plant and run
Lancaster County
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Just arrived in Lancaster County [Crystal's hometown] and ran 8 miles this afternoon. It’s always fun to run here. Lots of new sights and sounds…and hills are always a welcome change for a New Orleanian runner. Here’s my route. I passed two Amish buggies along the way…one of which was turning into the Walmart. [no joke.] Dodged lots of road apples too.
Tomorrow morning I’ll sharing at Crystal’s home church about the plant. We are excited to let them know what is going on. They have sent multiple work teams to New Orleans. One of their deacons, George & Saundra Rineer have come and spend extended time helping to lead the hurricane recovery ministry in New Orleans. We have about 10 mins to share during the morning service. We plan to stop by sometime in the Fall for a longer visit. yay.
Delaware trip
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Just drove into Delaware this evening for a Moyer [my in-laws] family vacation. Six of the seven Moyer siblings are here and we are celebrating Mom and Dad’s 50th Anniversary [a long time].
We arrived around 8pm and I decided I just needed to take a run tonight to stretch the legs after two days of driving [about 20 hours].
So here is my list of random observations based upon my run of approximately 6.2 miles…
- -My groin is hardly bothering me anymore. yay. I ran on pavement for the first time since the injury [all of my runs have been on the top of the levee]. No probs at all. I wasn’t pushing myself that hard to keep my pace under 8 mins a mile.
- -We are staying in a place called Rehoboth Beach and apparently it is some sort of college getaway. I ran late…around 10pm. It was quite an experience to pass inebriated college students while you are running. You get quite the reaction. Having headphones on was very beneficial…I have no clue what was being said [or at times yelled] at me. I did catch one guy’s comment: “HEY MAN. DON’T RUN TOO FAST.” Wow. Drunk people are soooooo witty.
- -Bon Iver is a great band to listen to on a late night run.
- -Taking a run is a great way to scope out a new place. The layout of this place reminds me of New Orleans…all of the streets follow the water…too easy to get lost. I was hoping to run 8 miles, but I stopped at a little over 6 because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to find my way back.
- -My wife is AWESOME for letting me write this post while she eagerly awaits to use the free WiFi in the place we are staying.
doc update
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The doc says not to worry. Told me to continue to try to control the pain and swelling. yay.
Looked at a couple of things to make sure I was okay to run a marathon too. My blood pressure is 120/80 [is guess that's normal?]. Took some blood tests. He’ll get back to me if he sees any probs.
the doc
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On my way to the doctor’s office.
I have been running about 25 miles a week since January with pretty minimal injury issues…until now. About two weeks ago I developed a pain around the area where my right leg connects to my hip [groin?]. It mostly hurts when I put weight on it to walk. I have found that I usually can run on it and it only hurts for the first mile or two. [Is that a good idea?]
Anyway, I have tried to decrease mileage, run slower, ice it afterwards, stretch it more, take ibuprofen, wrap it, etc. to no avail. It does seem to be a little less tender, but still is inhibiting me.
I’ve been operating under the assumption that it is something minor…hopefully the doc can confirm that. We’ll see. I tried to do a little bit of reading on the Runner’s World website, and it only got me more concerned.
We’ll see…
Church of Irresistible Influence
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There is a “for sale” sign sunk into the dirt in front of our Algiers home. [Anyone wanna buy it?] We are moving to Little Rock…at least temporarily.
Starting in August, I will be in a ten month church planting residency program at Fellowship Associates (FA). FA is a non-profit organization started by Fellowship Bible Church Little Rock (FBCLR) as part of their efforts towards fostering churches that are building bridges into their communities in order to be salt and light.
So, I figured I should dust off my old copy of “The Church of Irresistable Influence” and re-read it.
Okay, so now I’m really stoked about this whole residency program. As if I needed a any more stoking.
Like many church philosophy books, it is not merely a cold and dry argument for a way to do church, it is a story. It was really fun to hear the story of this church…especially in light of the fact that I’ll will be part of it soon enough. It was also very interesting to read it in light of all that we have witnessed in New Orleans over the past four years [I read the book for the first time back around 2003).
It is a good book. Well written...well argued...very practical.
More than anything else, though, I came away feeling that I could definitely sympathize with the emotions of Robert Lewis [& all at FBCLR] as they describe their struggle to marry a heavy dose community involvement with the traditional Bible church emphasis on biblical instruction.
Bible Churches, frankly, are a lot like Chinese Buffets. No, even better, Bible Churches are like one of those steak buffet places where you get all the meat you want.
Ever gone to one of those places and looked around? It can be depressing to watch already overweight Americans eat plate after plate after plate.
I used to like Chinese Buffets.
It’s like FBCLR decided to put a fitness center smack dab between the general’s chicken and the egg rolls. KAPOW!!
[Sorry, I think I got a little carried away with that metaphor.]
Seriously, though, if the Katrina experience has taught me anything, it is that we need to collectively get off our butts and get out there and help people. Christianity was never meant to exist only in a classroom. I’m all for teaching doctrine but there is a point when you are gorging yourself if it’s all talk and no action.
How much of our church resources (time, manpower, budget) are focused on building up the body as opposed to reaching out to those who are lost?
How much time do Pastor’s spend in their study as opposed to spending it out in the streets?
How many Christian gauge the health of their spiritual life only by the way they relate to God as opposed to also the way they relate to other people?
We offer up the same challenge to every work team that comes down here to do Katrina Recovery work: Let this trip redefine the entire way you view what it means to follow Jesus. The mission work that is done by work teams in NOLA should be part of the fabric of every Christian’s life.
FBCLR has done it. They created a church that has redefined what it means to be a Christian. Community involvement is at the core of all that they do. That is why I want to learn from them.
That is the kinda church that New Orleans needs.
My story (part 1)
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You have searched me, LORD,
and you know mae.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
We live in a story. Our days are not spare parts but carefully chosen pieces that fit together with a direction and a purpose. God is authoring our lives and that gives all that we do and experience some major significance.
Most mornings…we wake up…and it just doesn’t feel that way.
But on some days, we wake up and we just know it. We look up and the world around us screams, “THIS IS BIGGER THAN YOU!”
Lately I’ve had my fair share of those mornings. All too often I find myself uttering the phrase, “this could be a movie.”
Well, so I figure the place to start this blog is to tell you a bit of my story.
Oh, and I’ll try to make it entertaining for those of you who know most of this part…
My name is Doug…Douglas Christian Daspit. I was born back in 1977 to a nice, young New Orleanian couple named Buddy and Eileen. [Okay, well Buddy's name isn't really "Buddy," it's actually Arthur Charles. He's not a fan of that name. Don't tell him I told you his real name.] Buddy owned his own auto mechanic shop [aptly named "Daspit Automotive"], shaved twice a day and absolutely loved Jack Daniel’s. [Rumor has it there was a family trip to Lynchburg in my early years that I can't remember.] Oh, and one more thing, he was often mistaken for John Denver. Eileen had recently quit her rather posh job at Travelers Insurance, liked to jog at the local fitness center wearing a t-shirt that looks something like this in order to mock the men she was outrunning, and was very excited about devoting her time to full-time mothering.
Over the next couple of years two more Daspit kids appeared onto the scene: Damien and Christina. [Yes, I did intentionally pick random pictures that my siblings probably don't like in order to aggravate them. After all, that is what older brother's do.] Damien was my best friend in the world. We grew up 18 months apart and did everything together…soccer teams…cub scouts…TPing random houses in Chalmette…etc. Christina is 5 years younger than me and we butted heads a good deal when we were kids. She said I was too bossy. I said she was spoiled. Now we get along great…although I’m still a little bossy and she isn’t spoiled at all. We all attended the now flooded Jean Gordon Elementary School in Gentilly. [GOOD MORNING MISTA RIEDLINGER!!]
Our world was shattered one morning in 1988. I distinctly remember riding home from school…Christina was in the front passenger seat and Damien and I were in the back. My mom turned to us and told us that she was asking Dad to leave. She explained to us that he was an alcoholic and that hopefully this separation would lead to him sobering up. We were sad, a little confused [Dad's drinking isn't normal?! Isn't that what all Dads are like?], but hopeful that this was just something temporary.
Little did we know that this moment of heartbreak would actually become the catalyst for the best decision we would ever make in our young lives…
TO BE CONTINUED…SOON…
