Thursday, December 27, 2012

Silent Space

From the Book Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals 

Sometimes it is hard to find silent spaces to 'Be Still' and to 'Listen.'

We may feel like our lives are cluttered in a sea of busyness. 

When I take time to 'Be Still,' which ironically involves running a long distance without my headphones plugged-in, I am reminded of Who I am, What I'm doing and Where I'm going.


What does 'Being Still' look like for you?

Have you taken any time recently to be reminded of Who you are, What you're doing with your life and Where you're going?  


May we seek out some 'silent space' as we seek the Creator's calling and leading in our life...

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Finished!!!


FINISHED!!! 1339 miles & 317 speaking spots later. 

The FINAL Awake My Sole UPDATE of the year HERE: http://ymlp.com/zpBnmx

So incredibly thankful to God and each person who helped make this journey possible.

P.S. We won't be blogging or posting for a couple weeks, but do not worry we will start back up after the first of the year.

www.AwakeMySole.com

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

AMS News Articles

Sioux City Journal (Sioux City, Iowa)
News, Weather and Sports for Sioux City, IA: KCAU-TV.com

KCAU TV (Sioux City, Iowa)

Northwestern College (Orange City, Iowa)
12/11/2012 - The Classic
12/5/2012 - Click "Watch" and then search "Awake My Sole" (VIDEO)

Northwest Iowa Review (Orange City, Iowa)

Spencer Daily Reporter (Spencer, Iowa)
2/11/2012 - Purpose in Every Step
6/28/2012 - Barefoot Bucket List
11/16/2012 - Big Hairy Audacious Goals

Clinton Herald (Clinton, Iowa)

Telegraph Herald (Dubuque, Iowa)
6/5/2012 - True Believer Running Down a Dream
6/5/2012 - VIDEO Interview with Mary

KCRG Eastern Iowa News
1/8/2012 - Man running across the state of Iowa

The Beacon (Orange City, Iowa)
2/10/2012 - The Company of a Long Distance Runner

The Daily Freeman Journal (Webster City, Iowa)
3/13/2012 - One Step At a Time

The Messenger (Fort Dodge, Iowa)
3/10/2012 - Ellis Runs Across Iowa

LeMars Daily Sentinel (LeMars, Iowa)
1/26/2012 - Purpose in Each Step - Man Treks across Plymouth county on cross-state run

Other Posts
2/13/2012 - The Kandt Khronicles: Awake My Sole
3/1/2012 - Iowa Living Magazines
5/30/2012 - BCKRVUE - Awake My Sole
6/6/2012 - Sioux City Runner Reaches the Mighty Miss - meets Michael Emerson
9/1/2012 - Living Fearless Here and Now
10/4/2012 - the212 - Ames E Free Church
The Bridge of Storm Lake
12/1/2012 - Spencer Iowa Schools - Lincoln Elementary 
12/6/2012 - Northwestern College Chapel (VIDEO) - Search "Awake My Sole"

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

1339 Miles & 317 Speaking Spots Later


Yesterday afternoon, I arrived back to Sioux City: both the starting and ending point of this yearlong journey.

343 days ago.  Start of the AMS journey in Sioux City City.  
343 days have passed.  The equivalent of 8,232 hours, 493,920 minutes or 29,635,200 seconds.
What
Speaking to youth in Ames Iowa.  1 of 311 speaking spots during the year.
Many miles covered by foot and many words spoken by mouth.

Running to Orange City in January 2011 in a blizzard. 1 of 40 long running days during the year.
I am overwhelmed as I attempt reflection on the past year of my life.

Where do I begin?  

How does one share with others the journey they have been on?  

It's as if I'm experiencing culture shock.

Over the next few months I hope to spend time reflecting and sharing my thoughts from the road:

  • What I learned
  • How I changed, and how I remained the same
  • Who I met
  • Why I did what I did
  • Where I went and what I discovered

Some of the people on the journey




























Monday, December 17, 2012

Kingsley Wrap Up

Ran 32 miles to Kingsley on Tuesday (12/11).  Was a cold & windy day.

In Kingsley, got to speak 9 times.  

Here are some pics from the run-to & time spent in Kingsley.   
A cold start to our morning as we left Orange City.  


Paul and Ben filming the promo video for Morningside Lutheran
Mark resting.  He ran 13 miles alongside of Jim.
Beautiful Iowa
KCAU interview by Diana.  
speaking at The Dwelling on Wednesday evening
From last January
Hadn't eaten Ramen for a long time
Food of an ultra runner.  
Got to speak at the Kingsley nursing home on Friday morning.  The last time I was here.  
Speaking at the Pierson Middle School
Got to speak again at The Dwelling on Friday evening

On Saturday, went to Vernon's funeral.  He was an awesome man.  

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Ten Days


Ten days, the running portion of the Awake My Sole journey will be coming to an end.  A routine of running, speaking, resting, meeting new people and discovering Iowa towns will come to an end.

Yes, a bittersweet feeling:  a feeling of achievement and accomplishment in finishing this yearlong journey across the state of Iowa, while at the same time a sadness and mourning in thinking the end of this journey is near.

A reminder while running to each Iowa town
Honestly, I always dreamt the journey would come to an end, but never actually thought I would be here.  At the beginning, a year seemed like such a long period of time, but with less than two weeks till the finish, it seems like such a short period of time.

So much has happened and yet so much has remained the same.


Time moves forward, and I am looking forward to what's next, especially with the Awake My Sole journey.  Already in the process of thinking and praying for what's to come.  Maybe someone else will take on the AMS journey across the state, or perhaps a relay, or writing a book of the journey, or perhaps a speaking tour across the state with other motivational speakers.

Who knows?

I do know that finishing this journey well is equally as important as when I started, as well as the planning stage, and for whatever comes next.


Many people have asked, "Do you still enjoy running and speaking?"

My answer, "Yes, I do."

Some days on the journey were really tough, and some weeks of speaking were overwhelming, but at the same time there were some days that were excellent and I felt the "runner's high" as I ran to the next town, or connecting well with the group of people I got to speak to.

Overall, this journey has been a story of risk.  In the risky and unknown having to truly rely on the Creator and others for my needs to be met, while at the same time planning and preparing in a way that brings a joy and meaningfulness.


My story is not your story, my journey is not your journey, but we are both writing a story with our life.

Ten days, the Awake My Sole journey comes to an end, however it's not THE END, but truly the beginning.  The beginning of what?  Not sure, but preparing and planning for whatever does come, while at the same time enjoying the moment.


Ten days.  Yesterday it was Eleven, tomorrow it will be Nine, together, whatever journey we may be on, let's live in a way in which each day of the journey we live well.  Some days wont be the best, and some days will be super rad; allow us to embrace them, because the bigger picture is a healthy balance of both.

Ten days....