"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set out before us..." --Hebrews 12:1

Third time looking at this verse, I know, but it's just so chock-full of good things!

Witnesses. What do you think when you hear that word? Sometimes it has a negative connotation. Witnesses are people who saw you do something wrong. Witnesses are people to "rubbed out" by the mob in the movies. Quoth Bart Simpson: "I didn't do it. You didn't see me do it. You can't prove anything." Witnesses are not necessarily considered good things.

Witnesses are people who watch what we do...and we are SURROUNDED by them. They see us from all angles. Some angles are flattering but other angles make us look not-so-good. But witnesses see things and we are encircled by them. Intimidating, no?

NO! Encouraging! Each of us is surrounded by people watching our every move! Some of them are waiting for us to fail so that they can point it out and feel better about themselves. Others are encouraging, helping us when we fall. Some are looking up to us, wondering what to do in a certain situation and so they look to us as role models. Others are watching to help us do better.

Witnesses are the reason that we do all the other things listed. "BECAUSE we are surrounded..." let us do all the other things. And, let us take advantage of all these eyeballs. Enemies who point out our faults help us to see us worse than we are so that we can be honest in our confession. Friends who encourage us point out the good things that give them strength, things that we should get better at. Those looking up to us want to emulate us, giving us a reason to get better ourselves so that we can strengthen the next generation. Supporters watching us so that they can refine our form and make us stronger and more efficient.

People are watching, waiting, wanting to help us. Witnesses are all around us helping to be better than we are; helping us be the people that they know we can be; helping us to be more like Jesus. Use those witnesses!

Casting off the Burdens

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us,, and let us run with endurance the race that is set out before us..." --Hebrews 12:1

Yeah, this is the same verse as yesterday but with a different focus. This morning as I finished my morning run, I saw one of our companies heading out for their first road march. Rucksacks on their back, weapons at the low-ready position, they walked out in the pre-dawn morning wondering what in the world they had gotten themselves into. Probably also thinking: Man, I could do this march a whole lot easier without all this stuff on my back.

Obvious, I know...but is it really? Spiritually speaking, how many of us leave our homes each morning with a "rucksack" full things that really weigh us down...things that we were never meant to carry? Worries, doubts, fears, guilt, and problems loaded into our souls, we set out for the day and ask Jesus to join us in our troubles so that we might make it through. Sins, habits, patterns, and relationships that would ensnare us and trip us are loaded there too, with the idea that God will help us to deal with these problems. You know, the ideas are right; the process is wrong.

There's an old camp song that has a part that goes: "Cast your burdens... on Jesus... for He cares... for you." I remember this summer at Okoboji how many of the kids used to dance around to this song and I wonder what kinds of burdens they are trying to carry through which snares? I wonder if they are living the words of the song or are they asking Jesus to give them the strength to get through?

Daily, through repentance, prayer, remembrance of our Baptism, and converstations with great friends, we need to unload our spiritual rucksacks and run the race UNBURDENED. "But," we yammer, "I could be so much stronger if I carried them for a while." Stronger? Really? Stronger? How much stronger can you be than the omnipotent Savior of the Universe? "I can do ALL THINGS through Him [Christ] who gives me strength." (emphasis added) How much stronger do you need to be. Travel lighter and with endurance and get rid of the burdens and the snares.

Peace in the journey.

Running with Endurance

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set out before us..." --Hebrews 12:1

In the Army, when someone is a real go-getter, we call him or her "high-speed." As a society, our minds are bombarded with images and plans for things that are faster. Faster cars, faster computers, faster internet, faster communication, faster food, faster, faster, faster.

The writer to the Hebrews doesn't talk about running faster; he talks about running with endurance.

This is a real paradigm shift for me. I've always wanted to run faster. When I ran track, I ran quarter mile sprints. I would do my long endurance runs because my coach told me to, but I always wanted to run faster. Now that I am training for my first triathlon, I am shifting to a focus on endurance. There's a big difference.

As I chose a triathlon, I made a classic blunder. No, I didn't get involved in a land war in Asia, I under-estimated the task before me. I'm planning on doing the John Tanner State Park Triathlon on April 30. It's a 600 yd. swim, 11.2 mile bike, and 3.1` mile run. It's what is called a "sprint" triathlon. When I read that, I immediately thought, "Sprint! Yeah! That's me! Faster! Faster! Faster!" Plus, those distances weren't so intimidating. I can dog-paddle my way through 600 yds; my typical training ride is 15-20 miles; I can build up to 3.1 miles because I have done it before. I looked at these three things individually and said: "Each element of this triathlon is going to be easy." One problem: All these elements are back to back to back.

In order to complete all of these events, I'm going to need to be active for 60-90 min. probably. Going non-stop, grinding it out. Enduring. They guy who won the Ironman championships in Kona last October biked at an average pace of 24.1 mph, well below what Lance Armstrong will average over a stage of the Tour de France. He ran a 2:57 marathon, which wouldn't win a regular marathon. Bottom Line: These are not fast performances. The big difference for this guy is that within 5 min. of getting off the bike, he was running and kept running for almost 3 hours. He was in "racing mode" for over 8 hours. He endured.

So I know most of you non-athletes are tuning out right now, but here's the point I'm trying to make: our lives are not sprints. Life is often equated with a marathon; there's a cliche that says, "The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running." The point is that rarely can we focus on one minute in our life; we are constantly going from one thing, to another, to another and we're trying to do each thing as fast and as hard as we can. Remember Hebrews 12:1 :"...[L]et us run with endurance the race that is set out before us..."

As I review the resolutions I posted below, I realize that it's time to stop sprinting through life and it's time to start enduring. It's time to slow down, train for the long distance, and endure.

There's more I'd like to say about this verse, but I don't have time today. Look for another post tomorrow.

Resolute in my Decisions!

I am a HUGE procrastinator! It has manifest itself in the fact that I am just now making my New Year's Resolution. Yeah, I know, it's January 19th, bear with me.

Here's what I am resolving to do:

• 30 min. daily spent in God's Word.
• Bike 2000+ miles.
• Lose 20 pounds (this has been on the list for a number of years).
• Complete a duathlon.
• Complete a triathlon.
• Cut my household debt in half (I'd tell you what that figure is, but I'm too embarrassed.)

So, that's it. Pretty simple and cookie-cutter, I know, but these are the things about my life that I'm not satisfied with. These are things that are really getting in the way of where I see myself going and where I think that God is leading me.

I made these on Sunday and I have started on my way for many of them. I tried to swim on Tuesday, which is funny because I haven't ever swam competitively. Now, obviously, I didn't drown because I am writing this. But, what was listed as a "15 min. swim" on my schedule was actually 10 x 1.5 min. swims. It was amazing how hard that was.

Anyway, I'll document my progress here. I also hope that this increased activity will kind of blow up the log jam that I'm feeling in my spiritual life. Let's hope for the best!

More than we expected

The title is linkified to take you to Mark 4:35-41. The story of Jesus calming the storm. I love this story and here's why.

The disciples are busy being the usual, normal guys that they really are. Sure, we call them "saints," but so often they show themselves to be completely normal. Here we have Jesus sleeping in the rear of the boat when a squall comes up and starts to swamp the boat. Shouldn't be a problem, right? Peter, Andrew, James, and John used to be fishermen and are probably familiar with the ways of the water. They start doing what you're supposed to do. But, their knowledge is not enough to save themselves, and they are afraid of drowning.

So, rather than letting Jesus sleep, they wake him up. I personally think that they want him to help bail out the boat. The disciples are looking for another set of hands to throw water over the side. Instead, what they get, the almighty Son of God commanding the wind and the waves to be still.

The disciples, who were fearing for their life at the hands of the wind and the waves, are now terrified to be in the presence of the Almighty. A request that started with an expectation of throwing water over the rail, ends with throwing around the power of the Creator.

This story always makes me think about my prayer life. So often I ask Jesus to come and help me to bail out my boat. I tell him that I can do 90% of it, just help with the last little bit, will ya? It's like the disciples asking the Almighty to wake up and pick up a bucket. But, the thing is, if I were to ask for Jesus to do all that He could do in my life, I would end up like the disciples: terrified and wondering who this Jesus really is. It's a frightening thing to consider all that we could be in the fullness of Christ's grace. It's also a humbling thing to see all that we aren't because we don't lean on Him more.

Now I'm faced with a dilemma. Which do I want: the 10% Jesus who only helps me be what I want to become or the 100% Jesus who ruins my plans and makes me into what he would have me be?

Some of my Tsunami Thoughts

Okay, I'm a little ticked off at hearing Europeans rail us as Americans for not doing enough to provide relief to the tsunami victims. As I was e-mailing to my good friend Ty, I had this profound thought:

We have trillions of dollars of military assets and personnel spending billions of dollars in fuel and man-hours to deliver Europe's millions of dollars in relief.

I guess what I'm asking is if our critics would like a nice hot cup of "shut the heck up." (Thanks Jon Van Nevel for teaching me that phrase.)

What a Game!

The title here is linkified; that is, you can click on it for more exciting details.

I was able to attend this game, thanks to the wonderful graciousness of Greg Suckow and the unbelievable hospitality of Jon Van Nevel and Dr. Johnny Langley. Dr. Langley works for a cable outlet in Orlando and was able to get us on-field press passes. I was able to stand on the sidelines for the whole contest and follow the action. It was amazing!

Let me just share some thoughts about the game:

• It looks much larger on TV-- It was surprising how young most of these kids look. I can say kids because I'm 10-15 years older than them. Also, they do look much bigger on television. While the linemen were huge, most of the others were my size or smaller. And everyone of them seemed to have a baby face. What made it interesting is the things that older adults were going to say about these kids and their performance and it made me wonder if we, the fans, weren't setting some pretty tall expectations on such young shoulders. It will change the way I think and talk about college football.
• "You have to be sound in the kicking game." -- Coach Saban did his best to tarnish this win by focusing on a last-second breakdown in coverage that he claims cost him the game. Not so fast, my friend. Two blocked punts, one for a touchdown and the other for a field goal (I think) and a failed attempt to fake a field goal and convert on fourth down cost you the game. Your offense was neutralized and our one-dimensional offense was able to move the ball adequately enough to score 30 points and win. Besides, would there have been a lack of focus if you had waited a few days to announce that you're leaving for Miami? Shut up and go replace Dave Wannstedt.
• Kinnick Stadium South-- This was the fastest sell-out in Capital One Bowl history. They added temporary bleachers to the north endzone because LSU fans were too slow on the draw to order tickets. I would guess-timate that it was about 60%-40% Iowa to LSU. But, the Iowa fans brought their enthusiasm and their love for the Hawkeyes and let it be known. The Iowa fans were firmly ensconsed in the game while the LSU fans were busy waving to each other, literally. The fans were the 12th man that we needed them to be. To reward the fans, after the initial celebration and handshakes with the Tigers, the Hawkeye football team went over to their fans and shared high-fives for about ten yards. It was a class act. Iowa fans travel well...and drink A LOT! They started with 10 kegs for the fan appreciate festival...they ended up consuming a total of 30! Orlando will welcome us back any time.

These are the things that I remember most about this game. Thanks again to all of you who made this possible!