Posted by Chris on Mar 1, 2010 in
Life 1. Read the whole Bible. I’ve definitely lost steam on this. Should have Isaiah and Mark knocked off soon. Need to be more intentional.
2. Run a full marathon. Check.
3. Climb a 14,000′ Mountain. Need to start planning for this. Want to go?
4. Visit somewhere I’ve never been. Considering going to Florida for the Exponential Conference. Any donated airline miles can be considered helping towards my kingdom goals.
5. Find a full-time job. Actually have an interview this week. Please keep praying!
6. Take at least one graduate course. Yeah…must complete 5 to do 6….
7. Read 40 books. Lost some speed here as well, but check out reviews for 7 and 8 soon!
8. Volunteer at least 1 time a month. Got the chance to help out at the Verge Conference. Directed parking, then went inside to learn.
9. Pay off all debt, except school loans. Looks like I’ll knock out the credit card with my upcoming tax return. Pretty excited about that.
10. Share my faith regularly. Had a co-worker approach me recently about this. Looking forward to sharing.
11. Begin leading and/or hosting a regular gathering for skeptics and Christians to study the Bible. Still working on making the apartment the kind of place one might invite others too. Need something for people to sit on.
12. Write daily, including journaling, blogging and working on a book. Really gotten off track on this one. The move has killed my rhythm, and writing suffered greatly. Hope this will pick up soon.
What are your plans for the year?
Tags: 12 Plans for 2010
Posted by Chris on Feb 17, 2010 in
Life 
The marathon began one year ago. Out of work, broke, stranded in San Antonio, I started running, mainly to keep from going crazy. It took about three or four months to get up to the point I could jog the three mile loop behind my house. It took even longer before I could say that I “enjoy running.”
When I moved to Austin, I knew that it would be months or years before I would be accomplishing many of my life goals . So I set a new goal, run a half-marathon. I trained for about 3 months and completed the run in November. My life is still a mess, but I was in the best shape ever, so I started training for a full marathon.
Since I’m obsessed with podcasts and audiobooks training wasn’t that bad. Runs became special times for me to hang out with my favorite public radio hosts, church leaders, and authors.
The worst part of the race itself was getting up far earlier than normal and charging off into the cold to find parking. Some smart people made jackets out of trash bags, which they could easily discard.
I started the race off listening to David Crowder’s “Church Music.” Though I’m not a big CCM guy, the Christian themes and heavy dance beats seemed like a good idea.
The race looped as far south as 71 and as far north as Anderson Lane. Although it was well supported, there weren’t as many fans, drinks and food as there were in San Antonio. I stopped every time for water, and grabbed every random snack I could along the way, from boiled salty potatoes to animal crackers.
I had hoped to come in under 4:30, but began to drastically slow down around mile 16. At mile 19 my playlist hit Green Day’s 21st Century break down. Someone offered me an orange. I exploded with juicy goodness and punched the sky in my old punk rock fashion.
Running became a spiritual experience for me when I heard Billy Joe singing a chorus of “you are forgiven” in a style reminiscent of the nah-nah-nahs of “Hey Jude.” Overwhelmed by the truth of the lyrics and the reality that I was just a few miles from completing a task I never would have imagined possible, I burst into tears.
At mile 25 I reached the capital of Texas, which for the first time struck me as majestic. I switched to David Crowder’s cover of “Oh, How He Loves Us” and sang along at the top of my lungs. I can only imagine what the other runners thought, but I hope they heard.
Reaching the 26 mile marker, I found myself sprinting faster than I knew I could, knowing that I had to give my best, finish strong, and move on to the other goals in my life.
Tags: 12 Plans for 2010, half marathon, marathon, running, training
Posted by Chris on Feb 2, 2010 in
Church,
God,
Life On the quest to read 40 books in 2010, I’ve just knocked out #s three and four.
I picked up Dark Nights of the Soul, because of the St. John of the Cross reference, and because of my life long wrestling match with depression.
It’s mainly pagan dribble by some New Age dude trying to work out his childhood catholic guilt. It had a few nuggets that jumped out:
1- Reframe “depression” as a Dark Night of the Soul: not a problem to be fixed, but a chance for spiritual growth. You are like a ship adrift at sea, just because you’re not moving forward, doesn’t mean your not moving.
2-Dangerous lust and sexual desire are often just undirected desire. When you’re overwhelmed with an unhealthy sexual desire, you should search for what it is that you really want.
Now The Life of St. Francis of Assisi is the kind of book that will change your life. As a protestant, it’s hard to know what to do with stories of the medieval Saints. But we have to remember we are a 2,000 year old family, with an immense amount of wisdom to learn from. Francis, like Paul before him, is one who could honestly say, “follow me as I follow Christ.”
Of the many beautiful things about this man, let me highlight a few:
1- He had a deep love for poverty. He called it “his lady,” and strove to be faithful to it as a man would his wife. He owned nothing more than his robe and belt. When he begged for alms he would then give them away to someone “worse off.”
2- He was known for his gentleness, to the point that even animals noticed. My favorite story was of how he agonized through prayer and fasting over whether to dedicate his life to prayer or preaching. When wise counsel urged him to preach, he ran as fast as he could to find an audience. The first he found was a flock of birds that he exhorted to remember their gifts from God.
3- He pain was a blessing. His passion for the lost led him to believe he must become a martyr. He went to the middle east to preach to a powerful sultan. The Muslim king was impressed, but would not convert. Francis was not given the chance to die like Christ, yet “instead” was given the stigmata, a painful sign of Christ, that would give him pain for the rest of his life. This painful miracle gave many people faith in Christ.
It’s hard to explain the effect Francis has had on me. It makes me want to be more like Jesus than ever, and gives me an idea of what that might look like.
Tags: 12 Plans for 2010, 40 Books in 2010, Dark Nights of the Soul, following Christ, St. Francis, St. Francis of Assisi, Thomas Moore
Posted by Chris on Feb 2, 2010 in
Life 1. Read the whole Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Romans, and some other randomness done.
2. Run a full marathon. I’ve trained for six months. Taper mode now. Race is on Valentines Day. Please pray.
3. Climb a 14,000′ Mountain. Need to start planning for this. Want to go?
4. Visit somewhere I’ve never been. Considering going to Florida for the Exponential Conference. Any donated airline miles can be considered helping towards my kingdom goals.
5. Find a full-time job. Still looking. This is the most disheartening thing on my list.
6. Take at least one graduate course. Yeah…must complete 5 to do 6….
7. Read 40 books. On my way. Reviews of 3 and 4 out this week.
8. Volunteer at least 1 time a month. Volunteered at for a cool music/poetry/visual art event last week, and working at the Verge Conference this week. Looking for something a little more hands on with those in need.
9. Pay off all debt, except school loans. See #5.
10. Share my faith regularly. This is something I’m not great at. Hopefully, as I begin to deepen my new relationships in Austin, this will improve.
11. Begin leading and/or hosting a regular gathering for skeptics and Christians to study the Bible. Moving into a new apartment this week. Would like to launch something like this in the Spring.
12. Write daily, including journaling, blogging and working on a book. Doing okay…except no work on the book in awhile. I really need a laptop to do this right. Again, donations are appreciated.
What are your plans for the year?
Tags: 12 Plans for 2010
Posted by Chris on Jan 4, 2010 in
Life Instead of resolutions, I’m making plans for 2010. Here’s my top 12:
1. Read the whole Bible.
2. Run a full marathon.
3. Climb a 14,000′ Mountain.
4. Visit somewhere I’ve never been.
5. Find a full-time job.
6. Take at least one graduate course.
7. Read 40 books.
8. Volunteer at least 1 time a month.
9. Pay off all debt, except school loans.
10. Share my faith regularly.
11. Begin leading and/or hosting a regular gathering for skeptics and Christians to study the Bible.
12. Write daily, including journaling, blogging and working on a book.
What are your plans for the year?
Tags: 12 Plans for 2010, 40 Books in 2010
