Almost an entire month since a blog. Entirely too long. It has been a busy few weeks. Just yesterday though I had a great event. I have been riding my bike to work and home instead of the bus. This incorporates my exercise with my commute and with the way the Oakland buses run I actually make it to work more quickly.
Tuesdays and Thursday are unique because I coach lacrosse in Montclair. "The Village of Montclair" begins just at the bottom of the Oakland Hills. And absolutely beautiful area with nice houses and shopping. So after work and before community groups on these days I bike up to Montclair. And when I say up I mean up. It is approximately 4.2 miles, 3.8 of which is uphill. Each day I had been improving actually being able to bike further and further rather than getting of my bike and walking. My goal being to be able to bike the entire way. This is quite a feat because it means on these days I will bike about 12 miles total. Yesterday was my first time accomplishing my goal. At first I thought I was only going to make up the hill on Oakland Ave which is just enormous. After doing that I felt very tired and excited and when I made it to the foot of the next hill another biker glided right in front of me to make it up the hill. I thought if he can do it, I can. And I followed him up the entire hill.
By the time I got to lacrosse practice I was very excited and used the opportunity to talk to the guys about setting goals for themselves. Each guy will set a personal goal, write it down, fold it up, and then tape it to the inside of their helmet. All of them think I am crazy, but setting out goals and accomplishing them is a great way to recognize the work God is doing. I never imagined that so quickly after getting into shape biking would I be able to pull of such a feat, God received all praise for accomplishing this.
Recently I have been frustrated with the lack of fruit from evangelism. Having a sales background my resolution was to desire to get more people into the hopper. The more people you are talking to the greater the chance for success. So I began to pray that God would provide. That same week our neighbors pursued us to have dinner with them. It was a fabulous time and I was able to talk with them about the Lord.
Being so busy I began to question if coaching lacrosse fit into what my goals are for being here. After two average practices, one of which I had to be really hard on the kids I was really feeling like it may not be helping me accomplish my goals. At the end of practice yesterday my team mom came up to me to talk. Not unusual because we always have team business to go over. After covering the normal stuff she shared with me that her best friend had just died, and her 18 month old niece is having seizures. As she shared with me she wept and told me stories of her best friend. How they had grown up together in the church. My friend knows I am a pastor and was seeking God's comfort in that moment. I was able to talk with her about God taking care of us when we are wounded, and promised to pray for her. Perhaps lacrosse is more than merely teaching middle schoolers to run around a field.
Tuesdays and Thursday are unique because I coach lacrosse in Montclair. "The Village of Montclair" begins just at the bottom of the Oakland Hills. And absolutely beautiful area with nice houses and shopping. So after work and before community groups on these days I bike up to Montclair. And when I say up I mean up. It is approximately 4.2 miles, 3.8 of which is uphill. Each day I had been improving actually being able to bike further and further rather than getting of my bike and walking. My goal being to be able to bike the entire way. This is quite a feat because it means on these days I will bike about 12 miles total. Yesterday was my first time accomplishing my goal. At first I thought I was only going to make up the hill on Oakland Ave which is just enormous. After doing that I felt very tired and excited and when I made it to the foot of the next hill another biker glided right in front of me to make it up the hill. I thought if he can do it, I can. And I followed him up the entire hill.
By the time I got to lacrosse practice I was very excited and used the opportunity to talk to the guys about setting goals for themselves. Each guy will set a personal goal, write it down, fold it up, and then tape it to the inside of their helmet. All of them think I am crazy, but setting out goals and accomplishing them is a great way to recognize the work God is doing. I never imagined that so quickly after getting into shape biking would I be able to pull of such a feat, God received all praise for accomplishing this.
Recently I have been frustrated with the lack of fruit from evangelism. Having a sales background my resolution was to desire to get more people into the hopper. The more people you are talking to the greater the chance for success. So I began to pray that God would provide. That same week our neighbors pursued us to have dinner with them. It was a fabulous time and I was able to talk with them about the Lord.
Being so busy I began to question if coaching lacrosse fit into what my goals are for being here. After two average practices, one of which I had to be really hard on the kids I was really feeling like it may not be helping me accomplish my goals. At the end of practice yesterday my team mom came up to me to talk. Not unusual because we always have team business to go over. After covering the normal stuff she shared with me that her best friend had just died, and her 18 month old niece is having seizures. As she shared with me she wept and told me stories of her best friend. How they had grown up together in the church. My friend knows I am a pastor and was seeking God's comfort in that moment. I was able to talk with her about God taking care of us when we are wounded, and promised to pray for her. Perhaps lacrosse is more than merely teaching middle schoolers to run around a field.
posted by michaelstevensrev at 2:13 PM
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