Object Lesson

 New cold weather record for riding outside -- 25*
Lulu cold weather leggings, bike shorts, warm exercise pants, wool socks.
Fuzzy base layer top, Smartwool ski shirt, bike jacket, bike vest,
balaclava, thick beanie, neck gator, shoe gloves and hand gloves.
And even my fingers and toes were warm as toast!

Remember how I've gotten used to breathing through my balaclava?

I was on my four minute climb up 3000 east (believe me, it feels a lot longer than four minutes), 

and it was hard. Like, because I'm only riding outside once a month, it's getting harder, not easier. 

I was listening to "Don't Miss This" telling the story of Enoch and how God told him to anoint his eyes with clay, then wash them and he would see things not visible to the natural eye. A metaphor for seeing with earthly eyes vs. spiritual eyes and how we often don't even realize what we're missing. 

Suddenly I realized because I was breathing through the balaclava, I wasn't getting as much oxygen as I normally would. I pulled it down and what a difference being able to breathe freely made!

Also guys, I never made the connection that when God clothed Adam and Eve with coats of skins, 

that was the first ever animal sacrifice since there was no death previously in the Garden of Eden. 

And also the coats of skins symbolizing Christ being sacrificed to cover our sins. 

Finally, if you haven't read Eve and the Choice Made in Eden, by Beverly Campbell,

you really should. It's a must read for every woman. And every man.

God walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve teaching them.

Satan did beguile Eve, but "beguile" in Hebrew means to cause to think deeply, ponder.

She knew the consequences of partaking of the fruit, and pondered greatly the decision to determine if she was ready to leave the Garden and take on this new life. No different than any parent who considers if they're ready to leave the life they're living and bring a child into their marriage. It's a big decision. 

One Eve didn't take lightly. But ultimately decided it was time.

So much other good stuff. But that's one of my favorite concepts.