;) Permagrin

Yeah, what can I say. He makes me smile....

I had a lot to smile about before I met Mr. Brownskin, but what can I say?

He brings my soul a lot of joy.

Living Stones Church in Reno

This past month, I've gone to church with James at Living Stones. It's been refreshing to take in the worship, the messages plus the big bonus of sitting next to and holding the hand of a hot man whose loving Jesus with all His heart too.

One of the things that I noticed this past Sunday while walking into the Reno High School Theater was the huge canvases of art that line the walls. One stood out to me this week but it didn't hit me until I was in the middle of worship. The canvas is a huge, white canvas and painted on it (from what I can remember) is part of a tree, or a tree branch - either in dark brown or in black coming from the left side. In the right top corner are some birds. At the bottom of the canvas in the middle is the word "worry."

I didn't get it at first but I was only passing by and glanced quickly at it. When I sat down and music started, I got it. Jesus said we are to look at the birds of the air and see how well they are taken care of and remember that how much more our Heavenly Father will take care of us. We aren't to worry about temporal things but focus on being His bird. :) Hmmm. I'll be meditating on that for awhile.

Heart Rate Monitor

So I got a used Polar HR monitor off E-bay that is supposed to help me while training, specifically to see how I do while biking and running. I still haven't figured it out, but once I do, it will be a better way to track what I'm doing. I'm sure I'll figure it out as I use it.

UnChristian, an interesting read

I recently started reading a book that was recommended to me by David Kinnaman. If you're unfamiliar with him, he is the respected name behind the Barna Research Projects on various topics. I highly recommend this read for every believer and follower of Christ. Sadly, most people associate Christianity with something that is no longer authentic and so far removed from the genuine deal that took place when Christ first came on the scene. But the book is also hopeful. I won't give it away, just recommend it as a great read.

Challenging Yourself

There's something about challenging myself in new ways and learning new things in new areas that really appeals to me. I'm not much of a competitive girl when it comes to competing with others, but when it comes to competing with myself and changing the face of my life, I'm easily there.

A few weeks ago, I finally took a basic CPR course that I've been wanting to take for a long time. Sorely disappointed, I don't know how much better off I am having taken the course. I guess I was expecting a bit more practice on the dummies? haha. Actually, I'm not sure what I expected. Now I've got the certification card from American Heart Association, but I already feel as though I need a refresher.

For over a year now I've wanted to get certified in personal training. Not necessarily to start a career in that, as I love what I do with youth and missions, but more for my benefit and maybe to be knowledgeable for others. In May, I finished a very cheesy basic intro course online that I started while in Hungary. But I've been looking into a few different certifications and trying to decide what road to take. Just this morning the NASM was offering a free online intro to Personal Training. They are one of the organizations I was looking into for certification and if I like their free online course, I will probably sign up for their certification course in Personal Training.

My personal training with Kellye has been awesome! Where I would want to call it "a good workout", the training plan she has for me requires longer workouts and so I'm following that and feel great about it. I'm finishing up my second week and I'm really enjoying it.

I'm looking at doing another Sprint Triathlon at the end of August in Lake Tahoe. This particular one has a longer bike portion. I'm a little nervous about the altitude but I'll be ready. It's a 600 m swim, 22 mile bike, 3 mile run.

Time, Life and Space

This week I'm focusing on coordinating an event we plan to do in Nashville this Fall. The Ignite Weekend is one where students develop relationships with like-minded students on campuses in their city/region. Through the Missions Movement manual, students understanding of what a student mission movement is (and isn’t) and the basic stages of a campus mission movement are explored together. There are times of worship and times of prayer. We spend time diagnosing the stage that each campus is on regarding global prayer and missions involvement and come up with a plan for the year with practical steps to move towards growth in the student missions movement on campus. I'm nervous in that I'm going to be the point person on this project but I'm also excited, knowing that it is going to be great.

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I started a specific Triathlon training plan with Kellye from Atlanta and so far it's been great, just to have the accountability and to build endurance. She is challenging me in some unique ways to increase endurance. I'm looking at participating in a Sprint Tri at the end of August in Tahoe and perhaps doing a half-marathon in September with a friend of mine.

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Last week James and I caught a game with Noel, Mo and the kids in San Fran. It was a lot of fun. It's not my favorite team, but it's his, so I can have mercy on him...Haha. I love it because James and I tease each other with this rivalry and one of the names he's given to my team of choice, is Bo Tox. hahah. That's funny, I have to admit. What a stinker, but I love it! :) Baseball is baseball and I'd never pass up an opportunity to see a game, even if it's the Giants!












This past weekend we met up with some of his friends in Yosemite, enjoying the beautiful scenery while hanging out with his friends from Northern California and their parents. What an incredibly beautiful place!

dates :)

So, I've been really enjoying the company of one man.... (aka hot dates) with James, a guy here in Reno that I'm still getting to know. It's nice to spend time with someone who loves Jesus and is trying to follow Him, likes to stay active with physical fitness goals (ran a half marathon last year and is planning to train with me for Sprint Tri's in the future), has worked through a lot of his personal issues, enjoys joking around and diving into serious conversations, likes going to baseball games and organizing spontaneous road trips, can go with the flow in life and is just all around cool. I don't know what this is all about, but if this keeps up, I'll have hot dates through to December.....I think we've pretty much lined up a bunch of fun things for this summer! I'm not used to this, but I'm enjoying it. :)

Every good and perfect gift comes from above. James is definitely a gift to me. :)