I’m not sure what we were thinking, but Mark, the super fast, built for running type guy, who’s been running with me almost every Saturday for the last 5 weeks, and I started our 13 mile run on Saturday afternoon.  Earlier on we had tackled an excellent team service project at the Community Harvest Farm in North Grafton, then we decided to meet up again for what would be the longest either of us had ever run, even Mark, the super fast, built for running type guy.

Carie crushed the course, the morning before, and now it was our turn.  And I couldn’t have been more prepared and more scared of anything, including the time I rode the highest, fastest roller coaster in the world at the time at Cedar Point – The Magnum XL 200.  I’m not in the 8th grade anymore, but this was even more terrifying.  What if I couldn’t do it?

So we met at 4:30 pm, and started what we now know as the descent  up to our halfway point.  For that reason, the first half was really easy.  The whole thing was basically downhill, something we might have researched first.  So for 6.5 miles, I thought, we can really do this.  We wooped that run like David jacked up that dang giant with 5 smooth stones and a trumpet.  Then running back it started to get a bit harder.  It didn’t seem uphill, yet my legs were getting tired and when we eventually did get to a part that seemed uphill, I found myself ready to give up.

When I stopped running to take a break, I looked at our gps reading, and we had hit 11.11 miles, and it seemed like 2 more miles would never come.  I felt nauseous.  I felt weak.  I begged for Mark, the super fast, built for running type guy, to go on ahead so he wouldn’t have to wait for me.  He wouldn’t.  He was being challenged too.  The last two miles were so fierce.  Mostly uphill.  All tired.  And to make matters worse, we passed my house at 11.6 miles.  Couldn’t we just stop a bit early?

Finally we arrived at the 13.11 mile mark, and the run was over.  I had nothing left.  No legs.  No breath. Mark, the formerly super fast, built for running type guy and I walked quietly to our cars, looked at each other with faint glances of satisfaction, and went our separate ways.

I drove to my house and sat in my car for a few minutes.  I couldn’t really move and Carie was visiting some family, so sitting in the car just seemed appropriate for the occasion where one can no longer move.  I called Carie, told her I finished, and unfortunately, she was on the other end of what happened next.  I lost it.  For no reason that I know of, and just because I felt like it, or maybe it was because I had nothing left in me…

I just cried into the phone for the next 10 minutes.

This weekend I have to run 13 miles.

I’m not looking forward to it, but I now have an example to help quench my fear.  This morning my wife Carie ran that distance, and I’m pretty proud of her.  We’ve only been running for 5 weeks consistently (4 times a week), and now we’re ultimately training for a half marathon in October.  At first we considered a full marathon, then pulled back for this season.  But we’ve managed to stay on the training schedule for the marathon up to this point.

Because of scheduling conflicts, our training is one day apart, so Carie runs the training schedule one day before me most of the time, and I don’t mind telling you how scared I have been about my 13 mile adventures this weekend.  But Carie showed me it could happen, gave it her all, and finished the 13 miles.  Well, actually because her mom, who ran with her, took a wrong turn, she ran 14 miles, but I’m not doing that – on accident or on purpose.

Don Miller says that “A character in a story is a person who wants something and overcomes an obstacle to get it.”  I want to finish this half marathon, and I want to beat a few people along the way, and before today, I had a hard time believing that was possible.

Great examples and heroes are people who exemplify, not only how to live life, but the dreams which we already have in our hearts.  Running a half marathon may not make a big difference in the world, but it will make a big difference in me, which I believe will push me to make a big difference in the world.

Thanks Carie!

This weekend is July 4th weekend.  I live in Massachusetts.

The big thing to do in Massachusetts on July 4th, and I mean really big, is go to Boston.  I’ve done this a few times now, and it is really big and really awesome.  The drawback is that millions of other people agree with you and will be there with you, making the ride to leave the city of Boston impossible to do at a decent hour.

A few years ago at Fellowship, we started a new “tradition” on the Sunday of July 4th weekend.  We began having an outdoor service and a party on our property that day.  Last year, the church surprised me by celebrating my 10th anniversary here at this church.  It’s amazing to be around the people you love.  To hang out and play games and talk and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation with your closest friends.

This year, the two events happen to coincide:  Boston’s July 4th, and the Party in the Park.

And if I had my choice (cause really I don’t this week), I’d go relational before I would experiential.

We love the experiential, don’t we?  To experience big things and huge events and the next great adventure.  But one thing I learned a long time ago is that if I had the choice to do experiential or relational, I should pick relational.  I should be where I know people love me and care about me.  I should pour into them and allow them to pour into me.  And I should wallow in the experience of being with my community.  This is why I’ve turned down free tickets to huge games and concerts to attend date night with my wife or small groups during the week.  Because I know at the end of the day, my wife, and the people I share life with, are going to be there with me long after the season ends or the newest tour is finished.

When I was in high school, I had the opportunity to travel on a trip to Mexico with my friends, classmates, and teachers.  It was kind of a missions trip and kind of a learning adventure to an area  of Mexico called Monterrey.  The trip had been planned and we were all pretty excited to go, when I received a call from my uncle Matt, telling me he had some tickets for me to see DC Talk at his church, and then he was sure I would be able to meet them.  I loved DC Talk!!!  It was going to be so epic, and I couldn’t wait, and it was right in the middle of my planned trip to Mexico.

Naturally, I begged my dad to let me go.  I told him it was only Mexico, like one country away, and I could save my traveling for going to a country farther away some day, and that this opportunity wouldn’t last forever, and that DC Talk’s Free at last was the best album ever.  My dad wasn’t feeling it though, and he calmly said I could go to any concert I wanted after I came back from Mexico.

I learned some big lessons on that trip.  I remember eating a jalapeno so hot that it made me vomit in the middle of the street.  I remember the exhilaration of having a high school crush to the experience of said crush taking my heart and crushing it in her cold bony fingers (that’s poetic more than literal, btw).  I remember the beauty of the mountains in Mexico, and the smell of the marketplace cooking in the towns.  But most of all, I remember the people I met there and the people with whom I traveled.  Amazing people.  People who poured into my life for years and helped make not only this experience, but most experiences in the early part of my life much better.

I’ve since gone to numerous DC Talk shows, and seen about 100 other incredible concerts since then, but the one thing I have since learned, that I believe helped change my life, was when it comes to making a decision – Should I do this or this? – Always make that decision with the people who love you the most in mind.

Experiences will come and go, but relationships will tell the world who you really were.

*By the way, this post isn’t even about how horrible July 4th in Boston is.  My friend Jay goes every year with his closest friends (minus me) and makes a day of it.

1.  Steve Bramlett is cool.  You should meet him.  I play basketball with him on Monday afternoons.
2.  Tuesdays have become “Pasta Madness” at the Holman house (see Hancock).  Last week – Shrimp scampi
3.  brainstormed a new  idea I had for the future of Fellowship Church.  It has to do with my vision of seeing 1,000 people in small groups across Central Massachusetts.
4.  A person in our church family lost his mother this week.  I was able to officiate the funeral ceremony, and be there for this amazing family.
5.  Had a community dinner at our house on Wednesday.  Just sent out a quick email to see if a few people wanted to join us for a potluck and walaa!  Dinner for 6 at the Holman house on Wednesday.
6.  Ummm, 2 words:  “Dark Knight”
7.  Took off with our lead team to Clifton Park, New York on Saturday to visit this guy and this guy and their awesome church. I love what God is doing there and how much they’ve taught me.
8.  Sunday Morning @ Fellowship was great!  I love the spirit of our church and the atmosphere it provides.  Here is the message I preached if you’re interested.
9.  I have some friends from high school on their way to visit Carie and I this week at the house.  So looking forward to spending some quality time with them. 

Next edition of “News from last week”:  What I’m doing this week

Carie and I love to play the game Boggle.  Okay, I love to play the game Boggle and Carie tolerates it. So I got this idea.  What about seeing who in the Martyholman.com world would win in a big nasty internet game of BLOGGLE – or the art of playing the game Boggle on my blog.  So here are the rules:

*Be the player with the highest score card at the end of a 3 minute time period.  Please keep your own time and be honest.  You score by listing words of the highest point value you can find in the four rows of letters. 

*You’ll just need to go back and forth between the comment section of this page and the letters and type your found words as a comment.

*Letters in words must always connect, although they can connect in any way possible (back and forth, up or down, etc…)

*Proper nouns (Smith, Ohio, France, Heinz, etc…) and abbreviations are not allowed.

*Point values  3 letters=1; 4 letters=1; 5 letters =2; 6 letters=3; 7 letters=5; 8 or more letters=11

*Don’t look at the other peoples answers who might have played before you!

*3 MINUTES ONLY; Be honest.

Todays Cube:

U  D  W  E
Z  T  E  H
N  C  A  E
T  D  N  K

Last week’s winner:  Jeff Campbell with 10 points.  Who can dethrone the king?

Here we go!

Carie and I love to play the game Boggle.  Okay, I love to play the game Boggle and Carie tolerates it. So I got this idea.  What about seeing who in the Martyholman.com world would win in a big nasty internet game of BLOGGLE – or the art of playing the game Boggle on my blog.  So here are the rules:

*Be the player with the highest score card at the end of a 3 minute time period.  Please keep your own time and be honest.  You score by listing words of the highest point value you can find in the four rows of letters. 

*You’ll just need to go back and forth between the comment section of this page and the letters and type your found words as a comment.

*Letters in words must always connect, although they can connect in any way possible (back and forth, up or down, etc…)

*Proper nouns (Smith, Ohio, France, Heinz, etc…) and abbreviations are not allowed.

*Point values  3 letters=1; 4 letters=1; 5 letters =2; 6 letters=3; 7 letters=5; 8 or more letters=11

*Don’t look at the other peoples answers who might have played before you!

*3 MINUTES ONLY; Be honest.

Todays Cube:

L   I   U   T
A  E   E   U
G  I   O   T
N  A  H   F

Here we go!

It’s 12:29 am.  I have just arrived home from watching the Celtics/Lakers game at a friends house, and I’m pleased to announce that today is the Holman’s 3rd and 37th wedding anniversary.
My parents were married in Birmingham, Michigan on June 11th, 1971, and Carie and I were married on June 11th, 2005. 
I love being married to the most wonderful woman of all time, and I thank God every day that He brought us together.  We compliment each other in so many ways, and even though it’s only been a short time, our marriage has gotten stronger each and every day.
So thank you Carie for putting up with me and for your unconditional love,

and by the way, we’re going to Vermont for our anniversary.