The Mean-Time-Inbetween Time

This is a combination of many miscellaneous things that I've come across from around New Year's through this spring.

There are pictures I've found amusing, funny, inspirational, and relative to life, foods and creations I've made, comics, and some awesome people!

Peanuts pictures are my favorite!  They're simple and make me smile.  Whether it's on instagram, twitter, facebook, or sent to me by a friend, I rarely go two days in a row without saving a new picture.

Cooking is one of my favorite things to do! 

This will be my husband and me one day.

My friends and I give each other heartfelt gifts.  We know each other so well, and always get each other surprises that other people would probably consider dumb, but we find them quite resourceful.  Last summer I started a trend of decorating bananas to give to my runner friends, and for Christmas, Katlyn gave me some!  We were a little late exchanging gifts, but that's another thing that makes our friendships so unique.  We know how things go!

Dad and Katlyn did a great job on these.  Dad cracked me up shopping at Bath and Body Works, but he did a fantastic job getting things for Mom and me!  Katlyn did well there, too.  I do love to ski.

During the winter, especially on breaks, my family goes out to eat dinner more often.  We made a couple trips each to Buddy's then TCBY and Akita then Sweet CeCe's.  This was our New Year's Eve celebration at Akita.  Who needs a party?  We are the party.

My neighborhood is full of people who run: me, of course; Danny, Megan, Cherie, Chantal, my Dad, the Wilson's dad, and even an older girl who ran several years ago, Bailee, whose mom now assists Coach Haas at West View XC!  Katlyn also lives nearby!  

Determined I am.

More visits to Regency for my grandmother!

The pretty pumpkin spice muffins that came from the Williams-Sonoma mix my mom got me for Christmas.

I fell in love with this picture of my dad and his sister when he showed it to me.  I think they still look the same!  Dad was such a happy baby!

After finally getting a pair of chacos for Christmas, it gave me so many more opportunities to show off my coordinating socks!  Bella's socks here really caught my eye, so I took a picture of our sockos.

My rain jacket, ski socks, and chacos matched perfectly, as well as kept me warm and dry while the weather was cold and wet this winter.

To add a little extra to my indoor cross training workout when I was cooped up inside, I ended each day with the #ScoreNotSore challenge by Daily Burn!  I like to participate in contests, even thought it's unlikely that I'll win, it's still fun!

This was another contest I did, #FeedYourDream by The Feed.  This is a limited combo of how I'm working to feed my dreams, doing all kinds of sports and activity in all kinds of weather and places!

AP History is just too much to read!  Have you carried one of those books?  It is the heaviest textbook I have ever had or seen.  The chapters were all so long, even with 2 weeks of snow days, I was still behind.  Reading American History was just not very interesting to me.  I find the history in the Bible much more enjoyable. (:

Creative Coffee Cup for Coach



Chick-fil-a is always doing awesome things for the community and providing excellent service for the customers.  The day we had Bible Study that was closest to Valentine's Day, all the girls were pleasantly surprised to open up their biscuits to find a heart!

More love for Valentine's Day!  The Trojan Nation needs to share more love among everyone.

My parents took a day to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge in February to go shop, shoot, and stuff (their bellies, that is) to celebrate their anniversary.

I absolutely love my small group.  It's always a party with Patty!  Hope and Julia (also in this picture) bring their own talents:  Julia-silent but deadly, and Hope-an amazing singing voice!  (They have many more talents, but those were just the 1st two to come to mind)



I know I have said in the past that I let things pile up when I get so busy with school.  Here is some visual and literal evidence.

Not only does Luna White Chocolate Macadamia now contain cashews, so does my mom!

Post-grocery goofies

 

Dad sent me these two pictures.  Glad to know that he thinks of me when he sees things relating to farts and poop...

In AP History, women's roles are an important topic.  One day that we had spent a lot of time talking about a time when women became much more involved in the community and workforce, moving from the traditional roles inside the home, even looking at some "Rosie the Riviter" advertisements, I decided to wear my Fight Like a Girl shirt.  We've got the power!

 

  

 Here are some more food things that I did over time:

Merica: yogurt, strawberries, blueberries

If you have never microwaved your eggs, you are missing out.  Another, "It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!"

Not only did I discover that there are such things as purple potatoes, after cutting into them, I found that the whole thing is purple!  I added them to my roasted and seasoned vegetables.

Finally, homemade banana-pistachio pudding:  Ninja-blended frozen banana, milk cubes, pistachio pudding, and pistachios

 

A huge thanks to Coach Farmer for our new state champ shirts!  These are even better than last year's.

I really love my frozen yogurt places (like Sweet Frog, right) more than any desserts, but I've been to Marble Slab a couple times lately, too!  I'm trying to be more flexible and save some money.

This is the background image for the blog of Ryan and Sara Hall, my favorite pro running couple.  They love Jesus, are distance runners, have beautiful dogs (one of my dream breeds), and they are pretty themselves!  Their lives are dedicated to reaching and serving people all over the world for the Lord.

 

At the start of the new year, for several weeks, I set a small little goal of ways to help me stay focused on people other than myself.  Here's a couple for example.

Seeing the heading to this passage was encouraging!

Just browsing around one day, I found a page called WellPath that was full of picture quotes for an active life.

This one is from the instagram page of a brand called Detour Bar.

I saved this one because it is so true!  No matter how tough or terrible, satisfying or successful a situation may be, if you take the time to just "stop and consider God's wonders," (Job 37:14) peace can still be found.

Ya know that I love goats.  Kids are so cute!  (Goat kids and human kids, pun intended)

Mutts Comics also has an instagram!

It's almost time for Jaws to be on TV and Shark Week programs!  It had been an especially long day, but I was going with it, in a light and goofy mood, and improvised this remix on the spot while I was telling my parents goodnight.

 

 Goals.

My friend Chantal shared this one with me.  My response:  "Peanuts AND running?  This is too perfect!"

@snoopygrams will never fail to make you smile!

This page is even more likely to make you smile!

For about a week during my morning routines, I looked through year's worth of pictures from Daily Bible Verses's page on instagram.  Here are just a few of my favorites! 

I say that you should go follow this page!  If that's all you get from this post, GO TAKE A LOOK.  There will be verses for all situations and decorations!  It's impossible that you can browse through them without finding one that speaks to you personally.

 

Ending this one on a high note!

More to come!

Focusing on Faith

 

Following the events that were from my Rejuvinated and Rejoicing post, there were more ups and downs, but God was always speaking through the situations.  I write these things down, so that I can have them to remember His works and all the things I'm learning along the way.  It's great to look back and be able to see His faithfulness.

 

The next race was a Saturday meet, but it was different because I only went for one race, the 3200.  the first 6 laps were a tight race with the top 3, but I fell behind a bit in the last 2 and finished 4th.  I literally fell across the finish line from sprinting as hard as my legs could go at that point.  The temperature was a bit too cool for me to go faster than I could push that day, as I knew my teammate--who I must say has an amazing kick--was coming hot on my tail!  This was painful for us, but I'm thankful that I have such fast teammates; we all push each other to get better!  I was pretty devastated and disappointed in myself.  It was a rough evening, if you can imagine.

 

Although bad times are, well, bad, they often bring about good things if you just take the chance to look for it.  Struggles often make us stop and think about the things we need to change in learning from our mistakes! This was the start of spring break, and my best friend and I joked the week before (yet meant it seriuosly):  "I'm gonna get my life together this week!"

 

Sunday mornings always give me tons of things to dwell on; Pastor Dean's sermon, the songs we sing, our small group lessons and talks, then the little things God just sends straight to my heart.

My favorite verse from that morning was "Not as I will, but as You will."  Luke 22:42  As Jesus prayed honestly to His Father, He expressed that the situation was not pleasant, asking to take it from Him if at all possible, yet he was still totally committed to whatever it takes.  This is also how we should pray.  Honestly pouring our hearts out to God our Father who cares and wants to hear, but also totally willing to accept the answer even if it is painful to deal with.

 

It's crazy how God sends us signs of what to do sometimes!  Patty always makes up hypothetical situations along with our lessons so that we can really apply what we're learning, and this day, she said one that had just happened to me the day before at the race!  My mouth just fell open.  Then we really could apply some things to our personal lives!

This was the day that I chose a verse to get me motivated and going again!  The cross country team has always used Hebrews 12:1-2 as a "theme" verse for the team, but this track season, it has come to mean a lot more to me personally.  It's hard to do anything the best we can when we aren't focused.  When we let our minds wander or get consumed with stress, confusion, anger, anxiety, dread, comparision to others, business, pain, disappointment, ourselves, or anything else, we inevitably spend less time with God.  Then things just spiral from there.  It can really make you weary when this life gets a hold of you.  It's not hard to get distracted.  That's why it says "so easily entagles."  I made a point to myself that my goal was to throw off all this junk that fills my mind and holds me back from being all that I can be for the Lord and fully focus on delighting in the Lord!  No matter what may come, it's just stuff.  God is the focus.  Keep going with eyes on Jesus!

I was also super thankful to my friend and cousin, Julia, who sent me a link to a perfect song for these feelings!  Through All of It by Colton Dixon

 

Rejuvinated and Rejoicing (March)

(This post was started back in March, but I wrapped it up today, in May)

There has been so much lately that I have been wanting to share, I just don't know how to get started!  It's been insanely busy, but that's the norm now.  I've spent a little time each day over this past week trying to get organized.  I have a lot of studying to do, too, especially with the year winding down and ACT and AP tests coming up, but I have been dying to shine some light from my life into yours!

 

Life has its ups and downs.

When I get all wrapped up in school, I get really stressed out and overwhelmed, then everything falls apart!  However, when we turn to God, things start happening (sometimes later than we would hope) that are in no way coincidences!  Verses, songs, people we cross paths with, words people say to us, and just little things we see throughout the day start to make sense.  It's a real journey, but as things finally straighten out, it's impossible to put into words the feelings that God fills us with.  Here's a little bit of what I've been learning lately.

 

 

     Since indoor track season ended, my performances have been a rollercoaster!  It seems like sometimes I can't feel good two days in a row.  After one seriously frustrating week from how I felt physically, mentally, and emotionally, I was encouraged Sunday at church to see a bright, new bulletin cover.

This really made my day!  I needed some peace.  Sunday school with my wonderful small group brought more relief from God's Word.  Our lesson's "memory verse" was 1 Peter 5:6-7, "Humble yourselves therefore under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."  Not only was I feeling humbled already, it encouraged me that when I can be at peace with not being "big dog" because God will let us have "success" when it best goes with showing off His success.  God has to show us unpleasant times before we can be able to rightly see the glory sometimes.  It went on to say to just give it to Him.  Anxiety is something I struggle with, but hearing this verse alone helped relieve some of that pressure!  I decided that this verse would be my focus for the upcoming week.
     What Rob led the large group was also about God using our struggles for His glory.  As frustrating and confusing as it may be, it may seem that it makes no sense at the time because it's not necessarily someone's fault that unpleasant things happen.  John 9:1-5 is an example of where Jesus assures people of this fact.  A man was born blind, but Jesus replies by telling those who have asked him what sins caused such blindness that it was not the man nor his parents, but "so that the works of God might be displayed."  So you and I should not be so discouraged at our confusing circumstances, because there is always a reason, whether we know it at the time or not.

The next Tuesday was a small home track meet.  I actually enjoy these meets, too, because they are laid back.  I also like them because we usually run my main event first, so then I can get done a lot earlier!  We started this meet with the 3200 at 5:00, girls and boys together.  There was a guy from another school in front of me the whole race, but it really pushed me to keep going.  I felt good the whole race and pushed into the finish.  I just had to make myself forget the stress of competition I had been placing on myself and run with God's peace.  A couple minutes after I finished one of our dads asked me if that was my PR, and I laughed and said that I doubted it, and asked my time.  He said it was around 10:50, and I was totally shocked!  I ran a 10:51, just one second off my outdoor PR!  I had no idea that I was running that fast!  This was just one of those things that God gives us strength to do when we don't have the ability on our own.  I also see this as a message from God that even when I am struggling, He will give me enough to keep me motivated when I surrender to trust Him. 

Not only does being spiritually rejuvinated lift our spirits and mentality, but it really makes a difference in our physical health, too!  It is so important to have a positive attitude and relaxed mind in order to be able to really enjoy exercising, too.  I have found that the less stress I have in my life, less pressure I feel, the better my health is!  I feel full of energy and overall more motivated for life!  Think of it this way:  Do you want to be happy and feel good?  I'm guessing the answer to that is yes.  Why would anyone want to be depressed or stressed and tired?  The easiest way to have a life like that is simple, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."  Psalm 37:4