Saturday was the CRIM festival of races here in downtown Flint. The CRIM is a festival of foot races and a wheel-chair race held here in Flint for over 25 years.
Our hotel was the host hotel and headquarters for the race. We had thousand and thousands in the building through the week, in all as many as 14,000 or more. There were over 7000 in the 10-mile race alone. I was given the honor of praying before the thousands and thousands of spectators and participants gathered in the street at the beginning of the race.
I ran the 10 mile race myself in just short of 88 minutes. Lord willing, I am going to run the Detroit Marathon in October. Kyle, Chuck, Heidi, Hannah, Dan and Wes each ran either the 5K or the 8K run. It was a great day and it is great to have it behind us, too.
Almost all of the elite runners and wheelers stayed here at the Character Inn as well as a celebrity author, John ?the Penguin’ Bingham. John is a hero of the common middle-of-the-pack runner. He signed two of his books for me and even ran my running route out to the planetarium and back.
SPEAKING AND SINGING HERE AND THERE: Wednesday, September 1, I will speak and the family will sing to about 150 homeschool families at Covenant Hills Camp in Oatisville. My message will be: “How to Ignite a Passion for Christ in the Hearts of Your Children.” Labor Day Weekend I will preach at Bear Lake Bible Camp in Jones, Michigan.
This weekend we will be singing and preaching for Family Camp at Bair Lake Bible Camp in Jones, Michigan. We will be there on Labor Day so the Stonebridge Newsletter will not arrive until later in the day.
Next week on September 8th Lois and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We have made special plans together. Maybe someday I will write about it.
Last night, after preaching at Byron, we were invited to Gary and Barb Sipes’ farm. Dan, Wes and Hope spent a little time in the pool, but the highlight of their evening was when Gary got out a ladder and they took turns jumping off the roof of the house into the pool. After the frolic we enjoyed some good food including a home made raspberry pie. God is so good to us. Even though we are in the heart of urban ministry we still get to enjoy some of the “fruits” of being a village parson at the same time. The pie was made with raspberries fresh from their own garden.
Last week I told you that someday I aspire to be wise. Solomon said that if we will listen to counsel and receive instruction we will be wise when we are old. This week I will tell you a story about a day I strayed from the path of wisdom.
