Day 65...

Day 65??? Wow! I can't believe it's been that long. It seems like just yesterday I woke up and realized that I was late on starting my training and went and hopped on a treadmill for 8 miles. haha! :) That was fun. What a great day. And, really, it's all been great. (I haven't acted like it at times, but it has.) God is so good.

I'm sitting here nursing my second cup of coffee for the morning, thoroughly enjoying the laziness of a Saturday morning off day of training. These are so rare. And I know they will be increasingly rare in the next three weeks.

It's so hard not to get freaked out by the schedule of March. In fact, I had a bit of an anxious moment last night as I was laying down to sleep, just thinking about everything coming up. But, I tell you what. . . It's ALL about perspective. If I really believe God's Word, then there's absolutely nothing to worry about at all!

"If God is for us, who can be against us?"

"There is no fear in love, for perfect love casts out fear."

"The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing."

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."

Wow! Let's talk about some big promises. And, I know that my God never breaks His word. :) Doesn't that just give you the most incredible tingling feeling? Whatever is on our plates, isn't truly on OUR plates at all. In fact, we don't really have a plate at all. The plate is God's. He's holding it. Our job is simply to pay attention to Him and put on what He wants us to. If we do that, we can walk in complete confidence that whatever is there is a good thing.

Now, do we sometimes try to cram more on God's plate for us than He intends? Absolutely! And that's when those anxieties will get overwhelming and we'll have to adjust. For me, right now, I feel like the plate is organized by God. I've got His mix of items, so I can walk in complete faith knowing that He's in control and bringing blessing to them all. They're His, after all.

Tomorrow I am getting up early to run 22 miles with Jackie, and immediately climbing on a plane for a business trip that lasts until Tuesday. I'll come back and have to put together the program for next Saturday's fundraiser and get ready for that (whilc editing a magazine). In there, I'll need to be focused on the training runs and taking care of my body. A week after that, I'll fly to Ohio for a conference and then come back immediately and step into the date of an event I'm helping host for a friend.

Individually, I'm excited about each of these, but when I look at them collectively, I get overwhelmed. But why? They're on God's plate for me, and that means that He's in complete control! Not only that, but He's working each of them out for my good! haha! That almost seems too good to be true. But it's the beauty of living for Him--our unbelievably ridiculously marvelously sovereign and loving God.

I think I went on a tangent this morning, so bless you if you're still reading. :) haha! Anyway, there are quite a few prayer requests in there, but I'll bullet them out anyway:

-For the schedule of the next three weeks and my perspective on it all.

-For the 22-miler tomorrow (specifically for the weather)

-For me to make my flight. haha!

-For running paths around where I'm staying.

-For Military Ministry and the fantastic amazing work they are doing to bless our troops.

-For our troops. We love you guys!! Let's pray specifically for the families today. Lord, please strengthen and bless them!

Thanks, friends! Love you all!

-Jill