The roller coaster

I can vividly remember my first visit to Six Flags over Texas. It was with the church youth group and my friend Bobby Young's mom, who had no apparent fear of big rides, was with us. It was not long after the Texas Giant had opened, which was at the time the fastest/tallest/craziest wooden roller coaster on the planet.


Photo by Hagerman on Flickr / Creative Commons sharing.

Since the Giant was THE ride, it was the first place she took us, and the line was already long. Keep in mind that I had never been to a theme park before, and I don't recall even a small carnival-type roller coaster before this.

As we inched through the maze of ropes and barricades the ride just loomed over us, and in my head it was absolute and certain death that everyone was happily pressing toward.

That experience ended very well, and I have loved roller coasters, and the Giant in particular ever since. (I hope the remodel left some of the coaster's personality intact.)

The point of that story is this ... When you get to the base of most roller coasters, the size and scariness of the track tends to disappear. Many times the line goes through a themed building section, up some stairs and then into the ride-loading chutes. For a while it is just nervous energy, but no fear.

With Joshua's arrival literally any day now, it is like being inside the base of a roller coaster. Even walking through the house, with all of the new baby decor and accessories, seems like a set decorated for a baby-themed ride.

But we no longer look up in fear at the enormity of the task. Instead it is like getting loaded into the coaster train, lower the safety bar as tight as possible and act very, very giddy. We just look at each other in wonder about what is ahead.

Then after what could be a painfully slow and deliberate pull to the top of the hill (at least for Renee), we get to throw our hands in the air and enjoy the ride.

It is going to be fun, and we owe a huge thanks to so many of you who are cheering with us as we go.

Doctor update - checkup today was good, with the doctor opining that she thought Joshua would be here before April 9.

Don J.

It is not really the thought that counts.

Saturday was busy, with a nice trip to the Arboretum in the morning... Of course it is a great place for photos, and even better if you have a great sister-in-law with a family pass (Thanks Julie!).

Of course, after 37 weeks of pregnancy, it doesn't matter how beautiful the setting is, a long walk is tiring for the mom.

After arrival back home, Renee was off to yet another baby shower (AWESOME!) and I had a nice nap.

When I woke up, I wandered around the house a little bit but only accomplished uploading pictures from the morning... nothing really.

In my head though, I thought about putting up the dishes from the dishwasher. That would be a great idea, and it would make Renee happy, I thought.

Except I didn't do it. I was still playing with pictures when she got home.

Thoughts are what we tell people about to feel better about us, but they don't have nearly the impact of doing something, providing for a need, or just giving out of love.

Which comes around (like most things) to faith. This is the theme of James 2. Faith is great, but if it provides no actual change in what you do, there is no point.

19You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God.^f Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

It was a good example that, even though intentions thoughts are good, they are really meaningless much of the time.
As a guy, husband and about-t0-be father, this hits pretty close to home. I can say I love my family every hour, to anyone who is within earshot and it will amount to nothing. But if I take time to put up the dishes ... that means the world.

With the emotional, physical and time demands that are about to be in our house, it is the action that will prove the love. Just like doing the real work of following Jesus shows your faith.

Don J.

Fitness Friday - Runkeeper App Mini-Review

My lack of progress on the weight loss front notwithstanding, my quantity and quality of exercise has been on the upswing over the last few months.

As I mentioned yesterday, I am a former jogger trying to get back in the habit. A friend introduced me to Runkeeper, an exercise tracking app that (Unlike Nike+) works on Droid phones.

First off, the app interface is about as simple to use as it can be. It gives you lots of options for type of activity (walk, run, cycle, hike ... ), you hit start and it tracks where you go and approximates your calories burned. Geek cool, it also records your route so you can look on a map and look at where you went.

Also interesting is the elevation tracker, so you can see the ups and downs of the exercise. If you go multiple laps around a trail, you can see each lap by the elevation record.

There is also a section for notes about the exercise, but I'm usually not in the mood to type on the phone after running/walking.

Finally, at the end of your exercise you just hit stop and save... it's all good.

The Runkeeper setup automatically emails you when you set new personal records, which is kind of annoying and fun at the same time.... your call on that.

Their are other tracking and social network functions with a paid version of the app, but what they give for free is impressive, simple and useful.

Most importantly, it hasn't crashed during an exercise, even when receiving calls etc.

If you like to get outdoors for your exercise, this is a very useful and motivational tool. You can also manually enter exercises if you run on a treadmill etc.

Personally, my diet needs a lot of work, but so far getting back into a pattern of regular exercise has been very good for both body and mental health.

I would say "Highly Recommended" on the Runkeeper app.

Don J.

Bloody toes

Tomorrow for fitness Friday I am planning a review of the Runkeeper phone app, which has been handy since I've been exercising again.

You see, before Renee married me, I was in a habit of running about three miles at least three times each week. I was single, bored and wanted to impress the lovely lady who is now my wife.

Like a lot of guys, I let family life be an excuse for leaving that routine. My jobs become more sedentary, food got better and, no surprise, I got fat and lazy. Which is typical. And I'm fed up with typical.

So with prodding from friends along the way, the exercise routine is starting to take hold. Today was just shy of 3 miles in 41.25 minutes. Not blazing, but I'm almost back up to keeping a jog for the full three miles. And that is progress.

A note about progress - it can be painful!


I could feel some blister spots rubbing, but I did not know that my sharp-edged middle toe was gouging its neighbor. This little piggy plays with knives apparently.

Which is to say, keep your nails trimmed. There are always unexpected things to derail plans, cause havoc, and produce a little bit of blood. Keep going anyway. Run the race well, right?

And blister avoidance is nice.. should have read this before taking a crack at the full three miles.

Don J.

Countdown - 4 weeks

Renee's backyard flowers and plants are showing off their spring colors, so we went out for a quick picture after church.


The gardening may get less attention this year, but Renee is certainly hoping that Joshua shares her enjoyment of playing in the dirt when he gets older.

As we anticipate his arrival just weeks from now, it is hard to refrain from piling all kinds of personality traits that we hope he will have. Is that normal?

I'm sure it is, but I wonder if it is healthy. It is ironic that the people we most admire are the ones who triumph over adversity, yet we seldom want adversity to come in our lives or the lives of our loved ones. The people who rise up to lead and change the world are often the ones who have seen difficult times, but we never pray for difficulties that will strengthen us.

Generosity and independence

The generosity and care that have been heaped upon our household through the last few months have been astounding. The photo is just a small portion of it. Friends and family alike, near and far have been so giving, loving and kind I'm not quite sure what to say. It is humbling.

Many have told us that life changes completely with a baby, and I can see now that one of the biggest things to fall will be our sense of independence.

Confession... I love to be a helper. But I hate to ask for help. Which is very inefficient. In a weird way, it is selfish. And it slows the development of relationships.

Am I the only one that considers being asked for help or an opinion on something is a huge compliment? Does that just come from being the teacher's pet in school?

I'm not talking about constant "needy" pestering, but real genuine requests for help or collaboration.

We are one month away from Joshua's due date. And I can't thank you enough for loving us through the process.