Still Running....

I'm here, still running my mouth, my mind, my house, but more importantly I am still running for them. Still running for the least, the lost, the thirsty! Almost 9 months ago I wrote how I was inspired to run faster, farther, to endure more for the thirsty. Almost immediately I put myself on a training program. I took my kids to Living Water Headquarters so they would understand the plight of children their age. There is a card of a boy named Immanuel on our fridge. He's Grayson's age, yet he does not attend school. Instead, he walks every morning to provide unclean, unsafe water for his family. That is all they have. I wake, I run, I endure so that one day he can walk out his door to a well, to get clean water and still have time to go to school, to be educated, to live. I pray that through the water he will also know the hope of eternal life who comes through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. My first training race, a half marathon, is this weekend. I have a PR set that is fast, way fast. It will be hard, but that endurance is nothing compared to what Immanuel faces. I plan on running the whole marathon in January for Living Water, for Immanuel, for the gospel to be spread. Please consider supporting me: http://www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com/Donate/PersonalPage.cfm?MID=9296&CRID=35

I Endure....

I endure so that they don't have to.

Team Living Water from Living Water International on Vimeo.

Many of you know that I run for Team Living Water. I run and raise money so that others may have clean, fresh, water. Water that sustains physical life. Water that sustains spiritual life. For when the wells are dug, the gospel is also shared. A physical need is met, but a spiritual need is also given. You see, there are two kinds of water given to these people. Hope is given, thirst is ended. I love this. Love this. This year the theme of TeamLWI was, "We endure so they don't have to."

I have been absolutely blown away this year by the generosity and support of my family and friends as I have taken on running the Half Marathon for LWI. I have to admit though, a half marathon didn't seem like that big of a challenge to me. I have run several (6 or 7) and I knew I could do it. I use the runs to pray for the people who will be receiving the water and I use the runs to pray for the gospel to be spread. Some transparency here, the runs weren't endurance for me. I could do it, I knew I could do it. As the dictionary defines it, endurance is the ability or strength to continue or last, especially despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions; stamina.

Running 13.1 miles is usually fun for me. I didn't relate to the tag line until race day. I had been sick the week before, had unusual stomach cramps two days before the race, and to top it off I overdressed on race day, hence I got too HOT and felt super nauseous on the course. I wanted to quit, to hang it all up. A mental block set in with the cramps around mile 8. It was THEN that I remembered, I endure so that they don't have to. I press on towards my goal, my finish line. Each step I took, I now truly took for them. The thirsty, the hopeless, the ones I had raised money for. What a humbling, but awesome, experience (and life lesson)>

This video kept coming to my mind. The picture of an African child splashing water on his face that I saw two days before at LWI HQ flashed through my mind and then it came to me, "I endure so they don't have to." Each step I took, through the pain, the nausea, the cramps, the mental block, was for them and ultimately for the LORD.

As I reflect back, I wish I had done a bit better. I was mad at myself for not listening and taking the extra layer off. I was upset that I had to slow down. I know I could have personally done better, but I am reminded that the race is not about me, but about Him and about ensuring that Living Water is taken to the ends of the earth.

As Grayson reminded me, "you don't run for the medal, mommy, you run to save lives."

Today as I ran, I felt light on my feet, thinking of all the lives I can help save NEXT year on January 13, 2013.

Straight No Chaser: The 12 Days of Christmas (2008 Version)

This still makes me smile!

By Name

I've been working on my homework for Outbreak and just had  a great reminder as I was reading through John 10. I love this passage about the sheep and the shepherd and how the sheep follow the shepherd because he calls them by name.  vs 3b "He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out."  Part of this week was about the fear of being forgotten and I admit that I often times feel this way, especially when I am in the drudgery of day to day life with three small little ones. They drain everything out of me and sometimes I just have to wonder, "Lord, do you remember that I am here? Can you cut me a break with all the whining, crying and screaming?"  It gets old, it gets lonely, it feels like I am forgotten.  I wonder if that is how Moses or David felt for all of those years out in the field tending sheep?

So, today was a sweet, tender touch of, "Jen, I haven't forgotten you.  I know you by name."

That is astounding to me that the Lord of all of the Universe, knows my name. I mean, I am horrible, horrible, horrible with people's names.  I know all the tricks of the trade. You know the ones: call someone by a generic name. If you are from the South, honey, will do or Bless Your Soul.  You don't need a personal name to say, Oh Bless You.  For those of you who are married, you know this one well, "if I don't introduce you by name, be sure and step in and introduce yourself." The hope is the other person will give his/her name while saying, "nice to meet you."  Deny it all you want, but I know that we have ALL played that game.

The Lord though, doesn't need that. The Lord knows, and the Lord calls each of us by our own name.

I started thinking about that and remembered that I had once written in my Bible somewhere in Exodus 3, "The Lord is a personal God."  It stemmed from the repetition of the phrase, "I am the God of your fathers - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."  The Lord didn't just say, "I am God," though He did say, "I am who I am."  He also referred to himself as the Lord of people. He's not an impersonal God, but a very personal one.

It made me think of these verses:
Exodus 3:4 "When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, 'Moses! Moses!'"

I Samuel 3:10 "The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!'"

Luke 1:13, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah."

Acts 9:3 "He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to Him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?'"

John 20:16 at the tomb, "Jesus said to her, 'Mary.'"

While we may not hear the audible calling of our names, rest assured, that the Lord does know our names, that He does call us by name and that one day there will be a rock with our name on it, known only by the Lord (Rev 2:17).  What a beautiful reminder.  It was almost as if a whisper, "Jen, you are not forgotten. I know you by name."

Once in a Lifetime

Once in a lifetime you get to do things:
Get Married. Hold your First born in your arms,

Watch Air Force One land

See your first born shake the President's hand....

Regardless of your political views, that is a once in a lifetime experience that can never be replaced. He had the opportunity to meet the leader of our country.  What a history lesson for my son as we talked about who the President was, why He was important, and also that God teaches us to respect the government, unless of course we are told to go against God's written word.  We talked about the sovereignty of God.  It was a day!

Needless to say, we came home playing "Air Force One."  Grayson has decided that he wants to be President.  I told him he could do anything the Lord called him to do and if he keeps the Lord center of his life, he would make an incredible President.

Get Out of the Window

This Monday night I had the pleasure of attending Outbreak, a night of praise and worship for women in the Katy area. It goes on for eight weeks and we would love for you to join us.  This week, Gari Meachum, spoke on having Contagious Worship.  In her words, "worship is coming undone before God."


She went on to go through what she called the three mosaics of worship.  They are:
-  Worship resulting from storms
-  Worship resulting from awe
-  Worship resulting from surrender

It was a great, great message on worship and has really had me thinking. I would love to say the part on the storms got to me, because I love how Peter sank and the disciples still worshiped. It made me think that even in times when I start to sink, others are watching and worship can still result, not because I failed, but because the Lord saves.  Gari made the point that we are to worship while the boat is still rocking.

However, the one that has been eating away at me was the part on worship resulting from awe. Gari used the Scripture 2 Samuel 6:12-23 where David is dancing with all of his might because the ark is being brought back to Jerusalem.  He was in awe of what the Lord was doing and was worshiping with all of his might.

2 Samuel 6:14-15, "David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sounds of trumpets."


The Scripture goes on to say in vs 16, "as the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Sal watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart."


Gari made the point that our worship can draw criticism from others, but even so, we are to continue to worship the Lord with all of our might.  We should continue on.  Great point.....but how often am I in the window instead of on the street?

How many times am I like Michal?  How many times do I sit in the window and criticize how someone else is worshiping?  She even goes as far as to question David on it in verse 20, "How the King of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!" (She was reprimanded and harshly).

Can you believe they would sing that song in that way?
Can you believe that she thinks looking at a flower or watching a sunset is the same as singing praises to God? (side note: Gary Thomas has a great book called Sacred Pathways that talks about the different ways that we can worship God).
Can you believe that she would dance?
Can you believe...you fill in the blank...

Here is what I thought, how often am I looking at how others are doing things rather than what God is doing? For when I look at how they are worshiping instead of what is going on in my very midst, I may very well be missing out on what the Lord is doing. What a tragedy that I miss His presence all because I was focused on someone else rather than Him.  I don't want to ever miss out on what the Lord is doing and miss the opportunity to worship Him and Him alone.

I need to get out of the window and on to that street.  While I am way too reserved to dance, I love to run and as I have said many times before, my greatest worship comes from turning one foot over the other, praising the Lord along the way!

I encourage you to get out of your window and get to worshiping.

Different Does Not Mean Wrong

Different does not mean wrong.
Different does not mean wrong.
Different does not mean wrong.

This has become a mantra in my life, beginning some years ago in my marriage.

For the first few years of our marriage, I equated different with wrong.  J's different than me, in more senses than just being a boy, therefore, he must be wrong. Different is wrong.

In my world, everything has a place and everything in it's place.  To J, everything has a place, and that place is where ever he put it down.
To me, I knew the Lord as a very personal God. J knew Him as holy, Lord, one to be revered.
I tend to be on the louder, let you know what I think side. J, not so much.

Guess what? I always (and that is not is not an exaggeration) thought he was the one who was wrong. How could he not know that everything needed to be nice and neatly put up? What do you mean that processing before speaking is a good thing; isn't it better to just let it out when you think it? I really in truly never, ever, ever considered that his way might be a good way or that there might be something that I could learn from it.  He, in my humble opinion, was wrong.  OR to put it another way, I was right, period. End of story.

Then I learned something, something very,very valuable. Different does not mean wrong. As long as different does not go against the law or against God's word. Different is just that, different.  Surprise of all surprises to me, different can also be good, very good, and at the same time, very painful.  The problem was, I was so set in my ways, that I had become unteachable.

What I found is it is good. It's maddening, but it's good.  Jamison has taught me to sometimes let things be - a little dirt and chaos is ok (but not a lot), he's helped me to reverence the Lord more and to maybe take my volume down a notch or two and think (if only briefly) before I speak.  On the flip side, he will tell you he has come towards me. He's become more organized, he's learned to speak up and that conflict is not all bad, and that the Lord does care about the personal details.  We've both changed and that change is good.

What brought all of this up?  Believe it or not, a conversation I had with a friend about parenting.  What do you mean you don't let your kids drink caffeine, watch tv, eat a little junk, spank your child?  Haven't you learned that tv is your friend?  That a little caffeine never killed anyone? that junk food allows you to try on clothes in a store? Not only that, I have been prideful enough to think, but maybe not say, just wait, she'll figure it out.  Because, why? Because, I am right, of course.  

Then I learned again, different is not wrong. Different is different and different is good. That mom who does not allow much tv watching has some great ideas of things to do on a rainy day. The mom who is careful what her child eats can teach me much about creative and healthy lunches.  Discipline techniques - I could learn more.

My conversation caused me to stop and think about a few things.  Why do I parent the way I parent?  Why do I make the decisions that I do?  Why do I let my kids do some things and not others?  Why do I use the discipline measures I do?

Instead of pumping my ego up that I have parenting all figured out, I need to be looking at these situations and asking myself:
-  So, what? In the grand scheme of things, does it really matter? So what if we differ on diets, television time, etc.
-  What can I learn from another parent? Is there something she is doing right that I had not thought of?  Instead of assuming that what I am doing is right, why don't I assume that the other parent has great ideas as well.
-  Is this a salvation issue?

How boring, no, how loud would this world be if there were a bunch of Jen Smith's running around? The kids might be pretty unruly too.  The world would be organized for sure, but it wouldn't be very decorated.  The kids would be clean, but would they have had much fun?


Differences are like iron, sharpening one another, molding us, conforming us, dare I say, sanctifying us.  The  question I have to ask myself is, am I staying mold able, changeable, conformable or am I insisting on my own way in my marriage, in my parenting, in my life?

Different does not me wrong.