Softball hurts

I guess it's been a while since I've played before this season. It hasn't been THAT long, but it has been a couple of years.

Last night we played a team who's players I'm pretty good friends with and we lost...again. The big thing is that I jacked my body up a bit while playing. I slid into second and jammed my L ankle and of course scratched up my R shin. My R shin is covered only by old scar tissue and so each time I habitually slide when I look close to being tagged out, my skin just kind of rips open. I had most of it taped up, but apparantly not enough of it. Yuck! I thought it would also be cool to make a first baseman-like stretch (even though I was playing second)to catch the ball and get the out. The problem is that unless one stretches prior to attempting such a manuever, one might tweak a groin muscle. :( Remember I'm in Michigan and it's pretty chilly up here in the evenings already. Yeah, that's it. It couldn't be that I'm just getting older, right? The runner was out however :p

Hopefully I survive the rest of the season injury free and I avoid putting my marathon training in any kind of jeopardy. Maybe this is my body's way of saying "DON'T DO IT!"

Sandra and I have most of our supplies ready to be packed for our hiking trip this weekend. I'm super excited to go treking throught the woods and even more excited that it's supposed to warm up before we get there. The low where we are going was like 40 last night. In my book this is not acceptable until at least October if not even later than that. It should be lots of fun though no matter what the weather is like.

Running the Race

Okay, So I'm officially doing it. I have entered into the 2006 Detroit Free Press Marathon to be ran on October the 29th. I know, everyone thinks I'm crazy, but it's something I've always wanted to do and the timing is right if I were ever to run one. I've been training for a while, but I didn't want to make any hasty decisions so I waited until I hit 18 miles for a long run (yesterday) to see if I thought I could do it and so, I'm now entered. The entry fee is nonrefundable so I guess I'd better run it eh?

With a new goal in sight and a new chapter currently being written in my storied running career, it's only natural that Paul's words about running the race can be viewed in a new and refreshing light.

In our Christian walks we are to run after our Father in such a way that we may win the prize, or our crown, that is everlasting and will never fade away. In 1Cor 9:25, he says "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last..." While in today's society of entitlement, everyone seems to be a winner. While everyone who finishes a marathon gets a "finisher's medal", there can still only be one true winner. To be that winner, one must train vigorously. Heck, to get the "finisher's award" one must train very hard as well. There are days where I really don't feel like running. There are even days where I feel like packing it in and not running at all or I feel like turning around short of my goal and going home early. The thing that keeps me going is the feeling of urgency because I only have 9 weeks of training before my race. Just as in my walk, somedays I don't feel like praying. Some days I don't feel like studying Romans until my head explodes. Somedays I'm, just lazy. Some days I avoid people like the plague and I don't reach out to others in my circles of influence. I'm sure I'm not the only one to ever experience this. The problem is that I don't always have the same feelings of urgency to motivate me in my spiritual walk.

Another observation I've made is that in order to win the "prize" one must be in constant training. Just because you have one discipline down it doesn't mean that you can shortcut God somewhere else. This has been made very vivid in my life lately through my running experience. I can be motivated to run 18 miles on Saturday morning, but it takes a huge effort for me run a few miles of speedwork on Thursday afternoons. It's not my strong suit and it's not something I'm comfortable with. Just as in my walk I can wake up consistently at 5:30 in the morning to pray, but if God asks me to confront someone personally and verbally than I drag my feet and make excuses. Again, the deciding factor comes down to what my motivation is and where my obedience level is at.

But remember we are in constant training. While some days we would rather check out, we must be constantly and faithfully running our race. My prayer is that at the end of my life I can say as Paul said in II Tim. while staring down death, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." In order to be able to say that, I must become more obedient to God's calling. When the Spirit pokes me and says go talk to that person, I must be obedient no matter how uncomfortable or awkward it makes me feel. It's all about the motivation: to see God glorified in all situations, both awkward and comfortable. After a lifetime of this obedience, then and only then can I be as Paul and receive the crown of righteousness.

Coffee Quiz!

I owe this one to my friends Kyle and Carly's blog. Enjoy!

You Are an Iced Coffee

At your best, you are: hyper, modern, and athletic At your worst, you are: cheap and angsty You drink coffee when: you're out with friends Your caffeine addiction level: medium

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Blah, blah, blah

Nothing real exciting to cover this past week. My classes start up soon so I'm trying to relax for a bit and yet get things done that I said I would do during my 3 weeks away from school. I'm seriously thinking about running a marathon. My training has been going well and Saturday I hit 16 miles. I'm looking at the Detroit marathon at the end of October but I want to wait until after this weekend when I do an 18 miler. I know I can cover the distance of a marathon, but I want to do it well and not just "survive" it.

The fall softball league has started for Sandra and I and our first game was last night. It didn't last very long because we were run-ruled in the 4th inning. I did however go 2/2 with an RBI, but alas we lost anyway. We were missing a lot of our team so hopefully Wednesday night will be better with our full squad in place (minus our normal pitcher). We are also planning on a hiking trip to the U.P. for Labor Day weekend. I'm getting very excited as this day closes in. We're going to be going to Pictured Rocks which is on the shoreline of Lake Superior. I'll have lots of pcs hopefully from that trip so check in for that!

Airshow and family fun!

So the past week has a been a very busy one indeed. Last weekend was spent watching an airshow in Belleville, Michigan near Detroit. We were invited by one of Sandy's co-workers, Scott, who is an aviation fanatic. It was very exciting to go with him because who could explain everything down to the smallest little detail imaginable.

Then Sandy's family, the Morton's, drove in from Kansas to spend several days of vacation with us. We showed them some of the local attractions, but most of our time was spent in simple relaxation, catching up on each others' lives, playing games and enjoying the company of family. Sandra's brother Matt was missing from the crew as he was preparing for classes to start at K-State :( However, we were blessed with his presence already this summer when he came by himself to visit us on his way back from a Young Life camp in Minnesota where he volunteered much of his summer break.

I survived another week of teaching our Sunday school class at church today. We're in the middle of examining II Timothy and I've had the opportuity to teach a large chunk of it (4 weeks) While we never seem to have enough time to cover all that I have prepared, I really have enjoyed not just the teaching aspect, but have really enjoyed what Father has taught me in my time of preparation. For this I am very thankful.

I tossed in a couple of photos of the air show and family pics for fun!

we found a giant bronze pig!

oooh.......a stealth bomber

a rare p-51 Mustang flying over the WWII reenactment

A picture of the WWII reenactment. All of the tanks are privately owned!

The p-51 Mustang makes another pass!

What we've been up to lately

We've been up to a lot lately. These pictures are just a few of them. Sandy and I went to a tall ships sail-in recently. We had the opportunity to tour one of the boats that her company was sponsoring for the event. I think she believes that she's driving ;) We also went to a local car show where I finally saw my dream car up-close and personal like. I've always wanted one of these beauties, but they're a little out of my price range. The last photo is of us together exploring the deck of one of the tall ships.

First TIme

Seriously, this is my first posting. I've fought the technological trend thus far, but since my MA will be in Educational Technology I suppose I should give in :)