26.2

I have been saying for years that I am going to do it. I have made a plan, read books and picked out the date to do it. I say on every birthday that this year I will make this dream come true... every year I start out dedicated like a new years resolution and then life gets in the way or the weather turns for the worst. Im talking about running a marathon of course... since I was in high school I have dreampt of completing 26.2 long miles. Im turning 25 March 2014. Did I just say that?! I am really going to be that old! It is still hard for me to wrap my head around and I have had 24 years to do so....so in eh, celebration of being half way to 50 and 5 years away from 30 (ekk!!) I am going to run a marathon. This year, the year of my 24 orbit around the sun, I will run a marathon before I start my 25th! I keep repeating myself because I am trying to get it into my head and I am blogging about it because I need something to keep me accountable. Maybe you could help me do that? In the mean time here are a couple motivating and humerous pics I have found on pinterest.

 

 

So, what dream do you have? What are you going to do about it?

Hallmark

I miss hanging out with my friends back home and the long chats we use to have. Most of the time they took place at Starbucks or over a cup of coffee somewhere else. I think that is why I love to write letters and mail cards to people. It has a warm "coffee house chat" feel about it. I told a woman the other day that I write letters to my friends. Her reply,"people still do that?!" Yes, maam we do!!

I like to tell people what they mean to me and how they have made my life better. That probably explains my obsession with Hallmark cards. This one is my favorite.

Ahhh! Puts a little lump in my throat. So sweet!!

When was the last time you mailed something other than bills?  Break up the monotony of your friends mail box. Drag out your old stationary, dust it off and make someone's day! It does not have to be fancy, just happy!!

What do you need?

Do you ever talk to yourself? It's okay to say yes. I ask myself questions all the time. Lately my favorite question is, "What do you need?" Most of the time the answer is, a hot fudge sunday. Yep, I can be pretty simple. I'm afraid that if I don't stop indulging myself to that answer then I will NEED bigger pants. Sometimes my answer is more complex like, I need validation. I need more friends. I need for my problems to be fixed. I need to not feel alone. Do you feel these things sometimes? Is there something you struggle with on a daily or hourly basis? What do you fill that longing with?

It seems like a lot of important people in my life are struggling right now. Struggling to feel validated in who they are, struggling to fight for love, struggling with waiting for their dreams to come true.

Sunday in church we sang a song with lyrics "strength will rise as we wait upon The Lord" that was the first time I felt the meaning of that lyric as I began to think about my struggles and the struggles of so many people that I love. Because I think that if we all gave an honsest answer to the question,"what do you need?" we would all see that we are all longing for validation. I wonder if we are feeling that desire because we have forgotten to receive our validation and love from God. Many are struggling with their marriage or relationship, I wonder if their inability to love their significant other is because they have lost sight of their love for God and from God. Others do not recognize the strength they recieve from the Lord as they wait for their spouse to fall in love with them again, others focus on their mistakes as they wait for their dreams to come true.

 I hope I'm not stepping on your toes too much as you read this. But will you think with me for a second? Answer the question honestly, what do you need? what are you going to do about it? Are you longing for a husband? A child? Is your marriage falling apart or has fallen apart? How do you fulfill that longing?

Wait. Pray and wait on The Lord. Don't just sit there and wait. Do the work, fight for love, go on dates, look for jobs and call for interviews. Whatever you do, do not let your desire for Christ become less than your desire for the world.

Like this tree too many people try to grow and live without tapping into the thing that they need the most. God. They think that if they try a little harder or get more from someone then everything will be hunky-dory, and it might work for a while...until the problem gets a little deeper. Because of that they give up and walk away from so many things because they tried to do it themselves. Maybe Im the only one that has experienced this, I dont know. Im sure of one thing though... Look to the The Lord. He is the sold rock. The only thing you can stand on that will. Not. Fail. You.

Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not faint; they will walk and not grow weary.

Isaiah 40:31

My Prince

We have all seen it-the sad faces of starving children on the TV or advertisement on the Internet asking you to sponsor them and give them a better life. How many times have you actually paid attention? How many times have you looked away and thought nothing more than it to be a hoax?

When I was a child those commercials would wreck my little heart. I would ask, cry and sometimes beg my parents to sponsor a child. As a teen I would see the advertisement and know that one day when I was financially able to I would sponsor a child.

In 2009 my mom and I went to a Women of Faith conference in Dallas, TX. Laying on my chair was a picture of a little girl with the caption,"Will you be my sponsor?" All weekend long I thought about it. They surprised a long time sponsor with a trip to see the family that had became her family through the years of letters written back and forth. As I watched I became emotional and thought about the day that I made someone-worlds away-a part of my family.
I was only a sophomore in college and made just enough money to pay my credit card bill, gas and food each month. I decided that as soon as my credit card was paid off I would sponsor a child. That decision stayed tucked in the back of my mind as I worked to pay off my card for the next year. October of my junior year we went back to WOF in San Antonio, Tx. On our way out of the drive way I put my last credit card payment in the mail.

The months before the trip I had considered getting a pet and naming him Prince. Because I was single and lived alone and thought that I needed a Prince in my life. (Tuck that away somewhere important. It will make sense later).

We arrived at the venue and found our seats. There wasn't a World Vision Sponsor Profile in my seat, but that did not matter, I was going to stop by the WV booth and pick out a special child to sponsor later. Sometime during the day on Saturday they had a segment on sponsoring a WV child. During the segment I looked around and saw a profile in the seat two seats down. I walked over and opened it. My eyes widened as I scanned the profile of the most precious little boy named, Prince. My first thought was, this Prince is better than getting a pet Prince! I filled out the info, turned it in and he became mine. My Prince.

That was a little over two years ago. My husband and I are still his sponsor and love sending him letters and as many little toys as I can fit in the 6x9 envelope that we are allowed to use. Boy have I gotten creative with that!! I received a letter from him last week, I could not stop smiling as I opened it. In the letter he thanked me for the "magic towel" and small toys (dinosaur figures). He loves them so much that he can't sleep without them. My heart melted as I pictured this 4 year-old little boy begging his mother to let him sleep with a wash cloth and dinosaurs - that can't be comfortable- but it gives him comfort.

My point in telling this story is that sponsorship with World Vision is so real and so worth it. You get to be a foreign missionary from your house and you expand your family as you get to know them. The list of pros goes on and on. Check it out for yourself by going to www.worldvision.org