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. :)

The End of Week 6!

So today marks the end of training week 6. To be honest I'm shocked that I have made it this far!

Today I was really struggling with the run that seemed so easy on Sunday. Yes we were pushing ourselves and yes we went faster and further than Sunday! I didn't quit either! Yet at the end of this run I didn't feel the accomplishment like I did at the end of previous runs.

I think what is happening (after discussing my feelings with the husband) is that because I struggle with the run more than I used to I don't feel like I'm doing well. Therefore I don't realize how great I'm doing. The fact is I'm doing harder things that I did two weeks ago. I'm doing things I didn't think I could do! So I just need to take a step back and look at what I've accomplished before going back to the grindstone for what is coming up next.

Of course this wouldn't be my blog if I didn't relate this back to life. :) I think sometimes we struggle with sin and we get down on ourselves because we keep struggling with something. But we have to realize that struggle is God working in us to cleanse us of that sin. Don't wallow in the fact that you sin or carry it as a badge of honor. We don't want to just get comfortable with being able to say we are struggling with something. What we want to see is progress. Here's something I learned from Breakaway:

In the book of 1 John, John talks about how if we know Christ, we are in the light. If we don't know Christ, then we are in darkness. How do we know if we are in the light? Because we experience the amazing power of His love and that love makes us want to follow His commands. Not because we have to but because we want to. And we are not going to be sinless walking in the light, but we are going to be cleaned of our sin by Jesus over time.

'Whoever says "I know him" but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.' (1 John 2:4-6 ESV)

The key to this passage is the 'is perfected' part. We are being perfected right now like we have been in the past as well as in the future!

We may not see the progress or see how far we have come with Christ. But I encourage you to take the time to talk to Him and see what has happened recently in your life. Find the little victories and know in your heart that God is doing/will do a work in you and through you if you let Him!

I may get new running shoes tomorrow. :) I'll keep you posted!

Productive day

So I had a great day today. Got loads done. Run was really hard. I don't know what it was but my stomach hurt! But I pushed through it and made my goal!

Sorry short blog today but I gotta get to bed!

Back in the Saddle

Hello everyone! Sorry I have been MIA the past few days. I had a good reason though. We went camping! For a full and funny recap of our adventures you can check out our video here:

As far as running has been going, the one we did at the camp site WORE ME OUT. We went three minutes running followed by two minutes walking for 50 minutes. We covered four miles through the trails! It was very fun but I was exhausted by the end. I mentally was in a bad place because I was thinking, "If this is this hard and I still have breaks, then how am I going to be able to run for 30 minutes straight?"

What I failed to remember was we went for a three mile hike geocaching before that! No wonder we were so tired! Plus, the 30 minute run is a week from now. I'm not there yet. What happens sometimes is we look at something way down the road and get overwhelmed and we don't feel ready for it. The truth is, we aren't ready for it because we are not there yet!

So when I got around to running today I didn't have a defeatist attitude. I said, "If I could run the last run, and didn't die, I can run this run!" My verse for today was "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." And you know what happened? I did it! I wasn't even completely spent!

This truth was evident in my life today as I went to church this morning and ran the children's department. There are so many moving parts to my ministry and I want to build my team as well as build my students! Things have happened over the last couple of weeks that stressed me out and nothing I did seemed to make a helpful difference. I prayed about it a lot on our camping trip and boy what a difference it made! Many of the things I had been working on finally paid off and conversations I needed to have finally happened! All praise goes to God because it was His timing and His appointments. Never underestimate the work that God is doing through you.

It's amazing to see progress in your life when you have been working toward a goal. Remember when we were kids and we never felt like we were growing? That is, until we stepped up to the kitchen counter and we could suddenly reach all the cookies our moms were making! Life is the same way! We never see ourselves growing until we get in a situation that normally would have been daunting. However, because of the work that God has done in you, we know that we can overcome it! I encourage all of you not only in your running or training for whatever activity you want to do, but in life as well, to take an honest look back and see what you have accomplished. I won't run a marathon in just two months, but I will train. With hard work over a period of time, I can do great things.

Especially if it is Christ who strengthens and guides me!

When the running gets tough...

...the tough get running! I have seemed to have gotten to this point in my life where it seems like all my hard work isn't getting me anywhere.

But what we have to remember is that there are going to be days where it is like we are swimming upstream (with no flippers)! When we decide to do something worthwhile there are going to be days where it gets hard. Nobody said that training (or life) was going to be 'happy go lucky' all the time. It takes time and commitment to get somewhere no matter what goal you are working towards.

So I'm taking a page out of my favorite character's book and singing...

'Just keep running...Just keep running...'

'Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint or grow weary; there is no searching of His understanding. He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound]. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and [selected] young men shall feebly stumble and fall exhausted; But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.' (Isaiah 40:28-31 AMP)

And for a little picture pick me up, check out this picture my hubby took on his evening flight tonight. Nothing like a Texas sunset!

Rainy days

Today was one of those days where you just sing to yourself, 'Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...'

Not just because today was rough but because we literally ran in the rain and it was bordering on swimming (in my over exaggerated mind)!

Ran 3 miles and added to the running across America mileage.

Cleaning day

Today was spent...cleaning. Cleaning the church then cleaning my apartment. I got a great calorie burn today!

We just went on a leisurely walk today for a couple miles. Sometimes, you just need to clean house and then go 'Ahhhhhhh...' That's me today. :) Hence the short blog!

Running in the Rain

One of my favorite songs growing up was "Singing in the Rain." It made me smile all the time when I thought about it and the other songs from that musical. Today though I made a little switche-roo in my head and made it "Running in the Rain." Because that's what we did today!

I was a little frantic as I kept watching the radar. It had been thundering and lightning all day. Jared actually came home early because the weather wouldn't let him fly. So when he came home the big question was, "Are we going to be able to go out today?" With him being the resident weather man...he got his fancy flying radar maps out and saw that the weather was dissapating. So we waited an hour and we finally got our chance to go running without being hit by lightning! I consider that a plus!

It was a fun run as we were not hot and our dog was in heaven. Plus there were no people there so we had the park all to ourselves. We pushed ourselves for sure and made the same run we did on Sunday... except we shaved four minutes off our time!

I also had a very important quiet time today. As I have been going through a slight identity crisis since my whole life changed this last year (you know...no big deal), I have had a hard time defining my identity. But today I was reading Christine Caine's Undaunted book and I remembered something very profound.

Isaiah 49:1 "Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The LORD called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me."

Before I was born, before I went to my schools, before I graduated, before I got married, before anything that I ever did or experienced God knew me! He already loved me and knew what was ahead. He had arranged everything already. He had given me an identity. While I love my parents my identity goes much further than just being a part of their family. I am His child too. I am a daughter of the King! He died for me so that we could be together.

Many times we think about things that have been said about us that are negative. Weak, stupid, unqualified...whatever! But what gives those words power is if we start using them ourselves about ourselves. However, if we choose to believe what God believes about us, that we are special, planned and worth dying for, there is a whole new ball game!

So just like today when I was running in the rain and I was thinking, "I can't do this," then I was never going to break my time from Sunday. But when I remembered what I had learned today, that I was strong and my body was made by Christ and could do things like run fast, then I could! And I did!

There is nothing more powerful than the brain. We are in a spiritual battleground and that battleground is your mind. If the devil can make you think that you are not what God says you are, then you will never become what God has planned for you to be. But, if you choose to believe the truth of God, that He loves you and cares for you, then you have the power to battle through the hard parts of life and live the amazing life God has for you! That's why Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:5 "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ."

Keep pushing yourself to be better. Don't let the devil bring you down. Hold on to Christ and get ready (as my old pastor would say) to go to a whole 'nuther level!

The Push Through

Today was one of those days I wanted to turn off the alarm and go to sleep. But man am I glad I got out of bed.

Staff meeting...great. To do list...whittled down significantly!

Then I got to my run and it was the quintessential 'butterflies in my stomach.' I didn't know if I could do it. I was nervous! The training was supposed to be the same intensity, but longer. The last run left me in pain and wheezing. I really didn't know if I could do it!

About 30 minutes in, I only had two running segments of training left and I wasn't nearly as exhausted as last time. I found it amazing! We logged 3.56 miles and I am so proud!

This reminds me of a biggest loser episode where Ashley looks at her mom and wonders, 'What if I go in there and I can't do it?' Don't we all ask that from time to time? We don't know if we can do the next day, that next task. We feel like we can't get up for work or we can't have that conversation or we can't do the thing that God asks us to!

What we need to do is change our mindsets to how Ashley's mom answers her back. 'What happens if you go in there and you can?'

If that's the case, the implications are significant.

If we can get up, go to work, do our ministry, get that workout, we have accomplished something very significant. We have allowed our minds to not put limitations on our actions.

It's kind of like what I have heard Christine Caine say:

'God told Moses to go free God's people. Moses' answer was 'I am not eloquent enough!' As if Moses' eloquence had anything to do with God sending the plagues or parting the Red Sea!'

We can't put limitations on what God can do through us. His is all powerful! All we have to do is be obedient and think of what can happen if we can push through the hard part!

I've passed the Marathon marker on my run Across America. That's a long way! Here's some pictures to kind of see my journey thus far!

The Work Day

Today started at 4:30 in the morning. I didn't mean to get up at 4:30 in the morning, but I did because I was so worried I wouldn't get up to my alarm at 5:15, I basically worried myself awake. So I finally accepted that I wasn't going back to sleep at 5:05 and I got ready, ate breakfast and kissed my husband goodbye before heading out the door.

Why was I up this early you ask? Well, I was meeting the executive director of Redeemed and some other volunteers at the church down the road so that we could carpool together to the Great Day Houston set. We were meeting a bunch of different human trafficking groups down there and hopefully getting a spot on the show to talk about the ministry.

So we carpooled, waited, sat and watched the show. But unfortunately it was medical Monday (who came up with medical Monday with human trafficking advocates in the audience??) and all the segments were medical themed. We didn't even get to say a word. However, we did get to talk to Deborah Duncan herself about our ministry after the show. So hopefully we will get the opportunity in the future to talk about Redeemed on her show. Pray!!!

After, we all traveled back to Spring and I went up to the Redeemed safe house where they had already cleaned out the garage and were organizing all the donations. It was crazy how much stuff there was in there! We also had a little incident where there was a cockroach on one of the boxes Bobbie was passing me. She screamed and I thought it was going up my arm. Oh the stories you get from ministry haha! It was awesome to just hang out with the people there and help out. They really are the salt of the Earth and I am blessed to be a part of such a great ministry.

I went home, posted a few more things to Facebook for Redeemed, then I conked out for a little while. Jared got off early (yay!) so we left for worship practice together from the apartment. This NEVER happens!

Now I'm working outside the church enjoying this nice weather we are having and watching the sunset go down behind the pond we have. It is so nice to be able to reflect on the day and know it was a little bit crazy, but I hope that God takes the little things we did and makes them into something great!

That's all for today. Can't wait until tomorrow!

A First of Many

So today was pretty cool. Loved seeing my kids at church this morning and we had a fun time making bracelets. Long story short we learned that we need to respect God and God's church!

Then we went to the Egli ranch and picked up some mattresses for Redeemed before we headed home via HEB. I'm still convinced the less time I spend in there is equivalent to the less money I spend!

Then Jared and Duchess and I went running! Today was a big deal because today was one of few runs (if not the only one I can remember) where I ran more minutes than I walked. I was hurting by the end for sure but I was so proud of myself! Jared is amazing because he takes Duchess and battles her chasing after squirrels and other dogs WHILE he runs! And now he's making tacos! He really is superman!

A couple nights ago Jared and I watched Fireproof. While we are in honeymoon phase like...#4 haha, we still appreciate our marriage more than ever. I also can relate running to marriage! While it may be hard to do life with someone at points, my encouragement for you today is that you CAN do what you set your mind to. Don't have a victim mentality or say its too hard. Leaving the marriage should never be an option. Just like I went into this run determined to do it no matter what, I am in this marriage determined to make it thrive no matter what. The great news is, I have God on my side in both running and my marriage! It may hurt sometimes, but the feeling on the other side is priceless!

On Running Across America today we ran through Jamestown! The first picture is our running through Jamestown and the second is where I started and stopped for today!

Don't stop running! And stay tuned for tomorrow because it should be interesting!

A Day For Others

Today was great because we had our Redeemed monthly meeting! It was jam packed with great stuff going on between all the teams and we were able to bless a family with something great but as simple as pizza!

After I had lunch with Jared at the airport and had one of the best salads ever! Then I worked on stuff for Redeemed while listening to the Aggies give away the game. Maybe someday we will be a second half team...

Jared and I had an extremely pleasant walk in the park as it wasn't any over 86 degrees! Its time to break the fall stuff out! Then we got our butts kicked by Bob Harper lol. Jared made this amazing pineapple, mango, orange smoothie! All fruit! Fabulous!

I'm really looking forward to next week! Added 2.14 miles to our Run Across America!

Week 3...complete!

Not much to comment on today.

Never mind I take that back. I went to the UPS store to send out Ever's birthday present (see the Bible below!) and also witness a drug bust in the parking lot that blocked me into the shopping center for a good 20 minutes! I am highly impressed with the HPD!

Then I got to hang out with a friend of mine from Redeemed and my co-worker at work helped me get ideas for the children's set! Look what I made today!

My husband is also proving to be a great running coach. Three miles today! I love you babe!

This is fun!

Today was great! Had a good staff meeting. Then worked on stuff for Sunday and for planning the next series. Then I had the greatest lunch with Julie! Let me tell you this girl is awesome! I am so lucky to have her on my team and as a friend!

Then I had the fastest run through HEB ever. I have noticed a general trend that the less amount of time I spend in that store the smaller my bill is...

Then I waited for Jared to get home and we went on a great run! Jared made the comment that you know it was a good run when you have mud splattered all over your back. I agree. :) I'm really happy with this training program. It's gradual and challenging but not overwhelming! Let me know if you want it. It was free!

Both Jared's students passed their check rides today. Yay! We are celebrating with grilling, what else. :)

Here's where I'm running across America today! Made my first city Williamsburg and Jamestown is next!

Uncharted Territory

So yesterday and today mark the longest I have ever stuck with a workout plan EVER. As in my entire life. It is amazing to me to see the changes that have come about in myself even in as little as two weeks. I am running longer and faster. In my cross training workouts I can feel my core engaging and actually making the workout easier! It is so overwhelming to me when you actually understand the truths that you have been chanting to yourself over and over again. Things like, "I can do this" and "God has given me the body to be strong." I have heard motivating things like this said on shows like the Biggest Loser and on workout videos. I have told them to myself in workouts. But to actually experience these truths coming to life in my body is a whole new experience and it is exhilarating!

I bought a new book this weekend entitled "A Year With C. S. Lewis." It is a daily devotional for a year using snippets of C. S. Lewis' books and letters as the content. Today's first devotional just make me laugh at the brilliance of God's timing.

I know that we have all seen those TV shows where there is something that's dead and it starts moving. Then it is followed by the quintessential exclamation, "It's alive!" followed by everyone running for their lives. C. S. Lewis talks about this phenomena in his book Miracles. We all look for God. We all seek His blessing and His will for our lives. We volunteer, go to church, give to charity and participate in Bible studies. But what happens when things start to get hard or not go the way we thought it would? We start experiencing life and we run!

C. S. Lewis put it like this:

"An 'impersonal God' - well and good. A subjective God of beauty, truth and goodness, inside our own heads - better still. A formless life-force surging through us, a vast power which we can tap - best of all. But God Himself, alive, pulling at the other end of the cord, perhaps approaching at an infinite speed, the hunter, king, husband - that is quite another matter ... There comes a moment when people who have been dabbling in religion ('Man's search for God!') suddenly draw back. Supposing we really found Him? We never meant it to come to that! Worse still, supposing He had found us?"

God was never meant to just be "over there." He was never meant to just be found in nature where we hike on our vacations. He isn't just a nice idea in our heads that provides positive thoughts. He isn't just a cosmic force to ask for help from in our times of need. He is an entity. A being. And He wants a relationship with you.

Relationships take action. Relationships take risk. Just like working out, relationships can bring about pain. However, if we can experience pain and push through it, we experience hindsight on the other side. In workouts, we gain the ability to look back and see how far we have run or how much more we can lift. In life, we see the work of God in our lives! It is a perspective that we are never capable before going through the pain.

Instead of running away from life in fear we have the choice to push through the fear. God is intimidating! He has wiped out the entire human race with a flood! But He LOVES. More than anything He loves us. He want's a relationship with us. But we can't control God. If we enter into a relationship with Him we have to learn to lean in on the God who is in control and trust him. Think of God as not only our friend but our life trainer. He made life. He knows how to do it best! Trust your trainer! Trust the process!

The best part is with God we become more reliant on Him and yet stronger on our own all at the same time. We begin to see the changes. We begin to feel the core of our being becoming stronger as we go through our daily tasks. We begin to have new perspective on what is hard.

We begin to do what we thought was impossible.

If I could do anything right now I would encourage those of you who know God but don't trust Him to let Him free in your life! Let Him out of the little box you have Him in in your mind. Let Him transform your life like He has mine.

If you don't know God, I encourage you to ask around you. Ask Him into your heart and ask Him to transform your life. It will truly be the best decision you could ever make.

Let the impossible begin.

Week 3: Loving Life, Loving God and Cedar Plank Salmon?

So today marks the beginning of a new week! Many times at school I wouldn't like new weeks because it meant another week of classes and tests and projects. But now I look forward to new weeks. I anticipate what God has planned for me and I look forward to my work. That is something I haven't experienced before but I like it.

This week has its own challenges ahead. I'm going to start planning for the next series of Elevate and Jared has three students with check rides! Ahhhh! Please keep them in your prayers.

So tonight I am enjoying the short time I have with my hubby. He got me some beautiful flowers this weekend! Picture included! We did errands, took a nap and went running. We tried a new protein recovery drink shock tastes just like a Frappachino and I am willingly letting my husband grill salmon on a piece of cedar! What is the world coming to (I love you Daddy lol)???

Running across America is 1.08 miles outside Williamsburg! Maybe I'll see Felicity on my way through and have an afternoon tea. :)

Verse to run with!

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10 NLT)