I did something crazy last week...I paid $53 so I can run 13.1 miles!  Say what?!  I am going to be participating in the Indianapolis Women's Half Marathon on August 31!  I have only participated in one other race ever, and it was a 5k that our church put on last year, so yeah...this is quite the jump!  Right about now you are probably saying...why the heck are you doing this?!

Well...

I am a planner, I love to work out, and I love being tan!  I really don't have ample time to lay out (I wish), but I always make time to exercise.  Running outside is like hitting two birds with one stone...I am burning off calories from all the ice cream, burgers, and other delicious summer treats that I am constantly eating, and if I wear shorts and a sports bra while running I am working on my tan!  Even though the racerback and sock tan lines aren't the sexiest things ever, it's still better than nothing!  Also, I don't just like to work out aimlessly...I like to follow a plan...and pretty much every running plan ends in a road race...so I figured, "what the heck?!"  I can comfortably run 5 miles now, and I really haven't tried more than that, but I feel like that is a good training base to start with.

I am going to use these next 10 and a half weeks to control my body and my fitness, so that I can run farther than I have ever ran before!  I do not have any specific goal time that I want to finish in...I just want to finish! 

I will be putting the rubber to the road using the Hal Higdon Novice Training Program, with a few minor personal tweaks.  Please pray for me as I embark on this training journey.  Specifically pray that I will not be set back by any injuries - Ain't nobody got time for that!

Thanks for reading!

When we first bought our house a little over two years ago, our landscaping was completely overgrown and pretty much the grossest thing we had ever seen.  Have yourself a little look...

And that picture is after we got new windows, a new front door, and a new roof...just imagine the horror before!  So then...over the next couple years we tore all the bushes and junk out...so for a long time it looked like this...

Brady and I were planning on doing the landscaping ourselves.  We researched the internet, creeped all over town on peoples yards, and checked out books from the library.  But we had no idea what to do when it came to our house!  It was so frustrating...until...I found out that one of my new crop insurance customers also does landscaping on the side.  When someone is a customer or mine, I am more than happy to do business with them.  So he came out and measured everything and asked all sorts of questions.  In a couple days we had a plan drawn out, and a few weeks after that there was a crew of 3 guys at our house getting work done! 

Of course having someone else do it was more expensive than if we would have done it ourselves, but we are so happy we did it and are so pleased with the final product.  Our house just looks happier now and has so much more curb appeal!

I think you should really see some before and afters...the before pictures were taken Monday morning, and the after pictures were taken Monday evening! 

I can't wait until everything blooms and starts to fill in.  Don Anderson and Garden Gate Landscapes did an awesome job and if anyone is wanting their services then you should call Don at (765) 325-2681.

The pictures hardly do it justice, everyone will just have to come over to see it in real life so you can really appreciate all the new outside wonderfulness!

I hope you like is as  much as we do (I am sure you don't, but that's okay...we better like it the most since we paid for it!)

Thanks for reading!

Sounds kind of backwards doesn't it?  We have always been taught to put 100% into everything we do, and not to even bother doing something if you aren't going to give it your all.  Well, I am going to disagree with that.  I say, "If it's worth doing, then it's worth doing poorly."  I didn't make this saying up, but heard it from Rob Rienow when he was speaking to men about leading their wives.

You see, many people don't even attempt to do things, for fear of failure.  Many men are scared to open the Bible in their homes because they don't have a degree in theology and are scared they might misprounounce Mahershalalhashbaz...yes that really is someone's name, see Isaiah 8:3.  Men - you don't have to be a Bible scholar to lead your wives!  If you can talk out loud, and you can read...then you can lead your wife!  Just open your Bible to Proverbs or Psalms and read, then shut it.  It is that easy, no hour long sermon is necessary. 

Reading your Bible together along with prayer are the main ingredients to make any marriage flourish.  If praying out loud with your spouse isn't something you have done regularly, then it can be awkward.  Just remember, you are talking to your heavenly Father, He already knows you better than you know yourself, so there is no need for an expanded vocabulary or poetic speech.  Just thank Him for all He has blessed you with, and tell Him what is on your heart.  He already knows, so it really shouldn't be that scary. 

Wives - if a husband hasn't been the leader that your heart desires, then pray, pray, and pray some more.  And when he does step up and lead, don't tell him how he is doing it wrong or make fun of his bumbling speech during a prayer.  Just be thankful that your hubby has taken that step of faith, tell him you are thankful, encourage him, and keep praying for him. 

If it is 11:30 at night and you and your spouse have finally just crawled into bed, exhausted after a long day.  Grab your iPhone, pop open your Bible app and read a few verses (or if you are extra tired, you could have the Bible app read to you...technology is a wonderful thing!).  Then hold hands and thank the Lord for the day you had and the fact that you have a loving spouse by your side.  Next, roll over and have sweet dreams!  See it wasn't that hard and didn't take that long! 

Of course I think the Lord does deserve the best of us, but I also think that reading a few verses and saying a two minute prayer is a lot better than nothing. 

Thanks for reading and I pray this post encouraged you!