Make Disciples who Make Disciples

"You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others." 2 Timothy 2:2 NLT

In an article titled, "Final “Victor-y lap” for beloved runner in Mobile" posted by News 5, it was reported that dozens of people paid tribute to Victor Burch, 61, a beloved member of Mobile Alabama's running community who was killed in a vehicle crash on September 25, over the weekend. The reporter described Victor as "a man who was always on the move and reaching out at the same time. “There was never not a time that Victor was trying to get people into the running community. It’s a true tribute, all these people he touched,” said runner Aaron Freesmeier. The big turnout is no surprise to the people who knew Victor Birch, saying he was a man who pushed people to get the best out of themselves and helped them every step of the way." “Good heart, He’d train with anyone and work with them for months on end not to achieve his goal but so they could attain their goal,” said runner Darren Jarrell. And while this story is sad in the sense that Victor will undoubtedly be missed, I can't help but smile knowing that he took the time to train so many runners that will most likely pass on that training to someone else. 

And you know, when it comes to taking the time to teach or train someone for long periods of time, Jesus commanded his disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations... teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you," something you can be sure takes time, effort and sacrifice. You see, while there's a lot of emphasis placed on evangelism, our work has only just begun when we lead someone to Christ. It's our job afterwards to make disciples of them in the way Paul modeled with young Timothy. Paul took the time to "teach things" to this young pastor so Timothy could, in turn, teach those things to others who would then "pass them on to others." Do you just love that or what? This is a continuing process that has no end but we all must play our part. 

So strive to grow in your knowledge of the Word each and every day so that You can make disciples who make disciples my friend. Commit your time and energy to training new believers so that you will be known as a Christian who helps other Christians "every step of the way."

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that we are all commanded to make disciples who make disciples. Cause us to take this command seriously so that we would raise up a generation of men and women on fire for You and committed to teaching and training young believers. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!

Teach the Next Generation

“We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about his power and his mighty wonders.” Psalm 78:4 NLT

With the sad and unexpected death of my stepdad (who had been my 'dad' for 35 years) the day before I was set to coordinate and direct the Frog Hill Half/10k and Leapfrog 5k races over the weekend, I reached out to several close friends who were volunteering and explained my need for extra help. Thankfully each one of them eagerly agreed to do whatever was needed to make the event successful. John completely oversaw the setup of the water stations. Jay and Lacy marked the course and Rebecca, Angi and Laura took over registration and check-in for both days. To say it was a relief would be  an absolute understatement. They weren’t the only ones that lent a helping hand though. Countless others, like my buddy Sid who drove in from South Carolina and who had worked races before, stepped up to help as well with no need for in-depth instruction because they had all learned what needed to be done from either my previous mentoring or that of someone else they had crossed paths with. Do you just love that or what? 

And you know, when it comes to people passing on important knowledge that will be of great benefit, the Bible tells us that we are to "tell the next generation about the glorious deeds about the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders" so that the "truths" won't be lost. You see, you and I can’t "hide these truths from our children" or anyone else God puts in our path if we want the next generation to know Him, to obey Him, and to put their trust in Him. We must make the most of every opportunity we have to talk about Christ and to teach the commandments laid out in the Word. 

So make every effort to pass on your knowledge to the next generation my friend. Tell of the great things God has done for you, talk about the "mighty wonders" He has performed since the beginning of time, and teach His commandments on all occasions. Doing so will ensure that the next generation is well equipped to run the race and well trained to coach others to do so as well. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that passing on the truths is more than a suggestion, it's a command. Make us bold in doing this now Lord, knowing that our world is in the moral decline it is because we have failed to do this in the past. Compel us to preach the truths found in the Bible to everyone we meet as we pray for change. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!

The Godly Stepparent

“‘Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? ” Matthew 13:55 NIV

As I began my run early yesterday morning, my heart was heavy thinking about my stepdad who had been admitted to the hospital the day before with an infection. “Oh Lord,” I silently prayed. “Please heal Papa. We all love him so much. Please bring him home.” Less than three hours after praying that though, I received a call from the hospital chaplain. “Your mom can’t talk right now Melissa. But she asked me to call you….” The tears began to fall as he went on to deliver the news that would forever change my life. Papa had indeed gone home… to his eternal home. And while I was overjoyed that he was now with Jesus, I couldn’t help but feel a deep and intense sadness. “Oh how I’ll miss you, ” I said out loud. Rather than allowing myself to sink into despair at the thought of never seeing this man I loved with all my heart again though, I chose to thank God for all the ways my stepdad Don (aka Papa) had made it clear that I was not a “step” child to him. For 35 years, Don had loved me and my siblings like his own. So much so that I was often referred to as ‘Don’s daughter’, a title that I loved then and will cherish for the rest of my life.

And you know, when it comes to being a loving and godly stepparent—a position that can change the course of a child’s life—the Bible gives us the example of Mary's husband, Joseph. Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus but he willingly took on the responsibility of raising Him as his own--mentoring, teaching, and loving Him the way a good father does. In fact, Jesus was known as “the carpenter’s son” and was referred to as the brother of James, Joseph, Simon and Judas. Do you just love that or what? Joseph stepped up to fill a position in a way that reaped an eternal benefit for his whole family. 

So whether you’re a parent or a step parent, be a godly example for your children to follow my friend. I can never fully express the impact Don had on my life but I will tell you that he will never be forgotten and I am the woman I am today in-part because of his influence. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for men like Don who model the love You have for your children. Thank You that he was able to walk me down the aisle just weeks before he went home to be with you Lord. I will forever cherish that memory and countless others. Help us to love others in the same way that he did, especially those children that You have placed in our lives knowing that doing so will reap eternal fruit. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.

Happy Running!

Stay in the protection of the flock

“not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25 NIV

In an article titled, "Watch: Flock of Sheep Follow Runner on the Trail" posted recently, the following was reported: One trail runner recently had an animal encounter of a different kind. Thankfully, nothing baaa-d happened. The runner found she was being followed by an entire flock of sheep. Artist Eleanor Scholz came across the runner—and about 100 new friends—while hiking in central France, near Puy de Dôme. The two woman chatted for a while about the situation before it was time for the runner to get going. After all, you gotta get your miles in! As she went on her way, entire flock of sheep continued following close behind. “She’s a shepherdess now,” Scholz commented. According to Sheep 101, sheep instinctually gravitate toward flocking behavior. “They will run from what frightens them and band together in large groups for protection. This is the only protection they have from predators. There is safety in numbers.” Do you just love that story or what?

And, you know, while the story doesn't reveal what might have frightened the sheep, it does confirm that sheep have a natural predisposition to band together for protection; something the Lord’s sheep (that’s you and me) need to be doing as we look around at our world and “see the Day approaching.” You see, the Bible is very clear that Jesus is coming back but it’s also very clear that we will face many hardships—like wars, insurrections, famines, plagues, and persecution—before He does. This is the very reason we must make the time to fellowship and “band together” with our brothers and sisters while we wait for His return. We will need one another’s support, encouragement, prayer, and protection like never before. 

So if you’ve gotten out of the habit of “meeting together” with fellow believers, I urge you to do a 180 today and return to the flock. As we see more and more signs that “the Day” is approaching, you’ll be so glad you did. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that there is safety in numbers. And that while You are our Great Defender and our Shepherd, we need to be in the company of the flock You have given us. Stir our hearts to trust You and to meet with our brothers and sisters at every opportunity so that we would have no need to fear what’s coming. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.

 
Happy Running!

BASS PRO MIDWEEK MOTIVATION - What we can Learn from a Champion

Hello runner friends!

Welcome back to the Bass Pro Fitness Series

MIDWEEK M😊TIVATI😊N blog!

Now let's get started by talking about what we can learn from Eliud Kipchoge, the world's fastest marathoner who broke his own world record Saturday by crossing the finish line of the Berlin Marathon in 2:01:19. "Limits are there to be broken," Eliud tweeted afterwards. "By you and me together. I can say that I am beyond happy today that the official world record is once again faster. Thank you to all the runners in the world that inspire me every day to push myself." 

And while the limit Eliud set out to break is unattainable for all but the elite, each of us has personal limits--whether it's qualifying for Boston, setting a new PR, shaving a few minutes off a half-marathon time or simply finishing a race without feeling like you've been hit by a truck-- that can be broken by adopting some of the training habits Kipchoge has. So without further adieu, check out these six principles Eliud regularly practices. 

Cultivate Controlled Consistency

For Kipchoge, recovery runs start at a shuffle, typically an 8:30-to-8:45-minute-mile pace, and slowly build up to finish around 6:30 to 7 minutes per mile. That’s starting at four minutes per mile slower than his marathon pace, and still two minutes per mile off his marathon pace at the end. The goal here is to build overall volume—Kipchoge runs 124 to 136 miles each week—and ensure he’s ready to run fast for his next workout.

Though challenging, the workouts are controlled. “I try not to run 100 percent,” he says. “I perform 80 percent on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and then at 50 percent Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.”

Balance the Body

Twice a week, Kipchoge and his training partners perform a 60-minute session of strength and mobility exercises using yoga mats and resistance bands. The exercise program focuses on the posterior chain, particularly the glutes, hamstrings, and core muscles. It involves a series of glute abduction moves using resistance bands and the athletes’ body weight: bridges, planks, single-leg deadlifts, followed by proprioception and balance exercises and some gentle stretching to finish. He doesn’t lift weights, and the goal behind these exercises is chiefly injury prevention. “The exercises are not something where you suffer,” says Marc Roig, the physiotherapist who oversees the routine. “The idea is that you’re not crushed. The idea is to create a very basic balance in the body. We know the important part is running, so we want to complement [it] a little bit and avoid any negative interference.”

Respect Recovery

For Kipchoge, every day starts at 5:45 A.M., and he’s in bed by 9 P.M. each night. During the day he’ll nap for an hour, while his spare time is spent reading or chatting with his teammates at the camp. Despite the many demands on his time, he’s very, very good at doing nothing. Kipchoge drinks three liters of water each day and has worked with a nutritionist in recent years to improve his diet, mainly to include more protein. His meals are simple: homemade bread, local fruits and vegetables, lots of Kenyan tea, some meat, and a generous daily helping of favorite food—ugali, a dense maize-flour porridge. When it comes to supplements, Kipchoge told me he takes none. He gets a massage twice a week with his physiotherapist, Peter Nduhiu, who has worked with him since 2003. “He’s been one very lucky guy,” Nduhiu says. “He hasn’t had injuries, but he makes it easy for me, because he follows what the coach says. If you’re managing an issue and tell him to slow down, he does exactly that.”

Document Every Detail

For most runners these days, recording workouts happens automatically via their watch, but Kipchoge still follows an old-school approach, logging every detail in a notebook. He began the practice in 2003 and now has 18 logs stored at his home to reflect on at the end of each season. “I document the time, the kilometers, the massage, the exercises, the shoes I’m using, the feeling about those shoes,” he says. “Everything.” He is known to review these details and learn from them for future training cycles. And they make a remarkable record of marathoning excellence. “I trust one day I will go through them and see what has been happening in the whole system,” Kipchoge says. “When I call off the sport, I will combine them and write about them one day.”

Let Your Pace Progress Naturally

“What’s the biggest mistake marathoners make?” I ask Patrick Sang, who has guided Kipchoge’s career for more than 20 years. “Not listening to their bodies very well,” he says. “And not understanding what they are supposed to do.” Sang likes his athletes to monitor effort—not with GPS watches or heart-rate monitors but by feel. When it comes to long runs, he doesn’t ask for a specific pace but an effort that’s controlled yet challenging, the pace naturally increasing each week as fitness builds. Sometimes runners who join the group will head off at a crazy pace and mess up the other athletes, Sang says. On each run, the pace should get progressively faster, or at worst stay the same. Forcing the pace beyond your fitness does no good. If you hammer the first half of a long run but can’t maintain it to the end, Sang says, “You’re on my list.”

A Champion’s Routine

After each marathon, Kipchoge takes three to four weeks completely off before beginning a three-to-four-week preparatory phase, during which he alternates an hour of strength exercises and step aerobics one day with an hour of easy running the next. When he shows up at camp, ready to begin his specific marathon training, Sang often has him do a set of 3K repetitions on the track to gauge his fitness. Then it begins: the hard-easy approach that sees Kipchoge run fast three days a week and coast through the rest of his runs, sometimes at a comically slow pace. His marathon-training blocks have been as long as seven months and as short as three months, but typically they last around 16 weeks.

So there you have it friends. Pick your goal. Train hard. Always keep a positive attitude. And above all, don't forget to smile like Kipchoge. Science not only backs up his belief that a smile lessens a person's perception of pain and fatigue thereby increasing performance, but you'll have much better finish line photos. And who doesn't want that right? Happy Running!

Don't boast about tomorrow

“‘Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’” James 4:14,15 NIV

In a story that made headlines over the weekend, it was reported that Eliud Kipchoge broke his own marathon world record at the Berlin Marathon on Sunday. The 37-year-old Kenyan crossed the line in 2:01:09 – 30 seconds faster than his previous record (2:01:39), which he set at the Berlin Marathon in 2018. When asked if he could improve his time even further, he said: 'There’s still more in my legs and I hope the future's still great. My mind is still thinking wise. The body is actually still absorbing the training and racing.' Does this mean we'll see Kipchoge running even faster in Berlin next year – and even clocking sub-two at a World Marathon Major? When asked if he would attempt a sub-two hour run in Berlin next year, Kipchoge replied: 'Let us plan for another day. I will celebrate this record and have to realise what happens. Just roll and see what happens.' Don’t you just love that response?

And you know, when it comes to answering questions about our future, what we will do or where we will go, you and I would do well to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” You see, as James clearly knew, you and I “do not even know what will happen tomorrow.” We “are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” Which means, you and I have no reason or right to boast about what the future holds when, ultimately, we have no control over it.

So make the most of the day that you have, knowing that you aren’t guaranteed tomorrow my friend. Live to glorify God through your pursuits, words, and deeds at every opportunity and celebrate His goodness while you can. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that to assume that we will have tomorrow is very arrogant of us. Give us a spirit of humility Lord so that we would recognize that we are nothing without You and can do nothing apart from You. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!
 

We are the aroma of Christ

“To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?” 2 Corinthians 2:16 NLT

As I do nearly every weekend, I woke up well before church Sunday with a smile on my face, intent on taking some extra time to complete my normal run so I could do some 'nature bathing' (aka forest bathing) to prepare my heart for worship. For me, this is the time I slow down a bit and even take a few walk breaks to consciously meditate on the words I read in my morning Bible study--all the while basking in the sights, smells and feels of everything the Lord created. And let me tell you, as someone who has the blessing of being surrounded by thousands of acres of farm land and countless dirt roads that interconnect, there’s never any shortage of things to see or smell. I was especially happy as I came off the trail yesterday and made my way down the side of the quarter-mile of rural Highway that would lead me back home. That was until a farm truck passed by and emitted an awful odor and a cloud of black dust. "That is putrid!" I thought to myself as I plugged my nose, waved my hand in the air, and waited several seconds for the offensive aroma to dissipate and move on so I could breathe in the fresh air again. "What a profound difference between those two smells," I thought to myself.

And you know, when it comes to a difference in smells, the Bible tells us that "to those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume." That "we" is you and me, and every believer who preaches the gospel. Our message is good news to those who choose to accept Christ but repulsive to those who don't. It's so foul, in fact, to those people who revel in their sin and refuse to turn from it that they will reject, hate, persecute, and even harm those who preach it. But "we" must never let that stop us from evangelism as we remember that, through the power of God, we are "adequate for such a task as this."

So be prepared to preach the gospel in season and out of season my friend. Remember that "we" are equipped through the Holy Spirit and more than capable to speak the life-giving words that the world needs to hear.

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that there will always be those who will reject the message of salvation and even be downright hostile to it. Prepare our hearts and minds for that now Lord so that we would not cower down when we face rejection. Fill our hearts so full of love for the lost that we would be bold in preaching the good news regardless of the consequences. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.

Happy Running!