Thursday a.m.

Good morning! Hey, right from the beginning, I want you to know, unlike Lance Armstrong, my riding friends and I have never doped, beyond eating Wendy's food on Tuesday nights. Just thought you should know that on this frosty morning. You better grab a coat before you head out, and you'll probably have to scrape your windshield, if you left your car outside.

 

As I mentioned yesterday, we are heading to Huntsville, AL in a little while to see Kedra's parents, especially her father. He had a pacemaker put in on Monday. I think he is doing better. It's about a 6 hour trip, but we'll probably take our time today, enjoying the journey. After we get there and settled, I am going to go for a 12 mile run. I said 13 yesterday, but I looked at my training log, and I only need 12 (anticipating 20 on Saturday) to get 50 this week. I got a quick 5 miler in yesterday morning, mostly in the dark. I only had 2 cars almost hit me. Not bad. Kinda kidding...

 

Yesterday was a busy day. I met with some ministers for nearly 2 hours. Can imagine this? Everybody likes to talk. What's that about? Then I had another meeting, then another, then another, then another.

 

I look back at yesterday and here's some of what I see. I see people serving in churches that are as flawed as me and mine but are still doing good. I see a grieving mother who has turned her grief into doing good for others. This was one of my meetings. She is determined to begin a non-profit organization that will help bridge people out of poverty. We talked for a quite a while about it, sharing ideas. I think she is going to fill a niche, and I'm going to try help her.

 

I met with a young guy whose wife is divorcing him. We've worked hard, prayed hard, and have done all we can. You cannot change people. Period. You can do a lot to encourage, counsel, help, etc., but ultimately the person has to decide to change. We pray for God to intervene. Sometimes he does, sometimes not. See previous sentences. It can be very frustrating. One person's decisions can wreck all that you have worked for.

 

Time spent in nursing facilities is always a humbling experience. I spent time in two yesterday. I tried to live in those moments. I saw 4 people. All different. All at different stages/places in life. Two of the 4 no longer are fully functioning cognitively. One has always been challenged in that area.

 

Race planning was a part of yesterday also. We are going to do the Give Thanks 4 again this year, so we are busy get a T-shirt designed, talking about sponsors, and a bunch of others things. Putting on a race takes a lot of work, but the rewards are worth it. We want to help people take care of their bodies. 

 

There were lots of other things yesterday as well, including a meal at church, followed by an interesting class that talked about love, as described in 1 Cor. 13.

 

OK, I must go. Thanks for coming by.