#2. Grow in my faith.

This is another one of those hard to cross off goals... I will always be working on this one, but I have come to a point where I want to share how God has worked in my life. It's a personal one. I'm a work in progree. Special treat: It's a sneak peak into my testimony which I am looking forward to sharing very soon!

Over the past few months, I (and quite a few other wonderful ladies) have been on a journey to "Calm our anxious hearts." This is a wonderful study for anyone who struggles with worry or anxiety (and who doesn't at some point) The book is written by Linda Dillow. Here's a link to the book on Amazon. Ok enough of that promo.

The study has really challenged me at just the perfect time. The past two years have been amazing (I'll tell more about that in my testimony) but over the past few months, I have really struggled with "my path" and trying to plan out the future. Epic fail. What I really needed to learn is that Charity has a tendency to really mess things up, but God has the perfect path for me.

Sunday night, as we completed the last chapter, I began to write words that described the journey for me. Here's the list just as I wrote them, and I'll explain them along the way.

THANKFULNESS & PRAYER - Isn't God just awesome with his timing. Happy early Thanksgiving. There is no way you can worry while you are being thankful. There is also no way you can worry while in prayer. So now, when I am anxious or facing what seems like a fork in the road, I stop and identify that worry, thank God for all the blessings in my life and say a prayer turning that worry over to Christ. I may have to do that over and over again, but it's way better than the alternative.

PERSPECTIVE & FOCUS- I wear contacts - I am blind without them. The way I "see things" with no contacts is completely different from the clear vision that I have with them in. Without the contacts, I can't really see where I am going. Many people today are nearsighted, not in their eye sight but in their life focus. Who are my eyes set on? What do I focus on? What perspective do I have? Am I walking through life in a blur?

FAITH & TRUST - Faith is the foundation of the Christian walk, but how many of us actually understand our faith. Dictionary.com gives the following definitions of faith:
1. confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability.

2. belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.

3. belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion, the firm faith of the Pilgrims.

4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty.

5. a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith.

 

Lidna Dillow asked several woman how they defined faith:

Faith is believing God is true to his word when my feelings are screaming something else.

Faith is the certain belief in what I know to be true but cannot at that moment see or touch.

Faith is completing my small part of the picture puzzle without being able to see the finished product.

 

Charity's definition FAITH = TRUST. Trust isn't easy. Humans are flawed. I'm flawed. It's hard to trust people, but trust becomes much easier when you add the words "In God". Trust in God. He's the only one with no character flaws. He's the only one with the perfect plan for each of our lives.

 

Ok... saving on blog length... Here's some more of the words I wrote and then I'll wrap up with two final words.

 

CONTENTMENT, TRANSFORMED, ACCEPTANCE OF THE PAST, RELINQUISH THE FUTURE, HUMBLE, ACT OF WORSHIP

 

YIELDING CONTROL - BLESSED CONTROLLER. I am a bit of a control freak. Admitting you have a problem is the first step to overcoming :) I want to know. I want to be in charge. It's just a character flaw of mine. But in order to grow my faith... I have to relinquish control. Hard. Tough. Yuck. Fight. Kick. Will be working on daily, but I am relinquishing control to the blessed controller. The one who is in control of all things and I can rest in Him and His goodness.

 

So there's my heart. Growing. Transforming.

#9 - Run my second half marathon.

Well it's done. another 13.1 miles in the books. On Saturday, November 10th, I ran the Soldier Half Marathon on Fort Benning, GA. Here are 13.1 thoughts on the race.

1. I really do love to run. I've decided you either love or hate running. Lots of people hate running. There is no "happy medium." Encouraging tip - if you hate running, please find something you like that requires movement :)

2. Running partners rock. Seriously. I'm sure everyone thinks their running partner is the best, but Kate really is the best. Thanks!!

3. Training for a half marathon is ten times more difficult that just running the half marathon. Lots of blood, sweat, and tears on the fall line trace.

4. The scurry before a race makes me smile. I don't know why. Maybe you just have to see it to understand.

5. Pre-race ceremonies always get to me. Anticipation, I guess, but this one was extra special. Hearing the national anthem while standing where hundreds of soldiers have been overwhelmed my heart! So honored.

6. Back to the race... Running on Fort Benning is by far one of the best places to run. Our soldiers and their families sacrifice so much

7. Drill Sergeants make hills fun. Just trust me on this one.

8. The race was nice and flat. Lots of running company. Although I am not really a big fan of seeing the faster runners on their way back while I'm still running out... guess I'll learn to speed up or deal with it.

9. Speaking of speed. I do not like to run fast. Sometimes while I run, I think about running faster then I stop thinking.

10. Doing something a second time is always better than the first. Although I really loved the first half, this one was even better. Maybe my second full marathon will be better than my first. Once I finally get to a first...

11. Water stations rock. On that same note, volunteers rock. It's so awesome to see so many great volunteers out supporting and cheering us on. I walk water stations, so I like them even more for the break from running.

12. Back to running, I'm so thankful for the health to be able to run 13 miles. I am truly blessed.

13. Finish lines are awesome. I always enjoy the last mile of a run. I enjoy the last mile of a 2 mile run just as much as 13. There's just something about finishing your goal for the day that I love. Oh and it's always fun to smile for the finish line photo.

13.1 Moms and Husbands that support their crazy daughter and wife's running habits mean the world to me! Thanks to my mom and sweet husband for all their love and support. I love you guys!

Living Life with Purpose - update to 30 before 30

This week's ladies Bible study that I attend really hit home to living life with a purpose. As I mentioned in my very first post, Adam and I created Bucket Lists for our lives. I wanted to do so many things that I had to narrow it down to these 30 things that I would like to accomplish before 30 (I'll be 26 on November 26 - so 4 years left)

While I kinda feel that these 30 things give my life a sense of direction for the next few years, I am reminded that God is the only one who truly knows my path and where I will go or who I will be in the next four years. But God also gives us dreams and the ability to set goals for our future!

My challenge this week was to reevaluate my purpose. Are these things truly where I want to go or who I want to be? Overall, I believe they are but there are a few that I am going to change now (I'm giving myself permission to change these - they're my goals after all :))

So here's the overall list again. It's also at the top of the blog page. Some are already crossed through because they are complete and I'll make the change to the one's I am editing below.

1.Go on a mission trip.
2.Grow in my faith.
3.Share my testimony.
4.Buy a home.
5.Start a family.
6.Spend an entire day crafting with my mom.
7.Take my brother on a special trip.
8.Go on a marriage retreat.
9.Run my second half marathon.
10.Do a triathlon.
11.Achieve my ideal weight of 125. (changing to Lead a new runners 5k group)
12.Run a marathon.
13.Pay off Student Loans.
14.Be a vegetarian for one full month. (changing to cook and host Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner)
15.Start and keep a journal.
16.Find my life passion.
17.Attend a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University.
18.Help someone in need.
19.Leave inspirational notes for strangers.
20.Make 1000 mini cupcakes to give away. (editing to make 1000 mini treats could be cupcakes, cookies, cake pops)
21.Volunteer at a soup kitchen.
22.Be a mentor.
23.Inspire someone. (adding and Thank someone that inspires me)
24.Build a Habitat for Humanity Home.
25.Take a hot air balloon ride.
26.Learn to sew.
27.Learn a ballroom dance with my hubby.
28.Swim with dolphins.
29.Go on a cruise.
30.Take a cooking class.

Reasons I am changing:
I'm changing the ideal weight because weight doesn't really define health. I am very happy with my health, weight, and image. I am thankful for the transformation in my physical health and know that I am just the way God wants me. On that note, I would really love to help others transform their health like I have, so I am changing the weight goal to leading a 5k training program. I found a really awesome program that combines a bible study with the 5k training. Would really love to lead that!

Changing Be a vegetarian for a full month. First off, a month is a long time to commit to only veggies. I did this for a week during a fast, and I know I would not want to be a vegetarian. So I am changing it to a new food related item: Cook and host Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. If you know the "old" Charity, you would know how big of a deal it would be for me to host anything that I had to cook for. I am improving and trying not to take cooking so seriously and have a little fun with it.

Edits:
I'm editing 1000 mini cupcakes to 1000 mini treats - mainly because I love Chocolate chip cookies and I feel it's important to share those wonderful calories with everyone. Who wants to be bound to just one sweet treat.

On Inspire someone. When I finally feel that I have inspired someone, I want to make sure those who have inspired me know it. So I want to Thank them for inspiring me. "Thank you" goes a long way!

OK Changes made :) I'm going to try to post more about progress toward goals instead of just end results (so I have more than one post every two months - I have big goals...) Checking the next goal - run my second half marathon off on November 10th.

#10 - Do a triathlon

It's official. I am a triathlete. Not that I wasn't before because Adam and I did the Sprint Triathlon at Callaway last year... but now, I'm a real triathlete :) Sunday morning, I complete my first Triathlon (that didn't have any adjectives defining it) It was a great experience and this post will share some of that experience with you.

First off, if you have never done a triathlon before, it has three parts usually in this order: swim, bike, run. The triathlon I completed had a 1k swim, 30k bike, and 8k run. If you don't speak kilometers 1k = .62 miles, I'll let you do the math. The sprint triathlon at Callaway is 1/4 mile swim, 9 mile bike, and a two mile run.

I signed up for this triathlon about two months ago. During that time, I had already committed to training for my second half marathon, so I figured what's a little extra exercise. My sweet husband bought me a new bike in mid July, so I quickly started racking on the bike miles while running on the training schedule I have for the half marathon. Here's the fun part... I really don't have anywhere to train for the swimming. I went to a pool to train two or three times and swam laps for about 15 minutes (def should have committed more time to that)

So here's how the triathlon went. Woke up around 5:45. Packed up all the gear...there's a lot of stuff to remember for triathlon (another reason I just run - here's what you need for running: clothes and shoes) Here's what you need for a triathlon: swim - a swimsuit (I chose a suit that had shorts and a shirt so I wouldn't have to add shorts while wet), goggles, the swim cap (you get this when you pick up your packet), bike: a bike, socks and shoes, water bottle, helmet, run: shoes ( I changed them from the bike to the run - everything is wet) and a shirt (I added the shirt for the bib number - its not a must) extras: towels, water, GPS watch. So that's 13 things! Reminder you need 2 for running...

Here's a little pre-tri picture in the transition area. You can't really get the feel for what the area is like from this picture, but I'm including for pre-race fun.

After I set all of the things up in the transition area, I headed over to get body markings. Here's what body markings are: The one on my shoulder is my race number. The one on my left leg is my age. Here's my opinion on the left one - that is pure motivation for everyone else who passed this 25 year old. I have full respect for all of you :)

Then I headed to the swim start. Here's the before the swim and the after the swim

Yes I look exhausted.. I was exhausted. I was no where prepared for the swim portion of this and I was just thankful to be out of the water and headed to the bike portion! The bike was fun and challenging. It was a beautiful day and Callaway is a beautiful setting for this event. Here's some bike photos:

And finally after nearly 19 miles of biking, my favorite part - the run. It took me about half a mile to get my legs under me, but once I did, I was as comfortable as I am on any run. I don't run fast, but I do run steady. Once I'm in my pace and could run for a good while. While on the run, I went into "motivator" mode. I tend to do this on runs. I told one group of guys at the last water station that I believe God made me to motivate athletes not to be an athlete. I do thank God for giving me strength and endurance to finish the race though!
Here's some run photos. Most of these are towards the end.

And here's the finish line smile photo: My final times was 2:28:23. The swim was 22:20. The first transition was 4:10. The bike was 1:04:00. The second transition was 2:57, and the run time was 54:59. I had a great time. Not planning another anytime soon, but I'll never say never.

#15 - Start and keep a journal.

Its been over a month now since I blogged...I'm already a blog slacker, but I have been focused on working the 30 before 30 not writing about it...and training for a triathlon and half marathon (soon to be marked off this list!) Well except for this one, because "writing about it" was goal number 15.

On July 1st, I bought a blank journal. It's been a fun process so far. It's really more about tracking my day, my feelings, crazy things that happen. It's a way to document things that happen. The past two years have been amazing. Now is the best time for me to start this process because so many changes are happening that I want to remember and cherish forever...More about that later.

My mother-in-law is way better at this than I am (although I've never seen her journals just the discussions about them make me know she is WAY better) She keeps quite a few different journals. I assume she has journals for herself. She has journals for her children, and she begins a new journal for each grandchild. What a gift to them later - to have her words and feelings wrapped up in a sweet book for them to cherish.

So... with this same inspiration, I began a journal. During this month, I've written about runs, my husband, my relationship with God (more on this one in another post), the events of the day, crazy happenings (I wrote 3 pages about an incident at TIC - yet another story to share). It was really great to write while I took a hiatus from facebook. Some of us may be under the impression facebook is our personal journal... I encourage you to keep those separate :)

I also started another type of journal. I started tracking calories... I know everyone has their own opinions about weight, portions, tracking calories, diets, etc. I wanted to track calories to drop a few extra pounds I had put on since the wedding. Being honest, I had put the extra pounds on because of sweets and a lack of dedication to running (or any exercise for that matter)... which inevitably means my calorie intake was way more than it should have been... Long story - short, I have been tracking for 2 months now and have lost 6 pounds. I'm below where I was for the wedding now, look and feel better, recommitted to exercise programs, and gained some muscles. The daily commitment to track is great. I strongly recommend it if you are looking to lose a few pounds and learn what you are actually putting into your body. I am more aware of portion control, calories in foods, and the amount of work it takes to lose those extra pounds. With all those great things said, I feel I have learned enough to stop the daily tracking and end my journey with myfitnesspal.com, but feel free to contact me if you have questions about it. It is a great tool, but the person making the choices and doing the work make the change happen!

Honestly, I could never really cross off this goal, but I have to give it a completed status at some point. I'll keep up the journal and hope to follow my sweet mother-in-law's inspiration to begin new journals for new additions in the future. Give it a try. You may just learn a little something about yourself or at minimum document some really cool moments in your life.

Adam's "Bucket List"

It's only fair that I share my sweet husbands bucket list. It surprises me how much ours are different but yet the same. Guys are simple. It's not a bad thing either. See females overanalyze everything! Trust me. Everything has some twisted meaning to us, but guys are simple. They don't look for the hidden meaning. If they say something, that's usually what the mean and intend to do... Enough of that. Here's the list as he wrote it. I'll let him elaborate if he so chooses :)

1. Learn to dance with my wife (insert happy face - and it's on my list too. Dance lessons here we come)
2. Learn to fly a plane.
3. Race a sports car.
4. Ride the 10 largest roller coasters.
5. See the Grand Canyon.
6. Go to Israel.
7. See the Golden Gate Bridge.
8. Meet Jimmy Johnson.
9. Donate a large sum of money (he quantified that as over $5000) to a charity or organization.
10. Own a beach house or condo.
11. Drive a Lamborghini or Ferrari.
12. Be a renowned expert wheel repair man.
13. Create enough passive income so I don't have to work.
14. Have kids.
15. Have a pool.
16. Own a home.
17. Own a professional football.

Well that is it. His bucket list. I support each and every one and can't wait to see him fulfill them.

Yes, I am officially a blogger... but a focused blogger. Adam (my sweet, handsome, caring husband) and I decided to create our "bucket lists" (bucket lists are things you want to do before you "kick the bucket" aka die)and after 45 minutes and 75 things, I had to narrow mine down a bit. So instead of creating a "bucket list", I decided to create a "30 things to do before I turn 30" list. I'm 25 now. 30 is almost 5 years away. Kind of a 5 year plan. So this blog is devoted to sharing, inspiring, and holding myself accountable for this list before November 26, 2016.

My list contains 6 categories: Faith, Family, Fitness, For Me, For Others, and Fun. They're not seperated into catergories but they fall into one of the areas below and are in the same order as the areas below. Here's a brief description of each.

Faith - things I want to do to enhance my relationship with God.
Family - things involving my relationships with family
Fitness - Goals I have to accomplish involving running or fitness in general
For Me - these are personal goals for growth in my life
For Others - these are all about giving back and serving others
Fun - well that's pretty much self explanatory

So now that you have an idea why I've created the blog. I'll take some time to elaborate on things during future blogs... why is it on there? what does that mean for my life? Until then, enjoy the list (It's in a tab at the top of the page). Feel free to share. Follow the progress and Say a prayer!

Once I get comfortable with this website I'll spruce it up a bit :)