How far is Heaven?

Last night I did 42 minutes of elliptical. I was going to stop at 40, but the Motley Crue song "Home Sweet Home" came on, and I found my body was incapable of stopping. It had been forever since I had heard that song.

Today was my rest day before my long run tomorrow. But I went to the club anyway and did a little bit of weight lifting, swam a few laps and soaked in the hot tub. I've been lifting weights (legs only) once a week for the last 9 months or so. Someone said it's a good habbit if you have bad knees. It seems like the only day that will work for me to lift is my rest day. I'm not sure if it's bad to lift on my rest day or not.

Tomorrow is the long run. I supposed to do 14.5 miles. Frankly I'm scared. I've never gone that far before. I've done mileage in the 13ish range like 4 times, but everytime I've been totally spent by the end. Also, I'm abandoning the "frequent walk break" plan. I'm actually a bit stressed about it. If I can do it It'll feel great. If I can't it will be a big set-back. As Shaggy would say, "It's hope that keeps me moving on...".

Today was a weird day. I took a funeral day to go to my uncle Kenny's funeral. I liked Kenny...I went hunting with him (and others) every November. Hunting this year wont be the same without him.

I find funeral talk interesting. Everyone finds a way to put a positive spin on the persons' idiosyncrasies. Deep down I think everyone realizes that this person was (and all of us are) far from perfect as a, Christian, father, employee, or whatever. I guess in this case a little denial is harmless...one last day to try to remember the person in a positive light.

But not all funeral denial is harmless. During the funeral it was raining. Several people suggested that good ol' uncle Kenny was causing it to rain because he was a farmer and liked rain. Do they really think dead people control the weather? Or were they just being cute?

Someone said he was in heaven so he could take care of his grandchild that had tragically died a few years before. Do they really think dead children need babysitter?

They also wondered if he was swimming in heaven, because he wouldn't have to worry about drowning. I'm not sure swimming will be a common activity in heaven.

Ironically, in front of the church I saw a car parked with a bumper sticker that said, "If there aren't horses in heaven then I don't want to go". Give me a break. I have a feeling God would say, "Don't worry, you won't" to that bumper sticker. This person is saying that their relationships with horses are more important than their relationship with God. I don't think that's OK to say even as a joke.

We will be in heaven to do one thing - glorify God. Not ride horses, go swimming, play golf or any other things we enjoy doing on earth. We won't be busy controlling the weather or taking care of other dead people...that's God's job. I think people make up activities to do in heaven because glorifying God for eternity doesn't sound fun to them. I guess it shows how messed up our priorities are.

The other weird thing that happened today is that "The Wife" won a sweepstakes. More about that in another post.