This article is incredibly refreshing…and worth the 3 minutes it will take you to read it.

J.P. Hayes is officially now my favorite professional golfer.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE.

Michael Jordan did it (twice). Brett Favre did it. Bernie Mac in Mr. 3000 did it. And now I am doing it.

I am officially announcing that I have decided to come out of retirement and return to the world of long distance running. I (along with my youth ministry partner, Ben Vos) will be running in the Fort Worth Cowtown marathon on Saturday, February 28.

Some of you know after running two previous marathons, I officially retired from the grueling sport of long distance running. As I crossed the finish line of the Dallas White Rock marathon a couple years ago, I adamantly shouted, “I’m never doing this again!” I have been firm on that commitment, but it is time for me to again strap on the ole’ running shoes and tiny shorts and pound the pavement once again.

This is not a decision I made today. We have already been training for 9+ weeks. I just have not publicly come out in the open with this information because I knew if I did, then I was fully committed. If I said it on the blog, then I would have to do it for accountability sake. That being said, we have a 14 mile training run this weekend that I am not looking forward to.

It’s official…I’m back.

Who’s with me?

I have a close friend that needs your prayers. 

A while back I wrote a post about Ryan and Keeley White (READ THE POST HERE). After realizing that they were due to have twins, doctors informed them that one of the twins had developed a heart condition called “Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome” or HLHS. They learned about this condition after doctors realized that one twin had an underdeveloped left side of his heart. HLHS is a complicated condition that will require three stages of surgery all before their son turns three years old.

On Wednesday, November 12, 2008, Braden and Reed White entered this world. 

After delivery, Ryan has had to balance time in three different parts of the hospital seeing Braden (his healthy baby), Reed (his baby with HLHS), and Keeley (his wife). As you can imagine, the stress and emotional rollercoaster as a father and husband in that situation is incredibly intense.

The doctors have performed some additional on Reed (the baby with HLHS) and have determined that blood flowing in and out of his heart and his heart chambers are not working properly. Alternate procedures have been thoroughly discussed and the doctors have given Ryan and Keeley two options: (1) Reed receives a heart transplant or (2) another open heart surgery that is potentially more dangerous.

Ryan and Keeley have elected for Reed to have a heart transplant. The good news is that Reed will be 1st on Vanderbilt Hospital’s donor list once he gets approved for the transplant. There is still a 25% chance that he will not be able to get the transplant.

I am begging you today, tomorrow, and for the next several weeks to be be praying for Ryan, Keeley, Reed, and Braden. Please petition and knock on the throne room of Heaven over and over again on their behalf. Even if you do not personally know them, pray for them because they need your prayers. I hope that you are the type of person that will lose sleep because you are spending so much time praying for their situation.

Here are some specifics to be praying for in faith…

• Reed’s upcoming tests so that he can be put on the transplant list
• That God will provide a heart for Reed
• Full and complete health and healing for Reed
• The continual health of Braden and Keeley
• Strength, faith, and endurance for Ryan and Keeley

Thank you in advance for your prayers.

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For updates, more information, and to encourage Ryan and Keeley in this situation, go to their blog (CLICK HERE).

Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo said after the Cowboys 14-10 victory over the Washington Redskins, “We treated this game like it was a playoff game.”

Really?

But they won. The Cowboys have not won a playoff game since December 28, 1996.

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In other NFL news, the Tennessee Titans are now 10-0. One of my youth group kids who loves the Titans is wearing a Vince Young jersey today to school with “- 0″ written in tape beside his jersey number.  Vince Young’s jersey number is #10.

Here’s the picture after two weeks:

14 days down, 16 more to go…

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How is NSN going for everybody else?

Have you ever heard of one’s spiritual life be compared to a rollercoaster? I have heard people use the rollercoaster analogy a lot when it came to the ebb and flow of their personal relationship with God. Sometimes your relationship with God is up, down; on the mountain top, in the valley; etc.

I think on some level we can all relate to the rollercoaster analogy.

In my rollercoaster experience (by the way, I love rollercoasters) I have noticed something about them. Have you ever noticed that rollercoasters take much much longer to get up than to get down? Your anticipation starts to build as the rollercoaster slowly brings itself to its highest point and then in the blink of an eye rapidly takes you to its lowest point.

I find truth in that in my spiritual life. It seems that it takes forever for me to get to a great place in my relationship with God. It takes work, energy, and effort. It seems like I have to constantly bust my spiritual butt to get where I want to be with my relationship with God. Then it seems something happens - give in to temptation, a tragedy, a crisis, something not going my way, etc - and in the blink of an eye I am lower than ever before and feeling so far away from where I want to be with God.

Maybe you have been struggling and working to have an intimate relationship with God and it has taken you years to get at that high place in your relationship with God. Maybe you know what it feels like to work that hard for so long only for it to be taken away in an instant. I want to encourage you to not give up. Keep seeking that intense, intimate relationship with God. In this rollercoaster of life there are going to be times where you will be at the low parts in the blink of an eye. Those high moments and the journey getting to those high places is well worth it.

Whether you are on the slow climb to the highest point of the rollercoaster or whether you just finished the intense, sometimes scary decent to the lowest point of the rollercoaster, the joy is in the journey.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” - Hebrews 13:8 (NIV)

I need your help. Tonight at our midweek REVIVE service, we are doing a mini-version of the game show Family Feud. We need to poll a whole bunch of people in a very short amount of time. That’s where you can help us out. All I need you do is answer this question…

WHAT ONE WEBSITE DO YOU BELIEVE IS THE MOST VIEWED WEBSITE BY TEENAGERS?

Click on the comment tab and give me your answer. Thanks.

Yesterday I got a letter in the mail. With today’s world full of email, text messages, facebook, and myspace, that hand-written note is almost obsolete today. In the past 48 hours, I have talked to a person in China through Skype, sent a person in Mexico a facebook message, sent texts back-and-forth to a friend in Alabama, and corresponded with my five best friends (who live in Nashville, TN; Arlington, TX; Canton, OH; Cincinnati, OH; and Perth, Australia) on a private message board. In this amazingly fast technological world of communication, I still have one person that consistently get hand-written letters.

Yesterday I checked my mailbox at church and saw a letter from Angie. Immediately a huge smile came across my face. Angie is an eight year old Columbian girl who the youth group and I have been sponsoring through Compassion International. We have been supporting Angie now for four years. Her letters, which she now writes herself (when we started her mom or dad had to write them), make my day. 

Here is yesterday’s letter (they translate literally - just in case it sounds funny):

Dear Brian Cromer,

Hello sponsor, how are you? I hope you are find and may the Lord bless you. I want to tell you that I have been good the last 3 months and my parents and my brother and I traveled and my parents bought me dolls to play with. I am doing well at school and I passed to the 3rd grade. I love the school because there are swings and sports fields. I play with my friend during recess and I buy bananas and I share with my friends. My favorite subjects are Spanish and drawing. I learned to make cards, paint, and listen to stories from the Bible here in the church. We are learned to make bracelets, earrings, drawings, and cards. My question is would you like to come to Columbia? I am so happy. Send me letters and pictures. I thank you for your letter. It is nice and I was getting ready for our vacation. Sponsor, pray for me that I will do well in school. You are in my prayers everyday and I hope you do the same for me. May the Lord bless you. 

Love,

Angie

Absolutely precious. The letter also came (like always) with one of Angie’s beautiful drawings.

I have never seen Angie face-to-face. I have never heard her voice. Even still, I love her with all my heart. I pray for her everyday and I know that an eight year old Columbian girl is praying for me everyday.

For only $32 a month you can make the same lasting impact on a child and develop a relationship like this. I implore you to seriously think about partnering with Compassion International to make an eternal difference in a child’s life. $32 a month is nothing for most of us - simply don’t go out to eat after church for one Sunday. For more information on how you can sponsor a child like Angie, CLICK HERE.

The Tennessee Titans won defeated the Chicago Bears this week to stay undefeated. They are now 9-0.

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I went bowling for the first time in a long time. I tend to stay away from things that I am terrible at. However, it was not too bad. I scored over 100 for the first time probably ever in my life. You may laugh, but as a life-long horrible bowler, I was proud. (Honesty time: I did compete against five Jr High students and with bumpers. I did not have to use the bumpers that much too.)

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Went to the dentist today and the no cavity streak is still alive.

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What I am listening to in my iPod right now: The Myriad “With Arrows, With Poise”, Coldplay “A Rush of Blood to the Head”, and Shane and Shane “Pages”.

But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. - Philippians 3: 7-11 (NIV)

I am fascinated by the word “rubbish” from this chunk of Scripture. Unless, you are British, you probably do not use that word in your day-to-day vocabulary. It is the Greek word “skubalon”. This is the only time in Scripture where that word is used. “Skubalon” literally translated means “$***” - a curse word that I probably should not use on my blog or in my regular vocabulary.

That’s a strong word used by one of the church’s greatest leaders in history. “Skubalon” is a word that would either perk you up and listen if you were zoning out the weekly sermon; it is a word that might cause you to blush if you heard it from your favorite preacher; and it is a word that could possibly offend you if your preacher used it from the pulpit.

I believe Paul is trying to prove a point by using such a strong word. I think he is yelling at the top of his lungs, “WAKE UP PEOPLE! GET SERIOUS! QUIT PLAYING AROUND! QUIT PLAYING CHURCH! AND UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS NOTHING MORE IMPORTANT AND PRECIOUS THAN KNOWING JESUS. EVERYTHING ELSE IS (BEEP)!”

Let me encourage you today…

Wake up! Get serious! Quit playing around! Quit playing church! And understand that there is nothing more important and precious than knowing Jesus. Everything else is…well…skubalon.

I am 7 days into No Shave November. Here is the day 7 picture:

7 days down…23 more days to go…

The beard is on…

There have been very few movies that inspire me. You know, those movies that as soon as you eject the DVD, you almost have to go do something because of what you have seen. (Sure after watching Rocky IV, I pursued boxing a juiced-up Russian and primitive training in a Russian wilderness camp. Sadly, I had no takers.)

On my way back from New York City a few months ago, I was on an airplane where there was an in-flight movie. I was immediately disappointed when learning that the movie was going to be a documentary about elderly men and women. Having a pretty big phobia of nursing homes (I have stories that would freak you out) and not really liking documentaries, I was pretty disappointed. Because I was getting A.D.D. with the book I brought on the flight, I decided to give the movie a shot. I am so glad I did because it was amazing.

I could not wait till the documentary came out on DVD because I really wanted to show it to Heather. After waiting almost a month, it finally appeared at Blockbuster.

The documentary is called “YOUNG AT HEART.” The creators document the true story of the final weeks of rehearsal for the Young at Heart Chorus in Northampton, MA, whose average age is 81, and many of whom must overcome health adversities to participate. Their music is unexpected, going against the stereotype of their age group, performing songs, for example, by James Brown, Coldplay, and Sonic Youth. Although they have toured Europe and sang for royalty, this account focuses on preparing new songs, not an easy endeavor, for a concert in their home town, which succeeds in spite of several real heart breaking events.

You need to go rent this movie. It is one of those rare movies that will bring you to tears and inspire you.

Watching this movie, I kept seeing Jesus’ words in John 10:10 when he said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” After watching this movie, I was inspired to make the most out of the time God has given me on this earth. To focus on the big, important things in life and to live everyday as if it was my last. To make an eternal difference in the lives of other people and live a life of love.

A great friend and former intern of mine who lost her father tragically at a young age always says, “We are never promised tomorrow.” 

Let’s start living like it.  Living the way Jesus intended - a full life that only he can offer.

I promise I am by no means a political expert. I have watched a few minutes every now and then of CNN before going to bed and I will be stepping into a voter’s booth later today. That is truly the extent of my political expertise. In honor of today being Election Day in America, I thought I would share one video clip that I recently stumbled across that I found interesting. This video clip is Obama and McCain answering a question that I promise will never be asked in a political debate. Enjoy…

Thoughts?

I get asked a lot what part of the Bible one should begin reading when one first starts reading the Bible. Maybe somebody is wanting to get to know God for the first time, maybe somebody has just given their life to Jesus, or maybe somebody is finally done with religion and “playing church” and wants to begin an intimate relationship with God. Whatever the case, I get asked this question a lot.

Almost 100% of the time I answer, “You need to read the book of John.” 

John is one of the four gospels in the New Testament that tell the story of Jesus while he was on this earth. I think as Christ-followers our main job is to know Jesus and follow Jesus. It is hard to follow Jesus without diving head first into the gospels.

So why John over the other gospels - Matthew, Mark, and Luke? Let’s put it this way…

Suppose you were interested in learning more about Abraham Lincoln, but you were allowed to read only one of the many biographies about him. Which book would you select out of these options?

• a book written by a modern historian who knows about Lincoln only from books that other people have written
• a book written by a journalist who lived at the same time as Lincoln and actually saw Lincoln at public events
• a book written by one of the men who served in the cabinet of Lincoln’s presidential administration
• a book written by Lincoln’s best friend, who was a close advisor to him from the time he was a struggling lawyer until his assassination

I would guess that you would pick the biography of Lincoln that was written by his best friend. You would want to learn about Lincoln from the guy who knew him personally, intimately, and knew him best. In the same way, John is the book for you if you want to know about Jesus.

The Gospel of John gives you an up-close-and-personal encounter with Jesus because it was written by the man who (many Biblical scholars believe) was probably Jesus’ closest friend. John paints a picture of Jesus that goes far beyond just the facts of Christ’s life. You will see an intimate portrait of Jesus that you can find nowhere else when reading John.

John and Jesus were BFFL (you know, Best Friend For Life).

If you want to know Jesus on a deeper, more personal level, I strongly recommend you crack open your Bible to the book of John and start reading.

This is post #200 on my blog. I wanted to thank you for taking the time to read and contribute. I am humbled and amazed that my thoughts on life are worth your time. Whether my words make you laugh, inspire you, make you think, or challenge you, thank you so much for reading.

I started consistently writing on March 11, 2008. Since that time briancromer.com has been viewed over 36,000  times. There have been over 1,000 comments. 

I have had two main goals since I started consistently writing back in March. One, I really wanted to develop more consistency in the discipline of writing. Writing is a discipline - just like working out, running, eating right, maintaining relationships, praying, and reading. I enjoy writing, but since college I had not kept up that habit. I also needed accountability with keeping up the writing. What better accountability partners than friends, family, and random Internet strangers?

My other main goal was to allow God another avenue to work through me. As simple and pointless it may seem to read about No Shave November, what is currently playing in my iPod, and a story about my dogs, I always try to sprinkle God’s truth and light into my writing. My life mission is simple - I know I am going to heaven and I want to take as many people with me as I can. If God can use a blog to help somebody know him better, I am more than happy to be used.

Thanks again for reading. Please know that I am appreciative and humbled.

I love you all!

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I hope to give you something a little less sappy later…