She Runs By Faith

Just before Christmas, an article I wrote about new parenthood and marathon training was featured on the "Marathon Training Academy" . Here's a snippet from the post: How to Beat Training Burnout "As I signed up to run my sixth marathon, the Bemidji Blue Ox Marathon, I couldn’t anticipate how very different this race would be. This would be my inaugural marathon as a wife and new parent. My post-baby body felt near normal, but I found myself physically and mentally exhausted as I adjusted to being a mom. In the peak mileage of training, I found myself completely burnt out and questioning whether I wanted to even run the race anymore! My desire to run had somehow snuck away. What was I thinking when I signed up for another marathon? Basically, I was burnt out – big time. Click here to read the entire post! Guest posting is a great experience - I've learned so much by collaborating with other bloggers. Check it out if you have a chance! The Marathon Trai...

I hope your Christmas was full of Jesus and quality time with friends and family! We spent an awesome week with my side of the family and just made it home this afternoon. It feels good to be home, but I miss everyone already. The week involved lots of food (LEFSE!!!), family time, snowmobiling, Kinect dance parties, firewood chopping, piano playing and board games! Leo and I were both baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) and it was awesome. God has done a complete 180 with my family and it is amazing to see how He is working each day! I am so thankful to serve the Lord with my whole family. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” ACTS 1:8 Family "Selfie" :) E jamming with the Uncles and Grandma! My Great Grandma's sign, "God Bless Our Home". My mom and I made lefse for Christmas. I'm a mix of all things Scandinavi...

On Monday, the clinic said E has low iron levels :( They are at 8.4 and should be 11. SO I'm on a mission to fit more cereals or meats into his food. E isn't too keen on baby cereal OR the baby meats, so I'm trying to get creative with my cooking. He loves the Gerber Lil' Crunchies and these pancakes were a hit, too! The best part is I can tear off little bits and he eats them on his own. Now that he's learning finger foods, E loves to feed himself. It's just a whole lot messier! Baby Cakes 1 egg 1 cup milk (I used thawed breastmilk) 2 Tablespoons oil 3/4 cup dry infant cereal 1/4 cup flour 1 Tablespoon sugar (I used banana baby food instead) 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Heat the skillet and grease with a small amount of butter or coconut oil. Break egg into bowl and whisk. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Pour 1/4 cup of pancake batter onto hot skillet. Flip pancakes when little bubbles start appearing. Cook until golden brown on each side. Le...

The Bible has a lot to say about the heart! In fact, so much that I started this post before Thanksgiving and keep placing it on the back burner. There is so much information about our hearts in the Bible and keeping your heart in check is such an important aspect of spiritual growth. Like Solomon says below, EVERYTHING you do flows from your heart! Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. PROVERBS 4:23-27 The Heart God's Word isn't referring to our physical, blood-pumping organ heart, or those cute little red hearts we draw on love notes ;) The "heart" referred to in the Bible represents our intellect, emotion, and will. "Our heart dicta...

Only 15 days left until Christmas day and I'm so excited! I love the fact that it is Christmas and the birthday of our Savior is coming soon, but there are a few characteristics of December I could do without... mainly the cold. Long stretches of below zero weather make me question why I still live up north! Running Requires Extra Motivation We've been in a cold stretch these last two weeks and I'm fighting for the motivation to continue running outside. Extreme cold is definitely a de-motivator for me. I've been opting for strength training and cardio indoors, but try to get outside to run at least two or three times per week. I ran outside one morning last week end the temp was -25°F (with windchill)! Despite dressing appropriately, my eyeballs still felt like they were going to freeze in place. Maybe I should start wearing goggles while I run ;) The neighbors would think I'm REALLY cool then! I don't really like any temperature with a "-...

Biblical love is very different from "love" the way the world sees it. Over our Thanksgiving trip last week, I saw a true example of biblical love and it was beautiful. The story is a bit lengthy, but hang in there. I wish I could have had pictures to go along with this story because I still see it clearly in my mind. It is a picture of true sacrificial love and a person laying down their life for another. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. JOHN 15:13 We headed to the Carousel in MT on Wednesday last week so all of the cousins could go for rides. Fortunately it was indoors; it was a bit too chilly for an outdoor Carousel in my opinion! This place was full of kids, parents, and really good ice cream. Lots of laughing, smiles, and all kinds of cute family moments. It was like the county fair, but all year long! E went for two rides on the Carousel and that was enough for us. I tried to get him to nap while we watched the other k...

Happy belated Thanksgiving! It's been a while since I've posted because we've been on our first long family vacation out to Montana, covering ~1,946 miles round-trip. We had a great time with family and friends and stayed with Leo's sister and brother-in-law the whole week. I am so thankful for all that God has blessed us with and for the safe travels on our road-trip! Even in the tough times, we have so much to thank the Lord for. I am most thankful for God's patience and that He sent His Son for us instead of giving us what we really deserve (Hell). Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. Psalm 95:2-3 So much went on I can't even think where to start, so here's a bunch of pictures to tell the story! (WARNING: I had wayyy too much fun with the photo filters on Leo's phone/camera.) We ate at the delicious Cracker Barrel, one of Leo's favorite ...