Simply Forgiven and Redeemed

I haven't written much in my GRACERUNNER JOURNAL over the past few days because I've had so much going on that I've not had the time to sit down and write from the heart. Days seem to fly by and I want to get so much done, but I just run out of time! I'm certain that all of you have been in those shoes before!

The events of the past week have been amazing. TEAM 413 had two great events last weekend in Little Rock, Arkansas and at Seaside, Florida. People from all over the world got to hear about and see the ministry of TEAM 413. I appreciate so much the generosity of our volunteers this past weekend and can never do justice to their efforts with the exception of saying THANK YOU!

Our volunteers make TEAM 413 continue to grow at an unbelievable pace and we've only just begun in 2010. We've got so much more work to do and we'll need lots of help. We're most likely coming to a city near you soon. We'll be in Dallas this weekend. Then we'll follow up over the next few weeks with Knoxville, St. Louis, Boston, Nashville, Cincinnati, and Champaign. Please let us know if you want to volunteer in one of those cities. We typically can use help if you plan on being at any of those races.

I've heard countless stories of God's grace during the past few days and I'll eventually share many of those via GRACERUNNER JOURNAL. However, one part of an email that I received from a young lady really got my attention last night. She bought a shirt from us at the Disney World Marathon back in January and ran the Princess Half Marathon this past weekend down at Walt Disney World. Here's the excerpt from her email that grabbed me by the heart:

"I cannot tell you the amount of women who passed me and touched my shoulder and said they loved the shirt. One woman said her sister had just emailed her the verse the night before. It doesn't seem like much but I'm usually just a face in the crowd and to know that your shirt may have touched or inspired a complete stranger filled my heart to overflowing. All I could say to them was "Thank you" but praised God every moment for, one, breathing this Scripture into life, second, for laying it upon your hearts to create Team413 and, third, for drawing me into your booth to purchase your shirt. God Bless You!"

God breathed the Scripture into life! Wow, that's a great way to explain God's Word! The gift of God's grace to create TEAM 413 humbles me beyond measure each day. I feel so inadequate but I know that it's what God wants me to do. Please pray of us as we continue to lead the TEAM 413 ministry in to a time of growth that we cannot comprehend! People are drawn to the message of our ministry because it allows them to share their faith. That's what our ministry is all about. We share a simple message for simple people to share with other simple people on common ground! God is not just good --- HE is Great and worthy of our praise!

Simply forgiven and redeemed!

Under HIS Grace...

Chris