Categories
motivation

Is it Your Destiny or Destination?

They both are from the same root word. They come from the Latin word destinare which means to stand resolved, determined, secure.

However, destiny implies a fate we are assigned. But destination suggests a goal we are striving for. Could it both can apply in our lives?

We may not know the future and what blessings and hardships await us. But we can also work toward a goal that shapes our future. After all, what we do today can shape our future for good or for ill.

While we cannot fully know our destiny, we can have a destination. Both are valid.

Categories
Running

Thoughts on the Day Before My First Marathon


The months of preparation are behind me. I’ve tapered off my practice so my body is ready (hopefully) for tomorrow. There is nothing left to do now but judiciously load up on carbs tonight and arrive at the race, on time, tomorrow. Then the real fun begins!

Here are some thoughts as I look forward to my first marathon.

Categories
motivation productivity Running

Lessons From a Seventeen Mile Florida Run

August sunrise at Juno Beach, Florida
I took this photo when I was into the third mile of my run.

Seventeen miles wasn’t my goal. I was determined to get nineteen miles in. But after seventeen miles, there was a drawbridge between me and my goal. It looked like a mountain. I had been training in Ohio. But now I was in Florida. It was 10:00 AM and 91° Fahrenheit. My water bottles were nearly empty. I decided to call it off and get a ride.

Next month (September 2017), I plan to run The Air Force Marathon in Dayton, Ohio. It will be my first marathon and I have been training for the race. I was determined to keep to my schedule despite the change of locale. 

Three days later, I am thinking about what the run taught me.

Categories
children's ministry children's ministry cartoons

A Clean, Janitor-Free Dream

Cartoon of two women having coffee. One says, "I have a dream. One day, our children's ministry will skip a whole day without calling for janitor backup."
Copyright ©2017 Kevin Spear & Kidzmatter Magazine

True story: I was a church janitor once. Actually, I was a teen church janitor for over two years. When your grandfather is the pastor and your father is the Maintenance Supervisor you get those kinds of perks. I have maintenance supervisor in italics because it was a small church, Dad was a volunteer and he had the job because no one else was available on a Saturday morning and Grandpa trusted him with the keys. (My brother and I must be the only church janitors in modern history that never had an impressive set of keys.)

Categories
Attitude Running

Keep on Running!

Cartoon of a runner shouting, "Just keep running!"
Copyright ©2017 Kevin Spear

This morning, I am going to be running the To Do My Best Half-Marathon in Troy, Ohio. I am looking forward to it because I haven’t run one in well over two years. I know. It’s a sickness. But I gladly embrace my malady.