Becoming a Distance Runner, Part 1: Story

Running sounds like a 4-letter word to many of my everyday acquaintances.  Some can't fathom the idea of enjoying pushing the body to breathlessness and sweatiness.  Some see it as a form of punishment and anything but a hobby or a sport.  For myself, running is something I've had to learn to love.  It did not happen to me overnight.  It is also not something that I forced upon myself.  But as I look back over the last several years of my life I can see it as something almost inevitable for me.

The 10 Essentials of Hiking

Recently I was privileged to be asked to speak to a local Boy Scouts troop about hiking and its essentials and the gear involved.  One of their leaders is a member of my congregation and well aware of my affinity for the outdoors and backpacking and the like.
I joined them for an evening and brought all my gear in to do a bit of a show and tell.  It was exciting answering questions for them and encouraging them to get out and enjoy the same things I do.  A part of my presentation was to review these 10 Essentials of Safe Hiking.  The foundations of this list have been around for sometime.  What you'll find here is my own personal take on these basic essentials.

Wandering the Wilderness

As a teacher of the Old Testament it always brings me delight to show people how much we can learn, still today, from the Old Testament.  I cringe when people mistakenly argue the O.T. to be an outdated collection of moralistic or allegoric stories. Because it isn't. Or many well-meaning Christians will hide behind the mantra "All I need is Jesus" as an excuse to render the O.T. irrelevant to the Christian life today.  While Jesus Christ is certainly the center and object of our faith, it doesn't follow to then eliminate the need to also study the rest of Scripture.  After all, Jesus himself was the greatest student in all of human history of the O.T. and himself was a believer in the importance of the O.T. 

In this post I'd like to explain how we can look at the wilderness wanderings of Israel throughout the books of Moses and how this compares to our life in the present. To elaborate on this connection I've broken it down into 4 basic similarities between us and Israel.  In understanding these connections and understanding what happened in the time of Israel, we may gain new insights into life as a Christian today.

Seeking the 54

Though I've never considered myself an avid writer, I have been moved more and more lately to look for an outlet to express my thoughts.  Part of this movement has been the time I've been spending on the sidewalks and the trails running mile after mile.  There's no better time for wholesome, meditative thought than when its you and the open road ahead.

I've given the blog thing a try in the past but never found myself with much to write about and quickly gave it up.  We'll see if this time is any different.  With many new interests swirling around in my life right now, however, I hope to find this to be an enjoyable and fruitful path of expression.

Boyne Mountain (10/7-9/13)

Location: Boyne Mountain, Michigan

Hike #1: Attempt to follow Red Loop on Boyne Mt. (10/7/13)
Distance: 8.10 mi.
Elevation Gain: 1280 ft.
Time: 2:09:12

Hike #2: Biking/Walking the Gold Loop with Sarah on Boyne Mt. (10/8/13)
Distance: 7.38 mi.
Elevation Gain: 1014 ft.
Time: 2:15:29

Hike #3: Trail-run a loop along the red/blue/green trails on Boyne Mt. (10/9/13)
Distance: 3.10 mi.
Elevation Gain: 498 ft.
Time: 37:49