5k Every Day in the Month of May (May 3)

What a beautiful morning for a run! I’m sorry that no one was able to meet me to run from the Fredericksburg trail head this morning. It was a perfect day!

I arrived at the park a bit early this morning and noticed that the guy who runs the park was re-stocking the concession stand. I wasn’t doing anything but waiting, so I went and helped him out. He said, “Wow, this is great. When I bought this stuff somebody helped me load it onto the truck, and now here you are helping me unload it.”

What can I say? God is good. I was at the right place at the right time.

Speaking of being at the right place at the right time, this morning I ran in my new Brooks Glycerin 13 shoes. I won them at the Akron Marathon.

Best day ever!

Brooks had a booth set up at the Akron Marathon and I stopped by at the end of the day while they were just getting ready to tear down. I asked if I could spin their magic wheel of awesome prizes, and they said that would be fine. I was the very last person to visit their booth, and my epic spin made their magic wheel of awesomeness land on a free pair of shoes.

YAY!

I really like them. (Though the fact that I won them by spinning a magic wheel probably plays a role in why I like them so much…)

I ran at my happy pace again this morning, but somehow managed to run just a bit faster than the previous two days (I wouldn’t expect that theme to continue…) I ran exactly 3.1 miles in 23:42.2. That is an average pace of 7:39 per mile.

Today as I was running and just enjoying the goodness of God’s creation, I was thinking about Romans 8:28.

…we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28, ESV)

Yesterday was a little rough for me. I blogged a bit about the unexpected circumstances of my day and posted that blog on my website. I received a lot of feedback from that blog. All of it was positive, but this morning I got a text from one of the leaders of our church who asked me to take the blog post down.

I didn’t want to take the post down because I thought it was helpful, but I respected this leader’s opinion and took the post down. My intention with the blog was to be helpful, but I think I missed the mark. It is good to have people in your life who are willing to hold you accountable.

Anyway, while I was running, I was thinking about how God works all things together for good. I really believe that is what he is doing in this circumstance, as well.

In the few hours that my blog was online, many people took the time to read it -and it was crazy LONG. I received messages from other Pastors who were really encouraged by the honesty and vision of the blog. God had used a bad situation and made something good out of it!

I had also received messages from other parents who were encouraged to know that our Youth Group is being led unapologetically towards Jesus. They also offered heartfelt and uplifting encouragement to me, personally. God had used a bad situation and made something good out of it!

I shared my situation with a group of leaders that I am connected to from around the country and asked them to pray and welcomed encouragement and / or rebuke. I received all of the above, and it was awesome. God used these brilliant men and women whom I admire to teach me more about Jesus and encourage me to keep fighting the good fight of faith. God had used a bad situation and made something good out of it!

I rejoice in knowing that God is faithful and that he is leading his church. He is working all things together for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purposes.

If you are not a follower of Christ and you read my blog, and it gave you a bad impression of Christianity, I am very sorry for that. The truth is that none of us are perfect. I certainly am not. I make plenty of mistakes and I don’t always love well. I try, but I fail.

Sometimes there is fighting in the church (just like in every other group of people). We are a family. We love each other, but we don’t always see eye to eye. Sometimes those disagreements end up in arguments or fights. That’s not okay, but it is real. You should know that -because we’re not interested in pretending to be something we are not.

Sometimes we forget the basic truth that completely changed our lives to begin with -that Jesus died for our sins and now empowers us to live for him.

If not for Jesus, this situation would be hopeless. But I believe in Jesus, and I have seen him working powerfully in my life -causing me to forgive when I don’t want to, causing me to love when I don’t want to, and always loving and forgiving me when I definitely don’t deserve it.

I am not perfect, but I am very hopeful… because I know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.