Kicking Against the Goads

This week, Katrina and I went to her OB appointment to make sure everything is progressing as it should with our soon-to-be born child.  Something kind of shocking to me was how the doctor mashed around on Katrina's stomach.  The doctor was mashing around to feel the baby and I'm sure other doctor stuff.  The sonogram tech did a similar thing a few weeks ago to get the baby to turn, so she could get a good picture.  They kind of push and prod little Henry Ryder to get him to go where they want.  This week, Katrina said after the doctor finished pushing around, Ryder kicked very hard.  Apparently, he had had enough of all that!


As I was reading in Acts 26 this morning, Paul was telling King Agrippa the story of his conversion as a believer in Jesus as the Christ.  Paul quoted Jesus,

Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. 

(Acts 26:14)

I started thinking about this in a different way than I had before.  What is a "goad"? 


According to Merriam-Webster:

1 a : something that pains as if by pricking : thorn

b : something that urges or stimulates into action : spur

2  : a pointed rod used to urge on an animal

Think about that.  Before Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus, Jesus indicates that Paul was being "goaded".  I mean, you can't kick against the goads, if there are no goads.  So, by Whom was Paul being Goaded and for what purpose?  Jesus gave the purpose.  It was to be a light to the Gentiles.  Who was doing the goading?  According to Paul, it was God Himself who had been goading him (Ephesians 1:14-16).


I tend to focus on the miraculous salvation example we have in Paul's conversion.  Jesus appeared to him and his total direction, physical, spiritual and mental changed.   We know from his own testimony in Ephesians, that he did not think this happened out of the blue.  He said God "set him apart in his mother's womb".  NOW, we also know from Acts, that this was not just an "all of a sudden" appearance by Jesus to Paul.  God had been "goading" Paul, prior to the road to Damascus.  Does it appear that way to us?  No way!  Look at how many Christians Paul was persecuting and killing!  If you were a Christian back then, you would be caught way off guard by Paul's salvation.  No one saw that coming.  


This is a reminder to me that even though it might not appear so, God "goads" whom He will, for His purpose.  Many of us can see how God goaded us, before he saved us, but we rarely see how He goads others.  We are called to share our faith with everyone.  Not just people we THINK God might be "goading".  We must remember that God will save all of His sheep.  To get them where He wants them, he often must "goad" them (John 6:37)

Honduras and Honesty

Recently I was made aware of a need to help with some mission work in Honduras this December.  In theory, I already wanted to go on more mission trips, so I told XMA that I would talk with Katrina and pray about it.  I don't mean to "spiritualize" it, but seriously!  I thought, if God wants me to go, He will open the doors that need to be opened and show us where and how I could be used for that trip.

Well, Katrina and I did pray about the trip.  The trip costs $1,500.  I do not have $1,500.  I am sure God does have it, but He had not given it to me at this point, so that was one of the doors that we were looking for God to open.


MY FINANCIAL PLAN!

Around the same time, I was in class and had a thought.  Maybe I could get course credit for some class I'm going to have to take by going on this mission trip.  I emailed the Dean and sure enough, he said it may be possible, so we need to meet.  Well, this seems to be falling into place.  Each class costs about $350 + book expenses, so that would save me around $400 in earning course credit.  Apply that toward the mission trip and BOOM!, I would really only have to pay $1,100.  See?!  This is all making financial sense.


GOD'S PROVISION

After three days of trying to get in touch with the Dean again to discuss course credit, it was looking like I was not going to make the deadline for purchasing plane tickets.  Randy with XMA called, so I told him not to hold the group up for me.  He said, "So, is money the only thing holding you back?"

I said, "Well, yes...."

He said, "The trip won't interfere with school, or anything?"

I said, "No sir, I'm in between semesters at that time."

Randy asked "How much money do you have saved for the trip, so far?"

I told him only about $60 and whatever I can allocate from our SteelSports event we have this weekend.  I even told him about my financial plan for possibly getting course credit and applying some of my money toward the trip.

Randy then said that a lady called him that morning and wanted to donate to someone's mission trip for Christmas.  She asked if anyone had an unfunded trip.  He told me he did not know what she was going to donate, but we could use it for my trip, so he was going to call her back and ask how much she was offering.

A few minutes later, I received a text from Randy that my entire Honduras trip was paid in full!  My first thought was "Wow!", then it was "Uh oh!"

MY RELUCTANCE

Okay, here is where the rubber meets the road.  I have been saying I will be obedient to whatever God has for me; however, I have a real, full-time job. I've been swamped every weekend with event production from my "fake" job.  I have tons of school work to complete and it sure would be nice to just relax and enjoy time off between semesters.  Oh, and don't forget we are expecting a baby in February!  Where we are going in Honduras does not have mobile phone service.  I'll be gone a whole week with no contact with my wife!  ZOIKS!

I have said all of that to say this.  Uprooting my life to go serve in Honduras for a week DOES kind of scare me.  I have a tendency to be a control freak.  I know that is contrary to being a follower, but I am just being honest.  Even in my half-hearted attempt to work out my own financial ability, there was still an "out" for me to avoid going to Honduras.  It seems to me that God has called my bluff!

HIS GRACE

As God moves people to carry out His will, whether it be in donating money, or time, I believe it is my responsibility to be obedient to follow where He leads.

The primary purpose of this trip is not my comfort and not because it is convenient for me and Katrina.  As the Apostle Paul said,

Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.  (2 Timothy 2:10)

God has given grace to me that I did not deserve.  Because of His Holiness, He would be just (or correct) in condemning me for my disobedience and pride.  In spite of my sinfulness, He chose to forgive me.  That makes absolutely no sense, other than to reveal His Graciousness.  As I go on this mission trip, may this action say nothing about me and everything about Him.  He, Who works contrary to human wisdom.  I hope it causes people to say, "Why in the world would Rodney do that?!?"  It is because HE is worthy.

In Honduras, we will be giving food and shoes to the local population.  In addition to that, we will have solar powered voice recorders with the gospel message.  We will also have interpreters with us, as we work with the local missionary to share the Gospel.  Please pray for our safety and usefulness.

Extreme Missionary Adventures Slovenia Mission Trip

Okay, I have done a number of races, since my last post and may add a race review later (like the Epic Rustman Duathlon on May 1, 2010 ... OUCH!).  


This post, however, is a request for prayer!  Katrina and I are going on a mission trip on June 5-13, 2010.  We're headed to Slovenia and received a "detailed summary" of what to expect and what is expected from us.  The physical part of the trip will be more demanding than we thought, but more than that, the spiritual parts may be even more difficult.  There are a number of reasons for this, but the excerpt from the letter says it best:

Spiritually speaking, it is difficult to impossible to generalize about any nationality, even one as small as the Slovenes. But my best assessment is that generally Slovenes are post-modern atheistic/agnostics who, if they have religious beliefs beyond evolutionism, blend legalistic/ritualistic Catholicism with eastern mysticism and residual European paganism.  ~Joe & Kim Kelley, IMB Missionary

 Since I believe in a Sovereign God, Who will accomplish exactly what He intends, which includes Salvation, I am not concerned with my ability to have the "best argument".   I would like your prayer support for this trip and have listed some items for which I would like prayer.



Pray for ... :

• Our relationship to be close to the Father (2 Tim. 2:15);
• Those whom God has chosen for us to meet, that we can bring them into the fold (John 6:37-39; 10:26-29);
• Humility and patience while teaching (2 Tim. 2:24-25)
• No barriers to the message we share:  a) Language, b) Physical/appearance, c) Distractions. (1 Cor. 9:19-22)
• Boldness to share about Christ and trust that He is responsible to provide the words to say (Matt. 10:19);
• Safe travels to and from;

If you are interested, I hope to have my SPOT Tracker on when we are doing our activities, so if you think about it, check our location on the map and mention us in your prayers at the same time!

Extreme Missionary Adventures

Map of Area

1st Overall at the Gator Terra Duathlon on May 2, 2009

The Saturday before this race, Katrina and I were in the mountains getting married.  We had a great time!  The only problem is that a week off of a training routine is tough.  I did run and lift weights in the mountains for most of the 7 days, but I think the 13 hour trip back in the truck probably hurt my legs a bit.  We got back around midnight Tuesday night.  Wednesday I ran and lifted weights and then Thursday, I ran and biked at Tyler State Park.  My time was SLOW and I could barely finish. I even skipped my second run.

Friday, we drove to Lincoln Parish Park in Ruston, LA for the race weekend.  After we set up and after a little rain storm, Tom E. and I slowly rode the trails to kind of get a feel for it.  I actually felt really good and strong, but maybe that's because I was going so slow.

On Saturday, the triathletes all started and then about 3 minutes later, the director started the duathletes.  We ran about 1.1 miles up 

the "bat cave" hill and around to the lake trail and back.  Somehow, I started and finished the run first.  As I was coming back, I was second overall, behind one of the triathletes.  I had a quick transition and headed out on the bike.  IMMEDIATELY, I knew my legs were SHOT.  

The guy in the blue shirt passed me on the trail, almost immediately.  Other triathletes also began to pass.  About 2 miles into the bike, I passed the guy in the blue shirt again, but he stayed behind me relatively close.  

We came to the "bunny hop" hills about 2.5 miles into the trails and I saw Jana snapping pictures.  I didn't realize I got that much air, since I wasn't feeling too strong, but I guess I did :)

 

I kept pedaling, though not fast.  I had no climb left in me, but we did finally come to the Tomac hill.  Chris Clemmons said I was about 4th or 5th overall (counting triathletes too), but I don't remember.    Then we came to the switchbacks.  Right before then, I let a number of triathletes pass me.    As we hit the switchbacks, Katrina, Jana, Justin, Diana, Beverly  and Chris were there.  Chris was yelling at me for encouragement, "HIGH ON THE OUTSIDE, LOW ON THE INSIDE, HIGH ON THE OUTSIDE, LOW IN THE INSIDE!".  That actually helped, because I climbed the switchbacks pretty strongly; however, when I hit the road on top, I HAD to recover.  Why couldn't Chris just follow me for the rest of the course??!??

I finally finished the bike and then headed out for the 3.5 mile trail run.  I ran for the first three miles, but had to walk about 100 yards, because my legs were just DEAD.  I was passed by a few people here.  

At the finish line, I did not recall being passed by another duathlon participant, which turned out to be accurate, as I received the "1st Overall" medal.  While I am happy that I won 1st, I was VERY dissappointed with how my body felt during most of the race.  I hope it was due to all of the travel, poor eating and sleep deprivation, but I'm not sure.  I have felt drained all this week too.

I'm heading to Tyler State Park in a few minutes to train, so I'll let you know if that goes any better.  I have the Spread Your Wings 24-hour Adventure Race coming up in two weeks, so I hope things improve!

Results by age group 

Heartbreak Duathlon was Great!

Saturday, February 21, 2009 was the 3rd annual Heartbreak Duathlon at Tyler State Park (put on by my company, SteelSports.net, LLC).  We had the largest turnout ever, with 65 racers.  The two previous years each had 56 racers.

Before the race, Katrina and I had to quickly set up the TA.  I raked the TA, since it had tons of pine straw, rocks and pine cones.  Katrina set up for check-in and started checking in the racers.  She worked her tail off and did a great job.  There were tons of people to check in for one person.  I helped a little and then her mom showed up and helped a lot.

It was about 9:57 and I had barely prepared myself to race.  The rain showers had started to taper off, though, so things were looking up.  Finally, to start on time, I told Chris Clemmons to start the race whenever he was ready.  

Run 1:

At the race start, all 65 racers took off and headed to Loop A.  It was a bit congested at first, so I ran on the side of the trail to pass a couple of people.  There were about 6 people ahead of me for most of the trail, but I planned to just stay relaxed and run at a comfortable pace for me.  I finished the first run in 6th place, after passing two people and getting passed by one at the end.  I finished the run in 19:59, which was a faster time than my training runs.

MBike:

I had a quick transition to the bike and took off.   My TA was so fast, I passed a couple of people.  Two more passed me on the bike, but I actually felt really good and strong on the bike.  I was trying to save a little bit for the last run, but I had a pretty fast ride time.  The pre-race rain had packed the trails VERY nicely, which made them fast.  

The park had done a controlled burn a couple of days before, so it looked like we were riding around Hawaii's smoking volcanoes.   This did not pose a problem, except on D-loop.  There were about 4 trees down on the trails.  This caused me to dismount and go over or under.  One wasn't really on the trail, but right beside it.  I could not see where the trail was, so I stopped and looked around.  I finally found it, so dragged by back tire to help other racers behind me see the route more easily.

I did not use my brakes much, since the trails were so packed, it was pretty easy to corner without slowing.  Plus, I wasn't trying to go fast.  I was just trying to stay steady.  I knew I would finish the ride in less than an hour, so I didn't figure too many people would pass me.  

I finished the mountain bike at 59:30, which included my transition time from run to bike.  I was pretty impressed with how fast I did that, since it was less than an hour for the ride + TA.  My legs still felt very strong, so I quickly transitioned to the run.

Run 2:

As I was running out of the TA past the TA Tent, Katrina said, "Good job, baby".  I could tell she was as surprised as I was by how fast I was going ;-P .  I saw both of the guys who passed me on the mountain bike while on the run.  One guy was 2 minutes 6 seconds ahead and the other was about 44 seconds ahead.

About that time, Chris' family was volunteering at the intersection of loops A & B.  His daughter said, "You're in like 5th place!"  I was kind of surprised and said, "Wow!".  

I passed the closest guy to me at the start of A loop, just past the volunteers.  I didn't know if he would be strong enough to pass me later, since I have NEVER previously run the whole loop without walking up a hill or two.  I felt strong, so decided to push myself to a faster pace and just see what happened.

I kept seeing the other guy ahead of me that was over 2 minutes ahead.  I finished the first run just ahead of that guy, so I was thinking I could beat him on the run, especially, if he pushed real hard on the bike and had drained his legs.  

I ended up running the whole trail on BOTH running legs, which was a first for me.  I closed the gap on the guy ahead, but finished 10 seconds behind him.  I was pretty happy that I was able to close 2 minutes, but wished I had another 200 meters :)

My second run was 21:52, for a total race time of 1:41:21.  I finished in 5th place overall and 3rd place in my division.

I was very happy with this time.  This was almost seven minutes faster than any of my training times.  

As a joke before the race, I told Justin I was going to try to beat his time from last year.  I didn't really think I could, but I was ribbing him for not being able to come :).  Turns out, I did beat his time by over a minute, which amazed me too.  Justin's FAST!

Finally back below one hour!

Afer spending a few hours at work today, I sneaked off to Tyler State Park to get in a quick ride.   This was my 6th time to ride out there this month and my 6th time to ride out there, since March 2008?!?!?!  Wow!  Before the two rides in March of '08, the only other time I rode out there was September of 2007.  My times were much worse.  

So anyway, I finally rode loops A, B, C and D in less than an hour!  I turned 59:15.  I know that's not as fast as some, but it's a milestone in my mountain bike training (Remember I promised to get faster and stronger on the bike, after our Big Chill Adventure Race???).  

I didn't feel all that energetic today and my legs felt a little dead, but I could tell that I still had some pretty good strength left.  I did work out with weights and run this morning, so I'm sure that had a little to do with feeling a little drained.

I'm very excited about not having a significant injury going into this year!  My back injury in February 2007 REALLY slammed me.  Knock on wood, I feel GREAT!

The duathlon is in two days, so my plan is to work out pretty hard tomorrow, take off Friday, while setting up the course and then have a good dinner.  Hopefully, I can have a good, strong race on Saturday.  I plan to push myself pretty hard.  GOTTA MAKE IT HURT!

Mock Duathlon Training

Katrina, Tom, Lesley and Susan met at TSP today to do some duathlon training, since the race is coming in two weeks.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day, so I'm glad we did it.

My first 2.5 mile trail run took 21:10, which was okay for me, but not fast enough to win :)

I felt pretty good on the run and had a relatively fast TA to the Bike.  My total 9.7 mile mountain bike ride took 1:04:05 with the transition time.  This was my third day in a row to mountain bike at TSP.  My legs were a little tired, but overall, I felt pretty good. 

On a side note, I converted my tires to Stan's No Tubes yesterday.  I have to say, I'm a fan! I had about 30 psi in my tires on the ride and it was pretty smooth.  I think it made me a little faster too, because, even after running 2.5 miles, my actual ride time was 15 seconds faster than yesterday!

On the last run, let's just say, I should not have had a HUGE Mexican lunch yesterday.  My stomach was giving me fits, so I walked a few times to "maintain".  My last 2.5 mile trail run took 26:02, including my transition from the bike.

This was a good training day for me. I have run in the Heartbreak Duathlon for the past two years and this was my fastest time, by over two minutes.  

2007 Heartbreak Duathlon Results My time, 01:53:26

2008 Heartbreak Duathlon Results My time, 2:09:51

Today's time, 1:51:17

I hurt my back pretty bad September 2007, which affected my 2007 and 2008 races, so I'm looking forward to racing injury free this year *fingers crossed*.

With that time, 2007 would have gotten me a 4th place age division finish.  In 2008, it would have been good enough for 3rd, in my division.  We'll see what this year brings!

Thanks for reading!

Rodney