Friday, August 27, 2010

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday ya'll! One of the many perks of working with kidz2leaders is that the office is closed on Friday. I do end up working from home sometimes but it's a great time to get some stuff done that I don't have time to do throughout the week. Today will be filled with an ever-so-exciting day of cleaning the house. Be very jealous! I just got back from walking Bailey, our sweet Beagle mut and you would have thought I just sprinted a mile the way I'm sweating. Please fall come soon!

Anyway, tomorrow we're headed to the 'boro for a Going Away Party for Allison and Chad - Marc's sister and her husband. They have made a huge leap of faith and are moving to Chicago - you can read more about them moving to the big city in Allison's blog - Peachy Doodle Dandy. Then, we're headed to Athens for the Tri for Cancer bright and early Sunday morning.

Hope everyone has a great weekend! I leave with you an amazing worship song by Phil Wickham...he's amazing...right behind Mac Powell.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Running is not my friend today...

...ugh is about the best way to sum up my run this morning. I don't usually run in the mornings - mistake #1. I am not a morning person until I've had a cup of coffee and I had 1 sip before I jetted out - mistake #2. And, I'm pretty sure I had already decided I was not going to run well before I got out the door - mistake #3.

I know bad running days are part of it but I take it so incredibly personally, like, "What did I do to you running? I'm trying out here. Can I please not feel like a slug dragging across the pavement?" I guess a bad running day is part of growth in this process, just like my relationship with the Lord sometimes. And, just like running, it's my inconsistencies, stubbornness, and mental blocks that get in the way of progress. The Lord is constant, always there and never changes. This is GREAT news for someone like me that experience 5,478 emotions in one day.

Well, off to work...I'm confident running and I will make up before the race on Sunday!

"Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." - Hebrews 12:1-2

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Tri for Rachel

One thing you should know about me is that God did not grace me with coordination or the slightest bit of athleticism. To be frank, I'm a wimp and hate pushing myself to the point of discomfort. Torture for me in highschool was having to run (let's be honest..walk) the mile. Nonetheless, I'm doing my 2nd sprint triathlon this Sunday. Crazy...yes!

I have my mom and my friend Lauren to blame for all of this. Working out used to mean going to the gym, doing my 30 minutes on the elliptical and calling it a day. I didn't even break a sweat and got to watch some "classy" tv. Then, my mom started telling me that she was running 5Ks...and running them well. My mom? A runner? Ok, if she can do it, I can too! So, I started doing the couch to 5K plan. After 10 weeks, I was running 30 minutes, then all of a sudden out of nowhere, I ran 4 miles two days in a row. I have yet to do that since but still, I was capable of being a runner ...even if just a fair-weather one! I ran my first 5K last October with my mom. I was feeling good about life, but then my friend Lauren decided at the beginning of the year that we should do a triathlon. I was pretty sure she had fallen off her rocker. Did she know who she was talking to? And, didn't that tri-thing mean you have to swim and bike? I still had my purple Trek from middle school and swimming meant the frog swim (yes, I am 26 and do the frog swim). I told Marc that night about Lauren's insane idea but he was into it. Next thing I know, we have a 12-week plan to help us accomplish our first sprint tri, we have road bikes, we're wearing spandex, and we're either running, swimming and biking every day. I even had a heart rate monitor. This was feeling very foreign...who was this girl! And, I was stressed. What if I drown (to calm this fear I purchased a hot pink swim cap so they could find me in the bottom of the pool)? What if I can't make it? All of the what if's started clouding my head and nerves were all I had the morning of the race. After 2.5 hours of sweat, some tears, and lots of pep talks (some in my head and some out loud), I crossed the finish line. Not only was I a runner (somewhat) but now I was a triathlete. After sobbing incoherently in the car because I have no idea why (another thing you'll learn about me is that I'm neurotic and emotional), I turned to Marc and said, "So when are we signing up for the next race?"
Julie, Me and Lauren after our first sprint tri!
This Sunday marks the 2nd race and this time, I'm more excited than nervous. For one, I'm doing a relay with my friend Julie (aka Speedy on the bike). The bike makes me cuss so I was happy to release that burden. I'll be frog-swimming it and running it! Secondly, this race is in memory of my friend Rachel. Marc and I were blessed to have the opportunity to meet Rachel through our small group about a year-and-a-half ago. You can read all of her story here, but in short, she lost her battle to cervical cancer in July. She was an amazing young lady, mother, and wife - and I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to get to know her. I am so proud to do Tri to Beat Cancer Triathalon in her memory.



Tuesday, August 24, 2010

So it begins....

I have thought about writing a blog for quite a while now and always ended up staring at a blank page. The thoughts are there but for some reason, I am intimidated by the blank screen staring back at me. Once upon a time, I was a Journalism major at the University of Georgia (Go Dawgs!), and I loved telling people's stories. Everyone has a story to tell...but telling my own is somehow different. But here we go FINALLY with the first post. However, being the neurotic person I am, I wasn't able to start writing until I had the perfect layout and when I mean perfect I mean that poor Marc spent an entire evening helping me create the layout that we call our blog home. Thank you Marc! :)

Well, I guess the best place to start is the beginning, so I'll attempt to keep it short. I grew up with my mom and stepdad in Greensboro, GA (aka the 'Boro) and with my dad who lives outside of Augusta in South Carolina. I always grew up in church and knew about God, but it was Dan and Leigh, my youth pastors, who introduced me to the living God. They were absolute fools for Christ and I loved it! I also met Marc in youth group. Marc and I dated on and off after graduating from highschool, but it wasn't until I transferred to UGA my sophomore year of college that we started dating with a "purpose," as I like to call it. After graduation, Marc and I ended up in corporate Atlanta. I did not understand 285 (and still don't really even though I know it's a circle) and I despised traffic. I missed the small town feel of the 'Boro and Athens. I see now it was just a part of the process for both me and Marc. Marc proposed in 2006 and we were married May 5, 2007. Coincidentally, in the Bible that Dan and Leigh gave our youth group when we graduated from highschool was dated May 5, 2002 and they had accidentally written my name in Marc's bible. Guess they knew something we didn't!

So to bring us up to speed, after 3 years of marriage, Marc and I have lived in 2 apartments, bought a house in the 'burbs, both changed jobs, and Marc went back to school. Sounds hectic huh? Well it was and it still is at times, but it's a life I wouldn't trade for anything. And, I have this feeling this adventure is only just beginning!

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. - Jeremiah 29:11 (my favorite verse...EVER!)