Thursday, September 15, 2011

Meditations on Running, entry #4

Run length - 3.55
Song that got me home - We Will Dance, Travis Cottrell
Verse of the morning - Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; and confirm for us the work of our hands; yes, confirm the work of our hands. Psalm 90:17

I am a creature of habit, sometimes in weird ways. I have certain routine things that I do and I don't like to deviate from those things, particularly when it comes to running. (If you are reading this, Johnny Dickerson, I tried really hard not to stop and re-tie my shoes. I couldn't do it. And, once one shoe has been re-tied, the other must be re-tied as well. Always the right first and the left second.) Today, for instance, I had to go by the Post Office and drop something off. One of the parks I run by is near the Post Office. But, that's not the one I usually park by so, instead of parking there I drove to my regular park parking lot so as not to mess up my routine.

The great thing about working at home is working in one's pajammies, like I did this morning.  I have a couple of heavy things going on and was sidetracked this morning but finally had to get out the door because I had some things to talk over with God. Like the above verse, I am asking for His favor and confirmation on the projects I have going right now.  I love to run and pray. It seems like a great way to leave distractions behind and, for me, to have great times of worship and conversation. I also have my best ideas while I'm out running. I had a great run today and even went beyond my planned 3 miles. It helped that the temp outside was 74 degrees when I got out of the car at 11:05 am!

A few years ago I was working on my master's degree and, because it was in Christian Education, I had to have a required course in Spiritual Formation. For the class, one of the texts was a book titled DiscipleShape, Twelve Weeks to Spiritual Fitness by Dan R. Crawford. Basically, the author compared growing spiritually to physical fitness in parts of the book. One chapter is titled, "Walking" followed by the chapter titled "Running." Check out an excerpt from the book below:

Physical fitness experts assure us that forward motion connects the mind, body, and spirit, which makes us feel whole...Physiologists tell us if we walk long enough we'll shift into our right brain, opening up an unlimited supply of creative solutions to problems and inspirational thoughts...The mind seems to function more clearly when the physical juices are flowing. In other words, movement motivates and facilitates prayer. (p 62)

So, we know there are all kinds of physical health benefits to walking and running. There are also emotional and spiritual. So, get out there and get moving. Put your favorite worship music on your iPod and spend some time with Jesus. It works for me - I hope it will for you as well.

Serving the King
    and Running with Purpose,

Jeanette

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