Arms Wide Open

I cannot WAIT for this one. The excitement has been building now for several months. On April 24th, my wife and will travel to Nashville, Tennessee to participate in the Music City Half Marathon. While visiting Nashville for the first time will be exciting by itself, there are so many great stories heading into this race. These are just a few:

1. It is going to be my absolute honor and privilege to finally meet up with a guy that has become a very close friend through the web. We connected originally through our friends at Thomas Nelson Publishing and have built a brotherhood that is just awesome. David Schroeder and his wife have opened their home to us for the weekend and he is going to be our running partner for 13.1 miles. It’s going to be great.

2. My good friend Jeff is also headed to Nashville for the weekend to run the race. He was one of the fortunate people that signed up to run it with TobyMac (see video for more). While helping a good cause, Jeff will also get the opportunity to meet one his favorite artist and share the journey with him. I’m thrilled for Jeff and can’t wait to hear how his weekend went.

3. Our friends Rachel and Matt Wojnarowski (whose blog you should really follow) are also headed to Nashville to run the race. Their reason and story are an inspiration to us all. Please check out her post on why they are running 13 miles to celebrate 13 years.

As Jeff and I discussed our excitement about the race, I found it so interesting that we have totally different reasons for running and going to Nashville, but the excitement is the same. There are several other people headed south that weekend to run. I can’t wait to get there and to share the story with you afterwards. Until then, I’ve got some training to do!

Somewhere in the course of the past few weeks, I was made aware of a site called “Dad-Blogs.com”. What transpired very quickly over the course of a few days is my being added as a columnist to this great site. It is with great honor and humility that I accept this new opportunity. While it won’t have an impact on this site directly, I plan on using some of the posts that I make here to share on that site as well. As an example, my post regarding Tiger Woods has been featured on the site (which totally blows my mind).

So what is Dad Blogs? This description comes directly from their About Us page:

In addition to promoting family, Dad Blogs also addresses the often incorrect stereotypes associated with fatherhood, countering them with an open dialogue among the community, often in a humorous manner. This outlet gives dads an opportunity to unite and share common interests and experiences, breaking stereotypes and reshaping this emerging demographic.

I am honored to be a part of a community which only looks to grow and gain momentum. I’d like to thank Dad-Blogs.com for their kind consideration and allowing me to share content with the community for Dads (and Moms).

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” -Proverbs 27:17

While I was off enjoying my Blog Fast, I received an email that was a complete honor. Somehow in this internet world of 0’s and 1’s, an author named Chris Tomlinson found my blog. After looking it over, he asked me if I would like to take a preview look at his new book entitled “Crave“. I was so honored by his invitation that I gladly accepted and received two copies of the book within a few days. I thought it would be good for my wife and I to both read the book so I gave her one copy and began to read the other myself. That evening, we both sat down in the living room and began to read our new books. It was like a scene straight out of the movie “Up”.

What transpired over the next week or so was a discussion and review of several of the topics which Chris outlines in his book. We both thoroughly enjoyed “Crave” and the discussion it prompted between us. As I read the book, I felt like I was sitting down for coffee (or a Diet Coke) with Chris Tomlinson one chapter at a time. Page after page, Chris opens his heart and discusses his desire to, as the title states, “want so much more of God”. Crave will challenge you to want to do the same.

Of particular interest to me was a chapter called “Extra”. In these pages, Chris presents the perspective that many of us consider God to be writing “our story” each day. The shift in thinking is that we are actually all “extras” in Gods Story. You can imagine how our thoughts of others would change if we viewed every person as another “extra” in “His story” and not a cast member in ours. I was fascinated by this thought and actually found it relevant in several conversations in the days that followed.

My wife and I have both had the opportunity to share our appreciation with Chris for sending us the books. His responses were as genuine and authentic as his book presents him to be. He is a man that I have a deep respect for. Not many would share their passion for more of God with such transparency and vulnerability. Imagine if we all would. Maybe that is something I crave…

I give “Crave” a 5 out of 5. If you are looking for a new book and a longing for a deeper relationship with our Heavenly Father, I highly recommend you pick up a copy too. You can find out more about Chris and the book at his blog.

*I would like to thank Chris Tomlinson for his free gift of “Crave” and allowing me to review it for this blog.

“You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent” -Psalm 30:11-12

Yesterday morning I witnessed what it means to be “clothed in joy”. Our church held what was called “Tailgate Sunday” and it was great fun. Everyone came to church wearing the jerseys of their favorite team (wonder what color I wore) and stayed around after the service for a potluck that would make any tailgate at OSU look small. Good eats. Great fellowship. The jerseys and colors are not what I am referring to when I speak of being clothed in joy though.

Hours before the festivities took place and the worship songs were played, there was a host of duties which needed to be accomplished. “The Boy” and I got our gear on and headed out early to the church. We were the first to arrive and began to move chairs and set up tables. As the morning progressed, I noted something that stuck with me all day.

People came in waves.

They came with smiles and joy.

They came to serve.

One by one, little by little, the building became occupied with people coming to serve and set up for what was going to be another great day. There was laughter, conversation, music and working side by side to accomplish a goal. At one point I thought to myself that, while the task was not as large as an old fashion “barn raising”, I can see how valuable community is. When people are connected and serving in their God given”sweet spot”, tasks are accomplished and they find great joy in making it all come together. They didn’t have to tell me, I could see it on their face. They set up chairs, strategically placed decorations, set up the sound, video, coffee, donuts, note cards, lit the grills, and prepared the children’s area. One by one, task by task and by the time the clock turned 10am, we were ready to worship.

Clothed in joy….

Heather and I completed the Columbus Half Marathon this morning. My wife ran a great race and had a personal best time of 1:48! I was so proud of her as she beat her previous best by over 5 minutes! Sadly I missed being by her side because I left her and our friend Amanda at the beginning of the race in pursuit of my personal goal. I battled a sinus/respiratory flu all week but it was still hanging around this morning. I ended up finishing at 1:50. If I am honest, I was disappointed crossing the finish line. I really was shooting to get a 1:47 (my personal best was a 1:48). I hate making excuses so I will go straight to the lesson learned.

I am sure there are some that would disagree with this philosophy, but I’ve been thinking about it all day. I will never set a goal before a half marathon again. Running 13.1 miles is an accomplishment all by itself. I honestly don’t run them for times or records, I run them for the atmosphere. As crazy as it sounds, I run them for the enjoyment, the setting, the people, the signs, the slogans and the stories. I run them to thank the people that pick up all of the plastic cups thrown on the ground. I run them to thank the police that stand in the intersections and give “5″ to the kids that line the course with signs for their parents. I run them to share the joy and the time with my partner in life and running, my beautiful wife. That is why I run. That is my joy and where I find the reason to do these things.

Setting a personal record robbed me of all of that today. I was so concerned about my pace and my overall time that by mile 9 (when it was becoming reality that the record wasn’t going to happen), I sensed the Holy Spirit remind me that I was not having fun. The song “Magnificent Obsession” was on and reminded me to get my priorities straight. I spent the last 4 miles battling and finishing as strong as I could on this day. When it was over and done, I felt a sadness that I missed an opportunity today. The missed opportunity was not the personal record, rather, the chance to do all of the things I listed above. We’ll have more opportunities and a 1:50 is nothing to be ashamed of, but at the end of the day, it’s not why I run.

Lord never let me forget that.

On a lighter note, the highlight of my day came somewhere in the middle of the race. As you can see I was “representing” my beloved Tar Heels today during the race. At one point, I noted a man in a Duke Sweatshirt. I took great pleasure and had a HUGE smile on my face as I ran past him. I might have even puffed out my chest a bit in case he missed what was written on my shirt. Rivalries never take a day off…not even in half marathons!

WOW! That was great. I type this as I am driving back from Indianapolis, Indiana (don’t try this at home) where I just played 2 hours of pickup basketball at the NBA home of the Indiana Pacers, Conseco Fieldhouse. The entire thing was a blessing and a bit surreal. It is also another check mark off of my ever growing “Bucket List“.

A total of 18 strangers were invited by the Pacers to spend the two hours living a dream (“d-plane, d-plane”). My squad was pretty strong considering we had never played together. We won our first three games, lost one and won the last two. My dream had the added bonus of connecting on one of my two Three Point attempts from “downtown” (the other was a big ol’ air ball).

My stat sheet was pretty full with a few rebounds, steals, assists, one blocked shot and (gulp) a few turnovers. The best stat is that nothing got pulled, sprained, strained or broken! My 15 year old Tar Heel Nikes even held together after a long lay over on our closet floor. All kidding aside, this was a great memory and I can’t thank the Pacers enough.

Gotta get back to driving now….

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®