#10 Running up to the Namsan Tower in Seoul, South Korea
#9 Dogs in the Dominican Republic – 10 or so malnourished dogs chasing hard is not fun. When I finally got away, I hit a dead end and had to run through the dogs a second time.
#8 Running with a 101 Temperature – not fun at all, but I couldn’t let the streak die to a fever.
#7 Sheep in Ethiopia – who knew a pack of sheep would chase a person.
#6 Almost Hit by Drunk Driver in Venice, Florida – you would think a community where the average is 64 would be safe, but not at 5:30 am on New Years Day! This was definitely one of the scarier moments!
#5 Trail Marathon in Chattanooga – what beats skittles, cookies, cokes, chips and other junk food at the aid stations?
#4 Church of Nativity in Bethlehem – who knew you would get kicked out for wearing shorts!
#3 Gated Parking Lot in Ethiopia – arrived in Addis Ababa at 10:30 pm and didn’t feel comfortable running in a unknown neighborhood at night so I ran back and forth in the 15 yard gated parking lot for 20 minutes.
#2 The Charlotte Airport – a delayed flight returning home from Ethiopia meant that I would either miss a day or run through the terminal in airport. I didn’t have my running shoes, so Crocs had to do!
#1 Along the Sea of Galilee – “Come, follow me and I will make you fishers of men” Matthew 4:19. Pretty cool place to run!

Honorable Mention:

• David’s Well in Bethlehem – imagine running through enemies lines to get a cup of water from the well in Bethlehem for King David.
• Finishing 3rd Overall in a 5K Pushing the Boys – the boys began to fight over the position of the stroller hood on mile 3. Definitely did not have the energy or breathe to deal with them properly!
• Through the Snow in Bethlehem – it only snows in Bethlehem once every few years.
• 1:24 Half-Marathon – overall good race, wish it wasn’t a windy day
• Passing a Group of Ethiopian Runners – they definitely were not the elite train group, but it still felt good!
• Finishing 4th Overall in the Memphis Road Race Series – over 1200 people sign up for this 10 race adventure.

I woke up at 6:30 am for a start time of 8 am.  Our hotel was about 15 minutes from the start.  We had brought the entire family to Chattanooga for the race and to visit Margaret’s sisters family.  I told Margaret that I would try to hitch a ride with someone in the lobby rather than have her wake all three boys up, put them in the car, and take them up the mountain.  When I got to the lobby I asked the first person I saw for a ride.  They sized me up and after I told them I had three little boys sleeping they decided to give me a ride.  As a rode up with a red-headed couple and their two red-headed children we talked running.  After a few questions, “Is this your first trail marathon?”, “What others have you run?”, etc., I became aware that I was riding with the man who was likely to win the race (which he did).  His name was Aaron and he had finished third in the national trail running marathon.  Needless to say, I did not ask if he could pace me.

When I got the race I felt like I had enter the running worlds equivalence of a Jam Band Concert.  Just like a Phish concert is very different from Aerosmith, a trail marathon is VERY different from a road marathon.  People are more laid back.  Colorful hair and tattoos are abundant.  Sign ups are different.  Water stations are different.  A very different running scene!

The race was set to start at 8 am, but because everyone did not arrive in time to complete registration they pushed it back to 8:30 am.  I have never, in 30 years of going to races, seen this happen.  Enjoying the laid back culture, I was not paying attention to people gathering at the start line, so I was almost late.  When I arrived the nearly 800 people had packed in and I ended up near the back.  Most of these folks were running the half-marathon.  Beside me stood a 6’3, 300 lbs man with his shirt off and a man with a tattoo of President Obama covering his bicep.  When the race started I had about a mile of road to get in position before I hit the single track trail.  Once on the trail passing was very difficult.

I was continually passing people continually for the first couple of miles on the trail.  About 5 miles in the man in front of me fell down and rolled 10 ft down the mountain.  Several people asked if he was okay and he said ‘yes.’  I know this is true because later he would pass and beat me.

The water stops at trail marathons are very different.  On road marathons they have water stops at least every 1 or 2 miles.  All the stops have water and some sort of Gatorade type product.  Typically two of these stations will have gels.  On the trail stations are less frequent coming about every 5 miles.  They are much better stocked with both traditional items such as water and Gatorade as well as non-traditional station items such as M & Ms, Skittles, potato chips, cookies, and coke.  This felt more like a youth group buffet.  I am a junk food lover so I enjoyed this greatly!

Just after mile 20 my legs grew tired and decided to run/walk that rest of the way.  Since I was carrying a Camelbak I had my iPhone in it so I experienced another running first calling Margaret during a race.  At the end of the race I ate burgers and drank Dr. Pepper.  Truly a great day!  I look forward to doing it again in the future!

The pages of God’s sacred text are clear about God’s heart for the nations. Because this something Jesus impressed upon and commissioned His disciples to impact, we should do the same. While the world is becoming increasingly smaller with jet-setting and quicker communication, a major area of concern for American Christians is having a proper awareness about the world. Americans collective global consciousness is fairly dismal, and our star-struck mainstream media does little to help. So let’s take a look at how aware you are.

Did you know?

Estimates say that as many as 4 million American will take a short-term mission trip this year.
The largest Christian communities are not in the U.S. Bible Belt, but in Africa and Latin American.
There are 6.9 billion people on earth
Every second 4 babies are born
More than twice as many people are born each day as die
25% of people live in China, 25% in India, 5% in the US & 55% in other nations
There are more than 5000 identifiable ethnocultural groups
Nearly half the people in the world are children – 40% of the world is under 15. Only 20% of Americans are under 15.
Over 15 million children under 15 years old have lost one or both parents to AIDS
Only 1 out of 7 people live in developed countries
20% of the world live on $1 a day, another 20% live on $2 a day and 20% of us live on more than $70 per day
The 447 wealthiest people on earth have a combined income of 50% of the worlds population
Americans make up 5% of the world and consume 50% of the world’s resources
1 out of 4 children work instead of going to school
1 in 3,700 American women die in childbirth, whereas 1 in 16 sub-Saharan African women die in childbirth
1 billion people have unsafe drinking water
A child dies of hunger every 16 seconds
8% of people on earth own a car
Today 30,000 people will die from preventable diseases
28% of the people on earth have had no opportunity to understand and respond to the Gospel

So how aware about the world were you? Granted these are just a few of an endless list of stats, but it should be a good indicator for us. Please know this is not written to make you feel guilty, though it might. This is written so that you have awareness about the world we live in. In order to be about ALL NATIONS we need to be aware of the condition of the world! So read, study, learn, watch, teach, pray for, and impact ALL NATIONS!

We see clearly laid out in the pages of Scripture that God has a heart for all nations. I have three boys (ages 4, 3, and 18 months), and as a parent I want my children to have on their hearts the things that God has on His. If you are a parent (or even an aunt or an uncle!), I hope this is a core desire of yours as well.

The question, however, is how we go about instilling this heart for the world into the next generation.
Below is asimple list of some practical methods for doing this. Some of these I have used and some I am waiting to use when my children are a littler older.

Globe Spinning. Every Monday night my boys take turns spinning the globe and pointing to a country. That night over dinner we will pray for the three countries they select.
World Place Mats. Three nights a week we eat dinner on place mats that have a world map on them. Each time we do it a different child selects a country that we talk about and pray for.
The Oregon Scientific SmartGlobe. This thing is awesome! My boys already love it. It is a talking computerized globe with a pen that you can use to point to any country to get detailed information on that nation. It also has several fun games loaded on it, though my boys are too young for them right now.
Geography Night. Have each kid share information about a country they have studied.
Scripture Memory. Have your children read and memorize Scripture highlighting God’s heart for the nations.
World News. Talk about and watch news clips on current world happenings. Take time to pray for that country.
YouTube Videos. You can find great videos on various countries at www.operationworld.com.
Online Geography Games. Play online geography games with your kids (www.purposegames.com).
Exposure to Missionaries. Get your kids around visiting missionaries as much as possible. If your church has missionaries coming home from the field, offer to have them over for dinner. Show thempictures of missionaries that your family and/or church supports.
Short-Term Missions. Take your children on a short-term mission trip. I haven’t done this yet, but hope to take my boys on their first trip around ages 8-12.

The bottom line is that we need to plan ahead, be creative, and be intentional! I hope God will use these simple tips to help you and your family develop a greater heart for the nations. Please email me with any comments on these thoughts or with additional ideas you may have – I am always looking for new and creative ways to live this out!

Now most of my runs have only been a 1-3 miles, but I made it 365 days in a row! During that time I have run in eight different countries (Mexico, Dominican Republic, Germany, Ghana, China, Hungary, Serbia, and France). I have also completed the Memphis Road Race series and four marathons (Memphis; Jackson, MS; Little Rock; and Jackson, TN). The goal was not any of these things, it was simply to run everyday for one month. I am sure the streak will end sometime in the near future, but as I say nearly everyday – NOT TODAY!