January 2, 2012

This morning I will head to the Katy trail and “trek” 21 miles. Given the “Gallaway” approach that I have adopted of run-walk-run at a pace 2 minutes per mile slower than marathon pace, I call this a trek rather than a run. I expect it will take me 4 hours to complete. Reviewing the Katy trail on the internet, I have decided to start at the Weldon Springs trailhead and head west to Augusta, which is 10.4 miles. This provides me adequate water resupply, and Defiance at the 3 mile, and 18 mile junctures. Winds are NNW at 7. This afternoon I pick up Bethany from the train station at 3 pm.

On the channel 5 News here in St. Louis they just ran a piece about Elliptigo, which is a low impact bicycle that looks interesting to me. It has no seat and the pedals resemble the elliptical machine that works well for me at the gym. The problem I see is that its price is $2,000. This does not seem to be wise stewardship of my resources, given that I can accomplish the same effect in other ways.

Psalm 1

I love this Psalm. Rather than read it on Jan 1, I deferred until today. These verses lift up the wisdom of delighting in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. The metaphor is being like a tree, planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit in its season, its leaves never withering. People who so delight in God’s word will “prosper in all they do.” (Verse 3) Yesterday in my sermon I rebutted the “prosperity gospel” and stated that bad things will happen to good and faithful believers. This morning I would affirm that verse 3 and my statement are not mutually exclusive. I envision a person prospering in all they do, and encountering difficulties, setbacks, tragedy, loss, and through it all being like that fruitful, well watered tree.

Proverbs 1:1-7 The value and substance of wisdom – instruction in discipline and sound choices for life.

These verses compliment Psalm 1 so very well. As I run along the Missouri river on the Katy trail I will meditate on God’s word, on God’s will, and the promise of Psalm 1:6 “For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.” Guide me today, most holy Lord.