Been reflecting on the year (almost) past and the year to come. 2005 has been a blur – committing to Intentional Discipleship and Sprint Triathlons were both totally new, and it is questionable how much I achieved in the year.
Must admit that there were times when this picture seems to reflect the situation for me both in the area of Intentional Discipleship and Triathlons. :)
Regrets…
Well, perhaps not so much as regrets (don’t believe in them), but here’s a confession of the areas where I have asked God to come rescue me from myself:
- Intentional Discipleship
o Care Group – Sigh... Really, REALLY need His help here. I was worried about being asked to be the leader at the beginning of the year as I am the youngest (in terms of my faith, not age), and it seems my fears have come full circle. Attendance is at an all time low (hovering around 50%), and the group seems to be growing apart - partly due to couples becoming parents this year, extensive traveling of those with regional jobs, and heavy work schedules of the rest. This is a tough stage for my group, where young children and career ambitions come at their strongest to distract us from meeting together regularly, but I believe if people see value in coming together they will. So I am praying that the Lord will help me overcome my immaturity, travel schedules, and most importantly help us add value to the group so we will keep coming together.
o Toddlers’ Playgroup – A few of us started the Toddlers’ Playgroup ministry in church this year with the main objectives of (1) teaching/sharing the love of God with the lil ones (kids under three) and (2) freeing up the young parents to be more involved in church. The ministry did take off (Praise God!), but it never got to the well-oiled child care service that I envisioned it to be (a vision that probably few shared anyway). Still, it is always a joy to see the lil ones sing and dance for God. :)
”From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise
because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.” Psalm 8:2
o Quiet Time – Has been off and on. Took a bit of time, but I think I am finally in the groove of doing my QT (almost) daily. Yay!
- Triathlons
– Old Nitrox is no ironman. :) I did two Sprint Triathlons in 2005, which is one more than I thought I would be able to do when I got off the couch back in April. The challenge I have here is more like what Tri-mama alluded to in her comments about “being in but not of [the world of triathlons]” – in short, making sure that God takes prime position in my heart, mind and soul.
Changes/Hopes…
With the grace of God, I hope to focus on the following in 2006:
- Intentional Discipleship
o Care Group – Will move to a rotating leadership model (everyone takes turns to be the leader). Hopefully it will address the leadership/participation issues we have had in 2005. I am also thinking of moving back to meeting weekly (changed that to bi-weekly sometime this year), hopefully that will draw us closer together as a group.
o Toddlers’ Playgroup – Have decided with the wife that I will quit this ministry and spend the two hours before Sunday School with my boys. My prayer is that the Lord will bring “new blood” to this ministry to take it to where He intended it to be (because it feels like I sure didn’t). :(
o Quiet Time – Maintaining consistency is the key for me in 2006. Bottomline: I will not do any training nor blogging until I have either done my QT or “reserved” an immovable timeslot in the day to do so.
- Triathlons
– Once again, old Nitrox is no ironman (if I say it often enough, one day I will remember that). :) My main limitation is time. I am very clear in my mind that my priorities are my faith, family, work and then if there is time left over, triathlons. This effectively means that I will probably never do more than an Olympic distance triathlon, so I might as well enjoy what I have time for. :) I hope to be able to complete a Olympic distance Triathlon in 2006, and I stress COMPLETE, not compete. This might seem a whimpy goal to you iron men and women out there, but even a O.D. is a big deal for old Nitrox, given that I have only done Sprint Triathlons and O.D. is double the distances! Time is gonna be a real challenge as doubling the distances (from a Sprint Triathlon) probably means I have to double my training time, and I am not sure if I have the time for this… So to the three readers of this blog - stay tuned! ;)
9 comments:
Nice post. I like the idea of not training or blogging until you've done a QT. I might steal that idea. :)
Hey Kewl,
U don't have to do an IM and I think that's ok. I was telling my friend Melissa (who just started to run) is ok not to run for marathon.
Just do what u need to do and what u enjoy. If u like tri do tri, if u like sprint, do sprint.
The way I see it, as long as u are out there and getting exercise and enjoying, it's all good.
Hi Mica, yup, it is all about priorities - doing the important stuff 1st. It is too easy to "forget" to do QT otherwise - I know, I keep "forgetting". :(
Cliff, thanks for the encouragement. The O.D. looks increasingly difficult - still trying to complete swim and run legs alone, but by God's grace, I will keep going at it! :)
Last night I was glancing your page and didn't have time to read the rest of the blogs.
I have the same problem wiht my fellowship, Emmanuel. It is a young career fellowship and your situation sounds a lot like mine. Attendence is 50%. People is coming and going. Spirituality is all time low.
I am also the leader of this fellowship and also the immature Christian (baptise this summer). It is quite frustrating to see people putting work and other things before God. However, I do not want to blame them and want to set an enviornment where I can help them grow their spirituality....
Thanks for stopping by my site and leaving your comments. Like you, at this point I am only contemplating short triathlons. What I have going is that I am already a (slow) marathoner, and I have completed bike marathons in the past.
My current downfall is swimming.
If the concept of completing an Ironman event is within your reach, keep in mind that God put it there. As a layleader in my church, my marathons helped as the foundation of a sermon I gave to the church. And my current triathlon goals came from my work with youth at another organization.
If you want an idea of how powerful distance events can be as a tool in ministry, check out the link to Team Hoyt on my blog. God gives you the strength, discipline, and motivation to do these things. That can be a powerful tool in ministry.
Hey Cliff, let's keep each other (and our fellowship groups) in mutual prayer support. "... 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty." Zechariah 4:6
Thanks Tom, always good to connect with someone who shares similar motivations. With your run and bike marathons, you should have no problems at all finishing the Olympic Distance triathlon. That Team Hoyt sure is a moving testimony - think I will add that to my links! :)
Will do......despite what is going on..i am very glad to see some of the newcomers are quite helpful.....I believe this is a trial that i am going through.
What is the guy pulling with the bike in the top pic?
Those are PET bottles - used Coke/Pepsi bottles. Stole this picture off a web-site about bicycles in China. :)
This is actually a common sight in China and India - some guy or poor donkey pulling a mountain of PET bottles or cotton.
Hey mr nitrox, there are definitely more than 3 readers... ;p
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