Accidents do happen

Saturday was a fun day out with the kids, but it ended with a terrifying event – a traffic accident.

After the movie night at church we decided to go to McDonalds for a dinner snack, and to let the kids play in the play place. We all had a great time at the restaurant and were on our way home, when suddenly, we were “T-boned” from the side by an oncoming vehicle that failed to stop at an intersection.

Everyone was OK! Thank God for his protection (We were driving a new Chrysler Town & Country, and it surely has safety features to ensure every occupant was safe); only Laura, Samantha’s mom, was injured as her side of the car absorbed the impact. We went to visit Laura and Samantha today after church, and they are doing well! Praise the Lord.

I suppose this incident taught me a very valuable lesson – to place your trust in the Lord, your God.

Psalm 91 speaks of God’s protection: “Whoever goes to the Lord for safety,whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty can say to him, “You are my defender and protector. You are my God; in you I trust.” He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and from all deadly diseases. He will cover you with his wings; you will be safe in his care; his faithfulness will protect and defend you. You need not fear any dangers at night or attacks during the day.” Psalm 91:1-5

Accidents do happen! But we must remember that God is always watching over us, keeping us safe and offering comfort and protection from dangers. I was proud of Annabella and Tyler during the whole incident; they both stayed calm, offered support and comfort to their friend Samantha. Maybe Dad has taught them to be ready for adversity and to be prepared for the unexpected, or it may be that they are strong leaders and have the gift to pacify and show composure during trial and hardship? Either way this strengthens them both and I’m proud of Bella & Ty.

Have a blessed evening! Drive safely and pray for protection.

 

Kids Birthday Parties

Today we went to Cami’s 2nd Birthday Party! Now that I am settling into single parenting and meeting other new people, we are going to lots more kids birthday parties these weekends; Annabella & Tyler love going to birthday parties, play dates and fairs, especially when there is a bounce house!

The kids had a great time playing, we also had Samantha our neighbor, join us for the party too! I’m glad that Bella & Ty are meeting new friends and getting to interact with other families and kids. Since we moved here 4 years ago, it has been hard to make ‘good’ friends, but the Sapina family is adjusting to the changes and we are meeting many new families and friends.

During the party, Ty got me to get into the bounce house and jump around with the kids… big mistake! Have you seen the movie – “Four Christmases,” with Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughan? Remember the part where Reese’s character gets into the ”jump, jump” with the kids and gets tackled and jumped on by the little kids… well picture that with a twist of WWF wrestling with 13 kids all over you, pinning you down to the floor and not letting go of you! Even my own two children, Bella & Ty, were egging on the other kids to get their dad! Shame on those kids!!!

Hanging out with Stephanie’s family was nice. I got to meet her grandmother, Roberta, who lives around the corner from our house. What a small world we live in, especially in a small town like Apple Valley, CA. These people are good Christians, and I am thankful to have met them.

After the party we went to our church for a movie night. We watched “Night at the Museum” with a group of other kids and parents. We had not seen this movie before and the sequel is out now at the movies. Tomorrow we are going to the movies to watch “UP,” the new Disney/ Pixar movie just released.

Anyway, we are all tired and need to get some sleep. Sunday is our day to relax, go to church and have a nice family afternoon out at SVL lake.

Today’s scripture – “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” - Hebrews 12:14-15

Have a great Saturday evening. Cheers

Bring your kids to work day

Today was Bella & Ty’s last day at school for the year. Annabella will be starting kindergarten in August, and Tyler will be going to a new pre-school soon. On the last day of each month the kids have – Pyjama Day at school, and they get to wear their pyjamas for the day. The kids had a great last day with their friends and teacher, Miss Tanya – we thank Miss Tanya for all her dedication, fun & friendly learning environment and love for our children Bella & Ty. We will miss you!

After school the kids got to come to work with dad for a while. We are getting ready for the grand opening of the new 24 Hr Fitness Super Sport Club in Apple Valley, CA next Friday June 5th. So the kids got to try out all the cool new exercise equipment, check out the pool and basketball courts, and hang out and play in the new Kids Club area testing and try all the toys, games and fun interactive stuff. Check out the pics below.

My kids enjoy hanging out with dad at work and at play. Ty is always asking questions like “What’s that?” and “Can I try this?” Bella is always watching me and trying to keep up with everything I’m doing. Watching the kids play together was nice, especially on the techno-dance platform. Bella loves to dance and move to the groove.

One day a few weeks back, I brought the kids to my weekly line dancing class, and they both had a blast! Sue, our dance instructor, was kind to teach the kids the “Chicken dance” and the traditional Greek dancing in the the circle. Bella was the star of the morning. I hope Bella pursues her love of dance and singing, maybe we’ll have a Brittany Spears or Celine Dion performer in the family?

Anyway, after work we came home and relaxed before going on a play date to Cami’s house. Tomorrow is Cami’s 2nd Birthday party. We had a great time playing in the bounce house, had pizza for dinner and stayed to watch a movie with delicious popcorn. Bella & Ty are good kids, I’m proud of them!

Well the weekend is here again and we some fun things planned. Tomorrow is Cami’s birthday party. After the party we are watching “A Night at The Museum” at church and on Sunday we are heading to SVL for a picnic and fun in the sun.

As you know we live in the Hi-Desert in Southern California, and it does not get much rain here! But today we were blessed with a nice rain shower for a few hours. What a difference it makes when some refreshing rain come through and brings life to the desert. I miss the rain!

Today’s scripture to reflect – “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot.” - Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

Have a nice weekend!

Slug Bug

Today I was driving to work and saw a “slug bug.” I bet your wondering what am I talking about!!! Well for those who do not know what the Sapina family play whenever we are driving in the car, here is a quick run down.

A slug bug is any car, truck or bus that is yellow. Pretty simple right? Well here are the technical rules for qualifying a slug bug: Firstly is must be yellow, have wheels, drive on the road, cannot have a black or white roof and can be any make or model. But a ‘true’ slug bug is a Wolkswagon Beetle car – see picture above. And when you see this car you give the person closest to you a nudge, or punch to claim the car yours.

Bella & Ty love playing this game whenever we are driving around town; actually I catch myself calling out “slug bug” even when I am alone in the car, or when I have a friend with me! Crazy I know! So now you all know something new about the Sapina family.

I had a good day at work, still training for next week’s big grand opening of the 24 Hr Fitness Super Sport Club in Apple Valley, CA. The team is getting closer as we are spending more time getting to know each other more. We have Stephanie, Melissa, Morgan & Kevin in the sales team; we’re a good mix of guys and gals who are very passionate about fitness and lifestyle wellness.

This afternoon I had a Settlement Meeting with the kid’s mom. We finally came to an agreement on our divorce settlement and will have the divorce finalled in the next 2 weeks. I’m glad that we managed to work out the issues and put our personal feelings aside to make this deal work. The kids ended up winning in the end! Thank you to everyone who prayed and offered advice throughout this difficult situation. God is great!

So as I sign off tonight, I am thankful for all God has provided to me – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.” - Galatians 5:22-23

May God bless you all.

Four walls and a roof

This morning the kids woke up in my bed again. Last night after baths they got to spend some time with dad relaxing watching Hi-5 on Disney. They each have their own bedrooms, but at some point during the night they crawl into my bed and snuggle… now I am not complaining, it’s just hard to have three in a bed – especially when they both sleep across the bed and their feet kick you in your back and someone is haning off the bed! But I love them both.

Tonight I spent the evening with Jeff, he’s the Associate Pastor and Worship Leader at The Harvest Church; Jeff’s also my colleague at CIA, my life group leader and a good friend. Jeff is younger than me, but we have many interests and common traits that we balance each other out. Whenever I have a vision for a new marketing program or initiative for CIA, all I need to do is email my ideas to Jeff, and bang!… a few hours later I have my whole marketing strategy and initiative laid out ready for approval. I like working with Jeff!

Anyway, after work tonight, Jeff and I spent the night on the road driving around the Hi-Desert scouting new buildings for our church. This past weekend Pastor Don launched a new vision and purpose for our church – see the post – Stepping off the spring board. The church congregation was very supportive of the new direction, and we needed to build on this momentum, we can’t just let this excitement deflate and go back to the same old stuff.

So tonight we located 5 new buildings we would like to set up as our home base for church services. We currently use the SVL Community Center for church services on Sunday’s, but we need our own building to meet the needs of our congregation and continue to focus on our core values and cause – authentic worship, service, witness, fellowship & mentoring.

Christians know that the church is not just four walls and a roof, even though we worship in these buildings; the church is greater than a building, it is greater than one person - the church is the sum of all it’s parts. Sometimes church leaders get so caught up on the number of seats on pews and the pennies in the plate, but this is not the church that Jesus envisioned. We need to practice authentic worship, that’s what Sunday services are about; but we must also continue to live a ‘holy’ life – we can live a Christ-like life if we put God first.

I am excited about the potential our church has to be something great, something different, but greater. We spoke with a real estate agent about some of the properties available and look forward to finding the right building to continue our cause. Jeff gave me some resources for church launching and a couple of Pastor Don’s preaching series on DVD and Audio disks.

I also spoke with Bella tonight, the kids are at their mom’s house tonight and tomorrow, Ty was sleeping when I called the kids. It was nice to speak with Bella, I miss the kids when they are at their mom’s house. But they’ll be back on Friday. We have a play date with their friends on friday after school. Each time the kids leave the house, whether they are in school or at their mom’s house, I pray for their safe return home.

Tonight I spoke with a couple of friends, a few people have read yesterday’s post – Heart Dis-’ease’, and so they called to give me support and prayer for tomorrow’s legal meeting I have with the kids’ mom.  I have been praying about the current situation and I know God will be there with me tomorrow. He is a faithful God! If you trust in God, He’ll fight your battles for you.

Here is a scripture to reflect on tonight – “When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” – Proverbs 17:7

Yesterday was a tough day for me… but I refuse to go backward. I am going forward with God. I’m going to be the person He wants me to be. I’m going to fulfill my destiny. Have a blessed day.

Heart ‘dis-ease’

 Today I dropped the kids off at school for a half day whilst I went to work for a few hours. We had a scheduled doctor’s appointment for Tyler down the Hill in the afternoon and it was going to take up the rest of the day to get there and back.

Tyler was born on his due date – a normal, healthy and strong kid, but he was also born with a heart condition called Supra-Ventricular-Tachycardia (SVT). This heart condition is not really life-threatening, but for any parent it is no doubt a stressful and sometimes scary experience to deal with, especially when your child spends 2 weeks in the NICU. I know I can speak for Tyler’s mom, it was one of the most difficult challenges [we] had to manage and adjust our lives around.

But Tyler is a fighter, he is strong, determined and lives without fear – see the previous post Stepping off the spring board. I am so proud of Tyler for his ability to adapt to the condition, dedication to take his medication every day and night, and for his sense of humor about life. He’s just 3 years old, but I see him growing into a great man. He probably does not really know why his parents were so loving and caring of him the last 3 years, maybe our parenting has shown both the children we really love them regardless. But I also want to give his sister Bella some praise too. Annabella was at the hospital every day to see her brother. Even though Tyler’s mom stayed by his side every waking minute; Bella & Dad would visit every day to see them both and just be a support for Tyler and his mom.

I remember the day after Tyler was born and we found out about the SVT, I bought Bella a baby doll, it was very real and life-like - it could actually pee, cry and laugh if you played or nurtured the baby the right way. We prepared Bella for Tyler’s arrival home and she did a great job to help  mom, take care of Ty, and love him as her brother. Today, Bella & Ty are ‘best friends!’ I am so proud of them both and I hope to encourage them to stay close as they grow older.

Today the Cardiologist gave Tyler a full “all clear” for his heart condition. We’ve prayed for Tyler’s recovery everyday during the last 3 years. Recently we stopped Tyler’s medication that regulated his heart rate and he has done very well to adapt to the change. No episodes to date. The cardiologist sees him growing up and not having another SVT episode, but the chances are slim for a recurrence about less than 5%. Isn’t God amazing, He is a loving and healing God!

But today, I have been struggling with my heart – No, I don’t have any heart condition or illness, but more of a heart ‘dis-ease’ in my view and feelings towards the kids’ mom. Divorce is hard, no doubt about that, but it is even harder when you are genuinely trying to make the changes and transition from one family into two families easy on everyone, amicable between parents and always putting the best interest of our children first.

I am trying to be a supportive partner with the kid’s mom, but it doesn’t always get reciprocated back. I speak to many people about this divorce – family, friends, colleagues, pastors, attorneys and even stranger; but everyone has a different take on divorce and how it should be. I also seek counsel from our heavenly Father daily during my prayer time and scripture readings, and I always take away from [our] conversation that I need to admit my weaknesses and failures, be more supportive and understanding of others, keep a loving and gentle tone during conversations, be willing to forgive and seek forgiveness, allow time to heal our hurts, practice patience and continue to put God first.

I would like for you to pray for me today. Help me see the kid’s mom through Jesus’ eyes. Help me to practice patience and see the good qualities in people, rather than expect the worst and see every action as selfish and driven by motive. I know I can’t force people to work things out on my schedule, but I am trying and offering to open up the first line of communication to discuss parenting concerns and issues, without getting the past brought up. Maybe I need to give more time for us all to heal before I can see an improvement in our partnership as co-parents.

If you have some advice, please feel free to give counsel to me. I refer to scripture often when I am not ‘holy’ in my thoughts, words and deeds. Tonight… I am confused, hurt and feeling like I should give up on trying to make it work with the kid’s mom. Help me with this heart ‘dis-ease.’

Tonight I read my scripture that sums up everything about my life – “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails… And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1Corinthians 13:4-13

I pray that you all seek God’s good counsel and continue to put God first. Have a blessed evening. Vince

Metamorphosis

Happy Monday my friends! Today is the last day of the 3 day weekend for Memorial Day in the USA. The kids are back today from their mom’s house and I’m ready for another week ahead.

 

This morning I woke up early, as usual, and sat down to have a nice breakfast and tea. Over by my breakfast table I have family pictures of the kids and I. On the counter a certain picture caught my eye – last year we went to San Francisco for a weekend get-away. During the few days we were there, we visited the Golden Gate Park. In this enormous park is The Conservatory of Flowers. This is a beautiful white ‘glass house’ building with the most beautiful flower species and insects you could ever see and get close to. The weekend we visited the Conservatorium it was displaying a Butterfly Exhibit. The kids attend a Montessori school in Apple Valley, CA; that month they were studying the butterfly, how cool, the kids got to see the life-cycle of the butterfly in real time, not just in pictures and in text books!

Why post about butterflies? Well this post is no so much about butterflies, more than the life-cycle of the butterfly and how [we] go through our own life-cycles too! Recently I wrote a post about my ‘whole’ transformation and used the term – ‘metamorphosis’ to describe that transformation and changes I had experienced since my divorce started.

Yesterday at church I got an opportunity to speak about ‘My Story’ to the congregation. Someone had asked me how did I find this church and how do I know the Rucker’s? Well a long story short, it was a call to an EAP Hotline at work that got me here and saved me. This one phone call lead to me meeting Nancy, then to the Harvest Church Divorce Recovery Group, an invitation to visit the church on Sunday morning, a lunch with Pastor Don and Darla, a call to help with a small CIA project, a request to stand in for the Tech team at church and now I’m a staff member and the director for CIA. Now it didn’t happen that quickly or was easy to make the decisions to take the necessary steps, but it was God’s plan… not mine!

Last night I attended another church Life Group – this is the ‘oldies’ group at church. The ‘young guns’ meet on Thursday nights; that’s my usual life group. Tonight I had done most of the talking at this gathering. But I had learned something else different about me during the discussion, especially when we closed in prayer. As a new Christian I was always afraid of praying out loud… stupid I know; but I was not comfortable because I did not want to sound silly, or thought I did not know how to pray the ‘right’ way! Well I have ’metamorphosed‘ again. Now I pray everyday & everywhere I go -  in the mornings during my quiet time before the kids wake up, at breakfast with the kids before school, at work, whenever I’m troubled and when I am joyful and blessed; I now pray in public with others, and I even pray in small intimate groups such as Life Group. What was I afraid of to begin with? Nothing really, I just did not step off the spring board quick enough, I did not trust my God that he would listen to me and then be able to help me. But now praying in public is not an issue for me. Prayer is important for meditation on God’s word. It’s a conversation just between Him and I, where We can ask the questions and seek the answers We need - “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” Psalm 5:3

So as I start a new week. I continue to pray and seek the answers to my questions. But I also give thanks and praise for the blessings & favor I have received, and dutifully given back through tithe and service. My friends, may God bless you, and I encourage you to seek Him through prayer today.

Here are a few photos from the San Francisco trip.

Stepping off the spring board

Today is such an amazing day for me! Sunday’s are usually a day of rest and reflection; we sleep in, turn on the TV and watch “Meet the Press,” and you go to church! Right? Yes, but with me… every day is never how you plan it!

Yesterday I promised myself a day off from marathon training… what did I do? I ran 3 miles this morning at 6:30AM, then I went on another run at 9AM again. I am so tired, I need to rest as I will burn myself out before race day! After my run I had a big breakfast – eggs, ham, wheat bread, fruit and cottage cheese. After breakfast I cleaned up and rested a while before church.

Today I was meant to meet with the kid’s mom, but the meeting got cancelled late last night. So my morning was freed up and I went to the Mall for a while. Yesterday we the staff met to discuss some important issues about our direction and leadership, and today, we presented to the church congregation the new vision and core areas of focus. See yesterday’s post – Vision & Purpose.

Well today went like clock work, the whole team did a great job of presenting the church’s vision and purpose for all to see and hear. Everyone was impressed and committed to make it work! Isn’t God amazing? During the sermon Pastor Don spoke of a personal story he remembers from his childhood. Now we all have these stories and fond memories, but this one made an impact in all who listened.

Pastor Don spoke of a day when he went to the local pool to swim. During the day he watched the bigger boys climb up the diving platform, some 3 metres up and saw them jump into the water below. Easy right? From down below everything looks easy. But as he climbed up the ladder to get to the diving platform, he looked down, now the view was different from above. No longer did it look easy, but it was scary, it was something he was not comfortable to handle. Pastor Don recalls the feeling of helplessness and fear as he stepped onto the diving board. We all can remember a time when we stepped onto a spring board as a kid! It looked so easy to do, but it was scary.

As Pastor Don continued, he recalls the lifeguard called out to him to jump or move back and step onto the platform to allow others to jump. But instead down below stood his father, who called out to him and said to move forward and jump! He had a choice – step back off the spring board or take a chance and jump into the water. He did jump off the diving board into the water!

I recall a few weeks back we went to SVL with the kids for the afternoon. Tyler is always following me, watching me and doing things like me, he is looking for a role model and a strong, solid trusting relationship in me. He was playing on the play gym and wanted to climb up and jump off the top rung of the gym. Now, Ty is always ready to try anything to show me he can be just as strong, determined and courageous. Today he wanted to jump off the highest rung. As he climbed up he was confident and sure of himself. But as he turned around he grabbed the bar with both hands and stopped. I thought, “What is he waiting for?” He looked at me with this confused look, he was unsure if he could do this! I asked him why he wasn’t jumping, and Tyler responded – “I can’t.” Now he sometimes says that to get me to do the task for him, but this time it was just him and I couldn’t help him.

I looked at him and said, “Tyler jump, you can do it, trust me!” And after a few seconds he closed his eyes and leaped off the top rung of the play gym. As he landed on the soft sand he opened his eyes and saw that he landed on his feet and he was OK. He looked up at me and had the biggest smile on his face – a feeling of accomplishment and success. He then climbed back up and did it again and again and again. I don’t know if it was me telling him to jump, or telling him to trust me or if it was his determination to take risks and hope for the best? Maybe all three!

But here is the moral of the story… we all know of a time when we are standing there on the spring board, looking down and wondering what to do, step back and wait for another time to try, or take a chance by stepping off the spring board and trusting our Father. I can recall many times when I’ve jumped off the spring board and I made it, and I did it again and again. We need to take a chance with God every now and then. Our faith allows us to trust in Him to know when we take that leap of faith, He will be there to say it’s OK! JUMP!

Here is today’s scripture – “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” – Psalm 27:1

So as I end this weekend and look forward to a new week tomorrow I know I can jump anytime because my [Father] is standing there below telling me it’s OK… Jump!

Vision & Purpose

I got up early this morning and went for my 5 mile run. My times are getting faster, I’m running 8m 04sec per mile. The marathon training is getting easier, but the longer distances are a little tougher on the body, especially my knees and ankles (I may need new running shoes prior to race day).

After my run, I worked out with the free weights and completed my 100 push ups and 300 sit ups, yes, that’s right, I’m now back in ultimate shape! Tomorrow is my day off from training, so I am looking forward to just relaxing and enjoying breakfast in bed!

Today we had our weekly Harvest Church Staff meeting at the Rucker’s residence. We had changed the meeting date and time to suit my new work schedule – I feel special to know that the meeting was changed just for me! The meeting started at 11AM and finished at 6PM. Not your typical staff meeting today!

We always open with prayer and scripture that is relevant to this week’s sermon. But during the meeting, the agenda changed direction from leadership to vision and purpose. Our church had gone through some tough times, prior to my arrival, and the church has been in this transition phase for the last 2 years. But this week, it seems the church has taken a different course – we are finally moving from Level 3 to Level 4 – for those who have not been following the last few posts – read the book Tribal Leadership by Logan, King & Fisher- Wright.

We are finally on the verge of something huge – from ordinary to extraordinary; and I’m privileged to be a part of this journey. We are planting this church to have 5 core focus areas – service, worship, discipleship, fellowship & witness.

I have learned during my term as CIA Director that church leadership is costly. We as leaders are in these positions, not for title, salary or self-gratification, but to serve the needs of others. This kind of leadership requires taking on a “posture of debt,” and a forfeiture of rights – our obligation is to the church as a whole entity, not just ourselves.

We continued our meeting at La Casita on the Lake Restaurant at SVL. Again, our staff meetings get more covered at these lunch meetings than in the office, today was no different. In over 7 hours we had mapped out a new vision, core values, infrastructure and operating budget with some time to reflect on our personal situations. We are a close team with Pastor Don, Darla, Jeff and myself. I can’t wait for tomorrow to launch this new mission to the rest of the church.

Today’s scripture – “Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply your mind to my knowledge; for it will be pleasant if you keep them with you, that they may be ready on your lips. So that your trust may be in the Lord.” - Proverbs 22:17-19

Tonight I’m going to dinner and a movie with friends – we are watching Star Trek (I’m not a fan of this movie). Next time I’ll pick the movie! Tomorrow is Sunday and I’m getting ready for an awesome day! Enjoy the long weekend and stay safe.

After School Playdate

 

 

It’s Friday again and another weekend starting! I went to work at 24 Hr Fitness for more staff training today – got to meet all the new team members that will be working at the new Apple Valley Super Sport Club. Our grand opening date is Friday June 5th, 2009.

After work, I picked up the kids and went on a friday after school playdate with Stephanie and Cami to James Woody Park in Apple Valley, CA. If we are not at SVL, we are at James Woody Park for playdates and family fun. Today we got to relax and just have some great times together. Bella & Ty love playing with Cami; next weekend will be Cami’s 2nd birthday – so another birthday party with a bounce house for the kids. My kids love bounce houses!

This afternoon we played for a couple hours then we came back to my place for dinner – BBQ steaks and salad for the adults, hot dogs and baked potatoes for the kids. We had unexpected guests drop in for dinner, but we managed to get everyone fed a good healthy meal. The low fat/ low sugar carot cake for dessert was delicious, but the ice cream got soft and turned into soup (now I don’t mind my ice cream like that!)

This evening the kids are at their mom’s house for Memorial Day Weekend. This is Dad’s time for R’n'R (running training, kayaking on the lake &  movie in the evening) and dinner with friends. This morning I went for my usual 5K run and bumped into Ed at the end. Ed is my neighbor who lives a few doors down, he is also the Community Board member for our little estate, we have a HOA that governs our little gated community. Ed is always around, like Mrs Mangel (only the Aussies reading this post will know what I mean – Neighbors!). We always talk about what’s going on in the neighborhood and what’s new in my life! Anyway, he gave me a flyer for High Desert Church (HDC), I went to this church prior to the divorce, but I decided in Sept 08 to find a new church that met my spiritual desires. HDC is a mega church here in the High Desert, almost like Hillsong. Ed and I prayed this morning for my meeting with the kid’s mom this weekend; we are at the final stages of our divorce. Please pray for us both!

Back to my early morning run – my running is totally improving each day. I’m getting faster and leaner – lost another 3 pounds this week. I’m now 168 pounds. I’ve finally reached my goal weight! No more weight loss goals – I swear! Now I am in maintenance mode, I need to keep it off and get my strength and stamina in condition now. My first 1/2 marathon is 6 weeks away.

Here is a scripture to reflect on tonight – ‘The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Galatians 5:14

Here are a few pics from this afternoon at the park.