Month: May 2009

Sorry I have not been blogging as frequently as normal. My computer is STILL not ready for me to use. It’s back in our possession, but the techies are loading my stuff on it. Hopefully tonight I’ll get it back. Almost two weeks. Incredible! I will say I have felt strangely liberated without my hip-attachment, although I do miss it.

A lot to catch you up on. Don’t have time to tell all right now, but here are a few highlights …

Saturday morning I ran in the Run For Youth, and surprisingly, won for running the farthest distance in the hour – and I started some 5-minutes+ late! 7 3/4 miles in less than an hour! I got a 1st place ribbon! I’ve always wanted one of those things! lol

Saturday night I played my first game of softball in over two years. I was playing fairly well – got my first hit on the first pitch ala A-Rod (but it was a solid line drive rather than a homerun), and made several outs playing second base. Unfortunately in the bottom of the second inning I went back to catch a pop-up in shallow right-center field. I called for the ball and made the catch, but unfortunately the right-center fielder was coming on strong and didn’t pull up in time. He slid into my ankle and buckled me. BUT, and this is a big but (no, not a big butt!) I held onto the ball! And it was for the third out! That, my friends, is the important part of the story!

I was going to wait until Monday to get my ankle checked, but by 11 p.m. it was swelling up and getting quite sore. I have sprained my ankle many times, but this one felt a bit different and I thought it might possibly be a hairline fracture, so at midnight I drove myself to the emergency room. X-rays showed that it was not fractured, but ….

Today I went to the orthopedist. She took another set of x-rays just to be certain. She did see an old fracture (I never knew about that. Just one of the times I thought it was sprained.), but affirmed that this time I had not fractured it. She also said that I also have some arthrtis in my ankle from so many sprains, and that I need to start slowing down in terms of my intense activities. NOOOOOO!!!!!! She wanted to put me in a cast, but decided not to due to the swelling. Instead she put me in a boot and has me staying on crutches (no weigh-bearing) for two more weeks, followed by physical therapy and another week or two on the crutches with some weight-bearing. Uhhh!

A while back several people commented on my Twitter posts, noting the fullness of my life. I was actually feeling like I was motoring along at an insane pace, and their words caused me to check myself. Were the things I was doing of kingdom value or were they about me or impressing others? Had I begun to equate business with success? Was I spending enough time in solitude and contemplation? Was I just flat out too busy? What was I afraid of?

I’ve been reading Jurgen Moltmann’s book The Coming of God, and today his words on death caused me to pause and think. Consider this one thought he offers …

“Death sets a limit on our lifetime, and makes life short. The unconscious, unassimilated fear of death shows itself in the pace at which we live: presto! If you want to get the most out of life you have to live fast! The modern world is the accelerated world. We ‘modernize’ faster and faster. We move about more and more. We rush from one place to another. We ‘have’ ever more experiences, and use up ever more life, without any apparent speed limit – fast food – fast life! And yet the truth of the matter is that it is only the person who lives slowly who really enters into life. That person can stand still in the moment, and experience eternity in it, able to enjoy the happiness and feel the pain. But doesn’t this quietude in life presuppose a hope for a life that is eternal, whatever that hope may look like? Fear of death constricts, while hope for eternal life opens a wide space for living beyond death, and brings serenity into the soul: nothing will be lost, and you are missing nothing. The person who retains a knowledge of death also cherishes the love for life – for every life, for the life of us all, for the whole of life.” (p.57, emphasis added)

During breakfast at our hotel in California last month we met a dude named Ryan Farrelly, inventor and co-founder of Freeline Skates. He gave me his card, and I thought I would blog about his skates. As he left we watched him skate away through the parking lot. Very cool! Recommend to your skater fiends! Here’s a video to see them in action. Totally rad! Also can check out their website here.

So I left my computer home for the weekend while I went away on retreat. Saturday Adriana called me to say the computer wasn’t working. She took it to our computer guy at the church, and Monday I got the news that the hard drive had failed. This is a brand new Mac, and it was the first time I had left her alone. I guess she missed me so bad it literally killed her! lol So, now I am computer-less for 3-5 days. Yikes! (BTW, I am using one of my office staff’s computers to type this for you smart-alecs who were wondering!) Amazing how much life revolves around computers now. I feel like Will Ferrell playing a news anchor in the old Saturday Night Live skit when the teleprompters go out and he doesn’t know how to function and goes savagely insane.

Anyways, I had a good weekend away. It was our annual men’s retreat, and it was the first time I was able to get away to it as I did not have any Sunday morning responsibilities. Felt so good! Had an enjoyable ride out with two of my fellow-pastors from the church, Ted and Derek. I was really hoping for some rest, relaxation, and some solitude to think and pray in between the sessions. When my roommate for the retreat did not show up Friday night, I assumed he must have had to work and would show up on Saturday, and enjoyed some quiet time in my room, getting to bed at 12:30 a.m. I have not been to bed at 12:30 a.m. in forever. While most people say that implying that that is late for them, for me it is actually quite early. My normal time for turning in is between 2 and 3 a.m. Saturday rolled in, and still no roommate. Ultimately he did not show. I was bummed on the one hand, because he is one of my volunteers, and I was looking forward to a little time with him, but I was blessed on the other hand, because I really got to have that solitude I was desiring.

In addition to the sessions including lively table discussions, I went for a couple of runs along the pine needle-covered trails around gorgeous lakes, played some basketball, did some reading, sat by the lake in contemplation, and did a lot of journaling. While I didn’t receive any earth-shattering revelations, or sense any direct words in terms of direction, what I did feel was an overwhelming sense that my Father loves me, is for me, and is with me in what I am going through. Through a few encounters I felt like God was winking at me as if to say, “I love you big guy. Everything’s gonna be alright. Just trust me.”