James 3:17-18

"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness."

God grant me the courage to live it today.

Mark

C25K Update

Monday -- We were going to run, but hit a snag when it started raining on our way out. So, we decided to do what everyone else does when a planned run is thwarted...Jillian Michaels workout DVD! No shame for me. It was tough...circuit-training combining strength, cardio, and abs. To say my upper body strength is non-existent would not be far from the truth. But it was good. We are going to try to work in Jillian once or twice a week.
Tuesday & Thursday -- Finished up week 3.

Saturday (today) -- Started week 4. 3 minute run, 90 second walk, 5 minute run, 2 1/2 minute walk, then repeat it all. Allyson and I did not have the strollers today because her mom and dad are in town. So, the run felt good. With the warm-up walk and walking back to our car, we were hitting the pavement for about 30 minutes. Good morning!

Mark

C25K

Thursday, we finished up week 2 with a good 26 minute run/walk. Saturday, we started week 3. We went to a park in town and walked on the track so we would know how far we actually walked. 5 minute warm up walk, followed by a couple sets of 90 second run, 90 second walk, 3 minute run, 3 minute walk. We finished out walking a couple extra laps to get to 2 1/2 miles. Total time was 33 minutes. Looking forward to getting back out there today!

Mark

C25K Update

Friday, we finished up our 3rd day of the 'first week'. We finished in 26 minutes, our quickest of the week. Saturday, Allyson's parents were in town, so we had decided to start the second week's training without the strollers. Well, it looked like it was going to rain us out, but the clouds broke for a few minutes and we decided spur-of-the-moment to forget the training and run as much as we could. We ended up running 6 minutes, walking 1, and finshing with a 13 minute run. It was good! Yesterday, we were going to start week 2. Allyson blogged about our experience. It didn't go as planned, but still got a good run in...and had a little unexpected fun. This afternoon, we were able to start 'week 2' officially. We walked 5 minutes, did 4 sets of 90 second run, 2 minute walk, and finished off with 2 sets of minute run, minute walk. We ended up taking a longer route than our normal 2 mile loop, so we had to walk a few more minutes. Ended up being 30 minutes total. Starting to get warm here, but sweating feels good.

Learning a lot about trusting the process. Hope to blog about that later.

Mark

Jesus Wept

Remember the Fairview youth choir tour? What a fun-filled, crazy week!  I remember driving a lot. I remember Kent's car breaking down. I remember going to an amusement park with Jim's group that was a shade above Lake Winnie's claim to be an amusement park. Oh to have a video and watch one of those performances! I'm sure that would be a riot. Good times.

Something I don't think I'll ever forget about the trip is visiting the Oklahoma City Bombing memorial. I remember when the bombing happened. I don't think I'll ever forget visiting the site that night. The pool, the walls that marked the ends of the building, the lighted seats, the tree of life. Stirring and breathe-taking all at the same time. I remember seeing a statue just outside one of those walls.

Underneath the statue is engraved the simple words from John 11:35; 'Jesus wept.' Growing up, the words of John 11:35 were nothing more than an answer to bible trivia. Lately, it has meant so much more than the right answer to 'what's the shortest bible verse?' I'm not a guy that normally cries very much. But the past few weeks have held their share of tears. What does it mean that Jesus wept? It means he understands our pain. He understands the brokenness of our world. He understands heartache...all the way to death. When we hurt, He gets it and cries along with us. In the midst of suffering, of difficult days sometimes facing things that are out of our control, we are never alone. Our tears are matched on the face of Jesus; the face of God. Thanks be to God.

Mark

C 2 5K Day 2

Today was the same routine as Saturday. We finished a little quicker because we walked a little faster and ran a little extra on the last running leg. Running felt good! Something funny about our run Saturday...Allyson keeps time for us. We got to the first run and she said, "Jog." I thought she said 'dog' so I said, "Where?". I started looking in the yard next to us. She said it again and I said, "Where?" looking across the street in another yard. She finally clearly spelled it out for me and I got it. Now, every time we start to run we say, "Dog."

Mark

Couch to 5K

Allyson started Couch to 5K training today...so I joined her. I could probably go out tomorrow and run a 5K the whole time. But I would be lying to myself if I said I am as healthy and fit as I want to be. The truth is I'm far from it. It was a little bit chilly here today which made it great for a family stroll. We walked 5 minutes. Then alternated 60 second runs with 90 second walks 5 times. Then finished out by walking home. 27 minutes total. Always feels good to get out and pound the pavement for a bit!

Mark

Simply Jesus - #3

I read the chapters this afternoon and completely spaced on writing a blog. Still processing some thoughts. This will be short and may be a bit scattered. I'll add more in the comments later. (I am super pumped about reading the last couple of chapters.)
I enjoyed chapter 11. The idea of time moving somewhere was fascinating to me. Two thoughts about looking at time in a linear fashion. It gives great insight into the Old Testament (an idea fleshed out in part in chapter 12). The stories of old mean something and were part of God's ongoing, creative work. As Jesus' life here on earth is a part (the climax) of the ongoing, redemptive process, so too are we called to be a part of the story. God's time meeting our time (perfectly exemplified in Jesus) is happening. The story is unfolding. Will we participate? Mother Teresa said, "I am but a pencil in the hand of God" (or something close to it).

Deism affects a lot of people in our culture. What does Jesus' life say about Deism? God is concerned about the here and now as much as he is about the 'great, gettin' up mornin'. Jesus seemed to be focused on the Kingdom at hand as well. In Christ, 'time is fulfilled.' The good news is about today and tomorrow. Furthermore, deism pins God distant from suffering. Jesus' life paints a different image. God is not distant to our suffering. He moved into our neighborhood in order to suffer with us. How else does Deism affect perception of who God is and what Jesus' life means for us?

Mark

My resolution

I have tried commenting on the last post a couple times tonight, but for some reason my screen goes white when I click to comment.

I love to start new things. It's fun and easy. Finishing is another story. It's not that I don't like to finish things, it's just that I rarely do. Books are the worst. I cannot tell you how many books I have started and not finished (including a couple other N.T. Wright books). This is one of the reasons I wanted to start this blog...accountability. So, I am determined to finish this text and I thought I would set a schedule for myself. I know we are all busy. This is something I need to do. I broke down the final couple of chapters to give us a little more time with the material. I am not expecting you guys to post or comment more than you have been (or at all). In fact, I'll be the first to post unless one of you beat me to it. Check-in on Thursday...if you don't see a post or comment from me, bust me. I'm serious. Hope we can revisit much of what we have already read and questions that have been raised after we finish the text.

Ch. 11-12: Thursday, Jan. 19th
Ch. 13-14: Monday, Jan. 23rd
Ch. 15: Thursday, Jan. 26th

Thanks brothers!
Mark

Simply Jesus 2- Now and then

Ok...here is the start so we can start the discussion. I will post more later with quotes and such from the book. Feel free to add quotes you thought were good before I do if you want.

I love a few things and found them helpful as I was reading. 1st, his idea of where hope comes from. On pg 63 I believe, Wright says. "so where did the hope come from? How in earth do You sustain hope over more than half a millennium while you're watching one regime after another come and go, some promising better things, but all letting you down in the end? How can you go on believing, from generation to generation, that one day God will come and take charge? Re-living the Exodus Answer: you tell the story, you sing the songs, and you keep celebrating God's victory, even though it keeps on not happening."

Hope comes from immersion in a story that gives identity and ethic. I think that is from Bib Faith with Tim Green. The story of the Bible gives identity and ethic. It also gives hope. Because we serve the creator God, because we know that the earth is not like he created it to be, because we have the promise that It will not always be like this, we have hope that it is true and will not always be like this. (I could obviously write more and do not feel like I am doing it justice, but this is why we have conversation.). So more on that later.

On another thread,I love Te flow that goes through history and those who were hopeful Messiah's...the battle and cleansing/rebuilding of the temple. Made a lot of sense and it was cool to see how it has played out throughout history. Also cool to see how this Kingdom is different in how it was excited and carried out.

Also, more on that later.

So, write away and respond...I will try to write more later tonight.