The Blessing of Running.

About 5 years ago I got into a machine that changed my life. It was called the Bod Pod. It measures your percent of body fat. I looked at the poster on the wall and it said above %30 is considered risky health. As my information printed I looked down in horror to see that I was at %36. I realized that I was not taking care of myself. I went home and did the only thing I knew to do. I laced up my tennis shoes and ran to the mail box a few houses down and back. I did that for a week and then ran to a mailbox a few more houses down. I repeated this process until I was adding miles instead of mailboxes. Before I knew it I was a runner. A year and a half later I did my first Marathon. I can tell you that next to my Savior, family, church, and friends running has been the most important thing in my life. Not only has my health improved drastically, it has helped me through some really stressful times. There is something about putting miles under your feet that makes a bad day better. One thing I love about it is that anybody can do it. As many of you know I am very uncoordinated but I can manage to put one foot in front of the other repeatedly. I am also a big guy. I just want to share a few things that I have learned as a runner that has helped me stick with it these years. I say these things not to brag, but to share something that has been a blessing. Anybody that knows me should not have a difficult time saying, "If Adam can do it, then I should be able to do it."

1) You can be a runner. Unless you are truly handicapped you can do it. You simply have to commit. You will hate it at first but soon you will not be able to live without it. Start small and keep adding miles. One thing I have learned from the races that I have been in is that running is not just for a certain body build. You would be amazed at the vast body types that cross the line at a 5k race.

2) Run With Friends. When I first started running I thought of myself as more of a lone runner. This is mainly because I looked embarrassing and was breathing way to hard to carry on a conversation. I have been running with the same two guys for 4 years and we have shared life together. It is also a lot easier to get up at 5AM when I know they will be waiting on me.

3) Run in the morning if Possible. I was not a morning person until I started running. The thing I realized is that there always seems to be something to get in the way of an evening run. However, if I trained myself to wake up early nothing ever interferes. The morning breeds consistency. It is also nice to start your day on a positive note.

4) Immerse yourself in Running culture. Stop by a running store and talk to the workers. Sign up for a race that is months away. Get yourself a good pair of running shoes (New pairs of Brooks running shoes are an obsession for me). Get a running magazine and read it.

5)Don’t believe the lies. Those that tell you that running destroys your knees are probably coach potatoes that want to pass their excuse on to you. There has been no evidence to back this claim up. Here is a video that reports on the benefits of running, which is done over a 25 year span. Their findings are amazing and very inspiring. Click Here for Video

Barack Obama: My New President!

I’m just about as conservative as they come politically. I did not vote for President Elect Obama and actually stood passionately opposed to him being elected. As much as the guy scares me I want to seek to be fair to him. The behavior of the left with their “Bush Derangement Syndrome” was sickening. Everything was Bush’s fault and he could do no right in their eyes. I don’t want to be “that guy” with Obama. I wish that he would change his views on the travesty of abortion. His liberal voting record is frightening. I also fear that his history in Black Liberation Theology has flawed his view of the gospel. Christ did not come to deliver us from oppressors; he came to deliver us from ourselves. But that is an issue for another day. I will pray about these issues and will passionately stand against him when I feel it is warranted. However, I also want to stand with him when I feel it is warranted as well. It is a truly special thing that a guy who could not share a water fountain with me fifty years ago is about to be my new President. I rejoice in that fact no matter our disagreement on the issues! He and his wife also seem to be good parents who highly value their two little girls. He has put together an economic team that is pretty far from socialistic ideas. I will probably stand opposed to him often in the years to come but I hope that just as often I will pray for him and be able to rush to his side and stand in support of my new president.

A Letter to Me (Not about the Brad Paisley Song)

I recently had dealings with someone who was absolutely incapable of accepting any wrong in themselves. It was a sad thing to see someone who had done so much wrong and hurt so many people absolutely convinced that they were as pure as the driven snow. As I looked into those empty eyes I could not help but see myself. I too have a blindness when I turn my eyes towards my own sin. The lesson I am learning is that the most important trait a person can have is an ability to honestly perceive ones own sin. I wrote a letter to myself this morning. Not just a letter to myself, but my darker self. It was addressed to the person that the bible calls my flesh. I wrote to myself of my sinful failings in every area of my life. It was difficult but it was good. As weird as it sounds it was a letter of acceptance to my sinful self, because the reality is that my sinful self is ME. Until I accept him as reality I cannot confront him. Now that I have accepted him I will introduce him to Christ and hopefully watch him shrink.

(In full disclosure the letter idea came from this 3 Minute Brennan Manning Clip I am not sure I can recommend all of Mannings work, but I think he is on to something with this quote.

The Aging Soul

“I am many years older than I was a few days ago” Robert Dabney

The preceding quote is taken from a letter that Dabney wrote just days after his sons death. This is a lesson I have learned in 2008 with the loss of Jill and other struggles. We all understand that the body grows weary from age. Things do not work the same when we are 80 as they did when we were 20. The body becomes a burden. However, the thing that I have learned in 2008 is that the soul ages as well. With every sin committed, with every sad goodbye, with every sorrow we watch friends carry, and with every other strike of the rod of suffering our souls grow more weary and tired. This earth feels less and less like home as the soul ages. I contend that this abuse of the soul is a great grace from God. We live in a cursed world that is longing to be redeemed. This is a world that takes more than it gives. Our weary, broken, limping souls send us away from this world towards Christ. Though I am just 31 I feel that my soul has aged by decades this year. Honestly, I have never been one who truly longed for the immediate return of Christ. There has always been more that I longed to do and enjoy on this earth. 2008 will be to me the year that my tired soul finally broke and said “Amen, come (NOW) lord Jesus”.

14 Hours of Driving for a Concert???

If you know much about me you know how much I love music. I cannot play or sing a lick but I am a big fan of music. Probably my favorite artist is Andrew Peterson. He is a Christian folk singer in the vein of Rich Mullins. One of his greatest successes has been his Christmas album entitled Behold the Lamb of God. It is a very unique album. It is a musical that progressively tells the story of the coming of Christ. It starts in the Old Testament with Moses and with fevered anticipation makes it's way slowly to the manger in Bethlehem. Due to the success of the album Andrew takes over a dozen artists out on a 20 show tour each winter. The highlight of this tour is the show in Nashville at the Ryman Auditorium. Take a dozen of the best songwriters in Christian music, put them in the most historic of music venues, and let them go and you have pure greatness. The concert opens with what it called "in the round" where the artist sit together on the stage and take turns playing their songs. The concert then closes with all of the artists joining Andrew Peterson in performing The Behold the Lamb of God musical. For the second year in a row Kristel and I have made the 7 hour pilgrimage to Nashville to see the show at the Ryman. I cannot begin to tell you how amazing it is. The music is good, the setting is beautiful, but most of all it sets my eyes on Christ. Again, I want to encourage you to check out Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God. I guarantee it will truly bless your heart this Christmas and if it doesn't then you probably don't love the baby Jesus anyway. You can purchase the album on Itunes or the CD here.

Blogger Adam Begins!!!

Today, I enter the pretentious world of blogging where I pretend that people really care about my thoughts and the trivial happenings of the Thomas family. I have thought often the past few years about doing this but the one main fear that hindered me was making public my less than stellar grasp on English Grammar. However, having the great privilege of guest posting on my friends blog (Thank you Jonathan) I have discovered it to be very therapeutic for my soul. Therefore, I have decided that the benefits outweigh the ridicule that I am sure to experience through bad grammar. I cannot tell you exactly where this blog is headed but knowing my passions the themes will probably be family, ministry, running, and lesser known Christian folk music. Those are things that I am passionate about. I am sure for the foreseeable future grief over the loss of Jill will be a big focus as well. I am also hoping that my wonderful wife will also post with me. I will be figuring this thing out for a while so pleas stop by and check on the progress.