She Runs By Faith

It's been feeling like winter this week! I woke up this morning and was contemplating going out for a run with the dog. The temp was at 5°F above and I opted for the treadmill - I'm just not ready for cold running yet! E and I made it outside to play for only 15 minutes this week on one of the "warmer" days (+20°F). Hope you are staying warm! Here are my favorites for this Fitness Friday ... 5 Blessings This Week Snow. I really enjoy winter for the first few months. It's around March or April that I really get sick of the snow and cold! As for now, thank God for snow! It's beautiful and E looks like a cute little snowman when he's all bundled up :) Determining My Value. In my Bible study we are going through a book called "Chase" by Jennie Allen and it teaches on chasing after the heart of God. We talk about all that we are chasing in this world that doesn't satisfy because nothing is more satisfying than God. This paragrap...

Recently I won the book, Pulling Back the Shades: Erotica, Intimacy, and the Longings of a Woman's Heart , in a giveaway on Faith's blog, "Life of Faith" . I was excited to read a book by Dr. Juli Slattery because I had heard her on Focus on the Family though I wasn't sure if the subject matter would be very relate-able for me. After finishing the book, I found that this can speak into the lives of all women, whether you struggle with sexual sin or not. Pulling Back the Shades opened my eyes to how destructive the Fifty Shades of Grey series is and how vital it is for us to guard our hearts and minds from Satan's deception. It broke my heart when I read the statistic that of all American adults who read the Fifty Shades series, 1 in 5 are Christian women . This isn't something I can write off because it's not "my battle". Erotica and other immorality are destroying the integrity of God's people, our brothers and sisters, from the in...

After E's doctor appointment today, we stopped by the pharmacy and he fell in love with a stuffed giraffe. It was love at first sight! I'm usually a "saver" and impulse buys are rather unappealing. But when I saw how much E loved that giant giraffe, the crazy thought of buying it ran through my mind. That is, until I read the price tag... $99.99!? Here's a scenario: You find a $100 bill in the middle of the street and no one claims it. Would you.... A.) Go on a really fancy date night with your spouse. B.) Buy a fancy new pair of running shoes. C.) Or buy a giant stuffed giraffe. No thank you, $100 giraffe. I opted for a picture of E attacking the giraffe instead of actually taking it home. I'm so glad he didn't drool all over it or break it so we had to buy it! Leo would not be too impressed. When we got home, I looked away for one second and E already ripped off his band-aids and decides to eat them. Kids are goofy. What's the ...

Ah, how I love winter. As I looked out the window yesterday, there was a whole lot of white stuff flying around in the 35 mph winds. On the bright side, it was +5°F ! The wind makes it less enjoyable, but at least it isn't -34°F anymore. Aside from blizzards, another requirement of the winter season is getting sick two or three times, and yesterday just happened to be my day! I had been hit with a fever of 101°F and had that headachey, hungry-but-nothing-tastes-good, dizzy sort of feeling. Needless to say, I wasn't going to workout or power clean. I could tell something was up on my run earlier this week. My heart rate was quite a bit higher than usual. To brighten up the blizzard-y sick day, E and I baked muffins and read... a lot! Don't worry, I washed my hands a few extra times while baking since I was sick and all :) We read a few different baby books and I finished reading "Approval Addiction: Overcoming Your Need to Please Everyone" by Joyce Meyer. Ba...

It's been a great week of being home with Eli and spending time with Leo as much as possible. My mom has been helping immensely with painting and clean-up at our soon-to-be new home. I can't write much for now, but will finish up when the weekend is over. Eli and I are off to my homeland for my cousin's wedding. Leo won't be joining us because harvest is now up and running. I do miss him when the army and farming both take him away so often, but it could be worse and I do appreciate him working so hard to support little man and me! Painting our "new" house is going really well and I LOVE color swatches. I will share the color swatches next week! New Read One of my sister-in-laws sent me the book "1/2 Price Living" by Ellie Kay. I read only a paragraph today, but am hoping to get through this book soon! It's full of great information for living on one income. I'll fill you in on the tips I learn in this book! Have you heard of thi...