Five Days

Five days.

Excitement. Joy. Questions. Anxiousness. Hope. Worry. Peace amidst the storm.

Five days.

I wait with eager anticipation of this – one of my years goals.

A Marathon.

Not a half, not a 5K, not just any other run.

A FULL MARATHON.

26.2 miles.

On my legs and feet.

Five consecutive hours of running.

I question my sanity.

I dream of smashing 5 hrs.

I think of everything that could happen between now and then. No- I refuse.

I trust. I surrender. I am at peace.

My mind is being bombarded with what ifs and doubts and unholy things.

I choose to trust. I am at peace.

My God is faithful. His word declares this truth. His provision is for me. “I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].” (Philippians 4:13 AMP) He is faithful.

I have completed my training, I have fought hard for months. Now is not the time to fret, now is not the time for questioning if what I did was enough. Now is not the time for worry. I can no longer prepare.

All that is left is trust. All that is left is surrender. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9 NIV)

No time to give up. No time to fall short. We’re here and what is coming will not hesitate.

My body may not be cooperating as I would like it to- however, my body is subject to The Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. And his word says “But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.” (Isaiah 40:31 AMP)

There is a time and purpose for everything. You may not be facing a race, a run, a trivial thing. Gods word still remains. It applies in every aspect of life. So I encourage you- fight with all your might, but take time to know when to let go- when to simply fold your hands and trust. Sometimes our fighting isn’t against anyone but ourselves. This battle is not mine- it’s his. I’ve done my part, now I trust. I will run, whether my body thinks its capable or not, because my God is faithful- he knows my heart, my desires.

But if I don’t, if I fail at every desire I have- I will choose to trust.

Why? BECAUSE He knows my heart. He knows my desires. But HE is God. Not me. He is sovereign, and I know “We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. “(Romans 8:28 AMP)

Five days. Five peaceful, trusting, hopeful, exciting days.

What are you waiting for?

Running….. and other things

It’s over!!! I did it. Not quite the result I wanted, but close! I finished my 5K in 32:35. My goal was 31, but I am happy with 32. It was a bit more uphill than I thought it would be. But I never stopped, and in the last tenth of a mile, I pushed through and ran as fast as my tired little legs could take me.

I love the adrenaline rush that running gives me. It feels so good when you stop! In fact, the longer you run, the truer that statement becomes. (truer? Is that a word?) The first mile went well, I felt really good throughout that part of the race. I was passing people left and right. When I reached 1.5, I was pretty set in my pace. In fact, I ran next to a lady from that point on. One of us would speed up, then the other would catch up. It felt really good to have someone by my side. As much as I wanted to stop, when I saw that she kept going, it made me push even harder.

I do wish I would have made a running playlist long before race day. I threw one together at the last-minute – literally. A couple of friends and I met at 6:30 to leave, and I was syncing my phone then… A couple of the songs were to slow-paced. I tend to run in beat to the music, so it really determines my pace. Again, another reason I was grateful to have a “partner” to make me keep up. But other than that, I have no regrets. I ran as fast as I could, gave every ounce of what I had in me. It feels good to say that I have a four-month old and I just ran 5k in my personal best time. :0)

I am a little disappointed this is the last race of the season. In texas, its pure insanity to run in the middle of the summer. I will continue to train. I would like to do a 10K in august to prepare for a half in september. But there is no motivator like a race to keep you on your toes! :0)

Following my race, I was feeling quite brave, so I decided to take my kiddos to the water park. It was opening day and my kids were so ready to get in the water. Ok, Addisyn was ready to get in the water! It never ceases to amaze me how different my children are. Addisyn would live in the water if I let her. She wants to be in the pool more than the kids water park. I could leave her at the wave pool all day and she would be perfectly content. So glad she will be old enough for swim lessons this year. I need to know she will be ok, because my child has no fear of the water – which only creates fear in me! Tyce, on the other hand, is ok with the water, but in small doses. He likes to play in the sprinkler, as long as he can walk away. I made the mistake of taking him out in the wave pool in a tube yesterday. He fussed the entire time! When we finally got back, he prompt climbed into his stroller and sat pouting for the next 10 minutes. He likes to play on the edge, but ankle-deep is about as far as he wants to go. I wonder how Zayd will be in the water. So far, he has been in the pool once, but he didn’t seem to enjoy it. Though, when its me on the three of them, Zayd pretty much stays in the stroller the entire time. Yesterday, we had several friends join us, so that made my day much easier! It’s so nice when I can leave Tyce to take Addisyn to the potty. Or when I can take Tyce one-on-one while Addisyn plays with her friends.

Today, I have a wonderful souvenir from yesterday. I lathered the kids in sunscreen before I left, however, I forgot to put any on myself! ugh. Mommy-fail! Although, my children are only slightly burned on their face. SO I guess I was merely a half-mommy fail. Their faces are so precious – next time I will remember the stick sunscreen so I can protect those sweet little cheeks!

Tyce was sound asleep about 5 seconds after I put him in his car seat. Nap time was great! Although Addisyn didn’t sleep again! Naptime for her is becoming more and more rare. She is content to spend “rest time” in her room alone. I am not ready to give up naptime just yet. I need a break, and I think she does too! Naptime afforded me a moment to get my coupons ready for shopping. I figured I was on a roll, why stop now!

So, about 6 we headed to the grocery stores to get some deals. The first store went ok. They have the car carts, which is imperative when the three are with me. I hate going to stores that only have regular carts, once I get the kids in- there is NO room for groceries. 😦 The only problem I had was checking out with Tyce. He wanted up, then down, then in the cart, and out of the cart. I don’t think even he knew what he wanted. He was so tired from the water park, he was near delirious. My hubby came and rescued me as soon as he got off work. He took the older two while Zayd and I hit the last store. Following a minor hiccup from a store coupon change, we made it out an hour later. My total was 196.69 in groceries and I paid 71.93. Not bad! Too bad I have to go and get some more today. This month will be my first attempt at the 30 meals in one day.

Since I will be working three days a week now, I want to have meals ready for the nights I come home and don’t feel like cooking. Otherwise, I just set myself up for failure (I’ll just run through a drive-thru). I have attempted some of these meals this month – so now I’m diving into the real thing. The cool part about stockpiling is the only things I really need are meat and veggies. I will be giving an update on this after I make all the meals! 🙂

All in all, yesterday was a very productive day. Sometimes I even amaze myself at what I attempt. Thank God for his grace to get me through when I take on too much. Today – church, nap time, and then the movies with my baby girl. I need to take it slow every once in a while. Oh, and for those of you who read regularly, I actually made time yesterday to paint my toenails. :0)