Armor

As I was running my longer distance last weekend, I was reflecting upon the amount of new "gear" I've needed to buy as I prepare for my half. Previous workouts in prep for my annual 10Ks haven't required much thought. Whatever workout clothes I had in my drawer/closet worked fine, because I wasn't running very far. Now that I'm running longer distances on a more regular basis, the clearer it is becoming that I have to be strategic in my running gear. Here are some things I've learned:

• Drivers don't see you; So, wear bright colors.
• Drivers don't see you; So, wear reflective gear, too.
• Drivers don't see you: So, be sure to wave your arms wildly to catch their attention to confirm that yes, you ARE about to cross, and yes, you DO have the right-of-way.

With all kidding aside, I have also found the importance of quality athletic wear, a good pair of running shoes, and (my newest discovery) SOCKS. Cotton just won't do.

About 7 years ago, I worked at the best Christian Sports & Adventure camp ever, Camp Ozark. Among the many fond memories I have from working there, I have one in particular where we did a lot of jumping up and down. We did this daily during worship to the beat of our theme song. One of my favorite years was when we rocked it out to "No One Like You" by David Crowder. If you haven't ever heard it, look it up. The floor of the small gym was built for gymnastics, so there was a little give to the floor when we bounced, but our feet were constantly pounding against the floor. That is how I believe I injured my foot.

I didn't pay much attention to the pain at first, thinking it was just a bruise and it was no-big-deal... until over a year later when I folded over in pain walking to class in the middle of campus. Come to find out, a hairline fracture of the sesamoid bone had worsened over that year and eventually began to disintegrate and turn to trash. The problem with that is it's a weight bearing bone and unfortunately cannot be repaired, only cleaned out. So, post surgery I was left with an awesome scar, arthritis, and one bone less than you. This is unfortunate for me because the location of the scar is on the inside edge of my first metatarsal... right up against the side of the shoe... which means- yep. Blistering. So, at about mile 3 last weekend, I began to feel the hot-spot and knew I needed to try and find better socks if I had any chance of making it through these next 6 weeks of training without the plague of blisters. I took it as a challenge. This meant war!

Enter: God.

This was the part of the run where scripture began to flood my thoughts. In Ephesians 6, Paul writes about the armor of God. He lists equipment needed to be able to be fully prepared for battle. The important thing to recognize here is that he isn't telling us about an upcoming battle. No. He's telling us about a RIGHT-NOW battle. Satan is constantly waiting for you. He's waiting for any and all hairline fractures in your armor so he can infiltrate your thoughts, pull you down, tempt you, turn you, and blister you. Satan finds joy in this!

Equipping yourself with truth, righteousness  peace, faith, salvation, and the Spirit (found only in Him and through His Word) is the only way you're going to win a fight with the evil one. It's the only way to identify weaknesses and gain opportunities to strengthen them. If we were left to our own devices, we'd already be defeated. But the Son of God paid that price for us when He breathed His last breath on the cross and then rose again. Hallelujah!

So, here's my question for you (and me): when Satan begins to shoot his fiery arrows, which he will, what will you be wearing?

Run on!

Ephesians 6:10-18

Finally, be strong in the Lord and his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.

5.7 mile sunset run in my new kicks. 2/3/13

Whispers

Who me? Blogging?? God has been working on my heart to start something like this for awhile, but I've resisted. You know how the story goes... God mentions something to you in a whisper, but you just push it aside because "it's just not for you." And then He continues to gently whisper it over and over until finally you turn to face Him and ask Him what it's really about. 

I'm certain this happens to Christians often. Sure, you know in the depths of your heart that God knows what He's doing and that He will protect you, but when He asks you to step out in faith to do something you're not comfortable with, you hesitate. "No, that's okay, God. I got this. I'll obey you in other areas, but in this area? Eeeh, I think I'll pass. It's kind of You to think of me, though!"

Mmmhmmm. That's been ME. God has been tugging at me to share through a blog the things He's teaching me. Why, I don't know. I suppose He'll reveal that part later. For now, I've decided to just obey. Today's entry is little lengthy because I need to describe my path at arriving here.

My entire life has been mostly oriented around music- so I have spent many-an-hour spending time with Christ through just that. The challenges of reading, learning, memorizing, and performing music is not something to be taken lightly. God has seen me through. The avenue of music is truly still how I am most in tune with hearing His voice (no pun intended). I would, and often still, walk out of church getting more out of the message from the music we sang during worship than the actual sermon itself. God and I like to hang-out like that... listen to tunes, y'know. It's the language I prefer to speak.

God has also been able to grab my attention through nature. I am constantly amazed by the sunrise and sunset... so much so that I often have to pull over to the side of the road and stand there in absolute awe of His artistry. His power is completely evident to me in those moments and it's usually in those same breaths as I watch the sun set that I rediscover just how very little I am... and just how very big He is.

Within the last several years, I have taken up the hobby of running. If you knew me at all BEFORE this development, you'd be surprised to hear I was doing anything active at all. I mean, I've never been a bum; I was always up for a game of Ultimate Frisbee or a walk, but asking me to run for "exercise" was pretty much out of the question. 

And then one day, I decided to sign up for my first 10K since I was a child. I wanted to see if I could do it, and I needed a plan to help me be successful. So, somehow I persuaded my sister into signing up with me (the same sister who will look you straight in the eye and say "I don't run.") Yeah, please don't ask me how in the WORLD I was able to convince her that signing up was going to be "fun." So, power walking became her thing in training. Let me be the first to describe this to the world... her power walk is like the Bionic Woman's power walk. Wonder Woman ain't got nothin' on my sister's power walk.  I'd try to walk next to her and I would actually think to myself, "Any second now I am pretty sure my shins are going to burst into flames and burn off." Let's just say I was not up to par with her speed walking, so I was forced to run*.

*Please know that every time I refer to myself as "running," I mean a measly-ol' jog. I mean really? My sister can WALK faster than my run. 

Since I wasn't a runner, I relied on music to help me through. Many people do, actually, and there's nothing wrong with that. Tunes that are perfectly chosen can be a beautiful thing. For this particular 10K, sister listened to music, too. She actually had the same song on repeat for the hour and twenty minutes she walked the 10K because it was the exact speed of her power-walk. I still don't know how she managed that. Trouble came for me when I realized that on the way to the race I didn't have my MP3 player. (I know what you're thinking... but at the time, this little lady didn't own an Ipod.). I began to silently panic. How am I going to get through this race without music? Impossible.

Enter: God. 

During those 6.2 miles, I was forced to listen to my own breathing and my own thoughts, and God all-of-a-sudden had a direct line. No static. No sharing a 3-way phone call between Him, me, and my musical selections. It was just Him and me. Running 6.2 miles. And during that race, my life changed. Again! (He does this to me often. Just when I think He's done tweaking me, He comes into my little thoughts, turns them into big thoughts, gives me my next "ah-hah" moment and then. BOOM. Change.) I was busted. Here was the rub God revealed to me that day: I was using MUSIC as a way to push me through that race. I didn't even involve God to be apart of that challenge at all before that day. Hmm. Pretty interesting. In case you're wondering what I'm getting at... I was consciously making the decision to forgo opportunities to listen to my Father. Ridiculous! He was and has always been my biggest cheerleader, and I should've invited Him along in the first place.

And so it began... another avenue in which God and I began to chat. Running, without music. Just me and my thoughts, out in the open for God to quietly whisper to me what I had been unwilling to listen to before. It doesn't get much better than that. 

It has been in these runs that He has laid upon my heart to blog about what He's teaching me while I train. Especially as I now journey toward completing my first half marathon at the end of March. It is my prayer that through my obedience in writing these entries, you are changed/touched/moved/challenged in Christ.

Run on!

Luke 9: 23-24

²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it." 

After a run on 1/3/13.