“Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.”
-The Shawshank Redemption 1994
"When God wants to change us, he starts by getting our attention, by putting us in a frustrating situation that is totally beyond our control. If we’re experiencing a crisis right now, it’s because God is getting ready to change us for the better."
-Rick Warren
I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could've Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make That Change!
-Michael Jackson Thriller 1982
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Missions 101
Matthew 10:5-11 (The Message)
Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge:
"Don't begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don't try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.
"Don't think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don't need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light.
"When you enter a town or village, don't insist on staying in a luxury inn. Get a modest place with some modest people, and be content there until you leave."
Luke 10:1-9 (The Message)
Later the Master selected seventy and sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he intended to go. He gave them this charge:
"What a huge harvest! And how few the harvest hands. So on your knees; ask the God of the Harvest to send harvest hands.
"On your way! But be careful—this is hazardous work. You're like lambs in a wolf pack.
"Travel light. Comb and toothbrush and no extra luggage.
"Don't loiter and make small talk with everyone you meet along the way.
"When you enter a home, greet the family, 'Peace.' If your greeting is received, then it's a good place to stay. But if it's not received, take it back and get out. Don't impose yourself.
"Stay at one home, taking your meals there, for a worker deserves three square meals. Don't move from house to house, looking for the best cook in town.
"When you enter a town and are received, eat what they set before you, heal anyone who is sick, and tell them, 'God's kingdom is right on your doorstep!'"
Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge:
"Don't begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don't try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.
"Don't think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don't need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light.
"When you enter a town or village, don't insist on staying in a luxury inn. Get a modest place with some modest people, and be content there until you leave."
Luke 10:1-9 (The Message)
Later the Master selected seventy and sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he intended to go. He gave them this charge:
"What a huge harvest! And how few the harvest hands. So on your knees; ask the God of the Harvest to send harvest hands.
"On your way! But be careful—this is hazardous work. You're like lambs in a wolf pack.
"Travel light. Comb and toothbrush and no extra luggage.
"Don't loiter and make small talk with everyone you meet along the way.
"When you enter a home, greet the family, 'Peace.' If your greeting is received, then it's a good place to stay. But if it's not received, take it back and get out. Don't impose yourself.
"Stay at one home, taking your meals there, for a worker deserves three square meals. Don't move from house to house, looking for the best cook in town.
"When you enter a town and are received, eat what they set before you, heal anyone who is sick, and tell them, 'God's kingdom is right on your doorstep!'"
Monday, March 24, 2008
Missing Mexico
Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God's Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.
Philippians 1:3-6 The Message
Philippians 1:3-6 The Message
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Looking for the Living One in a Cemetery
Luke 24:1-12 (The Message)
At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn't find the body of the Master Jesus.
They were puzzled, wondering what to make of this. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, two men, light cascading over them, stood there. The women were awestruck and bowed down in worship. The men said, "Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up. Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?" Then they remembered Jesus' words.
They left the tomb and broke the news of all this to the Eleven and the rest. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them kept telling these things to the apostles, but the apostles didn't believe a word of it, thought they were making it all up.
But Peter jumped to his feet and ran to the tomb. He stooped to look in and saw a few grave clothes, that's all. He walked away puzzled, shaking his head.
My favorite line is the last one. After jumping to his feet and running to the tomb, we imagine Peter walking away puzzled, shaking and scratching his head, wondering what in the world is happening. Yet this seed of hope and excitement is burning in his gut. Today celebrates hope (not necessarily clarity)!
At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn't find the body of the Master Jesus.
They were puzzled, wondering what to make of this. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, two men, light cascading over them, stood there. The women were awestruck and bowed down in worship. The men said, "Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up. Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee that he had to be handed over to sinners, be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?" Then they remembered Jesus' words.
They left the tomb and broke the news of all this to the Eleven and the rest. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them kept telling these things to the apostles, but the apostles didn't believe a word of it, thought they were making it all up.
But Peter jumped to his feet and ran to the tomb. He stooped to look in and saw a few grave clothes, that's all. He walked away puzzled, shaking his head.
My favorite line is the last one. After jumping to his feet and running to the tomb, we imagine Peter walking away puzzled, shaking and scratching his head, wondering what in the world is happening. Yet this seed of hope and excitement is burning in his gut. Today celebrates hope (not necessarily clarity)!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
A High Church Quaker Thought
"Blessed is he who regards everyone as God after God."
--Evagrios the Solitary from the Philokalia 153 Texts on Prayer
--Evagrios the Solitary from the Philokalia 153 Texts on Prayer
Monday, March 3, 2008
Reading
"Reading...is at the threshold of the spiritual life; it can introduce us to it. It does not constitute it...There are certain cases of spiritual depression in which reading can become a sort of curative discipline...reintroducing a lazy mind into the life of the spirit."
- Marcel Proust 'On Reading'
- Marcel Proust 'On Reading'
Thursday, February 28, 2008
You Are My God!
14But I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, “You are my God!”
15My future is in your hands... 16Let your favor shine on your servant. In your unfailing love, rescue me.
21Praise the Lord, for he has shown me the wonders of his unfailing love.
24So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!
15My future is in your hands... 16Let your favor shine on your servant. In your unfailing love, rescue me.
21Praise the Lord, for he has shown me the wonders of his unfailing love.
24So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the Lord!
Live Deeply
I've written to warn you about those who are trying to deceive you. But they're no match for what is embedded deeply within you—Christ's anointing, no less! You don't need any of their so-called teaching. Christ's anointing teaches you the truth on everything you need to know about yourself and him, uncontaminated by a single lie. Live deeply in what you were taught.
-1 John 2:26-27 (The Message)
Sounds a little supertitious to me but maybe give it a try?www.birthverse.com/mybirthverse.cfm
-1 John 2:26-27 (The Message)
Sounds a little supertitious to me but maybe give it a try?www.birthverse.com/mybirthverse.cfm
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
My First 50
I planned on leaving early on Friday afternoon from the office to get down to Lake Texoma. So instead of leaving at 5, I left at 4:53. I arrived in Whitesboro, TX a little after 9:00 pm and laid out everything (obsessive tradition) for the next morning’s run and went to sleep. My alarm went off at 4:30 am and I jumped out of bed and “cooked” some oatmeal in the hotel microwave and got ready.
By 5:20 I was on my way to the race start which was only supposed to be about 15 minutes away. The directions were simple and straightforward. I took a wrong turn following a sign that I later saw and I don’t know why I turned there but eventually I ended up 15 miles off the beaten path and hoping I could figure out how to make it back to the main highway. At 6:00 am I started to get a little anxious. I was hurriedly retracting my turns back to the main highway to go just a few minutes further to the race start. Finally at 6:15 I found an adequate all-day parking spot at the Cedar Bayou Marina & Resort and, yes, ran over to start line to get my packet and info and race bib. I quickly pinned it on my shirt (I’m still learning that real trail runners pin their race bibs to their shorts) and stashed my drop bag in the appropriate place to access later during the run, filled my water bottle with HEED and pockets with things I’d want on the trail and made my way to the starting line just in time. It was still dark at 6:30 when someone said “Go”. I started the timer on my watch but probably didn’t think to look at it again for a couple hours.
I followed a guy on the trail with a flashlight until the sun came out about 30 minutes later. He was keeping a steady consistent but reasonable pace and he looked like a pro. His name was Dan and he was from about an hour away somewhere in Texas. I followed him for about the first two hours or so before we even started talking and ended up running together for the rest of the day. We arrived at mile 10 in a very respectable 2 hours and 9 minutes. I was very happy about that but also knew that that sort of a pace was not sustainable all day. Around mile 15 I experienced some serious left knee pain that left me gasping for air for about ten minutes as I kept running hoping it would go away. I had experienced this same pain on every run throughout the last two weeks. I don’t know why or how but eventually the knee pain went away and I never felt it again the whole day!
I had prepared myself to not think about the distance and just focus on getting from one aid-station to the next. Throughout the day that strategy was working. The Cross Timbers trail around Lake Texoma was very well marked with white ribbons and a very nice trail but very challenging. I heard the overall elevation climb was over 10,000 feet throughout the 50 miles. At mile 25 (6 hours), I was feeling very strong and confident that I would be able to finish. After about mile 35, I remembered that these were all new running miles for me since I had never gone that far. I was amazed how much I was still able to run between mile 30 and 45 on the flats and down hills because I was hydrated and had plenty of energy (through food and supplemental energy, electrolyte, and sodium gels and capsules). Around mile 36 I was running through a relatively flat and rocky area and my left foot rolled over a rock. I heard a “snap snap”. The guy behind me heard it too, I think. I tried to walk it off for a couple minutes but then realized I needed to loosen my shoe laces because my foot was swelling. I remembered a phrase that some crazy ultrarunners say: “It hurts up to a point and then it doesn’t get any worse.” My left foot hurt pretty bad but then I tried running on it and it hurt but not any worse than before so off I went. I had to loosen the shoe laces to give room for a swelling foot a few more times.
At mile 45 we passed back through the main aid station with just a 2.5 mile out and back left (possibly the toughest terrain of the course?). I got out my long sleeve shirt and gloves and head lamp to prepare to finish in the dark. We jogged or walked as briskly as possible those last 5 miles, up and down those rocky trails in the dark (a challenge in itself!). I tripped and fell several times during this period but I laughed every time if I remember right. Once you come out of the trail you have to run about 1/3 mile or so downhill to the finish line. I ran that last section with great pleasure and a great sense of accomplishment, finishing at 7:48 pm!
After the race I ate some food that didn’t settle too well. About 7 miles down the highway on my way home I had to pull over to throw up in the ditch! After that I realized that there was absolutely no way I would be able to drive home the 4 ½ hours to Wichita feeling so exhausted that I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I pulled over in the first town I came to and at the first motel I found and got a room and went right to sleep by 9 pm. I woke up early the next morning to drive home in time for church. First of all I learned that it’s one thing to drive home by yourself after a marathon but I won’t ever try to drive home by myself after a race like this. Secondly, I need this foot to heal (currently swollen and bruised) before I can start running again, I guess. But I think I’ll be okay. I was very encouraged and excited to finish this race!
Event website that will eventually have results and possibly pictures and a nice “Virtual Tour”:
http://www.geocities.com/cross_timbers_04/.
Info from the website about the Cross Timbers trail: “Mostly narrow, hilly trails with some rocky and hazardous areas. Some call Cross Timbers the 'Toughest Little Trail in Texas’
By 5:20 I was on my way to the race start which was only supposed to be about 15 minutes away. The directions were simple and straightforward. I took a wrong turn following a sign that I later saw and I don’t know why I turned there but eventually I ended up 15 miles off the beaten path and hoping I could figure out how to make it back to the main highway. At 6:00 am I started to get a little anxious. I was hurriedly retracting my turns back to the main highway to go just a few minutes further to the race start. Finally at 6:15 I found an adequate all-day parking spot at the Cedar Bayou Marina & Resort and, yes, ran over to start line to get my packet and info and race bib. I quickly pinned it on my shirt (I’m still learning that real trail runners pin their race bibs to their shorts) and stashed my drop bag in the appropriate place to access later during the run, filled my water bottle with HEED and pockets with things I’d want on the trail and made my way to the starting line just in time. It was still dark at 6:30 when someone said “Go”. I started the timer on my watch but probably didn’t think to look at it again for a couple hours.
I followed a guy on the trail with a flashlight until the sun came out about 30 minutes later. He was keeping a steady consistent but reasonable pace and he looked like a pro. His name was Dan and he was from about an hour away somewhere in Texas. I followed him for about the first two hours or so before we even started talking and ended up running together for the rest of the day. We arrived at mile 10 in a very respectable 2 hours and 9 minutes. I was very happy about that but also knew that that sort of a pace was not sustainable all day. Around mile 15 I experienced some serious left knee pain that left me gasping for air for about ten minutes as I kept running hoping it would go away. I had experienced this same pain on every run throughout the last two weeks. I don’t know why or how but eventually the knee pain went away and I never felt it again the whole day!
I had prepared myself to not think about the distance and just focus on getting from one aid-station to the next. Throughout the day that strategy was working. The Cross Timbers trail around Lake Texoma was very well marked with white ribbons and a very nice trail but very challenging. I heard the overall elevation climb was over 10,000 feet throughout the 50 miles. At mile 25 (6 hours), I was feeling very strong and confident that I would be able to finish. After about mile 35, I remembered that these were all new running miles for me since I had never gone that far. I was amazed how much I was still able to run between mile 30 and 45 on the flats and down hills because I was hydrated and had plenty of energy (through food and supplemental energy, electrolyte, and sodium gels and capsules). Around mile 36 I was running through a relatively flat and rocky area and my left foot rolled over a rock. I heard a “snap snap”. The guy behind me heard it too, I think. I tried to walk it off for a couple minutes but then realized I needed to loosen my shoe laces because my foot was swelling. I remembered a phrase that some crazy ultrarunners say: “It hurts up to a point and then it doesn’t get any worse.” My left foot hurt pretty bad but then I tried running on it and it hurt but not any worse than before so off I went. I had to loosen the shoe laces to give room for a swelling foot a few more times.
At mile 45 we passed back through the main aid station with just a 2.5 mile out and back left (possibly the toughest terrain of the course?). I got out my long sleeve shirt and gloves and head lamp to prepare to finish in the dark. We jogged or walked as briskly as possible those last 5 miles, up and down those rocky trails in the dark (a challenge in itself!). I tripped and fell several times during this period but I laughed every time if I remember right. Once you come out of the trail you have to run about 1/3 mile or so downhill to the finish line. I ran that last section with great pleasure and a great sense of accomplishment, finishing at 7:48 pm!
After the race I ate some food that didn’t settle too well. About 7 miles down the highway on my way home I had to pull over to throw up in the ditch! After that I realized that there was absolutely no way I would be able to drive home the 4 ½ hours to Wichita feeling so exhausted that I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I pulled over in the first town I came to and at the first motel I found and got a room and went right to sleep by 9 pm. I woke up early the next morning to drive home in time for church. First of all I learned that it’s one thing to drive home by yourself after a marathon but I won’t ever try to drive home by myself after a race like this. Secondly, I need this foot to heal (currently swollen and bruised) before I can start running again, I guess. But I think I’ll be okay. I was very encouraged and excited to finish this race!
Event website that will eventually have results and possibly pictures and a nice “Virtual Tour”:
http://www.geocities.com/cross_timbers_04/.
Info from the website about the Cross Timbers trail: “Mostly narrow, hilly trails with some rocky and hazardous areas. Some call Cross Timbers the 'Toughest Little Trail in Texas’
"We Aren't About Weekends"
I found an excellent article in Leadership recently about all of the subjects that most interest me all wrapped up into one article (the kingdom of God, missions, mission, postmoderism, evangelism, discipleship, church, church planting, etc.):
http://www.ctlibrary.com/le/2007/winter/3.28.html
http://www.ctlibrary.com/le/2007/winter/3.28.html
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