A Note From Tom: April 20th, 2012
Hey, everyone!
Hope you're having an awesome day! It's gonna be a great day for anything fun you might have planned, like…jogging! To get ready for the Young Life 5K Run/Walk two weeks from tomorrow!
"What?! I can't run that far! I know the K in 5K stands for one thousand! I can't run 5000 anything!"
Whoa, Nellie! A 5K is 5000 meters, not miles or acres! It's only 3.1 miles! That's not bad! A server in at Ruby Tuesday's can walk between six and ten miles per shift! So three miles without having to carry burgers or wait on potentially grumpy people isn't too tough!
Still haven't decided whether to do it yet? Let me give you a few things to think about…
It's soooo good to work on being fit and healthy! Sometimes, those who love our Lord neglect this! A study at Purdue showed that 20% of those who call themselves "Conservative Christian" have more to them than they should! 27% of Baptists are overweight…I remember one person saying that in their third grade class, they were studying religions of the world, and kids were bringing items from their different religions to school for "Show and Tell". One girl said, "My family's Jewish and this is a menorah." A young Muslim boy said, "Our religion is Islam. This is a prayer rug." A little Baptist kid said, "I'm a Baptist. This is a casserole dish."
One journalist went to a wedding where they didn't believe in drinking alcohol, so instead of toasting the bride with wine, they used ice cream sundaes!
Yikes!
We happen to live in a physical body. And how you eat, sleep, and move affects how you feel, think, and "emote". Lots of times folks struggle with discouragement and even depression they don't understand. Sometimes it's an emotional thing but sometimes it's more of a physical problem. Maybe I need to change how I eat (too much junk!) or how I sleep (not enough of that!)…Elijah was so depressed, he didn't want to face another day! Answer? An angel told him to eat some healthy stuff and he got a good nap! (1 Kings 19)
Still need convincing? Here's some reasons straight out of the Bible (sorta!)…
You don't have to run the whole way! You can walk from start to finish! Walking's not anything to be ashamed of! In Isaiah 40, he says that those who "wait on the Lord will renew their strength! …They will run and not get weary! They will walk and not faint!" So…walking's just as good!
If you want to run, that's good, too! Jeremiah wrote, "Run for your lives!" (Jer. 51)…but you're not running for your life! You're running for the lives of kids! All the money that comes in that morning will go to pay for kids in Anderson Co so they can go to Young Life camp this summer and hear about Jesus! Without your help, many couldn't go! It's for their lives!
Paul says, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize!" (1 Cor 9)You can run like you were the only one to get a prize…but on May 5, EVERYONE gets a T-shirt and other cool stuff!
In Hebrews 12, it says, "Let us run with patience the race marked out for us!" Sometimes my race through life is a little difficult because I know God knows what's ahead, but I don't always (or hardly ever know!)…but this race will be clearly marked out! From the ORHS parking lot to around the Soup Kitchen, the Farmer's Market, and back!
In Exodus 12, the Egyptians gave money and stuff so the Israelites could go into the desert and camp for years. In the YL 5K, you give money ($25 pre-register or $30 day of) so kids can go to a YL camp for a week! And their lives will NEVER be the same!
So there are plenty of great reasons for you to join us for the YL 5K! I might have stretched some of those references a little too much, but Hey! It's always good to stretch before a race!!
Sign up today!