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!
Friday, December 28, 2007
Sunday, December 23, 2007
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
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!
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!
Friday, December 14, 2007
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!
"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!
Thursday, December 13, 2007
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.)
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
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!
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.
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.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
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?
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?
Sunday, December 2, 2007
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!
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.
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.
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