My. Answered. Prayers.

This post is to give God the praise and glory he deserves.  If you follow this blog, you know that I do a lot of praying while running.  I wanted to take a minute and share with you some of my answered prayers!

~ A family member has been told treatment worked and the cancer is gone.
~ A friend got finite clarity on a job situation.
~ A child has been eating with increased appetite and less problems (not mine).
~ Two husbands of friends got jobs.
~ Two beautiful Christ centered marriages happened.
~ A co worker's house sold.
~ I have remained healthy and injury free during training.
~ My Incline youth traveled safely to and from Mexico and saw God work wonders and change lives.
~ One of my best friends let another group of Incline youth to Michigan safely and experience God's awesomeness.
~ One of my Incline girls traveled safely and in good health to and from Haiti doing God's work...and now has been accepted into a program to do missions in Africa this fall.
God never ceases to amaze me! 

Romans 12:12  "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
Psalm 12:6 "I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer."
Colossians 4:2 "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."

Opportunity Knocks on the Allegheny Passage

Up to this point, I have done most of my running at Boyce Park.  This past Saturday, I was scheduled for a long run and really wanted some different scenery.  Let's face it, there are only so many roads and trails at Boyce so I end up repeating the same loops many times to log my necessary distance.  Matt's birthday was last weekend and I also wanted to do something he would enjoy.  So, our family took a trip to Little Boston and boarded the Allegheny Passage trail.  We didn't know exactly what to expect but it turned out to be GREAT!  I ran (20miles) of new scenery on a flat ground dirt/stone path while Matt biked, pulling the girls in a trailer.  There was even a fantastic playground for the kids to entertain them before and after their bike ride.  Afterwards, we sat on a little grass ledge overlooking the river and had a picnic together.  It was a great family day...and the town of Little Boston was having their annual town yard sales so we even left with a few new treasures!  We will be going back in two weeks when I run long again...can't wait!

I was in the minority there...most everyone was biking the trail.  Somehow I came into conversation with an older man biking.  He asked how far I was running (I was wearing a camelbak water supply which meant I was in for some distance).  When I told him, he thought I was crazy.  OPPORTUNITY?  I think so!  He biked my pace for the next 15 min while I got to share my entire story.  I'll never know what he thought or if hearing it impacted him in any way but I like to think it did.  After all, God works in mysterious ways and I am confident that He has bigger things to come out of this than just running and raising money but also touching souls and inspiring people to take action towards bettering their own physical and spiritual well-being.

"...that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ..."  Colossians 4:3     ~That is exactly what He did on July 16, 2011!

Completion Takes Commitment

I want to send a sincere THANK YOU to all of you that have chosen to support this mission thus far.  I have received sponsorship from a good number of people and have raised a decent amount of money for Speed the Light to purchase a vehicle for Bettina Weaver.  I do, however, still have many miles that are open and waiting for someone to lay claim to them :)  I KNOW I am supposed to be doing this but when my body is aching and I have no time for life, frustrations set in. 

Pastor Nick Poole came to preach at Incline this past Wednesday.  "Completion takes Commitment" was his message (that wasn't the actual title but that's what I got out of it).  He caught my attention when he used running as an analogy.  He said, "you cannot run a marathon without being totally committed.  If you aren't, you will not succeed."  I knew going into this I was looking at a big commitment and this just reminded me.  I am committed!  No matter how how frustrated I may get, I will complete this because I have made the commitment to not only God but also all of the people that have sponsored me.
Pastor Nick had so many good points Wednesday night.  If you want to be complete in life do not look for happiness in things and people.  You will never find it.  Only through Christ will you find complete fullness of life.  Pursuing that life with Christ takes commitment..just like any human relationship.  For it to be successful, you must be fully committed on all levels. 

The Bible says, "For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11  Pastor Nick said, "all of your life pursuits will be empty if not completed with Christ."  Basically, this is all saying that it is only through life with Christ that we will find true happiness and feelings of completion in life and see God's great plans for our life unfold.  God wants good things for all of us..joy and hope are among those things.  Well, I don't know about you but that is something I do not want to miss out on!!!!  Therefore, I will continue to train for this race, despite any frustration that may rise and complete the task that has been set before me.

Philippians 3:13B-14  "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has call me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
"Forgetting what is behind"- my pained body and frustrations
"Straining toward what is ahead"- 2 more months of training
"I press on toward the goal for which God has called me"- running a marathon to benefit Bettina Weaver
"Heavenward in Christ Jesus"- through Him this WILL be completed and in the process I will be drawn in deeper relationship with my savior and will hopefully draw others to Him as well!