Chris's Musings

This has been a pretty slow year for me for posts to the blog.  I do want to finish out 2014 with a post, and as I think about "what would be the best thing to write to close out 2014?" it dawned on me to recollect on the top memories I've had throughout the years (both good years and not-as-good years).  I have really thought about how precious time is throughout this year, and how we shouldn't waste the moments we've been given.  I also believe that we should take time to look back and remember God's faithfulness to us through our lives, both to thank Him for how He has blessed us but also to remember and look forward to the future knowing that our lives are in His hands. So, I thought I would close my blog in 2014 with my top 2 moments from the past years - since 2000.  Please enjoy :-) 2014 1. Kenya medical mission trip - getting to meet my sponsor child and being blessed beyond belief in the home visits 2. Two incredible outings with my nieces...

Last night, in the busyness of the Christmas season, I got a few friends to come out to watch the new Moses movie:  Exodus, Gods and Kings.  I had been intrigued by some of the previews, the hype around the movie, and the fact that "Batman" would be playing Moses.  In some ways, I was hoping that the movie would stay somewhat true to scripture, unlike the Noah movie which completely butchered the Noah story and made it more about environmentalism instead of sin... and honestly Russell Crowe's Noah was a terrible movie. Without attempting to spoil the movie, Exodus was in my opinion actually a decent movie, assuming you take the Bible out of it.  In some ways, Ridley Scott attempted to remake Gladiator in Egypt with Christian Bale instead of Russell Crowe.  The scenes with the plagues were very well done and there were some really cool battle scenes during the beginning of the movie (I did say that it did feel like Gladiator in a way). So... if I were to re...

Have you ever moved and called one of those "two guys and a truck" or the "college hunks hauling junk" moving companies?  I did during my last move, when I moved from the "Post Melrose" (as it was deemed) in Buckhead to my current place in semi-beautiful Sandy Springs.  I remember that when the movers came out, they were some tough looking blue collar dudes that had arms larger than my legs and picked up entire couches by themselves.  I thought about Goliath and what the armies of Israel thought when they shook in fear... these were professionals, they just went in, picked up stuff, put it in the truck, and dropped it off.  It was almost like the way I treat my groceries. This morning, I got up early and went to help a friend and her roommate move today.  The last time I helped a friend move, it was a pretty quick trip from one apartment to another with a fairly minimal amount of stuff (for a girl).  Today's effort was not quite like that.  We were...

Last Fall, on the way to preparing for the half marathon that I would set my under 2 hour personal record within, I signed up for this year's Publix Half Marathon at an Adventure Run event.  They were offering a really good rate and I was feeling good at the time, so why not? Fast forward to November... I had just finished my best half marathon (time-wise) with a fun group of people and was looking ahead to competing in a couple of races as 2014 began.  Then, in San Francisco the day before Dreamforce, I re-injure my right Achilles tendon on a run on the Embarcaderro. Oh yeah, awesome (Not!).  I have had these injuries flare up before and I figured I would be out for a month or so and back to it, but this injury just kept nagging me (and it turns out I probably got it because of some issues with my footwear that day).   I begrudgingly deferred my enrollment in the Houston Half Marathon in January, and planned to make my comeback today at the Publix Half Marat...

As you are waking up this morning. And if you are waking up alone and don't have a date with a "special someone." I'm certain that in some way, you and I (Yes, I'm in your shoes this year) are tempted to get down, to believe that we are unloved, or say something insanely crazy on Facebook (wha? wha?) So, as you are reading this (and you are reading this), let me put a few things in your mind, especially if you are a Christ-follower. Jesus COMMANDS for us not to be miserable and wallowing in self-pity. He has come that we have life to the full, and that includes when we are single.  In Philippians, Paul writes that we are to "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say Rejoice."   If you belong to Christ, these are not options, so live out of joy and not out of emotional scarcity. Single doesn't mean "alone."  Be with friends and invest in them. Barricading yourself in your house to avoid the sea of pink and Russell Stover ...