Another running (or not) update...

I'm killing a little time here waiting for Jack to get home so that we can get out of here and go to dinner. PF Changs - yay! :-) But I haven't mentioned anything about running lately because there's not been any running to talk about. :-( Apparently back when I ran the 10K race, I injured my hip. I didn't pay much attention to it until about three weeks later, as I was continuing to try to run and get ready for the Cotton Row, I got to the point where I was just hurting all the time - not just for a while after running. So I had to do something about it. Of course my doctor said, "Quit running." ha And then he gave me some nice anti-inflammatory pills to take that I can't take because they make me sick to my stomach, so no thank you. And 'quit running' isn't really the option I'm looking for. I was actually starting to really LIKE running. ;-) SO, now I'm in physical therapy and I hope that is going to help things. It's amazing when they start poking and prodding on all the muscles in the hip, back and thigh, how it's all connected. Find pain in your back and realize that it's contributing to pain in your thigh, stuff like that... anyway, I got a really nice massage out of it all this morning, so I'm really not complaining. :-)

But it looks like the Cotton Row is out for me. :-( At the moment, I'm basically not allowed to do any kind of exercise -- so does that give me a good reason not to do any housework?? yay! Probably can't really use that excuse... I can still walk. Oh well...

I got interrupted before I had time to post this earlier. So I just got home from a really good dinner at PF Changs and a walk around Bridge Street. What a beautiful night it was tonight! I'm so ready for the warm weather -- but if I keep eating like I did tonight and can't exercise, I'm not really going to be ready for swimsuit season. ha

Time to stop rambling. If you think about it, please say a prayer for my hip to get better - running really was helping me in lots of ways and I'd like to get back to it!

Hannah Montana

I have a confession to make. I just got home from seeing the new Hannah Montana movie for the 2nd time... 2 weekends in a row. And to be even more honest, I really liked the movie -- both times. :-) So I just thought I'd post a link here to one of the songs I really liked called 'The Climb.'

My mom brought this over to me on Sunday when they came for lunch. We all thought it was pretty funny. :-) I saw it again on my counter today and thought... if only it was always this easy to see that what the world has to offer is just ridiculous in comparison to what we have with God!

Believing You have Received

Mark 11:24-25

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."

I wrote these verses down in my journal this morning. The first verse (24) came up in a conversation with an old friend recently and it came back to mind this morning. I looked it up and was thinking about it. You know, Jesus doesn't say, "believe that you WILL receive it, and it will be yours." He says "believe that you HAVE received it..." So when I pray for forgiveness, I have already received it; when I pray for comfort, it's right there; when I pray for wisdom, I can trust that I have it; when I'm looking for hope, He's given it already... I just have to BELIEVE. What I am seeing change in my prayer life is that so often, and this is sad to admit, but often my 'prayers' have been so SELF-focused that many times I've left my time of prayer more sad and more burdened than when I started, because I've spent a half hour running though all the things that I'm struggling through in life. Instead, God is asking that in prayer, I lift my eyes to Him and realize that He has 'instantly' given me all that I need. There is no 'waiting.' The key is having my eyes on Him and not on me. He is truly enough. And He will meet all my needs. When I approach Him in prayer with this kind of faith and belief, really, He is already answering prayer even before the words are on my tongue.

The other thing that stood out to me this morning, though, was vs. 25. I hadn't really paired that verse with this verse when I was just thinking about it from memory. When I went to look up the verse on believing that I had received what I asked for in prayer, I wasn't remembering that this verse on forgiveness was the one that followed. But here's what I really like: God knows us. He knows that we will come to Him when we are in need -- when we are in a position to ask for things from Him. So in addressing that, He takes this opportunity here to kind-of say... "By the way..." WHILE you're standing there in prayer, if you've got a grudge against anyone, you need to forgive them... SO THAT your Father can forgive your sins." OK, so this is my interpretation of that verse with emphasis added. ;-) But it's kinda like God is saying to me, "Hey, while I've got your attention, are YOU paying attention to the fact that there are some things you are holding onto in your heart that you need to forgive?" Becasue those things you are holding onto are holding me back from fully forgiving your sins. Ouch.

Oftentimes, therapists (and books) will tell you that forgiving others is not so much about THEM as it is about what you are doing for YOU. Lack of forgiveness just kills our soul. I see this here in this verse... my unwillingness to forgive others (from the heart) keeps God from being able to forgive me - and thus free me from my sins.

When I think about what Jesus did in dying for my sin and all that He is willing to fogive me of, how ridiculous is it for me to hold anything against anyone? I don't really think of myself as one who holds grudges, but I've seen some things in myself recently that show me that I have some forgiving to do. So thank God for opening my eyes more clearly to that this morning.

And praise God that He is so willing to do anything for us - that He even invites us to ask anything of Him and He is willing to give it. All we have to do is believe....

19 Minutes

I've discovered a new fiction author that I really like, Jodi Picoult. This book, 19 Minutes, just happened to catch my attention last time I was at the library, and once I was into it, it was very hard to put down. In addition to some really good storytelling, she has some interesting 'one-liners' that she'll throw in here and there that I found very thought-provoking. I have very little time, but I'm just going to put this one in here real quick:

"Lacy stared at Alex through her tears. "Thank you," she whispered, and left before she broke down completely in front of a woman - a stranger, really - who could do what Lacy coundn't: hold on to the past as if it was something to be treasured, instead of combing it for clues of failure."

It's hard to really appreciate that out of the context of the story, but for me, as someone who has probably spent too much time 'combing my past for clues of failure,' it was a good reminder to take a look back into the past for all the good that is there....

Just an aside: If you do decide to read this book, it is a little rough in places with language, etc... so just a warning.