5K Logo and Race Name

The committe planning the Palmetto Hearts upcoming 5K met last night and we had a really great time working out some important details.... like the NAME of the race! Without further adieu, the race will be named:

Palmetto Hearts 5K Run & Walk

We felt like it was important to get the name of Palmetto Hearts out there so that people would start recognizing it (the name of the organization) and in turn know what the organization is working for.... kids with Congential Heart Defects.

The date of the race will be Saturday, April 14 so PLEASE go ahead and add it to your calendar now. We will be looking for volunteers to help on race day with registration and awards and of course I would love to see all of my friends and family running (or walking as the case may be) in the race. It is going to be a family friendly race so strollers are welcome and we would LOVE to see lots of heart kiddos join in the race as well!

The design of the actual shirt is not finalized, but the logo we are going to use for the race has been decided. You are the first people who are going to get to see it!





So, the winner who submitted this logo (you know who you are) will receive a FREE race t-shirt once we have them printed. I will contact you once they are printed and get it to you.

Now the logo is probably going to be modified a little bit, colors etc, but this is basically what it will look like. You know you want one.... so start training NOW for the 5K. All early bird registrants will receive a t-shirt with their registration.

My specific job with the committe is selling sponsorships for the race, who will in turn be getting their logos on the back of the super-awesome race t-shirt, so..... if you or someone you know might be interested in buying a sponsorship for our race PLEASE let me know. I will begin selling race sponsorships in August, and it is almost here!

I will be keeping you posted on the planning of the race and I will also add a link to the race website once it is up and running so that you can go ahead and get your registration in early!

"Normal" Baby Sick and 5K Update

If you read the last BLOG post and wondered what was going on, Anna Grace has been "normal" baby sick as I like to refer to it. She had a little cold and it turned into an ear infection. She "let us know" she was sick by staying up all night Thursday night crying, which of course prompted us to take her to the doctor Friday morning with the diagnosis of an ear infection and a round of antibiotics. Now, it is no fun for anyone to stay up all night with a crying baby, but hey, it is "normal" baby sick so I'll take it any day of the week! It is her very first ear infection and she is 18 months old now - an ear infection was bound to happen at some point. As soon as she started taking her antibiotics she was fine. Her little cold is still running its course, but she is acting like her old self again. Hooray for Amoxicillan :)

So, you may remember about a month ago I posted a contest on my BLOG for the naming of a 5K race that I am helping to plan. I recived several submissions and I am heading to the committee meeting tonight to vote on the name of the 5K race. The 5K race is to benefi an organization called Palmetto Hearts (www.palmettohearts.org) which helps support families who have children with congenital heart defects. The person with the "winning idea" for the race name will received a free race t-shirt once we have them printed. I will post the winning idea here tomorrow.

Are You Listening

After a tough night last night with Anna Grace being sick and crying, this was a welcome post by Jon Bloom over at Desiring God. You can check out their website here Desiring God.

I Cry to You and You Do Not Answer Me
June 24, 2011 by: Jon Bloom

I cry to you for help and you do not answer me; I stand, and you only look at me. You have turned cruel to me (Job 30:20-21).

These words came out of the mouth of the man God considered the most blameless and upright on earth at the time (Job 1:8).

Thank you, God, for these words! Thank you that the Bible is so guileless. It says it like it is, and sometimes just what it feels like. Most of its heroes are unvarnished and clay-footed. Sometimes they wonder if you’re cruel. That’s a mercy to all of us shortsighted, weak, doubting, clay-footed stumblers. There’s hope for us.

Can you identify with Job? You cry out to God in your affliction and you see nothing change. It seems like he’s just standing there watching you writhe. It feels cruel.

But this is not, in fact, true. What is true is that God is doing far more in our affliction than we know.

For Job, he did not know that he was putting Satan to shame by trusting in God despite his desolate confusion. He did not know that his experience would encourage millions for millennia. And like Job, we do not know what mind-blowing designs God has in store for what may feel unbearable and appear cruel today.

But we do know this: God was answering Job when it seemed he wasn’t. And God was remembering David when David cried, “Will you forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1). And when Jesus cried, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46), God had turned his face away from our sin, only to raise his Son from the dead to undying, unsurpassed, and eternal glory.

Your suffering may be inscrutable today. But in reality it is preparing for you “an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). Take heart and hold on.

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you (1 Peter 5:10).

Understanding Suffering

Every person on this planet will suffer. Some will suffer more than others and some less, but each persons suffering will be hard, tough and trying in their own lives and in their own ways. Suffering normally leads to questions like these: Why does God allow suffering? What does suffering accomplish? Am I being punished for sin because I'm suffering? These are all good questions that need to be addressed.

I feel Mark Discroll does a good job in this 10 minute video giving us 10 points on suffering. These points are true and I would consider them to be of sound doctrine and Biblical.

(If you have trouble with the video starting and stoping, try clicking play and then pausing the video for a few minutes. This will let the video stream to your computer which should allow for a smoother playback.)

Vacation Bible School

This has been an exciting week for our family. This week our Church is hosting Vacation Bible School. In case you don't know what Vacation Bible School is, it is an outreach program of our Church where children are invited to come for the week from 9:00 am until noon and there are many activites planned to share with the children about Jesus. At our Church children can start attending Vacation Bible School at 3 years old, but since we were in Charleston at MUSC last summer when Zachary was 3 he was not able to go. So, this is Zachary's first year of attending Vacation Bible School. Now, I really have been out of touch with Vacation Bible School since I was a child. What I do remember about Vacation Bible School is hearing some Bible stories, singing some songs and making a craft. Well.... that was a LONG time ago and things at Vacation Bible School have changed!!!!!

From what I could gather from my 4 year old, in one room there is a Bible story around a "campfire", and then they go to another room to play games "Pass the Pony" I beleive is what he called it, and then they go to another room to learn songs and then they go to the Sanctuary for some serious kid craziness. I don't know exactly what transpires in there, but when I went in there today to pick him up, our children's Minister was getting a bucket of green slime dumped on his head. Yep, Seriously. The kids were screaming and going wild. It is a far cry from the Vacation Bible School that I remember!

It seems like a lot of fun mixed in with Bible Stories and fellowship. Zachary is enjoying himself and really having a great time. Anna Grace and I have been hanging around for about 30 minutes after I drop him off just walking around and talking to people in the halls - she seems to be doing better being around people and she LOVED all the screaming and clapping in the Sanctuary today when we went to pick Zachary up. She was screaming and clapping along with all the kids, it was very cute to see her enjoying herself so much.

I will try to take some pictures tomorrow and post them up on the BLOG for you to enjoy!

Do You Live In Zion or Babylon

I've been listening to Josh Garrels for about 3 months now. He is an amazing artist and very talented. His lyrics plumb deep into God, man and creation. You can pick up his new album here free. Below is from his album Jacaranda. Enjoy...

"Zion & Babylon" - Josh Garrels from Josh Garrels on Vimeo.

Pictures!

As promised here are some pictures of our summer so far.... enjoy!