2 Points and a lot of LOVE!

I LOVE LOVE RUNNING.
I know shocker, right!
Today I went out on my own. With 3 layers of clothes and still NO snow I was ready get the limbs moving. It was somewhere around mile 3 that I was having a love affair with running.

I felt like a school girl blushing in the cold crisp air.  I had a cheesy grin painted across my face and I felt like I was floating as I ran on "Cloud 9."
"I LOVE RUNNING" I giggled to myself. I could feel the endorphins exploding like a pin ball machine.
The sounds, the smells, the sun beaming against the little bit of bare skin I had just increased my love.
I LOVED being away from everything. I loved not having a phone ringing or chirping. I loved not having to interact with anyone other than God and the dwellings I was running in. I LOVED being part of my elements like a bird is part of the sky. Out here I was a nobody-almost invisible.

I got thinking about some people I have been encouraged by...These girls say I encouraged them and yet I felt the same way by them.
Can we give a hands up to "Molina"?!!
I am so proud of her. She has recently lost almost 40 LBS!!! "Molina: just accomplished her 1st 5k! The "Run Like a Dickens." Such an awesome accomplishment. I Love this GIRL. She always has the brightest smile and is full of excitement and love.
I was recently approached at Ariels fundraiser by a sorority sister who has been reading my Blog. I always wonder who reads this crazy stuff. She was so sweet. She took the time to come up to me and share with me her running. I loved that! I loved that I said something that encouraged someone else.

 "Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing." 1 Thess 5:11

Which brings me to 2 points.

1. GOALS. For those of you who want to run but are shy or afraid I encourage you to go out just ONE step at a time. It is always the first step with anything that is the hardest. But set the Goal. Believe in the GOAL. And most importantly BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.  Encircle yourself around GREATNESS. People that are encouraging and uplifting. People that enhance you and help to turn your light ON!  ONE LITTLE GOAL WHEN ACCOMPLISHED CAN BE ONE GIANT VICTORY!  Try NOT to set too many goals or too large of a goal that you cant finish them or are to scared to try. It is like anything: you just conquer them one at a time and then you will gain momentum.
2.  IN CASE YOUR WONDERING.... "Ariels Stuff" post has been REMOVED.  This post got so much publicity. At first I just took down all the comments. But then on my run I felt God pricking me. I fought back and forth because I did NOT want to remove it.  I hated removing something that was a part of me but I do not want to be a stumbling block and that post got way to much publicity. A couple of the comments were hurtful to those who wrote them and also those who read them.  "Ariels Stuff" was a part of me. It was my heart and my thoughts in my heartache. That Post was very dear to my heart.  But it made some readers very upset. Most of my readers have been so encouraging and loving to me in my grief the past 2 months. Most of my readers see my heart and know my intentions are not to hurt anyone. But there are some readers who want to get mad and look through my posts for ammunition. I do not want to hurt people and am so very sorry if you have been hurt of offended. I am grateful for a GODLY husband who is my BIGGEST FAN and my TOUGHEST CRITIC. Andy holds me accountable for all my writing. I also have a few very close friends that hold me accountable as well. They are honest with me even when I do not always like what they have to say. Good friends are uplifting and encouraging. I have some incredibly friends who have been so supportive and loving. Thank you. Thank you to those who love me for me and the mess I am.

 "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

Again Please forgive me. The last 8 weeks have been some of the hardest weeks of my life. I have had so much death in my life and yet loosing Ariel was and is like NOTHING I have ever experienced.

Ariel Challenge. I challenge you to accomplish a goal. Something you have put aside, something you have been procrastinating and putting off. Tomorrow make NO excuses. Write down your Goal and at the end of the Day have it crossed off! This is something my Niece Ariel would do. She loved her lists! 
Share is with me. I would love to hear it!

Anita