Nashville Country Music Marathon

Race: Nashville Country Music Marathon

Distance: 26.2 miles
Original Goal Time: 3:30:00
New Goal: Have fun! Run with UB! Finish the race
Actual Time: 04:24:11 (10:04 min/mi)

This was one of the most difficult races I have ran, due to situation. I had hurt my left calf muscle, two weeks prior. I chose the CMM (Country Music Marathon) for one primary reason, to run with my UB (Uncle Bert). After training for months, I should have ran a 3:30:00. My body was well trained, my peak mileage at 70 miles per week. I enjoyed the majority of my training, but sadly, hurt my leg, just before the race; I chose to run anyways.

As I was walking down to the race, my leg was hurting, quite a bit. I tried to "hide" this, as I had 26.2 miles to run. UB, my friend Ed, and I started off together. The three of us ran the first 6 miles with one another. Ed stated that my gait was pretty bad during the first few miles, which did not surprise me. UB kept going (thankfully!) and Ed and I kept up together until just before the half marathon split. I had to slow my pace down for the second half of the race.

My Dad, cheering me on, ran a little bit with me around (mile 18?) and asked how I was doing. I could not help but cry, I was in pain. I continued to run (if you could call it that) even though most of me just wanted to stop and cry out in pain. At mile 25ish, Dad came out and ran me almost to the finish, this was a huge blessing, as I knew the end was near, but Dad knew the course, where as I was clueless. He told me what to expect and cheered me on. This was incredible! I am super thankful for both my parents who came out to cheer me on. Mom was the photographer, when Dad threw the camera for her to hold, while he joined me. Mom blesses me with her presence; I love how I can hear her cheering me on! What a blessing it is to be encouraged in a race that you've spent months training for!

I don't have any great thoughts to leave you with; I'm not sure why God allowed this to happen. In fact, I am still frustrated at the situation. After work, I massage, ice, and elevate my leg. The swelling has gone down, although it is not fully healed. This type of pain can happen to anyone, doing anything...urgh! I must hold onto the fact that I run for fun and more importantly, I run to glorify God.

UB (Uncle Bert) and I at the Expo

Happy Mothers Day!

This is a blog posting from SCL once again...I want to share this posting, on this day, as my Mother is a woman of grace, constantly living as a woman of "Grace Spots." I was blessed to spend Mothers Day Weekend with my family! We celebrated Saturday evening, and then Sunday at lunch. :)

Mom and I, December 2010

#995. Grace Spots.

April 13, 2011

A few weeks ago, my family and I went out to dinner together on a Friday night. The goal was to have a family meal, hang out, and possibly even enter into the Q realm. Quality Time.

Apparently every person in the greater Nashville are also had the same idea.

At the first restaurant we went to, we couldn’t even find a parking place. We circled a few times and then tried a second restaurant. When they told us the wait time was 45 minutes, I groaned and set the timer on my iPhone.

I’m a little OCD about numbers and sometimes watching the time helps keep me focused on something other than waiting in the lobby. I’d like to say that while waiting there I realized our goal of hanging out as a family was already being accomplished, that we didn’t need food to bond together as a family, we had each other! This was why we came out in the first place. The night was already a success as we talked and laughed about our week in a moment that would have made even Norman Rockwell jealous. I want to say that, but that would be a lie.

In moments like that, I tend to become a jerk. I don’t know if it’s because I’m competitive and want to “beat other people to dinner” or maybe it’s because I’m impatient. But I started to get really frustrated and tired of waiting and angry that I did not possess the super powers to force the little beeper we were holding to go off. Flash red already!

When it finally did go off, I walked up to the hostess and said, “I feel like I won the lottery. I’m so happy I want to give you a hug.” Her response?

“That would be great, I had a really tough day with my teenager.”

Slap in the face. Stomach punch. Throat chop. However you want to say it, she misinterpreted my passive aggressive/whiny statement as genuine thankfulness. And that was pretty convicting.

It made me realize that there are some moments in life where people aren’t getting any grace. There are some places where people aren’t being shown any kindness, ever. There are some times in the day where people aren’t getting any love. And although I might like to think I am graceful in those situations, I’m not.

But what if showing grace to someone was like anything else in life, you had to be deliberate? What if I could consciously pick ahead of time “Grace Spots” where no matter what, I was going to do my best to throw out wild amounts of grace? Would that change somebody’s day? Would that show someone Christ in a really unexpected way? Maybe, so here are three I identified:

1. At the airport.

Flight attendants, the TSA guards, the gate attendants, these folks are constantly surrounded by the most impatient, frustrated people on the planet. What if every time I flew, I went out of my way to treat the airport like a grace spot?

2. The Post Office

I’ve never had a fast experience at the post office. I’ve never walked out and thought, “that sure was easy.” But the one guy running the counter while 80 of us wait in line with packages didn’t demand, “I want to be understaffed today. I’d prefer to not have any help with me today.” That guy needs grace.

3. The DMV

You’re going to want to work your way up to this one. Don’t start with the DMV. Practice grace on a few Friday nights at restaurants first. Fly a few times and make a TSA guard laugh or smile before you practice grace at the Department of Motor Vehicles. This is PhD level grace and kindness, but they deserve it too. Lots of it.

There’s a chance that you are a fountain of grace and the idea about deliberately labeling and praying about grace spots is silly to you. You already show grace everywhere. The planet is your grace spot. I wish I could say the same thing about my life, but I can’t. I need to keep grace spots in mind and I’ve already seen it change things.

When I was in the ninth grade my mom made me write an apology note to the dentist. He swore he’d never see me again as a patient because I was such a jerk to him. So when we moved to Nashville, I determined I’d pick the dentist’s office as a grace spot. After a few visits of showering everyone in that office with grace, a new hygienist handled my appointment. She said, “I was so excited to finally meet you today. Everyone was talking this morning about how much they enjoy when you come in for a visit and I hadn’t met you yet.” Then a few days later she sent me the first hand written thank you note I’ve ever received from a dentist’s office.

Why?

Because the dentist’s office is one of my grace spots.

What would you say is one of the places you have a seemingly impossible time extending grace?

What grace spots could you pick?

Royal Wedding Hype

I personally found all of the Royal Wedding hype quite interesting and almost silly. Women--young and old, gathered around their television sets, many of them up in the wee hours of the morning, to watch this wedding. Women joining together to eat biscuits, scones, and fruit, with their hot tea, not forgetting to use milk and sugar; the meal made complete by using English china.

I personally enjoy things that are simple and elegant. I eat off of china everyday. I enjoy setting my table, and sitting down for a proper meal. In case you were wondering, my pattern is Royal Albert: Old Country Roses.

Watching a short recap of the wedding, was wonderful! The dress was elegant, yet simple; modest and beautiful. The bride wore her long hair down. The kiss was short and sweet. In many ways, this is how I dream of my wedding--simple, elegant, beautiful. I hope to have long hair that I can wear down and natural. I want my dress to be modest, yet delightful. I want my wedding to be known and remembered as one where Christ was celebrated and glorified.

For those of you that are married, how do you remember your wedding? What made your wedding special and unique?
For those of you that are single, how do you want your wedding to be remembered? What special and unique ideas do you want to incorporate into your wedding?

Hiding the things that Hurt

On the 5 December 2010, I wrote about, "Broken Expectations." In the posting I stated the following, "The only thing I can do is cling to the fact that God is not done. He has just begun to reveal my life to me. I know God provides, and I know He has given me dreams, hopes, and goals for a reason. I must remember He is the God who satisfies my desires with good things."

The following blog post piggy backs "Broken Expectations" as it discusses the emotional and spiritual wrestling that occurs when we do not receive the things we desire.

#990. Hiding the things that hurt.

April 6, 2011

I do not remember the day that I got my rejection letter from the University of North Carolina. That moment did not crystallize, me standing at a cold Massachusetts mailbox with a much too thin envelope clutched in my teenage fist as I cursed the clouds above. That would have been dramatic, but I am not sure that’s how it happened.

My father went to UNC. My mother went to UNC. My uncle went to UNC. My younger brother went to UNC. My little sister went to UNC. I was supposed to go to UNC. I grew up loving the UNC basketball team, throwing frisbee on the Carolina campus and dreaming about wearing that shade of blue for four perfect years. But then I got rejected.

Situations like that force me to deal with a harsh reality—there are some things I want that I will simply never have. Experiences or possessions or friendships that will for a host of reasons never really be mine. And I have a hard time rectifying that limited reality with my limitless God.

Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever realized that a dream you have is sunsetting instead of sunrising? Ending instead of beginning? Maybe it’s a job promotion you killed yourself for that slipped through your fingers. It was yours. It was meant to be. You had sacrificed so much and then it just disappeared.

More than likely though, it was a moment of love unreturned. Have you ever loved someone that would not love you back? Maybe it was that guy you were supposed to be with. When you were around him you felt this strange mixture of being stirred up inside but at the same time feeling as if you were home.

He was the one in a world full of not the ones. But it didn’t happen.

He fell in love with someone else. Someone not named you. And despite your best hopes that particular dream ended.

What then? Where does that leave God? What if that desire wasn’t something you hid from Him? What if it were something you prayed about fervently and patiently? What then?

I wrestle with this sometimes but what I am starting to think is that disappointment, sunset moments, only point to how bright my sunrise really is. Throughout the Bible, we are told that God knows our true desires, those things we really need above all else. And in His midst alone, do we find our satisfaction. So when I experience something that hurts, an expectation that was unmet, maybe what I should think is, “If that felt good at first and that’s not the thing that God has planned for me, how amazing is that thing going to be?”

There’s a verse in Psalm 103 that kind of makes me think about that. It describes God as he “who satisfies your desires with good things.” So when I got rejected from UNC, a place I thought was a good thing, I can’t help but think, “If that wasn’t the good thing, just imagine what is?” And I ask that question confidently because we know, that God is in the business of good. In Romans 8:28 we’re told “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” It’s not “in some things” or “in the things we understand” or “the things we dictate to God.” The verse says, “all things” according to “his purpose.” If it were my things and my purpose, I would have told God “We’re going to UNC,” and then missed Samford University. And my wife Jenny. And ultimately, my children L.E. and McRae.

The challenge in all that though is being honest about the things that burn. The good things that turned out to not be the good things after all. I think God wants to dialogue about the desires we have that didn’t get met. I don’t think he wants us to fake it and shine up our hurts as if they didn’t. I think he wants to hear you say, “God, I want to die when I see Bill and his fiancée. That should be me.” I think he wants us to be honest about those things so that in those moments he can hold us, he can comfort us and he can reveal our true good things.

There will be things you think are good, that you don’t get. God is not an ATM or a genie who grants wishes. He doesn’t take orders from us or fulfill our hopes in the shape and size and speed we demand.

Why not?

Because He’s bigger than that. He’s better than that. And above all, He loves us much, much more than that.

The same things I was struggling with in December, four months, almost five months later, I am still struggling with. I still don't understand why God has brought a woman into my brothers life (I love and care about Molly very much; she is a great woman!) and has not brought a man into my life. To me it feels absolutely vindictive. Jon Acuff reminds me that God is not an ATM, as much as I wish He were at times, and He certainly does not take orders from me, or fulfill my hopes and dreams in the ways I want...or at least think I want at the moment.

I was relaying to the head track coach at the HS, that I was bummed about my last race, as I had ran awful. My half marathon took me 1:50:02. I am trained to run a full minute per mile faster, which I failed to do on that day. The head coach looked right at me, and told me exactly what Jon is talking about here, "Disappointing races only point to how bright your moments of glory and victory are."

All this being said, disappointment does not make broken expectations, dreams, and desires, any less painful, and each one of them continue to bite, sting, and cause great pain. I am looking forward to my sunrise!

Ranking the 7 Deadly Sins

I found this SCL post both humorous and sadly true on many levels. It has been my experience within my accountability groups that some sins are ranked much worse than others...all sin is ugly!

#1001. Ranking the Seven Deadly Sins

April 22, 2011

(A few weeks ago, John Crist wrote a really good guest post calling out the lies guys sometimes tell about lust and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. It ignited a bajillion comment conversation. I got to grab coffee with him a few days after it came out and it was awesome to hear his story and learn more about his faith. He’s a professional comedian, he’s hilarious and he’s a master at finding ways to be funny without ever mocking. I’m a huge fan of John Crist. Here’s his new guest post. Enjoy!)

Ranking the Seven Deadly Sins – By John Crist

My girlfriend broke up with me three months ago. Since then, I’ve realized something profound about love.

If you love someone, let them go, if they come back…it’s only to pick up their dvds.

Truer words have never been spoken my friends.

Since the breakup, I’ve eaten out 21 meals per week. I’m at the point in life where a judge the value of fast food based on how heavy the bag is. Taco Bell’s five-pound box is awesome, and it only costs five bucks!

I figure, “I’ve been hurt, I deserve to feel good. Plus, there’s probably worse things I could be doing to deal with the pain.” Sounds like flawed thinking right? Think again.

I told my accountability group that I was legitimately struggling with food and it had become a means to deal with the pain and you know what happened?…nothing. Seriously, no one cared. The same guys the have raked me over coals for years about lust said nothing, which got me thinking…

Wait, have gluttons been getting a free pass this whole time?!

Three months ago I thought the gluttony free pass was awesome. Now I wear jeans with an elastic waistband (and a braided belt (unrelated))…and I blame my accountability group.

Apparently there’s a rank order to the Seven Deadly Sins that I didn’t know about. Based on responses I’ve gotten in my accountability group over the years, I’d like to present to you:

The Unofficial Guys Accountability Group Seven Deadly Sins Rank Order.

1. LUST: By far the most important and most deadly. If you get caught with this one you could lose your family, your job (unless you’re the president), your marriage and your influence. For me, I tried to justify my lustful tendencies by mixing and matching the five love languages. My first love language, physical gifts. My second, quality touch.

2. GREED: A distant second. Mostly because apparently only young (poor) guys need accountability. Once you hit 30, and hopefully start making serious money, you graduate from the accountability stage of Christianity. Can’t wait. Me? I’ve got a stack of Lincolns burning a hole in my pocket right now. And by stack, I mean roll.

3. ANGER: I get really ticked off when people suggest I have an anger problem. *#%$ and ^&#@!, I’m taking my Bible and I’m going home!!

4. SLOTH: Sloth came in fourth, wanted to be first but missed his alarm clock and slept in. Sloth is pretty easy to spot. If anyone in your group ever says they’re a freelance photographer or a real estate agent, that’s code for unemployed. And did you know video games are more popular than ever with men in their 30s? Their favorite game? Call of Duty: Black Ops, followed by Call of Duty: Command and Conquer. The new version that no one’s been able to beat? Call of Duty…To Your Family.

5. ENVY: The only thing I know about envy is that, in college, I may or may not have gone to local hotspot called Club Envy. The soap dispensers in the bathroom looked awesome. They may or may not now be in my bathroom…but I don’t struggle with Envy.

6. PRIDE: Comes in sixth. Struggles-with-pride guy always checks in last and says something like, “I’m just happy that I don’t struggle with lust, greed, anger, sloth or envy anymore. In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I sinned.” Amen Pride Guy, always do love hearing from you.

7. GLUTTONY: A distant dead last. No one cares about this one. When someone says they struggle with lust, we say, “You’re a FREAK man! Join a 12-step group, throw away your tv, computer and cell phone and don’t come back to group until you get your life in order!” If someone in my group ever said they struggled with gluttony I’d say, “you want to go to lunch and talk about it?”

How would you rank order the Seven Deadly Sins?

And I’m in a guys only group, is the order different for women?

(John Crist loves Jesus and is a standup comic from Denver, Colorado. See his standup and church sketches at youtube.com/user/johnbcrist)

Similarities between Athletes and Christians Part Deux

I received a comment from my last blog posting (Similarities between Athletes and Christians) that I wanted to share with you guys, as I felt the comment was quite appropriate. I also received a devotional a few days later that followed suite.

I know we have all learned a lot through pain. Some of you crazy athletes seem to even seek it out. Maybe that's not a bad idea, maybe it's not seeking it out but just welcoming it as an indicator. Whenever I think of pain and suffering I remember, "A Man for All Seasons and GK Chesterton."

When Richard Rich is trying to convince Thomas More that all men can be bought, obviously they have different ideas-
Thomas More: Buy a man with suffering?
Richard Rich: Impose suffering, and offer him escape
Thomas More: Oh… for a moment I thought you were being profound.

Seems odd to try and purchase a man with suffering. I'm not sure I would sign up for that. Profound that someone did just that. If we are true Christians and co-heirs we should welcome and share not only His glory but also His suffering. Of course, ours will be less then redemptive but that has already been taken care of. If we offer up and give all the glory to God then why not offer up the suffering to Him. I believe we are becoming better for it.

Life is a battle in which the best put their bodies in front, in which God sends only His holiest into the hall of the arrows of hell. In the book of Job is foreshadowed that better doctrine full of dark chivalry that he that bore the worst that men can suffer was the best that bore the form of man.
-GK Chesterton

Purpose-Driven Suffering, by Dwight Edwards

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"But He knows the way I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:10

“But He knows...when He has tried me…” There is nothing random about our lives. Every trial, every heartache, every teardrop has to pass inspection by the Sovereign of the universe. A Sovereign Who holds His scepter with nail-pierced hands. As Jeremiah puts, “For He does not afflict willingly (lit. “from His heart”) nor grieve the children of men” (Lam. 3:33). Though He does not afflict “willingly”, He does afflict certainly. And painfully. But it is purpose-driven suffering; with a perfect goal that is beyond what we are able to see many times. No - probably most of the time. C.S. Lewis puts it so well:

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of — throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

Elsewhere he writes, “Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.”

How true! Left to myself I would settle for a cottage. Maybe you would to. Fortunately God does not leave any of us to our own insipid, pale, milk toast aspirations for spiritual growth. He takes us far beyond where we would ever choose to go on our own. And even though this taking is “that most brutal of teachers” and “hurts abominably” at times; it never hurts randomly. In some way, in some fashion, at some point; it always leads us to a spiritually wealthier place. And in my book, that is no small matter.

Flashpoint: Every trial in our life must pass inspection. And it cannot last a second longer than absolutely necessary.

Similarities between Athletes and Christians

I have quite a few different thoughts rolling around in this head of mine, and so here is a mumble jumble mess of them. Read on if you dare... :)

"Athletes work in and through pain."
--Dave Peterson, Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church

I have grueling 10 mile speed workouts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays are mid week long runs. Most Wednesdays I am quite sore and push through the pain, so that come race day, I am able to run to the best of my abilities. Dave's quote made me think of:

"Although He was a Son He learned obedience from the things which He suffered."
Hebrews 5:8

Pain is a form of suffering. Faith is a form of obedience. I learn in and through painful experiences in life. I could say, "Christians learn in and through pain."

On a different note... I want to share with you from the SCL blog.

Going Solo (Jon Acuff, Stuff Christians Like)

“Are you scared about any of the things that are happening right now?”

My wife asked me this question the other night.

I thought about it for approximately .2 seconds and answered:

“Only if I stop to think about it.”

And that’s the truth, I’m excited and more than a little terrified by the adventure we’re on right now.

What if my new book doesn’t sell? What if I’ve moved my family from Atlanta to Nashville, moved my wife from her group of friends, my kids from their schools, me from the industry I was in for 12 years, in the name of a BIG DREAM and it doesn’t work?

What if?

I don’t doubt that this is exactly where I am supposed to be. I feel incredibly blessed to be doing what I am doing right now. I feel God called us to Nashville and we are on the edge of an adventure he’s been quietly unfolding for years. But sometimes I find myself counting the giants.

And that seems like a pretty common thing to do when we’re called on big adventures. I think about the 12 spies that scouted the Promised Land in Numbers 13.

When they returned, they gave a long report, that can be summarized by one line they said:

“We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”

It’s easy now to judge the Israelites, but all too often, when we face our own challenges, we say the same thing.

I can’t find a job I want, the economy is horrible.

I can’t hope to fix this relationship, it’s beyond repair.

I can’t sell my house, the situation is hopeless.

I can’t be a successful author, I just have a niche satire blog.

Sometimes, despite our hope or our faith, we make “I can’t statements.” And although this would traditionally be the point in the post where you do the rainbow 180 and say, “You can do anything you set your mind to,” I’m not going to do that. Because I think the Israelites were right when they said “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” But here’s a critical truth the Israelites missed, something that trips me up sometimes too:

God never said to do it alone.

God never ordered the Israelites to take the Promised Land with their power and their wisdom and their ability. Not at all. In fact he promises just the opposite in Exodus 6:6-8

‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”

Look at what he says:

I will bring you out

I will free you

I will redeem you

I will take you as my own people

I will be your God

I will bring you to the land I swore

I will give it to you

Seven times, in three verses, God reminds the Israelites and us that he never calls us on adventures alone.

There’s a long list of things you can’t do. You can’t fight giants. You can’t find a new job. You can’t fix relationships. You can’t. You can’t. You can’t. But God can.

I’m a little scared of what’s ahead, but I’m excited too. I’m just going to take one step at a time. I’m not going to count giants. I’m not going to try to force God’s hand to make things happen the way I want them to. I’m going to take one step at a time and remember that I serve a God who never asks us to go on adventures alone.

I love the I WILL statements! Not only does God tell us what He will do, He promises us that we will never go on adventures alone! What adventures are you and God journeying on together, right now? Are any of these adventures painful? Are you learning through them?

Warm Up

In honour of Valentine's Day, I had my students do the following for their warm up:

• Write 3 things you like about yourself
• Write 3 things you're good at
• Write 3 things you love doing
• Write the names of 3 people you love

I received some great answers and wanted to share some of them...

3 things you like about yourself

• Personality
• I lift spirits
• I am smart
• I am beautiful
• I am respectful
• I am joyful
• I am funny
  
• Positivity
• My dreams
• My attitude
• My honesty
• My confidence
• My swag (for those of you who do not spend most of your day with teenagers, swag is your appearance, your style, and the overall way you present yourself)
  

3 things you're good at

• Math (now that you're my teacher)
• Being a mother
  
• Playing instruments and singing
  
• Cooking
• Building things and solving problems
  
• Decorating
• Choosing clothes/dress
  
• Making friends and making people smile
• Talking
• Girls
  
• Making girls feel pretty
  
• Kissing (this was by far my favourite answer!)
  

3 things you love doing

• Texting
• Chillin'
• Eating hot chips
  
• Being with my Mom and spending time with my fam/bf/gf
  
• Going to church/Praise and worship
  
• Playing soccer
• Being a great mother!
• Swimming and Wakeboarding
• Making and editing music
• Talking to females (Yes! Another fine answer from a young man!)
  

3 people you love

• Godhead--God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit
  
• Family--Mom, Dad, Husband/Wife, Child, Brothers, Sisters, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents
  
• Me, myself, and I
  
• My b/f or g/f
• Jessica Alba and Anderson Silva (Hahah!)

Happy Valentine's Day

Discipline

The definition of discipline, according to the dictionary, is training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character. It is control gained by enforcing obedience or order in a prescribed pattern of behaviour.

I am a very disciplined person. I believe that's one reason long distance running and I are friends. I religiously follow my training schedule. I hope to BQ the 30 April 2011.

It's been said that punishment lasts an hour; discipline lasts a lifetime. Thanks Mom and Dad for teaching me discipline! :)

Love is...

God has placed incredible people in my life that love me, care for me, and encourage me. It is because of and through Jesus Christ love that I experience joy each and everyday! I invite you to listen to my friend Tash, as she sings and plays the piano to a song she wrote. This is one of my favourite songs that was recorded almost ten years ago. The pictures are of Tash and her son, Enoch.

People show and define love in a variety of ways. There are also different types of love. Today I want to focus on some of the amazing and practical ways people have shared their love with me in the past and continue to share their love for me each and everyday!

Love is a hug
Love is a kiss
Love is holding a door open
Love is an encouraging word
Love is a hand written note
Love is spending time with another, yes quantity, it's not just about quality
Love is a walk
Love is a game of cribbage
Love is a shared meal
Love is getting dressed up
Love is rooting for another
Love is believing in another
Love is visiting a sick friend, and just being there
Love is looking out for your friends
Love is being a good loser
Love is listening without interrupting
Love is a having a special song
Love is walking in and through the rain together
Love is helping someone through their battles
Love is giving a Valentines
Love is a great run
Love is a high five
Love is a smile
Love is joy
Love is sunshine
Love is a ski trip
Love is new dishtowels, complete with hearts!
Love is...

What says love to you? Please, add to my list!

Resourceful and a Little Nerdy sprinkled with Generosity

According to Curtis Honeycutt, the person who rocks the duct tape Bible cozy (What you put around your bible to protect it) is resourceful, if not a little nerdy. In case you are not aware, I rock a hot pink, duct tape, bible cozy! Yes! I would like to say this describes me perfectly; resourceful and a little nerdy. :)

On a more serious note, you read about the lady in the bible who gave the least, even though it was all she had...

^{Mark 12:41-44}And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on."

Sometimes Bible stories seem so surreal, so out of date; I question what would it would look like in today's world. This story of generosity blows me away!

At the Noblesville Wal-Mart on Sunday, the generosity from those that you could tell could not afford much was absolutely unbelievable. I think we collected 9-10 full carts of food over 4.5 hours.

The story that stands out the most is a grandmother who had her grandson with her. It appeared they lived together and she was raising him. They parked in the first handicap space right in front of the store entry. She took a flier when going in and said thank you.

Upon coming out, she had only about 15 items in her cart. She stopped and said she unfortunately did not have much to give, but she has needed a food pantry in the past from 25 years of being an alcoholic and will never forget being helped when she could not afford to help herself. She said in front of her grandson she had been sober for the last 11 years.

She told her grandson to donate what he wanted. He started giving his favorite cereal, the Wal-Mart brand Crunchberries, his raisins, Spaghetti O’s and several other items that any kid would want to eat. Then the grandmother gave soups and other things only leaving a couple of items in her cart.

They went to their car that looked like it was not worth $100. No hub caps and rusted. It would not start for several minutes and we thought we needed to get her help. With the front door open so she could hear the engine as she turned the key and pumped the gas, her persistence and technique won out.

We thought they were leaving when the grandson popped out of the front seat and came running over with their bag of a dozen apples. We had tears in our eyes. We were reminded of the lady in the bible who gave the least in the plate, but Jesus knew she gave pretty much all she had. God bless this grandmother who that day taught her grandson the best lesson of his life.

Chevron Houston Marathon

I would have loved to have been able to run the Chevron Houston Marathon, but instead...I went out to cheer on the runners, watch the elite runners (the winner ran a 2:07:04, FULL, from Ethiopia), and encourage people along the way!

My friend Steven, helped me come up with a great idea for a sign, and then it made the news!

Watch at 4:20, to see my moment of fame, here in Houston, TX! :)

The Preemptive Meet and Greet

I love this posting by Jon! I wish more people were like this...I want to to be more like this.

The Preemptive Meet and Greet

Last Sunday, I grabbed seats in church while my wife brought the kids to Sunday School. I usually use those few minutes of wait time to dump every idea I have in my head into a moleskine notebook or evernote on my iPhone. (Idea generation is one of the parts of my brain I have to quiet a little if I’m really going to focus on worship.) A few minutes after sitting down, a couple in their 50s slid in next to me. The wife, immediately said, “Hi, I’m Patty and this is my husband Mark!”

I was honestly flabbergasted by this gesture.

Not that it was rude. I was touched that Patty wanted to meet me. I was honored that she wanted to introduce me to her husband. I just wasn’t expecting it. Why?

Patty had executed a perfect “Preemptive Meet and Greet.”

She didn’t wait for the guy running the announcements to tell us, “turn to your neighbor and say hello.” She didn’t wait for the pastor to ask us to turn to our neighbor with an assignment, “Ask the person next to you if they enjoyed the snow last week.” Nope, Patty just went for it and it was actually pretty awesome.

I think there are a few reasons this was such a great experience:

1. Patty didn’t front hug me.

Shaking the hand of a stranger on a Sunday morning is a great. I got to meet Patty! Things would have been very different though if she slid next to me and said, “Hi, I’m Patty! I’m a hugger. Get over here. It’s going to be a long one too, you person I’ve never laid eyes on before.” (Hard to say if a side hug would have worked in that situation or not.)

2. Patty kept the handshake simple.

It always kills me when you meet a stranger and your very first handshake is a complicated, 12 step, snap + half hug move. I feel like I’m being inducted into the secret Stonecutters guild. Patty kept the handshake simple and straightforward. We locked hands, shook approximately 2.3 times and broke it off. Anyone who saw it could not have mistaken us as members of the Crips or the Bloods.

3. Patty didn’t race our pastor Pete Wilson.

Our church doesn’t usually do the “meet and greet.” It seemed like Patty knew that and was taking the situation into her own hands. If Cross Point did regularly do a meet and greet, then Patty’s gesture could have been interpreted as her beating Pete Wilson to the punch. Kind of an “in your face, been there done that,” meet and greet touchdown dance.

At this point, some of you might be thinking, “I always greet people I sit next to, I guess my faith is rich and warm and filled with community, you cold hearted monster of a man.” I think that’s a little extreme considering all I said was that I didn’t want to share a long front hug with a stranger, but you’re certainly entitled to your own opinion. I personally think the Patty interchange was perfect.

When my wife slid into our row a couple of minutes later, I excitedly said, “Jenny, this is Patty and her husband Mark!” We felt like old friends by that point, which I think is ultimately the goal of the preemptive meet and greet.

Have you ever experienced a preemptive meet and greet?

Does your church do the meet and greet during service?