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.

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

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.

Shout to the Lord on American Idol

Stephanie told me that last night American Idol closed it’s special “Idol Gives Back’ episode with the final 8 contestants signing the worship song Shout to the Lord. She was kind of surprised at that, and so was I. There was one one thing that she didn’t tell me, and what many people probably didn’t even notice, but what Josh Harris did. In the first line of the song they changed the lyrics from “My Jesus, My Savior” to “My Shepard, My Savior.” Interesting huh? See more of what Josh has to say about it here or watch the performance here.

Why did I title my previous post “Public School Strikes Again”? Because I think that ALL public schools have HORRIBLE teachers and PATHETIC curriculums that put non-college bound students BEHIND for the REST of their lives.

You honestly don’t think I’m serious do you….

With a wife and mother in public school education I know the above statement is far from the truth. I actually used that title as more of an inside joke for all my readers who enjoy a certain preacher out there. Sorry if I offended anyone.

Rock on public schools!

VOTE!

One of my favorite blogs for the last couple years has been Steve McCoy’s blog Reformissionary. It is a wonderful collection of insights, quotes, poems, photos, Tim Keller resources, reformed teachings, and battles against those who think have a beer busts up your faith.

Steve has currently made the Final Four of a national campaign called Blogger Madness and now he needs our help to advance into the finals. On his blog he asks,

Please continue to VOTE for my blog. I NEED your vote, if you haven’t voted yet. The Southern Seminary students seem to be rallying and trying to team up to beat this blog. You, my wonderful readers, cannot let that happen. You can, with two clicks, put this game away today. SO PLEASE GO VOTE!

My campaign promises…(read more)

Here’s what you can do:

1. Click on the link above and vote for Steve
2. Copy this post and put it on your own blog
3. Email everyone in your contacts with voting information
4. Write on all your Facebook friend’s walls asking them to vote

Steve, I can’t guarantee this blog’s readers will put you in the finals, but we’ll do our best.

Pray for Your Pastor

Shared these stats last night with the Bethel Seminary students. I’ve posted them here before but it is worth the reminder to post again. Pray for your pastor.

At the 2006 Reform and Resurge Conference in Seattle, Pastor Darrin Patrick from The Journey in Saint Louis (www.journeyon.net) spoke frankly of the burden that pastoral ministry is. He presented the following statistics, which he gathered from such organizations as Barna (www.barna.org), Maranatha Life (www.maranathalife.com) and Focus on the Family (www.family.org). (HT: The Resurgence)

Pastors

• Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches.
• Fifty percent of pastors’ marriages will end in divorce.
• Eighty percent of pastors and eighty-four percent of their spouses feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastors.
• Fifty percent of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.
• Eighty percent of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years.
• Seventy percent of pastors constantly fight depression.
• Almost forty percent polled said they have had an extra-marital affair since beginning their ministry.
• Seventy percent said the only time they spend studying the Word is when they are preparing their sermons.

Pastors’ Wives

• Eighty percent of pastors’ spouses feel their spouse is overworked.
• Eighty percent of pastors’ spouses wish their spouse would choose another profession.
• The majority of pastors’ wives surveyed said that the most destructive event that has occurred in their marriage and family was the day they entered the ministry.

The Purpose of God in the Life of Paul

Have you ever put Scripture together in this way….

Ponder the conversion of Paul, the sovereignty of Christ, and what Paul’s sins have to do with your salvation.

Paul said that God “set me apart before I was born,” and then on the Damascus road “called me by his grace” (Galatians 1:15). This means that between Paul’s birth and his call on the Damascus road he was an already-chosen but not-yet-called instrument of God (Acts 9:15; 22:14).

This means that Paul was beating and imprisoning and murdering Christians as a God-chosen, soon-to-be-made-Christian missionary.

Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him. (Acts 22:19-20)

The call on the Damascus road was apocalyptic for Paul. It was not a still small voice.

As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 22:6-7)

There was no denying or escaping it. God had chosen him for this before he was born. And now he would take him. The word of Christ was sovereign. There was no negotiating. Read more…

Felling Junky

Yesterday I got nailed with something that put me in bed a soon as I got home from work at 7 pm. My head felting like it was going to explode and I had no energy. Thankfully my wonderful wife kept the wild ones away and let me sleep for something like 13 hours. But yesterday was a bummer of a day.