Alright, Bethie (and everybody who asked.)




My sweetie and me.












At the Sonoma County Fair-- almost as big as Indiana's State Fair.










Crazy Phil... and me.

Have you ever tried running after something? I mean to run after something, run for it, run to it. Phil and I were on our path this morning, and had decided that I would walk and he would run. We started by walking together and talking; then he took off. As I watched him go, I realized I didn't really want to be left without him. After a minute of trying to rationalize to myself that there was nothing wrong with him going on ahead as he had many times before, I started to run. Phil takes a good clip when he moves, and as he was an eighth of a mile ahead of me, I had to push hard. For those who don't know, I'm not built to run distances, unlike my sister Cindy. My muscles are bulky, not long; it's hard for me to find energy to move all my body parts at that rate of speed while exerting push. But Phil was still in sight, and like a child who imagines that her doll is sad when she doesn't sleep with it, I ran like something would be wrong if Phil went out of sight. I ran. When he went around a bend out of sight, I strained to find him. If he went around a corner, desperation overwhelmed me. I was too tired, I realistically wasn't going to catch him, was it even worth it? Walking for a while, the desire to at least have a bond through sight resumed. A desire stronger than desperation. I started again. And so it went through the duration.

I never did catch him. He didn't even know I was running behind him. But I did realize that while I was focused on keeping my eyes on him, willing my body to catch him, everything else was a blur. I did not pay attention to the birds, or to the smells, or to the dogs. I was seeking Phil. Everything, mind, will, emotions. I was reminded of the Scriptures-- what Paul describes when he writes of the goal and prize. Philippians 3:13-- "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:8, 9-- "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the supassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ..." Let's seek hard after the Lord!! He is deeply satisfying. Let's press and strain for the goal to win the prize!! Don't give up, look to Him for strength. His grace is sufficient*, especially when you feel you can't breathe and step at the same time. And you will never be running for Him alone; He promised**.

*2 Cor. 12:9, 10-- "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

**Hebrews 13:5-- "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'~ "

~Deut. 31:6