Abby's Team Lost!

Freshmen are now playing the Freshmen Cup... And her department last year won first place... So, they were really hoping to win again this year.

On Wednesday they lost to the English Department...

And today they lost to Psych... Abby cried... She needed more stamina... She was one of the best players on the team... but she ran out of steam... Very disappointing...

Mom enjoyed her Friday program... and she got to watch Little House in the afternoon... I had to work on my ppt file and talk notes for Sunday. I also made a chicken pot pie for dinner as we were all home... it's been such a long time since we've been together...

Alan got two DVDs from the library... and we just had a very relaxing evening at home...

Seek Him First!

Run Packet Arrived... And Very Sad Tragic News...

When I came home from taking Mom to her massage, there was a package waiting for me at our guard booth... it was the packet for my upcoming run... I'm filled with trepidation... What will the weather be like? Will I get lost? Are the hills going to be too steep? How about the "old paths"? What are they like?

But besides feeling trepidation, I forgot to mention the phone call I received last night...

After our Wednesday night counseling session, I picked up my cell phone and noticed that an old friend from the States was trying to call me via LINE... His wife was expecting a baby. We had prayed together last December just before their wedding anniversary that before their anniversary this December God would bless them with a baby. They came to Taiwan earlier this year, thinking maybe they'd have to try IVF, but they got pregnant naturally. I thought he was calling to tell me that the baby had arrived already -- just a few weeks early...

That was not the case...

He was crying on the phone... and his first words were, "Geraldine is gone... and so is the baby!" I stood there, in silence... What? What is he talking about? And he continued, "We were having dinner tonight... at a friend's house... and she was talking... and all of a sudden, she stopped. She had a stroke... I tried to give her mouth to mouth resuscitation, but she was gone... The baby too... " I could not process what he was saying... He repeated his words and added details... about the check-up earlier in the day and how the ultrasound picked up that the baby's heart beat was a bit 'off'... and how the doctor said that they needed a second ultrasound later in the afternoon... and if the heart beat was still off... they'd have to do a C-section... and that the second ultrasound was more normal so they went to their friend's house... He continued talking... about the hospital... about the coroner... about the room that was all ready for their baby... and he ended saying that he had to go back to the hospital...

We hung up... My heart was racing... My head was spinning... And I was ... feeling all sorts of emotions... I won't go into more details... but I did not sleep well last night...
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Would you remember to pray for this man? Pray as the Lord leads you to pray... because I don't even know what or how to pray...

Seek Him First!

Helping Everyone Out

I know why I'm so busy all day... every day...

I am always helping people out...

My husband wants me to find candy canes...

My son asks me about improving his writing...

My daughter forgets to bring something and wants me to drop it off for her...

And of course, Mom is constantly asking me to help... especially since we don't let her go to the bathroom on her own...

Friends are also asking me to help them with things...

Now... PLEASE... don't get me wrong... I love helping people and that's probably why people ask me to help them... I truly believe in the Bible when it says, "WHATEVER YOU DO, DO IT HEARTILY AS UNTO THE LORD..." When I help others, I put my whole heart into helping them... it's not a lackadaisical, get-it-done, way of helping...

So... from the moment I wake up to the minute I close my eyes... it's do, do, do...

And that's why the most precious times in my day are -- my first hour with God... and my 30 minutes of a run... During those minutes, I am 'doing nothing'... and that's why I enjoy long runs... No one is asking me to help them with anything...

That kind of solitude is serenity... is refreshing... is rest! It centers me to see life with an eternal perspective... And I guess that's one reason that I tell people... I don't love running... I love being alone!

Seek Him First!

Hanging Out with Angel

After the Bible study, I drove with Mom to meet up with Angel. She was so sweet as she bought my mom these great steam buns... And she said, "If I hang out with your mom, we'd both be overweight!" No kidding... Mom can eat... And Angel is so generous... She's always treating us...

I took her over to RT Mart and then dropped her off to get her hair done.

I came home and Mom watched Little House, while I went for a 30 minute run.

Mom had dinner and then I cut her hair before sending her to take a shower and get ready for bed.

I forgot to mention that we had a great Bible study... and the lunch was fabulous. I made chicken pot pie filling and one of the Bible study ladies brought the crust. So, we put it together and popped it into the oven. While it was baking, we had our study.

The whole day again went by so nicely... Oh yes... Mom likes her hair cut very much...

Seek Him First!

A Very Fast Monday

Today was quite warm... and the day started early...

I met up with my friend, Angel, so that I can take her around to different places...

By 12:45, Angel had to head back to meet up with her high school friend as I had to pick up the box drum and bring it back home.

Mom had her new afternoon program, but by the time we got home at 1:45, we were both tired.

She took a nap, and so did I...

Instead of going to the new program, she watched Little House and I went for a quick run!

Abby came home in the late afternoon and we went together to drop her off at the MRT station.  Mom enjoyed the drive. We also went to a fruit stand and bought lots of fruits...

Simple dinner at home and Mom took a shower as she didn't take one this morning... We also worked on her journal as she hadn't written for five days...

She was in bed by 7:30!

That gave me the time to prepare the lunch for my Bible study group tomorrow, do a load of wash, and tidy up the house...

Alan was home, so I fixed him dinner...

Abby was the next one to come home...

Isaiah finally came home at 9pm as he had a group assignment to finish up at school...

The day went by so fast... I hope to be in bed earlier tonight...

Seek Him First!

It's December!

Actually, it's already December 2nd! Wow...

Annie sent me pictures of her going down Candy Cane Lane... and the church has Christmas programs and Handel's Messiah... I bet all the malls are well decorated...

Yesterday, when I got together with my old colleagues, Christmas music was being piped in through the sound system... It was so nice...

So... I'm two weeks away from the major RUN...and two months and two weeks from my 12Hour Run!

This past weekend was the Soochow 24Hour Ultra... It was a big one as there were 12 different countries represented  with 67 participants. In the top five for men were three Japanese... In the top five for women were two Japanese ladies... Just amazing...Unfortunately, I didn't get to watch any of it, but I was praying for all the runners... So, overall, I think Team Japan won! The guy who came in first was a Spanish guy who just started running ultras two years ago! His personal best for the 24hour ultra is 273kms.

Seek Him First!

Seeing Old Friends...

It was a busy morning, getting my mom ready before I left to meet up with my old colleagues... We've known each other for over 30 years... We met when I started teaching at MCU. One of the ladies will be retiring in January of 2019 and she will be going back to the Philippines... The other two are 'lifers' in Taiwan, like Alan and I. They are all not yet believers... and they all have interesting stories... We met up at a German restaurant and the three hours flew by as we were trying to catch up on each other's lives...

Then in the afternoon, Mom and I drove to pick up another old friend -- Angel Lin -- who was coming to Taiwan for a visit... I've known her for over 50 years!

She will be staying just for 10 days... and she took us out to dinner... and of course, Mom was thrilled with all the feasting...

We met up with Abby at Hsingmenting as she needed basketball shoes...

Isaiah decided to stay home to study...

I wanted to go see the 24hour ultra marathon that was going on at Soochow University, but I never had the time to drop by... It was a fairly warm day... I wonder how those runners coped with the 'heat'.

Seek Him First!