I am a jogger. It’s true. Although I am not really sure that what I do can properly be termed “jogging.” I often refer to it as “slogging.” That’s a combination of the terms “slow” and “jogging.” One winter, my wife and I began “slogging” indoors at an ice hockey arena in order to escape the cold weather. There were several others from the community who had the same idea. Most of them were “seniors” (I refer to them with great respect, because I am dangerously close to being “senior” myself). Now, even though what I do is slogging, it was still somewhat faster than what most of the seniors did (they were smart enough to walk). But a couple of these new friends began to refer to me as “The Flash.” (I have to admit, I sort of liked the nickname.) They accused me of speeding even though that was not possible. My pace was merely somewhat quicker than a person walking. However, I was able to enjoy the illusion of speed compared to the walkers. Occasionally some of the high school runners would show up and give me a lesson in humility. As they would effortlessly blaze past me, I felt as though I was running in quicksand.

   The Bible says this… “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Something precious happened on Wednesday, July 28th, 2010…something precious to Father God. My biggest reason for loving holidays is because, so often, I get to spend time with family members who live far away from me. I look forward to those times more than I can tell you. The opportunities that togetherness gives us to hug, kiss, laugh, pray, play, worship and sing are just marvelous. Such times are precious to me.