Hall of Fame to Notre Dame Inspiration!

Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! or Matty! Matty! Matty! One of the most historical stadiums in all of college football is Notre Dame Stadium. Knute Rockne, Joe Montana, Jerome Bettis, Lou Holtz, Ara Paseghian, Paul Hornung, The Four Horsemen, and the list goes on and on. All of these people played for the Irish and all played on this historic field. One of the most known people to play at Notre Dame was a player that was not all that talented but is the last person ever carried off the field at Notre Dame. Rudy Ruettiger is best known for the movie about him called 'Rudy.' He played on the Irish practice squad for two years and in his final game his senior year he got the opportunity to dress for a game against Georgia Tech. At the end of the game the crowd was chanting Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! and he got the opportunity to get in the game and close the game with a sack of the quarterback.

The past few weeks I have been planning out my training plan for the Chicago Marathon on 10-10-10. In the process I have been thinking about running a longer race to test my fitness and to help me determine my final goal time for Chicago. The Cleveland Marathon was sold out so I went looking for something to fit into my schedule. I finally came across the Hall of Fame to Notre Dame Marathon and 1/2 Marathon. When I read that the finish is at the 50 yard line of the stadium, I gave serious consideration to going to South Bend.

I am not a Gold Domer, or even a Catholic, but the thought of visiting this historic site and better yet running into the stadium is extremely exciting. I have always been one to enjoy seeing the sites where history took place. The most exciting thing to me is to run through the tunnel on to the field that Rudy was carried off.

I happen to love the movie 'Rudy' and I think it is because Rudy would not accept what others were telling him. What better story to think about when running long distances than to think about the story of a 5'6", 165 pound kid who jumped through hoops to play for the 3rd winningest team in NCAA history. A person who overcame dyxlexia to get a college degree from a prestigious university. When they told him he did not have a chance to make the team, he gave it all he had and did so for the next 2 years in order to make the team better.

I often tell my daughters that you can be terrible at something. You can be terrible at singing, dancing, sports, school work, etc... I myself will be fine with that as long as you can look me straight in the eye and tell me you gave it all that you had. If you give all that you have, then you can rest knowing that you have nothing else to give. If you do not give all that you have, you will be stirred up inside thinking, "What if?"

Rudy's story is one that inspires me, and what drew out his passion and effort was the heritage and history of Notre Dame. I, too, am driven by history and others who have inspired greatness in people. I am inspired by those who are given little but use that little to be great. It is not talent that makes a champion; it is heart and effort that makes a champion.

The other night I bit the bullet and signed up for the 1/2 Marathon. The date of this event is June 5, 2010 and the start is at 7:30 AM. I can already hear it as I turn onto Moose Krause Circle and start toward the tunnel to enter the stadium Matty! Matty! Matty! only for me it will not be the crowd but the Lord leading the way and cheering me to completion! Pray for me please!

What do you believe?

I am sure this posting will fume many people and it may strike a passionate response from others. I will just simply state my opinion, one I hope is grounded in common sense, so here it goes.

As many of you may know, I grew up in a lower income class family. I was taught that the Republican was a rich person who does not care about anyone but themselves, and that a Democrat was a compassionate person who is all about caring for the poor. I also have been and still am very critical of the former Republican administration (Bush). With this all being said, this will be the most that you will hear about my views on politics. Hopefully the rest of this blog will be focused on the way I see the world.

In the last four years of Bush's presidency, he panicked and started to spend money like a hungry man who had not eaten for days and was given $100 to spend on food. If he received a bill that was about spending he signed it and moved forward. When it came to stimulus he was right up front in supporting the bill. The deficit grew under his watch tremendously and the people in this world could not stand him. They hated him to a point that the Republicans would not even use him during the election year to endorse their canidate. (I do realize that this was not the only policy that the people hated him for.)

As we look forward, during his election campaign President Obama ran on change and on hope. He promised to withdraw our troops and correct our financial system. However, with that being said, he has continued the same policy of Bush's presidency. If a bill comes through with spending on it, he signs it. The deficit is projected and has already grown tremendously in his first year in office. Some people hate him so much that Democrats are picking and choosing when and where to have him campaign for the party.

Does this sound similar? I would make the argument that Obama and Bush are very similar in their policies. Bush was for spending and so is Obama. Bush was for the war and Obama, through getting into office and realizing that our security was at stake, has changed his tune and become more supportive of the war. Sure they have their differences in foreign policy, entitlement programs, etc... But on the issues that are of most importance to Americans today they have not changed a bit.

With all this being said, I want to bring a recent Facebook page to light. Recently a page has been brought out that is titled the following: "Dear Lord, This year you took my favorite actor Patrick Swayzie, my favorite actress Farah Fawcett, and my favorite singer Michael Jackson. I just wanted to let you know that my favorite President is Barack Obama. Amen!"

When this was first brought to my attention I thought to myself, "This is funny." Not because it was Barack Obama, it could have been George Bush (either one), Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, etc... What I thought was funny was the cleverness of the statement. However I feel as if I am in the minority on this issue. I also feel as if the world is full of hypocracy.

In the past 20 years of my life, no matter who has been the President, many people have taken humorous shots at the big guy! Bush's presidency was the fodder of tons of jokes, many of them being brought on by comments and actions of Bush himself. I laughed extremely hard at these jokes for the way the writer used his/her cleverness to bring a funny perspective to the Presidency.

I did not nor would I hope that any of you would think that Bush was as dumb as the comedy portrayed. Whether you think senior got junior Bush into Yale or not, he still had to take the tests in order to pass through. If you think he is dumb, then I would challenge you to think about how dumb that makes the American people. Why? Because he was elected twice!

With this being said my simple question is, why is it different when Barack Obama is the brunt of jokes like the one from Facebook? Do you really think that the vast majority of praying people (of any religion that believes in God) want Obama dead? There will always be a fringe group that believes that is a product of this fallen world.

As this came out the other day I said to my wife and some others that this will be construed in the media as being over the top. CNN (a group that the vast majority of typical Americans think is neutral) has reported on this as if to say that this is hate speech. The page has received greater than 600,000 members according to the article linked here http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/04/21/obama.facebook.prayer/index.html. Where were CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, and others when jokes were being made about George W. Bush in the same manner?

I believe the biggest issue in this world is not about politics or policies, it is about knowing what you believe in! It is not about talking points or regurgitating what your favorite source has to say. It is about forming your own opinion! This is what has made America great! You are free to think and believe as you please (obviously I am not referring to hurting others ). The question you must ask yourself today is, "What do I believe?"

I am not here to take a side but I am saying that you need to formulate your own opinion. Don't base your opinion on hearsay but base it on how you view the facts. Don't base your opinion on whether a Republican says it or a Democrat says it! Base it on what you know to be true and stay consistent! If you see a joke as a joke, don't change your tune 4 years later when the joke is about another person in the same position.

If you think that this world is a bad place and evil reigns you are correct. So do you just join in because you cannot do anything about it, or do you fight the good fight? Step out today and dare to be different, dare to take a stance on subjects and don't stand on another's view point. Instead, stand on your opinion and the facts that back them up.

Running up a mountain!

It has been a while since I last wrote. However, God has not stopped working! This past week I spent time in Los Angelos and San Diego. I set out Palm Sunday on a long run of about 12-13 miles. I went out of the hotel thinking of just running up a hill on the city street and running around a few neighborhoods, but God had a different plan in mind for me on that run. As I got toward the top of that hill, I stopped to take a picture of the mountains in front of me. I was taking the picture to text to a friend to make him jealous of my view on my run. I even thought how cool it would be to run to the peak of that mountain.

Well, God surely knows the heart's true desire and thus about 1/2 half mile up the road from that point was an entrance into a national park full of trails. I was a bit scared to enter as I knew nothing about the trails or where they took you, but I did enter with hesitation thinking of just running on the main trail for a while.

Not very long into the run I came up to a few runners out on a morning run. I asked them where they were from, and they were locals so I said, "Where does this trail lead?" One of the guys I met was Scott and he was the director of the San Deigo 100 mile race; he told me that one of the trails led to the peak of the the mountain. Immediately I recalled my thought about a mile back when I was taking the picture. I thought, "WOW that would be cool!" Scott told me to follow them as they were on that same route. I texted Julie to tell her I would be longer than I thought but that I had an opportunity to go to the top of a mountain.

With that in mind I started up the mountainside. The trail was a switchback trail used to keep the incline to a minimum, and as I started I had my road runner's mentality and tried to keep up an 8-9 minute mile pace. That was short lived as I soon realized that with the increase in elevation keeping a steady and slower pace was in order!

As I continued to climb higher and higher I stopped periodically and admired the view. How beautiful and perfect the world looked from that perspective! I would look out over the land and I could see for miles around me. From that perspective I felt really, really small and I got a better perspective of just how truly big God is! Suddenly I realized that everything in the world was under God's control and truly a rather large burden seemed to be lifted off my shoulders. I realized at that moment that all I had to do was be myself and give my best and God would take care of the rest.

I reached the first plateau of the mountain where there was a lake called Lake Poway. Instantly I thought of Psalm 104 where the Psalmist writes that God held the waters above the mountains and at His rebuke released them to flow down the mountains into their place. I was in the middle of the mountains, none of them were above 5000 feet so no snow was there to keep the lake full - only rain and God's right hand!


I said to myself, "Self, how great is our God?" And my self replied, "Too Great!"






As I continued from that point I noticed a ton more hikers and runners on the trails, all of them admiring the beauty and awesomeness of this incredible creation. I thought, "I wonder who these people think created all of this? Do they believe that God is the creator of all things or do they believe that all this happened by accident?" These are questions that baffle me and to many that may read this, I am sure you will give me your scientific proof (that is not complete), however, I choose to believe that God is the creator.


Coming from Ohio it is not typical that you get an opportunity to run in the mountains and I wanted to take in this whole experience. I stopped many times, one to rest but more often the stop would be to take in the view and spend a few momments with God in prayer. My prayers were for so many things. I prayed for friends and their family members, I prayed for my wife, my kids, my dad, I prayed for all those that do not know or cannot give their heart, mind, and soul to God. From my perspective nothing seemed impossible for God, so my prayers were BIG! It was not the "blessed be with" prayers. You know the ones where you ask God to bless Bobby and be with Joey? No, my prayers were for things to change and to happen!

I find that being in these situations helps me take God out of the box I tend to put Him in and helps me see Him for who He is! The creator, provider, healer, and friend.

As you can imagine my prayers that day were a bit large and right away He answered one of them by getting me to the top of the mountain without injurying myself. As I reach this point I took a moment to let it all soak in and a tear came to my eye. I was filled with awe and wonder just thinking about the place I came from: 311 pounds, high blood pressure, on the verge of a heart attack, and yet this day God made it possible for me to climb this mountian! Why? Did I do anything to deserve His favor? Am I not a sinner? Nope, I did nothing He blessed me and hopefully I will glorify Him! That to me is amazing grace!












As I came down the mountain I fully started to realize the height from which I was coming down. It was hard to keep running as my body was being thrust down the mountain side and at times I thought I was going to trip! I kept saying to myself, "Pick up your feet..." As I started to get to the bottom, I once again worried about getting out of the trail area without getting lost. I ran into a fork in the road and was a bit confused, but within a few seconds a group of hikers came by and steered me in the right direction (another indication that God was with me.) As I exited the park and ran back down the hill to the hotel, I was moved to tears once again just thinking about how this run started off. I just wanted to get in 12-13 miles on the road. I ended up with 16 miles and a trip to the top of the mountain!