Does anyone else get excited about getting new books in the mail? Okay, great, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one. But first ...
Earlier today I had to go to the office to get some work done and to pick up my Advanced Greek Grammar textbooks.
Aren't they pretty? All except for Robertson's Weightlifting 301 textbook. Back in 1914, I guess this was the best they could do. But we don't judge books by their cover, now do we?
After that I went to our local (as in Wake Forest local) running store. Run-N-Tri Outfitters has got to be the best shoe and gear store within 100 miles.
Bryan and his staff go out of their way to greet you the moment you walk through the door, and they even remember your name. Today the place was packed to the gills and yet I still got plenty of personalized attention. I needed to get what's called a racing belt.
The idea is that you clip your race bib to this belt rather than to your shirt or shorts and then simply wrap the belt around you after you've finished the swim leg of your triathlon. Being a creature of habit, I almost didn't buy it but I figured it's high time I took the plunge. Hey, anything to save a few seconds off your finish time, right? Most triathletes are so focused on the swim, bike, and run part of their race that they forget how important their T1 and T2 times are -- these refer to Transition 1 and Transition 2. It would take me hours and hours of swimming to knock maybe two minutes off my overall swim time, whereas maybe one minute of practice would knock two minutes off my transition 1 time. So a racing belt only makes sense.
Later, after I got back to the farm, I had a box waiting for me on the front porch. I had been expecting this set of books to come and was thrilled to see it.
I think it'll make a nice supplement to my other Greek lexicons, though I keep having to remind myself that Greek lexicography is a highly subjective science.
Just read Silva's New Testament Words and Their Meaning if you doubt me. That's why I hardly ever consult lexicons when I do exegesis. Okay, I jest -- just wanted to see if you were still reading.
I'll leave you with this sign I saw in the running store's dressing room today:
There's a lot of truth here. Life is short, isn't it? Next year I will reach the proverbial threescore years and ten. That's a pretty sobering thought. The reality of aging doesn't completely hit you until someone you love passes away. They were here, then suddenly they are gone. Thankfully, he who began a good work in us will complete it. My greatest fear is that in the coming years I will build cheaply with wood, hay, and stubble and get by with shoddy work. I've never done that in the past (hmm, maybe I have and I'm just not aware of it) but there's always a first. Blessed are those who give it their best in view of that Day when everyone's works will be made manifest!