I can do this, despite myself.

So. I've decided to start training for a marathon.

I hate running. Why am I doing this? Well, I figure if I can challenge and possibly defeat something that I hate mostly because it gets the best of me, then I can believe in myself. Because you see, I don't think I've ever really believed in myself.

Its my own fault really. I've never given myself the opportunity to see what I'm really made of. I've never pursued something that felt impossible for me to do.

I'm training for a half marathon. 13.1 miles. Sweet Moses. I ran today for about a mile and nearly collapsed. The marathon is in November, which means the bulk of my training will be during the summer. The summer. In Arizona....summer.

If I die of heat exhaustion, just know that I love you all and we'll have coffee with Jesus together soon.

Technically Day 1 of training starts on Monday the 28th, but I wanted to get in a few practice runs before I started.

Even though I haven't got it all figured out yet, I have this feeling that by doing this, a flood gate of suppressed emotions will pour forth in some ungraceful manner as I'm physically and mentally broken down. But hey, I'm almost 28. I guess its time for something like that.

I want this. I want to be successful and I want to kick my own ass.

So here we go.

Where Beauty Sleeps

Well, apparently I haven't had much to say in the past 3 years, or maybe I just forgot I had this blog thing. Either way, its a nice happenstance to recall the changes in my life since I last wrote. Let's see....I graduated in December of 2008 with an English Lit degree, something I was so sure I'd never do. Back tracking a bit, somewhere near the end of 2007 I met this Missy girl and five minutes later we we're best friends. I work at a place that pays the bills and keeps me fed. And about 3 months ago I moved into a house with four other girls who happen to be brilliant in every way possible. Let's talk about that.
C.S. Lewis, my favorite author, describes true friendships as sharing 'naked personalities'. Believe me people, we 'bare' all facets of our personalities with no hope of restraint. Not one of us in this house is the same. In fact, even in our differences we draw closer, because our hearts, being full of Jesus, can't help recognizing those differences as the echoes of Christ we are meant to show one another. Our differences are great, but our commonalities are remarkable. Allow me to list a few.
1. Our primary goal is to journey with Christ no matter where that might takes us, allowing Him to pursue our hearts and take His rightful place in our lives as Savior and King. Yep. 2. We all love sharing what God is doing in our lives, therefore maintaining an atmosphere of open communication, trust, and a true sense of worth. 3. We genuinely want to be apart of each other lives. We recognize that we are part of One Body and that each of us is vital, beautiful, and extraordinary. 4. We have EPIC TV, musical, book, and cinematic taste. We can argue theories on Lost, go to midnight showings of all Harry Potter films, share our love of Ray LaMontagne, Frank Sinatra, Jeff Pianki, and literally everything in between, and one of my favorite things is that we all love C.S. Lewis. (Is this real life?) Speaking of...5. We find things on youtube to quote to each other a billion times over and still manage to tear up in laughter. 6. We're all incredibly good looking.....just commenting...7. We UNDERSTAND the artist in one another. This, in case you were wondering, is priceless. 8. We agape each other. 9. Money is not our master. 10. Laughter paints the walls of our house and truth is the floor we walk on.
In a sentence: We celebrate each other.
Welcome. Welcome to my life. I shall never apologize for it. I will however, praise God.
This won't last forever, which is another thing we all understand, and I think we cherish each other more for it. I repeat, 'Is this real life?'

-BMP

Carmel Apple Cider and Thelonius Monk

The flame of Summer is slowly going out, and the symphony of Fall is beginning to enchant our hemisphere. My fall begins with Carmel Apple Cider, Sarah McLachlan, 'Hocus Pocus', and Thelonius Monk. It is these items that will carry me into winter, where baking cookies, pies, breads, and sipping hot chocolate will consume me until March.


But let's talk about the glory of Fall. I find it interesting that when a tree decides to strip itself of its past, it becomes its most beautiful. Every leaf is a choice turning red, orange and yellow with new direction. It's because God relishes in making things New. He uses this incredible beauty to remind us that our choice to invite Him to re-create our spirit will make us too, incredibly beautiful.