A Most Lovely Day!

... and perfect for an early morning drive to the cemetery. 

As per usual, everything was perfectly manicured. 

Of course, Becky's not here. She's in the presence of the Lord. And one day I will join her. Amen!!

A Celebration of Married Life

Becky and I said goodbye to each other in person 12 years ago this morning. The Lord gave me 37 wonderful years with this amazing daughter of God. I wouldn't have traded it for the world. This beautiful Southern belle made me the happiest man in history. 

Through these years, God made Becky and me more like his Son, writing a lovely story with our life together. I hold myself supremely blessed -- blessed beyond words -- that the Lord saw fit to allow us to grow together, learn together, and serve him together. The latter is the most eternal part of our union. Serving together revolutionized our relationship. 

I could not imagine living my adult life without Becky. We learned a lot of things, mostly the hard way. I married a woman who had strong convictions about everything. (As if I don't have any.) Through give and take we figured out how to handle that. Eventually we became whole, with just the right blend of work and fun. She was good at her half and I tried to be good at mine. (She benefited from my youngest-of-4 "hang loose" Hawaiian chillaxed attitude, while I benefited from her eldest-of-6 get-right-at-it personality.) In every difficult place we leaned hard on the Lord our God. His word kept us grounded and connected like nothing else. Apologies? Aplenty. Ugly words? Not often but they were there. Exactly-wrong gifts to each other? Yes, but we meant well. Eventually we stopped trying to change each other. (Every marriage has to do this at some point.) We learned to accept each other -- the great parts, the mediocre parts, and the "that's-so-weird" quirks too. Who really cares if you have to pull the toilet paper from the bottom? 

I'm amazed at how quickly those 37 years flew by. No one enters marriage with a guarantee of success. The best we can do is to look to Jesus, trusting him even if we don't see results for years. He is the only constant in marriage as well as in life. Nothing can happen -- no loss, no tragedy -- that cannot be survived through his love. Isn't that the loveliest truth you've ever heard? Marriage is sacred work. Little in life is more important. We can learn to love each other and grow in healthy ways but only if we cling to the Savior.

Married friends: Please be tender with yourself and your spouse. Give shocking grace to others, and they will give it back. Be humble under God, and your marriage can be that safe place God dreamed up. It really can.

My Message to Men over 40

Today's nugget: 

Your grandpa was probably stronger than you are. 

And he never stepped foot in a gym.

Something's not adding up here.

I know it's hard to exercise when you've got jobs and kids. 

I get it.

But remember: Later = Never.

Your family deserves the leaner, healthier version of you.

Right now choose one thing in your life you can change.

Take a daily walk.

Cut down on soda by 50 percent.

Hydrate more. 

Get better sleep.

Eat cleaner.

Start TODAY.

Fix it before it's too late.

This is me tonight.

73 years old.

Planning on a 50K race in December.

Looking forward to surfing in Hawaii next summer.

Hoping to teach Greek until I'm 80. 

I remember when I thought this wasn't even possible. 

But with God all things are possible. 

Appreciate you, brother. 

When You Face the Silent Scream of Pain

Hey folks. If you're ever in Switzerland, be sure to visit Geneva, that beautiful city on the lake. When you're there, you'll be greeted by none other than the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah. He's waiting there for you silently, not far from John Calvin's church. 

Swiss sculptor Auguste de Niederhäusern completed the statue in 1913, just prior to his death. The figure of the prophet embodied sorrow. Hunched over, the "weeping prophet" mourns the fate of his people. 

Every time I see the statue of Jeremiah I give thanks to God. The words of the great prophet (found in Jeremiah and Lamentations) came from a pain-filled past. And as his gaze looks down on you, you easily think back on your own heartache and grief. 

Tomorrow will mark the 12th anniversary of my wife's death from cancer. Her passing reminds me that the Christian life isn't just about the Scriptures or the church or missions. It's also about a Person, a Safe Place to be sequestered, a Soul-Lover who understands the journey I'm on because he completed it himself. Corrie ten Boom, one of my favorite theologians of all time, put it this way:

Look inside and be depressed.

Look outside and be distressed.

Look to Him and be at rest. 

If you, dear friend, are facing the silent scream of pain today, or if you're just tired of running your race, please remember that though terrors in this life surely await us, life is still worth living -- celebrating even -- if we keep our focus on Jesus. 

In essence, that's the message God told the people of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah. That same God today promises us adequate strength through all of the hardships of life. 

Getting the Big Picture

Today my focus was on delts/shoulders. 

Plus getting in my steps.

Training can get mundane, boring even. But not if you keep in mind the big picture. Imagine running your next ultra. Imagine the condition you need to be in for the race. Then imagine crossing the finish line. Knowing that each step of your "mundane" workout is getting you closer to that big goal will keep you moving forward. 

The same holds true, by the way, for the study of Greek! 

Giving the Creator a Standing Ovation

Loved my 10 mile run in Farmville today. 

The drive there was absolutely gorgeous. 

And the High Bridge Trail was as lovely as ever. 

"The proper response to the world," wrote William Carlos Williams, "is applause." As I ran, the whole creation broke out in thunderous clapping. Emerson once spoke of the "magical benefits of air, landscape, and exercise on the mind." Running develops our physique and creates a harmony between body and spirit. On the trails, I give the Creator a standing ovation. The place you do this may vary from mine. But find that place, and you will discover the peace that passes all understanding.

After being gone from 7:30 to 3:00 today, it felt good to arrive back home. Be it ever so humble, there's no place like the farm.

It's Doable, Folks. I'm Proof

A year ago, I set for myself the goal of reducing my body fat by 50 percent. Cutting your body fat in half sounds unrealistic, but it's doable. I'm proof. I lost 40 pounds in 10 months. That's an average of 1 pound per week. It all began with a starting point. You say, "Okay, this is where I am now."

 "And this is where I want to be." 

Once you have that information, you can start your journey. All this takes is 3 full body workouts per week, plus maintaining at least 10,000 steps per day. And that's it. It's really that simple. 

Once you've seen even the minutest bit of success, you'll be motivated to push even more. One of the keys is to push yourself in the gym as hard as you can. 

If you never train to failure, you'll never end up training hard enough for optimal muscle growth. 

As I've said a thousand times, most average lifters in the gym don't train hard enough when it comes down to it. You don't need to train to failure on every set, but you do need to train to failure occasionally to get an idea of where that point is. High intensity training provides benefits you simply can't always gain from leaving a number of reps in reserve. When it comes to volume versus intensity, many lifters place the emphasis on volume, thinking that it's all about how many sets they perform. They hugely ignore the intensity side of the equation. Effective hypertrophy training is actually pretty straightforward. If you're working out 3 days a week for an hour or so and doing a handful of sets per muscle group, you can easily get the job done. Building serious muscle takes months of consistent training and proper nutrition. Plus you'll want to get in at least 10,000 steps per day. Today I did only 18,500 steps because this was my day for weight training. 

But I always aim for at least 12,000 daily steps. 

The bottom line? Fat loss can happen relatively quickly when everything is dialed in -- nutrition, diet, sleep, training, and steps. 

It just requires patience and consistency.  

The Pull Up Is Where It Is At!

Guys, seriously. The pull up is the BEST exercise for back and arm strength period. Your back will look jacked! 

Amen!!

Saw this on my drive into town this morning. 

This truck is owned by one of our local farming families. Their Scripture verse is right on! 

Created for Community

As I've aged, I've found my priorities changing. I find myself wanting richer, deeper, more intimate relationships with my family and friends. A man speaking about relationships? Yes indeed. Like women, men have a primal need for closeness. God created us for relationships. As we men age, we discover that we're not only getting older. We are moving from competition to connecting. Before she died, Becky did most of the connecting with our kids on an emotional level. But as I've come into my own as a widower, I've come to realize that emotionally connecting with my kids and grandkids is deeply enriching. One of the things my loss of Becky did for me was to make me value and cherish my family more. I've also noticed that to love others correctly we must first love ourselves. The self must first be strong and whole before we can offer true and lasting love to others. Love is a positive sum game where both sides can and should win.

As I look forward to the winter of my life (how did it arrive so quickly?), I want to be a man who joins the "I" to the "we," whether that's in my family, my church, my profession, my mission work, and even my hobbies. Every healthy relationship makes an honest attempt to marry the "me" with the "we." 

Thanks for reading. 

Today's Steps

Every one of them fun. 

Happiness

Happiness is not an external measurement but an internal thermometer. Nothing on the outside will ever make someone unhappy, happy. And nothing on the outside will ever make someone happy, unhappy. The key is to find a balance between constantly striving for higher goals while also appreciating your current condition. 

You Have What It Takes

The whole ...

• Lift 3 days a week
• At least 10k steps per day
• Eat real food
• Stay hydrated
• Sleep 9-10 hours per night
• Stay consistent

... thing really works. 

Build a routine and stick to it. Not a diet. Not a cut. Not a bulk. Not a challenge. Just a routine you don't break. It's about showing up daily, even when it's boring. Doing the small things over and over and over again. Making it a part of who you are. 

You have what it takes now. It's time to take action. 

Today's steps.

The Gym Is Not the Goal

I don't train so I can live in the gym. I train so I can live outside of it. 

Kailua Beach, July 5, 2025. 

Conference on the Byzantine Text (March 2026)

Speakers are Abidan Shah, Elijah Hixson, Maurice Robinson, Mark Ward, Dwayne Green, and yours truly. Please join us! 

Why We Train as 70-Year Olds

I don't train just to feel good or to look good. 

I train so that I can chase this little guy around the farm. So that I can pick him up without my back hurting. So I can be present in his life in those moments that matter most to him. 

Whatever your age ... keep going.

Strength Training: A Waste of Time?

"You don't need to lift weights to gain muscle and strength as quickly as possible" said someone who's never lifted. 

Can Negative = Positive?

As we approach the end of 2025, what's the biggest truth you've learned from the year? I'll choose this: Only time will tell if an event in your life this year was a positive one or a negative one. Sometimes what appears at first to be a negative experience can actually be the first step to changing your life for the better. The opposite can happen too, of course. God wants our all, and he will not rest until he gets our all. The man who has God for his treasure truly has everything. 

Off to class! 

Walking and Weight Loss

As a runner, I will readily admit that walking is one of the most (if not THE most) effective exercises to burn calories. Sure, intense aerobic exercises expend more energy per minute, but those are much more difficult and they are sometimes more dangerous to sustain. You can lose a significant amount of weight just by simply walking.

• Low impact.
• Easily done.
• Whole body.
• Just listen to music.
• Phone a friend. 
• Enjoy the views.
• Share someone's company.

An hour long walk is roughly 3 miles. This burns about 300 calories. Walking at least 10,000 steps a day and eating at a calorie deficit has me down 40 pounds since last November. It's not a magic bullet, but it does offer me an excellent advantage in terms of "calories out" for the day. 

The Meaning of Baptism

In this picture I am about to be baptized at the age of 8 in the Pacific Ocean by my pastor Rudy Ulrich. 

I'm sure some of you were baptized outdoors as well. I recall once reading about a church in Africa that baptizes new converts in the ocean. The candidate is literally thrown into a wave "in the name of the Father." At this point he or she is washed back to the shore. The church leaders quickly pick up the now drenched convert and throw him or her into another wave "in the name of the Son." This is repeated a third time "in the name of the Holy Spirit." 

(Interestingly, as a lifelong surfer, I've noticed that waves often come in sets of three!)

The point of this church's baptismal practice apparently is not simply to emphasize the name of the triune God. In baptizing people this way, converts are given a tactile experience that indicates to them the struggle of the Christian faith. "Hey, follow Jesus if you want to, but man, it's going to cost you!" I'm reminded of Paul's famous "encouraging message" to the believers in Asia Minor (Acts 14:22). "Anyone signing up for the kingdom of God has to go through hard times."

Baptism means death. It means, "Hello!!! Ready for a fight? Ready to face temptations that blitz you daily? Ready to love people who tick you off? Ready to exercise the marks of a true Christian -- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control?" 

No one is ever ready to do all that. But you have to start somewhere. In the New Testament, you got saved, and you got wet. Baptism was THE public pledge of total allegiance to your Lord and Master and Savior and Redeemer and Best Friend. 

I never want to back off from something because it looks too hard. Jesus is always there to help us in our Christian walk. He's even there to pick us up when we fall. You have to learn to push the doubts aside and keep on going. Life is just plain tough work. But the task is made easier when we consider that everything we have is a gift from God, freely bestowed. So I should give it back freely in return. 

No Need to Over-Translate Greek!

Tonight in class we're having a quiz over prepositions. One thing we want to do is avoid over-translating Greek prepositions when a compound verb is used. 

Mark 1:21 is a case in point. 

Here the repetition of eis doesn't necessarily indicate emphasis. 

It's probably just the redundant use of the preposition that developed during the Koine period. This means that translations such as "And they entered into Capernaum" are probably over-translations. "And they entered Capernaum" suffices. 

Our new subject tonight is the Greek personal pronoun. Should be tons of fun! 

An Unnecessary Dilemma

I think it's a grave mistake to drive a wedge between the sacred and the secular, as though they were spiritually incompatible. "Sacred" acts include prayer, Bible study, church attendance, and the like. "Secular" acts include things we often do reluctantly and apologetically: eating, sleeping, caring for our bodies, etc. The dilemma has never existed in reality. 

The truth is, we can make everything we do an act of consecration to our God. We need no more to be ashamed of washing dishes than memorizing Scripture. If this is so, why should it be so hard for the average Christian to get hold of the idea that their daily activities can all be performed as acts of worship to the Father through Jesus Christ? We can counter this only by reminding ourselves that we intend every act to glorify God. The essential spirituality of worship is not lost in even the most mundane of acts. Ruth Bell Graham once had this sign over her kitchen sink:  

I absolutely love that! This isn't to say that everything we do is equally important. Paul planted churches and made tents. Both were acceptable to God and acts of worship. "Every stitch in the tent is an act of obedience and faith, or at least it can and should be" (source). As I've often said on this blog, my morning Bible time may be more important than my daily workout, but lifting weights can be as holy an act. 

I desire that my entire life become a priestly service for the Lord. That I often fail to do this in no way refutes what I am saying. 

3 Simple Weight Loss Hacks

Just a couple of reminders for you to keep in mind on your weight loss journey:

1. There's no single diet or nutrition plan that works for everybody. We're all different, and what works for some people may not work for you. The right nutrition plan for you is something you can see yourself sticking to for years. Healthy weight loss is a lifelong journey and not a sprint.

2. Healthy weight goes far beyond the way you eat. Obesity is a complex problem. Many factors regulate our weight. These include our hunger, appetite, how we respond to our environment, and the hormonal signals in our body. The better you understand your own body, the better success you'll have with your weight loss.

3. Our culture makes it easy to eat calorie dense foods that hit our pleasure receptors. So we end up eating for comfort and not for actual hunger. That's why it's so hard to stop eating sugary or highly processed foods since a lot of those foods are designed to be addictive. We may need to fix the emotional aspect of why we eat what we do and learn how to process our emotions without resorting to food.

Just some ideas. Have a wonderful day! 

"Recovery" Workout Today

I am still basking in the glow of yesterday's race. So much build up, then race day, then ... what? Recovery day of course!

Recovery for me has meant coffee, church, and an upper body workout. 

Today my legs were loose and amazing. So I decided to do a one hour lifting session at the Y. 

Nothing too heavy. You know. Just this. 

And that. 

And then something else. No steps though. That's for tomorrow in Wake Forest, Lord willing. 

Everyone knows that when you exercise you get those microscopic tears in your muscles. Rest and recovery gives your body enough time to heal those tears so that you end up with even stronger muscles. In other words: Stress your body, then it give enough time to adapt. If you don't do this you run the risk of overtraining. 

I am such an overachiever that I rarely cut myself a break. But today I think I did okay. 

Light lifting. 

A post-race walk tomorrow (nothing fast at all). 

Like that? 

That's my wisdom for today. Now off to prepare for Greek class tomorrow! 

Tapping into Grace

Whenever I race I often wonder who these people are who are pushing themselves so hard. 

We smile at each other as we run our own respective races, inspired by our mutual doggedness, realizing just how difficult a race can be. As someone has said, if you can find meaning in an absurd hobby like running, maybe you can also find meaning in another absurd activity called life.

Racing taps into all the fears I have about myself. But it also holds the potential to tap into something vastly more important and beautiful. The amount of grace that life requires is unfathomable. That's true for you as much as it is true for me.

This week, let's allow God's grace to full our lives to the brim -- pushing through exhaustion like a racer and wrapping our arms around each others' necks when we have to. Let's accept the good with the bad, the sorrow along with the joy, and the happy days with the not-so-happy days.

Have a wonderful Lord's Day! 

Cap Trail 10-Miler in Richmond Today!

Somebody please hit me with the stupid stick. Today I did something really idiotic that I hadn't done in years. And boy, did I pay the price. Talk about stoopid! I left home without cutting my toenails!!!!! That's a huge no-no before doing a 10 mile race. Which is exactly what I did this morning in Richmond along with my daughter's husband Tino. 

This was his very first race -- of any distance. And man, did he hit it out of the park. 

Me, I finished in 2 hours and 14 minutes. I visited the porta-potty 3 times during the race. I did enjoy, however, the long downhill at the end of the race. At the end I knew my body had taken a beating. Eventually I sat down and took off my shoes. 

Yes, indeed, folks: you reap what you sow. Tonight I am wearing my flip-flops. I am DONE! At any rate, my 12th 10-miler is now in the books. 

I am going to get kinda philosophical here, but I don't think that the people in my life who love me care how fast I run or even if I run another race. And I'm learning to treat myself with the same kindness. This doesn't mean that I won't continue training as hard as I know how. It does mean that when I give it 100 percent and it still doesn't get me the results I want, I can be at peace with that. And, I know I gave it my all today. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Make Every Step Count

I am an adult-onset athlete. I believe that having an active lifestyle is the only responsible course of action for a 73-year old who takes Rom. 12:1 seriously. I owe it to my family to stay in shape for as long as possible. Moreover, I've found the running community to be one of the most compassionate, accepting, supportive, giving, and caring communities I've ever been involved with. Had I known how rich my life would have been as a runner, I would have put on my running shoes much earlier. Staying active is really a matter of discipleship. It's part of our stewardship responsibility before our God. The people you see running races on the weekend aren't any more talented or gifted than you are. They haven't suddenly discovered the secret to happiness. They aren't any different from you and me. They're just normal, everyday people who have discovered that running is a whole-being activity that nourishes your mind, body, and spirit.

Tomorrow my son-in-law and I will be running a 10-mile race in Richmond. When you stand at the starting line of a race, your goal that day is to complete the distance. The difference between success and failure is as simple as taking the next step. I imagine that's how all of life is. "Wherever you are, be all there," said Jim Elliott. He did just that and entered heaven "through gates of splendor." The truth is, every step in life is important. Every step takes us a little bit closer to who we want to become. Every step reveals some new God-given potential. 

My hope and prayer is that you will find your next "step" in life and pursue it with all the gusto you have. 

Enjoying a light workout before tomorrow's race. 😊

NO MORE EXCUSES!

Growing up I was always skinny. 

I used to blame it all on my genetics. 

Your excuse may be different. But it's time to stop making excuses. If you've been waiting for the "right" time to start your fitness journey, this is it. Clean up your diet, get to the gym, and get in 6-8,000 daily steps. 

NO MORE EXCUSES! 

Living a Fully Functioning Life

The average male in the United States will live for 76 years. This is the equivalent of 4,000 weeks. To this point in my life, I've lived about 3,800 of those weeks. How should I face my mortality?

When I left Hawaii for California at the age of 19, I was put on a train so to speak, destined for an unknown future. I pulled the emergency cord and leapt into the future. The result was no less than a new course, a new destination, a new life -- college, seminary, grad school, career, marriage, family, retirement. Experts suggest that we should develop new interests post-career. So I started listening to my body and became convinced that it was a marvelous thing. I became proficient at listening attentively to my health. Eventually, a world without daily physical exercise became unthinkable. 

As septuagenarians, there's still time to get the most out of our aging bodies, even though the 70-year warranty we're born with has expired (Psalm 90:10). The process of aging is inexorable. And death eventually results. But neither aging nor dying should occur before their appointed time. I simply want to live a fully functioning life as long as my Creator allows me to do so. Regular exercise seems like a good place to start. 

Our Creator made us to ask for more and more challenges. That's why, at whatever age, we're always seeking out new frontiers. I have -- just as you do -- a never-to-be-repeated role to play in this world. And with that comes the knowledge that now is the time to act out our own drama. Even in your 70s, you can have a passion and toughness that youth can't match. 

But first you have to jump off the train and venture out into the great unknown.

Don't Overcomplicate Muscle Building

For many of us, weight training takes way too much time, effort, and brain power. But if you follow some basic advice, you can build muscle doing the bare minimum. Just aim to train each muscle group 3 times a week. 

For me, working out 3 times a week is the sweet spot between doing enough to grow without wasting my time. Just train hard and reach your minimum effective weekly training volume. 

It seems that the most efficient range for hypertrophy is doing around 6-10 sets per muscle group per week. Both light and heavy loads will work well if you train to near failure. The key to whatever you choose to do is to simply to apply progressive overload over time. Focus on your intensity with each set, and make sure you do enough weekly volume to grow. 

Remember to take at least one day off between sessions. This is the time when your muscles can adapt and restore. So by the time you come to lift again, you're in peak condition to progress. Prioritize your sleep. Sleep plays an extremely important role on muscle growth. 8 hours of sleep per night should be the absolute minimum. I personally get at least 9-10 hours of sleep every night. 

The truth is, most people overcomplicate building muscle so much. It really boils down to a few core principles. Ultimately, building muscle isn't magic. It's about training effectively. It's about good nutrition. And it's about staying consistent in the long run. Don't worry if your progress isn't linear every single week. Stick to the basics. Lift regularly. Try to go near failure on all of your lifts. Tweak when and as needed. Play the long game, and your gains will practically be guaranteed.