A view from the top of the bandwagon
Posted May 31st, 2010
Last year, I was hanging out with a friend and he mentioned that a Blackhawk playoff game was on. I agreed to watch it with him and settled in for a hockey-education. The ‘Hawks scored three goals in five minutes and I was hooked. It turns out: hockey is exciting! So on the brink of Game Two of this years Stanley Cup playoffs, I wanted to share my favorite things about hockey:
Slashing. Best penalty in all of sports. Taking a wooden stick and cracking it down on an opponent...
+1 Challenge (Live)
Posted May 30th, 2010
Life in our times sure is unique. My neighbor, who lives, eats, sleeps, and plays about 75 feet from my door, and I now interact via email more than face-to-face. He is a student with an irregular schedule and I am a pastor with an unpredictable schedule. He stays up late and I wake up early. And for some reason, his social life does not revolve around 2nd grade girls softball! So we’ve been emailing and giving each other quick waves as we came and go.
But I am prayerful. M...
marathon training update #3
Posted May 26th, 2010
Each of the past two weeks I have run 20 miles, highlighted by a 9 mile trek through Lake Barrington that was magnificent. I felt really strong and averaged an 8:50 pace. My favorite part of distance training is the “emptying” feeling. When you clear your brain for an hour or so, free from frenetic thinking, and you progressively head toward fatigue, pain, and exhaustion, you can start to really unpack a lot of what is most real in your soul. I have come to both fear and anticip...
Marathon training Update #2
Posted May 10th, 2010
Last week was a pretty important week for me. Gone are the twos and threes and they have been replaced by a training schedule that is more demanding and more time consuming. I ran a 5, 3, 3, and 6.5 to complete 17.5 miles for the week. the runs are feeling strong and I feel like my lungs and legs are getting under me.
On the mental side of things, someone encouraged me to try something once per month. He said to do one thing for 4.5 hours without interruption. My general tempera...
+1…may challenge
Posted May 5th, 2010
This month’s challenge is to think about the people where you LIVE. Think about your neighbors. Draw a map of your neighborhood. How many people do you know? How many names do you know? Go up and down the street and write down everything you know about them. Think about the things that made them laugh or the times when they were irritated about something. What are they like? What do they like?
Who are they?
Did God make them? Does God love them? Did God die for them...
Marathon training update
Posted May 4th, 2010
The foundation laying phase of marathon prep may be the hardest for me. I started my base training in March having spent a long winter overeating and spraining my ankle. So I ran a lot of 2 milers when my back hurt and my muscles were tight, and my lungs were on fire….Ahhhh, the Runner’s High!!!
April saw me hit weekly mileage of 13, 14, 15, and 13.5. But the rythmn is still not there, so sometimes a 2 miles feels like more work than the 5 milers. So far I am incredibly depend...
the lord’s prayer
Posted May 3rd, 2010
I wrote this during our Re:Discover service last night. Basically a personalization of how Jesus taught us to pray:
“God…Father…you are so amazing. I know so little of your perfection, but what I do know is worth my whole life. That you would desire an intimacy with me is beynd my comprehension. You want this world to be very different; you want to see here what you see in heaven. God, I want that too, and I am captivated by the idea that you think it is possible. What p...
