Hit Tiger Mountain yesterday with my buddy Ben Wicks. It was raining pretty good yesterday and to be honest with you I did not want to go. But, we decided to hit it anyway and we were very glad we did. It was a great hike and despite the rain we had good time. The top was in the clouds and the visibility was about 25-30 feet. You can see from the picture below it was foggy up there.
I am breaking in a new set of boots and was a tad worried about blisters. Thankfully, not one blister.
This morning I was thinking through my message and praying while Jireh was leading our music. ( As I have said before, he always does an amazing job painting a picture with music. He knows how to drive a theme with the songs he chooses.)
While I was praying, a scene from the 5k race I ran in on Saturday came rushing into my mind. At the race there were tons of kids from local schools running to raise money for their school P.E. program. At the start of the race many of the kids took off at a sprint only to loose steam after about two blocks. Well the goofy thing was that they just stopped running and started walking right in the middle of the course. Actually all over the place. I was literally running through, weaving, gently nudging them out of the way and yelling, "Move to the side! Move to the side!". I had lost sight of the point of the event and was so focused on my goal that I was actually getting angry with those in my way.
I saw the picture of this crazy race scenario and I sensed God asking me a rhetorical question, "Have you pushed people aside to advance yourself?" My first thought was, "No! I am just not like that." But it did not take long to come to the conclusion that in some ways I have done just that.
Let me paint it for you this way. I love meeting people. I love talking with people and discovering new things about them. For years when I would meet people I would search for the magical point of connection. That thing that we share in common which becomes the pivotal conversational connection. What has come to my attention is that this, for me, had become more a window of opportunity to talk about myself than an opportunity to truly get to know them. I have this problem that spills out all the time. I think in story. I see in story. I dream in story. Everything reminds me of a story. I can meet someone for the first time and within seconds learn something about them that reminds me of ME. Is this really a way to get to know someone or is it a way to get someone to know me?
As leaders we can be so focused on the goals that we miss the mission. This is why it is so good for us to stay focused on Jesus. When we look to Jesus, every time we see people in his eyes. His mode is so selfless. My default is so selfish.
Grace // Compassion //Passion
Love.
A pure, true and evident love.
On Saturday our little family ran in the Nike 5k for Kids. For a coupe people who have never enjoyed running and a little girl that can barely run, we sure have been enjoying these events lately. This one was a lot of fun. The race was held in downtown Seattle, partially on the downtown streets and partially on the express lanes of I-5. I personally didn't care for the road course, I enjoyed the cross country style of the previous race we did.
The entry fee for the race went to the school P.E. program of our choice. So I gathered up a group of people to run for Rosa Parks, the school where LATR meets every Sunday.
There were a number of students running for their schools. On one hand this was very cool, on the other it was very annoying. The start of the race was set up in groups based on your average mile pace. So if you run about nine minutes per mile then you group up with people running roughly the same pace as you. The thing that went wacky was all the kids lined up in the very front, in the five minute mile section. When the gun went off they sprinted for about two blocks then either stopped or started walking. Right in the middle of the street!! It was very frustrating. The first three blocks were literally spent dodging kids walking down the middle of the course. My friend John tripped on a kid and they went down. He scraped his knee and cut his hand and had to scoop up the little guy in order to prevent him being trampled by the mass of people coming up from behind.
The starting line from Tanya's perspective from the stroller pack.
Sunday was a good day. It was busy, but in a slow way. You ever have one of those days? I have some that are so buys you wonder where the day went. It seems like mere moments between getting out and then back into bed.
Sunday was the type of day that was full from rim to rim yet somehow managed to keep a very smooth rhythm.
We had a great gathering in the morning. We are in week three of our series - "Fearless". This has been a meaningful series for me personally. It has caused a ton of introspection, prayer and expansion of dreams and vision, both personally and for LATR. Studying the lives of those who follow Jesus with a fearless passion is inspiring. I can't help but think of the lives of those who are connected to me.
Imagine if we could throw fear away. Fear of people. Fear of failure. Fear of awkward moments. Fear of labels. Fear of temporal.
What if we lived lives so infused with spiritual power that we oozed love in ALL situations. Imagine if our passion for Jesus overwhelmed all fear. Picture a life where Jesus love for people so saturated every corner of our lives that we could not help but love the un-loveable. I have not even mentioned the poor and oppressed that Jesus invested so much in. I a still thinking of the JERK who secretly we hope goes to hell because we can't imagine spending eternity with him there. OK, maybe we have not hoped that, but maybe we have lived it. We have been eager to hope and pray for some to know Jesus, while disregarding others.
WHAT TYPE OF LIFE ARE WE MISSING OUT ON BECUASE OF FEAR?
OK, got off on a bit of rant there. Sorry.
So Sunday was good. Jireh always does an amazing job, and this time was no different. He chose the perfect set of songs. He set the stage perfectly for me.
After the gathering Jireh and I went to my place to hang out with Tanya and Abby for a few minutes before a lunch meeting. Jireh, Jeremy and I met up with a few people for lunch. You should check out Jireh's post about that conversation here.
After lunch the three of us grabbed some coffee and headed down to the park for a few while I was waiting for Tanya and Abby to come down. It was a beautiful day and a great conversation came up about how we can better engage new people at LATR. Somehow Jeremy talked us into a jumping picture, for which he is quite famous.
That was all good, but the real meat and potatoes was when Tanya and Abby came down. We walked along the waterfront in Kirkland. Talking and walking, enjoying the sun and each other. This is my absolute favorite in the world. Nothing beats being with my little family.
Sunday was beautiful. Good rhythm, great melody and amazing lyrics.
Gathering, lunch and beach front conversations, doesn't get much better.
I met up with my buddy Greg during lunch yesterday. I parked by his building up at the Microsoft campus and unloaded my bike. We headed out from there and circled around Lake Sammamish. It was a great day for a ride. A little on the cool side, but with leg warmers and a light jacket it felt great. I got a slow leak in my front tire in Marymore park and had to put air in twice before getting back to the car. I rode most of the hill up 520 on a flat front tire, that was lame. I don't know if I will be able to do STP this year but my first tri is coming in 30 days!
A group of us ran in the Tom Wales Memorial 5K this last Saturday. Tom Wales was a prosecutor and the president of Washington CeaseFire at the time of his shooting in his own home.
There were eleven of us who ran in the race, including Abby who rode in the jogging stroller with Tanya. It was a ton of fun and a great way to spend Saturday morning. You can see the results of the race here: http://www.tomwalesrun.com/TomWalesRun-2008Results.txt
Maybe you should get out this summer and try something new. Run in a 5k, ride in the STP or just get some friends and head out for a hike.
Don't let life slip past while you are sitting indoors.
Celebrating at the finish
Tanya racing the clock
I won a book
Weddings are cool.
I was in a wedding Sunday afternoon out at Lord Hill Farms in Snohomish. Although in this wedding all I had to do was stand there. One of my best friends was married.
I met Anthon in 6th grade Sunday school at Muldoon Community Assembly in Anchorage AK, the summer of 1983. Mr. Keys was out teacher and he gave out pocket knives as rewards in class.
I LOVE ALASKA.
Anthon and I graduated from Bartlett High school together in 1990. We also graduated from Northwest University together.
We both live in the Seattle area yet we rarely spend time together. Anthon is one of those friends where we can not see each other for two years and it still feels like we hung out together the day before. Its a great friendship and it was an honor to stand with him yesterday.
The highlight of the day came during the final prayer of blessing. For whatever reason I chose to not close my eyes. Instead I chose to look at the floor in front of my feet. I thank God that I was able to catch the next 5 seconds. Scott, the groomsman standing next to me had forgotten his black socks. So in order to keep his white socks covered he let his pants ride a little low. Well, right in the middle of the prayer those puppies just fell off. I mean right off. All the way to his ankles. He very quickly had them back up and we tried our best to not burst out laughing. Poor guy. Sadly, only a few people saw it and the photographer was so busy capturing the couple he missed it all together.
Lucky Scott, sad us.
Weddings are cool.
Tanya's parents called the other day and invited us to head up to tulip fields. We decided to scratch the calendar and head up there with them. It was a great little trip. I am not a flower guy, AT ALL, but I must say that the tulip fields at their peak is a pretty cool thing.
