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Routine Monotony

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Wake up in the morning, go for a run, come home, shower, and eat breakfast. Leave for work, come home, eat lunch, check office duties off the list (such as invoicing for the morning's jobs), and take a little nap. Straighten up some things around the house, make dinner, spend time with the family, get ready for bed, watch TV, and go to sleep. Wake up, go for a run, come home, eat breakfast, and go to work. You get the idea. The monotonous days keep passing by and I find myself constantly looking forward to the next exciting event such as what my weekend plans may be, an upcoming holiday or planning for our summer vacation. Woohoo!  When I'm alone listening to worship music, I can get really excited as I get caught up in the emotions. When I listen to a thought-provoking, bible-teaching podcast, I can get fired up to go live in my full purpose as God intended. As soon as I step out of my private space and back into the world of people surrounding me, it's so easy to lose tha...
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Memorial Day

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How do you greet someone on Memorial Day? Social media posts that begin, "Happy Memorial Day," never sit right with me. On the day a friend is burying a loved one, I wouldn't greet them with "Happy Funeral Day!" People often confuse Memorial Day with Veteran's Day. Memorial Day was first introduced on May 5, 1868, when Major General John A. Logan issued General Orders No. 11, also known as the "Memorial Day Act." This order formally established "Memorial Day" as a Decoration Day on which we, as a nation, would remember those who gave their life while serving in the Armed Forces of the United States, decorating their graves as a way to honor their sacrifice. When asking Google what NOT to do on Memorial Day, the number one thing was "Don't wish someone a Happy Memorial Day." It is not a holiday to be happy but, rather, we should be somber as we remember those lives lost. It also said to not thank an active-duty service member...
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Consistency

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According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of "consistent" includes "marked by harmony, regularity, or steady continuity: free from variation or contradiction" and "continuing to happen or develop in the same way." According to Google, a consistent person is "someone who is reliable, steady, and predictable in their behavior, attitudes, and actions over time." I would classify myself as a generally consistent person in work, household duties, and in my relationships with family and friends. Hopefully, those around me would also place me in that category. However, my running was beginning to be all over the place. On Tuesday, May 5th, I began trying to be more consistent with my running. I had gotten into the habit of running "hard," or what felt hard to me at least, only when I met up with friends and then taking it easy on my solo runs. Taking it easy when I'm on my own is not a problem necessarily, but it started to become one w...
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My Thoughts on Being a Mom

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I was married seven years before becoming a mother. I was young and content with our family of two.  Plus, I worked at a day care. I had a classroom full of children that I cared for and "they were enough," but one day the urge hit. When it did, I wanted to be a mom so badly. After giving birth to our daughter, I didn't want to leave her side. I used to wish she'd wake up at night just so I could see her. When our first son was stillborn, I felt like I failed him. As his mother, I was the one that was supposed to keep him safe.  Along came our second son and I appreciated the gift of a child even more. I could not express the deep love I had for these new, little humans.  As the years passed, there were tears and there was laughter. There have been situations that we weren't sure how to handle and we truly did "the best we could." I felt like the best thing I did in life, what I was most successful at, was being a mom. While I still believe that to be tr...
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Water is Life

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I made  a goal this week to drink more water. If you knew me well, you would know that means any water consumption at all. Before you judge me, know that I already judge myself. There is nothing you could say that I haven't already scolded myself about. Habits are hard to break or begin. Every day since Monday I have drank at least 100 oz of water each day which to some of you that may not seem like a big deal but, to me, it is a pretty big deal. My daily fluid intake is mostly comprised of diet soda, McDonald's Diet Coke to be more specific. I also enjoy milk or chocolate milk from time to time, especially after a run. I heard from a trusted source ("J", my running friend who knows all. Haha!) that you should drink half of your body weight in ounces of water and add extra if you sweat a lot either from working or a workout. With this in mind, I'm on track but could probably add another bottle or two, depending on my activity level for the day. I would like to rep...
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Keegan Daniel

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If you are familiar with my story at all, you know that our second child, Daniel, was stillborn on March 16, 2005. What you probably don't know is that his due date was May 9th. I got pregnant with our third child and was due on that same date exactly one year later. I was anxious throughout most of the pregnancy, not knowing if it would end with a healthy birth. I was recently reading through a journal and here are some of the things I wrote concerning my third pregnancy, "The doctors have been checking you out very carefully making sure you are growing and everything is going well. It is.", "We are so anxious for your arrival.", "Life is such a precious miracle. I am just amazed at God through all of this." Unlike with my other two children, we did decide to find out the gender of this baby. We were having another son and toward the end of the pregnancy, we ended up scheduling a cesarean birth for May 3rd at 10 a.m., but God had different plans.  On...
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Random Thoughts

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"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV) I was out of topic ideas for this week, so here are nineteen random thoughts for April 19th: 1. I should probably incorporate some speed work into my runs.  2. Practically, how can we avoid getting distracted by things that don't matter when we are required (and called) to operate in the world around us? 3. Why are people attracted to traumatizing events? For example, slowing down to check out an accident scene.  4. Roses seem to be the most popular flower to send but yet, when cut, they don't seem to last for a full week.  5. Yellow is a great color for school busses. They really stand out! 6. Why do weeds grow so much easier than flowers? 7. If a church Pastor's role is, in the Bible, compared to "shepherding a flock," shouldn't the Pastor know his congregation like ...
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