Churches Attended and Visited in 2018

Worship Services (21 of 52)
January 7 -- Absent (Ran the 111th Anniversary Jackson Day 9K, Arabi, LA)
January 14 -- Absent (Paced Waverly in the Chevron Houston Marathon, Houston, TX)
January 21 -- Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Jason Shepperd)
January 28 -- Absent (Announced Hot Chocolate 15K and 5K, Houston, TX)
February 4 -- Absent
February 11 -- Visited University Heights Baptist Church, Huntsville, TX (Richard Rogers)
February 18 -- Absent (Announced Galveston Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K, Galveston, TX)
February 25 -- Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Jason Shepperd)
March 4 -- Visited Celebration Church of The Woodlands, The Woodlands, TX (Frankie Mazzapica)
March 11 -- Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Hans Molegraaf)
March 18 -- Absent (Ran Silver Classic 5K in Killeen and attended Mississippi State at Baylor MBKB)
March 25 -- Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Jason Shepperd)
April 1 -- Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Jason Shepperd)
April 8 -- Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Dave Edwards)
April 15 - Visited Central Baptist Church, College Station, TX (Chris Osborne)
April 22 - Absent (Attended TCU at Baylor BB)
April 29 - Absent (Ran Texas 10 Sienna in Missouri City)
May 6 - Absent (Attended Silo District Marathon in Waco)
May 13 - Attended Grand Oaks BAPTIST Church, Spring, TX (Sandy Baird)
May 20 - Visited First Baptist Church of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK (Chris Mathews)
May 27 - Absent (Ran Gabriel Lee Friedline Memorial Run 5K in Schellsburg, PA)
June 3 -- Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Jason Shepperd)
June 10 - Absent (Announced Sylvan Beach Triathlon and Duathlon, La Porte, TX)
June 17 - Absent (Dad didn't go to church and Waverly was working in Children's Church)
June 24 - Absent (Ran 19th annual Rumford Lions/Scott Gorham 5K, East Providence, RI)
July 1 - Visited First Baptist Church of El Paso, El Paso, TX (Dr. Mark Rotramel)
July 8 -- Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Tierce Green)
July 15 -- Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Trace Howard)
July 22 - Absent (Needed sleep in Wichita, KS instead of getting up early and driving to Rogers, AR as planned to attend the First Baptist Church of Rogers)
July 29 - Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (George Booth)
August 5 - Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Jason Shepperd)
August 12 - Visited Denton Bible Church, Denton, TX (Charles Stolfus)
August 19 - Visited Lakeland Baptist Church, Lewisville, TX (Donald Schmidt)
August 26 - Absent (Announced Bayou Bucket 5K)
September 2 - Absent (Slept in at the Fairfield Inn in Burleson, TX)
September 9 - Absent (Slept in at the Hampton Inn in Nacogdoches, TX)
September 16 - Absent (Returning from Amarillo, TX)
September 23 - Absent (Ran the Hokie Half Marathon, Blacksburg, VA)
September 30 - Absent (Ran Texas 10 Huntsville 5M and Bearkat Bolt 5K, Huntsville, TX)
October 7 - Absent (Announced Space City 10-Miler, Houston, TX)
October 14 - Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Jason Shepperd)
October 21 - Visited First Baptist Church of College Station, College Station, TX (Dr. Troy Allen)
October 28 - Absent (Announced Houston Half Marathon & 10K, Houston, TX)
November 4 - Absent (Ran Colt State Park Half Marathon, Bristol, RI)
November 11 - Absent (Spectated Cypress Half Marathon & 5K, Cypress, TX)
November 18 - Absent (Spectated La Porte By The Bay Half Marathon, La Porte, TX)
November 25 - Absent (Ran Run For Wellness 5K, Houston, TX)
December 2 - Absent (Ran Tyler Half Marathon, Tyler, TX)
December 9 - Absent (Attended University of Tennessee at University of Texas' women's basketball game in Austin, TX)
December 16 - Absent (Ran Santa Hustle Half Marathon, Galveston, TX)
December 23 - Absent (Staying home with Waverly, recovering from surgery)
December 30 - Absent (Slept in at the Hampton Inn in Bossier City, LA)

Church Services Listened To
1/14/18 (1/21/18) - "Instruct.Spirit.Witness.Go", Acts 1:1-11, Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Jason Shepperd)
4/8/18 (4/14/18) - Proverbs 3:27-30, Central Baptist Church, College Station, TX (Chris Osborne)
6/3/18 (6/6/18) - Proverbs 6:12-19, Central Baptist Church, College Station, TX (Chris Osborne)
6/25/18 (6/24/18) - "Love Works To Lighten The Load", I Corinthians 13:5, First Baptist Church of El Paso (Dr. Mark Rotramel)
7/9/18 (7/8/18) - "People Matter:  Handle with Care", Leviticus 19:18, First Baptist Church of El Paso (Dr. Mark Rotramel)
7/11/18 (7/11/18 Air Date) - "Engaging Hearts and Minds In a Broken Culture", Focus on the Family
7/15/18 (7/8/18) - Proverbs 8:1-10 (Wisdom), Central Baptist Church, College Station, TX (Chris Osborne)
7/17/18 (7/8/18) - "Resting, Trusting and Waiting", Romans 8:28, First Baptist Church of Rogers, Rogers, AR (Dr. Bob Ford)
7/30/18 (7/16/18) - "God Meets Your Physical Needs, Part I", Tony Evans, The Urban Alternative.
7/30/18 (7/30/18) - "The Reality of Our Salvation" (Remembering What Not To Forget), John MacArthur, Grace To You

New Restaraunts in 2018 - 59

3B's Bill's Burgers and Beer, Spring, TX (May 4) +
Armadillo Grill, Decatur, TX (March 6)
Black Bear Saloon at Bradley Airport, Hartford, CT (November 4)
Bottlecap Alley Icehouse Grill, Corsicana, TX (March 12)
Brookstreet BBQ, Sugar Land, TX (November 5)
Bubba's BBQ and Steakhouse, Ennis, TX (March 19)
Café Texan, Huntsville, TX (March 16)
Cajun Tex, Marshall, TX (October 6)

Canyon Creek Cafe, Houston, TX (March 10) +
Cotton Patch Café, Ennis, TX (March 27)
Crust Pizza Co., Spring, TX (June 9) +
Delight, El Paso, TX (June 30)
Dolli's Diner, Nacogdoches, TX (July 14) ++

El Campesino, Altoona, TX (May 27)
El San Luis Mexican Cafe, Athens, TX (August 25)
El Sombrero Mexican Restaraunt, Kilgore, TX (March 3)
Falcone's Pizzeria, Oklahoma City, OK (August 24) ++
Farmhouse Restaurant, Van, TX (January 27) +

Fire Pit Junction, Victoria, TX (July 6)
Harvey Washbangers, College Station, TX (March 24) +
Health Camp, Waco, TX (April 22)
Herby K's Restaurant, Shreveport, LA (December 29)
Italian Village, Corsicana, TX (October 4)
Jack and Dorothy's Cafe, Stephenville, TX (June 9)
Jalapeno Tree, Tyler, TX (December 26)
Jefe's Mexican Restaurant, Wichita Falls, TX (September 1)

Julio's Mexican Restaurant, Rosehill, TX (September 14)
Jungle Burger, Sherman, TX (September 1)
Just 4 Fun Restaurant, Plainview, TX (September 15)
Kreuz Market, Bryan, TX (March 17)
La Presa Mexican Restaraunt, Spring, TX (May 5)

Little Napoli Italian Cuisine, Houston, TX (January 13) +
Logan's Roadhouse, Weatherford, TX (February 21)
Lucky Strike Restaurant, Chicopee, MA (June 23) +
Mi Rancho Mexican Grill, Spring, TX (March 18)
Mission BBQ, Roanoke, VA (September 23)

New Day Café, Joplin, MO (May 19)
Oma's Jiffy Burger, Waxahachie, TX (February 3) +
Palio's Pizza Café, Hickory Creek, TX (May 9)
Pappo's Pizzeria & Brewco, Springfield, MO (May 18) +
Peacock's Restaurant, Stephenville, TX (June 8) +

Plan B Burger Bar, Springfield, MA (June 22) +
Red Rose Pizzeria, Springfield, MA (June 22) ++
Rizo's Mexican Restaurant, Alamogordo, NM (July 1)
Rosa's Cafe & Tortilla Factory, Weatherford, TX (May 3)
Scotty's Brewhouse, Waco, TX (August 10) +
Simos Diner, Houston, TX (November 20)

Skinny J's, North Little Rock, AR (July 20) ++
Soulman's BBQ, Van, TX (December 27)
Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen, Houston, TX (November 13)
Taco Mayo, Bridgeport, TX (January 25)
Taylor Cafe, Taylor, TX (October 17)
Texas Legends Steakhouse, Madisonville, TX (September 17)
The Hungry Goat's Kitchen, Pawtucket, RI (June 23) +
The Original Joey O's, Corinth, TX (January 3)

TJ's Burger House, Wichita, KS (July 21)
Twisted Root Burger Company, Waco, TX (August 19)
Villa Grande Mexican Restaurant, Denton, TX (October 3)
Walls BBQ, Huntsville, TX (February 26)

Books Read in 2018 - 22

"My Boys and Girls Are In There:  The 1937 New London Explosion" by Ron Rozelle (post-Christmas 2017 purchase)
"Run To Glory:  The Story of Eric Liddell" by Ellen Caughey (birthday gift from Waverly)
"Choosing Donald Trump" by Stephen Mansfield (Christmas money purchase)
"Ask The Question:  Why We Must Demand Religious Clarity From Our Presidential Candidates" by Stephen Mansfield (purchased originally in late April 2016)
"Chasing Space:  An Astronaut's Story of Grit, Grace and Second Chances" by Leland Melvin (gift from Waverly)
"Beyond Just Win:  The Story of G.A. Moore / Texas High School Football's No. 1 Coach" by Ed Housewright
"15 to 28:  A Story of God's Love, Power and Redemption" by Matt Deggs (February 7, 2018 purchase)
"The Baseball Life of Willie Mays" by Lee Greene (published in 1972; will send to Kevin's boys)
"When Life Grabs You By The Baseballs" by Jon Peters with Ginger Kolbaba  (Finished July 5)
"The Republic Of Football:  Legends of the Texas High School Game" by Chad Conine (Finished July 15)
"Liftoff:  The Tank, the Storm and the Astros' Improbably Ascent to Baseball Immortality" by Brian T. Smith (Finished July 23)
"African-American Athletes in Arkansas" by Evin Demirel (Finished August 3)
"Never Die Easy:  The Autobiography of Walter Payton" by Walter Payton with Don Yaeger (Finished August 20)
"Season Of Saturdays:  A History of College Football in 14 Games" by Michael Weinreb (Finished August 20)
"Astroball:  The New Way To Win It All" by Ben Reiter  (Finished August 26)
"Remember Why You Play: Faith, Football, and a Season to Believe" by David Thomas (Finished September 19)
"Pre: The Story of America's Greatest Running Legend, Steve Prefontaine" by Tom Jordan (Finished September 22)
"Women Who Run" by Shanti Sosienski (Finished October 16)
"The Leftovers:  Basketball, Betrayal, Baylor and Beyond" by Matt Sayman (Finished October 31)
"Thirty-Three Years of Running in Circles" by Rand Mintzer (Finished November 2)
"Without A Word:  How A Boy's Unspoken Love Changed Everything" by Jill Kelly (Finished December 17)
"Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History" by Katy Tur (December 20)

People of Memorial Park: Stories From Houston's Favorite Trail by Stacy Holden

Acknowledgements - 12/17/18
Map - 12/17/18
Introduction - 12/17/18
Brandon Adame - 12/17/18
Luis Armenteros - 12/17/18
Dan Black - 12/18/18
Robert Boudwin, aka Clutch "The Rockets Bear" - 12/18/18
President George H.W. Bush - 12/18/18
Bob Bunoza - 12/18/18
Wayne and Olya Cohen - 12/18/18
Charles Cupp - 12/18/18
Mary Davies - 12/20/18
Merry Davis - 12/20/18
Carlo Deason - 12/20/18
Crystal Hadnott - 12/20/18
Elvira Hall - 12/20/18
Otis Johnson - 12/20/18
Rodney Johnson - 12/20/18
Catherine Kruppa - 12/20/18

Tap Out Ten; December 17, 2018

Tap Out Ten. 

It is something I started awhile back and that is to simply recap the day in a span of ten minutes.

It is nothing revolutionary, but just a sort of a dump of the day.

I'm in the process of starting another project within the job that I have. 

It will be totally different, but it is going to stretch my management capabilities.

I’m thankful to have it and I’m sure that I’ll be in a position to work as hard as my daughter has this entire school year as a first-year teacher.

It has been a challenging experience for her, but I’m sure that she’ll be wiser for it when everything is said and done.

Had a really good half marathon yesterday in Galveston. 

Basically had a personal best for a non-downhill course, but I’m not jumping up and down over it. 

It is just something in life to enjoy being given the ability to accomplishment and to be able to share it with friends and family who celebrate it with me.

My friend Leanne tried to get me to run five miles this morning with her and a couple of the runners in her sub-group within Volte, but I was still a little beat up from Sunday’s race.

I didn’t even have the alarm set to meet them for their 5 a.m. start in The Woodlands.

Sunday was good, but I didn’t get over to see my Mom and Dad like I normally do.

As we continue to deal with having lost my sister almost five years ago, I realize that I need to spend more time with them because we’re all not guaranteed tomorrow.

While working on cleaning up my office a little bit today, other than finding $100 in two birthday cards from this January, I noticed that my grandmother had called from her cell phone.

My parents talk to her every day at 7:30 p.m. Central time.

I didn’t realize that she had called at 5:30 p.m. until almost 6:30 p.m.

I called my parents to make sure there wasn’t some issue that they were aware of that they hadn’t told me about yet.

I then called her and we talked for about 20 minutes.  (She hadn’t tried to call me so not sure what happened or took place, so I’ll just believe that God determined that I needed to call her.)

She’s been amazing my entire life for me, but for her to be 93 – going on 94 in April – and to have lived almost five years alone – with a lot of help that she’s grateful for, of course – after my grandfather passed away three months after my sister did – is amazing.

The birthday money?

Well, I treated myself to five books ffrom Barnes & Noble in The Woodlands that I will read, but I finished my first book in a little while in Jill Kelly’s “Without A Word: How A Boy’s Unspoken Love Changed Everything” – the story about her and Jim Kelly’s son, Hunter, who passed away with Krabbe’s Disease at the age of eight.

Grading Texas' College Basketball Announcers - 2018-2019

University of St. Thomas men's (10/22/18) - Great voice.  If he would just speak clearly without putting out a ton of hype lathered in mustard, it would be great to watch a game there.  Otherwise, he's just plain annoying.  An announcer's job is to inform, not entertain.  I found nobody that cheered after his long "for threeeeeeeeee" for him.   They were already cheering for the actual play.

Houston Baptist University women's (11/11/18) - Again, great voice.  The acoustics in Sharp Gym are absolutely terrible.  The Huskies have gone from a voice that you can barely hear to one you can barely understand.  Additionally, the understated name announcement of the visiting team players' baskets is uncalled for and totally unprofessional.  You should be able to state the name clearly and loud enough to be heard.  They're another human being giving it their all and you're treating them like a second-class person.  Great way for a Christian school to witness in the spirit of competition.  (Sarcasm intended)

The Leftovers: Basketball, Betrayal, Baylor and Beyond by Matt Sayman

Forward - Scott Drew - 10/13/18
Introduction - 10/13/18
Chapter 1 - The Call - 10/13/18
Chapter 2 - A Goal, Without a Plan, is a Wish - 10/13/18
Chapter 3 - All According to Plan - 10/13/18
Chapter 4 - Working for Survival - 10/13/18
Chapter 5 - Each Season is a Roller Coaster - 10/13/18
Chapter 6 - Future is Bright - 10/14/18
Chapter 7 - The Longest Summer - 10/14/18
Chapter 8 - The Hits Keep Coming - 10/14/18
Chapter 9 - Death of a Dream - 10/14/18
Chapter 10 - What Baylor Needs - 10/14/18
Chapter 11 - A Broken Ship Without A Captain - 10/14/18
Chapter 12 - Hope in the Future? - 10/25/18
Chapter 13 - Star by Default - 10/25/18
Chapter 14 - Let The Games Begin - 10/25/18
Chapter 15 - Line in the Sand - 10/29/18
Chapter 16 - Just to Compete - 10/29/18
Chapter 17 - Constant Effort - 10/29/18
Chapter 18 - First Big Win - 10/29/18
Chapter 19 - Validation for All - 10/29/18
Chapter 20 - The Big 12 Monster - 10/31/18
Chapter 21 - Picture Perfect ... For Us - 10/31/18
Chapter 22 - Foundations - 10/31/18
Chapter 23 - Beyond Baylor - 10/31/18
Afterword - Teammate Perspectives - 10/31/18
Special Thanks - 10/31/18

Working Through CD Collection

Buddy Jewell by Buddy Jewell (10/20/18)
Clay Walker by Clay Walker (10/17/18)
Doin' My Thing by Luke Bryan (10/18/18)
Easy Come Easy Go by Clay Walker (10/17/18)
George Strait by George Strait (10/18/18)
Horse Of A Different Color by Big & Rich (10/21/18)
Phil Vassar by Phil Vassar (10/16/18)
Room With A View by Carolyn Dawn Johnson (10/21/18)
Somewhere Down in Texas by George Strait (10/18/18)
That Lonesome Song by Jamey Johnson (10/20/18)
The Road Less Traveled by George Strait (10/13/18)
This Is Country Music by Brad Paisley (10/14/18)
Troubadour by George Strait (10/17/18)
Twang by George Strait (10/13/18)

Grandpa Pitched for the Cubs by Dr. Elmer Towns

Chapter One - Gramps's first win at Wrigley - 10/8/18
Chapter Two - It began where Remle prayed at a Minor League ball game - 10/8/18
Chapter Three - Gramps pitches in his first professional game - 10/8/18
Chapter Four - Remle is recognized - 10/8/18
Chapter Five - You don't have a future in Baseball - 10/16/18
Chapter Six - Finding a lost killer knuckleball - 10/16/18
Chapter Seven - Gramps pitches in Wrigley - 10/16/18
Chapter Eight - Another man's obsession with Stumpy
Chapter Nine - Remle's first Big League Game
Chapter Ten - Media intoxication
Chapter Eleven - Two days in a row is too much
Chapter Twelve - Remle's secret
Chapter Thirteen - Obsessive praying
Chapter Fourteen - Media frenzy
Chapter Fifteen - Confrontation
Chapter Sixteen - The game in Pittsburgh
Chapter Seventeen - Cubs tie
Chapter Eighteen - The Cubs squeak into the playoffs
Chapter Nineteen - A reward for finding Gramps
Chapter Twenty - The first game of the World Series
Chapter Twenty-One - The fifth day of the World Series
Chapter Twenty-Two - When God intervenes
Chapter Twenty-Three - Remle's final game
Chapter Twenty-Four - The inevitable confrontation produces unexpected results

Women Who Run by Shanti Sosienski

Introduction - 9/23/18
Chapter One -- Marathon Women (Bobbi Gibb, Kathrine Switzer, Jacqueline Hansen) - 9/23/18
Chapter Two -- The Best Medicine (Diane Van Deren) - 9/23/18
Chapter Three -- Marathon Mom (Kristin Armstrong) - 9/23/18
Chapter Four -- Rusching Around The World (Rebecca Rusch) - 9/24-25/18
Chapter Five -- The Transformation of a Runner (Janet Furman Bowman) - 9/25/18
Chapter Six -- Fifty Thousand Miles and Going Strong (Shirley Matson) - 9/25/18
Chapter Seven -- The Leader of the Pack (Sheryl Page) - 9/26/18
Chapter Eight -- Going The Distance (Pam Reed) - 9/26/18
Chapter Nine -- See Jane Run (Lori Shannon) - 9/26/18
Chapter Ten -- Running Free (Asra Nomani) - 9/26/18
Chapter Eleven -- A Double Life (Anita Ortiz) - 10/1/18
Chapter Twelve -- Beating the Odds (Louise Cooper) - 10/8/18
Chapter Thirteen -- Renaissance Runner (Jeannie Wall) - 10/15/18
Chapter Fourteen -- Winning Isn't the Only Thing (Lornah Kiplagat) - 10/15/18
Chapter Fifteen -- Unpacking the "Girl Box" (Shari Kunz) - 10/15/18

Season Of Saturdays: A History of College Football in 14 Games by Michael Weinreb

A Preface - 7/23/18
Rutgers 6, Princeton 4 (1869) - 7/23/18
Notre Dame 35, Army 13 (1913) - 7/23/18
Minnesota 21, UCLA 3 (1962) - 7/25/18
Notre Dame 10, Michigan State 10 (1966) - 7/25/18
Texas 15, Arkansas 14 (1969) - 7/29/18
Michigan 24, Ohio State 12 (1969) - 7/29/18
Alabama 14, Penn State 7 (1979) - 7/29/18
Miami 31, Nebraska 30 (1984) - 8/4/18
Miami 58, Notre Dame 7 (1985) - 8/4/18
Texas 41, USC 38 (2006) - 8/4/18
Boise State 43, Oklahoma 42 (2007) - 8/4/18
Texas Tech 39, Texas 33 (2008) - 8/20/18
Auburn 34, Alabama 28 (2013) - 8/20/18
An Epilogue:  Penn State 14, Miami 10 (1987) - 8/20/18
Afterword:  Oregon 59, Florida State 20 (2015) - 8/20/18
Afterword:  Ohio State 42, Alabama 35 (2015) - 8/20/18
Acknowledgements - 8/20/18
Bibliography - 8/20/18

Never Die Easy: The Autobiography of Walter Payton by Walter Payton with Don Yaeger

Foreword - 8/10/18
Author's Note - 8/10/18
Cast of Characters - 8/10/18
1.  The Greatest Bear of Them All - 8/10/18
2.  Growing Up - 8/11/18
3.  High School - 8/11/18
4.  Jackson State - 8/12/18
5.  Going to Chicago - 8/12/18
6.  The Early Years - 8/13/18
7.  The Record - 8/13/18
8.  Matt and Me - 8/13/18
9.  Super Bears - 8/14/18
10.  Retirement - 8/14/18
11.  The Businessman - 8/15/18
12/  Giving Back to Charity - 8/19/18
13.  Family - 8/19/18
14.  Walter Gets Sick - 8/20/18
15.  Press Conference - 8/20/18
16.  Organ Donorship - 8/20/18
17.  Like a Train Going Downhill - 8/20/18
18.  Remember Me - 8/20/18
19.  The Memorial - 8/20/18
Afterword - 8/12/18
Acknowledgements - 8/12/18

Keeping The Weekend Local; August 5, 2018

Hope you've had a great weekend.

As I talked about last week, as I get older and have a little bit more time on my hands, the idea of what I'd like to do and what my body will reasonably allow for me to do are two different things.

If you've followed my Facebook page at all, you know that I enjoy seeing new ballparks, stadiums and arenas.  Primarily minor league baseball and collegiate facilities.

There were a couple of opportunities this past weekend, but they each included a long drive and making some logistics work that would have pushed limits a little bit.

Saturday was the last of the three-game championship Series of the Pecos League where the Alpine Cowboys were hosting the Bakersfield Train Robbers at Kokernot Field.

The stadium was built in 1947 by Herbert Kokernot, Jr., whose great great grandfather was David Levi Kokernot, a Lietutenant in the Texas Revolution.

For you greater Houston area running afficianados in my audience, you'll recognize the name Kokernot.

One of Houston's first great female marathoners was Peggy Kokernot, who was at the peak of her running career in the late 1970s and early 1980s. 

David Levi Kokernot was her great great great grandfather.

Saturday's game was a 7 p.m. start and the Biloxi Shuckers, 13-plus hours to the east of Alpine, were hosting a home game with a 6:35 p.m. start.

My residence to Alpine was eight hours.  Six and a half was the path on Interstate 10 to Biloxi.

The two roadblocks, but good ones, were the facts that 1.) I was scheduled to run approximately eight miles with Waverly on Saturday morning and 2.) I was signed up to also run the final Outrigger's 5K On The Bay in Seabrook at 7:30 a.m.

The latter - one of the greater Houston area's classic "old school" races - would require that I leave The Woodlands by 5:30 a.m.

And that meant that we needed to start running no later than 4:00 a.m.

We have a 3.86-mile round trip route that goes from the Fleet Feet Sports of Greater Houston store in Hughes Landing all the way to the east end of The Woodlands Waterway.

It is also the place that competitors in the annual Ironman Texas do their turnaround in Barry Blanton's "Some Like It Hot" run aid station.

Two loops would make it 7.72 miles - and if Waverly wanted to take on another quarter mile to make it eight, she was going to have to get that done on her own. 

We finished up at 5:23 a.m.  Enough time for me to get some water from my best friend Bill Dwyer, who heads up Volte Endurance Training in Spring, and then dry off, get in the car and start driving to Seabrook.

On the end of the first loop, as we came back to the original starting point, his group of runners who are training for next month's Tunnel Light Marathon outside of Seattle were just starting their 20-miler.

I only heard one say, as we were running back in, "Is that Jon Walk?"

I chuckled and Waverly said when we made it to the turnaround that it was more like four or five that made similar comments.

Thing is, that, I'm not normally training for anything. 

I enjoy running races and doing my own thing.

And while I feel very well respected from those in Bill's group who know me well, I'm not really a part of the group.

The bottom line, though, is that Waverly and I had a very good run in the humidity of the morning. 

I was so soaked as we approached the Hughes Landing area that my shorts about started to fall off.

I left being excited for Waverly as she was participating in her first teacher inservice (or training, I guess) as a New Caney ISD teacher with a contract for 2018-2019 later in the morning.

I arrived in Seabrook at about 6:40 or 6:45 a.m.  I parked and said, "Good morning," to Gary McDonnell, who was helping race director Jay Lee out with parking.

He was originally an encouragement to me when I did my very first duathlon - with a neighborhood cruiser - at the Webster Bicycles Duathlon at a park along Interstate 45 in La Marque back in either 2004 or 2005.

I ran an earlier incarnation of the race - Maribelle's - back in 2005.

Hurricane Ike destroyed the original bar in 2008 and Outrigger's was built on land just sort of underneath the Kemah-Seabrook Bridge.

After I got my packet from Vicki Davis, and was walking back to my car, Jay explained to me they were going to build another bridge along side the current one that was going to go right in the path of the Bar.

But just earlier, Jay asked if I would be willing to help out with awards.

I declined for two reasons:  1.) I had just stopped announcing races for Run In Texas and going on at the same time Saturday morning was the Southern Star Brewing Company 5K in Conroe and 2.) last year I stopped working races for Robby Sabban's Running Alliance Sport organization and as Jay and Robby help each other out I didn't want for Robby to have to listen to me helping Jay out.

So over the last three years, I've cut back a lot of my announcing - for various reasons.

I told Jay that if I changed my mind, I would let him know.  (And I actually considered it, but I was ready to leave by the time that Jay made it back from picking up cones.)

Leading up to the race, I had the chance to talk to and see a lot of people that I haven't seen as much over the last year because I stopped working Robby's races.

I appreciated Susan Bell recognizing that I had lost some weight.  We chatted for a good long awhile about a number of different topics.

Also had the opportunity to visit right before the start with Irwin Stewart and in between I engaged with Lara Allen, Dan Owen, Peter Lawrence, Jitka Newald, Jeremy Hanson and Jetola Anderson-Blair.

It was good to see Richard Campbell with Campbell Timing Systems.  He really took care of me from an announcing standpoint at Robby's races and was a big part of my success.

We got started right on-time at 7:30 a.m. and I was 22 seconds back before going over the start line.

The entrance to the bar area would allow for a car to pass in each direction, but in a mass race start it seemed awfully narrow and I spent the first couple of minutes trying to find my space.

The course is a simple four turns, turnaround and four turns back to the finish.

I was a little concerned with how I would feel knowing that I had just run almost eight miles and that included my left hamstring which I've been trying to keep stretched out for the last couple of months.

I went 9:19 in the first mile.  A bit fast.

It was great to see John and Pauline Nicodemus, Dennis Malloy, David Stockton, Vera Balic and Veronica Hoge working at the water stop on 2nd Street.

I was racing - my version of it - so I didn't have the chance to stop and be social.  In fact, I didn't take water until the turnaround.

I got there in 14:31.  Of course, I'm thinking that if I could have replicated it that it would have been 29 flat.  Ha!

Appreciated the shout out from Lucia Gentry, who was working that stop with Madelyn Vandewalle, as I got water from the backside of the table and moved to get back on the road as quick as I could.

I ran with Brandon Weaver a lot of the way and we saw Dale Kohn with Buddy Brown breathing down his neck as they were coming back from the turnaround.

I knew Buddy had just turned 60, but somebody behind us to the left said that Dale had too.

As I started to run back towards 2nd Street, I saw Alison Smith coming in the other direction.

She had shared with me that she's currently training for the Marine Corps Marathon and that she's been working on running consistently - without walking - even if it has meant that she has to slow down.

She was doing great.

I saw Terry Frank, one of Running Alliance Sport's board members, and I'm sure a few others, but as I turned on to Second, I saw 19:30 on my watch.

Well, it was really 22 seconds off of that and I was at 19:11, but the wheels were starting to fall off as they have for me of many, many 5Ks.

Cindy Jantkowski was just in front of me as we exited the turnaround, but after we passed the water station on Second Street I just couldn't keep up with her.

Mana Vautier and his son gave me a shout out as I was getting close to the two final turns.

I've always appreciated Mana as he had me come out and announce his Yuri's Night 5K before Robby took over the race from him.  (For the record, I did announce it for Robby in 2017 too.)

As I passed the mile three mark (10:02 for that mile), it was a hard right and a "sprint" to the finish.  I felt good, felt strong and made the last tenth of a mile in 47.19.

It all added up to a 30:01 finish.

I felt pretty good that I was able to post that kind of time after running 7.72 miles and driving an hour to get to the race location.

I socialized some more after the race.  Keith Cotropia and Monica Montoya asked me if I had any more out-of-state running adventures planned and I shared with them how Waverly and I in September were planning on running the Hokie Half Marathon in Blacksburg, Virginia.

I also had a great conversation with Dale and he was sharing with me his story about losing 55 pounds or so over the years and how he did so by giving up sodas - and how he did it "cold turkey" and hasn't looked back since.

I had been sharing with him - and others - briefly about how I've had to modify things a good bit recently because of my blood sugar being 144 and my hemoglobin 6.6. 

I'm due to get another set of labs soon.

As I meandered around a little bit, Alison wanted me to join a group picture of her friends (and some who have become mine over the last two years) - and I just really avoid the camera unless I'm taking the picture.

I did so again Sunday night during Bill's traditional start picture at The Woodlands Running Club Sunday Night 5K.

I made it back home, went and had breakfast at The Egg & I in Shenandoah on Research Forest and later joined Waverly for dinner at Cane's off Rayford later in the evening.

While I wanted to go down and run this month's Run For Wellness - Heights 5K at 7 a.m., I was a little out of steam, but I got up and made it to church on-time at The Church Project for their 9 a.m. service.

Dawn Johnson got there shortly after I did and sit on the same row as me and another of my best friends Jim and Leanne Rosser arrived a few minutes later and sat behind us.

The service was really focused on opportunities being presented to the church to assist in some church planting efforts in the future - and how that is how the Gospel spread after Jesus was here on the Earth and, of course, even today.

We learned that there are nearly 700 formalized church planting movements in the world today to share the Gospel and reach people for Jesus Christ.

I read a little, slept some, made some travel plans for the weekend of September 15-16 and then headed out to take part in the first Sunday of the month, TWRC Sunday Night 5K at Barbara Bush Elementary in The Woodlands.

As far as the weekend of September 15-16 was concerned, I had considered going out to Seattle to cheer on a number of Bill's runners that were going to do Tunnel Light, but aside from not doing group functions too well I also didn't see a college football game around the Saturday area scheduled for that late afternoon or evening.

Therefore, I elected to go with my original plan and fly to Amarillo that Saturday to see a pair of college football games at Wayland Baptist University in Plainview and West Texas A&M University in Canyon.

The game in Plainview starts at 2 p.m. and the one in Canyon at 6 p.m.

I was able to grab a $189 basic economy fare on United, which allows me even as Premier Gold member to carry a bag on the plane without penalty.

(United looks to try to make up the difference between their Basic Economy and Economy with an egregious $50 bag fee if you check a bag at the gate.  Since I'm flying back Sunday morning, I can do a carry-on where I normally would check a bag.)

There was a good group at tonight's Sunday Night 5K.

Bill, Ken Johnson, Jerritt Park and Curtis Barton were there when I made it there.

One of the next to arrive was former Texas A&M quarterback Lance Pavlas, who is just a down-to-earth guy that has become a pleasure to get to know a little bit.

Volte coach Layton Gill and his family showed up.  Jimmy Baker, Faith Craig and Marta Mixa were also there representing Volte as was Mayra Caamano and her two daughters, Chloe and Brooke.

Mayra ran the entire way with Chloe, who is gearing up for cross country season.

I started off a bit too strong, in 9:28 for the first mile, and it was such that it put me into a run to exhaustion, then walk pattern.

I ended up with a time of 31:37.  Not what I had hoped for, but it was better than the 31:56 that I ran there on March 4 when the course was probably just 3.02 miles.

I finished up at Jason's Deli for their Ranchero Wrap and then made it back on home.

I'm already planning next weekend's adventures, which includes work as we're bringing two hospitals up early Sunday morning on new hospital information systems.

Have a great week.

Liftoff: The Tank, the Storm and the Astros' Improbably Ascent to Baseball Immortality by Brian T. Smith

Author's Note - 7/19/18
1.  Here We Go - 7/19/18
2.  This City Deserves Our Best - 7/19/18
3.  Saving Our Powder - 7/19/18
4.  The Underdog All Year - 7/20/18
5.  We're a [Freaking] Playoff Team! - 7/20/18
6.  Getting into Our Window - 7/20/18
7.  Opening Day Next Year - 7/20/18
8.  When the Star Goes Up - 7/20/18
9.  People Are Just Wooing - 7/21/18
10.  It Will Bring Hope - 7/21/18
11.  You Don't Even Know, Man - 7/21/18
12.  I Got to Wake Up - 7/21/18
13.  Bring Your Earplugs - 7/22/18
14.  He Put Us on His Back - 7/22/18
15.  If You Like October Baseball - 7/23/18
16.  It's Your Time - 7/23/18
17.  Forever Special - 7/23/18
18.  Anything Is Possible - 7/23/18

African-American Athletes in Arkansas by Evin Demirel

Introduction - 7/23/18
Integrate the Record Books - 7/23/18
The Original Black Razorbacks - 7/23/18
Black Razorback Fans of the Jim Crow Era:  A Forgotten Past - 7/23/18
Black Arkansas Fueled the NFL's Evolution - 7/25/18
The Pine Bluff Native Whose Protest Rocked the College Football World - 7/25/18
The Sweetest Thing - 7/25/18
From Lonoke County to Legend - 7/27/18
Nolan Richardson Enters the Hall of Fame - 7/27/18
The Enduring Legacy of Little Rock's Hilarious Jesters - 7/27/18
North Little Rock High School's Title Evokes Dynasties of Another NLR School - 7/27/18
The Would-Be Razorback:  Eddie Miles - 7/27/18
Eddie Boone:  Pioneer of the Arkansas Activities Association - 7/27/18
Dizzy Dean & Satchel Paige - 7/27/18
Fort Smith's Black Baseball Heritage - 7/27/18
In Montana, Arkansans Played Key Role in Success Of Segregated Baseball Team - 8/1/18
Vanishing Act - 8/1/18
Muhammed Ali in Arkansas - 8/3/18
It's Time Arkansas Follows Texas In Honoring Its Black Prep Sports Heritage - 8/3/18
Acknowledgements - 8/3/18

Anatomy Of An Ever-Changing Weekend; July 29, 2018

Getting older is tough.

The mind is able, but the body is, well, I won't say it is completely weak, but figuring out where the 'want to' comes and goes from is a challenge in and of itself.

I had another weekend of baseball planned with a flight to and from St. Louis and three Frontier League - independent baseball - ballparks (two in Illinois and one in Missouri).

In the middle of the week, I realized that I was just a little bit still wore out from the past weekend, plus it looked as if weather might affect the game in Normal, Illinois Saturday night (and the race on Sunday morning in Bloomington).

So I started in looking at mixing things up and thought that I would run races on Friday night, Saturday morning and Sunday morning, then go to a ballgame on Sunday night before flying home Monday morning.

Lots of combinations.  Was going for a home run, which would have been a Friday night race (either in Findlay, IL or Champaign, IL) and another one - at 11:15 p.m. - in Terre Haute, IN.

The challenge there was that I lost an hour due to the time zone changing from Central to Eastern.

That would have put me into Indianapolis at about 1:30 a.m. with a goal to run 5Ks in Carmel and Fishers, which are less than five miles apart, at 8:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.

The fun part, then, on Sunday morning was to take part in a four-miler in Evanston, Illinois that started outside of and then finished on the field at Northwestern Stadium.

I've finished on the fields of Notre Dame, Penn State and Illinois.  As a Nittany Lion fan, that would have been great.

But I couldn't touch a hotel room for a Hilton or Marriott south of about $175.

The final straw was that I had a 5:45 a.m. flight out of Hobby.

I got home Thursday night at 11 p.m. from Bridgeport, where I work during the week.  And I didn't even stop to run, just to eat in Huntsville.

So I would have had to have returned a car to IAH, got my car, come home, washed my running stuff (for multiple races) and then leave by 3:30 a.m. to get to HOU by 4:15 a.m.

You get the picture.  Exhausting to even think about it.

Needless to say that before midnight I was on the phone with Southwest banking my money for another trip, another day.

So what to do for the weekend?

More wheels were in motion.

I saw the following:  1.) 5K double in Big Spring and Midland (Friday night at midnight and Saturday at 8 a.m.), 2.) Howl At The Moon 5K in Waco at 10 p.m. and 3.) the Mississippi Braves were at home at 5 p.m. on Sunday night.

Waverly was coming home from church camp in Sevierville, Tennessee early Friday morning, where she served as a camp counselor to a group of girls from her home church.

We traded texts early Friday morning as I offered to run her seven mile long run with her on Saturday morning, but she wasn't going to commit to anything until she got home and saw how she felt.

I kind of knew where that was going to go, so I kept my options open.  I understood.  She had a busy, exhausting week as one of the next last before she starts her first year of teaching.

Work took the Big Spring and Midland option off the board, plus Midland's website didn't indicate if there was race day registration and if the races were timed.

Right.  I'm going to go that far for an untimed fun run.  No way.

So I signed up for the Mosquito Chase 5K in Clute on Saturday morning.  I had run it before, but therefore I was able to save Mom a trip from going to get Waverly as they made it back in from church camp at 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

I was up at 4:45 a.m., got a quick shower and was out the door at 5:05 a.m.

Saw that there was going to be some road work on Highway 288 so I took the Beltway, the Fort Bend Tollway and Highway 6 to get to 288 and was in Clute and at the race site at close to 6:40 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m. start.

The guys from Houston Masters Sports Association - Mike Mangan and Michael Luna - were there to promote their 25K in November.  They both ran as well as Clark Courtright and Larry Lindeen.

Galveston's Kelly Carmichael and his wife both ran.  They've become good acquaintances, primarily through Robby Sabban's Texas Bridge Series races.

I had the opportunity to talk shop, as always, with Fit Tri Run's Kimberly Bachmeier.  Her FTR Race Management entity was timing the race.

I actually ran pretty good. 

Offset - 8:16
Mile 1 - 9:31.75
Mile 2 - 10:32.06
Mile 3 - 8:39.60
Last .1 - 1:36.48
Total = 30:19.89
Two years ago = 31:52.30

Just like two years ago, the mile markers were off.  Although, I think the total distance was pretty much spot on.  There was a different in the start location that might have made it a few feet long, but otherwise it is a solid race that was very, very humid.

Ran a minute and 33 seconds better than two years ago.

I held off a lady that tried to challenge me near the mile two marker as well as going into the last water stop a little while later, but I ended up beating by 25 seconds.

I made it back to Spring, slept some and then went and got a rental car as I planned to go run the race in Waco Saturday night and then venture to Dallas that evening.

The plan was to run the Carrollton Running Club 5K at 7:30 a.m. in McInnish Park on Sunday morning, go to church some place close to Lewisville where I was going to stay and then venture to Jackson, Mississippi for a minor league baseball game.

It was a little over six hours from Dallas to Jackson and the game's first pitch was at 5 p.m.  Doable.

Back from picking up the rental car and getting packed, I was ready to leave by 5:15 p.m. and was in Huntsville a little later for dinner at McKenzie's BBQ.

However, it was there I realized that I left my laptop bag with my Bible in it at the house.

I could have gone on to Dallas, et. al. and done everything I needed to do from my phone, but I'm basically a bit naked without my laptop (actually have two, including an older one that I use for certain things).

I got to Waco at about 8:45 p.m., made it over to the race site which was Indian Springs Park and got my race packet, changed clothes and then waited for the 10 p.m. start time.

The course was across the Suspension Bridge to the north side of the Brazos River where we ran under Interstate 35, by McLane Stadium (on our left going out), over the footbridge, into Grant Teaff Plaza and then along University Parks a little bit until we got in front of the Mayborn Museum Complex where we turned around and returned.

I crossed the finish in 29:28, but I suspect that the turnaround might not have been in the right place and the course might have been short.

If not, I ran really, really well.

Offset - 6.98
Out - 14:33.36
Back - 14:54.20
Total = 29:27.56

My chiropractor, Dr. Dawn Schwab, made an adjustment to the front of my body in my upper pelvic area that seems to have unlocked the range of motion on my left leg where my hamstring wants to continually remain tightened.

Back in the car, I made it home at 1:45 a.m., as I projected, and was awake and out the door by 8 a.m. to get breakfast and make it to the Church Project at 9 a.m. for morning worship.

The message came out of Psalm 23, which is the Lord's Prayer, but it was really to relate to how we, as God's children need Him, like sheep need a shepherd.

It is something that I have heard preached similarly by Tony Evans on his radio program a couple of Mondays ago on the drive to Dallas for work.

I got home and pretty much rested off and on the entire day.  I read three chapters from Michael Weinreb's "Season Of Saturdays:  A History of College Football in 14 Games".

I went and got a bite to eat at Jason's Deli in The Woodlands at about 8 p.m.

I got some Chicken Alfredo, to give me a little fuel for our run that started about 9:45 a.m. on The Woodlands Waterway.

However, it turned out to cause a bit of an issue on the return trip of the first loop.  We had two planned to get in between 7 and 7.5.

Waverly, at the same time, was having some issues as a result of not eating enough as she had been at a Bible Study from 6 to 8 p.m. before taking a young lady to her home before making it to The Woodlands to join me for a run.

We'll run out normal 3.66 miles tomorrow afternoon (Monday) and I'm already looking forward to it.

And on the table for next weekend, right now, is the final Outrigger's 5K on Saturday morning, August 4 and then the Run For Wellness - Heights 5K on Sunday morning and The Woodlands Running Club Sunday Night 5K that evening.

Killing Jesus: A History by Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard

A Note To Readers - 7/15/18

Book I - The World of Jesus
Chapter One:  Bethlehem, Judea, March, 5 B.C., Morning - 7/15/18
Chapter Two:  Rome, March 15, 44 B.C., 11 a.m.
Chapter Three:  Philippi, Northern Greece, October 23, 42 B.C., Morning
Chapter Four:  Jordan River Valley, March 22, A.D. 7, Noon
Chapter Five:  Jerusalem, March 23, A.D. 7, Afternoon

Book II - Behold the Man
Chapter Six:  Jordan River, Perea, A.D. 26, Midday
Chapter Seven:  Villa Jovis, Capri, A.D. 26, Night
Chapter Eight:  Jerusalem, April, A.D. 27, Day
Chapter Nine:  Capernaum, Galilee, Summer, A.D. 27, Afternoon
Chapter Ten:  Galilee, April, A.D. 29, Day
Chapter Eleven:  Jerusalem, October, A.D. 29, Day

Book III - If You Are the Son of God, Take Yourself off This Cross
Chapter Twelve:  Outside Jerusalem, Sunday, April 2, A.D. 30, Afternoon
Chapter Thirteen:  Jerusalem, Monday, April 3, A.D. 30, Morning
Chapter Fourteen:  Jerusalem, Tuesday, April 3, A.D. 30, Morning
Chapter Fifteen:  Jerusalem, Wednedsay, April 4, A.D. 30, Night
Chapten Sixteen:  Lower City of Jerusalem, Thursday, April 4, A.D. 30, Night
Chapter Seventeen:  Jerusalem, Friday, April 7, A.D. 30, Early Morning/Day
Chapter Eighteen:  Jersualem's Upper City, April 7, A.D. 30, 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Chapter Nineteen:  Jerusalem's Upper City, April 7, A.D. 30, 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Chapter Twenty:  Pilate's Palace, Jerusalem, Saturday, April 8, A.D. 30, Day
Chapter Twenty-One:  Jesus's Tomb, Sunday, April 9, A.D. 30, Dawn

Afterword - 7/15/18
Postscript - 7/15/18
Sources - 7/15/18

Detours by Tony Evans

Introduction:  What Is Destiny? - 7/15/18
Chapter One:  The Purpose of Detours - 7/15/18
Chapter Two:  The Pain of Detours
Chapter Three:  The Pattern of Detours
Chapter Four:  The Purifying of Detours
Chapter Five:  The Proof of Detours
Chapter Six:  The Presence of Detours
Chapter Seven:  The Promotion of Detours
Chapter Eight:  The Plan of Detours
Chapter Nine:  The Pardon of Detours
Chapter Ten:  The Pardon of Detours
Chapter Eleven:  The Providence of Detours
Chapter Twelve:  The Perfection of Detours
Chapter Thirteen:  The Perspective of Detours
Chapter Fourteen:  The Peace of Detours
Chapter Fifteen:  The Patience of Detours
Chapter Sixteen:  The Path of Detours
Conclusion
Appendix:  The Urban Alternative

The Republic Of Football: Legends of the Texas High School Game

1.  Hamlin, 1984 - 2/18/18
2.  Odessa, 1946 - 2/18/18
3.  Snyder, 1952 - 2/18/18
4.  Brownwood, 1960s - 2/18/18
5.  San Antonio, 1963 - 2/26/18
6.  Lubbock, 1968 - 3/3/18
7.  Mexia, 1968 - 3/3/18
8.  Celina, 1974 - 3/3/18
9.  Big Sandy, 1974 - 4/14/18
10.  Temple, 1975 - 4/14/18
11.  Midland, 1983 - 4/14/18
12.  Daingerfield, 1983 - 4/14/18
13.  Corpus Christi, 1985 - 4/14/18
14.  West Orange, 1986-1987 - 4/14/18
15.  Idalou, 1988 - 4/14/18
16.  White Deer, 1988 - 5/16/18
17.  Rockport Fulton, 1992 - 5/18/18
18.  Converse Judson, 1992-1993 - 5/18/18
19.  Tyler, 1994 - 5/18/18
20.  Sealy, 1994 - 6/2/18
21.  Galena Park, 1994 - 6/2/18
22.  Wortham, 1996 - 6/2/18
23.  Waco, 1996 - 6/2/18
24.  Austin Westlake, 1996 - 6/6/18
25.  New Braunfels, 1997 - 6/6/18
26.  Katy, 1997 - 6/6/18
27.  Mart, 1999 - 6/6/18
28.  Everman, 2001-2002 - 6/6/18
29.  Ennis, 2001 - 7/6/18
30.  Palestine, 2002 - 7/6/18
31.  Georgetown, 2002 - 7/6/18
32.  Southlake, 2002 - 7/6/18
33.  Tuscola, 2003 - 7/6/18
34.  Crawford, 2004 - 7/6/18
35.  Abilene, 2004 - 7/14/18
36.  Highland Park, 2005 - 7/14/18
37.  Copperas Cove, 2007 - 7/14/18
38.  Brenham, 2009 - 7/14/18
39.  Aledo, 2008-2011 - 7/15/18
40.  Fort Worth, 1983-1984 - 7/15/18
41.  Denton, 2002 - 7/15/18

Tap Out Ten; July 9, 2018

Really good day capped off by the drive up here to Denton this evening for work tomorrow over in Wise County, but it was a little long too.

However, one of the best parts was a nice 3 2/3-mile run with Waverly on The Woodlands Waterway before I started my drive up here.

With the new project assignment after my work here is done in mid-October, we should be able to log some more miles together and I will also be able to get out to the track with Bill Dwyer’s group as well.

Got a lot done, including an appointment with my chiropractor, Dr. Dawn Schwab with Spinal Care Chiropractic Center in The Woodlands, today. 

She really does an incredible job in keeping me in as healthy of a position as possible to keep tearing my body up from running.

I’ve had two protruding discs that we discovered about 12-13 years that will never “go away” without surgery, but her constant adjustments have kept me out of surgery all that time.

I’m very thankful for the work she’s done on and for me.

I’m also very thankful for getting back to listening to some programs on KCBI on the drive up this evening – Dr. Robert Jeffress, Tony Evans, John MacArthur and Focus on the Family. 

Two good hours of instruction and insight.

One of the most profound things I heard was from a guy named Ted Cunningham who co-wrote a book with the (now) late Gary Smalley that was “Unresolved anger is like drinking poison expecting the other person to get sick.”

Then again, I heard a variation of that on Sunday at the Church Project from the lesson given by Tierce Green.

He said, “Holding a grudge is like drinking position hoping the other person gets sick, but you’re the one that’s dying.”

Good things to remember.

There are two individuals that immediately came to mind on Sunday – and that was Tierce’s point, I believe, and these were folks that either did something to me (wrongly accused me of something in response to me learning something about them that they didn’t fully want me to know) or put me in a position to have to make a decision that was unpopular (to them), but was “right” for me.

I just have to continue to work to guard against letting things slip back to where I want to see something not good come their way.

If I do, then I would still be basically holding that grudge and not forgiving them for their actions.

So, it was a great lesson and one on Sunday that I probably took more notes on then I have in quite some time.

I also listened to a podcast – once I made it in my hotel room here in Denton - of the pastor that I was in attendance for last week – Dr. Mark Rotramel of First Baptist Church El Paso.

He spoke about “People Matter:  Handle With Care”, which was their lesson from this past Sunday.

He had started a new series with his congregation last Sunday about foundational truths that were needed by their church to be able to support and serve their church and local communities.

I really enjoyed visiting there last Sunday and will very likely listen to their sermons more frequently.

I need to do the same for the Church Project as well as some other churches that I’ve attended and their pastors.

Never hurts to continue to have the right material going in each and every day – as opposed to what some of the world has to offer.

Tap Out Ten; June 27, 2018

It has been pretty hot up here in north Texas.

When I ran with the Denton Area Running Club at 8:00 p.m. for their 5K social run, it was still in the upper 90s.  Ouch!

Just slowed it down even more than what I already run.  My hamstring held up pretty good.  Have some more stretching to get to when I get done with this.

Am starting to look ahead to football season and was able to put together LSCSN.com’s composite football schedules for the Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC) and TAPPS Division I.

I had started on TAPPS Division V and hope to finish it tomorrow.

Reached out to Dan Morgan, LSCSN.com’s founder and my broadcast partner, and I proposed a schedule for broadcasting football games in 2018 based on a requirement or two.

Hope to be able to release that here soon.

We’re going to put a commentary out there shortly to solicit some feedback on what the Texas private and parochial high school sports community feels like we should be doing.

We’re in one of those, “We need to find our compass” stages, I think.

Looking forward to heading home tomorrow. 

My initial plan was to run one of the two 5Ks up here – one in Dallas and the other in Fort Worth, but I may pass them up.

I’m considering going to the Cleburne Railroaders game, which starts at 7:06 p.m., but it would mean that I would get home between midnight and 1 a.m.

I’m hoping to get the data file tomorrow from Graham Schooley for Saturday’s second annual Independence Day 8K so I can complete my preparation a day early and can go and get things printed and laminated on Friday.

Graham had shared with the team that RA Sports Management will have a 10-race card in 2019.

Pretty exciting.  I like working with Graham and Brian Jones and their team.  Have no complaints whatsoever.

In other announcing news, a national race producer reached out to me today about announcing their Houston race again in 2019, but I want to make sure that the local party that brought me to the table  last year is taken care of.

They said that they are in the process of filing out an RFP to provide race management resources..

Not too much else going on.

I did get to participate in a call for the next project that I’ll be working on after this project is complete.

Pretty exciting to be able to work with a company that I used to work for early in my healthcare career and to be able to see – and work with – some products that my company have developed in a couple of different spaces in the industry.

Really appreciate my leadership seeing fit to include me on the engagement.

Congratulations June Harris for agreeing to lead the Houston Area Road Runners Association (HARRA) for the coming year and glad that they had the courage to have essentially an outsider step up and agree to serve in an important capacity.

More later on the organization that doesn’t seem to value fresh, new perspectives.

Tap Out Ten; June 26, 2018

Not too busy of a day at work from the client’s perspective but am starting to become fully involved in a project that I’ll be assigned to once this one that I’m on is complete.

Looking forward to it, but it will be a completely different change of pace.

Put in 4.18 miles tonight.  Two miles in 97-99 on the Decatur middle school track and then another two 1.09-mile loops outside the Hampton Inn here in Denton.

Had to leave the street quickly for a car approaching and landed my left leg on a curb and made tender the upper hamstring on my left leg again.

The first loop was about an 11-something pace, and the second I brought in at about 10:35; however, I could tell the whole area was tender.

I will stretch before going to sleep tonight and I’m not confident that it isn’t going to be without a little bit of pain.

Very thankful today for successful surgery for the oldest daughter of my cousin Matt and his wife Brooke.  Guess she fractured her right arm and they needed to go in put some pins there to set it.

Saw the note this morning, pictures of her waiting to go into surgery and at home recovering.

Thankfully for her, Mom is a nurse.

Again, just very thankful that everything came out OK for her today.  She’s four and is a character.

I’m afraid that she’s going to be a fun handful for Matt and Brooke down the road.

I’m thankful that I had the nearly all-the-time compliant child as Dr. James Dobson described her basically.

I listened last night to a sermon from the pastor, Dr. Mark Rotramel, of the church that I want to attend Sunday morning in El Paso – the First Baptist Church of El Paso.

It was on I Corinthians 13:5, but the illustration that he used was great in that we burden our spiritual backpack down with rocks, such as unforgiveness of others.

We listen to a sermon and say, “Wow, I wish somebody was here to hear this.”  And come to find out, it is really that we are the ones that need to hear it and get the process rolling.

He said, “Hurt people hurt people.”  I would totally agree with that statement and that we first must acknowledge our own sin before we can start unloading our backpack of the rocks that we’ve weighted ourselves down with.

The other thing that struck me here recently is an excellent article that I read in the June 18, 2018 edition of The New Yorker.

The copy of the magazine – one that I don’t normally subscribe to or buy – was left in the pouch of the Southwest airplane that we took from Boston to St. Louis Sunday evening.

It was an article titled, “The Enemy of My Enemy:  The U.S., Israel, and the Gulf states unite against Iran.”

The biggest thing that I took away from it was that - while people are criticizing the President and many of the things that they are doing as an administration - there are some very productive things in this area that they are working on that people just choose not to see.

It was really an encouragement to me to read.

The other interesting article that I read while having dinner tonight at Cowboy Chicken in Denver was “Nowhere to Hide:  Privacy in the time of Big Data.”

It basically postulated some of the current challenges that are happening in our society about our right to privacy – or not – or the pursuit – as one judge wrote in a court opinion - of being “left alone”.

As an introvert, I can complete identify with that sentiment 110%.

Hope your Tuesday was good and productive and that tomorrow will be even more so.

Tap Out Ten; June 25, 2018

I’ve done this in the past and called it, “Tap Out Ten”.

And that’s just to do a brain dump for ten minutes of the day that just passed.

I used to do it on my phone while laying in bed, but I’m upright having arrived in Denton about two hours earlier than normal on a Monday evening.

Great weekend with my daughter as we traveled to Boston and then participated in races in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

We’ve been taking trips together since she was about seven or eight.

Rhode Island was special.  We finally made it into state #50 and, of course, we’ve also have been – and run a race in – Washington, D.C.

It was state #50 for me to run a race in.

We ran it together, and she told me afterward that she was holding back a little.  I’ve been battling a tight hamstring that got in a knot two Fridays ago at a cross country 5K in Huntsville.

This morning, my chiropractor, Dr. Dawn Schwab with Spinal Care Chiropractic in The Woodlands, made an adjustment and quickly noticed that my hips were out of alignment.

She’s been such a godsend to me physically.

Over the last 12 years, her work and adjustments have kept me out of surgery as I have had two protruding discs for quite some time that are degenerative.

One of the many, many things in my life that I’m thankful for.

This weekend, I will be announcing the second annual Independence Day 8K on Saturday morning then going to El Paso for the rest to see a ballgame in El Paso and either a Pecos League game in Alpine or Alamagordo.

I’ve scouted out churches to attend regardless of the decision.

I’d really like to go to Alpine to see Kokernot Field, but I do need a little bit more rest from this past weekend’s trip, which included a half marathon and a 5K.

We’ll see how I feel.

I’m using some of my Hilton Honors points to stay at the Doubletree, which means I’ll be able to walk to the new ballpark there in El Paso Saturday evening after I fly in.

I also can walk to church I believe on Sunday morning if I decide to go to the game in Alamagordo on Sunday evening, but I need to confirm the times.

Thankful as always for safe travels to Denton here this evening.

Just a number of crazy, overly aggressive drivers who speed ruin an otherwise easy trip, even though it takes me regularly four and a half hours to get her.

I stopped this evening at McKenzie’s in Madisonville.  Excellent food, but the service at the Madisonville location is much slower than the one in Huntsville.

I’ve signed Waverly up to run the Independence Day 8K.  It is always great to have her be able to go along when I’m working a race. 

Not that I have help with my sound equipment, I just enjoy seeing her work at something – and am glad for any time that I get to spend with her, especially as she gets older.

I’ll start preparing in a day or two, but I already have my mental approach down to what needs to be done to announce the race for Graham and Brian and the entire Race Assist team.

If you’ve stumbled upon this, I sincerely hope that you’ve had a great Monday and have an even better week ahead.

And The Winner Is ...; May 17, 2018

This weekend's winner is:

1.)  Fly into Tulsa, Oklahoma Friday morning.
2.)  Attend Northwest Arkansas at Springfield Cardinals game Friday night.
3.)  Half marathon in Joplin, Missouri on Saturday morning.
4.)  Attend Nashville at Oklahoma City Dodgers game Saturday night.
4a.)  Maybe a 5K Sunday morning in Oklahoma City.
4b.)  Try to find a church service to attend on Sunday morning either in Oklahoma City or Tulsa.
5.)  Attend Arkansas at Tulsa Drillers game Sunday afternoon.
6.)  Fly home to IAH Sunday evening.

The biggest determining factors were to be able to get reward travel that didn't affect my work schedule and to be able to register in person in Joplin tomorrow afternoon.

Help Me Choose My Weekend; May 18-19, 2018

The original plan for the weekend was to:

1.)  Attend the Winnipeg Goldeyes at Cleburne Railroaders baseball game on Friday night.
2.)  Stay in Mineral Wells.
3.)  Run the Run For 57th AHC Half Marathon in Graford on Saturday morning.
4.)  Drive to and stay in Amarillo Saturday night.
5.)  Run the Hope & Healing Place Half Marathon in Amarillo on Sunday morning, then drive home after attending church.

What has put me off of that plan?  A $90 price for the half marathon on Sat. morning and it only has 49 registrants so far.

So what are my other options?

Fly to El Paso on reward travel on Friday and return Sunday night or Monday morning.  The trip would include:

1.)  Fresno at El Paso baseball game Friday night.
2.)  A 5K in either El Paso or Alamogordo, New Mexico on Saturday morning.
3.)  A 10K at 5 p.m. in Alpine, Texas that starts outside of Kokernot Field and finishes on home plate.
4.)  A 5K on Sunday morning in El Paso.
5.)  If returning on Monday morning, a possible drive up and back to Albuquerque to catch a minor league game there.

Or it could be flying to Oklahoma City on reward travel, which has a myriad of options.

Option #1 would be:
1.)  Oklahoma City Dodgers game Friday night.
2.)  A half marathon in Woodward, Oklahoma on Saturday morning.  6:30 a.m. start.
3.)  The half marathon in Amarillo on Sunday morning.
4.)  Fly up Friday morning and home on Sunday night.

Option #2 would be:
1.)  Tulsa Drillers game Friday night.
2.)  Half marathon in Joplin, Missouri on Saturday morning.
3.)  Oklahoma City Dodgers game Saturday night.

Option #3 would be:
1.)  Tulsa Drillers game Friday night.
2.)  5K in Midwest City, Oklahoma at 8:45 a.m. on Saturday morning.
3.)  5K in Norman, Oklahoma at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.
4.)  Oklahoma City Dodgers game Saturday night.

I'm torn and the clock is ticking.  Which one would you pick?

Trying To Find The Drive; April 16, 2018

Another week has gone by and I'm not sure if I'm any the wiser or not.

The thing that most troubles me these days is the fact that I seem to not have any direction in my life.

Now, this isn't to say that I'm floundering, but I would also say that I'm not thriving as well as I can be.

But on whose terms?

I know that the only person's terms it should be on is God's, but we're all - for the most part - guilty of either trying to make our own terms - or even worse, the world's.

By being involved in endurance sports, I'm around lots of people who have lots of goals for various reasons.

While I enjoy getting out and participating -- both running and announcing, their goals just don't have the same meaning to me -- and I'm not sure that I have any!

My plan this weekend was to go to Oklahoma and catch minor league baseball games in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and Springfield, Missouri.

I was to fly in to Tulsa, drive to Oklahoma City for a Friday night contest, run a 5K in Moore on Saturday and then a college baseball game at Oral Roberts Saturday followed by minor league games in Tulsa and Springfield that same night and the following afternoon.

I'm tired just typing it out again.

As I drove home from work on Thursday night, I pulled over in Navasota and called Hilton to see if I could get the points from my two reservations put back into my account.

If I had been denied, I would have made the trip.

But it was 10 p.m., I was beat and I was still an hour from home.

I would have needed to take my work rental car back to the airport (which is a minimum hour and a half round trip), pick up my car and then drive to Hobby to catch a flight on Southwest to Tulsa.

I bit off more than I could chew.

Once I got home, I cancelled my flight on Southwest, banked the $251 fare and decided to stay home.

I needed to get a tax return in the mail before Tuesday's deadline and I had learned during the week that I could actually use Fed Ex or UPS to get it there instead of blindly trusting the U.S. Postal Service.

That was the biggest thing that was on my mind as I would have been throwing away a lot of money if it didn't make it there in time.

I got it taken care of and out of the way Friday afternoon, but I was like:  "What am I going to do now?"

I could have very easily taken some time off over the weekend to just relax and read, but that would have been too easy.

Waverly and I went out for an early dinner at Cheddar's as I got caught up on her week at school.  She was planning on going in the morning to run with Bill's group for a few miles and then taking part of Run The Woodlands 5K and running with a young person that she used to baby-sit from North Park Baptist Church.

I woke up Saturday morning at 4'ish and knew that I needed to get on the road soon to wherever.

There were lots of 5K's I could have gone to, including one or two in towns that I hadn't run in before as well as the Davy Crockett Bear Chase in Groveton.

However, the time that I got out the door would have made making it for the 7 a.m. start a push.

Therefore, it was off to Brenham for the Blue Bell Fun Run so I could run in their inaugural half marathon.

A nice $65 walk-up price and the chance to visit with a friend before the race that I don't get to see that often were two of the biggest benefits from the morning.

Saw many, many friends and acquaintances including Raul Najera with RunFar USA, John and Tinette Yoder, Alfredo and Lettie Gonzalez, Alfonso Torres and Lucia Gentry.

The half marathon course was tough, but the event not having a mile one water station and the 5-mile station being out of fluids really set my temperment off in a not-so-good direction out on the course.

And to add insult to injury, there was a gentleman that had an external sound system on him while he ran.

I just don't like them and feel like you should have headphones so that you can listen to what you want all by yourself -- and not to force it on to everybody else.

I guessed it helped me to a 2:20:46 finish.  Not bad for not having the miles on my legs as well as it being "not so flat'.

42nd best finish of 136 half marathons.  That means I’ve run a lot of crappy times, for me.

Saw many friends after the race, including Seven Hills Running Club’s Ken Johnson and Cindy Pate.  Got a nice shout-out coming down the “hill” to the finish from Steve Allen.  Given everything recently, I really needed that “shout out”.  I appreciated it and posted so in the club Facebook page.

Water stations on the half course were a major issue and I’m glad that I have a friend, Becky Nesbitt, who I know is friends with the race directors, to share my discontent with.  She was gracious in listening to me and that’s all I’ll share about it as I know it will be taken care of.

I came back and I’m not sure how productive I was the rest of the day.

I had some profiles that I needed to get done for Bill’s group, but my creative energies had left the building in the middle of last week.

Multiple options presented themselves to me for Sunday.  They included 1.) Stephen F. Austin State at Houston Baptist softball at 2 p.m., 2.) Stephen F. Austin State at Sam Houston State baseball at 1 p.m. or 3.) University of Kentucky at Texas A&M University at 2 p.m.

I would end up going to church somewhere, regardless of which one I chose.

If I stayed and went to HBU, probably would have gone to the Church Project.

If I went to the Sam Houston State game, I would have visited University Heights Baptist Church in Huntsville.

But the fact that A&M was playing the final game in their current facility intrigued me and sealed the deal.

I had also been wanting to visit Central Baptist Church in College Station.

Same thing as Saturday, I got up just in time to be able to leave to make it to church for their only 9:45 a.m. worship service.

It is a larger church with a contemporary service that included a song out of the “virtual” hymnal – i.e. a little bit traditional, and old you might say. 

The only drawback to me was that there were six songs.  I checked out after four, looking for the Pastor Chris Osborne to come up and start sharing the message after each remaining song.

They were dedicating and opening a new children’s building and a significant amount of time was spent at the end of the service recognizing those who had contributed and speaking about the goals of reaching children for Jesus Christ.

Then it was off to the A&M campus to catch the SEC softball contest.

I left after five innings with the score tied, 2-2.  The University of Kentucky would score in the top of the sixth to avoid a sweep by the Aggies and win 3-2.

After getting back home, Waverly and I had our weekly meal together on Sunday evening at Guadalajara and got caught up on the week past. 

When she was at Liberty, Sunday evening at 6 p.m. Central time was our time to speak – a tradition that I cherish and now hate to miss even more, if possible.

So a lot of good stuff?  Sure.

But still I navigate through the throes of “What do I need to do?” and “What do I want to do?” on a regular basis, and it is tough when there doesn’t seem to be enough to satisfy the thirst of the latter question.

Three Things To Be Thankful For From The Weekend; April 8, 2018

I heard something profound in church this morning that is making me kind of stop and reevaluate what and how I choose to communicate.

The speaker, a member of the church’s staff, was talking about how Jesus accepts our search for Him as he was sharing the story about how Zacchaeus sought after Christ in Luke 19.

He said, “What we perceive about Jesus is what we project to others and those assumptions may keep people from the presence of Jesus Christ.”

I took it more to say that if we thought and believed, for example, that Jesus came to condemn – although scripture clearly speaks that He comes to save us from condemnation – that we may be bitter in our relationships with others and keep them away from  Jesus.

As I have the opportunity to visit a number of different churches, either through my travels or searching for a potential new church home, I usually take the opportunity to share on Facebook via a check-in as to where I’ve been and something that I heard that really made an impression on me from the service.

I didn't today because I wanted to stop and think about people receive it when they see it in their feed.

While at times I have an edge, especially behind the wheel (something that I have to ask for forgiveness for often), that may come across as me not being a follower of Jesus Christ, I want to make sure that people understand that I do genuinely believe, even though I struggle with sin.

Speaking of sin, one of the best church signs I saw before Easter was something to the effect of, “How About Giving Up Sin For Lent?”

So true and so real.

There were three things that I took away from the weekend that I was really, really thankful for:

1.) It was great on Saturday morning to run with my daughter around the Texas A&M campus.  As she gets older and continues to grow and mature as a young woman, I really covet the time that I get to share with her.  We went there to run a race, but just decided to spend the equivalent amount of time not competing, but communicating with one another.  We even got the opportunity to spend a little time examining an incredible memorial for the 12 young male and female Aggie students who lost their lives in 1999 when the bonfire collapsed.

2.) Sure, I announce a lot of races – and a lot fewer than I did three years ago – but what really struck me differently last evening was the trust that an entity – The Woodlands Township and its Parks and Recreation Department – placed in me to represent them professionally to assist in ensuring that there were proper race communications and that the event flowed smoothly.  I try not ever to take that for granted, but sometimes in the busyness of life I fear that I will.  I don’t believe that I do anything special in the things that I do – just that I’m thankful for the talents and abilities that God’s given me, but am just floored that people trust in and value my opinion.

3.) I was glad that I made it to church.  Seems real simple, but the last few years I just haven’t done a good job in being fed – at a minimum – in a weekly worship service.  There have been 14 Sundays so far this year and I’m thankful that I’ve been in eight Sunday morning services.  I try to absorb as much as I can help so that if there’s something that I can share or impart to somebody else that I’ll be ready if called upon.  I’ve said many times that Waverly’s choice to go to school at Liberty University, where she could have the structure of a school that was largely focused on its commitment to Christ, allows me to have the opportunity to have an open door with others – about Christ – that I might not otherwise have the chance to.  And that actually happened Saturday afternoon at Muddy Trails when somebody saw me wearing my Flames baseball cap.

I’m certainly not saying that I have it all together, because believe me when I say that I don’t, but I’m eager to figure out how this morning’s message will apply itself in my life.

The speaker pointed out that Jesus remained true to His agenda – when He called for Zacchaeus to come down out of the sycamore tree – and that He “is come to seek and to save that which was lost …”

And he said that the “lost” in the verse doesn’t mean “no hope” but rather “out of place,” which we all feel at times.  That is, being out of place.

He went on to add that Jesus was relationally authentic and pointed out that 1.) Jesus made eye contact with Zacchaeus, 2.) He called him by name, 3.) He went to Zacchaeus' house and finally 4.) He let people see into Him that He was real.

It was a reminder to the believer and follower of Christ that we aren’t going to preach people into God’s kingdom, but that by being “relationally authentic” we would have a chance to share God’s message.

Finally, in covering his third and final point of the message, the speaker said that we’re to act like servants, speak like shepherds and relate like friends.

These were all good tools and reminders that we need to slow down and be intentional as to what we project to others about Jesus Christ because we might be the only one that can reach a particular someone.

There are many other things that I’m thankful for, but my challenge and share with you is:  “What are you most thankful for right now?”

Leanne Rosser - Half Marathon Race History

1:47:01 - Big Cottonwood Half Marathon, Salt Lake City, UT, 9/14/13
1:50:07 - BMO Harris Bank Phoenix Half Marathon, Phoenix, AZ, 1/27/16
1:50:41 - The Woodlands Half Marathon, The Woodlands, TX, 3/4/17
1:52:49 - Route 66 Half Marathon, Tulsa, OK, 11/22/15
1:52:55 - SeaWheeze Half Marathon, Vancouver, BC, 8/12/17
1:58:16 - 3M Half Marathon, Austin, TX, 1/13/13
1:59:21 - Wineglass Half Marathon, Bath, NY, 10/2/16
1:59:33 - Texas Half Marathon, Kingwood, TX, 1/1/11
1:59:37 - Aramco Houston Half Marathon, Houston, TX, 1/14/18
1:59:48 - Aramco Houston Half Marathon, Houston, TX, 1/15/12
2:00:31 - The Woodlands Half Marathon, The Woodlands, TX, 2/28/15
2:00:32 - Thunder Road Half Marathon, Charlotte, NC, 11/12/11
2:00:37 - ZOOMA Texas Half Marathon, Cedar Creek, TX, 3/28/15
2:01:03 - Aramco Houston Half Marathon, Houston, TX, 1/17/10
2:01:20 - Run Girl Half Marathon, Humble, TX, 12/11/11
2:04:41 - Run Wild Half Marathon, Houston, TX, 2/21/10
2:05:47 - Broadway Bridge Half Marathon, Kansas City, MO, 9/9/12
2:05:59 - ZOOMA Texas Half Marathon, Lost Pine, TX, 3/10/18
2:06:33 - More Magazine Women's Half Marathon, New York City, NY, 4/25/10
2:06:35 - Rock 'N' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon, Las Vegas, NV, 12/4/11
2:07:00 - Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon, Lake Buena Vista, FL, 10/1/11
2:10:14 - Galveston Mardi Gras Half Marathon, Galveston, TX, 2/20/11
2:10:14 - Run Girl Half Marathon, Humble, TX, 12/12/10
2:11:20 - Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Half Marathon, San Antonio, TX, 11/15/09
2:12:26 - Aramco Houston Half Marathon, Houston, TX, 1/14/17
2:12:55 - Scott and White BCS Half Marathon, College Station, TX, 12/9/12
2:16:13 - Davy Crockett Bear Chase Half Marathon, Groveton, TX, 4/14/12
2:16:13 - The Gusher Half Marathon, Beaumont, TX, 5/1/10
2:19:13 - The Kauai Half Marathon, Koloa, HI, 9/4/11
2:20:25 - Sedona Half Marathon, Sedona, AZ, 2/2/13
2:21:05 - Panhandle Half Marathon, Lubbock, TX, 9/22/12 (ran with Jon Walk)
2:28:20 - Angie's Half Crazy Half Marathon, Houston, TX, 3/27/11 (ran with Jon Walk)
2:57:36 - Gulf Coast Half Marathon, Mandeville, LA, 10/9/11 (pacing a friend)
3:04:20 - 3M Half Marathon, Austin, TX, 1/24/16 (pacing a friend)

Bible In A Year

January 1 - Genesis 1:1-2:25, Matthew 1:1-2:12, Psalm 1:1-6, Proverbs 1:1-6
January 2 - Genesis 3:1-4:26, Matthew 2:13-3:6, Psalm 2:1-12, Proverbs 1:7-9
January 3 - Genesis 5:1-7:24, Matthew 3:7-4:11, Psalm 3:1-8, Proverbs 1:10-19
January 4 - Genesis 8:1-10:32, Matthew 4:12-25, Psalm 4:1-8, Proverbs 1-20-23
January 5 - Genesis 11:1-13:4, Matthew 5:1-26, Psalm 5:1-12, Proverbs 1:24-28
January 6 - Genesis 13:5-15:21, Matthew 5:27-48, Psalm 6:1-10, Proverbs 1:29-33
January 7 - Genesis 16:1-18:15, Matthew 6:1-24, Psalm 7:1-17, Proverbs 2:1-5
January 8 - Genesis 18:16-19:38, Matthew 6:25-7:14, Psalm 8:1-9, Proverbs 2:6-15
January 9 - Genesis 20:1-22:24, Matthew 7:15-29, Psalm 9:1-12, Proverbs 2:16-22
January 10 - Genesis 23:1-24:51, Matthew 8:1-17, Psalm 9:13-20, Proverbs 3:1-6
January 11 - Genesis 24:52-26:16, Matthew 8:18-34, Psalm 10:1-15, Proverbs 3:7-8
January 12 - Genesis 26:17-27:46, Matthew 9:1-17, Psalm 10:16-18, Proverbs 3:9-10
January 13 - Genesis 28:1-29:35, Matthew 9:18-38, Psalm 11:1-7, Proverbs 3:11-12
January 14 - Genesis 30:1-31:16, Matthew 10:1-23, Psalm 12:1-8, Proverbs 3:13-15
January 15 - Genesis 31:17-32:12, Matthew 10:24-11:6, Psalm 13:1-6, Proverbs 3:16-18
January 16 - Genesis 32:13-34:31, Matthew 11:7-30, Psalm 14:1-7, Proverbs 3:19-20
January 17 - Genesis 35:1-36:43, Matthew 12:1-21, Psalm 15:1-5, Proverbs 3:21-26
January 18 - Genesis 37:1-38:30, Matthew 12:22-45, Psalm 16:1-11, Proverbs 3:27-32
January 19 - Genesis 39:1-41:16, Matthew 12:46-13:23, Psalm 17:1-15, Proverbs 3:33-35
January 20 - Genesis 41:17-42:17, Matthew 13:24-46, Psalm 18:1-15, Proverbs 4:1-6
January 21 - Genesis 42:18-43:34, Matthew 13:47-14:12, Psalm 18:16-36, Proverbs 4:7-10
January 22 - Genesis 44:1-25:28, Matthew 14:13-36, Psalm 18:37-50, Proverbs 4:11-13
January 23 - Genesis 46:1-47:31, Matthew 15:1-28, Psalm 19:1-14, Proverbs 4:14-19
January 24 - Genesis 48:1-49:33, Matthew 15:29-16:12, Psalm 20:1-9, Proverbs 4:20-2
January 25 - Genesis 50:1-26, Exodus 1:1-2:10, Matthew 16:13-17:9, Psalm 21:1-13, Proverbs 5:1-6

Expect A Miracle; January 21, 2018

My daughter got me a new devotional for Christmas, but I hadn't taken the time to pick it up and get into it.

However, the authors, Scott Whitaker and Nathan Whitaker, positioned on the outside cover that it was "Do-able.  Every One Year book is designed for people who live busy, active lives.  Just pick one up and start on today's date."

So the devotional of "Impact For Living:  Men's Devotional" for January 21 is "Expect A Miracle".

It asked "How was last week for you?  Anything special happen in your family?  Amy miracles?  Did you even notice?  Or in the midst of your busyness, would you have even had a chance to notice any?"

I would say, at times, that even life is a miracle, especially given our opportunities to really attempt to mess up what God has planned for our lives.

For example, I'm always so thankful for safe travels.

I drove 806 miles during the work week:  Monday evening to early Friday morning when I returned my rental car to Houston Intercontinental Airport.

To be safe that entire time is something we sometimes just take for granted.  Actually, I think when we drive we make more decisions as we do that than any other time during the day.

Think about it.  We look left, we look right before we go through the intersection.  We're judging the speed of the cars coming to a stop at the left of us, exercising faith that they're going to stop. 

We see the car coming up behind us and ask God that the driver that is approaching at a fast rate of speed stops in time and doesn't hit us.

Just that entire process that we do over and over is a miracle to me.

Even not having something happen when we get frustrated with a driver around us, such as road rage, which is one of my greatest sins and challenges.

Speaking of sin, one of the most profound things that stuck out to me from attending church this morning was being reminded of "getting back in the game" after asking God for forgiveness and reconciling with him.

Where I attended church this morning is starting a study through the book of Acts.

It was the second week that they were in this Series and they were focusing on verses 12 through 26.

It was after Jesus had ascended to Heaven to be with His heavenly father and the disciples were meeting to select another to join their ranks.

And it was Peter, who denied Christ three times, who was preaching to them and leading them.

It was an encouragement to me that God doesn't want to ever give up on us as a believer and a follower of Him.

When we sin, He wants us to come to Him, seek forgiveness and be reconciled.

I've ever learned recently that I'm thankful that God has chosen to punish me for my sin because it proves to me that He still loves me and has something planned for me, if I'm willing to give it all back over to Him.

So I'm thankful that I made a commitment to get up and be in church this morning.

I received a blessing - and encouragement - from the message.

My prayer is that it I continue to believe each and every day going forward as best I can - and seek His help along the way.

That's the miracle I'm expecting to see in the days and week to come.

Churches Attended and Visited in 2017

Worship Services
January 1 -- Absent (Working the Texas Marathon, Kingwood)
January 8 -- Attended North Park Baptist Church, Humble, TX (Jerry Thorpe)
January 15 -- Absent (Covering the Chevron Houston Marathon)
January 22 -- Visited First Baptist Church Waco, Waco, TX (Mark Snowden)
January 29 -- Absent (Ran the USA Fit Half Marathon in Sugar Land)
February 5 -- Visited Blue Ridge Community Church, Forest, VA (Woody Torrence)
February 12 -- Absent (Announced the Galveston Marathon)
February 19 -- Visited North Fort Worth Baptist Church, Fort Worth, TX (Dr. Stephen Lowrie)
February 26 -- Visited University Heights Baptist Church, Huntsville, TX (Richard Rogers)
March 5 -- Absent
March 12 -- Absent
March 19 -- Absent (Announced the Seabrook Lucky Trails Marathon)
March 26 -- Absent (Ran the Lookin' Good Shamrock Strut 10K)
April 2 -- Absent
April 9 -- Absent (Ran the Ponchatoula Jaycees Strawberry Strut 10K)
April 16 -- Absent
April 23 -- Absent (Worn out from announcing at Ironman Texas aid station on April 22)
April 30 -- Absent (Attended Texas 10 Sienna, Missouri City)
May 7 -- Absent (Worn out from announcing CB&I Triathlon on May 6)
May 14 -- Absent (Traveling to visit Gom)
May 21 -- Attended North Park Baptist Church, Humble, TX
May 28 -- Absent (Ran the Rogue Trail Series - Reveille Peak Ranch 10K in Burnet)
June 4 -- Absent
June 11 -- Absent (Announcing Sylvan Beach Triathlon)
June 18 -- Attended North Park Baptist Church, Humble, TX (Kirk Godkin)
June 25 -- Visited Catalyst Church, Altoona, PA (Mike Blackie)
July 2 -- Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Trace Howard)
July 9 -- Absent (Ran Burn Your Half Off Half Marathon, Chattanooga, TN)
July 16 -- Absent
July 23 -- Absent
July 30 -- Visited First Baptist Church of Texarkana, Texarkana, TX (Jeff Schreve)
August 6 -- Absent
August 13 -- Absent
August 20 -- Absent
August 27 -- Absent (Hurricane Harvey)
September 3 - Visited Greater Waco Baptist Church, Waco, TX (Gerald McKelroy)
September 10 - Absent (Ran 10K in Austin, Texas)
September 17 - Absent (Returning from Bismarck, North Dakota)
September 24 - Absent (Returning from Lynchburg, Virginia)
October 1 - Absent
October 8 - Absent (Announced Space City 10-Miler at UH-Clear Lake)
October 15 - Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX
October 22 - Absent
October 29 - Absent (Announced Houston Half Marathon)
November 5 - Absent (DNF'd Bowling Green Marathon)
November 12 - Absent
November 19 - Absent (Ran La Porte By The Bay Half Marathon)
November 26 - Absent (Ran HMSA Classical 25K)
December 3 - Absent (Supported Run Girl 13.1)
December 10 - Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Jason Shepperd)
December 17 - Absent (Ran Santa Hustle Half Marathon)

December 24 - Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Jason Shepperd)
December 31 - Visited Church Project, The Woodlands, TX (Jason Shepperd)

Church Services Listened To
1/15/17 (2/9/17) - "Purpose Over Popularity", North Park Baptist Church, Humble, TX (Kirk Godkin)
1/22/17 (2/9/17) - "Surrender Over Control", North Park Baptist Church, Humble, TX (Sandy Beard)
8/13/17 (8/22/17) - "Church 101:  Purpose - Why Do We Exist?", Southview Baptist Church, Lincoln, NE (Aaron Householder)