Song of the Moment

Ain't no rhyme or reason
No complicated meaning
Ain't no need to over-think it
Let go, laughing
Life don't go quite like you planned it
We try so hard to understand it
The irrefutable, indisputable fact is
Pshh It happens

Exercise Fun :)

I PRed this morning at the 5k :)

Today's Race was clocked at 26 flat, but my watch from start to finish read 25:13. This is far from my best time of 22:53, but I'll take it!

Thought I'd share with any running enthusiasts who read this.  Also, Groupons.com and livingsocial.com have been providing me with affordable ways to enjoy some of the fun things around the area.  I just bought a pass to Rocks and Ropes to conquer my fear of putting on a harness and rock climbing.  Wishing I had Selma Nunes with me to cheer me on :)

Grateful for another midwest blessing when I did get a taste of Autumn by finishing in a corn maze today.  Refreshing for the heart :)

pumpkin guts.

Everyone down here has passports and going to Mexico is equivalent to taking a trip up north in Michigan.  Several students have homes in Mexico where they house luxury boats, wave runners, and probably their own Starbucks.  

I just racked up a couple thousand miles going to Chicago last weekend, will be home in Detroit for Christmas, and plan on seeing Seattle over spring break. I feel fortunate that I can travel, that penny pinching is working in my favor, and that there are several friends and family members I long to visit!

On my trip to Chicago last weekend I had a few thoughts that I was working through. All I can say is that one should never underestimate the power of making a brainstorm web.  A trick we learn to group ideas in elementary school is a very useful tool when it comes to organizing the path of your future. 

One of the main things I learned is how much pumpkin guts I've got. God is really doing some crazy work with me, some risky moves, and he is just carving and scooping out so much gunk. Just when I feel like he is really scraping the flesh of the pumpkin, he digs a little deeper, cuts a little closer, and scoops a little more. 

Continually I'm hearing, "Do not hesitate, Do not falter" - Over and over I am realizing the importance of my position in Christ and the effect I do have on those around me.  I need a fresh perspective - I need to not be weighed down by the pumpkin guts.  

Today, after I got home all I was craving was an afternoon of comfort and relaxation - but my body and my mind will not shut off.  It was as if all the empty space that I feel like God is scooping out needs to be filled with more, replaced with my thoughts and my beliefs.  

When really, I'm thinking God is saying - crave me, travel to me, choose me, listen to me, study me, read me, live for me.  Well God, keep scooping - I sure hope the baked pumpkin seeds from my pumpkin guts are something worth eating. 

No passport, paycheck, or airline mileage is going to reach my destination on this journey.  The only transportation to giving it all to God, is...well...giving it all to God :) 

praise God for moments.

I came closer to understanding the price Jesus paid on the cross last weekend.  Completely humbled and broken at the suffering He went through for me and for us - I'm surrounded by the complete comprehension of suffering and pain in order to reveal God's glory, God's love, and God's greater plan.

Here is a photo of my cousin Melissa and I at my sister's bridal shower last weekend :) It was a moment in time where everything good and bad came together to make sense.  It was great to have family in town.  And there is a picture of my first bulletin board - all the 3/4/5 graders brought in pictures of themselves being physically active... it was quite the creation and excitement of the school!

My heart overflows with compassion for all of you - whatever your joy or pain is today, whatever gut wrenching sadness or overwhelming passion and happiness that consumes you right now, turn it to Jesus.  He has muscles of steel and a heart of gold :)