Something Beautiful

There is a TV show called 24. Some friends of my parents have all the seasons, so they loaned them to M and D to watch. I am not up to see my parents that frequently, so I mostly missed watching it, but as far as I understand the principle behind the show it focuses on a 24 hour period. The entire season is supposed to represent these 24 hours with each episode being some break up of this (I don't remember if it is an hour or a minute). Anyway, while I know basically nothing about the TV show, I like the importance that is placed on a 24 hour period. So much happens in 24 hours and we almost never take the time to actually sit down and break it down and examine what all happened. Right now, I feel like I am in a very surreal place because in 24 hours I will have run a marathon. Part of me doesn't really believe it. I feel like I have been training so long, and now it is finally here. I picked up my packet today along with my shirt and my tag. It hasn't sunk in yet. I don...

I walked across campus this morning and there was a group of small children (probably kindergarten or pre-school age) on an outing with their teachers (I assume). They were making a pile of leaves to jump into. The sight was just so refreshing to me. Such innocence! Such joy! What a breath of fresh air! And it made me look forward to a time when I pray that God will bless me with children of my own. It's funny how some things can just tug at a string you didn't know was in your heart. But as I watched this beautiful children delighting in the brightly colored leaves, I felt that small little tug deep inside my heart, a longing written deeply into my soul and my longings. I immediately reminded myself that it is not time yet. I'm not ready for that yet. I have many other things I want to do first, but it is occasionally nice to have the reminder that that longing is still there. A dear friend prayed over my marathon last night which was amazing for me. It is so hard for me t...

I am sitting in my favorite place in the world right now, and this song was just on the radio. It is amazing that this place fills a hole in my heart that I didn't know was there until I came here. It is amazing to me how much a place can actually mean to you. Really this is just a house...like thousands of other houses across thousands, millions of other cities across the world, and yet for some reason this house means something to me and very few of the others do. Why is that?? Well, I guess it's partly because of the people, partly because of the coffee, partly because of the atmosphere, but there is just something about this place that cannot be matched by any other place. All that to say I am in love with a house. Granted it is a very awesome house, but a house none-the-less. It is a sad fate to be sure, but then again maybe it isn't such a bad thing after all.

I love to wake up to sunlight streaming through my window. In fact, it is probably one of my very favorite things. To see the warm glow and stretch in bed and take my time about getting up...so delightful. I have gotten lots of sleep lately, but I still feel rather tired, so I'm gonna call it a night here very soon. Tomorrow is going to be a big and busy day. 12 days until the marathon...I think...it might be 11 now. I am really looking forward to being done with it...then I can sleep in every morning...so I probably won't, but it is nice to have the option. I ran 20 miles on Saturday. I still can't believe it. I really wanted to get in a 20 mile run before the marathon, but I didn't think I was going to have time for it. God is so awesome!! My retreat was fantastic!! I am still really processing all of it. It was nice to be able to process some with L tonight. What a dear friend she is!! Well...until later my friends...peace out!

I realized that I haven't blogged in quite a while and for the few people who actually read my blog I felt that I should really post something new. I am running on about 5 hours of sleep right now, though, so this will be short with a longer blog post coming soon. I helped B and C with wedding invitations tonight as well as watching part of the Sandra Bullock movie Premonition...so weird and interesting at the same time...I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I also didn't get to see the entire movie, so I might have to watch it in it's entirety sometime. Well, I'm gonna get some sleep...peace out yo!

I am so glad my break is officially starting. How nice to know that I have nothing on my schedule for the next couple of days except spending time with God. Trust me, I am ready for it. Lately my runs have been very mentally challenging as well as physically challenging. I feel like I should be feeling better when I run than I am. My chiro gave me some stretches to try, though, and hopefully that will help...I'm sure stretching at all will help...I'm really bad at the whole stretching thing....need to work on that. But lately the mental has been just as bad as the physical. This morning Jesus and I had a good talk about how much I depend on the praise of man (and by man I mean mankind, not the male species). I am a words of affirmation person. That is my number one love language. I need words of affirmation to feel like others love me. And yet, I feel like I lean much to heavily on what man says and not enough on what God says. Last night I was having issues, and I have realize...

Sometimes I get that feeling...you know the one where you have to just do something...go somewhere...try something new...I think the best explaination I have every found for it is in the movie Chocolat where they move with the wind. That's how I feel. I move with the wind. Lately I have just had this feeling that there is more to life than what I have been living. There has to be something more. My feet are itching...I'm ready to go...somewhere new...see new people, new places, new things, have new experiences. Somewhere deep inside of me I am just aching to go. I don't just want ordinary life - I want extra-ordinary life. I think that part of me would be content to settle into a normal, quiet existence, to do all the small, comfortable things in life. But then there is this other part of me that refuses to be tamed. It is the part of me that will not settle down...ever. It is the part of me that refuses to compromise. It is the part that longs to be a part of something big...

I started this blog post yesterday and couldn't find the energy to finish it...I think after I wrote the title I took a two hour nap. That was after a 16 mile run...that just seems unreal. I didn't run the entire way...in fact, I think that 16 miles was a little too big a bite for me to chew so to speak. After not having a long run in 2 weeks, I should have started back a little slower...and my body is telling me that. Hopefully by tomorrow morning it will be a bit better. I ran in my new shoes as well. Me gustan mis zapatos de tenis neuevos. I am currently listening to a program on this website www.hos.com. A friend put me onto this website over a year ago...I don't always listen to it, but it is free on Sundays. Sometimes it's a little out there, but today is a lovely mix of jazz...I love me some good jazz. :) Plus jazz just seems to perfectly fit my mood right now, and I always feel like jazz fits perfectly with fall. I'm still not happy with the concept of cold ...

Cold days...much like this one...make me want hot chocolate, so tonight I made some...and I added chili powder. That is definitely not something I would normally have done, but after I watched the movie Chocolat I really wanted to try it, so I am currently drinking hot chocolate with chili powder...it is actually quite delightful. I am really having a hard time with accepting cold weather...I just don't like it...it's icky, and I hate being cold, which I inevitably am when the weather turns cold. However, I am trying to look on the bright side of things in life, and I am trying to appreciate the seasons that I find myself in, so I am going to make a list of things I enjoy about the cold. Snow, hot chocolate, fun coats and scarfs, being in a hot tub when the weather is cold, Christmas, the fact that God made the cold. That's about it...I'll keep thinking on it, and hopefully come up with more along the way. At any rate...I will be glad when Spring returns. This evening h...

I awoke this morning to a cool room, and I was too tired to get up and run...in fact I was too tired to make myself get up and run (which usually works when I'm just too tired to run). So I laid in bed until 10:15...something I never do. It was so delightful. I decided that when the weather is icky like this I really just wanted some chicken soup...after discovering chicken in the freezer, I followed through with the plan and put it in the crockpot for supper. I was almost late to my 12:30 class, and I contemplated skipping my second class, but didn't. Then I went to work. I really didn't think anyone would show up, but one faithful student made his way through the downpour to come to the SI session. I was still out before normal. I came home and made biscuits and added to the soup. I also picked up a package this morning that was a gift from a lovely woman. It is two books for my future children. And my new running shoes came today!! I can't wait to break them in. :) I...

You know those moments...the ones where you are perfectly happy and content...the ones you want to freeze and stay in forever...the ones that make you sigh from somewhere deep inside where you didn't even realize that you were holding your breath. I had one of those tonight. I was in my favorite place in the whole world, surrounded by people I care deeply about and just so peaceful and happy and content that I just felt the inner core of myself sigh. D and L were playing guitar, and it was just such a perfectly delicious moment. I'm sure that the wonderfulness of the moment was made possible by the last several days of just lovely non-stressed living. I love when I get to look at my calendar and just see normal every day activities and not 10,000 other things that have to be accomplished as well. This morning when I went for my run it was very chilly outside...I could see my breath...that's just gross!! I wore a long sleeved shirt for the first time when running this mornin...

I love sitting and talking with college girls about what is going on in their lives...it is probably my second favorite thing in the world right behind spending time with Jesus. I absolutely love it. And today I got to do just that for hours. It was fantastic!! And it was incredibly humbling at the same time. I was struck with a new realization of what it is like to be held to a standard. People are observing how I live life, and that is a very challenging and humbling thing to realize. I am an example. WOW! That is definitely motivating me to continue to live a life worthy of my calling. It also was a wonderful confirmation yet again of what I feel I am supposed to do with my life. I am really looking forward to fall break and having days to just sit with God and figure out what is the next step. I loved the devo my beautiful friend K gave at the GAL retreat this last weekend about how we shouldn't wait to get thirsty for God but that we should spend time with Him on such a regula...