Brand New Day!

Genesis 7:24 - "And the floodwaters covered the earth for 150 days."

That's roughly five months.  There was no mold remediation, there were no piles of soggy trash out by the road, and no fleet of giant debris removal trucks like we had here, recently, in Baton Rouge.

We had water standing for about a week.  This was the whole world, and it was five months, with water that rose high above the highest mountain tops... not just to the rooftops of houses.  The world was essentially a fishbowl, with one comparatively tiny boat sailing the surface and carrying the remnant of all human and animal life on earth.

And, when all was sufficiently washed away, the ark landed on Mt. Ararat, here:



Some claim to have found the actual ark:



There are different opinions as to the legitimacy of this discovery but, if you're interested, I found a National Geographic story about it HERE.


I bet that was a beautiful day... fresh air, the sun bright in the blue sky, maybe a cool breeze... and the fresh feeling of a new start.  I know that feeling and it's awesome.  I love feeling that way.  God can do that for anyone who asks; wash away all the old, messy filth and give us a NEW start.  We can have a breath of fresh, clean air and the secure feeling that everything has brand-new potential to be very, very good.

The quality of life we live is totally up to us; God gives us that choice.  So wonderful.

Genesis 8:18 - "So Noah, his wife, and his sons and their wives l

v. 20 - "Then Noal built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed burnt offerings...".

v. 21 - "And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice."

"'I will never again curse the ground because of the human race...'."

v. 22 - "'As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night'."

Just like Ecclesiastes - for everything, there is a season... and a time for every purpose under heaven.

It's a good day.  Get out there and live it!

Love,
Nicole  😉

There's No Crying in CrossFit

Okay.  Before I tell this story, I need to cover a few basics.

This is a burpee:  BURPEEVIDEO

This is a Russian Kettlebell Swing:  RKBS

Got it?  Ok, great, here we go!  😊

So.  This past Tuesday, we held a beautiful funeral service for my wonderful, loving, amazing grandmother.  The service was pretty much perfect.  People shared memories of her, sharing funny as well as emotional stories.  The minister compared her, quite aptly, to the Proverbs 31 woman.  The day was beautiful and the time with family was happy and soothing.

Still, it was hard.  I loved my Ma-Ma and always will.



I pushed through the days, going back to work on Wednesday and working 12.5 hours toward making up the time i missed Monday and Tuesday.



On Thursday, I worked 10.5 hours then went back to CrossFit to work out.  I needed it badly; I hadn't been since the previous Friday.

The workout was a killer.  20 burpees, 20 RKBS.  Then 15 of each, then 10... THEN 15 of each AGAIN, then back up to 20.  But I was down for it, and I went at it with a positive attitude.



It.  Was.  HARD.



Burpees alone can kick my butt.  But back and forth between the two exercises was extremely tough, and I was panting not too far into the workout.  However, I kept at it!  I got all the way to my final set of 20 burpees.  My coach and buddy Amber came and stood by me, counting the burpees with me to lend her support.



I was tired.  I was out of breath.  I got to about burpee number 12 when my body started shaking, my face started crumpling, and I...

I fell apart sobbing.  Right there in the gym, in front of Amber and everyone else.

Crying is not something I do very often.  I hadn't been feeling emotional that day... maybe numb, but definitely not feeling as torn up as it turned out I was.

So kind... Amber, who knew about my loss, understood what was going on and let me stop the workout.

I went in the ladies' room, sat on the floor in the end stall and just sobbed.  I shook, and cried more tears than I have in a very long time.



Amber even came to check on me.  She sat on the floor outside the stall and made sure I was okay.

"I'm a lot like you, Nicole; always staying tough.  Sometimes a hard workout like that can break down your defenses."

That made sense.

I had to text her that evening and thank her.

It's a process, this grief thing.  I do hurt deep down.  I miss my Ma-Ma.  We were close all my life.  She is irreplaceable.  Not that I want to replace her... it's just that I now have a big hole in my heart since she's gone.



So, there's no crying in baseball... or CrossFit... but I'm glad my system cracked and I had the chance to let out some of the grief I am going through.

Thank You, God, for tears... and for friends.

But not for burpees.  LOL

Bird on a Roof, Bird on a Wire, Bird Flying Free

Genesis 6:4 - "...for whenever the sons of God had intercourse with women, they gave birth to children who became the heroes and famous warriors of ancient times."

I have no idea what this means, or whether there is any other recorded history of these "sons of God" - what that title meant, who they were or from where they came.  ("Class??  Anyone?  Anyone??")

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My grandmother passed away yesterday morning in the wee hours.  Her services are Tuesday.  It's going to be hard but I will get through it.  Lena will be with me.  Jesus will be all over the place in that gathering.  My prayer is for a peaceful, beautiful service honoring this amazing woman's life.  No family drama.  I said a most earnest and sincere prayer on that topic earlier this morning.  God, let your Spirit settle like a heavy dew on all in attendance to weigh us all down in quiet reverence and deposit a calm joy in our hearts.

This the scripture that came to mind soon after I learned she had passed... Psalm 127:4 - "Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the trapper; The snare is broken and we have escaped."

My sweet Ma-Ma has escaped the confinement of her elderly body and is now flying free!!
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So, back to Genesis...

Genesis 6:19-20 - "Bring a pair of every kind of animal - a male and a female - into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood.  Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive."

Then...

Genesis 7:2-3 - "Take with you seven pairs - male and female - of each animal I have approved for eating and sacrifice, and take pair of each of the others.  Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird.  There must be a male and female in each pair to ensure that all life will survive on the earth after the flood."

That confused me at first; the switch from one pair to seven pairs.  But now I see, they needed extra of the animals for sacrifice and to eat.  I mean, I guess the food prepared for sacrifice was eaten after the ceremony.  There were no priests yet at that time, but that's just my thought.

7:21-23 - "All the living things on earth died - birds, domestic animals, wild animals, small animals that scurry along the ground, and all the people.  Everything that breathed and lived on dry land died.  God wiped out every living thing on the earth - people, livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and the birds of the sky.  All were destroyed.  The only people who survived were Noah and those with him in the boat."

So we read the same thing in three consecutive verses.  Making a point

I told Lena I guessed the birds just flew around above the water until their little wings gave out.

Then I said, I bet there were birds sitting all over the roof of that ark!  haha  But really... I bet that happened.

'Cause if one'a dem birds was ME, ma cher, DISyere bird woulda done set down on dat RUFF, yea!



Speaking of birds, here's a GOOD SONG from back in the day.

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I remain grateful for prayers for my family and me as we process the loss of my sweet Ma-Ma Lovett.

Thanks, my friends.

By Name... and the True Extent of Love

Gen 4:26

When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh. At that time people first began to worship the LORD by name.

Genesis 4:26 - "When Seth grew up, he had a son and named him Enosh.  At that time, people first began to worship the Lord by name."

This makes me wonder two things:

1. What does "Enosh" mean?
2. What happened AFTER people began to worship the Lord by name?k

So let's see...

THIS article says:

Seth's son was called Enosh, which means mortal, frail, or miserable.

It is from the root anash, to be incurable,

used of a wound, grief, woe, sickness, or wickedness.

Um, the baby name website just says Enosh means "human being."  The simpler definition is a little less beat-you-down-in-the-mud-you-worthless-piece-of-garbage... then again, many say the point of the Bible is to have us realize we are sinners in need of a Savior.  

There are a lot of positions one could take on this.  I had an awesome book... lost it in the flood last year, grrrrr... but it was called The Gospel of Inclusion by Carlton Pearson.  Bishop Pearson took a vastly different angle on our need for salvation by saying God loves us SO MUCH that He sent Jesus to die, take the punishment for all of everybody's sins, ever, which inclusively saved the whole human race.

True to form, most of the "church" as a whole then declared Bishop Pearson to be a heretic and pretty much shamed, shunned and kicked him out.  This is a guy who once led an enormous ministry impacting people worldwide... woe to the man who veers from the Gospel Interstate Superhighway and takes a more rural route to get to the same destination.  Yes?

Kind of like the people long ago did to Jesus... it's the people bold enough to say something outside the box who end up making the biggest differences.  Just saying; it's a book worth examining.

I will even help you find it... right HERE

Just a few thoughts this morning.  I'm going to keep reading - get my thoughts off the definition of a man's name and back onto what it meant when people started calling GOD by name - and I might let you know what I find out.

#ChooseOnlyLove

JUMP THAT BOX!!

This afternoon, I went to CrossFit a little early and had some free time... so I worked on a few movements I've struggled with a little, and on some ab/core focused exercises I read about online.  One thing I haven't been able to do, or haven't had the confidence to try, is a box jump.  Pretty self-explanatory; you stand in front of a sturdy wooden box and... jump up onto it with both feet.  Like THIS

So I figured, what the hey, there aren't a lot of people in here who might see me if I make a fool of myself, might as well give it a shot... and I DID IT!  Then I did it again, and again, and again.  I was excited like a goofy little kid!

Just had to share that.  One of my personal greatest accomplishments of late.  It felt GREAT!

Lena asked me if I felt like a monkey, making those jumps... I told her no, more like a kangaroo.  Hahaha

Ha ha.  I am loving CrossFit and gaining the ability to do lots of things I couldn't do before!  Firming up, increasing my stamina and gaining confidence!

Can't skip this chance for a shameless plug... gotta support my peeps, the folks who are educating, training, challenging and constantly encouraging me... Geaux CrossFit is near Sherwood/Coursey in Baton Rouge. Geaux has great coaches and lots of people who are working out on a wide range of levels.  (In other words, there's a place for everyone, any anyone will fit right in, no matter what your fitness level.)

...AND they are offering 3 free classes for anyone who would like to check it out this month!  It's worth checking out.

Click on GEAUXCROSSFIT to see for yourself  😀

Investing in your health is one of the most worthwhile decisions you will ever make.

Stay warm on this frigid weekend!!

And remember... #ChooseOnlyLove


Nicole