Being a little sleep deprived from traveling home from a work trip in the Bay Area (California), I went out to a cookout party that a bunch of my friends from Buckhead Church were at. I had a chance to talk to Jim Wier a little about Estonia (he was there last month for a small group ministry focused trip with Stuart Brown and a few other folks I know) and really got excited. I'm not so sure if I'm as thrilled about the "only 4 hours of dark" that he referred to. Apparently, since Estonia is so far north (close to Finland), the days there are very long (in the summer/we'll probably have 6 hour nights "according to Jim" in September when we'll be there)... he was telling me to get an eye mask because for his trip it was 4:30AM and as bright as a 2PM in Atlanta day... you can imagine that will do something to your biorhythms.
Last Wednesday (the Fourth), I ran in the Peachtree Road Race for the second time and was very satisfied with my time considering that the PRR is not a serious race and that I wasn't at all in shape for a 10K. I had a great time. However, I learned a valuable lesson about the importance of having quality athletic gear on your feet when running a race like this. I bought my (now former) pair of Addias running shoes at the Dawsonville outlet mall... and as it turns out there is a flaw in one of the shoes that causes it to rub really badly on my left foot. It didn't bother me during my gym workouts or even run/walking at Powers Ferry, but it did impact me for the Peachtree. My left foot was bruised for a good five days after the race and I was literally limping around. Needless to say, it's the last time I'm wearing those shoes for working out -or- buying athletic gear at an outlet store. Now for those of you reading this that don't like "spiritual sports analogies" - I can't help you because the Apostle Paul used them so they're Biblical... it's good to know that the man that wrote almost 1/2 of the New Testament was into sports :-). In the "race" that we're running to serve God in Estonia... it's also important that we prepare well and prepare diligently. Paul put it this way: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” – 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. This Sunday marks our third team meeting, and as we prepare, my hope and prayer (and I’m asking this for you too :-)) is that we are focused on the mission, developing our cohesiveness and fellowship as a team, and wary of the distractions and hindrances that may be put before us as we run our race toward Estonia.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” – Hebrews 12:1
Speaking of competing... below are some pictures of my Croatia soccer team's attempt at competing outside of our league (you know Americans aren't so great at soccer as opposed to Europeans)
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