Tuesday, February 24, 2009
What is Joy?
Since I'm preaching about Living a life of Joy this weekend, I'd love to have your opinion: What does Joy mean to you?
Monday, February 23, 2009
Outliers and it's implications
I just finished Malcolm Gladwell's new book, Outliers. The premise of the book is that outliers, or those people who are so far above average in some area as to be considered an anomaly, usually have had more opportunity than normal folks. In fact, what we often attribute to hard work, talent, and skill is often the result, instead, of more opportunities to succeed than average people. Even though outliers generally are more skilled, talented, lucky, or smarter than average people, Godin suggests, they have had more opportunity.
Bill Gates is a multi-billionaire because he's brilliant, yes. But he's not the MOST brilliant person/businessman in the world. However, he was born at exactly the right time for a young man interested in computers, and the circumstances of his life were such that he had an extraordinary amount of programming hours before he ever went to Harvard (the results of which are well-documented). The Beatles were huge in the US because of their talent and looks, yes, but they also spent an inordinant amount of time perfecting their craft in the strip clubs of Hamburg, Germany. Opportunity matters.
And, so it is with spiritual growth. The most mature, grounded Christians I know aren't necessarily the smartest, or most talented, so that they can read a passage of the Bible and immediately understand it. But, they do make the most of opportunities to read it- and create opportunities in their lives to spend time with God.
So, it is with some trepidation that I announce my plans for Lent. No, I'm not Catholic. But, I find I don't do a good job of self-denial, and the 40-day period leading up to Easter is a great excuse for me to focus on something else besides feeding my desires. So this year, in lieu of last year's failed attempt to give up caffeine, I am fasting from TV. Starting this Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, I will go 40 days with no television. No The Office. No March Madness. No Redbox. Nothing to soften my brain.
During the next 40 days, there will be one less thing to prevent me from having opportunity to interact with my creator and savior.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Peace.
Bill Gates is a multi-billionaire because he's brilliant, yes. But he's not the MOST brilliant person/businessman in the world. However, he was born at exactly the right time for a young man interested in computers, and the circumstances of his life were such that he had an extraordinary amount of programming hours before he ever went to Harvard (the results of which are well-documented). The Beatles were huge in the US because of their talent and looks, yes, but they also spent an inordinant amount of time perfecting their craft in the strip clubs of Hamburg, Germany. Opportunity matters.
And, so it is with spiritual growth. The most mature, grounded Christians I know aren't necessarily the smartest, or most talented, so that they can read a passage of the Bible and immediately understand it. But, they do make the most of opportunities to read it- and create opportunities in their lives to spend time with God.
So, it is with some trepidation that I announce my plans for Lent. No, I'm not Catholic. But, I find I don't do a good job of self-denial, and the 40-day period leading up to Easter is a great excuse for me to focus on something else besides feeding my desires. So this year, in lieu of last year's failed attempt to give up caffeine, I am fasting from TV. Starting this Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, I will go 40 days with no television. No The Office. No March Madness. No Redbox. Nothing to soften my brain.
During the next 40 days, there will be one less thing to prevent me from having opportunity to interact with my creator and savior.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Peace.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Run Report- Morgan Monroe State Forest
For readers of my blog who have no interest in running, I apologize in advance. This is very long.
Valentines day 2009- my wife decided to take the kids down to Grandma's house- a three-hour drive one way. This left me with the entire day to do what I wanted. So, I packed up the car with two Powerades, two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (the salmonella-free variety), some pretzels and a Hammer Gel and headed down south to Morgan-Monroe state forest. As part of my training for the Madison, Wisconsin Marathon at the end of May, I had hoped to get in the high-teens of miles, but my plan was to spend a lot of time on my feet- which I read is more important than miles covered.
After an interesting morning of getting the family on the road, and the 90 minute drive, I arrived at the trailhead about 9:30 am. I put on an extra layer to accomodate the 35*F temps, and some bright clothing to deal with the goose and rabbit hunters. I filled my Nathan handheld bottle with Powerade, zipped a hammer gel in my pocket, strapped on my MP3 player and headed out. Problem 1- MP3 player was dead. Completely. I had spent 30 minutes last night loading it up with music for today. Fortunately, I had the foresight to pack a spare battery. Unfortunately, the battery was not the issue. Looks like this run will be done without music.
So, I headed out anyway. My plan was to do all or part of the low gap trail (10 miles), come back to the car to eat lunch, then head out for some more. So, I started down the Orcutt trailhead that would lead to Low Gap (part of the Low Gap trail is along the Tecumseh Trail, a 50 mile trail which also hosts the Tecumseh Trail Marathon each year.
I got about a half mile down the trail before I noticed large sections of the trail had been overrun with logging roads and several downed trees. It was then I remembered how this area had been hard hit by tornadoes (2007) and flooding (2008), and the forest had paid the price. After trying to run down these newly-created logging roads, made soft by 2+ inches of rain last week, my shoes were being sucked 6-8 inches deep in the mud with each step. So, I decided that Plan B was in order. I turned around and headed back to the trailhead.
So, instead, I ran the Three Lakes Trail, a 10.4 mile trail which connects, as the astute reader may guess, three lakes. Although one, Beanblossom Lake, is actually a dry lake bed. I ran down the road less than a half-mile to the trailhead and found it with little difficulty. The trail started out as a wide fire trail, then quickly narrowed to singletrack, which crossed a stream repeatedly. I was very cautious not to get my feet wet this early in the day, as much as I would have liked to clean the mud off my shoes. So, I ran the trail while walking gingerly across the strategically placed rocks in the stream.
I quickly noticed the trail was blazed with white diamonds painted on the trees about every 500 feet, but I was too busy enjoying the crisp air and the solitude to watch them, so I frequently left the trail in favor of wider fire trail. Then, I'd have to look around and find the blazes. At one point, the trail took me right through a great plantation of red pine.
At one point, I came to a sign on the trail that said "Private Property" and realized I had once again left the trail. I doubled back about a half mile and found the trademark blazes. After that excursion, I didn't leave the trail again.
Now, there was just one other problem. I was certain I was running toward Beanblossom Lake, and after the 3 miles I thought I had run, I should have been there. But, I hadn't made any road crossings, which the trail map said I should. And, why did I turn left back there instead of right? Anyway, I continued on the trail and came to a set of switchbacks that were steep enough I had to walk, but they took me from the streambed below to a ridge about 200 feet up in about half a mile. Once I reached the ridge, I saw that I had been out about an hour, so I sucked in my raspberry Hammer Gel, chased it with a swig of grape Powerade, and continued along the trail.
At an hour and a half (including my two or three off-course excursions), I reached Bryant Lake and realized I had been going the opposite way on the trail than I thought! It was comforting to finally know where I was, but disappointing that my map skills were not better and a little disheartening to know I still had 4-5 miles to get back to the car with only a half bottle of Powerade. Still, I soldiered on. After a brief stint in some thick swampbottom mud, I was back on solid trail, running slightly up to a section which followed some powerlines and took me down to Beanblossom lake. So that's what a dry lake bed looks like! I made the turn and headed back up the trail toward the trailhead. I made the fire trail crossing, just like the map said, then the road crossing, ditto. At about the 1 mile to go mark, I saw my first hiker of the day. The trail took a sharp right turn soon after, and I noticed an old cemetery straight ahead, so I ran a little off course to investigate.
I ran downhill to several stream crossings (this looks familiar), then realized it was now time to clean my shoes off in the stream. I now believe that the creeks in Morgan Monroe State Forest are composed primarily of runoff directly from the Arctic Circle. Then, back up the hill to the road, past the forest headquarters and to my car.
In the end, I gave myself credit for 13 miles, though it may have been longer than that. With the walking, turnarounds, looking at the map, stopping to take pictures, etc., it took about 2.5 hours- not speedy, by any stretch, but a great day in the woods! I need to do it again soon.
Valentines day 2009- my wife decided to take the kids down to Grandma's house- a three-hour drive one way. This left me with the entire day to do what I wanted. So, I packed up the car with two Powerades, two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (the salmonella-free variety), some pretzels and a Hammer Gel and headed down south to Morgan-Monroe state forest. As part of my training for the Madison, Wisconsin Marathon at the end of May, I had hoped to get in the high-teens of miles, but my plan was to spend a lot of time on my feet- which I read is more important than miles covered.
After an interesting morning of getting the family on the road, and the 90 minute drive, I arrived at the trailhead about 9:30 am. I put on an extra layer to accomodate the 35*F temps, and some bright clothing to deal with the goose and rabbit hunters. I filled my Nathan handheld bottle with Powerade, zipped a hammer gel in my pocket, strapped on my MP3 player and headed out. Problem 1- MP3 player was dead. Completely. I had spent 30 minutes last night loading it up with music for today. Fortunately, I had the foresight to pack a spare battery. Unfortunately, the battery was not the issue. Looks like this run will be done without music.
So, I headed out anyway. My plan was to do all or part of the low gap trail (10 miles), come back to the car to eat lunch, then head out for some more. So, I started down the Orcutt trailhead that would lead to Low Gap (part of the Low Gap trail is along the Tecumseh Trail, a 50 mile trail which also hosts the Tecumseh Trail Marathon each year.
I got about a half mile down the trail before I noticed large sections of the trail had been overrun with logging roads and several downed trees. It was then I remembered how this area had been hard hit by tornadoes (2007) and flooding (2008), and the forest had paid the price. After trying to run down these newly-created logging roads, made soft by 2+ inches of rain last week, my shoes were being sucked 6-8 inches deep in the mud with each step. So, I decided that Plan B was in order. I turned around and headed back to the trailhead.
So, instead, I ran the Three Lakes Trail, a 10.4 mile trail which connects, as the astute reader may guess, three lakes. Although one, Beanblossom Lake, is actually a dry lake bed. I ran down the road less than a half-mile to the trailhead and found it with little difficulty. The trail started out as a wide fire trail, then quickly narrowed to singletrack, which crossed a stream repeatedly. I was very cautious not to get my feet wet this early in the day, as much as I would have liked to clean the mud off my shoes. So, I ran the trail while walking gingerly across the strategically placed rocks in the stream.
I quickly noticed the trail was blazed with white diamonds painted on the trees about every 500 feet, but I was too busy enjoying the crisp air and the solitude to watch them, so I frequently left the trail in favor of wider fire trail. Then, I'd have to look around and find the blazes. At one point, the trail took me right through a great plantation of red pine.
At one point, I came to a sign on the trail that said "Private Property" and realized I had once again left the trail. I doubled back about a half mile and found the trademark blazes. After that excursion, I didn't leave the trail again.
Now, there was just one other problem. I was certain I was running toward Beanblossom Lake, and after the 3 miles I thought I had run, I should have been there. But, I hadn't made any road crossings, which the trail map said I should. And, why did I turn left back there instead of right? Anyway, I continued on the trail and came to a set of switchbacks that were steep enough I had to walk, but they took me from the streambed below to a ridge about 200 feet up in about half a mile. Once I reached the ridge, I saw that I had been out about an hour, so I sucked in my raspberry Hammer Gel, chased it with a swig of grape Powerade, and continued along the trail.
At an hour and a half (including my two or three off-course excursions), I reached Bryant Lake and realized I had been going the opposite way on the trail than I thought! It was comforting to finally know where I was, but disappointing that my map skills were not better and a little disheartening to know I still had 4-5 miles to get back to the car with only a half bottle of Powerade. Still, I soldiered on. After a brief stint in some thick swampbottom mud, I was back on solid trail, running slightly up to a section which followed some powerlines and took me down to Beanblossom lake. So that's what a dry lake bed looks like! I made the turn and headed back up the trail toward the trailhead. I made the fire trail crossing, just like the map said, then the road crossing, ditto. At about the 1 mile to go mark, I saw my first hiker of the day. The trail took a sharp right turn soon after, and I noticed an old cemetery straight ahead, so I ran a little off course to investigate.
I ran downhill to several stream crossings (this looks familiar), then realized it was now time to clean my shoes off in the stream. I now believe that the creeks in Morgan Monroe State Forest are composed primarily of runoff directly from the Arctic Circle. Then, back up the hill to the road, past the forest headquarters and to my car.
In the end, I gave myself credit for 13 miles, though it may have been longer than that. With the walking, turnarounds, looking at the map, stopping to take pictures, etc., it took about 2.5 hours- not speedy, by any stretch, but a great day in the woods! I need to do it again soon.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
The REAL Ace of Cakes
I heard it said one time that God is making a cake of our life. He picks the ingredients, and puts them in the batter in just the right proportions.
If we were making the cake, we might tend to leave out the stuff that didn't taste good. In fact, if we're being honest, we may taste the raw eggs and decide they weren't necessary. Flour doesn't really taste that good either. And have you ever tried to down a teaspoon of baking powder by itself? How about drink a bottle of vanilla? Yuck! If I were making a cake of my life, it very likely would only have sugar in it. But that wouldn't be a good cake now, would it?
But God warned us that there will be things in our life that we don't like. "In this life you will have trouble," Jesus once said. That's some promise for becoming a Christian, huh? "Hey, follow me and you'll still have problems."
But, here's the real promise... let Me have control of your life, and I'll make it beautiful. Let me bake your cake... there will still be stuff put in that you don't like. There will still be lots of stirring and whipping and intense heat applied from time to time. But, I promise, at the end, it will be worth it.
The way Jesus said it is this, "...but take heart, for I have overcome the world." The problems of this world are temporary, and if you truly put your faith in Jesus... if you trust him to be the leader of your life, what you'll end up with is a glorious, delicious cake that is your life.
If we were making the cake, we might tend to leave out the stuff that didn't taste good. In fact, if we're being honest, we may taste the raw eggs and decide they weren't necessary. Flour doesn't really taste that good either. And have you ever tried to down a teaspoon of baking powder by itself? How about drink a bottle of vanilla? Yuck! If I were making a cake of my life, it very likely would only have sugar in it. But that wouldn't be a good cake now, would it?
But God warned us that there will be things in our life that we don't like. "In this life you will have trouble," Jesus once said. That's some promise for becoming a Christian, huh? "Hey, follow me and you'll still have problems."
But, here's the real promise... let Me have control of your life, and I'll make it beautiful. Let me bake your cake... there will still be stuff put in that you don't like. There will still be lots of stirring and whipping and intense heat applied from time to time. But, I promise, at the end, it will be worth it.
The way Jesus said it is this, "...but take heart, for I have overcome the world." The problems of this world are temporary, and if you truly put your faith in Jesus... if you trust him to be the leader of your life, what you'll end up with is a glorious, delicious cake that is your life.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Cynical thought of the day
Watching the news last night, this occured to me: Does anyone else think that maybe the reason congress has no problem raising our taxes is that they never pay theirs?
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
On mildew, skin diseases, and other important stuff
So, it's February, so I must be reading Leviticus.
One of the parts of the bible that can be very difficult for young believers is all the rules and regulations regarding the seemingly mundane and unimportant- how to deal with a skin disease, what to do if you find mildew in your house, what happens if you have a wet dream, etc. Leviticus covers this in great detail.
While it's really hard to understand the cultural relevance all this stuff had at the time, we can learn a few things by reading this part of the bible: (1) This stuff mattered to people. Skin diseases, mildew, bleeding, could be a matter of life and death, or at least very serious discomfort. Therefore, (2) It mattered to God, because he cares about us and what happens in our lives. Since these rules about sacrifices to atone for diseases and such are very clear, precise, and involved, then we can (3) thank God for grace, that he loves us enough to take the burdens off us and put them on His son, who died so we don't have to atone for this stuff anymore.
It may seem archaic reading about these early rituals, but it sure makes me appreciate the sacrifice Jesus made for me. How about you?
One of the parts of the bible that can be very difficult for young believers is all the rules and regulations regarding the seemingly mundane and unimportant- how to deal with a skin disease, what to do if you find mildew in your house, what happens if you have a wet dream, etc. Leviticus covers this in great detail.
While it's really hard to understand the cultural relevance all this stuff had at the time, we can learn a few things by reading this part of the bible: (1) This stuff mattered to people. Skin diseases, mildew, bleeding, could be a matter of life and death, or at least very serious discomfort. Therefore, (2) It mattered to God, because he cares about us and what happens in our lives. Since these rules about sacrifices to atone for diseases and such are very clear, precise, and involved, then we can (3) thank God for grace, that he loves us enough to take the burdens off us and put them on His son, who died so we don't have to atone for this stuff anymore.
It may seem archaic reading about these early rituals, but it sure makes me appreciate the sacrifice Jesus made for me. How about you?
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