Marathon Madness

This past Sunday was the Rock n Roll Marathon in San Antonio. A few people I knew were running in the marathon, but I didn't realize how big of a deal this marathon was until I got to work. I am a receptionist at Massage Envy, so I'm pretty used to seeing runners come in and get a massage after a race. When I got to work, there were quite a few people who had just taken part in this marathon who had thought ahead and made an appointment to get a massage. Then, the phone was ringing constantly with people who were looking for any open appointments for the same issues. I also looked on twitter and a few of my friends posted pictures of just how many people were downtown for the marathon. Woah. I thought to myself, that would be cool to take part in such an event.

The next day, I was hanging out with my mom watching TV when we decided it was the perfect time of day to take our two dogs for a walk. We both could lose a few and my dog, Samantha, is an overweight beagle--so there would be no harm done to anyone involved. :) We went around the "big block" surrounding our neighborhood and it took us about an hour. We weren't walking very quickly and it wasn't aimed at being a "brisk walk", but we got in some walking. After we got home, my mom called me into her office and told me that next year, we will be participating in the Rock n Roll marathon. At first, I was like...are you crazy?! and then I took a minute and decided that was a really good goal for us to set.

We haven't yet decided whether we will be participating in the full or half marathon. We have an entire year to train...but at the same time, we've never competed in any kind of race (except my very little amount of time invested in track back in high school), so the half may be the better choice. So, when I make the choice, I will let you know.

I told one of my friends that I was considering doing it and he told me he'd train with me, so I was pretty excited. Then, when I came to work last night, a couple more of my coworkers said that they would also train with me. So, now that I had a good amount of accountability partners, I was stoked. I haven't yet decided which training plan that I will follow, but I'm researching it now. I'm trying to find friends who really enjoy running and who could give me good and helpful tips for training. I don't want to jump into a crazy running schedule if it isn't something that's attainable, you know? So, I need someone who will give honest advice to me.

I've decided that no matter which I decide to do, half or full, that it is a commitment that I must stick with. Commitment means doing what you said you would do, long after the mood you said it in has left you. I'm hoping that since I've found a few good friends to do this with, that we can hold each other accountable.

So, for now, I'm simply researching training schedules. I'm pretty sure (since it only take 18-20 weeks to really train) I will start training to do the training schedule to then prepare me for the marathon, haha. Couch to marathon style! I am going on Friday to buy some running shoes. I am hoping that if I buy those shoes, that I will remind myself that it's worth it. Wish me luck! Feel free to check in on me and see how I'm doing. I will post about my progress. I'm excited. Nervous. But, excited.

One Day in the Dillard's Parking Lot...

Last week, I went to church for the first time in a long while. I couldn't put off going to church one more week. So, since it was daylight savings and all, I went to bed early and got up to go to the early bird service! I was pretty proud of myself.

Once I got to church, I sat about midway back. The music started to play and I was having a good time. Then, of course, the awkward church meet and greet took place. I'm already an awkward person so this made it much more awkward for me. I was ready to sit down and take notes! I did just that.

Although I believe that mission work is really important, I don't think we must go to a foreign place to do mission work. San Antonio has plenty of people to reach in the midst of our daily routines. Our purpose on earth is to do God's work in all that we do. The pastor kept asking, "what's your story?" It made me really think back to when I accepted Christ and how it happened. He also asked where we could share our stories. He wanted each of us to turn to our neighbor and tell them where our one place we knew we could share our story was...I just drew a blank. I sat there trying to figure out a place to say, but couldn't think of anything. Thankfully, no one turned to me.

Later that week, I was sitting at work (I'm a receptionist at a massage clinic) talking to a few coworkers and my story came up. I couldn't help but smile because obviously, God knew where I would be able to share my story. This is my story:

When I was a little girl, my grandparents would pick me up on the weekends and take me to church on Sundays with them. They lived 30 minutes away from my house in a small town with an even smaller baptist church. I went to Vacation Bible School every summer and loved going to church. When I was eight years old, I remember I stayed with my grandparents the entire week so I wouldn't miss VBS. Each night at worship, they'd have their invitation, but I just thought deciding that Jesus was my lord and savior would be something I'd have to ask my mother for permission for. So, I left VBS a non Christian. A short time after VBS had ended, my grandparents were going to take me home, but had to stop at the mall first, so Grandma could buy something at Dillard's.

It was pouring down rain, so Paw-Paw dropped her off at the door and we drove around and parked. He asked me what I thought of VBS. I remember telling him I thought VBS was really cool and that Jesus seemed like a cool guy. He told me more about Jesus while we waited for Grandma. I was so intrigued and so excited to hear more about him that I couldn't stop listening. When he asked me if I wanted to accept Jesus as my lord and savior, I told him I had to ask mom first. He assured me, she would be joyous about my decision. I decided he was probably right and I prayed the prayer right there with my Paw Paw while it was pouring down rain in the Dillard's parking lot.

That story seems silly, but it means so much to me. My paw-paw also had the chance to baptize me in our small baptist church, which is a really cool memory. He has been with me on this journey of faith since the beginning and to me, that's priceless. He shared his story with me 14 years ago that led me to make the best decision I've ever made. Woah.

It really made me proud to tell my story this week. I have many more stories of how my relationship with God and my faith in God have taken me to where I am today that I'm eager to share. I'm proud to be a child of God and a follower of Christ.

And if our God is for us,
then who could ever stop us?
And if our God is with us,
then what could stand against?

Marriage.

I've been thinking about marriage and my future a lot in the last few years, but more so in the last few months. I have not yet met "Mr. Right" and am not dating anyone, so this could, very well be a very naive and silly post. I am almost 23 years old and I am unmarried. I wish that were more common. I know so many of my close friends that are already married (some for quite some time) and I am single wondering if I'll ever meet that right man. 

Let me tell you, I do not share common thoughts with most of my friends about dating or marriage. I'm simply different. I am not a girl who has dreamed about my wedding day since I was 5. I didn't even really think about it until I was 19 or 20. I didn't know it was so common to dream up such a day at such a young age. "She's dreamed about this day ever since she was a little girl." Is that really true?! Sure, I liked dressing up and playing barbies...but I did not picture myself getting married to anyone other Ken. That may sound incredibly stupid, but, my brain didn't comprehend such a concept. Something could be wrong with me. 

Let's be real here. My parents were married twice (to each other) and divorced twice. By the time I was seven, they weren't married anymore, so for most of my life I was raised by my mother. My mom had to be both parents for a good long while. I didn't see a good example of what marriage was in my home growing up. I didn't even really see an example of love (other than a mother's love) until I was 12 when my mom met Randy. How could I dream of something I'd never knew was there? Sure, I had crushes on boys at school but, really...the kind of love I would dream about later was not anywhere in my mind. 

I grew up mainly without a father. I had father figures, but not my father. I didn't know how broken I was until I was "dating." I had built up a brick wall around my heart and all of those stories and experiences I had during my life were off limits. Those stories were saved for me, God and my best friend. There are things you don't want to share, especially when you don't have a foundation of trust. Building a wall is easy. Breaking it down is the hardest road you'll ever embark upon. I cried a lot. I was mean to a lot of people because of my own insecurities. I missed out on a lot of opportunities because of said insecurities. I dated certain boys because of what I thought I wanted. 

I made a list of what I thought I wanted. I love when you think you're in control of your own life. I love that God can change your heart and your mind in a matter of seconds. After dating a guy for almost two years because he fit what I thought I wanted for the rest of my life, God opened my eyes. I almost instantly decided it wasn't a relationship I should be in and tried to play "fix it". I thought maybe if things changed we'd work out. That made it worse. 

God knows what is best for you. Listening is the hardest part. I'm apart of a generation that wants things now. No one wants to wait, they want to know where life is headed right this instant. 

God must have a really good sense of humor and an immense amount of patience. 

I threw away the list. I know there are certain things I need in a man but I can't expect a man to look a certain way, act a certain way and just "be" a certain way. There is no way that would ever be attainable. I know I need a man who loves Jesus more than me and that has a genuine heart. I know I need a man that understands what it means to serve me and I him. 

I don't find marriage to be about attraction (although we should have a chemistry) or about how well our personalities mesh. I find marriage to be a covenant before God to serve together and follow Him. I find marriage to be a companionship. 

Only God knows.