Day 96...

YEOWZA! Talk about a workout this morning! :) It was funny. As I was running, I was literally thinking, "How am I going to explain this accurately on my blog?" haha! Well, let me see. . . Today's run was like...

A) Running with a parasail attached to my back.
B) Trying to push a brick wall up a hill.
C) Getting a lesson in what it feels like to be a tumbleweed.
D) Attaching bungee cords to a light post, strapping them to my ankles and then trying to run up a hill.

haha! Seriously. The WIND was nuts! There was literally one point when I got blown BACK a step! :) It was hilarious. Not at the time, but looking back, I can laugh at it. Either way, it all evened out. For as much struggle as it was against the wind, it was a lesson in flying going with it. Now that's fun! Your legs literally can't keep up with how fast the wind wants to take you! At the end of the run, I'd logged 10 miles at 7:44. Not too bad. Not great, but not bad. I'm cool with it!

Wanna hear the absolute coolest thing? My small group is starting a study on Max Lucado's book Fearless. (SO appropriate and timely for me! Thank YOU, Lord!) Well, I started reading it last night and it talked about Matthew 8:23-24: "Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping."

He made several points to go along with it:
1. Jesus led the way.
2. The disciples followed Him.
3. A storm came up right after they followed Him.
4. Jesus wasn't phased.

Bullets 3 & 4 really made an impact on me. Everyone expects Christians to have this amazing, blessed, happy life, but look what happened immediately after the disciples followed Christ where He was going: a crazy storm came up.

For me, that totally fits this whole training/marathon/fundraising thing. I believe I was called to do this by the Lord. Somewhere in the back of my head, I kind of expected it to be smooth sailing. But, as we all know, it's been anything BUT. And that's ok!! If I'd been paying attention, I would have known to expect it. Following Christ involves going through storms with Him. But that involves trusting Him through those storms. And that brings us to bullet 4: Jesus was sleeping.

In John 16:33, Jesus says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

I thought about that as I ran against the wind this morning. "Jesus would SO be sleeping right now." :) You know what? That brought me so much peace and joy as I ran today. Just knowing that my Lord had ordained that run and that He wasn't phased by the wind, but that He was providing the strength for me to face it...That really fired me up. In fact, it put a smile on my face as I pulled my parasail up the hill. :)

"Father, thank You for Your peace through all of life's storms. Help us all to face them with the understanding that You are sleeping in the back of the boat today, unphased by the trials we face. Help us to take on Your peace and walk with joy. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen."

Prayer Requests:
-For continued healing on the hamstring and foot.
-For strength for the left knee and ankle.
-For our troops. God bless you all as you serve and protect us!
-For Military Ministry, specifically that they would be funded to meet the resource needs of the chaplains.
-For recovery from today's great run and strength for tomorrow's 6-miler.

Thanks, team! Love you all!
-Jill