Finishing the Race

My run yesterday was brutal. Maybe it was because I ate a root bear float and a bag of Doritos 20 minutes before I left the house. Maybe it was because I ran at 2 pm – the hottest part of the day. Maybe it is because I haven’t run a distance close to three miles years, literally, since I ran the Twin Cities Marathon in Oct. 2006 (4 hrs. 23 min).

By the end of my course I was ready to walk. I even thought about it a few times, but it is amazing how the body keeps going despite the pain. My legs wanted desperately to stop but my mind just wouldn’t let them. I wanted finish strong as possible.

There are lots of things in life that seem like a brutal three miles run at times. Marriage can feel like that. Parenting can feel like that. Work can feel like that. Friendship can feel like that. Faith can feel like that. Ministry can feel like that.

Am I right? I’d bet everyone reading that has experienced breaking points where the finish line looked so far off, and the only thing our body wanted to do is quit and walk. Maybe you’re feeling close to that point right now.

Runners say that there are moments where their bodies are near complete exhaustion, and then all of a sudden they get a ‘second wind’ that enables them to breathe easy again and continue. Other times runners simply need to push through the pain to finish the race.

Today, may the Holy Spirit come into you and give you a second wind for whatever race you are running. May God give you the strength to push through adversity and finish well. Don’t quit, the finish line is closer than you think, and when you get there you don’t want to look back and wish you had just tried a little harder and stuck in a little longer.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. – 2 Timothy 4:7

Good Monday Morning

– What a beautiful day yesterday! The kids had a blast being outside playing with all the neighborhood kids.
– The people across the street put up a trampoline. Bummer! Jacob is constantly wanting to jump on it.
– My talks at Constance Free Church went great. I had a blast. Talked about Jesus and the physical, spiritual and symbolic themes of bread throughout the Bible. Finished by giving students the chance to meet Jesus and experience communion.
– Went for a run yesterday. I told a guy at work I could run 3 miles in 24 minutes. I haven’t run for over a year. I made it in 25:15. And I am paying for it today.

Quick Hits

– Really enjoyed my mom’s show Are We There Yet? last night. The puns weren’t always that punny but they at least made you smile! Mom, you did great!
– Did a deep clean of my coffee pot yesterday and the payoff is worth it. Tastes great this morning.
– I am really wanting to get a tattoo right now. Something that incorporates my faith and my family.
– Looking forward to sharing with the Constance Free Church students tomorrow morning.
– I’m thinking I need to get back into doing some acting. I also want to learn some more keyboard.
– Saw Marcus Buckingham on Oprah talking about working out of our Strengths. I need to find more ways to do this everyday.
– It is not looking good for my MN Wild.
– Stephanie has applied for some open elementary school teaching positions in Northfield – her and about 1,000 other people. Please join us in prayer for this.
– Booked our flight, hotel and rental car for The Whiteboard Sessions next month. Can’t wait!

5 Tips to Inspire Teams

My mom sent me a great short article on inspiring people. The rules for inspiring others listed below can be used in all kinds of leadership settings.

Ron Clark taught elementary school in North Carolina. After watching a program about a New York City school that had a hard time attracting qualified teachers, he decided to head to New York with the goal of teaching in one of its toughest schools. Clark eventually landed a job doing just that—in Harlem. He asked if he could teach a class of fifth-graders who had been performing at a second-grade level. The school’s administrators wanted to give him the gifted class, but Clark insisted on the underperforming students. In one school year, Clark’s fifth-grade class outperformed the gifted class. [Read more]

Some ‘rules’ identified in the article include:
1. Raise expectations
2. Explain why before how
3. Encourage celebration and praise
4. Show genuine interest beyond business
5. Be positive and enjoy life

Support Another Through Rummage

A friend is having a rummage sale to help raise money for an oversees adoption his wife and he are working on completeing. There are restrictions about using names on the internet, but you can trust me when I say this is a great opportunity to help another family out.

The info on the rummage sale is below. If you can’t attend the sale but are interested in an item, or want to help support my friends, shoot me an email.

Multi-Family Rummage Sale

30+ families have donated items to our rummage sale to help raise money for our adoption.

Saturday, April 26 & Sunday April 27
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Located in West St. Paul, 1 mile south of downtown St. Paul:

988 Seminole Ave.
West St. Paul, MN 55118

Google Map: http://tinyurl.com/68mtcj

We’ve got something for everyone:

-Baby/Kids clothes (newborn up to teenager) Brands include Gymboree, Children’s Place, Baby Gap, Old Navy, Route 55, Arizona, Carter’s, lots of clothes still with tags.
-Over 30 kids’ winter/fall coats to choose from plus piles of hats, mittens, and scarves. (Brands include Columbia, Northface and more)
-Baby furniture (bassinets, highchair, baby swing, changing table, baby gates, pack ‘n play, car seats, bouncy seat, exersaucer, etc.)
-Large Furniture (dining room table & chairs, recliners, desks, TV stands, floor lamps, table lamps, light fixtures, folding table, clothes racks, etc)
-Toys (FisherPrice, Little Tykes, My Little Pony, Care Bear, Bratz, Thomas the Tank Engine, Mega Blocks, Leap Frog, etc)
-Jewelry, unopened make-up (from Beauty Control), make-up bags, jewelry box
-Musical instruments
-Electronics (TVs, VCR, digital camera, CD players, Game Cube, 35mm cameras, printers, etc.)
-Wedding items (flower girl/ring bearer outfits, tiaras, unity candles, etc.)
-Linens (sheets, towels, table cloths, curtains, throw blankets, etc.)
-Luggage (suitcases, bags, backpacks, etc.)
-Shoes (kid/adult)
-Adult clothes
-Maternity clothes
-Holiday decorations (Christmas, Easter, Halloween, etc)
-Full sets of dishes (Pfaltzgraf, Land’s End, etc)
-Kitchen (silverware, wine glasses, mixing bowls, serving spoons, plates, mugs, canisters, Tupperware, etc.)
-Picture frames & Posters
-Vases, candles, candleholders (Partylite, Yankee, etc)
-Fixtures (lights, large bathroom mirror, towel rack, toilet seat cover, etc.)
-Tools (power tools, hand tools, loads of hardware, etc.)
-Sporting goods (children’s bowling balls, cross country skis, ice skates, exercise equipment)
-Area rugs, smaller rugs
-Pet supplies (misc. dog supplies, complete hamster cage, etc.)
-Gardening supplies & Flowerpots
-Office supplies
-Collectibles
-Books, movies, CDs

Quick Hits

– We’ve taking care of my in-laws Beagle all week. The wife and kids love it. It is cute to see Jacob try and walk the dog. He’s our animal lover for sure; I’m not quite as into it.

– Bought a nice Casio keyboard yesterday for $1. It is really loud when the kids bang on it, but still kind of fun to hear music in the house.

– Living in Northfield is nice. Our house is in a cul-de-sac and since the weather has been nice the kids have been outside playing almost everyday. Makes this parent happy to watch his kids run and play outside.

– Loving the Stanley Cup playoffs. What a sport!

– Took on a couple new roles at work, learning about organic produce and pest control. Strange combination.

– My mom is part of a big musical production in her school district. I don’t remember her doing much of this when my siblings and I were growing up. She probably could have if she wasn’t so busy giving her life away to us.

– Stephanie blogged about Jacob’s use of the word bisgusting. His other favorite word when he feels crabby is boring. Everything is so boring. Blah, blah, blah. He must have got that from TV because I’m quite sure I never said that growing up.

– Looking forward to speaking Sunday to some students in a seminary friend’s youth ministry. We’ll be getting into the use of bread in the Bible.

– Anybody have tickets for the Twins/Red Sox series May 8-10? I’m available.

The Dentist

Stephanie has to go to the dentist for a couple hours today.

Yuk!

I hate going to the dentist. The tools, the noises, the feeling, the smells.

It freaks me out just thinking about it.

Bad Day, Tough Call, Future Hope

A blogging friend posted this yesterday.

The worst day of my life was in 2000 when the doctor told us we could not have children on our own. Devastating. Eight years and two kids later, everything turned out better than we ever thought it would.

The second worst day of my life was today. Read more…

Very tough stuff. I know from experience though that his family will be taken care of and the work of God will continue on.

Thankful for Friends

Yesterday I had a situation where I needed to get a hold of a friend and ask him to hold me accountable on some stuff. I knew that I would make the wrong choice if I didn’t bring someone else into my struggle. Text messaging him and bringing my issue into the light was hard at first but it was completely liberating in the end.

I am so thankful that I have a friend who will love and accept me no matter what. Do you have someone in your life that you can call on with confidence in your time of trial and trouble? I pray you do.

Long Weekend and Lots of the NHL

It has been a long weekend with work. This has left me pretty tired every night and going to sleep early. Not much time to blog.

All my extra time has been spent enjoying the NHL playoffs. Thanks the good Lord above for Versus.

Here are my first round picks:

West
Red Wings
Wild
Sharks Flames
Stars

East
Penguins
Canadians
Capitals
Rangers