Running Alongside
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Thursday, May 30, 2002
The End is Near
OK, so I'm in the supermarket checkout line and a headline in one of the tabloids catches my eye, "...Jesus to return within weeks..." it screams. It has the obligatory Eurocentric image of our Savior (I'm guessing He had olive colored skin like most Jews of the time instead of the commonly pictured pale Northern European palor seen more frequently) and some group who claims to have had a vision. This got me to thinking about the whole Christian endtimes industry. Now, I don't mean to go off on a rant here but these guys are less creditable than Gary Condit's signature on a "True Love Waits" card. I mean every year we hear some self-proclaimed phophet of God pop off about how the Lord is coming back on such and such a date and that all true Christians will do some really unthinkably dumb thing such as selling all of their worldly possessions or taking all of the red pills or drinking the Koolaid. Then the date comes and goes and, assuming there are still living people to notice the person's error, the person claims that it was only through their intercessory prayer that the end was avoided so that more of the unwashed heathen might come to find salvation in the prophet's "one true way."
Now, I may be wrong here but the last time I checked the leather bound play book known as the Holy Bible that Coach wrote with some help from the offensive coordinator Jesus (former All American Quarterback from Nazareth U.) and that mastermind of a defensive coordinator H. Ghost, that paticular play was missing from the game plan. In the endtimes section there's a blank page that says "For Coach's Eyes Only". The day and time are UNKNOWN! It says that, in black, white and red. Not "unknown to everyone but big BillyBob Baptist from Beaufort". Not "unknown to everyone but Reverend Ed and his special brand of followers who shave their heads in that very special way". Unknown to everyone but the Father. That includes the coordinators and all the leaders and all the followers and everyone else. No exceptions.
How do I know this is true? Well, besides the fact that it's clearly stated in the really cool book of God, there's the fact that every single person who has claimed otherwise has been wrong. Not just sort of wrong. Not kind of wrong. Dead (in some cases literally) wrong. And this isn't just something that afflicts the so-called fringes of Christianity. Just look at all the books published in the couple of years leading up to the millenium. The Y2K bug was going to be the end of the world. I mean The End. A lot of the prophecy wags sold an awful lot of air time claiming that the end was near. January 1 was going to be it; finito Benito. Well guess what? I'm still finding the books these people published (and a bunch of poor gullible Christians bought) in bargain bins and at thrift stores. They were WRONG!!!! Just like everyone else before them. The sad thing is that most of these people are still out there claiming to have a date. Even sadder is that there are people still listening.
Why are they listening? Well, these people claim to have signs. Last time I checked, the second line on that "Endtimes" page in the playbook says that the day will come like a thief in the night. Thieves usually don't give signs. That's kind of the point of all the sneaking around bits that are usually associated with thievery. Why has God been so secretive? Is He waiting for the moment when He gets to spring it on us and then fall over laughing and saying, "You should have seen the look on your face...HA, HA, HO, HO, HE, HE, HE....."? I don't think so.
Ever had an important relative coming over to your place (say like your mother???) and you have to get ready? If you know when she's going to drop by there is a general slovenliness that prevails until about two days before the visit and then the mad rush to clean everything within an inch of it's life commences. Now, what would life be like if the last day were known. Heck, even Madonna would go to confession that last week. So remember, you aren't supposed to know, it's all about about faith. We're to Run the Race and keep our eyes fixed on, not the finish line, but "Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith". That's because we don't know where, exactly, the finish line is. The Race isn't as much about the destination as the journey.
Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong.
Wednesday, May 29, 2002
Hello again...I'm back after a brief haitus. We went camping as you probably know if you're checking in on my lovely wife's blog, baking my noodle. Actually it wasn't so much camping as safari. You can't call it camping when you bring 50 pounds of cast iron cookware and sleep in a tent that has it's own mailing address. I'm not complaining mind you. Sleeping in a tiny little leaky tent and eating out of lightweight aluminium cookkits was 'da bomb' when I was a scout but there's a lot to be said for the safari idea. I understand why ol' Teddy Roosevelt was so fond of it. All of the beauty of the outdoors and most of the important comforts of home.
I managed to do a lot of good bike riding up in the hills/mountains of North Georgia. I suffered through a lot of it but I also triumphed and succeeded. There's a lesson there, but I'll let you figure it out. Anyways, we're back safe and not less sound than when we left.
A quick Tyler Hamilton update. He did well today at the Giro. So with only two hard days left he's in third place. If he can hang on tomorrow and do well in the last time trial (his specialty) it looks like he might win this thing. It's the second biggest bike race in the world, only slightly less prestigious than the Tour de France. For Tyler just to be in the place he is with one stage win and in third place overall is a huge deal. Now there's a guy who's running his race! Forza Tyler!
Tuesday, May 21, 2002
Recovery...
After three days of reasonably hard riding it's time for recovery. That's where I ride a day slow, on purpose. It's called active recovery by the coaching types out there and is supposed to be better than taking the day off. I don't know about that but I do know that I always enjoy recovery rides. I take the day to sit up and just spin easy. I set no schedule and the only rule is that I don't go too hard (under 132 on the HRM). Sometimes I meander all over the countryside and sometimes I ride one of my training routes but take the time to appreciate the view. Either way I find that I see things I've never seen before, both on the outside and on the inside. Given that I'm going to the mountains in a couple of days, I may extend the recovery period a couple of days so that my legs are rested up for the big hills. We'll see. Until the next time, keep the rubber side down.
Monday, May 20, 2002
Welcome to another Monday.
This was a weekend of great movings for me. Not really exciting but we are rearrainging the domicile to make room for our Bible study. The "duct tape" approach of the last year is now being implemented with a bit more forethought and planning. While the "duct tape" solution worked for the study it made sitting in our living room a bit like enjoying a cozy evening in an airplane hanger when we didn't have 20 students sitting around. When you feel like you need to make a long distance phone call to talk with your wife in the same room, changes must be made. So made they are being. (a little Yoda speak for you...go ahead, say it in the cool Yoda accent...come on, do it...you'll smile. By the way, my wife's cockateil sounds just like Yoda right now, maybe we should have named her that.)
I'm down to just having to move a couach and the landmass of a desk we have. Now don't get me wrong, I love having a desk large enough to span two zip codes but unless I want to wait for the ponderous forces of plate tectonics to do the thing they do I'm going to need some serious help. I wonder if Bunya's doing anything in the near future.
Anyways, thanks for stopping by. I hope the race goes well for you this week. By the way, if you'd like to read about someone enduring through adversity, go to Velonews and read about Tyler Hamilton's ride in the Giro de Italia. Stirring stuff indeed. He has a good chance of winning this thing right now and that's after four different crashes.
Thursday, May 16, 2002
An Elegant Machine
Chad Davies, 9/19/00
I am a motor, an organic engine,
powered by muscles and sinews and sunlight and will.
The heart of an elegant machine,
art of exquisite balance and sublime geometry.
My heart calls out the cadence
and with my lungs begin a dance.
My legs turn the cranks
and breath becomes rotation.
The cranks turn the wheels
and we are motion and wind.
I find freedom here;
freedom to escape, freedom to travel.
I am free, free to spin and climb.
I find love here;
love of wind, love of sun.
I am in Love with that inner silence and rhythm.
I find power here;
power of muscle, power of will.
We are powerful, this synthesis of flesh and metal
Together we roll and glide over this curving, rolling road.
Fast enough to fly, slow enough to see;
beyond the obvious, into the world we ride through,
washed in color, layered with texture, alive in our passing.
Wednesday, May 15, 2002
So Ok, I'm watching ET this evening to catch the teaser trailer for the Matrix movies and they have this report on the new Kelly Ripa book club. They ask Kelly what the selection criteria for the books are and she says something like, "The book has to be frivolous and fun and have absolutely no message." Now maybe I'm missing the point here but ISN'T THAT WHAT MOST NETWORK TV IS FOR?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but when was the last time you saw something of any real value on Network TV? Seinfeld was considered good by most and it was a show about NOTHING. I figure if you're actually going to take the time to read a book and get involved and actively participate in your own entertainment it ought to have some sort of meaning. You should actually learn something when you read. Now here comes this woman with the intellectual firepower of a peashooter and she takes a book that's languishing at around seven millionth on the best seller list and makes it number one on the basis that it is her favorite book right now that LACKS ANY MEANING. IS THIS WHY WE WENT TO ALL THE TROUBLE TO CREATE THE PRINTING PRESS ALL THOSE YEARS AGO?!?!? I mean if you wanted to do something that lacked meaning you could have watched Friends tonight or any number of other meaningless things found on TV. Or better yet, you could have picked up an engaging copy of that deeply insightful and nationally recognized cultural icon, People Magazine, and have all the nothing you wanted. Heck, with People you get to read about all the Hollywood nothing you can possibly digest. So much so that many Americans overdose on it and have to be made to read articles from the New Yorker or the New Republic or suffer permanent brain damage. You think I'm kidding? Look around. I'll bet you'll see a lot of people suffering from People Magazine induced brain trauma right now. If it gets bad enough, all these people can actually read is the Weekly World News and the National Enquirer. I figure that's what has happened to Kelly Ripa. Too much People Magazine so she comes up with the Book Club for Idiots. I'm just waiting for her first book on Elvis' favorite donut recipes.
Thursday, May 09, 2002
Hello again. Another new post to Run the Race. As you may have guessed, one of my favorite verses of scripture is Hebrews 12:1-2. I always think of racing my bike when I read the passage. I think of how I strip my bike down to just the things I need to race and I put on slippery clothes. I leave a little as possible for the air to grab. Then I start out and for the duration of the race I have to focus on what I'm doing. I can't let my mind wander or I'm libel to end up in a pile of bikes and bodies sliding across the pavement at 25 mph. I can't ride too hard at the beginning or I'll run out of steam by the end. I have to train my body to push through the pain and perform for a long time at a high level. When I train, I think of the work some of the cycling greats like Lance Armstrong or Johann Museuw are putting in on that day so that they can win the big races like the Tour or Paris-Roubiax.
I think my Christian life is a lot like that. I have to focus on a lot of the same kinds of things. I have to have endurance and patience with myself. It helps to focus on the life Jesus lived and how He did it.
Tuesday, May 07, 2002
Welcome,
You've come to the place where I will post my various ramblings from time to time. Deep thoughts, ill considered rants, startling discoveries, mundane observations will all appear here. Feel free to react to anything you read but you should also know that I reserve the right to react back. I am a person of deeply held, occasionally considered opinions and I do love a good discussion. Check back and see what's up.
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