My JourKNEE Back

My family enjoyed a lovely week away. We started north, spending the night in Springfield, Massachusetts then continued north to spend three days in Bar Harbor, Maine. As the week came to an end, we began to make our way south, toward home, stopping for two nights in Newport, Rhode Island. I had intentions of running at least twice throughout the course of the week and told "J" and "K" to check in with me for accountability. Even after all the thinking ahead, I returned home having done a lot of walking, but did not get a single run in.  This is why, after twelve years of running, I have a hard time thinking of myself as a runner. Committed runners would have gotten their runs in no matter what. They would have looked forward to running somewhere new. They, at least, would have made time to use the hotel treadmill. I didn't feel safe in certain neighborhoods, and I was not familiar with the roads and if there were shoulders or sidewalks to safely run on. Being i...

There is no greater freedom that any man can give to you that God hasn't already granted you through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. Once you have freedom in Christ, there is no freedom that any man can take away from you.   Sometimes people think of Christianity as just a bunch of rules. If it is merely your religion, then that's what it becomes. We don't like to use the word "sin" because we don't want to feel like our actions are wrong or that we are "bad" people. However, Jesus Himself came to earth to do away with the law. When we learn who the Bible says He was (and is and forevermore will be) and believe it in our hearts and minds then we can begin to have a relationship with Him.  It is in that relationship where we will want to please Him just as we do our parents, spouse, children and those we love. We will realize, though, that there is nothing we can do to make ourselves "holy" or "good enough. We are...

I'm not feeling like I have anything inspirational to say today. I didn't last week either which is why a blog post was missed (if anyone noticed). However, I made a commitment to make a post each week and felt like I need to get something on "paper." What can be said that hasn't been said before? What can be said to encourage you when I feel like I am not personally making progress? As I roll these questions around in my own head, let's review the purpose for which this blog was originally started. "This blog is intended to track my progress from meniscus surgery back to my goal of being able to run again" (as stated in the blog description). Readers who have recently joined in following my posts should really go back to the beginning. My meniscus surgery was on August 17, 2023. It did not take me the expected 4-6 weeks to return to normal. Rather, it was a long, frustrating road to recovery for me. My daughter just asked me yesterday, "Do you ...

This post is coming out a day late. I wasn't going to write anything this week because nothing was coming to mind. However, as I went about the day, one sentence kept running through my thoughts. It was a sentence that was said to us yesterday at a church we were visiting for the third time in a row. I can't even remember who said it, but we were told, "Everyone will want you in their group. The groups will be fighting to have you."  That had me thinking back to just four weeks ago. We were talking with the Pastor of the church we had been attending for the past five and a half years, explaining to him that we were beginning to look around at different churches, weighing the pros and cons of switching congregations. One of the reasons we gave him is that we haven't felt a sense of connection at the current church. He encouraged us to join a small group. We informed him that we did check the small group listing and they all appeared to be full at the time to which ...

I hope this doesn't contradict last week's post, but here are my thoughts for today. Yesterday, I was in the shower, well into my Saturday routine. I really hesitated to wake up early to get some miles in but, as I lay there, I thought maybe I'd feel better if I did get up so I decided to do so. I was tired and thought a walk after the week's run efforts would be good enough. I also thought after I did my morning tasks, I would have enough time for a little rest before leaving the house. However, here I was, still taking a shower, feeling very hungry because I had not yet eaten breakfast, knowing there was laundry in the dryer that still needed to be folded, and I was down to an hour before I had to leave. Tiredness caught up with me, and I (literally) cried out to God, "I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to live anymore. I'm tired!" Just like in a running routine, you need to make time for "rest days," however you define them;...

Wake up in the morning, go for a run, come home, shower, and eat breakfast. Leave for work, come home, eat lunch, check office duties off the list (such as invoicing for the morning's jobs), and take a little nap. Straighten up some things around the house, make dinner, spend time with the family, get ready for bed, watch TV, and go to sleep. Wake up, go for a run, come home, eat breakfast, and go to work. You get the idea. The monotonous days keep passing by and I find myself constantly looking forward to the next exciting event such as what my weekend plans may be, an upcoming holiday or planning for our summer vacation. Woohoo!  When I'm alone listening to worship music, I can get really excited as I get caught up in the emotions. When I listen to a thought-provoking, bible-teaching podcast, I can get fired up to go live in my full purpose as God intended. As soon as I step out of my private space and back into the world of people surrounding me, it's so easy to lose tha...