Category Archives: Running

Mountain Man Moses

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I am convinced Moses must have been a trained mountain runner. Though raised on the plains of Egypt, he was constantly moving up and down mountains as if they had escalators. First he had to approach the burning bush on Mt. Sinai where he was commanded to take off his sandals because it was holy ground. God never commanded him to put them back on, so he was probably the first barefoot trail runner as well.

Then at the age of 80, he was commanded to clean his clothes and then to climb Mt. Sinai. (Exodus 19:18-20). Of course Moses’ clean clothes were immediately covered in soot and smoke from the mountain’s eruption, but I am sure Moses brought a dry-cleaning receipt in case God asked. As soon as he reached the top, even before he caught his breath or posed for pictures, the Lord said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through and sneek a peak at ME.” As if the volcanic eruptions, smoke and lightening were not a sufficient barrier.  Moses, between deep panting breaths, reminded God, “God, you already told them that before I started up here.” God responded, “Yes, but you forgot to bring Aaron and remind the people not to try and peek under the curtain.” Somehow, when Moses reached the bottom he forgot about Aaron or even a chisel, since God had to write on two tablets of stone with his own finger when Moses climbed back up (Exodus 31:18).  Maybe Aaron carried the family chisel.

Meanwhile the Israelites got bored (like middle schoolers in worship) and built a golden calf to worship. A golden calf was so much more manageable than a ferocious storm cloud hovering over your head. God sent Moses down to break up the party (Exodus 32:7).  Moses, hot and tired, broke the tablets; repeated change of altitude can do strange things to a person. Afterwards, Moses climbed back up to apologize (not sure if he had time to clean clothes before this climb).

Finally Moses biggest mountaineering challenge arrived. He was commanded to cut two tablets of stone and to bring them up to the top of Mt. Sinai. There is no mention of a North Face rucksack or REI backpack. This time Moses had to write on the tablets; he must have remembered his chisel (Exodus 34: 1, 28).

The stories of the Bible are filled with such strange, wonderful examples of exaggerated humor and insight. Sometime in our serious study, we miss the humor that also challenges us. Moses was the mediator, negotiating the God’s covenant with the people, a very difficult task yet that covenant is still in effect. I rejoice that Moses could climb the mountain and make it back down.

What stories in the Bible challenge your sense of humor as well as your life?

Lord Jesus, teach me to laugh as well as to learn.

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.

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.

 

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.

To Run or To Clean

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This morning I had a decision to make.  One choice was to attend the Cemstone Run for Others, a 5K or 10K road race at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, my old congregation.  I co-directed the race for over ten years and the lead pastor, John Hogenson, invited me to attend.  My other choice was to help with the spring cleaning projects at Resurrection Lutheran, my new call.

For various reasons, I decided to help with clean up at Resurrection.   For one thing, the clean up would all be in doors, and this morning’s weather was raw with a cold wind and snow.  I always enjoyed running in the Run for Others, but this year I am still in recovery mode and would not have been able to run.  I certainly would have enjoyed seeing the many colleagues, congregants and community members at the race in spite of the weather.  They are many deep relationships there for me.

Everyone can help at Resurrection

Still I enjoyed my morning at Resurrection.   Allison and Owen are two young kids who came with their dad, Ian, to help out.  They vacuumed up the small metal shavings on the tables that Ian and I repaired.  They also helped sharpen pencils and clean some of the carpet.  At a recent new member class Allison and Owen helped me carry out some of the garbage and then we had a wonderful adventure exploring the nooks and crannies of their new church.  Their participation along with the twenty adults who came made this a memorable morning for me.  For me, a new fellowship of caring relationships is forming.

When a pastor moves to a new congregation, it can be tough to bring closure to the many relationships at the old congregation.   I realize that has been a challenge for me. Yet the greatest joy comes in being open to the new relationships at Resurrection.   This is where God has called me and where I plan to give my emotional and spiritual energy for many years to come. 

Someday I may run again in the Cemstone Run for Others.   But it wouldn’t be the day when Allison, Owen, Ian and I are doing our spring cleaning.

Story “Time”

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Running With Joy?

When we tell stories, we usually leave out the boring, repetitive stuff.   Yesterday I mentioned my story about running or lack of running.  After finishing Grandma’s Marathon last June, I have not been able to run without pain.  I’ve mentioned this before, but have tried not to dwell on it, since my whining will not help me nor edify you.  

In mid February that I mentioned a new physical therapy called Muscle Activation Therapy (MAT).  MAT involved reactivating little used muscles to help stabilize my left hip.  Every morning I go down into the basement to do my series of MAT exercises, which are boring, tedious, aggravating, and humbling.  Each time I remember Shannon’s promise that they will work overtime.  That is the hard part – over time. If my story were a movie, these exercises would be the parts you would fast-forward through.   

But also, if this were a movie, I would yearn for the dramatic crisis point.  I would say something about giving up, packing it in, throwing my running shoes into the garbage can and slamming the lid.  Then I would talk to Shannon and she would tell me to give it one more try . . .  and, after some stiff coaching, I would meekly pull my shoes out of the garbage, tie them on and (drum roll ) begin to run with joy!

My life is not a movie.  I still have my shoes, I still have hope, and I will continue my exercises.  I have noticed that my left IT band is much better and I can walk without pain.  In time, I am hopeful that I will run again.  But right now, I am simply in the boring part of the story.

One caveat.   In my February 11 blog I compared MAT to PAT (Prayer Activated Therapy).   Part of my Lenten therapy is to learn the contemporary wording of the Lord’s Prayer.  Though I still stumble a bit, the stumbling has pushed me to deeper pondering on Jesus’ prayer.  “Lead us not into temptation” versus “Save us from the time of trial.”   Yes, Jesus, save me from my whining, complaining self.  Teach me to be patient in all things and to seek your kingdom.  Amen.

Is your story speeding up, slowing down, stopped or on track?

Stories Shape Us

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The Story of Coke

This morning Rolf Jacobson told a story.  His sixth-grade daughter had a science project in which she tested people’s taste and perceptions.  First she had people do a blind taste test of three cola drinks: Coke, Pepsi and a generic supermarket brand.   Not knowing which cola was which, they split pretty evenly, but the generic was the winner.  Then she had the taste testers go into a second room and try the same three drinks but this time they knew which drink was the Coke, Pepsi and generic.  Coke and Pepsi were the easy winners.   Rolf  saw this as the victory of American brand marketing, a kind of story telling.  We believe in the Coke’s (or Pepsi) story and identify with their products.  Their story has shaped us.

Rolf, a Luther Seminary professor, connected that successful story-telling to the church’s failure to tell the Biblical story in as convincing fashion.  For many the Bible has become a dusty ancient book about some strange people, events and ideas that are jumbled together with God and Jesus.  We recognize bits and pieces of the story, but it rarely has connection to our daily lives.  Though most Lutheran pastors use a Biblical text in their preaching, the over-arching story of the Bible has been lost or never known. 

Rolf has proposed a new worship schedule of Bible readings that would guide a congregation through the Old and New Tesatment story in nine months. More information is at narrative lectionary.

Stories shape us.  Today I had lunch with two running buddies and I realized that running has been one of the stories that has shaped my life for the past ten years.  Because of injury, I miss not being able to run, but I also miss my story/identity as a runner.  I continue my physical therapy in hopes of restoring that activity and identity.   

Still a deeper story is at work.  It’s a story I have heard over and over in worship and study.   My truest identity is as not as a runner, but as a child of God.  Jesus lived, died and rose again to give me that identity and I can not run away from his story.

How does your life story connect with the Biblical story?  Has worship and preaching helped make those connections?

Still Light

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After posting about Lent the past two days, I had to remind myself that it is still the season of Epiphany, the season of light in the midst of darkness.  Epiphany began on January 6th with the light of the Bethlehem star leading the magi to baby Jesus (Matthew 2) and it ends Sunday, March 6, with the story of  the Transfiguration when the glory of Jesus is revealed to the disciples in a blaze of light.  And I certainly feel the need for light this winter.

Having grown up in Washington state, I had to learn to adjust to Minnesota winters.  In the learning process, I discovered that for me the severity was not as difficult as the duration.  I could be kind of macho about big storms or severe cold.  I remember running with some friends in -15 below temperature, basically so we could brag to other runners about our devotion (or our foolishness?).  But this winter seems to have started early and just settled

Foolish Runner or "I can't hear you due to the icicles in my ears"

in for a long stay.  And though we had a few days of teasing warmth last week, I know that winter could easily stretch into late March.   I can wish or complain or rant or blog, but the climate will not relinquish its grip based on my reaction to it.

So I come back to the season of light, Epiphany, and the glimpses of God’s glory.  One glimpse is that now, as I drive home, I see the sunset.  And what glorious sunsets I have witnessed. Beauty is one way God reveals God’s self, even in the midst of a long winter.  The sun light on freshly fallen snow has such an intensity that I have to squint or wear sunglasses. Yet not every day has that intensity.  Light can brilliant or muted, just as God’s power and presence can be for us.  I recently heard Bishop Rogness preach that God’s light permeates all of life, even when we think everything is dark.  We tend to seek the spectacular fireworks of glory, yet God is often in the flickering candle.  The light of Jesus shines in every season, even the Minnesota winter.

When or how has God’s light shone for you?