13.1 Miles... 'Cause We're Only HALF Crazy

Well, the half marathon is over and I'm happy to report that both Alyssa and I were able to complete it. Our main goal was just to finish, but we also had another goal of completing it in 3 1/2 hours. Even with Alyssa being sick the week before, we were able to meet both of those goals. Alyssa finished in 3:27 and I finished in 3:32.

We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather, and it was evident we were being prayed for because Alyssa didn't cough once on the race! (She had coughed all through the night before and gotten very little sleep.) Thank you to all those who prayed for us during the race! Now if all of you could pray that this cold of hers goes away for good, that would be great...

Here's a picture of us before the race.


Here's us with our "bling" after the race (with a friend who ran the full marathon... 'cause he's COMPLETELY crazy!).


Here's a closer-up picture of our medals (For some reason, it loaded sideways and I can't get it to flip. I'm not sure what's up with that. Sorry. Just turn your head to the right. :)):

And here's a picture of Alyssa's first bumper sticker:

The race was a fun experience. There were lots of people with funny and encouraging signs along the route. Many of them would also clap and yell encouragement to us by name, which was a little creepy at first, until I realized our names were printed on our race bibs! :) By the end of the race, I got so used to people yelling, "Good job, Jennifer," that I almost didn't hear my own husband calling out to me at the finish line. Ha!

People keep talking about "next year's race," but I don't think this is going to be a regular thing with me. I am glad I did it, but I really don't have any desire to do it again. Once was enough, I think.

The Importance of a Good Pair of Shoes

Tomorrow morning, Lord willing, I will walk my first (and probably last) half marathon. I have walked over 195 miles in the last 4 months to prepare for this 13.1 mile journey, and I’ve learned a lot along the way… mostly about feet.

Did you know that your feet swell when you walk? Well, I had never really thought about that until I woke up one day with two blackened toenails. Apparently, I had walked enough the day before that my toes had swollen and hit the end of my shoes, which caused bruising underneath the toenails (see lovely photo below of my poorly-pedicured feet). Ouch! Time for new shoes.


I’m sure there are doctors and nurses out there who could explain the physiological reasons WHY our feet swell when we walk. I have no idea. I just know that it happens and it hurts when your feet hit the end of your shoes. A few weeks after that happened, I was reading in Nehemiah 9:21 (emphasis added):

Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness;
They lacked nothing;
Their clothes did not wear out
And their feet did not swell.

I’m sure I had read that before, and I did remember that their clothing didn’t wear out, but I don’t remember ever noticing that their feet didn’t swell. Folks, that’s a pretty big deal. I looked up how many miles a “day’s walk” was in Bible times. Wanna guess?

20-25 miles.

In a DAY!

When I realized that, I had a whole new appreciation for those Israelites wandering in the wilderness. They basically walked almost a marathon each day that they walked. AND THEIR FEET DID NOT SWELL.

Finding the right pair of walking shoes was much more difficult than I had imagined. I went through several pair and several stores before I found the right ones. I also got some nice, cushy walking socks that made a BIG difference in my walking. Those Israelites wore sandals. No expensive walking shoes. No arch supports. No cushy socks.

No wonder they grumbled.

But their feet did not swell.

Mine will probably swell tomorrow, but that’s okay. I have my new walking shoes, my cushy socks, and a God who can overcome any obstacle. What more could a girl need?

Alyssa's History of Writing

Alyssa has been taking an AP writing course this year. They have done mostly formal writing in the class, analyzing assigned literature. Her most recent assignment, though, was a little less formal. They were asked to write their own personal history of writing: how they started writing, how they feel about writing, etc. The essay below is what she turned in. I know it's a bit long for a blog post, but it's so hilariously funny (especially if you know Alyssa personally), that I just had to post it for your enjoyment. You'll thank me later. :)

Me… the Writer?

I am not a writer. No. Really. My memories and emotions about writing are mostly confined to school assignments and the fear and trepidation summoned by the words “single space.” Essays, book reviews, and research reports are evils to be avoided only in the extreme case of a teacher mandate. This motto of not touching optional papers with a 29 and a half foot pole has worked well for me… until now, when I am supposed to write a two to three page paper on the papers I have written.

My first memories of writing assignments are from first and second grade. The teacher would stand at the front and explain (in a very slow, first grade teacher kind of voice) what we needed to write about and how long it must be, the class would groan collectively as we dutifully wrote it down in our handy dandy homework notebooks, and I would start fretting. When my mom picked me up, I would immediately bemoan the great wrong done by my teacher, for – can you believe it? – she assigned us an essay of 100 words! I was not sure I even knew 100 words. My mother would compassionately endure through my long, morose tale of first grade injustice and even throw in a few platitudes.

Once we got home, she opened up Microsoft Word and told me to write. After I finished moaning and groaning and had written a couple sentences, she showed me the “word count.” (It counts your words for you! I was quite relieved to hear of this feature, as I expected to have to count them myself, by hand.) Once I realized that 100 words were not really that bad, I cheerfully typed the rest of the “essay” and saved it. It was a silly overreaction, and I would love to have the same 100 word requirements for my essays now. But it did show me that essay requirements that appear daunting initially, often are not nearly as bad as they seem.

Fast forward about 10 years to my very first writing class. I needed a course to help me improve my writing abilities before I took the ACT with Writing and started doing college essays. Optimistic little me decided that this would be a good opportunity to add some AP to my transcript. All was fine and happy until the syllabus arrived in my inbox. I could feel the first grade panic as I scanned the assignments. Three essays in two hours?? Six times? Nine essays?? Three pages long? Then sickening dread as I read the words: “writing groups.”

Some people say that letting others read your work is the point of writing, but that seemed a bit extreme to me. I could barely stand letting my teachers read my essays, and now my classmates would see them, too? No handy word counting feature could take the worry out of that. Time to turn in my first peer reviewed essay came, and I mustered up the strength to click the “upload” button. Having to read and critique the fantastic essays of my fellow group members while waiting for comments on my own did not help my feelings of under qualification to even be in this class. When the first critique showed up in Doc Sharing, I downloaded it, opened it, and winced as I began to read, then…. confusion hit: “What? A compliment? My essay is decent? I’m not going to fail? Oh, I totally did not even see that. That is a great suggestion!”

Receiving input from other people was surprisingly less terrifying than I had supposed. In fact, it helped me greatly improve my papers. They were much more helpful than staring at my computer screen until my eyes popped out (It’s called the Oedipal writer effect…. Sorry. Lit humor.), and reading others’ essays and giving them input has been, dare I say it, enjoyable! Yes, this was another silly panic attack, but it was a huge step for me in my confidence as a writer. Not only did I see that my writing style was not quite as convoluted as I thought, but I also discovered that having people read what I wrote was not quite as petrifying as I expected.

So, as you can see, my authorial history is short and full of fear, and the only reasons I have had any writing history at all, are because of teacher mandated assignments. Thankfully my first grade papers and AP writing groups have shown me that writing can be enjoyable, if I would only stop worrying, and I have grown in my confidence as a writer, especially this year because of these experiences. I still dislike essays, mind you, and I always will. But they are not such an ordeal as they once were, and this, in itself, is quite impressive.

Rescued

A little more than four years ago, we adopted two “rescued” cats. Rescued animals are ones who were abused, neglected, abandoned, or just strays, left to fend for themselves out in the elements.

We’re not really sure what kind of situation our cats were in before we got them, but we can guess that their experience with humans was less than pleasant. When they first came into our cozy home, they weren’t grateful and loving. They were SCARED. They hid from us (sometimes in very creative spots!) and ran from us in fear. If we happened to catch one as they sprinted past us, they would tolerate us loving on them for a few minutes, but would bolt at the first opportunity.

“Don’t they realize we just want to love them?” the girls would ask. But the truth was that they didn’t understand. I’m sure they were thankful to be given food and water, but they didn’t yet comprehend that they had nothing to fear from us. They were jumpy around us, never relaxed, which showed that they were afraid that these big, ugly humans did not have good intentions toward them.

It took quite a bit of time for them to relax around us and realize that we really do love them. We had to be patient and keep showing them love until they learned to trust us. But now they actually seem to enjoy our company. Pepper often rubs up against our legs to be petted, and Sarah follows me around the house and curls up in my lap when I’m reading.


And isn’t it the same with us? When we first come to the Lord, we carry our baggage and preconceived ideas with us. Sure, we're thankful for salvation and for the Lord’s comfort and provision, but we’re not always sure He really has our good in mind. It sometimes takes years of trials and seeing how faithful, patient, and loving God is with us before we truly learn to relax and trust Him.

Lord, thank you for your patience with me. Forgive me for ever doubting your love.

I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:8 (NKJV)

Word and Verse for 2012

Every year I select a word for the year on which to focus and an associated passage of Scripture on which to meditate throughout the year.

As I look toward 2012, it is almost overshadowed by 2013 looming in the distance. I almost don't even see 2012 at all. All I can see right now is the fall of 2013, when my “baby” goes off to college. As a homeschool parent, my head is filled with questions like: Did we cover all the credits she needs? When is the next ACT? How many AP test should we take?

As a mom, my heart is filled with even bigger questions like: Did I teach her all she’ll need to know to thrive on her own? Which college is right for her? Is she ready? Am I ready?

I know 2012 will be a busy year (Aren’t they all?). We will go on college road trips, take tests (ACT, SAT, AP, etc.), fill out college applications, apply for scholarships, and much more. It will also be an emotional year: Alyssa’s last Christmas at home, prom, close friends graduating this year and leaving for college, etc.

But in all the busyness, I don’t want to go through this year in a fog and realize at the end of it that I missed opportunities to make memories. I don’t want to focus so much on Alyssa’s college preparation that I miss her junior and senior years or even Hannah’s 8th and 9th grade years.

I want to be intentional about this year. I’m realizing that if I don’t take the time to plan ahead and set aside time for discipling the girls and making memories during this year, it just won’t happen.

So my word for 2012 is INTENTIONAL. Mostly, this is going to relate to relationships. I’m very task-oriented by nature, so I’m pretty good at being intentional about planning tasks. This year, though, I want to be more intentional about my relationships: with God, with my husband, with my girls, and with other friends and family.

Since the word “intentional” really isn’t in the Bible, I went with a verse that talks about pursuing what is good. I thought it captured the same essence of what I’m trying to do.

Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
1 Thessalonians 5:14-15, emphasis added

I liked the word "pursue" in this verse, because if I don't intentionally pursue godliness, quality time with my husband, and quality time with my girls, it's not going to magically happen. I have also set some specific goals in several areas to help me be more intentional about all the relationships in my life. But even if I don't meet every one of those goals, Lord willing I will at least improve in each area.