Are You a Runner?

A RUNNER names his runs. Tempo, threshold, and fartlek runs. Long runs, slow runs, and track workouts. The runs are defined.

A CHRISt-FOLLOWER reads Scripture, prays, and fellowships with a purpose. Nothing in the Christian life is unintentional. Just like specific runs, each moment with God has a purpose. Each word, prayer, and answer intentionally brings the follower closer to Christ.

A RUNNER knows that shoes are training equipment, not a fashion statement. The best shoe is the one that makes a better runner.

A CHRIST-FOLLOWER chooses his church based on Scriptural preaching, conviction of sin, challenging message, and strength of fellowship…no because of social standing, convenience, or because all the hot girls go there. Church is about drawing closer to Jesus not climbing the social latter.

A RUNNER doesn’t have running outfits. He has technical shirts and shorts and socks. He has apparel that enhances the experience of running by facilitating comfort, speed, and sweat-drying. Runners use words like "Coolmax," "Gore-Tex," “Dry-fit,” and actually know which does what.

A CHRIST-FOLLOWER knows that Spiritual warfare is no laughing matter and putting on the armor of God each day is vital to survival. It is not about looking spiritual or appearing to be the perfect Christian, it is about choosing to wear the character of Christ as protection against the daily fight again sin.

A RUNNER knows what effort feels like, and embraces it. He knows when limits are reached and why he pushes through them. He knows that heavy breathing and an accelerated heart rate—once avoided because of discomfort--are necessary to become a better runner.

A CHRIST-FOLLOWER knows that imitating a perfect and Holy Savior is the hardest thing he will ever attempt, and can only be done through the power of the Holy Spirit. Following Jesus Christ requires commitment, dedication, a change in priorities, and an abandonment of self. But every forced quiet time and uncomfortable confession of sin is worth it because it draws man closer to God.

A RUNNER because I am willing to lay it all on the line. I know that every finish line has the potential to lift my spirits to new highs or devastate me, yet I line up anyway.

A CHRIST-FOLLOWER gives it all for the cause of Christ. Daily taking up the cross and following Jesus. Putting earthly desires, and even earthly life, on the line because He is worth it. His will is not only greater, it is best. And a follower will stop at nothing to be in the will of Christ.

A RUNNER because I know that despite my best efforts, I will always want more from myself. I will always want to know my limits so that I can exceed them.

A CHRIST-FOLLOWER knows that, this side of heaven, he will never arrive at perfect unity and holiness. But that is part of the challenge, part of the draw; knowing that there is always something to work toward, and that the biggest prize of all is waiting to be celebrated in heaven.

A RUNNER because I run. Not because I run fast. Not because I run far.

A CHRIST-FOLLOWER is not perfect, sinless, or even nice all the time. Some call Christians hypocrites, but they are merely ordinary humans who choose to follow Christ with their lives. They are not super spiritual. Christ-followers sin…every day. But with the power of the Holy Spirit they sin less each day as they draw closer to the Lord. The difference between an ordinary person and a Christ-follower is that the latter has the power not to sin, while the former has no choice but to sin.

A RUNNER because I say I am. And no one can tell me I'm not.

A CHRIST-FOLLOWER is a Christian not because of an excessive amount of good deeds, or a respectable past, or pure thought life. A follower is saved because Christ died for Him on the cross of Calvary, dying once for the guilt of all sin. The follower merely accepted that free gift of Salvation and eternal life.

“Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13

Are you a Christ-follower?

Excerpts taken from Runner's World.
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-332--12126-0,00.html

Prayer Running, Part 1

6:30am. I park at the trails and double check my double-knotted Asics. The sun is just peeking over the horizon, casting an orange glow over the path. I love my morning route: a winding river-side trail that goes on for endless miles. I always start my run heading east toward downtown, it makes sense to run into the sun before it gets to hot, then have the sun at your back for the last bit of mileage. But if I had to be honest, the sun has nothing to do with why I run east….in the early mornings the sun shines through the high rise buildings causing light to glint off of the chrome skyscrapers that frame downtown. Sunrise and skyscrapers combine in a prismic effect that adds some serious magic to my run. And I am all about having as many distractions as possible to keep my mind off blisters or sore muscles.

6:35am. I usually warm up with a five minute jog, which also allows me to recalibrate my Nike chip to get an accurate reading on today’s run. I am in serious LOVE with my Nike iPod chip. It tracks my pace, mileage, and time. Once my calibration is set, I hit play and run toward the sunlight. David Crowder pounds through my headphones: Here is our King, Our Love is Loud, Wholly Yours, God of Creation, Undignified, All This for a King,The Glory of it All. And suddenly, I am alone. Gone is the background noise of traffic, the squawking of birds hoping to be fed, the whiz of cyclist passing to my left. Even the pounding of my own feet has disappeared. It’s just me and Jesus.

Running is my time with God. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t take the place of reading scripture, memorizing the Word, or going to church. But running is when Jesus and I talk. The iPod effectively blocks out the world (don’t worry Dad, I stay alert to would-be predators). Sometimes I start out the run with a specific burden on my heart. Sometimes I picture my church and pray for every face. Sometimes I pray for my family. Running is my time of intercessory prayer. I have tried to be a “good Christian” and do all my prayer stuff during my quiet time, but I find myself distracted by random noises, by the phone ringing, by the to-do list taunting me from the kitchen table. I can’t focus for long periods of time….unless I am running. When I first begin to run, it was serious work. It hurt so much, I was so out of shape – I was desperate for anything that would get my mind off of the pain of beating my body into shape. So I begin to pray. Soon I found that I would get so focused on praying that an hour would fly by without me realizing it. And I was able to really invest in my church, my family, my friends marriages, and in lost souls by praying for them.

Running and Jesus became so intertwined that I looked forward to running (no matter how many miles were on the schedule for that day) because I got to run with Jesus. And I loved praying because it improved both my spirit and my body through running. It was totally win/win. I was excited when people asked me to pray with them because I could tell them with absolute certainty that I would pray that night during my 10k run, or the next morning during my sprint workout.

7:15am. My runs aren’t just time for me to talk with God; they also provided the perfect platform for me to listen to Him. In case you haven’t figured it out, I am quite the talker. And that transfers into my prayer life as well. I generally talk to God way more than I listen to Him. Which is completely backwards, since He kind of knows everything about, well, everything! But somewhere around mile five, my brain shuts down. The first two miles are always torture, no matter how in shape I am, so that is when my prayers are the most focused. By mile five I am in the zone; I am in rhythm and have settled into my stride. Running isn’t effortless, but it is no longer excruciatingly hard work. My brain no long needs to force my legs to move, they do it on their own. So my brain shuts down, which means that whoever I was praying for when I hit the shut-down point gets prayed for over…and over…and over… or I stop praying. And when I am finally quiet, God begins to speak. He convicts me of sin, He brings Scripture to mind and teaches me about it, He challenges, inspires, convicts, and encourages me. He teaches me what to pray and how to pray. Mileage after the five mile marker is the sweetest, most inspiring time I have with my Lord and Savior. Eight out of ten blogs that I write come from times running with Jesus. Book ideas, Bible study insights, and revelation of His nature come in those final miles. Makes me want to run distance every day just so I can meet Jesus. Not that I cannot experience the same thing at other times of the day, the only thing stopping me is my own lack of discipline to focus on Jesus alone. What works for me is combining the discipline of running with the discipline of prayer (both talking and listening).

I run with an iPod. And not just because of my obsession with the Nike chip. I run with music to prevent myself from being distracted. Especially when I know God has something to tell me that I don’t want to hear, or a sin to convict me of, or He wants to call me to greater holiness. If I can distract myself from hearing something I don’t want to hear from God, I will. So I eliminate distractions with my iPod. I only run to worship music. And I don’t like most Christian artists, so it is pretty much me, David Crowder, and Jesus. The worship songs keep me focused on Jesus. Anytime my thoughts start to wander or I try to ignore what God is saying, David Crowder says something like “Take my heart, I Lay it down, At the feet of you whose crowned, Take my life, I’m letting go, I lift it up to You who’s throned. And I will worship You, Lord. Only You, Lord” and I am back on track, listening to God.

8:30am. I have run the day's race and met my Lord. Running is no longer just about making the day’s mileage, it is about running to meet Jesus and get my heart in line with His.

“Is the Son of God praying in me, or am I dictating to Him?....Prayer is not simply getting things from God, that is a most initial form of prayer; prayer is getting into perfect communion with God. If the Son of God is formed in us by regeneration, He will press forward in front of our common sense and change our attitude to the things about which we pray.” --Oswald Chambers

Prayer running: using the discipline of running to inspire the discipline of prayer.

Runner vs. Jogger

I used to claim that I was a runner….back before I actually ran. In those days, running meant owning a pair of tennis shoes and running when it was convenient or when I had eaten too much Ben&Jerrys. And I only ran until I got tired, whether that be one mile or three. I gave no thought to pacing or speed. It didn’t matter; I was only running on a whim – not because it was a determining factor in my daily routine. I was a jogger.

George Sheehan, running guru, once said that “The difference between a jogger and a runner is an entry blank.” A runner is serious enough about the sport to compete in it. Simply put, that is the dividing line between runner and jogger. But that entry blank signifies so much more. The entry blank symbolizes commitment to train, dedication to finish the race, and a promise to run with a purpose.

THE JOGGER runs for…
Entertainment: I know, I know – who runs for entertainment? I used to. Not that I found anything amusing about dripping with sweat, but the other people at the track were entertaining. Watching large people run is funny (Forgive me, please, I was very immature). And there are always muscly men working out nearby. Entertainment, distraction from whatever normally occupies the mind.

Recreation: It’s something to do with people you love. And if those you love run, then it is a way to be with friends, family, or your current love. I took up running while in the “talking” phase of a relationship with a baseball player. He had to run three miles a day as part of practice, and he asked me to run with him. Sure, I burned a few calories and spent time with a cute athlete, but it was purely recreational.

Social Status: Not the high society kind of status, but the status as an athlete. In America, the physical is worshiped, whether it be beauty, fitness, or health. It is only natural that people would jog in order to have the reputation as someone who cares about their body. To join the ranks of the physically fit. To be known as something other than a couch potato.

Personal Gain: Quite a few people jog for exercise. They want to loose a few pounds, shape up, or build muscle. What separates these joggers from marathoners who finish in five hours is the amount of effort put into it. One blogger put it like this, "If you run 4 1/2 hours--but barring injury or illness you could have run it in 3 1/2 hours--then you are jogging. If you run 4 1/2 hours and you know that you could not possibly have run any harder or faster - then you are running." It is all about the amount of heart and effort put into running.

THE RUNNER runs for...
Runners allow nothing to distract them from their run. Nothing gets in the way of training. They have a goal, a future race, and nothing deters them from it. A runner gives all, refusing to look back, focusing on the goal, pushing past pain and distraction toward the prize. Now that I run, is a huge determining factor in my life. Running effects who I am and what I do. I can’t just make plans for the evening, I have to first consult my training schedule to see if I can cover the assigned mileage earlier in the day. My budget is affected by running; I have to plan in race fees, running clothes, and tennis shoes every three hundred miles. My grocery list has changed: I don’t look at calories or fat anymore, but count grams of protein and carbohydrates to make sure my body is adequately fueled. My shopping habits have changed, a pick-me-up used to be a new pair of high heels, but just yesterday I picked up a new Sapphire/black running outfit and ran my fastest mileage to date (talk about a pick-me-up!). Running isn’t the only thing I do; I take kickboxing and Pilates, and I strength train. But I do those other activities to enhance my performance as a runner. Strong muscles protect bones and increase speed. I read about running. I write about running. It’s all about running.

Chances are, if you are reading this blog, you are a runner, not a jogger. Joggers don’t read about running. Runners, on the other hand, are obsessed with it. Runners are dedicated, driven, and focused individuals. But let me ask you this, fellow runner –

In your walk with Christ, are you a runner or a jogger?

Is your walk with the Lord dedicated, driven, and focused on His Kingdom? Or are you a Christian for what you can get out of it? Are you a jogging after Christianity or running hard after Jesus?

THE JOGGER CHRISTIAN lives for...
Entertainment: Do you go to church for the entertainment value? Granted, churches today are so spectacular that it is easy to watch the show rather than worshiping Jesus, but that is no excuse. To you go for the music, drama, stories, and feel-good sensation? Are you seeking for someone to entertain you rather than you serving SOMEONE?

Recreation: Recreational activities are take-‘em-or-leave-‘em by design, with no commitment attached. Just go, have fun, enjoy, relax. Don’t get over-involved or serious about the topics. Recreational Christians don’t feel the need to join a church, serve the Body of Christ, or expend energy to pursue Jesus in all areas of life. Their Christianity is just for fun.

Social Status: There is a huge contingent of pew-sitters that are their solely to be seen. It is especially commonplace in the Deep South. It is the place for politicians to been seen as moral individuals, for business people to make connections, and women to pick out appropriate husbands for their daughters.

Personal Gain: Can be any number of reasons, to earn your salvation, to appease your conscience for some sin, to make a Jesus-freak (who you are most likely related to) happy. Coming to church maybe about meeting nice girls or getting your weekly spiritual fix. The difference is in the motive for coming.

THE RUNNER CHRISTIAN lives for...
Christ-followers make every effort to allow nothing to get between them and their Lord. They run for Him, to Him, and because of Him. Nothing is important enough to get in the way of praying, reading the Word, and investing in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Christ-followers know that they are here on earth for a reason, they know their purpose, they have embraced their calling, and are pursuing it with all their might. They push past busy days, refusing to be distracted by petty church-y-ness, and run toward the prize. Paul was an excellent example, he said “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.

When I am truly living my life for the Lord, seeking Him with all of my energy; it changes who I am and what I do. It changes who I hang out with (either Christians who build me up or those in need of Jesus), what I do, why I do it, and the attitude I have while doing it. God affects my budget, no longer is that money there to please me, but to benefit the Kingdom. That involves tithing, yes; but also giving to those in need, buying a happy for a friend who is sad, sending a card just to let someone know you are praying. When God comes first, all other priorities take backseat. Jesus isn’t the only thing I do; I work, write, shop, run, read, and build a life with people. But I do those other activities to enhance my walk with the Lord. They give me opportunities to live out my faith. I do everything in my life to achieve the goal of knowing my Lord better.

If you are not running after Jesus every day of the week, then you are a jogger, not a runner. You cannot be a runner without consistent, dedicated running. You cannot truly follow Jesus without consistent dedication to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Running can be slow or fast, but it is different from jogging in that when you are finished, you cannot take another step. Live every day for Jesus being utterly spent at the end of each day.

Be a runner, in all areas of life.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.

Someone to Run With...

I ran the America Heroes 10k this past Memorial Day. It was the Monday after an out-of-town wedding where I feasted on wedding cake and tiny little appetizers nonstop for three days. To make matters worse, I stepped off the plane and went to a church picnic….with homemade chocolate cupcakes.
So, I was over-stuffed and under-trained when I stepped up to the starting line.

The race itself was fun: in honor of the military we started the race with an Apache Helicopter escort. Talk about adrenaline rush – there is nothing like racing a combat helicopter to the finish line!

I started off the race by myself, but ran into a training buddy in the first half mile. I’ve never run with her before, because we have different strides – but the wedding cake was slowing me down. We matched strides and the race really begin.

I like having someone to run with. It helps me pace myself. And for some reason, I unconsciously try to impress and maybe even beat the other runner. What can I say, I am a psychotic competitive freak! Running with a partner pushes, inspires, and challenges.

I was hurting from my undisciplined weekend, it was 97degrees, the water stations were manned by over-zealous teens who put ice in the water…which meant I had nothing to drink in four miles….and I am an every-mile-drinker kind of girl. It was ugly, that is the only way to describe my run.

But my friend kept me strong and steady. Actually, I think my stubborn Irish side simply refused to be beaten. Whatever the reason, we kept an easy (or what was supposed to be easy) ten-minute-mile pace for four and a half miles. Then her old ankle injury started acting up, she needed to slow down and I was ready to speed up for a different finish.

Hey, I may have run ugly, but I could still finish well!

So I took off at mile five, but soon begin slowing down – I didn’t have anyone to push me. I needed running accountability so that I could finish strong and fast! In desperation, I begin to pick specific runners ahead of me and pass them, then pick another one and pass them, and so on. It kept me focused. I passed Bib Number 5443. Within a minute he had passed me. Another minute and I passed him again. He was shorter than me, but far more muscular, so we were pretty evenly matched. I was wishing for a running partner when, just then 5443 passed me again and it hit me – this was my running partner for the remainder of the race.

We never ran side by side, but passing each other became our focus. It distracted me from the ever-enlarging blister on my right foot. We rounded the final corner for the last 100 meters; 5443 was a good twenty feet in front of me. My stubborn Irish rage took over and I decided there was no way he would beat me. Let me just say thank you to my Mom for long leg genetics, cause they sure came in handy for that final sprint! I flew past my challenger and crossed the finish line ten seconds before him. It was fabulous – a true racing high!

I was getting my race chip removed when he ran up and complimented my finish. I smiled and thanked him, because if he hadn’t pushed me I wouldn’t have finished like I did. He thought I was just a great finisher, but I knew he had pushed me to that fast finish.

In my car on the way home from the race I couldn’t stop thinking about that finish and how instrumental 5443 was in my finishing well. He was the running-version of a spiritual accountability partner. I had been blessed with amazing accountability partners over the years. Girls who pushed me to have a daily time with God, who called me out when I sinned, who helped me develop Godliness. Without their encouragement, support, and pushiness – I would not have the walk with God that I do today.

Imagine if you were the only entrant in a Marathon. With no one to race against, would you finish? Would you keep pace and push yourself mile after mile. With no one to pace you, would you tire out too fast? With no one racing up the hills in front of you, would you slow down at each incline? With no one to push you, encourage you, distract you….how would you race? An accountability partner is as vital to your walk with God as having other race participants is to your finishing well.

Runners are picky about who they run with: they look for someone with a similar pace, who has like training goals, and who they enjoy talking with mile after mile. They also look for someone determined to finish, who is committed to run. No one is interested in the runner partner who can’t drag his body out of bed to meet up for the scheduled early morning run.

In my experience, the best way to find a running or race partner is to run. And when I am running, then I look around me and see who was running like I needed to be. That person is my partner.

Seek an accountability partner the same way.

Run after God, seek His face. And while you seek him, look around at other Christians doing the same goals. You just met your accountability partner.

How to do it?
I have never been to Promise Keepers, because I am a girl. But I have heard that they have a song about accountability. It seems kind of cheesy as a song – but the lyrics define accountability to perfection.

· "Face to face. . ." Being accountable to someone means you sit face to face, look that person in the eye and honestly, openly discuss what is going on in your lives.
· "Shoulder to Shoulder. . ." Accountability means standing by your brother's side through thick and thin. One is not above the other; both are equal.
· "We'll Strengthen each other. . ." Through vital relationships, we become stronger, as we help each other through struggles, temptations and shortfalls, and as we encourage one another towards spiritual growth.
Promise Keepers

The Bible tells us to:
Love each other. (John 15:17)
Serve one another in love. (Galatians 5:13)
Be kind and compassionate to one another. (Ephesians 4:32)
Carry each other's burdens. (Galations 6:2)
Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other. (James 5:16)
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. (Romans 12:10)
When two or more come together in Jesus’ name, He is there. (Matthew 18:20)
Accept one another. (Romans 15:7)
Encourage one another and build each other up. (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
Spur one another on toward love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:24)
Accountability is our duty as members of the same body. (1 Corinthians 12:26-27)

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." (Proverbs 27:17).

Stilettos in Quicksand

I love my dad. He makes coffee just the way I like it, always has an encouraging word, rarely misses a question on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and yells at the TV just as loudly as I do during college football games. He is an incredible resource in most areas of my life....EXCEPT for running. And fashion.

He just doesn't get them. He doesn't understand how I could possibly ENJOY pounding pavement until my feet are numb, waking up at 5 am to train, or sprinting with a 15 grade incline at the gym just to see how long I can take it. He doesn't know that a marathon is not 26 miles. (You run one, and then tell me that 0.2 miles doesn't make a difference!)

Fashion has him equally baffled. He calls my sister's Louis Vuitton bag "the alphabet purse." He thinks COACH sells sports merchandise. And that Guess changes what they sell every week. He just doesn't get it.

That's why his life advice with a running/fashion analogy had such an impact on me. I knew God was speaking through my dad to communicate with me in a way I would understand. There's no way my dad could have given this advice on his own knowledge.

I was sitting in my parent's kitchen. I got a job in pharmaceutical sales, gone to sales school in Indianapolis for six weeks, and bought a three-bedroom condo on my own within three months of graduating college (at the age of 20. I graduated both high school and college a year early.)

In December, my manager told me the company was undergoing a "corporate re-shuffle." Already under conviction that I should have gone to seminary after graduating, I turned down three other positions within the company, took a severence package, enrolled in graduate school at the University of Tennessee, went back to my previous job as a personal trainer, took a volunteer internship position in the student ministry at my dad's church, put my condo on the market, competed for the title of Miss Knoxville, and won. Now, it was back to Miss Tennessee.

In March, I was so tired of wrestling with God about coming to seminary, I scheduled a campus tour of Southwestern. My dad and I came to Texas, I immediately felt at home on the campus, and decided that was where the Lord wanted me to pursue my seminary degree. If I won Miss Tennessee, I would defer a year and enter seminary a year later. If I didn't win, I would move to Texas three weeks after the pageant.

The pageant came, and the crown went to another contestant. The time had come to show Texas that at 5'3" and 110 lbs, it doesn't always have to be bigger to be better in Texas. Or was it time to hold off on the move and take online classes for a year before I took the plunge?

I casually brought up this idea of web-based education with my dad, thinking he would immediately jump on board. I mean, he wouldn't have to watch his little girl move 16 hours away from home. ANY father would be estastic, especially when you're as close as we are.

My dad took a deep breath. "Michelle, how important is picking your running shoes to you?"

"What" I asked. My dad never mentioned running, unless he was telling me that I needed to give my body a break.

"How much time do you spend researching a shoe before you purchase it? And when you find a pair that you like, do you stay loyal to it, waiting for the new one to come out? Or will you just run in any old pair of shoes?" he asked.

"No way!" I said, passionately. "Picking your running shoe is critical to performance. I mean, I have a narrow foot. I can't wear just any shoe that comes in a normal or a wide width. And racing shoes are different from training shoes. Trail running shoes are different. And this!" I said proudly, lifting up my right foot for him to admire my 2006 Nike Air Pegasus. "This is the best running shoe out there. It's the only one I buy."

"So you consider the terrain too?" he asked.

"Of course."

"Does the distance matter for your pace?" Now, he was smirking a little bit. I hadn't quite figured out where he was going, but he was definately going somewhere. "If you're going to do a long run, do you start slower than if you're going to do a shorter run?"

"Absolutely. If you start out too fast for a long run, you'll never make it. And if you're too slow for a short run, you won't get a good workout," I shot back. Two could play this "Know-It-All" Game.

"Well, all I'm going to tell you is that your life would be a lot smoother if you gave it as much thought and consideration as running."

Yeah, I'm sure that's all you're going to tell me. "Go on," I said.

"When you run, you have a plan, and you stick to it - how far you'll run, what you'll wear, how fast you'll go. In life, you try to run a marathon at a 5K pace without stopping to think about the terrain you will come across or what shoes you should wear - which is why half of the time - you end up sprinting in stilettos on quicksand."

What? When did he learn what stilettos were? And I don't remember teaching him about pacing....

But he was so right.

Ask yourself the following questions.

1) Do you give as much prayer to life decisions as you give consideration to your training log?

2) Do you make decisions at a sprinting pace and discover you can't finish the race because you get burned out?

3) Do you make "in the moment" decisions without considering how it will impact your future?

This conversation with my dad is what inspired my life verse - 2 Timothy 4:7. "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith."

**Fight the good fight.**
Only fight the battles worth fighting. Just as you must train regularly, train smart, and challenge yourself, you must keep a consistent walk with Christ, cling close to Him, and accept the tasks He gives you.

**Finish the race.**
He put you here for a reason. He has a purpose for your life, and it is your job to be obedient to fulfill that purpose.

**Keep the faith.**
Never forget that Christ is worth living for...and dying for.

Runner’s Envy

"I run because I used to be envious of people that could run, and now I am that person."
Kendra Thompson, Everyday Runner

I completely relate. I come from a family of runners. My childhood was full of mom-enforced runs. It was the worse torture imaginable for an unathletic-stubborn-girl. She made us jog, and by that I mean the absolutely slowest run possible while still moving, for a whole entire half mile. At eleven I thought it was inhumane. Not that I ever actually ran the whole distance – as soon as I was out of sight, I walked. In love with running, I was not! But something about those mom-enforced runs must have worked, because my whole family runs now. One brother runs track in college, one sister runs with the cross-country team at a different college, and two more sisters run both track and cross-country in High School. A running family, well, except for me. I envied their natural athletic ability, long-legged strides, and the discipline it takes to just run.

I envied my siblings, whose running won them scholarships to college. I envy my Mom, who still runs at least three miles a day. Last summer, I was confined to bed with a particularly vicious and disgusting form of mono. And I envied my best friends who were able to run five miles a day while I was too weak to move from the couch. When I recovered, I decided that envy was overrated. If I wanted to be like all of them, I should. So I joined a running team, was handed a training schedule, and begin running every day. Three months after I begin running, I ran my first half-marathon.

The funny thing is – my new friends, those who have met me in 2008, actually think I am a runner. The thought makes me laugh. But, I guess it is true. I have the right runners clothes, I wear Asics that correct my under-pronation, I use (and understand) words like cross-train, carbo-loading, and fartlek ( I still giggle at that one). Of course the thing that really makes me a runner is that I hit the trails at least five days out of seven for a weekly mileage of thirty or so. I guess I am a runner. I guess I did it – I became that which I envied.

That’s the thing about envy. It only works as long as you don’t have it or haven’t become it yet. Envy can also show you who you really want to be. It can reveal what is most important to you. But envy also sets those people, those things that are envied, apart. Envy puts ordinary people, like runners, on a pedestal.

There are other people that I envy. I envy my mom’s prayer life. I envy my brother’s sold-out-to-Jesus lifestyle. I envy my best friend’s soul-shattering, life-changing quiet times. I envy the realness of my pastor’s faith. I want what they have. And I can continue just to want it, or I can become it. It’s not like they are anything special, they simply serve a very special God. It is not that they are more loveable, more useable, or way more talented. God uses those who surrender to His leadership. God uses those who surrender the reins and allow their life to be useable.

I want to pray unceasingly, in full faith, in accordance with God’s will – like my Mom does. I want to be fully surrendered to God, obedient in all things, passionately living the life He designed me to live – just like my little brother is. I want to meet God every time I open His Word, so cleansed of sin that I hear every Word that God speaks – just like my best friend. I want a faith that is real, relevant, true, and life-changing to everyone I encounter – like my pastor. I want their faith, their walk with the Lord, their obedience. This can be good envy. An envy that can be used by the Holy Spirit: if I allow Him to control the envy rather than the envy control Him.

If the envy controls The Holy Spirit:
I become bitter and resentful that God favors my friends and family more than He does me. I see our lack of relationship as God’s fault, or a flaw in how he made me, not my responsibility. I pull away from anyone who has a vibrant, intimate relationship with God. Eventually, I pull away from the church altogether. I still envy those who have a stronger faith, but I have given up hope of ever achieving that spiritual state of my own. The result is depression, anger, and the need to find something else to live for, so I turn to a self-centered life of sin.

If the Holy Spirit controls the envy:
He provides the power to become that which I envy. I realize that the only thing that sets my apart from them is that they are living each day in the victory of the cross, driven by the will of God, empowered by unending grace, and humbly being transformed by the Spirit of God. I realize that we serve the same God, who offers the same saving grace to all who will daily take up their cross and follow Him. I spend quality time with people who have the kind of faith I want. I learn from them and am inspired by their intimate relationship with Christ. My quest for a closer relationship with God leads me to spend hours in the Word, start and finish my day with prayer, and constantly seek the fellowship of believers. The result is a death of self and a transformation into a woman who exudes Jesus Christ.

Spiritual envy can be a great thing if it causes you to become what you envy.

Personally, I have come to the point in my Christian life where I can no longer fake it. No longer will I be satisfied to drift along in the average. I want the amazing. I refuse to meander in half-hearted religion. I want the miraculous. I will no longer wander in the wilderness of personal satisfaction. I will accept nothing less than total sacrifice. I will not settle for merely functional or competent Christianity. I want a soul-burning, heart-stopping, world-changing, love relationship with the God of all creation. I am done being a mediocre Christian. I want a life so Christ-like that when others imitate me, they become like my Lord. I want to become that which I envied. I want a life that is real, bold, Christ-like, forever. And that life starts now.

So I am turning off my computer and picking up my Bible for the remainder of the evening.

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24

“And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” Mark 8:34

“And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2

RUN UGLY

My running coach closed his weekly encouraging email with a challenge to “Run Ugly.” And being the girly girl that I am, I immediately took offense to that statement. I don’t want to run ugly! I don’t want to do anything ugly, if I can help it. I want to run pretty. I like pretty food, pretty shoes, pretty coffee (which is why I pay $6 a drink for it), pretty music, and things that smell pretty. I am a pretty kind of girl. So I must be honest, when I started running two months ago, I wanted that to be pretty too. I bought the adorably coordinating running outfit and was the cutest thing at the trails. But as soon as I actually began to run, I learned that running pretty isn’t really running. There is nothing pretty about a runner who has just finished a ten mile run. They are soaked in sweat, red-faced from exertion, with salt deposits on their face and arms, and they smell like BodyGlide. Running just isn’t pretty. It’s inspiring, challenging, and exhausting, but not pretty.

Neither is following Christ. Oh, some churches are trying to market Christianity as this warm and fuzzy, make you feel good all over, happily ever after transformation. But that is pure baloney. Following Christ is hard. It means saying no to old habits and resisting the temptation to sin. It means clinging on to Christ just to make it through the day. It means spending time on your knees getting to know your Savior. It means doing His will for your life, not your own. It means living to glorify Jesus Christ and not yourself. It means spiritual warfare and being misunderstood by anyone who doesn’t love Jesus just as much as you do. There is nothing pretty about following Jesus Christ. It is amazing, it has eternal rewards, it means never having to be alone ever again, it means your life has a great purpose, but it is not pretty.

Each one of us has a choice: pretty or ugly?
To be a runner, I have to leave pretty at the house before hitting the trails. But the flip side is that ugly or not, I get to run! I get to feel the wind in my hair, the sunshine on my face, feel my body rise to the challenge of the race. It’s glorious.

To be a follower of Christ, I have to give up warm fuzzies and die to myself. But the flip side is that as difficult as it is to follow Christ – I get to be a part of a purpose far greater than myself. I get to be forgiven. I get to share that amazing forgiveness with others. I get to spend eternity in a perfect heaven with my God. I get to walk with Jesus every day, following in his footsteps. I get to be a reflection of Jesus to the world, and that is way better than simply being pretty.

The Effects of Running Ugly:
(Pretty gets you compliments, so what does ugly get you?)

1. Icky-Sweat-Haters. People who don’t run just don’t get the sweat thing. They think it is icky and smelly and gross. As runners, we get past the sweat factor real quick, it is just evidence of our hard work. Non-runners don’t want to hang around someone who just finished a half-marathon because they don’t want the sweat to rub off. This happens all the time in the Christian life. Your continual push toward godliness makes them run away so you won’t get God all over them. “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” John 15:19

2. The You-Crazy-Runner Crowd. The people who stand on the sidelines and shake their heads as you run by. They don’t understand how you can enjoy such intense exercise. They think you are crazy for you love of running. They just don’t get it. Neither do non-believers. They won’t get why you give up sleep to read your Bible before work, or why you are kind to people who gossip about you, or why you put others first. They just won’t get it, and they never will unless they too start racing after Jesus Christ. “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God”.1 Corinthians 2:12

3. The You-Make-Me-Feel-Fat-ers. People who don’t run, but wish they did. They know they need to get off the couch and hit the track to burn off last night’s Chinese take-out, but they just don’t want to. It’s too much work, it has been too long since they last exercised, they are too old and fat to change. We’ve all heard the excuses. Funny thing is, those are the same kind of excuses that I hear from people who don’t want to go to church. The discipline and athleticism of a runner makes couch-potatoes feel guilty. “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John 3:19-21

4. Those who are inspired to run. Some people will see you running, see the joy it brings you, the benefit to your health and they will join you in the race. Most people will think you are insane, but a few will get it. And those are the ones that will run beside you as you race pass all the people who think you are crazy. Run to inspire. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:16-17

As modern girls, it is easy to get completely preoccupied with all things pretty.

Don’t. Don’t worry about pretty, just run.

Run!

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-26

“Holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” Philippians 2:16

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2