Walking with Jesus

Marathon, Greece, 490 B.C. Pheidippides, a Greek warrior brings news to Athens, "Victory" and collapses in exhausted death. The Persian army was defeated, and Greece was safe for the Greeks. Poor Pheidippides was only dead...dead and remembered. Ok, so I had to look up his name. I kind of knew the story. I remembered the idea behind the marathon. The battle, the Greekness of it, the ancient Olympic event... but nobody really expected me to remember the name Pheidippides , did they? He certainly wasn't on my mind when Olivia casually asked me a few weeks ago if I would run a marathon for her. He wasn't on my mind when I bought my pedometer. And, he wasn't on my mind when I ran the first two miles on my 6 month training schedule. But, Pheidippides was my kindred spirit when I had my first day of fartlek training. I thought for sure my chest was going to explode. (Hint to those inspired by the journey I'm now taking: don't eat anything with syrup when you...

I've been reading about prayer in a collection of writings by Edward M. Bounds . Though he lived a century ago, he struggled with the same things we struggle with today: casual regard for God, spending so much time for God that we don't spend time with God, pastors who don't carve out time to pray for their people... He's really nailed me on a lot of my ideas about how hard it is to pray. The main thing is just doing it. Then, focus on frequency, intensity, motivation, purpose, direction, humility, etc. Pray is an amazing priviledge and a sacred responsibility. It isn't just about meals, rituals, or disasters; it's about spending time with God and getting to know Him. That's the main thing I want, by any means. How wonderful that God has made Himself so readily available to us! "How vast are the possibilities of prayer! How wide is its reach! What great things are accomplished by this divinely appointed means of grace! It lays its hand on Almighty God...

I had a long weekend this weekend, and I put it to use. We have a secondary building behind our house, and we're trying to improve it. This was a big weekend, because it was the weekend for plumbing and electricity. I really like this sort of work, especially since I don't have to do it all the time. We are building an extra living space, and as I worked I listened to sermons by Don Finto , Asher Intrater , and Brian Wade . And, I was challenged as I worked to focus on God. Normally, I think about the future a lot. I wonder where we'll live in a year. I think about my calling. I plan for tomorrow. I pray for Christ's return. But, this weekend I didn't think much about the years ahead. Rather, I enjoyed each day, knowing I was accomplishing my goals for the day, knowing my Olivia was loving and missing me as she visited with my mom at Possum Kingdom, and knowing that my Heavenly Father is at work even when I'm not worried about it. Now, after the weekend, its tim...