CIA Agents Already Know This Stuff

Note to self: You cannot operate a computer's fingerprint scanner with gloves on. Trust me on this one. I've tried it. No dice! Duly noted.

Hallowed be Thy name...

Have you ever thought about what it means when you pray, "Our Father, which art in Heaven, hallowed by Thy name"? You are honoring God our Father's name. His name is awesome! Let me list the names given to Him in the Bible...

A faithful God (Deut 32:4), A forgiving God (Neh 9:17), A fortress of salvation (Ps 28:8), A glorious crown (Isa 28:5), A jealous and avenging God (Nah 1:2), A Master in heaven (Col 4:1), A refuge for his people (Joel 3:16), A refuge for the oppressed (Ps 9:9) A refuge for the poor (Isa 25:4), A sanctuary (Isa 8:14), A shade from the heat (Isa 25:4), A shelter from the storm (Isa 25:4), A source of strength (Isa 28:6), A stronghold in times of trouble (Ps 9:9), An ever-present help in times of trouble (Ps 46:1), Architect and builder (Heb 11:10), Builder of everything (Heb 3:4), Commander of the army of the Lord (Josh 5:14), Creator of heaven and earth (Gen 14:19), Defender of widows (Ps 68:5), Eternal King (Jer 10:10), Father (Matt 5:16), Father of compassion (2 Cor 1:3), Father of our spirits (Heb 12:9), Father of the heavenly lights (James 1:17), Father to the fatherless (Ps 68:5), God (Gen 1:2), God Almighty (Gen 17:1), God and Father of Jesus Christ (1 Pet 1:3), God Most High (Gen 14:18-22), God my Maker (Job 35:10), God my Rock (Ps 42:9), God my Savior (Ps 18:46), God my stronghold (Ps 144:2), God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (Ex 3:16), God of all comfort (2 Cor 1:3), God of all mankind (Jer 32:27), God of glory (Ps 29:3), god of gods (Ps 136:2), God of grace (1 Pet 5:10), God of peace (1 Thess 5:23), God of retribution (Jer 51:56), God of the living (Matt 22:32), God of the spirits (Num 16:22), God of truth (Ps 31:5), God our Father (Col 1:2), God our strength (Ps 18:2), God over all the kingdoms (Dan 4:17), God the Father (Col 3:17), God who avenges me (Ps 94:1), God who relents from sending calamity (Joel 2:13), Great and awesome God (Deut 7:12), Great and powerful God (Jer 32:18), Great, mighty, awesome God (Deut 10:17), He who blots out your transgressions (Isa 43:25), He who comforts you (Isa 66:13), He who forms the hearts of all (Ps 33:15), He who raised Christ from the dead (Rom 8:11), He who reveals His thoughts to man (Amos 4:13), Helper of the fatherless (Ps 10:14), Him who is able to do more than all we ask or imagine (Eph 3:20), Him who is able to keep you from falling (Jude 24), Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead (2 Tim 4:1), Holy Father (John 17:11), Holy One (Rev 16:5), Holy One among you (Hos 11:9), I AM WHO I AM (Ex 3:14), Jealous (Ex 20:5), Judge of all the earth (Gen 18:25), King of glory (Ps 24:7-10), King of heaven (Dan 4:37), Living and true God (1 Thess 1:9), Lord Almighty (2 Cor 6:18), Lord God Almighty (Rev 21:22), Lord is Peace (Judg 6:24), Lord Most High (Ps 7:17), Lord is my Banner (Ex 17:15), Lord my Rock (Ps 28:1), Lord of all the earth (Zech 4:14), Lord of kings (Dan 2:47), Lord our God (Deut 1:6), Lord our Maker (Ps 95:6), Lord who heals you (Ex 15:26), Lord who is there (Ezek 48:35), Lord who makes you holy (Heb 2:11), Lord who strikes the blow (Ezek 7:9), Lord will provide (Gen 22:14), Love (1 John 4:8), Maker of all things (Jer 10:16), Most High (Gen 14:18-22), My advocate (Job 16:19), My Comforter in sorrow (Jer 8:18), My confidence (Ps 71:5), My helper (Heb 13:6), My hiding place (Ps 32:7), My hope (Ps 25:5), My light (Ps 27:1), My mighty rock (Ps 62:7), My refuge in times of trouble (Ps 59:16), My song (Ex 15:2), My strong deliverer (Ps 140:7), My support (2 Sam 22:19), One to be feared (1 Chron 16:25), Only wise God (Rom 16:27), Our dwelling place (Ps 19:1), Our help and our shield (Ps 33:20), Our judge (1 Sam 24:15), Our lawgiver (Isa 33:22), Our leader (2 Chron 13:12), Our Mighty One (Isa 33:21), Our Redeemer (Isa 63:16), Our refuge and strength (Ps 46:1), Righteous Father (John 17:25), Rock of our salvation (Ps 94:1), Shepherd (Ps 23:1), Sovereign Lord (Acts 4:24), The Almighty (Ruth 1:20), The compassionate and gracious God (Ex 34:6), The Eternal God (Gen 21:33), The consuming fire (Isa 33:14), The everlasting God (Isa 40:28), The exalted God (Mic 6:6), The faithful God (Deut 7:9), The gardener (John 15:1), The glorious Father (Eph 1:17), The glory of Israel (Mic 1:15), The God who saves me (Ps 88:1), The God who sees me (Gen 16:13), The great King above all gods (Ps 95:3), The just and mighty One (Job 34:17), The living Father (John 6:57), The Majestic Glory (2 Pet 1:17), The Majesty in heaven (Heb 1:3), The one who sustains me (Ps 54:4), The only God (Jude 1:25), The potter (Jer 18:6), The rock in whom I take refuge (Ps 18:2), The spring of living water (Jer 2:13), The strength of my heart (Ps 73:26), The true God (1 Thess 1:9), You who judge the people (Deut 33:3), Your glory (Ps 57:11), Your praise (Ps 138:1), Your very great reward (Gen 15:1)!

Do you know this great God? Praise His name!

List taken from the Experiencing God workbook, by Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby and Claude King.

6.57 miles in 56:39

connect.garmin.com/activity/146563068

when i went to bed last night, the plan was to ride this morning. i started putting on cycling gear then discovered that my bike's taillight wouldn't work. i fiddled with it a bit and got it to light up while it was apart, but couldn't get it to do anything when it was sealed together. weird stuff.

since i'm not particularly fond of getting hit, i decided i'd put the ride off and go for a run. i was up early, so i had time for a bit longer workout than usual, so i set off to run a loop - kincheloe's loop by name now - that i'd scouted on my bike last summer. i knew it was somewhere around 10K, so i figured i had enough time to do it.

i ran to the east along school, dropped down the hill on parkview drive, turned north on parkway avenue and ran up to maple. i took maple east to highway 61, then headed north. somewhere along i this first leg of my journey, i realized i'd left my knuckle lights at home. on the one day i knew i'd really need them, they were sitting by the computer in the house while i was running along outdoors.

i had no fears running the first stretch of 61. there's a wide shoulder there and an extra lane for cars to move over to if they need to. it's after younie's landscaping that things are a bit more tentative. the margin narrows at the same time the roadway does. i prayed that i wouldn't meet an inattentive driver traveling at 70mph around the curve. i met only one car in the mile or so it took to get to northeast 20th street!

i turned west and ran along dark 20th. this mile and a half stretch of old asphalt held the biggest surprise of the morning - cramps in my gut! i haven't had a side in ages. today they appeared out of nowhere. the only thing i can figure is that eating two gummi worms before i left caused the pain. whatever the source of them, they passed quickly enough. before i was across to highway 281, they were gone.

i turned south onto 281 at kincheloe's, a farm equipment dealership, and ran toward town. i crossed over to the "wrong" side of the road for a short stint to get around the one house i knew had a dog. i figured he would be asleep, but just in case, i put some distance between him and me. once i was passed, i ran back across the highway to the "right" side and ran on to the city limits.

it was nice to return to civilization and be able to see where my next footfall would land. i ran down main street, over the railroad tracks and south to school street. i turned east onto school and ran for home. at the bottom of the hill i hit the 10K mark. my time was 53:19. not my fastest ever, but still beats than the skinny kid's time! loser! i ran on and finished at my front door at 6:36 - late for waking up my wife. i walked in and woke her up, then went back out to walk a bit and cool down.

all in all, i am pleased with this morning's run. not bad for an old cyclist! i know i'm going to have to start increasing mileage sometime to get ready for november's 100-miler, but now is not that time. i'll hit it hard when june rolls around. until then, i'll just put in a 10K or half marathon distance here and there.

Repent and resist...

James 4:7-10 gives us these instructions. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (NIV)

If you want to win the battle against sin, it starts with making God your ruler. You do that by trusting in Jesus and choosing to follow him. You do that by humbly confessing your sin to God as you turn from it. You do that by standing firm against temptation when it comes.

Listen to God’s word! 1 Corinthians 10:13 is for you. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (NIV)

The temptations you face have been faced by countless others. You aren’t experiencing anything new. Others have overcome with God’s help. Trust him to help you escape!

You want some more encouragement from God’s word? Hebrews 12:1-3 is great! “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (NIV)

Resist the wrong that has become your habit. Turn away from it. Replace your sinful behavior with right behavior. Let Jesus, who faced temptation and won, change your heart.

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i am so in this one

i joined. what else could i do when i learned of the existence of a running club that so perfectly fit me? i don't recall how i stumbled upon the idiots running club, but it was a match made in...well, somewhere.

the irc (that's short for the club's name and a whole lot easier to text!) is a loosely-connected group of runners who worry less about what all the gurus of runnerdom say and more about putting in the miles.

irc members are likely to come back from runs with beardsicles or icicle mascara than they are to be all color-coordinated at the gym. their humor is self-depricating. their posts are fun. who wouldn't want to join?

if you want to learn more, visit the irc blog or their facebook page. you'll be glad you did. "ti no trid emos bur!"

take that wednesday!

connect.garmin.com/activity/146353088

i was hyper this morning...super hyper! i completed my knuckle lights giveaway, a first, and was pumped about the results! so i hopped on my bike and rode hard! i shot out of town as quickly as possible and hit the smooth-as-butter asphalt that is north highway 281. they repaved the section from the edge of town out to iuka last summer and it is awesome to ride the lane-width shoulder! i don't know why i don't take that route more often.

my plan was to ride out about 20 minutes and then turn and sprint back home. i rode out longer than that. i really had to push it coming back. thankfully, the wind at my back helped me up the slight inclines on the homeward trek and i ended up pulling into my driveway at 6:31 with almost three more miles than i thought i could get when i started.

take that wednesday! (12.89 miles @ 17.5mph)