Take your marks

Hi! My name is Rachel Green. If you are reading this you probably already know that. I am 32 years old. I have been married to my husband Matthew for over 10 years. We have 2 (Amazing) children; Mara 8, Shane 6. I Love Jesus most!!! Happy to be Homeschooling! I use the word Awesome more than anyone else you know! I am lively and energetic. I have No problem making a complete fool outta myself, and do this often. I smile a lot- it can get annoying. I can be obnoxious. I am reliably, Tardy! I am an all or none at all kind of person- to a fault! I think rules make good guidelines. I can hold a grudge and not my tongue. The me without HIM is selfish, surmising and B-chy. I am desperate for His intervention everyday!! Now that you know W.A.Y. to much about me, we will get down to the nitty, gritty! ;)

I have Never been, and will never be a skinny girl. I have been a healthy girl before. I like her! She is not obsessed with a # on the scale. She is not concerned with being a certain size. She can do anything! She rises early with a smile and doesn't rest until she has given her all. She isn't easily irritated by a heavy work load. She realizes that to take the very Best care of the ones she Loves, she has to take care of herself. I am not that girl at the moment.

Right now... I haven't really worked out seriously or consistently in over a year. I am physically unfit and unwell. I don't eat breakfast. I sleep 4-5 hours at night and try to get in a 1-2 hr nap in the afternoon. I have a goiter on my thyroid which requires me to take a prescription medicine everyday in a particular manner (first thing in the am, with a full glass of water, 1hr before eating) and I don't take it. I have 3 ulcers. I "suffer" with a condition that comes from chronic constipation, and delivering huge children. You get the idea.

I have felt burdened about the state of my health for the last few months. Last month, one of my Best friends, Kathie Pagliaro signed up to run a half marathon on behalf of Team World Vision. She is not a runner. As soon as I saw she and her hubby's posts on Facebook about it my heart was pricked. I kept saying to myself, "There is no way I could do it, I don't run, I am so out of shape, My knee will kill me, My hemorrhoids will really kill me, I can't make it to run when the group does...etc." Well, what I say to myself fortunately is not as important as what the Lord says to me. James 2:15-17 "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." Team World Vision is working to provide clean drinking water in Africa.www.worldvision.org 

 Last week my grandmother passed away. Obviously this had an impact on me. It was a reminder that our life here on Earth is short, what we do with everyday God grants us is important, and I NEED to take better care of myself. She was 74 years old. Not that old really. The last few years of her life she was unable to do much because of her health. Much of what she suffered from could have been avoided or prevented if she had taken better care of herself, more than that she would have been happier and able to do so much more. I realize that this may sound a little cold, or harsh. Will you take my word for it that I am saying this honestly, heartfelt, and from the perspective of a person in serious self-reflection. I Loved her, many things about her I admire, but I do not want to experience the things she did the last few years of her life.

So, long pause... I signed up! I joined Team World vision. I agreed to run 13.1 miles, a half marathon in February. I have about 13 weeks to train and ready myself for the event. I realize to some reading this a half marathon may not seem like life's biggest challenge or accomplishment. If I am able to do this, to cross the finish line on my own two feet, it may not be my life's biggest accomplishment but, it will have been one of it's biggest challenges. To try to keep my self accountable and in the hopes of gleaning both advice and encouragement along the way I decided to take this journey public. I have a Big mouth, so most of  you will hear all about it anyway. ;) Not exactly sure how this is gonna work since I don't have a fancy phone with any fancy apps that track where, how far or how long I ran. For now you will just have to trust me. Pray for me, pray with me! Pray God will help me stay consistent. Pray for Team World Vision. Pray for those who are thirsty, who do not have clean water to drink, those who will lay down tonight with an empty belly. Pray God will quench the thirst and fill their hearts until the day clean water gets there and sleep comes easily!! 

Hebrews 12:1 "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith."