Jogging With Jesus

"For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:10 I enjoyed a new experience on my jog last night: jogging with a friend! I typically jog alone because it's my quiet time with the Lord, but I think spending time encouraging and being encouraged by others is important as well. We actually did quite well in our run. We ran 2.5 miles in 30:51, with an average pace of 12:19. We were both excited! The night was cool, our run was enjoyable, but most of all, we shared some great conversation. (The fact that we could talk while we were running still amazes me!) I think we as women often forget how important we are to the Lord. We get so caught up in our feelings of insecurity that we forget that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." (Psalm 139:14) God created us just the way we are for a purpose. He wants to use us if we will just let Him! I love r

"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." Colossians 3:23 The date of my first 5k is quickly approaching and I must admit, I'm getting a little nervous. To be honest, I'm most nervous about running in front of other people. I've said throughout this entire journey that I'm not exercising as a way to compete with other people. I so much enjoy that quiet time between God and I and I'm learning to see my value through God's eyes.  While healthy competition can be good, I don't want to feel defeated when someone has a better time than me. People will  have a better time than me. On the other hand, I don't want to become prideful if I run better than someone else.  I want my running to be enjoyable and to improve my walk with the Lord. I don't want pride or feelings of defeat to drive a wedge in the relationship I've worked so hard to develop. When I begin to notice such

"Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's Will. Then you will receive all that He has promised." Hebrews 10:36 Still euphoric from running with such a good time Thursday evening, I decided to go for another jog Friday night. I had to jog for two eight-minute increments and I only made it halfway. I was tired when I left the house, so maybe my expectations were already too low to make it through. But, instead of beating myself up, I told myself this: "There will be good runs and bad runs, but what matters is that you ran ." I have to remind myself of this in every day life as well. There are going to be good days and bad days, but what matters is that I continue to seek the Lord. Even if I fail, because I will. I should never take my eyes off of God.  This morning, I had a chance to redeem myself because I was instructed to run two miles, or 20 minutes, with no walking! As I completed my warm-up walk, I pray

"Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it." Psalm 139:14 I missed my morning jog yesterday morning because I couldn't keep my hands off of the sneaky snooze button. By the time I jolted awake, it was 6:15 a.m. and too late to run because the hubby had to leave for work. I had prayed the night before to be motivated, and although I didn't make it up in the morning, I managed to make it outside after a fairly long day. I wasn't expecting much from my performance. It was considerably cooler, since it was 8:30 at night, dark, and there was a nice breeze blowing off of the water. But, I was tired and had stuffed myself with Cici's just a few hours before. My running plan had me running a total of 15 minutes and walking a total of 16 minutes, but I cut my warm-up walk short and actually extended my last jog by two minutes!  When I reached my first mile, the voice on my phone informed me that my

"Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly."  Psalm 5:3 After a tough day of jogging on Friday, I was little hesitant to get up and go this morning. Add the ache in my head to the fear in my heart and it was really only by the nudging of the Lord that I got out of bed at 5:45 a.m.  As I made my way down the street this morning, I decided to slow my pace down and really try to focus on what the Lord was saying to me, instead of focusing on surviving my run. I can't say it was easy, especially when my thoughts began to wander and my chest began to ache.  Am I the only person who notices this habit? I feel the Lord convicting me about something I don't want to hear, change, or acknowledge, so I let my mind go elsewhere. But, as the Lord usually does with His children, He kept bringing me back to what He wanted me to hear. Do I really want to dive into everything the Lord had to say to me t

"May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ." 2 Thessalonians 3:5 This week in my jogging journey, I had a day of triumph, followed by a day of failure. I started a new week in my 5k training program and my running time increased. So far, I've typically spent more time walking than running, building up my endurance and muscles, but for the first time ever, my walking and running times were going to be about equal.  I'm going to take a moment to give myself a little credit for my first day running this week. My mile pace was 13:25. I walk/jogged for 30 minutes, and 16 of those minutes were jogging. I was so excited!   It was tough, but I made it!  But, then came Day 2.  I usually run right around sunrise, mostly because I need to go before my husband goes to work, but also because it's cooler in the day. On this particular day, I ran two hours later, w

"Control your temper, for anger labels you as a fool." Ecclesiastes 7:9 I experienced a first last week and saw a new side of Disney World. This part of Disney can only be experienced by a certain group of people and though it may not be a huge deal, it was exciting for me. On the first morning of our vacation, I rose early to go on a jog. The front desk gave me a small map, showing me the route along the resorts on our road. As I walked/jogged along, I saw something on the sidewalk I'd never seen at Disney World before. I've been to Disney six times and for the very first time, I saw this: Now, I know this isn't exactly an extraordinary thing to see, but I realized something as I continued forward. These "Run Disney" symbols are only displayed on jogging paths at Disney World. If I hadn't been convicted to jog two months ago, I could have gone my entire life without seeing this neat little circle.  As I've been on this journey

"Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying." Romans 12:12 I enjoyed two new experiences this morning. The first, running in a little bit of rain! It didn't rain much, just sprinkled throughout my jog, but it was so refreshing! It may be cooler at 5:45 a.m. than later in the day, but it still gets pretty warm out there. God knew just what I needed to make it through and the light rain was such a blessing! I also increased my mile pace by a full minute. I felt near death and was sure  I wasn't going to make it, but it was so worth it when my Endomondo Sports Tracker let me know that my average pace was 13:15, when it usually sits around 14:25! Needless to say, I WAS EXCITED! I know a 13-minute mile is nowhere near anything grand to most of the world, but to me, it was amazing! It was most exciting because I realized I don't need other people to be impressed. God pushed me through that 13-minute mile and I know He's

"Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him and He will help you." Psalm 37:5 Just two months ago, I was in the middle of a Jennifer Rothschild Bible study, Walking by Faith.  In the introduction to the week's homework, she asked a few questions, one being: Are you taking care of your body and health the way God expects you to? Now, you would not want to get me started on this fitness  thing. My husband is in the Air Force and it's part of his job to work out.  But me?  I'm a stay-at-home mom and I get my exercise from walking the kids down to the park. Or pushing them through the grocery store. Or chasing them around the house all day. Don't forget: I walk down the street to our mailbox every day, too! Isn't that enough exercise for me? I mean, lets get real here. I'm borderline underweight, so it's not like I need   to work out. Even though I sometimes get out of breath making that short little trip to the mailbox ...