The ones that got away...Or rather than I'm trying to get rid of!

So some of you know that I'm a running shoe nerd and I love to test and try out new shoes, technologies, read reviews etc.  So recently I'm paring down some of the second hand running shoes that I've scored cheap off eBay or Amazon or in 2 cases full price at the running shoe store.  This post is about 3 that I'm attempting to sell on eBay (seller: "claude_chew" in case you're interested) that I've tried and tried to get to work and just have not worked for my feet.

So the 3 pairs in the photo below are in order from left to right, Salomon Sense Mantra (US 10.5), Montrail Fairhaven (US 9.5) and Brooks Ghost 5 (US 10.5).  Praise the Lord the Brooks are already sold and I will not go back to trying out a Brooks shoe ever again!

So this post is really nothing but some whining and lamenting over the sadness of parting with these shoes with the exception of the Brooks.  

To start off with the Salomon Sense Mantra's, now for those of your who don't know, Salomon has a phenomenal line up of trail and mountain running shoes and a phenomenal trail and ultra running team and they can be referred to the as the Formula One of trail running.  They usually steal the show at most races they are in and are always constantly testing and refining their gear and then after the custom outfits for their athletes, making some of those available to the general public for purchase.

Back to the Sense Mantras, they are based off a custom shoe for trail running champion Killian Jornet, who wanted a lightweight, all purpose shoe that he could win Western States 100 in after coming in 3rd in 2010.  Salomon went back to the drawing board, developed a super lightweight, durable shoe with a low heel toe drop and released the S-lab Sense back in 2011 I believe.  Then in 2012, they upped the heel toe drop a little to 6mm, gave the lugs a little more depth and used some more durable Contagrip outsole rubber and released the Sense Mantra, a durable, daily lightweight trainer that could take you from door to trail, a very real scenario here around Houston Texas where some of the most aggressive trails you will find are either dirt, packed dirt or gravel unless you drive way out west to Big Bend National Park.  So after finding these cheap off eBay, I was delighted to take them for a spin only to discover that they simply were too narrow for my wide, flatfooted Hobbit feet.  So alas after a few runs in them I must part with them because they don't suit my feet, although of all the shoes, I am saddest to part with them because I can say that they perform quite superbly on most surfaces I've tested them on, dirt, gravel, pavement, although not as great on pavement as some other shoes.  For most normal feet, or narrow feet I highly recommend these!

Secondly, the Montrail Fairhaven's are also a hybrid trail shoe with less aggressive tread for pavement use.  They actually work quite well, except the upper is super thick and cushy and keep my feet way too hot for Texas weather!  And they turned out to be too small, so am parting with them because they give me blisters on my little toes because the US 9.5 in these shoes keeps the toe box too close to my toes.  However they are a highly recommended shoe, very comfortable, perform well on pavement to easy trails and feature Montrail's Fluidpost stability system as a medial post for pronation control.  I highly recommend these as an all purpose day to day trainer!

As for the Brooks, the very first pair of real running shoes I ever owned were some Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11s which are a classic stability shoe.  They turned out sour over time though because they simply didn't fit my wide, flat feet and then caused a lot of pain on the outside and inside edges of my feet because the shoes were trying to force my feet into their mold and my feet weren't buying it.  So I ditched those and then tried to make a come back to Brooks because they are a high quality, very durable, sturdy shoe manufacturer with the Ghost 5.  These were a little better for longer but after a while, same thing, except since this is a neutral shoe, was a little less painful until over time the caterpillar pad turn in in the midfoot just caused too much pain and I sold those on eBay (Praise the Lord!).  Brooks work wonderfully for most people, just not for me.  On the plus side they had a generally good fit, usually too narrow for my feet although the manufacture some of their models in different widths and are generally very durable, good smooth heel toe turnover and look nice too.

Now my last sad shoe story was very recent, this week in fact, I had purchased a pair of North Face Double Track Guide shoes from Gearcoop.com (which is a great discount outdoors gear store by the way and I highly recommend it) since they had it for half price.  I had read a lot of reviews about the old Double Tracks and was looking for a shoe with a lot of cushioning for upcoming 50k in December and 50 mile in Feb 2014.  Plus there were a lot of great reviews about their Cradle Guide System that helps with impact control in whatever phase or however you strike whether it's heel, midfoot or forefoot.  In my initial runs I had experienced pain as I've now learnt and convinced myself of that stability shoes are not my thing.  These were like the Brooks on steroids in terms of stability, it was like trying to force my feet into a steel mold they simply wouldn't sit and as a result on my 19 mile long run, I was hobbling along at a 16 min/mile pace for the latter half of it.  It was quite embarrassing as here were older people out on their leisurely strolls passing me as I hobbled along all geared up in my hydration pack with dual sports bottles, running sunglasses and cap, serious amateur trail runner that I am.   So I am now returning these for a refund.  On the plus side though, if stability shoes are your thing, these I actually highly recommend because I can see that the Cradle Guide system works wonderfully in controlling the impact in each stride and they are surprisingly nimble and responsive for how burly they look.  Also the Tenacious Grip outsole transitioned the most smoothly out of any hybrid shoe I've tried on from pavement to trail and gripped dirt, mud and gravel and pavement all superbly without any fear of slipping.  

So there you have it, there's my lament on the shoes that got away... maybe next time I'll post one of the shoes that have made the cut :)

God Bless,

Claude

Special Delivery

So who's ever had to deliver a baby, raise your hand?  I guess if you're a gynecologist or a midwife, it's probably old hat to you, but to a father of 5 children who has only ever really handled lab mice, it's definitely sets the heart racing and adrenaline pumping!  And that's exactly what I had to do the night Rachel was born!

It was quite a night, after some contractions that had stopped 2 days before, the saying that, "every pregnancy is different" was indeed true for us this time as previously in little ways.  This time it was as if The Lord was throwing us a curve ball to see if we were paying attention to Him!  We were all ready to meet Rachel face to face that Tueday but then everything stopped and we were completely puzzled and so we didn't quite know what to do and so we just waited and waited and went about with life like normal, until Thursday evening, where after work I came home and after dinner and Bible time and saying goodnight to the rest of the kids, and then all of a sudden we were trying to decide on whether to try and make it to the birth center which is about an hour's drive away or to ask them to drive like maniacs to our place, and we ended up opting for them to come here because it didn't seem like we would make it there in time.

Pretty soon after, we were pushing and my heart was pumping and Rachel's head was coming out!  There were moment where my life and Rachel's life and Becca's life were flashing before my eyes and my spirit was uttering in groans and sophisticated theological cries like, "Jesus, help me!  Jesus help us, Jesus protect Becca and Rachel! "  Just goes to show that when it comes down to it, at least my cry to Jesus in times of trouble is very plain and simple and basic!

I remember that when Rachel's head was out and the midwives were on the phone talking us through that it all kind of faded into the background and somehow I assume it must have been the Holy Spirit, I just became away of the Lord's voice saying, "Trust me, trust me." And then everything came back into hearing and focus and Rachel was coming into my arms, there was rejoicing all around that the delivery was over!

The midwives arrived 10 mins later and checked Becca and Rachel out and took care of us and made sure we were okay and we were able to catch our breath a little.  Becca will fill you in on her side of the story but needless to say it was quite a special delivery for us both, happening with our family, a trusted friend from our church and Jesus and the midwives by phone.  I think next time we'll opt to stay at home!  As I think about and mull it over and process it, I think of the following scripture which I think was brought to life in a very tangible way (special emphasis on the first part):

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves. Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court. (Psalm 127:1-5 NIV)

It's pretty clear that there are blessings and rewards for following The Lord, however as I meditate on this Psalm it becomes more and more clear that this is more to do with Him than with us, we are truly the recipients of grace upon grace (John 1:16), not because of merit, or hard work, or our own righteousness but simply because The Lord so chooses to build the house,  watch over the city, bring children as blessing, not by our mighty works or our own right hand, but by His power and strength and wisdom. 

God bless,

Claude

What's in a name?

I am humbled to be able to write this post and record the events that happened that night during the birth of Rachel Xin Yang Chew, the 5th little one to be added to our family at the Lord's request and desire.  It is amazing to me that He continues to see fit to bring more and more children into our family even though we are pushed and stretched to the utmost and are utterly dependent on His grace just to take each breath in between each moment of daily life with these very creative and spirited children! :)  I certainly have learned to to unlearn almost everything that I thought I knew about marriage and parenting in this stage of life to take upon Jesus' yoke and be humble to learn from Him because I certainly have no amount of earthly or human wisdom that is sufficient for the task and most importantly the relationships in our family.  The scripture is true that God truly does oppose the proud and gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5) because just when I'm so proud of everything that I know and have learnt and how great of a husband and parent that I am, there's always something that comes to knock me flat on my back/or rather flat on my face so that I can be humble to take on Jesus' yoke and re-learn from Him!

Anyway, to sum up the events of Thursday, The Lord has brought out of the womb after 9 months of anticipation Rachel Xin Yang Chew!  We've been dying to meet her face to face and are delighted to see her in person!  To put a spin on the meaning of her name:

According to Strong's Concordance, the meaning of the Hebrew word Rachel is:

From an unused root meaning to journey; a ewe (the females being the predominant element of a flock), (as a good traveller): - ewe, sheep.

• 信仰
  xìn yǎng
  

  to believe in (a religion) firm belief, conviction

  周 - zhōu ("week")

  week, circle, circuit, Zhou Dynasty, thoughtful"Why are some translations grayed out?" Grayed-out terms are meanings of the character which cannot be used as translations. For example, 必 (bì) has the meaning must / to have to. However, the Chinese translation for "must" is not 必 (bì) but 必须 (bìxū). to give"Why are some translations grayed ou Grayed-out terms are meanings of the character which cannot be used as translations. For example, 必 (bì) has the meaning must / to have to. However, the Chinese translation for "must" is not 必 (bì) but 必须 (bìxū).  circumference, attentive"Why are some translations grayed out?" Grayed-out terms are meanings of the character which cannot be used as translations. For example, 必 (bì) has the meaning  fjdksl;afjkdlsa;must / to have to. However, the Chinese translation for "must" is not 必 (bì) but 必须 (bìxū). to relieve"Why are some translations grayed out?" Grayed-out terms are meanings of the character which cannot be used as translations. For example, 必 (bì) has the meaning must / to have to. However, the Chinese translation for "must" is not 必 (bì) but 必须 (bìxū). complete"Why are some translations grayed out?" Grayed-out terms are meanings of the character which cannot be used as translations. For example, 必 (bì) has the meaning must / to have to. However, the Chinese translation for "must" is not 必 (bì) but 必须 (bìxū). So

  
  

  So to do a little exposition on her name is pretty interesting because the common meaning for Rachel is an ewe, but the root "to journey" was really intriguing to both Becca and I.  We picked Xin Yang for the idea of faith, and actually reexamining our family name/surname was interesting too because I had forgotten what it really meant about thoughtfulness and completeness.

  
  

  So in a layman's attempt to string it all togther, to journey/travel well with a firm conviction (Lord willing in Yeshua Hamashiach!) to completeness or in a thoughtful, conscientious manner.

  
  

  This reminds me of the following verse from Scripture:

  
  

  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5, 6 ESV)

  
  

  Lord Jesus, may this be true of Rachel and be true of all of us!

  
  

  In Jesus' Name,

  Amen

  
  

We are Called to Serve - Follow up to the Serving Ones

To post my perspective of the minor sickness epidemics that go through our household I was thinking about Jesus' call to all believers everywhere to serve.  

As He says in Matthew 20:28 after responding to the request of James and John's mother:

²⁸ even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Or I like the Amplified Bible version too that puts it like this :

²⁸ Just as the Son of Man came not to be waited on but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many [the price paid to set them free].

There's something so intensely powerful about Jesus' life and ministry.  Yes He is God and yes He was called to die on the Cross for forgiveness of sin and be raised on the third day to overcome death and Satan, yes He was obedient to the Father to the point of death, even death on a cross!  These are all great theological/religious truths and I don't want to downplay the importance of them but until recently, the Holy Spirit has only really begun to cement these into my heart, mind, soul and strength.

I begin to view life like the Paul says in Romans 14:7-8 after talking about considering others in how we live out our freedom in Christ Jesus and not causing anyone to stumble by how we live out our freedom:

⁷ For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. ⁸ If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

We belong to the Lord.  We are not our own!  We were bought at a price!

Do we all fully understand that, WE ARE NOT OUR OWN!

Paul tells us clearly how to respond to this revelation in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (emphasis added):

¹⁹ Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;²⁰ you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Yes this is the context of not indulging in sexual immorality, but the context is clear, honor God with your bodies or as elsewhere:

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship." - Romans 12:1

We are living sacrifices to God, our lives, our actions, our thoughts, our time, love, money, effort, possessions, spouses, children, family, whatever it is in our lives all belongs to God.  We can try to hold onto them and cheat Him out of those things and try to enjoy life here for ourselves, but ultimately we're going to leave that all anyway and our souls will be demanded from us for accounting before God.  

Another illustration from the Gospel of Luke that has really struck me about how I live life here on earth too from Luke 12:13-21 (emphasis added):

¹³ Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴ Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” ¹⁵ Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

¹⁶ And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

¹⁸ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. ¹⁹ And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

²¹ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.  Wow, thats powerful, the whole world tells us to be greedy!  It's so easy to rationalize that that's ok given that everyone else around us doing it.  Or worse still to look around and think to ourselves, we're not so bad, we're doing better than everyone else, I can indulge a little and so toe the line rather than living fully for God.

But Jesus doesn't stop there and leave us hanging, He goes on in Luke 12:22-30 (emphasis added again):

²² Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.²³ For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!²⁵ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? ²⁶ Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
²⁷ “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ²⁸ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! ²⁹ And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. ³⁰ For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.

For the pagan world runs after all such things and your Father knows that you need them.

Do we trust God enough to believe that He does know what we need and supplies it as we seek after Him first and foremost in our lives?

And the punchline:

³¹ But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

Amen!

But again, Jesus doesn't stop there, He's interested in a more complete transformation Luke 12:32-34:


³² “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

What has struck me about verse 34 is that it talks about the heart.  There are many many people doing many many good things, many many Christians doing many many good things, but where do our hearts dwell?  Do they truly dwell on and with our Father or do they still dwell on and with the things of this earth?

Where is my treasure?  Is it in preserving my own life, possessions, well-being?  Or is it in our God?  My prayer is that it would be in our Lord Jesus Christ!

Amen!

Coffee and Common Grace

Well I never thought that I would become a coffee drinker but here I am now drinking at least 24 oz a day!  The reasoning to start drinking was simply to help me stay awake on the roads so that I am able to see my family again at the end of the day after work which is something that I just had to make a priority rather than taking chances with falling asleep at the wheel!

So as I drink each day I often think about God's grace and how His grace comes to us.  I'm no theologian nor claim to be but I have heard the term thrown around of God's "Common Grace".  And here's how Dr Tim Keller of NYC's Redeemer Presbyterian explains it:


"The Bible consistently teaches what theologians have come to call “common grace,” a non-saving grace that is at work in the broader reaches of human cultural interaction. This gift of God’s grace to humanity in general demonstrates a desire on God’s part to bestow certain blessings on all human beings, believer and non-believer alike. Understanding common grace provides the basis for Christians to cooperate with and learn from non Christians."

- taken from http://timothykeller.com/images/uploads/pdf/What_Is_Common_Grace.pdf

At least my layman, simpleton interpretation is that God showers grace upon grace down upon humanity and Creation, He certainly doesn't have to but choose to because of His character and nature of being Good and being Love.  I guess in Him He personifies those characteristics because He is those, before we even came to recognize or define the pale attempts of humanity to emulate those characteristics, He is!  

In fact Jesus' exhortation to us to love our enemies in Matthew 5 comes from the call and command to us to be like God, to be holy as He is holy or perfect as He is perfect, i.e. to be transformed by His Word and Spirit and empowered to live by Him so much that loving our enemies flows out of His nature in and through us, not our own.

"But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust." - Matthew 5:44-45

So God's grace is not limited to those who believe or who are 'good enough' to believe, or those whom we think are worthy, because frankly we aren't worthy, but Jesus is and that's why we needed Him to die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sin and to be raised again on the third day so that we too can be raised with Him to eternal life!

So His grace extends to all, whether all acknowledge Him or not!

But how does this relate to coffee at all???  Well in my random thinking, it seems like He has enabled me to recognize this common grace at this time so that I can drive safely on the roads to be present with my family!  Believe me I have prayed and prayed but it doesn't seem like God wants to zap me with some kind of supernatural staying awake power, but part of my dependence on Him at this time is exercising the wisdom to drink coffee!  It's a lesson in trust because we are on a budget and so the thought of having this ongoing expense could lead to worry and anxiety but what does Jesus say:

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?^[g] 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." - Matt 6:25-33

So, apparently God's going to look after us as we seek after Him first!  Pretty good deal I have to say, pretty good deal :)  Although to be so blase about it would be silly seeing that God would see right through the, "I keep my end of the bargain and you keep yours," type thinking.   But as we passionately and wholeheartedly seek after Him and His heart and what's important to Him, He will supply all of our needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus as we go on our journey and mission with Him.  

So I guess I don't need to worry, I can trust God which is awesome because He is more than trustworthy!  But I love the punchline of that passage of Scripture in Matthew 5:34

³⁴ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

Even better, it's not our job to be in control of everything in our lives, let alone what's in the future, that's God's job and He seems to do it infinitely better than I could, so I'll just choose to trust Him to do that!

But again back to coffee, as I drink it I meditate on God's goodness and grace and provision.  You could say that even that time of meditation in and of itself is a means of grace to take the time to reflect on Him and give thanks to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and all that He's done and is doing for us!  

Praise God!  Soli Deo Gloria!