Keep Running

Seven weeks ago today, I was sitting in church, listening to the pastor speak about how God uses unlikely people to do amazing things. You can see it all throughout the Bible--the young David defeating the giant Goliath, Abraham and Sarah giving birth to a nation in their old age. Often, the more unlikely the person, the greater the victory for God. Where we are weak, he shows his strength "so that no man can boast". It cannot be the person, it must be God. So it got me thinking, what am I highly unlikely to do?

Something came to mind instantly: run a marathon.

Huh? What?

I am the least likely person to ever run a marathon. In sixth grade, I could barely run a mile. If I ever exert myself, I get this knife in the throat sensation, something I've always self-diagnosed as exercise-induced asthma. This has been my limitation my whole life. There are runners and there is me. The two do not mix.

I talked this over with God and he assured me I can trust him. I do trust him, so I said okay. I cannot do this, but if you want me to, You can. I downloaded a document from Fitness Magazine on how to train for a half-marathon in 8 weeks for beginners. It said if you can run two miles, you can do this.

I'd never run two miles in my nearly four decades of life.

That day, I set out on a painful journey where I had to pray for every step, pray for the breath, for the pain in my throat to go away. I felt things jiggling in places I never knew existed. It was excruciating. It was elating, because God brought me through. I told him, "I will take the steps if you will meet me." And he did. When I completed 2 miles in 30 minutes (that's 2 15-minute miles), he said, "You can do this. I got you." And I began my training the next day.

I have been faithful to take the steps. I have woken up at 5 AM and run in the dark just to get my run in before I had to hop on a  plane. I have blessed the houses I passed, prayed for the people I passed. I have been blessed with an old woman on a walker who told me to Keep Running. I have been blessed with people who have prayed for my runs because as I tell them, I am not a runner, but God is. I've never experienced such an amazing growth in faith by learning endurance and learning to pray for every step.

My family used to laugh at my running style, arms rigid so I wouldn't get cramps. If you see me now, you might watch a left hand raise in praise as I am blown away by his faithfulness to me. He has healed my "exercise induced asthma." He has taught me how to breathe. He has taught me self-discipline. When I run, I ask him to take captive my lungs, my heart, my legs, my mind, and he does. It is an awesome ride. Some days are very difficult still, but I am faithful to meet him on the road because he is faithful.

To make matters more interesting, for the past three weeks of my training, I have been fasting. Normally, I would not mention this private matter, but for these purposes, it illuminates how totally awesome God's work has been. Yes, I gave up caffeine and had to run on water only. I gave up seafood (I don't eat meat), dairy and breads and pastas and wine and all sweets and sweeteners. When I was out of town and all that was served was barbecue, I had to survive on a bag of peanuts, and He ran 8 miles with my body that weekend  in Jefferson, TX. Can you imagine how my faith has grown? In doing the Daniel fast, I felt a bit like Daniel. No, I don't need to eat what the king eats, feed us fruits and vegetables and our God will show up and give us strength.

And boy, has he.

I am not a special person, no more special than you. But I have learned that God wants to do great things though me. And He wants to do them through you, too. He wants us to draw closer to him. He wants us to thirst only for him. When I run, he is my water, he is my bread. I would not trade these hard 7 weeks, running and walking anywhere from 8-28 miles per week, for anything.

Yesterday, after training for 7 weeks, I ran my first race - 9.4 miles (15K) in the Charlie Post run on Sullivan's Island. I won't go into all the details here, but let me just say that not only did I run that race, but God gave me a running companion I would have never guessed as well -my sister-in-law, Megan. Her plan was to run, walk, run, walk her way to the finish line, and when she caught up to me in the third mile, she stayed with me and my pacing and ran the whole way. I prayed for her the whole way and I was witness to her amazement as she passed each mile marker. We encouraged each other and praised God mile after mile. And though we came in almost last, we finished that race together at a 12:30-mile pace.

This is only the first race, God-willing, and hopefully a half-marathon is in my very near future. After that, who knows?

I am learning endurance. I am learning that God will put people in my path at just the right time to encourage me and keep me going in the right direction. I am learning that in running by Him, for Him, through Him, and to His glory, I am running a miracle.

And I believe in miracles. I have seen many in my lifetime. And I needed to share this with you, for you see, I am still not a runner, but He is. Through me.

Now tell me, seriously, what are you highly unlikely to do that you have always admired in others but was simply impossible for you? Dare you talk it over with God? It might be an interesting and life-changing journey to begin. God speed.

I Ran Off with the Circus



Wade Rouse (I'm Not the Biggest Bitch
in This Relationship: Hilarious, Heartwarming Tales
About Man's Best Friend from America's Favorite Humorists)
and me

Last weekend I ran away to the circus in Jefferson, TX and posted about it on A Good Blog is Hard to Find. Hope you hop on over and enjoy!

Passion

My passion flower vine that flourished in the summer sun and winked new blooms at me every day was decimated by caterpillars. This is the one that would reach out and cover everything in it's curly-q arms. It would grab on and not let go. I let it sit there, dead, hoping it would revive, to no avail. So I finally cut it all back, pared, and pared, and trimmed, and sadly left a large heap of barren sticks by the side of the road, remembering its former glory. Days later, as if breathing a sigh of relief, as if saying thank you for cutting off what was dead, my vine started sprouting up and tendrils are beginning to reach out again. What a glorious thing, to see passion beginning to grow again even after the worldly things have tried to kill it off.

Bid on this!

Last night I was reading Kathy Patrick (Queen of the Pulpwood Queens book clubs) describe the fires that were threatening her quaint town of Jefferson, TX. Apparently, the fires were started by arson, which is hard to fathom. I've been to Jefferson twice for the annual Girlfriend's weekend for the Pulpwood Queens, and the trip always fills my sails. The people of Jefferson are warm and hospitable. I love the B&Bs and restaurants, etc.

I can't stand sitting here in SC, feeling helpless, so I've created a mixed media painting (photo transfer and acrylic on watercolor) of Kathy's beauty salon/book store, "Beauty and the Book". Please bid on this on my FB page (just put a comment stating how much you bid.) As of this morning, the bid is up to $125, but I know we can do better. I will MATCH the highest bid and the money will go to the Jefferson firefighters per Kathy's request.

I plan on having the artwork framed and shipped to the highest bidder. If you've ever been touched by Jefferson, please make a bid!

Bid here: http://www.facebook.com/Pulpwoodqueen/posts/256574194373694#!/media/set/?set=a.10150791581395612.733261.121816365611

Name Dropping

It seems like everywhere we turn there's bad news, so I thought I'd celebrate instead some good things in the world...namely authors I've met in my travels. Even though the publishing world is more treacherous than expected, the people I've met along the way have been unexpected blessings and bright spots. There is so much to celebrate!! This is NOT, by any means, a complete list, but if you find an author's name here, know that this is someone who has impressed me professionally, but also touched and impacted me personally. If there's an author on here you'd like to lift up with a positive story, please leave a comment about them. Positive only, please. If there's someone I've left off the list, I'm sorry! My memory banks are sometimes faulty. Who did I forget???? Please comment about that author and how he/she makes the world a better place!

PS. Many of these folks will be coming to Charleston in September for SIBA (Southeastern Independent Booksellers Association trade show), and this author cannot wait!

Beth Webb Hart
Mary Alice Monroe
Marjorie Wentworth
Batt Humphreys
Pat Conroy
Cassandra King
Josephine Humphreys
Lisa Wingate
Jenny B Jones
Marybeth Whalen
Shellie Rushing Tomlinson
Patti Callahan Henry
Sonny Brewer
River Jordan
Karen White
Ron Rash
Jim Minick
Tim Callahan
Carla Stewart
Eleanor Brown
Karen Harrington
Jamie Ford
Michael Morris
Neil White
Kathryn Casey
Deeanne Gist
Marcia Fine
Ad Hudler
Kathy Patrick
Jack Bass
Nathalie Dupree
Michelle Buckman
Marshall Chapman
Dale Cramer
Kwame Dawes
Ann Gabhart
Kieran Kramer
Cathy Pickens
Signe Pike
Rose Rock
Kathryn Wall
Jackie Cooper
Linda Annas Ferguson
Mindy Frindle
John Hart
Charlotte Jenkins
Janna McMahon
Charles Banov
Ken Burger
William Conescu
Brett Lott
T. Lynn Ocean
Maryann McFadden
John Thompson
Denise Hildreth
Jackie Lee Miles
Karin Gillespie
Kerry Madden
Katie Crouch
Red Evans
Rebecca T. Godwin
Sue Monk Kidd
Dorothea Benton Frank
Dori Sanders
Dick Cote
and on and on...!!

Around the World Art Camp!

 

What a week we had in Around the World Art Camp! With ages 6-9, we traveled to a different country every day, finding it on the map, sampling the culture, learning facts, playing games, and of course, creating art! This week-long camp was held at Palmetto Christian Academy in my very own lower school art room. I think the room was happy to have some artwork being made in it again, and I was thrilled to watch these gifted and talented kids become immersed in different cultures.



Aboriginal Dot Painting - Emu, Age 9

Day one - Australia

Today we went "down under" and learned about Aborigines. The kids loved the chanting CD we listened to while imitating aboriginal dot paintings. Then we made and played our own digderoos with traditional aboriginal symbols. The kids couldn't get enough of our Aussie snack for the day, Fairy Bread. It's easy to make -- just put margarine on white bread, cover with rainbow sprinkles and cut on a diagonal. Simple!



Celtic letter A from The Book of Kells, age 7



Day Two - Ireland

Ah, the Enchanted Isle. Did you know there are no snakes in Ireland? Today, we learned about Saint Patrick, the shamrock and the Trinity. We read Irish blessings, watched Irish dancers and listened to traditional music. For artwork, we learned about illuminated manuscripts and created our own illustrated Celtic letters inspired by The Book of Kells. The best part of the day might have been the Celtic knots and crosses made out of pizza pans...or maybe it was the Irish Jaffa cakes!



Gyodan breakfast, age 8



Day Three - Japan

Did you know the round circle on the Japanese flag is a symbol of the sun? Or that it's considered rude to blow your nose in public in Japan? We had a blast learning about this amazing country. We listened to the music, ate edamame, and then created our own gyodan (Japanese art of making fake food). Don't they look good enough to eat?

Fish haiku and sumi-e, age 7

Next we wrote haiku poems about animals and painted them in sumi-e fashion. Beautiful! The Japanese word search was extra hard and extra fun today.



Learning about Picasso, sculpture, age 8



Day Four - Spain

Spain is home to bullfighting, flamenco dancing, and some truly interesting artists. Today we emulated Picasso, Dali, and Miro. The artwork was surreal. Personally, I enjoyed listening to the Spanish flamenco guitar and eating the Manzanilla olives for snack. I find myself longing for more tapas. Ole!

Learning about Joan Miro, "Landscape", age 8

Please enjoy some more photos below. Looks like I'm done with summer camps...off to jury duty next week!

Aboriginal dot painting




Time for play!



Playing the didgeroo

Aboriginal dot painting, Kookaburra, age 8



Aboriginal dot painting, Platapus, age 7



Aboriginal dot painting, Kookaburra, age 6

Aboriginal dot painting, Sugar glider, age 9

Didgeroos!



Word search!



Celtic letter B, age 9

Celtic letter C, age 6

Celtic letter J, age 6

Celtic letter A, age 9

Celtic letter L, age 6

Celtic letter Z, age 6

Celtic Cross, age 9

Celtic Cross, age 8

Celtic Cross, age 6

Gyodan fruit, age 6

Gyodan pizza and parmesan, age 9

Gyodan burger, age 6

Gyodan taco, donut, grapes and purple onion, age 6

Gyodan grapes, age 6

Gyodan grapes, age 7

Panda haiku and sumi-e, age 9

Penguin haiku and sumi-e, age 6

Cat haiku and sumi-e, age 8

Cat and mouse haiku and sumi-e, age 6

Bird haiku and sumi-e, age 6

Crab haiku and sumi-e, age 6



Making Picasso-inspired sculpture



Picasso-inspired sculpture, age 6

Picasso-inspired sculpture, age 9

Inspired by Miro, "Dog", age 6



Painting surreal landscapes



Master Pieces Art Camp!

Summer camp is officially OPEN! I just finished a week of art camp at Seacoast Church in Mount Pleasant, SC. With kids ages 6-8, we studied a different master artist each day and then worked out our own inspired masterpiece.  The children used bodies, minds and spirits to experience Cubism, Impressionism, Surrealism, Abstractism, and Realism. Enjoy the photos below.

Learning about Pablo Picasso

Picasso-inspired soft sculpture, age 6

age 8

age 6

age 7

Mini-masterpieces, pastel on shrink film, Learning about Claude Monet

Impressionistic Cat, age 6

age 8

Learning about Salvador Dali and Surrealism

Surrealist Landscape with silly putty foot, age 6

Learning about Vasily Kadinsky and Abstract art

Abstract Composition to music, age 7

Learning about Leonardo da Vinci and drawing what we see around us. Later we sketched inventions!

We learned a lot about art, but we played hard too!

Next weeks' camp is at Palmetto Christian Academy. In this Around the World Art Camp, we'll go to a different country each day! Can't wait!