Skip to main content

"Pinch Me!"

"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 day that I ran less than a 10 minute mile.

The first time I ever recorded a jog, my pace was 14:42. Tonight was such a huge accomplishment for me and I just have to give thanks to the Lord with the words of Psalm 107:1:

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever."

On another note, a friend and I made an agreement to stop gossiping to each other. We like to call it complaining, or venting, because who really wants to call it what it really is? We sometimes find our conversations heading in that direction without even meaning to, and after we leave each other's company, we think, "Why did I say that?" I think it shows great maturity in our friendship to be able to admit this flaw to each other and then agree to call each other out on it. (We jokingly made a pact to pinch each other!)

So tonight while running together, we felt our conversation being pulled in that direction, in the form of complaints. Thankfully, this friend had the strength to "pinch" me, and the sin was knocked out before we even got seven minutes into our run. Reflecting on this, I think about Matthew 12:36, "And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak."

I'm sorry, but giving an account to God for every "idle word I've spoken" does not sound like a fun time to me! Instead, I want the Lord to be proud of the encouraging and positive words I speak! After calling out our sin, the rest of our jog was filled with building and edifying one another. Now that's the kind of person I want to be! 

So again, I have to give thanks to the Lord for convicting us in our friendship, for giving my friend the courage to speak up, and for allowing us to finish our jog on a positive note. 

"Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them." Ephesians 4:29

As Joyce Meyer would say, when you're tempted to gossip or complain, "run to the THRONE, not to the phone!"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Even When I Run Away ...

"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18 It's been over a year since I wrote in this blog. The past year has brought many life changes for our family. My husband returned from deployment and we packed up and moved across the country. I've had to adjust to a new home, a new school for my son, a new church, and new friends ... New everything. I haven't written in this particular blog because it's always been my place to share about my running journey and how my relationship with God has matured through that quiet time with Him. But over the last year or so, I haven't really been running.  And I've felt further from God than I've felt in a really long time.  At the beginning of 2017, I slowly began running again. A friend and I signed up for a half marathon and despite the sometimes awful weather here, I haven't missed a training run yet. I began to feel like I was fin...
12 comments
Read more

Run Like a Princess!

"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. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won't become weary and give up." Hebrews 12:1-3   It has been several months since I last posted, but that's mostly been because of lack of training! After my first half marathon in Pensacola in November, our family stayed busy with traveling, holidays, the flu, and abnormally cold weather for Florida. With the Disney Princess Half Marathon quickly approaching, I was filled with more dread than excitement. I knew I had...
1 comment
Read more

Your Will Be Done

"Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air." 1 Corinthians 9:26 A lot of things have happened for me, as far as running goes, the past few days. Sunday night, I beat my mile record by 5 seconds! I really tried to beat 8:30 but it just didn't happen. I finished in 8:52, but I was still so excited to pass 8:57! I haven't even come close since last year! I also dedicated myself to a 100km in June challenge! That's 62.137 miles! But more than the distance, that's 2 miles with God daily! On Sunday, I ran with my praise and worship music for the first time in a long time. My iPod has been dead and sometimes I enjoy it just being me, the road, and the Lord. But one song came on and touched my heart in particular.  "For all of this life Your Spirit ignites A heavenly fire Untouched by the night You opened our eyes Turned death into life Revealing all truth There's no on...
1 comment
Read more