The Invincibility of the Wetsuit

and other such interesting possible blog titles (thanks Noah) ...

• A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: the Life of a Foursquare Woman in a Baptist Church
• The Justification of Chocolate Consumption While on a Juice Fast
• Does a Pink Swimcap Count as a Head Covering in the Pauline Epistles?

This is ongoing...

on Satan... (light topic)

Does Satan believe the Bible?

Why would he choose to go up against someone that he knows to be omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent? (Would you play cards against someone you knew was omniscient?) Without question he knows the Bible, better than we, and probably even in the original language! :) But there is a difference between knowing and believing, as we often witness in our own lives.

I’ve had the thought that he is well aware of God’s power and victory, as well as the fact that his time is limited. So he has made it his aim to try and lead as many believers astray as possible and generally wreak as much havoc as possible until he is permanently defeated.

There’s also the possibility that he is just completely deranged (perhaps not untrue), and knows he is wrong, yet keeps fighting anyway. (Have you ever known you were arguing a losing point, even that you were probably wrong, yet for some reason that caused you to argue for it more strongly? Yes, that is kind of childish and a little unbalanced, but I don’t suppose Satan is above those things either?)

But how about the possibility that he really doesn’t believe it? He has read the things that we have read, he has witnessed the power of God, and seen that in reality he is no match. He has heard that he is really going to lose in the end, and that God has dominion and power over all things, including him. So why in someone’s right mind would they continue to battle against a power and authority like that, unless they didn’t really believe it? Perhaps he still thinks he has a chance, some possibility of defeating God and becoming the supreme power in the world?

I don’t know…thoughts??

only fond memories here...and new aspirations...

So when's the next triathlon?

Really, it only took a matter of hours for me to forget about the near drowning experience in the middle of the lake (ok, an exxaggeration, but it was a grueling swim for me!) and the heat stroke - inducing and rubber-melting running conditions, not to mention stomach cramps and camera batteries dying at key moments ... it was a totally fun race!! Of COURSE I'm doing it again next year! One under my belt, I'm so much better prepared, and very ready to recruit YOU to join me.

While we're discussing races, fitness, and goal-setting (yes all of them), how about the Long Beach marathon October 15? Just the half, that is, a mere 13.1 miles. I am going to make this a goal, with the option to bail at any time only as a result of faulty knees. It's pretty discouraging to feel great "cardiovascularly" and be able to continue forever, yet be hampered by older-than-their-time knees that can't hack a few extra miles here and there. I think they're basically like a time-bomb at this point; I don't know how much time I have left. So, I can either prolongue my running days by continuing to do little 3 mile jogs every morning, or I can keep adding mileage (my last long run was 9.7 miles - heart good, knees bad, see above comment), do the half marathon, and then limp for the rest of my life.

Those people who run marathons in their 80s? Hate them.

So, I am going to add miles little by little with the anticipated goal of the LB half in October, and see how my knees do. If I can't do it, I will settle for the knowledge that I really CAN do it, but that it's best that I don't. :) In that case you'll see me on the bike tour that morning instead. :)

This month

I learned to write everything on my calendar in PENCIL.

wedding pics

Here are pics from Lindy's wedding Friday night. I am home now and still trying to recover and catch up on my sleep... :) It was a good and crazy week.

This was right before he saw her for the first time. She already started crying.
The groomsmen...and yes, they did hold the bats in the wedding!!


My cute little brother and sister
The fam

They're married!

We made it! I have millions of pictures on my camera and I will post a couple in the next few days. :) This is my little sister Lindy and her husband as of last night Nate. We all came home and crashed and they are off to Palm Springs today.

the haps at the homestead

I had more pictures to share but blogger's having trouble with uploading so it will have to wait. For now I will just have to TELL you about the moving, shopping, cleaning, purchasing, houseguests, sewing, reminiscing, picking up, dropping off, making do and stressing out (hey--that last one is just everybody but me). :)

The wedding is tomorrow and I think we're ready! Some fun things from the week... (couldn't upload the pic of Lindy and Nate in their new apartment, or the sign my mom put on one of the bathroom doors since last weekend "CLOSED - for Tuesday guests", or this house that I have grown up in that will no longer be ours next time I'm here!! For a future post...)

Travis' new truck...
Mariners game with Mom...

"This blows" -Travis


Rehearsal dinner...

The boys got baseball bats for their groomsman gifts. I fear that they are actually going to hold them in the wedding...for real.

Dad and Lindy

Lindy's "last hurrah"

What is the point of a bachelorette party anyway? I guess if you follow Jesus it's not quite like it was intended. We are all fine with that...we get tired at 10 pm every night anyway. :) Though for some reason I'm still up right now posting on here.

(Practicing her best wedding smile) :)

Finish a Triathlon - CHECK!

Rise and shine! Sunrise…



Picking up our first passenger at 5:20 am – bright eyed and bushy tailed



Noah and Janell sporting their fan club attire! “We have to put on our uniforms!” they announced, and took off their jackets at the same time. :)



Setting up the transition area…






All smiles before the start!



My end of the transition area. There were 700-800 competitors total, so it was a pretty big area.



Down to the beach to the start line!



Why am I doing this again???






I’m the one in the pink cap



And they’re off! I was the 5th wave, out of 7. The swim was about eight times longer than I thought it should be!! The farthest I have swam in open water and it was a little tough for me. But I made it in 26 minutes, about what I was expecting (and that is exactly TWICE as long as the winner’s swim time! Sheesh.)






Out of the wet rash guard, into my shirt with my number on it...quick! I was not so quick with this transition...5 minutes :) (The next was less than 2)



You must WALK your bike in the transition area...






Popping a warm, gelatinous energy block...and off to run!



The running was harder than I expected...mostly because it was nearly 90 degrees by this time and there was very little shade. I was still under a 10 min. mile but a lot slower than I think I would have been otherwise. But I finished the whole thing at 2 hours and 3 minutes, 12 minutes faster than my goal!!



In an exciting turn of events, the camera died literally 10 seconds before I crossed the finish line. I was about a hundred yards away, they could see me! I won't share my initial reaction; instead, here's a picture of this random person finishing instead!!! argh...



We did manage to take some with the camera phone, after the fact :) I think I finished in 291st place--woo hoo! :)






Thanks again to my fans... ;)