Leave your baggage and RUN.

 "Then David left his baggage in the care of the baggage keeper and ran to the battle line..." 

Andy has committed to running Tunnel Hill 50miler this November. Very discreetly he has been reading my book "Hal Koerner's Guide to Ultrarunning." 

His training according to the book has him running more days in a row. 

More fatigue.

More miles. 

More tired legs.

More sore muscles.

More mental exhaustion. 

Today, I only needed a few miles, but I could tell Andy was struggling before he even laced up his shoes. 

I told him I would run a 7 of his 10 miles with him to encourage him out there. 

"Leave our Baggage." 

Our pastor is doing a series called "Showdowns". Today he was reading 1 Samuel chapter 17. Many of us have read many times. The story of David and Goliath. 

His POINT was: "How long has your Goliath been stalking YOU?" 

I took notes like I always do and went home to study more and something stood out to me that I had NEVER seen before! 

David LEFT his Baggage and RAN! 

As Andy and I began our run it was only a matter of a mile we began feeling the summer heat wave. Somewhere, down some road in Holly underneath the scorching sun with the sweat beading and the water diminishing the suffering surfaced. 

I was running in front of Andy so I could hear the music off his speaker. 

"Nita, I just don't understand how you run so strong..." 

I quietly thought to myself, "It's all relative". I didn't "feel" very strong. 

I could tell Andy was genuinely waiting for a profound answer. 

"Andy, you have to convince your mind your stronger than your suffering body." 

Silence.

BAGGAGE:

We have to use the army of our soul to fight the armies of this world that want to rob us of victory. 

And one of the ways we can do this is leaving our baggage. 

We often find ourselves carrying baggage we just don't need. We pack our bags with FEAR, INSECURITY, RESENTMENTS, JEALOUSY, BITTERNESS, EGO..." 

And we hold tight to our baggage thinking we are more secure if we can control it. 

We hold onto the opinions and our mistakes, we have bags filled with burdens, bad beliefs, and biasness of others.  

We have to LET IT GO, leave that bag. 1 Samuel 17:22 "..left his baggage to the care of the baggage keeper." 

Give it to GOD. He wants to carry your baggage, all your burdens. 

"RAN TO THE BATTLE LINE.."

At mile 4, Andy reminded me "Nita, this is where you peel off and head home..." 

Even though we were not chatting it up, I could read the speechlessness, it spoke volumes. 

"I'm going to stay with you..." I replied with encouragement.

I was going to help Andy to the Battle Line with encouragement.  

If I don't learn to drop my baggage I am never going to make it THROUGH the battle line. And I surely can't encourage someone else to get there either. 

I will be able to run TO the battle but the victory is more than showing up.

When I drop my baggage, I give it to GOD and let him sort it out with grace and mercy. Battles are always going to come up against us. 

I cannot always prevent battles and sometimes I am completely blindsided by them but that does not mean I can not be victorious in a battle that might outwardly look like a defeat but inwardly, in Christ it is a victory because I gave HIM my baggage. 

RUNDOWN:

Thank You to Complete Runner for all my shoe needs! I Love my new Hokas!

Today in the silence of our suffering my mind wandered. My mind is like a gypsy, it bounces all over the place, never staying to long. 

There are so many areas of life I cannot control.  It is more about the condition of my heart then it is about the comfort of my circumstances. Dropping my baggage and Running to the Battle line of life there is always Victory in Him. 

Weekly Miles: 64.7

Monthly Miles: 237

Monday: 10.14

Wednesday: 6.67 Track

Thursday: DOUBLE run: 7am-11.25m, 6pm CRU 5.18m

Saturday: 21.23, trails and road

Sunday: 10.25

"To be a warrior is to be GENUINE in every moment of your life." 

Chogyam Trungpa

IN PEACE not PIECES, 

Anita~

This thing called LIFE.

Training those cheek muscles, SMILE! 

My prayer has always been when the Lord takes me out of this season of running that it will be pleasant, like a flame that gently fades. It will be a soft transition with a bold confidence of knowing that my training is over. 

In this month of July, I am noticing many are training for some sport or another. 

Some are just starting to run and are filled with the joy of stepping out of the boat. 

I see runners training for all distances from 5K's to Ultra marathon distances. 

I see some training for biking, for swimming and for other sports. 

And I see many of us training for this thing called "LIFE". 

I am pushing 49 years old, and I know that I will not be an athlete forever. I know that it is not me but the Lord who has gifted me to give Him the glory by sharing His power in my abilities. 

I train my body, I train my mind, and I train heart. Somedays I am confident and strong, however some days it is a struggle to lace up my shoes. 

I have days of burn out, I have runs that I am showing up tired and sore and I have runs I don't show up at all. 

This thing called LIFE is no different. In a ever changing world with situations and circumstances colliding into one another we have to continue to train. 

The training field is not always well groomed with blue skies and butterflies. Running has developed me into a meteorologist. I am constantly looking at the forecast to prepare. But the truth is I have gotten caught in some nasty weather. I have found myself struggling in winter winds or black flies swarming me on the trails or even blindsided by my body bonking despite all the preparations. 

Again, this thing called LIFE will do the same. We find ourselves in the word, going to church, walking with the Lord and LIFE throws out a sucker punch leaving us confused, distraught and wounded. 

That is the challenge. When we continue to train with the Lord He will supply us with all the equipment to keep training. 

There will be a season my running will end, but LIFE will continue. 

And I need to continue to train more than my legs. 

TRAINING: 1 Corinthians 9:24 "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it."

TRAINING FOR PERSEVERENCE: Romans 5:4 "And endurance produces character, and character produces hope,"

TRAINING FOR STRENGTH: 1 Chronicles 16:11 "Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!"

TRAINING FOR STEADFASTNESS: James 1:12 "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." 

TRAINING FOR SELF CONTROL: 2 Peter 1:5-7 "For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love."

TRAINING FOR ENDURANCE: Romans 5:3-5 "More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

Run your own race. Don't allow COMPARISON to trap your training. 

1 Cor 4:7 "For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?"

• Comparison to others: Relate don't compare. When I find myself taking the bait of comparison, I try to flip the script and give others healthy inspiration and admiration for their training. 
• Comparison to yourself: Competing against yourself can also be a trap. It can lead to discouragement. We are constantly evolving, changing, growing and unfortunatly aging. We can be our best when we don't take the bait of comparison with others or ourselves rather learn to "compete alongside ourselves" with joy, contentment, gratitude and humility. 

RUNDOWN

"The question isn't did you fail but did you pick yourself up again and move ahead? And there is one other question: Did you collaborate in your own defeat?' A lot of people do. Learn not to." John Gardner

This thing called LIFE. 

One DAY at a time. This helps our training go from manageable to more meaningful. Because when life throws obstacles our way that we struggle to manage, we can look for the meaning and continue to grow in injuries or in life with joy. 

Keep Smiling, never Give UP and give Yourself a few Kudos! 

Monthly miles: 108

Todays run: 10miles

Monthly Active Time: 18H 25 min

In Peace, Not Pieces,

ANITA~

THANK YOU all for the encouragement and comments! 

Count it all JOY: Humility

 "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" 

James 1:2-4

I headed down the street with the evening sun warm and inviting. I quickly turned my head thinking I heard a car behind me and felt my ponytail whip across my face. 

I felt every strand, I felt the wheaty texture brush across my cheeks. 

I FELT my hair touching my face. 

Humbled. 

I was flooded with humility. It was less than 3 years ago I was running the same route with a baby soft head, bald, sick, cancerous, fighting all of hell for LIFE. 

It was one day not so long ago I was separated from my siblings in foreign homes confused and alone. 

It was one day not so long ago I was jumping out of a single wide trailer running as fast as I could from midnight chaos. 

It was one day not so long ago I was holding my mother's hand at 18, as she lied lifeless, alive by machines and tubes begging God for her to open her eyes. 

It was one day not so long ago I just wanted to fit in, I wanted to be part of something, I wanted to feel love, not shame. I wanted to feel security not fear. I wanted to trust not doubt. 

HUMBLE beginnings. 

As I turned my head I turned back in time. I reminded myself that no matter how far I have come, NEVER forget your yesterdays, stay Humble and count it all JOY. 

Consider it JOY

Many of us have had our faith tested. 

Growing up in the chaos of addiction, foster homes, losing both parents by 18, the struggles of being married young and making better decisions, life continued to present many trials, many struggles. 

Consider it JOY. 

No matter how ugly life got I still showed up, smiled, laughed and never gave up. 

Consider it JOY

I am grateful for all those trials, I am humbled by my yesterdays. And I always want to embrace my yesterdays trials with grace, with love and with forgiveness. 

Consider it JOY

I was not and I am not a VICTIM. 

I AM victorious through Christ. 

Even in my WORST, I have so much to be joyful for. 

Consider it JOY

My humble beginnings taught me to love genuinely, to forgive deeply, to give grace upon grace as it has been given to me. 

Consider it JOY

I am a simple ragamuffin from a trailer park of chaos and addiction. I am a little loud, a little broken, a little messy with a vocabulary that says words like "Fart knocker" and "Butt munch". 

I am just as happy to eat hot dogs as I am filets. I love garage sales and "Hand me downs" make me smile. 

Consider it JOY

The truth is, I am blessed abundantly with nothing but BREATH. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh. There is nothing in me that is great, it is Him in me. The Lord opens doors and shuts doors. The Lord is my security. He is my Identity. He get the Glory. When my TRUST is fully in HIM, the outcome no matter good or bad is HIS. It is my response that illuminates my Faith in HIM no matter the outcome. 

RUNDOWN:

"Live Life with great Humility." 

Don't take the EASY Road.

I have gotten up and out the door in the rain and lightning and smiled the whole time. Everyday is a gift. Even on my bad days, oh yeah BABY, I have bad days, I have whispered to myself "Count it Joy Anita". 

I get to FEEL the FEELs. I get to feel the good and the bad. Just like my running, I don't have to run, I GET TO! 

Oh I have JOY, I have another breath. I have another smile. I have this crazy wild and free life that gets to run, gets to love, gets to smile, and gets to give Him the Glory in my Ragamuffin testimony. 

Weekly MILES: 33 miles

Monthly MILES: 93.5

In Peace, Not Pieces,

Anita~