Climbing Life's Mountains

I think we’ve been full circle with church. We started with a small country church in Indiana and we’ve done it all.  We have worshipped by singing hymns and we have worshipped with contemporary praise songs. We have used hymnals and we’ve used words on one or more projections screens.  We have been led in worship by large choirs, small choirs, some dressed in robes, others dressed casual; we’ve also been led in worship by what is called a praise team.  We have been led in worship by an orchestra and we have been led in worship by bands with drums and as many as five guitars. We have been involved in Sunday school classes and life groups (small groups as a way to connect). We have attended Sunday morning service and Saturday evening services (in place of Sunday morning). We have sat in church pews, chairs, and even stadium seating in an auditorium. We have been to Sunday evening services, Wednesday evening servi...

It's always good to be back in Tennessee but my roots will always be planted in Brownstown/Seymour, Indiana.  The Funeral . . . We went home to Indiana for the unexpected funeral of Mike’s aunt. It was a really nice service and it was good to see family we hadn’t seen in a long time. I don’t usually cry at funerals but it was hard to hold back the tears when Uncle Richard talked about his wife of 52 years.  The Moms . . . We took my mother-in-law out to eat in May for Mother's Day and two months later, she's in a nursing home. She can barely talk, she can’t hear, she can’t walk, and she may or may not know who you are. My mom still lives by herself and I had to do a very unpleasant task in the few days we were there. I will spare you the details but I was able to see what it's like to care for an elderly parent. It's heartbreaking to see the roles reversed between parent and child.  The Wreck . . . Our daughter left her place in Indianapolis on Su...

When we started making vacation plans to go to Colorado, a friend at work who is from Colorado asked, “Are you bagging a 14er?” I had no idea what she was talking about until she sent me a website link (14ers.com). Colorado has 58 mountain peaks exceeding 14,000 feet (known as 14ers) and it’s a big accomplishment to hike one of these amazing peaks.  There are six Class 1 Fourteeners and #4 on the list is Mount Elbert, the highest peak in Colorado. A few years ago, we hiked the highest peak in Maine — Mt. Katahdin at 5,367 — so why not hike the highest peak in Colorado. To put it in perspective, Clingman’s Dome is the highest peak in Tennessee at 6,643. When Mike and I hiked to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, we were at 8,839 feet. Half Dome was the highest we’ve ever hiked.  We spent our first two days in Colorado doing a few short hikes and getting acclimated to the altitude. Then on the big day, with the sign in my backpack that frien...

I went to New York City with seven people I barely knew from our church. We slept on air mattresses, it was hot, there was no AC in the house, and we drove home in a crowded minivan (cancelled flight). Sounds awful, right? Well it wasn’t. It was a great trip and I want take a few minutes to share what God showed me while in NYC.  “ Love thy neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these .” ~Mark 12:31 I’ve heard this verse so many times but for the first time, I saw it played out in an Orthodox Jewish community in New York City This trip was not the typical mission trip for me because our purpose was not to share the gospel. We were in a community not open to the gospel and we probably would have been run out of town if we started doing street evangelism. We were just friends from Tennessee who came to visit New York. We were there to support our friends who have been placed there by God as they share what God has given them and use it for His glory...

Yes, I admit it, I’m a little obsessed with Keto. Mike and I have been on a low carb diet for the past year and we enjoy food now just as much, if not more, than we use to. We started keto when my doctor tried to put me on a statin drug for my consistently high cholesterol. I tried diet and exercise for years and nothing lowered my cholesterol. Oatmeal every morning, whole grain rice and pasta, a personal trainer, and still the same disappointing results. “Your cholesterol is too high,” said the doctor every year at my annual physical. We were not eating bad but it wasn't working. The only thing that has worked to lower my cholesterol has been a low carb diet. Food is medicine! A keto low carb diet is not difficult. It just takes time and discipline. You have to cook - your meals can't come out of a box or from a can. You have to avoid sweets unless you make them yourself with sugar and flour substitutes. Trust me, the cravings go away and when you see how much better your fe...

Last week, one of the deans I work with called and said “I have doughnuts.” I’m not talking plain cheap doughnuts, I’m talking Status Dough. I fell into temptation and I went to the doughnut box. I cut off a small piece of an apple fritter, not half but only a fourth, and I ate it. In the past I would have taken half of that fritter and then sneaked back for the other half. This time was different. After that one small piece, I was done. I didn’t even want anymore and it left a bad taste in my mouth. Lesson learned, just say no next time someone at work says, I have doughnuts.   When it comes to breakfast, let's forget about doughnuts, forget about cereal, forget about pop tarts, forget about toast with jam, and even forget about oatmeal. Let's leave out the carbs and let's start the day with a keto breakfast. Before breakfast though, the first thing I do every morning is to fill an 8oz glass with water. I add 1T lemon juice (squeezed from lemons) and 1T raw unfilter...