When Pigs Fly...

You guys.  I think pigs really may fly!  I never thought this would happen!

Scotty signed us both up for a 1/2 marathon!!!!

This is his first one.  I ran my first in 2009.  It was an amazing experience and I always knew I would do it again, but I never dreamed that we would do one together!  And so soon!  In November.  Like, in five weeks.  Eek!  I trained for four months for the first one.  Dear Jesus, please help us to be ready!  I'm thinking we have a good start since we already run ... right?  

I will do my best to not bore you too much with marathon-y stuff, but if you knew how much of a miracle this is you wouldn't be too hard on me! 

Ok. That is all.  I'll let you get back to your Monday.

 

-Liv

Five Minute Friday: True

Five minutes.  Forgetting about perfect.  No back spacing.  No spell check.  Just writing. 



She wanted to believe it was true.  She wanted to know it in her heart, in a way that she could live it. She just could not seem to grasp that she was completely accepted and that she did not have to do one thing to earn God's approval.  It didn't make sense to her.  She faced failure everyday.  I didn't pray long enough.  I was selfish.  I lost my patience.  My home isn't clean enough.  I'm a bad Christian, friend, sister, daughter, mother, wife.  It played over and over in her head.  Her journal was full of I'm sorrys, please forgive me, and promises to do better.  It's the way she grew up.  Behave the right way, say the right thing and you will be loved.  It's hard to unlearn some things.  Her greatest fear was rejection so she worked hard to please and never to disappoint.  She didn't know even know what it was like to be real.  Then somebody told her that God was not disappointed in her because He never had illusions about her in the first place.  Light snuck through the cracks of her weary heart and she discovered that the truth really does make free.  Indeed.  Hope began to rise in her heart that she was loved more than she knew.  She began to learn that she had value, not because of how she behaved, but because of Who she belonged to.  Because simply behaving had nothing to do with love.  When those old thoughts tried to resurface, she saw them as they were - a lie.  She knew she was completely accepted.  And finally she began to live.

- Liv

Click here to read what other writers wrote on today's prompt.  While we're on the subject of truth - I might have gone over five minutes.  I'm just going to be ok with that.  Who's trying to be perfect anyway? *smile*

Five Minute Friday: SHE

I'm joining other writers for Five Minute Friday over at Lisa-Jo's.  Lisa Jo thinks that motherhood should come with a super hero cape.  I agree!  No matter what season of motherhood you find yourself in, this one's for you!  As your read, put your name in there.  Don't just believe it for someone else - believe it for you!   

Photo Credit: Rachel Duran

 

She's tired.

She wakes up early and goes to bed late - sometimes having to get up a few times in between.

The days run into each other.  It seems to be the same thing every day - is it even making a difference?

The laundry. The dishes.  The melt downs. 

And the guilt.

Late for another appointment.  Forgot to pay a bill.  Let them watch too much TV.  Cereal for dinner.  Again. 

Shoulda been more intentional.  Was I too hard on them?  Yelled again.  Need to get in shape.  Really should shaved my legs.  Need a date night   Who is that man in my bed, anyway?  Haven't talked to him in a while. 

She's tired.

She wakes up early so she can have a few minutes to pray for those precious kids before they go off to school.  And to prepare lunches and kiss those faces.

She keeps up with doctor appointments and teeth cleanings and parent/teacher conferences.  She takes the kids to tutoring and soccer and dance practices. 

Between throwing another load in the washing machine and scrounging for a clean sippy cup, she breaks up a fight, wipes a nose and kisses an owie. 

She helps a child with homework, signs a permission slip and reminds someone to hang up a wet towel and to brush those teeth.  Three stories, bedtime prayers and another drink of water later, she crawls into bed.  She attempts to read, but barely makes it through a paragraph before her heavy eyes start to close.  Sighing, she marks her page, turns off the light and kisses the handsome stranger next to her. 

She is strong.  She is beautiful.  She makes all the difference in the world.  My hero.  You.

What Running Has Taught Me About Life

The right shoes make all the difference!

 

Take in the scenery

Bad days are the exception, not the rule
Enjoying every minute is not the point
Music makes it better

Drink lots of water

I can do hard things
Pace yourself
When you don't feel like it - do it anyway
Breathe
Set a goal
I am strong
Your second wind is coming
Training pays off

Watching the sun rise never gets old
Cool breezes are a gift
Food is energy
Eating bad makes me feel bad
One foot in front of the other
I'm not a quitter
Keep going, even when it's hard

Rest

Right now it sucks, but it's going to get better
The pain reminds me that I have worked hard
When the pain subsides, I find I am stronger
Give yourself time to cool down
A little sweat never hurt anybody
It's an adventure
Just keep moving

Having a partner keeps me motivated

Head up, shoulders squared and tummy tucked
Attitude is everything
It's great to be outside
It's always a good time to pray
Just lean forward and push through the hills
You tend to try to hurry over the hills to get them over with...
Don't.  You'll only wear yourself out
...Unless you've been on that hill a hundred times before...
In that case - get over it and find a new course, for crying out loud!

 

Enjoy the easy parts...
but stay humble because another hill may be around the corner!
Keep your core strong - it'll give you a strong back bone
Finishing feels amazing!

 

Five Minute Friday: Mercy

Photo Credit

Yesterday wasn't perfect.  I wasn't perfect.  I didn't get everything done that I would have liked to.  I had too many cookies.  I may or may not have allowed a certain situation to make me angry.  A friend lost a loved one.  Another friend is going through an unthinkable trial.  There's flooding in Colorado.  There is a lot of uncertainty in our country - in the world.  It looks like a big mess.

But then.  I woke up this morning. 

Photo Credit

There was a beautiful fog outside my window. 
I looked over and there was Scotty.  And I love him.
A good morning hug from my girl.
A hot cup of strong coffee.
I woke up to a brand new day without any mistakes in it.  Yet.
I have a God who loves me and delights in me.  What an incredible thought!  Yesterday wasn't perfect.  Today won't be either. But every little thing is going to be ok.

"Your kindness and your mercies pursue me all the days of my life ..." - Psalm 23:6 

 

- Liv

Join other writer's here for Five Minute Friday

Our Thing

Saturday mornings are ours.  We get up way too early for a weekend, lace up our running shoes and go for a run before the sun gets high.  After a few miles and a good stretch, we go home to sit on the patio and sip on a cup or two of French-pressed coffee.  Sometimes we talk.  Sometimes we just sit - no need for words. I find myself being most thankful on these days, because it hasn't always been this way.  I can't believe we found our thing.  I can't believe running is our thing!   I tried to get Scotty to run with me for years and he wouldn't budge.  He had absolutely no desire nor inclination to run unless he was being chased...by zombies.  You can understand why I gave up hope that he would ever become my running partner! 

The real miracle here is that we found our thing after all these years.  More accurately, the things we thought were our things turned out to not really be our things.  We are not the same people we were when we got married.  Things have changed.  We have changed.  More on that in another post, but I will say that we weren't sure if we would make it long enough to ever find our thing.

We haven't just found our thing - we grew into it.  Without having survived some hard times, running together would be no big deal - it would just be running.  It hasn't been graceful, in fact, it has been quite messy.  But our story is full of grace.  We sort of clumsily muddled through, unsteady and unsure.  When we looked up, we found ourselves shaken up, but still together.  Surprised by grace.

Here's to many more miles. 

- Liv

I'd love to hear what your thing is!



Five Minute Friday: Red



She looked for us in the crowd.  She has done it every time since she was a little girl.  From church Christmas plays, to school recitals, to award ceremonies - she would look for us and wave.  Our eyes met, she smiled, and bounded over to where we were.  She was red-faced, breathless and giddy.  The long practices, blisters and sore toes, all worth it for one glorious night under the stage lights.  All of the dancers were beautiful, but our eyes were fixed on our girl - her captive audience.  Scott handed her a bunch of roses, just as he has done after every ballet performance for the past 10 years.

  

This past May she hung up her pointe shoes and picked up a set of blue and white poms.  Bittersweet.  The first football game of the season brought nervous excitement.  A summer of practices and sore muscles and anticipation for nights like this, beneath the stadium lights.  She looked for us in the crowd and smiled when our eyes met.  Don't ask me about the game - I wasn't watching it!  After, we met her on the field.  She was red-faced and breathless and giddy.

 

  

Baby, no matter where God takes you in this life, no matter what you are doing - big or small - look for us in the crowd.  I hope you find lots of moments that leave you red-faced, breathless and giddy.  Daddy and I will be there, clapping and cheering you on, with silly grins on our faces.