Micah's Thirteen

Back in the fall of 2012, we invited you and Liam over for a "Blessing of the Backpacks" to send you back to school with a blessing.  Below is the 10th Annual Blessing of the Backpacks at our house that we did this afternoon with kids in our neighborhood: 

I had fun looking through the book I shared yesterday so I wanted to pick some of my favorites over the next few days to pass along as I think about you starting school this week. These are such good words (and colorful art that makes me happy too). I hope they bring a smile to your face today... 

This book  Thoughts That Make Your Heart Sing  by Sally Lloyd Jones is one that I read to Anna and Taylor when they were little, and I ran across this image today:  Let the sun in this week, Micah....  and may the peace of Christ be with you as you start school this week! 

  Such fun to whip up some goodies with you today to celebrate the 28th today!  (WHICH ALSO MARKS ONE MONTH UNTIL YOUR BIRTHDAY!!!) 

Look what Anna and I spotted on a wall in a chapel on campus yesterday as we were waiting for our results of our Covid test that we had to take to be allowed to move her in.  Of course, I thought of you as this is your verse. :) 

We drop Anna off at college today, and these are the wonderful words that popped in my inbox to start my day.  May they be an encouragement to you today as well....

Last night, we had a sendoff for Anna with our small group, and we took time to go around the room and have people share some memories and some advice for her as she launched. At one point, you talked about Anna's positivity and her kindness and shared some sweet stories that you remembered about her.  What I loved about this was that your words were spot on and that you had found a way to name these gifts you appreciated about Anna so clearly and so succinctly. As I mentioned to you in the kitchen, this ability to name something and someone with such affirmation is indeed a gift.   In the book  A Wind in the Door (second in the Time Quintet) , there is an exchange between Meg, the teenage heroine of the book, and an angel named Progo. Progo is explaining why he is calling out the names of the stars. He knows they need to be named in order for peace to exist on earth. The enemy of peace is a force called the Ecthroi, which Progo interprets to Meg this way: “I think y...

Today was a big day as it was the day of the Iron Horse Half Marathon which I had picked out last winter to run in your honor for your birthday this fall. I convinced your mom to sign up for it and then roped Anna in with her friend Sarah to run it too as a last hurrah before they headed to college together.  Little did I know that I would not be able to run it when I signed up, but I am so glad I did as it opened up a door for a very sweet morning with your mom and with Anna and two of her friends.  Since I got injured, I passed on my race number to another good friend of Anna's, and so three of them ran it together. For two of them, it was the day before they left for college, so it felt like a big milestone in and of itself.  While I was really bummed to not be able to run, I did have so much fun ringing my cowbell and holding up a sign that said, "Woohoo" on it for runners as they passed by at mile 5, mile 9, and at the finish line. This quote came to mind below, and ...

  As I was biking some hills today, I was having to stand up to peddle at different points to push up the hill. I thought to myself that I only needed to bike up the part I could see and then I could figure out the next part when I got to it.  As I thought about that, I realized that I have used this advice a number of times in so many contexts over the years.  Just take the challenges in bite sized pieces, and little by little, you can get there.  It's a small thing, but I was thinking about you with school coming up knowing that this might come in handy as homework will be piling up after a long break.  I'll be cheering for you as you push up those hills (and ready to bake up a sweet treat to celebrate some small victories along the way!) 

This morning, I led a neighborhood group that I lead each week where we read a passage of Scripture together several times. The passage for the day was from Psalm 36.  Read through these two translations and see what word or phrase pops out to you. The phrase that stands out to me as I read it again now is "not a man, not a mouse slips through the cracks...."  I am praying that as you start school in a couple of weeks and jump into middle school in person that you will find your way and that you can trust that you won't slip through the cracks because of how big God's love is around you. 

After hiking up 2200 feet on Saturday and back down again to Colchuck Lake after two months of not being allowed to walk or hike or run much, I was a little sore in my calves and quads from the elevation. So, for a recovery day today, I grabbed my goggles and headed to Green Lake today to swim, and it felt so good.  I read an article called "What Regular Swimming Does for the Body and Mind" the other day, and the author said this: " My improved mood was in no doubt related to my recent dip in the pool. Like all types of physical activity, swimming can improve your mood by stimulating the production of  endorphins  – natural opioids produced in the brain – as well as other neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin."  The article goes on to add other benefits:  "There are many other aspects of swimming that make it a uniquely beneficial form of exercise. For example, when we swim, we are completely horizontal, which  increases blood return  from t...

Anna and her friends finished the 21 mile hike last night and there were cheers all around. Here is the sign I made for them when they finished...... and here's my sign for you for two weeks of hiking and camping and being in the woods: 

  Today, you are getting back from your YMCA hike, and I'm over in Leavenworth on some of the most beautiful trails around.  Anna and her friends are hiking the Enchantments, and I got to hike with them 4 miles in to Colchuck Lake. I then hiked back out to the car so that I can be their shuttle ride when they finish the 19 mile hike early evening.  As I was hiking out today, I felt like I was walking on sunshine as I was definitely in my happy place. And I know that over the last two weeks that you have found your happy place on some trails as well. My prayer for you is that you would be able to take the goodness from these miles and bring them back into your life at home and into your next year at school in 7th grade. 

  Micah,  I got to see your mom this morning and she told me about your hike with the Swansons along with your quick turnaround to go on the YMCA week long hike. It sounds like you have been an incredible leader, a wonderful storyteller, a kind and considerate cousin, a new friend, and a happy hiker. Wow. You've covered A LOT of miles, and I just want to say that I am......

Just a little note to let you know I was thinking of you today in your kitchen and wishing you'd been there to walk through to come in to lick the spoon. Cheering for you as you hike and have your adventure this week in the woods! 

I went for a bike ride this morning and ended up coming back home via one of my favorite streets (Shelby Street) that has one of the best views in Seattle.  When I run on this road, I always try to make sure to look over my shoulder to take in the view, and I did the same today on my bike. Here's some encouragement to take that extra moment to take a second look and soak in the beauty around you. 

On Sunday, when I went to Bethany, we sang a song that has been stuck in my head. This is one of the lines from the song, and I've been using that line to pray for your eyes to be opened up to God's wonder all around you on your hike this week. (And hoping that bug bites, blisters, and other annoyances don't distract too much to be able to soak up the beauty around you...) 

  This morning, I biked up to Bethany to hear Fredrik preach. On my way home, I saw some blackberry bushes that were calling my name, so I stopped to get a snack. It was just one of those moments that was begging to be seized and enjoyed.  I am praying for you on your hike this week that you will have some moments of delight and that you can seize the day! 

  I have gone for a couple of bike rides with Jason and Dan this week, and they have headed off on some trails while I have generally stuck to the roads with hills.  Today, I went on a ride and went on a pretty easy trail with them, but I definitely was pretty conservative when we were going down hills.  I have come to a place where I know what I can do and know what I call my "happy pace."  Some will be able to go faster than I will and some will go slower. Some will choose harder trails and some will choose easier trails. It's all good.  As you jump into this next year, may you find your happy pace. :)  

On Monday, Taylor and his cousin Cazden went on a mountain bike ride up on some of the trails at Big Sky.  They took the ski lift up which carried them and their bikes to the top of some of the trails and then they got to enjoy the ride down. Taylor was on a new bike and he had not done this particular trail before, and on one jump that he tried to make, he crashed- cracking his helmet in the fall and scuffing up his face and shoulder.  Thankfully, the helmet did the job and kept anything worse from happening, but you can imagine that it scared us to see the damage.   As I was praying later, the verse from Numbers 6:24 came to mind: "May the Lord bless you and keep you." The word "keep" stood out to me, and I kept rolling that around and around in my mind.  keep:  to continue having or holding  (something) : to not return, lose, sell, give away, or throw away (something) : to continue in a specified state, condition, or position. : to cause (someone or...

I passed these daisies today  and was reminded of the quote  below that is one of my favorites...  "A man varies his movements because of some slight element of failure or fatigue. He gets into an omnibus because he is tired of walking; or he walks because he is tired of sitting still. But if his life and joy were so gigantic that he never tired of going to Islington, he might go to Islington as regularly as the Thames goes to Sheerness … It might be true that the sun rises regularly because he never gets tired of rising. His routine might be due, not to a lifelessness, but to a rush of life. The thing I mean can be seen, for instance, in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, ‘Do it again’; and the grown-up person do...

  Anna ran 7 miles today, so I helped her map out her run and planned to be at the finish at a waterfall with a water bottle and a granola bar. At about the half way mark, I dropped off Tracey (Anna's aunt/ my sister-in-law) to run alongside her, and I was so grateful that she could be there with Anna since I am not allowed to run yet.  The word that came to mind as I was thinking about her was the word "paraclete."   That word is derived from "para" and "kletos" and is defined by Webster as “an advisor or intercessor; in a Christian context the Holy Spirit.” A  paraclete   is one who encourages the athlete in the race, who sticks up for him, who provides water and nourishment during the race, and who runs alongside him.   May you have people who run alongside you to encourage you, stick up for you, and provide you support each step of the way, and may these people point to the gift of God's spirit with us doing these things for us each and every ...

This morning, Tracey (my sister-in-law) and I went to the Y here in Missoula to do a spin class together, and it was a fabulous (and really hard) class.  We climbed mountains on those stationary bikes and sweat a lot (even me!), and it was fun to have instructors who were enthusiastic and who kept us motivated for 45 minutes this morning. They had a fast playlist, and the last song was one called "Who Am I?" I had not heard it before but liked it, so I came home and googled the song to check out again. I pasted the lyrics below, and I hope that you will read through a few of them. Who are we to be loved by God? What a gift indeed.  https://youtu.be/AUdMMUUYXKs White lies and desperation Hard times and conversation No one should ever love me like you do Sometimes my bad decisions Define my false suspicions No one should ever love me like you do While I’m on this road you take my hand Somehow you really love who I really am I push you away, still you won’t let go You grow your...