Reflections of a Running Reverend

So what are you giving up for Lent this year? Chocolate? Coffee? Soda? Meat? Social media time? Screen time? "More than Just Chocolate" was the title of a sermon series I preached a couple of years ago where we looked at the almost trivialized practice of "giving up something" for Lent. In the series, my congregation and I learned that the point of fasting is not to deny joy or pleasure. We say “no” to some things so we are free to say “yes” to others. What if we are called to give up something more than just chocolate? In the next five weeks, I am going to explore with you aspects of our lives that God may be calling us to give up beyond the coffee and the soda. Lent is really about giving up the things that hinder, the things that block, the things that prevent change and growth and new life. Its not just about giving things up. It's giving things up in order to grow. It's about being shaped, being pruned, so we become more and more like Chr...

If you are Facebook friends with me, you probably know that I was in Juneau this past weekend to be with our older son who was swimming in the Alaska Age Group Championships. And you probably were inundated with the pictures and updates I posted about the swim meet. On one hand, I apologize for filling your news feeds with swimming photos. You've probably unsubscribed from my posts altogether. I don't blame you. But what can I do. I'm a swim dad and proud to be one! If you did read my posts, you definitely know that I am more proud of our son's accomplishments this weekend. In three days, he swam seven individual events, three of which he qualified for the finals where he finished decently and shaved-off seconds of his personal times. In one prelim qualifier, he even finished first place in his heat while shaving more than 12 seconds off his personal best! He also swam three relay events with his teammates. They likewise finished decently and improved on their time...

A friend once told me that the key to running marathons and longer distance races is to break it up into "bite-sized pieces" and learning to celebrate small milestones. Having ran quite a few marathons already, I have found this to be helpful and true. At the starting line, while I have the long-term objective of finishing the race and under a certain time goal, I also mentally set smaller intermediary goals that I try to meet along the way- like running the first few miles at a certain pace, or getting to the aid station by a certain time. Later in the race when I am already tired, my goal is to take it a mile at a time. Sometimes I set the goal at the moment, like getting up the hill without walking, or passing the runner a few yards in front of me, or at least keeping in pace. As I reach each small milestone, I allow myself to celebrate. I clench my fist, say "yes!" or tell myself, "good job!" Usually, I just smile. And that is another tip from my...