Author: runnergirl02

Life Coach

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So….I’ve been sick and tired and now I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired…so I told my husband I needed a Life Coach but I can’t really afford a Life Coach and so I went to google and googled…Can I be my own Life Coach?  The answer was Yes!

So I made a life wheel…You draw a circle with 8 spokes and you assign each spoke something that you think is important in your life… My wheel had health, spiritual, work, friends, family…I can’t remember the last three…I could look them up in my journal but right now my bedroom, where my journal is, seems so far away, anyway so next you assign a number to each spoke on a scale of 1-10 about each of these areas, after that you connect the dots.  If your life is balanced then you get a circle.   I didn’t get a circle.  I had two areas of my life wheel that were off kilter, causing my circle to look more like a lopsided oval with a spike.  The areas were health and friends.  So according to this google article next you are supposed to pick on area to focus on and quite often by just focusing on one area it will often help the other areas.  I picked health.  That was on Friday.  After you pick an area you are supposed to write down specific goals to improve this area.

Fast forward to Sunday morning and I still hadn’t written any goals but in the meantime I had talked my husband into being on my team.  I explained to him what a Life Coach was and told him about my wheel.  I told him I needed an accountability partner.  He laughed at me as only he can but in the end he agreed to help hold me accountable.  I woke up on Sunday morning knowing I needed to write some goals and I eventually came up with a list of specific goals for the week.

They were:

1)No Diet Soda or to continue not to drink diet soda.

2)Complete at least 2 cross training sessions.

3)Run at least 5 miles, which I thought was too low but my husband said gave me an easy target and an easy win for the week.

4)Eat at least 7 servings of fruits and vegetables, which I know is too low but gotta start someplace…

When I wrote or talked about writing down a goal that didn’t have to do with health my husband reminded me that I was supposed to focus on one thing, health.

So I’m three days into this new week and I can cross out 1 cross training workout, 2 miles run, and 6 fruits eaten and I have continued to stay away from diet soda.

What I noticed was having someone to be accountable to is nice.  It makes me want to actually keep to my goals.  I also noticed that since I had to write down my goals they are in my head and so far have helped keep me away from chocolate though not from having a Costco roll bread binge or a KFC fried chicken run…sigh…emotions got the better of me on both of those…

A teacher at a meeting told me he didn’t realize how much I ran and then said, “You never can tell by looking at someone.”  Thanks buddy….promptly sent me into a KFC tailspin…sigh…

Today some friends were talking about what they were going to wear to a local dinner dance for the school our kids attend and though they had told me earlier they were wearing dresses today they told me they were wearing slacks and a nice blouse…this threw me into a turmoil and thus the Costco roll bread binge…Really do you realize how hard it is to find a nice dress that isn’t too fancy and not too plain only to be told all your efforts were wasted because now the dress you planned to wear might be too nice compared to what others are wearing?  Ugh…What is casual anyway?

But you know what?  I’m thankful that I did write down those goals this week because even though I let my emotions get the better of me twice this week so far I am also able to feel proud that I am half way to accomplishing what I wanted to accomplish health wise for the week…

So today I leave with this thought….It is possible to be one’s own life coach…I mean do I really need to pay a lot of money to a stranger to have them tell me that I acted out on my negative emotions with my KFC chicken attack and my bread roll folly?  Not really…

I’m thankful for the husband God placed into my life, a husband that is willing to help me write goals and hold me accountable to them in a loving way.  I’m thankful for a God who loves music.  My husband shared a song with me this week that describes how I’ve been feeling lately and the defiance I hope to be able to show…It’s called Oh Fear…you should give it a listen….

So I’ve been a little lost lately…wandering around without a running goal and just kind of trying to get through the days…what a terrible way to live the one life we have to live…So I mean to do something about it and I’m starting or restarting with my health and I’ll see where it goes from there.  I encourage anyone reading this to try out the life wheel…silly as it sounds it’s given me a place to focus…here’s to no more KFC chicken attacks or Costco roll bread binges (though since I’ve actually eaten all the bread rolls or at least the outsides of them there is really no danger of this any longer)….

I aim to make a come back…

For running, life wheels, supportive husbands, and music…I Give Thanks!

Pharisee

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…It took me many many many years to totally understand that in the story of the prodigal son…I was the prodigal.  I have spent most of my childhood and adult life agreeing with the older brother…and oh how I have seethed against Martha’s sister for sitting down and relaxing while Martha ran around making sure everyone was taken care of…so annoying….as you can see…therefore….I have absolutely no problem whatsoever seeing myself as the Pharisee…

I am soooo the Pharisee…alas and sigh.  My husband and I were talking about a story in Luke the other day, the woman who washed Jesus’s feet when he was invited to lunch with the Pharisee Simon.  Simon thought that if Jesus was really a prophet he would realize who this lady really was and after Jesus told her that her sins had been forgiven the other’s around the table, that would be me, started saying, “Who is this guy?”, maybe more like, “Who does this guy think he is?”

My husband pointed out something that I never really thought about.  Jesus is almost always talking to the prodigal, saying, “Come home son” or to the Pharisee, “Watch your step.”  It is a revelation to me this week that the prodigal has the easier time of it, I think, mostly because the Pharisee are too stupid to realize they are too stupid.  I am in serious trouble here.  While the prodigal just needs to ask forgiveness because they already know they are being ridiculous and that forgiveness is freely granted, the Pharisee, on the other hand, have to come to the realization that they aren’t as good as they think they are and that can take a really long time to happen, sometimes it may never happen.  Have you ever thought about whether or not you were a prodigal or a Pharisee?  If so which one do you think you are and why?  I’m trying to think of any good Pharisee in the bible and none are coming to mind…another concern for me today.  There are lots of prodigal and they are almost always redeemed, Pharisee, not so much…another long sigh…

…but since this is supposed to be a blog about being thankful I’ll pause and give thanks for a few things…

My daughter was on the sick side this weekend but thankful that it seems a mild illness and we were still able to have a little fun this morning before her fever returned.  Thankful for having a treadmill because I was able to do my 9 mile run anyway, since I could not leave my daughter with my mom while my husband and I do our long run.  Thankful for vanilla ice cream, sliced almonds and chocolate syrup:-)!!  Oh and sunflowers!  I got the most beautiful sunflowers at Whole Foods today:-)  They make me happy!

So for all these things…I Give Thanks!

KOR!

Be Opened

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Well it’s been awhile…

School started and that’s always a busy time of the year, it started out kinda rocky but it’s mostly evening out now.

Today’s Gospel reading was from Mark 7:31-37.  “Ephaphatha” which means “Be Open”.  Our pastor, Father James talked about “being open” to God’s word.  It was interesting, he said, that a lot of times we are open to the “world’s word” but closed to God’s.  What I understood him to be saying is, it’s a lot easier to “be open” to the world’s words than to “be open” to God’s words because God’s words are tough.

Last night I was reading from Proverbs 1 “fools despise wisdom and discipline” I skipped over to James 1 and the message was perseverance.  I jumped over to Roman’s 1 and the message was about exchanging the truth of God for our own.  Roman’s is a tough letter by the way, if you’ve never read it, Chapter 1 starts off like gang busters, Paul was a tough teacher.  After I read the first Chapter I was like, “Whoa”

I’ve been contemplating James all week.  I’ve been reading and re-reading his letter and a few key phrases have come through loud and clear to me.  “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves”

Be “quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath”

I’ve got some work to do.  I am none of those things.  I am easily annoyed or “quick to wrath” as one might say. I kicked guests out of my own wedding.  I’d say at times I can be pretty wrathful.

My patience usually extends to the young people I teach but unfortunately not always to those in my family.

Perseverance…I can persevere, more so when it fits my personal needs. Perseverance and running kind of go hand in hand.

Starting December 8th is a Jubilee Year for the Catholic Church, the theme is Mercy.  As I understand God’s mercy, it’s not something we need to or can earn, it’s something we have already been given.  The price has been paid, mercy extended to us when Christ extended his arms on the cross over 2000 years ago.

I read the bible nearly every day.  Some days I simply read the readings for the day and listen to the homily of the day and other days I sit and read and re-read and think and wonder.  I don’t always share, not even with my husband.  I’m not sure why, guess today I felt like sharing.

Father James today said we should “Be Opened” to God’s word, to God’s truth.  As I watch clips of Miley Cyrus and her MTV video award hosting, filled with reference to drug use and all kinds of other non-sense I am sad. The Kardashians?  Kermit the Frog has a new girlfriend?  Superhero movies marketed to kids under 13 but are PG-13?   What are we leaving for our children?  What messages are we sending them? What words are they listening to? In a world that has drowned out God’s truth because its not convenient or fun how do we make sure the right truths and ideas permeate our minds and soul? What are we doing?

There’s gotta still be a right and wrong, right?  I don’t consider the adjective “open-minded” a compliment.  I think it’s the symptom of a world that has swallowed a lie.  We are so quick to reject anything that has to do with God and even quicker if the message comes from someone with “authority”.  I understand Father James, we are “open” to so so many wrong things instead of being “open” to the one thing that matters.  If we can be open to all the negative the world has to offer, why can’t we be open to God’s word and his mercy?  It’s not really that hard.  Jesus told the man today “Ephaphatha” and he was healed.  I suspect it would be the same for us.

A good reminder for me today to Be Open to the opportunities God sends my way, chances to be quick to hear his word, to be a doer…that will be my phrase for this week.  “Be Open”

In other news training for half is picking up.  I will definitely need perseverance for the training runs coming up.  Enjoy your labor day and keep on running….

Garage Sales?

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I think one of the really good things about garage sales is that they force me to go through my belongings and get rid of stuff.  When we have a garage sale we never keep anything that doesn’t sell.  We either leave it in a box on the curb to get taken for free or we donate it to Good Will.  We are not the kind of people who have a storage, if it doesn’t fit in my 1800 sq. ft. 4 bedroom house then we don’t need it…my husband on the other hand is a hoarder…so you know…conflict can arise…on occasion…

I don’t really have anyplace I’m going with this idea so I’ll just jot down a few things I’ve been thankful for this week…

-For my treadmill 🙂  Usually not a huge fan of treadmill running but the air here in the valley has been particularly bad because of the fires in our foothills.  I’ve been doing my runs this week on the treadmill.  I will brave the road tomorrow, hopefully the air is okay.  If you’ve watched the news and or read about the Willow Fire here in CA…we are about an hour or so away from that blaze…which leads me to…

-Firefighters…so thankful for those that brave these fires in ridiculous heat and work so hard to protect, people, livestock, buildings..

-For our garage sale today…helping us to get rid of some of the clutter in our lives…we still have a lot to be sure but you know being reminded you are blessed isn’t such a terrible thing…

-Almost forgot my daughter and I baked Zucchini Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting this week! Yummy!

zucchini cupcakes

So for treadmills, firefighters, getting rid of clutter and cupcakes…I Give Thanks!

Keep on Running…

Stickers all around!

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106 here where I live today…HOT!  No running outside for me because in addition to being 106 we have bad air quality because of a fire in our nearby mountains.  When I say nearby…we are about an hour or so away from the fire…I did complete my arm workout though and get 10000 steps so I’m good with that:-)

So for today…

I’m thankful for a good guitar lesson!  My teacher, who doesn’t give out stickers, said if he did give out stickers I would have earned several today:-)!!

Air conditioning…I’m really thankful we have one car that still has working air conditioning.

Lastly…just being home safe…I spent a little time this evening with my husband looking for a Christmas song to learn for my recital in December…I always enjoy listening to music!!

So for guitar lessons, stickers, air, and listening to Christmas music…

I Give Thanks!

Keep on Running…

Not a great day…

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So…today wasn’t a great day…feeling sad and blah…guess we all do from time to time…yes?

Missing my baby…sad about how people who can have children treat theirs like crap…like leaving them in hot cars with windows rolled up to die…Who does that? Idiots…

Well…since my goal is to be thankful…I need to find some things to be thankful for today…so…

-For car mechanics…one fixed my car today…cost more than I would have liked but I have my car back now…

-For chocolate chips, very tasty and even more so in the chocolate chocolate chip cupcakes my daughter and I made today…with vanilla buttercream frosting and yes sprinkles! Tomorrow we are planning on zucchini with cinnamon cream cheese frosting…

IMG_2572

-For my husband who stayed home to get the cars taken care of…the other one is in the shop now..so one in one out…but I suspect he really took the day for me…

-For my daughter…

-For my health, which in general is good…

-For David Crowder’s, Come As you Are, whose lyrics I recited in my head today, over and over…it was my recital song for guitar…

….I guess maybe it wasn’t such a bad day afterall…

I Give Thanks!

Keep On Running…

Proverbs 13:4

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“The appetite of the lazy craves, and gets nothing, while the appetite of the diligent is richly supplied.”

I read this today in a devotional and was reminded, once again, of my word for the year…challenge!  It is a challenge to constantly try to do better!  The devotional I read was in regard to procrastination.  The writer said, in a round about way, that procrastination is a way to be lazy, to avoid those things that challenge us.

So that song, Water Come a Me Eye, the one I finally passed at my last guitar lesson.  I have been on that page in my book since January, but I didn’t like the song and I thought the timing was too difficult and so I practiced everything else I could practice except that song for months.  My teacher, God Bless him, was not going to let me get away with that, so he kept me on that song for months. Guess what?

When I finally sat down and listened to the practice CD and kept picking the song over and over a flip switched and I thought…”This was so easy.  Why didn’t I learn this months ago?”  I was procrastinating.

I have a time goal for my half marathon this November and so I joined a Run Club with the thought that running with other people will help me run faster but as I look at the schedule I find myself trying to find excuses not to run with the group.  Mostly I’m afraid we will be way too slow for everybody else.  Excuses.  Procrastination. I think this verse is telling me to stay the course to be diligent, do not procrastinate!

With that said…I have a rose bush outside to dead head…it’s staring at me from my kitchen window…I also have a sink full of dirty dishes and loads of laundry….

It’s early yet but so far for today I’m thankful that my husband gets to stay home with us today, for a good arm workout this morning, for Greek vanilla yogurt (so yummy), for a reply to a message I sent to a young lady who loves running and God (had some good thoughts and things for me to think about in it…she has a blog called Fit and Faithful, you should check it out) and for my word…Challenge…reminding me to do the thing that is hard instead of easy…Hebrews 12:11, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” (NIV)…hopefully this will lead me to my time goal in November and better guitar playing…for all these things…I Give Thanks!

Keep On Running….

Water Come a Me Eye

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….So today I am thankful for FINALLY turning the page in my guitar book! Ha! After a ridiculous amount of months, mostly due to my own tendency to be stubborn, I have finally learned Water Come a Me Eye…well enough that my guitar teacher let me “Turn the Page”!  I celebrated by listening to a little Bob Segar…

No running for me today but I have found a neat little workout show that I like called Faithful Workouts so I did my leg weights and an episode of Faithful Workouts today for a little cross training.  It is actually quite challenging for me…

My husband and I did join a Run Club to begin training for our half-marathon in November, excited to make some new running friends and drop our half-marathon time…that’s the goal…

So today for turning the page, faithful workouts, Run Clubs and Chicken Egg Rolls (I really like Chicken Egg Rolls)…I Give Thanks!

Keep on Running….

P.S. Thanks to the couple of followers I have…appreciate it!

Tuesday

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….Just continuing the trend from Yesterday…is it a trend if you’ve only done it once?  Anyway…

I have a guitar lesson tomorrow.  I haven’t practiced the song my teacher wants me to learn.  I’ve only been playing the songs I want to learn.  He assures me that if I learn this song it will help me learn a lot about E Phrygian and rhythm and where the actual notes are on the strings.  I know he’s right but I really do not like the song.  Water Come a Me Eye…sigh….I’m in trouble.

I ran 20 minutes today.  I was supposed to run 4-5miles but I got up late and so my rule is, run at least 20 minutes and so I did and I’m glad I did.

My word for this year is Challenge.  I was listening to the radio, KLOVE, I think actually, and the DJ was talking about having a word for the year.  Instead of doing a resolution, you have a word that you focus on for the year.  Challenge seemed so obvious for me.  It seems I’m always challenging myself to do something…run further, run faster, learn guitar, write more, read more, do more…I’ve been thinking sometimes it’s just a challenge to sit and be quiet, to listen, to really listen to other people as they talk.   When I really listen to my daughter I am amazed.  She is so smart, funny, adventurous, insightful.  I keep wondering when she will lose that childlike innocence and curiosity.  I keep hoping she never will, praying really and I don’t know why it was/is so important to me but then yesterday I read this:

“I think that the first thing to do is to make sure that all that energy, that light, does not grow dim in your hearts and to resist the growing mentality which considers it useless and absurd to aspire to things that demand effort.  Be committed to something; be committed to someone.  Don’t be afraid to take a risk.  Don’t be afraid to give the best of yourselves…Don’t look out for the easy wicket, in order to avoid having to do real, hard work.”

It was said by Jorge Mario Bergoglio to youth in Paraguay.  It pretty much sums up my hopes for my daughter. When I stopped to think about it I realized it really summed up my hopes for myself.  What is life without hope?  What is life without striving for betterment?  What is life without seeing the wonder and amazement in the everyday?  This same man said , “You are too important to be satisfied with living life under a kind of anesthesia.”  How many of us live a life “under anesthesia”?  I know I do sometimes, sometimes instead of looking for challenge I’d rather spend time on Facebook reading mindless drivel and taking silly quizzes. Today I spent the better part of an hour looking for and then posting this link to reclassify Pluto as a full fledged planet. (which by the way it could use some signatures ;-)!! )

https://www.change.org/p/international-astronomical-union-declare-pluto-a-planet-plutoflyby?recruiter=343443684&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&sharecordion_display=highlight_active_card

Learning and becoming better takes work, sometimes A LOT of work, participating in life is hard, is challenge, some days, anesthesia sounds pretty good to me but then I’ll read something like that quote and I’ll remember what we are here for…

“Happiness is demanding; it requires commitment and effort,” Bergoglio told the youth.  He’s right you know.  Happiness isn’t a feeling, not really, for me it’s that feeling you get when you are so exhausted from giving it your all, everything you have, that sense of accomplishment.  For me it can come from a faster than normal run, a long run, helping a friend, guiding a student, being a mom who listens.

So…the challenge continues, my challenge continues…to be better, to do better, to give more, to love more, to be more than I think I can be because the truth is we were created to accomplish amazing wonderful, beautiful things, not live on life support.  We give it all because He gave it all.

I really like that thought…

So for today I am thankful for a fun morning at the library with my daughter where she picked out books about frogs and bats when she knows I am afraid of them just to watch me squirm.  She laughed and laughed and her laugh is the best music in the world.  I am thankful for being able to eat lunch with her dad, my husband, almost everyday during summer:-)   I am thankful for the fun time we had at the water park after lunch and the vanilla dippin dots we shared when we were done.  I’m really thankful for ice cream today and for words from people like Pope Francis that are so very powerful.  Words really can change life.  They can inspire or kill. His words inspired and challenged me….so guess I’ll…

Keep on running…

Monday

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….for lack of a better title…and because I have things I want to write but not enough time…but I want to post something…so I’m not a failed blogger…

So today I am thankful for…Our car passing Smog without having to have a bunch of expensive work done to it…a fun daytime date to watch Terminator Genysys with Jason…a fun family date with daughter and God-daughter tonight watching The Minions movie and air conditioning.  I’m really thankful for air conditioning:-)!  I was able to get in 20 miles of running last week, by the sea so I’m thankful for that too! Oh and I’m learning a new song on my guitar…Redeemed…by Big Daddy Weave…Ok…I’m done, because I have to be….

Keep on running….