And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them! And they were so afraid. And the angel said unto them, “Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all my people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.” And suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of the Heavenly Host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, and good will toward men.
That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
Welcome back all you Charlies and Charlettes(?)!
Christmas time is here!
Up until the last few days it really didn't feel too Christmasy. Not because of the commercialism, lack of snow, or 5 cent psychiatric sessions. I was ignoring it, and not on purpose. It was the stuff. The stuff I think is important. Like many people, my priorities shifted on Friday.
I'm not going to go into it too much because we all have heard every angle from every side of the arguments. If you are one of the few who don't know what I'm talking about sign up for a Facebook or Twitter account. When I saw the tragedy in CT on Friday I, and many others, were in a state of shock. I went home and hugged my girls and wife and thanked God that He is who He is.
Couple those events with spending a lot of time with my family and Aimee's family over the weekend and a spirit driven service on Sunday and things were put into perspective.
Last night the only Christmas special worth mentioning came on. Aimee was out at the movies with friends and the girls were in bed. While watching I felt like I understood it more than I ever had. To the point where I was almost in tears (not almost) towards the end. It's almost like God used the Charlie Brown Christmas special to speak to me personally.
(Side-note: I've been sharing about how this special has effected me a lot over the past 12 hours and everyone thought I was crazy for saying it was the only good special. Citing A Christmas Story and the Christmas Carol. I meant the only TV special worth mentioning.)
I don't really know where I'm going with all this. Merry Christmas!
I guess I could talk about running now. Since this is a blog about running.
The day after my last post I stopped the running streak. Nothing in my mind justified running everyday and my body wasn't too happy with me. Live and learn. Through this sorta-streak I did get to break in my new shoes. Woo! Hooray silver linings! I've run a couple times since last Wednesday and I've felt really good.
Another goal I've had for the 2013 year is to complete my first triathlon and the first one has been selected. I'll be participating in one on St. Pattys day with Jam Master Bryce-T. The biking and running doesn't bother me too much. 16 miles on the bike and 3 miles running. Swimming is another story. I'm not much of a swimmer. Aside from the occasional shower I don't interact with water too much, although I have made strides. Within a couple weeks of swimming this past summer I was told I no longer look like I'm drowning. Yes!! If anyone in the greater Canton area can let me know of an inexpensive place to swim (indoors) please let me know! My bathtub is not a suitable option.
Starting in January I'm going to start ramping up my recruiting for the first team Active:Water event at the Akron Marathon. The plan is to get a good presentation together and start going out and sharing it. This will involve some good ole fashion public speaking. Luckily at work there is a speakers club that meets with the purpose of helping people build up their presentation skills. I've thrown around the idea of attending the past four years I've been working there but I've never taken that step. Time to jump right in.
Also, my grades came were posted and I finished the semester with a B+ and B-. Two semesters down, fourteen to go!
On a final note, a few days back Aimee's great uncle Herb passed away. I had the honor of meeting him and spending some time with him. While I didn't know him all that well, or get see him all the time, the way his family spoke of him gave me quite the impression of the good man he was.
Thanks for reading everybody. Again, I wish everyone a Merry Christmas!
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