Diet and Exercise

This week has been mostly diet and no exercise but this morning I had a nice run over a 1.8 mile bridge and back. It was a little shorter than my former Sunday runs, but my knee held up well. This week at the gym I will start some strengthening to try and help my knees. Especially since I have a new penciled in race with Jason to be announced once finalized.

On the diet front, last Monday morning I weighed in at 210 punds and this morning I weighed in at 200 pounds. It looks like I will be less than 200 shortly which will be the first time in a while. I am hopeful that this makes running easier. I would like to get to 185-190 range, and then maintain it. So week 1 on the South Beach diet has been good. In truth I don't even mind the diet. It is relatively easy to do.

Could it be?

This morning we attended Mosaic Church in Ocean Springs, MS. This church is 1 year 3 months and meets in a skating rink that they rent and set up on Sunday mornings. They have two services (9 and 11) and are considering adding a third. The music is contemporary and the pastor is good. They are a part of the Acts 29 network of churches. They had good coffee. To pick up your kids you had to have matching stickers. It was a computerized sticker printout and they gave you a little key chain card like a value card at a grocery store so that next time you come you just scan it and it brings up the kids info to print. It was a fairly mixed demographic of ages. The one amusing thing they missed was that when I went to their website it did not have the service times on it. Apparently they just updated there site. It was a good sermon about sharing the gospel. I think we are going to look for a Bible study to get involved in with the church. Right now we plan on going back. Thanks for any who prayed for us about finding a church.

Church Search

Two Sundays ago upon our move to Mississippi Amanda and I began our first church hunt in 7+ years. It is very strange, and I do not like it a bit. I am not sure how people are able to do it for a long period of time. So far no decision on a church home, but we hope to make one as quickly as possible.

On churches in Mississippi to date: Both places we have attended seem to have everyone who wants participate in music. They both had choirs, and a lead singer, and a guitarist, and a drummist, and a keyboardist. One of them had an orchestra and praise team too. It was rather fascinating. Both churches so far used media shout. I could tell because of the backgrounds used for some of the slides. The first preacher pretty much read a scripture verse, and then he proceeded to rehash the scripture just expanding the storytelling. The other one was less smooth, but with a better message. Both of the churches had a time at the end where people could come up to the front to either talk with a pastor or pray. No one came up. The demographics at both churches tended towards an older crowd so far as I can tell.

The big thing that struck me after the second (and then thinking back to the first it was the same) is that it was too easy to just leave and walk out the door. Nobody grabbed my attention introduced themselves after the service or tried to have a conversation. Everyone went on there merry ways. This is even though we parked in guest spots at both places and people walked by as we got in our cars.

A sad week

This week on Monday morning I weighed in at 210 pounds. Thus began my diet. I have been put on the South Beach Diet. The first two weeks you eat lean meats and veggies (basically). On day one I walked into a training class that had donuts, pastries, and cookies. Sadly I did not partake. On that same day I stopped putting cream and sugar in my coffee and began drinking my coffee with one artificial sweetener packet in it. Day one I tried Equal and I think I am allergic (seriously, I had headaches). Day two I did sweet'n'low which I do not seem to be allergic, but I do not like. Today I switched to Splenda. It is fine, but it is not cream and sugar. Oh well. It is actually not to bad to go on a diet. I think I may make it.

First Date in Mississippi

Amanda and I went on our first date since we moved to Mississippi. I decided to review the various things we did.
Hard Rock Casino: Giant guitar out front sets the scene for a good environment inside. Amanda walked around the high rollers area for a few. Easy to lose five dollars in 20 minutes. I was actually up 1.50 on video poker. I liked the casino, but I did not play any table games. I would go back, but not until I go to several others.
Mary Mahoney's: I had Fried Shrimp which was ok, and Amanda had a veal which was not so good. If those two items are any indication, then I do not recommend the restaurant for dinner. Desert was good I had pecan pie which was good and Amanda had Mississippi Mud Pie which was ok. Decaf coffee was good. The service was good, but the restaurant is built into an old house and thus has a strange shape of the dining areas. This restaurant has served president's, but I was not impressed.
Riverdance: The drummer was amazing. The dancing was very good. It was a good show. There was a hiccup with the coliseum in the intermission when it looked like a circuit blew. During the show it was all good. It was a little strange from a spiritual perspective at times. All in all it was very enjoyable. I would recommend that you consider seeing it if you have not already.

A guessing game about Isaac

Here is the challenge. Answer the following question if you can.

Why did my 2 years and 4 month old Isaac find a clothes hanger on the ground and say, "Look Dada a mystery."?

I think I know the answer. You may get a hint from an earlier post. Please put guesses as a comment. If I have previously discussed this with you, then clearly you should not guess.

What do you do when you are having difficulty in your life? When faced with difficult times, it seems that often we look inside ourselves for strength and patience. “Can’t you just leave me alone so I can think?” is often our response to people wanting to help us when we have a difficult question to answer. As the church we have a responsibility to help encourage one another and pray for one another, especially when there are troubles or hard times. We should go to our fellow members of the Church body to ask them for prayer when it is needed. Don’t be caught in the trap of trying to rely on your own strength or wisdom in making it through hard times.

Daniel 2: 17-19
17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven

Only 2 Readers

Judging by my latest poll, I have only two readers of my blog. Luckily, they both seem to be glad I am back in the blogging world. I spent much of the afternoon playing Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution. Since it is graduation weekend (from high school) for two of my neighbors, I feel this is a great way to remember my youth. Though I did not have either of those games. I suppose I could really remember my youth, and go eat a whole frozen pizza. Instead I will enjoy the fruits of adulthood and eat food off a grill.

I think Isaac may have watched to much TV

I walked through the kitchen the other day, and Isaac was sitting next to a cup with a dinosaur on it. He went through the following discussion with himself.

"If you see a dinosaur, say dinosaur."
"I see a dinosaur."
"You see a dinosaur? Where?"
"Right! There's the dinosaur."

He also somtimes yells for help... in spanish.
"¡Ayúdeme!"

June 11

So we can run off a list of things we should do and not do. We might start with the Ten Commandments, or we might start with a different list from memory. We might say, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” We might then ask, “Why should we do these good things and avoid the bad things?” For that we might also run off a few answers. The reason that I want to mention today is one that I was reminded of this week. We should do good things and push away son because we are a part of one body together. As a part of that body we provide a representation of how people are going to judge the rest of the body. If I go to work with hair that has not been combed, then people are going to make judgments about me based on what they have noticed. If I go into a store I steal a pack of gum with my right hand and someone watches me, then they make a judgment about the rest of me based on the action of my right hand. Nobody would see that and say that I just must have a bad hand. So we should strive to do good works, and push away evil. Our actions reflect on the rest of the Body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:25
25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.

A commute by any other name...

As I am avoiding my commute to let Amanda sleep for a few more minutes, it can't be helped but to ponder the amount of time I am about to spend in the car. At this time of day it will probably be close to 1 hour. If I had left 1 hour earlier, it would likely of been 1.5 hours. The interesting thing is that yesterday Amanda rode with me to work and came back to pick me up. You might think this seems like a real wast of time. It turned out, that the total amount of time Amanda spent in the car was almost the same as a commute by myself. HOV priveleges help a bunch. Alas, today I will be driving alone. We have a tentative plan to ride together next Tuesday.

An Early Sunday Morning Run

Running on Sunday morning before church (The 7.2 mile loop). I am sure that must break some rule about the Sabbath (just kidding of course). If it did, then I am sure that many church plants around the world will be "breaking the rules" as they spend significant time and effort to get services set up to be held in movie theaters, schools, parks, hotels, homes, community centers, and I am sure many other places. So, good morning church plants everywhere. I hope your set up goes smooth today.

28 May

I love to read about the prophets. The great faith they show over and over again when confronted with hardship. They continually share the Lord's messages with people and stand as an example for others of how life should be lived. Not that everyone should go out and be fed by the ravens, but that we would all listen to the prodding of God, confess our sins, and spread the good news of God's love to others. If we think this is a hard calling, then we should look to the Bible for encouragement and understand the strength of God. We get from looking at the prophet Elisha a view of how much a person's faith can be strengthened when another person of faith invests significant time, teaching and love to the younger follower of the Lord. Elisha goes from working in a field on his family farm to working for the Lord as a great prophet in no small part because of the time that he spent following Elijah around the countryside. So we should all be encouraged and invest time strengthening those of lesser faith.

2 Kings 6: 15-18
15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked. 16 "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." 17 And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.

4 June

I have to admit I feel pretty tense this week as I write this (for no good reason). The situations that we have been put, and the people we interact with are often put there to help build us up to better Christians. When we do come across times that are causing us to be angry or impatient, then it is good to take a moment to reflect on the perspective we should have. That we have a God who loved us so much that He sent His son to die for our sins. Though we were still sinners he saw fit to show us this love. Also think on the example we can be to those around us when they become angry with situations that we respond to with grace and joy. The only way we can continually have this attitude is to seek the Lord in prayer and to seek to know more about Him by reading His Word and by learning from and fellowshipping with other believers. I pray that all of us would rejoice in the Lord in whatever situations we are currently living. No matter how big or how small our problems may be, we should seek to have the peace that is offered by God.

Phillipians 4: 4-7
4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

May 7

When we give money to a cause, or in particular when we give money to a person even within the church, isn’t it a bit natural to question how the money is being used. We want to know that the person is using the money for exactly what they said they were going to use it. Sometimes our concern for the use of the money we give may be a sign of our lack of reliance on God. Sometimes it can be us being good stewards of what God has given us. The question for today is, “What do you do if you feel like things are being handled poorly?” This question can be asked about money or this question can be asked about other issues as well.

1 Corinthians 6:1-3
1If any of you has a dispute with another, dare he take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the saints? 2Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church!

The answer is to handle the dispute within the church. One thing I like about these verses is that it says it is even better to have someone who is of little account within the Church judge the matter, than to go before the non-believers. It says they will know we are Christians by our love. We need to show our love in times that are good and in times of dispute. Showing grace in the face of disagreement is a powerful testimony.

May 14

One thing I love about reading the Bible is when verses that you have read before all of a sudden make more sense. This happened to me this week when I was preparing to give the lesson at XFold Youth Group. I had looked at a verse multiple times and it seemed interesting, but I was not sure what to do with the verse. One evening I read the verse again and it was very clear what it meant, and how I could apply it to my life and in the lesson. I find over and over again the Lord works this way. When I seek to understand His Word, He is faithful to help me understand. God wants to work this way in all of us. He does not expect us to just be able to figure out what everything means. He does not expect us to have perfect wisdom on our own. He wants us to recognize that we need his help to understand His Word. When we recognize this, He will not hold it against us, but rather He will give us wisdom.

James 1:5
5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

Where have I been?

I have found it hard to keep up the posting over the last 6 weeks+. The arrival of the new baby, and all the distractions with that have made it a bit hard. I have however been writing a weekly entry in the Pillar Church weekly newsletter "This Week at Pillar". I will post some of them here. Let me know what you think. The keyword will be Running Along.

What does sin cause?

It causes you to not realize when situations are out of control. It causes you to not recognize the problems you are surrounded. It causes you not to take action against sins that should be punished.

King David's son Amnon had relations with his half sister Tamar (2 Samuel 13). It mentions here that David was angry when he heard what happened. That is it though. David does not do anything else. In fact it seems that later when Absalom plans to kill Amnon that David has no idea that Absalom might want to do this.

David's unwillingness (or inability) to appropriately punish Amnon for his sin ends up leading to Absalom's killing of Amnon. All of this goes back to David's original sin with Bathsheba. This sin lead to a series of problems that come into David's kingdom.

Another interesting relationship David had with a sinful man was David's relationship with Joab.

How to be a Man... Based on The Cosby Show

Step 1. Wear sweet sweaters
Step 2. Use great facial expressions and hand gestures
Step 3. Listen to your wife

That seems to be the primary things. I don't know what else there could be.

Are we a Christian Nation?

This seemed to be a bit of a question on the world wide web today. President Obama made a comment in a speech that we are not a Christian nation. Also today, Vermont voted to legalize homosexual marriage. Also this weekend, portions of an explicit movie was shown at the University of Maryland in the name of free speech. I look around at the people in my workplace, in my neighborhood, and on TV. I look at the divorce rate. I look at the abundance of ethics probes and greed. If this is what a Christian nation looks like, then yipes. So I think that the President is correct. Our nation is not a Christian nation. I wish it was, but I think that we will not be in a true Christian nation until the end times. This is not to say that we shouldn't try and influence our nation to have more Christian values. We should definitely desire for our nation to have stronger Christian values. Thoughts?

One way that sin starts

2 Samuel 11:1
1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem.

What happens next in 2 Samuel is David's sin with Bathsheba. I propose that one way that sin starts is contentment. Instead of going out with the army to fight the battles. David stayed home, but this is one of the reasons Israel even wanted a king. They wanted a king that would go out in battle for them. In this case David does not go out. He stays home and just relies on Joab to lead the army. Compare this to the response of Uriah when David calls him back from the battle. David lives in comfort and contentment but Uriah

2 Samuel 11:11
11 Uriah said to David, "The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord's men are camped in the open fields. How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife? As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!"

(I love the juxtapositions in 1 and 2 Samuel.)

Two Lawyers and a Mathematician were running a race...

The mathematician says, "Did you know that if you go 50% of the way and then 50% of the way again and continue this forever, then you will theoretically never finish the race?" The Lawyers just roll their eyes and finished before the mathematician.

Early morning. Rolling Hills. Donut hole at mile 6. Lots of water stations. Ladies in pink cheering for you. 10 minutes per mile. 10 miles. Stiff Legs. Still had to do some chores. Lettuce provided at the finish (Locally grown).

I did not get beaten by a 9 year old girl. I was not very fast. I need to pick up the pace. The next step is to try and lose 15 -20 pounds at least. I think this will help.

I did beat my 10K PR...

I came in at 1:01 10. This shaved 1 minute and 7 seconds off of the previous PR. The only thing is, that I think I would have been down around 57-58 minutes, but starting around mile 3.5 it took probably 15+ minutes to do the next mile through mud. Sadly, I do not have a falling in mud story. Oh well. I look forward to breaking this PR in the future. It looks like I did significantly better percentile wise. I finished 583 out of 1102 overall and 59 out of 88 in my division. Iceman beat me again, but not by as much.

Dear Verizon,

I am sure your Fios service is very good. I appreciate your sincerely desiring me to switch from my cable provider to you. I am sure you want me to only have the best service possible for my money. In regards to your sending me the same offer via the United States Postal Service, I think it would be a better use of your money to not send quite so many copies. I know that the post service has been struggling, and I appreciate your trying to help them employ more postmen. Your advertising strategy does not make much sense to me.
1. If I do not accept an offer sent to me on Monday, then I will probably not accept an offer sent on Wednesday. Also, I will probably still not accept the offer the following week. Maybe if you waited a few months you would have more luck.
2. You must think I have cable, or you would not care about advertising to me so much. You would be correct. As you may have already figured out, this means that I often see your TV commercials giving me the same offer.
3. You probably think I have internet as well. You would again be correct. Which means I have already seen your web advertisment offering me the same deal.

In light of this, I think you might reconsider your frequency in which you mail advertisements. You could probably offer a better deal on Fios if you did. Also, you might save some trees.

Sometimes when I get really bored...

I play this game Hedgehog Launch. Truthfully I have not played in a while. The object of the game is to build a slingshot that is able to launch a hedgehog onto space. For some reason I find the concept of this to be amusing.

2 more days until the Race To Register 10K. I would like to break the 1 hour mark. I think that I will, and will finish the race in ~58 minutes. Then I will sign up for the Marine Corps Marathon.AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhh!!!!!
Sometimes I wonder what I could possibly be thinking in signing up for a marathon, but once I pay for it I am commited. Oh... I still have all of my Elite Eight teams in the tournament.

Another pointless poll closed

Do You prefer...
French Toast 2 (28%)
Pancakes 1 (14%)
Waffles 1 (14%)
Eggs 1 (14%)
T-Bone Steak at the Waffle House 2 (28%)

Ok. Seriously. Who were the two people who have eaten a T-Bone at the Waffle House? I am considering going with you and buying you one so that I can watch you eat it while I enjoy a waffle and hopefully crispy but probably soggy bacon. Let me know.

I figured out that Montclair is ~3.3 miles from end to end. So a loop that is sidewalk out and back in should be a good moderate length loop. I have decided that I would like to run on every street in Montclair, but I will have to do some of it in the day.

Confirmation of unluckiness...

I am so unlucky, that the day after I blog about being unlucky I immediately beat my wife at cards and have the best two days of a March Madness bracket ever for me. I mean come on... I don't even get to say that I blogged correctly about it. (shaking head)

This has become more on my mind while running

For some reason running makes me compare my life to a race. Can't figure it out...

1 Corinthians 9: 24-25
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

The thing I have thought of a lot lately with this idea is how much easier it is to run when you run with someone else. As a leader in a church itseems to me you have two roles. 1. Coach: Encouraging others on to do good works and live more faithful lives. 2. Teammate: Joining with others in serving the Lord. A part of recognizing that you are aso a teammate is realizing that you also need encouragement from the rest of the church.

Not that anyone cares...

So far I have gotten 10 out of 12 NCAA picks correct. Depending on how the rest of the day goes, this might be my best NCAA tournament day in my whole life. Since I live in metro DC... Go Terrapins!

I am one of the unluckiest card players ever

Amanda and I often play cards before bed. More often than not she wins when I give her just the card she needs. Just now I put a card down and she says, "I was just thinking about that card." She wins probably 70% of the time. Also, once when I was in high school I played poker with friends and was the ONLY one to lose money. Mind you I only lost like $20, but still this is the story of my life. I can go months and not get a good hand. I lost again tonight at Gin Rummy. Oh well. Cards anyone?

I have won bingo multiple times on cruise ships. Also, I have been known to win raffles at work sometimes. For me though it is either win big or get nothing. I never win a little raffle. I am also terrible at picking winners of games. I put in a bracket for fun for march madness just to see how I do. I picked Louisville to win. Sorry Cardinal fans... you now have 0f a championship.

So I am unlucky at cards and picking games. Sign me up for Vegas... Or maybe a better bet is charity bingo.

And the winner is...

Who would you prefer to spend a day?
Elijah 2 (28%)
Samuel 1 (14%)
Daniel 2 (28%)
Isaiah 2 (28%)
Ezekiel 0 (0%)

It's a tie. I like Simon Cowell will break the tie. So the winner is Elijah.

The lack of votes on the poll may mean I do not post any polls for a while. Either that or I will make them even more "interesting". So we will try a new poll.

Number days

As we are about to have our second Friday the 13th of the year followed by pi day, I decided to celebrate another day later this year.

My idea was to celebrate "Largest Prime of the Year Day". Unfortunately it turned out this follows on none other than 12/31. 1231 is a prime. Clearly I couldn't pick that day. People will think I am a big nerd for celebrating that instead of New Years Eve. And the smallest prime is clearly the next day 1/1 (11). So I have decided this year to celebrate "Largest Prime that is not the Eve of a National Holiday Day". Turns out this falls on 12/29.

To all of you who are paraskavedekatriaphobic. I wish you well tomorrow. You should stay in bed.

Don't forget

Just one more day to vote for who you would like to spend a day with.

Also, I like Danny on American Idol.

After my run last night the lyrics to "Take My Life and Let It Be" have been in my head. Especially the following.

Take my will and make it Thine.
It shall be no longer mine
Take my heart it is thine own
It shall be thy royal throne

Why read the Old Testament?

Many people look at the Old Testament as just a long lost of do's and don'ts. God telling the Israelites to do (or not do) something, and them not listening, then he punishes them. This happens over and over again.

What did Jesus get from reading these scriptures? Did he view them as just a list of rules?

Jesus looked at the scriptures as not just a list of rules. He looked at the lives of the people in the scriptures to better understand the attributes of God. Example of this is Matthew 12. Jesus gives two examples from the scriptures to help explain the intentions of God in regards to the sabbath. He also uses one part of the scriptures to help explain another. Example is when he quotes, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. Jesus also used the scriptures to show how they pointed to himself.

So I say we should read the Old Testament with a look at how the way people lived helps explains the attributes of God. Also we should read the Old Testament with an eye towards how it points to Jesus. We should learn from the Old Testament in similar ways to how Jesus did.

How to keep running when your partner gets injured...

You have to get another person to run with. So today I ran the 7.2 mile scenic loop with Stu Fugler. It was one of the warmer temperatures that I have run in of late. The only warmer time being in San Diego. In truth, though I was only in a thin running shirt, I actually began to get warm near the end of the run. I have commented lately that I need to lose some weight. I have not gone down much at all. So I started my endeavour by going to Cracker Barrel immediately upon finishing the run and having pancaes, eggs, and bacon. Oh well. I think I will now go eat a piece of cake... seriously.

If only a camera followed me around...

I was on quite a roll. It was a bit warmer outside so I decided to do a different loop than I do on cold nights. I ran great down Waterway. I ran well down Golf Club. I managed to not slip on some pretty slippery ground. I was preparing to go up the hill on Dolphin to start the final stretch home. I felt like I had made good time. When I notice myself making a vocal "oogh", and come to a complete stop very quickly. I had run right into a chain that was meant to keep cars out of the parking lot. It hit me right about waste level. I gathered myself up. Made sure I didn't seem too hurt, and kept going. I finished the run in 32 minutes which is at least 2 minutes faster than I had run it previously and it may have been 4 minutes faster. I think maybe next time I will step over it before running into it.

Tonight I ran with an IPOD

Now I know that running with an IPOD at 1030 pm on the street is probably not the smartest of maneuvers. I also know that wearing a black jacket when I ran did not help make it safer, but it did make it warmer. I was cruising though. I was able to run so much faster and I definitely did not notice myself getting as tired. I think I ran the ~3 miles between 2-3 minutes faster then I have run it previously. Too bad you are not supposed to wear IPODS in a race.

BTW. I am now reading through the book of Matthew after finishing 1 Samuel. I never quite finished Ezekiel. I need to go back to it.

Some more great odd news headlines

It's a sad state of affairs.
Distracted kindergarteners turn to gambling
I would love some teacher's opinions on this. Is this a problem in your classrooms? I could believe a headline that was about distracted college students gamble online in class.

Look out if you drive a green Ford Escort.
Ore. arsonist targets 1990s green Ford Escorts
I knew a guy who drove a red escort in high school. If this ever starts happening to red escorts, then I think I could pinpont the culprit.

Leave God a message at his Dutch answering service
Can you leave messages in English?

Man robs gas station, then tells clerk he's sorry
Does this count as repentance?

It's time to celebrate

People Make Me Laugh

Tomorrow we celebrate. This reminds me of a joke. A math joke. Sort of.

Q: What did the baby acorn say when he grew up?

A: Geometry

Are you hungry?

Matthew 4:4
4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'

Matthew 5:6
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

The first verse comes when Satan first tempts Jesus. I found it interesting that the very Word of God would respond in this way.

What are we hungry? What do we thirst? Let us not live on just bread or just water. Let us be filled with the righteousness of God.

1 Samuel 28 Saul goes to a medium

In 1 Samuel 28, King Saul goes and visits the witch of endor. She was a woman who was known to perform seances to "raise" the spirits of the dead. Samuel was dead at the time. Samuel was the primary method in which Saul had received advice from the Lord. So Saul goes to the witch (as she is referred) and asks her to bring up Samuel. Lo and Behold she does. The primary question raised about this is whether it was really the spirit of Samuel who was raised.

I believe that Samuel really was raised. God allowed it to happen and used it to give Saul the word that the next day he would die along with his sons. I believe that these sorts of thing can actually happen, and are an area that we as Christians have to make a strong effort to avoid. Dabbling in areas such as tarot cards, mediums, horoscopes, etc. can not be a part of the Christian life.

Reflections on 1 Samuel

1 Samuel is one of the books in the Bible I have probably read the most. It begins with the calling of Samuel and ends with the death of Israel's first king, Saul. Along the way you meet this guy named David who ends up being pretty important.

So towards the beginning of the book, Samuel has been judging Israel for some time and he is getting old. His would theoretically take over for him, but it mentions that they are not doing a good job. So this means that before Samuel was Eli, but his sons did not do well (i.e. sinned very blatantly at the expense of worshipping God) then Samuel comes along and his sons do not follow in his ways either. So the Israelites ask for a king. Most of the times I read this, I think to myself, "I would have asked for something different too." In fact I might have asked for a king. The problem with the question is becoming a little more clear to me. Asking for a king was not asking to replace Samuel. Asking for a king was actually asking for someone to be over Samuel and the other priests. I wonder if God would have been upset if they had instead asked for a priestly family that did not turn from the ways of their father in the next generation.

The thing that interests me the most about this book is the swings in people's decisions. David seems sure that he will eventually be king. He knows that God will provide for him. Then all of a sudden he gets scared for his life and moves to Gath. The realness of David and his strengthening of his faith is very interesting.

Also, I can not decide what would have happened if David had gone to battle with the Philistines against Israel. The most common answer seems to be that he would have turned on the Philistines. It is never discussed so who really knows.

Even more instant news....

The bad jokes and puns continue on Make it Stop

Headline..... Breaking News

Blogger Causes Eye Rolling
Culprit Story

A local blogger, not to be named, has caused quite an uproar in cyberspace. This blogger is being investigated on two charges.
First charge: Using a bad pun in a blog headline
In reference to a cow beating the blogger used the phrase "Utterly disturbing." This is a clear violation of the rules regarding bad puns.

Second Charge: Blogger intentionally caused a bad joke to be written in his comments. What's worse is that he lead a local pastor to make the bad joke. I suppose that this could be considered practice for sermons... The bad joke used was "This is an obvious case of "Cow Tipping."" Have mercy on us unnamed blogger. Please stop the intentional causing of the bad jokes.

The intentional vandalization of the scenic information superhighway is like any vandalization of rock features or billboards along our nations interstate highways. This is a sad day.

On an unrelated note, American Idol Top 36 week 2 was a little better than week 1. I just hope the weird guy does not get voted through.

I like Facebook, but...

Facebook Fun

In truth, I am growing a bit tired of Facebook. I like the ability to have groups with common interests, but I only sometimes care what people type about themselves. It does provide some diversion when stuck in an airport.

My run on Saturday morning after the redeye flight was better than I expected. I was definitely a bit tired, but all in all I held together pretty well. 5.4 miles in 20 degree weather. Tomorrow morning I am hoping to get up and run.

Did you know the moon is an average of 238,857 miles away from the earth? I was a bit off on my guess for this one.

Do you ever feel like you are in a movie?

I feel like I am in The Terminal and I am Tom Hanks. Except rather than wandering around looking for luggage carts to turn in for quarters, I have wandered around looking for power outlets and looking at the artwork that is less than inspiring. I also sit here on the other side of the country knowing that in 5.75 hours Jason Pelt will pick me up from the airport and we will go jog. I know that this jog will be in a temperature approximately 50 degrees colder than I jogged in yesterday. I hope that those of you on the east coast sleep well tonight. I will enjoy a nap in a middle seat.

Mouthwash???

I am currently stuck in the San Diego airport awaiting a flight that will leave in approximately 7 hours. Luckily, they have free wifi. Yesterday i got to go on a pleasant jog starting in downtown and going a little ways around they bay (I think it is a bay). The most interesting part of my trip happened just a little bit ago. I went into the restroom to change from my work clothes. I stepped into a handicapped stall (because it is big enough to change in). There on the back of the toilet, much to my surprise, was a small bottle of mouthwash. I suppose if I had a bottle of mouthwash and I put in on back of a toilet in a public location, I would probably leave it there too. I just can not figure out why someone would leave it there, or have it out. Oh well. I have 7 more hours to wonder about it.

Another Admission

I have a favorite American Idol contestant for this year. I do not know who the other 9 of the top 12 will be. This has not stopped me from having a current favorite. Danny. I believe his story is that he is a church music director and his wife died ~ 4 weeks before auditions. He sings reasonably well and seems likeable. He and the blond lady who made the top 12 were head and shoulders better than everyone else in their group. I did not think the other guy who made it was good at all. Oh well. I did not vote.

Yet Another Clint Question

7. What is your opinion about church’s that use signs such as “God Answers Knee Mail” or “Sign Broke… Message Inside”?

I think that if there is no event in which they could be advertising, then why not put a comment on a sign. I suppose a different side of this question would be if a church puts a message up that says, "Where will you be after the rapture?" or "Repent or Roast!". Now that would be interesting. I am not saying I would support these signs. Just saying it is a different side of the question.

In truth it seems to me a good sign would likely provide encouragement for a believer and cause reflection for some non-believers. Notes like "God answers Knee Mail" probably fit the bill well enough. So go ahead and put them up. It is fine with me.

Happy Birthday Mr First President

Saturday morning I competed in the longest race of my life. Previously in my life the longest race I had completed was a 200 meter dash. I did this while a Junior in High School. I won the heat that I competed.

The other competitor...
I had the competitor in my sites at mile 3. After the water station at 4 I passed the competitor but with ~1 mile to go the competitor passed me and never looked back. This was an 8 year old girl. I also got beat by some ladies in pink outfits. I did however beat the girls who chit chatted the whole time. Also, I beat the guy who pushed a stroller the whole time. I finished in 62 minutes 17 seconds. I finished 490 out of 659 competitors and in my age bracket I finished 71 out of 78. My pace was a blistering 9 minutes 44 seconds per mile which I am actually pretty happy about. I think I could keep that pace up for a lot longer. So the first victory goes to Iceman who I saw for the first couple of minutes of the race and never saw again. You win this battle...

On a different note:
My entry for this year's Pelt NASCAR driver competition is Grg Biffle. I think he has a cool last name.

BTW. Thanks for all those who supported me in the polling place.
Who will finish finish ahead in the George Washington Birthday 10K?
Results:
Iceman - 3 Votes
Maverick - 4 Votes
We'll call it a draw - 2 Votes

Review of Inflight Movies

First Movie on cross country flight was Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Though this movie was basically absurd. I actually enjoyed watching it. The human characters were basically pointless, and the animal characters were sometimes silly. In particular their was a herd of wild chihuahuas that I could have done with out. I suppose they would not have been able to have CGI mountain lions without them. I would not watch it again, but I am glad I saw it... sort of.

Second movie on the flight was Flash of Genious. This was based on a true story. Basically little man takes on The Man and wins. After losing his family and 12 years of his life fighting The Man. What I want to know is if they would make a movie based on a little man getting crushed by The Man. If you like plot twists or unexpected endings this is not the movie for you. The middle was depressing. Corporate greed is depressing. Interesting story, but I wish that geniouses weren't so strange. It was an ok movie. I will not watch again and would recommend if you want to know more about this story to look it up on Wikipedia.

Iceman... The Underdog

Now I know the sample size isn't very big, but Iceman is looking like the underdog. I think he is going to use this to his advantage. Please vote for him. I believe he might beat me by a few minutes. This is why we run the race.

Tomorrow I fly to San Diego. Next week I need to do a better job of running consistently. This week has been tough.

If you the reader were going to recommend memorizing a few Bible verses, then what would those verses be?

In Preparation for this weekends race...

I just ate a cup of ice cream. George Washington Birthday 10K this weekend. Trip to California and back before Saturday. I am going to predict a 10K finish of 55 minutes. I believe that is a little better than 10 minutes per mile. So I may not be able to pull it off. Any guesses from someone else?

Still reading Ezekiel. Also started rereading 1 Samuel. Let's just say Ezekiel is not the easiest book of the Bible.

Tomorrow I commute all the way to Stafford. The 15 minute commute will be very nice relative to the 70 minute commute I normally have. I feel more relaxed just thinking about it.

Movie Review: "He's Just Not That Into You"

Wow. I thought this movie was terrible. Luckily, Amanda and I agreed it was terrible. The funniest part of the move was an "interview" they did with characters not in the movie. (Not sure if they were real people or not) They kept adding bad character after bad character played by big names. There was no chemistry and very few funny jokes. Not only that, but at least one of the ending parts made no sense at all. The values displayed were not good. As a guy, the movie made me feel like I needed to tell Amanda that I wasn't like the guys in the movie. Not that she didn't know, but the movie was just that depressing. Also the popcorn was definitely not fresh.The only redeeming part was the Twizzlers were good.

Goodbye $21.

Long Run

After a long run this morning, I am again look for suggestions. What do you do about a sore knee?

Dear Iceman,
Part of me would like to apologize for jogging so slow. Another part says I prefaced our running agreement with the statement, "I am fat and slow" and thus have no need to apologize. Either way, I am just as fat and slow as originally advertised. So I suppose I get credit for honesty. Too bad honesty doesn't make my legs move faster. Maybe as time progresses I will get faster. I make no guarantees.
-Maverick

Umm... About Yesterday's post

I think it may convince me to not post any more late night blogs. It seems that I can just go on and on after 11. Also, I am not sure I will use any more blog ideas that I come up with on a run. I may stick to what I know best. Of course people may stop reading when every post is on booklights. By the way, has anyone ever bought a book light only to find out when the batteries eventually die that to replace them is actually very expensive. It turns out it is often easier to just buy new ones.

Why I should run with an Ipod Reason 1

Before I get into the reason... Temp 29 feels like 19 and I definitely thing it felt close to 19. I was a bit chilly. Though I suppose that continuing to run in this weather with shorts and a thin running shirt over a t-shirt or underarmour shirt will mean that I will continue to get cold sometimes.

The reason I should wear an IPOD when running is that I have too many "creative" thoughts otherwise.

Prosecution's Evidence A:
An excerpt from my thoughts.
----------------------------------------------------------
It is clear that tonight a battle was fought between a burger king dinner and an unsuspecting human. This must be the case because no one would litter so obviously in the middle of a suburban neighborhood street. I can only assume it went something like this. Whopper Value meal (WVM) had thought about its independence for days now. It had seen other whopper value meals be taken through the window only to be lost and never heard of again. It was time WVM took a stand. The unsuspecting orderer of WVM was none other than Brytsh M Pire. He had always been angry at his parents about his name. They had been sure he would love it and would become a famous historian or politician or... well something big. His name to this point though had only led to a lifetime of eating fast food once a week. He always ate at Burger King. He ate there because if he couldn't have a name he liked, then he would at least have a hamburger his way... right away. Also he liked the occasional runaway onion ring that ended up in the bag. Today would be a little different though.

Upon being chosen as an order by Mr Pire WVM including medium drink and medium fries with a runaway onion ring decided it was now or never. Today would be their Declaration of Independence. Once transferred out the window they would begin... Operation Frosty Spill. As Mr Pire was driving home things seemed normal until he went to take a drink. An ice cube immediately fell down his shirt. This had never happened before and was definitely not his way. He tried to take another drink, but this time ice cubes continually blocked the straw hole. He tried again and the straw mysteriously misses his mouth and jabs him in the nose. Distracted he looks down at the cup and looks up in time to swerve from narrowly missing a parked car on the street next to a completely empty driveway. During the swerve Medium Soda is launched to freedom out the window, but sadly does not survive the fall. Not knowing the state of their co conspirator Medium Fries and Whopper seize the opportunity and begin to make their way out of the bag. Stray Onion Ring latches himself to the gas pedal while medium fries pelts Mr Pire. Clearly startled, Mr Pire does what any of us would do. Before being hit by the onions from Whopper he grabs all the food attacking him and stuffs it back in the thin brown bag. Assuming that he must be sick and thus not wanting to eat this he considers his options quickly and decides to hold the bag out the window until he gets home just in case. This would have been a good idea except just then stray onion ring swings up from below the seat line onto his lap. Startled he reaches for onion ring and pops him into his mouth. Independence has been gained by the rest of WVM.

But freedom was not all it was cracked up to be for WVM. He looked around and though he had always been told that all windows lead back to the pasture, all he could see was black top. "Fortunately" his concern didn't last long because the neighborhood fox who usually caught rabbits came strolling up.
---------------------------------------------------------

So you see it is clear that my thoughts are rather strange and I need more creative outlets. Next week maybe I will tell the following story I thought of next. "Local Foxes Carjack Old Lady So they can go Use BK Drive Thru" This would make the odd news for sure.

OK.... I admit it

Confession of the evening: I like to read the odd news headlines. I don't really care about the articles. The headlines are interesting enough. For instance...
1. Lost Thief Holes Up In Bank Lavatory
And why wouldn't he?
2. Its a Catastrophe for the Apostrophe in Britain
Somebody actually wrote this article.
3. Tortoise Thieves make Quick Getaway
Very clever...

Anyways, every day at lunch I scroll over the odd news headlines just to see what is there.

No running today. Definitely tomorrow. I plan on getting signed up to use my work gym. Also, we bought a treadmill off of Craigslist. Have I mentioned we are on Craigslist all the time. Some time ago Amanda made our home page the Craigslist Free Page. People put some great stuff on their too. I like looking at them almost as much as odd news headlines. I really like it when they are completely random like "2 Free Spider Monkeys" (these are always taken off quickly because I believe they are aginst the rules of Craigslist) or tonight we have a "egg cartons!" (clearly, an appropriate use of an exclamation point). The other day I saw a free firewood posting. I opened it up and the first sentence actually says, "You chop down." So wouldn't that just be a free tree...

Goodnight.

What I Need

First: While talking to Jason on our ~7.2 mile/1 hour 14 minute run around the scenic loop at Prince William Forest Park in 20 degree weather, he informed me that he was not sure he liked being referred to as Jason "Farley" Pelt by someone else. Even though he called himself this previously I have decided to not refer to him as "Farley" any longer. This now leaves a clear nickname void. So I am in need of some suggestions for nicknames to use when referring to him in this blog. Until such time as I have a acceptable nicname suggested I will refer to Jason as Iceman.

Second: Iceman has decided we would run in the George Washington Classic 10K in Alexandria on February 14. I don't really feel like paying another $30 entry fee. However, if I can get $100 in donations then I get to run for free. The donations support the Alexandria Police Youth Camp, Inc.. Any willing Donors?

Third: If Iceman and I are going to continue winter running. I think I need a face warmer. I don't need donations for this though.
-Maverick

The thing I like about running

You can see your improvement. Today I ran the same distance as last week's second jog. Last week I ran it in 31 minutes and 25 seconds. This week i ran it in 30 minutes and 17 seconds. Next week I may have to run a slightly further distance. I had another moment of genious on the run. Early in the run I started kicking a loose chunk of ice for distraction, then a little later in the run I tried to kick another. This one was frozen solid to he ground. It nearly turned my knee around. Put another star in the should have known better column.

Did I mention I decided to read Ezekiel? Sometimes I read about the prophets and I think, "It would have been cool to be a prophet." Sometimes I read about them and say, "Thank goodness someone else had to do that." What always interests me about reading the Old Testament is to see how God is clearly the same God as in the New Testament. He is not a God that was at one time strict and full of wrath and the later on became loving and full of grace. He is a God that in the Old Testament and the New Testament hates sin and yet shows grace to his people in spite of their sin.

I love book lights

Well... At least I collect a lot of them. Actually I have found that in some cases it is cheaper to buy a new book light than it is to buy a battery. So I have managed to buy somewhere around 10 of them. Of course I can only find about two at once, but I know they are out there. My new favorite one is my newest one. It is good because it uses a standard battery (2 AAA's). What I really like about it is that I can turn it on to help me get to a light to help me get ready in the morning. Then I go to turn it back on so I can find the stairs and it does not turn on. It always does this when I need it the most. This ability to fail when I need it the most makes it my favorite. I like the exercise in probability. Oh well.

If anyone has any topics they would like me to talk about let me know. Otherwise, next week I might blog about my least favorite book light.

Now it is official

Today I signed up for the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon. Goodbye $60. Hello 13 miles and a T-Shirt. I then went and ran in 30 degree weather with freezing rain. I heard that Jason "Farley" Pelt ran in snow this morning. I could not be outdone. So freezing rain it had to be. I figured out that going forward was not a problem . I did not slip a single time while going forward. Coming to a stop in any short distance needs to be thought out. I nearly slipped and fell. This would have been the second fall today if I had. In a moment of intellectual clarity this afternoon I decided to walk down my steep snow covered driveway in deck shoes. Three Quarters of the way down... I went down. Back to the run... I also found that I was forced to have the turning radius of a volkswagen bug otherwise friction was to little.
Run Stats:
30 minutes 16 seconds
Cold Ears
Frozen hat
Freezing Rain
No falls
One loose shoelace
Two funny looks from neighbors
One word of encouragement from lady shoveling snow
Snow is fun

-"Swayze"

Another Clint Question Answered

What age and experience are necessary for a young man who’s aspiration is to plant churches and is it acceptable for him to stay single if he is qualified in other areas?

I suppose the answer to this question hinges on how you define the purpose of a church planter. Is the purpose of a church planter to collect a flock of people that he can shepherd? Sometimes I think it is. Can the purpose of a church planter be to teach while a group of leaders he has partnered with perform the shepherding of the church? I think this can be true sometimes too. This question really hits on the fact that we often call the preacher pastor. The preacher may not always be prepared to shepherd a church due to age. This does not mean that he might not b gifted to teach or to lead. Come to think of it, I seem to recall that shepherding can also be a spiritual gift (I will have to confirm). This probably hits on one of the problems that can sometimes be found in new church plants. The preacher is gifted to teach, but is not equipped to shepherd. In this situation it is important that the new church planter join with people who can help him shepherd his flock. So I do not believe there is an age or experience in which people could be able to plant churches. I do think however that it is important to recognize that people might come into church planting from different backgrounds and with different giftings. Recognizing this can help the new church planter identify where to seek the Lord in providing for needs in helping him plant a church.

As for if it is acceptable to stay single, the answer is definitely yes. This however is entirely dependent on the person. Paul talks about how it is better to not be married because you get to concentrate on doing more direct work for the Lord. He also talks about how most people should get married because they have trouble with sexual purity and thus could not handle a lifetime of remaining unmarried.

A first long run

1 hour 7 minutes 45 seconds through the scenic USMC Base Quantico OCS Trails starting a little after 7 AM. It looks like we had a temperature of a little over 40 degrees. Very pleasant. I even got a little warm. My new running shirt worked good. And since today's blog is exceptionally boring I am cutting it short. Also I have a two year old tugging on my shoulder.

Do you ever feel like your getting old?

Today I do. After three straight nights of my son not sleeping well. After running twice this week. I decided to have my son chase me around the house like he often does, and also chase him around the house as well. As I started to do that today both of my hips hurt. Then I tried to "bound" up the stairs like a graceful gazelle only to be brought to a quick stop by pain in my hips. If this is not depressing for a 28 year old male, then I do not know what is. So I have made a decision. If I am ever a teenager playing sports again or a young adult playing sports again, then I am going to rest my injuries better. If that day comes I will rest my sprained ankles. I may even ice them. When I get an ovulsive fracture in my hip I promise not to play a soccer game on it. Until that day comes I will have to go on feeling older than I really am. Maybe as I get into better shape things will start to improve. I will now go wipe a tear from my eye.

How to keep a nose warm?

This is what I need to know.

Stats for second run:
19 degrees and clear starry skys
Feels like 19 degrees
31 minutes 25 seconds
Longer run too
Felt better than first run
Hips stiff at first
loosened up after a few hundred yards
nose so cold that it was running ice cubes

On a different note, I finished the book of Numbers in my quest to read through the Bible this year. I am trying to decide where to go next. I am having trouble picking a next book of the Bible to concentrate on getting through. I considered something easy like Revelation, but decided to hold that off until I need a little light reading. I have read 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings more than any other books so not them yet. I am not sure of the best way to read Psalms yet, so it will wait. Acts is good but we just finished it at XFold. Proverbs should be read one a day for a month, and clearly the next best month to start that is March as there are 31 days. So I think I will read one of the prophets. Not Daniel though, I have read Daniel a bunch too. Will let you know which one it turns out to be. Isaiah is currently sounding good, or maybe Ezekiel. I think I will need to skim over a chapter in "How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth" for tips on how to best read Psalms. I would like to get into Psalms soon, and I seem to recall the book providing good advice for it.

The Rightful Place of Science

Today was a historic day. People who marched on Washington with Dr. King came and watched President Obama take the oath of office. There were several interesting things in the speech. The thing that has caused me the most thought since the speech was the following quote. "Science will take its rightful place." I believe this is pretty close.

So the question is what is the rightful place of science. First I suppose we would need to define what it means by rightful place. The rightful place of stockings are over the fireplace. I understand that this quote is likely referring to the comparison of science to religion or moral beliefs likely in regards to items like stem cell research though I suppose it could also be talking about global warming as well. So he is using the rightful place as an ordering. So I have been pondering, what else gets ordered with science. Maybe we order the group of items: science, morals, democracy, freedom of speech, ... I am not really sure what would get ordered with this. If it is really science vs moral beliefs then what is the rightful place of science? It seems to me that science clearly should come after moral beliefs. I am not sure how there could be any other way. Ok so really what the truth is that everyone would say that science comes behind moral values. Right? What people really differ in is the definition of moral values. Thoughts?

My nose tingles

First Run Statistics:
31 minutes 15 seconds
Constant plodding
No walking
Warm Ears
Warm hands
Cold Nose
Cold Lips
No Podcasts
10:20pm start time
Temperature of 28 degrees
Wind Chill 18 degrees

One small step for some.. One giant plod for me. It feels good to start.

What are your three main concerns with the current methodology of church ministry and or church planting?

My three main concerns for the current methodology of church in general are as follows.

1. Denial of the truth: Often the modern church planters are willing to sacrifice even the statement that there is a truth. Even though Jesus says "I am the way and the TRUTH and the life." It seems that some in the church are accepting the post-modern views beginning with the denial that there is an ultimate truth.
2. Acceptance of Sin: The unwillingness to point out sin in the people in the church has perpetuated the view that Jesus is not changing the lives of christians. We seem to be perfectly willing to let members of the church to continue in "little" sins. The acceptance of these will almost inevitably lead to future "big" sins that then we try and figure out how we got to this point. A sympton of the acceptance of sin is the lack of confession of sins to one another. It is not just acceptance of "little" sins that is prevalent. One sin that stands out as having a line that is moving more and more liberal is sexual sin.
3. Pride in Leadership: This is not just pride of the main preacher. This can also be pride of elders and deacons. It seems that to many people in leadership of the churches care about how they look or how many people they are running. Some of the pride can show itself in pushing to shock people just for sake of doing it. Leaders are often convinced they can figure things out rather than rely on the guidance of the Lord.

Updated Weigh In.

The easiest way to be consistent in weigh-ins is to do it first thing in the morning. So I did it this morning. Updated weight for beginning is 208 pounds.

Clint Clifton when he went out of country let a select group of people guest blog. I was not one of those people. Here are the questions he gave people as choices to be answered in their guest blog post.

1. What would you say to president elect Obama if you were invited to advise him on spiritual matters in the oval office?
2. What are your three main concerns with the current methodology of church ministry and or church planting?
3. What age and experience are necessary for a young man who’s aspiration is to plant churches and is it acceptable for him to stay single if he is qualified in other areas?
4. What is the primary purpose of the Sunday worship service? Is it for believers or more for the seeker?
5. What is your favorite experience with Clint?
6. If the government were to decide to do away with three local, state or national tax funded organizations which ones should go and why?
7. What is your opinion about church’s that use signs such as “God Answers Knee Mail” or “Sign Broke… Message Inside”?
8. If you don’t believe Christians should use birth control please write a defense of your position.
9. What do you think about pastor Ed Young jr’s seven day sex challenge?

I have decided to answer everyone of these questions in the near future.

Pre-Training Weigh In

Ok. So I am going to start running on Monday. I will have my first "long run" next Saturday. On Tuesday I am planning out schedule for races. So I decided to weigh in. See where things stand. Now I know that the best way to get a lighter weigh-in is first thing in the morning before breakfast. I also know that I have been known to fluctuate several pounds very quickly so I am not particularly hung up on an exact number. Knowing all that I weighed in late this afternoon after a lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. So maybe it is not 100% accurate. Ok... I have put this off long enough. I am ~ 6 feet tall (maybe 5' 11.75") and I weighed in at 211 pounds. And so it begins.

At Pillar Church we are learning about the Book of James. So here is a fun fact I believe is correct: Martin Luther wanted to remove James from the Bible.

RIP Circuit City

As most are probably well aware Circuit City is closing it's doors. This is after Linen's and Things has closed it's doors. Apparently many stores that use a lot of square footage have been shutting down. So why do I bring this up? Not to tell you to keep an eye on good discounts. Apparently they may not be as good as you think. This makes me think about an interesting "opportunity". I wonder with this increase in available large square footage open buildings will there be opportunities for any church plants to move into the open square footage. There are issues with this of course. Many of these places would require long leases, and the costs would be high for some churches. But available real estate can be few and far between in some places. Maybe this turns into an oppotunity to have a large space that would not have been available otherwise.

How to use a defroster?

Answer:
I have no idea.

Being from below the tropic line I rarely had to deal with fogging windows in the cold because of using the heater. Being from Florida I definitely know how to use windshield wipers. I know how to recognize turn signals that are left on indefinitely. I can also use the air conditioning just fine. The defrosting mechanism for the windshield is next to impossible for me to figure out. I can get it to defrost, but then I tend to get cold. I switch back to heat and the windows fog up again. My wife on the other hand can work it perfectly, and she is from Florida. Oh well.

A Schedule is Forming

In the near future there will be a schedule for races that I will run in the next year. After first hearing about the possibility of the races being planned I had to sit back and look at the screen a second time. After thinking for a moment, I now think this is the only way I will successfully make it anyways. I definitely do not want to embarass myself.

To Bobby and Kevin,
I have 25 extra punds I can let you have. I figure if you split it equally then you each get to add 12.5 pounds I get to be down in the 185 pound range. Let me know if we have a deal. Remember I asked first.

How to get started

One day I intend on beginning to run again. Today I did not. Tomorrow I probably won't. When I do decide to restart I think I will do the following which is similar to the plan they give you for the USMC marathon.
30 minute run on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday.
Long Run on Saturday.

I think I will probably start on this coming Monday. I will definitely have to download some good podcasts. Current preferred podcasts:
Hillsong Australia
Ravi Zacharias
Alister Baig (or whatever) "Truth for Life"
Basically people with cool accents.

Cool Things In The Bible

So I am reading through the book of Numbers. This book has many memorable stories in it.
1. It has the story of when the Israelites first spy out the promised land and do not go in.
2. It has the story of Balaam and his donkey (the talking one).
3. Discussion on how the Levites are dedicated to God instead of the first born. Then God gives them back to serve the people.

One story that particularly stands out to me is when the Israelites complain against Moses and Aaron. So the Lord has a leader from each tribe of Israel bring a staff that to stay in near the tabernacle overnight. Aaron's staff overnight sprouts buds and ripe almonds. How cool is that? This is an example of how the Lord continually showed the Israelites what His will was by doing things that could only be accomplished by the hand of the Lord.

For us we are given these stories as a reminder of the love of the Lord and how he is always reaching out to His people to bring them to a closer relationship with Him.

Decision Making

How to make good decisions:
Step 1: Have an ongoing relationship with God
Step 2: Pray (and sometimes fast) about the decision specifically
Step 3: Listen to any direct answers God might be providing
Step 4: Ask the Lord for wisdom
Step 5: Trust Wisdom has been provided
Step 6: Make Decision

Anyone else have thoughts?

Today... No running

I am watching people run on TV with a football. Does this count?

Facebook is an interesting Web 2.0 creation. I sadly enjoy telling people what I am doing. I enjoy even more when people comment on my status. The thing that has made the most comments though is definitely posting pics. This is a great find. I will now have to post more pics on Facebook.

Unrelated note:
Some resolutions for the year.
1. Train for the marathon
2. Read through the Bible

Which reminds me... The end of Exodus and the whole book of Leviticus is hard to read. Numbers on the other hand is much better.

A New Beginning

Yesterday I accepted a date with Jason Pelt. In January of 2010 I will be running the Disney marathon. My wife reminded me that agreeing to a date with the Pelt's is like a covenant. I hope it is. I really hope to make it.

So I decided to (re)start this blog. My plan for this blog is as follows:
"Steal Everyone else's blogging ideas."

First Ideas I plan on stealing:
1. Blog about running.
2. Write about people who inspire/interest me. (Idea from Bobby)

I will attempt to let you know when I have stolen an idea and who I stole it.

Training for marathon will begin shortly.

I hope that at least somebody enjoys my blog.