My Fitness Pal

I've been a runner for almost a year and a half now. It's been a wild adventure in many respects. First off, I started with the Cool Running plan which is also known as C25K (Couch Potato to 5K). I was determined to try it. Several of my pastors were running, their wives, and other friends, and also some of my cousins. I needed a great way to get more fit, perhaps take off a few pounds, and there is also the idea of being able to eat naughty foods that I love and not gain weight. The last idea is not a sensible one, but it's a reality. I like cake.

Last May I ran a half marathon in Kalamazoo. There were major highs and some really low lows to that run. The "lows" I can't really talk about, but I learned a great deal from that run. Because of the benefits of the Borgess Run, the atmosphere, the route, the proximity to home, and the desire to re-run what was such a difficult run experience, I will be doing it once again on May 5th. 

Honestly, if it weren't for my running partner, Pam, I probably wouldn't be running half marathons at all. I'd still run, I would eat cake, I would endure snow, ice, and spitting rain, but I would not be running long runs. I enjoy the camaraderie, the talks, the sighs, the plan-making, the heart-sharing, the grunts, the ups, the downs, the sheer enjoyment of taking in God's creation, the benefits, the challenges, and what it does for me as a person. It has changed me in many ways. So thank you, fitness pal. You are awesome!

I never know exactly where a blog post is going to go. The title started in my head about an app on my iPhone that I love, and it turned into a post about friendship and gratitude. If you are one of my friends and you are reading this, I love you and you play a very specific role in my life that has helped to shape me into who I am. Maybe you don't run with me, maybe you moved far, far away or I'm the one who moved and I think about you just about everyday. We might have lived down the hall from each other from the time we were 10 and you will always be my very best friend. Perhaps you live in another state, you have a blog and I met you in blogland,. You've touched my life. You might live in the U.K. where I once lived and you showed me a whole other world that I miss. You might be someone I see at church, we hug, chat, smile, and wait another week until we meet again. Maybe we went to college together and our friendship has withstood time and distance and we will be friends for life. Small groups at church have been a conduit to many of our dearest friendships. I might like your statuses on FB and am moved at some of your writings. I might have sat next to you on the bleachers watching our husbands play basketball and our conversation was effortless. You might be a friend that I once had and time and circumstance has changed what once was, but you will always have a part of my heart. Maybe you are the dearest, sweetest, best friend that I will ever have; my husband. Whomever you are, I am ever thankful for you that the Lord, in His infinite wisdom and sovereignty put you in my life. You've helped to shape me into the person I am right at this very moment. 

With Love and...

You are I am

I recently heard this song for the first time. I adore the chorus! The song talks about our doubts, our struggles, and ultimately what Jesus has done to take that all away. It makes me LOVE JESUS so much more. Do you have a song that moves you like this one does me?

"You Are I Am" by Mercy Me (album: The Hurt and the Healer)
**********************************
I've been the one to shake with fear
And wonder if You're even here
I've been the one to doubt Your love
I've told myself You're not enough

I've been the one to try and say
I'll overcome by my own strength
I've been the one to fall apart
And to start to question who You are

You're the one who conquers giants
You're the one who calls out kings
You shut the mouths of lions
You tell the dead to breathe
You're the one who walks through fire
You take the orphan's hand
You are the one Messiah
You are I am
You are I am

I've been the one held down in chains
Beneath the weight of all my shame
I've been the one to believe
That where I am You cannot reach

You're the one who conquers giants
You're the one who calls out kings
You shut the mouths of lions
You tell the dead to breathe
You're the one who walks through fire
You take the orphan's hand
You are the one Messiah
You are I am
You are I am

The veil is torn
And now I live with the Spirit inside
The same one, the very same one
who brought the Son back to life

Hallelujah, He lives in me
Hallelujah, He lives in me
Hallelujah, He lives in me
Hallelujah, He lives in me

You're the one who conquers giants
You're the one who calls out kings
You shut the mouths of lions
You tell the dead to breathe
You're the one who walks through fire
You take the orphan's hand
You are the one Messiah
You are I am
You are I am
*********************************

Thank you, Lord, that you are I Am. 

Go Redwings!

Give a cheer, give a cheer, give a cheer again!

H-O-B-O-K-E-N

Rah, rah, rah, rah, rah.

I was tagged on my FB page with this photo a couple of months ago.

Oh the memories it brought back. 

I am on the far right, top row.

I cheered back in the early 80's when our football team went to the State Championship and lost to Ramapo High School. We played at Giants Stadium and what a thrill it was.

This was a great year (2012) for Hoboken High School. I found this write-up on the internet:

"The Hoboken High School Football Team won the 9^th State Championship in program history on Friday evening at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. After breezing by their first two rounds of playoff opponents by a combined score of 89 to 14, the Redwings defeated Roselle Park High School 39 to 9 to secure the Group I North II Championship. The Redwings, led by Coach Lou Taglieri and his staff, will be honored in a parade on Monday, December 10^th. The parade will begin at 11^th Street and Washington Street at 3:30pm and will conclude at City Hall at 94 Washington Street.
'Congratulations to the Redwings football team, Coach Lou Taglieri, and his staff, for an amazing season and for bringing the State Championship back to Hoboken,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer. “We invite the community to join us for a parade on Monday to celebrate their great accomplishment.'"

Thought I'd share a blast from the past.

Stuff, change, things, and Carol Burnett

Sometimes there is so much stuff swirling about in my brain that I just don't blog about anything. I get overwhelmed and decide to deal with it in real life instead of putting it down here on my neat and tidy blog page. Then I eventually get to a place that I want to write something... anything because I've missed it so. And the Christmas season can have an entire blog all to itself because life is so busy and there is much to write about. Of course the time passes and all of those unwritten blog posts in my head are now outdated. Be that as it may, if I have a post about Christmas in February so be it. At least I've written about it as a memoir. Right??

 Our family took a couple of hours to find our tree this time around. It was a beaut, but next year we are heading to a small, local business that we know that will appreciate our business, and we will enjoy the fast transaction. :) Win-win!!

I'm sitting here at my computer as I have been at least 10 times today catching up on my SparkPeople page, checking out my FB page to see what my peeps are up to, working on some budget stuff, paying bills on-line, and also pondering all that God is doing in my life. I am really excited!! Change is ahead and I am embracing it!

God is at work.. He always is and has been, but I am stopping long enough to listen, pay attention, and obey. Getting ready for Christmas and 3 birthdays in December and January for the past couple of months has lent itself to a lot of spending, overspending as it were. If I pull that darn credit card out one more time to accumulate points, I'm going to scream! Ok, maybe not, but I really am tired of it. It's time to change my spending habits. Dave Ramsey says that if you spend with a credit card you will overspend 8-12% more than if you were using cash. Psh... I can say without a doubt that we've spent way more than that! Buying things with cash is also painful which makes you spend far less. Yes, that's what one of the major changes in my life will be, to develop a zero balance budget and do my absolute best to stick to it. I know that it is a matter of trial and error to develop a solid budget, really working to crunch the numbers because it's not always an exact science, but it's worth achieving "Financial Peace." I am so ready for this! And I am ever grateful for the Lord's gentle nudging for me to get to this place. It certainly helps that my church stands on these principles and some of my closest, dearest friends live this way.

Baby Steps... have a credit card cutting party; use a cash-in-envelopes system, etc. 

In other news... :) It's time to change the eating habits to some degree. Oh how I like my sweets! Everything in moderation is a great thing, isn't it? Today I was doing so well up until the Dunkin' donuts entered the house. Yes, I had a Boston cream. It was calling my name. Seriously, I hadn't had a single M&M, cookie, or any other such delicacy prior to the "d" word. Blast those donuts! My husband got a gift card and picked some up while he was in Kalamazoo for the girls' volleyball practice. I thought he was bringing home a pound of coffee.

And speaking of coffee, I don't know what is going on, but drinking coffee with cream and sugar does NOT agree with me at all. I've been drinking coffee for years and for the past several months my stomach feels sour and you can figure out the rest. It's not good. Sooooo...

I have decided to not drink coffee for the next 5 days minimum to observe the difference that will make. I picked 5 days because I like to enjoy my morning coffee with Shawn on Saturdays and Sundays. I shall drink tea, both hot and cold, in its place. Wow! Are you keeping up with all of these changes?

*Budget
*Change eating habits
*No coffee

And if that is not enough, I'll be running a Half Marathon again in May which means lots and LOTS of running.

*More excercise

Oh, and I want to lose about 10 pounds by the summer. Not if I keep eating those donuts, though!

*Lose weight

In all seriousness, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." (Phillipians 4:13) There is no possible way I can do any of this without Christ in me, who has brought me to this place of hearing, listening, and obeying. 

And on a little lighter note: My sweet, handsome hubby bought me the Carol Burnett dvd's for Christmas. Several weeks before Christmas I was watching an infomercial about them, got a little teary-eyed as I remembered watching her show with my mom, and really wanted to have them as a keepsake. She really is hilarious!

 

My mom loved the convenience of wearing a turban on occasion, and on this particular day, Braaten wanted to look just like her grandma. Braaten's name is my mom's maiden name.What a precious photo.