She Runs By Faith

Marriage is misunderstood, undervalued and under attack in our culture. To see a godly marriage these days is refreshing and a glimpse of the beautiful work that God made it to be. "Your Marriage Masterpiece" by Al Janssen is a fresh look at God's design for marriage and His purpose behind this lifelong union between a man and woman. Through real-life stories and biblical narratives, Janssen shows us what the Great Artist had in mind when He created the complex and beautiful marriage relationship. "Only together, in their relationship with each other, would they begin to understand the God who wanted to love them. And perhaps, within their intimacy, in their oneness, man and woman would begin to understand how they could relate to the awesome Creator."  - Al Janssen, Your Marriage Masterpiece I appreciate the vision for biblical marriage that Janssen shares in this book to restore marriage to its former glory. Personally, the writing style didn't ...

I love running. Going out for a jog makes me smile. It's the strangest thing! But when it comes to stretching afterwards, I get lazy. More so, very distracted... I need to tend to a crying child, jump on a shower opportunity or some food smells really good. Then I forget the idea of stretching all together and my tight hips/hamstrings/calves make me pay the consequences later. Stretching is worth the extra time! And I'm learning to respect that. I recently stumbled upon Ekhart Yoga's YouTube videos and have enjoyed them because they are simple, easy to follow, and free (yes, that part is key!). Plus, the teachers are actually wearing modest clothing, which is important to me considering I usually have little men doing yoga with me. Stretching itself is important for running performance and general health. It makes me a better runner and taking care of the body through weight training, physical exercise and stretching will make the "aging process" more...

Fall is crisp, cool and dare I say... calm? Harvest is coming to an end, the mosquitoes and wasps in our backyard are mostly dead (frozen, I hope), and pumpkin spice everything is in season. This really would be my favorite season if it wasn't so short-lived. Winter will likely arrive next month accompanied by ice, snow, and other cold weather hootenanny. With perfect timing Rhea Footwear contacted me with an opportunity to review one of their products with the patented NeverSlip TM outsole. The  Daphne Brown Bootie was my shoe of choice because when I think Fall, I think boots! The Daphne Bootie is water-resistant and made with soft full-grain leather with ventilated leather lining. These boots are comfortable and stylish with a 1 3/4" heel and side zip closure. Aside from my running shoes (equipped with YakTrax to prevent ice slippage), I wear boots all winter long! I have had many "close calls" wearing my dress boots out in the ice and snow beca...

At the end of September, I ran the Grand Forks Marathon, my goal race for the end of 2016. Then two weeks later I toed the line of the Blue Ox Marathon. Running marathons two weeks apart sounded crazy to me at first (I'm no ultra-runner). Borderline a bad decision. But I was too curious to pass it up. I asked around the dailymile running community and Google'd it (of course). Turns out, back to back marathons aren't a new concept and the trend seems to be growing in popularity. Some recommended using one race as a "training run" and one as a "race". Others found they were able to race both and ran even faster in the second. Okay, sounds good. I'm doing it! How could this sound like a "good" idea? Because marathon training, as fun as it is, is still the hard "work". It's the time commitment, early mornings, tired body and a whole lot of self-discipline. Race Day itself is much more exciting and the discomfort is very t...

We have acquired quite a few temporary pets from the outdoors this year. Let's see... there was  "Sweetheart" the Lady Bug, "Little Ant" the green worm, and definitely dearest to E's heart has been "Max" the Woolly Bear caterpillar. Grandma P brought this furry little caterpillar to E while we were visiting the farm and he turned into quite a science adventure! After identifying him as a Woolly Bear caterpillar, we looked into what Max would need to eat, what his life cycle is like and where he needs to live. Because we aren't too fancy, he lived in our old goldfish bowl (yes, the fish named "Baby Daddy): What We Learned About Our Woolly Bear: 1. Legend has it that these color bands were a prediction of the coming winter weather. A thicker black band would mean severe weather while a thicker brown band meant mild weather. Thankfully this isn't a reliable weather prediction because, according to Max, we would have ...

Hey there! Well, I'm all in the marathon recovery mode over here and this is my "running recap" of absolutely no running. Everyone chooses to come back to running post-marathon when they're ready and I'm just not feeling it yet. The two marathons in 2 weeks experiences was AWESOME by the way and I will share more of my thoughts on that next week. Seriously, I hope to do it again in the future! This week, along with my non-running recap, I am sharing some very helpful information from SLS3 about caring for Lycra products... SUPER important for runners and active peeps in general! But first, a very brief workout recap: My Workout #WeeklyWrap: MON: Active recovery. Walking with the kids, stretching when I felt like it. TUES: Same active recovery. WED: Legs are feeling much better! More active recovery and stretching. THURS: Active recovery. FRI: Active recovery. SAT: Active recovery. SUN: Yep, same thing. You get the picture. It's a recover...

October 25th is an exciting day for football fans and football not-fans alike! Why? Because it's the big release date of Tim Tebow's book, SHAKEN! Personally, I couldn't care less about football (making me one of those football non-fans). Regardless of that, I have really enjoyed reading this book. In SHAKEN , Tim shares the triumphs and the trials of his journey and, most importantly, he tells us about the Rock who has brought him through it all: I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. PSALM 16:8 SHAKEN is an inspiring and relatable read because we have all been through the storms of life. Even before reading this book, I have been impressed by Tim standing true to his faith despite criticism and for blazing the trail for homeschooled students to participate in public school athletics. SHAKEN certainly doesn't disappoint. Tim's writing is authentic as he shares the struggles that have tr...

This is my last race report for the year, I promise! The last two weeks have been my version of a "2-for-1" deal: two marathons for one training cycle. Saturday started with a 4:45 am wake-up. After breakfast and packing up, Grandma (my mom), the little ones, and I drove 2 hours to the Blue Ox Marathon. After running the Grand Forks Marathon two weeks ago, my mom said, "So what about running in Bemidji (Blue Ox)?" At first I laughed a little. I had never entertained the idea of running two marathons so close together. Meh, no thanks. Mom, you're crazy! A few days later, my legs were feeling much better and the idea sounded more appealing. I could always use another marathon under my belt. And if she's volunteering childcare, why not!? We arrived about an hour before the race and I hurried off with little W in tow to grab my number. Grandma and E made their way at a slow toddler pace because E was in awe of all the action. Number on, kids settled...