Clouds help most of the time......

Today as I ventured out for my morning workout with Nancy, I could not help but see how beautiful the sky was as we headed back. It was too early for the sunrise but in the first light we noticed the clouds. I had to think about how clouds make the sunrise even more beautiful. And so I thought how true it is for most of our lives. The clouds( or obstacles or problems) that come into our lives make the good times in our lives seem so much better.

So I am thinking this is not a new concept, but one that I wanted to share this day. This past week has been a good one. My training in all aspects is going well. In my training for the marathon, I keep plugging away. I am thankful for the people that God has placed in my life to share this journey with. Nancy, Barbara,Shari and Jamie as I plug away on the daily training. My leader and coach, Marcela, is a true inspiration for me. Her never ending smile and whoo-hoo make me try to achieve the best every Saturday.

On the personal front, I am, also, keeping on track. I keep trying to eat right, get more sleep and am sticking with the MTO formula to reach my weekly goals. I feel confident that the longer I stick with all of it , the sooner it will just become one of my habits. Spiritually I keep growing too. I now see the times I slip backwards as it seems, are just growing pains and learning experiences. Sometimes I think that I am getting to be a worse sinner, but I quickly realize that it is just that I see my sinful behavior for what it truly is and not as what I thought to be normal before.

o I guess the bottom line is that today, this week when you see a cloud on your horizon, look at it differently. the obstacles will quickly pass in the grand scheme of things, and when you see that sunrise approach, when you have overcome that hurdle in your life , it will be so much sweeter so much more beautiful. Smile, and have fun it is only life.

NEVER FORGET.....

I remember waking up nine years ago, on September 12th, early like I did today ;and I was scared. I was dealing with a friend who had completely lost it because of what had happened the day before,and I was trying to process the whole thing and how my life and the loves of all in this world had changed in what seemed a blink of an eye.It seemed at that moment in time that the whole world united, the world prayed for safety, for direction , to find something as simple as hope once again.

It was a terrible thing that violated our space it seemed, and we had to prepare for whatever else was coming. I had always lived in Florida so I knew how to prepare for a hurricane, we always had a hurricane plan in my family. Now I was coming up with a plan on how my family was to react and what we needed for a potential terrorist attack.

This happened many years before I actually started my training for a marathon, but I guess it was laying the foundation for that training too. In the blink of an eye things changed , but it also made me realize that anything was possible. The limits we had placed upon ourselves as a nation and as individuals were shattered that day. Now we were not only not safe, but we only had ourselves to blame for our shortcomings.

So now I pray, I prepare and I train. I hope that another attack does not happen, but I am better prepared now. I certainly pray for God's mercy, and I pray to place Him in the center of my life as the nation should also become a God centered nation also.

What I will certainly not forget is what happened. If I start to forget I know that somehow I have wandered off the path that I am now on. By remembering I will continue to walk where I know I belong. The sunrise is of today 09/12/10 and it reminds us that no matter how dark the night, a new day will always awaits us.

First Light....

Have you noticed that sometimes(at least for morning people like me) you have to wake up pretty early so that your mind is clear and you can gather your thoughts and reevaluate where you are at and where you are going? Well today was one of those eye opening days for me.

First of all I want to say that my training for the upcoming marathon season is going well and on track. I am averaging between 18-25 miles per week. With the longer Saturday training sessions getting longer and longer. Yesterday was the first day that we did 10 miles in a long time. We all survived but the humidity and high heat index does take its toll. This morning I went out for a few miles and breakfast, that is when it really hit me how much I am changing.

I do enjoy my training, especially the people I train with, but I came to finally realize how my priorities are changing. How I am changing. In the past few weeks, through spending time in retreats, spiritual readings and just contemplative prayer, I have come to see how I have been a 'poser' for a very long time. Because of this I have not been totally myself, I now realize that the only way I will be content and at peace is to break down those walls, strip away some of the falsehood and be the person God has created.

You say, the blog was better when it described your training and its pitfalls; well I say I will still be looking at my training but it will encompass a lot more then just my physical training for a marathon, it will cover also my training for life. I will try to evolve into and live the life I truly was born to lead. Ok, it will not be a simple process and I hope that it will be even more entertaining then my previous training. I am fast approaching my 53rd birthday and I know it has taken a lot of time to get here, so I know this new process will take some time, but I, as I was for my original marathon training, am in it for the long haul.

So I invite you to take some time early in the morning or late at night. When it is peaceful and quite like it is in the picture; and look at your life. What needs to change? How can you go about doing that? And if you have the perfect life and don't want to change then thank God and continue to live it.

Remember you only have to train or live one day at a time.