Author: RTP/MJ

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” – Psalm 107:1 (NIV)

Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey—not the bald eagle—as our national bird. I get it.

I’ve been dreaming of turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and pumpkin pie. Growing up, we were a turkey-on-Thanksgiving family. One year my wife bought a turkey breast instead of the real thing. I know—who does that? She’s no longer allowed to handle the grocery list.

Recently, feeling nostalgic, I revisited our digitized home movies and photos. I went looking for Thanksgiving feasts and follies, and there it was—a photo of Mom basting the turkey.

Our house was always full at the holidays. My parents welcomed family and friends, and my brothers will attest to the last-minute or uninvited guests who somehow always found a place at our table. But Mom would remind her four hungry boys that it was “family-hold-back time.” Our job was to make sure there was enough for everyone.

Family gatherings can be beautiful—and challenging. We’d be wise to serve up a generous helping of grace this year. Not just the grace prayer before the meal, but an atmosphere of grace that releases our expectations of ourselves and others. The amazing-grace kind.

“Disappointment is the child of unrealistic expectations.” — Ken Boa

So what will you give thanks for tomorrow? And to whom will you give that thanks? Let’s get this party started on the right foot (or turkey leg).

Use the comment link to share something you’re most grateful for this year.

Run the Play — Thanksgiving Menu:

No unrealistic expectations, served with a generous helping of God’s amazing grace.

… and turkey 🦃 😀

💬 Finding Our Place in the Story

What are you grateful for this year?

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” — Jesus

Much of Christian fundraising today feels like used-car sales tactics with Bible verses slapped on. Ick.

Brace for impact — ‘tis the season for the annual barrage of church and nonprofit appeals promoting year-end giving. They give me the Ick.

Gen Z coined the term to describe that secondhand embarrassment or gut-level aversion when something just feels off. That’s exactly how many of these appeals land — manipulative and self-serving.

Just today, our snail mail delivered three donation requests from organizations we’ve never supported and one from a group we actually do. Every day from now through early January is “rinse and repeat.”

Then come the lunch and dinner invitations that always end with the same well-rehearsed pitch — a story, a need, and the inevitable “match gift” to sweeten the deal. Cue the arm-twist. More Ick.

This kind of fundraising is common but not biblical. Our culture’s fascination with money and influence has seeped into the Church, shaping our methods more than the Master. We rely on donor psychology instead of divine provision. The irony? Every dollar we chase still reads, “In God We Trust.”

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For, Not From

Much of this behavior is transactional — designed to get money from the donor. But the biblical model of generosity is transformational — partnership for the Kingdom.

Paul captured it beautifully when he discipled the Corinthian church:

“In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity… Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.”
— 2 Corinthians 8:1-4

The Macedonian believers gave not out of guilt or pressure but out of grace. Even in hardship, they pleaded for the privilege to participate in God’s work.

Paul himself modeled this same posture:

“I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing… These hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions… remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
— Acts 20:33-35

This is fundraising reimagined — not a strategy to extract resources but a call to mutual transformation through generosity.

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Faithraising, Not Fundraising

So how did we drift so far from that mission and message?

A better way begins with a better mindset — one rooted in for-ness. With the right motives and a heart aligned with Scripture, we can emphasize:

• Relationship over revenue
  
• Transparency over pressure
  
• Trust over tactics
  

That’s what I call faithraising — cultivating faith in both giver and receiver.

When our fundraising reflects the Father’s heart, it stops being an Ick and starts being an act of worship. With a Spirit-powered renewal of the mind, even our methods can mirror the mission.

Run the play.
Sign me up for faithraising.

Finding Our Place in the Story

1. What motivates my generosity—transaction or transformation?
   When I give, do I see it as a way to support a cause, or as a sacred partnership in God’s work of shaping lives, including my own?
   
2. How can I cultivate trust instead of tactics?
   Whether I’m raising funds, serving, or leading, what would it look like to approach people with transparency and relationship rather than pressure or persuasion?
   
3. What would “faithraising” look like in my sphere of influence?
   How might I encourage others to see giving not as loss but as an act of worship that grows faith in both giver and receiver?

“...but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin… What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?”     — Romans 7:23–24 NIV

Those high school years were tough. Report card days were worse. My parents’ expectations weren’t unrealistic—which made my grades all the more disappointing. Everyone agreed I wasn’t living up to my potential. The criticism and condemnation only deepened my frustration. We reap what we sow.

The writer of Romans knew this struggle:

“For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out… For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.” Rom. 7:18–19

By God’s grace, I eventually discovered the antidote: substitute the lesser thing with something far better.

I didn’t study because I wasn’t motivated. It was painful, unrewarding, and reinforced by those dreaded report cards. TV, sports—anything fun—provided temporary relief. But when I finally experienced the lasting joy of hard-earned results, everything changed. I began trading the short-term “high” of avoidance for the deeper satisfaction of growth. I was hooked. How I wish that teenage version of me had learned this sooner.

Psychologists call this the Law of Substitution:
You can’t just stop a bad habit; you must replace it with a good one. Our brains resist emptiness. If we remove a behavior that once met a need—even destructively—that need will search for a new outlet. The key is to fill the void intentionally.

Scripture affirms this principle in spiritual formation:

 “You were taught… to put off your old self… to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22–24)

Not just put off—but put on.
Replace deceit with truth. Bitterness with forgiveness. Lust with love. Addiction with worship. That’s substitution in action.

What psychology observes in behavior, the gospel reveals in redemption.
At the heart of the gospel is the ultimate substitution:

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
— 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV

That’s the divine exchange:
Our sin for His righteousness.
Our death for His life.
Our shame for His sonship.

It’s not just legal—it’s transformational. The cross shows how true change happens: not by suppression, but by substitution.

Just as Christ substituted Himself for us, the Spirit now works in us the same way. We “put off” envy, anger, and addiction—and “put on” love, gratitude, and self-control (Colossians 3:8–10). The new nature doesn’t erase the old automatically; it replaces it through practice and grace.

In addiction recovery, this principle rings true:
You don’t beat darkness by cursing it; you replace it with light.
You don’t gain freedom by willpower; you walk in the Spirit’s power—Christ’s strength for your weakness.

That’s the miracle of substitution.
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30)
Substitution—in slow motion.

Run the play. Not by willpower. Practice substituting Christ’s strength for your weakness. 

💬 Finding Our Place in the Story

Where in my life am I still trying to “stop” a behavior instead of intentionally replacing it with something redemptive?
(Think: What could I “put on” instead of merely “putting off”?)

How does viewing change through the lens of substitution—Christ’s strength for my weakness—shift my approach to spiritual growth or recovery?

In what area of my apprenticeship with Jesus is He inviting me to make a divine exchange—trading my striving for His sufficiency?

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. —Ephesians 6:11 (NIV)

“What’s the dress?” That’s a question my wife, Sharon, has asked me with every social invitation in our 42 years of marriage. We all know the importance of showing up dressed appropriately—avoiding the embarrassment of being over- or underdressed. In our culture, appearance signals readiness.

Back in 1975, John T. Molloy captured this reality in his bestseller Dress for Success. His message was simple: the right wardrobe can open doors in business and life. For the first time, clothing was treated not just as fashion but as strategy.

The Bible, however, calls us to something far greater. Not to dress for success, but to dress for significance—eternal significance. Paul puts it plainly:

“Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” —Ephesians 4:24

And again:

“Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.” —Romans 13:14

The new self is who we are in Christ. The armor of God (Eph. 6) is how we walk that out daily in a world of unseen opposition.

How do we actually do this? Here’s one idea: engage your God-given imagination. Beyond our morning routines of exercise, showering, and dressing, we can add a spiritual routine—clothing ourselves in Christ.

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Dressing for Significance: New Self, Lord, and Armor

As we pray, using Psalm 51 as a “spiritual shower” and Ephesians 6 as our wardrobe checklist, we put on:

• His righteousness — an outer garment and breastplate, pure and white as snow.
• The belt of truth — our core convictions, shaping a biblical worldview.
• The sandals of the gospel of peace — walking in shalom, wholeness, reconciliation.
• The shield of faith — Paul names it a shield; I picture it as a bold red sash, flowing diagonally across our chest.
  • A sign to the unseen world.
  • Sealed by his blood, belonging to the family of God.
• The helmet of salvation — our unshakable identity: at once the laurel wreath of an Olympic victor and the crown of royal children of God.
• The sword of the Spirit — the Word of God, sharper than any double-edged sword.

Skipping this practice would be like leaving the house spiritually naked.

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“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” —Colossians 3:12

Dressing for significance may go unnoticed by human eyes, but it is unmistakable to “the powers and principalities of this dark world” (Eph. 6:12). To them, it signals danger: the advance of God’s Kingdom and the reclaiming of ground once lost. As John wrote, “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

So before you leave home tomorrow, don’t just check your appearance in the mirror. Check your armor.

Run the play. Dress for significance.

Like the old American Express tagline said: Don’t leave home without it.

💬 Finding Our Place in the Story

In what ways do you currently “dress for success” in your daily life, and how might God be inviting you to instead “dress for significance”?

Which piece of the armor of God feels most natural for you to put on, and which feels most neglected or difficult? Why?

How might intentionally clothing yourself in Christ each morning reshape the way you engage your family, work, and community throughout the day?

“They were on their way up to Jerusalem, with Jesus leading the way, and the disciples were astonished, while those who followed were afraid.“  – Mark 10:32 NIV

When following Jesus, expect to be simultaneously astonished and afraid.

With Jesus leading the way to Germany in September, I was out of my depth and homesick. I was a part of a team that was invited to participate in two events whose primary purpose was to aid in equipping the Persian Diaspora there. Fear — or what I’ll call vulnerability — is essential for shaping our character, though always uncomfortable.

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” — Corrie Ten Boom

I’ve learned to trust Jesus because he daily leads me to places where I am vulnerable and must rely on him. It’s in those times and places where he reveals more of himself and his glory. It’s the best part of running the play.

And each fresh revelation is always astonishing!

In another act of the Father’s generosity of Spirit, he molds and shapes us more and more into his Son’s likeness. Our transformation is a miracle of his will and power, not yours or mine.

Astonishing, indeed.

As a card-carrying member of the introvert club, the long journey home from Germany, via planes, trains, and automobiles, afforded me the space to process the experience. I began to understand that what I witnessed was a modern-day version of the first few chapters of the book of Acts.

Recent converts to Christianity from Islam, these brothers and sisters in Christ were persecuted and scattered for their faith. Their hunger for truth resembles the first-century church, which includes an understanding of and desire for prayer that testifies to their strong faith and trust in Jesus. Now, thanks to my Iranian family, when I read Acts, I see and hear as never before.

With Jesus leading the way, our choices, relationships, work, and creativity become a part of God’s larger story. They are part of the raw materials of new creation, not just private acts of piety.

Because of Jesus’s resurrection, we can live with resilient hope, even in the face of suffering or loss, knowing nothing done with him, in love, is wasted. It will somehow be woven into God’s final renewal.

Running the play is just another way of saying, “With Jesus leading the way.”

“There’s a fine line between faith and irresponsibility, and at times it’s almost impossible to see.” — Carey Nieuwhof

Run the play, embrace vulnerability … and be prepared to be astonished by transformation.

💬 Finding Our Place in the Story

When has following Jesus recently made you feel vulnerable? How did that moment stretch your trust in him?

What astonished you about God this past week? Did it come through Scripture, prayer, or the witness of others?

Where might Jesus be leading you right now that feels risky or uncomfortable — and how can your community join you in prayer as you “run the play”?

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.  Mark 8:35 NIV

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.” — Jim Elliot

It’s been ten years since I was working in Zambia and Malawi, when I became the sickest I’ve ever been. Unable to keep anything down, every slight movement sent my body into intestinal spasms. Sick, sleep-deprived, depressed, and thousands of miles from home, I wondered if this was where it would end for me

In those moments, the Lord confronted me: “Are these people you came to serve worth dying for?” In my heart, I knew I wasn’t ready to say yes. That revelation was convicting—but it didn’t come with condemnation. Being an apprentice of Jesus is a journey, and this was what you might call a “heart-check.” It showed me where Jesus was still working in me.

The good news? Jesus isn’t disappointed or anxious about the pace of our growth. Apprenticeship to him isn’t about performance—it’s about overflow. He transforms us from the inside out.

Apprenticeship means intentionally adopting Jesus’ way of thinking, acting, and being—training with him in everyday life—until we become the kind of person who naturally does what Jesus would do if he were living our life. It’s a moment-by-moment, day-by-day surrender, knowing that nothing done in love is wasted and everything is woven into God’s final renewal.

Some finish the journey sooner than others. In January 1956, Jim Elliot and four other missionaries traveled to Ecuador to bring the gospel to the Auca people, a tribe known for hostility toward outsiders. After making initial contact and seeming to make progress, the men were attacked and killed on a sandbar along the Curaray River.

Elliot was only 28, leaving behind his wife, Elisabeth, and their ten-month-old daughter. When he wrote in his journal, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose,” he captured the heart of Jesus’ teaching in Mark 8:35 and Matthew 6:19–21.

• “What he cannot keep” points to earthly life, possessions, and status—all temporary, destined to fade.
  
• “What he cannot lose” is eternal life in Christ, the joy of knowing God, and treasures stored in heaven.

Elliot’s life and death put flesh-and-blood weight on those words. Surrendering—even to the point of death—isn’t foolish if it secures eternal joy that can never be taken away.

And that brings us here: Today is a gift. One more day to trade the temporal for the eternal. One more day to lose what cannot last, to gain what can never be taken.

Where is Jesus asking you to lose—so you can truly gain?

Run the Play: Gain by losing.

💬 Finding Our Place in the Story

Where in your life are you tempted to cling tightly to what you “cannot keep,” and what might it look like to release it to Jesus?

How does Jim Elliot’s example challenge or inspire you in your own apprenticeship to Christ?

What would it mean, practically and personally, to “gain by losing” in your relationships, work, or daily routines this week?

“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.“  Proverbs 22:7 (NASB)

Our grandson paid cash for his first car. Hurray! He bought a used Jeep. Ugh. 😟

He’s transitioning from HVAC school to his first full-time job and recently called to ask for help. He wants to buy a different car and is exploring his options. At twenty years old with a decent-paying job, he’s tempted by those easy monthly installments—time to earn my Grandpa stripes.

Living in a place like the United States, taking certain things for granted, like food, shelter, clothing, and transportation, is easy. These are the building blocks of human flourishing. A key part of that flourishing is our access to capital, an economic engine that has improved lives.

But access to capital without wisdom is dangerous. Borrowing money responsibly requires discipline. And credit cards, car loans, and leases? They demand the most.

🚗 “No money down, no payments for 90 days, and 0% APR for qualified buyers!”

Sounds like a dream. Here’s the reality, buried in the fine print:

• 0% APR only applies to top-tier credit scores.
  
• The price of the car may be inflated to offset the “deal.”
  
• No payments for 90 days doesn’t mean interest isn’t accruing—it’s just deferred and tacked on later.
  
• Loan terms are often extended to 72–84 months, putting buyers underwater and on the hook long after the new-car smell fades.
  

And leasing?

🚘 Leasing: The Never-Ending Bill

Sure, leasing looks affordable month-to-month. But over time:

• You’re always making payments.
  
• You never build equity.
  
• You may pay more than if you’d bought and kept a slightly used car.
  

On top of that, leases come with:

• Acquisition fees
  
• Disposition fees when the lease ends
  
• Early termination penalties if you want out early

The contracts are complicated, and—surprise—the dealership wins..

It’s delayed pain dressed up as a wise decision. They’re selling you a depreciating asset you often can’t afford and framing it like it’s barely a financial decision at all.

Those “easy payments”? They become chains.
If you’ve been making car payments for a while… can I get an “Amen”?

🔐 Papa Jette’s Immutable Laws
On car purchases: After doing your homework, the best car you can buy is the one you can responsibly pay cash for.

On credit cards: Only use one if you have the wisdom and self-discipline to follow a budget. Never, ever carry a balance.

💡 Access to capital is a powerful tool for flourishing. But it is also risky because it is always a presumption on an unknowable future.

Run the Play: Follow Papa Jette’s immutable laws. Your future self will thank you. 😀

💬 Finding Our Place in the Story

Am I currently using debt as a tool for wise stewardship—or as a shortcut to get something I want before I can afford it?
(What is my true motivation behind borrowing money?)

What would change in my life—financially, emotionally, spiritually—if I committed to living debt-free going forward?
(How might freedom from monthly payments open doors to generosity or peace?)

Have I ever mistaken easy payments for affordability?
(What past financial decisions taught me the most about the long-term cost of “deals” that seemed too good to be true?)

“Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings..“  – Isaiah 58:12 NIV

By the time Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood hit the airwaves, I was already a teenager. Captain Kangaroo had been the children’s program of my generation. Both aimed to educate and entertain, but in different ways: the Captain brought adventure and humor; Mister Rogers brought empathy and emotional understanding. To me, Captain Kangaroo was big pockets, carrots, and Mr. Green Jeans.

While Captain Kangaroo dwarfed Mister Rogers in episode count (6,090 vs. 895), it never matched his lasting influence. What made Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood thrive for 33 years? While networks churned out content for kids to consume, Fred Rogers offered something countercultural. As TV Guide once put it:

“TV is all about coveting, but Mister Rogers was about appreciating what you already have, about caring for others, and seeing the best in them.”

After 9/11, Fred came out of retirement to speak to his now-grown viewers—many with children of their own—about purpose in the face of tragedy.

“No matter what our particular job, especially in our world today, we all are called to be tikkun olam—repairers of creation. Thank you for whatever you do, wherever you are, to bring joy and light and hope and faith and pardon and love to your neighbor and to yourself.”

Mister Rogers was echoing Isaiah 58’s promise, illuminated by the hope of the resurrection. Followers of Jesus are called to be repairers of creation—a creation fractured in Eden and recounted in Genesis 3.

Dr. Michael Kibbe captures this calling with what he calls Extreme Stewardship:

“Anything and everything that gets us better at making things good and good at making things better.”

No matter what, no matter where—tikkun olam.

Fred Rogers repaired creation one precious soul at a time through a make-believe neighborhood, puppets, and friends. “It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood” wasn’t just his opening song—it was his scorecard. He ran that beautiful play 895 times.

So, what could tikkun olam look like in your home, your work, and your neighborhood?
Run the play. And watch it become a beautiful day in your neighborhood.

💬 Finding Our Place in the Story

Where do you see “broken walls” in your community that God might be calling you to repair?

How can you apply Dr. Kibbe’s challenge—“making things good, and good things better”—in your everyday routines?

Who in your life has modeled tikkun olam for you, and how can you pass that influence forward?

What’s one small, consistent “beautiful day” action you could start this week?

“Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth’… He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’”  – Rev 21:1-6

Nothing done in love is wasted. It all gets woven into the final renewal.

“New!” Don’t you love that word?

It’s one of my favorites when it appears next to words like car, house, shoes, couch 😉 (for the ladies), or restaurant. There’s something exciting—even a little intoxicating—about “new.” That fresh-start feeling. That new-car smell. (Yes, some car washes even offer it as a fragrance. Only in the first world.)

“These days, when I’m looking for something new, Amazon is often my first stop. But is Amazon really the epitome of new? According to Google, better alternatives are words like fresh, novel, and original. That actually gets closer to what we’re talking about today.

Breaking NEWs – We have a NEW blogsite: runningtheplayblog.com

Because while we usually think of new as “better” or “upgraded,” there’s a deeper kind of newness that isn’t about stuff or experiences—it’s about restoration.

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A Different Kind of New

Here’s the part we often miss: God’s ultimate plan isn’t to scrap this world and evacuate us to some far-off spiritual cloudscape. His plan is to renew and transform creation itself. To unite heaven and earth in a restored cosmos

New heaven. New Earth. New creation.

Jesus’ resurrection wasn’t just a one-time miracle—it was the launch point of this cosmic renewal. A foretaste. A down payment. Proof that God is making all things new, not just someday, but starting now.

Salvation, then, isn’t just about souls escaping a broken world. It’s about joining God’s mission of redemption—here and now—while looking forward to the day when death, decay, and injustice will be completely undone.

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So What Do We Do Now?

Here are three practical ways to live into New Creation right now:

🔨 Work as Worship
Whether you’re tackling your job, fixing up the house, volunteering, or folding laundry—see it as a way to partner with God in restoring His world. Excellence and creativity aren’t just habits—they’re hints of His coming Kingdom.

🤝 Live Resurrection Hope in Relationships
Because the New Creation will be marked by peace and reconciliation, we start practicing it now. Forgive quickly. Repair what’s broken. Build communities of trust and belonging.

🌱 Create Signposts of the Kingdom
Do things that point beyond themselves—feed the hungry, plant something beautiful, mentor a kid, make art, fight for justice. These are glimpses of the flourishing world God is bringing.

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Our choices, our work, our creativity—they’re not just private spiritual hobbies. They’re part of something far bigger: the renewal of all things.

Because Jesus rose, we can live with resilient hope—even in the face of suffering, loss, or delay. We know how the story ends.

Nothing done in love is wasted.
It all gets woven into the final renewal.

Run the play.

💬 Finding Our Place in the Story

Where in your life are you settling for upgrades when God is offering transformation?
(Reflect on areas where you’ve accepted surface-level change instead of seeking deeper renewal.)

What small acts of restoration can you offer this week—at work, at home, or in your community?
(Think of ordinary places where you can plant seeds of the New Creation.)

Is there a broken relationship where you could live out resurrection hope today?
(How might forgiveness, humility, or reconciliation point to the Kingdom to come?)

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.“  Hebrews 12:1 NIV

It started like any other hot, humid Carolina summer morning. Early Saturday, hundreds of us gathered outside a local YMCA to watch this year’s Race4Chase kids triathlon. Sharon and I were there to cheer for six-year-old Marvel Ganson, not knowing the deeper significance of the Race4Chase movement.

Race4Chase (R4C), sponsored by the CMAK Foundation, was created to honor the life of Chase Michael Anthony Kowalski. If life is measured by length, then Chase’s life might seem small—cut short at just seven years old by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14, 2012.

But if life is measured in love, Chase’s impact is immeasurable.

Through the CMAK Foundation, his life echoes beyond his years. Their mission turns tragedy into triumph by strengthening families and communities through programs like R4C. That’s what love does. Biblical love. It transforms death into resurrection. Pain into purpose. A moment into a legacy.

If love is the measure, then our friend Rachel is lighting up heaven’s eternal scoreboard. She’s a physical therapist in an assisted living center who’s learned how to love well through everyday moments. She recently posted:

“I can convey God’s love through the fruit of the Spirit—
I’m sharing in conversation that you are loved and a child of God,
I’m smiling at you with joy,
I’m rubbing your back so you feel the peace of God,
I’m slow to be angry as we saunter along together,
I’m showing you God is good by delighting in His creation—(you),
I’m gentle and kind when I help you up off the chair or bed.”

That’s what it looks like to run the race in love.

On that blistering morning, Marvel got tired and started to sit down. But Miss Hannah, running beside him, gently said, “Oh no, that’s not happening.” And so Marvel pushed through. He crossed the finish line—sprinting—to the cheers of strangers, friends, and family alike.

I imagine a similar scene awaits each of us. Paul describes it like this:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
— 2 Timothy 4:7

So picture it: your final stretch, with friends and family among that “great cloud of witnesses,” cheering as you cross from time into eternity.

How will you measure your race?

Run the Play:
Throw off everything that hinders.
Run with perseverance.
Measure your life in love.

💬 Finding Our Place in the Story

What would change in your day if you measured your success by love rather than productivity?

Who in your life needs a reminder today that they are deeply loved by God—and how can you deliver it?

Are there things entangling you that need to be “thrown off” so you can run the race marked out for you in love?