100 Happy Days: Day 4

I cannot even begin to describe the happiness I felt to get my car back in working condition. I missed her for the 5 days we were apart. I didn't realize how sick she was until I got her fixed. I am sorry that it took her completely breaking down for me to finally get her in and looked at. But she is better now. And running better than she has in long time. She seems happy. And I am happy.

100 Happy Days: Day 3

Just walking through these doors makes me happy. It's a place I can. Step away. Forget my worries. And feel peace and the love of God. 

100 Happy Days: Day 2

Today I was happy to ignore the pile of laundry and the bathroom that is screaming for attention to finish a project for someone I love. And it always make me happy to release the creative powers that are in me. 

100 Happy Days: Day 1

Today I was happy running. It felt good to be outside in the sunshine and move. It also reminded me how much I love my body. Not in a "I'm so hot, check me out" sort of way. But I love my physical capabilities. I love that my body allows me to go from 0 to 6 miles in one day with minimal regrets the next day. I love pushing myself and seeing what my body and I can accomplish together. It's been a good relationship. A relationship I always want to guard. It motivates me to care for my body the best I can. And never do anything that could cause harm or ill-will. My body and good health is something that I so incredibly thankful for. And never ever want to take for granted. 

100 Happy Days

So what is a natural response when someone tells you you can’t do something. Do it, right? Well, at 100happydays.com they claim people are too busy and don’t have time to be happy. And they are inviting people to participate in the happy for 100 days in a row challenge. You register and each day you submit of picture of what made you happy that day. I’ve decided this is a challenge I can handle. I am already pretty happy. The challenge will be to remember to document it. I am not registering with them. Instead, I am going to attempt to blog about it. Ambitious, I know. We’ll see if I can keep up with it. My blogging  track record hasn’t been at its peak lately. BTW Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Happy Valentines Day, Ground Hogs Day, and St. Patty’s Day!   Life has been good. I will try to get caught up with a few highlights in the coming weeks.

Go, go, joe...

Recently, my brother has been participating in the high school production of Joseph and the technicolor dream coat. Fun show. Great for high school kids. While enjoying it I realized that it has been a while since I read the verses from Genesis. Even has a small child this bible story was a favorite of mine. I don't even know what intrigued me so much. But while watching the show I was reminded of various lessons I've learned through the years from Joseph's journey. Lessons of faith, moral courage, forgiveness, economic planning, and preparation. But the lesson that has stood out to me the most in recent years is the lesson of timing.

God had a plan for Joseph. He needed Joseph to be at specific places, at specific times, for specific purposes. The journey to get there was not without a lot of rough patches and trials. And it took time. A lot of time. That is what really got me thinking. How much time passed from when Joseph's brothers sold him to when they met again in Egypt. 20 years? Maybe more? That is just the reminder I need when I start thinking about my own journey. Sometimes it takes time. A lot of time. And it will probably include a lot of trials and setbacks. But you never know where you will end up. It might be saving the world or at least Egypt as pharaoh's wing man.

You never know how what is happening today will fit into the big picture. Whatever it is. Whenever it is. If you are on God's side striving to be an instrument in His hands. God will use you for specific purposes. Great purposes. I love that. Wherever I end up or go in this life and however long it takes I hope God uses me along the way for His "wise purposes." I hope to serve Him by serving His children. Just like Joe.

Yeah, I really love Joseph's story. I love how I can find applications for any stage of life.

See how they run…Temple to Temple

I like to fancy myself a runner. But I am probably closer to what you may call a pseudo-runner. I can runner. I even like it most of the time. But I do not run consistently. And I don’t particularly push myself to run certain distances in certain times. I run as far as I like and for as long as a feel like. And I had never run an actual race. I’m not a huge fan of paying to kill myself. And there is something about the word training that causes 60 mph winds and turns my perfectly flat route into 30% grade.  So a few months ago when my sister approached me about doing the Temple to Temple relay with my other siblings, I decided why not. It’s a fun little relay that goes from the Rexburg Temple to the Idaho Falls Temple. Harmless, right? However, as expected, the day I started “training” the winds kicked up and earth shifted. Argh!!! Yes, this was my regular, not-quite- everyday run.  There was one thing that got me over the training hump. One morning while running, the image of running crossing the finish line with my siblings appeared in my head. It actually kind of gave me the chills. And the winds calmed and the nonexistent hill was nonexistent. Training for this was motivating.

The big day happened the end of last month and it was fun…and cold.