Ok, so first I need to apologize for letting the busyness of summer getting in the way of being a consistent blogger. I owe so much to the wonderful people who have supported and loved me and I want you to stay up to date on my life.
First: I am excited to announce that I am 1/3 of the way funded(even if the little bar at the top of my page doesn’t say it yet). Thank you to everyone who has supported me either through prayer or giving financially or donating stuff to my yard sale! It was a huge success (I made $1300). I am excited to see how the Lord is going to keep providing. I am so blessed by His mercy so far.
Second: I have bought some of my gear (this will be my next blog post!) and I am so pumped. Emma, Bri, and Milly are all going camping with me this weekend to try out my new tent and sleeping bag/pad. This will literally be like the third time I’ve camped in my whole life so I’m excited. More to follow on that.
Third: I’ve been working a lot around our house doing hard labor projects. I’m excited as this is preparing me for days of hard work next year. I love to be busy and these project have helped me have some purpose other than aimlessly hanging out around the house or wasting time on things that may or may not be important at the moment. I have been sanding down the fence in our drive (see picture). The gray on it is gross, peeling/flaking and rotting the wood. I am sanding off all the gray paint. So far I have gotten 6 of the 16 boards clean and down to their natural wood again. It is about an hour per board. The work is longer, tedious and very, very messy. After all the board are sanded, I will be painting them black to match the shutters and name them have a newer crisp look. I’ll post pictures when it is done.
My second ongoing project is pressure washing the arbor on our back porch. Year of rain, humidity, and neglect have let it build up a nasty green/gray color. This task took 5 hours to get all the grime off. I am shocked by the difference. This too will receive a new paint job of a nice wood stain to protect from future wear and tear.
As I have said before, I’m an analogies girl. I think it is my English background and my love for the written word. As I stood their, tired, soaked and wondering how in the world I was going to pressure wash this mammoth arbor, I started comparing that work to the way God works on us. He has to remove the grim and dirt of sin(sometimes a painful process) and reveal our true beauty beneath, the part of us that is made in His image. He has to sand away the old you so the new you can go on and not let the old you eventually cause problems. Usually this is a long, arduous process, just as the pressure washing and sanding has been. To do a good job, you have to focuson one small area and slowly work your way around. But it must be done. Just like I can’t slap some black paint over the gray paint on the fence and hope for the best, God can’t just cover up our mess. He has to remove the things that are below, the things that would rot and ruin our souls. Only once he has removed the bitter root or the flaky, faded paint, can He make us new and put His righteousness on us. Just as it says, the old has gone, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). We must put off our old selves and take up our new selves, becoming more and more like Jesus. It seems simple but it had me thinking a lot about what it is that I want God to remove from me, not just on the race, but right now, before I even leave; so when I go, I can be all He has created me to be and give life to those I meet.
My list:
I want to remove negativity, both externally and internally. I want to put on positivity and joy.
I want to remove criticism. I want to put on encouragement.
I want to remove self focus. I want to put on other focus.
Just three things for now. But I think they are a good start. I will report back to you soon on these and how it is going. I love my race family and my U.S. family (you all live all over the place and this is the easiest way to cover it!). Know you are always in my thoughts and prayer. I can’t believe it is only 2.5 months to training camp!!
