My JourKNEE Back

I was driving home two weeks ago, after picking up my van from the garage. It had had some shifting issues which we thought was the transmission but, thankfully, it ended up being something more minor even though the bill was still quite costly. My husband's truck had transmission issues at the same time which did, in fact, end up being the entire transmission. As you can imagine that bill was even more costly. We thanked God that we had the money to cover the repairs, and at the same time, we would have liked to save that money to use for something fun or more practical. I drove past a man who appeared to be homeless. He was pushing a grocery cart packed full of things. Not only was the cart filled to the top, but he also carried a backpack and several items in his arms. He was about to ascend a hill, and the load appeared to get very heavy. Of course it was understandable why this man was carrying, assumably, everything he owned with him, but it gave me a picture of how we try to...

In the beginning of the year, I set spiritual, physical and emotional goals. Since it is almost the middle of the year and I haven't given an update since March, I thought it would be a good time to check in. 1. Spiritual - Read through a book of the bible repeatedly each month I have completed Hebrews, Romans, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and will complete the book of John by the end of June. I feel like I have stuck with this goal pretty well. There have been a few days that I skipped reading but made up for it during the remainder of the week by reading extra chapters. I feel like I am getting a better understanding of the bible as a whole. This week I listened to "BibleThinker," a podcast hosted by Pastor Mike Winger. In three of the episodes I heard, he broke down the different parts of the bible. I can't say it was anything that I hadn't heard before, but it was explained in a way that made it make more sense to me. I would encourage you, even if you have been readi...

I read a post on Facebook that said, "Parenting hack: There are no hacks. Everything is hard. These kids don't listen. This is your life now. Godspeed." It made me laugh. All parents have joked, "these kids don't come with a handbook." It's true. We wing it as we go and pray that they turn out okay. I feel like the one thing I have done right in life was raise good kids.  I am so proud of my adult kids, seeing how they navigate day-to-day life while sticking to the biblical convictions. Since the time they started questioning God and what we, as their parents, believe in, I encouraged them to explore other religions and other beliefs. I challenged them to question, seek answers and believe for themselves, not just because they were taught certain things. I wanted their belief in God to be real to them, and I have seen them grow into their own ideas and knowledge of what scripture says with greater conviction than I had at their age. I can't take cred...

Having to do my runs solo this week, I have had to find motivation within myself. It has not been an easy running week. I see other runners appear to be running like they're floating on air as their legs effortlessly carry them along the miles. Meanwhile, I'm struggling to get in a good flow of motion, my feet hurt, my breathing is loud, and my mind tells me to just stop. I have heard from other runners that they struggle as well, but I don't believe them, like I'm the only challenged one. [Rolls eyes] A friend sent a reel this week about quitting. It claimed that when you quit something hard, dopamine is released into your brain and makes that "reward" something to be repeated so that quitting becomes a habit. We don't like hard things. Our body is prone to take the easy way out.  I went out for a run on Tuesday, before I received this particular reel, I struggled in the first mile but then seemed to settle in. It didn't feel easy, but my overall pace...

  Strength can look different from person to person. Sometimes it takes all of our energy to even be able to get out of bed. Life is not turning out how we expected, either by choices we have made or by another's actions that we cannot control. We feel like staying in bed and hiding from the things happening around us, but we know we have responsibilities, so we force ourselves to get up and get things done. Maybe we stick to ourselves for a little while because we have nothing left to give to anyone else. In other circumstances, it takes all of our energy to stop doing something we've been doing for years. My running friend, "J", has been dealing with an injury. She found herself having to reduce her mileage from at least six a day down to one mile, just a week before an upcoming, previously scheduled surgery that would most likely end her six and a half year running streak. She was hoping to be able to enjoy that week of running before she had to decide what was bes...

Guests may not have understood why my mom sang "Friends" by Michael W. Smith at my wedding reception. The chorus says, "And friends are friends forever, If the Lord's the Lord of them. And a friend will not say never, 'Cause the welcome will not end." It made perfect sense to me and brought me to tears as I listened to the words. I didn't have many friends in middle and high school. It was usually one close friend that seemed to change every two years or so, and they always had another friend that seemed to be their best friend. I spent a lot of time at home with family. It was my safe place where I could mostly be me. I was blessed with two strong Christian female role models. I saw my nanny and my mom, both divorcees, attend church regularly, practice a private devotional time as well and try to live by a Godly standard daily. Yes, I also saw their flaws which I was able to learn from as well. I admired my mom being able to admit when she didn't ma...