I found the password!

Erm, what? You're telling me that I remember this here little blog, come by to check out what pearls of (not) wisdom I posted, and it turns out my last post was nearly 5 years ago, on my birthday? What serendipity!

I don't know if anyone will ever see this, or read it, but I think I need to come back here (occasionally) for the good of my soul. So, should anyone have me on whatever ancient blog-reader you use (ah! I remember Google Reader with fondness) then prepare yourself for a halfhearted musing from time to time.

Or maybe it'll just be me. I'm OK with that, too!

Getting older is always better than the alternative!

My love for this diabolically delicious combination knows no bounds, and I'm still amazed I had the self-control not to buy this when I found it in NYC last March. Of course, I knew if I bought it I would eat the whole thing. Right away.

I'm 35 today! Woo hoo!

There's no sarcasm in that, by the way. I'd rather be 35 than . . . well, pretty much any other age. My 20s were great but I have no desire to go back there, and the idea of being a teenager again gives me the heebie-jeebies (shudder). Nope, I'm good with being 35, creaky joints and all. I do wish I had my old memory back, though. Sigh.Wait, what was I saying?

How am I celebrating today? Writing a blog post at work, naturally! :) I have a 4 mile run planned for this afternoon, small group tonight, and somewhere in there I will be eating a Reese's Pumpkin (far and away my favorite of the seasonal Reese's shapes . . . well, the Christmas trees are also yummy, and the Easter eggs were the original, so they have tradition on their side . . .and don't forget the Valentine's hearts - new to the scene but with just the right balance between chocolate and PB . . . yes, people, I know I have a problem).

There are 3 days left in my Birthday Week of Running challenge! The good news: I only have 8 miles left to do and am only $5 away from reaching my fundraising goal for Blood: Water Mission! The not-so-good-news: There's rain forecast for tomorrow, which means I might need to fit those 8 miles into today and Friday, which will be busy for various reasons. Hmmmmm, we'll see.

Thank you ALL for the encouragement, birthday greetings, and words of affirmation. They've really meant a lot to me over the past week. Cheesy or not, I mean it when I tell you that every email, text, or Facebook post helps me focus on doing this.

Happy running!

Water matters. Here's why.

 Yeah, this is only tangentially related to the subject of this post, but it's Wolowitz!

Today is Day 4 of my birthday week of running! I've made it through 20 of my planned 35 miles. My quads and calves, however, were left behind somewhere around mile 13 and I'm not sure I'll ever see them again. Eh, who needs 'em?

As I've been running I've been asking people to please consider donating to a nonprofit called Blood: Water Mission, a group whose stated aim is "Empowering communities to work together against the HIV/AIDS and water crises in Africa." As of this morning, I've raised $190 of my $350 goal, and thank you, thank, THANK YOU to those people who have given! For those who are a little more curious as to what B:WM does, what the "water crisis" is, and why I chose to raise money for this specifically, here's some information.

For those of us in the developed world, it's strange to even think of water - where it comes from, the process of cleaning it, and the effort it takes to get from "there" to "here." But for many, many people in the world, clean, safe, drinkable water is a daily struggle. Some facts:
- 700 million people in the world lack access to clean water. That's about 10% of the world's population and 2 and 1/2 times the population of the US.
- 3.4 million people die every year from water, sanitation, and hygiene-related causes. Almost all of these deaths occur in the developing world . . . which tells us that these deaths are largely preventable.
- Over 800,000 children under the age of 5 die every year from diarrhea-related causes. This works out to more that 2,000 children per day. It's estimated that 88% of diarrhea-related deaths are caused directly by a lack of clean water and sanitation.
- The average person (almost always a woman or child) in Africa walks about 3 miles a day to get to a water source, and carries about 10 pounds of water in each trip. This could add up to 7 hours of work a day . . . for water.
- A 5-minute shower uses more water than a person in the developing world will use in an entire day.
(All the above from various sources including the CDC, UNICEF, WHO, and Water.org)

I'm not here to preach - I promise! But water matters and most of us in the developed world never think of it. So think about water today, be thankful for it, and remember those people around the world who don't have it.

Happy running!

Why in the world am I doing this? Running week FAQ

About a month ago I decided to do something "different" for my birthday celebration. During the week of my 35th birthday, I'm running 35 miles. For some, that's a lot; for others, that's practically nothing; for ME, I thought it would be the perfect length for a challenge that was somewhat daunting, but manageable.

I started on Saturday with a planned 3 miles that turned into 5.5 when everything felt good. Yesterday was a planned 10 miles (my longest planned run) that turned into 11 when I still had a little gas left. Today is Day 3 and OHMYGOODNESSMYLEGSARESOSORE. :) I don't know what I'm going to get done today - maybe an easy, slow, 3 miles as a recovery run? - but I feel good about my progress so far.

A few people have been asking some questions about my week of running (or running in general) and I thought I'd answer a few of them here:

Why are you running? Is someone chasing you?
In a manner of speaking. In order to get motivated to run, I often pretend that behind me is a hoard of political news shows anchors, and in front of me is a chocolate cupcake. This is a surprisingly effective combination.

Are you worried about running so much? What about getting injured?
I'm careful and I listen to my knees. They often say things to me like, "If you stop running now, we promise never to disobey you again." However, I know from experience that my knees are little lying troublemakers.

How fast do you run? 
I'm not entirely sure. Maybe we could ask that toddler that just passed me on his tricycle? I think he has a tracking app on his iPhone.

Can you eat whatever you want because you're running this much? 
Athletes often say that food is fuel. My body, for some inexplicable reason, prefers being fueled with things called "vegetables" and "lean protein" and "healthy fats." I keep trying to convince my body that ice cream and Nutella sandwiches are a reasonable substitute and that my pancreas is a vestigial organ, but my body refuses to pay attention.

So you're using this run to raise money for a charity. Why? 
I am! I'm asking that people (who might be inclined to be birthday-gift-givers anyway) skip anything monetary they would normally do and instead make a donation to Blood: Water Mission, a really awesome nonprofit. I first learned about this nonprofit years ago and am impressed by its commitment to helping with practical needs in sub-Saharan Africa. According to the CDC, over 800,000 children under the age of 5 die every year from diarrhea often caused by a lack of a clean water source. This is a real problem where our money can make a direct difference.

Of course, I'm not doing this purely for altruistic reasons. Using my running to raise money for a good also makes me MUCH less likely to skip a run in order to sit in Starbucks with my Kindle.

You can donate at this link if you'd like, and thank you!

Any other questions out there? I'm happy to make up some more sleep-deprived answers. :)

Happy running!

Let's celebrate my birthday by doing something CRAZY

Four weeks from today, I turn 35. This is good news! I mean, aside from the fact that I have all sorts of old people diseases and expect to break a hip any day now, every year of my 30s has been better than the year before. For real. My 20s were great, my 30s have been better, and I’m excited about what comes next (minus the aforementioned hip thing).

So how does one celebrate hitting their mid-thirties? Well, I was on a long run recently and I got to thinking about my inspiring friend Tara, who runs marathons (with an “s” – that girl is hardcore!) and on her thirtieth birthday actually ran 30 miles.

(This is when I sidetrack to say, if you’re not a runner, that that is AMAZING. Also, I should note that long runs can be very boring sometimes, and your mind drifts to all kinds of places it probably should stay away from. So if the following sounds kind of ridiculous, let’s just blame the endorphins. Deal?)

All that to say, I am NOT running 35 miles on my 35^th birthday. Uh uh. No way. That would be INSANE.

But . . . I am planning on running 35 miles during my 35^th birthday week!

I’m still a newbie runner in many ways, having only started running about a year and a half ago. I’m training for a half marathon right now which will be my first race ever. Until I started training, I ran about 10-12 miles a week and my longest single run was 6 miles. Even now, I’m only up to long runs of 9 miles and 20 miles per week. So, I’m no Tara, but this is a challenge that’s appropriately Jennifer-sized.

I guess the question some people might be asking is why. Well, a good question with multiple answers. Part of it is because, like Everest, the challenge is there. Why not? That seems like a good enough reason on its own.

Another huge reason is that I can! The Jennifer of 3 years ago sure couldn’t have done this, but I really think this is something I can accomplish. It’s a celebration of turning 35 in the best physical shape of my life. I know my knees and creaky joints won’t always allow me to do this, so why not take advantage of it while I’m able?

But, since all that might not be motivation enough for me when the mileage starts to add up, my tiredness accumulates, and I want to quit, I’ve decided to add one more layer. If people are interested in encouraging me and celebrating, I’m asking friends to consider making a donation to Blood: Water Mission. B:WM is a non-profit that focuses on HIV/AIDS issues and clean water in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a well-respected organization that received 4 stars (out of 4) from Charity Navigator. It’s an organization with a great mission that I’m proud to support. I’m going to use the pledges and donations to B:WM as one more source of encouragement: It’s going to be harder for me to quit if I know people are partnering with me as I run! 

If you’d like to donate, use this link to my Causes page.

 

If you can't donate, I'll be happy to take motivational phrases (preferably embroidered on throw pillows).  

So, the week of October 14-20, be on the lookout for a very tired, very happy Jen. I’ll be the one wearing orange and blue and sweating a lot.

Math puts me in a mood

Basically, I know just enough math to know why this is funny.

Let’s not confuse “numbers” with “growth.” 

We all know I have no love for numbers, but when it comes to statistics I not only lack warm, fuzzy feelings, I lack the patience of a 2-month-old. Statistics – just like labels – are neat, tidy, convenient bundles of near-meaninglessness. Don’t believe me? How else is it possible that the tiny church I once attended claimed to have attendance of over a thousand? Really, it was much more likely that 30 people attended 40 times . . . and even then I think one person probably just hopped back and forth over the threshold a bunch, in order to get the numbers up. 

All this is to say that, in recent articles about the “dying church,” I remain largely unconvinced and unconcerned. Are numbers dwindling at both liberal and conservative churches across the country? Well, yeah, probably. There are, most likely, fewer people sitting in pews inside church buildings in the Unites States on Sunday mornings than there were 20, 30, or 40 years ago. But notice all the qualifications I had to put on that? Where do I even start to unpack that? 

First of all, Christians worldwide make up about the same percentage of the population today as they did a century ago. So if church numbers are shrinking in the US, we have to look elsewhere to see growth; in fact, there’s been explosive church growth in what’s often referred to as the “Global South” (South America, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa). This isn’t a bad thing! This is amazing! What I think is particularly cool about it (but which I think also threatens “established” Western churches) is that Christianity in those contexts looks different from how it looks in the US. Maybe church is an a tiny apartment, maybe indigenous music is used instead of hymns, maybe there is no paid staff . . . all of the things we’ve gotten used to thinking church has to have, those churches are going to be – and should be – different. 

Turning back to the US, though, I think a lot of Christians (perhaps particularly those from my generation) are slipping through the cracks of the statistics because they aren’t in a church building on a regular basis. Now, I should say that I absolutely believe that the biblical model is to come together regularly as brothers and sisters; however, I think I a lot of young adults are perfectly OK with doing that at someone’s apartment on Monday nights with a group of their friends. Who’s counting those people? Is that not church? Why not? I’ve thought long and hard about this for personal reasons: When I returned from China in 2008, I struggled with moving from my close-knit, loving and accountable home fellowship back to the American consumer church model. If I’d found a home church back then to join, I would have in a heartbeat. Where’s the problem in that? What defines a church?

Finally, and what gets me the most, is the idea that numbers alone reflect growth. Gosh, even typing that sentence I get the heebie-jeebies. Listen, I don't think having more people in church is a bad thing. It's true that Acts mentions the growth of the early church in numerical terms ("And the Lord added to their number daily those that were being saved.") and the Gospels talk about the thousands that followed Jesus, but I also don't think Scripture states or implies that numbers = life. How are we to be known? By our fruit (Gal. 5:22-23; Matt. 7:20), by our love (John 13:35), by our sacrifice (1 John 2:6) . . . by our large congregations? By our multiple church "campuses"? By made-up statistics? :) I don't think these are things we're called to concern ourselves with.

How do you feel about numbers? Am I missing the point (it happens; feel free to call me on it)? Can we say the church is "dying" because numbers are down? 

Add your thoughts in the comments or on Facebook. Have a great Thursday!

Labels are so handy! And mostly useless!

I have always wanted to do this when forced to wear one of these dumb nametags.

I wonder why it even matters what we call ourselves. In re-reading yesterday's post, which got this little ball rolling, I looked at some of the identifying labels I used:
- Christian
- conservative
- orthodox
- evangelical
- liberal
- traditional

And notice I didn't even mention any specific denominations. Or use other labels that often get tossed around in the church: inclusive, charismatic, liturgical, Reformed, egalitarian, complementarian . . . the list could go on and on.

Why are we (and by "we" I think I'm referring to those of us who actively think about matters of faith and the Church, but this could perhaps be broadened) so fascinated by labels? Why do we ask what denomination other believers come from, or attend now? And, the biggest labels of all: Why am I even opening up this bag of LIBERAL and CONSERVATIVE faith?

Labels are so easy, people! So simple! They're part of our identity. They tell me who I am. Despite no longer attending the Salvation Army, there are ways I'm still very much a Salvationist. My theology is Wesleyan-Arminian. I'm egalitarian. My faith is orthodox. I like liturgical worship . . . these tell me things about myself and they also serve as shorthand for others to get to know me. See, just reading those things, you've probably made assumptions about me, just like I would make assumptions about someone who told me that they were Reformed, or complementarian, or (gasp!) United Methodist. (Kidding, all my UMC brethren.)

(This makes me think of many of my dear PCA friends, who, when asked what denomination they're part of, almost always tend to respond with, "Presbyterian . . . PCA, not PC (USA)." They know how important labels are.)

There's a major issue with all this, though. These labels limit me. They limit my growth. They force me to stay in a box, and others then assume that that box is all that I am. After a while, everything I read or study or think about confirms and reinforces that label, until my faith has conformed to the limits of the box, instead of having a chance to change and get messy and be challenged.

We want our faith to grow, right? To do so, it has to leave the confines of a labeled box.

This is a scary prospect. If you come from a conservative background, it might be scary to start thinking that you're not - like me - going to use the "evangelical" label anymore. If you call yourself a liberal Christian, your fellow churchgoers might start looking at you strangely if they see you reading a book by Tim Keller or NT Wright. On both sides, I think that when we starting asking questions about what we believe we're going to be told to stop, or to "be careful," because who knows what kind of dangerous place questions will lead us to?

We need to get out of the labeled box, ignore old assumptions, and start asking those dangerous questions. I think that's how we're going to grow as Christians, and as a Church.