A Prayer Request & A Race Recap

Hey guys! Long time no see.

Life has been a little bit crazy this week and I expect said craziness to continue for a few months (well for 2 months and 1 week to be exact). In case you forgot, here is what I look like with some beloved Dunkin Donuts coffee. In case you forgot, I like coffee. I also love the Lord, my husband and running. That pretty much gets us caught up I think.

When life gets a little crazy, it is easy for me to become overwhelmed. I get overwhelmed with feeling like I am not giving 100% to anything and instead, half-way doing a lot of things. I am not a half-way type of person, and yet, there is only so much that I can do. When I start to feel overwhelmed, other feelings like “failure” and “guilt” often pop up as well and it is just not a fun place to be.

Last week, a precious baby girl who the daughter of a couple in our small group, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. She is 9 months old. I was literally at a loss for words. I don’t understand why, but I know that isn’t my job. What I do know is that God has his loving arms wrapped around all of them right now. He is capable and He is in control. In the midst of this storm, Tanner, Jordan and baby Tenley are making a huge impact on others. They are praising Him through the storm and they have faith that she will be healed. I want to ask all of you out there to please, please join us in praying for baby Tenley.

There are also several fundraisers going on to help with their medical bills. If you feel led to donate, here are some ways:

There is a t-shirt fundrasier here –> https://www.booster.com/tenleytough

There is a go fund me account set up here –> https://www.gofundme.com/upnd7e2s

In the midst of all of the chaos, I debated on whether or not to even write a post. I decided against in for several days, because I literally couldn’t form the words. This morning, a wonderful email hit my inbox and the timing couldn’t have been better. It said …

“Thank You for my life. I pray that I am honoring You with my life. I often wonder if I am doing enough with my life. I wonder if I am fulfilling my purpose and reaching my potential. I pray that each day I would submit my life to You and live for Your will. Help guide me and affirm me. Help me to be confident in all that I do and may I do it all for You. I pray against lies from the enemy that make me doubt and make me feel inadequate. I am Yours in Jesus’ name AMEN!”

I may not be able to do much, but I know that blogging is a way for me to reach people, so I will keep at it. I also have a race recap to share today, which kind of seems silly at this point, but at least some of you come here to read about running, so I will give you an abbreviated version.

I ran the Joe Cain 5K in downtown Mobile Sunday morning. The race advertises itself as flat, fast, & ugly! Totally accurate. The course starts at the corner of Broad Street and Canal Street in Mobile and runs through the “bail bond district.” I just made that up, but you really do pass by at least 10+ different bail bond businesses, as well as the county jail, along the course. Really ugly.

Jessica and I before the race …

I ran 19:34, which was decent enough for 1st female and 8th overall (out of 671 participants). I was hoping for faster, but … it’s okay. I ran as well as I could have. My legs are feeling really fatigued for some reason that I can’t exactly pinpoint. Coach reminded me that I needed to be taking an iron supplement, which I had somehow forgotten about. My splits were perfectly positive (which in running is not a good thing): 6:10, 6:15, 6:20 and 0:49 for the last .15.

Savannah ran the Moonpie Dash after the 5K. This was her first race (she is almost 17 months). She was by far the youngest and cutest participant.

There is a big street party after the race. We hung out for a little while and enjoyed some quality people watching. For overall female, I got $100 and a Yeti Tumbler. I was very happy with that award! I also won a door prize, which was a spa gift certificate. Sweet.

That’s all I have for today. Please pray for baby Tenley!