The Point of Christmas

I've been so excited for this Christmas and came across this passage that made me giggle on the inside. So naturally, I need to share it with the world! :)

Merry Christmas!

Dicipline

This week has been a blessing and a challenge all at once. Jared and I have finally gotten some time to actually sit and enjoy talking together without too much chaos (when Duchess is around, there is always chaos). But just as that small moment passed, it was gone again with the whirlwind of work and things to do.

It's also been difficult to find the motivation to go running. I'm sorry, but 45 minutes is a long time! Sunday we were exhausted from the weekend. But we still went running...through the Christmas lights! We went through the neighborhood and saw all the pretty houses all decorated. Tuesday was the same. We went a little bit on a different route, which ended up going right through sprinkelers, but we had fun and ran the entire way.

Yesterday was difficult. I woke up not feeling well (and we all know how little it takes for me to not feel well) but I needed to get some work done and still be on time for my commitment for Redeemed. So my run got pushed back to after work...9:30 pm. UGGGGGG. It's too late to go running outside so that left me doomed to the treadmill.

I seriously considered not going. After all, I was tired, hungry and hurt from the day before. But I knew that if I didn't do this run, my run on Friday was going to be that much harder. Plus, I was stressed out about work, so a run was what I needed to get all that negative energy out.

So 45 minutes later on the treadmill I finally ended my run. Not going to lie, it was a different experience. I ran the ENTIRE WAY. I out ran people that started after me. There was a person who came, ran beside me for 10 minutes, got off, came back and ran again. When they left, I was still running. My biggest obsticle while running wasn't my body (for the first time)...it was my mind. I was SO BORED. But I found distraction between all 10 TV's in front of me and jammed out to my music until the very end. When I was done, I felt better than when I started. I felt like I had accomplished something. Plus, I realized that I had become "that person" from my days in high school. I would go to the YMCA, see people jogging for a long time on the treadmill and I could barely do two minutes. I would get so jealous of them. Now I had become what I had previously envied. All it took was some hard work and dicipline.

Many times in our spiritual walk with Christ, we tend to judge our walk to everyone elses. I used to envy people who were "more spiritual" on the outside than me. I still sometimes envy people who lead large ministries and have more resources than I have. But what we have to realize is that we all have access to the same Savior. He wants us to all expeirence His grace, His love and His amazing plan He has for us on Earth. But instead of working so hard to make whatever we want to happen on our own, we should be working hard to get to know Him on a personal level. We should acknowledge that He knows the inner depths of our beings, no matter how hard we try to hide our deepest secrets. We should try to get to know as much as we can the depth and breath of His love. Because even a little glimpse of that can change our lives.

Why do we memorize scripture, read our Bibles or go to church? They aren't a checklist to say "I'm spiritual." They are obedience tools, or a "training plan" that God gives us so that we can grow to be more like Him. That's what we are training for right? Our whole exsistance is to glorify His love to the world around us that so desparately needs it. Plus, we feel so much better after a mini talk with God, kind of like we feel after we have a good workout.

So the next time you are tempted to not go to church, read your Bible or spend time with Him, remember that it's not a "have to." Rather, it's a "get to." We get to "train" our brains to know Him better and live out His love in our lives. The more you obediently follow the training program He's given us, the more He is going to reveal Himself in your life.

Then fasten your seat belts kids. Once that happens, it's going to be a wild ride.

Defeats and Victories

We all have probably heard or have experienced the fact that when working toward something great long term you are going to have good days and bad days. Times where you are on top of the world and times at the bottom of the pit.

Yesterday was a bottom of the pit day. I had a good day at work but my run was less than inspiring. It was a 45 minute run. Funny how you never know how long 45 minutes is until you have to run it. Add to that we ran it on a treadmill. I love the fact that I have a gym membership (Thanks Mom!) but it was more to use the bikes, pools and free weights. Not the treadmill. But the weather and the time of night forced us to run four miles on the hamster wheels and halfway through Jared and I were both like, "I hate running!"

So today I had to make a resolution. I would go running at the park with my dog at 1:30 pm. No excuses. Not only was it a beautiful day, but I experienced something I've only read about...the runner's high. Three minutes in Steller Kart came on the playlist with "We Shine," my dog was so happy, the sun was shining and I was like, "Praise God for legs and lungs!" I maintained a 10:25 min/mile pace all 30 minutes (that's zooming for me) and even pushed harder at the end. I was saying "Howdy" to everyone I passed while keeping Duchess from chasing the squirrels. Plus, after the run, everyone just seemed nicer. Maybe it's due to my overenthusiastic "Hi!" to the post office guy and frozen yogurt lady. But, I got free vanilla yogurt for Duchess! What a deal!

All this to say I think running just makes the world a nicer place. Plus it teaches me that practice makes perfect and I shouldn't get discouraged by one run...or one plan gone wrong, or anything in life. Gods got my back because I'm all His, and that's all I need to worry about!

Now if you will excuse me, I need to go soak my very sore muscles in Epsom salt, use the foam roller and drink a vanilla protein shake...

Running Across America...still in Virginia.

10K Here We Come!

So Christmas is upon us! I love Christmas! The best part for me is the lights. I think they are just so pretty! Cue decorating the Christmas tree!

Me getting the Christmas music together!

First Christmas ornament!

A proper Christmas tree has an Aggie ornament on it. Preferably several. :)

Complete!

Christmas isn't the only thing that has come to our house...10K training has! I think I'm a little insane with this schedule. It's gonna require a gym membership as we definitely need to have cross training days. But we are four days in and have had 1 rest day, 2 runs (one 30 minute and one 40 minute) and a cross training yoga class that killed my gluteus maximus. I'm thinking next cross training day we might try the pool...

But regardless of how crazy it gets, I want to keep my focus in check. I'm doing this to show myself I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. He gave me my legs. He gave me my lungs and my heart. Even with my asthma I can do this! Not even lightning stopped me today. I found a gym and I hopped on that treadmill. Was it hard? Heck ya. Is my body friends with me right now? No way Jose. But that's just a temporary thing. The eternal ramifications are a reminder to rely on God and to know that I can push myself further than I ever thought I could!

You can do it too. :)

I'm still running Across America. :)

Turkey Trot Dallas 2012

So today was our Turkey Trot 5K!

We began the morning at 7:00 am with breakfast then headed out for downtown around 7:40. It wasn't hard to find where to go. Not because there were tons of signs, but because there were tons of people! It was like a 45 minute wait for the bathroom alone. Thankfully, I found a small bank of porta-potties that was tucked away and no one could see! I was a little worried about missing the start of the race. However, it proved to be unnecessary to worry about because we didn't even get to the start line until 30 minutes after the gun went off. Thank goodness for RFID chips to time our run! Here's our results!

I was super proud of this race. First, there were TONS of people like I already said! Then, we also had Duchess. I was so surprised! She did so well! I was giving her verbal commands like "left" and "right." Even "up" and "down" for the curb we were running on. She was so focused on running it was amazing! I think she's a sled dog at heart.

Then, we were actually passing people running instead of being passed! It was such a good feeling! I didn't stop throughout the race...every time I wanted to I just kept on going! We beat our last time by three minutes!

What was also really cool is that they had bands along the race course for a mid course jump start. The track also went through Deep Ellum. While I would not normally go through there at night, it's still fun to look at all the store fronts. There was even a puppy day care with all the dogs barking at the runners going past the windows!

Again, I am just super proud of myself in this race. I cannot shout enough for joy!









So now it's onto the 10K! Jared and I just signed up for the Biggest Loser 10K in Austin on January 26th. We are going to make it a part of our 1st anniversary celebration! I am so excited to get better at running and to really see what my body can do!

You can check it out here:
http://www.biggestloserrunwalk.com/Austin_TX_5k_10K

One race I have also longed to do is the Disney Princess Half Marathon! The next one is in February but I seriously doubt I will be able to run it that fast...much less have the money to go! But let's say you are a girl, and lets say that you want to join me for a fun Disney weekend in 2014. Message me on Facebook and let's do it!

You can check out that race here: http://www.rundisney.com/princess-half-marathon/

Still running across America!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Practice Makes Perfect

Today I went on a 5K run just to practice it for the big day next week! Even with the cold and no asthma meds before I made it in 35 minutes and 45 seconds!

I've also been practicing my public speaking skills. I had some things I want to share on studying Acts so I've been trying to practice my speaking skills on a small level. Please pardon the over use of colloquialisms in the same sentence. I've got to practice that. :)


IMG 0563 from Madelyn on Vimeo.


I've also been running across America still!

No Excuses

Hello everyone! I hope you had a great Sunday! We need to be extra thankful today as we remember all of those who are fighting and have fought for us in history so that we enjoy the ability to post whatever we want on Facebook without worry of getting killed...just kidding. But seriously, there have been so many ugly comments. Just chill everyone. 

Plus, everyone knows that we need to just "Stay calm and pass to Swope!" How about those Aggies??? I had to watch the game with all four dogs wondering why I was dancing around the apartment. I love being thoroughly surprised at my team's ability to win a game. It never gets old! I found some cool photos while paroosing Facebook that I'd like to share (but not take credit for!).

Hahahahaha. This week is giving me and Jared not only the normal challenge of our crazy schedules, but we are also taking care of my parent's dogs while they go on a Disney cruise to celebrate their 50th birthdays! Happy birthday Mom and Dad!

So we have Cooper, the stoic statue on the outside, manic on the inside. Here he is watching the Aggie game with Jared...

Then we have Kezi who is constantly on the search for food like it's going out of style...

Then we have Pheobe, who in this picture has actually taken up guard duty with Duchess!

Let's just say that between the three of them, they make my Duchess (the husky/lab mix) look calm!

Having the three of them here is fun but at the same time, they pose a challenge for me and Jared when we go running. Pheobe and Kezi are definitely not capable of running long distances and Cooper tries, but gets tired very early. But that was no excuse for me and Jared to not go running. We could have said, "Oh, we will just go next week." But our race is next week. We can't train the day of the race! With a little creativity and team work, we went on our interval run and the dogs got their walks in. Everyone had a good time!

Just like in working out, we can't make excuses in life for things we should be doing but don't. We see that person with a ton of bags but think, "I'm too busy to stop. I'll help someone the next time I see that situation." We see someone in class or at work having a bad day and we think, "Oh, they would never open up to me. Maybe the next person will help them out." The truth is, if we never allow ourselves to be interrupted by the Holy Spirit to show those around us the love of God, we will never actually be used by God for the purpose of building his kingdom. We will just sit in the same rut we always do and wonder why we are never growing or getting to know God deeper.

So stop making excuses for not being the hands and feet of Jesus! Truth is, it's never inconvenient and if Jesus is behind it, it's never a waste of time!

"Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God. The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love. By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his one and only Son into the world so that we may live through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if God so loved us, then we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God resides in us, and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we reside in God and he in us: in that he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world." ~ 1 John 4:7-14 

Still running across America and I crossed the 100 mile mark!

A New Era

Hello everyone! It's good to be back! Jared and I took a week off of running so that our bodies could recover. We also celebrated Jared's birthday and got massages and we got him a new RC airplane!

It's funny how absence makes the heart grow fonder! I needed to rest to let an injury in my hip flexor heal but man was I actually sick of laying around the house and not exercising!

Now that we are not newbie runners and we have maybe graduated to novices, we are going to start to go faster and stronger now. We have our Turkey Trot 5K in Houston on Thanksgiving morning. My goal is to get under 30 minutes. To do that we are interval training and running faster. Like running...not jogging! Then every Thursday we will run a 5K straight and see how fast we can go!

Today we went 2.48 miles in 30 minutes and boy was it tough! I was having a hard time keeping up with Jared but I know I will be better off for it! Pray for us!

Love always,
Maddie

Pinterest fun!

Today's blog is a little different from normal. Normally I post about how our training is going and not "how to" things. But today I finished a weekend project that I am so excited about I decided it was worth sharing!

So this weekend we had our 5K race and this surfaced a problem I have never encountered before. Jared and I have been amassing a small pile of medals. I can instantly see that if we continue to do races like we are planning to, I am going to have no where to put all these medals and race bibs.

Like any good woman, I know Pinterest has the answer!

So I search "medal hangers" and several pins came up. I paroosed for a little while and decided to use a combination of a couple of pins along with my own ideas. You can see the pins I borrowed ideas from here:

http://diddledumpling.blogspot.com/2010/05/tutorial-vintage-looking-painted-sign.html
http://pavementrunner.com/diy-medal-bib-holder/

Credit where credit is due! I couldn't have done this without these ideas and how to's!

So I love rustic "Texan" looking decorations. After all, I am born and raised in Texas! So I went to Lowes and bought some cedar planks. Not only do they smell amazing, but they made me reminisce about the summer my parents decided to rebuild our fence by hand. So many cedar planks!

Did you also know that Lowes cuts wood for you? I picked out two planks that were 6" wide and one that was 2" wide. They cut the 6" wide planks into four 16" pieces and two 32" pieces. They cut the skinny plank into 6" long pieces.

From there I used wood glue, nails and two skinny boards to join two fat boards. As seen below...

I repeated the process with the other four fat boards. I used three skinny pieces instead of two for the 32" long pieces to add extra stability.

Then I went to my computer and found a font I liked. Then I typed out everything I wanted the sign to say and flipped the words on my word document so that everything read backwards. Then I printed on an inkjet printer.

Then I cut out my pieces and arranged the papers where I wanted the words on my boards. Ink side down!

Then I started the ink transfer process. I used a spray bottle to saturate the paper. It's best to wait a couple of minutes to let the water start to release the ink from the paper.

Then I used the cap of the sharpie and basically scribbled over the paper to let the ink transfer. You can see the first blog link above to get more detailed instructions.

Once you have done this for each word you can remove the paper and ink should stay on your board! Do this for all the boards you want to do!

Then my husband so graciously used a wood burning tool to outline the letters. He got one at Michaels when he was making a time capsule box for our wedding. I think this looks very rustic and "Texan-y" hehe. It also helps the letters to pop!

Then I painted in the letters with pretty cheap paint. It looked more like a stain than paint which I thought made it look cooler. 

Also at Lowes were some cool looking tacks. I thought they looked like they could have been made by a blacksmith in the 1800's so I got them. They were only $2  for a whole bunch! I took the two smaller boards and measured out the holes for the running bibs that I was going to hang on it. You can click on the second blog link for more ideas too. I had two sizes like she did so I staggered the hangings so they would all fit!

Then on my long board I hammered a bunch of tacks to the bottom to hang our medals on!

Attach some rustic farm-looking string to the corners (with tacks of course!) and you have a sign! Hang your medals proudly and stand back and admire (this is a very important step lol). I'm pretty happy with how mine turned out!

Now we have a very big reminder for why we run every time we enter our bedroom as well as a reminder of all the faithfulness God has shown us in the past!

Now on to our next race...the Houston Turkey Trot!

Happy running everyone!

Monster Mash!

So today was the day we have been training for! We woke up this morning at 5:45 am and drove down to the Sam Houston Race Track for our 5K today.

It was cold for the first time since summer and the wind was howling. We were so cold! Thankfully they had us wait inside where we got to look at all the funny costumes. Personally, I think ours were the best since we went dressed up as Aggies (I know I'm biased). We got a lot of whoops and well wishes. Especially when people learned that we actually WENT to the school. That's right everyone. We didn't just go to Walmart...

The race itself was actually very difficult for me. Yes, I have been training and I got my 5K time down to 34 minutes (with no walking!) during my training. But today was hard. I have been sick all week. Not only was it cold, but the first mile and a half was all on the horse race track! That means sand! Then around mile 1.3 my asthma started kicking up. Something that hasn't happened in months. So to say I'm proud of my time is a big deal. I overcame running at a different time of day, on sand, in the cold and on one lung haha. Maybe I should actually train in the conditions I'm going to be racing in for the future. :) I know we weren't trying to be competitive, but looking at my results makes me competitive. So I'm a little disappointed I didn't finish in the first half of the group and I'm a little disappointed I couldn't run the entire way. But I had fun and we had a gorgeous sunrise! I'm gonna do many more 5K's and this is just something to try to beat next time!

Here are some pictures!

 Here are my results! I don't know why they put me in that age category...

 In all maroon!

 My running project is complete!

 Still running across America. Getting close to that 100 mile mark!

 We had so much fun!

They even tweet your results for you! Fancy!

I'm already looking for the next races. :) I'm hooked! We will probably take a week or two break to let our muscles recover from our training schedule (and celebrate Jared's birthday!) but then we will start on the 10K! I really want to run the Houston Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving and I even found a relay that celebrates Texas independence in March. It goes just over 200 miles from Bastrop to Houston! Anyone want to be on a team with me? :D

I am so thankful for a few things:

1. For God giving me the legs and the body to go running. I know health and limbs are not something to take for granted.

2. For my family supporting me in my journey of running.

3. For my husband. He could have easily gone ahead of me and run faster and stronger but he stayed behind with me. He said that he could go for the competitiveness but that would defeat the purpose of running together. I scored big when I married him!

Talk you you soon!

Two months later

So here we are. It's week nine in my training and I am 80 miles into my Run Across America and two weeks before my first official race! I have been running 5K's this week and have been decreasing my time by a minute in each of the last few runs!

Today I ran my first 5K without stopping!

It's been a journey. I never would have imagined the fact that I would be doing this. I could barely run for a minute two months ago. And now I'm checking mile splits. Crazy!

My doctor even had good news about my blood work the other day. My health is better that two months ago. You can see the difference in concrete numbers.

I will probably elaborate more on the mental journey tomorrow or the day after when I have more time. But let me say this now:

I'm an ordinary person. I have a job and a husband. I have asthma and a food allergy...something not conducive to the typical running diet! But I'm doing it.

You can too.

You have to answer the question, "How bad do you want it?"

Sunday!

I had a great day today. It was a little hectic juggling volunteers and kids, but we had baptisms and baby dedications today! God really did some amazing work today and I'm amazed at how crazy awesome it is!

Jared and I ran some errands after our Christmas program planning meeting and then I took a NAP. It is officially fall here in Houston so it was the perfect temperature for a nap on the couch.

It was also perfect temperature for running! I ran straight 30 minutes...no stopping for nothing! I never know what to think of on my runs. But today, instead of focusing on my time or my speed or my distance, I decided that I would just pray on my run. Why haven't I thought about that before?? It worked and I feel so much better at the end!

I'm not counting our time walking anymore! Logged 2.78 miles today!

Fun Saturday

Today I went to an event I didn't even plan on 'till Thursday but I'm so glad I did! I went with some of my Redeemed friends to the Walk like MADD event in the Woodlands. We had so much fun together! I loved it!

Then how about those Ags? I never gave up on them! Our dog was even celebrating by jumping over us on the couch as we Whooped at the TV!

In the words of Porkey the Pig, "That's all folks!"

The End of a Long Week

Today's run pretty much summed up the week. It was hard. It was long. I got bugs in my face. It had its ups and downs as we ran trails through the woods. I kept having to doge bicyclists. I was afraid to get lost. I got a blister.

But I took a couple of rests and pushed through to the end. And I made it and I accomplished my goal! Plus this week I dealt with many personal issues about my motivation and why I was really doing everything I do.

"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men," (Colossians 3:23 ESV)

Then Jared took me out for yogurt and made tacos for Taco Thursday. He even helped with my blister. Now thats love. He's awesome. :) Finish it off with the premier of the Amazing Race and I think we're ready to sleep!

I signed up for the MADD race on Saturday to walk/run with the Redeemed team. I'm super excited! Lets say you want to donate. You don't have to but you can check it out here:

http://support.madd.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=3004&px=3649348

I also found this amazing video! It really is an amazing story of how God can heal no matter the darkness! This is the kind of story that inspires me to keep working for Redeemed no matter what!

http://www.iamsecond.com/seconds/annie-lobert/

Running across America still! And will be for a long time!

Break Throughs!

So somebody called me Multi-Maddie today. Which made me laugh because it was true.

Today Jared and I were at the church extra early because we were the third string worship leaders this morning. First string was on vacation and second string had a death in the family. Please keep them in your prayers.

Then when we got done practicing I went up stairs where we had our kid's Bible study and talked with the kids up there. Then I went back downstairs to actually lead worship. By the time I sat down to listen to the sermon I was too hyped on on crazy to be able to sit still.

But it didn't stop there. Then we had a potluck lunch and I got to talk to lots of the people. THEN we went upstairs to decorate the children's area for the new series! It's not quite done yet or I'd post pictures.

THEN!! (You though I was done right) I hoped in the passenger seat and got on a google + call with my Redeemed communications team. Jared drove us to HEB and so I was literally planning how to spread awareness of human trafficking while trying to find canelli beans. This is when I got called Multi Maddie. Thanks Jenny...

Naturally, it was only 70 for the high today so we call it cold here in Texas. We opened our porch door, turned on the replay of the Aggie game so Jared could watch and snuggled with some Apple Cider. I fell asleep almost instantly. I love fall!

When I woke up it was time to go running. Not gonna lie I was a little nervous. But holy cow...it was amazing! We ran most of the time. With an hour of running I only walked 11 minutes! I am floored! You can see my run here:

http://nikeplus.nike.com/plus/activity/running/detail/2047461328?external_share_id=62E73C01-8009-46AB-929A-33C9FB474121&fb_action_ids=10151251771152792&fb_action_types=nikeapp%3Arun&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210151251771152792%22%3A288926724549278%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210151251771152792%22%3A%22nikeapp%3Arun%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

The difference a good running shoe can make and the cold air (we didn't have to run through the humidity!) made it a very very enjoyable run!

Made tomato basil soup tonight (remember it's cold haha) and we are about to have some gluten free brownies and milk with the rest of our Aggie game. :)

For some reason the run across America website isn't working. When it finally comes up I'll let you know!

Thanks and Gig 'Em!

Aggies Rock. :)

So most of my day was spent watching the Aggie game while working on my new hat! Because, you know...it gets so cold here in Texas! Pictures below of the finished product!

And you know, the game was so awesome. I thought Arkansas was supposed to be good this year. What happened to that? (I can taunt because I've had to deal with my whole Razorback family giving me grief every time the Aggies played them the last three years and lost!) It was a very relaxing rainy day punctuated with a few house chores.

Then Jared came home early because of the rain and we got to go on a short walk while it wasn't raining. It was so nice! Plus, I got to break in my new running shoes (see pictures below!). I've been saving up for them for six weeks now. Every time I kept up with my training plan, I got to put $20 in the 'Maddie's new shoes' savings jar. :) They are amazing and help with my collapsing arches!

That's all for today. My Biblical advice for today is to take a day of rest (God did) and that you should always root for God's favorite college team.

I'm sure God has a closet full of maroon jerseys. :)