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danger zone

since the library has reminded me that “the year of living biblically” by a.j. jacobs is due on the 22nd and they won’t let me renew it (it’s on a waiting list) i have had to swap it from the “yet to read” pile to the “currently reading” pile. this means i’ve had to stop reading “house of leaves” by mark danielewski so i can finish “the year of living biblically” (btw, brad you’re right “house of leaves” is interesting – hard to follow sometimes but interesting).

anyhow “the year of living biblically” is about a.j. jacobs’ attempt to live out literally all the rules he can find within scripture. since jacobs is a professed agnostic this makes for an interesting story. i was glad to read early on that one of the spiritual advisors he approached dealt with grace and therefore the fact that the CHRISTian faith is not about following a set of rules. still that’s not what this book is about and therefore jacobs’ is trying to live out the rules that he has found within the old and new testaments.

while i am really just starting the book i have already been struck by the following statement.

to follow the bible literally – at face value, at its word, according to its plain meaning – isn’t just a daunting proposition. it’s a dangerous one.

it just caught my attention. it should be true. i wonder how often it is.

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a brit that understands

i promise i will soon stop posting things concerning politics. i hold no hope for politics solving the main problems of our world. that’s why i’ve never really understood why the religious right (of which some would wrongly say i was a part)have pushed so hard for political power – even when gained for “pure” reasons political power seems to just lead to a desire for more power. service & sacrifice are the way of JESUS and if we would struggle with living out that way we would see GOD do remarkable things in our world.

with the above said i thought i would post this article from the times. it’s a pretty good description on at least one issue concerning why i feel that our country will have a good choice no matter what if mccain and obama end up facing off for the presidential election.

now, mcCain pledges to stay in iraq for a hundred years if necessary and claims that the surge has altered the cost-benefit analysis. obama argues that the surge has not solved the fundamental problem and promises to begin withdrawing troops next year. unlike hillary clinton, and unlike this columnist, neither man has actually changed his fundamental position. and so there is now a path for americans either to fully own this misbegotten Mesopotamian adventure or fully disown it.

of course, it is a brit paper and therefore the whole thing could be some kind of joke that went straight over my head.

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false hope?

we have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics. they will only grow louder and more dissonant. we’ve been asked to pause for a reality check. we’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

but in the unlikely story that is america, there has never been anything false about hope.” senator barack obama, january 8th, 2008

i don’t care what your politics are, that line (“there has never been anything false about hope”) is a butt kicking line.

i may not end up voting for him (though i would like the chance) but i stand amazed at that line.

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safe running

so i finally have gotten back into the swing of things with my running. late december and january killed my desire to run. part of it was the weather (i didn’t have cold weather running gear) and part of it was a little fear. the fear came from a few bad experiences that had never before happened to me while running. first, the side walks around me were too clean for me to wear my yaktrax. running on straight concrete with with the yaktrax is not much fun. so i ran without them and that’s when i discovered that the side walks weren’t as clean as they looked. they still had spots of black ice on them. over a couple of runs i discovered that i had a great way of finding these spots … slipping on them. i busted it several times. this wasn’t too terrible because my body quickly came up with a manner of handling these falls. my body decided that it would be best for both of us when i was falling if i simply landed on the hard concrete with the side of my hip. it sounded like a good idea but didn’t feel very good.

so i came up with the great idea of using the yaktrax to run on the road where their is a little snow next to the snow berm on the side of the road. that’s when my other new fear was discovered. the problem within january in central wisconsin is that the sun sets at 4:15 p.m. this meant i was running at dusk or in the dark on the side of the road. did you know that not everyone recognizes it when there is a runner on the side of the road? one evening i came within a couple of inches of being hit by a driver who was talking on his cell phone. it was close enough that i actually would have been splattered if i hadn’t of dove head first into the berm. it wasn’t cool. so i stopped running for a little while.

that’s all changed now because 1)i’ve figured out the weather and ice thing, and 2)it doesn’t get dark until 6 p.m. i’m back to running on my sidewalks and i like it.

i’m no expert but i thought i would post the gear that is working for this southern boy as i run in 0º weather.

  • base layer running shirt – technical shirts with wicking ability are the sure fire way to make sure you don’t freeze once you start sweating. thankfully most of the shirts i have received from races fit this category.
  • second layer fleece – i can tell a difference in warmth between the microfleece and regular fleece & therefore would choose this based on the temp outside.
  • 3rd layer wind breaker – the wind chill is the killer. i want to get a better wind breaker for next year. the one i have is bulky. something lite and flexible would be perfect.
  • smartwool socks – my feet have frozen in the cotton socks i have worn.
  • yaktrax pro – snow chains for your running shoes
  • running tights – i have a thin pair and they do well but i think thicker tights would probably enable me to skip the wind pants.
  • wind pants – the running tights i have do not block the wind very well
  • balaclava or face mask – i wear this when the temp is below 10º.
  • lined skull cap – one that covers your ears if possible.
  • lined gloves – i ran with non-lined gloved a couple of times and my hands were ice after i was through with my run.
  • road id – it’s an id wristband. (i just received an email with a coupon code for the road id stuff. if you buy anything from them over the next 30 days enter “ThanksRobert351868>” at the appropriate coupon code time and you’ll get a dollar off. the email said it could be used 20 times so anyone who wants the dollar off should be able to use it. unfortunately i get nothing for this advertising – but i do like the product.)
  • firefly flasher – that’s my fix for autos seeing me.
  • leg reflectors bands – once again to make sure they can see me.

my run for the day
distance – 7.0 miles
time – 1:09:02
pace – 9:52/mile
weather – 28º/perfect day

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hope

has anyone else notice how often the word hope is occurring within popular culture? obviously barak obama is mentioning hope a lot but i’ve also been seeing hope pop up in commercials and various writings. i’ve always heard that karl barth said that a sermon should be written “with the bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other” (i have no reference for this). his point was that if we really believed that JESUS is the answer then we should be constantly searching for what questions the culture was asking that HE would be the answer to. i’m not preaching anywhere right now but if i was the newspaper in my “other hand” seems to indicate that hope would be a good thing to discuss.

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the one thing

sometimes i post things just so i can remember them. this may not be true for you but i somehow remember things better when i write them down. it’s not so much that i remember where i wrote the thing down, rather it’s the very act of writing something down that helps me to remember it. just look at one of my scratch journals and you’ll suddenly understand that i write a lot of things down with no hope of every seeing that scribble again. the act of writing is a wonderful memory tool for me. therefore, i’m adding this entry.

church marketing sucks posted concerning an advertising age article (that i unfortunately can’t see without a registration). while i can’t read the entire article the main jest is apparently about considering what one word your organization owns within the minds of those who view your company. church marketing sucks asked this same question concerning the church. i want to remember to ask it of tapestry.

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random quote – starting

the miracle isn’t that i finished. the miracle is that i had the courage to start.

john “the penguin” bingham

my run for the day
distance – 4.0 miles
time – 39:12
pace – 9:48/mile
weather – 7º

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vd cards

if you are about to end your dating relationship then you might want to use one of the bitter valentine’s day cards that woot released today. of course, you might also want to look at them if you just need a good laugh. here they are.

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thoughts on the shack

i finished “the shack” last night and i have mixed feelings concerning it.

it’s mediocre.

i don’t really think it’s the earth shattering book that i have been told about by so many. part of this may be that i heard way too much about how great the book was before i read it. eugene peterson (whom i greatly respect) said the book may well be this generation’s “pilgrim’s progress“. i really do respect eugene peterson but i have to disagree with him. “pilgrim’s progress” is a classic and is still earth shaking after over 400 years. in my opinion, “the shack” won’t last a twentieth of that time. it’s not written well enough or profound enough to last like “pilgrim’s progress.” in fact, i almost quit reading the book after finishing the second chapter. it read like a first year literature student’s work (instead of walking across an icy driveway the character he traverses across a mini glacier). i continued reading the book because of some friends of mine love it.

with the above said, the book got better after the second chapter and i do understand why this book is connecting with so many people. for some it really helps them to begin to see how wholly other (holy) the love of GOD is. for that i’m grateful. for me, however, i connect much better with the fictional portrayal of JESUS found in aslan. the image of CHRIST found within the chronicles blows “the shack” away.

the irony is that i was much more profoundly effected by the description of JESUS found within the book that i finished before “the shack” (which was “the jungle”) than i was by the description of JESUS found within “the shack.” “the jungle” forced me to consider how the love of CHRIST would interact within the world and fight for the weak. “the shack” focused on how the love of GOD would cuase me to think about myself. “the shack’s” message is a great thing but i was much more impacted by “the jungle”‘s message.

i would be intrigued to hear how one of my atheist or agnostic friends would review the book.

okay, friends. i know that some of you love this book so you are now welcome to correct me.

SIDE NOTE – the last pages of the “the shack” absolutely drive me crazy. it’s actually not part of the story. the last pages of the book discuss “the missy project” which is the publishers desire to get people to help them spread the message of “the shack.” how are you supposed to help spread the message of “the shack”? according to these pages within the book you buy copies of the book and give them away. you write friendly reviews on every website you can. you specifically talk to people of influence and encourage them to say positive things concerning “the shack.” when you do all of this the film industry will take notice and produce a film based on “the shack” and the book’s message will be spread. is this really what we’ve come to? not only am i bothered by this concept but the name “missy” comes from a child within the book who is kidnapped and murdered. do we really want to connect the name of even a fictional character of suffering with a plea to sale a book?

my run for the day
distance – 5.0 miles
time – 48:49
pace – 9:46/mile
weather – 17º/snow flurries

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now to color in the lines … or maybe outside the lines … hey what lines

tapestry
the prayer, thinking, doodling, and asking is over. the image above is the logo for tapestry. to be honest i actually liked the design just below this one a tiny bit more (this one was my second choice) but the logo is not about whether i connect with it. instead, the logo is about whether it helps other people to connect with the church. all of the people i have talked to that i believe are in the group that the church will connect with the best said that this logo conveyed the most to them. that’s good enough for me.

so met the logo of tapestry. i think i’ll call it fred. folks, say “hi” to fred. you’ll be seeing a lot of her (yes i know that fred is generally a guy’s name, but the church is a bride and therefore female – girls can be named “fred” too).