so live your life...

Today was a perfect day for a run at Latta and some celebratory dollar tacos from Q'doba with a few of my favorite girls.  Delish!

live the life you live

After helping SJ parallel park her car, I decided that a photo of her owl and the girls in the background would be a good way to commemorate the fun day.  I snapped the shot and posted it to instagram.  Only after posting did I realize that I had misquoted the owl in the picture, writing instead, " Live the life you live."

At first I was frustrated that I misquoted, but then the accidental quote began to work itself into my heart.  Maybe a life well lived isn't always the way I have planned or dreamed or thought (the life I love).  Perhaps it is instead the life God has already given (the life I live).  Maybe a life well lived is found in fully and faithfully living in the circumstances and provisions He brings for the day  Maybe I need to love the life I live instead of constantly trying to live the life I think I love....

Wherever you are be all there. - Some wise person

I often use this quote to chide my friends when they incessantly check their cell phones.  But how often am I truly present?  How often do I experience the fullness of what is right in front of me instead of wishing for something different or something better?

Thanks is what multiplies joy and makes any life large. -1000 Gifts, Ann Voskamp

All we have to do is decide what to do with the time that is given us. - Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien

Maybe a life fully and faithfully lived is truly present in each moment and thankful for what God has already given.  So today I am thankful for the life I live that includes...
- dollar tacos
- parallel parking
- unusually warm winter days
- guacamole
- well seasoned chips
- reminiscing
- trail runs
- big hills
- tall socks
- splashing in mud puddles
- accidental quotes
- fun photos
- unexpected phone calls
- laughter
- tears
- notes lovingly written
- notes lovingly received

perfect conditions

It was a gray, chilly, overcast day in late October.   The sky was threatening rain, and the clouds seemed ready to burst in to showers at any moment.  There were grumblings from the runners about the cool temperatures and the possible rain.

As we parked the bus, I looked up at the sky and thought about what to tell them before the race.  Something motivational.  Something important.  Something that would encourage them and help them run their best race.

Thinking about the weather conditions and the impending race, I realized that it is not the warm, sunny days that the best races are run.  It is gray, chilly days.  It is when the conditions seem the worst that they are actually the best.

I wondered if it is also true that when the conditions in our lives seem the worst that perhaps they are actually the best.  Maybe it is when everything seems a mess that we find ourselves in the perfect situation to see God at work.  Maybe this is the place where He is most glorified. 

It is true of the cross.  Christ didn't come when we had it together the most.  No, He came to rescue us when we were at our worst.

 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ~ Romans 5:6  

Almost every runner had a personal best that day...

2011 Book List

2011 Book List

28. One Thousand Gifts- Ann Voskamp
27. Changes that Heal- Henry Cloud
26. Raggamuffin Gospel- Brennan Manning
25. From Fear to Freedom- Rose Marie Miller
24. Mockingjay- Suzanne Collins
23. Catching Fire- Suzanne Collins
22. The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins
21. A Praying Life- Paul Miller
20. Brisngr- Christoper Paolini
19. Eldest- Christopher Paolini
18. Eragon- Christopher Paolini
17. Cesar's Way- Cesar Millan
16. Hinds Feet on High Places- Hannah Hurnard
15. Green- Ted Dekker
14. White- Ted Dekker
13. Red- Ted Dekker
12. Black- Ted Dekker
11. Prodigal God- Tim Keller
10. That Hideous Strength- CS Lewis
9. Perelandra- CS Lewis
8. Out of the Silent Planet- CS Lewis
7. Heaven on Earth-Stephen Nichols
6. Freedom of Simplicity- Richard Foster
5. Eats, Shoots, and Leaves- Lynne Truss
4. The War of Art-Steven Pressfield
3. Blue Like Jazz- Donald Miller
2. Loving People- Dr. John Townsend
1. How People Grow- Drs. Henry Cloud & James Townsend