Goals

It is the end of January. Usually by this time I have sat down and written my goals for the New Year. This year? Not yet. However, I have been considering three words that I will make my personal motto for 2008: Risk. Run. Rejoice.

RISK: To quote a greeting card I spied the other day- Ever notice that “what the hell” always the right decision?
To rephrase using more religious language, we might say- Attempt that which, without God, would seem utterly impossible. Live a life of courageous faith. Remember John Wimber spelled faith “R-I-S-K”.

RUN: Slowly, steadily, surely….the vision will be fulfilled. Therefore, keep running.

REJOICE: Find moments of joy in each day. Plan celebrations. Be thankful. Laugh. Play. Extend grace. Be open to the ridiculous.

Fav Running Quotes

Time to share some of my favourite running quotes. These are:

1. RUN EVERY DAY

A year ago I would go to the gym 2-4 times per week and run 20-30 minutes. When I started training for the 10k I challenged myself to run every day. That is, I didn't decide, "will I run today?" but planned to run every day (or at least 6 days, leaving a day to rest or cross-train). This has made all the difference. A US Olympian has said, "Workouts are like brushing my teeth; I don't think about it, I just do it. the decision has already been made." Nice!

2. IT'S A GOOD DAY

Runner's World mag says, "Don't expect every day to be better than the last. Some days will be slower than others, and some days might even hurt a bit. But as long as you're on the road, it's a good day."

3. IT'S A LIFESTYLE

True!

4. JUST THINK OF THIS AS A RECOVERY RUN

When I turned up to do the 21k in Christchurch, I'd just finished up a 4 day hike. I thought if I finished on Friday night and had a whole day on Saturday to recover I would be fine. The distances for The Milford Track weren't huge but I didn't really think about mountain passes, extra side routes to see waterfalls etc, carrying a backpack and tramping through temperatures ranging from 2 to 28 degrees. Early Sunday morning I was still a little sore. I mentioned this to a seasoned runner just before the race and she smiled and said, "Don't worry. Just think of this as a recovery run." I thought she was mad but... weird... it worked.... I feel good!

5. YOU CAN EXPECT TO LOOK REASONABLY ATTRACTIVE FOR THE FIRST 10 MINUTES OF A RACE

Ha ha! Andy Blackford writes, "with some decent kit and a few months' training under your belt, you can expect to look reasonably attractive for the first 10 minutes of a race. Then the appealing rosy glow upon your cheeks deepens to a raspberry and finally to the alarming, apoplectic puce of pickled beetroot. The fetching mist of perspiration on your upper lip, suggestive of amorous passion, is swept away by the tsunami of sweat that plasters your hair to your scalp and blossoms like dark dahlias under your arms. Your breath becomes ragged. You grunt and curse your way up hills...features contorted in a rictus of stark, starting horror... you sound like a cow in the throes of a breech birth. You smell. And, very soon, you might possibly be sick." So perhaps he exaggerates...a little. But while the 21k runners all looked slim and stunning before the race, I know that I wasn't looking too good by about the hour and a half mark!

6. ANYWAY, RETURN TO FINISH AS FAST AS POSSIBLE

This is still one of my favourites! The info sheet we received before the Angkor Half in December let us know that the roads would only be closed until a certain time. After that, runners who hadn't completed the race would need to watch out for their own safety. "Anyway, return to finish as fast as possible." Huh? Isn't that the goal of any race? What else would we do?

21k

Yesterday I ran my first 21k! Yay!!

It wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I train on footpaths and roads. We ran off-road for almost the entire route. We ran on gravel paths. We ran on undulating trails through pine forests. For about 5km we ran on sand. We kept running and after 1 hour 49 minutes and 28 seconds I was finished.

I sat in the park afterwards, met some Christchurch locals and drank a couple of litres of water to rehydrate. I thought about the stages of preparation and all the great running moments I've had over the past five months. It's been HEAPS of fun!

What next? Half-marathon? Marathon? Not sure but please, more.

Review on Book 2

Book 1 for my Reading Challenge was 'The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down"- a Hmong child, her American doctors and the collision of two cultures. (Thanks Gretchen!)
Book 2 for the new year was "People in Glass Houses" - An Insider's Story Of A Life In & Out of Hillsong.

Review on Book 2

The text was honest. I liked it. I felt it. Levin's experiences of Church filter through the pages- the questioning, worshipping, reasoning, feeling, relating, retreating, participating, leaving... and finally finding the package weighed and wanting yet missing it all the same.

It is a personal account but Levin maps out the context by including broader history of the Sydney church and snippets of other people's stories. "People in Glass Houses" is about Hillsong. People are named. Leaders are praised and criticized. The book is about Hillsong but it is bigger than Hillsong (or even the mighty AoG). For me it was a reminder that people are both sinned against and sinning. Religious people aren't the only ones who are successful, happy, generous... sometimes the 'pagans' have the best parties while the Christianites pretend to be holy. Institutions can do good and at the same time be corrupt. Money and power influence leaders in weird ways. Reality stings but I still find much joy and hilarity in this unseen journey of faith.

Thee and a half stars...

Reading Challenge

A poll conducted on the reading habits of people in the United States found that:

• one in four adults read no books at all in the past year
  
• only 57% of American adults read a book in 2002
  
• among those who said they had read books, the median figure was nine books for women and five for men

In response, this blogger is planning to write a post about every book she reads in 2008. (Thanks for the link CAL...)

I tried keeping a list of all the books I read in 2007. It was updated regularly until August. Around that time I was actually reading more than in previous months but I didn't write down anything about the stack of paperbacks I chewed through while I was hanging around the house recovering from dengue fever.

I guess it is only fair to record whole books in a reading challenge. This is the initial hurdle for me. I'm the type who reads the last chapter first and skips the boring bits. Also, I find compelling reading material in free inflight magazines, advertising material and the nutritional information on the back of yoghurt tubs. I'm not sure if I want to admit to the entire range of my reading consumption habits. The Economist? Yes- I do subscribe. UK Cosmo? Shhhh! Someone gave me a copy after they had read it, promise.

I'll try this reading challenge but I'm not sure if I will blog about every one. If I'm silent on the subject by about mid-April it is because I'm reading only theology and economics. Hmmm....

Poipet City

Yesterday's Cambodia Daily reported on my favourite Cambodian town... soon to become my favourite Khmer city:

The border town of Poipet is to be upgraded to municipality status, Interior Minister Sar Kheng announced Tuesday.
The decision to reclassify the Banteay Meanchey province town located on the Thai border was due to its rapid increase in population in recent years, Sar Kheng said in a nationally broadcast speech delivered in the province.
Poipet, which has become famous as a gambling center during the last decade, has seen its population explode in recent years from 5 000 people in 1999 when its first casino opened to an estimated 100 000 today, said Poipet deputy commune chief San Seanhour.
To be known as Poipet City from 2009, the new municipality will be divided into three districts... Along with rapid growth in recent years, the town has struggled with a reputation for being a center for human and drug trafficking, corruption and vice.

(I smell an opportunity. Looking forward to go work in Poipet later this year.)

Learning To Rock

I spent New Years Eve on Koh Chang island. It was great to stroll along the beach, snack, drink, watch fireworks and see people having their own smaller gatherings amongst the larger crowd. One group set up a karaoke system outside their shopfront a block from the beach. They placed a mat on the side of the road on top of which was placed a bunch of friends, piles of half-finished food, various drinks, a TV screen, two speakers and a microphone.

I wandered past as a local was belting out a tune in English. It was Michael Learns To Rock- a Danish band whose popularity in SE Asia is completely out of proportion to their song-writing and musical talent. (Same with most boy bands?) Anyway... I have to say that the sound was far from pleasant. Think Cameron Diaz in My Best Friends Wedding and you are starting to get close. It couldn't get much worse so I stepped in and we finished the song as a duet. Classic! There were a few curious looks from other foreigners (so my friend tells me... I was so caught up in the moment I didn't notice!) but the revellers on the mat were all smiles. We finished the song. We clapped and cheered a little. They offered me a drink. I took one polite sip, thanked them again and moved on. So funny! There are some NYE party moments that just cannot be planned.

(Photo evidence will be added shortly!)

2008

Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. (Habakkuk 2:3)

I've got some dreams and visions for new things in 2008. Sometimes I can see it so clearly it feels like it must happen. At other times I wonder if I'm dreaming the impossible. As we begin a New Year I hope, fear a little.... and pray. May miracles in various packagings- both the ordinary and outstanding- surely take place. I'll take three words as my mantra: slowly, steadily, surely.

Christmas Day

There’s a verse in Hebrews that reads, “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.” I often think about this text. Recently I wrote it again in my own words in order to allow it to “speak” to me afresh-

“Let’s scheme together often, coming up with inventive ways to entice each other towards good deeds, motivated by extravagant love.”

Christmas day 2007 was a great opportunity to scheme with a couple of friends in order to recognize a group of people who are often unnoticed in Phnom Penh. We targeted the street sweepers. We included the public gardeners. These are groups who work in difficult and sometimes dangerous conditions. They protect themselves from the heat and dust by wearing long-sleeved coats, broad-rimmed hats and cotton face masks. (But they don’t have anything to protect them from trucks, cars or cyclos!)

According to the older guy I chatted with their 40 hours per week of labour is rewarded with a meager $25 per month pay packet. I don’t really stop to thank them when I’m running early in the morning or dodging traffic on my moto. Time to scheme for good. We’re used to planning parties at Christmas. We are used to shopping for gifts. Time to come up with inventive ways to good deeds, motivated by love.

Our plan started with buying 42 envelopes and changing some money so we could put a 5000 riel note (=US$1.25) inside each one. (Not much of a gift in Australia but in Cambodia this is about a days wage…) Gretchen has been in Cambodia just a few months but she learned to write Thank You in Khmer and copied the word on the front of each envelope. On the back I hand wrote a short Christmas message and blessing. Mary went to one of the local supermarkets and brought back two slabs of Coke. We chilled them in the fridge overnight and bought ice to pack into a small ice-box the following day.

Early in the afternoon of December 25 we set off to distribute the gifts. We scanned the busy streets for green uniforms. We looked for garbage bins and brooms. We stopped the sweepers as they were pulling their handcarts. We drove up onto the footpath and chased people down!

I started by telling people it was a special day. Then I asked if they knew what day it was? The most common reply was: “Er… Tuesday?” … so I changed my approach. We spoke about our tradition of gift-giving at Christmas. I said that while Bon Noel isn’t a Khmer public holiday, it is a religious holiday celebrated throughout the world. I explained that Gretchen and I really love to run along the streets in the morning and that we wanted find a small way to express our thanks.

Some thanked us and blessed us in return. Others seemed relieved when we left. One guy who knew about Christmas listed his struggles and complained, “Jesus hasn’t done a thing for me!” There were different responses, but it was so much fun to plan something crazy and go out giving on Christmas day. Let’s scheme together often…