New Insights Keep Coming

This was an excerpt from something I journaled yesterday morning, and I thought I'd share part of with you today.

"I had some interesting new thoughts last night in regards to Isaiah 42:16, which I spent a good hour or so blogging about. I still want to continue memorizing that passage, but this morning I'm finding my attention being drawn to another favorite passage, Isaiah 43:1-4.

"But now, God's Message,

the God who made you in the first place, Jacob,

the One who got you started, Israel:

'Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you.

I've called your name. You're mine.

When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you.

When you're in rough waters, you will not go down.

When you're between a rock and a hard place,

it won't be a dead end---

Because I am God, your personal God,

The Holy of Israel, your Savior.

I paid a huge price for you:

all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!

That's how much you mean to me!

That's how much I love you!

I'd sell off the whole world to get you back,

trade the creation just for you."

I love the sentiment of what it appears God is trying to convey. For a long time I took it as a comfort when times were really rough. And it surely does work for that. But this morning, as I look at it and read it over and over, my eyes are opened to a slightly different perspective. God is reminding the Israelites how much He loves them. He is being proactive in expressing His love to them and for them. How powerful it is to feel that in those in between moments of life. Those times when things aren't good and they aren't bad, they just are. Those moments where life almost seems to be in a lull, or stall pattern. Those are usually the moments when I begin to make small decisions that lead me astray and into trouble. It's really in those times that I need reminders of how God thinks of me, with the hope that it will cause me to re-evaluate choices I'm about to make. I love how God gives some specific examples of His feelings, and then in case we still aren't getting it, He makes it plain as day like at the end of the passage above. We mean everything to God. What a powerful thought. Simple........yet profound. GOD LOVES ME."

I needed this reminder again this morning. God does indeed love me. He paid a dear price for me! He gave everything for ME! What greater love is there. Thank you Jesus, for your love for me. There is no greater gift.

Surprising Encouragement

Today was a long day. I spent 11 hours at church today, and then came home and ran 10+ miles because I'm so close to reaching 200 miles for the month. In fact, after tonight's run, I only need 1.1 mile to reach 200. Should have kept going. Oh well, I've always got tomorrow and Wednesday.

Back on track.....so I'm running tonight. I've had some dreams for a little while now (they will remain nameless, and not like dreams when you sleep but dreams as in future aspirations) and they come to mind again tonight. I spend almost the entire run thinking about them. I got home, showered, and began to see my favorite verse, Isaiah 42:16 in a whole new light. Let me refresh your memory (even though I just posted about it).....

"But I'll take the hand of those who don't know the way,

who can't see where they're going.

I'll be a personal guide to them,

directing them through unknown country.

I'll be right there to show them what roads to take,

make sure they don't fall into the ditch.

These are the things I'll be doing for them--

stick with them, not leaving them for a minute."

I always took this in a sort of "Help God, I'm in real trouble here and you are promising to take my hand and guide me through this mess." But tonight was different. I think that definitely God wants us to know He will be there, much like search and rescue in times of need. But, I also think He wants to lead us into and through adventures, challenges and situations that will put us to the test. They will require everything in us, and at the end of the day, that won't be enough. We will have to rely on Him. But what He leads us into and through, will be so rewarding. Words won't be able to describe the impact on us!

Too often I've viewed God as someone to lean on in times of trouble, much more so than someone who will lead me through a life of adventure. Maybe it's time I begin to let the Holy Spirit take my hand, be my personal guide, and show me what roads will lead to adventure with Him. I don't want God to only be there for me like a search and rescue unit. I want Him to be like an adventure guide I hire at the beginning of an adventure. Someone that's there the entire time, that I trust to lead me into and through some exciting and dangerous adventures.

Stuff like this just gives me the chills!

Then we've got crazy stuff like this kayaking video!

And of course, it'd be tough for me to talk about adventure without a little trail (or in this case mountain) running video thrown in.

Now, adventure with God leading the way will look different for everyone. And certainly won't necessarily regularly include things like mountain running, kayaking, base jumping in a wing suit, or other things like this. But I think we can come to a consensus that when we allow God to lead, life gets very adventurous very quickly. Trying to follow the Holy Spirit can be very unpredictable. In fact, that reminds me of a book written by Mark Batterson, called Wild Goose Chase. Here's an excerpt found in the introduction.

“Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something….
Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.” --from the introduction

Ok, that's enough rambling for tonight.

"You go, we go"

So this scene came to mind today in the strangest of places. I was at church, and it was during praise and worship at the end of the service. God was really moving, and I was feeling many things I thought He might be trying to tell me. And at one point, a picture of me hanging off a cliff with someone holding me by the hand, keeping me from falling, came to mind. I stayed with the scene for a few moments, and then the Backdraft scene came to mind.

I began to feel like that's exactly what God has been doing for me the past little while. I've truly felt at the edge at moments, felt like nothing more than a sinking ship. And yet, this vision was showing me that God was right there, holding me by His fingertips, saying "You go, we go".

Now, the only problem here is that in the scene above Kurt Russell's character ends up letting go. But God NEVER will. Some of you might be there with me. You might feel like there's nothing else to do but give up. And I think God wants to show you He's right there, keeping you from falling. He's saying, "You go, we go" but the truth is that He will never fail. His grip will NEVER slip. He will NEVER let go!

And what an amazing truth that is! So reassuring.

So I decided to have a fire tonight, to give God some more time, and take a few moments to reflect on that today. And He brought to mind a passage that I've been working on memorizing. A passage I've shared before; one that's been dear to my heart for years now.

Isaiah 42:16 in The Message says,

"But I'll take the hand of those who don't know the way,

who can't see where they're going.

I'll be a personal guide to them,

directing them through unknown country.

I'll be right there to show them what roads to take,

make sure they don't fall into the ditch.

These are the things I'll be doing for them--

sticking with them, never leaving them for a minute."

What a powerful promise here. God will take our hands when we are bling to all else. He will guide us each and every step through those tough times, when all we want to do is give up. He'll show us what roads to take, keeping us from falling. He will stick with us, and never leave us. What power in these words. What a great reminder for me tonight.

Sweet Video!

This video is why ultra runners run! Taken THIS morning during The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc race, which I posted about earlier. Can't find views and terrain like this in East Central Illinois!

Fun Run

Two of my running partners today. Saw way more than I could count. What a team effort, although these guys look like their loafing it a bit!

Just a little river I got to run along for awhile.

A little obstruction in the trail never hurt nobody. Had to crouch down to make it under this.

Beautiful sunrise. Nuff said.

Picture taken of huge spiderweb I thankfully did not run into. One of the few I missed.

About 2/3 way up a pretty steep climb. One year during the Siberian Express, people were sliding down this on my right and left. Had to grab roots and anything else could get your hands on to make it up this snow covered hill.

Looking down same hill.

Only about 1/3 way up hill.

River crossing. Thankfully very little water so I didn't have to get wet.

This fog is like clockwork. Get to see it every morning over this prairie! Love it!

I decided to write up a little post while keeping my eyes glued to the computer for UTMB (The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc) updates. A couple of key runner have dropped, some early on, and some within the past 2 hours, all surprises. No matter what kind of success someone achieves at 100 mile races in the mountains, finishing is still never a given, let alone winning. There's one runner in particular, Kilian Jornet who continues to amaze. He's only 21 or 22 and keeps winning everything in sight. The kid is amazing. Honestly, it excites me to read up on all the exploits of some of the top ultrarunners in the game (Krupicka, Roes, Jurek, Clark, Jornet, Jones, Grant).

This has been one of those sports that I've grown to love the more I throw myself into the world of ultrarunning. Tipping the scales at 200+ means I'll never be competitive in the ultra world, but I do love the thrill of covering distances that provide that shock factor. I suppose it's provided me with some sense of pride, that I can push myself to the limit, take a lot of abuse and pain, and still move forward. This has really translated to all areas of my life.

Training can sometimes prove to be difficult. With a wife and 2 children, plus at one point 2 jobs (thankfully now down to one), it's extremely difficult to find the time necessary to train, and the energy to eat the right types of food. Food must be viewed as fuel when training for an ultra. And quick foods rarely provide the right type of fuel. Usually, I end up training while everyone else in the world is asleep, meaning my body lacks the sleep necessary to fully recover from punishing training runs. So, sometimes I can begin to get stressed out by it all.

I've got a 50k trail race coming up in three weeks, and my long runs haven't gone quite like I've wanted them to. This morning, I decided that more than anything, I need to go out and just have fun on my run. So I scaled back the distance a bit (only did 12.52 miles on the trails) and took my time to enjoy the scenery. I didn't push my pace all that hard; just wanted to have fun. And I did. I saw more deer than I could count, a beautiful sunrise, a fog covered prairie, and some wild turkeys within 10 feet. I even stopped for a few pictures, as you can see from above. The point is, sometimes we need to recognize that we need to give ourselves a break. There's a rhythm to live. God created it that way (He worked 6 days and rested on the 7th).

I see that Kilian Jornet has just won the 2011 UTMB!

But seriously, we need regular rest in our lives. We were not created to work 24/7, never enjoying anything that life and God have to offer. Jesus did not die for us so that we could waste it all away by working and being stressed. So, today, I decided not to stress about my race. I decided not to stress about life. I decided, it was high time for some relaxation. And I got that by trail running.

So, while I do hope you enjoyed the pictures, and my little spiel about running, how do you relax and rest? When was the last time you did this? What better time to start than today!

Overwhelmed

Feeling overwhelmed can be exhausting. Many times along with it comes feelings of paralysis, not knowing where to begin. The key to overcoming feelings of being overwhelmed is to step back for a moment and turn to God. Sounds cliche', I know.

But I was feeling this way earlier today. Then, I decided to take a step back from everything, figuring it wouldn't hurt for me to spend 15 minutes reading my Bible and praying about this. My attention turned to Isaiah 43:1-4.

But now, God's Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob,
the One who got you started, Israel:
"Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you.
I've called your name. You're mine.
When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you.
When you're in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you're between a rock and a hard place,
it won't be a dead end—
Because I am God, your personal God,
The Holy of Israel, your Savior.
I paid a huge price for you:
all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!
That's how much you mean to me!
That's how much I love you!
I'd sell off the whole world to get you back,
trade the creation just for you.

This reminded me that many times, all God wants is my attention. Especially when I'm feeling overwhelmed, I think he wants me to stop and hang with Him for a little bit. God is with us all of the time. The next time I'm feeling overwhelmed, I want it to serve as a reminder to turn my attention to Jesus, to give Him every thought, every anxiety, every responsibility, every task, every stress, and remember that He is here with me. I want to allow the Holy Spirit the opportunity to speak to me through those times. I want to receive His comfort.

So, the next time you feel overwhelmed, stressed, defeated, what will you do? Will you wallow in self-pity? Or will you turn to God, allowing that to serve as a reminder of how much He wants to speak to you, minister to you, love you? He does you know. He wants to show you His love. All you need to do, is turn your attention to Him.

Just watched this 60 Minutes report on Homeless kids in America. SOBERING! Now, more than ever, people NEED to see the LOVE of Jesus! We can no longer talk about it in our safe little "Christian" circles. We MUST become a people of action! Thanks @AdamWaters for your timely message this past weekend! I loved hearing the girl at the end talk about once their life takes a turn for the better, they'll be able to help others in similar situations because now they know what it's like. With that being said, what we think is rough here in America, many times pales in comparison to the rest of the world. It doesn't take much to be a life changer in other countries. Utilize orgs like World Vision, and partner with them TODAY!

Waiting on God

These days our lives seem to be defined by how busy we are. We wear it like a badge of honor. There are few things people pridefully acknowledge more than how insanely packed their daily schedules are. Let's face it; we LOVE being in a hurry.

And yet, I think most of us despise it at the same time.

We long for an easier life, simpler schedules, a chance just to catch our breath. It's quite humorous, because most of the time when I get a break, I get so stir crazy I end up finding stuff to do. Doesn't matter what it is. I struggle to sit still. I struggle with waiting.

I'm in a mini discipleship group on Wednesday mornings with a group of guys from church. We are going through a book on leadership and talked about a chapter yesterday that dealt with this very topic. In all honesty, it was about waiting on God.

How many of us have learned the art of waiting, let alone waiting on God? We will rush into any situation, rush any decision just to check it off our to do list before moving onto the next item. There's something that feels so satisfying about crossing items off a to do list. But in our haste, we end up treating God much the same way. And then we wonder why we are stressed, why we feel burdened, frustrated, burnt out, down in the dumps, etc.

I came across Isaiah 40:31 just a moment ago. I've heard this many times over the years, especially in regards to running. And yet, another part of this totally captured my attention just now.

"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." --Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)

That first phrase is what caught me. The rest ONLY happens if we wait on the Lord. WOW! I mean, we are talking epiphany here folks! I knew this, but I didn't really know it, know what I mean?

When was the last time I simply waited on God? Truly sat at His feet, and just waited on Him, fully engulfed in His presence, no rush to move on, nothing else on my mind, just captivated by Christ?

This sounds pretty good to me. Think I'll put this into practice right now. And while I'm waiting, maybe while you wait, ponder what Ephesians 3:20-21 (NKJV) has to say....

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

Go, and wait...........