Peeps -- How do I get that goodness inside me (or not)?

Jay Hardwick's post in his Friday Five reminded me of a great college memory. I don't think it was my greatest moment, it was probably my most devious. After Easter one year, me and some buddies went down to the local Wal Mart and stocked up on boxes of Peeps. At the time, we were engaged in a practial joke war with some other friends and Peeps were the best ammunition for our next strike. They put those babies on sale for next to nothing ($.25 per box). They are practically trying to give away pure sugar to the lowest bidder. We bought about 20 boxes (80 individual peeps total), threw down our $5 (we were poor college students), and set out to complete our mission. Our mission you ask? Light the bottoms of all 80 Peeps on fire, melting the marshmellow inner layer, and plaster them to our friends' door. If you have ever melted marshmellows and sugar together before you know its not pretty. When our friends pull the Peeps off the door, the little marshmellow spots remained -- hence, the prank of "Peeping someone's door." I can promise your friends will never try a practical joke on you again if you pull this one out of your pocket.

DISCLAIMER: The door mentioned in the previous blog post was not ruined and easily cleaned off with some soap and intense scrubbing. The author of "Running the Race" is not liable if any reader decides to employ this technique on their favorite friend. :)

Through the eyes of a child....

Sometimes I wish I saw life through the lens of a child. I love being around children, in particular teenagers (I know....call me crazy!!). I talk a lot about my involvment in YoungLife and coaching Little League baseball. Because of these experiences, I have the chance to escape my "grown up" world of Blackberries, weekly status meetings, busines trips, starched dress shirts and ironed slacks. Don't get me wrong, being a grown up has it advantages and I need to make some money so that I can be responsible and pay my rent. But I'm often stopped dead in my tracks by the kids in my life and challenged to take a look at life through their eyes.

Here is an example from this week:

An exchange with one of my baseball players (age 8) after the game - Please keep in mind our team got beat badly (11-2) on Wednesday after our first victory on Tuesday.

G: "Did we win Coach B?"
Me: "No, G, we came up a little short."
G: "Coach B?"
Me: "Yes, G."
G: "Do we still get tickets (basically money) for the snack stand?"

He was not playing to win a world championship at age 8. All he wanted to do is play the game to the best of his ability knowing there was a "treat" to look forward to in the end.

What if I/we approached life like that? What if we lived knowing there was a "treat" at the end -- spending eternity with our Heavenly Father?

Giants Put One in the Win Column!

Last night, my Little League team got their first "W" of the year against the D-Backs. The final score was 3-1.

A couple items of note:

• Austin drove in our first run of the ballgame with a 2-out single. Austin has never played baseball before and was on top of the world last night after his first hit.


• Alec was unhittable on the mound. He gave up 1 run on 2 hits and left 4 runners stranded on base. He finished with 11 Ks. At the plate, Alec executed a hit and run beautifully by poking the ball through the left side of the infield after the SS left to cover second on the steal. He finished the night 1 for 1 (walk, triple) with one run scored.

I was so proud of my kids last night and the way they played throughout the game. They are coming together as a team and it is starting to show. The Giants take to the diamond again tonight against the Mets. Bronson will be on the mound tonight.

Easter Celebration!!

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to celebrate Easter with my mom, dad, and niece. Since I moved out to Arizona, Easter has become the holiday in which my parents travel to see me instead of me heading back to Texas.

We did a lot of fun things throughout the Valley during the weekend, but one of the highlights was the Scottsdale Passion Play at my church. It powerfully portrayed Jesus Christ's life and death on Calvary's hill. This year, the Lord powerfully revealed the extravagant love of Christ and His death on the cross for my sins and your sins. I was blown away all weekend thinking about God's extravagant love for me -- even when I screw up time and time again.

When I think back on the weekend, I reflect on those powerful lyrics of the song "In Christ Alone"

"Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again.
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me.
For I am His and He is mine,
bought with the precious blood of Christ."

May we not ever forgot those words and live in that freedom throughout the year!

Caption Contest....

How should I caption this photo? As an fyi, I spent the weekend on a ranch innoculating, drenching, and tagging goats and this city boy had a bunch of fun.



Leave your "proposed" caption in the comment section.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

My dad's birthday is today -- March 20 (also, the first day of Spring). For 26 years, this man has impacted my life in ways that are hard to describe. I'm who I am today because of his loving support and his quite and steadfast spiritual leadership of our family.

At one point in my life, he was going to school to work on his college degree, holding down a full time job, coaching me and brother's Little League baseball team, and finding time to spend time with our family. He personifies what it means to "work hard."

To sum it up, my dad was/is/always will be a role model for me. He has "BEEN THERE" for me, my mom, my brother, and our entire family. Dad, I love you. Happy Birthday!

A Shout Out from "Running the Race"

Last week I had the opportunity to meet Leland Klassen, a Christian comedian, at NRB. I watched a couple of videos of him prior to the conference so I knew I was in for a treat. Let's just say I felt like I had just completed a mean ab workout after he was finished.

I ragged him a bit after the show for not updating his blog very often, so he promised to blog more and, in the meantime, ragged on me a bit for "scolding" him.

If you get the chance, check out his Web site, his videos on YouTube and GodTube, and support this guy -- great, clean comedy for the entire family.

Recent Trip....

As many of you know, I just returned from an 11 day business/personal trip across the United States. I'm a tired and weery traveler, but I'm back home now and able to sleep in my cozy bed every night.

Here is a brief snapshot of my week and a half excursion:

Aeronautical miles traveled -- More than 8,000
Miles traveled by car -- More than 1,500
Cities visited -- 5 Atlanta; Greenville; Nashville, Chattanooga, and San Antonio)
Presidential Speech -- 1
Airlines -- 2 (Delta, Southwest)
Differnt types of airplanes -- 2 (Boeing 767 and Boeing 737)
Hotel rooms -- 2
Different time zones -- 6
Tired and weery traveler -- 1
The ENTIRE EXPERIENCE -- Priceless!!

"Hail to the Chief"

 

Here is a picture of our "special guest" last week at the National Religous Broadcasters Convention. We found out that the President would address the conference on Monday morning. I was PUMPED!! This is the first time I have heard him speak. Being a communications professional, I don't think President Bush is the best orator in history (I think that nod goes to President Reagan); however, he was very comfortable and jovial throughout his entire speech -- one of the best I've seen him give outside of the speeches he gave following September 11.

Were you able to guess correctly from my post last week?

My NEW License Plate

 

For those of you who don't know, I'm a huge Texas Aggie. My house is adorned in maroon and white; I wear maroon every Friday in anticipation of Saturday football games. I like to tell people I bleed maroon and I think this solidifies that claim -- the newest addition to the Black Beauty.

I'm going to make this quick...

...I'm currently sitting in Starbucks at San Antonio International Airport waiting on some friends to pick me up for a weekend in the Hill Country. I just returned from a week long business trip. I'll post more on the trip in the coming days, but I've got to make this short and sweet becuase I only paid for 15 minutes of Internet usage. GOSH!! THAT'S HIGH!! I can't believe I did it, but I needed to send some much needed e-mails and wanted to briefly update my blog. It definitely highlights mine and many Americans insatiable desire for the Internet. I'm looking forward to getting back on track next week and posting more reguarly.

Leave me a comment and I'll get back to you next week!!

All the Best,
pbw

A Big Surprise -- A Gentle Reminder

I've been "post lacking" the past few days because I'm attending a conference in Nashville, TN this week and have not had much time on or access to the Internet. However, I'm back and have a wonderful story to share.

I'm currently attending the National Religious Broadcasters' Convention. To some, sticking dull pencils in both of your eyes sounds more exciting than that, but for me, it's my line of work and I'm getting to meet the people I work with on a daily basis face to face. All that to say, I'm here to network and network some more. I've met a lot of great contacts but hit a stalemate this morning. This afternoon I stopped to pray for God to put one or two people in front of me to meet before the day was up. Little did I know, I was in for a huge surprise. Later that afternoon, I ran into a buddy I went to college with. We decided to have dinner and that's where God unfolded His gentle reminder that He is mighty to save and that His grace alone is sufficient. Keep in mind, I have not talked to this guy in about 4 years, but we spoke as if we talk ever week. We shared what was going on in our life and then I asked the question. "You are different than when I knew you in college. What has changed?" He was excited to answer that question because he decided a couple years back to turn his life over to Christ. Our conversation turned from the events in our lives to what the Lord was doing in our lives. I could have talked to my friend (I'm withholding his name for anonymity) for hours on end, but we both had to get to bed. I'm so excited about our NEW relationship and the chance to build that relationship as brothers in Christ.

Tonight just made my entire week!! I will remember this night for one special reason -- the Lord knows the depths of our hearts; He pursues us on a daily basis; and though we may fall short and screw up several times, He continuously calls us back into His arms and loves us through it.

I'm off to bed. We have an early morning tomorrow and a **special guest** joining us. Check back to see who that guest is tomorrow.

Tired.....

Worn out....exhausted -- those are a few words that come to mind right now. I drove up and back to Greenville, South Carolina from Atlanta, Georgia for a business meeting. Stick a fork in me, I'm done. I'll post more on my trip and some things I've been thinking about tomorrow.

Goodnight!

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Today, I left the PHX area for a week and four days on a business trip that will take me to Atlanta, Greenville, SC, Nashville, back to Phoenix and then to San Antonio. Can you say all four time zones in a little over a week? My body is not going to know what to do.

I told you it's about the little things....well...today was another one of those days. I got a chance to fly on a Boeing 777 from PHX to ATL -- a HUGE BIRD!! It was awesome!! I've never been on a plane that size before. I love to fly and have been on many planes over the past few years, but this plane ride was one I'll not forget anytime soon.

Yea Hah! It's going to be a great week. I'll update you on my travels throughout the week.

At Long Last....

Here is a little snapshot of my wonderful weekend!! I ran a few errands and went to a "rad" 80s party (DISCLAIMER: no pictures from that party will be posted b/c I was wearing really short shorts). Aside from that, I did what I love to do this time of year -- watch baseball and a lot of it.

Check some of my pictures from Spring Training and the Coca Cola College Baseball Classic in Suprise, AZ and Phoenix:


Surpise Recreation Complex -- Suprise, AZ
Spring Training Home of KC Royals and Texas Rangers








Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan (white shirt; front row) looks own as the Rangers beat the Royals




Phoenix Municipal Stadium - Phoenix, AZ
Spring Training Home of the Oakland Athletics

It's the little things...

I love the "little things" in life. Sometimes I can get so busy and so wrapped up in life that I don't stop to appreciate these things that bring me so much joy, but the Lord has His own little way of reminding me from time to time. Yesterday was one of those days.

Over the past month, I've been in charge of organizing the shipment of 10 care packages to a colleague of mine who is currently serving overseas in the Army. It has been a true joy to serve in this capacity, but it has also also a ton of work. On Friday, I mailed 9 of the 10 boxes -- holding one back for someone to include a note they wrote from the weekend. I mailed that final package yesterday on my lunch hour.

As I stepped up to the counter at the Post Office, a man walked up behind me (unbeknowingest to me) and asked if I was sending a care package to a soldier. I responded with a polite, "yes, sir, I am." He then dropped a $10 to cover the shippping and said, "I'd like to do my part to help out" and walked away. I was shocked. I didn't even have the chance to get his name. He just wanted to "pay to forward." Since I didn't get a chance to speak with him, I don't know if he was a follower of Christ or not, but in that instance, he was Christ personified. He wanted no recognition; he just wanted to serve others faithfully.

Have you ever wanted to serve someone without them knowing? If not, I challenge you to find a way to do that over the next few weeks. I'm going to challenge myself to do the same.

BTW....more on my fun filled weekend of BASEBALL, BASEBALL, BASEBALL soon!!