"God, I don't want to miss the chances"

"... When you open the door / What may seem so insignificant / You see so much more."

You're thinking, WTF?! Hear me out. I am not proselytizing or evangelizing -- not that there's anything wrong with that; it is The Great Commission, after all. The lyrics from Greg Long's "Fifteen," however, are about making a difference in others' lives by spreading the Word. Don't miss a chance to tell people about Jesus because you may be the one that leads them to knowing Him.

" 'Cause, I may be the third, may be the seventh / There may be years in between / But what if I'm fifteen ? / What if I'm fifteen?"

So why is this today's lyrical lead-in to a running blog? Well, it just so happens that the message contained in Long's 3-minute song is also the focus of the book I found in the gutter down the street as I wrapped up 5 miles on the streets of Galesburg this morning. Bill Hybels' Just Walk Across the Room is all about "personal evangelism" and how you can make a difference in someone's life with just a walk across the room to talk to him or her.

That's all. I'm not sure blatant evangelism is my style, so the book probably will find its way into the library at First Presbyterian Church. 

Anyway, the book, covered in snow, winked at me as I jogged past, just a block from home. I did a U-turn and picked it up, not sure what to expect. To find a hardcover book with its dust jacket intact was rather a surprise -- and in good condition, too. I was pretty happy at that since the run had yielded nothing but a Pepsi can and a Miller can to that point. I added another Pepsi can in the final block.

Normally I leave the cans and plastic bottles where they lie, but having vowed to pick up some of the trash I find, at least periodically, I decided to start today. Plus, I've enhanced that goal with a little personal incentive besides the warm, fuzzy feeling one gets from helping Woodsy Owl and that Indian, er, Native American with the single tear streaking down his cheek from those '70s television commercials.

The goal now is to collect enough aluminum cans (running, walking, biking, at home, whatever) to pay for a new bike! It's a lofty goal, but I think it obtainable. Wish me luck. If anyone wants to save cans for me just drop a comment here and we'll arrange for delivery or pick-up.

"Ocean Breeze" is the title of the mosaic at right, created by my daughter
Amanda and two other students, Katie VanHootegem and Sarah Schlake.
It earned a first in the GHS art show last year. Good job, girls!

Today's Stats

Temp: 18 degrees F

Distance: 5 miles

Weekly Total: 10 miles

Treasure: 1 book, Just Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybels; 3 aluminum cans; daughter's artwork on display at the public library.

iPod Playlist (shuffle)

Change-up today. I forsook the iPod for a Playaway audio book. I listened to Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton, published posthumously in 2009, chapters 22-26.

Fun Quotes:

"The Kraken does not like the shallows." - Sasson the Frenchman, as Capt. Hunter orders the ship into the shoals to evade a giant squid.

"My breasts were my best feature. I was the envy of every woman of breeding in London." - Lady Sarah Olmont, lamenting, upon her rescue, the scars she received as a prisoner to a Spanish sea captain.