From the Inside Out

The training has begun. I am committed. I’m going to do it. It’s overwhelming, but I think it’s possible. At least, I hope it is possible. I keep reminding myself of what the “Little Engine That Could” said, “I think I can, I think I can.” It worked for him, and hopefully, it’ll work for me because I recently signed up to participate in the MS 150 ride on April 30 - May 1, 2011. It’s a 2-day event where cyclists ride 75 miles a day for a grand total of 150 miles. Yikes!

It’s scary, but it’s also invigorating. I love a challenge, and it will be a huge accomplishment if I’m able to complete it. To date, my longest ride has been 33 miles, so I have a long road ahead of me if I want to ride 150 miles in two days. Thus, the reason for the training. I need to be on my bike daily to improve my strength, speed, and stamina. The only problem is that it is the middle of winter, and I happen to be a complete wimp in cold weather. If it’s under 50 degrees outside or if it’s raining, I’m not going out on my bike.

One of my Christmas presents solved the problem for me. I received a CycleOps trainer which lets me cycle indoors on my road bike. I love it; the trainer is fantastic! I simply set my bike on the trainer, and it comes very close to simulating an authentic road-like experience because of the progressive resistance that it offers. When the weather warms up and I want to ride outdoors, I simply take the bike off the trainer, switch out the back wheel, and I’m ready to go. Brilliant!

My Cannondale Women’s Synapse Carbon 4 with CycleOps Fluid 2 Trainer

I have been using the trainer for three days now, and so far, so good! I have a long way to go, but I’m excited about the trainer and the opportunity to participate in the ride. It will be fun to see how far I’m able to progress over the next four months. Stay tuned for more updates, and to learn more about the MS 150 or to sponsor my ride, click here .

Our Christmas celebration spanned three days this year, but when you’re celebrating the birth of Jesus, I see no reason to limit it to just one day. We began our holiday with a Christmas Eve experience at church. My best friend and her family made it special by joining us for the service. We also reconnected with a few friends afterwards who had returned home for the holidays. The theme for the evening was Snow, and although we didn’t have a snowy white Christmas in Dallas, there were a few digital snow effects on stage. It was as close as we would come this year to the real thing. The deeper significance behind the snow theme was that Jesus’ birth changed the world forever, bringing deliverance and transformation to all of humanity. Through His birth, the complete remission of sin became possible — sin left a crimson stain on us, but Jesus washed it white as snow. No matter what stains we have in our lives, He is able to remove them and give us a fresh start on life. It’s no wonder that the celebration of His birth is like none other!

On Christmas day, the celebration continued at my house with both of our families coming over for lunch and the annual Christmas gift exchange.

2010 Christmas Trees

Hanging with the family

Gary and the snowman

Nerf Gun Wars!!

After the family fun ended, Gary and I ventured out that evening for dinner. Last year we couldn’t find any restaurants open, but we got lucky this year. Snuffers was serving food and showing the Cowboys game on their screens — win! For the grand finale, we met up with a friend for a late showing of True Grit, a great Western movie remake.

On Sunday, we went to Gary’s parent’s house for lunch. His sister and her family wasn’t able to make it to our house on Saturday, so we continued the Christmas celebration with them in Forney.

Opening the pet snuggie — Xander actually likes it!

Jack posing with one of his gifts

Opening gifts

Fun with tents

Our 3-day celebration finally came to an end on Sunday. We had lots of food, fun, family fellowship, and gifts, but the greatest gift of all was given over 2,000 years ago. It’s because of Him that we celebrate. It’s because of Jesus that my life is complete and I have joy. He is the best gift that my parents ever gave me. I’m eternally thankful that I know Him and that He loved me enough to come into this world to live as my Savior.

Happy birthday, Jesus!

I’m writing this post late on Christmas Eve. Tomorrow, I will join with millions of other Christians in celebrating the birth of Jesus, but this Christmas is special. It means even more to me after my recent trip to Israel. While I was there, I had the privilege of visiting Bethlehem, the city of His birth. I can’t begin to describe how it felt to be in that city, and now that I’m home, the feeling still lingers with me. His birth somehow became more real, more alive, more tangible. That is just one of the many reasons why I enjoyed my trip to Israel so very much.

The Bible is not just a series of interesting stories. It is real. No matter how hard people try to disprove it, the Bible still stands true. Being in Israel — walking in His steps — even further cemented that in my mind. The study of history and science also continues to prove the validity of the events depicted in the Bible. For example, you may recall that the book of Matthew chronicles the journey of wise men who came from the East to worship Jesus. They saw His star and followed it to find Him. Even though the star appeared over 2,000 years ago, a BBC astronomer and Discovery new contributor recently decided to do some research into this special star and what it could have been.

Mark Thompson scoured through historical records and computer simulations until he stumbled upon a significant astronomical event that might explain what caused the Star of Bethlehem. According to an article by Ian O’Neill on Discovery News:

Between Sept. 3 B.C. and May 2 B.C. there were three conjunctions (on Sept. 14, 3 B.C., Feb. 17, 2 B.C. and May 8, 2 B.C.) where Jupiter passed close to the star Regulus (the brightest star in the constellation Leo). This rare sequence of events would have looked very strange to those familiar with the night sky.

Thompson found that the gas giant passed Regulus in an easterly motion before appearing to reverse direction, passing the star again in a westerly direction. This change in direction is known as retrograde motion. Due to the near-circular orbits of Earth and Jupiter, as Earth has a faster orbital period than Jupiter, from our point of view we will appear to “overtake” the gas giant. The motion of Jupiter will therefore appear to change direction for several weeks before changing direction again continuing its easterly drift.

The Three Wise Men, thought by many to have been zoroastrianist priests (who were also renowned astrologers) might have noticed this strange motion and considered it to be a ’sign.’

“By camel it would have taken about three months and interestingly this is roughly about the same time Jupiter was traveling in this westward direction.”

Interestingly, Indiana University researchers noted in 2003 that there was a spectacular conjunction between Jupiter and Venus a month after Thompson’s time line. Both planets are thought to have overlapped in the night sky making them indistinguishable to the naked eye on June 17, 2 B.C.

People have often speculated about the accuracy of the events surrounding Jesus’ birth. I’ll admit that I’ve wondered how a single star led people to the city of Bethlehem, but research shows us that it was not only possible, it was probable. Jupiter could have led the wise men to the city after its odd change in direction, and a conjunction with Venus may have provided the grand finale in the night sky. I’ve seen a conjunction before, and it is a unique sight to behold (click here for an example). Maybe, just maybe, this is what caught the attention of those searching for Jesus.

I don’t need scientific proof to believe it, but my inner “Scully” thinks it’s pretty cool when the Bible, history, and science align to validate the truth of the story. So, the next time you read the second chapter of Matthew or you watch a Christmas play, you’ll know how they followed the star.

I hadn’t planned to watch last night’s lunar eclipse, but as it drew near, I felt compelled to go outside and witness it. After all, I was still awake, and there wouldn’t be another opportunity to view a total lunar eclipse in the continental US until April 15, 2014. I felt like I should take advantage of the unique opportunity.

It was almost 1:00 am when I walked into the back yard and sat down next to the pool to watch the spectacle taking place in the night sky. Coincidently, the lunar eclipse was taking place on the same night as the winter solstice which marks the time when the Earth’s axial tilt is farthest away from the sun. The last time the lunar eclipse occurred on the same night as the Winter Solstice was in 1638. Because of the winter solstice, the moon appeared high in the night sky making it easy for star gazers to view it. I sat patiently as the shadow of the Earth began to creep over the face of the moon. I’ve seen it before, but it never gets old. The only thing that would have made it better was a close-up view. If only I had a telescope, I thought. Wait, I do have a telescope!

I snuck back inside, gathering the scope, accessories, and tripod. After assembling everything and changing out the old batteries, I was ready to go. Thankfully, the lunar eclipse passes slowly! The view from a telescope was amazing. I was able to see more definition on the surface of the moon and view more of the reddish color that accompanies a total lunar eclipse. I wish I had a camera to capture it. Wait, I do have a camera!

I rushed back inside to grab my pocket camera. I have used my telescope plenty of times before, but I have never tried to capture of picture through it’s lens. I wasn’t sure it would work, but I thought I’d give it a shot and see what happened. It would be my little eclipse experiment.

I gently placed the camera on top of the telescope lens, and to my surprise, it was able to capture the image displayed in the scope. Encouraged by my success, I changed a few settings on my camera and started snapping away. The pictures aren’t the best moon shots I’ve ever seen (you can’t see much of the surface definition), but then again they aren’t too bad for a cheap little camera pointed through the lens of an amateur, entry-level telescope. I have posted a few of the untouched, unedited pictures below. Check them out, and let me know what you think. I had a fun time playing with it. I may just have to repeat this little experiment again.

Lunar Eclipse with Moon Filter on the Lens

Lunar Eclipse with a 25mm Lens on a Meade ETX 70 Telescope

Lunar Eclipse with a 9 mm Lens

Full Lunar Eclipse