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
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
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…
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
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!
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
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
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
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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Uncomfortable
I don’t want to do this. I am dreading doing this.
The NYC Marathon is 8 weeks away and my training has not gone well. I did 12.3 miles earlier today. That might sound nice, but I should be up to 15 or more miles by now.
I’m struggling with the long runs. I just don’t have the endurance.
I’m also running out of time. 8 weeks isn’t a lot of time.
My body is sore and tired. My legs are heavy.
I do not want to do this.
But, I’m going out for a run. I need to get a few more miles under my belt.
If I’m going to comple the NYC Marathon, I need to get comfortable being uncomfortable.
I wish there was another way…
