Monday, May 31, 2010

San Diego: Torrey Pines, Padres, Historic Gaslamp District

This past week I took a trip to San Diego and while there got to visit the Torrey Pines nature preserve along the Pacific Ocean as well as go to a Padres vs. Cardinals game and checkout the historic gaslamp district. Here are a few photos:


Runners be not jealous, I got to do a mile repeat speed workout along this stretch.
This guy was hanging out around my hotel along with a few of his buddies.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Praise in Battle

Running has so many parallels to the spiritual walk/run and life in general. I was reminded of this again yesterday while doing a 10 mile long run. I'd been running for around 4 or 5 miles and listening to a worship album by Paul Baloche and really enjoying the time of praise and singing while running. Cars kept wizzing by and while that's not out of the ordinary when running on the roads, it definitely keeps you on your toes.

The spiritual parallel I saw in this was the times when going along in a season of joy and worship and then something catches you by surprise. I can be in a worshipful frame of mind and praising God for who He is and the things He's done in my life then an arrow from the enemy comes firing my way.

It's important to always be mindful that I'm in a spiritual battlefield and attacks can come at any time. My Commander is able to see attacks coming and give me power to resist and keep my eyes fixed on Him. There's something powerful in weathering the storms and battles then coming out on the other end still holding on to Jesus.

I think He sometimes guards us and prevents the enemy from interfering with our lives in order to give us seasons of rest and rejuvenation. It is during these peaceful and quiet times by abiding in Christ that we firmly root our souls in Him.

When the storms and battles do come, we may undergo blows and be battered by the wind and rain but with our feet planted firmly on the Rock, we can stand and praise Him despite the circumstances. "I lift my eyes up to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." -Psalm 121:1-2

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Speed Up a Podcast or Slow Down a Song

Windows Media Player has the ability to either speed up or slow down a podcast or song. I've found this useful when listening to a podcast but want to get through it a bit faster. Of course, if you're listening to a deep sermon by a pastor that you really want to absorb, you might even consider using the slow down feature.

Another really good use of the speed settings is if you are trying to learn a music part by ear and it's crazy fast like the bass solo of Salvation Is Here by Hillsong United. (I actually learned it at normal speed but this would be a good application for the tool)

To do this, simply right click while playing the song or podcast then go to Enhancements, Play speed settings and adjust to your preferred speed. I've found most podcasts to be fine up to the 1.3 to 1.4x speed but much more than that and you feel like you're listening to a chipmunk hyped up on Mountain Dew.

If you're working on a Mac this can be done in Quick Time by going to Window, Show A/V Controls, playback speed.

In pursuit of His best,
Andrew

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Prayer CATS

An acronym that can be helpful when thinking about prayer and how to pray is C.A.T.S.
Confession
Adoration
Thanksgiving
Supplication

Sometimes this acronym is in the order ACTS but I think it's good to confess sin first thing before getting into the other areas. Just seems to make sense if there's something that's not straight with me and God to fess up then get down to business. Then, I can focus on the praise and worship of who He is followed by thanks for the many blessings He's given me and after each of these elements, intercession and prayer for myself and others. Of course, it doesn't always have to follow this order but it's at least a good tool to keep in the back pocket.

In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Saturday, May 08, 2010

Lead Me

I really like the song "Lead Me" by Sanctus Real that we're playing at church this weekend. Even though I'm not a husband or father yet, the song has a powerful message of relying on God to give strength and give guidance to a man as he leads and provides strength and protection to those he loves.

Monday, May 03, 2010

The Pursuit of His Best

What does "In pursuit of His best" mean? Glad you asked :-) The overarching goal of my life is to pursue God passionately in all I do and to seek His best. Ephesians 3:20 says that He is able to do immeasurably more than all I can ask or imagine according to His power that is at work in me. I am not always successful in pursuing His best, but I've found that when I pursue Him with all my heart, mind, and strength that I am most joyful and He is most glorified.

Thanks for reading and welcome to the pursuit.
In pursuit of His best,

Andrew

Farewell Wisdom of Dre

Over the past month or so, I've been thinking and praying about the title of my blog. Since it's inception a little over 4 years ago, I've used the title The Wisdom of Dre. It has served well to capture the essence of tone and style to this point. However, as with all things, seasons come and go and it is now time to close the season of The Wisdom of Dre.

For the past few years, I've used the tag line "In pursuit of His best." In praying and thinking it through, I believe that this more accurately describes the tone and direction of my life. I've also decided to take the plunge and use a for real domain name which will be www.PursuitofHisbest.com. You should still be able to access the blog by going to aallen820.blogspot.com but the official address may be easier to remember.

Farewell Wisdom of Dre, it's been a good ride.
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