faithrunner

I have finished the Boston Marathon seven times , and the run down Boylston Street is t he epitome of athletic excitement . Whether you are the winner of the marathon or back in the pack with runners like me, the crowds always cheer for you as if you were winning the race and they all knew your name. The marathon is always run on Patriot's Day , a state holiday for MA, and it seems the entire state turns out for the marathon and Red Sox game . People line the route from Hopkington to Boston , but the masses become ten deep on Boylston. When you turn onto Boylston Street off of Hereford, no matter how you feel, you know you will finish because you can see the finish line and the crowds will make your forget the pain in your legs and body . Interrupt that idyllic experience with an explosion driving shrapnel into the backs of spectators and concussion-producing blasts. Whoever did this knew the masses would gather on Boylston because of the marathon and the game. The...

Reactions to Newtown Shootings I'm afraid lifelong, American Christians treat Christmas with at least two false assumptions : The first false assumption is that (maybe due to carols like Silent Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and Angels We Have Heard on High) we assume nothing bad was going on when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Somehow it must have been more tranquil and God chose that time in history because life was simpler and less violent. Nothing like what happened in Newtown was anything like reality to those who lived at the time of Jesus' birth. The second false assumption is that God worked differently then than now . We assume that when Jesus was born everything immediately changed, Jesus grew up blissfully, and the Kingdom of Heaven eventually came on earth until we are in Heaven. God protected the just and the ways of God became embedded in the hearts of humans forever more. These assumptions about the Christmas story are false , and they cause...

This past Sunday, instead of serving with the Legacy Church family, I joined 3,100+ riders in the LiveStrong Austin ride . The combined total of the fundraising for the weekend was over $3.1 million dollars. You can read a news article here . I rode with some Legacy Cyclists but also as a member of Team Family First , members and friends of Jim and Sarah Craig's family, some who came all the way from Seattle to ride. We rode 45, 65, and the 90 routes in memory of and in honor of those who have battled cancer. While the ride was hard (add hills, humidity, and wind to a ride around Plano), I finished with prayers in my heart for those who have suffered much more than me after 90 miles on the bike in their battle against this wicked disease. I will continue to ride and run as a witness to my core belief that no matter what we face in our human condition, Jesus Christ exhausted evil on the cross, defeated death as our "final enemy," and joins us as a fellow-suffer and su...