Happy Birthday Mom!
Today is a special day. It’s my mom’s birthday!
I’m very blessed to have such a wonderful mother. She sets a great example of loving God. She seeks him daily and wants to have a heart for him. I really admire her.
I know it’s not only my life she has touched, but many of my friends. She has a gift of hospitality. She has welcomed small groups of people, as well as entire football teams. There is always an endless supply of food, pop, and love for all who enter.
I”m very lucky to have you mom! I love you!
Jogging for Jesus,
John Holgrimson
Getting old!
Well, it couldn’t be me that’s getting old! My baby just turned 1 yesterday! I can’t believe it has already been a year. At times the days and nights have blurred together, but I can’t believe how much time has gone by. I’m truely blessed to have such 3 beautiful girls!
Meghan, my oldest amazes me with how, inspite of my shortcomings as a father, she will out of nowhere make a comment like “Dad, can we stop and pray for Sophie? We need her to grow big and healthy!” And then she’ll come up with a prayer that will blow my socks off. She isn’t even 5 yet!
What neat kids!
Oh yeah, I guess I should mention jogging too, huh?
Today was the first day I’ve run outside in a LONG time. It was a nice day and so was lucky to have the opportunity. Sounds like it is going to be cold again for a while, so back to the elliptical I go for a while.
Hope God is blessing you and you are able to see him move in your life.
Jogging for Jesus,
John Holgrimson
November Update/God’s Work
Well November is coming to a close, and with it, the warmer Minnesota weather. It was nice to be spoiled a little and to be able to enjoy a few warm runs outside and one last official running event.
Thursday was Thanksgiving and several Jesus Jogger’s started out their day by taking part in the Turkey Trot 5k in downtown Minneapolis. It was very exciting to see some family members take place in this as I was able to spend this time with my beautiful wife, Beth, and was blessed to see my cousin, Amy Whitmore, complete her first 5k, and she ran the ENTIRE WAY!!! So proud to see her accomplish this and awesome to feel the joy that God provides.
It was also fun to connect with other runners. It’s always encouraging to hear others say nice things about the shirts we wear and their walk in the Lord. If anyone feels encouraged to wear a shirt like this to help spread the news of the site, and more importantly Salvation, please contact me at jesusjogger@gmail.com. Even if you don’t want a shirt, it’s always great to hear from other runners and their stories, so shoot me an email.
This even was also good for other reasons as it not only helped to justify the eating that would take part during the day, it also was a great way to be active and enjoy some of God’s creation, as well as the creation he inspired man to build. We really do have a beautiful downtown, with large buildings and a beautiful river running right through it. What a blessing to be able to take it in!
Obviously, Thanksgiving makes you pause and reflect on the blessings God has provided for you, and I could go on and on here, but I will focus on the blessing that this ministry has been. God has changed the hearts, both emotionally and physically, by encouraging people to be active for Him. It is so encouraging to see this change take place. God can really change people physically as well as their personality/emotions.
Okay, I said I’d only focus on this ministry, but thinking of the change God can make in people by being active, I can’t help but think of my dad. Admittedly, he didn’t do a whole lot to take care of himself. Since I’ve made changes in my life, I’ve tried to be an encouragement, without being a pain (as much as possible), to others in my life to make some changes physically. My dad usually met these words of encouragement with a smile and a playful eye roll. In September the joking came to a stop when my dad suffered a heart attack. It was a very scary time as we could have very easily lost him, but God saw it as an opportunity to change my dad’s life. My dad is a walking miracle. That day he suffered pretty much no damage to his heart and will have no major impact as a result, except for a few stents put in. Since that time, my dad has lost over 30 pounds!!!! He regularly walks and watches what he eats.
How could a transformation like this happen? Well, like any major change in our lives, we need to come to the point where we want it to happen. Others can’t just tell us it needs to happen, we need to make the decision to and we need God to make it happen. That’s what happened to my dad. On a drastic level, God gave him a wake up call, and like we all need to do when we hear God’s voice, my dad responded. I am very proud of him for the changes he’s made, and more importantly, how he is looking to God and being faithful to him.
It is my prayer that God will bless you during the upcoming Christmas season.
Jogging for Jesus,
John Holgrimson
Summer & Fall Running
This summer ended well for Jesus Joggers. Our running club finished the summer out by meeting through the majority of the time. We had a great time enjoy the nice weather and fellowship. The summer culminated with two of us completing the Gopher to Badger Half Marathon. It was a great day to run, and we both made it with our personal bests!
Next for Jesus Jogger members, we will have a runner in the Twin Cities 10 mile on October 7th. I will be running as a member of the Hope For the Mourning team. It is for a ministry that supports families who have lost a child. It was founded by Cory & Heather Wessman who went through such a loss. They are doing amazing things for God by how they bless these families. Make sure to check it out at http://www.hopeforthemourning.com/
Some members will also be participating in the Turkey Trot Minneapolis on Thanksgiving Day. We are hoping to justify the eating we are going to do that day 
God continues to be good to us all and bless us in so many ways! Remember to trust in Him in all that you do. If God is for you, who can be against you?
Running clubs
This last month has presented a fun opportunity: we are startin running clubs at our church, Hope Fellowship of Ramsey.
We have been able to meet a couple of times already. What a blast to be able to enjoy God’s creation and exercise, while fellowshiping with others.
It has been great that we have been able to pray together at the end of each session. The hearts of the people involved in the groups have really come through. We want this to be a group that will accomplish what God wants. We hope that it will lead others to want to know more about him either by seeing us all running together wearing Jesus Jogger gear, possibly joining us running, or maybe even by us talking about it at work.
I’m very excited to see where this will lead.
If you have seen us running and are interested in joining, we meet to run Sunday’s at 11 AM (or after church), and 5:15 AM and 5:00 PM Tuesday’s & Thursday’s. You can also email me at jesusjogger@gmail.com.
Also, if you are new, check out the “about” tab to find out more about Jesus Jogger.
Jogging for Jesus,
John Holgrimson
Update
Well, I haven’t been doing a great job updating this blog portion and will try to do better. When I first started this website, I wasn’t thinking of even having one, but apparently God had other ideas
Since November, we have blessed with getting settled into our home, celebrating holidays with our kids, and having a new child. Sophia Joy was born February 17th. She is a delight already. She is such a happy baby. I won’t sugar coat it and say she is never crying, but she is a great source of joy. We are truely blessed!
We have also been very blessed to have such great friends. Our church friends have done an amazing job serving us and bringing us meals since Sophie was born. We also have been able to see our friends, The Wessman’s, several times this winter, which is alway a delight. We have also been able to spen time with our other friends here in the cities, and spent plenty of good quality time with our extended families.
The Jesus Jogger running season recently got underway at the Running Opener in St. Paul. My brother, Tony, and sister-in-law, Keia, both participated also for the second year. They have made great commitments to being healthier, and I’m very proud of what they have accomplished. It is evident God is working in their lives, which is even more imortant. I look forward to more races in the season.
I have also been feeling lead to listen for God’s voice about the next steps for this Jesus Jogger ministry. I have been presented with a request to try to form some running clubs, so this has been an answer to prayer. I’m excited to see what else God will do.
God is so good to us, much more so then we deserve. We continue to recognize his hand in our lives and give Him the glory.
Jogging for Jesus,
John Holgrimson
Lovely Wife!
Tuesday was a wonderful day. I was able to pull off a surprise party (with a lot of help) for my wife’s, Beth, 30th birthday.
I am so blessed to have such a wonderful woman to be my spouse. She is unbelievably BEAUTIFUL!! I really hit the jackpot though, because she isn’t only gorgeous on the outside, but her inner beauty really shines through.
She treats others with such kindness. Everyone who meets Beth can’t help but feel like they are special because of God’s love that shows through her.
She is very friendly. She is able to talk with anyone. People leave knowing that she is someone that cares about them. People tell me all the time how sweet she is and people always feel comfortable around Beth.
She has an amazing sense of humor. She LOVES laughing when people fall down, say something funny, or do something rediculous. So yes, America’s Funniest Home Video’s was made for her! But she is an equal opportunity laugher. If she messes up, she is right there ready to laugh at herself…and have her face turn bright red.
She makes me a better man. She shows me how to be a loving parent. Beth is someone who can call me out on when I’m messing up on things (and this is often), but shows me such grace and love despite the mistakes.
Mostly, Beth loves God. She seeks Him daily, and is amazing at praying for her needs and the needs of others. She demonstrates to our kids what this type of relationship should look like. I pray that my daughters will learn from this example and become Godly women like their mom.
I love you Beth.
If you are wondering how you can have a relationship like this with God, check out the “about” tab on this page.
Jogging for Jesus,
John Holgrimson
“Contagious Cheerfulness”
Our family and the Whitmore family is saddened be the loss of Grandma Joyce McCoy this week. She was a wonderful lady who touched the lives of all that she came in contact with. My brother who only had contact with her a handful of times used the term “Contagious Cheerfulness” when describing her.
The first time I met her, she said good bye to me by calling me by my wife’s ex-boyfriend’s name. She did this on accident, but this accident become a running joke for years. From that point on, we had a fun relationship. We were able to joke around with each other and have a lot of fun.
She imparted on her family a joy for being together. I was introduced to games such as 500 & “Rodeo ball” as a result of her and her husband Terry’s love of games. She definately wanted to win, but was a lot of fun to play with win or lose. She also used her musical gifts for her family to enjoy their time together. There were many times at the cabin spent singing songs around the campfire, or around a piano singing worship songs or holiday songs at Christmas.
She will be greatly missed here on earth, but we rejoice in the fact that we know we will see her again because she accepted God into her life and lived for Him. Because of that relationship, she is in Heaven.
We will always love and have fond memories of our Grandma Joyce McCoy.
Jogging for Jesus,
John Holgrimson
And there is much rejoicing…
Well, well. This is probably on of the most exciting posts I’ve had.
We’ll start with earlier this evening. My oldest daughter, Meghan, and I were on our way back from community ed, little kid soccer. On the radio we hear the song “You Never Let Go” by Matt Redman. Meghan started singing it, repeating the words she heard. I asked her if she knew who that was talking about and she said no. I told her it meant that God will always be with us. She asked me “Why, daddy?” I told her that it is because He loves us so much. He created us and wants to have a relationship with us. He wants us to ask him into our lives someday. That way we can be in heaven with him forever and someday, when you are ready, you can ask him to do this. She told me “I want to do that!”…how nerve wracking! I’ve prayed with several others before to ask God into their lives, but this was my little girl. I can’t mess this one up. I explained to her that we are asking him to come live in our lives and forgive us of our sin, which I had to explain is when we do things that are naughty and we don’t live the way he wants us to. We just prayed “God, I love you. I want you to be the boss of my life. Please, forgive me of my sin. I want to live in heaven with you some day. Work in my life God. I love you. Amen.”
I then had the thought, well, she’s only 3 1/2, does she really know. Then my mom reminded me that I was 3 when I asked God into my life and that she had the same questions. She talked to her pastor about it and he said that yes it is legitimate; that now it was up to my parent to remind me of it and guide me into having that relationship with God.
What an amazing feeling to know I will live in eternity with my daughter!! Yes, she cried about the fact of being in Heaven some day and she will miss us. I explained to her several times that we will be there and it’s like God is having a party for us. Her response? “I’M GONNA HAVE CAKE!!!”
Beth and I are so blessed and now there are angels rejoicing because Meghan will be with God for eternity. And you can be too.
If you haven’t asked God into your life before, this is all it takes. Child like faith, and the willingness to turn your life over to God. Not a half hearted commitment, but a full out giving your life to him. And like Meghan, find believers to help encourage you on your journey. If you need someone, I would love to come alongside you.
Feel free to share posts of your salvation stories, or those of your loved ones.
You can reach me by posting here or at jesusjogger@gmail.com
Jogging for Jesus,
John Holgrimson
God is Faithful!
Been a while since my last post. Again, God has done much in my life.
My wife and I rented our townhouse, and without the ability to get a home loan, were blessed that our parents let us live in their house. We got to spend quality time with The Whitmore’s in Prior Lake and The Holgrimson’s in Maple Grove. A lot of people living under one roof each time. There was a lot of love though. Our girls were able to spend good time with both sets of their grandparents and I know Beth and I will look back on these experiences with good memories.
We also found out that Beth is PREGNANT!! We are expecting #3 in February. This came at a time with me still having a big question mark in the job situation and still no home to bring the little one home too.
Again though, GOD saved the day! A week before teacher workshop week, I got a full-time elementary DAPE job (Developmentally Adapted Physical Education). I get to spend my days working with special needs students and helping them be physically active. It is a challenging new experience, but one I am so grateful to have. It is in the same district as Beth too, so we will both have the same breaks and get an extra bonus with our medical insurance.
That means…we get to buy a house. We are SO blessed that God has provided a beautiful brand new house in Ramsey, MN. This is the same town we have lived in for almost 7 years. This house is what I believe is called a two-story house. It has 4 bedrooms on one level so we will have plenty of room for our kids. It also has an unfinished basement. We are very excited to see how God will work through us in this new area and pray the house can be used for his glory.
Life isn’t always just a joy ride for us, but God always has saved the day for us. Even though life doesn’t go exactly how we plan, we need to remember he will provide, even if it isn’t the way WE think he should. I promise you, this isn’t the way Beth or I had hoped things would work out, but God’s perfect plan is even better then we had hoped.
Where ever you are at, whether it’s at a high point of life or down in a low point and feel that there is no way out, turn your hearts to God. Praise him in the good times of life, and pray that he can get you through the low points with something good out of it.
Remember to check out our the “About” tab on this page.
If you are interested in hearing any more about how God is working in my life, want to share how He is working in yours, or interested in joining me in a run sometime, please email me at jesusjogger@gmail.com
Jogging for Jesus,
John Holgrimson