circularthoughts

training for a 5K...

I'm training for my first 5K race.  I'll be running in the 5K Run for Refugees in Oklahoma City on September 4.  This run is a fund raising event for The Spero Project.  Heart of God Ministries is partnering with Spero this year in our Beautiful Feet Boot Camp, HGM's missionary training program.

In the past, the students who attend HGM's Beautiful Feet Boot Camp have stayed on our campus just east of Oklahoma City.  This year we are having the students live in Oklahoma City's inner city where there is a fairly large population of immigrants.  The logic is that the real time experience of living among people from other cultures is much better training than reading about it or hearing about it in a lecture.  In the mornings, we have lecture time and in the afternoons we have them working with the refugees at Spero or immigrants in their neighborhood and other similar type situations. 

In the past, we have also had physical training as a part of the missionary training.  We have had the students do a daily PT class, which was easy for us to do when they lived on our campus.  Now that they live off of the campus we have had to change the way we do PT.  One of the ways we are doing this is to have the students train and run in the above 5K. 

I thought it would be fun to do this with them and have even thrown down the challenge that I would post a better time than any of the students who are over the age of 30 (only three of the ten fall into that category so I thought that was a fairly safe bet).

To train, I am using the C25K (Couch to 5K) for iPhone app.  In the first week it has you do a warm up walk for five minutes followed by a cycle of running for 60 seconds then walking for 90 seconds and so forth.  The run/walk cycle repeats 9 times and then you cool down with another 5 minute walk.  I have completed the first two days and so far so good.

The app lets you program your own music selection, which is nice.  Here are the songs I chose:

Acrobat, by U2

All Because of You, by U2

Authority Song, by John Mellencamp

Baba O'Riley, by The Who

Bartender, by Dave Matthews

Beautiful Day, by U2

Kashmir, by Led Zeppelin

Limelight, by Rush

Magnificent, by U2

The music plays in random order so you never know which song is next.  I like it...

As I mentioned above, the race is a fundraiser for Spero.  If you would like to sponsor me in the race let me know, either through an email, a comment to this post or on Facebook.  Thanks so much!

My new friend...

My Honda Shadow Sabre 1100!

Blog posted here.

Resolutions for 2009...

The following is what my resolutions for 2008 were and how I did...

In 2008, I resolve intend hope might:

1. Exercise - well, I went to the gym about 20 times and then quit going and gained another 10 pounds...
2. Watch what I eat - successful at this one.  I watched my food go from the plate to my mouth...
3. Spend less time on the computer - what was I thinking?
4. Write more, while spending less time on the computer - actually wrote less due to a period of grief and isolation due to death and illness in the family...
5. Read more biographies - don't even think I made it through one this year...
6. Start wearing socks - what was I thinking?
7. Plant a vegetable garden - well, I actually did this and we successfully grew tomatoes, okra and cantaloupe...
8. Wash my vehicle with something besides rainwater - what was I thinking?
9. Take more naps - yes.  this is really a good thing and I suggest that you try it if possible...
10. Start caring about sports - well, does fantasy football or playing Madden '09 on the PS2 with my son count?

I was 2 for 10, or 3 for 10 if you cut me a little grace on the sports thing.  In baseball, 3 for 10 will earn you a million dollars, but 2 for 10 will land you in the minor leagues.  OK, I just used that sports analogy hoping you would cut me a little grace on the sports thing which would push me to 3 for 10 and maybe result in a million dollars.

I've debated, in my mind, about whether or not to do a list for 2009.  But, since I have my readership's attention, all three of you, I guess I'll do it.

In 2009, I resolve intend hope might:

1. Exercise - I've really got to do this and the odds are on the increase because someone just gave us a really nice elliptical machine...
2. Read more biographies - I'm going to try this one again as I think the lessons to be learned from those who have gone before us are invaluable...
3. Plant a vegetable garden - I'll do this again for sure, except I won't plant so many tomatoes since I'm really the only one who eats them...
4. Write more - This I really want to do.  I took a break from writing due to the illness and isolation we experienced in our family this year...
5. Study Mandarin more - This I really need to do as I have six different teams in the Middle Kingdom now...
6. Spend more quality time with Grant - He's 12 now and at that age when not spending time with him could result in our losing his heart...
7. Finish cleaning out our basement and build a good workbench - I just carved my first pipe and enjoyed the process.  I need a better place to do it and some more tools...
8. Go hiking and backpacking more - Grant and I used to do this together.  What a way to help meet resolution number 6...
9. Have more date nights with Staci - We already do this quite regularly, but in this case, more is good...
10. Fast more - This is a spiritual discipline in which I am really weak.  I hope to fast several times a month.  Of course, I can't tell you if I succeed with this one, can I?  (Matthew 6:17-18)

What about you?

1. Exercise - well, I went to the gym about 20 times and then quit going and gained another 10 pounds...
2. Watch what I eat - successful at this one.  I watched my food go from the plate to my mouth...
3. Spend less time on the computer - what was I thinking?
4. Write more, while spending less time on the computer - actually wrote less due to a period of grief and isolation due to death and illness in the family...
5. Read more biographies - don't even think I made it through one this year...
6. Start wearing socks - what was I thinking?
7. Plant a vegetable garden - well, I actually did this and we successfully grew tomatoes, okra and cantaloupe...
8. Wash my vehicle with something besides rainwater - what was I thinking?
9. Take more naps - yes.  this is really a good thing and I suggest that you try it if possible...
10. Start caring about sports - well, does fantasy football or playing Madden '09 on the PS2 with my son count?

I was 2 for 10, or 3 for 10 if you cut me a little grace on the sports thing.  In baseball, 3 for 10 will earn you a million dollars, but 2 for 10 will land you in the minor leagues.  OK, I just used that sports analogy hoping you would cut me a little grace on the sports thing which would push me to 3 for 10 and maybe result in a million dollars.

I've debated, in my mind, about whether or not to do a list for 2009.  But, since I have my readership's attention, all three of you, I guess I'll do it.

In 2009, I resolve intend hope might:

1. Exercise - I've really got to do this and the odds are on the increase because someone just gave us a really nice elliptical machine...
2. Read more biographies - I'm going to try this one again as I think the lessons to be learned from those who have gone before us are invaluable...
3. Plant a vegetable garden - I'll do this again for sure, except I won't plant so many tomatoes since I'm really the only one who eats them...
4. Write more - This I really want to do.  I took a break from writing due to the illness and isolation we experienced in our family this year...
5. Study Mandarin more - This I really need to do as I have six different teams in the Middle Kingdom now...
6. Spend more quality time with Grant - He's 12 now and at that age when not spending time with him could result in our losing his heart...
7. Finish cleaning out our basement and build a good workbench - I just carved my first pipe and enjoyed the process.  I need a better place to do it and some more tools...
8. Go hiking and backpacking more - Grant and I used to do this together.  What a way to help meet resolution number 6...
9. Have more date nights with Staci - We already do this quite regularly, but in this case, more is good...
10. Fast more - This is a spiritual discipline in which I am really weak.  I hope to fast several times a month.  Of course, I can't tell you if I succeed with this one, can I?  (Matthew 6:17-18)

What about you?

Back in the day...

Wish I still had the burns...

We did this here... 

For more crazy photos of me and Staci, go here...

I can't believe this happened...

OK, so when I'm overseas, my white hair often results in some solid advantages; respect, honor and so forth.

Yesterday I went to the hospital cafeteria to buy lunch.  My father-in-law was on his 31st day there following surgery for a lacerated ulcer.  (He came home today by the way!)  The lady rung up my purchase and I wasn't sure what she said.  I heard the word discount, but, well, I just wasn't sure.  I went and sat down and took a look at the receipt. 

Do you see it?  She gave me the 10% VIVA Discount.  Any idea what the 10% VIVA Discount is?  That's right. 

SHE GAVE ME THE SENIOR CITIZEN'S DISCOUNT!

OUCH!

I didn't go pay the $0.60, but thought about it. 

OK, let me have it...

back home again...

My Google Reader has 381 unread items.  I have no idea where to start, which probably means I will clear it all out and start all over.

I returned from China last night.  It was a great trip.  I spent time with the Every Nation workers who live in this great country.  I was in Chengdu, but had left for Kunming three or four days before the earthquake.  My friends in Chengdu are fine and will be sending me information about how we can help with the relief effort.  I will post this info as soon as I can.

I haven't really posted for more than a month.  I got burned out with the blog, so I took a break.  I have also been incredibly busy with two online classes through Fuller and preparing for the trip to China and then the trip.  Anyway, I feel refreshed and ready to get back to writing.  I hope to start regular posting again soon.

I started journaling again today.  I haven't done this for a couple of years.  I journaled consistently for several years and then quit when my travel schedule got so hectic.  I have missed this discipline and decided on my trip that it was time to start it again.  I mainly log what I have read in the Bible that day and any insights or major themes the Spirit reveals.  Here is my entry for today:

May 14, 2008

Read the following:

Deuteronomy 23, 24 & 25
Psalm 66, 67, 68, 69 & 70
Proverbs 14
Mark 5

I noticed a strong theme centered in God’s love and concern for the poor, the sojourner, the fatherless and the widow. (See: Deut. 24:12-15, 17, 19-22; Prov. 14:21, 31) This subject has also been the emphasis of my course reading in my Christian Ethics class. The declaration of the gospel must be good news for the poor, the sojourner, the fatherless and the widow. The gospel is more than being saved from hell. It is that, but it is also being saved from the here and now. We must seek balance in this. As we go to the nations, we must seek first the Kingdom of God. This includes the declaration that God has initiated and completed the path to reconciliation with his creation through the finished work of Jesus. It also includes the mustard seed like restoration of all that is right here and now, including providing for the poor, the sojourner, the fatherless and the widow.

Father, help me to both seek and understand this balance, this desire of yours that your will be done here on earth, as it is in heaven.

So, for what it is worth, I am back and hope to see you on these pages much more often...

Awareness test...

Which one is it?

OK, at the risk of total humiliation, I have decided to put it to a vote.  It happens to me all of the time.  It happened tonight as I was walking down the hall at the hospital.  Two cleaning ladies got into a debate with me over which singer I favored the most. 

So, what say you?  Michael McDonald, on the left, or Kenny Rogers, on the right?  Be nice!

---

UPDATED!!!

And the winner is...

OK, I did purposefully skew the results by picking the worst picture of Kenny Rogers I could find.  Do you blame me?  I had a few people reply with these photos:

Thanks for playing along...

An '80's moment...

I was driving home from the hospital this morning.  I am doing the overnight shift while my mother-in-law recovers from a couple of blood clots in her lungs.  Anyway, driving home, dead tired and listening to our local classic rock station, I catch myself belting out the chorus of Open Arms, by Journey:

So now I come to you, with open arms
Nothing to hide, believe what I say
So here I am with open arms

Aaaaaaaaah!!!

I came to my senses.  What was I doing?  I can't stand that song.  Never have.  Never will.  Too cheesy.

Reminded me of a story from college.  I was sitting in my room with the door open.  There was a rocker dude who lived down the hall.  You know, long hair, loved heavy metal, the works.  His friends lived across the hall from me.  He was going to take a nap, but wanted to go with his friends somewhere later that afternoon.  He came in my room, ripped a piece of paper out of one of my notebooks and wrote out a quick note to tape on his friends' door.  I sat silently watching this all unfold.

About five minutes later, I hear a loud groan moving down the hall.  The rocker dude ripped the note off of the door and said, "I can't believe I did that!"

He showed me the note.  He had written:

Wake me up before you go go.

The rocker dude had quoted the lyrics from the song by the same name as performed in the '80's by Wham (George Michael).  Same kind of moment.

Not sure why I felt the need to share this...

Meaningless posting while watching my mother-in-law sleep at the hospital...

Special thanks to Brother Maynard for providing some late night at the hospital entertainment...

What movie are you?

Lord of the Rings

You are adventurous and outgoing.

You also value important things.

Fantasy dinner party...

Have you ever played the Who would you invite to a fantasy dinner party game?  We were tossing this around yesterday.  What five people would you like to sit down with over a meal?

Here were our rules of engagement:

1.  They can be dead or alive.
2.  They can be fictional or real; for example, you can invite a character from a movie, not the actor who played the part, but the character.
3.  My wife, Staci, is a Koko the gorilla fan, so your guest can be an animal (this rule is where I cave to my wife).
4.  Sometimes we exclude Biblical people because we don't want to feel guilty if we forget to invite Jesus; but today we didn't.
5.  Translation is not an issue.  Somehow, all attendees would speak the same language, after all, this is make believe.

Here is Staci's list:

1.  Koko the gorilla
2.  John Denver
3.  Augustus McCrae, from Lonesome Dove
4.  Tony Hillerman
5.  Pearl S. Buck

Here is Rebekah's list:

1.  My grandfather
2.  John the Baptist
3.  Harriet Beecher Stowe
4.  Daniel, from the Bible
5.  Gandhi

Here is September's list:

1.  My husband's mother, who died before I met him
2.  Robert Redford
3.  Ruth, from the Bible
4.  Anne Shirley, of Green Gables fame
5.  Tasha Tudor

And mine:

1.  Bono
2.  George Mueller
3.  Jesus of Nazareth
4.  Hudson Taylor
5.  Muhammad (because I would love to see how Jesus engages with him)

What about you?

1-2-3 Meme...

Brother Maynard recently tagged the whole internet in a meme that is swarming...

Not wanting to be Left Behind, here is my entry. 

Here are the rules:

Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more.  No cheating!
Find Page 123.
Find the first 5 sentences.
Post the next 3 sentences.
Tag 5 people.

The book that is nearest to me on my desk is High Adventure in Tibet: The Life and Labors of Pioneer Missionary Victor Plymire, by David V. Plymire.  I just started reading this because my friend is going to Tibet later this year.  Here are the sentences that I get to post...

If he gave up, a large area of Tibet would never receive the Christian message.  Many Tibetans for whom Christ died would never know of salvation by grace.  Once more at the crossroads, the missionary did what he had so often done before: he asked God to make it clear which road he should take.

Now, to the following, consider yourself tagged...

Kimberly
Tamara
Billy
JR
Berit

This post is for you Dave, just because I think you are right on about this...

From my good friend Dave, who lives in the UK and knows a lot about sport...

I am a little disappointed generally in the lack of SUPER BOWL fever that isn’t emanating from the world of the blog. Come on Eric – it's the world series, championship of the world, cup final etc blah game – the Unpatriotic versus the self proclaimed Giants (I bet their smaller without all the body-armor) – come on this is a big deal in the rest of the world.

The advertising budget alone could alleviate world debt in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Anyhow – I am going against the flow and predicting a Giant win in the second innings by 5 and 3.

I'm with you brother, pulling for the Giants that is...

Oh, that debt thing too...

20/20 vision...

I turned 42 last August.  The last time I had my eyes checked I was 40.  Being a bit frugal, I was able to stretch a one-year supply of contact lenses into a two-year supply.  It was time to go the the eye doctor again and I finally made time to do it this week.  I went to the Wal-Mart Vision Center.  I know; shame on me for caving in to the empire.  Anyway, I was pleased because my new contacts corrected my vision to 20/20.  This made me happy.

Then I realized that everything within a 2-foot circumference was blurry.  I asked the eye doctor about this.  He asked how old I was and when I told him he just said, "Well, what did you expect."

Dang!  Now I have to wear readers.  I hate this.  What do you think of my readers?

2008 Resolutions?

In 2008, I resolve intend hope might:

1. Exercise
2. Watch what I eat
3. Spend less time on the computer
4. Write more, while spending less time on the computer
5. Read more biographies
6. Start wearing socks
7. Plant a vegetable garden
8. Wash my vehicle with something besides rainwater
9. Take more naps
10. Start caring about sports

What about you?

There goes the neighborhood...

Several of us went Christmas caroling in the neighborhood last night.  Our friends Bruce and September organized the outing.  What fun we had.  This is our third year to do this and last night was the best time so far.  I think our neighbors, those we know and those we don't, seemed to enjoy our singing.  I know we had fun.  I heard one of our neighbors say that she had never had carolers pay her a visit before.  It was a great way for us to kick off the Christmas weekend.

Top 4 Christmas Movies Meme

Got voluntarily tagged in a top 4 Christmas Movies meme at SmuloSpace. 

Here is how it works:

1. Write down your four favorite Christmas movies in descending order.

2. Tag the first ten people who respond in your comment section saying they want to participate.

3. (Optional) Include a link to this post and encourage others to place a link to their completed meme in the comments section of this post so we can keep track of the meme.

That said, here are my top four favorite Christmas movies in descending order:

4. Christmas Vacation - "Dad, you taught me everything I know about exterior illumination."

3. Elf - "He's an angry elf."

2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas - "All I need is a reindeer."

1. It's A Wonderful Life - "Ha, ha, ha, ha! My mouth's bleeding, Bert! My mouth's bleeding! Zuzu's petals... Zuzu..."

Your turn...

Eric

No more complaining...

Believe it or not, I have had a few complaints about my blog having too many book reviews.  Too boring I guess.  Well, no more.  Check it out:

Who knew?

Fast food on hold...

My friend Kris posted today that he is going to give up fast food.  What a great idea.  I've thought about it but haven't had the guts.  Kris, I think I'm going to give it a try. 

I love fast food.  I love cheeseburgers.  I love french fries.  I love anything greasy and bad for you.  I'm 42, I weigh too much and I have a family history of heart disease.

I need to keep myself in a position to travel around the world five or six times per year.  Fast food doesn't help.  In fact, it hurts.

So, those of you who know me and love me and see me on a regular basis, as of December 1, I'm going to give it a try.  Pray for me...

Until ALL Have Heard,

jeg

Personality tests...

I'm not sure what this means, but...

jeg

Celebrate Buy Nothing Day!

Can you do it?  Will you?

jeg

gone to China, back in 3 weeks...

Anyone know a good addiction therapist?

I'm sure no one who knows us will be surprised by the following:

My wife's score

27%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

My Score

65%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Looks like I may need some professional help.

Again, let me give my disclaimer.  If you click on the score you will be redirected to the quiz, which is located on an online dating site.  I found this site after reading my friend Tamara's blog this morning.  My wife and I could not recall having ever visited an online dating site.  Anyway, let me know how addicted you are.

Could you pass 8th grade science?

I ran across this little quiz this morning.  Since we are a homeschooling family, I thought it would be fun if my wife and I took the test.  Well, who do you think should be the science teacher?

My Score

My Wife's Score

Eighth grade is still three years off, so I guess we have some catching up to do.

By the way, if you click on the scores you will be redirected to the site where you can take the quiz.  Yes, the quiz is located on an online dating site.  No, neither of us could recall having ever visited an online dating site.  I found the quiz by going to the site to take the "How addicted to blogging are you?" quiz after reading my friend Tamara's blog this morning.   Found out I was fairly addicted to blogging as well.  Maybe I'll post that too.

So, how did you do?