Six months later...

Two weeks ago, while we were traveling somewhere between Southern California and Salem, Oregon, it hit me: we had passed the six month mark since I lost my job. January 16th has become an important date in my life -- an anniversary of sorts -- that marks a shift in my personal walk with God, the start of massive change/uncertainty and a season of intense growth. So on July 16th, six months after “you’re fired,” Traci and I reflected on all that has happened during this time.

When you experience a significant life change, time seems to pass at different a pace. In one sense, it feels like January 16th was years ago: a lot has happened to us in the past 181 days. We’ve driven across the country twice, logging more than 20,000 miles in our already aged van. I’ve slept in 30 different beds across 18 different states, and Traci has traveled half-way around the world to minister in Thailand. We’ve learned to live even more simply, and how to accept the grace, kindness and generosity of others.

This time has been a life-changing experience for our kids, too. They’ve had to say goodbye to schools they’ve been with the past two years, pack up all their belongings into a storage shed and had to “tag along” for a ride into the unknown. We’ve comforted all three of them at different times, cried with each them at other times, and watched them grow during this period of faith-stretching, too. All of us have been part of this journey.

Through all of the struggles of being jobless and homeless, through the challenges that come with trusting God and waiting for Him to reveal the next step, our whole family has been changed. God has become bigger to each of us, and without questions, we are all learning to walk in a renewed and strengthened faith. As Traci and talked about life six months after God changed interrupted our lives, here are a few observations we made.

First, God’s ability to provide has far exceeded our needs on every level. When I lost my job on January 16th, I was given six weeks to move out. That means on March 12th, we, literally, became homeless. And yet, since that day, we have never been without a roof over our heads, and we have never missed a meal. God has opened doors -- house doors! -- to provide shelter, beds, kitchens and basic comforts for all of us. We have lived in the city, on a lake, in the suburbs and in the country, we have house-sat vacant homes or lived in the company of dear friends and family. Every time we’ve needed another place to live -- God has met our need.

Second, we've learned that God is a lavish provider. In a lot of the circles I’ve grown up in, I came to understand that faith in God meant He would meet your basic needs and that’s it. Somehow I took away from sermons, missionary stories and fellow pastors that God was in the bare-minimum business, and not in the lavish gift-giving business. God has grown in my life these past six months, and maybe in this area more than any other. He has been so lavish with my family, and He has shown that He doesn’t just meet needs, He lavishly and generously pours out more than our lives are able to contain.

In Psalm 23 David wrote, “You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings” (23:5). Notice that David’s feast occurred “in the presence of his enemies,” in other words, during the tough seasons -- the seasons when he was being pursued or challenged. But God showed up during that time and David describes God’s goodness like a feast, like a Thanksgiving meal, and says, “my cup overflows with blessings.” During our tough season we have feasted on the goodness of God and have seen, first hand, that He doesn't just meet the bare-minimum need -- He fills cups to overflowing.

Third, we’ve learned that our desire to grow is best met in challenges. Last October Traci and I ran our first half-marathon, and -- obviously, we didn’t know what was going to happen just three months later -- we knew the run was a metaphor for life. One of the big lessons I wrote about was the fact that you don’t get the medal that says you finished, unless you complete the race.

For us, that meant months of training, beginning while the snow still covered the ground. We ran when the roads first made an appearance in April, and we ran in downpours and drizzly afternoons in June. We ran in beautiful weather along Northern Michigan farms, and we ran in stifling heat and humidity in parks, roadways and big cities while traveling for my job. Running a half-marathon is hard, and receiving the joy of finishing requires months of hard work.

Likewise, growing in your faith is hard, but the resulting spiritual and personal change is worth it. Traci and I have longed to see some big dreams become a reality, and during this season, God is preparing us for the reality of those big goals. Does it hurt? often. Is it fun? occasionally. Is it easy? rarely. Is it worth it? always!

Finally, Traci and I have come to understand that our kids have to experience this for their good, too. Honestly, this might be the hardest part of the journey, and the burden I feel the most. It’s one thing to have your own life or marriage impacted by outside influences, it’s another thing entirely to watch it spill over onto your children. For years, though, Traci and I have prayed for their faith, and for their individual relationships with God, and we are seeing amazing growth in their lives, too!

Those times we’ve prayed with them, and for them, those times we talked about God-sized goals, and those times we’ve dreamed together as a family -- those possibilities we’ve talked about are beginning to take shape through this trial. To pray for change and growth and dreams with our children, and yet to try and “shelter” them from this hardship is a disservice!

Just as Traci and I realize our greatest growth occurs in the shadow of hardship, our kids’ greatest growth will occur as they see how Traci and I navigate pain and change, and as they learn to work through it themselves. During this season, more than once, their faith has lifted Traci and I when we were running low. And every time they see God answer a prayer, provide for a need or show up in grand fashion, their future lives are being shaped in ways that wouldn’t occur without hardship.

While I can’t honestly say I want the next six months to be anything like that past six months, I can honestly say I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. If you’re going through one of these season, I want to encourage you to reflect on how God is showing up in your life. For me, the more time I take to see His fingerprint in all of this, the more my faith is strengthened even in the face of extreme uncertainty. I'm confident if you look for God's hand in your hardship, you'll experience growth in your faith, too!

Go ahead and take the plunge, life is always better on the water.

Lessons from a half-marathon (Mile 13)

Crossing the finish line of my first half-marathon was a thrilling event. I don’t know how to put it into words, but there was something very special about coming down the last stretch of road and stepping over the curb ,and onto the grass, where cones funneled us through the final 50 yards that led to the finish line. Many spectators, including runners who had already finished their races and were dressed awaiting the awards ceremony, were cheering us on as we jogged our last few steps. There were whistles, claps, loud cheers and even a couple of cowbells clanging as we sauntered home. Best of all, our friends Clay and Lisa were waiting to congratulate us on having completed our 13.1 mile run. It was a memory I won’t soon forget.

Finishing the goal was the best the feeling of all. The energy we had in finishing was better than the energy we had in miles 1-3. Finishing was more joyful than the pace and rhythm of miles 4-6, and made the work of miles 7-9 almost forgettable. When we crossed the finish line, I wasn’t thinking about the wall we hit in miles 10-12, instead, I was taking in the moment and enjoying -- yes, enjoying -- the aches and pains, the sights and sounds and the emotional thrill of victory. We had beaten the course because we had finished.

As I’ve thought back to the finish line, there are three big take-a-ways I have from completing my first half-marathon:

1. Train for the finish line. Traci and I trained hard during the months that led up to the race. We ran two or three times a week, every week, splitting up long runs with short runs, fast runs with slow runs and doing intervals and other types of sprints that helped us build up strength and endurance. And the whole time we were training, we were working toward 13.1 miles. We didn’t train for a 5k (3.1 miles) and then try to run a half-marathon. We trained with the finish line in mind.
2. Public goals are harder to blow off. After we both agreed to run the race, we made our goals public. Believe me, that was one o the best moves we made. Why? Because so many friends and family members were cheering us on through the whole process. I had calls, emails, texts and FB messages of encouragement, in the days leading up to the race. Our friends wanted to see us succeed. That kind of public accountability made it almost impossible to do anything but finish! We had so much support, failing was not an option.
3. Enjoy the journey and victories. Even during the race, Traci and I took time to “High-5” each other when we met certain markers. At mile 3.1 for example, we celebrated the first 5k of the race. At mile 9 we commended each other for the furthest run either of us had completed. At mile 10 we fist-bumped for making it to double digits and when we crossed the finish line we joyfully put our hands in the air and gave it a big “woot woot!” The race is long, the journey is hard but there are always moments to celebrate. And when you cross the finish line, take some time to soak it all in!

Race day was a big learning experience for me. From start to finish, I learned a lot about who I am and what I’m capable of doing when I work hard and choose to not give up. Through the ebb and flow of two hours and forty four minutes of running, I caught the bigger picture of life and realize that I’m on another journey, too. And as great as it felt to finish my first half-marathon, I can only imagine how great it will be to finish this journey with the same commitment and dedication.

I wonder if what I experienced at my race on Sunday was the same time of feeling Paul had when he told young Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished my face...” Paul was at the end of his life, and he knew that his journey on earth was almost over. As he faced that reality he did so with an overwhelming sense of completion because he had beaten the course -- he had run the race God had given him.

It’s my hope and prayer to end my race the same way. I want to finish my journey with the satisfaction of knowing I did my very best, that I worked hard, ran thru walls and challenges, that I took advantage of the help offered me, and I encouraged others and allowed them to do the same for me. I hope people will see an excellent runner in me, one who embraced his course and, in faith, followed God where ever He led. And along the way, you’ll see me celebrate the little moments -- the milestones and the victories -- that God gives us each and every day.

Thank you for following along on this journey, and where ever it may lead, your encouragement and friendship has helped make it a reality. Let’s keep running together and pushing for the finish line one day at a time!

Go ahead and take the plunge, life is always better on the water.

Lessons from a half-marathon: Miles 10-12

Every long-distance runner I’ve talked to knows what’s next. Even some top level runners who helped me prepare for the race told me to be aware of it. Facing it is daunting, yet it’s so common that it’s a regular euphemism used in sports, business, relationships and anything that requires any amount of consistent work. What is it? It is the wall. And I hit mine squarely between miles 10 and 11.

As Traci and I came off the hard work of miles 7-9, we received a little energy boost from the mile 9 aid station that featured grapes, donut holes and water. I ate two grapes, 1/2 a donut hole and drank a small cup of water while running thru the challenges leading up to miles 10-12. The challenges offered in mils 7-9, however, were nothing compared to the wall we hit between miles 10-11.

After the aid station, we continued up the steepest hill of the course thru mile 10 and into mile 11. And when we finally crested the top and started a nice downhill portion of the race, a small change made a big impact on our capacity to reach the end with umph. What change? Something as simple as switching sides of the road.

Up to that point in the race, we had been running on the left side of the road. That’s pretty natural since that’s how runners train and how most courses are set up. In doing this, my body had pretty well adjusted to running on the edge of the road with the crown of the road (the high side) under my right foot , and the lower part beneath my left. At times the crown was pretty pronounced, at other times the edge of the road was almost level. Either way, I’m pretty well-adjusted to running in that situation.

In-between miles 10 and 11 though, we were pushed back to the right side of the road, and found ourselves in a different position, with the left foot now falling higher than the right foot. Honestly, it doesn’t seem like that big of change even now as I write this, and at the time it didn’t even cross my mind as we were moving from the left side, to the right side, of the road.

Just a minute after crossing the road, my left foot was screaming in pain; not just discomfort, but genuine pain as the road had changed underfoot. I didn’t hear any other runners mention this, so maybe our inexperience was part of the problem, but whatever the reason, the switch from the left side of the road, to the right side of the road, had a significant impact on my running state of mind.

Traci was feeling it too, so as we crossed the 11-mile-marker and started out on our 12th mile, the challenges were growing stronger. We had most definitely, hit our wall.

When we finished the last of the hills and were mid-way thru mile 12, we found ourselves “jogging” at a pretty slow pace. In fact, we decided a brisk walk was faster than our current jog, so we walked for about a 1/4 mile. Since neither of us had ever run more than 8.6 miles prior to this race, we recognized we had already run 4 miles further than ever before. We both wanted to end by running thru the finish line, so this brief respite before the final 1/4 mile was very necessary.

Our strength was zapped. Our emotions were running high. Our resolve was being tested.

I learned a lot “at the wall” on Sunday. Here are three of those lessons:

1. You must know why you are running in order to keep running when you hit the wall. For me and Traci, the why of this race has always been the same: it’s a metaphor for the place we are in life. The training, the injuries, the set-backs and the race itself, all of it offers a great word picture of where we are in the journey God has placed us on. We were running to vividly remind ourselves to hold the course in life, to stay on the path that God has provided and to keep pressing on even when the necessary strength is hard to find. We ran this race, because we are running the race as we live out God’s purpose for our lives.
2. Never run alone. The wall is formidable, and your resolve is not enough. Sure, you will hit some lesser walls you can manage on your own, but I promise, your journey in life will bring you face-to-face with challenges that you cannot conquer without help. God didn’t place you on this earth for you to live the life of a Lone Ranger, but rather, for you to live life in the richness and depth of a community of people living out their God-designed lives together. We were created for caravans. I am confident I would not have even entered the race had I not been running with Traci. When our race was over, she told me several times she wouldn’t have finished had it not been for me. Together we ran. Together we faced the wall. Together we broke thru that barrier and are reminded of what great rewards God has for us if we’ll do the same with the barriers we face in this life!
3. Don’t ever stop. We slowed down. We changed our pace as we moved from a plotting jog to a brisk walk, but we never stopped our forward progress. Press on when you hit the wall, because if you stop, it’s almost impossible to regain your forward momentum. Walk. Hobble. Crawl. Just don’t ever stop.

What about you? Are you at a wall right now? Has your forward momentum been stunted by a giant barrier? Are you contemplating giving up? Are you going to stop? As you pursue your God-sized dreams, you will come face-to-face with dream-crushing walls that want to discourage you to the stopping point. Let me encourage you to press on. Let me urge you to continue the walk of faith, and to keep moving on the race God has given you. If God has given you the dream, He will give you the means to fulfill it, just don’t ever stop!

The Overboard Life is lived in faith, believing that running the race God has given us is better than any race we could run ourselves. It’s a life that must be lived in faith, using all that we have and are, while trusting fully in all that He is and can supply.

Go ahead and take the plunge, life is always better on the water!

Lessons from a half-marathon (Miles 7-9)

In miles 1-3 Traci and I experienced the energy of the start. In miles 4-6 we enjoyed the encouragement of finding our pace. But in miles 7-9 we discovered the hard work of plugging along. Running a half-marathon is hard work. Part of what made miles 7-9 so challenging was the fact that we had just come out of miles 4-6 that were so pleasant. The downhill part of the run was “easy” and the encouragement we gave to, and received from, other runners was such a boost. We definitely found a good pace and rhythm and then...and then we turned the corner at the halfway point.

Two realities hit us quickly. First, the wind had been at our back. Truthfully, I hadn’t even noticed the wind up to that point. When we hit the 6.55mile turnaround, however, I realized that we had unknowingly been enjoying the benefit of a tail wind that now was a head wind. The wind was a little nippy, and not terribly strong, but it was very noticeable and our newly found rhythm met its first real challenge. Secondly, we understood that what goes down must go up -- the hills we had been running down were still there but our downgrade was now an upgrade, and not the kind of upgrade you enjoy!

So rhythm came face to face with work. I can honestly say that until the turnaround -- while we weren’t speeding thru the course -- we were enjoying the ebb and flow of the race. We had found a pace that was manageable for both of us and were getting that feeling of, “Hey, we can totally do this!” By mile 7, our optimism had waned a bit.

In fact, last night as Traci and I were talking about these blog posts and the lessons from the race, I learned that she too felt a hint of despair at mile 8. When I saw the mile 8 sign, I had a not-so-fleeting thought: “Yikes. We still have FIVE MILES to go!!” Turns out my wife had the same idea floating in her head but neither of us had the heart to bring the other down, so the thought stayed silent.

For me, there were three factors that made miles 7-9 so challenging. First, as mentioned above, the hill/wind combo surprised me. I wasn’t ready for the change of terrain or the frontal assault from Mother Nature. Second, I started to feel some aches and pains throughout my body. My right ankle was already a little sore from running on the crown of the road and my left calf was keeping me aware of the discomfort I was causing it. Although both of these were mild (not strong, sharp pain), they were nagging, and as miles 7-9 wore on, they stole away some of my focus. Third, I became increasingly hungry. I couldn’t believe how quickly hunger accosted me between miles 8 and 9. I was running along feeling fine, and then I was starving! It was literally that fast, and since we had just passed an aid station at mile 8, and I hadn’t grabbed any nourishing Goo packs, I feared food was not on my radar any time soon.

Isn’t that just like anything worthwhile we tackle in life? You have the adrenaline and energy that comes from starting something new. Have you ever started a new diet or exercise routine? The first few days (ie. miles 1-3) are fun! You’re fired up at the prospect of change and you are energized by others who are traveling with you or have traveled the same road before. Then you hit your stride and as you enter week two (ie. miles 4-6) you are feeling like you can conquer anything. The food isn’t so bad after all. The exercise isn’t that hard. You aren’t that hungry. You’re really not that sore. You hit your stride and feel like you will achieve your goals with ease.

That’s when miles 7-9 show up. You leave the gym Friday all fired up after two weeks of great workouts, and then on Monday the gym has lost its appeal. You smell the dankness. The stuffiness of the locker room is almost nauseating. You realize the green super-shake you’ve been drinking for breakfast is really hideous and you actually don’t like the flavor that much. You step on the scale and see that after two weeks of new foods and exercise, you’re only down four pounds, and honestly, you feel lousy. Your body aches, your stomach wants something different than a blended garden for lunch and you’re wondering if it’s worth it.

Whether it’s diet and exercise, some other life style change, a new relationship or a new project, all of us will hit miles 7-9 in our lives -- the times/hours/miles when the work is hard. The question isn't whether or not you will hit those miles, the question is what will you do when they show up? Here are four lessons I learned from miles 7-9:

1. Expect the hills and wind to work against you sometimes. Whatever you’re tackling in life, the reality is that you will face opposition. Brian Klemmer’s book summarizes it well, If Change Was Easy, We’d All Be Skinny, Rich and Happy. Change, is, after all, a battle of resistances. Especially when living the Overboard Life of faith, you must expect challenges. Paul told young Timothy, “Anyone wishing to live a godly life will be persecuted.” Jesus made it pretty plain that persecution is par for the course for those who truly wish to live out on the water where He is doing His Kingdom work.
2. If you’re not willing to work hard, take your God-sized goals and dreams off the table. Traci and I knew that running a half-marathon was going to be hard. We worked for months in preparation, working through injuries (ouch, this hurts my body), emotions (ouch, I don’t like this) and will (I’m grumpy). During miles 7-9 our hard work paid off because we kept running long after the joy of finding a rhythm had left us. Any worthwhile goal or dream in your life is going to require hard work. Sometimes you’ll experience lots of miles 7-9! The writer of Hebrews says, “...run with perseverance the race marked out for you...” Running is hard work. You must persevere (work hard!) to see the end that God has in mind.
3. Make sure you prepare as best you can for the upcoming challenges. You know there’s going to be tough times, even though you don’t always (ever?) know what they are going to be. Anticipate as best you can. My friend Clay gave me some great advice the night before the run that saved me some heart ache (as well as some aches in other parts of my body. Can you say, “Runner’s Glide”). Next time I run a long race I’ll be better prepared on the nutrition end and not get caught off guard by my hunger. If you want to live the Overboard Life, you’ve got to prepare for challenges while still facing them head-on!
4. Run thru your challenges. When we hit miles 7-9, it would have been easy to walk, to stop at the mile 9 aid station and chat it up with the very kind volunteers etc... But we weren’t in this race to chat things up or to enjoy the sugar-rush, high-energy pit stop buffets. We were in the race to finish, and so when miles 7-9 came up, we had to run thru them in order to reach our goal. Face challenges like a soldier, like a man (woman) on a mission! Keep running, as you move thru the challenges. As Dori would say, “Just keep swimming...just keep swimming!”

Where are you at today? Are you in miles 7-9 in your life? Are you at the hard work stage of a goal, dream or out-of-the-boat expression of your faith? Let me encourage you to press on and to keep running thru the challenges. Living your God-designed life is hard, and requires hard work, but the reward of the labor is worth the effort! Miles 7-9 will make you sweat, but mile 13 is getting closer.

Go ahead and take the plunge, life is always better on the water!

Lessons from a half-marathon (miles 4-6)

(This is part 2 of a 5-part series. If you’d like to start at the beginning, click HERE) [Therefore] ...let us encourage each other, and all the more, as you see the day approaching...”

After the big start to our race, and after a natural separation occurred based on the speed of each runner, miles 4-6 are where Traci and I established a real rhythm. Whereas the start is filled with energy and enthusiasm, stage two is focused on sustaining a pace.

During our race, the Sleeping Bear Marathon, Traci and I found a very comfortable stride as we came out of mile four and began mile five. Mile four ended at an aid station after a pretty steady uphill climb. I grabbed my first cup of water from this table and as we ran past, the lady handing me my water said, “You have a great downhill stretch ahead of you. Enjoy!”

That downhill stretch nearly lasted through the turnaround at the halfway point (6.55 miles). It was a steeper downgrade at first, but leveled out slowly so that we could enjoy the pace all the way down. It wasn’t one of those downhills where you feel almost out of control, but it was strong enough that you felt like you didn’t have to work so hard to keep the momentum going. It was a very comfortable time in the race.

An other occurrence started happening at mile four: Traci and I began to be passed by people on the other side of the street; passed by the people who were on their way back to the finish line. We were just crossing mile four while the fastest runners were crossing mile eight. Made me laugh to think they were running twice as fast as were!

Here we were given a real unique opportunity: We started cheering on and encouraging the runners who were coming back up the hill towards us. It was fun to watch their reactions. The first few people didn’t realize we were cheering for them as we ran past in the opposite direction, so I started calling out their bib numbers to make it clear: “Great job 353!” or “Looking good 230!”

People’s reactions were great. Traci and I got some big smiles, thumbs up and several people hollered encouragement back to us. We saluted everyone coming back toward us, which, since we weren’t setting any speed records on this course, was about 75% of the field! As we cheered for groups of people, they cheered back and miles 4-6 were, without a doubt, the easiest miles we covered on Sunday.

Here are three lessons I learned from miles 4-6:

1. When Traci and I were recounting our experience to fellow racers, Clay and Lisa (Clay finished 1st in his age group, 15th over all, and Lisa was similarly fast!), we described miles 4-6 (where, incidentally, we saw Clay and Lisa both pass us on the opposite side of the road!). Afterward Traci made this comment, “Miles 4-6 definitely went by the fastest, and they were the easiest.” What made those miles the easiest? First, it was the most downhill part of the course, but secondly, and I think more importantly, we were focusing on encouraging other runners. While we were finally getting into our stride, it was [relatively] easy to encourage other runners. As racers, it’s easy to put your head down and run (and there is a time for that!), but when you do, you miss out on the people right near you who might need your encouragement, and who might be able to encourage you. Once you pass the starting phase of a project or lifestyle change, and you get to where you’ve established a bit of your stride, remember to look around you and offer encouragement to those who are racing near you. Maybe they’re along side you, or maybe they’re blowing past you on the other side of the road, either way -- your encouragement may be just the boost they need in their race, and you will find that it helps your journey, too.
2. I wasn’t very far into mile two before I started seeing some runners who had come out of the gate too fast. The adrenaline and energy of the starting line can deceive us into believing we’re faster than we’ve trained, or that we have a 13.1 mile sustainable speed boost. One lady in particular blew past us in the first 1/4 mile, but just beyond the 2 mile marker, she was walking and trying to catch her breath. After a short walk she started back into her run at a much more regulated pace. She was a good runner and I’m sure she finished well ahead of our pace. But she was strongest when she found her rhythm, not when when she was surging on adrenaline. Use the starting energy to get out fast and to build momentum, but remember that you usually (never?) can’t sustain that pace for long. You will be strongest in the rhythms of life, not in the surges.
3. We really enjoyed miles 4-6, almost as much (more?) as we enjoyed miles 1-3. Remember to enjoy the rhythms of life. There are going to be uphill parts of the path, you will experience the flat lands and you will experience the wind, the rain, the sun and the cold and heat, but during the rhythms, take time to enjoy the route. Sometimes we can get caught up in the pace of others, comparing ourselves to them, instead of just embracing the race that God has put us in. Traci and I easily could have been discouraged by people running more than twice as fast as we were, but instead, we chose joy and encouragement on our way.

Once you’ve started moving toward your goals and dreams, once you’ve started tackling the journey that God has put you on, look for the pace that will help you sustain for the long haul. I think all of us want to believe we can go full throttle for the entire event, but reality says it’s not possible! In running events, injuries occur when racers take to a speed that’s too fast, and rarely are goals achieved.

One woman was running the marathon and when she ran past us at mile 11 (she was on mile 24) I said, “Great job...you’re doing awesome!” She replied, “Not really. I led this race until mile 20...and then I lost it!” She was not happy. I was surprised to hear she had been leading (for the women) because several women had gone by us at that point, one probably a mile or two ahead of her. After the race I heard her lamenting to a supporter, “I just started out too fast.”

After you ride the momentum of a start, find your rhythm and enjoy the race. Too many people get burned out in life, burned out on pursuing their God-sized goals and objectives, in part, because they never find a rhythm. What about you? Are you in need of finding a rhythm? Are you in the rhythm right now, and struggling to enjoy it? Maybe you need to look up and encourage others who are around you, behind you and, yes, even ahead of you! Maybe you need to just see the scenery and take it all in while you keep plugging along? Find your rhythm and you’ll find your strength.

Go ahead and take the plunge, life is always better on the water!

Lessons from a half-marathon, (miles 1-3)

Yesterday, Traci and I completed 7 months of training and preparation by running our first half-marathon -- 13.1 miles in the Sleeping Bear Dunes Marathon event. We joined nearly 400 runners (150 full marathoners, 250 half-marathoners) on the very hilly run just outside of Sleep Bear Dunes National Park. A great run with truly stunning vistas. Until our run yesterday, Traci had never run more than 8.2 miles and I had never extended a training run past 8.6. In fact, in the last three weeks leading up to the run, Traci had been battling a foot injury that allowed her just two runs during that time: a 1-mile interval run that ended with great pain, and a 3.5 mile run, just 5 days before our race, that revealed her pain was gone.

The encouragement we’ve received from friends near and far, made it possible to finish the race when our strength was entirely gone. More than that, the comments of our friends after the race has truly humbled us and reminds us of the importance of what this race represented to us. Over the next five blog posts, I want to break down the lessons I’ve learned form this race through each section: Miles 1-3, miles 4-6, miles 7-9, miles 10-12 and mile 13. Thanks to all of you who “ran with us” and are continuing to join us in the journey.

Miles 1-3

Traci and I have had the privilege of hosting 3 different races, and now we have shared in this half-marathon. Most races are quite festive since there are lots of people out to enjoy the event. There are serious runners (like our friends Evey and Clay) and people like Traci and I who are there to conquer the course without any kind of time goals. There are people walking, people running with a goal (yesterday a brother and sister team had “For Ma” on the back of their shirts) and people who just enjoy the atmosphere.

And when you first start out on a race, it is a very enjoyable atmosphere! The energy of all the participants, the loud music and the big start where everyone takes off to cheers and whistles through the large starting gate is a big thrill. It’s also a pretty significant adrenaline rush and sends most runners out onto the course with joy and an extra spring in their step.

Yesterday held that kind of thrill for me and Traci. We got off to a great start and we were definitely feeding off the group energy as we began the race. Running with hundreds of people as we each faced the course for our various reasons was exciting. In fact, the first three miles held the same kind of excitement as each runner was establishing his or her pace, and slowly, the crowd began to spread out.

A big part of each race is relatively easy: you need to start!

How many times have we approached a new venture in work, started a new project or began working on a significant change in our lives with energy and excitement? I think most of us are usually pretty good starters and starting is very important! Traci and I began our race today with two goals: Start and finish. As you might guess, one of those is actually much easier to accomplish than the other.

I love starting. I thrive on the energy of the group, the enthusiasm of new ideas and the life-giving excitement of tackling something hard. My wife loves gathering data, organizing new structures and laying out the long-term plans for achieving her goals. She is fired up when starting out. Can you relate?

Starting is usually pretty fun as we set out with new goals, ideas how to accomplish those goals and the lack of awareness of just how painful or difficult the challenges facing us will be. This was certainly true of how Traci and I started our race yesterday.

There are, however, several potential -- and generally expected -- problems with starting a race (or a new venture):

1. Starting isn’t usually a very fair representation of the actual goal, project or sought-after change. The energy of starting can be swallowed up in the miles that follow and the hard work of grinding out the miles that are come. Ever started something with zest only to a hit a wall that brought a screeching halt to progress?
2. Starting is a vital component to completing any objective, but the objective’s goal must be clear. In other words, Traci and I began a race yesterday knowing what the end goal was. We weren’t running until the end of our strength and then merely stopping and calling it good. Granted, we came very close to the end of our strength, but the goal remained crystal clear: finish the 13.1 mile course. Starting a new plan, going after a new dream or chasing down a great objective without knowing the end goal cannot end in success.
3. Starting energy is an important part of the whole project. While we recognize it’s not a fair representation of the whole process (see #1 above) it is a vital part of the getting the ball rolling. Without starting energy, it’s hard to generate momentum, difficult to generate a strong community and almost impossible to get past the first obstacles you will, most certainly, encounter.

What about you? Is it time for you start something? Are you in the middle of starting energy right now and in need of clarifying your goals? Are you sitting on the outside of the race course contemplating your next move?

Since February when Traci and I agreed to prepare for this half-marathon together, Hebrews 12:1-2 has been a big part of this journey. The writer of Hebrews states, “...run with perseverance the race marked out for you...” In other words -- Start the course that God has laid out for you! We will rarely (ever?) know the result of running the race but we will never be wrong in starting God’s ordained journey for our lives.

Are you ready to start?

Go ahead and take the plunge, life is always better on the water!

Hi: My name is Joe and I'm a quitter.

If you could hear the thoughts bouncing around in my head while I’m running, I’m pretty sure you’d demand immediate psychiatric evaluation. It’s crazy what goes on in my brain as I train for my October half-marathon, and one thing is certain: I’m a quitter.  

Tonight I ran my first 10k distance: 6.2 miles of non-strop running. I actually logged 6.24 miles (but who’s counting?) in just over one hour and four minutes, and the battle to stay out on the course was significant. I originally began the night thinking I’d try to run 5-miles again, since I had just completed my first 5 miler last week. But after I finished 3 miles, I had this crazy thought to push through to 6, and as I got closer to 6, my legs told me to go ahead and finish up a 10k.

Sounds sane, doesn’t it? Once I got past the one mile mark however, the conversation in my head was a constant battle. On the one hand, I really wanted to achieve this goal, on the other hand, I wanted to quit and head back to the house to sip a cold beverage and admire how easy a mile was.

As I finished up three miles, my wife split off from me and I headed out on my own. When I’m running with my wife, I know I have her encouragement to stay on the trail and keep up pace. As soon as she peeled off, my desire to quit grew even stronger. So as I turned to complete my second 3-mile circuit, I did a mental check:

Me: Self, how are you feeling?

Self: Lousy. I hate running. My feet hurt. My back hurts. My eyes hurt. My hair hurts.

Me: Wait...your hair hurts?

Self: If that will get you to stop running, then yes. My hair hurts.

Me: Liar.

Self: Okay, but I was serious about my feet and my back.

Me: Baby.

Self: I really don’t like you.

It was crazy, every step of the way I kept trying to come up with reasons why I should quit. Do you ever do that? Are you ever looking to stop?

You know what I realized: there is always a reason to quit! In running, every step is a reason for me to quit: My feet can be sore, my calf might be aching, my back gets tired of the bouncing and, as you can tell, my brain is working against me. Tonight my shoulders were tense, and even though I tried to consciously relax them, I kept finding myself tensed (not sure why!). Even on the night of a good run, like tonight, there is always multiple reasons to quit!

What about you? What are you trying to fight for, but find yourself in the mental battle about quitting? Are you wrestling in your marriage? There will always be a reason to give up. Are you contemplating how doable your God-sized dreams are? There will always be a reason to quit. Are you struggling under the burden of debt? Every day you will have the chance to put it off another 10 years! Are you working hard on improving your health? Temptation to give-in is always just around the corner.

You see, the easy choices in life don’t require much effort. Choosing to stay unhealthy is easy. Letting my marriage go to pot doesn’t require any work on my part. Giving up on my dreams is as easy as making Netflix a 2-hour/night habit. The easy choices don’t require much effort. It’s the ones we really want that require effort. And even more than effort, they require a reason!

And I realized tonight that what kept me running after mile 3...and 4...and 5...and 6 was a BIG reason; it wasn’t my effort, and it certainly wasn’t my passion for running. My preparation for this race is a picture for my life right now -- I’m running because this process represents the work that I believe God is doing in my life. I’m in the middle of a long stretch of His working, and He is opening up doors and opportunities for me that require patience, discipline, hard work, endurance and even some joy in the journey! As I physically prepare for a 1/2 marathon, God is teaching me that what it takes to run long distances are the same qualities needed to run spiritually, and to chase after God-sized dreams.

Hebrews 12:1-2 have become my theme verses this year. The writer encourage the readers to strip off anything that hinders them, so that they can “run their race(s)” with perseverance and focus. "Running our race" is a spiritual discipline, that's hard, requires a great deal of effort and sometimes doesn't feel very rewarding in the moment. But God uses that discipline to make us into who He wants us to be, so that we can do what He wants us to do.

Yet, as most of us know, discipline isn't pleasant. We often like the results of the discipline, but the process of being disciplined is far from enjoyable. In fact, we usually tend to resist it and that's why we don't "run our races!" So as the passage goes on, the author gives the big reason why we should run and endure the discipline: “...but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (12:11).

Physically, I'm looking forward to the fruit of discipline that will reveal itself when I complete my race in October. Crossing that finish line will be a big accomplishment, whatever form it takes (even if I'm crawling across!). Spiritually, I'm looking forward to the fruit of the discipline that is required to achieve the God-sized dreams placed inside my heart. In both cases, I have to be willing to be trained by the discipline and the hard work of grinding out the pavement, mile after mile.

And that's why I kept running tonight.

What's your BIG reason for pushing on? Why will you fight for your marriage? How will you keep pressing on toward your God-sized dreams and goals? Where will you find the strength to eat up more pavement when your brain is telling you to quit?

When we live the Overboard Life, we are focused on the BIG why's in our lives, pressing on in the race that God has given us. It's not easy and the process of discipline hurts -- but it has a big payoff when we've truly been trained by it.

Go ahead and take the plunge, life is always better on the water!

Project Nehemiah was written to help people identify their goals and go after them with passion and faith. This tool is available in our bookstore in both print and e-book formats (and soon in audible format, too!). Grab a copy today!

Hold the course

In preparation for my first half marathon I’m finding out why I really don’t enjoy running that much: it’s hard. Yes, after several months of running I’m finally breaking thru some barriers, but running is still hard work for me. For example, on almost any given day I can hop outside and run 1.5-2 miles without much pain. But after two miles, my brain starts in on this little game I like to call, “Let’s go home and eat a frozen pizza.”  

If my running thoughts were broadcasted, I would be somewhat humiliated. I’d be running by someone’s house and they’d hear, “I wonder if I just ran into that tree in their yard, if they’d call 9-1-1 and I could get a lift home?” Or the other day when a guy stopped his car on the road to ask directions he would have heard, “Yeah, I’ll tell you where the baseball park is if you let me hop on your running boards for the next mile!” The problem with that plan is that the app Map My Run would have shown a split mile time of 45mph and most of you wouldn’t have believed I actually ran that fast. You guys are such skeptics!

The flip side of the hard work though, is the joy -- yes, I just used the word joy describing an aspect of running! -- that comes when you set a personal new distance record or meet a time goal. Just last night Traci and I ran for 4.13 miles, out on the road for over 46 minutes. It was the first time I had run that far (previously I hadn’t run more than 3.57 miles) for that long (42 minutes was my previous time).

I was actually pretty pumped to share that with others, even with my running friends who hit 4.13 miles during their “warm up” runs before the race. There was something profoundly important to me, and thus joy-inducing, when I hit those two marks; it was hard, and the difficulty of it created its own reward.

This half marathon training has really been the perfect metaphor for this year. As I approach the half way point of life (statistically speaking), I feel like I’m just hitting my stride. I’ve worked through the challenges of starting, I’ve climbed a couple of hills and enjoyed coasting down a few slopes, and now I’m in the grind. Now I’m in the part of the run where my mind is looking for shortcuts to the finish line, where I’m wondering why I keep running even though my feet ache and I’m frustrated that I’m being passed by so many other runners who don’t seem to struggle at all.

Part of me is looking back at the course and wishing I had started my training earlier. “If I had done this or that, I would be [insert over-inflated sense of self accomplishment here].” Part of me is looking ahead, knowing some more big hills are coming, and wondering if I’ll have what it takes to run my race to the end.

The writer of Hebrews must have been a long-distance runner, because he understood run psychology. He writes in 12:1-2, “...let us throw off everything and that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles...and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith...”

I’m learning that distance running requires two traits, and neither of them are physical. The first is sheer grit. You have to run with perseverance. You have to choose to stay on the path, to keep running even when you’re being passed, to commit to holding the course on the hills when your mind is fairly certain you’ve accidentally gotten off course and stumbled upon Mt. Everest. The most athletic people in the world can struggle in distance running simply because of the mental toughness that’s required. While learning to run, I’m learning how mentally un-tough I am, but I’m working on it!

The second trait distance runners need is focus. You have to find a way to engage your mind while you run. I’ve talked to a lot of runners, and they all have great focus, they just focus on different things. I have one friend who just counts his steps and thinks about each stride as his feet pound the pavement. I have another friend who said she spends time creating lists while runs. Shopping lists, to-do lists, honey-do lists...by focusing on the lists, she takes her mind of the distance and runs with more ease. I’ve heard of runners who fix their eyes on a point on the horizon and set mini-goals for reaching those points, and I’ve heard of runners who count spectators or trees and I’ve known some who put on their earbuds and play music, listen to a book or dial up a podcast in an attempt to keep their minds focused while they run.

Running long distances (and I believe anything over two miles is long distance!) effectively, requires perseverance and focus -- two of the same qualities needed when making an Overboard Life. The writer of Hebrews said “run with perseverance” and “fix your eyes on Jesus” to help us get through each of our races. You have to hold the course when things get tough, you have to persevere with laser-like focus so that you can experience the joy of the journey, and the thrill of finishing well.

A few years ago I became mildly obsessed with the story of Ernest Shackleton. He was a great sea captain who was determined to be the first man to plant a flag for his country (England) on the South Pole. He loaded up his ship, The Endurance, and headed south with his crew. His journey is one of the most amazing in exploration history, for what they endured and survived.

After being stopped by ice, everything that could have gone wrong, did. The ship was crushed by ice floes, many of the emergency supplies were lost and the sled dogs became sick and injured. Realizing they were marooned on a floating island of ice, they sought shelter, tried to find another party of travelers (the Germans were also making haste for South Pole fame) and ultimately built an ice-cave “home” where they weathered a horrendous winter as prisoners on the South Pole.

Months after first getting stuck, Shackleton and two other men made a desperate last-gasp attempt to get help at a Norwegian whaling village on a very small, very remote island in the middle of the southern seas. With no navigational equipment except a compass, taking off in what became an absolutely horrendous storm, and riding in a life boat that had been salvaged from the wreck, Shackleton and his two-man crew headed for the island that was like finding a needle in a haystack.

While 20 and 30 foot swells crashed down on them, the clouds blocked out the moon and stars and with the knowledge that being even 1/2 a degree off would mean certain failure and death, they made every adjustment they could to keep the path. Shackleton’s chief navigation officer kept the boat on course. He never let them waiver, even when it meant facing the eye of the storm. And as the clouds finally rolled back, as the storm slowly relented, a when a small beam of moonlight shined down upon calmer waters, Shackleton and his two fellow sailors beheld the most beautiful sight in the world -- the tiny island they had aimed their boat toward.

They had kept the course and the reward was theirs -- Shackleton, and all but one member of his crew, were rescued.

Shackleton and his crew became famous. He would lead a few other expeditions in his day, but ultimately would settle to become a fairly well-known speaker. He would talk about his crew’s hardships, he would share the lessons he learned about leadership and courage, and he would never forget the journey that changed his life (probably more than if he had been the first to the South Pole!).

You and I will experience storms in life. We will have every reason to be derailed and to give up. The clouds will block the sky, the swells will come crashing down and the possibility of hitting the right mark will seem as unlikely as Shackleton and his crew finding a tiny fishing village in the middle of the ocean. And that’s when we must hold the course most of all. That’s when we must run with perseverance and focus, and we must, we must, hold fast.

Jesus didn’t promise us an easy life, He just promised us one that is possible with His help. In Matthew 14, Jesus didn’t call Peter out of the boat onto warm, tropical and calm waters. Instead He called Peter out of the boat in a storm, in the middle of the night, with waves that had been slamming against the boat, and with a wind that was howling -- that’s the environment where Peter was summoned. And I believe that’s the environment where life’s greatest joys, victories, accomplishments and faith-stretching occur. The eleven men who stayed in the boat never experienced the thrill of walking on water, the joy of strolling through the storm and even the rush of being rescued by Jesus. They stayed put.

In the same way, the joy of the victory comes to the runners who finish, not to the spectators who watch, and not to the runners who give up along the way. I’m learning that the speed at which I run is far less important than the perseverance and focus I run with. On a future fall day in October, I don’t think I’m going to be that concerned with how fast I run my first half-marathon, but rather I will be thrilled that I run and that I finish what I set out this year to do.

Are you running the race God has set you on? Are you running with perseverance even in the tough seasons and storms? Are you focused on Jesus, the One who will always supply you with exactly what you need, when you need it? He promises strength, resources, joy, hope, comfort, help and more if you will just get out of the boat and start running your race.

The greatest life you can have will not be measured in dollars or by how much property you own or stuff you possess. The greatest life will be lived in faith-based experiences, driven by God-sized dreams and full of the joy and satisfaction that can only come from those who run the race God has given them to run. And that race will require great perseverance and focus.

I’m gearing up for the second half of my life, and, with God’s help, I’m ready to hold the course whatever may come. I’m trying to keep my gaze fixed on the Author and Perfecter of my faith, so that when my race ends, I will have finished with joy and strength and will be hearing the words, “Well done, you good an faithful servant.”

39 down, 1 to go!

Go ahead and take the plunge, life is always better on the water!

Are you super busy...doing nothing?

A few months back I made a commitment to my wife, and publicly shared it through this blog, that I was planning to run a half marathon with Traci in the fall. At the time, I had nine months to prepare for this race. Keep in mind that when I made this announcement, I had never run more than one mile at any one time in my life and I have never particularly enjoyed running.  

Today I’m at the five month mark and I’m glad to say I’ve been running. Last week I had my longest single run for distance, at 3.57 miles, and little by little I’m stretching out the distance I am able to run. My goal is that when the 13.1 mile event rolls around, I’ll be strong enough to run the whole time, even if it’s at a snail’s pace down the stretch.

Now imagine if I had done nothing since making my announcement. Imagine race day is tomorrow and today I decide to go buy a pair of shoes, pick out a good running shirt and then head to the starting line in the morning to run my first half marathon. Is there any chance I’ll run the whole 13.1 miles? Of course not! I can tell you right now I don’t even know if I would finish the event if I had to walk it. I’d be too overwhelmed with shame and humiliation being passed by those sweet little old ladies who power walk from start to finish, that I’d pull up at the five mile mark, grab my hamstring and pretend I was hurt!

If I choose to do nothing leading up to the race, I will lose out on the joy of finishing, the joy of seeing my hard work pay off and most importantly, the joy of experiencing the journey leading up to the race.

I know a lot of people who are doing nothing today. They look at others who are crossing the finish line and they wish they had prepared for the race, they see others sharing in an accomplishment and they long to be included. Even more, they get that they don’t have the shared experience everyone else is talking about, and they desperately want to be included. But when it was time to start, they did nothing.

A few years ago as a youth pastor, I led my students on a series of summer mission trips. In back-to-back-to-back weeks, we visited inner city Philadelphia, we worked with a church outside of Eugene, Oregon and then ran a community event in our own town. We talked about these three trips for months and started doing homework and fund raising five months before the trips started.

I had one student who really wanted to go. I met with the family and we talked about him participating in the trips, and I handed them the schedule for our training which included some Bible reading, attending a few training sessions together and several fund raising goals. This young man was excited to go!

A month later, he had not attended any training events (there had been at least one, and maybe two by that time) and had done none of the required fundraising. Two months later the same. At three months, I met with him and his family again, and informed him that he would not be allowed to participate in any of the trips.

He was crushed. His mom pleaded with me to let him go, but he hadn’t done the work, and it would have been unfair to the other team members if he skated free while the others had worked so hard. I also felt like his lack of movement revealed some character issues going on in his heart, so he had to sit this one out.

When our summer trip was over, those that had traveled were changed people. They had bonded together as a team and we had shard experiences that included fun service projects, not-so-fun service projects, long travel days, funny stories, tearful stories, sweet moments of ministry and painful stories of messing up. But all of it combined to make a pretty amazing summer that really drew the team together. But this young man was on the outside looking in because he did nothing when it was time to start preparing.

Most people want to be ready when the time comes for them to experience a truly remarkable moment. Honestly, don’t we all want to be in the right place at the right time when that special thing happens? But the reality is that many people aren’t doing what is necessary in order to be ready when that event happens, or when that relationship is ready to blossom. Instead, they’ve been doing nothing, they’ve not given any real direction for their lives and so they sit idly by while others enjoy the experiences they crave.

Don’t get wrong. I’m not suggesting they are doing “nothing” in a literal sense (although there is that crowd, too!) sometimes these individuals are the busiest people I know. Sometimes they can be so busy living life at a frantic pace that they don’t have time to focus on the goals, dreams and future that they want. They make excuses like, “I don’t have time to....” or “I’m too busy to...” and so on. (Oddly, the most successful Overboard people I know never talk about lacking time or being too busy and they always seem to be in the right place at the right time.)

What are you doing to be in the race today? How are you preparing? When I read the Bible it is so clear that God is looking for men and women who are doing the right thing, who are standing in the right place, who have already entered the race even though they may not know where it’s going. He picks the shepherd boys, not the mighty warriors, to bring down the giants. He chooses the strong and wise women to preserve kingdoms. He picks righteous and faithful old men to start nations. He chose a gracious and humble woman to give birth to the world’s Savior.

David, Deborah, Abraham, Mary -- and the list goes on and on -- weren’t looking to become what God ultimately used them for, but they had started! They had chosen to follow God each day, to stay connected to Him, to be readers and doers of the Word so that when the time came they were ready. When God called them in to action, they had already been practicing and they ran the race set out for them.

I wonder how many warriors watched 13-year-old shepherd boy David kill Goliath, and think, “I wish I had been that brave!” How many women watched Deborah lead Israel to victory and think, “I want to be like her!” David and Deborah weren’t better than anyone else, they were just ready. And if you want to experience the thrill of the Overboard Life, you have to do something to move you out of the boat today!

How is your preparation going? How are you doing in practicing your running today? Are you moving toward something, or are you so busy (or so lazy) that you’re actually doing nothing that will move you closer to your goal of being a better parent or spouse, a more faithful servant or better-prepared teacher? Whatever God-sized dreams and goals you have, the fulfillment of those begins the day you start moving. Dreams become reality when you work on becoming who God wants you to be, so that you can do what He wants you to do. When you get up extra early to spend time with Him and His Word. When you stay up a little extra late to finish the day’s work. When you start using your gifts to serve others and not yourself. When you take a moment to look up from the daily grind and enjoy the world around you. When you stop staring at those who are out of the boat and on the water, and jump out to join them.

I’ve yet to meet the person doing nothing who is happy, fulfilled, overflowing with joy and begging others to join the in their life’s journey and experiences. Quite the contrary. The meanest, saddest, most entitled and selfish people I know are doing nothing. They aren’t even cheering others on in the race, they’re at home angry about the noise that’s disturbing their slumber. I’ve had seasons of my life where I was very busy doing nothing, and I pray that in the second half of my life, I will have many fewer of those moments.

We don’t always know where God will take us while on this wild journey of life. But we do know this: He is working and moving, and He is calling for us to join Him. It’s not about being perfect, but it is about being in process, about growing, trusting, following and serving while stepping into the race. Like Peter in Matthew 14, Jesus is out there on the water inviting us to join Him. Will you be like Peter who had prepared himself for that moment so that he was ready to jump? Or will you be like the other 11 disciples who sat in the boat and watched?

I hope I jump every time. I’d rather fail miserably on the water than live another day, comfortably, doing nothing in the boat. How about you?

37 down, 3 to go!

Go ahead and take the plunge, life is always better on the water!

Time for me to run my race

This past week, Traci and I attended a 5-day personal growth seminar. I’m sure you will be hearing more about this in the weeks and months to come. At the conclusion of the week, we had an extra couple of days to debrief the event together, and to start thinking about what the future holds for us. The seminar we attended was a leadership development conference that focused on the whole leader. We spent time in 8-member process groups (Traci and I were in separate groups) reflecting on the patterns and habits we’ve developed in dealing with life. The range of emotions ran the gambit but through it all, a few key concepts emerged for both of us.

As we were preparing to leave sunny SoCal for snowy Traverse City, Traci and I started talking about what our lessons meant for each of us. A couple of key thoughts came out and I realized that 2014 is going to be a year of running. In 2013, our theme was “work hard.” We anticipated big changes and transitions in our family, beginning with our move from Oregon to Michigan, and continuing as we transitioned family life, work life and a new ministry into our regular routine.

Even though we are already a month in to 2014, a new theme hadn’t emerged for this year, but thanks to Ultimate Leadership, now it’s clear to both of us: We need to run the race that God has put before us. Figuratively…and literally.

First, figuratively. In Hebrews 12:1, the writer of Hebrews tells his audience to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…” Obviously the writer isn’t talking to people running a physical marathon, but rather, the path of life God has put them on. He was challenging them to run with toughness (“perseverance”) and without restraint.

During our conference, I became painfully aware of some of my own restraints. First of all, the “sin that so easily entangles” is usually a little easier to spot. Lies, lust, slander, gossip, rage etc… You and I don’t have to look far to see what sins entangle us and keep us tethered to mediocrity; we might live in denial about those sins, but we almost always know what they are.

For me, I became especially aware of the second category of restraints -- those things that hinder my journey. Obviously the writer is distinguishing these from "sins that entangle," but pointing out that they are of equal damage when it comes to how effectively we are able to run. My awareness grew in two categories. First, I became aware of my inability to receive compliments and praise from others. I’ve always known I was a deflector (you say, “Nice sermon Joe!” and I say, “Oh, thanks, but really, you were just a great crowd and that’s what made it work…”) but I was really confronted with it this week.

One of my group members pointed out that by deflecting people’s kind words of thanks or appreciation, I’m robbing them of the joy of encouragement and downplaying God’s work in my own life. In other words, it wasn’t a good sermon, God didn’t help me with the thoughts and ideas, and really, only a good audience could have gotten anything out of that jumbled mess of a sermon! Deflection prevents encouragement and minimizes the work of God.

And that is the second issue I became aware of, the fact that I downplay what God has done in my own life. In doing that, I end up playing it safe, taking smaller risks for God and stepping out only as far as I’m comfortable. In my own mind, I think it’s a habit I’ve started as a safety mechanism to my pride, a sort of self-imposed humility rooted in fear that ultimately tames the exercise of faith. Starting Overboard Ministries was a HUGE step of faith in my life, but I believe God wants more and I’m worried about playing it safe. Traci and I have an awesome marriage, but I believe God wants more and right now, I’m not facing the risks on my race that will ensure we can achieve what God desires. My work at Lake Ann Camp has some fantastic challenges on the horizon, and there is no room for non-risk takers.

2014 isn’t going to be about playing it safe, it’s going to be about running my race, and embracing the risks that are part of the journey. To do that, I’m going to have to release the worries and fears that are hindering my growth. I have to embrace who God has made me to be, stepping up to do what He wants me to do. I’m going to have to release some habits, some ways I like to spend my free time, and start embracing the course that God has put me on -- not wishing for an easier course, or one with fewer obstacles. I’ve go to run my race.

There’s also a very literal application to this principle: I’ve committed to joining Traci, on October 5th, in running with her on her (and my!) first 1/2 marathon. She asked me about this over a month ago, and I gave her my standard running answer: “No. I hate running.” During this week long event I realized that her 1/2 marathon is the perfect metaphor for what 2014 will represent. This will be a long, hard run, filled with obstacles and challenges and plenty of opportunities to give up and quit before the race is over; the work that will be required so that I can run and encourage Traci will be no less difficult than the work that will be required so I can run my Overboard race, too. I believe October 5, 2014 will be a day of triumph, celebrating how God has created something bigger through our commitment to trust Him with every part of our lives.

I don’t know the details of 2014, but I do know what this year will require of me if I am going to run my race. Some old habits are going to be shown the door out of my schedule. Some old patterns of thinking are going to be given eviction notices and new tenants will be offered the space. I know the run will be hard, but my shoes will be laced, my running partners will be nearby and hope will be firmly resting in the One who honored me with this course. As the author of Hebrews continues, “Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”

What does your 2014 race look like?