When the going gets tough...

I want to share some exciting news from the happenings of Living Well Ministries before I give an update on my marathon preparation. We have added a new personal trainer to the team this month and purchased several new training tools. Troyleesha Brooks is a current ORU student and is a well known group trainer in the Tulsa area. We are honored to have her apart of the ministry and look forward to expanding the group training class schedule at ORUs Aerobics Center. The noon PraiseMoves classes at ORU on Mondays and Thursdays also continue to grow with both classes having three (and most weeks five) regular participants. During the last week we were also contacted by a Christian pastor from Africa who is interested in meeting to discuss a potential partnership and future missions opportunities. After meeting with the ORU Aerobics Center director and discussing the target market, we decided that in order to best reach the people of Tulsa the event should be held outside of the campus. Please continue to pray for direction and a specific location to hold our annual community service event, tentatively planned for the beginning of May.

We are less than one month out from the Route 66 Marathon and boy is the training turning up! Last Sunday Amanda and I completed our 15 mile training run in about 2.5 hours. So if you did the math, that puts our pace at a comfortable 10 minute mile. The weather was a perfect 65 degrees and made for a calm, cool afternoon on the trail. It's incredible how much easier these distance runs feel when the temperature is lower. As I pondered this incentive on Sunday it occurred to me that this marathon SHOULD be much easier than my first for several reasons; I am not in Hawaii running in 90 degree temperatures, I did not just have a baby 8 short months ago, I am now a fitness professional and have grown by leaps and bounds in my knowledge of exercise and it's effects on the human body, I discovered foam rolling, I have a fantastic friend that is going to run along side me for all 26 grueling miles to keep me company and keep me sane!

This Sunday we will go for 18 miles and than the following week we will complete the final training run of 20 miles before tapering to race day on November 22nd. Ideally, these longer runs would have been competed in increments of only 2 miles (10, 12, 14, etc.) but after I got sick at the beginning of October and missed a week of running the training plan had to be accelerated in these finals weeks.  As I have poured so much time into this whole marathon training during the last three months; devoting literally 6 or more hours a week preparing carb conscious meals, stretching routines, foam rolling and active recovery sessions, mapping my long run routes on the computer and then finally executing the runs.... what a commitment!

During just about every one of my PraiseMoves classes I will teach the Runner posture (low lunge stretch with both elbows on the mat on in-step of the front foot and knee) and read the following verse: Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.Hebrews 12:1-2  Can we just meditate on the idea of life being a race we must run with endurance? Oh and it's a big race, where everyone comes to watch.... no pressure. We should probably do our due diligence to prepare for the event, no? My heart is convicted of a need in my life for better time management. As I realize how much effort is needed to effectively prepare for my upcoming marathon and now experience first hand how much energy is being expended to ensure that I am ready for the race next month, I can't help but compare the task at hand with that of the most important assignment I have in the life; preparing for eternity. Practical application people: what am I doing every day, every week to know God and make Him known? I can't help but think that we are also nearing the end of our training program and Jesus' return is very soon. Are you ready? No doubt it will be difficult as we near the end, but keep your eyes on Jesus, on the finish line and He will give you grace and strength to the complete the mission. 

Struck down but not destroyed

First let me apologize for my leave of absence. I came down with a mean cold and missed about a week of training and a double dose of this blog. It's been a crazy couple weeks and I am glad to report that life is back to normal....almost. We moved to a new house last weekend (thank you Jesus) and even though we had many hands to help, the chore of relocating all your personal belongings can be overwhelming to say the least. So anyway, yesterday I jumped back in the saddle with an 8 mile run and felt better for it. I have fallen a bit behind on my mileage, but I am hopeful that I can make it up and complete the training program in time to run the full marathon on November 22nd.

Please stay tuned for details and most importantly pray with me for direction as we move into 2016 and make plans to grow Living Well Ministries. Last week we sent a few volunteers to a health fair at the Tulsa Community College Northeast Campus and met many students who showed interest in our mission, requesting more information about the ministry. At the end of this month we have another opportunity to serve students along with other folks from the community at the Oral Roberts University 50th Anniversary Celebration on October 24th at the 5K Arena Challenge. Some of the team will compete in the event and some of the team will be at the finish line to share refreshments and encouragement for the participants. 

I will meet with the ORU Aerobics Center Director this week to discuss our Spring community service project and to what level the University desires to be involved. Join with me this week to petition God for revelation knowledge and discernment about exactly where the event should take place (ORU, community center, church, public park) and who should be invited to serve alongside us (vendors, practitioners, health care providers, non-profits, wellness professionals). I am also finishing up our very first quarterly newsletter and contribution card that will be sent out before the years end. Pray for the Lord to guide and lead my efforts in writing blessing me with creativity, charisma and compassion as I reach out to those in contact with the ministry. Finally, I am so excited that the new promotional video is almost complete! We should have the short clip uploaded to the website by the end of this month and the webpage will also a few fresh additions on display. Coming soon!

II Corinthians 4:9-11 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.

11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.