We just ran a 5K...

To sum up the last few weeks... I have been very proud of us. There have been days that haven't gone so well and there are days that just didn't really happen at all. We are on miles now instead of time intervals. This is an accomplishment! As Lauren said last night... "We just ran a 5K... and that's the shortest distance we will be running from here on out. AHH!" Cold and rainy has not helped lately. Seeing as we are training through the nastiest part of the winter though I am not counting on that getting much better. We can do it though!

In other points of life... the last few weeks feel as if they have flown by. I have tried to pick up playing raquetball as well on days when I'm not running. That is about the only thing besides the Christmas concert at church that seems to stick out as slightly new and eventful. I'm still loving my job! After the new year traveling will kick up a bit more.

I have tried to focus lately on spending time with the people that are important to me. It is easy for life to get busy and get into a routine of work, (run), then home. I have said many times that God has created us for relationships. I am trying to set my focus on that rather than just making it through the day and get my work done. I love it when people stop in my office just to say hello and talk about what is going on in their lives. That may mean I stay at work later to get done whatever I had been working on previously. But the community of relationships is much more important to me. I am thankful for the wonderful people God has placed in my life. Whether its running mile upon mile, sitting in my office, or walking around a grocery store I am grateful for each moment I have to spend with people I love.

I can easily be distracted by the plans I had set in my life. I must trust that God is working all things for good and that His plan is much better than I could ever imagine. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1. I have a post it next to my computer to remind me of this every day. I am thankful for a God that offers love to me even though I am completely undeserving. So remember... God loves you, and so do I.

God, please grant me PATIENCE to seek Your will, WISDOM to understand it, and STRENGTH to follow through.

Oops

Last week started out great! Lauren and I got our runs in. When we were about to head out for our 2nd day I said "I don't think I can do this. So I'll probably just walk some." But.... we did it! Running together is definitely helpful. The oops comes in because our schedules got kind of busy and we both have now missed a day of running. I skipped over the weekend so when my it came time for Monday is a bit more difficult. But I made it. Yesterday however was a different story. First of all we are doubting how smart of an idea it was to start our training just as it is getting cold. It was cold and raining yesterday- miserable pretty much sums it up. I was really proud of Lauren though! She ran the whole time and I had to walk some. I think in the cold I need to stretch before even more than usual. We are determined to keep going though. I know there will be days or even weeks that are harder than others. The outcome will be worth it.

I have to stop wanting these all the time though...


Our boss calls us cupcake crazy. Guess that's the truth.

Aside from running life is chugging along. I can't believe it is almost Thanksgiving. I have plenty of sweets in mind that I want to make. I hope that makes for good running fuel!

Cupcakes = more fun than running

Rounded up last week pretty well. My last run I finally had my iPod with me. It's crazy how much better I did when I had music. So here's the run down....

On Monday we were supposed to run but it was Halloween so instead of running we made Halloween costumes so we could hand out candy to the little trick or treaters. We were quite excited, and then disappointed because not very many kids showed up. My favorite kid though was the one who when we asked what he was he said "I'm trick or treating!" Yes buddy, you sure are. Lauren was making dinner so I of course had to make dessert. Quick and simple brownie/ cupcakes with Reese's inside and peanut butter icing. Way too good. Got the recipe from Mallory after Trunk or Treat on Sunday because we made them at home super quick and they were amazing, which side note... I have the cutest nieces in the world, they were cowgirls! So this is what came out of our last minute stop to Hobby Lobby. I must say I'm quite impressed.

Because we opted for a night of fun and cupcakes instead of running that left us to running 3 days in a row this week because of Homecoming this weekend. Tuesday we went above and beyond. We headed off on our run and Lauren's iPod told us today we would be doing 3 sets of run 5/ walk 3. We were a little surprised because it seemed like quite the jump from last week. After the 2nd set we realized we were on the next week's schedule. Still proud of ourselves we decided it was probably best to correct ourselves and finish out the correct week. But... we still did it and didn't kill ourselves! We can do this! Wednesday Lauren had some Homecoming duties so I ended up running by myself. Still proud that I didn't have to stop during the runs. It's giving us motivation. :) I decided that running on Sunday would probably be better than running 3 days in a row. So I still have one day to finish for this week.

Cupcakes and Halloween candy aside this has ended up being a pretty good week. I am not crawling up the stairs and actually looking forward to running. Making our Halloween costumes also got our wheels spinning on making our costumes for the half-marathon. I'm debating between Belle and Cinderella, Lauren is leaning towards Repunzel. This is going to be fun!


God, please grant me the PATIENCE to seek Your will, the WISDOM to understand it, and the STRENGTH to follow through.


I think I can... I think I can...

2/3 of the way through our first week. Don't worry... we still have 19 weeks to go! Oh good grief! Following our run today Lauren and I decided that hopefully once we get through this first 2 weeks or so of getting used to running again things will get better. Here's to hoping! I'm trying to stay positive because I know there will be worse ones! I'm just waiting for one of us to bust out the "water belt" so we can carry water around with us!

On another note... I enjoy reading. Especially over the last few months. It has been nice to have something to read when traveling. I especially love Nicholas Sparks books. I am a hopeless romantic and often have to burst my own bubble and realize real life is not a Nicholas Sparks book. No one is writing me "every day for a year" or taking me to stand on the state line and give me a temporary butterfly tattoo. So since I already finished the latest Nicholas Sparks book in just a few days (yes I have read them all) I started reading The Five Love Languages: Singles Edition.
 
Now before you judge me for reading a 'singles' book keep in mind this book takes a look at how the love languages impact all relationships in our lives not just romantic relationships. I find studying personalities fascinating. (Meyers Briggs... try it and let me know what personality you are! I love it! Ha! http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp) I have found this topic interesting for some time and a couple years ago read his original version which is aimed more towards marriage relationships. When I heard about this edition I decided to check it out to see how he would approach all other relationships in our lives like coworkers, friends, parents, siblings, and of course he touches on dating relationships as well. (He did write a first edition off this idea, you knew he had to mention it) I find all of the love languages interesting and try to compare them with those I know and how to nurture those relationships. But the line that has stuck with me over the last couple days says that relationships bring us the greatest happiness and also the greatest hurt. I find that so very true. I am a relationship person. I enjoy being with people I care about and letting them know how much they mean to me. I know I am guilty of hurting those I am in relationship with and I have also been hurt deeply by those I care about. I feel that the more you care about someone the greater the happiness and the deeper the hurt. I do not want to hurt those whom I love and pray that I can be aware of what is best for those around me. I want the best for others and would do anything for them. If you are my friend and just happen to be reading this I hope you know that you are important and I love you. I hope that through reading this book relationships in my life will grow. I found myself thinking the other day about the close friends around me and about how those relationships must be cared for in order to be healthy. Relationships with people we care about take effort. If someone is on your mind, let them know, tell them you care about them, even out of the blue, I promise it will be worth it. You'll be the best part of their day!

Today as always know God loves you and so do I.

Dear God, please grant me the PATIENCE to seek Your will, the WISDOM to understand it, and the STRENGTH to follow through.

Once Upon a Time...

I've never been good at keeping up with my blog. However, this time I have something consistent to blog about. On February 26, 2012 I will be running the Disney Princess Half Marathon with my sweet friend Lauren. This year has been a rollercoaster for me and I have started a new job. I am not teaching but I truly feel that I am in the place God wants me to be. Through this job transition I have had the opportunity to work with Lauren and get to know her much better than I have over the years even though we went to the same college. Another true blessing in this change has been building wonderful friendships. So here's what happened "once upon a time"...

I had been thinking about running the Disney Princess Half Marathon for some time. My mom had decided that she would run with me and we started to do a bit of slow training to work our way up. I was fitted for shoes that would help me run the best, I took mom to get shoes to help her run the best, and then... shortly into our running mom hurt her ankle. She tried to push through a little and found out that she would not be able to do any activity for several months. A bit bummed I decided I would still do it and my mom would still go with me to cheer me on. A sweet friend of mine who is more like a sister lives close to Disney. I met her when she was in college and spent so much time with her and her now husband they really became another big brother and sister. Through my job I was able to visit with them over a weekend about a month ago. I mentioned my wanting to run and mom getting hurt and so Cherie said she would be running it as well so when I got down there we would run together. Alright! I was good, once I got there I wouldn't be running alone that would help. But, training would be another mountain to climb that I would just have to push myself through. At work one day I thought I would just mention the run to Lauren and see if she would want to go with me. I am a Disney fanatic, I know that. But, Lauren also likes Disney, just maybe not as crazy as our family does. I thought it would be a long shot for someone else to take on this crazy task with me but to my pleasant surprise she agreed to do it. I made a training schedule for us that starts today and takes us all the way to the race in February. We need to start out slow and work our way up so our training is probably longer than others. I have actually been excited about running! I am excited to have a goal and to have time to spend time with my friend. And who wouldn't look forward to seeing Mickey and Minnie at the finish line?!

So... I'll be doing my best to keep you updated. Week 1 of 18... here we go!!

"Dear God, please grant me the PATIENCE to seek Your will, the WISDOM to understand it, and the STRENGTH to follow through."

Undeserving love...

I love music. Often times I find entire songs or parts of songs that I feel like I could have written. It feels like they describe things perfectly for me. Sugarland actually has a strange way of doing this. "I'm slow to trust, but I'm quick to love. I push too hard and I give too much. I ain't sayin' I'm perfect but I promise I'm worth it." For the past few months this line has been replaying over and over in my head. I've been hurt. This may be related to the fact that I love quickly, I love deeply, I love with all my heart. The downside to this is the love and care that I have heightens the amount of hurt I feel from those that I have invested myself in. I tend to expect so much from people and see the potential in them. This then may be why I tend to push for those to reach this expectation and potential. I will be the first to admit I am nowhere near perfect but I am worth it. My desire is to make others happy. I find that this is unfortunately taken advantage of by some. However, that doesn't change my desire to love and make others happy. I still love them.  Just as I hold high expectations for others as to how they treat people and their potential, I also hold these expectations for myself. My actions effect those around me. I want to make those around me feel loved and cared for. I will do anything and everything for those I love.

When it comes to love I am reminded of the simple yet amazing truth that God loves me. I've heard this all my life. We teach this to children from an early age by singing Jesus Loves Me. A few years ago I struggled with a very hard time in life. As I often hear God through songs I knew there was no coincedence in hearing the song He Loves Us. The first time I heard it was at a youth camp and I could hear God urging me to believe it. He gave me a new realization of His love for me. I'm afraid we tend to take things for granted and don't take time to concentrate on this unbelievable truth. Tonight please dwell on the understanding that God loves you. There is nothing you can do that will make Him love you less. I leave you this evening with the words of the song that has influenced so much about me for the past 3 years...

He is jealous for me. Loves like a hurricane I am tree, bending the weight His and mercy. When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by Glory. And I realize just how beautiful You are and how great Your affections are for me.

Oh how He loves us so. Oh how he loves us. How He loves us so.

We are His portion and He is our prize. Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes. If grace is an ocean then we're all sinking. And heaven meets earth and I cannot resist as my heart turns violently inside of my chest I don't have the time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way.....

He loves us. Oh how He loves us. Oh how He loves us. Oh how He loves. Yes, He loves us. Oh how He loves us. Oh how He loves us. Oh how He loves.

Let it snow...

I love snow. I remember laying in front of the tv after a day of sledding with my friends as we all hoped each of us was out school so that we could have another day of playing together. Snow days are not the same as they used to be. My brothers and I aren't together to pull each other around on our sleds. We didn't really have any good hills on our property so instead we hooked up our sleds to the 4 wheeler to pull each other around. Yes, I admit, not the safest thing ever. Especially when my oldest brother bent up the sides to a street sign and hooked a chain between it and the 4 wheeler. We realized quickly this was not a good idea so don't be afraid. As a teacher I still get excited but I am a bit sad that they aren't full of spontaneous fun like they used to be. I also can't exactly turn off my brain from all of the things that need to be done and all the lessons I am going to have to make up when we get back to school.

Today I had a chance to just spend time with Ashtyn. We built a fort (sort of), started a snowman which turned into throwing snow at each other, made snow angels, and watched Disney movies. I am reminded that it doesn't really matter what I need to get done at work or what bills I need to pay, at the moment all that matters is spending time with Ashtyn. We weren't put on this earth to go to work and acccomplish what everyone else deems a success. I am afraid we tend to forget we were built for relationships. Some are much better at this than others.

Relationships are difficult things. We are created for relationships yet those are often the things that hurt us the most. I believe God desires for us to walk in close relationship with Him and with others. I hope that as this year progresses my relationship with God as well as my relationships with others grows stronger. I know that community is important. I am thankful for those that God has placed in my life and strive to help others.

Today, be thankful for the people that He has placed in your life. Remember that God has made us as relational beings. Cherish and recognize those that truly cherish and love you, however difficult or easy that may be.

2011???

Hmm… well, yea, it’s been awhile. I was recently reminded that I haven’t blogged in quite awhile and that it lasted maybe a whole week. Part of the reason for that is probably because I don’t have time once I get home to sit down and write. But, he we go.

2011. Wow, really? I had high hopes for 2010. It seems I have this plan in my head of what the upcoming year will entail. However it doesn’t ever actually end up going as I had imagined. 2010 was a good year. Addyson turning 1 was probably the highlight though. The celebration of the miracle that she is here was awesome. I love watching her as she crawls on her hands and knees and repeats noises that sound like words. I love my nieces. They are the highlight of just about everything! I can’t imagine loving anyone more than I love those 3 precious girls. This also goes along with my desire to have kids of my own. Turning 24 was a strange feeling for me and I am continuing to put off the thought that in just a few months I will be 25. That to say, as I’ve said before, this isn’t quite what I thought life would look like right now. So in turn I suppose my New Years Resolution is to be content with where I am and not dwell on what I hope to come. Now, if you know me, you know that may be quite a task!

I am thankful for the people in my life. I have 4 fantastic friends from college that I know I am lucky to still be close with. Even though all 4 are married and schedules can be crazy (remember I teach all day and then have cheerleading until as late as 9pm) we still make time for our girls nights. These nights tend to lead to the discussion about the generations that will follow. 2 of us are educators and one has 2 beautiful children in case you were wondering where that topic may come from! My heart is often burdened for the students that walk in and out of my classroom. You can’t even imagine some of the situations they deal with outside of the walls of my school. This is why I wanted to teach. Do I care that they learn the material? Of course! (That’s all the state cares about, that’s another issue all together) But the most important thing to me is that each student feels comfortable in my classroom and that when they leave at the end of the year they are better prepared to make a positive influence in this world and that they know that someone cares about them. It’s terrible to know that some of my kids never hear that someone cares for them. I have amazing coworkers. I have learned so much from them in the time that I have been here. The best thing is that I truly consider them friends. We also have a good amount of fun! Things happen for a reason and I am extremely thankful that I stumbled upon this job. It has truly been a God thing and I know that though there are difficult days I am where I am supposed to be. I have also been given wonderful friendships that have become like family. Christmas parties, New Years, Fourth of July, birthdays, random cookouts, weddings, just sitting in the living room enjoying each others company… all of which are just a few times that we have gotten together and although it may have been a few weeks or even a couple months since we’ve seen each other (usually because of schedules) it is a comfortable feeling of being with friends that will always be there. I have a roof over my head in a place that I absolutely love. Even though money is short I have never gone hungry. I have a church that I love. I also live within 10 miles of my family. Now this is a blessing! I am absolutely blessed with the family God has given me. I have the pleasure of seeing my nieces grow up. I have the gift that I know that when any of us needs something we are able to be there for each other. Thinking about the blessing that I get to call family brings tears to my eyes. There are no words to explain how proud I am of each of my family members. I can only hope to be half the leader and compassionate person of those that I call my family.

Well, I have gotten a little sappy. But as I think about 2010 it’s not necessarily the events but the fact of being with the people I love that has stuck out to me. Of course there was the flood. Being flooded in wasn’t so bad. I wasn’t going to miss the wedding of one of those previously mentioned friends who are more like family. Getting back to my apartment wasn’t an option. Being in downtown seeing some of those familiar images from the news stories with my own eyes turned into memories that I treasure. Spending Fourth of July on a barge with my family and friends basically in that same flooded river watching fireworks that looked as though they may fall straight on us was also awesome! There were many other moments that maybe I’ll reflect on in the near future. We do know that I am one to reflect often.

So, here we go 2011. I do hope that this year will be better than the last.