Are you running or walking? Or just standing still?

If you are familiar with my blog you know that running plays an important role in my life. I run at least three to four times a week with several other women. It is my escape. Some like to escape to a hot bath with a good book, not me I want to pound some pavement. I have been noticing that the group of women that I run with has dwindled down to about four regulars with me being one of them.

Last week, one of the ladies who hadn't been attending decided to bow out of running with us because she had missed so many days and just couldn't keep up the pace and complete the distance. This made me think about Christians. I know what on earth could deciding not to run have to do with that. Well, lets see if I can unravel my convoluted thought process a little.


Runners aren't made in one day. You don't just wake up one morning and are able to run a marathon. It doesn't work that way. As a runner, if you want to run you have to run regulary. You have to train your body to run the distance or times that you set for your goal. You build endurance by increasing how long you run. You build speed by doing short sprints with small recovery times and then you do it again. There are so many different ways to become a better runner but they all have in common one thing. You have to run.

The concept of having to run rings true with Christianity. If you want to be a strong Christian you have to have a strong relationship with God. The only way to do that is to build on it, to increase your knowledge of what scripture says, to be in prayer and to listen to Him. I hate it when someone says something about the Bible but they aren't sure where it is located or they take the scripture out of context and the cultural bounds. That is biblical illteracy and our churches abound with it. These are people who want to call themselves "runners" but don't want to strap on the shoes and hit the pavement.

Sometimes I find it amazing for me how difficult it is for me to set aside time for bible study. I mean really how else am I going to learn more about God than to take the time to study the Bible? Have you ever realized how easy it is to put something off until another day and then discover that one day lead to another and you never completed what you needed to?

My point is are you out there challenging yourself to grow in Christ or are you standing still wishing you were?


By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. Proverbs 24:3-4

A gaggle of runners?

Car headlights from four different cars come to rest in front of my house at five-thirty in the morning. Women emerge from all of the cars. I am sure if my neighbors are up at this time it looks like a Mary Kay convention is about to happen on my front lawn but no it is just a group or as my husband so fondly refers to us a gaggle of runners.

Let me introduce you to these remarkable women who have decided to take on running and a journey that will hopefully not just challenge them physically but spiritually as well. The Runninmama's (my pet name for the group). Jenn of course you know from previous post, is "coach". She has a wealth of running knowledge and is an amazing motivator and her patience must be as deep as the sea. Look at what she was able to get me to do. Debbie is an inspiration, she started running in August with me, in her late fifties and is an amazing force. These two ladies and myself began this group but we are not the end. We now total eight awesome women with other women inquiring about joining us. New to running is Leanne, Janine, Cindy, Becky and Dee. These women are the reason I get up to run so early in the morning. Their can-do attitude and cheerfulness make the start of my running days incredible. I can't wait to share more of their journey and my own in running. Ladies I am so proud of you.


These women came to running because of watching from the sidelines and seeing the changes it made in mine and Debbie's life. I know that I talked about running almost as much as I talk about the Colts. Yes, I had to sneak that in! I talked about the high that I got from running, the increased energy it gave me, the friendship I had made with Jenn and Debbie. And of course, I talked about the dress sizes I lost too. Excitement about running even when I was injured flowed off of me like a waterfall. If you were close to me you were going to get splashed.



What I have pondered about my excitement about running leads me to think about my excitement about Christ. Do I talk about Him with the same enthusiasm? Do others see joy and peace in me because He is a part of my life? I don't know that I can always answer yes to those questions. I know that I have a habit of inviting everyone I meet to my church including the police officers who in the past year have pulled me over. But is that really enough? I want others to see my love for God as something they want too. I don't want to just tell them about it, I want them to see it in me and desire it. I know that in saying that people who know me will also be able to see how far short I fall of the mark. They can see me stumble and that I don't always live up to the person God desires me to be. But they will also see the grace and mercy God gives to me in my mixed up life. So, with that, what do others see in you and your life?