Get a Room

20,000 Strong!

A fellow blogger told me recently, "I am a binge blogger", i.e. I don't write for a while and then I will write several entries in a row. I gotta confess, that's a lot like me. You are probably a binge reader as well, aren't you?

We are all busy with lots of stuff in our lives. The blog is yet one more thing. It's been fun to do, mind you, but I do get behind on it.

I check the numbers, probably weekly, and you continue to look at "Get a Room". Thank-you. It's good to hear from you sometimes just to know I'm not alone in the blogosphere.

And now for the announcement...

Despite my sporadic postings, "Get a Room" has just completed its second year, and it just went over it's 20,000th hit! How about that?!?

So thanks for reading. I hope there has been something in a post or two that has benefited or at least entertained you. (I'm not sure how helpful it was to now that I actually encountered 30-40 vultures while running one morning, but perhaps it did amuse you.)

So here's to another year and another 10,000 or so hits. I will try not to binge as much. Rather I will attempt to be more consistent in my postings. (The operative word there of course is attempt :-)

Take care and I look forward to encouraging you to make yours a better marriage, a better family, a better and abundant life. That's the spirit behind this blog and why I call it ...

Get a Room.

Speaking of Rick Springfield

Anybody remember Rick Springfield? The pop star from yesteryear? Not from my youth, mind you. Maybe in the 80's. One of his biggest hits was "Jessie's Girl". Now does he ring a bell?

Anyway, it was cool when I read in this past Sunday's paper about his marriage and family. He's got two sons in their 20's and a marriage that's 25-years old!

Now that's just plain cool!

He says of his wife, "She's still my best friend... We've worked at it."

Indeed is marriage work. Hard work at times. But well worth the effort.

I hope you know the Lord, Rick. It is far more important than a good marriage. However, I am proud of you for your attitude toward your own marriage. May you and Barbara be happy till death do you part.

Kudos (is that how you spell it?) for USA Weekend for publishing the brief line about Rick and his family. Such stories need to be more prevalent.

Who would have thought that I'd become a Rick Springfield fan after all these years? I'm just a sucker for strong marriages I guess.

A Truly 'Amazing Race'

I'm a race horse fan for three races a year. The first just happened a few days ago and it was a dooozy! The Kentucky Derby has been run for around 135 years now and the winner on May 2 - Mine That Bird - was the second longest odds in its history. Get this - FIFTY TO ONE!

There was a horse in the Derby this year that was purchased for over $3 million. Mine That Bird was bought for $9600. WOW! This horse's claim to fame was that in a race in New Mexico (it was not a certified race by those who sanction races - it was not that big of a race in New Mexico), Mine That Bird finished FOURTH.

I could go on and on but you get the amazing picture.

The reason I like the three races is that as a kid May only held two major sporting events: the Derby and the Indy 500. The Derby is the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown. The second is The Preakness in Baltimore held next Saturday. The third is The Belmont Stakes run in New York 3 weeks later. The winner of all three is winner of the fabled Triple Crown.

We haven't had a triple crown winner since 1978.

And Selma and I saw that triple crown winner run, in person, at The Kentucky Derby in 1978. (Our 32-year old marriage was not yet two then!)  His name was Affirmed and he was a special horse for sure. I was just about to graduate from seminary in Louisville and we decided to go to this spectacle at Churchill Downs. (Selma has followed me to so many sporting events through the years. God bless her. Her own crown in heaven will need to have many, many stars in it!) The only place we could afford to go was to the infield and to get a view from the fence we had to get there early.

About 9 hours early.

Anyway, we got there, staked our "fence claim" and settled in for as more "life education" as I had in two years of seminary. It was like we were at a rock festival, so they tell me. Music everywhere, frisbees, and oh yes, quite a few mint juleps. We didn't partake, but as I said, we saw a lot that day.

And Affirmed, Selma's horse, beat my horse, Alydar. In fact, they finished one-two in all three triple crown races - the only time that's ever happened. What a rivalry.

So many times through the years we have hoped to see a new triple crown winner crowned, but alas, it hasn't happened yet. And it probably won't this year, but we can hope. It would be just like Mine That Bird, however, to make that happen.

After all, he has clearly established that he is quite capable of beating long odds.

The day after this year's Derby, May 3, Pat, our pastor, spoke at our church, LifePoint, on how Gideon and his army of 300 slew 1000's. Those odds make Mine That Bird look like a heavy favorite! Please take a moment to listen to this message found at our LifePoint website. It is not boring. Rather, it is a unique story from God's Word with a typical Pat Hood application. (He is adamant about making whatever he says relevant to his audience.)

Take a look. I don't know about in horse-racing, but sometimes long odds make for a clear statement from the Lord that He is in control. It was true for Gideon and it could be true for you, too. Check out the message, you'll see.

And let's all pull for Mine That Bird in the Preakness this Saturday!

COUNTRIES I'VE RUN IN

We've been talking (and bragging) about running this week. I thought I'd leave you with one more train of thought on that track before we leave it for a while. (Yes, we WILL be back. I'm training for a marathon now that Country Music is over so you GOTTA let me share that with you!)

Back to today's thought. Another history thought. Below is the number of states I've run in through the years. Enjoy. Be amazed. Or just read it and think, "Is that all he's run in? Why even bother to put them down?" Whatever your reaction, here they are for you:

COUNTRIES RODNEY'S RUN IN: USA HONDURAS - Remember "The Running of the Bull?" COSTA RICA (DONDE ESTA EL BANO?) BRAZIL - Got lost with no one around who spoke English! CHILE HONG KONG (WHEN IT WAS SEPARATE) CHINA RUSSIA - 1990. I remember just stopping on the banks of the Neva River in what was known then as "Leningrad", and just staring at the "Soviet" ship with the sickle and hammer on it. Sobering. AMSTERDAM - AGAIN, got lost with no one around who spoke English MOROCCO TUNISIA CANADA ENGLAND  13 COUNTRIES! WOW! PTL!