Author / Bethe

by Bethe

Running is Biblical

One of the things I love about running is that it’s Biblical. The Bible uses it as a theme throughout scripture… a theme for Christian discipline, for perseverance, for never giving up, and for finding strength in Christ when we have none left for ourselves. The Bible makes it clear that our faith should not be a sprint, but a marathon. These are some of the verses that I will be quoting as I run on Sunday:

Psalm 119:32
I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.
Proverbs 4:11-12
I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble.
Philippians 2:16
As you hold out the word of life–in order that I may not boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
And finally… for the verses that explain why I run. And the reason why I live my life the way I do. You might call it my “life verses.” I even have part of it engraved on my iPod, so I can remember it when I’m ready to give up.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that in a race that all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize…  I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
by Bethe

National Half Marathon Week

In just seven days I run my first half marathon. So I hereby proclaim December 8-14 to be National Half Marathon Week. “Says who?” you may ask… well, says me!

There are many important aspects of preparing for a half marathon. The two most important keys to a good race are having the perfect wardrobe, and the perfect soundtrack.  
Here’s where you come in. I need suggestions from all of my music loving friends (like you, David!). No song is too crazy… my current running playlist includes Metallica, Ozzie, Britney, Miley, Keith Urban, Nirvana, Vanilla Ice, Tupac, and Faith Hill. I’ll take all your suggestions and publish my Perfect Half Marathon Running List later this week. 
Time for bed. For the next seven days I need to get lot’s of sleep, eat tons of carbs, and run!
by Bethe

Good news

Guess who got renewed for another semester as a graduate assistant? Me! Me! Me! That’s right, I get free tuition again in the spring, plus a little extra spending money. Praise the Lord, it’s a huge blessing!

It’s a bit surprising, considering the 17…
by Bethe

Just give me the stupid grade already

I tend to have unrealistic expectations when it comes to my graduate program. Like, if I turn in an assignment, I expect to have it graded and returned. If you give me a test, I expect you to return it and tell me how I did. I expect you to actually read the papers that I make so many sacrifices to write.

But sometimes that’s too much to ask. Not all my professors… I have had a few who are absolutely fantastic. And I have had a few who are not.
So tonight my professor returned my research paper… which I honestly kind of phoned in anyway. Let’s face it, I had a tough semester and I had a 98 going into this final paper, so I approached it with a “good enough” attitude. I even reconciled the fact that I just might get a B. (gasp) in the class. My first in this program.
So you can imagine my horror when I got back the paper and it had a big fat 17 on the top. SEVENTEEN. Eeeek! Are you kidding me? I may have done a less than stellar job, but a SEVENTEEN???? I thought you could get at least 17 points just for putting your name on it. 
And then my professor explained that this score was like golf… the lower your score, the better you did. So I think, “Do I subtract 17 from 100? Does that mean I made an 83?” 
Apparently  not. Because  a perfect score was an 8. Seriously. Somehow an 8 is a 100, and a 100 is a 0. Huh? So I have no idea what a 17 means. I figure it’s somewhere between an 83-91. Whatever. Honestly, I was too tired to mess with it this morning. So I took my 17 and went home. I take that back… my 17 and I went out for sushi with friends from class, and then we went home.
I’m not sure this paper will be going on my refrigerator.
by Bethe

Beginning of the End

Today is the first day of the last month of 2008. Thank goodness. This has been a rough year for me… filled with ups and downs, but the downs were really tough this year.

But here’s my theory… it seems that  most of the time, a bad year is followed by a really great year. One filled with adventures and friendships and the more obvious kinds of blessings that make you want to jump up and down like a little kid who hears the ice cream truck approaching. My 2008 was filled with many, many blessings, but a lot of my year’s blessings were the kind that you had to look harder to see.
And that’s really okay, because either way I choose to have joy. Joy if my blessings come wrapped in a huge bow of ease and excitement, and joy if my blessings come sandwiched between hardship and heartache. Either way, I choose joy.
by Bethe

End of the month

November is National Blogging Month, and my blog-a-day challenge has come to a close. I didn’t make it every day, but I did manage 27 out of 30 possible days. Not bad.

Here’s a quick run-down of my really fantastic and relaxing Thanksgiving week:
  • Thanksgiving with my family was really nice. My mom is a fantastic cook and made us a feast, and sister Lindsay is a master pie baker… I wish I could eat pecan pie every day. 
  • I ran 12 miles on Friday, in 126 minutes. It was a really good run, I didn’t feel like throwing up a single time. That’s a lot better than my last super-long run (Isn’t it crazy that I judge success by my lack of vomiting? That’s how I know this sport is nuts). Just 14 days until my half marathon.
  • I put up several thousand Christmas lights on my house on Saturday. All by myself. I’m really proud, it looks great. I’m even more proud that I didn’t need a guy to help. Except for the part where my dad came, but that was at the very end, so I don’t count it.
  • Tonight several of my friends helped neighbor Nick decorate his Christmas tree. I love having friends who live in my neighborhood, it’s really special. I’m not sure why, but it makes me feel like a grown-up.
  • Today I finished piecing together my latest quilt. I promise to post pictures soon. I’m really proud of how well it turned out.
  • I didn’t do a lick of homework the entire weekend. It was absolutely glorious.
Time to grab some sleep so I’m nice and fresh for my first day back in the real world tomorrow. Is it crazy that I’m excited to go back to work? I really do love what I do, and if I’m gone for a few days, I start to miss it. 
by Bethe

Thankful

In honor of Thanksgiving, here is a list of things I’m thankful for:

  • My savior, Jesus, who loves me when I don’t deserve it, and who is more powerful that I will ever be able to understand.
  • I have the most awesome family. Ever. You may think your family is cool, but I’m convinced that mine may be better. They’re just really wonderful. And they make me laugh.
  • I have a job that I love. It allows me to help people when they’re sick and hurting. I get paid to work with local charities. I get to be creative and think outside the box every day. Every once in awhile I get to be on TV or in the paper. And I have fantastic bosses and coworkers. I’m so thankful for this, since it’s where I spend most of my time.
  • I got free tuition for grad school this semester. In fact, they even paid me a stipend. That’s spending money that I wasn’t expecting, not to mention that I saved about $6,000 in tuition this fall. That’s huge.
  • I have a really great church. They don’t just talk a good game, the folks there are mission-minded, outward-focused, and passionate about people. They’re not preachy, yet they’ve got such an obvious faith. I’m so proud to serve with them.
  • I got to make some new friends this year. Some came from unexpected places. Funny how that works.
  • I’m really healthy. So healthy that I get to run a half-marathon in two weeks. A lot of folks don’t have the opportunity to do that.
  • I have a home. One that I built, so it’s exactly the way I want it. Even though I’ve only lived here two years, I already have a lot of good memories here.
  • I get to travel a lot. This year I went to New York. Next year I’m going to Europe, and possibly Miami. I’ve gotten to see a lot of neat places since I got out of school.
  • I’m debt free. That’s a huge blessing.
  • I have a really cool dog.
  • I live in America, which means I have the freedom to do just about anything I want to do. I realize that freedom didn’t come without a cost. I’m thankful for that.
And I’m thankful that I have a warm bed waiting for me. Goodnight!