Welcome to my inaugural entry in Gait by Grace. Where on earth did I come up with "gait by grace ?" Glad that you asked :) The whole point if this little corner of the Internet is to share my experience in preparing for my first marathon - the Illinois Marathon (www.illinoismarathon.com) on April 11, 2009. I figured that "run the prairie" sounded too predictable, so "gait" just seemed to fit. The Grace part ? That is Rev. Scott Keeble's fault (see his blog at www.scottkeeble.blogspot.com ). Scott is preaching on Grace and the freedom that it represents. His initial sermon talked about no matter what we do, we cannot live up to the gift that Christ gave us - all that has to happen is my acceptance of the gift. Anything that I do in regard to study, service, etc. is simply an expression of my thanks. The parallel comes in anything worth doing - in my case running. I did not do anything to deserve the privilege of getting out and running through God's creation, however I drag it out in the morning (sometimes with our faithful dog, Tucker) and appreciate the gift.
As far as the race goes, I am working on bolstering my strength until November, when the true running portion of the show will begin. I am excited about what lies ahead, and look forward to what God has in store for both body and soul (sole ?).
