She Runs By Faith

I have a knack for starting books but not finishing them. Looking over my 2015 reads, I will proudly say I am a recovering book-start-aholic! Nine books finished. That has to be a personal record! In the past I haven't kept track. This year I felt really convicted. If I could replace the time spent on social media with book reading, think of how many books I could have gone through in my lifetime! There are so many fantastic books out there I want to read. Here are the books I read this year, starting off with the amazing Corrie Ten Boom. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. This book was absolutely amazing, life-changing, and perspective shaking. Corrie Ten Boom shares her experience in the Dutch Underground and a Nazi concentration camp with her family. I hope to read this book with my children when they are mature enough to handle the content. It is a must read! Tramp For The Lord by Corrie Ten Boom.  This was actually the first Corrie Ten Boom book I read. It...

At the end of another year it's beneficial to look back and fun to reminisce of your favorite memories. To see what went well, what didn't, and what to look forward to.  Runner and blogger, RunEatSnap , had a great idea to share a review of her 2015 running and I am going to follow in suit. SO much has happened in our 2015, with the biggest event of all being the arrival of our second baby boy in May! I didn't run a ton of races - only 2 half marathons and 1 5k  - or pack on a bunch of mileage this year but I do have some great running memories and "new mom of 2" experiences to share with you. Best Race Experience The Wild Hog Half Marathon in September was definitely my best race experience. That race was my main training focus for the last half of the year (after Baby W was born) and the run itself went really well. A PR wasn't realistic and I set my mind on running sub-1:40. I sprinted the homestretch of the race and made my goal time with only ...

Merry Christmas to you! Christmas baking is in progress, handmade presents and art supplies are spread all over the kitchen table, cards are arriving in the mail, and our snow (and cold weather) has finally made it here. Basically, our house looks like Christmas-y chaos but it also means my favorite time of the year is here! This week, I am introducing you to one awesome mama for the  Professional Fit Mom series. She is such an encouragement to me and I know you will be encouraged by her, too! Meet Elizabeth.  She is a busy mom of two, personal trainer, TRX intructor and blogger at Fit Life with E . Let's jump into her interview... Coaching/Training: Who or what inspired you to be a coach/trainer? That's a good question! I've always been interested in fitness since I started playing competitive volleyball in high school. In college and I started my first professional work position, I started to get into running and other fitness classes like kickboxing, TR...

This week we get to choose our own free-write word for  Five-Minute Friday . I know. Mind. Blown. My word of choice is: "Together" What's a "free write"? No editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write! 00:00 START the timer! ______________________ "They sure have it all together." Isn't that one of the biggest lies of our lives? Pictures on social media, the people we see at the grocery store and even those lovely Christmas cards sometimes send me the message that everyone has "it" all together. Except me. That is one thing I am concerned about when it comes to writing on the blog, posting on social media or even small-talk after church. Am I portraying the lie that I have it all together? The pictures of our kids on Facebook are all smiles. Little did you know, a meltdown may have occurred 5 minutes before. Sometimes even this 5-minute post takes me... 10 minutes! And...

Hey there! So I'm a bit late to join up with Jill and the  #fitfam crew this week but, as the saying goes, better late than never. The little ones and I went out this morning to enjoy the fresh snow brought in by today's winter storm warning. I guess 4-6" of snow is on the way. As long as our power stays on, bring on the snow! Today we're talking Instagram . Even earlier in 2015, I will admit I was skeptical of Instagram. Who needs a never-ending stream of pictures when you have Facebook? I'm not a huge social media junkie because, well, I have a "dumb phone" (read: not a smartphone). GASP! People still have those weird flip phone things? Yes, I do. It has been a blessing but possibly a curse for my husband. I borrow his smartphone when I share photos on Instagram. Anywhooo. Instagram has grown on me and I will say it is easily my favorite form of social media. Social media can be annoying and distracting but it has been a great tool for gr...

We woke up to beautiful light blanket of snow this morning! E prayed for snow last night (because we have had hardly any this year!) and here it is. He was so excited when he first looked out the window! Today's  Five-Minute Friday  free-write word is "Reflect". What's a "free write"? No editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write! 00:00 START the timer! ______________________ Writing out the address over and over again can be a monotonous job but it gives me time to reflect on the year. I look at our family and all of the changes God has brought our way. As cards come in the mail, I see how our family and friends are all growing and changing so much. How do kids grow so fast?! Here's a little secret: I'm one of "those" people who leave their Christmas cards up year 'round! Taking time to reflect allows us to see all of God's blessing and provision.  Hindsight re...

2015, where have you gone?! This wild, exciting year is coming to an end.... and that means it's time to set some goals for the new year! Our Christmas tree and the Christmas music on the radio are my reminders that, yes, it is in fact December. Yet the weather outside is far from frightful and our Christmas is definitely not white. Even in the northern parts of the States, we have hardly any snow. Today it's a bright and sunny 40°F! It's crazy. We have had very few days in the single digit temps! I'm not complaining one bit. My S.M.A.R.T. Goals for 2016 So, goals. I like goals! The key to setting yourself up for goal-reaching success is to make them " SMART" :   Specific - Measurable - Achievable - Results-focused - Time-bound. I don't think all of our goals need to be SMART goals necessarily, but following the SMART guideline is helpful in making my goals better defined and more focused. Here are my focus points for this new year: 1. A...

Thanksgiving flew by and now we're back to "normal" life. I hope you had a blessed time with family and/or friends. We had a great time with our families and, wow, does the time fly when you're having fun! For today's Five-Minute Friday , our free-write word is "Season". What's a "free write"? No editing, no over-thinking, no worrying about perfect grammar or punctuation. Just write! 00:00 START the timer! ______________________ Last night toddler was in the bathtub, baby in his walker, and I was sitting on the toddler stool in our bathroom, just staring off into the sink faucet. My mind felt blurry and all I could think was... What a season. Today I found E coloring at the kitchen table. That was fine. Problem was he was pants-less. I made a new impromptu rule in the house: "To sit at the kitchen table you must at least have underwear on." What a season. On our morning walk, we had a major melt down. For ...