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. 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...

"Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him and He will help you!" Psalm 37:5 Filled with nerves and anticipation, I put my earphones on and waited for the sound of the cannon. This was it! After starting my jogging journey seven months before and five months of half marathon training, the moment was here. My very first half marathon in Pensacola, Florida! The cannon went off and the crowds of people around me slowly started to move forward. As my music began to play, my nervousness slipped away and I picked up my pace. We looped through a street and suddenly, there was the sunrise over Pensacola Bay in front of me. As I hit the first half mile, "Revelation Song" by Kari Jobe began to play. It was so perfect! I started this journey as a way to grow closer to the Lord and I couldn't wait to spend 13.1 miles praising His Name! "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Who was and is and is to come. With all creation I sing praise to th...

"Jesus told him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 I know, I know, it's been a month and a half since my last post. The big day of my first half marathon is tomorrow, but instead of focusing on my nervousness and excitement, I want to share the most wonderful news a parent ever gets to share. On October 23, 2013, our sweet son asked Jesus into his heart!  It was after church and AWANA on a Wednesday night. Jack and I were laying in his bed reading stories and had just finished a Bible chapter in the Jesus Storybook Bible . (If you haven't seen or read this children's Bible, look it up! It's amazing and I think it directly affected Jack's understanding of salvation!) After reading about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, the next chapter was about Jesus dying on the cross. Jack flipped over and saw a picture of Jesus carrying the cross and he told me, "Mom, Jesus died to ta...

"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 Well, I realize I've been somewhat slacking on the blog front. I can barely find the time to run, let alone blog about it! But I'm going to really try to make it a habit again. Our schedule has been packed since school started, but we're finally getting into a routine and adjusting to this new way of life.  I won't lie, I've slacked just a little on my training. The weekend before last, I was supposed to do a 9.5 mile long run. I attempted it mid-morning, outside, and I barely made it two and a half miles before I had to walk home. The heat was unbearable. I am anxiously awaiting the day when our temperatures drop below 80 degrees! I think I'm over the heat and humidity! The week after my failed long run, I didn't run at all. I know,...

"Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11 Again, it's been awhile since I've last posted, but I've been mentally preparing myself for the beginning of school. My son just started preschool and it's a big adjustment for everyone. But, I know we are just moving forward to a new stage of life and God has a plan for him! A lot has happened with my running over the past couple of weeks. I broke my mile record, twice! My latest record is 8:59, but I won't be running a 9-minute mile in any half-marathons. It's just exciting to know that I can do it, especially since I couldn't run a mile in less than 14 minutes just five months ago!  I also added two miles to my longest distance. The Saturday before last, I ran seven miles in the pouring rain! It actually wasn't quite as m...

"But in my distress I cried out to the LORD; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears." Psalm 18:6 We had a fun, busy weekend. It was so busy that I didn't get a chance to run on Saturday. But, I did have the chance to spend quality time with my kids and husband, and sometimes I need that more than a jog! Even in the middle of half-marathon training!  After dinner tonight, I went for a 30-minute "maintenance" run. I usually try to do around 2 or 2.5 miles on my weekday runs, but I did 3.2 tonight. It wasn't nearly as hot, so I enjoyed going a little further than usual. Maybe this means I'm slowly making progress! As I jogged, I reflected a little on how far I've come in the last four months. To be honest, I'm pretty excited that I haven't quit by now. Usually when I take a "week off" from something, I end up giving it up completely. Although my upcoming 5k and t...

"But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles." Isaiah 40:31 I know it has been a good long while since I've posted, but there are both good and bad reasons for that. The good reason is that my husband and I were chaperones for our youth group as they spent a week at Student Life camp. I didn't have much time to sleep, let alone write a blog post, but the Lord worked in wonderful ways and the entire week was such a huge blessing. It was wonderful to see our youth group grow and to experience growth ourselves! I went jogging one morning while I was there and on another morning, I took a walk with one of the girls in our group. It was well worth slowing down. I got a chance to get to know her better and she was such a blessing! Now for the bad reason. When we got home from camp, I took a break. I took an entire week off. At first, it was just supposed to be a few days to catch up on sleep, but it quickly tur...