The Final Push to Bethlehem

We are fast approaching our final week of The Walk to Bethlehem, and I am really proud of our efforts. Fourteen people have whose names I know have been participating, turning in miles and encouraging each other. I've also gotten three "anonymous" mileage slips, which I'm counting.
We've logged almost 600 miles, altogether. That's a lot of miles! And a lot of calories: 60,000 calories! (I am pretty sure I'm right about that - 100 calories/ mile.) That would mean that we've burned close to 20 pounds worth of calories. And with the good Presbyterian cooks we all know, that's a big help during the Christmas cookie season.
In order to reach our goal of 960 miles, we'll have to get some additional help this next week, but our real goal was to get active and move our bodies during the doldrums of winter, and to share an Advent experience. And we've done that! We've "gone the extra mile" to be ready for Jesus' arrival.
The Christ has come and we've been where we needed to be to welcome Him. Alleluia!

Christmas in Bethlehem

This is from my friend Jeffrey DeYoe:

Hi,
having stood at these places in 2006, this video is a stark reminder of something most who sing about Bethlehem at this time of the year do not fully realize. it is an image that now never goes away in my heart and mind.
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=HMyjywN- 8Ac
Peace,
Jeffrey DeYoe
Senior Pastor
Worthington Presbyterian Church
Worthington, Ohio

The Miles are Adding Up!

We are close to 500 miles now, which is wonderful! Think of all the calories we've burned! Think of how much healthier we are because of all those miles! Way to go, people!
Jim Evans figured out how many miles it would take to get all the nativity characters from their starting points to Bethlehem in time for Christmas. Here's where we stand:
Mary and Joseph have it made in the shade.
4 Shepherds from Beit Sapor also have plenty of miles to see the newborn king.
The Wise Men are roughly 115 miles down the road. They have a ways to go. (Like almost 600 miles total for the group.) But we have until January 6 (Epiphany) to get them there. So let's keep walking!

Long Distance Mileage

What a great way to start the day! The first phone call to the office this morning was from a Philo friend who spends the winter in Florida.
"Put me down for 2 miles a day!" he said. "I walk at least that much every day I'm down here."
Now, he's been there for over a month, but since we just started walking to Bethlehem the second week of November, I'm going to put him down for 60 miles so far. And more to come! And the best news was that he and his wife are coming to Philo for Christmas. (I better find some more "Walking to Bethlehem" ornaments!)

Our grand total is 366 logged miles to date!

The "Lost" Miles

Last night, after Christmas Pageant rehearsal (Oh! Don't those kids look great!) I was tidying up a little and came across a MILEAGE slip that hadn't made it into the offering plate on Sunday. Oh boy! Twenty more miles! That puts us over 300! (306 as a matter of fact.)

Yee Haw!

To quote a former Democratic presidential candidate who shall remain nameless, though his initials are HD: Yee Haw!
I got another mileage figure - 94 miles! So we are WELL on our way now! That means we have each wise man 41.3 miles down the road. The camels are probably really getting in the groove, now! Can you feel them swaying?
And what do you say while you're riding a camel? YEE HAW!

New Totals!

I just totalled up the slips that were put in the offering plate on Sunday, and boy am I relieved! Several people had told me they were walking, but hardly anyone was posting on this blog and . . . I worried that this was a good idea whose time was not right.
But !
We have some very dedicated Bethlehem bound walkers out there!
Nine people/families signed in, for a total of 149.5 miles. And there were three anonymous walkers, for another 41 miles. So we are at 191.5 miles! Pushing 200 miles, here on the second Sunday in Advent! That means that Mary and Joseph could make the trip (70 miles for each of them puts us at 140) and 6 shepherds from the surrounding hillsides could have walked the 3.5 miles into town (another 21 miles). And we still have three wise men 10 miles down the road from somewhere in Syria. Jim Evans figured out that's an almost 300 mile trip. So we have a ways to go, but we are doing so well!
Thanks to everyone who is participating.

Walking and not getting anywhere

Where do you walk but don't ever get anywhere? On a treadmill!
I've been walking at the newly opened Center for Your Health Fitness Center. I was, I am proud to say, the first person to sign up for a membership. And I've been there every morning this week. (The snow tonight may break my record, though. I may not make it there tomorrow.)
Here's what I've learned:
I don't walk as fast as I thought I did. I thought I was doing 15 minute miles outside. But I wasn't. 15 minute miles make me breathe hard and sweat. I wasn't doing that outside.
20 minutes is a short walk when the scenery changes, but a long time to be in one place, staring out the window at Rt. 130.
It's easier to talk to God on the treadmill, 'cause you don't have to watch for potholes or bumps in the road.
I wonder what the road to Bethlehem was like for Mary and Joseph. Did they go fast? Did they breathe hard and sweat? Did they get bored with the scenery? Did they have to watch the road every second to keep their footing? Did they talk to God as they went? Did they have the sense that they were getting somewhere?

Checking our milage

I walked 12 miles this week. How about you?

That brings my "official" total to 34. I'm halfway to Bethlehem!
Several of you have told me that you've been walking, but I don't have miles to calculate. Send me something I can add up, OK?
The way Jim Evans figures it, as a church we need 909 miles, so we better start tallying up!

Nazareth - Mary and Joseph's starting point

Well, I don't know if this "short" cut is going to get you there, but I wanted you to see a map of the Holy Land, to see where Mary and Joseph started their advent journey. Nazareth is pretty far north, up in "Galilee" and is home to the largest Christian church in the Holy Land (according to our friend John Setterlund, who lives near Bethlehem).

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=Nazareth,+Israel&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=38.944835,79.101563&ie=UTF8&ll=32.697864,35.312161&spn=5.176525,9.887695&z=6&om=0

Nazareth is a big city now. If you "Google Earth" it, you see a big gray and brown town, with lots of snaky roads and factories and big buildings. Although during Mary and Joseph's time, the town was somewhat smaller, I like to think of them walking out of a city and into the countryside as they set off for Bethlehem. As they left the last houses behind, did they breathe a little easier, knowing that the disapproving neighbors and gossiping relatives and former friends would not be looking sideways at them for a while? Perhaps they looked forward to the time they had on the road to get to know one another better and talk together about the future they were facing.

I hope that we'll take advantage of our time "on the road" to do some of that, too: That we'll get to know each other a little better and look forward together to the future God has for us.

Breathe!

Sean's "wrasslin'" coach told the team that when they get fatigued, they should stand up tall, put their hands on their hips and breathe. The natural tendency is to bend over at the waist (we've all seen basketball players do that toward the end of a grueling game!) but the coach says if you are bent over, staring at your feet, you can't get as much good air into your lungs.
So if, as we journey toward Bethlehem, you get tired and weary - stand up! Put your hands on your hips, tilt your head up to heaven and breathe deeply. There. Breathe. It's a prayer.

How are you doing?

Are you out there?
Are you walking every day?
Or praying?
Or something?



I've been walking every morning. Sometimes I just go over and walk in the church, upstairs and down, for half an hour. But walking outside is much nicer, to me, on the mornings it doesn't rain. I'm going 2 miles a day most days. Somedays more. I want some company.



So I'm unveiling the beautiful olive wood ornament, made in the Holy Land, that is the "premium" for walking to Bethlehem.

What do you think? Let me hear from you!

Sunday

No walk. Church and more church. But no walk. What about you?

Saturday

Did you walk today? I didn't have much time, but I fooled myself into almost 25 minutes, just by walking out the door and keeping going. I told myself I was just going over to church to check on things, walked around there for 5 minutes and decided it was silly to walk inside on a perfectly fine day. So I marched out and around Philo. It wasn't far, but . . . lots better than the "nothing" I thought I was going to do. Just goes to show that - I think what it goes to show is that I'm easily fooled. But I'm counting it as a mile (and a half).

Walking to Bethlehem

Don't you just HATE it when people rush the Christmas season?
Kohl's has already had a holiday themed sale, and it's "beginning to look alot like Christmas" in several retail establishments. No singing, please!
Well, I don't want to rush things, but . . . I have this great idea that's sort of Christmas-y and I just can't wait to get started:
It's called "Walking to Bethlehem" and it's a group walking/fitness program. The challenge is to "walk" from Nazareth to Bethlehem, like Mary and Joseph did. Everybody keeps track of their own miles, (or their other fitness activity minutes) and we chart 'em and encourage each other.
The reason I'm so anxious to start is because it is 70 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Advent might not give me enough time to make it. And I want to get a jump on Mary and Joseph so I can be there when they arrive!
So are you with me? Jim Evans suggested that if enough people were interested, we could not only have Mary and Joseph (and the donkey! don't forget the donkey!) miles, but also have shepherd miles, wise men miles, innkeeper miles, etc.
Here's what we'll do: I'll post a little milepost thought or devotion or picture every day.
And everyday you log your progress in the comments section.
As we get farther down the road, we'll have reports in the bulletin, etc. I can't wait. See you on the road.-C

A Single Step

Welcome to "Walking to Bethlehem"!

We're going to walk 70 miles between now and Christmas Eve. (Or, if walking isn't a good idea for you, then feel free to substitute 15 minutes of another fitness or devotional activity for each mile.)

Here's how the program will work:

This will be more fun if we know that we have company! So please sign in by posting a comment. You can use your real name or one that you make up. I won't be using your info for the church mailing list, or selling it to anybody. So sign in and let's encourage each other!

Keep track of your milage/minutes on the site. Every time you walk, just sign in and say "I went 2 miles today. My total is . . . 8." Easy as pie!

Read about the journey. I'll try to get you something new to read everyday, either about Mary and Joseph's trip, or what the route is like today, or something "fitness" related. Maybe, when we get closer to Christmas, we can remind each other to stay sane in the midst of commercial driven holiday frenzy.

Encourage one another. If you have a nice experience to share, or you want to cheer on your fellow walkers, please put that in your comment, too.

Thank you for participating in "Walking to Bethlehem!"