after xterra thoughts

- it was the hardest competition I've ever done.
- i'm not as sore as I thought, at all.
- i'm going to train harder for the swim and run on this next tri.
- having a screaming wife and mom really help.
- i'm gonna try a new bike-to-run transition technique next time where you undo your shoes while on the bike and slip them off leaving them attached to the peddals.

It was a ton of fun. I wanted to quit on the first lap of the bike but pushed on. My body got used to the hurt and I continued on. It's funny. The fastest portions of the race were the end of the swim, the beginning of the 2nd lap of the bike leg and the end of the run. All of them were when the crowd was yelling, especially Jen. She's definately my biggest fan. But she would scream, "GO BEN!! GO!" and that just fired me up and I would hammer on the peddals.
God knows it's not just the case with sports but also with the journey we are on with Him. He says we should encourage eachother while it is still called "today". That means every day. My best man Matt just encouraged me on the phone. He didn't say anything profound but just in calling it showed me he cared and that I'm not alone in the world today. What a difference it would make in this journey if we made it a practice to encourage one another!

Lookin' good

This is Jenny posting for Ben. Today was the Logansport Xterra Triathlon. So much fun! This was Ben right after crossing the finish line. He was 7th in his age group...finishing with a time of 1:56. What a stud! Next up...New Castle

mustardseed revolution

Again, inspired from Irresistible Revolution:
So Jesus tells a story of a mustard seed being planted in the garden. He does this in Matt 13. Here's the thing, mustard was not supposed to be planted in gardens and the jews who he told the story to knew that. But he goes on to say that the seed grows and become the largest in the garden, so large fowl of the air perch in its branches.
Now I'm picturing a big oak tree with an eagle in it over shadowing the rest of the garden, that's how I preached it earlier this month. That's the kind of kingdom imagery the Jews had in mind as well. But after doing some reading I see that a mustard tree (bush) isn't large in stature at all but it speads like wild fire! Similar to yeast in a batch of dough! It would take over all the plants in the garden so all you would have is mustard.
Those listening would have either laughed our been ticked because they knew Jesus was talking about the Kingdom of God. They thought it would come as something large like the Cedars of Lebanon. But Jesus says its coming as something small! If that were'nt enough, Jesus add's the "fowl" part. He's not talking about mighty eagles here, he's saying the detestible birds of the air (the undesireables in the world) find refuge in its branches. I love it! God uses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He has a divine conspiracy to take over the world subtly through small pockets of people who love others and love God. Are you a part of it?

God of little things

I'm still reading Irresistible Revolution by Claiborne and he quotes Mother Teresa this way, "We can do not great things, only small things with great love. It is not how much you do but how much love you put into doing it." Claiborne, inspired by this, put a sign above his front door that reads, "Today... small things with great love (or don't open the door)." What if I put that sign inside my door and abided by it? What if multitudes put up that sign and followed it? Hmmm...

redemptive violence?

Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. If we get bombed we bomb back harder to teach them not to bomb. That's what redemptive violence is. I'm beginning to ask some questions about how this is working for the world. I'm beginning to wonder if its right; if its best; if its what Jesus would do.

It seems he does the exact opposite and teaches others to do the same. I know the question is, "what if we get hit on the cheek (bombed) do we just let 'em keep coming?" Well, I would argue if we loved the hitters well in the first place we would'nt have to deal with getting slapped so much. Now I'm just thinking outloud but honestly. Doesn't it make sense that if poverty is in some relation to crime that if followers of The Way would love the poor rightly that we would see much less crime?

I think we've compartmentalized the power of The Way. I heard a story of an elderly woman who had two men break into her home to steal whatever they could find. She walked out and one held her at gun point or knife point while the other grabbed her stuff. The woman began to pray. She prayed outloud for the men who were stealing her stuff. She moved out of love for them. One yelled to the other, "Hey this lady is a follower of Jesus, we can't take her stuff.", and they put it back and took off.

I'm not saying its easy but I want to give it a shot. Trading sin is definately not working. Thoughts?

xterra tri

In the next 4 weeks I'm competing in two Xterra offroad triathlons. It consists of a .5 mile swim, 10 mile mountain bike, 4 mile trail run. Why in the world do people do that? Good question. It's fun. It keeps me in shape. And most people won't be this honest but it makes me feel like a stud! It does.

The issue if you have to train. Biking and running aren't a problem. It's swimming. Most can't open thier back door to a 50 meter pool but can ride from home and run from home. So I have only practiced swimming two times the last few months. Not good. But it should be ok. They have lifegaurds out there.

eyes to see

What would happen if I stopped looking AT people? Black, White, Rich, Poor, Dirty, Pretty... and started looking INTO them? What if I didn't see a poor, dirty, homeless man or a rich egotistical businessman but saw something sacred? A child of God? What if I saw something of myself in that person? What if I saw my selfishness in the rich man? What if I saw my brokeness in the poor man? What if I saw my love for justice in the poor man and love for family in the rich man? I have to believe that I would be set free to love and serve them more than ever before...

the biggerblog

the biggerblog
Could one of the worst things for me be getting what I want when I want? I know that's what we've been taught freedom means. But could that culminate into an accumulation of stuff that insulates me from reality, from God? Then in the small instances I do see Him, do see reality, could it keep me from responding appropriately because I have all this stuff to protect and or deal with? Could it actually mean slavery for me? Being bound to the care and preservation of all my stuff does not sound like the life that I've always dreamed of.

I want to start somewhere. What in my life have I collected because I thought it would bring freedom but now has resulted in slavery? It's crazy. Part of me doesn't want to answer the question because of what I know the result will be. Part of me says, "can't it just be redeemed and used for the kingdom? You don't have to get rid of it do you?". Maybe not, but in large, probably so.

Adventures in Blogging

What role will the blog play in the adventures in following the Way? We'll see. Thanks for visiting.