LIFE Runners Journey

40 days ago LIFE Runners all over the world embarked on an epic journey.  LIFE Runners joined together to cover 5,564 miles of the A-Cross America Relay.  Some of us covered unfilled legs remotely from all over the world, others in the US made pilgrimage to cover the miles, and many filled their local legs.  Together we became a living banner with our "REMEMBER the Unborn Jer 1:5" gear, offering up each mile as a prayer.  Some ran in the snow, the rain, the cold.  Others faced extreme heat and tropical storms, but as one united team we crossed the finish line in Sioux Falls South Dakota on Palm Sunday.

During this 40 days God has changed me so much.  He placed on my heart the desire to run the Suva marathon and so I began my training and was able to run 31 legs, which covered 107.64 miles of the Relay remotely from Fiji.  The awesome Fiji LIFE Runners chapter covered over 34 legs, 104 miles, of the relay as they embrace the culture of LIFE.  It has been powerful what God has been doing in Fiji.  When we first got here I wondered what God had planned for me in this country where abortion is still illegal.  God revealed to me that Fiji needs LIFE Runners possibly even more because abortion is illegal.  God had a plan and it has been powerful to watch him build a mighty chapter from just my family of 3 to well over 80 members in just a few short months.  The people of Fiji have been excited to embrace the life affirming message, it has helped them be able to talk about a tabu subject that abortion has become.  I still can't even believe how powerful it has been watching them stand for life!  The Fiji LIFE Runners have passion and drive and I have no doubt that God will continue to grow this chapter and work miracles through them.  As of right now I have heard so many testimonies of hearts that have been changed, babies that have been saved, salvation's that have come, all because God called and we all answered.

My life is forever changed.  I could never thank God enough for how much he has changed me, how he took a broken, lost, and hurting woman and gave me strength and courage to trust in him for everything.  He has broken all bondage, he is changing me every single day, and I desire to serve him alone.  Far to much of my younger life was spent in slavery to my flesh, but now I am set free and I will serve God with every breath until he calls me home.

I was given the great honor of 2014 Female LIFE Runner of the year, something that I still can't believe.  It is such an honor.  To God be the glory.  God called us to Fiji and we went, because we trust God to lead us where he needs us.  God gave me the courage to continue to run and speak boldly of the truth about abortion, and through that he led me to a church that was ready to take up the cause.  God is the complete architect of LIFE Runners in Fiji and I am honored that he used me, and will continue to use me.  LIFE Runners is so much more than running.  It is reaching out to those who are hurting and scared and being someone they can talk to.  It is about sacrificing your body and giving all you have because you never know who needs to read the words written on your back.  If I skip that run or that ride I may be robbing someone the encouragement they need.  LIFE Runners is about letting everything you do be a prayer, about trusting God to get you to where you need to be.  It is about fighting for what is right, and being the hands and feet of Jesus by reaching out to those who do not yet know Him.  LIFE Runners is a ministry, it is a way for all of us to be disciples out in the world, reaching out to those who need His touch.  LIFE Runners blesses my life every single day.  It has helped my family to get physically fit and spiritually fit all at the same time, it is our witness with fitness.  We won't stop until abortion is UNTHINKABLE!

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Psalm 127:3
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit if the womb is a reward.

Isaiah 40:31
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles;  they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

As I continue this journey with LIFE Runners in Fiji and train for my first marathon I am drawn to the beautiful verse that is so fitting for a runner....

Psalm 26.2
Test me, LORD, and try me, examine my heart and my mind.

I pray that as I run and call to God for strength that he will continue to refine me with every step.  That he will continue to remove from me what does not please him and show me what he desires from me.  I pray that I will have the courage to do his will always and to never back down just because it seems hard or scary.  I thank him that he didn't let me back down when he called me to bring LIFE Runners to Fiji.  I trust in the Lord to finish what he started, and I know that he will faithfully follow through.

Philippians 1:6
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Finding Strength in Shade

I love the sun, I love warm weather, I am made to live in a tropical climate.  That being said today I prayed for rain on my run.

I realized that sometimes in life we get really comfortable in the sun, but when the clouds roll in and the trials hit we start to wonder if the sun has left for good.  In the time when the clouds cover the sun something amazing happens.  Faith grows and you can accomplish more than you imagined.  I think God knows that sometimes we need shade to push to the next level.  He doesn't leave us, He is still on the other side of the cloud, but He knows that we need a bit of cool air to teach us to push harder.  In the shade we learn that we can dig deeper and trust God that we will get through.

We often complain about trials, and why not, they aren't fun.  But the truth is without trials I think we begin to take the sun for granted and we start to slip into our own reliance.  God wants us to want Him, and sometimes He goes silent, not because He doesn't hear us, not because He doesn't see us, but because when He is silent we have to seek Him.  I know in my life when everything is going good and life gets really simple sometimes I slip a bit further from God that I ever intend.  When He allows me to see that distance has grown I run back to Him immediately.  During the times in my life where God has been silent it has taught me that there is clearly something that He is trying to teach me and show me and it makes me a stronger person as I seek Him out.

Don't confuse Gods silence with His absence.  He is never far from us and He does not leave His children.  When you find yourself running in the shade, maybe it's time to push harder and further than you ever thought possible.  God knows you can do it, He wants us to succeed in His purpose over our lives.

Psalms 130:5
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope.

During the times of trial we really need to get into Gods word, spend time in prayer and truly seek Him.  It is not enough to simply wait, it is a process of growth requiring effort.  It is an active process and if we want victory, if we want to be strengthened we must give Him our attention.  If I want to become a stronger runner I have to push myself, I have to take advantage of the shade and use that time to increase my pace, ask my muscles to work harder, tell my mind that I can do it.  It is the same when God is strengthening us.  We have to renew our mind by reading the word and praying.  We have to stretch our muscles by living out what we have learned and stepping out in faith when we feel God leading.

John 10:10
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they may have life, and that they may have to more abundantly.

When the clouds move in we can sometimes only see the enemy attacking.  We are looking the wrong direction.  When it gets dark that is when we run for Jesus, we look for Him and to Him.  He is greater than the devil and Jesus has already defeated him.  We need to keep our eyes fixed on the Lord.  When I run and I am at the end of my own strength I always pray "Lord, I can't go any further, I've got nothing left.  I know that you want me to make it to the finish, so I need you to carry me now."  You know what, I have never not finished.  God has gotten me there every time!  Honestly I normally have more energy after I pray and I feel the Holy Spirit with me.  My runs are spent in prayer and praise, trusting in faith that my feet won't fail simply because God will get me there.  God will get us through our trials if only our focus is on Him.  We have to have the right focus.

Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Trust in the one who makes all things possible!

The Marathon

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.

I have never run a marathon, I have not yet tasted that victory.  I hear that you are never the same after, and I believe that must be true.  I am training for my first marathon and I can tell you that it is changing me.  It is growing me, spiritually as well as physically.  As I run these training miles I realize that this faith journey is a marathon.

From the very moment that you accept Jesus into your heart, truly surrender your life to him, turn from the way of the flesh to the way of the Lord you begin training for your marathon.  Just like you wouldn't step foot out the door after never having run before and run the full 26.2 miles, God doesn't ask you to start the race just yet.  God begins training you, building your faith and endurance through trials and tests.  His training is painful at times, but at the end of each training distance you feel victory.  Sometimes we can't finish the training run, our feet fail, our faith fails, we stumble, but we don't give up!  God asks us to go run again the next day and the day after as he perfects faith and endurance in us.  He will never be finished training us, just like the day you run your first marathon is not the last time you will run.  Finally, one day, God calls to us and says, today is race day.  Its time to step out in faith in the calling on your life.  He knows that you are strong, that you have the longevity.  Although this race goes well beyond 26.2 miles, it is the most important race of our lives, to answer obediently the call of Christ!  He has a purpose for each of our lives, we are all called to serve.

As LIFE Runners the end of our current "marathon" is the glorious day when abortion will no longer harm our unborn, women, and men.  When abortion will become unthinkable.  When we as society embrace life from conception to natural death.  On that glorious day LIFE Runners will celebrate the end to an amazing journey, a victory for life, but as Christians our race will not be over, there will still be much work to be done.  Our race will not end until we take our last breath before God brings us home.

As Christians the race goes on for our lifetime.  That is why it is so important to train hard, to hide the word in our hearts.  To find strength in prayer as the Holy Spirit guides our way.  To seek fellowship with other believers so that we have a team that will cheer us on.  This is the greatest marathon of our lives, the plan that God has for us.  With perseverance we will press forward.  We will never give up!  All in Christ for Pro-Life!

Isaiah 40:31
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles;  they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.