Running the race.

Acts 20:4 says: However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

1 Corinthians 9:24 says: Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

I am a runner in both the spiritual and physical sense.  Spiritually I run the race as stated as above, to get to heaven.  Here on earth I run for physical endurance, dedication, and to push myself out of my comfort zone because I can do all things though Christ Jesus.

Yesterday, I spent my normal worship and fellowship time with 17,000 strangers who had one common goal, to finish the race.

The event started with an expo on Saturday where I picked up my race bib and T-shirt. 

I was happy to be in Corral A again because that is at the front of the race and the mile markers are at real time (each corral begins in 15-minute increments A-F). The rest of Saturday was spent relaxing and I went to sleep at 8 p.m. At 2 a.m., which is really, really early I got up, dressed, and was out the door by 2:20.  40 minutes later I arrived at the Epcot parking lot where I did the girl thing, I put on lipstick and mascara.  I had my window rolled down and my radio blaring. Sadly I do not remember what song was on but I know it was a Christian artist because that's what I listen to and was singing along to on the freeway.  When I stepped out of the van I thought I heard "good morning".  I looked around and didn't see anyone until the car door next to me opened up and the lady asked, "Are you going to run a 1:40?"  I laughed, seriously? I then had a great time getting to know two ladies from Oregon who were also running.

At 4:30 a.m. we were herded like...gazelles, cheetahs maybe, from the holding pen to the starting line. 

This is at Disney World so there was lots of music.  The morning was cool, about 59 degrees. People were dressed in costume, tiaras,and lots of sparkle. Not me.  I'm not a sparkly girl. 

5:45 a.m.and the race was off!  This was my time to worship, my time for prayer.  I prayed for my family- husband, each child specifically, my church family, leaders, elders, deacons, teachers. Then I prayed for our country and whatever else came to mind.  I prayed often for my knee which by mile 3 started to hurt.

This is mile 8.  My knee was really hurting and I was praying that I didn't have to walk for the next 5.1 miles. Talk about perseverance!! I would walk a minute then sprint until my knee hurt too much to run then slow down.  It hurt worse to run slow so that's how I ran the next 5 miles: walk, sprint, pray,  walk sprint. Pray. Pray.  I prayed for the lady on her back in the grass with a bloody nose. Don't know what happened but she was being taken care of. I prayed for the lady on a stretcher at mile 13. I prayed, thank you God for letting me be able to finish this race. I remembered seeing a T-shirt at the expo that said something along the lines of "I run half-marathons because I'm only half crazy".  

Knowing my injury, I had set a realistic goal of finishing in 2:30:00.

I did a little better than I had expected, not as well as I wold have liked, but I finished the race! 

Later that afternoon, even though I was completely drained, my daughter talked me into a pedicure. Ahh,, thank you Chelsea!!!

My time on this earth is not yet done.  I have finished this Disney Princess half marathon and my racing time is done for now.  I'm taking a well-needed break (for at least a month, if I can sit still that long).  My attention is now turned back to running the race for Christ, writing my book, Man in the Mirror, and praying to please the Father with my life. 

One last picture.  There were about a dozen men in the race. A few were normal, several wore costumes, princess costumes, kilts, fluffy skirts, prince outfits.  And then there was this guy:

Writing, Running, and Cooking

Life is ever moving forward. Just try to stop it. Lately I've had so many things I want and need to do I'm like a toddler in a messy room, not knowing which toy to pick up first. I've been working on a new book for a few weeks now. It's at a point where I need to spend several hours at a time, without interruption, to keep the flow going. I'm just past the climax and am trying to figure out how to wrap it all up and where to stop.  The endings.  I hate writing endings. Hate, no, that's a strong word.  I just find it difficult so it takes a lot more effort.  Effort means time. I need more of it. As a distraction, and to try to inspire and help me with my writing I have been doing a lot of reading.  I read the book of Acts and am on the third chapter of the book of Romans.  I find I study the Bible a lot when I write, which is a good thing. Most of my writing has scripture and spiritual themes so it is necessary. I need to be in the Word more, so it is of great benefit.  I have also been researching dialogue tags and how not to over use them.  Guilty.  I have a lot of editing to do. I have another book that I began about a year ago with absolutely no dialogue.  Boy is that hard.  I've put it aside for now.

Then there's running. I'm getting frustrated by injury.  I had right IT band problems after my first half marathon last March.  Got over that in about 3 months.  Now I'm dealing with left IT band.  It's lingering. I have a muscle spasm that will not go away and it ticks me off.  I've been cross training and strengthening, stretching, ice, heat, you name it.  The one thing I know I need to do, I refuse to do.  That is rest. Yeah, right, me rest.  When? And I don't want to.  I have a 5K this Saturday and then on the 27th is the Disney Princess half marathon.  I'm so afraid I will be walking it. If you really think about it, I'm pretty silly. A lot of people pray that they will be able to walk the half marathon and here I am praying I won't have to. I should be grateful that I can walk. Period.

As a runner and a Mom I'm into healthy eating.  I'm all for doing things in moderation but there are some definite NOs for me.  No fast food. Period. I don't eat sugar or sodas several days before races. This is especially important since I am borderline hypoglycemic.  I'm always on the hunt for healthier protein bars instead of the store bought ones.  My daughter thinks I should take a sandwich with me on my long runs.  Silly girl. I can barely chew and swallow a raisin while running. In any event I was looking for a recipe for either healthy protein bars or granola bars and came across a terrific recipe.  The recipe I used is as below, however, the original was from www.joyfulabode.com.  These bars got the stamp of approval from my daughter and husband, which is very big deal!

2 cups oats
2 TB milled flax seed
3/4 c raw sunflower seeds
1 c crushed raw peanuts

Toast lightly 10-12 minutes

2/3 c (-1 tsp or so) brown sugar
4 TBS Agave nectar
4 TBS butter, unsalted
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

8 oz dried fruit, rinsed  (add to mixture later)

Simmer almost to a boil in large pot.  Stir constantly.  Do this while the oats mixture is toasting.
Line a 9 x 13 glass dish with wax paper.  Spray with Pam.  Put oats mixture and fruit into pot with sugars. Mix well.  Put into glass dish, cover top with the wax paper. Compact well.  Put something heavy on it.  Let cool for 2-3 hours or put into freezer until hardened. Cut into bars. Mine made 16. Calories are approximately 230.  You can vary the fruit and nuts.  I used cranberries and raisins for the first batch.  Will use walnuts with apricots next time.  To up the protein add a little protein powder. Refrigerate or freeze.  Will keep up to 2 weeks but I'll bet they are eaten before then!!

Hope you enjoy the recipe.  Where has time gone?  Did I mention I have a full time job, too?  Back to it!!

Love is...

My second 1/2 marathon is on February 27th and I am not ready for it. I've had injuries and bad weather and, well not enough time.  This past Saturday I went out for my long run (a 12 mile circle around my neighborhood).  Usually on short runs I have a set playlist of music, however, on my long runs I simply set my music to 'all' and 'shuffle'.  I spend my 1 to 2 hours listening to mostly Christian rock music while my mind wanders.  Often, I pray the entire run.  When my son was in basic training, I prayed solely for him.  On this particularly run my mind wandered and ended up on this particular topic: Love is a verb. 

The phrase "Love is" is listed in the Bible (NIV 2010) eleven times, in the KJV five times. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 "love is" is defined even further:  ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸ Love never fails.

The Bible is painting us a word picture of an action. Patience is an action, kindness is an action, rejoicing is an action.  Not one place in the Bible does it say that love is a feeling, love is butterflies in your stomach, a longing, or a desire.  Love is a brain thing, a conscious effort from within your heart to do good for others.  Love is not something that one falls in or out of. It is a decision, then once the decision is made, an action must follow.  Love is a verb. 

While I was running and contemplating these things, a God-thing happened.  The Petra song "I am available" began to play. The lyrics are as follows:  "I don't have much to offer you, I don't have much to give, There's so much that I may never be, As long as I may live. And I may never be all I want to be, Although I'll always try, But if you chose me, to use me, There's just one reason why, I am available, I am available, I will you when you say go, I am available, I am available, I will stop when you say no. ......."  The lyrics continue but the part that said "LOVE IS" to me is as follows:  "I know that my ability, Is not your main concern, It's my availability and willingness to learn." (http://www.mp3lyrics.org/p/petra/i-am-available/)

So, my conclusion at the end of my run, when my legs were screaming STOP was this:  Love is not only a verb but it is also being available, willing and ready to do whatever God wants you to do regardless of who you are. 

Here I am, Lord.  Use me. 

Freedom Race

 I have finally published 'Freedom Race'!

Even though I wrote this book way back in 1991, I had all but forgotten about it.  Fortunately, it was saved and I found it!  Yeah.  I am very excited about getting it published.  Find it at: 
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/40224


The book cover (at left) is symbolic of the story.  I won't ruin it for you, but once you read the story it will be very clear.  


Please let me know what you think.  My writing has changed a lot since 1991.  I was tempted to scrap the story and start over but decided against it because I wanted to preserve that time in my life.  


Happy Reading!


In honor of Freedom Race being published, all my books are 25% off at Smashwords.com


Codes:
Captured:  SX49J
Lessons Learned: YS39X
Sanctuary: GW79X
Mount Mission: LE34P
Freedom Race:  YA29Y


But wait, that's not all!!  Because I'm in such a happy place, I'm giving all new editing clients a 25% discount this month as well.   E-mail me at freedspirit05@.me.com and lets get your project going!!