Sunday was my first 5 miler. It was HOT and it was LONG and it was UPHILL. It felt like there was an awful lot of hills, long on the UP side. I barely got through that run. I had a fleeting thought to do some walking, but I kept repeating that verse, "I can do all things through Christ..." And I made it, and I was so happy, and it felt so good.
Then Tuesday was my second 5. Or should I say 3. Got sick half way through and had to call Husband to come pick me up from the radio station on campus. Now I'm a little gun-shy about tomorrow. I need to get out there and attempt another 5. I hope I can do it.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
1 Sam. 20:6
If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city; for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. 1 Sam. 20:6.
While this may look like a ruse of young David, a throw-away excuse to get him away from king Saul's wrath, it is very likely that he DID hustle to Bethlehem to join in the festivities with his family. In which case, he probably did do some running, because it would have had to be a quick trip in order to make it back in time to meet up with Johnathan in the field. In which case, he would have had to run like the wind - with endurance.
That's how I want to run. I want to run faster. Right now, I'm comfortable at about 5.6 mph. That's hardly running. I should re-name this blog Jesus/Family/Jogging. It's a struggle. I'm not fast at all, and even though I desperately WANT to run faster, I dread even thinking about speeding up. I'm scared to do any interval training. I feel like I'll poop out too fast and I won't be able to go very far after I've used up all my energy on a couple intervals and then there's a whole run wasted. And I hate wasting runs. (More about that later.)
I want to run fast. And I want to run long. Right now I'm at a 5 mile distance. I'm so very proud of that, but it has been nothing less than murder the two times I've been out for the that distance. My body is not endurance fit. Either my lungs are dying and my legs are good to go, or my legs are burning and my lungs are feeling strong. The two factors are not working together real well right now, and I want to fix that. More running should do the trick.
While this may look like a ruse of young David, a throw-away excuse to get him away from king Saul's wrath, it is very likely that he DID hustle to Bethlehem to join in the festivities with his family. In which case, he probably did do some running, because it would have had to be a quick trip in order to make it back in time to meet up with Johnathan in the field. In which case, he would have had to run like the wind - with endurance.
That's how I want to run. I want to run faster. Right now, I'm comfortable at about 5.6 mph. That's hardly running. I should re-name this blog Jesus/Family/Jogging. It's a struggle. I'm not fast at all, and even though I desperately WANT to run faster, I dread even thinking about speeding up. I'm scared to do any interval training. I feel like I'll poop out too fast and I won't be able to go very far after I've used up all my energy on a couple intervals and then there's a whole run wasted. And I hate wasting runs. (More about that later.)
I want to run fast. And I want to run long. Right now I'm at a 5 mile distance. I'm so very proud of that, but it has been nothing less than murder the two times I've been out for the that distance. My body is not endurance fit. Either my lungs are dying and my legs are good to go, or my legs are burning and my lungs are feeling strong. The two factors are not working together real well right now, and I want to fix that. More running should do the trick.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
1 Sam. 17:17
And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to thy brethren; 1 Samuel 17:17
Now this is the kind of running I want to do! I want to run to my brethren with the Bread of Life and share with them the love of their heavenly Father. Jesse is concerned for his sons on the battle front. He sends his other son to bring them refreshment. Jesus is concerned for His children involved in this great controversy between Christ and Satan, and I want to be available to Him to use to bring refreshment to His children.
Now this is the kind of running I want to do! I want to run to my brethren with the Bread of Life and share with them the love of their heavenly Father. Jesse is concerned for his sons on the battle front. He sends his other son to bring them refreshment. Jesus is concerned for His children involved in this great controversy between Christ and Satan, and I want to be available to Him to use to bring refreshment to His children.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
1 Sam. 8:11
And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. 1 Sam. 8:11
My second verse in this word study is from 1 Samuel. It speaks of the warning God so lovingly gave to the men of Israel who were begging for a king to rule over them. They wanted to be just like surrounding (heathen) nations. And rather than trusting that God would make something good despite the perverseness of Samuel's sons who were judges at the time, the brethren decided to request a king. It's almost as if they are "going over God's head" and casting aside His plan of judges in Israel. They think their plan is better. (When is OUR plan EVER better?)
But God, in His great love, doesn't force the 'judges' issue. He simply tells Samuel, 'Sure, if it's what they want, so be it. But this is how it's going to look.' And God proceeds to warn them of the degradation that will certainly follow the implementation of a king. Part of that warning is "some (of their sons) will run before the king's chariots."
"Run before the king's chariots...."
Sounds subservient. Sounds menial. Sounds like the king forces this servitude on the sons of Israel. So in a way, these Israelites that fulfill this particular job description will become 'slaves to running.' They MUST run. They MUST run for the king. When he says, where he says, they MUST run.
A slave to running...
I didn't know where the personal application of this verse was going to go until I just wrote that last paragraph. Now I know. -I don't want to be a slave to running. I can honestly see how this could happen. Like I mentioned before, I have been putting my running time before my time with Jesus. But no more. I have asked the Lord to help me and He is! This blog is definitely part of the answer to that prayer, it helps keep me focused. And last night I had another small victory.
I hadn't had a chance to run all day. Nor had I had any peace and quiet to have some devotional time during the day. Husband was gone to work till 5 and then I had to leave right after I put the girls down at 6:30 for a school board meeting at the church. The meeting ran long as we were interviewing 2 candidates for principal next school year. It was a great meeting. I am very happy with the choice that was made. Much, much prayer went into that decision and I trust that God has a plan with our new principal. Anyway, part way through the meeting I realized we weren't going to be getting out until at least 9:15. If I ran, it wouldn't be till 10:15 that I could settle in for some quiet time with my Lord.That's simply too late for me to have any quality time in worship. So I made a decision during the meeting, that I simply wouldn't run. I actually felt that I would much rather go home and have time in the Word than to go out for a run. A couple weeks ago, I would have definitely chosen the run, and pushed off the devotional time to the next day, and probably would have to forego it again due to some or another obstacle. And then it's a vicious cycle of feeling like crud inside because I miss my God yet I've done it to myself because I keep choosing some cheap earthly swill instead of the Water of Life. (And yes, even running feels like swill to me when I put that before time with Jesus.)
So I praise His name for the victory He gives so freely!
My second verse in this word study is from 1 Samuel. It speaks of the warning God so lovingly gave to the men of Israel who were begging for a king to rule over them. They wanted to be just like surrounding (heathen) nations. And rather than trusting that God would make something good despite the perverseness of Samuel's sons who were judges at the time, the brethren decided to request a king. It's almost as if they are "going over God's head" and casting aside His plan of judges in Israel. They think their plan is better. (When is OUR plan EVER better?)
But God, in His great love, doesn't force the 'judges' issue. He simply tells Samuel, 'Sure, if it's what they want, so be it. But this is how it's going to look.' And God proceeds to warn them of the degradation that will certainly follow the implementation of a king. Part of that warning is "some (of their sons) will run before the king's chariots."
"Run before the king's chariots...."
Sounds subservient. Sounds menial. Sounds like the king forces this servitude on the sons of Israel. So in a way, these Israelites that fulfill this particular job description will become 'slaves to running.' They MUST run. They MUST run for the king. When he says, where he says, they MUST run.
A slave to running...
I didn't know where the personal application of this verse was going to go until I just wrote that last paragraph. Now I know. -I don't want to be a slave to running. I can honestly see how this could happen. Like I mentioned before, I have been putting my running time before my time with Jesus. But no more. I have asked the Lord to help me and He is! This blog is definitely part of the answer to that prayer, it helps keep me focused. And last night I had another small victory.
I hadn't had a chance to run all day. Nor had I had any peace and quiet to have some devotional time during the day. Husband was gone to work till 5 and then I had to leave right after I put the girls down at 6:30 for a school board meeting at the church. The meeting ran long as we were interviewing 2 candidates for principal next school year. It was a great meeting. I am very happy with the choice that was made. Much, much prayer went into that decision and I trust that God has a plan with our new principal. Anyway, part way through the meeting I realized we weren't going to be getting out until at least 9:15. If I ran, it wouldn't be till 10:15 that I could settle in for some quiet time with my Lord.That's simply too late for me to have any quality time in worship. So I made a decision during the meeting, that I simply wouldn't run. I actually felt that I would much rather go home and have time in the Word than to go out for a run. A couple weeks ago, I would have definitely chosen the run, and pushed off the devotional time to the next day, and probably would have to forego it again due to some or another obstacle. And then it's a vicious cycle of feeling like crud inside because I miss my God yet I've done it to myself because I keep choosing some cheap earthly swill instead of the Water of Life. (And yes, even running feels like swill to me when I put that before time with Jesus.)
So I praise His name for the victory He gives so freely!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Bonus mile!
Last night was awesome! I went out for a 3.5 mile run around 9 o'clock. My husband had been out playing basketball at the church, so I had to wait for him to get home to stay with the kids. Otherwise, I don't like to get out that late. But hey, I'll take what I can get. I hate skipping a day of running, and if that means having to wait till 9 or 10 at night, I'll take it.
I'm very new at this, only been running since Thanksgiving. Technically, a couple weeks after Thanksgiving, since I started out walking and walking and walking, to build up to a jog/run. I had no running base. These old bones haven't gotten any proper exercise since I ran/walked off the baby weight from my second born 3 years ago.
Anyway, I've been following, very meticulously, Hal Higdon's 5k training program. That got me up to 3 miles. Now I've started training for the 10k. So last night I was supposed to up the ol' mile count to 3.5. So I was putt-putting along at quite a nice pace and it felt awesome. I never got winded. Just felt like I could keep going forever. Then today, I re-measured the distance with my mom-mobile minivan and received a delightful surprise. I hadn't run 3.5 miles! I HAD RUN 4.5 MILES! Woo hoo! Yeah! I just got boosted 2 weeks ahead in my training program. I figure if I can handle 4.5 miles no problem, I'll keep it and go from there. Next week make it 5.
I'm very new at this, only been running since Thanksgiving. Technically, a couple weeks after Thanksgiving, since I started out walking and walking and walking, to build up to a jog/run. I had no running base. These old bones haven't gotten any proper exercise since I ran/walked off the baby weight from my second born 3 years ago.
Anyway, I've been following, very meticulously, Hal Higdon's 5k training program. That got me up to 3 miles. Now I've started training for the 10k. So last night I was supposed to up the ol' mile count to 3.5. So I was putt-putting along at quite a nice pace and it felt awesome. I never got winded. Just felt like I could keep going forever. Then today, I re-measured the distance with my mom-mobile minivan and received a delightful surprise. I hadn't run 3.5 miles! I HAD RUN 4.5 MILES! Woo hoo! Yeah! I just got boosted 2 weeks ahead in my training program. I figure if I can handle 4.5 miles no problem, I'll keep it and go from there. Next week make it 5.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Word study on "run" in the Bible
I want to get into some deep study of the Bible. I read for devotional time and encouragement, but I really want to get to know some of the history and context of different passages and then how that can be applied to my life, personally. And so I've begun a word study on the word "run," and further permutations. I'm not sure if I can get a life application out of each text, but I'll try. It'll require some thinking, and maybe a little reaching. But I don't mind, I just want to stretch my brain a little and see where the Lord leads.
And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household. Judges 18:25, KJV.
Those who would be running in this text are angry Danites. They were threatening Micah, the idol worshipping Jew, to let them steal his idols, lest they attack and kill him and his family. So running in this text refers to angry people with an intent to kill.
Am I angry? No. Definitely not an angry person. Do I want to kill anybody? Nope. Not a murderer either. So how does this apply to me?
Righteous anger. There is such a thing.
What's the only thing worth getting angry about? When the Lord is dishonored.
And what should we all be running toward? Toward this lost and dying world.
A lover of Jesus can see all around people who have never heard of His love and tender regard for their soul. The Lord is dishonored in this world by all the havoc wrought by Satan in distorting the true character of God. We should be running to them. Not just sit and wait for them to come to us. Not just walk by and test the waters. But RUN! Run to them. Seek them out. Look for them and pray for them and seek the face of Jesus on their behalf and RUN to them with the power of the Holy Spirit to tell them of His love. And when they see how deeply they are loved by a heavenly Father, they will lose their lives. They will surrender all to Him. And hopefully, tell those of their household.
Help me to run.
And the children of Dan said unto him, Let not thy voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows run upon thee, and thou lose thy life, with the lives of thy household. Judges 18:25, KJV.
Those who would be running in this text are angry Danites. They were threatening Micah, the idol worshipping Jew, to let them steal his idols, lest they attack and kill him and his family. So running in this text refers to angry people with an intent to kill.
Am I angry? No. Definitely not an angry person. Do I want to kill anybody? Nope. Not a murderer either. So how does this apply to me?
Righteous anger. There is such a thing.
What's the only thing worth getting angry about? When the Lord is dishonored.
And what should we all be running toward? Toward this lost and dying world.
A lover of Jesus can see all around people who have never heard of His love and tender regard for their soul. The Lord is dishonored in this world by all the havoc wrought by Satan in distorting the true character of God. We should be running to them. Not just sit and wait for them to come to us. Not just walk by and test the waters. But RUN! Run to them. Seek them out. Look for them and pray for them and seek the face of Jesus on their behalf and RUN to them with the power of the Holy Spirit to tell them of His love. And when they see how deeply they are loved by a heavenly Father, they will lose their lives. They will surrender all to Him. And hopefully, tell those of their household.
Help me to run.
This is for my Best Friend
I'm starting this blog to journal thoughts and insights that occur to me throughout my everyday life and while running, my new favorite pastime. I am new at this running thing. Not sure if I'll enjoy it for the long haul. But for now, it is most enjoyable. Every time I get out there and start plodding along, I thank God for running. For my health. That I am healthy enough to run. It just feels so good.(If by "feels so good" you understand that I mean "hurts a lot, but in a good way," then we understand each other.)
But I don't want running to become my idol. It easily could. In fact, to be very honest - in recent weeks I have chosen running before spending time with my best Friend. My quiet devotional time has been usurped by my runs. This is not like me and I am not comfortable with that. Therefore I want my runs to be something I share with Jesus. I honestly don't know if this is even possible. I'm pretty hard pressed to think many coherent thoughts between gasping for breath, concentrating on running through the side stitch, and doing my best to avoid eye contact with drivers. But if there is a way to make this a more spiritual experience, then I am praying that the Lord will show that to me.
So Jesus, this is for You. I don't care if anyone ever reads this blog. But I know You do. So please, Lord. Lead me in the way everlasting and make my runs a time with You. Make my life time with You. I love You, Lord. Thank You, thank You for this life.
But I don't want running to become my idol. It easily could. In fact, to be very honest - in recent weeks I have chosen running before spending time with my best Friend. My quiet devotional time has been usurped by my runs. This is not like me and I am not comfortable with that. Therefore I want my runs to be something I share with Jesus. I honestly don't know if this is even possible. I'm pretty hard pressed to think many coherent thoughts between gasping for breath, concentrating on running through the side stitch, and doing my best to avoid eye contact with drivers. But if there is a way to make this a more spiritual experience, then I am praying that the Lord will show that to me.
So Jesus, this is for You. I don't care if anyone ever reads this blog. But I know You do. So please, Lord. Lead me in the way everlasting and make my runs a time with You. Make my life time with You. I love You, Lord. Thank You, thank You for this life.
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