In the Words of James Morrison

There's so much craziness surrounding me,
There's so much going on it gets hard to breath
When all my faith has gone, you bring it back to me,
You make it real for me

Well I'm not sure of my priorities,
I've lost sight of where im meant to be
Like holy water washing over me,
You make it real for me

And I'm running to you baby,
You are the only one who saves me
That's why I've been missing you lately,
'Cause you make it real for me

Through the Eyes of a Runner

Today I defeated my 2nd half marathon.

After 3 and a half months of training, I nailed it.

It was a rush. It was a thrill. It was amazing.

I beat my time last year by a full 12 minutes!

As the morning began, the jitters did too. I woke up in plenty of time. Didn't eat anything this morning (on purpose), but drank plenty of water. My day was started off amazing due to a special person's words. Awake? Check. Nerves? Check. Clothes? Check. As I'm driving downtown Oshkosh, I see that it's still ghastly weather, raining terribly. The nerves began, seeing that the furthest I've ran in rain was 4 miles. How would my body react? Would it overtake me psychologically? As I park and get out of my car, I feel in the air that it's incredibly chilly. Gloves? Oh no....I don't have gloves. Check the trunk. Boom. Found gloves. I'm good now.

At around 7:15, everyone began to line up. I was runner #2394, yet people stood in the congregation seeded by what time they'd imagine getting, in ten minute intervals. I stood fairly close to the guy holding the 2:20 sign. Looking around the crowd is always an interesting thing to do. People laughing, people quiet, people stretching, warming up, etc. Overall, it was pretty loud with the talking. The announcer said something but was muffled by the crowd.

All of the sudden, the first 5 words of our National Anthem were heard. As soon as the, probably baritone, sung "oh say, can you see?" it was as if every single person in the 2,500 person crowd had stopped talking at once. An older man in the middle of the crowd bravely held an American Flag high in the air. It was a moment for me. Although many of us, obviously, were runners. Yet, all coming from different walks of life. But we all recognized that first sentence of our National Anthem like it was the sound of our own child. A tear fell down my check as I listened to the familiar melody and considered how we are all so proud to be living in this country.

Anyways. After about a mile and a half, I was in my groove. Usually it only takes less than a mile, but the hustle and bustle of everything threw me off. I didn't stop, yet I experimented with a couple different paces and breathing patterns.

Into about mile 3, I noticed a gentleman that was running a few steps in front of me. I had been behind him the whole time. He was roughly my size, maybe a bit taller, maybe a bit more slender. I could tell it was his first half marathon. I don't know why, I could just tell. But he had a great pace, so I stuck with him. I sped up a bit, so we were running side by side, and did so for about 6 miles. He nodded at me, as if to say "we're doin' this!".

Because of the rain, the track was terrible. It went on roads, yes, but a good portion (probably 5 miles, combined) of it was done on a trail through a wooded area. Hello, mud puddles. Hello, wet socks and shoes. Whatever, my whole outfit was soaked already anyways.

Run, run, run. Keep running Seth, you can do this. What helped was the many volunteers about every half mile supporting all of us, telling us we can make it and to keep it up. Every other mile there was gatorade, of which I didn't partake in until about mile 7.

Starting almost directly with the beginning of mile 10, the rain turned to sleet. It wasn't bad, but every few seconds I had a pellet hit my face, and it wasn't the most painful.

Keep running, Seth.

Around mile 11, it turned to a combination of rain and snow. Fun.

Keep running, Seth.

I pounded out the last two miles with a smile on my face. It was a smile of accomplishment.

As I crossed the finish line, the announcer (probably notified by the chip I was wearing in my shoe), tells the crowd waiting at the finish line "Coming up next, Seth Boyte from Oshkosh". I felt amazing as I crossed the finish line. Greeted by anonymous cheerers whose applause seemed more like explosions.

I had done it. I had ran my second half marathon.

After tanking 3 or 4 cups of water and 2 cups of chocolate milk, I hobbled back to my car. It was still raining, and had got much colder. Or maybe I was just not warm from my running.

As I got back home, I chuckled at how comical I probably looked in my drenched clothes and winners limp.

I hopped through the shower, called my Mom (who would have been there if she were in town), and went to bed. I slept a good 3 hours. Waking up felt like I had got beat, overnight. But I know that I'm not as sore as my first half marathon. Thanks, training.

And this is why I love running.

Thanks to anybody who read this. You're special.

Te Extraño

This morning, I sat by my computer to you know, catch up on some facebook stalking. No biggie.

Little did I know, I'd be overcome in a matter of minutes.

As I paged through a couple friends' pictures, I noticed one friend in particular. He posted some pictures of a missions trip he went on to Guatamala. As I scrolled through each picture, I began to weep at my kitchen table. The faces of children who have almost nothing. Yet, smiling. Laughing.

I then began to think about when I lived overseas for a summer in high school. I miss the mission field. I miss being a part of touching lives in another country. Yes, we can do that here, I understand.

But what you don't understand, is there's something different about Latin American culture.

The passion is unexplainable.

The love for God is unmatchable.

The devotion is indescribable.

The hunger for truth is undeniable.

The worship is incredible.

The commitment is unbelievable.

I miss being in a foreign country, where I'm the minority. Where everybody looks at me and knows ooo....he's not from around here.

I miss speaking spanish to little children who innocently think I'm 100% fluent, while I'm basking in the moment, because I understand every word of their tiny vocabulary and small sentence structures.

I miss praying prayers for adults in Spanish, praying for God to touch their life and transpose them into something great, all while they weep under the presence of God.

I miss laughing at jokes, more so because I actually get it, not because it's that funny.

I miss learning new colloquial phrases.

I miss the culture. I miss the food. I miss everything.

I miss it so much.

I know that God has called me to do something in the missions field. Be it overseas, here, I don't know. That's a huge part of my life that I don't know yet. But still, I sit here, tears and all, thinking of the opportunities, the commitment, the desire, the burden, the need, the availability, the will of God, the people, and all that entails.

I'll be back soon. I know that.

"I have but one candle of life to burn, and I would rather burn it out in a land filled with darkness than in a land flooded with light"

-John Keith Falconer

Smile, Strength, Hope, and Blackberries

How can I not smile on a day like today?
Rain filled sentiments ensue as I step outside, yet, a glimmer of light. Light not in a literal way, seeing that clouds reign the skies. Light of hope. Hope of a bright future. Future of knowing God is in control.

This day consists of monotony of the education world. Getting "educated", yet somehow I feel that most of what I need to learn will derive from outside of the campus grounds.

This day also consists of smiles. Little smiles that come through little messages through little devices. From the start of the day, I can't help but smile. I live in a world where blessings continue to flow, what's taken from me is eventually understood, and the unknown remains. So I continue to smile.

Know that feeling you get when the light clicks? You eventually understand something. You perceive a possibility. Your goal is approaching. Your brain begins to spin. Been there? I have. Especially lately.

The clock reads 11:23, digitally. Yet, chronologically, I feel like I'm further into the day. With much to do, much to see, much to learn, I continue. Although those which I love the most aren't close to me on an hourly, weekly, daily, or even '30-day'ly basis, I cling to them for strength.

Though I may be rambling in stream of consciousness speech, my thoughts seem clear to me. Like the screen of my messages. Unlike the skies today.

Like the mini segments of a blackberry, my thoughts and friends relate. Tightly knit. Uniquely separate. Undeniably connected. Each with special feelings, experiences and additions.
Comparing intangible aspects with tangible ones can be ambiguous, but that's the point.
As I leave this post. My professor begins to play the theme from Rocky. As he does every class period. Pumping up the class for learning. Woot woot.

Boyte out.

Weekend in the 'Lou

This past weekend was my brother's wedding. It was an incredible experience.

First of all, I love the city of St. Louis. The skyline, the city layout, everything. I enjoy being in the city every chance I get. I don't get to it but maybe 2 or 3 times a year. When we got there, we started the party early. Thi came down with me and my parents and we had a blast on the 7.5 hour drive.

The weather was instantly better than Wisconsin. The whole weekend was amazing weather. Coming back to WI wasn't the most pleasant, welcomed back by an insane tornado watch/thunderstorm party. (However, I do actually love thunderstorms...just not by myself...)

The guys day/bachelor party was epic. Corey, me, Eric, Jeromy, CJ, Thi, and Rick spent the whole day together friday. We laughed so hard on multiple occasions. At one point during the night, half of us got out of the Yukon and took off praise dancing in the middle of a busy road. It was just...out of control. So many stories. So many 'vault' moments. So many laughs. So many arnold palmers drank. Good, clean fun. We all probably fell asleep around 4am saturday morning. Corey was lively and playing music at about 6:30am. Me and CJ were the last to get up, not surprising...and the wedding day was started. :)

I loved the wedding. It was beautiful. Eventful. And topped out at about 40 minutes. My wedding will be as short. The music was crazy awesome, the people were crazy fun, and the bride and groom were crazy good looking.

I am so thrilled to have a sister in law. :) I'm awesomized to see how their marriage will unfold!

Danielle is awesome, and I love her!

Before I ramble on too much, I'll end shortly.

The ride home was just...amazing.

I love the people in my life. I love them so much. Movies :), music, laughter, food, drink, bathroom stops, naps, etc :)

Ever want a ride not to end? Crazy sounding, I know. But it was one of those rides. It was just, awesome. It was good to get home, but home this week is a lonely house filled with minimal events and routines. Necessary, yet...blah.

Looking forward to the events unfolding over the next couple months.

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Others stay awhile, make footprints on our hearts and we are never, ever the same"

-Author Unknown

Communication

This past Sunday, our first impressions team at ATC had a meeting about communicating with people. Pastor Soto presented some information from the book "Everyone Communicates, Few Connect" by John Maxwell. I'll share some of my notes from this meeting.

First of all, connecting with people is not just for pastors or corporate people. Its for Everyone! The enemy of connecting is is the thought "it's all about me"
People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. When you're trying to
connect with somebody, they're going to subconsciously ask 3 questions.
3 questions they ask:
-Do you care for me?
-Can you help me?
-Can I trust you?

Connecting goes beyond words!
You cannot just speak the message. You have to BE the message.

Dont do:
-Don't assume.
-Don't be arrogant.
-Don't be indifferent.
-Don't control.
-Speak the guest's language, not church language or cultural slogans they may not understand.
-Don't talk too much or too fast.

Do:
-You go first. Initiate communication.
-Find common ground.
-Be available.
-Be a good listener.
-Be thoughtful.
-Be adaptable.
-Get in their world.

Getting ready to be a pro.
-Focus on others.
-Expand your connecting vocabulary.
-Martial your energy to connect.
-Gain insight about how great connectors connect. As the meeting was closing, I received one of the highest compliments. After the previous point was stated, the gentleman sitting next to me said "thats why I hang around you, you can connect with anybody". Wow. I can only hope to be an example and better myself every day at connecting.

So, do you connect with people? You can't be a soul winner if you don't connect with people. Get in their world. It's not about you, and it's surely not about me. It's about people who need Jesus. Initiating conversation with a complete stranger may be difficult for you, especially considering the fact that 2/3 of people are actually natural introverts. Practice! Start talking to people. With the friends you already have, start having REAL conversations - ones that actually mean something!

You can do it. Make a decision to connect.
Everyone communicates.
Few connect.

Dirt

For grow groups tonight, I came up with a little ditty. Feel free to use this anybody! :)

Ingredients needed: 3 tables (or more depending on your size), a pile of dirt for each table, and two cups of water for each table.

Directions: divide your group into 3 (or more) groups. Each group has 20 minutes to create something. Anything. Using only the pile of dirt and the two cups of water (you can use the cups too). What each group makes is totally up to them, 100% open ended. (Tonight, our 3 groups came up with a guitar, a tower, and the apple logo).

Idea: Even if the winning group creates something extremely cool looking, it's still not going to be that impressive, considering it's just dirt. However, when God was given a pile of dirt, he created much more. He created human life and breathed life into man (Gen. 2:7). We have a pile of dirt, and it's still a pile of dirt. Taking it a step further, when we are just a body, it's like we're just dirt, until God breathes His breath into our lives (His spirit).

In essence, we're nothing compared to Him and His greatness. That being said, too many times we consider our small problems, and think God isn't big enough to solve them. What's wrong with that picture? Think about how God formed you and how great He is. Always know that He's big enough to change the world, yet cares enough for your every day problems.