Jogging With Jesus

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” Hebrews 12:1 I started my second week of half marathon training this morning and it went pretty well! My Tuesday and Thursday runs are just maintenance runs in preparation for my long jogs on Saturday. So I’m able to take it easy and really spend some time with the Lord.  I set out a little earlier today than usual. I was out of the house right before 5:30 and it made such a difference with the heat. Getting up 30 minutes earlier was definitely worth it! I’ve been struggling lately with some serious frustration. I feel like I keep praying and praying for God to take something away for me, but at the same time, I try to find solutions and take care of it myself. Yesterday, a good friend pointed out to me that God isn’t

"Remember the LORD your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath." Deuteronomy 8:18 It was just 3 months ago that I had a moment of extreme conviction from the Holy Spirit. I wasn't taking care of my body the way that I should and the Lord let me know that He wanted me to fix it. With His help, I began a journey to better myself physically and though it has been hard, the Lord has been with me every step of the way. This week, I faced another moment of extreme conviction from the Holy Spirit. I've started a new Bible study and on the very first day of homework, the author, Priscilla Shirer, pretty much asked if there was anything in my life hindering my relationship with God. I know it might sound crazy, but the answer is yes. The one thing that hinders my relationship with God the most is social media. To be more specific, Facebook! Facebook can be a positive t

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6 So, it's official. I'm registered for the Disney Princess Half-Marathon in February 2014! I'm pretty anxious about it, since I've never walked/ran over about four miles, ever. But, I'm determined to do it! I'm technically not supposed to start training until the first week of October, but I started this week. My hope is that I can run the Pensacola Half-Marathon in November and prove to myself that I can make it 13.1 miles!  I'm using the Jeff Galloway run/walk method and training program. Every Tuesday and Thursday I run maintenance runs and on Saturday, I do my long runs. Right now, a 5k is a long run to me! So I'm interested to see how this is going to go! I have faith that I can do it, though! As long as I keep God as my focus while I'm running, I believe I could make it through a full marathon, if I ever decided to do it

"So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of His call. May He give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do." 2 Thessalonians 1:11 Since I started this blog, I've tried to post every time that I run. After completing my first 5k last weekend, I took a few days to rest and to be honest, I wasn't all that excited about getting back to it. Although I've grown to love jogging, it was a little nice not having to go out in the heat and run! But, I fought the urge to  be lazy and got out on Wednesday night. I knew I had another race coming up and I was hoping to at least do a little better than the week before! Even though I was tired, we ran pretty well on Wednesday night. We finished 3 miles in 32:25, with a pace of 10:46. But, it was painful! Even after dark, the humidity and heat were intense. It left me the tiniest bit discouraged because my next race was going to be a night race

"Each time he said, 'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me." 2 Corinthians 12:9 Well, today was the day. I ran my first 5k! I unfortunately had to walk part of it, due to the heat and humidity, but I finished strong with a time of 34:33 and a mile pace of 11:07.  This was the first time I've ever run/jogged/walked over 2.5 miles. So just completing 3.1 miles in itself was an accomplishment! Even though I had to walk part of the way, I'm proud of myself for listening to my body's cues and not pushing myself too hard and getting injured.  Most of all, I'm so thankful for the close relationship I've developed with the Lord throughout this journey. While I was at first tempted to quote Philippians 4:13 on this triumphant day, I felt led by the Holy Spirit instead to reflect on 2 Corinthians 12:9.  In the last ten weeks

"For the Lord has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 We were very excited last night, thinking we were going to get to run in the rain, but no such luck. It rained for maybe half of a lap and that was all! But, a tropical storm by the name of Andrea is headed this direction. I am officially registered for a 5k this weekend and although I think it would be hard to run in serious rain, I also think it could be quite fun! How many people can say they ran their first race in a tropical storm? :) Yesterday was somewhat of a traumatic day for my son and I. My four year old suffers from food allergies and for the first time in his life, I had to take him to the emergency room because of a peanut reaction. I think I was in a state of shock for most of the day, but by bed time I was a nervous wreck. I was consumed by fear and guilt. For as long as I've known about his allergies, I've taken every precaution to prote

"The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm." Exodus 14:14 So for a bit of disappointing news, the 5k I intended to run this Friday was cancelled due to a lack of volunteers. There is another 5k on Saturday, but I still haven't decided if I should go ahead and run or wait for the free 5k I'm signed up for next Friday.  I'm really anxious to get through my first race, so I may just sign up for the one this weekend! I feel like I'm just full of disappointing news today. On top of a cancelled 5k, I had the bright idea to run an hour after eating six chocolate chip cookies and drinking a Coke. Can you say bad idea? I don't usually drink caffeine after lunchtime, but for some reason, I lost my mind tonight. I was only able to jog for 18 minutes before the pain under my ribs became too much for me. Luckily, I didn't beat myself up too  much for quitting. I learned my lesson and won't be making that mistake again! A friend and I re

"And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak." Matthew 12:36 I'm just 6 days away from (hopefully) running my first 5k! I'm praying that enough people volunteer to help so that it doesn't get cancelled. I'm becoming less nervous and more excited as the day draws closer.  First of all, I faced my fear of running in front of other people. In fact, I ran with two people tonight! Besides running alongside them, there were several other people on and around the track. It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected it to be! Also, I'm confident that I can make the full distance! I've been so afraid I wouldn't be able to run the entire way, but tonight we finished 2.8 miles in 26:45 minutes, with a pace of 9:38! I couldn't believe it! My personal record was 11:07 and I ran nearly 2 minutes faster than that tonight! I'm still giddy with excitement! I seriously never thought I'd see the d