2008 – Week 2 Exercise Recap

Well, I made it through the second week of the new year, and I’m still making progress. Here’s my mileage update for the week.

Monday, 1/7 – 7.5 miles
Wednesday, 1/9 – 7.3 miles
Friday, 1/11 – 7.5 miles
Saturday, 1/12 – 3.7 miles

Total mileage for the week 26 miles (that’s two tenths of a mile short of a marathon).

Until the next post, “baby we were born to run…” (Bruce Springsteen)

Sunday Afternoon Field Trip

Last Sunday afternoon, our family took a field trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art to enjoy the last day of the Renoir exhibit. This trip was fantastic. The exhibit was packed, but that was to be expected. The Renoir landscapes were spectacular. The museum provided head sets for each of us that permitted us to get a more detailed perspective on many of the paintings. For me, it was refreshing to enjoy the museum from a customer standpoint instead of from the contractor standpoint that I’ve experienced over the past 2 1/2 plus years.

After the kids finished running up and down the steps doing their best Rocky impression, we piled back into the car and drove the the Chinatown section of Philadelphia. Here we enjoyed dinner at one of the many Chinese restaurants. As we walked the streets of Chinatown, we thought often of our new niece and cousin, Elizabeth, who will be joining our family later this spring.

Until the next post…

Marriage Group – I Love You More

Over the past few months, Leanne and I have noticed marriages crumbling around us. We are both committed to making our marriage the best it can be; we are also interested in helping others out in making their marriages better. As a result, Leanne and I are starting a marriage group at our home. Here are the details as we are advertising them:

2008 – Week 1 Exercise Recap

Okay, I won’t beat around the bush – I’d like to get in better shape this year, lose a few pounds, perhaps run another marathon (did I just type that?). So, here’s a recap for my own record (and perhaps to inspire you).

Tuesday (1/1) – Ran 3.2 miles around the area. The weather was in the 40s, and the course was fairly hilly.

Wednesday (1/2) – Ran 7.2 miles on the treadmill at the YMCA. The course was flat, and the Y was crowded with all those New Year’s Resolutioners.

Thursday (1/3) – Ran 7.5 miles on the treadmill at the YMCA.

Saturday (1/5) – Ran 4.1 miles on the treadmill at the YMCA before Isaac’s basketball game. It was good to get loosened up.

Total mileage for the week – 22 miles. I’ve also been trying to insert daily core training into my routine. It’s a start, we’ll see what next week brings.

Until the next post, keep on running…

Presenting the Gospel Verse Overview

So it’s been a week or so since I posted about my current memory verses. Here’s a list of what I’m working on right now (each is related to presenting the gospel):

1. All Have Sinned – Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins. Ecclesiastes 7:20

2. Sin’s Penalty – Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned- Romans 5:12

3. Christ Paid the Penalty – “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” I Peter 2:24

4. Salvation Not By Works – However, to anyone who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. Romans 4:5

5. Must Receive Christ – for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13

6. Assurance of Salvation – My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10:27, 28

Over the next few days, I hope to elaborate more on my thoughts related to each of these verses.

Until the next post, press on…

Adventure Aquarium

Last night, Leanne and I had the privilege of attending the annual “Winter Celebration” for my company. The event was held at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ. Honestly, when I heard where it was this year, I was somewhat apprehensive. It was in NJ which is farther from our home than the locations in years past. Also, Camden doesn’t have the best reputation for being the safest place in the country. In fact, I believe Camden had one of the highest murder rates per population in 2007. Honestly, I was wrong.

Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History

Part of our holiday time off has included a trip out to Western PA to visit with Leanne’s family. We’ve had a great time together – playing pinochle, playing music, eating great food, etc. One thing that we decided to do was visit the Carnegie Museum of Art and Natural History. This is kind of ironic when you consider that I have been working on the Perelman Building for the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the past 2 1/2 years. At any rate, we had a great time. The art museum had a great exhibit of art work from then to now. I especially enjoyed the abstract modern art portion of the exhibit. I think Leanne enjoyed the impressionist works of art. The natural history museum had a great dinosaur exhibit that Isaac especially enjoyed. If you’re ever in the Pittsburgh area, it’s worth a visit.

Steps in Sharing Your Faith 6 of 6

Step 6: Expect a Response

Verse: We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20

My first though when I read this verse, is wow! God has chosen me to be His ambassador, His representative. What a privilege it is to be chosen in this way. The next thought that immediately crosses my mind is how in the world am I an adequate representative of the one true God? That’s when it’s important to review the previous five steps. One, pray! Two, depend on the Holy Spirit. Three, associate with people. Four, arouse interest by life. Five, stimulate interest by testimony.

God’s not expecting us to go at this whole sharing our faith thing alone. He is right there cheering us on and supporting us. Knowing we have this backup, how can we not expect a response.

So what kind of response can we expect? Hopefully, our faith sharing steps will result in positive steps forward for the recipient. Should we always expect a positive response? I say yes. For one, I’m a “glass is half full” kind of guy. Secondly, I truly believe God wants everyone to be saved and so should we. Will we always get a positive response? Probably not. People can be pretty stubborn and their hearts can be pretty hard. I do believe that my sharing our faith with others, we will grow. God is good!

Until the next post, think positive…

Steps in Sharing Your Faith 5 of 6

Step 5: Stimulate Interest by Testimony

He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” John 9:25

This verse comes from the end of a two part story in John 9. In the first part, Jesus heals a man who had been blind since his birth. The second part of the story finds the pharisees investigating the healing.

Whether your introduction to Christ was dramatic or not, we all have some basic common aspects to our transformation:

1. Before we met Christ, we were all “blind.” Our pastor spoke about this on Christmas Eve service – click here for the podcast. It’s kind of like trying to find your way out of a dark cave without any light. Before we meet Christ, we are groping around in the darkness.

2. Once we’ve made a decision to follow Christ, we all have a testimony to share. We who make Christ our leader and forgiver have been transformed. We have Christ to share with those who don’t know Him. As mentioned in the previous posts, we share this testimony not only in our words but through our actions.

3. While we will all continue to make mistakes, we have grace and we have continued transformation that takes place in our lives. Romans 12:2

Until the next post, think about this, what’s your testimony…?

Blog Spotlight: ChristLink (Dad’s New Blog)

I couldn’t help but pass along this new blog spotlight along. My dad just started his own blog, and I know it’s one that I will be checking regularly. I have always been blown away by what my dad has to say (Okay, maybe it’s been since college started that I’ve actually listened to him). I hope you also will enjoy what he writes. Let me know what you think.