McDonald’s Half Marathon

Well, it’s been a few days since the McDonald’s Half Marathon that I ran on Saturday. I had some family in who also ran the race and so I didn’t have much time to blog about it. But I wanted to take a few moments before heading out of the office today to give a report.

I comprised my goal of completing race. I did it in 2 hrs and 12 min. This was just over a 10 min pace. I’m not overly excited about the time but with it being my first race, I wasn’t so much concerned about time as I was about just completing it. It was a 13.1 mile race which is the longest I’ve ever run before. The course was nice. It started in downtown Richmond and made it’s way past The Diamond (the former home of the Richmond Braves) and then out to Bryan Park and then back to end in downtown Richmond. For the first half of the race, I was able to enjoy the scenery of the city and the park but after passing half way I found I really had to work. Bryan Park had a good amount of steep hills. No long hills, though. I didn’t do any hill training and so I was really unprepared for this section and it zapped a lot of my energy. I ended up walking a tenth of a mile every mile after the 9 mile mark. I really didn’t want to walk but had no choice because I was quickly running out of energy. The worse part was that every time I started running after a walk break, my legs would hurt for about a minute. So, when I would come to a point of needing to walk, I didn’t want to because I didn’t want the pain of restarting to run but just didn’t have the juice to keep running.

I really loved the half marathon distance. Out of all the distances I’ve done (5k, 8k, & 10k) this and the 5k are my favorites. In the 5k, 8k, and 10k, you’re kind of just running at one pace and trucking for the finish. But the half marathon requires a little bit of strategy and planning. I’ve learned that I need to do a better job of setting a better pace for the first half of the race and not allow my fresh legs and excited energy get the best of me. I also learned that I need to do more hill training and do more training with refueling while running. (I don’t think I drink or ate enough during the race)

I’m excited to do another half marathon. I’m not sure when that will be. Perhaps it will be the Dismal Swamp Half Marathon (it’s on April 17 and Beth is due April 12. So, that may not work). But I definitely want to do another one soon.

My next race is the Toys For Tots Thanksgiving Day 10k race in Newport News. This is an old family tradition. My family has been running this race for almost 15 years now. Beth won’t be able to run this year but she and my mom are planning on walking the 5k.

Thanks to everyone who supported me in my ActiveWater fundraising. it’s awesome to know that 52 people in Africa will have clean water for life now!

Last Birthday With A 2 In Front

This morning I got a text wishing me Happy Birthday and telling me to enjoy my last birthday with a 2 in the front.

Yep, today I’m 29. I was talking with the secretaries in the front office about how you never really feel your age (at least we don’t). Today I feel pretty much like I did when I was 20. Sure, I’ve learned a lot more than what I knew back then and some of my interests and personality has changed but I’m pretty much still the same guy I was at 20 (with the addition of a few pounds).

I’m looking forward to this birthday weekend. This afternoon, I’m celebrating with the staff (we always do birthday lunches on Thursdays). Tonight, Beth and I are going to Red Robin (yes to use my free burger coupon…I’m a Thompson, I can’t help it!). Later, some family (Mike & Tracy Kjergaard) are coming to stay with us for the weekend. Then Saturday, several of my family and friends are running in races a part of the Richmond Marathon. I’ll be doing the McDonald’s Half Marathon (my first!). Then I’ll be spending the day with lots of family. Also, Saturday night I’m going to be speaking (I’m 1 or 9 other youth ministers speaking) at a Battle of The Bands at the Snagajob Pavilion in InnsBrook.

So, despite the gross weather, it’s shaping up to be a really great weekend!

update!! As I was finishing typing this, Beth walked in with a gift from my parents. Kodak Zi8!!! Thanks mom and dad!

Baby Update

Beth is 18 weeks along today. Each Monday I get on the internet and read up on how the baby should be developing and all that’s going on. Today I read that it’s ears are in place but they may still stick out from it’s head and I thought…if it looks like me, that’ll never change.

It’s exciting times around here. We did some work last week to change some rooms around. Our guest room is now an office/guest room and the office is becoming the baby’s room, although it still has my guitars and video games in it (I know that won’t last).

We have a bunch of family coming in this weekend (Mike and Tracy Kjergaard–Beth’s cousins, Dave and Jennifer–Beth’s brother and his wife, Beth’s parents and my parents). It will be great to be with all of them and I’m sure we’ll be talking baby stuff throughout the weekend. (I’ll post more about the weekend and all that’s going on. It’s going to be a great one!)

Anyways, things going good. We go on the 19th for our next ultrasound appointment and we hope to find out the gender. You can also read some of my Baby FAQ’s.

Giving In Hard Times

In the midst of these difficult economic times, it’s encouraging to be a part of a church that still understands the importance of no just giving, but the importance of stewardship. Tonight I was at our bi-monthly deacons meeting (a really fun bunch of people who loving serving) and several times it was mention how Fairmount has placed such great emphasis on using the resources that God has given us in a way that brings Glory to Him and advances his work here in Central VA and around the world.

It’s great to hear of so many people coming out this past Saturday (and also on Thursday) and giving hours of their time to help out people in our community with different projects from raking leaves, painting, to even building an outdoor reading center for one of our local elementary schools.
We also got to hear of the great success of the Financial Peace University that so many in our church have been participating. We even have the chance now to partner with our local Habitat for Humanity to help train people to properly handle their money and their new home.
We even got to hear more about the exciting news that we’ve paid off our over 1.5 million dollar mortgage in just around 3 years. And now we have the building permits needed to start on our next addition. And though this will be such a small addition, it will lay the ground work (pun intended) for the next phases to come. (I have the drawings of the master plan on my computer at work…I’ll post them on here some time soon)

It really is a blessing to be a part of a family that see the need to continue to bless others and further God’s ministry in our community and around the world even in the middle of hard economic times and it’s great to see our church doing it in so many different ways.

Mission Critical Jobs

I’m taking a break and letting my brain breathe from a project that I’ve been working on this morning. (This is actually one that I’ve been working on for months and will probably continue to develop it for years) But what I’m working on is something I call Mission Critical Jobs. These are coordinator jobs that are critical to our youth ministry. It’s our goal to have a volunteer in each of these roles and empower them with the ability to do more than just fulfill a job description but to have a passion and vision for that ministry area and how it will help advance God’s work at our church and in our community. (Craig Groeschel once said “Delegate authority, not responsibility”)

Some may say, isn’t the youth minister supposed to do these jobs? Yes and No. Yes…the youth minister should oversee and work with these coordinators to see that all these major areas are being developed and led in a productive way. No…it would be near impossible for one person to truly devote themselves to all these areas. No one excels in all these areas. No one is a “people person”, a visionary, a detail-er, an organizer, a designer….you get the point. We all have strengths and so we should capitalize on those and let others with a different set of strengths focus on theirs and fill in those gaps where we struggle. Not only that, in the majority of churches, youth ministries are overseen by one youth minister and there is only so much one person (especially those with a family) can do.

That is why I am convinced that without a team of key, high-level volunteers, our youth ministry (and others) will quickly reach it’s wall of effectiveness and sooner or later, even begin to regress. So, if you’re in youth ministry, start today working on what your mission critical jobs are. Be sure to develop some sort of job description or at least a detailed list of responsibilities. Then, prioritize them in order of what is needed now and start finding people who want to do more than just chaperone a trip or bring in donuts. Find those adults who want to pour their heart into a vital part of youth ministry.

This will probably an ever growing and developing list but here are our Mission Critical Jobs right now (in no particular order)…

Bible School Coordinator
Breakaway Coordinator (our weekly youth worship)
Sunday Night Coordinator
Wednesday Night Coordinator
Service Coordinator
Mexico Mission Trip Coordinator
Teen Lounge Coordinator (our youth room)
Big Events Coordinator
Shepherding Coordinator
Outreach/Evangelism Coordinator
Prayer Coordinator
Volunteer Coordinator
Technology Coordinator
VBS Coordinator (don’t judge, believe it or not, our teen VBS draws a pretty large crowd)

The Problem With Facebook (and other social medias)

Yesterday I was a part of a community-wide meeting of ministers and church staff which was called by the principal Lee Davis. (If you don’t live in central VA or if you live in Rio Linda, a Lee Davis student was attacked off campus over last weekend) The purpose of the meeting was for the principal, Dr. Bishop, to share with as many ministers and church staff as he could some truth about the situation and to plead with us for some help.

I was really humbled and impressed by Dr. Bishops explanation of the whole situation and the way that it was distorted and turned into so much more than it was in just a few hours because of things like texting while at school, blogging incorrect information, and posting insensitive and inappropriate statuses on Face Book. Dr. Bishop shared how he and his staff were blindsided by not only this off campus event but also the firestorm of reactions that came from so much of the inaccuracies and misinformation. He share his heart for his students and his school and his community. He also shared that he humbly didn’t know how the faith community could help but he desperately wanted help.

We are planning on meeting again with Dr. Bishop after he talks with some of the school board officials but I could help but think about some of the deeper issues here when it comes to how social medias were used. Here are two big things that have been stuck in my mind since that meeting…

-Clueless Parents: It frustrates me when parents are out of the loop of what their kids are reading and saying on the internet. Every parent needs a Facebook account if for no other reason that to be aware of what their children are doing on the internet. Some parents will say that they don’t want to interfere in their kids business, but (news flash!) that’s their job!! It is inexcusable for parents to not know of the inappropriate pics and statuses on their kids’ sites.

-Disguised Gossip: We love to have the scoop…to be the first to tell the news about the latest events. But so often the hunger to be in the know and to make sure everyone else knows that we know, people will spread half-truths and rumors. The majority of the drama that happened on Friday at Lee Davis was started because someone made a statement on Facebook and then others made assumptions and started spreading lies. Some Christians will say things like, “well, I’m just telling what I heard.” And I say, why? Why do you need to be the one that breaks the “news”. Be bigger than that. Be the one that stops the news and starts the healing.

Tomorrow we’ll start to address this issue at Fairmount by having a prayer time in all 4 services (3 adult and Breakaway). Then next Sunday, we’ll break from the scheduled new series that we were going to start and spend some time talking about Godly and productive ways to respond to crises. Pray for Lee Davis. Pray for Mechanicsville.

Wisdom Teeth

I don’t know why they are called wisdom teeth. Perhaps it is because of the wisdom you gain from putting off having them removed!

I had to make a quick run to Target this morning to buy a bottle of Listerine to help fight off any infection I might get from the wound that one of my stupid wisdom (pun intended) teeth is causing. About half of it has broken off which has left a sharp edge on the side with my cheek. (I don’t know which would be worse…this or having the sharp side on my tongue side)

So, I get to spend some time calling dentists and dental insurance companies (nope, I don’t have dental insurance!). It’s definitely not going to be cheap to have these removed but I’m hoping to find something reasonable without any kind of waiting period.

So kids, when your dentist says, “You probably won’t ever need to have your wisdom teeth removed.” First, punch him in the eye and then make him do it anyways. It’s much easier when you’re a kid as opposed to an 28-year-old adult! (I’m so nervous about the possible procedure, you’d think I was still a kid)

Essential Baptism

This past Sunday, Rick, our preacher, started a new series on Elementary Essentials. He started the series with a sermon on baptism. The topic of baptism has been one that has been sort of a “hot topic” in some Christian circles. For some, it’s simply a symbol of joining the church or showing outwardly what God’s done inwardly. unfortunately, none of these are seen in the Bible. Many people have shied away from baptism because they say it’s “a work”. Interestingly, those who usually reject it as a work place a lot of emphasis on “asking Jesus into your heart” which seems to me to be more of a work than the passive act of baptism.

Anyways, I think the institution of baptism has been watered down (pun intended) and many have walked away from it out of fear of offending people. I think Rick did a great job of not sharing his (and Fairmount’s) opinion of what baptism is…he shares what God’s word says.

This is probably the best sermon I’ve heard on Baptism. Give it a listen.

http://www.fairmountchristian.org/audio/sermon20091025_baptism.mp3

Ashland Harvest Run 10k

Here are some pics from today’s race.
I did it in around 54.30. Not too bad. I really had to work to keep my pace around 8:30 per mile.

Running

Thought I do a quick update on what’s happening with my running.

I’m still training for the McDonald’s Half Marathon (part of the Richmond Marathon) which is on November 14. If you need a good way to waste a Saturday morning, come down to Shockoe Bottom (in Richmond) around 9:30am and cheer me on as I hopefully finish.
Training has been going pretty good lately. I haven’t been able to get all of my weekday runs in. I usually average about 3 runs a week now. Last Saturday I ran 11 miles which is the longest I’ve ever run. I’m scheduled to run 12 next week and I’m thinking of going down to the Colonial Parkway to do that. It’s some great scenery and I love to do “out and back” running.

Part of the reason I’m running is to raise money for ActiveWater. My goal is to raise $500 and I still have a good ways to go. Please consider making a donation. Just $10 can provide clean water for life for a person in Africa.

This Saturday, my dad and I are running a 10k (6.2 miles) race in Ashland. I love Ashland. It’s got a great small town feel with their different festivals and community events. We’re hoping to be able to find a place to shower up there and then hit up some good b-b-q at the Smoky Pig!

I’m also hoping to get a group of my teens in my youth group to do a race in the spring and use it to raise some more money for ActiveWater. I’ve got several of the girls interested. Maybe we can start up kind of a running club.

So, I’m glad to be back into running. Love the feeling of being able to go out and run 4 or 5 miles and not really be phased by it. Here’s to good health.