One step at a time...

Running for me and most is a form of therapy. Sometimes it helps manifest problems I may need to address. Anything that is going on in your brain will manifest in your running. You can't separate it.

One of my biggest struggles is worry. I will worry about things that have a less than 1% chance of happening. In the past year I have realized that by worrying, I am not trusting in God. But, it's interesting how much we can let worry infiltrate our lives.

I realized that I've done this in my running. Oddly enough...it has nothing to do with my falling! I've started running with a running group, and the coach and all the other runners keep telling me that I should be running 15 miles for my long run to train for the full in January. I know these are coaches that have gotten hundreds of runners across the finish line, but I still am worried that I'm not running enough!

"The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare."
-Juma Ikangaa, 1989 NYC Marathon winner

That quote is true, but when to train too hard too soon, you are asking for an injury. Then, all in one moment, your hard work, dedication and hope is gone. All because I worried and trained too hard.

So, I will train for the race of life as I train for the race set before me on January 15, 2012. One step at a time. With diligence, patience, and care. I will trust the Lord to get me through life just as I will trust coaches to get me across the finish line.

After all, I trust the Lord with their lives...www.asourown.com...why don't I trust Him with mine?

I love Fall!!

When I was younger, my favorite time of year was Spring/Summer...or let's call it like it is...the 8 months of the year that are triple-digit temps in Houston. I loved that it was hot, there was no school, you could spend all day at the pool, go to the lake, and so much more. It was a season of renewal. But, let's face it...Summer is a bit of a selfish season. It's all about the bikini body, fun, and freedom.

Maybe it's a sign of me aging (I know I know... not old...yet), but the past two years, Fall has wedged it's way into my heart. I think it shows that my priorities have changed over the years. Fall is when the holidays start and family events begin. I love the food, the decorations, and the idea that family, friends, and love really matter.

Also, Fall has become the season that reminds me of new beginnings. Two years ago in October, I met my favorite person :). We spent the Fall and Winter learning about each other and ourselves. That same year, I was able to venture to India where I met some amazing girls that touched my heart. My life has never been the same, and I thank God for Fall 2009.

When I came back from India, first, I looked to see if a certain someone had emailed or messaged me! Then, I thought, how do I bring this fight back to the states. I had seen the Red Light District and the homeless suffering. But I had also seen girls rescued to the light and men determined to spread love to a country.

Almost two years later, it feels like a dream. India was the most amazing experience of my life. And as much as I want to be there, hugging these sweet, amazing young woman, I know that I am an advocate on this side of the world. That is why I run. As the air cools, I am reminded of packing by bags, and heading across the world.

We are here for a short time. How do I want my time used? I want to do something extraordinary. I want to do something that lives beyond my years. So I run. I run for every girl in India that has been told her life is worthless. I run for every girl that needs to know she is a daughter of the King.

If you want to be a part of something that will last for eternity and will leave a legacy of love across the world, please consider donating. You can donate to As Our Own by clicking the title of this blog or copying this into your browser https://iwillrun.myetap.org/fundraiser/houston/individual.do?participationRef=977.0.134245405. I promise, you won't regret leaving your legacy.

I'm a klutz!!

Bam! That was the sound of my face, nose and tooth hitting the pavement after 3.5 miles of an 11-mile run. It was a great run! I was feeling great, so excited, then I felt my foot hit something, my body lift off the ground, and in a split second, without a chance to catch myself, my face, then my body slammed against the concrete. It was not my finest moment! I ran home bleeding and bruised.

On my way home several people looked at me like I was crazy! Not one person asked if I was OK or if I needed help. As I running, I wasn’t in pain as much as I was scared of what was wrong. I knew I was bleeding pretty badly, but I did not know from where or why. I just wanted someone to stop and tell me how bad the damage was.

I did stop at a Target, and when I asked for help, the workers were kind enough to get me a first-aid kit to clean up a bit before running home. The compassion was truly appreciated.

Compassion is something that when received, we remember for a lifetime. When we give it, we tend to feel like we did something special. Yet, compassion is something we should do as the hands and feet of Jesus.

Leprosy was a disease that was highly contagious and incurable in Jesus’ day. Those with the dreadful disease were forced to live in a colony. When in contact with others, they had to announce that they were unclean. In Mark 1:40-45, a leper approaches Jesus and says that he knows that Jesus can heal the leprosy if He so chooses. Then, “Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him,” and healed his leprosy. Jesus TOUCHED the man with leprosy.

Compassion is not something that we should do to feel good; it is something we do because the compassion of Christ fills us and we can’t resist helping others. It is something we should do on a daily basis.

Sunday, we talked to our students about Jesus’ interaction with the leper. We challenged them to be purposefully compassionate. Compassion isn’t easy because it requires us to think outside ourselves. It requires us to think about the person on the street holding the sign every day.

It’s easy to think the man on the corner doesn’t have work because he’s lazy or on drugs. But, what if we are too busy judging, to be compassionate. I am in no way saying we need to give money everyone on a corner, but why aren't we moved to compassion? Why does my heart not break?

As you know, I am running the Houston marathon raising funds for an orphanage in India. The funds will go to provide rescue, food, water, shelter, care and education for young girls who have been abandoned by their families or whose mothers are enslaved as sex slaves in the brothels of India. The girls can’t work to pay their own way. Their mothers are trapped in a cycle of death. Without God’s intervention, and As Our Own, these girls would too be in the cycle of death.

We challenged our high school students and ourselves to be purposefully compassionate. I think it’s something we can all think about in our own lives. I ask you to at least look at www.AsOurOwn.org. I have made a commitment in my life to love these girls and this ministry As my Own. As such, I can’t stop spreading the word.

My team has a goal to raise $10,000 by October 23,2011. We are only a little over $1,000. If you feel God is calling you to be compassionate, please first, dedicate a time to pray for my training, then, if you feel led, please visit my donation page https://iwillrun.myetap.org/fundraiser/houston/individual.do?participationRef=977.0.134245405. I promise you, you will NOT regret this compassionate gesture.

Better to have loved and lost...

My Uncle Red's secret to a long life was,"Tobasco sauce and fried chicken." My Uncle Bud's advice includes, "Sales'll kill ya." My babysitter, Ms. Lupe always made sure we ate our lunch and taught us Spanish.

I have been very fortunate to know some pretty spectacular and wise people. One of those wonderful people, Mrs. Lupe Gonzales passed away last week. This amazing woman watched my sister and I, and almost every other child in the neighborhood, from the time I was born until I could stay home alone.

The idea of no more Ms. Lupe boggles my mind. Ms. Lupe is no longer here to watch children, to talk about the Big Bad Wolf in the attic, to make Lupe-males, and to hollar "Gatos Pintos!" (I really hope that's not a slang term for something bad!) She loved the Lord, and I know she is running on streets of gold and hugging her daughter and husband that entered Heaven's gate before her. I am not sad for her. I am sad for me and sad that I probably took her for granted so many times.

She was approximately 94 years old. No one knew her actual birthdate, which adds to the mystery of this fairytale-like woman. Wife of one, mother of 3, and influencer of thousands. I wonder if this caring, yet hard-nosed woman knew how much she impacted our lives.

And just like Edward Bloom's funeral in Big Fish when all the people he helped came to wish him goodbye, Ms. Lupe's "kids" came to her side to tell her we loved her and to thank her for all the effort and time she gave us.

The last time I got to speak with her, 3 days before she went home, her mind was still as sharp as it was 27 years ago. When I walked in the room, her eyes were so joyful and thankful, and in a short whisper, she just said, "Debra." She told me stories of when I was a little girl like it was yesterday, and I was the only girl she ever watched. And when I left, I hugged her, and she told me, "It's going to be OK, mija."

I have been so fortunate to know some spectacular and wise people. I have had to say goodbye to some, but I have to remember that God will always put people in our lives that bring us joy. We have to cherish them and cherish their memories. I will always miss my Ms. Lupe, but it is better to have loved and lost...

Who is Diane?

She was wearing a black blouse with beading around the collar and a black skirt that rustled with the breeze. She wanted to feel pretty, but hoped no one noticed her sitting alone in a crowded restaurant. Her hair was swept up and pinned back. She took her time getting ready that night. It was a special night, but she was in no rush as no one was waiting on her. A single piece of birthday cake sat in front of her as she wrote.

"Today is my 31st birthday. I wonder how I will one year from now. ... Will I ever smile a genuine smile again?"

Her words filled the front and back of a page in a signature book at the girly restaurant decorated with colors of gold and chandeliers. While others signed with notes of "Had a great time!" or "Great food!," she filled the last page with a tragic story of loneliness and abandonment.

After 12 years of marriage her husband had left her for another woman.

"He found someone who could give him what I could not," she wrote.

The man that once promised her in front of God, family, and friends to cherish her, left her feeling worthless.

"I need a spiritual uplifting," she cried for help. "I hope I see you next year, and I hope I can smile again - Diane," she finished a the bottom of the last page.

Who is Diane? At a dinner with a friend last night I read Diane's story tucked away in the pages of the signature book at a restaurant. I don't know what she was wearing that night, and I don't know what she looked like. I picture her as woman in black because her words, oh so eloquent, shouted of a woman that felt like she didn't deserve to pretty.

Who is Diane? Does she know she has a maker that will never forsake her? Does she know that she is loved?

Her story haunts me as I feel her pain. She gave 12 years of her life to a man. The facts amaze me. If she was 31 and married for 12 years, she was 19 when she said her vows. To fill two pages, she must have been alone. No friend would let her spend that time so tormented.

Who is her husband? Who is this man that swore his life to her to take it away. The thought frightens me.

Who is the other woman? What woman tore this family apart? What woman tore this covenant apart? Does she know that marriage was created to bond two people for life as Christ loved the church? Does she know that Diane is sitting alone in a restaurant in pain on her birthday? Does she care!?

Oh Diane, how I wish I could cry with you. How I wish I could share with you the love of a wonderful saviour and Father who weeps over your broken marriage and heart. I pray that you know that He's there. I pray that you know that there are people out there praying for you.

Cherish marriage. Cherish marriage as God does. Hold it sacred as the image we have of how He loves us. And please, please remember my friend Diane.

Finish Strong!!

It was almost one week ago that through blurry eyes I saw the finish line of the Aramco Half Marathon. I saw the finish line - not the clock. I honestly don't remember seeing the clock. My mind was focused on the finish line - and crossing it.

My eyes were blurry for a few reasons, and not just because it had been sprinkling.

First, I ran this race raising money for Living Water International. I wanted to exceed in fundraising and exceed at running. When I crossed the line, I prayed that someday children in need around the world can cross a finish line of their own.

Second, I was thinking of my uncle that died almost 5 years ago. My uncle ran the full marathon many years before. At many times during the race when I was exhausted, it gave me strength to know that I was following in my uncle's footsteps. I hope I made him proud.

Third, I knew I had beat my goal. I beat my time by 10 minutes! I didn't know I had done that well, but reaching a goal, any goal, is reason to celebrate.

It was a fun and amazing race. But I'll leave you with my 5 things to remember on race day:

5. Go to the bathroom!
I know, seems silly. I try to get to the race early enough to go to the bathroom right before. Races are won and lost in the port-a-potties!!

4. Enjoy the race!
Hi-five people, sing to yourself and cheer other on. It's the little things that keep you going through the race!

3. Have a quote!
When I feel down, I tell God that I will use everything He gave me. I want nothing left when I cross the finish line.

2. Play "Pass the People"
When you are playing a game, time goes by faster. I pretend I'm playing pac man or frogger.

1. In all things Praise God!
God is so amazing to give us bodies that can accomplish great feats! Give Him the glory. I can do all things throug Christ!

Hope in a New Year

Happy New Year everyone! I love New Years and new beginnings. It reminds me of how far God has brought me. He continuously shows me how he is the hope in my life. My New Year's resolution has been to remember the hope before it has to slap me in the face!

On a 14-mile run, you tend to go through many levels of emotions. I've said it before that running this race raising money for Living Water International has helped motivate me as I remember I run for more than a medal.

After 13 miles, I ventured on that last one to help push me over the edge in my training. I remembered the quote on my fundraising page,

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say "I used up everything you gave me." - Emma Bombeck

That gave me the final push to keep on. Sometimes we need to remember little quotes to keep us keeping on. In life, in the battlefield, in a race.

Today I couldn't help think about hope. What hope do these children have every day when they wake up not knowing if they'll survive? What hope does a mother have when she doesn't know if she can give her children water or if she will have to see them suffer for another day?

We know that their short-term hope is in survival, namely through clean water to drink. We know that their long-term hope is in God and the ultimate glory He holds. The amazingness of Living Water International is that they not only are able to provide the water needed for survival, but they show the love of Christ, supplying the long-term hope.

Have you ever had a random stranger help you? Doesn't it remind you how there are people that love in this world? That is the ultimate mission of Living Water.

So as I run and remember to put one foot in front of the other, I pray I'm helping to raise hope. I'm praying that somewhere in this world the money I've raised is used to provide hope. That one day some girl, boy, mom or dad, will tell someone that they have hope because God has brought them through so much in their life.