Monday Mind-Dump

Monday thoughts and happenings...

• The warmer weather seems to be here, or at least it has been for the past couple of days now...it's great! It makes running so much more enjoyable. I suppose I need to consider pulling my lawnmower out of hibernation, but am I really ready for that ritual to begin already?
  
  
• Preparations for the Drake On-The-Roads 1/2 marathon (see photo of Drake Stadium above) this coming Saturday are coming along. I ran some decent long mileage this past weekend, including a pleasant 10-miler along quiet fields on Saturday morning...seriously one of the reasons why I love running so early on weekends. Keeping with a little weekend post-run tradition, picked up donuts and chocolate milk for the kids, and skinny lattés for Laura and I...always a hit with the crowd.
  
  
• Enjoyed the evening with my wife at the BonJovi concert here in Des Moines last night. They rocked! Though the $40 t-shirts were a bit steeply priced, being able to finally experience "Wanted, Dead Or Alive" live was truely incredible and a dream come true for me since high school.
  
  
• Wednesday night's youth group is not happening this week. Actually bummed. However, our junior high lock-in on Friday is. This I'm really psyched for it...hoping to spend some fun time with the guys!
  
  
• Lately, I've been thinking about Romans 12:21 where it says, "do not be overcome by evil, but instead overcome evil with good". Ultimately, the defining moments of my life are not determined by the evil/bad being done to me, but really by my response through the grace of God. That's when I give up my desire to seek justice or fix things myself and place it in God's hands. And I realize, that's a tough thing to do sometimes...but it is absolutely necessary.