Happy 40th, Danny Ray!

by Joe Castaneda Time is a funny thing. Years pass by in what seems like a blink of an eye. And hours can take forever to pass. I’m sure at some point in your life your parents or grandparents or neighbors have said to you, “It just seems like you came home from the hospital  yesterday...” on your 24th birthday! 24 years -- 8,765 days -- can pass like the blink of an eye. But take a visit to the dentist and spend 90 minutes in the chair while the doctor does her work -- time seems to stand still.

No matter how “slow” or “fast” time seems to pass by, one reality is true: it’s moving at the same rate for all of us. Seconds become minutes, minutes turn to hours and days, days march on to weeks and soon become months and years.

During time’s march, there are some interesting markers. The zeroes always seem important: 10, 20, 30, 40 and so on. Each new decade brings with it the opportunity for evaluation, goal setting and course-correction.

This past February 14th, my friend Danny Ray crossed over one of those markers. 14,610 days prior, Danny had been born, and on this Valentine’s Day in 2014 he celebrated 40 years of life. By today’s standards, Danny is crossing the half-way point for life expectancy among American born males. 40 is a big marker.

So how would you celebrate the half way point of your life? Many people like to use these key dates as opportunities for big parties. Some prefer a quit reflection. Danny? He faces these key dates like he does every moment of life -- by challenging himself to be more and more of who God made him to be. This year’s celebration? A 40-mile run on his 40th birthday.

If you know Danny, it won’t surprise you that he took on this challenge. The man that locks himself in water tanks, dodges bullets, screws down the cover of a coffin while lying down in it and literally puts his eye in the path of a rusty old hay hook is prone to big challenges. What might surprise you is how he did it, incorporating 40 of his friends to join him, one on each mile. I had the privilege of “running” mile 34 with him from my home here in Michigan. A friend doing ministry in France also ran with Danny from afar. Many others joined him stride for stride through the streets and hills of Yucaipa. Mile after mile, friendship after friendship, Danny ran, runners prayed together, and the challenge marched on.

As Danny completed his sub 7-hour race, he had a following. People were running with him the last two miles, total strangers were following in cars and honking their support, and facebook was lighting up with messages with #nowaydannyray. Like his stage show, Danny was inspiring others to do more, to take on challenges and ultimately to live life without regret -- without leaving anything behind. This 40 mile run was a powerful metaphor for his life.

Truthfully, I’m not sure Danny realized how much this run was going to affect others. I was thinking about it all day, and while I ran on the treadmill during the early hours of Danny’s run, I was thinking about him, praying for him and praying for the team of people surrounding him. When I logged into facebook I saw prayers going up for him and started to see how much this personal challenge was influencing others:

“Such an honor for [my hubby] to be a part of this milestone celebration for such a dear friend.”

“Super proud of my brother...”

“He made it! What an awesome experience!”

“Congrats Danny! Really inspiring, thanks brother.”

“It truly brought a tear to my eye [a video of Danny of running] to see the family of God in full force! It was an honor being a part of the wee hours of the morning dawn patrol run. So glad so many people got to be a part of this...”

On and on. And the posts didn’t stop the day of the run. Just today, March 4th, I saw this one:

“Partly inspired by Danny’s birthday challenge...I wanted to come up with something different for my birthday...Today marks 30 days until I turn 30. What better way to end my 20’s and kick off my 30’s than to start a 30-day, random acts of kindness challenge?...So from now until my birthday I’m going to perform 30 random acts of kindness, one each day...”

This 40-mile run was bigger than Danny. And that’s why I think it’s the perfect metaphor for his life. I’ve not known many people who intentionally direct their lives toward a bigger-than-life goal like Danny. On the stage, his magic isn’t about you seeing his greatness, it’s about creating some mystery, stirring some inspiration and challenging people to ask the important questions that beg asking. Danny wants you to connect to God, the biggest bigger-than-life you can ever connect with!

I’ve been privileged to know Danny for just a few years now. But I’ve seen the same attention to detail he applies to his magic, be applied to his off-stage life. I’ve watched him create powerful moments for his children to experience personal growth and to see glimpses of God. I’ve learned from him as he has prioritized his marriage, ministered to his extended family, stopped the world to help a friend and taken time to keep his own connection to God going strong.

So I wasn’t surprised by Danny’s run on his birthday. I wasn’t surprised to see the crowds follow and people be honored to share in his journey. I’m not the least surprised that others are following suit and thinking about their next milestones (Danny has impacted my upcoming 40th celebration, too!). The only thing that surprised me in this event? The fact that Danny was surprised that so many other people were watching.

Thanks for leading the way, Danny. Thanks for inspiring us to run further, to join together and to live an extraordinary life of faith in all that we do. This facebook comment maybe sums it up best:

“Today was an extraordinary day. Being part of something bigger than myself was inspiring. Running along side Danny Ray reminded me that supporting others in their endeavors can remind us of the amazing things God is doing in us. Sometimes we are the ones doing great things as others partner with us. Other times we make small contributions that help others achieve their goals. Incredible.”

I’m guessing the magic-man is already thinking about his 50th celebration. Even more, he’s working, planning, dreaming and praying about the second 40 years of his life. Somehow, I am confident that even with all we’ve seen God do in, to and through Danny, that like one of Danny’s mind-blowing performances, God’s greatest reveal is yet to come.

I will be enjoying every moment of the show. Happy 40th my friend.

Go ahead and follow Danny by taking the plunge…life is always better on the water!

Be sure to check out Danny's web site, follow his blog, and see what he is up to at: www.dannyray.tv

When's the last time you ran over 500 miles?

By Joe Castaneda Unless you were born ‘Down Under', my guess is you’ve never heard of Cliff Young. He was an Australian farmer who spent almost his entire life on a farm or ranch. He didn’t acquire a lot of wealth, was prone to giving things away, and he died, unceremoniously in 2003 when cancer got the best of him. There was little to set him apart from the crowd.

But Cliff was anything but ordinary.

In 1983, what was believed to be the world’s toughest ultra marathon was an annual event held in Australia between Sydney and Melbourne. This 875km (543 miles) event took elite runners almost 7 days to complete and many who started failed to finish.

You can imagine the shock on people’s faces when on race day in 1983, a 61-year-old farmer, dressed in overalls and boots, picked up his race number and headed to the starting line. No one took Cliff Young serious or thought he had a chance of finishing the race. In fact, most people were hoping he wouldn’t even begin the event fearful that he would die over the grueling course that lay before him.

Most of the runners there had the same basic strategy. They would get up and run for about 18-hours each day, then they would sleep for 6 and get up and repeat this process until the race was over. However, no one told Cliff about this strategy.

On day one, the elite runners took off and left Cliff in the dust. To no one’s surprise, the old man was at the back of pack, practicing his odd style of shuffling along. He didn’t really “run”, he just kind of shuffled from step to step (“ruffling?”). But when the other runners bedded down for the night, Cliff continued to shuffle across Australia. He did this for two days, and after the first 48 hours of the event, Mr. Young had covered over 200 miles (321km).

Finally, Cliff laid down for a quick nap, and an hour later (yes -- one hour later!) he was back up and “ruffling” along. At the end of day 3, Cliff took the lead and he never looked back.

As you can imagine, local and national news outlets picked up on this story and Cliff did not disappoint. He kept ruffling along, all the way to the finish line, beating his closest opponent by 10 hours! He had broken the previous record by 9 hours and Cliff became an instant Australian sensation.

At the finish line, Young received the winners check of $10,000 -- an award he didn’t even realize was part of the race. Instead of taking it however, he deflected the praise for his work and talked about how much harder the other racers were working. He took the prize money and split it up 5 ways, giving the next five racers each $2,000; he didn’t keep a penny for himself.

In the years to come, Cliff would run crazy distances, all the way up to his 78th birthday in which he completed a 921km race (572 miles). To a man who grew up chasing sheep because his family couldn’t afford a tractor or 4-wheeler, distance was not really a problem for Cliff as a runner. He didn’t have the best “form” or style, but he could run and he could run for days!

Cliff was tough, too. In 1984 he entered the same race, but this time finished 7th. Why the big change from first to seventh? Two main reasons. First, Cliff fought severe shin splints, an injury that would sideline many other runners. But probably a tad more painful was the moment when his hip popped out of socket and he had to pop it back in, in order to stay in the event. I almost pass out just writing that sentence.

Cliff Young was an Aussie icon after the 1983 race. He entered more races, was given cars and prize money (sometimes he was awarded things just for entering the race!) and he always gave his winnings away. In his mind, someone else deserved it more than he. But for 17 years, he just raced, and he raced very well.

Most of his success was found, not in his mechanics, but in his mindset. When asked what his race tactics were the old farmer simply replied, “I run to the finish line.”

That might sum up the Overboard Life more than any other phrase: “Just run to the finish line.” The Apostle Paul, as he was approaching his execution at the hands of Rome, said this to Pastor Timothy: “I have run my race…” How did he do it? He set his eyes on the prize and he ran toward to it with all of his might. He gave up things that were hindering his progress, he sought forgiveness when he slipped up and ran off course, and he pressed on, knowing that progress -- not perfection -- was the goal.

Are you running toward the finish line? Are you aiming your life toward the final goal? Too many of us are running aimlessly, without purpose and without faith. We don't know where we're going, and we're perfectly happy to stay on the path that's comfortable, but leading nowhere. The Overboard Life must be aimed at pleasing God and moving toward Him in faith. It cannot be lived in the comfort of the boat, or in wandering aimlessly on the shore.

You will find your finish line, when you put your trust in God, grab the side of the boat, and take the leap onto the water. Then you can follow the sagely advice of a great Australian farmer: "run to the finish line."

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

For more on Cliff Young, check out this link:

http://paddyupton.com/newsletter/the-remarkable-story-of-cliff-young/