to run a race.

hi. it's me.

 you know, the one m.i.a. for the past month?

yeah, so i'm back and hopefully back for the long haul.

life has been busy.

life has been blessed.

and since life has been so crazy good, this little space of mine has been put on the very back burner.

so, here's to loving this little space of mine again.

today's update has to do with something that is kind of important in this household.

running.

since updating my blog, i have run in two more races:

Shamrock Shuffle 10k

mom and i jumped our of bed early on this saturday morning (3/15) and slipped in our running gear. leaving the daddy in bed sound asleep, we began the 45 minute trip to the location and prepped for the 7:30 am race. it was a very pleasant, cool morning. mom and i both placed second in our age divisions.

and i was able to beat my time from last year by 14 minutes.

Stats for Shamrock Shuffle 10k:

Time: 1:02:51

Age Division: 20-24

Place: 2nd out of the 4 in my age division

Overall Place: 60 out of 130 runners

Mustang Stampede Glow Run 5k

this run took place on april 11 at 7:00 pm. mom and i donned our neon running shirts and headed to the elementary school where the race was to be held. earlier that week, we had received an email saying that the run would not be a timed event. our competitive spirits were slightly dashed, but mom and i were thankful for the laid-back atmosphere. the race began, and mom and i both clocked one of our fastest times.
my time: 29:07

don't forget to keep running the most important race.

the race with the most important prize--heaven.


a lot of times, the "races" in life are super difficult.

our legs get tired and we become weary.

but, just like in a 5k, when you know that the clock is ticking, we have to keep pushing on and focus on the finish line ahead.

so go at it.

push on.

how are you.

"how are you?"

how many times do we ask this question a day?

"how are you?"

"oh, i'm fine."

how many times is asking the question "how are you?" an automatic thing when we come in contact with an individual?

do we really care?

truly care

about what is going on in the person's life that we just addressed with the question?

how many times do we accept the "i'm fine" answer and just carry on or walk away when we have the feeling that the person is not truly "fine"?

a few days ago, i was at an event and i saw someone that i knew.

we approached each other and happily greeted one another.

i had already begun the automatic routine of asking her, "how are you?" when she also ask the same question at the same time.

and we both, also at almost the exact time, answered, "i'm fine."

after walking away from the lady, it occurred to me:

i am in the habit of asking the famous question:

"how are you?"

and not. even. listening.

i asked the question with the mindset of it just being "routine" in the greeting process.

what if that lady was just searching for a person to pour her heart out to?

what if she was yearning for some "girl time" to be able to just talk?

via

this was a huge eye opener for me.

it made me think:

how many people in the world answer the typical "how are you" question with a typical "i'm fine" when really they're not?

what if they're really and truly hurting inside?

what if they are experiencing heartache and sorrow?

i know for me, it made me want to really look out for the feelings of the individual who answers, 

"oh, i'm fine."

i want to stop and really listen to their answer instead of asking the question and hardly slowing my pace.

i want to be the kind of person who will be there...i want that person to know, truly know, that they can truthfully answer me in the way that they are really feeling.

i want to be able to be available.

to be able to comfort.

to be able to pray for.

to be able to laugh with.

to be able to rejoice with.

so truly, how are you?

remember,

you are loved and you are treasured.


xoxoxo.

the kids need to know.

welcome.
this is the world.

it's a pretty cool place. 

....there's corndogs....

singing, dancing, and laughing.

laughing's the best.

some days, gross things will happen.

some days, awesome things will happen.

some days, you'll get ice cream.

some days you won't.

some days, your kite will fly high.

some days it'll get stuck in the tree.

it's just how it is.

you should give people high fives for just for getting out of bed.

...high fives are liiiike, hitting someone who is your friend...
uhhh, that's really bad.

just treat everybody like it's their birthday...

the biggest mess-up...not forgiving each other's mess-ups.

you.

you're awesome.

you're made that way.

you're made from love, to be love, to spread love.

let love be louder.

(corn dogs rule!)

i'm really glad you're here.

you're going to be important.

and 

you're going to do a lot.

remember to let everybody know that you're glad they're here.

you're awake.

you're awesome.

live like it.

--just some awesome encouragement from kid prez

to save a kiss.

i turned on my music and set my running app. my ear buds were in my ear and i was ready.

i turned the bend and began running, settling into my routine at the running track in the community.

in the middle of the track are soccer fields.

in the distance, i noticed a high school "couple" sitting on the soccer field bleachers to my right.

as i drew closer to where they were sitting, i was shocked at what i saw.

the guy and girl kissing.

passionately kissing.

i continued my run and every time i made another lap and rounded that bend, the girl was either sitting in the guys lap, smothering him with her arms wrapped around his neck, or just majorly flirting with him by her actions.

i was shocked.

i mean, sadly, in our world today you may say: "big deal, they're kissing."

but, ladies and gentlemen.

it's a big deal.

click here to read a story of a girl who saved her first kiss.

your kiss.

the thing that you would never give away to a gross boy in school.

(after all, boys had cooties.)

the thing that only went to your mom and daddy when saying "goodnight."

the thing that was saved for prince charming and him only on your wedding day.

what happened?

how in the world did we go from thinking that "your kiss" was saved for your husband and only your husband to giving it to whichever boy would come and meet you at the soccer field bleachers after school?

i am passionate about this subject.

(read my story here.)

why can't we encourage the warrior poets in our life by setting the bar HIGH?

tell your boyfriend or fiance that you would like to save that piece of your heart until marriage.

girls, whether we realize it or not, we have a major influence in the lives of our guy friends.

when you make this major decision to be a set apart girl and save your first kiss, if the guy respects you enough (and if he doesn't, run far far away!), he will be happy to stay away from your first kiss.

he will be honored to honor your request. 

and if he's the right man God has for you, you both can share in that beautiful moment on your wedding day. 

if he's not the one, you can know that you are still a beautiful wrapped package without any tears,

saved and whole for your future prince charming.

i love you ladies and i know this is hard.

believe me, i do.

but guess what?

it will be worth it.

i cannot wait until my wedding day when i can give my first kiss to the one and only man God made just for me.

i pray so hard that God will give ladies the strength and courage to live a life of purity... 

with no regrets.

XOXOXO

y'all are so cool.

i just feel so loved and blessed right now.

this thing called blogging can be amazing when it wants to be.

sometimes it can be a headache when you think: "oh man. i haven't posted in a week!"

and then again, when you share your joys and sorrows, bloggy friends just come out of the woodwork and leave lots of love in that comment box down there.

that's what y'all did on that last post of mine i published.

just in case i haven't told y'all...

y'all are so cool.

(and just because a post isn't complete without a picture.)

this was today's reminder on instagram. 

ladies (and guys too), remember that you are more than what you see. 

you are treasured.

you are valued.

you are loved.

who cares if that zit won't go away on your chin or your bald spot was showing extra especially today. 

you are fearfully and wonderfully made by the most amazing Creator--God.

the Maker's handiwork.

it is true.

"...i praise You because i am fearfully and wonderfully made;..."

psalm 139:14

your body was fashioned by the One who created the millions of galaxies of stars.

your hair number--each strand--is known by the One who knows the exact number of grains of sand on the beach.

every single one of your prayers are heard by the One who helped Moses cross the Red Sea and who closed the mouth of the lions in the lions' den to save Daniel.



who is your favorite artist?

we are made by the greatest artist.



please,
don't let people tell you that you aren't pretty.
don't let people tell you that you aren't popular.
don't let people tell you that you can't make a difference.


know that you are gorgeous in your Heavenly Father's eyes.
(and that's all that really matters)
know that you're known by God.
(you know. the same God that had regular conversations with Abraham.)
know that you can make a difference in the lives of all your friends and family by living out the Christian life.
(no matter how hard or challenging it may become)

you are special.

you are amazing.

there is not another Sally, Bob, Rachel, Fred, Betty, Sarah, or whoever you are, like you.

there is only one you in the world.

you are God's incredible handiwork.

life is beautiful.

A sister's friendship.

A baby's cry.

A shooting star.

A brother's goofiness.

A faith and hope for so much more.

A father's love.

A mother's prayer.

She sits there.

Knowing that I need her presence, she silently loves me by being there.

She's been there for me as long as forever.

A sister's love.

He is there watching her every move, encouraging her to press on toward the goal at hand.

Then the tiny blessing is born.

The sound is sweet to the mommy and daddy...

a baby's cry.

It's a clear crisp night.

They are bestowed the gift of being outside underneath the shimmery, God-made, blanket of twinkling lights.

And then it happens.

A shooting star.

She sits there in her chair.

It is early morning and the family is still in bed.

She takes out the Holy Word and dives in.

Along the way, she accomplishes one of the tasks that helps to hold a family together.

A mother's prayer.

Have you ever just stopped?

Stopped to see how beautiful life really is?

We have it all.

(ps. october baby is an amazing movie about life.)

a princess life.

A princess.

Doesn't every girl want to be a princess?

When I have the time, I love to settle down and pop in Cinderella and enjoy the story of the fairy tale princess and her cute little mice friends.

Or the elegant Aurora, and the excitement of when her handsome prince charming comes to her rescue. 

(after he slays the mighty dragon, of course)

Oh yeah, and the lovely Snow White (the old version. not the scary, Snow White and the Huntsman version ;) and her seven-dwarf-friends. 

I mean really Grumpy, get a life.

What girl doesn't dream of having a "once upon a time?"

I'm here to tell you that you do.

Whether you are single and enjoying this "waiting stage" in your life, engaged to the prince that you will marry, or have already found your prince charming and are enjoying the blessing of marriage, we are all princesses and live our "once upon a times".

We have the honor and privilege of being princesses of a King.

A real and true King.

A King that is kind and will never leave or forsake you.

A King that has "engraved you in the palms of his hand" (Is. 49:16) and even knows the exact number of hairs on your head (Lk. 12:7). 

A King that will always be there and will never "break up" with you.

A King that will listen to your pleas of help through this crazy thing called life.

You may think:

I'm not special enough.

or

I'm not pretty enough to be a princess.

Please, friend, do not believe those lies of the devil.

This quote by Margaret Mead:

"Always remember that you are absolutely unique.

Just like everyone else."

No matter what your friends at school or the ladies in your group tell you,

You are beautiful and you can accomplish great things.

Nothing makes me happier than seeing a little girl come up and want to show off her new dress.

Twirling, she says, "Marli, look at my new dress!!"

It makes me full of joy to be able to see the twinkle in that little girls eyes and know that she knows that she is a princess.

Even though life gets rough, and it may seem like there is no more chivalrous princes out there, always know that you have a KING and he has the perfect timing for you.

His princess.

<3

Joyfully at Home: Chapter Eleven

Overcoming a False View of God's Sovereignty & Embracing the Bigger Picture

Jasmine Baucham shares:

"I desire to get married, so I know I will!"

"The Lord does not give us more than we can bear, and I am not wired for a life of singleness, so I will get married."

These sentiments have all been uttered to me at one point or another by young women who desire to get married. They have been uttered by sixteen-year-olds who are convinced that the Lord will send them a husband by their eighteenth birthday. They have been uttered by twenty-eight-year-olds who just know that the Lord would not have them to be single in their thirties. They have been uttered by young women in their thirties who have become embittered towards the Lord because He has not kept His promise to give them the desires of their hearts.

In so many ways, this issue is the crux of discontentment. This is why I worry when I see a young woman at the tender age of eighteen becoming despondent because no one has asked for her hand in marriage yet. She is worried that something is wrong with her, and that this silence will set the pattern for years to come. 

I worry for the girl ten years her senior, who has had men come and go, but does not think any of them have been the right man for her. She is wondering if she should settle for the next guy that asks her, because, let's face it, she's not getting any younger.

I worry for the girl who knows a young man that she would jump at the chance to marry, if only he would glance at her. She is turning down perfectly acceptable, godly young men because of the one guy whose attention she can't get, and she's perfectly convinced that God will send her the one she wants.

...I am not arguing that that godly young women will not have moments of battling with discontentment. 
But I am arguing that it should be a battle! So many of us have given up fighting. 
We have accepted discontentment as the status quo. 
And while I know that many of us receive encouragement from our mothers, fathers, and mentors, I want to offer a bit of encouragement as someone who doesn't "remember all to well" what it's like to be in that single season--she's still right there with you...


In so many ways, understanding this point is solving the root of our discontentment problem:
We don't truly trust in the Lord's sovereignty.
While it's easy to say, "I trust the Lord to bring me a husband in his sovereign timing," it's harder to live those words out--to live, day by day, joyfully trusting Him. And while we might pretend to hold our dreams in open palms instead of clenched fists, and our lips may be saying, "I trust the Lord's sovereign will," our hearts scream out at the possibility that His sovereign will may not include a spouse in the near future--or at all. We "trust God's sovereign will" on our own terms:
If He gives us what we want, He's a good and loving God; if what we want doesn't end up aligning with His will, we play the blame game.

And instead of turning to Him for comfort, we turn to a daydream.
Whether your dream proposal includes Dean Martin crooning Volare while you sail through Venice on a gondola or you're thinking you'd like to go the Hollywood route and get proposed to in the rain on your front porch, our desire for marriage becomes the seat of our emotions. 
Our every waking thought is directed towards someday, and we lose sight of today.
Worse, we lose sight of the Author of today.
And yet we still expect Him to satiate our longing for an idea that has become an idol.


Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Ps. 37:4

So many of us disregard the first part of that passage and cling hungrily to the second. "He will give me the desires of my heart!!" If I desire a husband, I'll get one, because husbands are good things, my God is a good God, my God is able, and He will not withhold my desires from me!
We completely miss the command in that promise:
delight yourself in the Lord.
Which entails placing our desires at the foot of the cross.
Which means placing our hope and trust solely in Him--squarely in His hands.
And when we trust the Lord with all of our hearts
(Prov. 3:5),
when we entrust our desires to Him, what we most wish for would be that 
His will be done, 
even if His will for us does not include marriage.
It's a lesson that we'll have to embrace throughout our lives, even if we get married tomorrow:
Truly trusting God's sovereignty means letting go of our plans in light of His will....

read more.

Joyfully at Home: Chapter Ten

Overcoming a False View of Singleness

Jasmine Baucham states:

Why don't we enjoy our single years?

Instead of wringing our hands in helpless, lonely melancholy, or conversely, allowing ourselves to become distracted and discouraged by the list of things that we must achieve before we can get married, as if marital preparation were some sort of checklist that we could mark off with a gold sticker awaiting us at the end (enter: tall, dark, and handsome), let's understand that, while honest evaluation of our level of growth can be sober and spur us onward as we mature in Christ, that maturity in Christ is the goal here--

not matrimony.

You could be married nine months from now, or you could be married nine years from now. The Lord might purpose for you to never marry. There is no way that you can know exactly when or to whom you will wed. But here's what we do know: The Lord has given us life, perhaps an unmarried one at this point, and has given us a mission to carry out, single or married (Matt. 28:18-20), and is constantly sanctifying us, single or married, and has called us to a purpose, single or married...

And that's a wonderful thing!

I am not suggesting that we should not actively prepare to be capable wives and mothers...but daughterhood is the best training ground. Checklists aside, yes, we should have goals in mind, but not superficial goals that will crumble and waver with every unmarried year that passes. Our goals should be spiritual ones, ones that we can strive for whether we are getting married next year of getting married ten years from now, goals that can serve the Lord if He calls us to a life of singleness or whether we end of having eight children. Our goal should be to bless others in whatever sphere of influence the Lord has placed us--in whatever context He has called us to live out the biblical womanhood that He has called us to.

To spend my unmarried years discontentedly counting the moments until I'm married, missing out on all of the blessings and opportunities the Lord has provided for me here and now, for His glory...that would truly be a waste.

...trust in the Lord's sovereign timing as you look towards the future.

check it out.