November 3, 2025

Learning While On The Run

I got a real late start yesterday in my attempt for 4 miles each day at 20 minute miles. I am going to keep repeating the goal as I want to become proficient in maintaining the 20 minute miles for 4 miles so I can do that 25 times and make it to 100 miles in the Grandmater’s ultra in February. It might be easy for you to get that 20 mile pace for 4 miles but it is a chore for me. If you want to get uppity about it, I’ll bet I can find something I can do which you struggle with! Like it not, that is the way of the world. I don’t know what it is, but there must be something I am better at than even the great Ohtani.
It was after 4:00 pm when I started yesterday, which would have been after 5 pm on the day before because the Daylight Savings change occured at 2 am. I read somewhere it takes 2 weeks for your body to adjust. I hate those statistics as everyone is not the same. Like him or not, Trump moves in different time zones without it seemingly bothering his system. He was dealing with the head of the CCP in the morning in Asia and giving out candy in the evening at the White House. Ali went to Paris and she did not tell me, but I know she took more than 12 hours to get her system back into whatever rhythm she required to survive.
I don’t think the time change had anything to do with it, but I was struggling yesterday. I was at .8 of a mile and thinking I could go around Lambert Park and back up Elrovia and home. I had numerous reasons for such a decision, e.g., my hip hurt, my legs were tired, my back needed a rest, etc.  I could go on forever with my reasons to head for home.
I went half way round the park and sat on a bench for a couple of minutes, hoping an Uber driver would be taking a shortcut on the sidewalk to the other side of the park. Alas, only some kid on one of those motorized scooters came by. I thought about accidently on purpose bumping him off the sccoter and finishing the trip on the sccoter, but remembered the commercial about checking before grabbing the kid’s cotton candy and knew God was watching so I left him alone to cruise on by.
I made it back to the corner where I either turned for home or went on towards my 4 mile jaunt.  I definitely was not going to make the 20 minute mile so I could easily have defeat let me down softly, knowing that would only be until defeat knew I was not going to change my mind and turn around to finish what I had started.  Then the landing would be rough experiencing defeat’s laughter.
I like to think I look to the heavens for my direction but this time I included looking around me and saw a stand with a map on it telling me where I was and how far it was to different locations. It seemed like it was 1.6 miles going South to Lambert and East to Maxson. That was not exactly the way I had started but it would get me close to 2 ½ miles and it would be close to 4 miles in finishing that route to the home base. So off I went and praised the Lord for at least getting me closer to my goal.
I stopped at Peck Road and sat on the bus bench for what I said would be 2 lights. I actually made it through more than 2, but who is really counting at this point. I would tell myself, “Self, remember, the goal is 4 miles. When you get up off this bench, you have to keep going East on Lambert, even though you are barely over 1 mile.”
I eventually made my move and off I went. Here comes the humor of God as after I was about 2 blocks past Peck Road, these two guys in their white shirts riding their bicycles ask me about my shirt and where I got it, (I had on one of my colorful Surf City Marathon shirts). I told them and they asked if they could walk along with me and share some things with me. I said of course, asked if they were 7th Day Adventists, to which they told me they from the Church of Latter Day Saints.
I do have some knowldge of Scripture and started thinking I could make some points here while showing off my superior knowledge. Of course, that was my first mistake, which became apparent as I tried to sound like a know-it-all. I realized I did have an advantage over them but God humbled me when I used a reference from the sermon I heard in the morning and had used before, and they came back with an answer and a Scripture I was not prepared to respond to while trying to keep up a pace now that I was moving much better.
I believe God brought along these two young men to help me get through almost 2 miles without thinking about how difficult they were or what my excuses were for how difficult they were. And then, when they turned around and went their way, He let me know I did not handle that debate appropriately. I was so convicted, I tried to see if they were still on the streets of El Monte and try to make amends. Alas, they were no where to be found and I made it home with a little over 4 miles completed.
The discussion where I got off the rails concerned I Cor. 15 where they believe someone can be saved because of the baptism of the dead. They believe you have to be baptized, along with believing Christ died on the Cross for your sins. I had mentioned the man on the Cross next to Jesus who was not baptized and Jesus said he would be in heaven with Him that day. Of course, they were ready for that and said he was baptized after he was dead, so that counted and why he could make it into heaven without being baptized in the flesh. They also used the verse about being born of water as a requirement to make it into heaven.
I know Paul was basically calling out the Corinthians for their practices and legalize, but these young men were more feverent in their beliefs than the average bear. The more vocal one wanted me to pray and ask God to reveal the truth to me. We had talked about prophets previously during maybe mile 2 1/4, and he made the claim there were no prophets from the time of about 400 AD until the prophet Joseph Smith came along in the 1800’s. I disagreed with him and he asked me to name one. Of course I could not name one at that moment. But that was my parting shot at them, when I was asked to pray to have the truth revealed to me, when I told them their hero was a false prophet who had led his flock to Utah and if the blinders were taken off them, they would see the truth. I probably told them all the above in a manner of someone who had just discovered he was an offended runner who was doing 4 miles under stress rather than a believer giving a debate response in love to 2 young men who had just helped him get through 2 miles of torture without experiencing the torture.
I realized I did not get their names when we first started sharing. I had a chip on my shoulder and started off being antagonistic and smart alecky. I certainly did not treat the guests that God allowed to come beside me for a couple of miles in the manner which honored Him. I must try and do better in the future.

November 4, 2025

So-So

I will tell you a secret. Actually, it is a confession. I start the content for the grist on the day showing at the top of the diatribe. But I have finished it on a date later than the one showing. I am not sure if I have ever started another one before the one is completed but I don’t think so. I know I have come up with more than one topic for the future ear banging, and then I would wonder where those notes were so I could dwell on them in order to create a new masterpiece after I got around to finishing my masterpiece staring back at me from the monitor screen. I have written a few of them down at the bottom of the grist I was working on and wondered what I was thinking about when I made that note as I reviewed it a few days later. Anyway, confession is always good for the soul, they say.
I was thinking about today and it was not a great day, it was not a bad day, it was a so-so day. I accomplished a few goals, but did not get a few of the simple ones done. I attempted one goal and was unable to complete it because I did not call first. I had to return home twice because I forgot an item I needed to complete the task. I left my debit card at home, which I needed for Sam’s. I made the Sam’s run and when I went out later for Josh’s food, I forgot the prescription, which I needed at the checkout.. I did vote, I did deliver a file, and I did a few other little chores, e.g., cleaning the kitchen, which is one of my chores in order to get food cooked when Dorothy comes home from work. I did not get my 4 miles in but I did get rid of over 500 sent messages saved on my computer. Have you ever looked at how many sent messages you have on your computer? I had over 6,000 when I started deleting.
I started looking up that issue about baptizing the dead and don’t think what I read was what the young man read to me while I was picking them up and laying them down on the streets of El Monte. But I still am going to take a look at the chapter again and spend a few minutes, ok, whatever time it takes, figuring out what the Lord is saying through Paul to the Corinthians and ultimately to us.
I have asked myself when was the last time I led anyone to the Lord on more than a few occasions these past few years. I asked myself to give a tine in the past number of years when I had a debate with a Mormon, Jehovah Witness, or any other splinter group who changes or adds to the Gospel? I realized I used the Jehovah Witness convoluted salvation scheme through the Archangel Michael when speaking with the two young men on Sunday. At least I got the color of their book right.
There have been a myriad of reasons why I did not finish the grist on the day I started. Myriad may be too many as I don’t think there have been that great a number. Maybe if I work on being complete in the confession, there have been times I finished the grist and did not post it promptly. I have acknowledged I teach a class in procrastination and I sometimes use this illustration to help the class become more proficient in procrastinating. You should see the examples I have in my lesson plan. Anyway, a few of the more cogent reasons include: the price of eggs in China went up, (or down); a meal being served; the View comes on and I run screaming out of the house, get lost and stumble around for days, etc.
So, I accomplished some things, failed at some thing, accomplished some things that were not on the list at the start of the day, and had a great dinner. So, it was a so-so day, some good, some mediocre, and some bad. Is there such a category as a So-So Day? I know I have said that about my day before. Well, there is such a rating in today’s grist. Praise the Lord for a So-So day.