A reason for Thanksgiving..The Power of Prayer

Below is the contents of an email that I sent to my friends and fellow employees.

The thanks expressed are also applicable and owed to those of you who visit here, to my friends in ministry and to the members of our church who offered up prayers on our behalf.

To all,

I wanted to give you a quick update this
morning.

My mother-in-law has shown signs of recovery. She is
no longer relying on a ventilator for her breathing and has shown some motor
skills and cognitive ability. Far from out of the woods, but she is still
with us and her kids have been spared a second “no real choice”
decision.

My second purpose for writing this is to thank each of
you for your prayers and support. I believe all of us knew on Saturday
that there was little that could be done for her medically. In fact both
options presented to the family left little or no reason for hope. What we
witnessed was the grace and power of God and I firmly believe that it was
because of your prayers that God saw fit to leave her with her family a while
longer.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, our gathering will
be, as we were last year, short a parent due to illness, but again this year we
are thankful for the blessings God has poured out on us, for the healing he has
provided, and undoubtedly for your friendships that sustain us through such
trying times.

Again, Thank You All!

Wishing you
a Happy Thanksgiving….

James, Jina, Jared, Jaden, and Jordan

Blogging????

It is with a heavy heart that I type this blog tonight.

Tragedy has struck our family and my mother-in-law is clinging to her life tonight.

My wife and her siblings have already stared down one tough decision and at least one more may lay ahead.

Even when trying to write seriously on this blog, I've enjoyed the process of writing, and have really enjoyed the times I've been able to poke fun and kid around as I attempted to be humorous and witty. Saying that, the seriousness of the situation we currently face makes such frivolity seem inappropriate, and so I will step away from blogging for awhile.

I will decide tonight whether or not I will continue to run through this time. I want to, but also know that taking care of my kids, supporting my wife, and handling necessary work items will require time and energy, and conserving it might be wise, as we face a marathon, not a sprint.

I will continue to read the blogs that many of you write, and I know that at some point it will feel appropriate to return to this medium.

For those of you who visit and know me personally, feel free to drop me an email and I will, if you so desire, give you more information. To each of you that visit, I will unabashedly request your prayers for my mother-in-law, and her family. We want healing, they need strength, but most of all, we know to whom my mother-in-law belongs and know that ultimately God's will, will be fulfilled. We may not like the outcome, but I pray that we accept it with the same faith she has demonstrated during a life filled with personal tragedy.

Keep running, keep living, and if I don't return before the holidays, enjoy them to their fullest.

In Christ,

James

Integrity

Check out this story!

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=3712372

Evolution and Aerosmith

Throughout our lives, and in nearly every aspect of life, we evolve over time.

Baby to Toddler to Adolescent to Teen to Young Adult to 29 yr old to 29 yr old to 29 yr old to Old Lion.

Sane to Parent to Insane.

Boyfriend to Fiance' to Husband to Lazy Bum

Girlfriend to Fiancee' to Wife to Nag....I mean...Wonderful Radiant Creature and Gift From God!..Man that was close...

Today, while on a plane ride, I did a little thinking about myself as a runner. This was prompted by the fact that I was exhausted and sore from getting up at 4:30 AM to run intervals in advance of a 7:00 AM flight which sandwiched me into a nearly vertical seating position in a space unfit for my 3 year old's comfort. Here's what I came up with.

I was first motivated to run because I had begun to creep upward on the weight scale. Having been thirty or so pounds overweight once before, I decided I wasn't going back there. So at about ten to fifteen pounds overweight I became a runner. Fitness was my motivation.

After a couple of races, I became enthralled with the race atmosphere and the chance to compete, mainly against myself, but also against the mid-pack folks in my age group. For a guy who believes anything worth playing is worth playing to win, I found a new motivation, racing.

The next logical step in this progression was full "consumption". I was consumed by running. Two different magazine subscriptions (one I got as a race SWAG), a GPS, multiple new pairs of shorts and shirts and a Fuel Belt for long runs. I was hooked and I wanted to be fast, or maybe an ultra-distance runner, or both. Every trip to the Internet was a chance to look up something new about running. My motivation was a desire to get faster and stronger. (For those old enough to remember the show, be sure to do the Bionic Man sound effect when you read "faster and stronger")

Today, I'm an addict. I still run for fitness. I still race. I still dream of running faster or farther, but other responsibilities (darn kids, stupid job, nagging...I mean Wonderful Radiant...) make that unlikely. No matter. Now I run because I want to, and perhaps have to. My days seem incomplete without it. No matter how tired or sore, I drag myself out, questioning my on lunacy at times. Still I run, sometimes not knowing, perhaps not caring why. I'm a running junky looking for my next fix.

Who knows where this evolution ends up. Over training, breaking down, being put out to pasture. Last time I checked, they don't put human men up for "Stud", and I'm confident my Wonderful Radiant Creature (I'm learning) would have me "put down" before she let that happen. Perhaps I'll keep running until there are so few in my age group, I win consistently. Perhaps like Forrest Gump, I'll just stop one day and walk back home.

Actually, perhaps Aerosmith got it right, "...life's a journey, not a destination, and I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings...", and running is now part of my journey, or, just maybe, I'm thinking about this way too much, either way, it's Amazing.

Running Yes...Blogging NO

Been kinda hectic so blogging has been tough to commit time to recently.

Hopefully will get something of little to no use to anyone posted soon.

Hope everyone is starting to get in the Holiday Spirit!

James

Good Run!

Don't you just love those days when everything just clicks.

You know those days when the kids cooperate. You're 5 minutes early instead of 5 minutes late. Your hair looks like it's supposed to, and so on and so forth. Man I love those days.

Had one of those days this morning. Decided last night that this morning would be "Intervals". Stuck with that notion this morning and after a 1/2 mile of warm up, I pressed the treadmill's speed up button (I'm in Des Moines, IA), stopping at a 6:58 pace. I held that for a 1/4 mile interval, wait a second, I'm not gasping for air, and then actually recovered well after a 1/4 mile at 8:27. Then another interval, and another. Surely this can't last? But it did, and I wrapped up 4 miles at a jog.

Man I love days like that. When the weights work you, but don't destroy you. When the run leaves you both exhausted and "refreshed". Alas, then I had to go to work. Oh well, at least it lasted for awhile.

Don't Blink

As those of you with kids know; they grow up fast. You blink and you miss something. It's not just growing kids, it's every part of life. Are you taking time to "see" the world around you, or simply running from point A to point B.

On my recent trip to Duluth, I walked into the room where the hotel, situated on the shore of Lake Superior, had set up the continental breakfast with a view of the lake. As I walked in I noticed the sun hovering like a giant red ball, just above the lake's surface. This was unexpected, because the forecast was for more rain. I recognized the beauty before me and reached for my phone to snap a picture, but decided there was time; grabbed a bagel, a single serving of peanut butter, and a banana and made my way to a table. As I finished eating my bagel I turned back to the window, only to find that my beautiful sunrise had ascended into a cloudy sky and was gone. Why didn't I take the picture when I had the opportunity? I felt foolish.

Throughout the first chapter of the book of Genesis we are told time and again that when God finish creating this or that, he looked at it and saw it was good. I think I know how he felt. I've finished projects and sat back to admire my work, but more importantly, God, the creator, didn't rush from one task to the next. He took time to enjoy the creation before him.

Do you? Blink, and this life will pass you by.

Take time to enjoy what God created, and to enjoy those he has blessed your life with.

Genesis 1:31 (NIV)
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

4QTR APFT Results

Ok, I'm a month late, but thought I'd follow on the heels of the election results with my APFT results.

Still struggling in the push up arena, despite having a former Scout/Sniper tell me the secret to scoring well. Wide arm position. It shortens your up and down distance travelled. I missed having Jina holding my feet and encouraging me during the sit up phase. The hotel room coffee table just didn't get in my face enough. My last excuse is on the run. I was really pleased with it, but the worn out old treadmill took way to long to get to the pace I needed to run a 13:30. Oh well, I've improved some over the year, stayed fairly consistent overall, and had fun doing it.

Will see what January 1, 2009 yields.

January
Push Ups = 41 Reps/67 Points
Sit Ups = 57 Reps/84 Points
2mi Run = 13:13/100 PointsTotal score = 251

April
Push Ups = 40 Reps/66 Points
Sit Ups = 64 Reps/87 Points
2mi Run = 14:42/91 Points
Total score = 244

July
Push Ups = 49 Reps/75 Points
Sit Ups = 74 Reps/98 Points
2mi Run = 13:30/100 Points
Total score = 273

November
Push Ups = 44 Reps/70 Points
Sit Ups = 72 Reps/96 Points
2mi Run = 13:42/99 Points
Total = 265

Post Voting Dissonance

In business school my primary focus was marketing, in fact, the university messed up and despite being one strategic planning class short, they awarded me a Marketing Degree instead of the Business Management Degree that I had opted for when my new well paying job, marriage, and the schedule of classes for that final marketing class couldn't be reconciled. When I discovered it after requesting a transcript 10 years later, I was told that it was too old, which I guess meant that I was old, and that as far as the university was concerned, I had a B.S. in Marketing.

I tell you this mainly to have something to type about and also to get to the point of my blog which has its roots in the concept we learned as marketers called Post Purchase Dissonance. Simply put, have you ever bought something, typically a big ticket item, and then couldn't decide if you had done the right thing or not. Post Purchase Dissonance.

After voting early on Saturday, I feel the same way. For the first time in my voting life, I walked out of the polls feeling uneasy and uncertain about my decisions. Well except for the 3 guys I voted for in the county council at large race, but then that one isn't the one grabbing the headlines.

Anyway, as I've wrestled all weekend with my decision and after seeing the various political hacks standing on the street corners this morning with their "Honk if you support...." signs, I'm certain of a few of things.

First, I'm proud to be an American and proud to say I exercised my right to vote. It took me three and a half hours of waiting, but it was worth it. Too many people don't have the right to choose their leaders and far too many have died to ensure that I do for me not to exercise this right and privileged.

Second, no matter how this turns out, it was great to see the diversity of people who were gathered to vote. All ages, genders, races, positions and life stages were represented in the 400 odd folks who sat waiting patiently with me on Saturday morning. A lot of joking, small talk, and friendly conversation took place in that crowded hall way, we were all pilgrims on a very slow journey.

Last, as I saw the hacks on the corner this morning, my mind kept going back to a song and a thought that had been running through my mind since I dropped my ballot in the lock box.

'Cause I don't think that I can take anymore
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

Stuck in the Middle with You by the Stealers Wheel

Getting out to vote 2008

No, it isn't a typo. I'm getting out to vote, not "the vote" this morning. At least I'm getting ready to leave and try to early vote, since I will be out of town on Tuesday.

For some this election has been easy. They've wanted change and they've gotten a candidate who claims to be for change. Other's will easily choose based on a candidate's position on one issue or another that is paramount for them.

As I sit here at the computer, having spent the morning trying to glean one last bit of wisdom from various sources, I'm not sure. At this late hour I'm still undecided. My human wisdom has failed me and I can not deduce the lesser of two evils.

Do I choose based on my opinion on the 2nd Amendment and abortion or do I choose a candidate based on economic packages and health care reform. Based on what I can find, I'm stuck choosing one or the other, neither supports my views on all, and I haven't even thrown in the war.

So anyway, off I go, I will pray for God's will and pull a straight ticket lever....just kidding...I will choose my local and state candidates, then my presidential candidate, remembering that ultimately God controls this country and this world, and he can use any man or woman, democrat or republican, conservative or liberal, Christian or atheist or Jew or etc., to accomplish his will.

Afterward, sometime today I will run a long run, and in that time I will wrestle with my decision, but in the end, no matter who wins, I'll cling to this...

Romans 13
Submission to the Authorities

1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. 4For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. 6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.