Last week we dropped the Green Flag on our Capital campaign! We are picking up speed to go the distance! Our children provided some special music and we had a delightful race car skit. Today we want to focus on picking up speed, keeping on keeping on. We want to run well and avoid road blocks. We might depict them with a yellow caution flag. Remember since our theme deals with auto racing we have made plans to enjoy a fun family movie night here at 6:00 today. Invite family and friends to come with you to see the heart warming Disney movie,"Cars" on our big screen.

Last week we talked about preparing for the race and I mentioned an amazing young lady that has been preparing for another race, the Chicago marathon. She competed in that last Sunday in the intense heat and I have asked her to share something of her experience today. Please welcome Mindy as she tells us a little about her preparation.

Mindy

(Mindy Hatchett) "Preparation:

Thank you, Pastor Bruce, for your kind words. You used the word "amazing" but I see myself as quite ordinary. I have no remarkable physical talent or special ability (I'm not "fast" or "elite" by any standards. I have never broken any records, never run a mile in under 6 minutes-was never a state qualifier in cross country or track. As a matter of fact, I wasn't even fast enough to run on the varsity cross country team most of the time). But, I do have a lot of determination and desire and I hope to share today how an ordinary person, ordinary people can do extraordinary things-things that seem insurmountable-with preparation, determination, desire and faith.

There is a quote I used for motivation while training for this marathon. I printed it off of my computer and hung it on our kitchen cupboard so I could see it every day. The quote comes from Juma Ikangaa-a winner of the New York City Marathon.

"The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare."

Let me say it again.

"The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare."

I hope you don't miss that. Today I'm talking about preparing for a specific event, but that truth applies to all areas of our lives. We can set goals and have ideals but they are meaningless unless we are disciplined enough to complete the hard work necessary to make them happen.

A marathon is 26.2 miles. To give you an idea of how far that is, imagine getting in your car after church and driving from the high school to Veterans Memorial Auditorium in downtown Des Moines. If you did that, you would have driven 26.17 miles, or just a little under the distance of a marathon. So how did I, a person of ordinary ability prepare myself to run that far?

First, I set a goal. I wanted to run a World Marathon Circuit marathon, the Chicago Marathon, and I wanted to do it faster than the previous 2 marathons I had run. Then I committed myself to that goal by registering for the race and telling my friends and family that I was going to run it so that I could be held accountable.

Next, I began to research different training programs and running philosophies in order to determine the best way for me to prepare myself physically to reach my goal.

And finally, I ran. I ran 6 days a week for 18 weeks. 126 days. 667 miles. I ran in the dark, the sun, the rain, the wind, the heat and the cold. I ran when I was tired. I ran when I was excited about it and when it was the last thing I wanted to do. I ran when I felt great and I ran when I didn't. I did all of this, so that I could prepare my body, my mind and my spirit to handle the test of 26 miles. Another quote I enjoyed while preparing for this race comes from Josh Cox, a 2:14 marathoner. He said this, "I'm going to beat my body up for a couple of months and make it my slave." What that means to me is that sometimes my body is weak but my mind and my spirit are stronger than my body. I need to train my body to obey my mind. That way, when things get tough, I know I can continue to press on."

(minister) With this background we are going to talk a little today about overcoming Road Blocks, Hindrances, or Obstacles. The first one we are focusing on is:

I. Lack of Knowledge

Mindy

"Lack of knowledge:

I believe that part of what makes a marathon so intimidating for most people is a lack of understanding of knowledge of what it takes to complete it. And, because you're running for such a sustained period of time (2-6+ hours), you need to have some tricks up your sleeve to help you deal with pain and discomfort so you can keep running.

One of the reasons I was able to complete the Chicago Marathon despite all of the obstacles was because I spent a significant amount of time researching training plans, training paces, running philosophies, and nutrition information for endurance athletes and then I put that knowledge into practice.

"More people are running marathons than ever before. In 2006, there were 410,000 marathon finishers in the United States-an increase of 40 percent from 1995. Not surprisingly, this boom has been followed by a surge in marathon-training plans, ranging from low-mileage beginner programs to supertough elite schedules." (Runner's World July 2007, Bob Cooper)

If I was going to be able to finish, I needed to know how and where to start. In order to obtain this knowledge, I read countless articles, searched websites, read books, and consulted with a few coaches. Because I have been running for several years and have built up a base, and because this wasn't my first marathon-I decided to go with a more advanced, higher mileage training program. This training program combined several different kinds of workouts-slow runs, long runs, semi-long runs, tempo runs, pace runs, intervals and hill work. Each of these workouts are specific and are designed to produce a certain outcome. Some target endurance, some are designed to help you run faster, and some are designed to allow your muscles to recover while still adding mileage.

Because these workouts are designed to produce specific outcomes and help you to become a better runner overall, it is important to know how to run them, and the science behind why they are run that way. They can't all be run the same way; otherwise they loose their effectiveness and can lead to injury. Long runs are run slower than race pace to allow muscles to recover and to get used to running with fatigue. Tempo runs begin slowly and increase in speed over a certain number of miles and then decrease to a cool down. Intervals are sprint workouts and are usually run at a specific pace. Pace workouts are designed to teach your body what race pace feels like. And finally, hill work is designed to strengthen legs. Gaining this knowledge helped me to overcome the obstacle of training and racing because it helped me to understand the price I would pay to reach my goal.

Knowing how to train my body for the marathon was important, but equally important was knowing how to properly fuel my body. While it is true that running does burn a lot of calories, and while I probably could eat whatever I wanted, that wasn't necessarily going to give me my desired outcome.

After researching and deciding on a training plan, I turned my attention to learning which foods would give me the nourishment and energy I needed to complete the training. Again, I read countless articles and books on nutrition for runners. And I found that with a few modifications to my diet, I had more energy and faster recovery. Also, towards the end of my training I began to pay specific attention to what I ate before I ran and how it affected me during my runs. My focus during the last three weeks of my training was to eliminate any surprises that may arise during the race due to nutrition and hydration. The night before I left for Chicago, I carefully considered what I would eat on the morning of the race and then I packed my own breakfast to take with me.

This may seem excessive to some of you, but the application of knowledge is the difference between those who achieve success and those who wonder why they did not. Luke 14: 28-30 tell us "But don't begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills? Otherwise, you might complete only the foundation before running out of funds. And then how everyone would laugh at you! They would say, 'There's the person who started that building and ran out of money before it was finished!'"

Failing to acquire knowledge is failing to plan, and failing to plan is ultimately planning to fail."

(Minister) The race car driver needs to have thorough knowledge of how to handle his or her car. He should know the rules of the race and be familiar with the track. The lack of this knowledge could be a great and potentially dangerous road block.

Our stewardship and capital campaign is certainly a different kind of race. However, lack of knowledge could be an obstacle in this endeavor, too. Our leaders have tried to provide you with some knowledge regarding our anticipated budget expenses and the debt and projects for our capital campaign. We believed this was very important.

However, another hindrance in such a race could be the lack understanding of Bible teaching regarding our need to give. God set the example for us by giving, including giving the ultimate gift of His Son for us. All we have is a gift from God and we are asked to be the stewards of God's gifts, cheerfully giving a portion of them back to the Lord's work through the local church. Some of the most fulfilled people I know are those who love to give.

The next road block we may need to overcome is:

II. Lack of Trust

Mindy

"Lack of trust:

As I was preparing to run the Chicago marathon I had lots of questions and many moments of self-doubt. I didn't doubt that I would be able to complete the distance of the marathon, I had done that before. What I doubted was whether or not I would be able to do it faster than I had done before. During these times of questioning and self-doubt (usually occurring during the midst of a long or hard run when I was tired or didn't feel the best) I tried to focus my energy and attention on positive things and areas I could control. Things like breathing, arm swing, stride and turnover. But most of all, I began to realize that I would have to trust in my training program and my body's ability to go beyond what my mind thought was capable. And often times, it went against what my feelings told me.

During the 18 weeks that I trained, I completed 3 twenty mile runs, but none of these runs were at race pace. The farthest I ever ran at race pace was 10 miles. There were many days where I wondered if I would be ready-able to sustain the pace I wanted to run at mile 17, 18 or 25. But, I don't know everything. There are people out there who are much more knowledgeable about training and racing than me. If I was not going to trust the person who designed my training program, if I was not going to trust their experience and expertise then I wasn't going to get very far.

Also, I trained with another woman from Adel who had the same goal. Because of our busy lives and different schedules we were only able to run together 1-2 times per week, usually our weekend runs. We had to trust each other on the other 2-4 days of the week that we were each completing our training. Sometimes the biggest motivator for me was knowing that she was out there running too, and she was counting on me to do the same. We needed to know that when we stepped up to the line on race day that we hadn't taken any shortcuts in our training and that we were prepared for the task ahead."

(Minister) What if the race car driver does not trust his car, his pit crew, or his driving ability? That would be quite a road block.

Sometimes I have heard that people do not give generously to their local church because they do not trust the leadership to be good stewards of the money entrusted to them. That is sad, and can be a great hindrance in accomplishing what God wants them to do.

I am excited to see the growing trust in God and in the leadership of our church. You believe that this campaign is a God thing. The Church Conference vote that was nearly unanimous in July demonstrated trust in fellow members of our church seeking to wisely utilize our resources for the present and future needs of our church.

Finally we want to speak about overcoming the roadblock of

III. Lack of Discipline

Mindy

"Lack of discipline:

"Half the battle of marathon training isn't the running itself, it's finding the resolve to run-day after day. First you have to make the commitment, set a realistic goal, and decide on a training plan. Then you have to run a mile-just one at first." (Runner's World July 2007, Bob Cooper)

Running a marathon is hard work. Training for a marathon is even harder. There are days when you're tired, or you don't think you have time, or there's something more important or fun to do, or it's too hot, or too cold, or too whatever. Without both physical and mental discipline a marathon becomes an arduous task.

At some point during a marathon, usually around miles 16-20, running becomes uncomfortable. Your muscles and body are tired and you may start to cramp up. You're feet might hurt, maybe you have a blister. Your mind starts to wander and it becomes difficult to maintain motivation. And then, at some point between miles 20-26.2, it becomes completely about your ability to cope with discomfort and finish. The phrase mind over matter takes on new meaning.

Throughout the race you go through high periods and low periods, miles when you feel great and you are running strong and then miles where you struggle to put one foot in front of the other. Most of the time, you can run yourself out of the low periods, the key is having enough discipline to keep running despite how you feel. Your ability to listen to your body and figure out if you are really hurt or just temporarily hurting plays a key role. It goes back to the quote I used earlier about beating your body up and making it your slave. The human body is an amazing machine that is capable of accomplishing extraordinary things if we can teach our minds how to be stronger than our bodies. A man named Jon Short once said, "what counts in battle is what you do when the pain sets in."

There were so many times during the Chicago Marathon when I wanted to stop and walk. I was sick to my stomach, my head hurt, I was tired, my legs ached and I was so thirsty. Every time my feelings told me to stop, I made myself keep going. I had to talk myself into the next mile. I had to force myself to continue to run, and run strong and not walk even though my body was screaming at me to do so. The morning of the race I wrote the number 126 on my arm in big blue permanent marker so that when I was tired I could look down and remember how many days I had trained to run this race.

At the marathon expo the day before the race I saw a t-shirt for sale that said "this sounded like a good idea 3 months ago". Goals are great things and are often easy to work towards in the beginning when you're fresh and excited about starting. But it's the middle, the daily grind that weeds out the spectators from the ones who complete the task and receive the prize.

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go." -T.S. Elliot

"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go." -William Feather

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:24, "Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person receives the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches. I discipline my body like and athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified."

"I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven." Philippians 3:14

"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." -Theodore Roosevelt


(Minister) Without discipline a race car driver would probably not succeed.

How is discipline necessary for the success of our stewardship and capital campaign? Our leadership team has been diligently working for a long time attending meetings nearly every week and doing a variety of tasks to help us accomplish our goals. These persons have also made a financial commitment to both the annual stewardship campaign and the capital campaign as you have heard reported this morning. We are looking forward to each of you joining with us and placing your commitment card in a basket during our worship next week. Then we all need to follow through with the discipline to keep these commitments. Philippians 2:16 ".holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain."

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