I am a huge fan of C.S. Lewis. God gave that man an incredible gift of insight and writing ability. I have a book that has certain passages from his books and I read one the other day that really struck a chord with me. It was so simple and profound.
"Christ says Give me All. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don't want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. I don't want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked-the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own shall become yours."
Following Christ is not something you do halfway. It is everything. It's gathering all of your desires, dreams, mistakes, regrets, actions, thoughts, all of it, and standing before Jesus and saying, "Here, you take them."
It's simple and hard at the same time. I don't know everything that God has planned for me, but I'm putting my trust in the fact that he's not going to give me anything I can't handle. I am in his hands and that's all I need.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Run Forrest Run
If you had told me a year ago that I was going to start running again, I would have laughed. But lo and behold, I am a runner. And I love it. I went from running 3 times a week over the summer to build up to 3 miles, to running with the Kent State Running Club, to running on a regular basis at Mount Vernon, running a half marathon (which I still can't believe I did), and now I'm a member of Mount Vernon Nazarene University's cross country team. Crazy.
If you're looking to start a running program, begin slowly. Don't just go out and try to run a 5k right off the bat. Work your way up. Most running programs have you running for a few minutes and then walking for a few minutes until you work up to running 30 minutes straight. Once you hit that, you can slowly start to increase it. I think the program I used was called Couch Potato to 5k, but you can find other programs online. If you're training for a half marathon like I did, make sure you get in some good mileage. It's important to incorporate long runs into your training at least twice a week. I usually do anywhere from 7 all the way up to 10 miles. Go at a pace that feels good and don't try to race it.
Rule 1: Stretch! I cannot stress this enough, especially if you don't have good flexibility, like me. I can't even touch my toes. I know, it's a little sad. Some people say you should stretch before and after you run, others say stretch after. I stretch after I run. It helps keep my muscles loose and it helps with soreness. It's really important after long runs.
Rule 2: HYDRATE. If you read my post about the incident on the side of the highway, you'll understand the importance of hydration. If you're preparing for a race, make sure you hydrate well the day before. Don't drink a ton of water right before you run. It will slow you down and it probably won't feel very good on your stomach. And whatever you do, do not have any dairy before you run! However, chocolate milk is one of the best things to drink after you run. It helps with muscle recovery and hey, it's delicious. One of my favorite beverages.
Rule 3: Food. There's a joke among runners that we can eat whatever we want because we'll burn it all off on our next run. Which, not going to lie, it is kind of true. I eat pretty healthy, but I do love a good burger. Although I stay away from fast food as much as possible. I'm proud to say I haven't set foot in a McDonald's in 5 years. One thing that I absolutely love (and I have a theory that this is common among runners) is ice cream. When I was at school I would eat ice cream every day. And yes, I love pasta. Carbs are a runner's best friend.
It's not uncommon for runners to have stomach issues sometimes. It doesn't happen to everyone, but unfortunately, it happens to me. If you find you are having problems, start taking a daily fiber supplement. I drink Metamucil every day. Yes, it's a weird texture and it doesn't taste that great and if you don't drink it fast enough it gets thick and gritty. But I haven't had any stomach problems since I started taking it. It actually works! So I chug it down and go on with the rest of my day.
I hope you found this interesting even if you aren't a runner. Don't be surprised if you read a post in the future about some of my cross country adventures. Until then, lace up your shoes and happy running!
If you're looking to start a running program, begin slowly. Don't just go out and try to run a 5k right off the bat. Work your way up. Most running programs have you running for a few minutes and then walking for a few minutes until you work up to running 30 minutes straight. Once you hit that, you can slowly start to increase it. I think the program I used was called Couch Potato to 5k, but you can find other programs online. If you're training for a half marathon like I did, make sure you get in some good mileage. It's important to incorporate long runs into your training at least twice a week. I usually do anywhere from 7 all the way up to 10 miles. Go at a pace that feels good and don't try to race it.
Rule 1: Stretch! I cannot stress this enough, especially if you don't have good flexibility, like me. I can't even touch my toes. I know, it's a little sad. Some people say you should stretch before and after you run, others say stretch after. I stretch after I run. It helps keep my muscles loose and it helps with soreness. It's really important after long runs.
Rule 2: HYDRATE. If you read my post about the incident on the side of the highway, you'll understand the importance of hydration. If you're preparing for a race, make sure you hydrate well the day before. Don't drink a ton of water right before you run. It will slow you down and it probably won't feel very good on your stomach. And whatever you do, do not have any dairy before you run! However, chocolate milk is one of the best things to drink after you run. It helps with muscle recovery and hey, it's delicious. One of my favorite beverages.
Rule 3: Food. There's a joke among runners that we can eat whatever we want because we'll burn it all off on our next run. Which, not going to lie, it is kind of true. I eat pretty healthy, but I do love a good burger. Although I stay away from fast food as much as possible. I'm proud to say I haven't set foot in a McDonald's in 5 years. One thing that I absolutely love (and I have a theory that this is common among runners) is ice cream. When I was at school I would eat ice cream every day. And yes, I love pasta. Carbs are a runner's best friend.
It's not uncommon for runners to have stomach issues sometimes. It doesn't happen to everyone, but unfortunately, it happens to me. If you find you are having problems, start taking a daily fiber supplement. I drink Metamucil every day. Yes, it's a weird texture and it doesn't taste that great and if you don't drink it fast enough it gets thick and gritty. But I haven't had any stomach problems since I started taking it. It actually works! So I chug it down and go on with the rest of my day.
I hope you found this interesting even if you aren't a runner. Don't be surprised if you read a post in the future about some of my cross country adventures. Until then, lace up your shoes and happy running!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
My Extended Family
When I stop to think about it, I have a huge family. I'm not talking about just my actual family, I mean my family of fellow believers. I heard the phrase brother or sister in Christ for the first time when I started my freshman year of college. At first, I didn't quite understand what it meant. But now I love it. As Christians, we are a giant family. I've been connected with so many people through my faith. It's more than just beliefs to me. It's how I live my life, and I'm so grateful and proud to have others around me that share in this.
When I call someone my brother or sister in Christ, I mean it. We share something much greater than a friendship. And I have brothers and sisters everywhere. Even around the world! How incredible is that? Some of them I haven't seen in a long time, others I talk to on a regular basis. We are a group of amazing, messed up, quirky, wonderful people. We all have different stories and talents. And we using them in some awesome ways.
When I was a part of h2o at Kent, I had the opportunity to spend my summer in Estes Park, Colorado at Leadership Training. I was all signed up and ready to go once school let out, but due to certain circumstances, I wasn't able to go. I was so disappointed and upset as I realized I wouldn't be with my h2o family in the mountains, meeting new people, having the experiences that they were going to have. I'll be honest, I still feel a twinge of sadness when I see pictures on Facebook or hear how they're doing. I really wish I could have gone.
Even though I miss them (a lot), I'm so happy for them and how God is working through and in them this summer. I know He's doing big things there. And I'm going to fly out and visit! I'm so grateful that God has provided a way for me to do that. So stay tuned, LT peeps! I'll let you know when I'm coming!
When I call someone my brother or sister in Christ, I mean it. We share something much greater than a friendship. And I have brothers and sisters everywhere. Even around the world! How incredible is that? Some of them I haven't seen in a long time, others I talk to on a regular basis. We are a group of amazing, messed up, quirky, wonderful people. We all have different stories and talents. And we using them in some awesome ways.
When I was a part of h2o at Kent, I had the opportunity to spend my summer in Estes Park, Colorado at Leadership Training. I was all signed up and ready to go once school let out, but due to certain circumstances, I wasn't able to go. I was so disappointed and upset as I realized I wouldn't be with my h2o family in the mountains, meeting new people, having the experiences that they were going to have. I'll be honest, I still feel a twinge of sadness when I see pictures on Facebook or hear how they're doing. I really wish I could have gone.
Even though I miss them (a lot), I'm so happy for them and how God is working through and in them this summer. I know He's doing big things there. And I'm going to fly out and visit! I'm so grateful that God has provided a way for me to do that. So stay tuned, LT peeps! I'll let you know when I'm coming!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Childhood
A few days ago my mom broke out the home movies. I've come to the realization that I was an odd little kid. And, after hearing stories from other family members, this trend continues to grow. Apparently, I was always missing as a child. I had a tendency to wander off from my sisters and parents. They would find me off in a corner playing or behind a bush, completely oblivious to my surroundings. I almost gave my mom a heart attack when I wandered off at an amusement park when I was 4. I didn't even realize I was lost. I was just off in my own little world. We were at the pool and my family was on one side. I, for whatever reason, became very interested in something and walked to the other side of the pool. When my mom looked up, I was nowhere to be found. My mom being the awesome person she is, immediately set out to find me. Halfway across the pool, she came upon a lady leading me back to my family by the hand. She was staying at the same hotel as us and recognized me.
Another incident happened at an indoor playground (apparently those exist). My family was getting ready to leave and, not surprisingly, they couldn't find me. After some searching, I was found-under a bench. Why was I under a bench? What was so interesting that I had to go underneath the bench? My child mind was fascinated by weird things.
Thankfully, I've grown out of this phase. I can still be a little oblivious sometimes, but I'm proud to say that I haven't gotten lost.
Another incident happened at an indoor playground (apparently those exist). My family was getting ready to leave and, not surprisingly, they couldn't find me. After some searching, I was found-under a bench. Why was I under a bench? What was so interesting that I had to go underneath the bench? My child mind was fascinated by weird things.
Thankfully, I've grown out of this phase. I can still be a little oblivious sometimes, but I'm proud to say that I haven't gotten lost.
Monday, June 13, 2011
New Things
I realize that there was a big gap between posts recently. I didn't want to post this one right away. I felt like my previous post was a better starting point. I know I've talked before about how many changes have happened to me this past year. The semester that recently ended was very difficult for me. This has been a very hard year, and I just got to a point where I couldn't write anymore. I was very stressed and tired and I didn't have any inspiration. But that's not the reason I'm writing this post.
I've turned a corner now. I'm getting back on track, and I've decided to make a few changes. Mainly, the way I write my blog. The format is going to change a bit. I'm still going to write about my faith and relationship with God, but there will be other subjects as well. Stories from my life, both new and old. I might post a quote from someone I admire and write about it. Some posts will be humorous, others more serious. Whatever comes to mind, I hope to make it the best writing I can for you readers. Writing is hopefully going to be my career one day, after all.
Stay tuned for the new chapter of The Great Awakening!
I've turned a corner now. I'm getting back on track, and I've decided to make a few changes. Mainly, the way I write my blog. The format is going to change a bit. I'm still going to write about my faith and relationship with God, but there will be other subjects as well. Stories from my life, both new and old. I might post a quote from someone I admire and write about it. Some posts will be humorous, others more serious. Whatever comes to mind, I hope to make it the best writing I can for you readers. Writing is hopefully going to be my career one day, after all.
Stay tuned for the new chapter of The Great Awakening!
Saturday, June 11, 2011
A Rather Gross But Amusing Story
I threw up on the side of the highway.
It's not one of my proudest moments. I can't even remember the last time I threw up. Let me paint you a picture of the events leading up to this incident.
I went down to Mount Vernon to help my cross country coach with the BLAST 5k race. If you don't know what BLAST is, basically a bunch of Nazarene churches get together on Mount Vernon's campus for a few days and have lots of activities. Me and several of my teammates set up the course Thursday night and the race was on Friday morning. We all had breakfast on Friday in the cafeteria. We still had some time to kill before the race started so my teammate Caitlin asked if I wanted to go running with her. We weren't running in the 5k because we were helping direct people out on the course. Having just eaten cereal and a banana, I was a little unsure of my stomach's ability. Plus, our training schedule had us running 5 miles that day, but I decided it would be good to get my run out of the way then so I wouldn't have to run when I got home later.
We ran behind campus through this really cool neighborhood with interesting houses and green fields and the birds were singing and there were buzzards. Everywhere. But it was a really good run. Surprisingly I felt fine during the run. We ran back to campus and literally came to a stop at the Eternal Flame, which was where Coach had all the runners meet before the race started. Everyone was already gathered. Having no time to grab a water (I didn't have my wallet and I lost my meal ticket after breakfast) I joined the rest of my teammates. "I'm feeling really good. I'll just get something after the race." I thought to myself. This would prove to be a bad decision.
Coach gave me a map and pointed to where he wanted me stationed during the race. I walked down to my post and waited for the runners to come my way. At this point, it started raining. It wasn't much at first, but then it picked up. When you're sweaty from running 5 miles and then you have to stand in the rain for a half hour with no form of jacket or water repelling device, you get cold and wet really fast. As the final runners passed me, I started making my way back to the Eternal Flame, still feeling pretty good.
We all ducked into the lobby of the Hyson building and Coach gave us a debrief. Then we had to go pick up all the flags we had used to mark the course. In the now pouring rain. We decided it would be best for all of us to split off and tackle different sections of the the course. Caitlin and I took the back portion while the guys took the front. We basically ran the whole way while bending down every few feet to pick up flags to get done faster. So at this point I am sweaty, soaking wet, and starting to get hungry and thirsty.
After we took the flags to Coach's office, Caitlin and I walked to her apartment where my mom picked me up. I got a water bottle, changed into a dry shirt and got in the car. This is where another bad decision happened. I chugged half of my water bottle. I live about and hour and a half away from Mount Vernon, so it was a bit of a drive. I took my blanket out of my bag and leaned back in my chair to try and take a nap. This is the part where I started to feel weird, but I figured I was just tired and would feel better after some rest. I think I dozed off for about a half hour. The next scene would be best described through script form.
Kathleen (suddenly sits up in her chair, wide-eyed): Mom, I might throw up.
Mom (looks over with alarm): Ok. Do you need me to pull over?
Kathleen (with urgency, knowing something very bad is about to happen): Yes.
Mom: Ok. Hang on honey.
(Mom pulls over onto the side of the highway)
Kathleen (while opening the car door): Just give me a minute.
(Kathleen stumbles out of the car gagging into the grass. Hands on her knees, she tries to steady herself. Mom proceeds to watch as her daughter tosses her cookies while the wind blows and the rain hits her like needles. Waddling back to the car all hunched over, Mom hands Kathleen a tissue and wraps her in her blanket. Kathleen is shivering and is obviously uncomfortable.)
Kathleen: I don't feel good.
The rest of the car ride consisted of me sitting completely straight in my seat, desperately trying to get my mind off of what just happened and trying not to let it happen again. The last 15 minutes were torture. It felt we were never going to get home.
We finally pulled into the driveway. I took a shower, collapsed onto the couch, and fell asleep for 3 hours.
My sister had a very good explanation as to why this incident happened. "You didn't drink enough water. So when you did drink some, your stomach was all, Water?! What's this? REJECT!!!"
So, what have we learned from this? If you're a runner, make sure you hydrate IMMEDIATELY after running. You should also probably try and eat something as well. Please learn from my mistake.
And that's how I threw up on the side of I-71.
It's not one of my proudest moments. I can't even remember the last time I threw up. Let me paint you a picture of the events leading up to this incident.
I went down to Mount Vernon to help my cross country coach with the BLAST 5k race. If you don't know what BLAST is, basically a bunch of Nazarene churches get together on Mount Vernon's campus for a few days and have lots of activities. Me and several of my teammates set up the course Thursday night and the race was on Friday morning. We all had breakfast on Friday in the cafeteria. We still had some time to kill before the race started so my teammate Caitlin asked if I wanted to go running with her. We weren't running in the 5k because we were helping direct people out on the course. Having just eaten cereal and a banana, I was a little unsure of my stomach's ability. Plus, our training schedule had us running 5 miles that day, but I decided it would be good to get my run out of the way then so I wouldn't have to run when I got home later.
We ran behind campus through this really cool neighborhood with interesting houses and green fields and the birds were singing and there were buzzards. Everywhere. But it was a really good run. Surprisingly I felt fine during the run. We ran back to campus and literally came to a stop at the Eternal Flame, which was where Coach had all the runners meet before the race started. Everyone was already gathered. Having no time to grab a water (I didn't have my wallet and I lost my meal ticket after breakfast) I joined the rest of my teammates. "I'm feeling really good. I'll just get something after the race." I thought to myself. This would prove to be a bad decision.
Coach gave me a map and pointed to where he wanted me stationed during the race. I walked down to my post and waited for the runners to come my way. At this point, it started raining. It wasn't much at first, but then it picked up. When you're sweaty from running 5 miles and then you have to stand in the rain for a half hour with no form of jacket or water repelling device, you get cold and wet really fast. As the final runners passed me, I started making my way back to the Eternal Flame, still feeling pretty good.
We all ducked into the lobby of the Hyson building and Coach gave us a debrief. Then we had to go pick up all the flags we had used to mark the course. In the now pouring rain. We decided it would be best for all of us to split off and tackle different sections of the the course. Caitlin and I took the back portion while the guys took the front. We basically ran the whole way while bending down every few feet to pick up flags to get done faster. So at this point I am sweaty, soaking wet, and starting to get hungry and thirsty.
After we took the flags to Coach's office, Caitlin and I walked to her apartment where my mom picked me up. I got a water bottle, changed into a dry shirt and got in the car. This is where another bad decision happened. I chugged half of my water bottle. I live about and hour and a half away from Mount Vernon, so it was a bit of a drive. I took my blanket out of my bag and leaned back in my chair to try and take a nap. This is the part where I started to feel weird, but I figured I was just tired and would feel better after some rest. I think I dozed off for about a half hour. The next scene would be best described through script form.
Kathleen (suddenly sits up in her chair, wide-eyed): Mom, I might throw up.
Mom (looks over with alarm): Ok. Do you need me to pull over?
Kathleen (with urgency, knowing something very bad is about to happen): Yes.
Mom: Ok. Hang on honey.
(Mom pulls over onto the side of the highway)
Kathleen (while opening the car door): Just give me a minute.
(Kathleen stumbles out of the car gagging into the grass. Hands on her knees, she tries to steady herself. Mom proceeds to watch as her daughter tosses her cookies while the wind blows and the rain hits her like needles. Waddling back to the car all hunched over, Mom hands Kathleen a tissue and wraps her in her blanket. Kathleen is shivering and is obviously uncomfortable.)
Kathleen: I don't feel good.
The rest of the car ride consisted of me sitting completely straight in my seat, desperately trying to get my mind off of what just happened and trying not to let it happen again. The last 15 minutes were torture. It felt we were never going to get home.
We finally pulled into the driveway. I took a shower, collapsed onto the couch, and fell asleep for 3 hours.
My sister had a very good explanation as to why this incident happened. "You didn't drink enough water. So when you did drink some, your stomach was all, Water?! What's this? REJECT!!!"
So, what have we learned from this? If you're a runner, make sure you hydrate IMMEDIATELY after running. You should also probably try and eat something as well. Please learn from my mistake.
And that's how I threw up on the side of I-71.
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