This Memorial Day weekend, I am especially grateful for the things that give me rest.
By rest I don’t mean sleep—though sleep is certainly a wonderful thing—so much as I mean the things that give me rest from the daily grind and unhealthy stress.
One of the reasons that I love this photo is that it shows a number of things that give me rest.
Dogs/Pets—Not only do dogs give us rest through the fun and companionship that they bring into our lives, they set a pretty darn good example of how to find it.
Just about anytime, anywhere—except when the 4th of July fireworks are going off!—my buddy Caleb and most all other dogs have an uncanny ability to kick back and relax.
Sports—Being native Minnesotans, it’s fitting that the chairs my parents are relaxing on in this photo have the Minnesota Vikings and University of Minnesota Golden Gophers logos plastered across the back of them.
Not only do sports provide much in the way of fun, friendship, and better health for us as participants, they do much in the same way for us as spectators.
Books, crossword puzzles, Sudoku and the like—In this photo my Mother is most likely reading a book and my Father is most likely playing Sudoku, two of their favorite pastimes. Both are great ways to find rest by getting our minds off of our worries/problems.
Family—While there certainly are times when family can be a source of tension, there are many times when they can be a source of great comfort.
I certainly consider myself lucky to have family who have always been there for me when I need “rest” from my troubles and when I just want to “get away from it all” and be myself.
Gardens—While only the tall native grasses of my Mother’s wildflower garden are visible in this photo, it comprises much of the lake front at the family lake place.
Gardening gives my Mother and many others rest. The beauty that they take the time to cultivate gives us “rest” as well by giving us something beautiful to look at and be surrounded by.
Outdoor recreation—Docks to fish off of, jet skis to ride, and floating rafts to jump off of are just a few of the forms of outdoor recreation that give us rest.
Water—More than any other part of the great outdoors, it seems as though lakes, oceans, streams, and rivers give us rest. For many of us, they are where we go to get away from it all and enjoy some peace and quiet.
Gift of Rest—In all of these things I see gifts from God. Not only are they gifts in and of themselves in the much-needed rest that they provide, they speak to one of the greatest gifts that the Lord also blesses us with. Through his son, he invites us to “Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
The great thing is, not only does the Lord offer us this rest, he offers it to us free of charge. All we have to is “Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened.”
This Memorial Day and every day, I give thanks for all of the ways that the Lord gives us rest!
Freedom Fighters—This Memorial Day and every day, I also give thanks to all of those who have put their lives on the line in order to help ensure that we can continue to enjoy all of these various forms of freedom.
Traditionally this has meant our soldiers such as my father Tom, who served his country during the Korean War.
During our current battle with the COVID-10 pandemic, this also means our health-care providers, first responders, essential workers, and in one way or another all of us who are doing all we can to get through this struggle in the best way possible.
Here’s hoping that in doing so we continue to find and celebrate our hard-earned freedom to rest!
One of the bright spots on my daily run every spring is dandelions.
Their bright yellow is a welcome burst of color after a long, cold, dark, drab winter.
This spring in particular—with all of the struggles we’ve been facing with the COVID-19 pandemic—the bright yellow dandelions have been an especially welcome sight.
My guess is that this spring, even hard-core “lawn farmers” who usually do everything they can to kill dandelions may be finding something to like about these bright yellow flowering plants. (Yes, they are officially classified as plants, not weeds).
Shown here in the photo is a field of dandelions that always brightened my run every spring back when I lived and ran in the rural countryside just outside of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Their bright yellow–mixed in with the rolling green hills and wide open view of the big blue sky—were a sight that said loud and clear that spring is here and warmer days are ahead!
One of the bright spots during this dark season of the COVID-19 pandemic is seeing so many more people out running, walking, and biking.
Here’s hoping that through it all we gain a greater appreciation for our parks and trails and for the numerous health benefits of aerobic exercise, not the least of which is stress relief!
While the snowfall pictured here was met with scorn by many of us in the upper Midwest because it arrived in late April when we were more than ready for spring, my buddy Caleb was not one of those who were complaining about the white stuff.
That’s because one of his favorite pastimes is tunneling head first in the snow.
Seeing Caleb do this never fails to put a smile on my face, which is an especially welcome thing during this challenging spring season of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Here’s hoping that we always find things to smile about, even during the hard times.
Here’s also hoping that spring—and better times—come soon!
This Easter, I am especially grateful for the Easter message that is central to Christian faith.
It is the message that even in the darkest, most challenging times—which we face head on with full awareness—we will come out on the other side better and stronger than ever.
This Easter, I also am especially grateful for Easter traditions.
One tradition in my family that we love to remember and laugh about—especially my father Tom—is the Easter egg hunt that we had in the yard when I and my siblings Betsy and Steve, along with our cousins Todd, Paul and Wendy, were young kids.
The hunt was organized by my parents Lynn and Tom, Aunt Joanie and Uncle Terry, and grandparents Lillian and Henry.
I have since learned that the ringleader of the entire Easter-egg hunt-operation was my Grandpa Henry.
Being the promotional wiz that he was—Grandpa Henry was a very successful typewriter salesman back when typewriters were like PCs and smartphones—he came up with a brilliant way to add to the excitement for us kids as we searched the yard for the hard-boiled eggs that we had colored.
Every time one of us kids found an egg, we proudly ran to Grandpa Henry and gave it to him.
And as soon as we weren’t looking, Grandpa Henry went and hid the same egg somewhere else in the yard.
Pretty sneaky of him, for sure. But very clever and grandfatherly too.
Thanks to Grandpa Henry, the excitement of a hunt that probably would have lasted for all of five minutes with the dozen or so eggs that we had turned into a hunt for “hundreds” of eggs that went on for a fun-filled half-hour or so.
Now that were all “too old” for Easter egg hunts, I love to hear my Father Tom laugh about how Grandpa Henry had all of his grandkids fooled.
Maybe we don’t believe in the Easter Bunny anymore. But here’s hoping that we all believe in the power of Easter and holiday traditions!
Our Mission: To promote wellness through the regular practice of Christian faith and aerobic fitness.
Our name: Just as the midsole of an athletic shoe provides the spring and cushioning to keep us moving forward in a healthy way, so too do the regular practice of Christian faith and aerobic exercise help us to build physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual fitness.
Our practice: To share Daily Mile posts on a regular basis. With the hope that doing so helps us to keep moving forward in a healthy direction, with gratitude for all the gifts that God has blessed us with.
Mid-Sole 