I have been soooo busy lately that I haven't had time to really think about and create blogs. I know, I know, you've heard that one before... one of your "regular stops" becomes irregular, and you decide not to bother going to check out their site anymore because frankly, they suck at updating. Well, I hope you'll give my 100 days blog a chance, because I'm being changed by it from the inside out.

On August 7th (my birthday), our family began a 100 day challenge for geocaching. We decided that starting that day, we would make it a priority to find a geocache a day for the next 100 days. I thought it sounded like a lot of fun and everyone agreed we'd make it happen.

Well, I have to tell you, what seemed like a fun challenge has really turned into something else on some days. You know, those days when your feet hit the ground and they don't stop running until you're back in bed? We've had a few of those days over the past 60+ days (yeah, that's what we're up to!) and on those nights, we get home at 10:00 at night and search our GPS and the site for the nearest "Park and Grab". A park and grab is a cache that is SOOO simple you park your car and go grab it, sign the log, and you're done.

There are only so many "P&G"s in Pickerington. And there are only so many in Reynoldsburg. And there are only so many in Canal Winchester. And... do you see where this is going?

There was also the week my heel spur acted up and every step was a chore. I tried to do P&Gs as much as possible, and my wife really stepped up her efforts to make sure the find was made. I mean, we've come this far, we can't go back now!!! We'd have to start ALL OVER if we gave up now!!!

This whole challenge has stretched us on some days, but it's also thrilled us on other days. "We have quite a bit of time... let's drive farther away and get some of the harder ones today and save the easy ones for when we need them!!!" This has led us to cache in Cincinnati, Greenville, Cleveland, Athens, all over Ohio! And we've found some pretty fun places, too!

"Brian, this sounds like a blog about geocaching!!! I thought you said this changed you from the inside out!!!" Yes, yes... I hear you. Well, here's the change part. This past Sunday I was on my way to church and realized, "I have made EVERY effort to grab a cache every day for 60 days, even when it hurt, even when it was hard, even when I didn't even WANT to. Why isn't my devotional life and time with God like that?"

BOOM. There it was.

So today I decided to challenge myself to 100 days of reading my Bible and praying. Today happened to be chapel for Cypress Christian School's Junior High, so I told them about my challenge to myself. I even printed out sheets with a 10x10 grid for us all to fill in - one date at a time - every time we completed the daily challenge. A suggestion was made to write the verse(s) in that you read that day, which I thought was awesome. I also included a couple of lines under "Read your Bible" and "Pray", in case people wanted to write in their OWN devotional challenge.

I compared the whole challenge to the geocache challenge. There are days when you can "dig deeper" into the word and pray a little more because you have the time to make it happen. There are also days you are ready for bed as soon as you come home. Those are the days you get your, "Park and Grab" for the day... just read one verse and thank God for a big day if that's all you have time for!!! The goal is to have a consistent devotional life.

I've tried the whole, "Just get up a half hour early" and, "Read before you go to bed" consistency tricks. They've never worked for me. HOWEVER, just like the geocache challenge, this doesn't require any more consistency than, "make sure you do SOMETHING today, or you'll have to start over again!" For me, this is enough motivation, but on top of that, I'm putting my chart up in front of my class to hold me accountable! I'm seriously pumped about this.

I didn't have ANY idea how much this was going to change our school. Mr. Dotson, the principal, stood up and spoke when I finished explaining the challenge and what I was going to do. He said, "if I can go 144 days without food or water in the hospital with just an IV drip and no eating or drinking, surely we can ALL do 100 days in a row of eating the Manna of God!" He said that if we have 100% participation, and we all make 100 days, we are going to party like Cypress has never seen before!

Holy cow. That opened the floodgates. There are now posters going up in the hallways counting down the days of the challenge. Kids are hanging their sheets in their lockers, on their mirrors at home, anywhere they can remember it. They're talking about texting what they read that day to their friends to help remind them to get THEIR reading in. They're updating their facebook pages to help each other. I'm simply blown away by what God has started in these kids' hearts, and in MINE. I told my wife about it and she asked for a challenge sheet, too.

According to my calculations, since we began today, October 7th, the challenge will be over on January 14th, 2010. At the 50 day mark (Thanksgiving, basically) there will be a poll to see who's been faithful and who hasn't.

I'm super excited about a few things... A) I'm excited to get consistent in God's word. B) I'm excited that this might change the devotional lives of the students and teachers at my school. C) I'm excited to see what God's going to do through this challenge.

If this gets you as pumped as it did me, you're welcome to join us! Make your own chart or ask me for a copy of the one I made up. It's REALLY simple. Just include a 10x10 table and make sure you fill it out, and don't miss a day! Like I said earlier, I'm starting today, Oct. 7th, which takes me through January 14th, 2010. Extrapolate what 100 days will look like for you. Feel free to post your thoughts about this, and your successes through this process!

I'll start. Right before I sat down to write this, I stopped everything and read James chapter 1 and prayed that God would help me be slow to anger and help give me the wisdom I need for the next few days. I prayed for my school, my students, the teachers, Mr. Dotson, and the church staff. Day 1 down, 99 to go. I love my geocache adventure, but this one thrills me even more! I can't wait to see what God does through this!!!