>how can someone not believe our bodies are created by a higher being? namely, God. i’ve started my half marathon training this week with a 12-step program by hal higdon. it’s not even friday and i’ve run eight miles with an average pace of 10:00 min/mile. it’s not bad considering the distance. if i’m doing just one or two miles, i should really push myself more. tomorrow is a rest day, saturday is a short cross-training day and sunday is my big run of four miles. i’ve done it before, but just barely. what works for me is slowing down my pace by just a little. eventually i find the perfect pace that i could keep for miles and miles. at least i think i could. haha.
i never really understood the need for specific clothes for working out. although i’m not spending money on them at the moment, i love the items from under armour.
i’ve been running for a little over a year and i cannot believe that i can do three miles! it’s been a very gradual buildup with a few breaks of a few weeks to a month, but it’s still so amazing how our cardiovascular system maintains blood pressure and respiration for an extended period of time under stress. and how our muscles and bones and tendons all work together.
romans 1:20 states (niv), “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”
i’ve been watching my cousin’s daughter adeline this week while his wife studies for the nclex. this child is one of the most beautiful children i have ever seen. (i don’t think michelle will mind that i’m borrowing this photo.)
you look at this child, any child, and see how they are perfectly formed with their little toes, little fingers, little laugh, bright smile. even if a child isn’t perfectly formed by the world’s shallow standards, he or she is perfect in God’s sight. how can one not believe that the Lord brought them into existence? it’s just too much to be a “coincidence”. it’s amazing how only two cells grow into someone like this. her heart and lungs are small but they sustain her. she develops and changes every day. i’ve witnessed our nieces and nephew grow, but i don’t think i ever spent a lot of time with them when they were little like this. no doubt that they (joel, rhianna, zaia, and lena) are gifts from God with a great purpose for their lives.
how much more will i love my own children? having great experiences with children in my life lately have placed a desire in my heart to be a mommy. really, i never dreamed of being a teacher. i dreamed of being a wife and mommy. i can’t wait. they will be beautiful, whether they are birthed from my body or adopted into our family. (we are not trying any time soon, fyi. 😉 )
this past week i have been encouraged because of my godly surroundings. it’s been a nice break from the pressures and sometimes persecution, if i may use that word, of the “real world”.
i know God continues to work in the small things, even something as trivial as a number on a list. we are currently on a waitlist for camp humphreys because the post can support only so many families at a time. i’m believing that there’s a reason i’m still here in illinois. i have to remember that God is bigger than the army.
for a skeptic who has been reading this post or any other part of my blog, take heart. this is not a game or a transient belief that i have. this is a real relationship with a real Savior. i cannot even begin to describe what Jesus has done in my life, but i can try. saved me, delivered me from my pit of depression and despair, paired me with an amazing man, given me an adventurous life with twists and turns. and that’s just the big stuff. i’m done apologizing for my beliefs or subtly hiding them because i know that everything He has done has been good (romans 8:28). He wants to do that in your life, too.
time for bed, now. it’s been a long but great week.
mercies per mile 