America vs. Heaven

My little man is sleeping in today after a long night. It seems like this awfully long string of cold weather is not going too well for Jack or his other little friends. I am on hold with his doctor to see if they want me to bring him in. Poor baby.

I have felt so much better than last week. I had my 7 mile run yesterday and I felt strong. I ran at a nine minute pace the first six, then ran the last mile in 8 minutes. It was tough, but I feel like the better the quality of my workouts, the more comfortable I will be on race day.

I got some good news today: my little sister is officially a CPA! She has worked and studied so hard. I am truly proud of her; what an accomplishment. She joins her husband who became a CPA last year. I think it is funny how different we are sometimes. In a good way.

This morning, I got up late because I was up with a coughing Jack for a little bit last night.

I didn't have time for my whole four miles, but I managed to get in 3, so I don't feel that bad. I just have my 10-miler on Saturday and that is it for this week. I have started working on my abs because I still have weak mom belly. This should help strengthen my core and back so I have less cramping on my long runs. I need to focus more on stretching as well. My workouts have been so rushed lately, I have been letting that slide. I would love to have some arm weights to work out with too since I don't have time for weight training at the gym.

Yesterday was women's bible study at church. Our missionary friends are back for a short furlough and it was great seeing a dear friend that I haven't seen in three years. During a discussion she made an interesting point about focusing on things above. She described how easy it was to focus on heavenly things when her family is in the mission field because she sees real suffering, poverty, and lost souls daily. Heaven is easy to think of when it is the only thing that gives you hope in this world. However, in American it is hard to dwell on things above because living in America is so easy. America IS heaven when compared to other countries. I thought about how much truth was in that statement. It is so easy in this country to surround ourselves with things that bring peace and comfort: nice houses, healthcare, tons of food, new clothing, modern conveniences, gadgets, etc. Is is easy to forget that these things may be good but they are not what are going to be what matters in the end. They will never bring TRUE peace and comfort. They will let us down at some point. It was nice to get some outside perspective and wisdom. I am excited to spend some more time with her and her family before they leave us again to do God's work. What a great example to us all.

dead legs, dead puppy

I made it through my 13 mile run yesterday. Barely. Friday night, I was so exhausted that Doug insisted I take a late afternoon nap. I woke up at 5:3o after a three hour nap. I slept alright that night and felt good Saturday morning. I woke up without an alarm at about 7:30 and got to the gym at 9:00. My goal for that run was a nine minute mile pace. I had done this successfully last Saturday with my 12-miler. I had two bottles of water and two Gu packets so I was good to go. The first few miles went by without a hitch. I felt really relaxed and comfortable. Around, 6 miles, I could feel myself began to chafe pretty badly and I think that messed with my mental game. By the 8.5 mark I hit a wall and just felt done. I really really wanted to just call it a day and say, "close enough." I tried to focus because I was really frustrated at this point and dropped my pace to a 10:3o mile. At 9.5 miles, I wasn't feeling any better, so I did the unthinkable and started to walk which I never never do during a run. I kept telling myself that at the 1o mile mark I would run the last three miles but not push it. At mile 1o, I began at 10:30 pace and by mile 12, I was back to my original pace to finish the run. This was the hardest long run I have ever done. I feel disappointed that I couldn't keep pace and had to walk a half mile, but I am glad I finished. My time was right around 2:08 or a 9:50 mile pace. About 10 minutes slower than I wanted to go. I am trying to not be too discouraged though because I have two months of training to go and this week I wasn't feeling that great. I think I am going to switch from water to Gatorade on my long runs because that is what will be available on race day. That may help. I may need to reevaluate when I eat the Gu as well. On the plus side, I feel pretty good today. I am sore, but its not too bad. I am thinking about pushing the pace on my shorter runs this coming week. Here is my training schedule this week:

Tuesday: 3 miles

Wednesday: 7 miles

Thursday: 4 miles

Saturday: 10 miles

Well, yesterday Erin and I introduced ourselves to some of our neighbors. We got on the subject of the dogs in our area. A ton of owners let their dogs have free reign of the neighborhood during the day. Our neighbor informed us that people have been known to abandon dogs on our street that they need to get rid of. I had wondered why our area had so many strays. As I was walking home, I kid you not, I found a dead puppy at the end of our property line near the road. Most likely it was a dumped dog that died of starvation or lack of medical attention. I am going to call animal control on Monday to see what our options are for our neighborhood and to remove the puppy. I don't know why it shocks me when I see such a blatant disregard of personal responsibility.

Later that day, I went to Wal-Mart and while I was in the check-out line, a mother and a young daughter were caught shoplifting. I could empathize (not justify) with someone in this economy shoplifting necessities like groceries, but their cart was full of Hannah Montana clothing, electronics, and dog food. It just makes my heart heavy when I think of the direction our society is heading. The saddest part is that those that want to change their lives for the better are often looking in the wrong places. For example, this morning our pastor explained that humanistic psychology teaches the source of change is "you." YOU can change if you really want to, YOU can do anything if you reach your full potential, etc. Our pastor described a search he did on Amazon.com for self-help. Amazon came back with a list of 97,000+ products. The point: there are so many because not one will work! On your own you can't change anything about your heart. You can quit smoking and things like that out of sheer will-power, or even change your environment, but you cannot be truly transformed without the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

Another reason most will not know true transformation is the legalism of religion. This is a huge problem that is turning a ton of would-be believers away from the truth. You are not transformed if you hold on to an external facade (religion). Rules are good and govern action, but right behavior is the result of a changed heart, not the cause. Rules and regulations do not = true transformation. Now, our pastor posed a very interesting question: Doesn't salvation by grace (instead of works) mean I can keep on sinning and not change? I have heard this question asked before so I was very interested in what he had to say. The Answer: No change ignores the purpose of Salvation. Jesus saved us from our sins. Therefore, we should want to sin less! No change ignores the means of salvation. We died with Christ on the cross and also raised again into new life. Our life should look new and different. No change ignores the nature of grace. The goal of grace is to kill sin because sin separates us from God and God loves us and does not desire this for us. And lastly, no change ignores our identity with Christ. Unity with Christ=true transformation. Great great lesson. I was taking notes like crazy as you tell.

I don't mean for these blogs to be so long. I may post one just for fun tomorrow. I hope everyone has a blessed, transformed week!

A Rainbow and a Jesus Painting

So, today my alarm was set to 7 instead of 5! Those two extra hours felt great. However, my reason for sleeping in is not so great. Doug caught the stomach bug again for the second time in two weeks. I didn't have to get up before he left for work because he called in today. I feel bad for him and I suspect he didn't kick the bug because he doesn't get enough rest. Right now he is reading a Terry Pratchett novel wearing pajama pants and his Led Zeppelin shirt. Classic Doug.

I wake up and head to the car..wait...the van. I can't take the car because it has a flat. The car has really old tires. It is actually daylight and when I look up there is a rainbow in the sky. One of the perks of living where we do kinda out in the country, is the scenery. I was able to see both sides of the rainbow above our street. Another great start to my day. If I had gotten up at my regular time, I would have missed it. Thank you God for reminders of your promises and extra sleep! On the way to the gym for my 3 mile run that I should have run yesterday (I caught a mild form of the stomach bug and wasn't about to go running yesterday) the van began to overheat so I had to stop and buy coolant. The van is kinda special and leaks coolant slowly. My in-laws sold us the van and said they had gotten it fixed but it always seemed to still be a problem. Doug got paid today (thank you, Jesus) so I went ahead and filled up the tank as well. I was again reminded how blessed we are: I don't mind the quirks of driving older cars because by the grace of God we have never had a car payment. We actually love our cars. My '99 Plymouth that I bought in '02 has so many memories for us and has served us well. Sure it has a cracked windshield (thank you ice-storms of OK) and is in desperate need of a detail, but it gets us from point A to point B. Doug absolutely loves his van. He tells me constantly of all the family road trips we are going to take in that thing. It is great for hauling sound equipment too and sleeping in when we go camping.

I get to they gym and run an exhausting three miles. I have felt fatigued all week (thank you mother nature) and it was way too hot in the gym. I felt like I was running in an oven. My time was 27:10. I am trying not to psych myself about my long run tomorrow because I have to run the same distance plus 10 miles! I will be practicing some healthy self talk today after being inspired by my study this morning. I do not have a lot of raw running talent, so for me, running is 95% mental. I am starting to think you have to be mental to run a marathon.

Jack woke up around nine which is early for him. I started feeding him a healthy breakfast then I grabbed a handful of potato chips (which we never have in the house, I only bought them for our small group buddies) because I wanted something salty after my run. Jack spotted the chips and demanded I share. So his breakfast consisted of strawberries, Cherrios, and chips. Healthy. He is so observant already. I read him a few books and then sure enough, he was already sleepy because he got up too early. He is napping right now.

I need to call my beautiful neighbor, Erin soon. We are baking goodies for our other neighbors that we have never met. We both moved in around the same time and feel guilty about not doing this already. From observation and to put it nicely, a few of our neighbor's could use some Jesus in their lives. I love living so close to good friends. We have borrowed so many things from each other already: eggs, lawn mowers, grills, tow ropes (that is a fun story). Also, it is very convenient when Doug and Ben need their "special time" with each other.

Another note: last night about 7, we hear our doorbell ring. When I answer the door, no one is there but there is a very large painting resting against our house. I take it inside and discover it is a 3 ft. by 4 ft. painting of Jesus at the last supper. Doug took one look at it and I expected him to say something like, "Who the heck left that," but instead he says, "Why is Jesus blonde?" It was a very random experience. Come to find out, it was our friend, Daniel, who is known for very random experiences. We had a good visit with Daniel and fed the bachelor some "real" food as he called it. I love our friends. Oh, and if you want a huge painting of a blonde Jesus, let me know!

My new bible study is called Me, Myself, and Lies by Jennifer Rothschild. Jennifer speaks about how most women tend to have very negative thought lives and say things to themselves they would never to say to another person. In one of the exercises, I had to list some words that I thought described my identity. Then, I had to determine the nature of these words. Were they truthful, harsh, positive, etc.? Then I was prompted to read 1 Corinthians 15:10 and write what it says about my identity. My response was, "I am who I am by the grace of God." I ended the day with a prayer of gratefulness for God's grace that makes me who I am:

Thank you, Lord for blessing me with the responsibilities that come with my roles as a wife and mother. Thank you for the personality traits and my outlook on life that is unique to me. Only your grace gives me peace about my identity and who I am in your kingdom. I pray you would refine how I see myself and give me a glimpse of how YOU see me. I pray any negative thoughts or words I use to poison my thought life would diminish when I think on how much you love me just because you made me and I am yours. Guide my heart in this study so I may learn to become a more Godly, effective woman for Christ. In Jesus name I pray.

First Blog

I finally decided to start a blog. I guess my motivation to start one is to track my marathon training. I am not the best at journaling and should really be keeping a running diary. I figure it will be easier for me to keep track in this capacity than in a notebook. My other motivation (although hardly secondary) is to share what I am learning in my journey through God’s word. These past couple of years now, I have been attending a woman’s bible study led by my pastor’s wife. Jamy is a beautiful woman with an infectious passion for God’s word. I love what I have been learning about the riches of scripture and how they apply personally to my own life.

About me: First and foremost, I am a Christian. I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and this goes way deeper than mere “religion.” But, if you really must know, I am a member of a wonderful, healthy, growing Southern Baptist church. I serve in our AWANAS program and help guide 3 to 5 year olds in learning their first bible verses. I love Wednesdays. I accepted Christ into my heart when I was seven. I am blessed and will be forever grateful to have grown up in a Christian home. I married my high school sweetheart, Doug, on January 3^rd, 2004. My husband is THE most talented person I have ever known. It is almost annoying how many things he is excellent at. He is also the biggest dreamer I have ever met. Mainly, he is a singer/songwriter. His big dreams include supporting his family with his music someday. I pray this for him and our family everyday. Doug reminds me constantly that God gave him his talents, passions, and desires for a reason. His website is www.dwhurtmusic.com. Doug is currently serving in our contemporary worship service and in the college department. We welcomed our first child, Jack Danger (yes, Danger is REALLY his middle name) in May of 2008. Jack serves in the church nursery as the comic relief and worship leader =). His nickname is “Jabber-Jack.” I am a stay at home mom and I love everyday because I get to wake up to either a run or the sound of Jack singing in his bed waiting for me.

Running background: I joined cross- country my sophomore year at Ronald Reagan High School. I was silly and had no clue how to prepare for distance running, so the summer before, I forced myself to run 6 miles at 10 minute mile pace 6-7 times a week for essentially the entire summer. I have no clue how I didn’t injure myself. Needless to say, I had trained hard enough to easily make the varsity pack. Since that year (1999) I have always been a runner. My fastest cross-country time was 2 miles in 13:04, and track was 12:40. I always knew that someday I wanted to run a marathon.

Current running: I am now on week 6 of an 18 week training schedule for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on April 25^th. This week the training is:

Tuesday: 3 miles

Wednesday: 6 miles

Thursday: 3 miles

Saturday: 13 miles

I have been running all runs at a 9-minute mile pace. I would love to finish the marathon in under 4 hours. TMI Alert: My biggest challenge so far is CHAFFING!!! I have major sports bra issues. I am talking about open-wound-cry-when-you-take-a-shower-issues. I am a “heavy” runner ( I do not mean this term to be self-deprecating: if you weigh over 145 pounds you can enter a special fat category at most marathons. For men, the category is the Clydesdale. For women, it is the Filly. Most distance runners are lean. I will say that I am in shape, but I not the stereotypical super thin runner.) Sports bras just aren’t designed for woman with shape. I usually have to buy an XL or XXL bra and still have major issues especially with longer runs. I don’t know how bustier or heavier women do anything athletic! I am only a C-cup with an athletic build and I know plenty of women larger than that. C’mon, Nike, work with me here. Before I get a lot of people telling me about specialty sports bras for larger women: I know they are out there. I also know that the last one I looked at cost 65 bucks. Do you know how many diapers that buys?! Another issue is that I have to be up and running before Doug heads to work which means setting the alarm to 5 AM. The exception is Saturdays when I do my long runs. Even then, I usually manage to get up and run for two hours to come home to Doug and Jack still sleeping. Another issue is finances. I still haven’t paid the entry fee of 100 bucks for the marathon because I can’t afford to yet. I am just hoping and praying it doesn’t fill up before I can pay. Also, good running gear can be expensive. As I mentioned before, I am a heavy distance runner and investing in well cushioned shoes with ample support is very important in preventing injury. Two years ago I was training for a half marathon that I never got to run because I hurt my knee running for too long on worn out shoes. I thought I couldn’t “afford” new shoes. I especially couldn’t afford the visit to the orthopedic sports specialists. And in my 10+ years of running experience, you get what you paid for in the shoe department. Another problem I face is my addiction to treadmill running. I have done all my training so far on the treadmill. The treadmill is safe, familiar, has less impact, and TV! I love how I can just set my pace and plug in my headphones. Plus, my water bottle and Gu is right at my fingertips. The weather in Oklahoma has been terrible the past couple of months, but I don’t think I am going to have the blizzard excuse for too much longer. I know I need more experience especially with my long runs in the Oklahoma wind.

Current study: I just finished up two weeks in Proverbs and Romans 12. I don’t know what is more humbling, reading about the Proverbs 31 woman or learning what Paul had to say about our role in the body of Christ, what humbleness and love look like as an action, and what a biblical response to our enemies should be.

I learned that Proverbs 31 is less of a description of a super hero and more of a call to have the right priorities. One of my favorite passages was 31:17-20 when it talks of her “opening her hands to the needy,” She is so so productive and busy, yet she makes time for things that matter, like giving to the poor. She doesn’t let the business of her day-to-day interfere with doing the things that really matter. I am guilty of having a mental checklist in my head that I want to accomplish. Usually it involves a run, followed by bible study, housework, Jack time, and dinner. I consider it a "good day" if I can say I accomplished everything. I am learning that this way of living tends to be shallow. Our pastor reminded us a couple weeks ago that our ministry should be to our family first. Here, we see the Proverbs 31 woman giving to those in need because she has already engaged in an effective ministry to her own household. Another verse I loved was v.25 when it talks of her “laughing at the days to come.” I don’t know how one woman can be so busy/productive and have so much to do and at the same time have no anxiety. Our tasks and responsibilities should not stress us out; the opposite should be true: our tasks (if done well) should give us a peace about the future. So many times, I am anxious about things on my to-do list. I need to have the right perspective: I do those things to decrease my stress.

One of the great truths I learned from my Romans 12 study was in verses 9-12. V. 12 says, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction…” the footnote in my bible says, “Enduring triumphantly-necessary for Christians because affliction is their inevitable experience.” Whoah!!! I love this stuff. God is molding us into the person that can best serve his kingdom when we go through affliction. It is our inevitable experience! God’s word rules. I think C.S. Lewis said it well (he says everything well) "Some people feel guilty about their anxieties and regard them as a defect of faith but they are afflictions, not sins. Like all afflictions, they are, if we can so take them, our share in the passion of Christ." I can’t wait to get started tomorrow morning on a new study called, “Me, Myself, and Lies.” Details to follow. I apologize for the length of this first entry. I don’t know if I will post everyday, but when I do, I will include info on my study and the run (if any) I did that day. My goal here is not to have a huge following as a blogger, but to have a better way to organize my thoughts and goals in the areas of spiritual and physical growth. Maybe I can share my experiences with someone who needs help or guidance in either area. Let me know what you think. I love comments and above all, I treasure prayers and advice. For now, be encouraged and know that you are loved.