Last week I wrote: “sometimes I just wish God would write in the dirt for what I am supposed to do.”

Recently I’ve been facing some frustrating, tough, white-knuckled life decisions. The kind that makes you want to run for the hills and forget about reality for just a little while. But since that is not an option, I do know what is: continuing to seek God’s plan for my life. But what does that mean? It’s not like it is written in the dirt or the sky for EXACTLY what I am supposed to do. Or is it?

More than anything, I long and desire to do what God wants me to do. And I think that is the first step for walking in God’s plan for your life. If you are seeking His will for what you do, how you live and what choices you make, you are acknowledging that you need His help. You can’t seek if you don’t desire to seek.

How do you know if you should have (more) kids? Who to marry? That house to buy? What race to run? What job not to take? Where to live? And the host of other life decisions that bombard us day in and day out. What food to avoid? It is easy to not care what God wants for your life and just live by the world’s standards. But since that is not an option for me, how do I learn to seek God every.single.moment? Here are my “top three” to seeking God’s will and plan for my life.

Read. The. Bible. One of my goals for 2012 is to read the entire Bible (thank you YouVersion for the app and plan!) And just not cramming it in during last month of the year, but each and every day. As of this writing, it is day 114! By reading God’s word and trying to live by His principles, I’m  learning how to make godly choices vs. self-satisfying choices. Do things always make sense? No, of course not. Do some things make total sense? Absolutely. That is called growth. I have also included other daily devotionals that are helping me to see things from a different perspective. Each and every day before I jump out of bed I start my day with God. If I’m going to figure out his plan for my life I had better seek him first before anything else. Here are my “top three” to seeking God’s will and plan for my life.

Pray. All. The. Time. This is something I’ve been doing for a while. I pray while cycling, while I run, while I cook, while I work. And specifically. I tell Him what is going on. What I am feeling. The choices I have to make. Everything. I pour my heart out to God. He already knows what I’m going through and what I will go through, but by stopping to acknowledge that I need him, it symbols a dependence on Him, not on my strength alone.

Seek. Godly. Wisdom.  I am grateful to have great, godly friends. Last week I was so overwhelmed with the things that were hitting me faster than I could count to 7, I talked to a good friend. Who shared this with me. Make choices that are

1) Spiritual

2) Emotional

3) Financial

This was SO powerful to me. So often I make choices that either emotional or financial first, not second or third. This totally changed my thinking around and made a few decisions easier to make. Once we start to change our thinking to this pattern, big and small decisions become (somewhat) easier to make. I’m not saying it is easy to make, but when the choice is based first by God’s plan vs. ours, life goes so much smoother. It’s when we react with emotion or based on financial reasons alone that things start to go haywire. Godly wisdom and perspective is great. If you don’t have godly friends, I pray that you will find some.

I don’t have all the answers. In fact I have very few. But I know this much in trying to live, breathe and move by God’s plan for my life that when I seek His plan for my life, He will guide me. Will I get it right each and every time? Nope. I am human. I have made mistakes and will continue to make mistakes. But in those mistakes, God can still bring blessing and understanding and growth.

Are you trying to figure out what you are supposed to do with your life? Are you frustrated because you aren’t seeing God’s writing in the dirt? I urge you to start seeking Him by the top three: daily reading the Bible, daily prayer and having godly friends. Truly desire to seek His plan for your life.

God’s writing is in the dirt, we just have to work diligently to find it.

Jesus, may we each long to live by your plan for our lives. May we not grow weary in seeking you. Your plan is the best plan. Help us to seek you in all we do, live and say. Amen.

photo by: [Bellie]

It is no secret I am on the road a lot. But how does one eat while being a road warrior? Here are some tips that have been tried and tested by yours truly.

#1) Careful planning! I count how many meals I will be away for and either make a mental note or write it down in my trust iPhone. I always carry nut bars, jerky and pumpkin seeds with me. Planning ahead prevents you a lot of stress while on the road.

#2) Containers, containers, containers! I can’t stress this one enough. Small containers can make or break you while traveling. I pack Brewer’s Yeast (great source of protein), Ground Flax Seed, Hemp Hearts, and Chia Seeds. These are my staples on and off the road. And by packing these with me, my health travels with me. There is no excuse not to eat for health while on the road!

#3) Farmer’s Market’s, Co-op’s, natural health food stores. Make Yelp or Google search or your Twitter/FB feed your go-to resource for these hidden gems. I love to explore when I am traveling so I usually wander right into a Farmer’s Market or co-op as I am running. Or I research the town or city ahead of time and find out what day and time a Farmer’s Market will be open. I like to support small, family businesses so co-op’s, private, natural food stores and Farmer’s Market’s are my go-to place to shop for food. Chain national natural food stores are my second option. You can usually get a great, healthy meal at Whole Foods Food Bar if you stick to the salad area.

#4) Be flexible! You can plan all you want, but sometimes life just happens and you don’t have any control over it. Be calm and get back on track as soon as you can. Also, if you keep food with you, you won’t be caught off guard as easily. Carry Tanka Bars, KIND Snacks, Lara Bars, or Bearded Brothers. Don’t go hungry while traveling or yo

#5) Be wise! If you are eating out with business folks, be wise. Be smart. Don’t let them guilt trip you into eating crap. Don’t let their poor habits dictate how you eat. Set the positive, healthy example. You’ll be credible and secretly admired. Stick to your guns!

Those are a few of my travel-tried-and-true secrets. You can eat for health while on the road!

Mondays are typically a day that people dread. How many people do you know that say “Happy Monday!” (well, besides me)? Very few! Well, we want to help you have a positive day, week, month, year, life … So every Monday we have a series called ME: Motivation Encouragement. This is one way we can help you start your Monday off on the right foot!

I saw this quote from quotediary.me and thought it would be fitting for today’s article.

“Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged people who kept on working!”

And I would add “those who never gave up“. Feeling tired (yes, I know it is Monday), discouraged, weary? Don’t give up. Keep the faith even when it seems impossible. You never know what great thing(s) are in store for you! God will give you the strength to get through each minute, hour, day, month, year.

Be strong and of great courage!

If you are more haunted by the past then being excited for NOW, you are living in fear. Heal & live in freedom!

photo credit: Victoria Peckham

Don’t let people guilt you into eating because “you earned it.” We don’t earn food by exercising, we earn our life by excerising.

photo credit: Dendroica

Feeling like all hope is gone? Never, never let go of hope. It can move mountains. Survive valleys. Swim rivers. Trek deserts.

Photo credit: Ana_Cotta

Ate poorly recently? Detox your body this week by eating green, leafy greens, drink water & SWEAT!

Mondays are typically a day that people dread. How many people do you know that say “Happy Monday!” (well, besides me)? Very few! Well, we want to help you have a positive day, week, month, year, life … So every Monday we have a series called ME: Motivation Encouragement. This is one way we can help you start your Monday off on the right foot!

The other week, as I was traveling, I spotted an old VW Bug. Now I have a ‘thing’ for vintage bugs. Don’t know why, but I like them. Same with old VW Vans. So each time I spy one, I like to take a photo. I was walking down the street and there it was. An old, beat up bug. Flat tire, paint worn off, some parts sandblasted and in general rough shape by appearance . I immediately thought “a work in progress” and of course a life application started forming in my head .

I don’t know about you, but I’m a work in progress. In fact, just a few days ago, it was like I got soccer-punched. I wasn’t expecting to have life turned upside. AGAIN. But it did. And I was reminded that, like the vintage bug, I too am a work-in-progress. I think admitting that you are, is the first step in growing. If you don’t acknowledge there is a problem, change will never happen. Being a work in progress is sometimes painful, sometimes scary and sometimes hopeful. I don’t know the old bug owners, but I bet they are hopeful they can get the bug back to good as new. I also bet that putting time, money and physical hard work into fixing it up is painful and uncertain. But if they don’t try, they will never know what the car might have been. 

And so that’s motivation and encouragement for you and me to do what might seem scary, painful and fearful. It might take time. It might be daunting. But being a work in progress is much better than sitting on the sidelines wondering what you could’ve been. The more you learn, the more you grow. And the more you grow the more you can help others. So it all comes back around. A work in progress is a never ending task, but that is the nature of being vintage. You either get better with time, or you get worse. 

Food for thought: are you committed to being a work in progress?  

Welcome to Soul Food. Each Sunday, on this site, we focus on healthy living by reflecting on our soul and God. For if we neglect that, we have lost everything. (Luke 9:25 and Matthew 16:26.)

The day this is published, it is Easter Sunday. A code for wearing a new dress as well as the color white. But Easter is so much more than that. It is a day of resurrection. New life. Hope. The old is in the past and the future is just beginning. Recently, I’ve been thinking about the past and the future.

There is no question about it, life can be complex, overwhelming, frustrating and daunting. And when the past seems greater than the future, our perspective can shift from living in hope and freedom to doom and gloom. The enemy wants us to stay in the past instead of living with faith and peace.

Just as we look forward to wearing a new dress (me included – hey it’s a rare occasion that I’m not in spandex!) so should we look forward to what lies ahead. So many of us are living in the past and letting it define us instead of living in the present and letting God be our hope and future. If you desire to have new life, you’ve got to put the past behind you and start living in the present. 

Easter or Resurrection Sunday is a great day to put those things that bother you, haunt you or trouble you and say no more. Shake them off and start living in peace and blessing. New life begins when we want to change and work on our hangups. Hangups can be stepping stones to having a better life by working on what troubles us. Or it can enslave us to a life of misery and defeat.

Is something from your past bothering you? Does it seem like your past overshadows everything you do? Today is a great day to stop living in the past and start living in the truth. Living in truth and peace is better than living in lies.

It’s Easter Sunday. How can you start living from here on out in faith, peace, happiness, joy, love? Wear your new dress. Enjoy wearing white again. But don’t forget to start wearing the truth of the present, instead of the lies of the past.

photo credit: Aunt Owwee

As 2011 was winding down, I began to think ahead to 2012. I’ve always received many requests from other runners that they would like to run with me. I started brainstorming one day while running and thought about that. How could I run with people, make a giving back project and be a part of the community at the same time? So with a little more running and a little more thinking, I decided that I would run with 12 people (selected via application) and each of one them would have to help someone else finish a race of a lesser distance. And each person also had to have a cause they cared about. I primarily wanted to help first time half marathoners, marathoners or a 50K. I would run each step of the race with them and get them across the finish line. And thus the 12×12 Project was born.

Church in Knoxville

Fast forward to April 1, 2012 and I’m running with Jay to help him finish his first marathon. If you haven’t read the last two days recaps, you might want to do that .

Once we crossed 13.1 mile mark, I gave Jay a high-five and we kept on running. The marathon course took us out into East Knoxville and past some rescue missions that made me grateful and thankful for what I have. There were a few more churches that I thought were beautiful and then another cute neighborhood. All of the people were super friendly. I love hometown marathons/races. We approached another water station and this one had oranges and bananas. Y.E.S. I was getting kind of hungry . Jay started to slow down and I knew that the end of the race would be challenging (in a good way). I kept taking photos – so many things to show! A neat house, an antique truck, spring blooms, happy volunteers … It’s times like this I wish I had a film crew following me!

The sun was out in full force now and I kept checking in with Jay to see how he was doing. We were taking more walking opportunities and I wanted to make sure that we didn’t walk too much on the easy parts because we still had hills to conquer yet. There was, of course, no shade on the course and I also wanted to make sure Jay stayed hydrated. We passed Mile 15 that included a water station. Some of the volunteers had fruit and I asked for some. It’s amazing what a few bites of strawberries, grapes, bananas, and oranges can do for the body and soul!

Neat house in Knoxville along the marathon course

Once we hit Mile 16, I told Jay “just a 10 miler left!” A few marathon manics were running near us and I struck up a conversation with them (shocking I know) and we were talking about what races were our favorites. While I am not an official Marathon Manic, I am one on paper. Today’s marathon will make 35 (?) marathon or ultra distance. To keep Jay going I gave out different landmarks of where we would run to or where we would walk. It’s always nice to have a little goal to work toward in the latter stages of the marathon game!

The course went through Old City and up a BIG hill around mile 18. We (gladly) walked it. Then we rounded a corner and ran past the Women’s Hall of Fame basketball building. Up some more hills, a short stretch on the highway and then down along the river. There was a guy that had been at various points along the marathon route and at one point I finally asked his name so we could say hi the next time we saw them. Turns out his wife was running her first marathon was one of Jay’s DailyMile friends! Small world.

Once we hit Mile 20, I told Jay “just a 10K left!” This was the last exchange of the marathon relay and this little girl sprinted out in front of us and took off flying down the hill. She was probably only 9 or 10. It warmed my heart to see her running and it was cool that the relay team gave her the last leg so she could finish in the stadium.

Once we hit Mile 21 I gave Jay another high-five. He had officially run further then he ever had! So exciting. The course took us back into another neighborhood called Island Home and this little community was SUPER friendly too. They even had cute, custom t-shirts made (I wish I had a photo) for young and old alike. They were welcoming and this section of the course was one of my favorites. A lot of fun. We only had a few more miles to go and I kept encouraging Jay.

Island Home- loved this section!

Loved this truck!

Soon we were down to a 5K left. That felt good. And the course started taking us back into town. It was up another hill and over the Gay Street Bridge and then into Market Square area. This was also a favorite spot of mine. Families, dogs, music, last water station and just overall high energy made it awesome. I had been checking my watch the last hour and knew that a sub-five hour marathon was within reach, but I would really have to push Jay to get it. As with all 12×12 Project participants, it’s their race, their pace. I’m just helping them cross the finish line (in one piece). HOWEVER, I knew that Jay would like a sub-five. And I wanted to help him achieve that. I kept him running and made the goals to walk/run a little longer. I told him he could curse me now, thank me later . We ran back through where we started and I could smell the finish line as we approached Neyland Stadium. I was running a little bit ahead of Jay so he could follow my pace and I told the spectators that this was his marathon and they cheered even louder for him. We had one more hill to go and I pushed (encouraged) him up it. A sub-five was.so.close. Soon we could hear the sounds erupting from the stadium. We rounded the corner into it and soon we were on the field. 26.2 miles was almost done! And with that we crossed the finish line with hands in the air. Praise the Lord! I got Jay across the finish line in one piece and a sub-five hour marathon. Finish time was 4:58:43.

Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Jay found his family immediately after crossing the finish line and my job was done. After he had a little family time, I went over and gave him a hug and one last high-five and of course a congratulations.

When we crossed the finish line, we were given marathon finisher ball caps. A really nice touch to the race. Another cool feature was the the race bibs had QR codes so you could find your race results quickly. The Knoxville Marathon is a top-notch race and I highly recommend it!

I found my friend Jeff and we talked for a while before walking over to the post-race party where we talked some more. Then he took me back after stopping to get a few bags of ice for my post-race ritual ice bath. Love them.

All in all, it was a great day. A training run for me and a first time marathoner crossing the line. Eleven more races and 11 more people to help cross the finish line!

Tennessee River and the bridge we were about to run over

Looking at back Knoxville

Jay and Sarah with our medals!