Friday, April 11, 2008

Hey Nic Lazz!

I also joined the world of blogging.

In fairness, I already have a blog to my name, but this one is going to be different. The other blog that I have is one that I only set up because the tech guy at my sending church kept on bugging me to make one. After the fourth email that he sent me, I finally, in frustration, set up an account and copied and pasted a couple of our generic update emails onto it. It made him pretty happy, and occasionally I post the odd ministry picture or monthy update to it.

What's going to be different about this one is that I am not using this to represent my church (not my sending church nor the church I am planting now) or any ministry. I'm actually not even going to use my full name. This blog is not going to be publicised to people that are in positions of authority over me (my church back in the states) or to the people that I stand in a position of authority over (my church here in ____, ______). I definitely am not planning on writing inappropriate things here, but I do want to be able to reference an author or a band or a website without having to give a long winded disclaimer stating that I don't support or endorse everything that he/she/it/they have ever published.

I found that more and more I was having to do that as I spoke with people, so I have pretty much given up referencing my sources of illustrations or information lately, which is a real shame. The hope is that this blog over the months and years (if i don't lose interest [which is a very real possibility!]) will be a great resource to my friends pointing them to lectures and articles, sermons and videos that have enriched my own life and ministry.It's not just going to be sermon prep, cultural contextualization, hermeneutical tips and that sort of thing... I'm also planning on telling stories about what I'm up to and films I've liked and maybe even recipes! Who knows!

So here's my first little post:
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I just got back from jogging.

Well, not literally "just got back" because I got back, came upstairs, then decided that I would set up this blog, so I spent a long time registering the thing (coming up with a clever title and address took longer than you would think [turns out all the really clever people already got blogs about 3 years ago and registered all the good anonymous names]), then carefully wording my introduction that you just read.

So, "I recently got back from jogging" would have been a more honest way of saying it.

I've been jogging for about a month and a half now, on average I'd say about twice a week. I jog at this lake thats about ten or fifteen minutes from my house. It's a really nice place, its actually a swan sanctuary I think. The lake is exactly one mile in perimeter, so it's handy for measuring how long you jog. I've been doing three laps and I think soon I'm going to up it to four soon.

Generally I run in the mornings, and it's such a fantastic way to start the day. The comraderie around the lake is great. Old ladies are walking their dogs and men are sitting on the benches watching the birds but there is always a few people out early doing laps around the water's edge. Most people smile at you as you pass them, but there is a special nod of acknowledgment reserved especially for the moment when two joggers pass one another heading opposite directions.

It's a nod that speaks volumes, in one deliberate motion so much is communicated;
"keep at it"
"good job getting out of bed early this morning"
"don't give up"
"I'll see you in a few minutes when we pass again"

I don't think I'm reading too much into it at all. Go jogging early one morning and you'll see it a few times, I promise you!

But it's not just the nods of affirmation from my newfound peers that make jogging so rewarding, its the way you wolf down food when you get home, it's the feel of the shower afterwards, but mostly how your whole body feels warm for like 3 or 4 hours afterwards, which is amazing, especially if you live in a cold country and have poor blood circulation like me.

so, jogging is awesome.

to summarize: i blog. i jog.

1 comment:

nic lazz said...

dude... i am for sure slacking on my blog. yours is rad and super encouraging.