Initiative Against Depression, Oswald Chambers

Initiative Against Depression, Oswald Chambers article rocked my world.

“Arise and eat.” —1 Kings 19:5

Marathon

On Saturday I ran the Suntrust Richmond Marathon. 26.2 miles. 2:23:58. The guy you see in the picture to the left isn't me. It's another guy.

Thoughts and memories (in no particular order):

• At about mile 24.5, after I turned onto Grace street, I heard some bagpipes playing. It took me back to Virginia Tech, when some guy would occasionally walk around campus playing the bagpipes. I think I could listen to bagpipes all day. I love 'em. That got me fired up.
• I beat my previous half-marathon time!
• Around mile 7 ish, Brian Beasley came up beside me and ran with me for a little bit. That was awesome. Much needed!
  
• Towards the end, circa mile 24, I started to walk for a sec, and some guy behind me said "hey, keep running. I'm following you." That was really encouraging. So we ran together for a little while, talked about life.
  
• I saw a friend from Virginia Tech on the sideline cheering her sister on. Towards the very end of the run, but before the finish line was in site, she jumped on the course and ran with her sister. She encouraged her to keep running. That was so cool to see. I started to tear up a little.
• After turning off of Boulevard/Hermitage, after Boulevard mountain (a little hill that felt like K2), my mind shifted to "I'm gonna finish this thing." I hit a few cramps after that, but it didn't really matter because I was gonna finish. Coach Chelle ran alongside for a little bit and said "drink poweraid!" and I said "ok."
• After mile 18, a group of friends and my parents cheered me on towards the beginning of the Boulevard leg of the race. I got flashed by Jason and Brian, high-fived by a few, cheered on by all. It was awesome.
• Some made it to the finish line and yelled out my name as I was making the last few strides. Oh so encouraging!
• The last couple steps across the line. I can't even describe the feeling. All the training, all the support from friends and family, the people I've met along the way. It's like it all culminated into those last couple steps.
• I had a slice of pizza afterward. Who would have thought? Pizza at the end of a race. Yes please.

Taxes 2.0

What if we could choose where our taxes go?  We could have a select few bins to put our money in, like military, education, poverty, technology, and then allocate accordingly.  I think there would be enough interest towards each bin to keep things going, and people could feel better about paying taxes.

Mario Kart Fun

Thanks to Nate Cook, Bryan Fischer, Andy & Lydia Myers, John & Beth Lucas for the contributions towards the Ian Davis Mario Kart Fund! It was a hit on the OBX trip. Huge perk, too, of friends unlocking some of the maps and characters for the game. 

Donkey Kong is my fav.

Get Fuzzy, 2008-07-21

Japan is Genius

I want IN.

Keep it in the oven

I grew up checking the oven to make sure it was off at least 2 or 3 times every week before going to bed. I worried that it may have been kept on and the house would explode. For a while I wasn't really into swimming indoors because dang what if the roof collapsed and we all drowned. That would suck. I eventually got over that one.

I like to say that I've gotten better about reducing this worry type of mind set, where if I'm not worrying about something I'll find something to worry about. I think I'm getting better at it.

But every once in a while, I think, well hey maybe that's the way I'm wired. God wired some people to take things in stride, and other people to worry about stuff and perpetually over-analyze the crap out of everything and get trapped and be paralyzed by their mind.

Then truth kicks in and I realize that this is a lie from the pit of hell. No one is wired to worry. "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Gen. 1:27). Since I am created in the image of God, and God is not a worrier, then I wasn't created to worry. Right?

So the challenge I am learning is having a complete paradigm shift in my mind, because the more I worry the less I trust God. So my life goal as of late is to change my mind, and a big part of doing this is self-discipline. If I start to worry about something, then I can choose to STOP and pray about it. I'm finding this tough as nails to accomplish, but I'm stoked about where I will be a year from now in this area of my life. I pursue and hope in anticipation.