Category Archives: Physical Exercise

Racing towards our Goals

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Human psychology baffles me often, but one thing I know is that having a clear goal makes me work harder.  A recent goal for me has been to reestablish my running routine after a year’s break due to injury.  This morning I was able to run 5 miles in 45 minutes, which is close to my daily running routine of two years ago.  Now that I have reached this goal, I am looking for my next one.

For me a road race is a great goal for me.  I know that I will not be ready for another marathon for at least a year, so I have chosen to run a race on Saturday, September 17, the Run for a Mission, sponsored by the Union Gospel Mission in St. Paul.    I am inviting all runner and walkers to join me for the 5K or 10K run in Shoreview. Volunteers are also welcomed and all proceeds go to help the homeless in St. Paul.

Goals are not only beneficial in physical exercise, but in spiritual disciplines as well.  To have a daily time of prayer and devotional reading is a great goal to focus your time with God.  Set apart 10-15 minutes in the morning or evening to seek companionship with the Creator of the Universe, who cares about you.  Perhaps you leave 10 minutes earlier for work or you seek 15 minutes quiet after putting the children in bed. Mine is the first 20 minutes in my office to seek God’s guidance for the day, and compassion in all my personal encounters.   Jesus took time early in the day to pray to his Papa in heaven.  

In the morning , while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place to pray. Mark 1:35

Jesus prays at Gethesmane by artist He Qi

At the end of his ministry, he took time to pray in the Garden.  Jesus modeled the Vibrant Life of Faith for us today.

I am off to Camp Wapogasset  to be with nearly 50 campers from Resurrection. Thanks for all the prayer support.

What goals are you setting this week, month, year?

Lord Jesus, I seek to be your disciple this day.  Help me to seek goals that please you and your kingdom. Amen

Spiritual Adventure Run

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Running in the heat at RAGNAR Relay 2008.

The present heat wave has me wondering how to plan my running and cycling workouts. I cancelled my YMCA membership since I had not gone for two months and needed to economize. I will probably go late this evening near sunset so as to have some cooler temperatures, but I will need to be careful: shorter run, walking breaks and lots of water. Plus I will need to heed the adage “listen to your body.”

Almost any marathon or race training program will have that statement somewhere in its literature. No training program can realistically know how you will specifically respond to each training stimulus. Your body may be great at doing the long distance, but needs extra rest after a hill or speed work-out. Or you may be able to run 4 days a week with no problem, but to do 5 days spells trouble. You need to “listen to your body”, to see if you are over reaching.   If your legs seem to be dead and heavy, or your sleep is not good, it could be your body’s way of saying, “adjust your training.”

Just as we need to listen to our bodies, we need to listen to our spirits as well. God created us as spiritual beings, to be in relationship with Him. God loves to be with his children; so why is it so hard for us to give God the time and place to interact with us? If your life is busy and hectic, may I recommend that you take one of your daily walks, bikes or runs and turn it into a spiritual adventure. Use the time to pray, inviting God (or Jesus) to run beside you. Share with God all your joys and sorrows, all your hopes and fears. And then take time to listen, to ask God to speak to your heart and give you the wisdom you need. I don’t believe every run needs to be “spiritual”, but I do suggest that you intentionally make some of your runs a focused spiritual exercise.

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually. Psalm 105:4

How do you make time/space to listen to God?

Lord Jesus, walk beside me this day and open my ears and heart to hear your voice.

Running with the Truth and Joy

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You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.  John 8:32 

When Jesus said this, he was not talking about a kind of philosophical truth that only deeper thinkers would find.  Rather Jesus was saying that he was the source of all truth and that knowing him would give us the freedom to live fully alive.  Later in John’s gospel, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”   Knowing Jesus as friend and savior guides us to knowing the truth about ourselves, our world and our relationship with others and with God.  Jesus is the true source of a vibrant life.  

Running with Joy is TRUE Running

Truth as personal knowledge of Jesus is similar to how I understand running.  On a biological and psychological level I can know that running is good for me, but that rarely gets me out the door and on the trail.  Rather I need to experience the benefits first hand, feel the joy of lungs breathing deeply and legs turning quickly.  As I run I experience the real truth about the benefits of running. My head clears and my spirit soars (at least on the good days.)  Now that I can run four miles again, the joy is especially sweet. 

The same is true with knowing Jesus, only as I run with him and experience him in my own life do I discover that he is the truth.  Jesus is not some collection of doctrines to comprehend, but a true friendship that keeps me moving along the road of life.  He is a true friend who seeks to guide, encourage, warn and embrace us.  

How true and real is your friendship with Jesus today?

Lord Jesus be real to me this hour, this day.

Go in Peace, Serve the Lord

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Yesterday morning our youth mission team left for a mission trip to Lake Traverse Reservation in South Dakota.   They will be serving among the people of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux tribe in both children’s programs and work projects.  I ask for your prayers as they live out our congregation’s mission statement: trust, live and serve.   They bear witness to the vibrant life of faith in Christ by their trusting in Jesus, their living in daily community with the Word of God and prayer, and by serving others. 

Launching our Mission Team for Service

We had a prayer of blessing as they prepared to leave.   As I reflect on their departure, I realize that this is a graphic illustration of what a congregation should be every week: a launching pad for ministry in the world.  This week our youth team is doing that in a very intentional way. 

I believe mission trips are vital to a congregation’s vitality.  Such trips provide opportunity for intentional reflection upon our place in God’s kingdom.  Participants  interact with people of different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds.  They discover how their unique gifts and dependable strengths can be used to help others.  And each day the team has devotions and conversation so that they can integrate their often physical experiences into their spiritual, emotional and mental lives.  Such trips can truly be life-changing.

Yet Christian service is not restricted to mission trips.  We can serve God by loving our neighbor wherever we are: in our homes, workplaces or community.  As we love our children or spouse, as we work with our staff and customers, as we visit with our neighbors, we can be God’s hands, feet, voice and heart in the world. We all can be servants of God in our daily lives.  A mission trip trains the heart and mind for such daily service.

At the end of worship each Sunday I announce. “Go in peace. Serve the Lord.”   The congregation responds, “Thanks be to God.”  I love this sending.  I just wish that some Sunday we would take time to report on how we serve the Lord this past week.  I am confident that our youth team will have some stories to share.

What helps you  to serve?

Lord Jesus, we ask you to bless and encourage the youth of Resurrection as they serve in your kingdom.

Body Mind Spirit

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As I continue my return to running, my mind has been reflecting on my body.  Twice in his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul states that our human bodies are the temple of God’s Spirit.

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?  I Corinthians 3:16.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God and that you are not your own?  For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body. I Corinthians 6:19-20

Paul writes a rhetorical question, as if they already know the answer but have forgotten it.   Have we forgotten as well?  I fear that our American culture has compartmentalized everything, so that we do not see the connections between the body, mind and spirit.   We have gyms and pools to exercise the body, classes and books to educate the mind, and worship and prayer to nurture the spirit, but we rarely work to integrate these three components together.  Can exercise and prayer, meditation and study work together?

Post-Run Stretch

I recently read an article by John N. Sheveland in the Christian Century titled “Is Yoga Religious?”  The article touched on how most Americans see yoga simply as a physical exercise consisting of poses that has no spiritual content.  The Hindu American Foundation is working to change this misconception by reasserting the Hindu roots of yoga as a religious practice.   In turn, the push to reestablish yoga as a Hindu practice has caused some Christians to reject yoga as anti-Christian and harmful. Sheveland seeks a middle way. 

Might asanas (postural yoga) influence a Christian’s understanding of herself as a physical body created in the image and likeness of God and thus an object of unutterable dignity, held in being and redeemed by God?  Might postural yoga, with its well-documented physical and mental benefits, help me to better understand my stewardship responsibilities to my own body—which Paul says is not my own—and to other bodies in creation? So too, the effect of asanas on the mind can demonstrate to Christians what they already know to be true, namely, that body and spirit are one.

Can other physical activity beside yoga have spiritual and mental benefit?  How do we help integrate these benefits into our daily lives?

Lord Jesus, teach me to be a good steward of my body, mind and spirit.

 

Habitat Day

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Yesterday, five of us from Resurrection worked at a Habitat for Humanity house in St. Paul. In spite of the heat and humidity we hung sheet rock in the upstairs bedrooms. The challenge was learning how to put up ceiling sheet rock, especially above the stair case. Fortunately our crew had an excellent crew chief, Roger Henry, who showed us the right techniques and special tricks to get the job done.

Roger Henry

I have known Roger for over a decade. He has been a long-time volunteer and champion of Habitat for Humanity. He brings his own tools to the work site and gladly teaches novices like myself how to use them. He knows that most Habitat volunteers are not skilled construction workers and that he could probably do the job more easily by himself. Yet teaching others is one of his passions and joys. I like working with Roger (but please don’t tell him that!).

I also have an abiding passion for Habitat for Humanity. I believe in its mission to build safe, affordable housing for people in need. They do NOT give away homes, but they invest in people. Any potential home owner needs to put over 500 hour of sweat equity into the organization, he or she needs to attend classes about home ownership responsibilities, and the family will have a mortgage when they move into the home. As Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat, once said, “Habitat is not a handout, but a hand-up.” The modest house we worked on yesterday is only 1400 square feet and will probably house a family of five or more. Twin Cities Habitat has built more than 850 since its inception in 1985. Learn more at their website.

Hard Work and Good Food

And whenever I have worked at a Habitat site, I have enjoyed a great lunch!

As I reflect on the day, I am extremely thankful for organizations like Habitat for Humanity and for individuals like Roger Henry. They are expressions of hope and joy and make me smile. In a world that often seems dark and foreboding, they shine with the light of Christ.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Matt. 5:16

What people or organizations give you hope in today’s world?

Lord Jesus, may we together shine with your light of hope.

Running Club Passion and Pain

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One of my passions is consistent aerobic exercise. However my passion has been inconsistent, waxing and waning through the years. Through most of my adult life, I have had spurts of consistent running, only to be sidelined by the “urgency” of my daily life. This was especially true when my children were little.

The Running Club in a non-running moment

Then in the winter of 1999 Tim Torgerson approached me about starting a church-based marathon training group. He was looking towards October’s Twin City Marathon. I was gullible and naïve and so said yes. The training group started in March, running together on Saturday mornings. Each week we were accountable to each other. I had a training schedule to keep and people checking on me.

However a dreaded “running injury” struck and I had to take a month out in June for physical therapy. Still I felt this need/desire to be back with the group as quickly as possible. Finally on October 3, 1999, I finished TCM with seven others from the group. After our suceess “the training group” became a year-round running club.

Over the next ten years the St. Andrew’s Running Club gave me the support and encouragement to finish ten marathons. Last summer when I finished Grandma’s, I knew I needed a break to recover from some nagging injuries. Later I said good-bye to St. Andrew’s Running Club as I followed God’s call to Resurrection Lutheran. After a long winter of physical therapy, I am now finally ready to start running. Last week I was able to do three runs of 2-3 miles.

I have also discovered a new joy with cycling. Last Wednesday Dave Johnson from Resurrection showed me some of the great bike routes nearby. Yesterday I biked with Tim and Dan and needed their support as I experienced my first three flats.

Through these experiences, I have discovered that I benefit from a group to help me stay consistent in running or cycling. Which leads me to a question: Is anyone interested in a running or cycling club based here at Resurrection? Let me know.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another, Proverbs 27:17

Lord Jesus, lead us into the fellowship groups you want us to have so that we might live the vibrant life.

Bicycling Together

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At times I look as stiff as this sculpture

This week it seems as if someone has hit a button and Minnesota has shifted from winter to summer.  Thunderstorms, hail and tornado warnings have replace snow and windchill as topics of conversation.   With this shift in weather, I have been able to use my new bicycle, but I still need to check the radar before changing to bike shorts.

Bicycling is a new sport for me.  I still do not know all the nuts and bolts of my bike.  Someone recently asked what shoes and clipless pedals I had.  I had no idea.  I still awkward each time I start out for a ride.  I am thankful for my friend, Tim Torgerson,  who mentors me in the fine art of a group ride.

It reminds me when I first started serious running twelve years ago, training for my first marathon.  Being a newbie is awkward.   I remember the first time I went on a ten-mile run with the group in the spring.  I wore a cotton t-shirt and paid the price when the sweat-soaked shirt chaffed my skin.   By the end of that run I had blood streaks on the shirt from chaffed nipples.  Not a pretty sight.

Yet even after that embarrassment, I came back to run with the group, because they gave me so many rewarding training runs.  I remember especially some of the long training runs around White Bear Lake or out through Stillwater and back along the Gateway Trail.   The camaraderie of a good training group gave me confidence to set high goals and to work hard to achieve them. 

The spiritual life of a Christian can have similar moments of awkward beginnings.  We may not know where to find a book in the Bible or how to pray out loud with others.  We’re not sure what words are correct or how to express our feelings.  Yet to maximize the vibrant life with Christ, we need to be in fellowship/training with other Christians.  We need other followers of Christ to help us grow in the study of God’s Word, in the art of caring for one another, and in the discipline of prayer.   Hopefully we will remember our own awkward beginnings and with patience mentor each other to grow more Christ-like.

Who has been a mentor to you in your Christian life? How have you mentored others?

Lord Jesus, show me the path to true Christian community.

Write Habits

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The Write Stuff

Writing this blog has become one of my daily work habits.  My original intention was to help my new congregation get to know me by telling some of the stories that have shaped my life, especially my faith life in Jesus Christ.  Yet I also believe that the act of writing shapes my faith as well.  Writing this blog has pushed me to express my faith in meaningful, concrete ways.

I have kept a journal since college, but it has always been a private thing.  Sometimes it has been my Bible study and prayer journal.  During the call process last summer, it was one way to reflect on whether or not to pursue the call to Resurrection. There have been long stretches where I did not journal much.  Other times where it was a daily MUST-DO to stay sane and keep perspective. 

In recent years, as I embraced running, my journal habit became my running log.  There are several on-line programs where a runner/biker/walker/blader can log their daily miles and work-out notes.  I became pretty meticulous in my record keeping, measuring my daily workouts  to the nearest tenth of a mile and second.  I could not go running without my heart-rate-monitor watch to record all the detail.  After the summer and fall of 2005, when I trained and ran my best marathon, my log from that training period shaped all my future marathon training programs.  

In a way this blog has taken on some of the characteristics of my journal and exercise log.  Since I have embraced this practice, I want to grow in my ability as well as my faith.   The one big difference is now I have a public audience (small but growing) that I seek to encourage, provoke, inform and challenge.  The readers’ comment help shape this blog and in turn shape me.  Thank you.

Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens the wits of another.

What habits shape your faith life?

Bike and Life Lessons

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New Bike Joy

As I posted last Thursday, I finally got to ride my new bicycle.   My first attempt only went two blocks, when I realized I did not know how to shift from the big front gear/ring to the smaller one.   After calling my running friend, Tim Torgerson, in a panic, I went to the NOW sports store where they showed me in 2.3 seconds.  

Returning home I tried again to see if I could bike beyond my neighborhood.  I did finish nine miles but I was not very comfortable on the bike.  Shifting, clipless shoes, cateye speedometer, all felt awkward and new.    Fortunately I kept my favorite quote by Ken Blanchard in mind: Unless you feel awkward doing something new, you are not doing something new.

So this morning Tim offered to ride with me and help me become more familiar with my bike.  First off, he reminded me to shift back gears often, but mainly stay in the smaller gear ring in front.  We then biked about 17 miles together.   At one point, he had to make some clothing adjustments and stopped, but I pedaled on, thinking he would catch me soon enough.  After being chased for two miles, I slowed and stopped.  When he caught me he shared a bike etiquette rule: if someone in a group stops, you stop as well.  You don’t know how long the person will need to stop and catching someone on a bike is a big challenge.  “Love your neighbor as yourself,” I thought.

Tim also wants me to practice is riding in a straight line, not wandering all around the highway.  It is more energy-efficient and less stressful for the other riders with you.  To do this I needed to keep my visual focus further down the road, not so short-range.   I still had to glance short-range for rocks, bumps or pits, but I needed to look further out to guide the bike in a steady way.

Here lies a spiritual lesson.  Too often I am looking at short-range problems or issues, not seeing the larger picture of following Jesus.  He not only rides beside me, but he is the long-range direction on whom I need to stay focused.   He will keep me on the “straight and narrow.”  “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life.” Matthew 7:14

What is God teaching you lately?