I can't do this without help. And I'm not. :-)

I took yesterday off from my jog. It stormed when I would've run anyway. Today I did 2 sections plus 110 steps, almost another complete section. On one section I was thinking about things and went to almost 120 steps! And as I approached another I looked ahead and prepped myself by saying, "Jog one, jog two, plus 180." 180????????!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah, that's what I said to myself!

Sometimes I wonder why I do this because, honestly, I don't like the process of jogging and I definitely don't like sweating.  What I like are the results of jogging and of pushing myself (gently) beyond what I think I'm capable of.  Clearly, I'm meant to continue jogging and not stop.  Maybe I'll even expand beyond 3.1 miles when these three 5Ks are over (but you didn't hear that from me!  Not yet, anyway!)

Unrelated to that, I was at my mom and dad's house and decided to see what was in their fridge.  Today is a liquid day for me with one solid meal, which I already had.  But I was hungry.  There was a bucket of KFC chicken and (this all happened in less than a second) I fully intended to get a piece.  Just as quickly as I made that decision, I smelled it.  Even though it wasn't rotten, the smell just...got to me.  And I heard a voice say, "No, you won't." 

So I didn't.  But I'm still hungry.  Matthew West is on the radio right now singing The Motions, one of the songs that helped me through my 20-day fast.  I have a line from that song on one of my workout T-shirts, "I don't want to spend my whole life asking, 'What if I had given everything?' instead of going through the motions."

Help me continue to resist, God. 

Sweat is Beautiful

I follow a blog called Prior Fat Girl and one of the contributors is doing a project called Sweat is Beautiful.  She asked people to send in pictures of themselves after a workout, so I did.  I even told her that sweat is ageless too and that I'm almost 42.  Imagine!  Here's the picture:

Now, I'm not going to send this picture to a modeling agency, even a plus-size one!  But the fact that I took a picture of myself looking like this and posted it for all of cyberspace to see is testimony to how far God has brought me.  If this was just a random picture, I would've deleted it from my camera, but there is a purpose for it.  Sweat isn't beautiful in the Hollywood sense but I'm moving my body and disciplining it like in 1 Corinthians 9:27.  "I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should."

That verse and the one before it in The Message read like this:  "I don't know about you, but I'm running hard for the finish line. I'm giving it everything I've got. No sloppy living for me! I'm staying alert and in top condition. I'm not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself."

So if disciplining my body produces sweat and flushing, so be it.  I'm okay with that.  :-)

I JUST REGISTERED FOR MY VERY FIRST RACE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just registered for my very first race, the Sunrise Run!  I'm excited!  I'll be running the 5K on October 8 at 7:15 a.m. and you are ALL invited!  If you want more information, go here:

http://www.firsttothecross.com/

I'm excited that this will be my first run because the whole purpose of this run is to glorify God!  And that's my whole purpose for living and running! 

I can't wait to hug you all when I cross the finish line all sweaty and teary!  And I won't mind if you take my picture looking like that because I will have earned every drop of sweat and every tear!  I'm tearing up right now just typing this.  I want to go out and run NOW.  Um, but it's 9:15 p.m. and I hear thunder so I won't.  Only 9 more hours until I can go out and run! 

This is quite a different post from this morning's, isn't it?!

Man, it's hot out there!

Just as my daughter and I were leaving for exercise class this morning she got a call that it was canceled due to lightning.  Oh.  Okay.  Now I can finish my work from yesterday and it won't be as late as it would've been if I'd let it wait until we got back from class.  When work was done and turned in, about 9:30, I decided to do my run since we didn't have class.  It's BRUTALLY HOT out there.  It's bad enough to jog at 6:30 in the morning but 9:30 is just ridiculous!  Yogi Berra used to say that 90% of the game is 50% mental.  Yeah.  Think about it.  What he meant was that football or jogging or anything physical isn't just physical.  It's also mental.  Boy, I found that out today.  This week I'm jogging 2 sections plus 100 steps.  One week I do an ABA pattern (mile 1, then mile 2 is turned 90 degrees, then mile 1 again).  The next week I do a BAB pattern just to keep my mind fresh.  I like routine but not ruts.  A little change is a good thing.  This morning, though, I was really battling my mind that thought I was crazy for jogging in the heat and humidity.  I wanted to stop like I haven't wanted to in months!  After one section I thought I was supposed to turn but I was really supposed to go straight.  It took only about 15 seconds to figure it out in my head, but...man, it was BRUTALLY HOT out there!  I had to make myself do at least this section.  If I wanted to quit after that, fine, but I had to try.  And the next section.  And 100 more steps. 

After about half a mile of that, I did stop.  I went 2 miles total.  And that's okay.  Tomorrow is another day.  At least I did 2.  That's more than if I'd not gone at all.

Letter from my body to me

Dear Michele,

Thank you for all you've done to get me healthier these past two years.  Even though I protest some when you deny me so much food and when you exercise, I really do appreciate it.  Really.  Keep it up! 

I do have a concern, however.  When you deny me food for 24 hours it's going to take longer for me to recover than the time you gave me today.  I know you gave me some food twice today, but then you went and swam a crazy long distance.  Twice!  Honey, I'm a 41-year-old body and you didn't push me this hard when I was 21!  Take it easy, woman! 

Now get off the computer and let me rest so I can work for you in exercise class tomorrow morning, okay? 

Thank you,

Your body

On the parts of my route where I jog the whole section, I don't count my steps.  This is the time when I can pray or think.  On the parts where I do count my steps, though, I also have a focal point in the distance.  It helps me stay focused (hence the name :-)).  I make my focal point something God-made, like a tree, rather than something man-made, and I make it the highest thing I can see.  On one section there's a massive oak tree directly in front of me, so that's my focal point.  I actually use the trunk of the tree for the first half of my count and then move up to the leafy part for the second half.  That breaks up the counting and (here's where the spiritual/life lesson gets good) reminds me to keep going and reach higher.  I've been doing this for a long time but just recently realized that above and beyond that massive oak tree, which God put there so it's a good thing, there's another tree, higher than the massive one but not as visible.  That's what I focus on now.  There's nothing wrong with the massive tree, but it's not as high as I could go. 

There's an old song by Steven Curtis Chapman that I partly identify with - See the Glory. Here are the pertinent lyrics:


I never did like the word mediocre

I never wanted it to be said of me, oh, no

Just point me to the top and I'd go over, over

Looking for the very best I could be

Philippians 3:14b-16 - “I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back. So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.”

(Thanks to my daughter, Brianne, for editing this picture. :-X)

Glorious?

5:30 a.m.  Uuuuunnnnhhhh.  I do NOT want to get out of bed. 

You'd never know I went to bed at 9:30 and was asleep before 10, would you?  Almost 8 full hours of sleep.  (Thank You, God!)  But I still didn't want to get out of bed this morning.  And my lower back hurt.  It would've been so easy to just skip jogging today.  As I sat on the edge of the bed I wondered how this is supposed to give God glory.  Wouldn't it be more glorious if I jumped up and could barely contain myself as I got dressed and put my shoes on?  Wouldn't it be glorious if I was so excited I started running in place in the living room as I waited for it to get light enough to go outside?  Maybe.  It certainly would be exciting and fun to write about.  But that's not what happened this morning and it's not what has been happening for quite a while now. 

Is drudgery glorious?  Is doing what I know I need to do and what is good for my body even when I don't feel like it glorious?  I...think...so.  As I jogged and walked, God encouraged me to blog about this.  The good, fun, exciting times and the blah times when I feel like it makes no difference. 

Stephen Curtis Chapman's new song that's all over the radio is called "Do Everything."

You’re picking up toys on the living room floor



for the 15th time today


Matching up socks and sweeping up lost


Cheerios that got away


You put a baby on your hip and color on your lips


and head out the door


And while I may not know you I bet I know you


Wonder sometimes does it matter at all


We’ll let me remind you it all matters just as long as you






Do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you


Cause He made you to do


Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face


And tell the story of grace


With every move that you make


And every little thing you do






OOoh ooooh oooooh





Maybe you’re that guy with the suit and tie


Maybe your shirt says your name


You may be hooking up mergers, cooking up burgers


But at the end of the day






Little stuff big stuff in between stuff


God sees it all the same


And while I may not know you I bet I know you


Wonder sometimes does it matter at all


We’ll let me remind you it all matters just as long as you do






Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you


Cause He made you


To do every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face


And tell the story of grace with every move that you make


And every little thing that you do






Well maybe you’re sitting in math class


Maybe on a mission in the Congo


Maybe you’re working at the office


Singing along with the radio


Maybe you’re dining at a five star


Or feeding orphans in Myanmar


Anywhere and everywhere you are


Whatever you do it all matters


So do what you do and don’t ever forget


to do






Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you


Cause He made you to do


Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face


And tell the story of grace as you do


Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you


Cause He made you to do


Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face


And tell the story of grace with every move that you make


And every little thing that you do






Ooh oooooh


Every little thing you do

So I'll keep getting out of bed or dragging myself out of bed if necessary and jogging, helping Brianne with math, transcribing, thrift shopping, and doing whatever I do to the glory of the One who made me.  Some days it will be by sheer faith that I do it because I can't see how it can possibly be glorious.  I'll just trust God that it is.      :-)