May Running Never End

I do trail running at least once a week; specifically the Griffith Park trails.  The best time is usually immediately after work if I'm not going to jiu-jitsu or have ministry meetings.  I feel so blessed and fortunate each time I run the trails because of the opportunity to run and breathe (alluding to my previous lung failures) and the opportunity to clear my head.  The thing about trail running is that when you are going up, it's so difficult that it's impossible to focus on anything else except what's right in front of you.  If you aren't in the moment, then you will most likely trip on rocks, hurt your legs, or even run off the mountain edge.  This complete immersion allows me to thing clearly when I reach the top.  Just like each of our journeys, their are countless turns, bushes blocking our view, downhills, uphills, rocks, snakes, poop waiting to be stepped on, and countless obstacles.  But in the end you are always rewarded by an amazing view and the realization of how small you are.  Life is like a trail run.  This is especially the case if you are a believer because at the end we have heaven to look forward to...and it will be the ultimate view.  Thank you God for the opportunities to run.  Thank you for nature.  Thank you for Griffith Park and its amazing access and views of all segments of Los Angeles.


Reading Materials

I noticed during breaks at work, one of my coworker is always waiting on me to finish my reading material.  Noticing that he was waiting a lot, I recommended that he pick up a subscription and read with me.  I then told him of what my reading life looks like, and I felt it would be good to write it down here just in case I lose track in the future and forget what reading materials I like.  Or maybe I might be interested 10 years down the line to see what I was reading in my early 20's.

Daily:
1. Bible
2. Wall Street Journal (print subscription)
3. A novel of choice
4. New York Times (online)
5. Blogs (Christian, jiu-jitsu, Navy)

Weekly:
1. The Economist (print sub)

Quarterly/Monthly:
1. National Geographic (print sub)
2. Sierra Insider (print sub)
3. UCLA Magazine (print sub)

Just realized a good portion of my days are spent reading.  I hope this never stops when I grow older.

Knowing the Cost

Naval Recollection: John Paul Jones 

In September 1779, Jones fought one of the fiercest battles in naval history when he led the USS Bonhomme Richard frigate, named for Benjamin Franklin, in an engagement with the 50-gun British warship HMS Serapis. The USS Bonhomme Richard was struck; it began taking on water and caught fire. When the British captain of the Serapis ordered Jones to surrender, Jones famously replied, “I have not yet begun to fight!” A few hours later,
the British captain and crew of the Serapis admitted defeat and Jones took command of their ship.

Jones went on to establish himself as one of the greatest naval commanders in history; he is remembered, along with John Barry, as a “Father of the American Navy.” He is buried in a crypt in the U.S. Naval Academy Chapel
at Annapolis, Md., where a Marine honor guard stands at attention in his honor whenever the crypt is open to the public.

As I live my life I must remind myself to ask myself: What's the cost?

"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower.  Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?  For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, "This person began to build and wasn't able to finish."  Luke 14:28-30

Preparing to enter the armed forces, it is crucial for me to understand the costs in order to be 100% committed.  I must know that I am willing to go all the way if my men's lives are at stake.  Will I be a John Paul Jones and declare in the most dire situations, "I HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT!"

If you are a believer, then you know what you are getting yourself into.  Jesus makes it no mystery when he tells his disciples in Luke 9, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.  For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?"

Random update:

These days I've been very committed to learning the art of jiu-jitsu, and it has been one of best consistent parts of my week.  I can tell immediately when rolling with beginners as we are the ones who typically exhaust all our strength and depend on a few techniques combined with our athleticism to lead us to victory.  While this leads to a great workout, it can easily lead to pointless injuries and sore bodies.  I've noticed that the more advanced pupils conserve their energy, utilize their defense, and take their time as if they are fighting a war and not a battle.  The difference is that doing it this way allows you to learn more about your opponent, calm down, learn which techniques can be combined, and be ok with losing a few rounds.  In the beginning I used to be focused on winning and submitting my opponents.  As I've continued to train, my ability to concentrate and take the time to try different strategies has improved.  I am first to admit that I still have much to improve on, but that is the joy of jiu-jitsu: I can see my improvement every day.   

Palm Trees

Last week I organized a carpool with 2 of my co-workers. We set up a system where one person drives for a week, and then we just switch off after our week is done. As a gesture of trust, I took the dive and drove everyone to work last week. Well, now that this week has come around, I now get to enjoy being the passenger.

The first thing I noticed in the morning was the abundance of palm trees in Los Angeles. Who knew? I've been living in Los Angeles for most of my 23 years, and never noticed this. As we were passing USC's Galen Center I couldn't help but be dumbfounded that something so big had escaped my eyes for so long.

Our mind filters out much of what we see; otherwise, there would be an overload of sensory input that would result in headaches all day (don't quote me, I'm making assumptions).

The question becomes: What else that is right in front of us do we not see?

Just a man

At the end of the day, a person is just that...a person.

We are reminded of this time and time again through recollections, biographies, historical texts, or documentaries of well-known individuals throughout history.

Having been inundated in the texts of Jimmy Carter in the past months, I've grown really attached to this man and hopefully have a better picture of him than does the typical person walking around.

Even at the pinnacle of his profession, as president of the United States, Jimmy Carter still had professional worries, family worries, relationship worries...basically the worries that are present in each of our lives. Yes, sometimes his were on a bigger stage, but at the end of the day he wanted to make sure he was doing his best to take care of those he cared about. The archive of his old diary entries (un-edited I have to add) is an amazing look into the daily struggles of a genuine man seeking not his own acclaim, but the improvement of the world he lived in. Yes, not everything worked out, and the media had a great deal of say in how the public perceived certain things...and he was definitely politically punished for not participating daily in the Washington social scene and media outreach events. But he truly seems to be a man of his word, and of solid faith in his savior. He was one of the few presidents to have not invited Billy Graham to the White House, not because of his lack of faith, but rather his desire to keep separate Church and State. In his language and actions we are shown that he truly depended on God. One of the questions he retained from his youth was when he was young, someone said:

"If you were accused of being a Christian and brought before a jury, would they have enough evidence to convict you?"

Well, the point is that I have grown to love President Carter. I feel as though he is truly the first well-known person I can connect with and truly want to spend time with. We definitely share a lot in common: love of the outdoors, country-boy heart, dependence on our faith, desire to serve publicly, Navy life (hopefully soon for me), and the desire to make things as simple as possible.

Flaws and shortcomings are also shared in abundance, but I probably have quite a few more. I'm definitely a man who makes mistakes all the time, but like to think of myself as always seeking improvement.

If we improve, may our first improvement always be our relationship with God. This will give give birth to further fruit in our lives. But none compares to our relationship with Christ.

A devotional of Jimmy Carter's

I am a big fan of former president Jimmy Carter. For those who disapprove of him...well, that's your problem and I feel bad for you.

Yes, during his presidency there was stagflation in the world economy, a big energy crisis, the Iran hostage crisis, etc etc....but there was also the creation of the Departments of Education and Energy, SALT negotiations, Panama Canal restorations, Camp David Accords, etc etc. No man is perfect, and often circumstances dictate a lot in our lives. His character remains untouched with his work with the Carter Center, Habitat for Humanity, the church, and more. I really respect the man and happily admit that he's been my role model among living and well-known people for the past few years. It's also very cool that he's a former Naval Officer and farmer (both of which are traditions I hold dear to my heart).

One of his devotionals in "Through the Year with Jimmy Carter":

May 1, 2005

A Simple Gospel

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-which is really no gospel at all. Galatians 1:6-7

Suppose you were a brilliant philosopher in days gone by who wanted to create a believable religion. You wanted something that would be pure, honest, just, and fair, and would exemplify the finest aspects of human existence. It would be so perfect that no one in later days would question it. What would you put in this new religion?

As you sat down to write an outline, imagine that you knew all about ancient religions and theology and about what makes for good relationships between human beings. I'm guessing you would define a perfect religious person as one who believed in peace and justice and the alleviation of suffering, particularly for the poor; the one who believed in telling the truth; a humble person; a servant to others; generous; forgiving those who hurt him; compassionate and self-sacrificing. And then you might say that people had to be that sort of person to enjoy a positive relationship with God.

What a wonderful religion you would have created! it would have been inspirational, positive, challenging. It would have inspired people to lead a better life. Does that sound like the Christian gospel?

Absolutely not.

Throughout his writings, Paul made sure we understood that this is not the gospel. There is no relationship between doing good works and gaining salvation. Our salvation comes from the grace of God, freely, because the Lord loves us. In fact, trying to be better than others does not inspire humility in us, but the opposite: pride, self-satisfaction, a smug sense of superiority, and a wholly egocentric life. It also makes us feel self-reliant, able to live without God. And yet the temptation always exists to make "trying to be good" our religion.

Stated simply, the gospel message is, "We are saved by the grace of God through out faith in Jesus Christ." What we have to contribute is faith, or trust. Our good works should come as an indication of our gratitude and a desire to emulate the perfect life of our Savior.

O God, thank you for reminding me that I can never earn your favor or work for my salvation. Teach me to lean into you for life and godliness and to depend on the power of your Spirit to help me grow in the faith so that I might truly be a compassionate, patient, kind, gentle, loving person. May others see Jesus in me as I walk with him. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Which Laker are you?

When a NBA team wins a championship, a championship ship year video compilation is created by the respective team and sold to the public. My favorite championship video dedication is of the Lakers' 2000 championship year. This was the year when they had Shaq, Kobe, Glen Rice, Ron Harper, Brian Shaw, Robert Horry, Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, Phil Jackson, and many others.

There's one sequence that imbedded itself in my mind. The Lakers were in the midst of a come back in which all the role players contributed and the team would win. In the commentary, Rick Fox shared something along these lines:

We know we have two superstars (Shaq+Kobe) and this team is centered around those two guys. But it's up to us to be a Shaq or a Kobe for a few minutes of every game. No, we can't keep it up for more than a few minutes...but it doesn't matter. We give it our all in the short time we're given, and do what the teams needs us to do. We're role players, but we have our moments to shine like superstars.

You don't need to be a Shaq. You don't need to be a Kobe. It's perfectly fine to be a Rick Fox.

:)