Getting motivated about getting motivated...well, sort of....

Over all the MANY years i've been running, i've participated in so many of the organized events here in the Dallas area that i've found that i've lost the motivation to get excited about repeating any of them.  My running AND my body, have suffered greatly for that.

And then, as i was picking up my race packet for yet ANOTHER Dad's Day 5K, it was like the heavens parted and shown glorious light down on a flier for the Tyler Rose Marathon/Half-Marathon/5K coming up in October.  i swear, i think i heard a heavenly choir sing as i picked it up and started reading it.  Oh, and get this....it was perfect timing to fit the 18-week marathon training program i've always used in training for the marathon's i've done.  If that ain't divine intervention, i don't know what is!  :))

Anyhoo, i've started training and am feeling that excitement and motivation i felt so many years ago when i trained for my first marathon.  i LOVE this feeling!!!!

Laters!!!

It was AS IF i was there!!!!!

Yep!  Saw it in Digital 3-D.  i thought it was great!  i liked that it wasn't just a re-telling of the same story.

Ever since 21 JumpStreet, i've been a Johnny Depp fan and ever since Frankenweenie, i've made it a point to see any and everything Tim Burton does.

Go see it....particularly in 3D.  The Cheshire Cat alone is worth the extra bucks.



laters.

It Hurts When I Cry

let me just say up front, i know "Yo Momma" jokes are just plain wrong but i kinda liked this one:


Yo momma so ugly she made an onion cry.  




laters!  Have a great day!

I've been a BAD boy!

Recently a men's group started up at our church.  The topic of study is the spiritual disciplines.  Disciplines we should turn to when needing to get closer to, and understand more of, God.  The book we're following is Richard Foster's "Celebration of Discipline".  Awesome book, i tell ya'!

What has struck me as highly ironic is, when i look at my own attempts at these discipline, how closely my dedication to them falls directly in line with my disciplines for running.

i know i've posted before about how close my running experience is to my faith and how they pretty much go hand-in-hand for me, meaning as i slide in one, i slide in the other.  As i go farther in one, i go farther in the other (pun intended).  i don't like that i do that but there it is.  However, what i'm REALLY liking is as we're going through these spiritual disciplines, i'm seeing just how similar they are to those we, as runners, follow.  I'm listing here just a few of those that have particularly been rattling about in this little ol' pea-brain of mine:

Meditation:  Spiritual:   Finding a passage, a verse or even a single word in the Bible that jumps out at me and centering my thoughts on it throughout day.  Focusing on why it touched me, how it makes me feel, where am i in my belief of it, etc...
                              Running:  Just before taking off (particular in a race).  Centering my thoughts on the distance, the course, the pace i want to set, how i'm feeling, where am i hurting, calming my nerves, the training i did leading up to this particular, run, etc....

Fasting: Spiritual: The idea here being to separate myself from the thing(s) that can often replace God in my life and focus on replacing it WITH God.
                   Running:  Obvious.  Removing certain foods or liquids from my diet that harm my body and replacing them with healthier options.

Study: Spiritual: Here, i'm not just reading the Bible.  i'm also pulling in other writings, ideas, etc... that dive deeper into whatever passages i'm interested in at the time. i'm looking for more insight, guidance or explanation to what i'm reading.
                   Running:  Reading my subscription to Runner's World. runnersworld.com , RunnerDude, books by George Sheehan, or books on the Badwater UltraMarathon...the list is endless.  Of course, the idea being that the more i read of others' experience and advice, the better i'll do.

I'll stop at this point because 1) the list is amazingly extensive and, 2) well, that as far as we've gotten in the study so far.   :))


Admittedly, if i had to make the decision to replace my running with God, i would have a really, REALLY hard time with making that decision.  As long as i keep the right perspective on it all, i'm hoping it never gets to that point.  Besides, the invitation stands that whenever He wants to lace up His Nikes and join me, He's always welcome....or would He prefer New Balance?  (get it?  "balance"?  Faith and running?  "BALANCE?"...okay, maybe it's only funny to me)


i appreciate you hanging in this long and i certainly hope that whichever of these areas, or any other you're interested in, that you are finding the discipline(s) you need to help you grow deeper in it.

God Bless and Happy Running!

Should The Bible Become The Forbidden Fruit?

MAN! There have been many occasions in my life where i have been the recipient of some truly extreme judgment with the Bible being used as the justification for it. And you know, as much as i hate to admit it, there have been many times where i've done the same to others. Obviously, i'm NOT proud of that fact.

Taking that knowledge about myself and coupling it with the message Pastor Keith gave this past weekend REALLY set my mind in motion about it. You see, in his message, he reminded us of the cornerstone (my words) of all our sin in the story of Adam and Eve and the ever important Forbidden Fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As we all know, prior to their eating it, they didn't know of an evil. They only knew of good. God's good.

Pastor Keith also reminded us of how we can live either a life based in judgment or one based in love. That we can't do both. When thinking about various events and people i've come across, i can't express just how convicting this message was for me. I was downright blown away by it. That's where i started wondering about whether or not the Bible should have been THE forbidden fruit because of the way so many "good-hearted" Christians have come to use it. But i really think, "No, it shouldn't have." It's not what's IN the Bible that's the problem, it's what we get OUT of it. Think about it. If we just crack it open every once in a while, it seems we're more prone to misuse what we THINK we've read. A closed Bible leads to a closed mind leading to a closed heart.

Now, i would love to say that i've always been a person that acted lovingly to all those i come in contact with but in all honesty, i KNOW i haven't. So obviously, i have a LONG, LONG way to go, but what an amazing God we have that is so patient with me and constantly, and gently, leads me in the direction He knows i need to go to get there. Is that awesome or what?

It looks like i just REALLY need to remember the love that God feels towards me, and the amazing heart He showed for all of us through His Son. And, if i work to return that love to God and to others in that same way, then i should do okay, right? While it's easier said than done, it's NOT impossible. Opening myself to God and what He has done and planned for me, then i'd think it would only lead to an open heart. At least, i'm thinking it can't hurt to try.

Just a thought. (My apologies to Pastor Keith if i misunderstood the context of his message in any way)

laters!

AH-HA!!!! The Plot...I Mean SNOW...Thickens!!!

Just having a little panoramic fun this morning before heading off to work!

Just click on the image to see a larger version.

laters!

Wah da heck iz all dis white stuff??????

This is NOT typical for us in our area but quite fun to look at.  The drive to work this morning wasn't too bad either.  Now, after it all freezes and becomes ice tonight?  For that drive to work in the morning?  YIKES!!!!

Anyhoo.

Laters!!!