Wordless Wednesday

I celebrate two years of amazing marriage with this guy on Monday!

Stress...

This week is a bittersweet week for me. For the last couple days I have been having extreme pain in my hip flexers and lower back. On Saturday morning poor AA woke up at 6:00am to me grimacing in pain because I couldn't turn over because my lower back had seized up. Hmmm not good. But because he is amazing he shot straight out of bed, literally picked me up to turn me over and got me some pain meds. Isn't he a hunka hunka burning love? (PS...we celebrate two years of amazing marriage on Monday! WOW!)

He was off to finish a project we was doing for some friends, so I laid there for a while trying to figure out how to get up. Once I was vertical I felt great! Getting vertical took a while and trust me people it was not a pretty sight.

I put a heating pad on my back for about a hour while I watched the news and HGTV (my fav new channel) and then decided I needed to do something with my day. I figured that since I felt good while I was vertical I would stay that way for a while. I put on my running shoes (stop rolling your eyes!) and headed to the gym. I could at least try to walk. Once I got there, and peeled myself out of the car I felt good (again that vertical thing). I ran for an hour and felt really really good. However, the minute I sat down to stretch the fear of not knowing how to get up sank in. "Excuse me nice sweating lady, will you please pick up my 6'0'' tall frame and push and pull me into a vertical position?" Yea that was not going to fly. I used every once of arm strength I had (have you seen my guns? Yea what guns is right!) and got myself up. AA thought I was crazy to run, but when I run, is actually when I feel best these days.

Weird.

So for now I am scheduling a massage appointment and will chat with doctor when I see her on May 31 for an INR check. If it's not one thing it's the other right?

Here is the good news! Jesus has been working HARD on my heart these days. Normally I would feel super anxious about these things, but I don't feel that these days. There has been a lot of things to feel stressed about, but Jesus continues to remind me that worrying and fear is not of the Lord. Last Sunday our pastor urged us to give something to God that was holding us back to reflecting His glory. He wasn't talking about giving up ice cream or couch sitting (THANK GOODNESS!) but rather give up something that you feel, like anxiety, bitterness, ect.

And if he was reading my mind, he told us what a hard concept that can be to grasp. Just to give God something that is so a part of who you are. I wish I was a superhuman that I could do that, but I can't. And everyone who knows me, knows I am an anxious person. And as sinful and nasty that that is, it is really hard for me to grasp just giving that up, like it would be easy to do so. So he mentioned "leasing it to God" for a week, 10 days, whatever you could wrap your mind around, and to see the work God would do.

So this week I am leasing God my anxious heart, knowing with 100% confidence the great power the Lord has and how this will transform my heart and life for more then just a week. The week is just something, I can wrap my mind around.

Is there something you have been struggling with that doesn't allow Christ to shine through you? Is the Lord calling you to give something up or "lease it". I would love to hear it so I can pray for you! Will you pray for my heart when you think of it?

Thanks. Love you!

Thoughts

The sun is out. Has it ever looked so beautiful? With the sun shining, the Lord has been doing some teaching. Today, here are some things I am learning and one running quote that literally brought me to tears. Happy sunshine y'all!

1. "All worry is, is you trying to serve and seek God's kingdom AND having to take care of your own future. In your life, there is no AND with God. There is one or the other, NEVER both." Heard loud and clear, straight to the heart.

2. "Everyone of us has to define enough."

3. Money is not the sin, it is the LOVE of money that is the sin.

4. "Contentment is not something you are born with, it is trait that is learned, a continual process."

And for the running quote (said by a woman 1 mile from the finish of the Ironman World Championship in Kona):

"It feels like death but this is living!"

WOW!!! Powerfulllllllllll! All of this today has been powerful. The best slap in the face I have gotten in a while. :)

Gross

Yesterday it was disgusting out. RAIN RAIN RAIN EVERYWHERE!

And because of that:

I ran 10 miles on the treadmill.

I am now going to take a hammer to the thing because I hate it that much.

Happy Monday!

Oh Hipidiy Hip Hop

Well two things today. Okay three. Okay four. No just joking three. NOOOOO four. Oh gosh stop reading now, trust me, this might get a little pathetic before you know it.

1. HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!! THANK YOU JESUS FOR FRIDAY! WOW! What a week. I am so so so happy for Friday. And I think, I think I might actually see blue sky. What in the wild wild world of sports is goin' on here? Oh yea, it's May 13 and we should be seeing a lot more blue sky then we have been. However, when that happens and you do see blue sky it makes you smile that much more.

2. So there has been some damage done on my body. Remember when I wrote my body a letter while ago, begging it to stay with me? Yea, it hasn't. It hasn't completely gone south, but there are signs that this is going to be a fight. My hip flexers are rebelling against me. I have asked them nicely to stop bugging me and they just bugged me more. This morning while trying to put on my skirt for work I almost started crying because It hurt so bad to lift my left leg. And oh man, you should have seen me trying to put my boots on. I even started laughing at one point. The increase of mileage, hills, speed work, ect. have taken a toll and my body is trying to catch up. It is even more important to take rest days and keep strength training and stretching. Also, on my cross training days I am going to start swimming at the gym. I am going to be a little fishy. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming." Name that movie. Anywho, back to my hip, I have done some research on the good ol' world wide web, you know the most truth telling place, NOT, and it says that it will go away, just not quickly. Awesome.

3. For the last couple months I have felt overcome by how much God is protecting AA and I from situations. He says no to things and yes to other things that might frustrate us at the time, but then give it a week, day or heck even an hour and it is so clear that God has His protective wing over us, guiding us the right way. It has been such a blessing to feel that and be a part of it.

4. I may or may not have a problem. For some reason I am having a really hard time running outside these days. Even when the weather is nice out I still don't want to. I like my treadmill, the perfect 69 degrees the gym is and that Oprah is on while I run. I need to break this habit FAST or I will be in trouble!!

And lastly...okay okay I know I said I would only have four but I am throwing on more in there.

5. I get to see these girls tonight, all at once, under one roof. You have NO idea how excited I am.

Oh I love it!

Whenever the world seems to be flipping upside down, or things just aren't going my way, the Lord ALWAYS reminds me of His grace. Whether it be through people, verses or events.

Yesterday, someone read this verse at church and it about put me on the floor.

Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version, ©2011)
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

This is one of my memory verses, so it wasn't like I haven't heard it before, but man oh man did it bring a smile to my face and tears in my eyes. I know the road that Jesus has designed for me, is one that is good. Plain and simple. Now notice I didn't say without trials and hard times, but I said good. Good in the most eternal sense.

One a running note: on Saturday I had 7 miles on the schedule with the middle 20 minutes at half marathon pace. For some DUMB reason I thought I should do it on the treadmill. DUMB DUMB DUMB! As I was running, the rain cleared and sun was shining into the gym windows for 55 of my 65 minute run. UGH! Oh well. Lesson learned....just run outside. :)

I'm still here!

Hello, hello, hello!!!! I haven't left you....nope not one bit. I am still here, I just haven't had anything profound to say lately. I have stuck to my training schedule pretty well and have tried to get some more outside runs in lately. You know me, I hate being cold, and well here in Seattle it is still FREEZINGGGGGGG! On my last run here were some of the things I thought about:

1. Sun sun sunnnnnn!!!!!

2. Thank you Jesus for today.

3. What color tutu will we wear in September?

4. Oh my hip hurts...oh ouh, oh oh....

5. Brrrr....wind is cold....run faster to be in the sun.

6. Wow AA and I have been married two years at the end of this month, two amazing years.

7. I need to call Rat.

8. I need to call Pig.

9. I need to call Yenster.

10. I need to call Megaruu

11. WOW, I suck at calling people.

12. I wish I had a pen.

13. Thank you Jesus

14. I wonder how Kate is doing? (as in sister...not princess. However my sister is a princess. :) )

15. Jesus help me up this hill....POWER POWER!!

Well I am off for now. Double run this weekend, an amazing date with Jesus tomorrow and then a fun mother's day on the schedule.

Love you all! I pray for you guys...I hope you know that.