Steve's World

For those that do not know, I love to read. It always starts with reading the Bible through every year, but I also try to get another book in each month. What have I been reading this summer? Here are a few of the books I have read so far.

Fierce Conversations - A great read on talking about the difficult

Unlikely Disciple - I loved this book

Switch - A must for every leader

What The Dog Saw - Anything Malcolm Gladwell writes I read

Yesterday I ran 3.2 miles on the treadmill in 27 minutes! Not a very fast run, yet not bad for a guy my age. What makes this run memorable is that it came only 16 days after my knee surgery! The story behind this run and the lessons learned along the way is the real story.

Before my arthroscopic surgery to clean out some old scar tissue and smooth out a small meniscus tear, I made a decision to get back to full strength as fast as possible. I asked my surgeon what I could and could not do, and set my mind to the task ahead. His response to me was “let pain be your guide”. He promised I would not harm his work, but cautioned that my knee would loudly remind me if I went too fast.

The first few days, stretching and ice were my dual companions. Push my knee to move like it used to move, and then strap on the ice to soothe its objections. Every stretching session I pushed a little further past the last, enduring the pain, but managing it also.

Life is the same. If you are going to go after a worthy pursuit, it will probably cost you a little pain along the way. Unfortunately, it seems we live in a world where pain is something we try to avoid not manage. We want our dreams, we just don’t want to suffer any on the way to achieving them. People want employers to call them out the blue and offer them their perfect job without ever having to take the menial position. We take weight loss drugs because eating right and exercise is just too hard. We divorce because actually talking through our problems and maybe getting some outside help is just too big a hassle. Sure, I wanted to walk out of the operating room and head straight to the gym, but I knew that was not going to happen. When faced with challenges of life, the decision is always the same. Am I willing to do what is necessary, including the pain along the way, to get to the desired destination.

Back to our story…

Day 4 post-op I decide to make a bold move. The knee is feeling pretty good. I have good flexibility and pain is minimal so off to the gym I go. I get on the elliptical and do 4 light miles. Not bad! Day 6 I go for four more miles on the elliptical, but this time it is 4 hard and fast miles. Pretty good! I go see the doc on day seven and he removes the stitches, gives me the thumbs up to push ahead, so off I go. And then on Day 9 I get on the treadmill! I start slow, moving the speed up every tenth of a mile. By the time I get to the half mile mark, I am running at the 11minute mile pace. I kick it up to the 10 minute mile pace and I am feeling remarkably well. But all of a sudden I feel something weird. I look down at my knee and there is a light brown ooze streaming from my knee. NO! Honestly, I was more worried about who was seeing my knee erupt like a small volcano than I was whether I had done any damage. I quickly stop the treadmill, wipe off the river of knee juice, and go to the nearest bench to look at the damage. Once again, my knee had acted a lot like life itself.

When was the last time you were in pursuit of something, when life handed you the unexpected setback. You get on the scales and discover that a week’s worth of sweat and fat-free food has netted you a 1 pound gain in weight. A job interview that is going extremely well is met by the “you are the perfect candidate, but we are not going to fill this position right now.” What you do in these challenging times is what separates those who get to the finish line and those who don’t. As I sat on the bench at the gym, I knew what I must do next. I had to gather myself, evaluate the challenge, and push ahead!

As I sat on the bench at the gym I realized two things. One was that the knee still felt good. The pain was minimal and I had good range of motion. Secondly, my Doc had told me that I might have a little oozing from the incision. The fact that it was a lot and not a little, probably was an indication that I needed to slow down a bit, so much to my unhappiness, I headed back to the elliptical. In fact I headed back to the elliptical at that very moment for four fast paced miles!

This is a great tip for all of us in pursuit of a goal. When you get knocked down, or back, or sideways for that matter, get back up and going ASAP! You can feel sorry for yourself, blame others for the setback, or persevere! The Bible tells us that trials produce perseverance, and perseverance produces all kind of spiritual and personal growth. The challenge is actually good for us. the key is to look at the setback as a teachable moment. Ask God for the strength to keep pushing forward, and for right attitude to keep us in learning mode.  Too often people who get knocked down, stay down, when God is actually trying teach us some life altering truths to better equip us for the next hurdle we will face along the journey of life.

Let’s wrap this little story up. I took a gym break until day 13 to let the incision fully heal. I kept up my stretching, the ice treatments, and a Tylenol once a day, but no more treadmill runs. On day 13 it was back to the gym for four hard miles on the elliptical. Then I jumped on the treadmill. Now, if I am honest I have to tell you that I was a little nervous. I really wanted a pain-free, ooze-free, 1 mile run, but all I could think of was the mishap I had just 4 days earlier. I start the treadmill slowly, once again speeding it up every tenth of a mile. A quarter mile in to the run I am feeling good. At the half mile point there is still no problems. At the three quarter mile point I am at the 10 minute mile pace with nothing flowing down my leg. And then before I knew it, the run was over. A small victory for my recovery! There was a bounce in my step, along with a light limp, because I had beaten back defeat and disappointment, and now I was ready for the big test.

DAY 16! My wife along this journey has been the voice of caution. She is a treasure! She is the check in my unbridled drive, the words of wisdom in my moments of foolishness, which is why I waited for her to go out of town before I attempted the final test When I got on the treadmill, I decided now was the time to attempt to run a 5K at close to my regular pace. I started the treadmill and cranked it up to the 10 minute mile pace. A mile later, I pushed to the 9 minute mile pace, and then at the 2 mile marker I went to the 8 minute mile pace. Now I am running! And everything appears good. There is a little pain and a little uncertainty in the knee, but I am doing it. Twenty seven minutes later I have completed the 5K. Sixteen days of discipline, hard-work, and a setback or two, have resulted in victory! And yet, without the pain and perseverance, there would have been no success.

It is that way with nearly everything in life. Success takes time, effort, and patience. A setback must be a learning moment, not a stop. Find the joy in the journey while keeping your eye on the finish line. Understand that as a believer, God is with you every step, in every falter. He is at work in you and for you for His pleasure. What goal do you need to get back to pursuing? Have you been knocked down lately and failed to get up? Are you in blame or defeat mode? Let’s GO! There is work to do, hurdles to cross, and for me, miles to run! I’ll see you at the finish line.

steve

Fifty-one years ago, Stephen Lewis Turner was born to Pat and Henry Turner in Tuscaloosa Alabama.  Today I celebrate that day but more importantly, I celebrate the people who have made this day so special. Time will not permit me to name every name or tell every story, but I am unbelievably grateful for the journey God has provided for me, and even more grateful for all of you who have been a part of my travels. I am nothing more than a fellow traveler and you are my story!

Is all starts with my unbelievable parents. They have always been a great mix of discipline and grace, hope and expectation, humor and seriousness. I am blessed with parents who paved the way and taught me to walk the path I now walk.

To the teacher who told my parents I was a distraction in class and needed extra workbooks and reading so I would not get in trouble, THANKS! I am still a reading monster and I guess you helped get it started. To other teachers who saw my energy and ADD before ADD was a diagnosis, and harnessed it, I am crazy grateful.  And to those who wanted to always keep me coloring in the box, I know you meant well but sometimes the lines just get in the way! I don’t remember all of your names, but to all the educators in my life, THANKS!

Central Baptist Church changed my life and I am a minister today in a large way because of God’s call and your preparation. Norman Chase taught me how to read music, sing harmonies, and even direct a choir. The youth group kept me on the right path. With few exceptions (church training), Central was a place of growth, fun, and community. Thanks to all of you, wherever you are, and I hope you are still investing in others like you invested in me.

I am grateful for all the churches along the journey who took a chance on me as their minister. First Baptist, Woodbury, TN, I am not sure what you were thinking asking me as a seventeen year old to be your minister of music, but I am sure glad you did it. I signed on to that job for college cash, but God used it as a major stepping stone to finding my passion and my call. Salem Baptist Church in Liberty, TN was my first run at youth ministry. WOW, was I a work in progress. Powell’s Chapel Baptist continued to allow me to grow and really helped me see that loving people and being goal oriented did not have to be mutually exclusive ideas. My family at Belle Aire saw me through good times and bad,  walked alongside me every step of the way,  introduced me to full-time ministry, and still hold a precious place in my heart. I throw a special thanks to the Belle Aire softball team who was my close family for nearly twenty years as we used a silly game to learn about our relationship with Christ and one another. Buck and Martha Arms have quite a legacy in the men they raised on the diamond! Lastly, for Shandon Baptist, who has given me the chance to soar. You have embraced the quirks, allowed the off the wall ideas, overlooked my flaws, and cheered me on in every transition as I have matured (gotten old) in my ministry pursuits!”

I love college students! To every one of you who have taught me, tried my patience, challenged my assumptions, proved me wrong and proved me right, laughed at me, cried with me, ran far beyond where I will ever go, and followed God with an “I die daily” attitude, you are far more than I will ever be and that is good! I marvel at you, on the mission field, planting churches, raising families, doing crazy things for God in the workplace. I can only hope that you were blessed half as much as I was when our lives intersected. You were both my disciples and my disciplers and I pray that you continue changing the world.

To my precious family, I am more grateful than you will ever know. I love my bride Dawn more today that when we were married 30 years ago. Honey, you are one patient woman! The things you have put up with over the years. I could insert so many stories here . I am sure that marrying at age 20 was not a prudent, well thought out decision, but it has been a wonderfully crazy journey together. Thank you my love! I would not want to even think about doing life without you.

Tommy and Donny, I am sure coming to live with us when you were thirteen and we were twenty-two seemed as nuts to you and it did to us, but thanks for allowing us to be your parents for those years. We had no clue as to what we were doing but we all just trusted God together to make it work.

Kristin, you are your dad in so many ways, and that both humbles me and scares me . You have come a long way from that day at Vanderbilt Hospital, when we all wondered if our little 2 pound baby girl would make it. You made it all right!  You are a beautiful, intelligent, driven young woman, seeking to make a difference in the lives of those you teach. I am so proud of you! Thanks for giving your dad the grace he did not always give you. Thanks for being my baby girl!

Ryne, so often when I looked at you growing up, I saw myself in the mirror. Some days that made me proud and some days it made me realize how far I was from being a good example to you. You are a great young man and I am equally proud of you. You are smart, hard working, and a leader for our Lord. Thanks for challenging me to be better while loving me where I was.

Jenny, thanks for being my son’s wife! Like me, he did better than he deserved. It is so wonderful having you as a part of the family and you are an inspiration at hard work and  a loving heart. I love watching you and Ryne grow together and in the Lord.

Finally and most importantly I am grateful to my Lord who took a rag-tag, piece of work like me, and used him for His glory and His Kingdom. I stand today as a testimony to God’s goodness and grace and to the fact that God can do far more than any of us can imagine. Who I am today, is due to the character of my Savior, and has nothing to do with my ability or capability. I am trash turned into treasure, filth made clean, disobedient reprobate turned into a child of the King, a kid without purpose made into a man with a mission. To God be the glory, great things He has done!

As for the years I have left, be they one, ten, or fifty, may I decrease and He increase. May I disappear and He be lifted up, and may one day I stand before Him face to face to see His glory unveiled and His work complete.

THANKS for being my journey!

steve

Well, it has certainly been a while but I am back at the keyboard. After this long hiatus, I should have a lot to say so welcome back to the madness. Over the next few weeks, I hope to establish a pattern for my writing so that you can know what is coming on certain days of the week. Here is what I know so far.

Music Monday – Worship Music recap from Sunday and other thoughts on the modern worship scene and other things I am listening to from my Itunes collection.

Trivial Tuesday – What is going on in culture and what I think about it including television, movies, the world at large!

Wedded Wednesday – I will talk about Marriage, parenting, etc

Theological Thursday – What I am learning about the Bible, matters of the church, other spiritual reading, etc.

Freaky Friday – Who knows where we will go!

Saturday and Sunday will be off days, unless I really get worked up about something.

Let’s start things off with a recap of yesterday’s worship at Shandon. Here is what the band played!

Lincoln Brewster - Salvation Is Here

Passion - Where The Spirit Of The Lord Is

Chris Tomlin - Holy Is The Lord

Hillsong - Hosanna

Hillsong - Inside Out

Vineyard - All Who Are Thirsty

And what new tunes am I listening To this week…..

Hillsong - A Beautiful Exchange

It is 2010 and I am back over here at iamsteveturner.com!

I took a little break while I wrote at semester-one.com but now I am back over here, hopefully with a lot more experience in writing and some plans for a great new year.

I will see you tomorrow!

Steve