Race week mantra: Chop wood, carry water
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, I wake up thinking about it. I try to put it out of my mind – focus on the tasks of the day, being present in the moment,… Read More
Tag Archive: Christianity
8 Comments
Clarity and Trust in the Texas hill country: Part II
PART II OF TRUST AND CLARITY IN THE TEXAS HILL COUNTRY. READ PART I HERE. Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, We drove straight to Salt Lick BBQ when we arrived. It didn’t disappoint.… Read More
Peaceful Easy Feeling
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, Grandfather sent us this picture of you fishing beside the Pedernales River in Texas, Izzy. I stared at it for a long time. Different emotions overcame me as… Read More
How my little girl plans to make sad people happy: Part 2
PART 1 Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, I wrote to you a few weeks ago about your sticker club, Izzy. You’ve continued collecting stickers and putting them in notebooks. I find them all… Read More
Room in the Inn
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, I met Anthony last night. He writes poems in his notebook and recites them with passion for the words. He can feel the weight and the blessing of… Read More
8 Ways to Relax
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, This morning I studied the trees. It’s fall and the colors are changing. Brilliant shades of orange, yellow, red, and purple. Several minutes passed as I stared and… Read More
Happy 4th birthday Max and Kate
Dear Max and Kate, Yesterday on my trail run I noticed the contrast between the blue of the sky and the changing fall colors of the trees. I considered how to describe the… Read More
How my little girl plans to make sad people happy
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, You’ve been collecting stickers, Izzy. All kinds. Big and small. Elaborate fuzzy glow in the dark stickers and simple stars. You spend hours putting them in books. Yesterday… Read More
Hospitals and milkshakes
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, You’ve been sick since Thursday, Kate. Your fever has peaked at 104.6. Mommy and I sit and watch you rest on the couch. And at night we sit… Read More
Why I didn’t race after 20 weeks of training: Part 1
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, They’re racing at Rev3 South Carolina this morning. I was supposed to be there making my 5th attempt at a sub-5:30 half ironman. But I’m not there. I… Read More
What I’ve learned in 38 years: All streams flow into the sea
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, I’ll be 38 on Sunday. And while 38 is far from “old”, it’s another year closer. Or farther away from youth, depending on the mood I’m in and… Read More
The problem with authenticity
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, The problem with authenticity is that the world hates it. Most people, collectively, don’t want you to be you. They want you to be like them. That’s how… Read More
8 Ways To Be Content
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, I’ve been wrestling again. Not in a literal sense, thankfully. My body has long been too old for that. I’ve been wrestling with contentment. As I inch closer… Read More
A tire rolling downhill: my triathlon life
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, A few days ago a good friend told me that I’m like a “tire rolling down hill.” He was talking about my relationship with triathlon specifically. He said… Read More
Somewhere along the line the pearl would be handed to me
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t help myself. A few days ago I sat and listened to two women on the playground, about my age, talking… Read More
The real reason I race
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, Sunday after church you handed me this, Izzy: It wasn’t by accident. In your 8 years of life you’ve always delivered the voice of truth in our home.… Read More
Why we dream big by the ocean: First day or Last?
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, We just spent a week in SeaGrove, FL. More than any other trip we’ve taken I made time to spend quiet hours alone or with just Mommy on the beach.… Read More
[Part 2] Why leading a blind athlete through a triathlon changed my life
* Continued from Part 1 Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, My alarm sounded at 4:45am on Sunday morning. I think I was already awake. I had fallen asleep thinking about swimming into darkness,… Read More
A New Adventure: Why I decided to guide a blind athlete through a triathlon
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, I got a phone call from an old friend on Monday. It was one of those moments when you hear from someone that you haven’t talked with in… Read More
Meet Hunter Kemper: 4 x Olympian, 7 x National Champion, 3 x Dad
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, I want to introduce you to some awesome Moms and Dads as I write these letters to you. I’m doing my best to balance being a husband to… Read More
Meet Bree Wee: Pro Triathlete, Surfer girl, and Mom
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, I want to introduce you to some awesome Mom’s and Dad’s as I write these letters to you. I’m doing my best to balance being a husband to… Read More
Fatherhood and Courage
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, This morning I heard Pastor Steve Berger talk about “courage” as Christians and the power that we have as believers to summon courage in our lives. Steve said… Read More
Anchoring the ship: guiding principles for securing my life
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, I actually made some goals this year. From an outsiders perspective 2011 looked great, I suppose. I got back to racing a lot, an activity that most people… Read More
The fine line: Living a good story vs. Telling a good story
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, I had lunch with one of my best friends a few days ago. He’s been in the Army since graduating from the Citadel in 1997. He’s been to… Read More
Why I decided get rid of my stuff
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, I’ve been overwhelmed a lot lately. Something’s been tugging at me, pulling me under, causing stress in my life that I can’t identify. I haven’t been sure how… Read More
One Dad’s Vision Quest at Dad 2.0 Summit part 1
Dear Izzy Max, and Kate, I boarded an airplane last Thursday morning bound for Austin, TX. The idea was to attend Dad 2.0 Summit with my old friend Michael (friends since 5th grade),… Read More
Am I Ready?
MODIFIED, EDITED AND REPUBLISHED FROM A POST WRITTEN DECEMBER 8, 2011. THOUGHT IT WAS WORTH REVISITING TODAY: Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, I recently read a blog post written by Gordo Byrn titled “Am… Read More
Confessions of a Bananasaurus
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, This morning I had a great swim. It seems that the sun and warmer temperatures are finally helping me break out of the funk I’ve been in with… Read More
Dreams, Fantasy, and Crap-uccino
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, You kids were crazy last night. Mommy brought home some tiny things of ice cream for us as a treat. One of them was Starbucks Capuccino flavored. Max, you… Read More
Nothing is real if you don’t believe in who you are
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, The little kid in the picture grew up on Rocky Balboa. That’s your daddy in 1985. I wanted to be Rocky when I was kid. Sometimes I still do.… Read More
We just called it spaghetti
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, I came home from work early yesterday because Mommy was sick. That’s a good thing for Dad’s and husbands to do. The goodwill Dad’s create by coming home early and letting their… Read More
What Heaven looks like
Dear Izzy, Max, and Kate, I took some chances yesterday. I said some things that needed to be said to some folks who needed to hear from me. I’d like to tell you that… Read More
