Recently, I had awakened early and opened our front door to get the newspaper when I was struck by the beauty of God.  What a beautiful sunrise!  So I hurried, knowing how the moment can pass so quickly, found my camera and took a few shots.  There was no time to get my clothes on to get a better shot (without the power lines).  Still, the colors were amazing!  A few minutes later, it had all vanished.  I guess this is a prime example where if you snooze, you lose!  LOL!

Sunsets are beautiful.  There are beautiful sunrises and also beautiful sunsets.  There is one sunset that we're experiencing right now.  One of my long-long time friends (since grade school) is preparing for his mother's funeral service this Saturday.  Lastnight I stopped by their place for a visit of condolence and encouragement.  I am thankful that she is a Christian and I know where she is right now.  It's easier to hang around those that know our Savior Jesus Christ.  I hope that I have shown His light on them as they (immediate and extended family) consider the peace He gives us regarding what awaits us (1 Cor 15-35-58).  I will miss Mrs. J.  There are many memories that I have of her kindness and gentleness.  What a fine family she has brought up..each one of them are respectable people and very loving.

Mrs. J passed away the same day that I ran the Seattle marathon.  I didn't find out about the news until late that evening.  It was such a beautiful sunny and cool day.  It was exceptional because usually the marathon takes place in rainy cold weather!  At least that's how it's been for the previous three years that I've participated in the event.  Yes, God has blessed that morning.  I ran as a pacer running 13 miles at 10:52 min per mile pace.  We finished the run right on time at 04:45.  It was a great run.  There were lots of hills, but sill it was enjoyable helping other runners try and meet their goals.  As we were approaching mile 26, one lady almost fell down but she broke her fall with her hands, recovered and continued running as if nothing happened.  That must have taken a lot of effort just avoiding the fall.  Good for her!  

Now that it's Wednesday, my quads are just about fully recovered and I'm thinking about running around the park for a few miles.  It will be slow and easy and it gives me another opportunity to be in prayer.  Running and in prayer..  I'm very thankful for God helping me get over this bad chest cold.  I feel like I'm over that hump.  I'm still congested (yuk this stuff has stuck around for over two weeks!) but I'm becoming less so now.  Praise God!

Have a blessed day!

What a beautiful sunny day we have.  Cool and sunny.   I would go out and run right now except that I'm conserving my energy for tonight's track workout.   Well, it's not exactly a track workout as the coach has me scheduled to run hills.  What a way to start my comeback.  This will be my first interval training since my marathon run over a month ago.  I'll ease myself into this stuff.  My feet feel okay now.  Come the last weekend of January, I hope to be ready to run a half marathon where it should be in the 20-30 degree Fahrenheit range.  Cold I know, but I do better running in the cold for some reason...much better than in warmer weather.    I did go out and run seven miles on Saturday morning with the group.  It was a weird feeling as fellow runners asked me why I haven't been around for a month.  I was kind of surprised after telling this person that I had gout for short period of time and he replied, "Isn't gout what old people get?"  I wasn't sure if he was kidding with me or not.  Gee, anyone can catch this stuff at any age.  It's the concentration of uric acid in a joint.  It's preventable also.  Proper diet (avoiding certain animal proteins, moderating asparagus and mushrooms) and staying well hydrated helps in preventing a reoccurrence.  Anyway, I smiled at him (assuming that he was joking with me) and told him what gout is and what could have caused the condition.  

It is amazing how after the marathon, my body had started to break down the day after...gout (requiring medication)..muscle soreness..chest cold (requiring antibiotics and cough syrup).  All of this made me miss several days from working out in the gym...which caused me gain a little weight (.75 % body fat increase and losing one pound of lean tissue).   Yes, I'm getting older but I must press on and strive to be the best that I can be.  I think that's what God wants me to do..to not give up.  What I want is to gain some spiritual lean body mass...yes, be stronger and more alert for what's going on around me.  I need to listen more to His voice..I need to not be so consumed by material things.  I need to take the initiative and get to know Him more instead of relying on others to educate me.  I've been a baby taking in milk for too long and want to graduate to the solid food.  I'm so blessed that we have a loving and patient God!  He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).   Praise God for that!

Question: Why is it that organic milk has a longer shelf life than commercially produced milk?  I would think that organic items would perish faster than the ones that are treated with chemicals.  At least this is what I've found when comparing organic and commerically grown produce.  I've been drinking fat free organic milk for about two years now and love it.  I don't miss the fat at all.  Organic carrots make the best juice for sure! 

Beautiful..