In my corner

Here's a few things I've been up to in the last couple months:

Still training with Marquis. Love this guy more all the time.
Celebrating my birthday with Marquis (and Steve, Harpreet and Sheila)


10 mile Turkey Trot 2014. This was my 7th year running the Turkey. The gang - Sheila, Steve, Emily, Whitney, Harpreet & Marquis


With my friend Katrina at the Steve 50 2015


Celebrating Leesa's birthday.


And I turned 7 years worth of race tee shirts that either don't fit right, wrong size, or we have duplicates into this tee shirt.
I am quite pleased with how it turned out.

Investing in what matters

Recently Steve and I have started making things we are invited to a priority. And not just invitations of people we know well, but even the facebook invites to birthday parties and work invites to hang out.

I watched a show on television the other day where everyone at work hung out together and were friends. I like my co-workers. But I've always kept a professional distance. Which I think is okay, but on the flip side, I really love a couple of them.

Last weekend Steve hosted the fourth Steve 50 event. This year, he actually had his first 50 mile finisher besides himself. Several of his ultra running friends came out this year, friends from work, and friends that share our trainer. We had 65 participants on one level or another. And one of my co-workers and his wife came out and another co-worker's husband ran.

As I look at the places my life intersects with other people, I am making a conscious effort to invest more in relationships. I have several really good friends that I see on a regular basis, and it makes it easy to keep my distance. However, I don't believe that is the way I'm supposed to be living my life.

I have a lot to give to those I love and a lot to learn and experience and everyone I come in contact can teach me something, can be a benefit to my life. (Even those I don't want to).

Not all who wander are lost

ALL that is GOLD does not GLITter,
Not ALL those who WANder are LOST;
The OLD that is STRONG does not WITHer,
Deep ROOTS are not REACHED by the FROST.
From the ASHes a FIRE shall be WOken,
A LIGHT from the SHAdows shall SPRING;
ReNEWED shall be BLADE that was BROken,
The CROWNless aGAIN shall be KING

After my post earlier this week about wandering, I'm going to just stay with the same topic.

I have a necklace with this phrase. I love it. I also love this poem by J.R. Tolkien.

Most of my life I have lived letting life happen to me. I know that. It's part of my make up. I never planned on having kids, I didn't plan on not having kids. I got what I got. And I got really good. I always wanted to be a wife and mother, but never made plans for it. I dated, A LOT, but I couldn't figure out how all my friends had met "the one" and I was dating 4 guys at once and didn't want to be exclusive with any of them.

Until it happened. Until I met the guy that I didn't want to leave in the evening. That I wanted to see every morning. That I looked forward to the phone ringing. Even now I love to see that text from him in my phone, the email at work, and seeing him in the evening after work is the highlight of my day.

Even in my career I have just followed where it led. I have a great job. I have done well, and yet, I didn't set out for it. I do like what I do, and I'm good at it.

I've been up and down health wise the last two years. Not anything serious, but stuff that kept me from a work out plan that I want. H pylori. Twice. Knee surgery. Plantar fasciitis. Vertigo.

I'm done letting life happen and knock me down. There are ways to work around these set backs and I'm going to do it.

This year, I ran several races, and had a great time. But I didn't run any as well as I would have liked. January 1, 2014 I struggled through a 5K at the YMCA. June I struggled through a 10k at El Dorado Lake. October I struggled through a marathon at Niagara Falls. In November I KILLED a ten mile race. That's what I want to do every time.

I have spent some time laying out a workout/running plan in great detail. I have a healthy eating plan lined up.

I have a new Bible and a reading plan.

I continue to wander, I continue to let life happen. But where I need to take control, I will. I will wander with a purpose.

Proverbs 16:3 says "Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established."

They say that you should share your goals. It will make it easier to stay with.

I don't know if I have any readers left after all the time I've taken off, and I'm okay with that. I will, however, put this out there so it keeps me honest.

A Wandering Heart

The last year I have felt like a wanderer more than any other time in my Christian life. Having been a Christian pretty much my entire life, I have a lot of years to compare this to.

This is different than feeling far from God. I haven't felt distant from God, just like I had no direction. Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

I find great comfort that even when I feel like I'm wandering, God hasn't forsaken me or left me. I wasn't looking for God, or his presence in my life, it was their.

But I still feel like there is more that I should be doing, seeing, I'm not really sure. Or maybe I was just pretty full of myself for a lot of years. I am a work in progress, I definitely have much growing and learning yet to do. Maybe the wandering is what I should be feeling.

I'm going to "enjoy the journey" and keep wandering along, doing my best to follow God.