Impacting the Future

"Bind me to your side". I have the song lyrics stuck in my head! Maybe I need it today. lol

Last night, Nigel McNeill (a church family guest speaker) spoke to our church about Leah's (wife of Jacob in the bible) impact on the generations to follow after her. Because of her faitfulness, her offspring and so on ended up being rulers and kings. I want to have that impact on people I touch. I want to know that they did great things for God's kingdom, just because I was faithful in God.

You see, Jacob fell in love with Rachel at the beginning and wanted to marry her but her father said that he has to go to prison for 7 years before he can have Rachel. So he did. After 7 years, he asks to marry Rachel and the father deceived him and had him marry Leah (Rachel's older sister) instead. When he figured out that it was Leah, he asked the father why he did that. The father said because Leah was the older sister. He also told Jacob that he can still have Rachel, but he'll have to work for him for another 7 years. So he did. In the meantime, Leah had several children with Jacob. Once Jacob wed Rachel, they then realized that Rachel was not fertile. She couldn't bear children. After all that work and fighting Jacob did for Rachel, to realize that she's infertile. Nigel was explaining to us that the bible explains Leah as doey eyed. He said he looked up doey eyed and it means weak on the eyes. So what we're gathering is...Leah wasn't very pretty, not like Rachel. Can you imagine marrying a man and giving him what he wants, but him not wanting you back?! To feel unimportant and not wanted is such a lonely feeling. Well, I guess something happened and Leah finally got her man. He finally ended falling in love with her. Because of her faithfulness, her children lived to be kings or her children's children were kings. Somewhere down her bloodline, they ruled. How awesome is that?!

I know several people who feel unwanted by men. And I'm here to tell you...you're wanted, BY GOD. And he's a man! I promise you, the more you seek THAT man (God), the less you'll feel lonely. And I also promise you, the more faithful you stay, the more you'll see it run down your bloodline into your children, children's children, their children, their grandchildren and so on.

As I was driving into work this morning, I was listening to KSBJ. They were interviewing Israel Houghton. For those of you who don't know him, he's a very annointed christian artist who has originated from Lakewood Church. He was telling the story of how his mom was saved. Basically she was a young single woman who was 8 months pregnant, nothing going for her and battling drugs. She was walking down the street one day, remind you, 8 months pregnant and this woman starts waving her hands yelling out to her, "Hey, I want to share something with you". Long story short, that lady witnessed to Israel's mom. If that lady hadn't touched Ms. Houghton, where would Israel be today? SERIOUSLY! Think about it. He'd probably be another "statistic". Just that one witness has touched thousands, millions of people. Israel witnesses to many all around the world today. Recently him and his mom were able to find that lady and it was one happy reunion. It was nice to hear such a sweet story. What a great testimony. He asked that lady, did you know you were going to impact millions? She said, I had no clue. lol God is so good! And so are his faithful servants.

Now I have to share my own personal testimony with you because it ties into all of those stories. My dad's parents are christian. They were pentecostal for so many years. Now are non-denominational, but still a little pentecostal in them :) Anyways, my mom didn't really grow up going to church. I'm sure she heard about God before and I'm sure my mom's parents took her to church every once in a while, but it wasn't like my dad's parents did. My dad's parents were and still are very faithful servants of God. When my mom and dad met, they weren't at the right place of their life but they decided to have me anyways :) Well, because of being young and immature, things didn't work out with them and my dad decided to go his seperate way. I pretty much was raised without my dad in my life. But I will never say that I didn't have family growing up because ALL of my grandparents and aunts and uncles definitely stepped in and loved me so well. Growing up, I've seen other families that are single parent families and if the dad is no where around, neither is his family. And that's so sad. That hurts me because I didn't have to experience that. I still got the rest of my family. Anyways, when I was probably in about 2nd grade or so, my mom decided to take me to church. We started going to a non-denomination church in Pasadena. She was very faithful. Started reading her bible, going to bible studies, church every Sunday, tithed faithfully, prayed, etc. After a few years at that church, we joined First United Methodist and I then was raised there until my college years, where I decided to go my own way...back to my roots, non-denominational. Well, I say my roots are Methodist because that's where I was "raised" but for now, I call the non-denominational church my roots. Once out on my own, I wasn't perfect and I definitely acted like a young immature adult would and had fun in life. Not the fun I should have been having though! lol However, I never dabbled in drugs, got pregnant when I didn't need to, didn't go to jail, get in trouble with the law, etc. I didn't join a gang or murder anyone. I DIDN'T BECOME A STATISTIC. You want to know why?! Because it all started with my grandparents (dad's parents) who were faithful christians. They didn't give up on me or my mom. Then my mom became a faithful servant to God and never gave up on me. Now I'm married to a man of God who loves playing christian worship music and am involved with my church when I can. My heart is bigger than what it physically shows because I have a passion for people that I've never had before. And I KNOW THAT'S GOD. I could have been another "statistic" because I had a fatherless home, but I wasn't because of my faithful family. Now I pray for my future family and how they impact the world. I fully believe that what I'm doing now, will only carry on into my future.

Thank you Lord for the stories that keep living on today. We need those to teach us and remind us how we're supposed to be carrying out your will. Amen!

*Nigel McNeill http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Flower-Mound-TX/Revival-Fire-Ministries-Nigel-and-Cathy-McNeill/110909328964677?ref=ts

*Israel Houghton http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/IsraelHoughton?ref=ts

One of the best feelings ever...

When I first started training for the half-marathon, 13.1 miles was a far distant thing in my head. I honestly didn't "KNOW" if I could do it but I was going to take 1 mile at a time and see how far my body and mind would allow me to go. This past Saturday August 28, 2010 was a life changing moment and one of the best memories that I'll never forget. I can now say that I have accomplished a distance of 10 MILES!!! Can you believe it?! I don't even know I can still believe it yet but I DID IT. I started feeling really good on the way back and actually got a little pep in my step and started to run a little bit more than I normally do. It felt good. And the route we took was so much nicer this time than we are use to. This time we had beautiful homes and the galleria area to look at. That helped! lol Plus, running through some sprinklers helped a little too. There was one point where I was hoping that someone that I knew would drive past me, only while I was running though (lol) and honk and cheer me on. So when I have to do 12 miles before the big race, I'm going to make sure everyone I know has a map of my route! I expect SOMEONE to come cheer me on to get me through those long distances. lol Just kidding. BUT, it would be nice ;) Hint hint. I do have to say though, the last 2 miles were pretty hard because my body was starting to wear down and was hurting pretty bad. I've been having a hip issue since I started the training and now it's affecting my foot. BUT, I won't let it get me down. I WILL FINISH!!! I've come this far to not give up now.

Another exciting piece of news I'd like to share with everyone. I MADE MY FUNDRAISING GOAL. Woohoo Well, I couldn't have made it without all of you. Your help, your donations, you're encouragement, etc. I seriously can't tell each of you thank you enough because without all of that, I couldn't have even came close to where I am now. So thank you guys! God does say "I will bless those who bless you..." Genesis 12:3. So I believe and I pray for those who have blessed me, that you may be blessed seven more times than I was. God is good and he LOVES loving and blessing people.

Like I said, 13.1 miles was a far distant thing in my head. It was hard to imagine that I could finally one day get this close to finishing a half-marathon and to have raised $3,500.00 as well. Those are both very big numbers for me. And this is one selfless thing I'm doing FOR SURE. Cause if I wanted to be selfish or STAY selfish, I wouldn't be training for this and have raised money for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. So it feels good to say that I'm doing this for SOMEONE ELSE. I found a scripture to help me out a little bit. "Don't get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don't give up." Galatians 6:9

I wish I had some pictures to post of my new excitement but I haven't taken any. When I get up to do the distances on Saturday mornings, I'm waking up at 4:30 a.m. so I'm not thinking about taking pictures. lol Hope I can start taking some soon so I can keep you guys from getting bored. lol

It's a struggle, but....

This past Saturday July 10, I did my longest distance yet....6 miles! Woohoo...never thought I would say I did that. I was pumped after that. I went home and literally did yard work all day and was happy with what I accomplished on Saturday. So yesterday I was excited to do our drills with the group. We meet on Wednesday nights to do more training exercises and then on Saturday mornings is our distance runs/walks. Well, I was pumped because of what I accomplished Saturday and still had energy afterwards and then we started to do our exercise and I was DIEING. It was so hard. I ended up having to walk back to our "meeting area" a little bit earlier than everyone else. My legs were killing me and I just wasn't feeling good. I actually got in my car, called my husband and cried. I guess I was overwhelmed with the pain, my lack of endurance and the fact that I still after 10 weeks, can't keep up with everyone. I have come to the realization that this is my very first time at ALL OF THIS. 1st time to continue a workout for 10 weeks; 1st time to commit to a half marathon; 1st time to train with a large group of people, etc. So alot of firsts for me. At the same time, I am trying to lose weight. With all that being said, I'm vowing to myself that I am proud of myself just for DOING THIS. I am accomplishing alot FOR MYSELF. Just cause I can't keep up with everyone, doesn't mean I am failing! I AM SUCCEEDING!!! So now I'm pumped again and will make another record for myself this coming Saturday July 17. I will do 7 miles. Woohoo! lol

On a good note, I have had a few compliments from others saying they can tell I've lost weight. I see it in my face a little when I'm comparing to older photos, but I am no where near my goal weight. At this time, I'm still not ready to tell everyone my biggest point and what my goal is, but when I reach my goal or get closer to it...I will shout it from the roof tops what I was at my biggest because that will be my biggest accomplishment yet is to have lost all of this weight. I do feel my skirts, pants, etc. loosening up a little...not drastically but a little. LOL Below are 2 pictures after 10 weeks of training. Hopefully next pictures I post...I will be lots smaller! My coworker MADE me take my sweater off. lol I'm pretty self conscious about my arms, but I did it because she said it looked good.

To date, I have raised about $1,800. I still have $1,700 to go. Half way there!!! But the only way I'll be able to do it...is through the support of my family and friends. I realize that times are tough and not everyone has extra money just lying around. I get that...I am struggling too. But anytime someone is raising money or starting a ministry or raising money for their kids fundraisers, I pitch in whether I want to or not...just to show my support. So please think about the times that we've all asked for a little support and have gotten it from others and I just ask that this time, you support me in my endeavor. I don't always do fundraisers and marathons but this is my very first and I really want to meet my goal. I will not be able to attend the marathon if I do not raise a MINIMUM of $3,500.00 total. So that goal is not one that I made higher to help LLS out even more (which I would like to do, but I'm just doing the best I can today). It's hard work to raise money and hard work to train for a marathon that you've never done before. So I ask again, please show your support in me and help me make it through this marathon!

Thank you for reading my post. I know that not everyone is interested, but those who did and took their time out too...hope you enjoyed it!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/txg/nikesf10/bhamilthg9

1st Fundraiser

In order to raise money, you have to be creative and you have to be creative in order to raise money! lol Crystal approached me earlier this year about doing this marathon with her. Of course my first thoughts were "Are you crazy?", but with time and her persistancy, I finally said YES and jumped on the bandwagon. lol I knew that it was going to be some work raising money because the goal is my highest goal ever to raise money, but I didn't realize how MUCH work it would take me into raising this amount. Well, we started talking fundraisers and one of the things we came up with was having an event at Pearl Bar. Crystal had been there before and knew it was a popular place...that it definitely was. OMG...I'm definitely not one for crowds anymore. Anyways, we met with the manager back in May and with much work and going back and forth with them, we got it all set up. So this past Saturday, June 26, we had our first big fundraiser with Pearl Bar. We sold 2 drink tickets for $10 and was lucky enough to have Bud Light and Tito's Vodka donate. There were a few little hiccups along the way, but for the most part, I'm glad we did it. Oh and by the way...if you're looking to raise money, seriously...hitting up the drunks is the way to go! lol J/K But seriously, that's where you'll make some money. This was by far a great learning experience and I couldn't thank the girls that helped us out enough. We recruited 3 girls from our marathon group. They are beautiful and outgoing. They did an awesome job. Without them, I KNOW we wouldn't have made as much. They worked so hard all night long.

Our success made us about $2,100. I have already raised $845 on my own so with my share from this fundraiser, I should have about $$1,445 raised. That leaves me a total of $2,055 to still raise. But I believe that God will give me favor in this situation and it will all come!

Thank you again to all who came out and supported us. Couldn't have made the money without you guys either. Love you all.

There's always someone who is last...

This past Saturday was my very 1st training for the half marathon. I can no longer say "marathon" and keep it short cause I know the lingo now and have to say "half" in front of marathon cause I'm not running 26.whatever miles it is. I'll be running 13.1. STILL ALOT!!! Well, I was pumped for my 1st training...until....we started on the track. I started out running and maybe made it 20 or 30 feet. I felt heavy, like something was holding me down from running. So, I started to walk and walk as fast as I could. One of the coaches said I had great posture and gave me a few more tips for walking so I used them. Everyone started passing me more and more until...I believe I was the last person. I didn't give up on my running. Every few minutes, I'd try and run just a few more feet. My shins and calves hurt so bad :( I've never felt them hurt this bad before. I kept having to stop and stretch them out. I was scared they were going to pull and rip on me...that's at least what they felt like they were going to do. About this point, I finally pass the 1 mile marker. I still had 2 more to go. It was harder than I thought, but I did finish...of course, even though it took me 50 minutes...I finished!!! Didn't have much of a choice though. LOL You know that saying, "There's always someone who's last"...well, I was that person on Saturday. I was hoping that with "training", one of the coaches or my mentor would stick with me to help motivate me, but no one did :( That was a little discouraging, having to go through it alone, but I'm not going to let that bring me down. I will continue to strive and continue to finish. I will finish until the very end...that 13.1 miles across the finish line on Sunday October 17 in San Francisco.

Oh and one of the perks of finishing the race....SAN FRANCISCO FIREMEN HOLDING SILVER TRAYS WITH TIFFANY BLUE BOXES AND TIFFANY NECKLACES INSIDE. Yup...a Tiffany's necklace. For you single women...the firemen may be more appealing to you, but for me...the Tiffany's necklace is. Ok...I'll admit, it's icing to have the firemen there too :) LOL Don't worry, my husband knows. lol So, instead of a medal for finishing, we get to wear a constant reminder of what we accomplished, with a Tiffany inscription on the back :)

And Nick has decided that he will be there in attendance to cheer me on. I'm so happy that I'll have him there to share this moment with me. He'll get the sweatiest biggest hug he's ever gotten in his life when I cross that finish line. LOL I've spoke with my aunt and her and my uncle are going to most likely be there as well, since they live about 30 minutes away. OMG, I'm just too excited right now thinking about this. Just wish my mom could come :(

Right now, the race is just a little glimpse to me and right now, I can't imagine myself doing this but in my heart, I am doing this for someone else. That someone else who is fighting for their life and going through chemo and the emotional and physical pain that it brings on. I hate you cancer and I will work hard to help get rid of you...whatever I can do, I'm going to do!!!

On another note...I can always bring a running buddy with me, so anyone want to join me on Saturday mornings to help me get through this...I'd be more than appreciative :)

But it's so hard....

So last night, I tried to run. Crystal, my marathon buddy (who has always been athletic our whole life, by the way) seems to think I can start running already. I walked at what I thought was a high speed for the first 5 minutes and then I started to run, or shall I say jog. OMG...I was feeling like something was weighing me down and trying to stop me from running. I felt so heavy! I ran for 1 minute and brought the treadmill speed back down. I walked for another 5 minutes and tried once again to run. Again, I could only push myself to 1 minute cause I was hating it at 30 seconds. WHY? Why is it so hard for me? WELL....let this be a lesson to those of you who like to splurge and NOT work out. Please learn from my lesson and don't get as out of shape as I've gotten. In the last 3 years, I have truly let myself go. I obtained a boyfriend, then a fiance and now a husband and was just too comfortable to care about myself. Well, now that I'm starting to care, it's going to be 10 times harder now then when I was 50 pounds lighter. So I encourage all of you to truly care about your body and health...it will make you feel so much better, inside and out.

I will try again tomorrow morning. Crystal says I need to run for 4 minutes and walk for 1. HAHA, only if she knew that it's vice versa. But I'm going to try what Crystal says to try. OR...I'll go to a spin class and that should help me with some major cardio! hehe

My 1st Marathon Event

I previously mentioned that I'm going to be participating in my first half marathon this coming October in San Francisco. Well, we had our first event this past Tuesday evening. It was called Nike Night Out. They served wine and yummy fancy appetizers, gave away swag bags filled with goodies and even gave away 1 free Tiffany bracelet that night. I was just a few people behind the girl who won. Darn my luck...or not so much luck! They spoke about the event and training and fundraising a bit and I found out that not only do I get a training group and training coach, but I also get a mentor. I'm even more excited now! I get that many more people to help push me to complete this goal. Most of you know me and probably know that I don't or haven't met many goals in my lifetime. I obviously have issues with commitment (and I'm not talking about relationships). All of my life, I have started a sport and never finished or followed through. It was just so much easier to give up! Well, I'm not doing that anymore. I made a commitment to myself this year to follow through with events/plans that I make with family and friends and most importantly, to finish this race! I don't want to be the first person across the finish line and don't care if I'm the last either...it's the part where you finish is what means the most to me. I can't wait to start fundraising and look forward to everyone's help throughout this process...so don't be surprised if you get a phone call or letter from me! LOL I also ask for prayers that I stay strong and that I finish this race and that I keep God throughout the middle of it cause without him...I am weak! It really all sat in and became real to me when I made out my 1st check for registration. :) I can't wait to start this process. Saturday May 8 is my very 1st training with a group, so wish me luck.

Oh and a bonus to finish the race....there will be men standing after the finish line with tuxedos on and holding trays full of Tiffany & Co. necklaces that they made for the race. I'm so excited to wear that and wear it proud :) Thank you Tiffany & Co.

**Oh and I'm using the color purple for this post cause that's Team in Trainings color!!!