Finished my first week of training...only 19 more to go! 12 miles logged. Any of you financially or faithfully daring enough to sponsor me at $1 per TRAINING mile let me know!

As a part-time Bible teacher I'm always looking for sermon illustrations and I have to say that I think this whole marathon training / fundraising experience is going to be a gold mine! This morning I felt the Lord pointing out to me (as I was running out of breath) that the faith / works relationship the Bible describes in the book of James is a lot like our team believing and KNOWING that He (God) will meet the needs of these orphans in a big, God-sized way...but we've got to get up, get out of bed, put on our running shoes, stretch out and hit the pavement...in other words PARTICIPATE. Is God in control? Sure. Is the outcome completely in His hands? You bet. Does He already know the result. Of course. Here's the BIG question: does God need us to accomplish these results? No, but the reality is that God chooses to ACT on our behalf when we ACT on His (Jesus makes it clear that this involves acting on the behalf of our "neighbors" - all those around us). With each step we run, we are more than believing in God...we are participating in HIS GLORY!

I know my homemade t-shirt doesn't make much of a fashion statement, but if just one curious driver pays the website a visit and decides to sponsor a child or contribute to the marathon then it will be worth all the funny looks and dizzy spells from the magic marker fumes (my run was an especially euphoric experience this morning...thank God I made it home)!