Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Freedom 5K

Picture this: Small town America on the 4th of July, and the streets are lined with thousands of people -- families, rodeo fans, veterans, grandparents, young and old alike; all waiting with much anticipation to watch one of the largest Independence Day street parades west of the Mississippi. Now, imagine that they are also waiting to cheer on YOU

That's right, you too can run or walk the Freedom 5K road race in Molalla, Oregon, just ahead of the Giant Street Parade. How often do you get a chance to have your spirits buoyed by thousands of adoring fans? And the best part is the little kids along the course who are always happy to give high-fives to runners and walkers -- they don't know, or care, if you are in 43rd place of 343rd place, they're just out there having fun. 



All participants receive a tri-blend athletic t-shirt, a Molalla Buckaroo rodeo ticket, and a finisher's medal. There is a fee to run/walk the Freedom 5K, but all profits are donated back into the Molalla community. To register, go to: http://molallarunningclub.com/races/freedom-5k/

You can also register the morning of the race, but numbers are capped at 575 participants, and this has become a very popular race, so keep that in mind. I'm bummed that I won't be around to run it this year, so someone else is needs to go an have fun in my place.

Here's a fun course preview from the 2015 Freedom 5K:


Monday, June 4, 2018

4:29

I have posted about encouragement before, but have been wanting to look at it a little more in-depth, and maybe from a slightly different perspective. One reason for starting this blog was to write about how following God's basic principles ("don't be a glutton") has made positive impacts in my life, and I can't honestly look at the topic of "encouragement" without viewing it through the same lens.

2016 was quite a year for me and my family. I ran a whole bunch of half marathons, we committed to being part of a new church congregation (Foothills Community Church), and I discovered the joys of group runs with the Molalla Running Club. After about a year attending Foothills, we really started to feel confirmation that this was where God had been leading us; and after one week with with an especially stirring message and several "taste and see the Lord is good" moments, I sent notes to some of the pastors, letting them know how much I appreciated them.

That Saturday at running club, I had a chance to run and chat for a while with Pastor Jon (the leader of MRC and worship pastor at Foothills) and he said something I wasn't quite prepared for: "I think you have the gift of encouragement". My reaction was one of, "no, you've got the wrong guy", and I quickly deflected that notion; noting how my wife was the one gifted at encouraging others, and any encouraging I was doing was just from what I had learned in recent years during my service at our former congregation, or possibly from managing a small family business. But coming from someone who I had learned to respect and appreciate, the statement stuck in my head.



Maybe Jon has the ability to see gifts in others. Maybe it was simply prophetic. Maybe there was truth to what he had said. I definitely wanted to be "an encourager", but being human, there were many times in the past when I had failed miserably at this -- when I had let negative words dominate my conversation, engaged in unhealthy communication practices, and let a sometimes cynical heart cloud my outlook. Luckily, we don't need to hang on to the past -- as another Foothills pastor (Sam) so profoundly stated this week, "God's greatest victories aren't in your history. Stop looking back."

In the following weeks, I began to take Jon's words to heart, earnestly trying to follow through with what all followers of Christ are instructed to do in Ephesians 4:29:

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

The great thing about encouragement is that there's no need to form a committee or ministry team to go around encouraging others. It's something we can all do. It's especially important in a church setting, but it also needs to be reflected on the rest of the world -- shining light, "like a city on a hill". Even those who don't feel gifted in this area are called to speak kindly to, and of, others.

There was a time when I thought it was somehow fake to present a positive outlook to the world around you when so many things in life seem to try and drag every last ounce of positive energy from you. On the flip side, I thought that the truly uplifting people around me must be leading perfect, problem-free lives of ease. But then I realized they were living in the same broken world that I was, experiencing the heart-breaks and setbacks that we all experience; and the difference was their genuine desire to follow Christ, and to reflect His light to others. They were making a conscious choice to GO BEYOND the difficult situations life deals out, and choosing to build others up instead. That is who I want to be, too.

So what part of this is the "gift" Jon referred to? It might be in the fact that writing comes easier to me than speaking face-to-face, so sending encouraging notes to others seems natural for me. Maybe it's the fact that I'm willing to say something at all. So often we think that others just know that they are appreciated, when the truth is that everyone benefits from a little encouragement from time to time, no matter how accomplished and confident they may appear. 

To truly lift others up, I need to be willing to say it in person, too; and that is something I am working on. The starting point is making sure that what I say in person, and what I post on social media, reflects the light of the One whom I claim to follow -- Jesus Christ. That is where it has to start. I'm not perfect, and I know I will fail at this again; but I will keep trying, regardless.