DOPEY!!!

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Well, I did it.

I did the Dopey Challenge. 48.6 total miles of running.

On Thursday, January 9, I ran the Walt Disney World 5k

On Friday, January 10, I ran the Walt Disney World 10K

On Saturday, January 11, I ran the Walt Disney World Half-Marathon

and, on Sunday, January 2, I ran the Walt Disney World Marathon.

Four races, each longer than the next, over four days.

I have been wanted to run this series of races for over a decade.

And I did them. All pretty well, too.

Running the half-marathon and the full on consecutive days is Goofy.

Running all four of the races is Dopey.

But it was awesome and great and wonderful.

My Sermon – December 29, 2024

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On December 29, 2024, I served as the Lay Minister at Grace United Methodist Church in Wyckoff, NJ.

This is the complete worship service:

My Favorite Books – 2024

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In short, I read a lot in 2024. 

In total, I read 42 different books.  For me, that’s a great amount.  My goal each year is to read 30 books.  I well exceeded my goal.  I greatly enjoyed most of the books I read.  What follows, though, is a list of the 14 books I most enjoyed during my 2024 reading journey listed in the order I completed the books over the course of the year.

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The Most Valuable Baseball Card Set Ever

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On Christmas Eve, my father gave me the most wonderful set of baseball cards I’ll ever own. These cards are also the most valuable in my collection. “Priceless” is a word used too often, but these cards, individually and as a set, just might fit that description.

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Kind of Dopey…

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Well, that was kind of Dopey.

On Wednesday, I ran 3 miles.

On Thursday, I ran 6 miles.

On Friday, I ran 13 miles.

Today I ran 18 miles…

(I feel great!)

.

A Simple (but profound) Prayer

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A long time ago, while the disciples were sitting with Jesus, they asked him how to pray.  Jesus answered them.  He first told them that God already knew what was in their hearts.  He then shared with them some simple words to be used for prayer.  These are words that have profound meaning.  We know these words as The Lord’s Prayer.

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The Greatest Story Ever!

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Did you ever wait in great anticipation for a new movie or a new book?  You wait and you wait and you wait – and then finally the day comes. The book arrives or you head to the theater.

And then, it all ends too quickly.  

It’s over before you know it.  

I feel that way reading the Bible.  

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Right Where I Ought To Be

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Over time, we find out where we belong.  We find our niche.  We get comfortable where we are.  This is true with the places we go, the friends we seek, and activities we participate in. And so much more.

This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t try new things, or visit new places, or look for new experiences, but, by and large, we find our comfort zones and we often stay in those places.

This is true of so many things in life.  

For me, it also seems very true of my marathon times.  It seems I have found my comfort zone.  

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NYC Marathon Sermon 2024

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Each year, at the start of the TCS Marathon, I serve as one of the chaplains who run the Non-Denominational Christian Service for the runners in the Start Village.

The following is the sermon I delivered this year before the big race:

Marathon Sermon 2024

I am going to begin this year’s message with a passage from 1 Corinthians, Chapter 9:

“You know that many runners enter a race, and only one of them wins the prize. So run to win!”

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Just Be You

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I used to run a lot of 5K races.  I never won any, but I enjoyed running as fast as I could for just over the three miles that those races cover.  I’d race against other runners, but in actuality, I would really be racing against myself.  

A few weeks ago, I ran my first true 5K race in six years. 

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