I love coffee.

Um, yes, I love coffee. But, that is the title because it's all I could think of this morning... After feeding Owen at 4:45 a.m., I was rocking him back to sleep and it hit me how much he has grown in the last eleven, almost twelve, weeks. And, I thought, I want to remember this so badly. I cannot remember Matthew fitting in to my arms like that (though, Owen has already doubled in size and I cannot remember him only weighing six pounds). Is it because we are so tired? Or because life just moves too quickly? Or because I am distracted by unimportant things?

Whatever it is, I know we need to slow down. After what seems to have been the busiest summer of my life, I can feel the Lord calling me back to Him. To simplify. To shift all of my desires to one simple desire - to know Him more.

I have never felt time fly by so quickly, and as I write this my eyes just fill with tears, because I fear it is only going to keep racing by, but I can rest in knowing that someday we will rest peacefully and dwell in the house of the Lord forever. This summer went by in constant state of anticipation. May kicked off with the "bang" of suddenly moving and the anticipation of a new home, making new friends, and settling into our new surroundings. June flew by in anticipation of a new baby. July flew by in anticipation of... getting a full nights sleep! August flew by with the anticipation of a family wedding. And, finally, September just completely disappeared on me.

In October, I am going to slow down. I am going to snuggle my babies. I am going to study God's word. I am going to take time to scrapbook milestones. I am going to catch up on sleep! 

Marathon Monday

Things are looking up! I practiced what I preached after my post on Tuesday, and had a successful seven mile run on Saturday. I planned ahead, and then fought back against the anxiety that I had all week thinking about Saturday's run. I prayed. I asked for prayer. I memorized some powerful scripture. And to top all of that off, a very dear friend of mine had a perfect little baby boy this weekend - naturally. I cannot even imagine. And she was so mentally fired up. She had Bible verses ready for her husband to read to her during labor, and was just determined. I had spent the week talking with her as she waited on baby and thought to myself how small these runs were compared to natural child birth.

After I posted on Tuesday, I started to feel a bit under the weather. By that night my body was hurting, my throat was sore and my head hurt - sure signs that this mamma was plain-old tired. I went to bed early and skipped my run on Wednesday. By Thursday, I was back in. All in. Completed a four mile training run in decent time and then geared up for Saturday's run.

I was very anxious about the run. But rather than plan out an exact seven mile route, I decided I was heading out the door and would run for 77 minutes - because that's what I consider to be a good seven mile time for me. My stop-watch quits at 59:59. Who knew? Not me. Until Saturday. So, I'm not sure at what point on my run the watch stopped, but when I looked down I re-set it and started again. I think I went 77 minutes. But, it just felt darn good.

This weekend should be interesting, though. Supposed to do eight miles, and it is WEDDING WEEKEND for this family!

"Out Live Your Life"

New week... New book. I feel so blessed to receive a complimentary copy of "Out Live Your Life," by Max Lucado, from Thomas Nelson. Admittedly, Max Lucado is my favorite Christian author, not only for non-fiction adult publications, but also for childrens stories. I jumped at the opportunity to review this book after having read Lucado's "Fearless". There are some Max-one-liner's from "Fearless" that stick with me in my daily walk with Christ.

Book Description from the publisher:

These are difficult days in our world's history. 1.75 billion people are desperately poor, natural disasters are gouging entire nations, and economic uncertainty still reigns across the globe. But you and I have been given an opportunity to make a big difference. What if we did? What if we rocked the world with hope? Infiltrated all corners with God's love and life? We are created by a great God to do great works. He invites us to outlive our lives, not just in heaven, but here on earth. Let's live our lives in such a way that the world will be glad we did. 

Once again, I am blown away by Max Lucado, or rather his God-given gift to speak to us through Lucado's writing. He really opened my eyes to the small things we can do each day to spread the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. How small actions can make big impact. That with God anything is possible.

My favorite part of "Out Live Your Life" is that after each chapter, Lucado has provided the reader with a prayer. The prayer allows you to truly ask the Lord how you can out live your life and makes it so applicable. Yep, even this stay-at-home-mom can bring glory to God in a big way!

Find a way to read this book!

Marathon [Tuesday]

I did not get a chance to post about the marathon training yesterday, and I just know you all really missed it (note the sarcasm). There was not really a whole lot to say about the previous week of training, it had been a fairly low mileage week, and things were going well.

Last week I missed my Sunday long run (six miles). Truth be told, we had gone out Saturday night for a couple's shower honoring my sister-in-law and her soon-to-be-hubs, partook in a few adult beverages and just didn't feel up to six miles on Sunday. Then, I thought, I'll do it on Monday. Well, Monday rolled around and I knew my next long run was only a 5K. I decided, "what the heck?", and skipped the six-miler all together planning to replace Sunday's 5K with that six miles and then just hop back on schedule.

Tuesday and Wednesday were four and two miles, respectively. I thought they went very well! Due to lack of planning, again, I missed Thursday's run. We were headed to Ames for the football game and then the boys and I were planning to stay the weekend with my sister and low and behold, in all the craziness that goes along with packing for two little people and myself, I missed Thursday's run. Totally justified though, because my hip was extremely uncomfortable after my run on Tuesday...

I was geared up for my Sunday run, but alas, I missed it again. I could share with you my multiple (and very good) excuses. I will spare you, because it all boils down to one common denominator. Me. My body is in this, my brain is not. My heart is in this, my head is not.

Both of my boys fell asleep at the exact same time today (such a rarity!) and I tied up the tennies and made my way downstairs, totally prepared to hammer six miles out on the treadmill and treat myself to a homemade frappucinno (yes, I bribe myself).

Turns. Out. I. Could. Not. Breath. No kidding, the fastest I had my pace up to was 5.5 and I could not catch my breath. So, I tried to focus on other things. Bad idea. My "to-do" list, for basically the rest of September, started giving me anxiety, but mostly it was the to-do's for today that are going to be next to impossible when my babies are up. 2.1 miles in and I was back upstairs hitting the shower.

It's time to regroup and refocus. This is not about the half-marathon on October 17, if I'm not running I'll be walking, and if I am not walking, I will be crawling past that finish line. This is about being healthy and getting fit (and the really expensive pair of jeans I am going to save up for and by for myself when I hit my pre-baby weight... and by pre-baby I mean pre-Matthew).

It's time to take this one to the Lord. A petty request? Maybe. But he does say we can and should take all things to Him in prayer. And, I am frustrated with the negative thoughts that I cannot do this. That I am trying to run this half too soon after having a baby, etc. And, I am anxious. Philippians 4:6 says "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God".

I am blessed to have legs that can run. I am blessed to have lungs that properly function. I am blessed to be challenged to improve my physical strength... I need to honor Him with my body (I Corinth. 6:20) by taking proper care of myself in order to do His work (totally unrelated to running, but yet still so applicable).

Just in writing this post, I have realized a few things (and truly, that is why I post): 1) Plan ahead! Stop letting these long runs smack me in the face and stop making poor choices in nutrition the day before they arrive. I know they are coming, be prepared. 2) Turn to the Bible for mental strength. 3) FOCUS.

Kaleidoscope

It has been too long since I posted a book review, but in my defense, when I set my 2010 goals I did not know that in May we'd make a very quick decision to move to a new town and in to a new home. And, clearly thought I'd have more time/energy! Nevertheless, still trying to read read read.

Thomas Nelson Publishers recently provided me with a copy of Patsy Clairmont's "Kaleidoscope" for review. While I was reading "Kaleidoscope", I had the opportunity to hear Patsy speak at Women of Faith, it was nice to tie the two together.

Here is a brief synopsis of the book, from the publisher:

Acclaimed author and Women of Faith speaker Patsy Clairmont causes womens' hearts to leap and their hopes to lift in this quirky, straight-to-the point look at the Proverbs.

Understanding the Christian life and the Bible can be a daunting task. But maybe God didn't mean it to be so hard. In Kaleidoscope of Proverbs, Patsy Clairmont pieces together some powerful messages from God and reveals new facets of beauty, inspiration, and instruction. Written for busy women, Patsy offers brief, powerful chapters that address the key aspects of their lives, hearts, and relationships.

 

In the Proverbs, God gives us small gems of hope and truth, and in Kaleidoscope of Proverbs, Patsy Clairmont unveils them for readers with her trademark humor and insightful teaching.

I truly enjoyed this book. It made me slow down and take some time to really understand what it means to be a Christian woman and take a deeper look in to my everyday tasks and actions. "Kaleidoscope" is not a quick read, in my opinion. Uplifting and insightful, yes, but to get the true value of the book, time and thought are necessary. Patsy poses challenging questions, and "Kaleidoscope" should be considered more of a Bible study than just a book.

Changes...

If you read my blog often, you know that my children are my world and that I love to write about them and essentially journal our adventures. I love to show off pictures of their melt-your-heart smiles. But, lately I have had a nagging feeling that I am putting their safety at risk by having a public blog.

On the other hand, I LOVE LOVE LOVE to read blogs, write my own posts and be in a community of sharing ideas. So, this blog will remain my main blog. If you follow just to keep updated on the family, you can send me your e-mail address and I will add you to the family blog.