Ice Breaker – Numbers
It’s that time of the week…time for an ice breaker question! For those of you who are new or who forgot, ice breaker questions are used to help people get to know each other – to “break the ice” so to speak. I love hearing what other people have to say and how they think. So for today, I’m throwing out another simple ice breaker question. I’ll answer it first, then it’s your turn. Answer the question by leaving a comment for us all to enjoy. Thanks!
Since today is 11-11-11, I figured it would be fun to ask a numbers question.
Question: What is your favorite number? Why? If you don’t have a favorite number, join the conversation anyway by sharing something else that is your favorite.
My Answer: Here you go….
My favorite number is 8! I was born on the 8th of December (yes, my birthday is coming up soon). This was also my Grandpa’s birthday. 8 is the perfect number. If you tip it over, it turns into infinity. Whenever possible, I would ask for this number on my sports shirts. Other famous players to wear the number 8…Juan Samuel (former Phillies 2nd baseman and current Phillies 3rd base coach), Willie Stargell (hit the longest home run at the Phillies old Veterans Stadium), Joe Morgan (played for the Phillies in 1983), Carl Yastrzemski (no connection to the Phillies), Yogi Berra, Kobe Bryant (from the Philly area – currently not playing basketball for the NBA), Alex Ovechkin, Steve Young, and Cal Ripken, Jr (part of the Orioles team that beat the Phillies in the 1983 World Series – Boo!).
So there you have it, my answer to the question. Now it’s your turn….
Running Over Mountains
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 someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. I Corinthians 9:24-27
I love running analogies! As a runner (I think I can say that), I especially resonate with a few of the scriptures that tie running or other sports to living our faith. The scripture above is definitely one of my favorites.
From yesterday’s post, you’ll remember that I ran over 20 miles on Saturday morning. I ran the Perkiomen Trail from Green Lane to Oaks, and I finished up my run at the parking lot by Pawlings Road. If you’re not familiar with the trail, there is a “mountain” in the middle of the trail. Seriously, Spring Mountain (our local ski “resort”) is 7.5 miles south of Green Lane. Skiers in our area joke around that it should be called Spring Bump, because it’s not that big compared to some of the ski mountains just an hour or two away in the Poconos. But I can tell you, that whether it’s a bump, a hill, or a mountain, it’s not easy to run up Spring Mountain. But it is possible. I did it Saturday in the middle of my long run.
How did I do it? That’s a good question. First, I knew it was coming. I’ve run every part of this trail several times. I knew that this obstacle was inevitable. Second, I stayed focused on one step at a time. I literally shortened by stride, put my head down, and concentrated on the next step. Third, I remembered that there was more to come. I still had 13 miles to run. I couldn’t let my mind and body give in now. Fourth, I thought about the prize waiting for me at the end. Leanne was scheduled to pick me up at 10 AM. I had to keep going in order to reach my bride. Finally, I remembered that this run was necessary to prepare me for my upcoming marathon. How would I survive the marathon if I gave in now.
I think Paul’s running analogy is so appropriate to life (and ties into my running experience this weekend). First, Paul talks about the importance of going into strict training. I think this means studying God’s word and finding how it applies to our lives. Second, Paul seems to point to the necessity for strategy in living out our faith. Living our faith aimlessly isn’t fruitful. Third, Paul realized that more was expected of him. Training wasn’t the end, there was more to come. There was more preaching and sharing that lied ahead. Fourth, Paul clearly had the end in mind as he trained to share his faith with others. He clearly pursued that through his life. And finally, he knew it would be hard, he knew it would take effort and hard work, and he kept going.
This speaks to me. I want to run the race of life in such a way that honors God and brings Him glory.
As for my running, my body is still recovering from Saturday, but I’m happy to say that I got back to running this morning. Just a few more weeks until the marathon!
How’s your training going? What are you doing to prepare for “the race”?
Running Partner
Jon Stolpe – Facebook Status
Saturday, November 6, 2011
20.87 miles 3 hours 10 minutes 40 seconds. The last 4 or 5 were pretty tough. I definitely could have used a running partner (or FIGILC – Joe will get this). I saw 68 people – 2 whom I knew, 6 deer, and a bunch of dogs. What a beautiful morning for a run on the (entire) Perkiomen Trail!
This was my Facebook status an hour or so after finishing a big run on Saturday morning. There’s a lot of different things you can pull from the update like the fact that I’m a big numbers guy (who counts people and deer while they’re running?), I must be serious about this running a marathon thing (who runs 20 miles for fun on a Saturday?), or that I was still positive after putting my body through over three hours of pure torture (did you notice how nice it was on Saturday morning?).
But I keep coming back to two sentences in this update. “The last 4 or 5 (miles) were pretty tough. I definitely could have used a running partner.”
I guess that would be expected. After Saturday’s experience and the soreness I’ve been dealing with since, I’m not sure the body was meant to run this long. For me, Saturday’s run was such a great reminder that we need people in our lives who will “run” the tough miles with us. Life will not always be easy. We will face times in our life when we want to give up, when we doubt ourselves, when we feel like we just can’t go on. These are the times when we need people who can push us, encourage us, and maybe even carry us.
While I didn’t have anyone with me for those last few miles on Saturday, I did have the anticipation of seeing my wife at the finish – that thought definitely helped. When it comes to the rest of life, I know there are people in my life who will “run” the tough miles with me. I’ve experienced this. When my wife and I went through tough times last year, we had family and friends who surrounded us with meals, prayer, and all kinds of support. I’m so thankful for these “running partners” in my life.
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12
How about you? Do you have any “running partners”? Who’s got your back? Who in your life will “run” those tough miles with you?
Ice Breaker – Hair
It’s that time of the weekend…time for an ice breaker question! For those of you who are new or who forgot, ice breaker questions are used to help people get to know each other – to “break the ice” so to speak. I love hearing what other people have to say and how they think. So for today, I’m throwing out another simple ice breaker question. I’ll answer it first, then it’s your turn. Today’s question is prompted by my recent haircut. Answer the question by leaving a comment for us all to enjoy. Thanks!
Question: What’s the craziest haircut or hairstyle that you’ve ever had? Or What’s the craziest haircut or hairstyle that you always wanted but never got?
My Answer: Here you go….
Like I said in the introduction, I just got my haircut yesterday. Today, I wear a pretty traditional haircut for a 39-year-old business person. I don’t get my haircut nearly as often as I used to thanks to the ever slowing pace of my hair growth. I don’t think I’ll ever go completely bald but I’ve noticed a thinning patch in the middle of my head and the front seems to be marching back – I mean recently at a decent clip. Sorry for the awful pun.
My brothers definitely dabbled in the hair thing a bit more than me as they’ve both sported long hair down to the middle of their backs. My craziest hairstyle was probably the summer (or two) where I used Sun-In to bleach my hair. As a small kid, I was a toe-head – blond as can be, but as I started to get older, my hair went to dirty blond and then to brown. So the bleached hair was definitely noticeable. I’ll try to find a picture to throw up on the Jon Stolpe Stretched Facebook Page. Now, the gray is starting to slowing make its way into the color palette.
Growing up in the 80s, I always wanted to shave lightning bolts and my initials into my head, but that never happened. I don’t think I was brave enough, and I don’t think my parents were too fond of the idea.
So there you have it, my answer to the question. Now it’s your turn….
October 2011 Top Posts
It’s hard to believe that we’ve reached the end of another month. October was a good month at . Traffic on the blog decreased slightly since September; however, October traffic levels were higher than every other month! Comments continued to roll-in. And new people joined in the conversation and community. The blog added a couple of new subscribers, and the Jon Stolpe Stretched Facebook Page attracted several new followers in its second month. The blog Jon Stolpe Stretched experienced its single biggest day of traffic on October 21st when Arny Sanchez helped Jon Stolpe Stretched celebrate its 500th post. Here are the top 10 posts and top 3 commentors for the month:
Top 10 Posts
1. Field of Changed Dreams? Guest Post by Arny Sanchez
2. Ice Breaker – Lunch Time Meet-Ups
3. Ten Things Every Small Group Leader Should Know
4. Ice Breaker – What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up
7. Top 10 Things To Do At Grove City College
9. How I Spend My Time Is A Moral Issue
10. A Rock Is A Good Place To Kiss
Top 3 Commentors (We are on target to see our 1,000th comment in the next day or two!)
1. Arny Sanchez
2. Larry Carter
3. Ryan Knight
I now have 20 regular subscribers. If you’d like to become a subscriber, see the “Follow Blog” window on your right. It’s great to see this starting to take off.
Thank you to all of you for reading and contributing to the blog and to the reader community. I’ve continue to grow a lot through this experience.
As always, I love to share other’s “stretching” stories on my blog, so leave me a comment if you’re interested in being a guest blogger on Jon Stolpe Stretched.
Finally, if you’re a blogger, how did your blog to this month? What was your top post? What was your favorite post?
Hope, Compassion, Love, and Faithfulness – Happy Halloween
Happy Halloween! I cannot believe that we are here at the last day of October. (I also cannot believe that we had snow this weekend, but that’s another story.) As I look back on the past month, I am thankful for God’s faithfulness and steadfast love. As I recall, I started this month with feelings of anxiety and anticipation as we continued through a season of difficult memories. Last year, Leanne came home from the hospital on October 1st and began extended care at a day program. As we went through October last year, we were definitely trying to find a rock to stand on – some sort of normal – some type of answer that everything would be okay.
So as we started this October, things had been moving along pretty well. We had started to hit a “normal” stride. There was nothing to say that was going to change. But I still carried some memories of last year. As October has revealed itself each day, I have been relieved and renewed to see God’s faithfulness. We’ve had a lot of things to be thankful for this month like: a family trip to the Apple Farm/Pumpkin Patch, spectating at several of Hannah’s cross-country meets, enjoying food and friends at our 1st ever Chilifest, having the opportunity to serve at the Norristown Community House and Cradles to Crayons, and having the opportunity to share at a Group Leader Meeting.
While I’ve been processing these thoughts these days, it was appropriate that one of my readings from this weekend came from the book of Lamentations. In this passage, I am reminded of hope, never-ending compassion, unfailing love, and enduring faithfulness that comes from God. This is a great way to leave the month of October!
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young.
Let him sit alone in silence,
for the LORD has laid it on him.
Let him bury his face in the dust—
there may yet be hope.
Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
and let him be filled with disgrace.
For no one is cast off
by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.
For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to anyone.
Lamentations 3:21-33
How have you experienced God’s hope, never-ending compassion, unfailing love, and enduring faithfulness this month?
Ice Breaker – Tattoos
It’s that time of the weekend…time for an ice breaker question! For those of you who are new or who forgot, ice breaker questions are used to help people get to know each other – to “break the ice” so to speak. I love hearing what other people have to say and how they think. So for today, I’m throwing out another simple ice breaker question. I’ll answer it first, then it’s your turn. Answer the question by leaving a comment for us all to enjoy. Thanks!
Question: Do you have any tattoos? If so, what are they and why did you get them? If not, have you ever thought about getting a tattoo? What would your tattoo look like?
My Answer: Here you go….
First off, I don’t have any tattoos, and most likely I will never get one. For one, I’m a wimp when it comes to needles, and I’m not sure I’d be happy over the long haul with leaving something permanently on my skin. But…
I’m intrigued by the whole tattoo thing. I often wonder what goes into the decision process in deciding to get a tattoo. I’ve definitely asked this question to many people before. IF (and that’s a big if) I were to get a tattoo, I think I’d consider getting a cross on my upper leg where no one could see it. I guess it would be more of a reminder to me of my faith, my hope, and my God. I haven’t taken this thought all that far to determine the design, but my guess is that I would surround it with a Bible verse reference that represents me and my faith.
So there you have it, my answer to the question. Now it’s your turn….
ChiliFest
This Saturday, we had a blast at our house – the first ever ChiliFest! We invited several couples over with the idea that they would bring over their own chili to share with the rest of the guests. We provided drinks, salad, dessert, and corn bread. It was so fun to get together with couples who represented a hodgepodge of our friendships from the area. There were friends from our neighborhood, friends from our old neighborhood, and friends from our church. We enjoyed White Chicken Chili, Taco Chili, Buffalo Chicken Chili, Spicy Green Pork Chili, Pork/Beef/Beer Chili, and Traditional Tex-Mex Chili. As we enjoyed the Chili, guests voted for their favorite chili’s in six different categories: Most Unique Chili, Most Delicious Chili, Most Spicy Chili, Most Likely to Serve at Home Chili, Most Colorful Chili, and Best Overall Chili. The winners of each category took home a unique bottle of hot sauce.
Besides the great food, we enjoyed great times with friends. It was neat to see people from our friendship circles interacting with people they had never met before. When we bought our house six years ago, we planned to use our home as a place to welcome our friends and neighbors – to bring connection and community to those around us. Saturday’s ChiliFest was a great reminder for us! I can’t wait until the next get together at our house.
What fun ideas do you have for fun in-home gatherings?
Ice Breaker – When Was The Last Time You Cried
This ice breaker thing is catching on. I’m moving the question for this week up a couple of days to save Friday for a special post that I can’t wait to share. I’ve been tossing this week’s question around for the past several days. A friend of mine appears to be in his last days here on earth as his battle with brain cancer has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. As I think about my friend, I’m reminded of a trip we took together to the Willow Creek Group Life Conference several years ago. This was really the first time that I spent significant time with my friend as we hung out with several other small group leaders from our church for a few days. I specifically remember sitting next my friend on the airplane as we flew home to the Philadelphia area. As we sat together, my friend opened up as he shared his story. I’m not sure if I actually asked him today’s ice breaker question, but I knew that our conversation had taken a jump to a whole new level of transparency as my friend began to cry as he described his family growing up. I will never forget the tears streaming down his face. I know there was pain in his conversation, but I clearly could see that there was also freedom in sharing and releasing the emotion that went with this discussion.
And so I ask this week’s ice breaker question. As a reminder, Ice breaker questions are used to help people get to know each other – to “break the ice” so to speak. I’ll answer it first, then it’s your turn. Answer the question by leaving a comment for us all to enjoy. Thanks!
Question: When was the last time you cried (I mean really cried) and why?
My Answer: Here you go….
I don’t cry very often. Just ask my wife. Occasionally, I’ll tear up when I see something moving on TV or in a movie. I’ve even teared up at Hannah’s recent cross-country meets as her teammates and the members of the opposing teams gather to cheer on the last boy as he approaches the finishes line well behind the pack.
When I think about the last time I really cried, I journey back to a time about a year ago. Actually, it’s been more than a year ago. Last September, my wonderful wife had to go to the hospital. Without going into a lot of detail, I remember doing everything I could to hold it together as I waited by her side in the hospital while we waited for things to be worked out with the medical staff. I even remember holding it together despite being stunned as I rode back home in the car with my dad after we left my wife at the hospital. Once we got home and I crawled up to our bedroom in the early morning hours, it wasn’t long until my tears began to flow. As my tears flowed, I was desperate for an answer from God. Why was this happening? What was next? How would I move forward? I like to have everything in order and under control, and the events of that evening chattered much of my world.
A lot has happened since then. My wife has experienced amazing healing. Our family has been mended together more fully. And we’ve had many, many happy moments and memories since this time of desperation.
So there you have it, my answer to the question. Now it’s your turn….
(Oh, one more thing. Could you please pray for my friend and his family? Thanks!)
Ice Breaker – What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up
Last Friday, I threw out an ice breaker question, and I loved the response. So I thought I’d try again. Ice breaker questions are used to help people get to know each other – to “break the ice” so to speak. As I stated last week, I love to hear what other people have to say and how they think. So for today, I’m throwing out another simple ice breaker question. I’ll answer it first, then it’s your turn. Answer the question by leaving a comment for us all to enjoy. Thanks!
Question: When you were younger (or maybe you’re still younger), what did you want to be when you grew up? How did it work out for you?
My Answer: Here you go….
What little boy doesn’t want to be a firefighter. I think I wanted to be a fireman up until 1st or 2nd grade. This never panned out; however, I did go through a pretty good stint as a pyrotechnics engineer – I mean pyromaniac. In fact, I almost burnt the New Jersey Pine Barrens down during a junior high camping trip to Bass River State Park.
I switched over to wanting to be an actor when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. My parents took me to see Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and Fiddler on the Roof, so these provided some inspiration. But I really took on the acting bug when I had the chance to play one of the leading roles in our church’s production of The Music Machine. I have seen lots of pictures of my debut performance, but I think a video would be pretty hysterical. Speaking of videos, I had the honor of being the lead reporter in a video featuring our junior high youth group. The video was called Jerusalem Today, and it brought out some of the funniest outtakes I’ve seen. Needless to say, my acting career never really took off.
During high school, I thought for sure that I wanted to be a pharmacist. I loved chemistry, and it sounded like pharmacists made a lot of money. Honestly, I’m not sure what swayed me from this path. Perhaps, it was the knowledge that I would have to go to college for an extra year or two to fulfill this dream. I’m not sure, but I’m not a pharmacist.
As it turns out, I went to school for engineering. I became a project engineer and project manager in the building automation industry when I graduated college. Somewhere along the way, I realized that I wanted a more direct role in managing and helping people succeed, so I pursued my MBA. Now I work as an operations manager in the building automation industry. I love what I do (most days)!
So there you have it, my answer to the question. Now it’s your turn….