BLESSINGS AND GORILLAS

Running today was miserable! How do all you runners do this in the Texas heat?? I was only able to jog a mile and I walked a lot more than normal, and I still came home more drenched than usual! Why in the world did I just sign up for a 5K at the end of JUNE?! Anyways... up until this point I have just been running (and yoga for stretching after), but today we added a mini-workout after our yoga. We used the app "Gorilla Workout" and did 4 rounds of squats, lunges, and push-ups. Then threw in some crunches in the end. Needless to say, I am sore. Why cant we all just sit around watching TV and reading books everyday and just be magically fit?!

Moving on...God has been so good! He just shows me over and over again how faithful He is when we just put our faith in Him! I am not saying this next part to brag (quite the opposite) or to say that you should do this so all these good things can happen to you...but my husband and I tithed for the first time a couple weeks ago. Sadly, this has always been a really hard thing for me. I am very much the type of person that budgets everything and does not make irrational choices on things I don't need outside of that budget. If you don't have it, don't spend it. And save if you can! So tithing...it goes against everything in my nature. I don't understand the concept of giving money that you don't have and just expecting that somehow money for bills is going to show up. And yes, I do know that part of the purpose in having faith that God provides for you. With that being said, tithing is something that started convicting us both months ago but always got pushed to the back of my mind and ignored. After going to a marriage seminar at church, we finally decided that we couldn't ignore it anymore. So, last month we gave our first tithe. And immediately, I have seen God's blessings!

After church that same day, we went to Albertson's. We went to Costco before we moved, but it's not very convenient to go to anymore, so we have been trying to find a grocery store that would kinda compare. We started with Walmart. We spent just as much as we did at Costco and the food lasted half the time. We decided to try Albertson's this time even though we'd never used them before. I can literally say I am not even sure what happened! I had the weekly ad and just used that to guide some of my choices. I was excited because I knew we were spending the same amount, but getting so much more (and more variety) then we had been able to at Walmart. Then I proceed to check out, when I learned how much I had actually saved- just using their ad mind you- $140! PLUS, he handed me a 3 inch pile of the store's monopoly game pieces that have coupons inside of them! I walked out completely dazed. I think we found our store.

And then, even BETTER- WAY better- news... My husband got a new job! Without even looking for one! A friend called last week saying that his company was hiring for the same kind of work that Chris does now. Chris sent in his resume and got the job the next day! There's some paperwork and such to do, but he got it! He starts in 2 weeks! His company he works for now is great (great bonuses and insurance) but he has to work 2 hours of overtime every day (10 hr days) to have an even decent paycheck cause the hourly is just not much. Plus he doesn't get off til 7 which puts him home at almost 8pm every night. With his new job, he will be making the same amount he does now WITH his overtime factored in, in a normal 8 hour work day. And he will get home around 3pm! He will still get over time from time to time and insurance (after 90 days). I am so incredibly excited to be able to spend more time with my husband and so happy for him that he can have hours he likes and not have to work such long hours every day.

So, hoping to get things is not the reason at all to tithe (God knows your heart), but I just wanted to say that God truly does bless and provide. I know I have rambled on and on but I couldn't NOT share that praise! Thank you God!

FITNESS

I began running 6 weeks ago. A huge thing for me. I have never been one to exercise at all and pretty much hated running (that has developed into a hate/LOVE relationship). I started running 3 days a week with the Couch-2-5k 8 week program. I only have 2 weeks left. I went from barely being able to run 60 seconds (not kidding, it was pitiful) to being able to run a little over a mile, at this week 6. I know a mile is nothing to you runners who run miles upon miles at a time, but for me it is something. It's an accomplishment. It's having stayed committed for 6 weeks (and still going!) when all I really want to do is sit and watch tv or read a book every day. And it is turning the "I can't" into "I can".

Today, I did my FIRST (I was hesitant, but there WILL be more) 5K at the annual "Coleson's F.R.O.G". ** an amazing foundation that helps families of children diagnosed with life threatening illnesses, such as pediatric cancer** event. My goal was to run a quarter over a mile (how would you say that? a mile and a quarter?.....) before I stopped for the first time, since I was able to run a tiny bit over a mile yesterday. Unfortunately, I didn't make that goal. Whether it was due to the fact that I didn't have my running motivator (aka my best friend, Tiffany) beside me to make me pace myself (I go much faster then I should) or because being surrounded by people running faster made me want to be faster, or maybe I just didn't push myself hard enough- either way, I am happy and proud to have finished and to have supported such and awesome cause. And I know one day I will be able to run the whole thing without stopping at all. Who knows? Maybe a half marathon or *gasp* full marathon one day??

Believe it or not, running is not the entire point of this post. Although I did not post 2 days in a row, as my last post

Through all this running, one thought has stayed with me. And that is that spiritual fitness is even more important than physical fitness. I finally started running out of the desperation of wanting to lose all the weight I've gained since I've been married and the frustration of feeling like I have the aches, pains, and endurance of someone more than twice my age at only 25. I KNOW that physical fitness is important and have never been motivated enough to do anything about it. It took coming to a place of "I cannot live this way anymore" to change that. Same goes in your spiritual life. It takes coming to that place of realizing you cannot live without Him, that you cannot do it on your own. When does it become a point to motivate yourself enough to dig into His Word? To cry out for God? To seek Him in all things? Just as there are things we have to do- steps we have to take- to be physically fit, there are also things we have to do to remain/grow spiritually fit. Just like a poor diet and no activity or exercise would stunt being physically fit, so does not digging into God's Word and not developing a relationship with Him.

I am not preaching this to y'all but rather to myself. It has been a strong conviction for me these last few weeks. Remaining faithful to studying my bible has always been a hard thing for me. I always start a devotional or new study with renewed excitement and the best intentions. And then other things begin slowly filling my time. Eventually, I find it has been days, even weeks, since I last picked up my bible other than for church. Desperation and Frustration fueled my running habit. How much more should desperation for God and and the frustration of being unfaithful motivate me to seek Him in His word? With running, I give myself goals and inspiration, while I let reading my bible fall to the side.

I do not mean that physical fitness does not matter. After all, it is God who gave us these bodies and we should cherish them and take care of them for His glory, like the precious gifts they are. **Side note: when you start seeing your body as a GIFT from God instead of your own to do as you want, it makes the wanting to take care of it a lot easier!** I only mean that as important as it is, how much more important is the spiritual being that lives inside that body? It is, after all, the only part going with us when we die. I am challenging myself, and you, to dig into our bibles and develop our spiritual man. Be spiritually fit!