Running Shoes

Back in July I got these bad boys and I loved them. I loved the color, the way they looked and felt on my feet, but I did not like my sore left achilles after a run. Some days it bothered me more than others but I just thought it was my feet getting use to new shoes.
 
 Well, here we are in September and and I'm still having problems. I run about 20 miles a week so by now my shoes should be broken in. I did some research and found that many people alternate between running shoes. I thought that might be helpful so I thought it was at least worth a try. Before I got some new shoes though, I thought I'd go to fleet feet and have them evaluate me and let me know what kind I needed.

Yes, I know its terribly sad when I've been running for 3 years and have never been to get fitted for running shoes. I thought I knew what I needed but after my achilles problem I knew it was time to consult some people who really knew what they were doing. They measured my foot, watched me run, and then told me something I had never been told before: my ankles turn a little when I run... especially my left foot. We talked about what shoes I was wearing and DING DING DING... there's the problem.

 Brooks Pure Connect are great shoes, but not for me. They are minimalists and offer very little stability and support which is what I (and most people) need for running. Another interesting fact is though they sell a lot of minimalist shoes, they don't recommend them. You are more prone to injury when you wear a lighter less supportive shoe.

Yes, yes I know there has been all kinds of research proving other wise. I'm just stating what the girl there told me and especially after my own experience it makes perfect sense. So shoe shopping we must go!

Pinterest Dinner

Monday night I needed dinner inspiration. I wanted a substantial meal that didn't take too long to throw together.

And this is why I love Pinterest. All those meals I pinned, and yet I never looked at again. That changed Monday..

One dinner that I had pinned awhile back looked to good to be true. The stubborn part of me wanted to prove that you can't throw 3 different things in a pan sprinkle stuff on top and bake for an hour... and it turn out good.

It took less than 5 minutes to throw together and it was delicious.

It doesn't even have a name. Sad.



-4-6 raw chicken breasts, new potatoes, green beans
 -Arrange in 9x13 dish. Sprinkle with a packet of Italian dressing mix and then top with a 1/2 stick melted butter.
 -Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

You can really use any veggie you'd like. I used okra and it was delish. Thank you Pinterest!

Hillsong Concert

Words can not describe how incredible it was to stand in a sanctuary with thousands of believers from all over and for 2 hours do nothing but worship.

Hillsong was at Bellevue last night. It was by far one of the coolest experiences of my life. I am so thankful for churches like Bellevue and Hope that bring solid concerts to our area. Not just any concerts but concerts where you walk away refreshed, revived, and loving Jesus more than when you walked in the doors.

These were 2 of my favorites from last night.


The Desert Song
This is my prayer in the desert
And all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in the hunger in me
My God is a God who provides

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship
And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon forged against me shall remain

I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

And this is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it's way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow   Cornerstone
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
but wholly trust in Jesus' name

Christ alone, Cornerstone
Weak made strong, in the Savior's love
Through the storm
He is Lord, Lord of All

When darkness seems to hide His face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil

My anchor holds within the veil

He is Lord, Lord of all

Then He shall come with trumpets sound
Oh, may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
faultless, stand before the throne 

Just a glimpse of how our night was...

Missouri Wedding

Friday I dropped my kids off at lunch and then met up with my family. We loaded up and headed to Missouri for my cousin's wedding. We made it there in time to unload, freshen up, and drive over to the rehearsal dinner. It was so good getting to see my Missouri family and catch up. Seeing them once a year or even every other year just isn't near enough time.

I awoke Saturday morning to it pouring down rain. I forgot to mention the wedding was suppose to be outside. Boo for rain however... with everyone else in the house still fast asleep I was able to have some sweet alone time with a great cup of coffee , pricilla shirer and God's word.



Before long Kacie was squealing, whining and jumping as she attempted to cook bacon... and I must say it was worth it b/c the bacon was delicious. The boys stayed round the house watching football and us girls went shopping... which turned into me shopping and mom pushing kacie around in a wheel chair... no I'm not kidding. It kept her happy and with fewer complaints.

The afternoon approached and it was still pouring down rain so we assumed they moved all the wedding stuff inside.

Negative.

We stood with umbrellas at the park. Despite the rain, the wedding was beautiful. Allie was a beautiful bride who was happy to be getting married despite the weather conditions. Their excitement was sweet to witness even when we were cold and standing in mud... in heels might I add.

She added so many personal touches to the wedding. It was a laid back but very classy, well planned... down to every detail kind of wedding.

Riley enjoyed  the wedding too.

 

Giving of the bride.

Vows

Reception

Allie and Ty leaving.

Sister

Yes that is Daniel Jerkins in the middle, in the green shirt , watching football on his phone.

Us with the bride. Can you tell we're cousins?

Welcome to the Wilderness

^" When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” Exodus 13:17

God chose the wilderness for the people of Israel.

Just like he chooses for us...a different path than we'd choose for ourselves. A path that is harder, lonelier and maybe even more costly than we'd like. A path... for the life of us, can't figure out .

Rest assured though, God knows what he's doing.

There are some things we don't know about oursleves until we are put in a position where we have to see God's power operating through us... our wilderness. A job loss, broken relationship, death of a loved one, etc... times in our life that don't make sense to us... all the while God has allowed or led us to this point to fully experience Him.

Job was a "blameless, upright man." Yet he experienced more heartache and agony than one person should. He had every right to be angry and frustrated with God. But what did he say in Job 42:5? "I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you."

He never really experienced God until the hardship... his wilderness... when the things that were happening made no sense to him or anyone else. Yet, he realized God's plan and purpose was bigger than anyone could imagine. It's in our times in the wilderness that we really experience Christ like never before.


Back to the Isarealites...

The Israelite's had no idea that God was actually protecting them. Had they taken the shorter, easier route they would have run into war and been scared straight back to Egypt... their bondage, slavery.

God does the very same things for us. He sees the bigger picture. He knows whats best for us despite our whining and complaining because of our inconvenience.

We have 3 choices: 
-get scared and run back to our Egypt
-half hardheartedly follow Christ but whine and comlpain the whole time
-shut up and trust Him

Cotton Pickin 5k

This was my second year to run in this race in Somerville and I absolutely love it. I love the small town feel and the challenge of this course. Unfortunately my running buddy wasn't going to be able to run it with me.

 Some storms came through Friday night leaving everything wet and cool. As I was leaving the house Saturday morning, it dawned on me that Allie's daughter's soccer game had to be rained out so I text her and told her to come and run. She threw some clothes on and flew the 35 minutes to meet me just in time for the race.

It was the perfect morning for a race. It was cloudy and cool and when the wind blew, it blew water from the trees leaving you with a refreshing sprinkle.

We approached the starting line with one goal in mind: to beat my last years time of 28 minutes. The last race we ran together was the one we ran a year ago and finished in 34 minutes. Boo. So we were excited to see if all of our hard word had paid off.

27 minutes later we crossed the finish line. Not only did we beat my time from last year but we were 7 minutes faster than our last race together!

I'd call that success.

 The whole gang

Fat Friday

Well this is somewhat true. I don't really post about politics on fb, but food on the other hand I do. Since, I did make a political point in the previous post I thought it was ok to add this picture and not sound like a complete ditz who loves food.

Rather than, "Hey I made pancakes!"... how about "Hey, I made chocolate cobbler!" Yep sure did. We were eating left over pork tenderloin and veggies for dinner last night so I thought I needed to make a yummy dessert to go with my lack of effort over dinner.

Enter Pinterest.

Yes, I found pinterest again. I stayed away all summer kind of burnt out. When I needed a good dessert idea though I knew where I needed to go and it did not disappoint. It led me to this:

 Chocolate Cobbler

Ingredients:

2 stk	butter
1 1/4 c	sugar
1 1/2 c	self rising flour
1 tsp	vanilla
3/4 c	milk
CHOCOLATE LAYER
1 c	sugar
6 Tbsp	cocoa powder
2 c	boiling water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. In a 9x13 glass baking dish, melt the two sticks of butter in the oven.

Meanwhile in a bowl, mix together the 1 1/4cups of sugar, flour, vanilla and milk. Once the butter is melted pour the batter over the butter, but do not stir.

In a separate bowl mix together the cocoa and remaining sugar.

Sprinkle cocoa/sugar mixture on top of batter. Do not stir.

Pour the 2 cups of boiling water on top of that (don't stir) and bake for 30-45 minutes. I bake mine until I have a nice golden brown crust. Serve warm. Great with ice cream.

Happy Fat Friday!