Let me just confess: I have a REALLY bad habit of starting a blog and not finishing it so I’m sorry to those of you who are wondering how prep for the Race has been going and what in the world I’ve been up to. In light of this, I’ve decided to compile some unfinished blogs and share some other things that have been on my heart and mind in the past few weeks.
–First of all, God is so, so good ALL THE TIME. I can’t adequately express my gratefulness for His hand of providence over my life recently. He has truly shown up in some HUGE ways as well as in the tiniest details. I believe that He been opening my eyes to see Him and trust Him in EVERYTHING. Biggest example of that: yesterday when I wrecked my car. Obviously a situation no one wants to deal with. However, fortunately no one was hurt and the other lady’s car was still drivable. My jeep… not so much. Front grill is cracked, radiator fluid was leaking out and belt was hanging down. Eeek. I’ve had my jeep for 4 ½ years and love it to death! Perhaps this little fender bender is God’s way of helping my let go of security, comfort and the things I have become so accustomed to and often take for granted. (Did I mention that I’ve been praying that God would break me of my need for material things and comforts?? Be careful what you pray for 
) Anyway, please be praying that I would continue to have a positive outlook on this situation and continue to remember that this world is my temporary home as I trust more fully and tangibly in the Lord. 
–If you haven’t heard the song “Losing” by Tenth Avenue North, go listen to it now! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpe6Q-QVsoQ) This song talks about forgiveness, namely our need to forgive others and the freedom that comes along with this. God has used this song to give me a renewed perspective and has helped me to give forgiveness where forgiveness was needed without expecting an apology or anything else in return. After all, the bible says “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32). Wow. What a beautiful perspective. In Matthew 18:22, Jesus teaches us to forgive our neighbor not seven times, but seventy times seven times (aka whenever someone sins against us).
In the end, unforgiveness truly does lead to an angry, bitter, hard heart. There is so much freedom and healing that comes with genuine forgiveness!
— Everyone connects with God in different ways. For me, I’ve realized that I often connect best with God through physical activity- mainly running. It is when I am challenging my body physically that God is able to speak to my heart or teach me lessons through my experience.
For example… The other day, I decided to go for a run on the beach. My plan was to run down the beach for 20 minutes and back for 20 minutes. I headed out toward the north end pier (which is about 3 miles away). As I began approaching the pier and the 20 minutes had passed, I kept looking at the pier, somehow feeling an urge to go on. Through this urge, I saw the pier as God and something I needed to run toward. As I got closer to the pier, I noticed that the waves of high tide were breaking on the rocks along the shore. I figured this would be fine and I could continue running, dodging the waves. Suddenly, I found myself literally swimming through the water and stumbling over rocks as I attempted to reach the pier. I decided I would not give up and continued trekking on. Through this physical struggle and battle, I learned that I must keep my eyes focused on the prize. Trials and troubles will come, but I will get through it. I arrived at the pier and figured it would be downhill from there, right? WRONG. I took the first wooden walkway I found to get back to the road. Unfortunately, I soon found myself on a private walkway having to climb a fence, shimmy on a trashcan and slowly lower myself down between bushes and sandspurs. I began running down the road again toward my house praying that God would continue to speak to me and continue to strengthen me and teach me through my physical activity. I then got back on the beach and continued the path I was on. While I was running, I heard “swim, swim, swim.” I started running through water that was about thigh deep with waves crashing on me, struggling to get through. People on the beach were definitely staring at this point, most likely wondering why I was struggling through the waves when I could take a few steps to the right and run on the sand. This made me realize that I must continue running my race, training my body, following God’s commands even if people don’t get it.
— I recently (finally) finished reading “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren and would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. It really helped me reconsider what I am living for and helped me think about MY purpose in life. Lately, I have been asking people what their purpose is in life and before I share those, as well as mine, take some time to consider YOURS.
What is your purpose in life? Why are you here? What has God uniquely gifted YOU with so that in turn YOU can be a blessing to others? I’d love to hear your responses
