposing these truths because I am aware that I will be ridiculed for it.......by believers no doubt. It's such a passion of mine to seek a life of purity and I will later explain just why I want that lifestyle, but it is SO hard to express it to an audience I can't see. I would LOVE for you to see my face, to see that I am SO serious about living a life of purity. I am SO serious about taking on the challenge, the hardships, the "sacrifices" of a pure lifestyle....of a pure heart......of a pure mind. Why?  That is what I will write about next.

To be continued...

Close or Far?

As some of you may know, my husband and I are missionaries to West Chester University of Pennsylvania.  We have lived and served in West Chester, PA for 6 years this November.  For the past two years we have lived in an apartment complex that is about a 30 minute walk to the campus or a 5-7 minute drive through the neighborhood.  We have been praying for a place to live that is close enough to the university where students will be willing to walk to our place.  If close, our office can be from home.  The university does not afford collegiate ministers office space. So our current office is at our church which is still close, but about 4 or 5 blocks away from the school.

All of this said simply to let my readers know that we are looking to move out of our current place in November.  Our lease ends at the end of November, so we need to find appropriate/effective/affordable housing here in the next few weeks.  YIKES!  In my mind, this is a need that only the Almighty God can provide.  So we are praying for great things to happen.  Would you pray with us....for us to find the housing God has planned for us?
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If you are one who feels the LORD is leading you to give financially to the work of college ministry here in the USA, maybe our ministry is the place where God wants you to partner.  I just ask that you ask our Lord God what he wants you to do and then whatever He leads you to do; to obey the LORD.   We seek to obey the LORD too, in the things He leads us to do.  And we are SO thankful for His grace when we fail to obey.  So, just for those of you who are curious....We are missionaries praying for the Lord to provide about $1000 more a month in our budget in order for us to live in our mission post effectively.  Sounds crazy, I know.  This area of West Chester is very expensive.  Currently we are living on about 60% of the monthly income goal we had made 6 years ago.  The Lord has kept our basic needs met and we are SO GRATEFUL. For more information on giving: e-mail us at bjhooray@yahoo.com

May you have a blessed day.  My husband and I ask you to pray for us as we search for housing this week and next.  We are looking for a miracle. :-)  Thanks for your prayers.
Love,
Becky

Daily Decision: Who Will I Serve? God or Myself?

"Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.  They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.  They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.  But that is not the way you learned Christ!---assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

"Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.  Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.  Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.  Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."     -Ephesians 4:17-32

"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.  Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.  Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.  For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.  But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

"Awake, O sleeper, 

and arise from the dead, 

and Christ will shine on you."

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ."   -Ephesians 5:6-21

[On this side of grace, we have hope and confidence in eternal life with God because of Jesus Christ. (John 3:16-17) These next verses in Deuteronomy are from the commands of Moses to the people of Israel. They still have a powerful message about living for God's glory and not for our own.  It shares how we will be blessed and have life (abundantly as Christ described it) spiritually and blessed in our lives physically on earth.....but blessing doesn't always look like what we think blessing is. It doesn't always mean "get rich", "get married", "get healed", etc. It just says blessed, God decides how that blessing looks.]

"For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off.  It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may heart it and do it?  Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may heart it and do it?  But the word is very near you, It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it.  

"See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.  If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.  But if your heart turns away and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish.  You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.  I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.   Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them."   -Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Word!: Part 2 of Magic? Uh...No.

Throughout this summer, I have become more aware of a growing fad of "the power of positive thinking"or the "law of attraction" or the action of telling the "universe" what we want in life and waiting eagerly for "Universe" to respond. And I am getting more and more concerned about why so many Christians are jumping on this band wagon too. I am not frustrated with those who are not Christian and believe the statement of positive thinking...the law of attraction to be powerful because they don't yet know the amazing power of God which surpasses all other powers. But I am getting really bewildered/frustrated that so many people claiming to be followers of Jesus Christ are allowing their minds to focus on proclamations from other humans on how they should think and speak and live.  It's getting a bit weird......Christians are talking about this positive thinking, name-it-and-claim-it stuff like it's God's Word.

There are SO many people saying they are children of God, believers in Christ, singing the latest worship songs in their cars each day AND talking about being able to positively think themselves into better fortune, better marriage, better health. It is clearly looking like these folks aren't living like they really know who God is. So, that's a little background on why and what I am about to write.

We Christians need to first and daily recognize Who we are following, Who we have surrendered to and put our trust in...the God of the universe, the Maker of all things seen and unseen, the Eternal Father. This new cultural/almost world-wide fad of speaking aloud our positive thoughts/hopes/wishes to get the things we want out of life has a bunch to do with....well, people's words. Ha!!  Let's first look at the most important word there is. Then let's look at what God thinks of that Word. Then let's look at what our response as humans should be to the Word.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

 -John 1:1

"Every word of God is tested;

He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him."  

-Proverbs 30:5 (NASB)

"I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, 'Seek me in vain.' I the LORD speak the truth; I declare what is right."

-Isaiah 45:19

"'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"  

-Matthew 4:4 (ESV)

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing each other in all wisdom

...with thankfulness in your hearts to God." 

- Colossians 3:16

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight,

 O LORD, my rock and my redeemer." -Psalm 19:14

"Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth.  Therefore let your words be few."  -Ecclesiastes 5:2

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." -Psalm 119: 105

Recently, I have been thinking through, studying, and tackling a couple very difficult topics trending in our culture these recent years. Many folks in our world are focusing on self-improvement, mega business success, family/friendship restoration, and job promotion obsession all through the power of their thinking.....through positive thinking....through their words spoken aloud for the "Universe" to hear and respond.  I have friends, even Christian ones, who are beginning to believe the "name it and claim it"approach to life is for them and that it is working for them.  I have read portions of the book The Secret and learned a little about this new/"ancient" practice; about people speaking their wishes into the sky...to the "Universe" and forcing their minds and hearts to truly believe the powers of the cosmos will hear their desire and make a way for it to come true...all because they wished it....all because of some law of attraction was on "their side". Of course, as naturally self-centered beings, this is viewed as a great idea. If we don't have to depend on someone else to get what we need or want, that's the best solution, right? HUH!? 

So, Christians, are we to take this in too?  Are we to digest these new and also ancient approaches to self-gain/improvement and let them poison our bones as well?  Are we to begin living this way, in which God is viewed as a genie in a bottle instead of the Sovereign God that he is?  (As you know, I am not an apologetics scholar who can carry my readers/listeners into a deep theological discussion on this topic and brilliantly argue this point. And I am not one to write a piece that carries people in suspense for awhile and then lead them to the real answer of my thoughts and the conclusion. I am the gal who just says up front what I believe, with grammatical errors and all, and hopes that the Truth who I know is seen as beautiful and fearful and holy as He really is.)  

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, 

and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." 

-John 1:14

"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

 No one comes to the Father except through me." 

-John 14:6

If all of us have this power, this "Secret" to speak circumstances, promotions, relationships, etc into existence by positive thinking then why on earth is there still so much recall on this "product"; all sorts of disease still happening, so many marriages breaking, so many people un-employed and hungry, so many children parent-less, so many thousands of people with depression and anxiety disorders, so many scandals, and so much violence/crime still happening? And if people are going to be speaking out into the universe and have all their wishes and hopes come true, then this place we call Earth would be truly complete chaos; all thanks to the "law of attraction". Really??  

Think about it: what if two different people are claiming to the sky, to the "Universe", or to the god of their choosing that they will get the position of CEO of a specific company?  What's the "Universe" or whoever going to do? Give it to both of them because they both sincerely claimed it to the skies, from their heart of hearts, mentally "bagging" that job? Is the "Universe" thus going to "see" that they deserve the job for giving credit to the powers of positive thinking and the law of attraction?  No. Only one person will get the job because it is clearly for "a" CEO.  

Think about these things: What is this power of thinking going to do for people when their family member gets sick with cancer?  Can they wish or positively think someone out of bed rest and into full health?  If they can, film makers need to make a new action hero movie about those people.  That's probably a new super power not made into comic books yet.  Come on people!  Why is this so attractive?  When, in the existence of man-kind, did we ever get the proof that we are perfect enough, sovereign enough, mistake-free enough, good enough, worthy enough for anything...the cosmos, the "Universe", the Buddha, our ancestors, the gods of this world, the spicy foods we ate the night before....to listen to our desires, wishes or hopes and make them come true all because we claimed it aloud while thinking positively??

We human beings are not and have never been the completer of the God-head, the giver of all life. We have never been Creator. We are "fearfully and wonderfully made"....MADE.  We have all been birthed into this world cold and hungry and help-less. We have all been born completely dependent on a Holy power, namely Almighty God, to keep our hearts beating, our lungs breathing and our bodies growing to be strong and healthy.  We have never been in the huddle with God about the blueprints of creation....on any level. It has always been one way. God's way.  He was. He is. And He will always be. And we, his creation, will always be in complete dependence on Him for life...our life-breath and our life-joy. Regardless if we confess this to be true or not, we are in full need of our Creator for everything. So, (speaking to my fellow Christians who are believing in this "Secret")--why are you encouraging one another to just think positively, confidently that things are to happen in our favor, by our own "powerful" positive thinking? All glory is reserved only for God the Father in heaven. We, the created, will never get a slice of that pie.

Yeah, I know. I am stepping on toes; possibly hurting the feelings of friends I deeply love.  I have NO idea who has and has not read these books of positive thinking stuff.  I am not thinking of anyone particular while writing this. Most of this blog post was my re-action to what I have been learning about these new-ish trends through reading the news headlines and my discussions with friends. But I have been studying a little bit as well, so some of this post was for sure a confident response.

I just do not see why Christians are being so easily roped into all these different popular book guides to success, self-confidence, self-promotion, health, and happiness through the power of positive thinking; unless they are not truly reading God's Word daily. Are we Christians not reading the Bible AT ALL?  Come on, folks! As water is to a plant, so God's Word is to the believer in Christ.

This topic will be further explored and studied by me and you will hear from me again on this. I am praying for wisdom.  I know for sure I am FAR from perfect. I know I have many hang-ups and imperfections. So, that just tells me I need to lean even more on God's Holy Word.  His Word is truth and life.

Magic? Uh,...No

In preface to what my next blog post will be, I want to say just a few things. There are a bunch of discussions and lectures going around our nation about the power of positive thinking. Even more so, books are preaching it and people are getting paid to travel the country and speak to masses of folks about it.  But it is seeming to take on another face that is looking a bit frustrating to me.  What "gets me" are the Christians (some well-known pastors/teachers/authors or even just the very influential people of our local church families) who are preaching this message of positive thinking being a powerful force...a cosmic force...separate from God's power. These Christians aren't basing their understanding of the necessity of positive thinking on the entirety of the Holy Bible, but just on little portions here and there.  They are getting most of their "material" from a conjured up method formed from outside sources who are not surrendered to the authority of Christ. How do I know they are not surrendered to Christ's authority without ever meeting them face to face? I know because I have read their thesis statements and some book reviews about their works and these authors/speakers are not basing their entire power of positive thinking stance on the full message given in God's Word; personal and un-biblical theories are being twisted into the mix to "spice things up".

Positive thinking is something that I have embraced since I was a young girl. I like to look on the bright side of life. It is a very important discipline to have in our daily life.  Even in his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul writes to them to be careful what they think of each day. He even gives them a list of things to think on as a way to help the people (and all Christians, for that matter) to know where to center our minds. That list is in Philippians 4:8. But if you look at that list, each thing listed is something that seems to be hard to find most days. But the one thing...the one person who is all of those things continually is Jesus Christ. Our Lord God is good and right all the time.

Just because the Bible teaches us to be people who rejoice always, show gratitude often, love everyone, hope always, doesn't mean we Christians get that right all the time. For me, it's clear, if you know me at all or have read several of my blog posts here, that I am not always a positive thinker. I know that God commands me to think on things that are of God, but I am not always obedient. Duh! We all make mistakes. And just to add this in: Jesus Christ came to earth, lived a SINLESS life and died for OUR sins because God loved us SO MUCH. God knows we can't keep it right all the time. He knows we need a Savior. And I am SO grateful for Jesus! So, this trending topic of the power of positive thinking is getting a bit out of control when folks are beginning to speak about the power as a real force----not just a cause and effect anymore. It's being spoke of as a way to connect with the "Universe" and the cosmos and get the things we need and want....like a magical attitude....spell recipe or whatever you want to call it. haha!  

After reading....rather skimming some of the popular articles and books that are out on the bookshelves talking about this, I am seeing that people are thinking that positive thinking can actually, magically, alter their circumstances.  If that is not what the books are teaching then, the editor of their book should have chosen better words for their descriptions. Seriously.

Positive thinking is a great thing and should be practiced regularly by all because it can dramatically change a person's situation for the better when implemented, but it is not a power.....in terms of power of a superhero.  And we, are not people who hold any power of our own. SO, positive thinking isn't some magical thing on it's own. Ever.

There is the possibility that I may "ruffle some feathers", but I believe God's Word is the Truth and is Holy. I believe that everything else should be looked at through the filter of God's Word. Okay, now you can read my personal stance on this topic that I had already written in the next blog post.  Blessings.

R4M

This is a special post to ask you to check out my husband's blog.  He is running a half marathon this weekend and is running for a cause.  He's done a great job training for this event and I am so very proud of him.  He's been using his blog to document his journey throughout all of training and he will continue writing about his journey up to and after the race.  Also, he created a twitter account for this event to allow twitter folks to follow him.  Please take a minute or two to look over his blog if you haven't already. And if you are interested in joining him in his cause, which is a very worthy cause, please make sure you "sign up" or register on his blog site before the race on Sunday so as to help encourage him even more as he runs. THANKS A BUNCH!!  I just want him to get as much encouragement as I can give him before his run on Sunday.

runformontreal.blogspot.com