run for fun

well not exactly for fun.  just ran 10.3 miles in 85:12 (1 hour 25 minutes and 12 seconds).  i haven’t quite done the math yet but thats around an 8:30 mile.  i’m pretty encouraged by it.

hands

so here’s the link to the organization i want to raise money for.  it’s called h.a.n.d.s. (or helping all nations in deeds and service).

also, they have a sunday morning church service and breakfast.  they need money in order to do this every week.  they also hand out clothes to the homeless and those in need at these services.  if you have money and/or clothes please go to their page and let them know.  they also could use volunteers.  i need to do this as well.  we need to feed, clothe, and house jesus!

marathon…

oh yeah one other thing that is so exciting. i’ve recently met a guy named geoff nighswonger (forgive me if i spelled the last name wrong). he has his own non-profit organization and is invovled with orphanages in mexico and uganda. every sunday morning at 7:30 am he goes down to a park off of cedar and lakewood blvd. to feed the homeless and have a church service with them. he calls it his homeless church. i decided i’m going to try and get invovled with his organization. he has a non-prof license and all. i don’t know if i’ll raise any money for this, but i’m running the long beach marathon in october and want to raise money for his non-profit organization. i’ll try and figure out more details about it later. most churches have a problem with asking for money to meet needs, but this is my blog and i don’t have a problem with it. i’m asking anyone who reads this to sponsor me in order to provide geoff with financial support to continue to feed the homeless in lakewood and bellflower and to help out with the orphanages in mexico and uganda.

love to run

i started my run sometime around 11:40 pm this evening.  super late to run, i know.  i ran my 6 1/2 mile route in 43:42.  i’m going to up my mileage sometime this week.  i learned something this evening while i ran.  i find intimacy with god through running.  tonight was one of the most beautiful/intense/serene/ intimate moments i’ve had with god for a while.  i find peace in running with god.  my mind has been working overtime in confusing me lately ha.  tonight’s run was like a filter to get rid of some unnecessary thoughts.  it helped clear the “blurriness” (is that a word? whatever, i put it in quotes so it doesn’t matter haha).  great run tonight.

so much so little

i recently was talking with a friend and made a statement that sounded something like “i’m at this point in my life where i’m still free to do anything.  i have no family, responsibilities, or anything else holding me back.”

as i begin to dwell on this idea that god has given me this gift of freedom i become overwhelmed with what to do with it all.  there are so so so so so so so many freaking things i want/can do.  i’ve thought about pusuing a masters degree.  i’ve thought about coaching soccer.  i’ve thought about just working as a valet and feeding hungry people.  i’ve thought about finding a janitorial job in a high school to be around students more often.  i’ve thought about going to india to serve.  i’ve thought about running the long beach marathon as a fundraiser for a local organization.  i just have so much i want to do and it seems like i have so little time to do it all in. 

i believe thinking about so much keeps me from doing anything one thing well.  i need to start discerning what it is god is calling me to do, and finding tangible ways to do it.  so here are some tangible things that i’m doing right now or am committing myself to right now. 

1) we often teach students that they should pursue and be active in things they’re passionate about and to use those passions to serve god.  well i’m passionate about football (what americans call soccer).  i love the game.  so i e-mailed a bunch of high school coaches today regarding ways to get invovled with coaching high school teams.  i have a meeting with one of them this week.

2) i feel a constant call on my life, almost daily, to feed the hungry.  so before saturday ends i’m going to go meet a stranger (probably a homeless person) and feed them.  i want to try and to this at least once a week.  all too often i believe we think feeding the hungry is for organizations.  i think i personally should be feeding the hungry.  i wonder what long beach would look like if every attender of parkcrest fed one person, one meal a week.  please ask me about it.  it’ll be an accountability for me.

3) i’m going to do a small job search for janitorial jobs at local high schools, nothing super serious but just to see what’s out there.  there’s a janitor at the elementary school where my mom works who has been working there for over 20 years.  i’ve been to the school and watched high schooler after high schooler come and talk to him for 20 plus minutes a day because he impacted their life.  they had a special appreciation day for him and hundreds of people celebrated him because of the impact he has on the faculty and students at the school.

4) i’m going to find an organization that i could serve in india sometime in the next couple of years.  i want to go for a month or so and do whatever they need me to do.  i want to bathe people.  i want to feed people.  i want to pray with and for people.  if anyone knows an organization or person/people i could contact let me know please.

5) i’m going to find an organization to raise money for by running the long beach marathon.  anyone have any good ideas?  numbers?  e-mails?

there are five things i’m committing myself to do in the next few weeks.

the surprising run

i thought i was draggin today.  i felt as though the wind was fighting agaisnt me the entire run.  my legs felt heavy.  i didn’t pace very well.  my run was full of surges.  i ran 6 1/2 miles in 44:07.  i thought this run was going to be much much slower than yesterdays.  it didn’t feel nearly as good.

late night run

6 1/2 miles in 44:53.  felt good to run in some cool weather.  i love running with god.

news

kobe bryant is finally the league’s recognized mvp.  although, i believe i could make a good case that this should’ve been the 3rd year in a row for him to win it.  steve nash’s repeact mvp season was….eh.  dirk’s mvp season last year….please, he won it because he was the best player on the “best team” (by best team i mean they had the best regular season record…they weren’t the best team because they lost first round of the playoffs).  anyway, it’s about time kobe aka “triple ocho” was recognized with this reward.

in other news lebron james is leading his team to victo……wait this just in….lebron james is playing AWFUL in the playoffs.  ok, i just had to get that out.  i know he’s going to be one of the greatest players of all time.  i’m sure all of lebron’s fans have a list of excuses for him right now.  “he’s been carrying his team on his back all year long.  his numbers were amazing this season.  his team is just so freaking bad.  he’s young.”  blah blah blah.  i secretly enjoy watching him not succeed as much as kobe (only because of all the junk cavs fans talked while i was living in ohio haha).

the dodgers are hot right now.  that’s exciting.  i think they’ve won 10 of their last 12 or something like that.  the young talent found in either, loney, and kemp combined with furcal’s red hot year and great bullpen pitching is just beautiful to watch.  (side note: andruw jones should’ve never been signed.  he’s a huge waste of money).

hilary is still dragging on the democratic primary.  HAHAHAHAHAHA is my only response.

i ran again today.  i ran 6 1/2 miles in 44:58.  which, if i did my math correctly comes out to a little bit faster than a 7 minute mile.  that doesn’t sound right haha.  maybe the odometer in my car is off a little.  that sounds too fast.  but i drove my car the route i ran, came to 6 1/2 miles. crazy.  my legs are super tired this evening though.  i love it!

killer run

my mind just wasn’t focused on running today.  it was tough to get through.  i ran 6 1/2 miles in 46:30.  it wasn’t quite the pace i wanted to run at, but after taking 3 days off and upping the mileage i guess i just got my butt kicked today. 

i also just found out that the long beach marathon isn’t until october 12.  which is good for my getting in shape.  i’m counting down the days.

another day another workout

so yesterday i was guessing on the time it took me to run 5 miles.  i thought it was faster than a 7:30 pace, but didn’t want to guess too fast and disappoint myself today.  after my run today, i know it was faster than a 7:30 pace.  i know a ran faster today then i did yesterday because of what songs i was listening to during different parts of my run.  anyway, today i ran 5 miles in 32:59.  that’s about almost exactly a 6:40 mile pace.  felt good today.