"If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all." - Isaiah 7:9

Looking forward to the Harvest Festivals that we will be attending this Wedesday.  It is my prayer that God would place His hand on me so I may get over this terrible chest cold by then.  Why is it that lately, I've been starting my weekends with colds?   Even through this light-headedness, I am still thankful to God for working in me and for what He has done for us. 

I didn't help out with preparing our communion emblems yesturday for I did not want to spread to others what I now have.  In a way, I feel guilty for going to Church being cough-triggered as I am.   I kept my distance most of the time while ushering anyway.  Some brothers in Christ prayed for me and I am so grateful for that!  May His Spirit continue to dwell within each of us and keep us close to Him.  God bless..

That's one incredible cockatoo!

 At present, I'm almost fully recovered from a foot ailment called gout.  I finished the Portland marathon in slightly over five hours.  Why over five hours?  I didn't keep myself hydrated prior to the race and I paid for it by experiencing calf cramps at mile 17.  When my left calf tightly balled up, I sat myself to the side lawn area to stretch it out.  A fellow runner stopped and helped me do stretches..what a super nice guy he was!  I apologized for taking his time when I realized he was wearing a racing number.  He replied to me that he was waiting for his daughter to finish her climb of the one mile hill and catch up to him.  So his daughter appeared 2-3 minutes later and off they went.  I thanked him and felt bad to have taken his time.  What a nice guy!  There were over 7700 finishers.  I was one of them thank God!  After a few more minutes of stretching, I picked myself up and jogged to the finish line at mile 26.2  There were over 70 bands playing throughout the course.  The event was well staffed.  At mile 23-24 there was this beer stop would you believe that?!  That was wierd and I bypassed that one.  You know how that stuff is bad for the body and even dehydrates you further.  Anyway, considering I had cramps on both calves, I did finish the race and received the finisher's medal and shirt.   I am a bit disappointed at my results but that makes me want to do another one.  Vancouver, B.C. is up next.  I hope to get under five hours this time.

So the race was on Sunday.  During the evening that following Monday, my right foot (bunion area) was inflamed and it was very painful to place a blanket ontop of it.  I went to see a podiatrist who informed me that I was recovering from gout, and that my dehydration is a possible cause of the occurrance.  I've never had gout before now, and I hope that this is the last time I experience it.  The good thing about all of this is that now I have an excuse for not excercising..haha!  I've taken a full week off from running and will start back up this weekend...maybe 6-8 miles depending on how I feel. 

In two to three weeks from now, I'll be expecting a call from my podiatrist.  I've decided to purchase some custom made orthotics that I can run with.  Hopefully this will help my neuroma and bunion discomfort that I've been experiencing lately.  We'll see.