T-break recap

I got back from my parents' house yesterday after a great Thanksgiving weekend. It never seems like enough time when I go home. Like usual,  I brought some homework to work on over break, and like usual I didn't do a blessed thing relating to school! Instead I spent lots of time with my mom and dad. I had them all to myself since Leslie and Bud didn't come home for Thanksgiving this year.

My mom bought herself some really cool Christmas presents this year. She got the new Kindle Fire, which basically has a lot of the same functions as an Ipad for less than half the price. She got it mainly to read books, but I introduced her to Words With Friends and Angry Birds. We may have gotten slightly addicted to those two little games in the past few days. I'd never played Angry Birds before, just heard of it, but it's kind of a fun game (although very frustrating at times!). So the Kindle was pretty entertaining for us. The other new gadget was an latte/cappuccino coffee maker. It's fancy, with a device that steams milk and everything. My mom made me mocha lattes each morning and they were delicious!

On Thanksgiving day, my mom and I decided we were going to go to the gym to get some exercise before eating such a big meal. We went to a "Turkey Boot Camp" class and boy did we get our butts kicked! Two cute twin guys led the class and they set up about 20 stations that we had to rotate to- doing each station 3x each! It was a good workout. Some of the stations were really hard and I did exercises I wasn't used to doing. That was the last time I worked out over break because I was sore for the next three days. Every time I laughed my abs hurt! I'm still a little sore tonight as I write this.

Typically I don't go shopping on Black Friday, but this year my mom had to work, so I got up early with her and we went to Macy's. I was excited because my mom had saved up a lot of Macy's money for me and she had some really good coupons, too. I picked out a bunch of clothes that I wanted, plus some jewelry, and even a few gifts. I ended up getting about $400 worth of stuff for a little over $100. I love getting good deals! All in all, it was a great Thanksgiving break. I'm not ready to go back to school yet!

Pumpkin Treats

This fall I've been obsessed with all things pumpkin. There's something about pumpkin foods that just screams "Fall!" Everyone raves about the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks, but there are many other seasonal pumpkin foods that are just as delicious. Here are some of my favorites this year:

Pepperidge Farms Pumpkin Spice bread

PET Pumpkin spice nog

Private Selections Pumpkin Cheesecake ice cream- soooo delicious!

I'd never tried Pumpkin Pie poptarts until this year, but they're pretty good.

Dairy Queen's pumpkin pie blizzard. I've decided I love pumpkin ice cream.

Pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling

Other yummy pumpkin treats I've tried this fall:
-Pumpkin pie cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory
-Pumpkin frozen yogurt from Sweet Frog
-Kelly's mom's homemade pumpkin bread

Surprisingly, I haven't had any pumpkin pie yet this Fall. Maybe tomorrow for Thanksgiving?

Walk by the Spirit

I read these verses today during my devotions:

¹⁵I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. ¹⁸...For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. (Romans 7:15, 18, 19)

²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. (Romans 7:22-23)

I can totally relate to Paul here. It's frustrating. Deep down, at the very core of my soul, I want to follow Jesus. I want to serve him and love him and trust him. The problem is I'm still human. And I have all these other surface desires that get in the way. I want to be accepted by other people. I want to gossip. I want to lie to save face. Well, deep down, I don't really want to do those things, but I keep doing them! I keep sinning.

It's a struggle. I know I have the Spirit living in me, but I still have my own sinful nature in me, too. How do I win this battle?

Paul says in Galatians 6:16, "live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."

Again, how? How do we live by the Spirit?
I needed more answers, so I started looking up commentaries on my computer. I know this is long, but I hope you'll keep reading because this is so good! (the bolding is my emphasis)

"Paul's answer is the Spirit of God. So I say, live by the Spirit (v. 16). The command live by the Spirit is the central concept in Paul's ethical appeal. Since the Christian life begins with the Spirit (3:3; 4:6, 29), the only way to continue the Christian life is by the power of the Spirit. The Spirit is not only the source of Christian life but also the only power to sustain Christian life. Actually, "walk by the Spirit" would be a more literal translation of Paul's command in verse 16. The command to walk in a certain way speaks of choosing a way of life--or we might say a "lifestyle," as long as we realize that what Paul has in mind is more than a matter of outward style. His command speaks of a way of living in which all aspects of life are directed and transformed by the Spirit.

"In verse 17 Paul explains the basis of his confidence in the Spirit. He describes the war between the flesh and the Spirit and the result of that war. The Spirit and the sinful nature are two hostile forces opposed to each other: the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other. So walking by the Spirit (v. 16) means fighting in a war between the Spirit and the sinful nature (v. 17). The connection between verse 16 and verse 17 indicates that those who live by the Spirit are not neutral in this war. They are committed to fight on the side of the Spirit against the desires of the sinful nature.

"This inner spiritual warfare is the nature of the Christian life; it is the experience of all those who live by the Spirit. The conflict Paul is describing here is not the moral conflict that everyone feels at some time, nor the conflict of a wayward Christian who is no longer committed to Christ. This is the conflict of a thoroughly committed Christian who is choosing each day to "walk by the Spirit." Each day the Christian who chooses to walk by the Spirit is engaged in a fierce battle between the Spirit and the sinful nature. It is important to stress this point, because many Christians feel ashamed to admit that they are experiencing such a conflict. They feel that mature Christians should somehow be above this kind of struggle. They imagine that the great saints were surely too spiritual to feel the desires of the flesh. But Paul flatly contradicts such images of superspirituality.

"Those who are living by the guiding power of the Spirit in their lives and are fighting each day against the influence of the sinful nature do not need to be supervised and restrained by the law. So Paul says, If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law (v. 18). Life in the Spirit was pictured in verse 16 as an active determination: "Walk by the Spirit!" Walking demands active determination to get up out of the soft armchair and endurance to keep going at a steady pace.

"Life by the Spirit involves active obedience to the direction of the Spirit (v. 16), constant warfare against the desires of the sinful nature by the power of the Spirit (v. 17) and complete submission to the control of the Spirit (v. 18). Such a life will be an experience of freedom from the control of the sinful nature and the control of the law." (full commentary here, if you want more!)

Wow! This is amazing. I don't expect the Christian life to be easy, but I'm realizing more and more that the battle is against myself! To win, I must give the Spirit control over my life so that I can fight against all the sinful desires of my flesh. It involves active determination (I like that phrase) to follow the direction of the Spirit. It's NOT going to be easy; it's going to be a fierce fight. All I can say to my sinful self is: prepare for battle.

Exercise Tips

Since the half marathon, I've been on a really good workout schedule. Some people say they get a little burnt out on running after they've trained so much for a big race, but I feel like I'm more gung-ho than ever!

I was really sore until Wednesday, so I couldn't run, but I went to the gym on Tuesday and Wednesday and did some weights. I also rode a stationary bike for awhile to provide some gentle ROM for my legs (that's range of motion, all you non-PT folks). On Thursday I finally felt okay to run, but it was pouring rain outside, so I ran a few miles on the treadmill. Today (Friday) was my big day to run again. I planned a 6 mile trail run with a friend from church and all day I was itching to get outside to run! It was great. The trails were covered with leaves so we had to watch our step, but it was such a beautiful day and it was so fun to do a long run again!

I genuinely love running now and I want to be more serious about training for my next half marathon. Last time, I was following a schedule where I was supposed to run 4x a week, but I ended up skipping a lot of the short runs because I was so busy with school. I generally only ran twice a week- one short run during the week and a long run on the weekends. It was enough to prepare me for my first half marathon, but now I have time goals to achieve! I've been much more consistent with my exercise routine this week.

Here are a few things I've learned about working out/training.
1. Have a Goal. Before I started training for races, I didn't really work out that much because it wasn't getting me anywhere. I went to the gym sometimes to "stay in shape" but I didn't have any compelling reason to exercise. I like to have a plan and a goal. Now that I'm training for races, I have a much stronger motivation to work out.

2. Be Flexible. I didn't stick to my training plan 100%, but I was still able to finish the half marathon. Every training plan is different and none are magic. Don't freak out if you miss one workout (or even a week of workouts because you get sick). Stick to your plan as much as possible, but be flexible with it.

3. Don't cheat on the important things. It's good to be flexible, but don't go the opposite route and cheat yourself. Don't take weeks off from running/exercise because you got "busy". While missing a workout here or there won't hurt you all that much, disregarding your training plan completely would be a huge mistake. If you're training for a distance race, the most important thing is the long runs on the weekend. Don't cut yourself short and leave these out of your schedule!

4. It takes Discipline. Not just during a run. Once you're actually outside running or in the gym working out, you're 90% there. It takes a lot more discipline to fit exercise into your schedule - to wake up at 6am, to work out when you're tired, to go for a run when it's freezing outside and all you want to do is sit on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa. It's hard- some days you just don't want to exercise. But if you really want to reach your goals, you need to find a way to make it happen!

5. Have a core schedule. You need to have a core schedule that you can do all by yourself; one that you can stick to each day. For instance, getting up early each day before work/school to run. Don't rely on someone else to make you work out! If you like going to the gym with a friend, that's fine, but you need to go by yourself even if they cancel. Don't depend on them for motivation- you need to be self-motivated and proactive.

6. Switch it up! Okay, so you have your core schedule from #5. Now a friend wants you to go to a Zumba class with her on Wednesday night. That's not part of your normal schedule- what should you do? Go! Replace your morning workout with the Zumba class in the evening. It will be a special treat- you'll get to sleep in a little extra that Wednesday, and then you'll get to enjoy a fun new workout with a friend. It's a little variety like this that keeps an exercise schedule from getting too boring. Try something different every once in awhile!

This isn't an exhaustive list and I'm not an expert on exercise. These are just a few things that have helped me enjoy working out. I feel so much healthier and happier now that I've made exercise a part of my normal routine!

Much of You

This song has really been resonating with me lately. Our lives are so small and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. We're just a little pinprick in time- our lives are so short! The greatest purpose we can have in our short life on earth is to point people to Jesus. We should not be making a name for ourselves. We should not be gaining riches for ourselves (you can't take it with you when you die anyway!). The only thing that matters is living for Jesus. Life here is short, but eternity in heaven is forever!

How could I stand here

And watch the sun rise
Follow the mountains
Where they touch the sky
Ponder the vastness
And the depths of the sea
And think for a moment
The point of it all was to make much of me?
Cause I'm just a whisper
And You are the thunder and

Chorus:
I want to make much of You, Jesus
I want to make much of Your love
I want to live today to give You the praise
That You alone are so worthy of
I want to make much of Your mercy
I want to make much of Your cross
I give You my life
Take it and let it be used
To make much of You

And how can I kneel here
And think of the cross
The thorns and the whip and the nails and the spear
The infinite cost
To purchase my pardon
And bear all my shame
To think I have anything worth boasting in except for Your name
Cause I am a sinner
And You are the Savior

Chorus:
I want to make much of You, Jesus
I want to make much of Your love
I want to live today to give You the praise
That You alone are so worthy of
I want to make much of Your mercy
I want to make much of Your cross
I give You my life
Take it and let it be used
To make much of You

If you want to listen to the actual song: Much of You- Steven Curtis Chapman

My first half marathon

I finished my first half marathon yesterday! Hopefully it will be the first of many. I had a great time. Crossing the finish line was such an unbelievable experience!

The weather was awesome for our race. We were a little chilly at first, waiting for the race to start, but as soon as we started running, we warmed up. We woke up at 5:30 and left my apartment by 6:30 to get to the starting line well before our 7:30 start time. I was so nervous that morning! I ate a bowl of cereal and some powerade energy gummies and drank tons of water and gatorade.

When we got to the starting area, I was so excited! Music was blaring and there were so many people everywhere. We saw the 8k runners take off for their race, then it was time for us to line up for the half marathon. Tristan, Bud and I were starting in corral H (2:30 finish time) but as the waves started, we got pushed up to corral G and ending up starting with them. We had been in the front of corral H, but we ended up starting in the middle of G, which slowed us down a lot. It was too hard to stay side by side, so I followed Tristan and we weaved our way in and out of the crowd. Bud got separated from us at this point and we never saw him for the remainder of the race.

People were running so slowly at the beginning of the race. I like to start out a little under pace, but I was still passing tons of people. Next time I definitely need to start out in a faster wave, because weaving around slow people takes a lot of time and energy. Tristan likes to start out a little faster than me, so she started pulling ahead. I kept running at my own pace, running slower than what I thought I could handle. The first 3 miles felt like nothing. The crowd was packed and I wasn't running all that fast. It didn't feel like we'd gone 3 miles!

After mile 3, I tried to pick up the pace a little and get into a rhythm. I caught up to Tristan and we ran together until mile 6, then we got separated again and I was a little ahead of her for the rest of the race. At mile 6 (10k), they clocked our time. I looked at my watch and saw that we'd done 6 miles in under an hour- we were set to do 10 minute miles if we kept the same pace! Miles 4-8 were my favorite, I think. We ran through a park, there were live bands, lots of spectators, and I was feeling great. I started to wonder if we could finish in under 2 hours!

At mile 8, I got an Accel gel to eat/drink. I wasted a few seconds trying to figure out how to open the thing. I finally realized that you just tear the top off and squirt the gel in your mouth. I took two gulps of gel and threw the rest of the packet on the ground. It didn't taste THAT bad, and I needed the extra energy! At mile 9, I got powerade at the aid station and walked while I drank it. Up until then, I'd gotten a drink at every aid station, but I'd run through. After mile 9, I walked at every station. It was my reward for making it another mile. I'd walk for 5 seconds and take 3 sips of water/powerade, and then I felt like I could keep going for another mile.

At mile 10, things got a little rough. I always hit a point during long runs where I feel like I'm about to cry, and this was it. Nothing really hurt, but I was starting to feel the effects of running a long distance. I started thinking things to keep myself motivated:

• Don't stop, don't give up. Don't stop, don't give up!
• Just keep running, one foot in front of the other, this is easy.
• My mom doesn't think I can do this, but she's WRONG!
• If I was going to stop and walk, I could've done that 6 miles ago.
• Only 3 miles left! That's not that far!

At mile 11, we crossed Broad Street, and I knew we were in the home stretch- just 2 miles left! I started thanking God for everything. "Thank you that I can run, when some people can't walk. Thank you that I'm healthy and strong. Thank you that I'm motivated to do this. Thank you that I know you and you will never leave me!" I felt so grateful that I'm healthy enough to run 13 miles. I am unbelievably blessed!

At mile 12, I stopped at the last aid station and this time I got water and powerade (usually I alternated at each stop). I walked for 5 seconds while I fueled up, then I was ready for the last stretch. I picked up the pace and pushed myself to run as fast as I could handle. I was still passing people- I was amazed that I had any energy left! Finally I could see the finish line and the last part was all downhill. I pushed myself to go a little faster- arms pumping, heavy breathing, sprinting the last part- and I felt like a superstar when I crossed the finish line! The clock said 2:18, but I knew we had started about 15 minutes later than the first wave, so I knew I'd gone faster than my goal time!!

I walked through the finish area and grabbed all the snacks they were handing out, but I couldn't eat right away. Bud was waiting for me at the finish line. Of course he finished ridiculously fast, but at a price. He was hobbling around like an old man. After I walked around for a little bit, I felt kind of shaky, so I sat down and ate a fruit cup. Twenty minutes later, I was starving, so I went back and got 2 slices of pizza.

Bud and I eventually found Tristan and the three of us went to the Omni Hotel to get free post-race massages! It was wonderful. I think that helped me not be as sore the next day. All in all, a great race. We all felt on top of the world. And of course we took a picture with our medals!

My time: 2:03:30
Tristan's time: 2:04:52
Bud's time: 1:43:28

New goal: Run a half marathon in under 2 hours! :)

Pre-race day

Tomorrow is the day of my first race ever- the Richmond half marathon! I'm excited, but also kind of nervous. My main goal is to run the whole thing, and my lofty goal is to finish in 2:15. Tristan and Bud are running it too, so it will be nice to have them right there with me at the start of the race. I'm not sure if we'll end up staying together for the entire race or not. I'll definitely have to blog post-race about how it all goes!

It's funny how quickly you become a "runner". You have to buy good running shoes, because you need shoes that will cushion your foot (and ones that will last a while!). Then you want the running clothes- spandex, lightweight tank tops, a good sports bra, and running shorts. Even special socks, because your feet can get blisters if you have the wrong kind of socks. It starts to add up! (But it's so worth it!)

It could be a commercial:

Nike spandex running pants: $35
Asics blister-preventing moisture-wicking socks: $15
Gel inserts to prevent foot pronation: $23

Getting a runner’s high on mile 10: Priceless!!!

Saving an hour

Daylight savings time ended last Sunday, which meant that we gained an hour. It was so nice getting up at my usual time on Sunday but having an extra hour in the morning! So nice, in fact, that I had an idea. Wouldn't it be cool if I didn't change the time on my alarm clock so I could feel like I had an extra hour every day? I can "save" my hour and only set my clock back when I'm ready to.

It works like this: during the day I go by normal time (aka "new time"). My cell phone and wristwatch are set to the correct time so that I'm on the same schedule as everyone else. But my alarm clock is still set to "old time" and I go to bed and wake up by the time on my alarm clock. I use my extra hour this way: I sleep in for 1/2 an hour longer, but I still have 1/2 an hour more time in the morning. I've been using that half an hour to do my devotional in the morning and it has been AMAZING. God is teaching me so much. I go to bed excited that I'll be able to wake up and read my Bible and write in my journal the next morning!

In effect, all I'm doing is going to bed an hour earlier and waking up half an hour earlier, but with the time change, I didn't have to adjust my internal clock at all. Basically I've been going to bed at 9pm (but it feels like 10pm) and waking up at 5:30am (but it feels like 6:30am). Somehow it's psychologically easier if I don't see the actual time on my alarm clock when I'm waking up so early! Time is so relative.

One thing I've learned this week is how awesome it is to spend time with God first thing in the morning. I've never been a morning person, so I never wanted to do my quiet time in the morning, but it has been a great start to my day. I'm also learning to covet my time with God. I need to fight to make time for it. I need to guard that time fiercely and not let anything get in the way of it. I need to do whatever it takes to make time to spend time with God- whether I have to go to bed earlier, wake up earlier, stay up later, or plan time in my planner. Even if I have to save an hour. :)

The good outweighs the bad

My last post was about all the bad things that happened last week. It's easy to get hung up on those things and forget about all the GOOD things God has done and is doing for us.

1. First of all, Bettina's mom is alive and awake after her emergency surgery! The doctors are amazed at how well she's doing. She is still struggling with control of the left side of her body and she'll need rehab for several weeks to regain strength, but she's doing well so far. The doctors said that 2/3 of people with that type of aneurysm don't make it. Her rapid recovery thus far is miraculous!

2. The good news about the fridge is that we did get a new fridge that same night, and we managed to save most of our food. It was annoying to deal with, but in light of everything else, not that big a deal.

3. I haven't decided exactly what I'm going to do with the car insurance yet. I'm going to switch companies; I just need to do a little research to figure out how I can get good coverage with lower rates. Again, not a big deal compared to everything else.

I've realized this week that even when things go wrong, I still have so much to be thankful for! God is so good. It shouldn't take bad situations for us to turn to him and trust him! We should trust him every day, every step of the way.

Bad things come in threes

Wednesday was an absolutely horrible day.

It started with a phone call that my friend Bettina got between classes. Her dad called to say that her mom had passed out in the shower, so they were on their way to the hospital. Bettina was worried, but hoping that everything would be okay. Then she got a call two hours later to find out that her mom had a brain aneurysm that had burst on the way to the hospital. She was sobbing in the hallway and Alicia and I didn't know what to do! We gathered her stuff together so she could leave school, got her some tissues, and she was crying and I was crying. It was just awful. It was a very emotional day.

Bettina left and the rest of us went back to class and tried to focus on school. When classes were finally over, all I wanted to do was go home, eat some ice cream, and study for my test on Thursday. I opened the freezer when I got home, and everything was melted! That was NOT what I wanted to deal with right then. I called the emergency number for our apartment and they said they would send a repair guy. Meanwhile, I went through the freezer and threw out anything that was complete mush.

When the repair guy got there, he said that there was nothing he could do to fix it and he'd try to find us a new fridge. He told me to start unloading everything out of the old fridge. I loaded up a cooler with all the food that seemed okay, stacked the condiments on the counter, and threw some stuff away, but there was still tons of food in the fridge. I was getting frustrated dealing with all this by myself. Luckily Kelly and Audrey came home at that point and started helping me. We managed to save a lot of the food, distributed among three coolers. The repair guy came back that night with a fridge which he had taken from an unoccupied apartment. Unfortunately, it was dirty inside, so we spent the next 30 minutes cleaning the fridge before we could use it.

To top it all off, I checked my e-mail that night, and my car insurance is going up by hundreds of dollars! Not a good ending to a very bad day.