1.29.2009

5:30 a.m.

I have started working out in the mornings. I am pushing my self to actually train for this years 1/2 marathon. I have set a goal of completing it with a 10 min/mile as my average. That is pretty dang aggressive for me considering last year when I rand it I averaged 13.5 min/mile. To train for this 1/2 I have figured out a work out schedule that incorporates morning and evening work outs 5 times a week.

The past few days I have had a 5:30 a.m. wake up call. Jumping in the car with Josh while it is still pitch black outside and the freezing cold air jolting us to the reality of the day. The first day was rough. Running that early isn't natural and I could barely make it the 2 miles that were scheduled. The next day it was still hard to wake up, but the run was slightly easier. Today waking up wasn't so hard and neither was the run (3 miles). It's crazy how our bodies adjust to routine.

There are 3 things about this whole morning workout that I really enjoy.
  1. The workout is out of the way. You don't have to think about it and dread it the whole day. Also you have a free evening to do whatever you want. If you end up vegging in front of the T.V. that's okay, becuase you ran 3 miles and burned 500 calories that morning. yay!
  2. The feeling you get afterward. You have accomplished something. You got yourself out of bed and pushed your body into submission. Your blood is pumping. Your face is red. Sweat is dripping down your neck and back and you don't have to run anymore. Your done! I think they call that "runners high"
  3. Listening to worship music. I listen to fast worship when I run, and it turns my morning work out in to worship that is glorifying God. Not just selfish ambition to lose weight or do well in a race, but it begins to focus my mind on him and point my day toward the father.

I am hoping to keep this morning workout...heck working out in general, up. If you think about it, pray that I don't get burnt out. Even when the bed is comfy and the alarm would be so easy to turn off, pray that the Lord will remind me of the 3 things mentioned above and that I can have the will power to push through. .

1.20.2009

Thoughts on Authority

A little over an hour ago, we swore in our 44th president. Barak Obama, just became the official President of the United States of America. I know a lot of Christians are concerned, me included, because of some of Obama's moral gray areas, but, I want to remind all Christians of Romans 13:1 which states, "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." God Himself has passed the proverbial septar along to our new President. However, just because God has placed Obama in this great area of authority doesn't mean that he is automatically going to follow the will of God. This is where the Body of Christ steps in.

We are at a pivotal time in our nations History, and now more than ever we need to pray. We need to pray that the Lord will shine his face upon the Obama administration and give them direction. That President Obama would encounter the Lord in the night and receive a fresh awakening in his relationship with the Lord. And that GOD'S plan, GOD'S wisdom and GOD'S goverment will increase in our nation and on our planet.

Join me in adding President Obama to our permanent prayer request list over the next 4 years.

1.16.2009

New People

Warning, this post is not intellectual, deep or all that meaningful. It's more or less an update on my life since it has been a while since I posted....

So 2009 so far has been great. It's been quite busy as well. After celebrating Christmas with the Michael side of the family I took Monday off, and watched movies/took down the Christmas tree. This was a pretty funny experience. First of all because I watched Matrix 1 and 2 by myself in a bathrobe all day and also once all the bulbs were off the tree I realized I wasn't sure where the actual tree was supposed to go. Josh and I decided to just try and jam it in our condo dumpster. Turns out that was fine, but technically, you are supposed to leave it on the curb for recycling . For about a day and a 1/2 our dumpster was growing a tree out the top very conspicuously.

Returning to work was stressful. I have been non-stop working. TONS of big projects that are overwhelming. But, it makes the days go by quickly. Also, I started singing with Forest Hills Baptist church in their Broadway review show. I am going to be singing 2 duets which are both really great songs. One is called "For Good" from the show Wicked and the other is called "Stud and a Babe" From the show I Love You. You're Perfect. Now Change. That has been taking up my weekends. It's kinda weird. My life is all busy and when I am in rehearsal I feel like I am back in college. Also, Sometimes I feel like I am not using my talents to praise God when I do shows like this, but really, I am. As long as I give Him all the glory and praise, then it becomes worship. The ultimate form of worship is a life fully devoted to giving the honor, glory and praise to the Lord.

The BIG news of the new year is that my little niece was born this week. 1/13/09 at 8:10 a.m. She was 7 lbs 11 oz and 20.5 inches long. Her name is Ayla Joy Michael (pronounced "eh" like the canadians say). She is the most perfect newborn you will ever see. I love her to pieces. I feel so lucky because she is living with us right now. I get to have a glimpse at what it is like to become a new parent and what the first moments of Ayla's life are like. It's so fun to think that everything she is experiencing is for the very first time. The first thing Josh did when he met her is shake her hand and give her a foot massage. I am sure he will forever tell her that he was the first one to do both of those things with her. I often times find myself sitting at work just thinking about her and wanting to hold her. I never realized how much I could love a little baby burrito! So cute!

1.01.2009

2008 and 2009

So I am going to be cliche and write a post recapping the year 2008 and talking about the upcoming year 2009. I was noticing that 2008 was an interesting and big year for me. Some of the highlights had to include
  • Running a 1/2 marathon and moving into a newly purchased condo in the same weekend.
  • Gaining 2 new roommates in July when Nathan and Joanna moved in with us.
  • My husband and I grew closer to one another. I have a new found respect for him and have realized that he is truly the love of my life and best friend and perfect partner for me. I am so blessed to have him in my life.
  • I fell in love with God. I realized that He is the only one that really matters and my heart feels so in love with Him. I feel so much closer to Him than I did a meager 1 year ago and I am so excited about this journey through the rest of my life diving into him.
  • Josh and I started helping out with the Youth Group at our church
  • I started helping with Worship at our church and realized that worship is where I feel fulfilled and whole. I could spend hour upon hour before the throne worshiping my King and Creator.
  • I have a new found love for my darling family. Ewings and Michaels. Both sides are so unique and amazing. I love my fun crazy sisters, my mom, my dad and all of my in-laws. I only wish that I could spend more time with all them. We just live so dang far away.
In 2009 I plan on continuing with a lot of the previously mentioned things that were planted in 2008. But in addition I have 2 "resloutions" if you will for the new year. I am going to put them on here so my hundreds of thousands of readers can hold me accountable.
  1. I have been feeling an urgency in my heart to know more of the scriptures. The more I thought about it I realized that I don't think I have ever completely read through the book in entireity. The book that I base my life on I don't think I have read all the way through! Crazy! So my first "resloution" or promise is that I plan on trying to read through the whole bible in one year.
  2. Over the Ewing family Christmas my dad blessed me with an amazing gift. He gave me the first guitar that he ever made. It is BEAUTIFUL! And I was so overwhelmed by the generosity that I cried. He worked for over a year on the piece and put so much labor into it and I can't believe he would give me his first "baby." So my 2nd resolution is to learn to play the guitar better and start leading worship at a small group leading from my new Ewing guitar.
At the beginning of 2010 someone needs to check in and see if I followed through with my vows/promises to myself :)