Holiday Season Giving

Hello Readers,


Thanks for being so great and putting up with me during this blogging venture of mine.  I now have one more favor to ask of you.  I'm participating in a bowl-a-thon Decemeber 3rd.  I'm looking to raising money up until then to benefit local families.  I'm working with Business Leaders of Charlotte and the United Family Services to give Charlotte families necessities for the upcoming holiday season.


I was fortunate enough to grow up in a family that had plenty.  We had plenty of love and all of our needs were met.  There are many many families out there that are not so fortunate.  It's up to us to help those families have the best holiday season possible!  By giving a one-time donation you can help the cause.  All donation amounts are appreciated.  I'm also looking for corporate donors to help out with $50 or more donations.  


Last year BLOC donated Christmas presents to a homeless mother of four who was living at the Salvation Army homeless shelter.  She was so overjoyed and grateful.  It truly is a blessing to bless others.  Here's a picture of the mother with three of her children after she received the presents along with two BLOC members:

If you know anyone looking to donate to a good cause this holiday season, please send them my way.  Here is the website where donations are accepted: http://blocnbowlevent.bbnow.org/ 
I can also accept donations in person if you run into me.


Thanks for your help!  I'll keep you posted on the progress the fundraiser is making.

Mere Me, Mere America, But More So Mere Me

I struggle to write this blog because I don't want to attack anyone or call anyone out.  I only want to speak about my internal confliction.  I've struggled with the idea of Christianity in the United States.  There are so many dynamics, denominations and dialects within.  Which of these got it right?  Which of these are way off base?  Which of these have ulterior motives?  Which are cults?  Which are pyramid schemes?


When I was a child I knew two things for sure.  I knew God loves me and Jesus died for me.  This was all I needed to know.  I didn't care about who my pastor associated himself with.  I didn't care what my fellow church members were doing behind closed doors.  I only focused on what was true and what was relevant to me.


Christ spoke a lot of the innocence of children.  He also spoke about their wisdom.  The simple mind of a child is not clouded by corruption, doubt, temptation, selfish ambition or greed.  I remember my childhood thoughts; how easy it was to believe.


I thought our faith was supposed to mature as we age and grow.  Now I feel like I doubt more and more everyday.  I don't doubt the truth.  I just doubt the fine print.  Do I really need to follow all the rules?  With a specific translation of the Bible I can interpret a verse differently to make it fit my wants a little better.  I'm choosing to over look the Greek and Hebrew meanings and only look at the English because I like what it means more.  There are a million ways to twist the Word of God into whatever we want it to say.


Why is it so easy to forget the truth?  God loves me and Jesus died for me.  Now that I'm "more intelligent" I have the power to manipulate and challenge what I've always known.  Is that really a good thing?  It really only puts a wall up.  It gives me an excuse to do what I know is wrong.


This is my frustration with American Christianity.  We're just so darn "smart" aren't we?  We're encouraged to expand and open our minds to all possibilities.  That's really great for a lot of aspects of our lives, but faith?  Why would we openly doubt the things we know to be true?  God loves me and Jesus died for me.


My favorite verse is Romans 13:10.  It simplifies life.  It says, "Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."  It's our escape.  We don't have to fiddle with the small "what ifs."  I don't have to debate with the Catholics or the Lutherans about our slightly different biblical interpretation.  I know two things to be true.  They know two things to be true.


What we believed as children is the truth.  We knew right and wrong.  We didn't question it.  We didn't make up excuses because we were tempted.  When children do wrong, they know it.  They also know they deserve punishment.  We don't do that though.  When we do wrong we act like it's someone else's fault, and we don't deserve the blame.  Children have more backbone than us.


We are sinful.  We don't deserve anything.  If we want something we have to work for it in faith and be graciously blessed by God.  Our own actions are not enough and never will be.  If we do wrong it's our own fault.  We deserve punishment.  Man up and take it.  Then move on and never do it again.  These are simple things we believed as children.  They're still true.  We're just too smart to admit it.


Ok, confession time.  At this point in my blog, I went into how American pastors are terrible in a few specific ways.  I discussed my doubt and paranoia with American churches, and their overall motives in more detail.  Then God said, "Hey, you're a hypocrite. Read what you just wrote.  You only need to know two things."  So I deleted it, because it really doesn't matter what some pastors are doing.  It doesn't matter who's associated.  It doesn't matter what my fellow believers are listening to or doing behind closed doors or out in the open.  I don't need to call attention to those things.  Who cares?  I know two things to be true.


I've been struggling for years over this issue.  God just resolved it as I wrote this blog.  I know two things to be true.  I'm tempted to go through and rewrite the beginning when I was conflicted and angry, but it might be good to leave it so you can see God's process too.


I think I just got a new life motto:  Who cares?  I know two things to be true.


God is pretty cool.  What up.  Copy right Jesus Christ on that one.

Week 3 - It Could Happen to You

Every week of training so far I've learned something.  This week didn't slack on the knowledge building.  It did disappoint, however.  This week I learned about chafing.  I know, yuck.  The preconceived notion I had about chafing being only for overweight people was very, very wrong.  This crap hurts.


It also stays for days after the run.  I got a nice spot under my arm and on my rib cadge.  After this awesome experience I decided to do a little research about how to treat and prevent this from happening again.  


I found that washing the area then applying petroleum jelly is the best treatment option.  If this doesn't help medicated ointments can be subscribed by a doctor.


Prevention can be accomplished by staying dry during workouts and wearing well-fitting clothing made of synthetic fibers.  Cotton is the enemy.  Talcum and alum powders are a good to apply to areas that risk chafing.  The powders help remove moisture.


Hope you learned something from my unpleasantness.  You don't want none.

Week 2

In a nutshell, Week 2 sucked.  While I'm seeing a little increase in my physical progress, mentally I'm drained.  Running alone for 2 hours is tearfully boring.  It's also discouraging.  I've been running this same trail several times a week for too long.  I think it's time for a change in venue.  I'm starting to look up other routes in Rock Hill.  I'll see if that helps with my antsiness.  I really don't see how the speed walkers do it.  I find myself sprinting halfway into the run just so I can be done faster.


I'm also starting to get tired of giving up my afternoons for this.  I have to maintain so much discipline during this process.  I've always been told that running is 80% mental and 20% physical.  I completely believe it now if I've doubted it before.


This journey I've ventured on is turning into a character-shaping one.  Who would have thought it? (Ha!)  I'll admit, I'm not a marathon or half marathon runner.  This will be my first and last.  This process is painful, aggravating and draining.  I'll finish it because I'm stubborn, but I won't enjoy it.  


It sounds like I'm pretty down on running this thing.  Here is the recent upside I've found:  New cute running shoes and cute workout clothes for fall make me happy.  I'll be agonizing in a cute way.  TJ Maxx holla at ya girl.

Art Skills

Last night I went to Wine and Design's Media Night.  I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but I ended up having a great time.  Wine and Design is a franchise based in North Carolina that provides painting classes for individuals and parties.  There's also wine involved.  In my recent experience, it's a good combination.


Last night I arrived at Wine and Design and got to hang out with the girls that opened the Charlotte location.  Not only are these girls beautiful and smart women, but they are also great people who are so excited about their move to Charlotte from Raleigh.  After hanging out for a bit and starting on some wine, I put on my smock and prepared my creative juices for the master piece I was about to create.


The instructor was super cute.  She talked us threw our painting.  First, she showed us an example of our finished product.  Then we started through a step-by-step process that lasted about two and a half hours.  We started with a pre-drawn canvas.  Then we slowly added each layer and dimension from there.  It was so exciting to learn about the painting process.  


I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Wine and Design.  I plan on returning for another painting soon!

Action shot provided by @winedesignclt

(I was not paid to write this blog.)

Week 1

After running 9 miles twice so far this week, I'm starting to feel stronger and more confident that I can finish this thing.  My lung strength is no longer an issue.  For a while, I was struggling to breath in the last few miles.  Now I'm keeping a consistent breathing pattern which allows me to push myself to finish the route with stamina.  My previous training is definitely paying off.


All through my training process, I've been running with my dog Phoebe.  Since she was a puppy I've been slowly training her to run distance.  She's a very happy and high-energy dog, so she really makes a great running buddy.  This past run Phoebe struggled.  I kept trying to encourage her by using my "Phoebe voice" and clapping my hands to keep her attention.  


I'm concerned that even though she's physically capable of running the distance with me, mentally she may not be ready.  She's still young.  She gets distracted by everything.  It's hard to explain to a dog how to push through a tough mile or how to beat the hills.  Running is just as much a mental sport as it is physical.  I'm nervous she may not be mature enough yet for this.  I definitely don't want to force her into something she can't handle.  


Another issue I'm running into during my training is low blood sugar.  Since I've been running so much, I've been consuming more calories, especially carbs, so I'll have enough energy to burn.  There's nothing worse than running a long distance when your hungry.  It starts a crazy downward cycle that's very hard to overcome.  Therefore, I always make sure I eat a large meal a few hours before my run. 


Even though I'm doing my best to keep my body fed, once I start running 9+ miles my body burns a lot of calories.  I've used some tools in the past to measure the amount of calories I burn on my runs.  I average about 100 calories per mile.  That means I burned 900 calories on my run yesterday.  That's a lot of energy I need to keep stored up.  I'm finding that burning 600-700 calories at a time is not an issue for me.  Anything higher than that starts to take a tole. 


The thing about low blood sugar is you don't know it's low until it's too late.  My grandfather was a diabetic.  I watched him suffer through low blood sugar levels.  I never understood why he'd feel so miserable when that happened.  One minute he'd be sitting on the couch and the next he'd be pale and vomiting.  It blew my mind.  I'm now understanding this.  Of course, my low blood sugar still doesn't even touch a diabetic's.  I really feel for those people that live with that terrible disease.


After my runs I typically feel slightly fatigued but over all pretty good.  I try to slowly cool down by walking a bit.  Then I get in my car to drive home.  Once I get in the car, I start to feel the energy being drained out of me.  It's a very sudden and terrible process.  I've been concerned at times that I won't make it home.  


After putting myself through this torture on numerous occasions I finally found the cure: Gatorade.  In high school and college I was never a big fan of the high calorie drink.  I always got so peeved when I saw someone jog a half mile and then chug a large sports drink.  That just seemed ridiculous and over-kill to me.  After running for 75 minutes at a medium-fast pace, I'm all for Gatorade.  That's when it makes since.  


If I immediately drink half a Gatorade after my run, I don't have the sudden drop.  It gives me just enough sugar to boost me to my next meal.  If I don't eat within 30 minutes of the Gatorade though, things start going south again.  The Gatorade is just a temporary fix.  Complex carbs are really the best thing I could consume.


So week 1 is now complete.  I'm still learning a lot as I go.  Hopefully this journey will not only help me accomplish a bucket list goal, but will also help build confidence and character.  Three more weeks to go!  Wish me luck.

Half Training

For the next month, I'll be training for my first half marathon.  I've done many 5k and 10k races over the years, but I've always shied away from anything more extensive.  This is quite silly too because I always have a much higher success rate on races that are a longer distance.


In high school I ran cross country and played softball.  I sucked at cross country, pain and simple.  The only reason I did it was to keep in shape for softball season.  I had little motivation to excel at the sport.  It's a real shame too.  I haven't picked up a glove or a bat in years, but here I am now running almost every day.  


Once I went to college I began running a lot in fear of the infamous "freshman 15."  For those unfamiliar with this phrase, its widely known that the majority of freshman gain an average of 15 lbs that first year of college.  I was not going to be one of these unfortunate fatties.  In fact, I went overboard and actually lost 10 lbs.  Once I went home and weighed myself however, I started eating more and continued moderate exercise.


I learned from experience how to correctly train myself to eat right and stay in shape.  Now I feel that I have enough knowledge after all the trial and error to attempt something bigger.  That's why I'm working toward a 13.1 mile race.  


I have exactly a month left to train.  Lately, I've been running about 7-8 miles about 5-6 times a week.  That's been going well, but I feel like I'm not getting enough rest and recovery time for my body.  I'd like to increase my distance a bit too.  


Now I'm going to try 9 miles about 3 times a week, then increase this by a mile each week leading up to the race.  This week I'll do 9, next week I'll do 10, all the way to race week when I'll attempt 13.  I'm really hoping this strategy works out.


I'll keep you guys posted on my training and let you know what's working and what isn't.  Wish me luck!