I walked exactly five miles today in one hour and 20 minutes, 16-minute miles. My goal is to walk my half-marathon on November 29th, which starts at our house in 3 hours and thirty minutes, which is also 16-minute miles. 13.1 miles is more than double what I walked today, but I think I can keep up that pace for eight more miles. I am going to try to walk 8 miles next week. My left hip, which I had replaced with an artificial hip six months ago, did well. My right hip, which I plan to replace in a couple of months, also did well. I may decide to push my right hip surgery out a couple of years. My goal is not to qualify for the Olympics but to be able to preach and teach with energy for ten more years. Preaching and teaching the Bible have been the focus of my life for the last 50 years. It takes a lot of emotional energy to preach and teach God’s Word with the desire to see people transformed in their spiritual walk with God. Over the years, I have discovered that my emotional energy is greatly influenced by my physical energy. If I become a physical wimp, my preaching becomes dull. The content may be right on, but people don’t learn and grow because they mentally checked out while I was teaching. God’s anointing through the Holy Spirit is critically important as I prepare and speak, but it works with me and is not intended to be a crutch for poor preparation. It isn’t easy buffeting this old, lazy body, but God never intended life to be easy.