If you read my Pray Up, Work Out January post, then you know that my words for 2019 are FAITH and FITNESS.  My goal was to blog about this every month but that didn’t quite happen for February and March so you get a 2-month combo! I had a curve ball thrown at me in February (more on that later) and writing one for February and a separate one for March just didn’t happen.  So I apologize if you were someone who came looking in February for the Pray Up, Work Out update!  

February was kind of a hard month for me.  It was my daddy’s first birthday in Heaven and it was also his first “Angel-versary”.  Those firsts are always hard ones and I had a couple of weeks where I just couldn’t seem to get it together.  My perspective was off!  My focus was off!  My girls were struggling with it too which you know just broke this momma’s heart to see them hurting.  My daddy was one of the biggest parts of our lives and his absence was felt even more this February.  

I started a new Bible Study at my church that began February 6th and ended March 6th.  Once again God’s timing was absolutely perfect!  This Bible study was exactly what I needed to change my perspective and to refocus.  One day I spent the entire day crying and I was so beat down and exhausted from it that I almost didn’t go to class that night.  I was so glad that I did!  That night we learned a scripture from Colossians.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:1-2

It changed me right then and there.  I left class that night feeling free from the burdens of the day.  As I drove home I thanked God for His Word and the peace it brings me in the midst of my storms! On the nights when I can’t sleep I start to recite this verse and it helps me fall back asleep. It helps to take my mind off the things that keep me awake at night and back on God.⁣

This is how we keep our joy during our storms. By setting our hearts and minds on Him.⁣ Where we put our focus determines our steps for the day.⁣ I know there are days that just seem too hard but it’s up to us to shift our focus from our circumstances to the only One who truly knows and understands.⁣ I am thankful for His Word and the peace it brings me in the midst of my storms!⁣

You can read about the other verses we learned in my post 5 Scriptures You Need to Memorize that I wrote in March after the Bible Study was over.  It is important for us to have scriptures hidden in our hearts.  It is also important to fellowship with other Christians so we can lean on each other as we grow in Christ together.  I hope that is something you all do!  It will enrich your life and help you stand armed for battle!

Another great thing that came out of this class was the connection it brought between the leader, Tanya Magnus, and myself.  She is a wonderful woman of God and she has a ministry/blog called Choose to Soar.  We have started talking about ways we can work together to reach more people who need encouragement especially those who are dealing with grief. This reminds me of something our pastor preached on:

God takes our messes and turns them into messages.  He turns our pain into our platform and our trials into our testimony. 

I feel this is exactly what He is doing for me right now!   He has been at work behind the scenes as I have grieved over significant losses.  He has held me, He has comforted me, He has waited for me with open arms, He has constantly been healing me, and He has turned my ashes into something beautiful.  I cannot wait to see what He does next!  Pray for us as we listen to God about what He has us to do together!

February I only ran 17.1 miles and in March I ran a BIG FAT ZERO!  There’s a reason though I promise! 

I did run a race in February.  It’s a very popular race in Dallas called the Hot Chocolate 15K.  It was not my favorite race.  I felt like the streets were really rough.  I actually came away from that race with a stress fracture so was unable to run the rest of the month.  I didn’t train much before the race either because of my feet.  I was getting alcohol/lidocaine injections in both feet every two weeks so I couldn’t run very much!

I always do a “Flat Sandy” picture the night before a race!

The finish line goodies were delicious!

This year I want to dedicate each race to someone or something and include a scripture.  This race was dedicated to my daddy and my verse was Philippians 1:3!

Like I said earlier, this race put me out of commission with that stress fracture.  I was supposed to run a half marathon the very next weekend.  Luckily the company in charge let me transfer my registration to another one of their half marathons that take place this summer.  Hopefully, I will be ready to run again by July!  

I’ve been struggling with Morton’s Neuroma for over a year.  After trying everything, my doctor finally ordered an MRI and it showed just how bad they were so in March I had surgery on both feet!  I am still recovering from that and will be for several more weeks.  I only took one week off work but I probably should’ve taken off more.  It is quite painful but in the long run, will be worth it. 

I had a goal of 12 half marathons this year but the pain in my feet just wasn’t allowing me to train the way I needed to accomplish this goal.  Of course, surgery puts me even further from this goal but after the surgery, my doctor said they were really bad and surgery was really unavoidable so I’m glad that I did it.  I’m just ready for recovery to be over!  LOL 

Since I can’t work out or run right now I have to really concentrate on my nutrition.  The first time I lost 45 pounds I used Autumn Calabrese’s 21 Day Fix workout and meal plan.  She just came out with an updated version, Ultimate Portion Fix,  so I purchased the package and got Beachbody on Demand so I have access to her new workouts after I fully recover.  Unfortunately, I’ve still been eating like I’m running 25 miles a week and as you can see I’m not!  Have to get that back under control so that is the plan for April!  I’ll be sure to share some of my meal plans!

Sometimes the plans and goals we have for ourselves are different from the ones God has for us.  I’ve learned to be okay with that!  After all, He knows what’s best for me.  His plans always exceed anything I could think or imagine! (Ephesians 3:20) 

Our spiritual and physical fitness are both important aspects of life but we must take time to just be still.  We must take time to not only pray to God but to listen to what He has to say.  I would love to hear what you are doing to grow in your spiritual and physical fitness so comment below!

I’m going to be using this time off from running to blog more so be sure to come back every Wednesday for something new!