Fit, Fabulous, 40's, Friday

Happy FRIDAY!!

"3 Not only this, but we also rejoice in sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance, character, and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us."

Romans 5:3-5 (NET)

On Wednesday night at our Cross Fitness Class,

I shared this verse.

Sufferings, challenges, trials, the yucky stuff of life.

We all  have them, and if you don't, praise God -  and then just wait a few days.

 When God says here that we rejoice in sufferings, 

He is acknowledging that 

suffering WILL happen,

problems WILL occur,

challenges WILL stop us in our tracks,

but there is a bigger picture, here.

As we go through suffering,

problems and challenges, remember a couple of things:

1) we are never alone facing it

2)God is doing something deeper in us as we go through the suffering,

deal with the problem and wrestle with our challenges.

He is doing some heart and soul work-

He is strengthening us for bigger battles.

Sure, you can totally AVOID going through, dealing and wrestling,

but it's as though God continues to have us go into the same battle over and over until we work THROUGH it. Can I hear an, "Amen"?

So, the answer is to walk through them.

Yes, easy for me to say and put out there -

but I know it to be true.

As we struggle, suffer, wrestle and deal with problems and trials,

God is using these situations to build character, 

make us stronger.

This totally applies to our physical bodies, as well.

As we challenge our bodies to work hard, say "no" to foods when we are not hungry,

push ourselves to exercise, go that extra mile,

say "yes" to what we know is best for our bodies, 

we are building strength physically as well as mentally and spiritually.

During one of the darkest times of my life, when my girlfriend, father and a mentor passed away within 6 months of each other,

I chose NOT to battle.

I chose to do what was easier- have a pity party, isolate myself and get mad at God.

My head knew what I should be doing-fighting through it

but my heart was so broken and I felt so defeated, I had no energy to battle.

All the while, God was waiting...

and waiting....

and waiting....

It took a series of unfortunate events that landed me flat on the floor-

ashamed, guilty and defeated.
Yup, I am so totally human, and grateful that I came to my senses.

I realized where I was- in the pit and although I felt as though no one would "help me get out", I put myself there and CHOSE to stay there.

So, I decided to take responsibility and had faith that I could turn things around.
I put on my Big-Girl panties on, wiped my tears, put my boxing gloves on to have another go at it-

I knew I had to run back into His arms and when I did,

I was overwhelmed with forgiveness and unconditional love. Not just from God, but from those closest to me that I hurt.

I realized that God was doing something in me and through me, and He grew me spiritually as I spent time with Him, 

praying, 

listening and 

reading His word.

The struggle produced strength to endure more, it built my character, humbled me and gives me hope that I am loved even though I am still so very far from being perfect.

What struggle are you going through?

Facing a trial that seems overwhelming?

Feel like you just can't push anymore?

Feel defeated?  

I have a solution: Trust God. How?

Pray- talk or yell out to God.

Read- His word, the Bible. 

Listen- the hardest part for me, to BE still, sit and call upon the Lord.
Journal....record what comes up....what did He say in the quietness?

The older I get the more I realize that God has and IS EVERYTHING we need, 
if we just 
ask, seek, listen, and then do - 
or sometimes, don't do! Ha ha!

He loves you and me so very much that He wants us to grow to become more like Him and we all know that He carried the biggest burden for us- our sin, out of His love for us.

You are not suffering, battling or wrestling alone. 

You have the One who is with you, who is never changing, who has always loved you and loves you now.

Dear Lord,

Thank you for my friend reading this. I pray Father, that you would shed some light in their darkness, share some joy in their pain, and Father, give them some HOPE in this time of struggle. I pray for endurance and the character to do what is right, and I pray for confirmation for my friend, that they are on the right path to becoming victorious over this battle. And if it does continue, Lord, that  they would continue to lean into You for the strength they need, the encouragement they need and the power of the Holy Spirit to do a mighty work in them.

I love you, Lord, and thank you for this reader and what she/he is going through and how you are doing a good work in them.

In Jesus' name I pray, 

Amen

How can I pray for your struggle?

Have you ever battled and have seen God's hand in it?

What is a challenge in your life right now?

Be blessed,

Fit, Fabulous, 40's, Friday

IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!

Hope you are having a 

FABULOUS week!

I'm feeling so blessed this morning!

I wanted to share what I did this last Sunday!

I ran my 3rd -1/2 Marathon 

to earn the 

Beach Cities Medal!!!

I received the medal on the left for running the OC 1/2, 

then received the medal on the right after completing the 

three Beach Cities 1/2 Marathons in consecutive order, 

the Long Beach,

Huntington Beach

and finally 

the Newport Beach 1/2.

It was beyond great and I'm all about getting a deal!

3 runs and 4 medals,

extra BLING!

My friend Lisa has run with me in all three 1/2 Marathons

and it has been special since neither one of us had ever run a 1/2 Marathon before.

Saturday I went to the Costa Mesa Fair grounds to pick up my bib and t-shirt.

My daughter Kiana has come with me the other two times to pick up my 

bib and it has been tradition.

It was really windy when we got there-

and I ran into my friend Anna, a man who I met years ago at the gym,

got cancer but actually put the very first seed in my mind to run

and that I could possibly do it,

and also ran into a gal that I went to High School with that runs the

full marathons for fun.

Here is a picture of my bib #..

I have to tell you that I was a little unsure of how I would do this time.

I hadn't trained very much and wasn't mentally prepared or focused on it as I had been with the other two, but I did decrease my time in the Surf City (Huntington Beach)

by 10 minutes!

But, I had a goal to do ALL 3 1/2 Marathons and no matter what,

I was going to at least finish!

Lisa drove over on Saturday night and slept over.

We got up around 4:30 so we could leave by 5 to get to the Fair Grounds by 5:30.

We ran a little late, but weren't worried.

Here is a pic of us when we got there.

 There was a long line to the buses that were shuttling everyone down to the starting line 
which was right by Fashion Island.

 As we waited, we walked by the finish line- 

I thought it was great to see people remembering those who ran the Boston Marathon- 

see the thin orange line at the bottom of the banner?

It says, "Run for Boston", and there were many people showing their support through t-shirts, etc.

When we finally got on  then off the bus,

we all walked to the start line.

I must say it was somewhat anti-climactic.

For the first two 1/2 marathons we ran, we were at the starting gate with ALL of the runners,

and they put you in "gates" depending on your finish time.

It's pretty exciting to be with all the runners.

Well, we were so behind everyone else, that when we got there, it was pretty empty.

No announcer,

no crowds, 

no runners waiting.

In fact, it looked like they all had a party and stripped and we got there after everyone had disappeared!

There was trash all over the streets and it was hilarious to see all the sweatshirts, sweaters and shirts that were thrown off and left on the sidewalks!!!

Someone was collecting them in a trash bag- 

I hope they wash them and donate them to the homeless.

So, we got there and saw the start line, looked at each other, smiled and just started jogging.

There were probably about 4 or 5 other buses loaded with runners behind us, so we weren't completely alone, but it was just weird.

As we got into our groove, we began passing more and more runners.

One thing I love is the sheer number of people you are running with, the energy that comes with that, and also a sharing of this special experience.

The run was fabulous.

We ran through streets with beautiful homes,

by the water,

a trail

and finished at the Fair Grounds.

One of the really amazing things about participating in something with so many people involved is you get perspective,

I am a part of something bigger.

You also get inspired!

There are people older, younger, heavier, lighter, more fit, less fit,

faster, slower, walkers, runners.

ANYONE can do this!

I must admit, in my head, I believed anyone who ran 1/2 marathons+ had to look like the runners I've seen in the Olympics.

I don't look like them so I never really saw myself as a runner.

I know this is really an immature and superficial way of thinking, but I'm being honest.

I never SAW myself THAT way-

I still don't but I won't let that stop me!

I'm inspired!

So Lisa and I ran, and ran and ran.

We had a potty break, actually 2 and slowed down at almost every water stop, and I was praying all the way!

And we finished!!

Here we are with my friend Sophia.

She ran it under 2 hours! What a Rock Star!

All said and done, 

Bib: 6088 Name: Janet Hertogh Gender: F Age: 48 Hometown: Mission Viejo, CA	Overall: 4656 out of 10050 Women: 2232 out of 6034 F 45-49: 218 out of 645 Age/Grade: 53.44% Place: 2830 Finish: 2:16:16 Pace: 10:24 Tag Time: 2:16:16 Gun Time: 2:48:42

So I had a 10.2 minute mile and was just a tiny bit over my first 1/2.

Seriously,

I'm just happy I finished it!

Thank you, God, for my Mizunos!

I can't tell you what an amazing feeling of accomplishment I have!

I want to challenge you to step out of your comfort zone TODAY!

Make a decision to do something new.

Yesterday after my bible study, a woman came over to me to me and had some questions about starting a weight training plan.

I wanted to know what HER goals were, what SHE WANTED to do.

She said that she wanted to strengthen her muscles and get into the gym.

After talking a bit,

she confessed that she kind of knew what to do once she was there and then asked,

"how do you get there?"

THIS IS THE BIG QUESTION,

because let's face it, most people KNOW what to do, or at least that they should be exercising- 

the difficult part is the DOing.

I told her that I go for two reasons:

1) because I AM VAIN and I like to see definition on my body,

I like the way my body looks when I'm fit.

(that's just ME)

and

2) I'm over 40 and I want to live a healthy, strong, life and be able to keep up with my children.

I love when one of my sons grabs my hand and tries to take me down and he can't.....yet.

I know that day will arrive soon enough, but right now, I love grabbing them and being strong enough to give them a little challenge!

(again, just ME being honest)

YOU have to find your "WHY".

It will be the reason for almost EVERYTHING you do, 

if you think about it.

The things we DO are a result of our "WHY"s.

I am cooking cleaner- why? So my family will be healthier.

My children are in sports- why? So they can learn discipline, sportsmanship, being part of a team.

We go to church- why? So we can have a strong faith and spiritual connection to GOD.

Yes, it would be easier to not get involved in sports, church and give a hoot about what I cook- 

EVERY single thing I am doing takes some effort,

but each one is worth the effort -

in fact the results are multiplied.

MOVE -forward!

Do something new,

read this and give up something so you can have and do that something new.

Maybe for YOU it isn't something physical,

it could be relational

or spiritual.

I'll admit, I struggle with #3 and #5.

What do you struggle with?

Deciding, Doing, Denial?

Fear?

What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?

I would love to hear from you!!

Have a stupendous weekend!