08.31.07
Motivation
The other day, as I set out to run, I wasn’t positive I would complete my course. It had already beat me once as my planned course of 3.7 miles turned to 1.9. The first time I tried this course I turned the corner onto rte 173 and was majorly overwhelmed by how far I still had to go. This mental wall beat me up bad. The next time I switched directions. I went the opposite way to get the long and boring stretch out of the way first. It paid off big. About 1 1/2 miles in I started cramping. I thought to myself I wasn’t going to make it. As I continued I started picturing myself finishing the course I set out on. Just the thought of the accomplishment motivated me. As I kept thinking about the exhilaration of finishing I forgot about the pain, and I even forgot how far I had left. I was just filled with chills of anticipation.
This description sounds pretty familiar. One day we’ll cross that finish line into the arms of Christ. We need to continually remind ourselves of what we have in store. The anticipation needs to drive us on further. As we picture Christ’s open arms at Heaen’s gate the pain and stress of this life will go away—-at least for now.
08.28.07
Blogroll
Take a gander at the sidebar. I have my blogroll redone.
Adam Farmer is my brother-in-law. He’s a student at Northland Baptist Bible College in Dunbar, Wisconsin. He has some very insightful thoughts, lessons, poems, and songs that he enjoys posting. I encourage you to check out his site as well as the others on the blogroll.
Beth Barnett is my wife. She likes to blog with some thoughs of her own as well as fitness advice, and she also likes quotes and blogging about our family. Check it out. It’s mostly geared toward women, but it’s a good update on our family.
The Desiring God blog is the blog for the Desiring God ministries led by John Piper. DesiringGod.org is an awesome resource.
Hollie Mortimer is our neighbor and a close friend. She blogs mostly about her kids and her husband. I just like to read about them from time to time.
Joe Thorn, or Pastor Joe as he is commonly referred to by my pastor, is the pastor of Redeemer Fellowship in St. Charles, Illinois. He has started blogging again after a month-long break. His new focus is on things relevant to his local church, but you can learn a lot from what he has to say.
Steve McCoy is my pastor and friend. His site is generally more geared toward pastors, but he has some very helpful links to many other blogs and leaders.
My running blog is just that. It’s a blog I set up to journal my running.
Timmy Brister is a seminary student here in Illinois. I’m excited to get updates at his blog on his wife’s first pregnancy. He also does a lot of book reviews and informative posts on the SBC(Southern Baptist Convention).
John Barnett is my oldest brother. His blog is not as serious as a lot of others, but he has fun, and it is fun to read. He also has most of his sermons in type on there.
So, there’s my blogroll. Check out all these sites. You never know what you’ll find.
08.25.07
mETA
Since I’m not very consistent on when I post here, I’ve added the meta widget at the bottom. You can subscribe to the feed for this site. With the post RSS, you will get an email when I have a new post. With the comments RSS, you will get one when there are new comments. I believe that’s how it works.
What a Bright Young Lady!
I am so encouraged after seeing this. It makes so warm and fuzzy to know, that this is what we are coming to.
08.23.07
Get Real.
Ever get sick of fluffy encouragement statements? Check out this site. Here are some of my favorites to give you a taste.
Vetkie Runner
08.19.07
Unashamed
As I said in a recent post, Starfield is one of my new favorite Christian artists. Their song, “Unashamed”, pounds me when I hear it. The song pierces me the whole way through.
I have not much
To offer You
Not near what You deserve
But still I come
Because Your cross
Has placed in me my worthOh, Christ my King
Of sympathy
Whose wounds secure my peace
Your grace extends
To call me friend
Your mercy sets me freeAnd I know I’m weak
I know I’m unworthy
To call upon Your name
But because of grace
Because of Your mercy
I stand here unashamedI can’t explain
This kind of love
I’m humbled and amazed
That You’d come down
From heavens heights
And greet me face to face
Here I am at Your feet
In my brokeness complete
Podcasts Galore!
Lately I’ve had plenty of time to listen to the CD player in my car on the way to and from work. I’ve been able to take advantage of this and listen to a bunch of podcasts during my commute. It’s really helped me focus on a lot of things and understand some books and their authors better. My next few posts will be about those podcasts and what I’ve learned from them.
One series I’ve been working through for the past few days is the audio from the 2004 Desiring God conference at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. John Piper is the teaching and writing pastor at the church. Some of his books include Desiring God, Don’t Waste Your Life, Life As a Vapor, What Jesus Demands of the World, and others. His books are hard to read, as he puts a lot of bigger words and illustrations in them.
The theme of the ‘04 conference was “Sex and the Supremacy of Christ”. You may recognize the title. He has a book out by the same title. The book is actually a summary of the messages preached at the conference. Speakers included Ben Patterson, Cj Mahaney, Piper, Mark Dever, and Al Mohler. At one point Piper used the illustration comparing God to the Sun. The sun is the center of the universe. It holds the planets in orbit. Every planet is placed perfectly in the universe in relstion to the sun. This is a picture of how we should view God in our lives. We need to make him the center of us. He has placed us with a perfect plan perfectly where we are. He orders all, and nothing is out his plan. What I learne i that I need to make him the center o my life, which I haven’t done.
08.18.07
Wiggly Wiggly WOOHAH!
So I broke down and did it. I took Kaitlyn and Landon to see The Wiggles. Kaitlyn told me she wanted a yellow shirt like Greg wears. I explained to her that Greg wasn’t with them anymore, and that Sammy is the new yellow Wiggle. When the concert started she saw Sammy and said, “The yellow one is different, Daddy!” She had forgotten our conversation, but she still noticed the difference. Landon sat on my lap with the same straight face until half way through. As soon as his arms started moving there was no stopping him. I told my brother that the prices for the merchandise were a rip off. So there I was at the merch. table getting one yellow shirt, one blue shirt, one Capt. Feathersword hat, and one Dorothy the Dinosaur hat. Add a dinner at McDonald’s on the way there and icecream at McDonald’s on the way home and I’m tapped. It was worth the $35 per ticket to see the kids have that much fun. And yes, I did the motions to “Rock-a-bye Your Bear” and waved my cell phone on the air with the many other lame parents during “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” as they turned out all the lights. I was a twinkling star in the night sky for my kids.
08.14.07
Give me a minute.
I know I haven’t been posting much at all. I’m currently setting up a couple sites for the youth in our church, and I haven’t had much time to post here. I will have my next post on this site on Sunday, August 19. See ya then.
