Through the Storm

I put on my tennis shoes this afternoon to go for what is normally my Saturday morning run, but I had to postpone it.  All morning it hasd been sprinkling but I was kind of intrigued by the possible cool down during the run.  As I stepped out  I could feel the rain as I began but it was just enough to push me a little extra. After a half mile in the thunder began and the rain started to come down harder. The thoughts of quiting, turning around, or changing my goal went through my head. I already had to run without music with the thought of hurting my phone.  I pushed through the negative thoughts and kept my eye on the finish.  As I hit the half mile I realized the rain wasn't going to slow me down it was going to push me harder. I ended up running an extra lap through the pouring rain. I could hear my thoughts and prayers as I ran, talking to God about everything on my heart.  What a priceless moment today.. a beautiful run.

I was reminded of this video when thinking about this video. I used to watch in many times with my friends in college.... nice reminder of crying out during the rain!

Life... is extactly like my run today.  You feel as though the things you are going through may slow you down or never get you to your finish line. But its quite the opposite. Every storm and drop of rain is intentional for the final lap in the race. So keep seeking every step in line and push through. Finishing the race is your only goal...let him lead you down his intended path.

"When the rains come..." - Jesus "In the Storm....I am close" - God

- Ready to face the storms ahead..looking forward to finishing the race.

Its crazy how much I have been craving to blog, but my internet has been running very slow!  I won't mention the company (it is letters and a & sign) But I have a gym at my complex with access so here is a brief update on me! I am really beginning to settle in my new life here in Texas. It has really all come together. I am coming up on my final week in my first month of the Grand. And it was a GREAT month!

My New Place
Well I am slowly but surely putting together my home. This weekend I purchased different pieces for my living room. Even though I got a great price I had to put each one together by hand...which at first was a struggle. I now hold a sense of pride for the living room though, i did it all by myself! On Saturday when I bought the furniture I had to unload them from my car and carry each on up the stairs, three stories! It felt like a real life good Samaritan story. So many people had walked by till finally i was on my last piece and hurting that a young girl running with her dog stopped to help me. She tied up her puppy and carried my last piece up with me. I was exhausted, but I got two pieces made and then it was off to OKTOBERFEST!

This is my back yard! Its the Canal Route and Lake! Love my little home!

Brings to me to my Hyatt Family. Really starting to enjoy my job and the people I work with. Daily learning new things about my co workers and their crazy Texas lives. Here are a few pics from this weekends events. We went to Oktoberfest and a bunch of people from different departments came to enjoy the music and bier. It was a lot of fun and definitely can't wait for our next night out. We are doing the Glow Run in November, so its the start of my motivated workouts!

(Ashley, Kelli, Me, Jessica, Marisa, Emily)

We had a lot of fun at Oktoberfest

(Ashley, Kelli, Jessica, Me)

Remembering my girls from CBUS  (thanks for the reminder Beth) Love You Ladies!

IBC - I can't even begin to describe how perfectly planned IBC was for me. God knew where I needed to be. On Thursday nights I go to a evening called the "Gathering" it is for young adults my age! It has been great getting to know so many wonderful people through IBC. Tomorrow night we are serving dinner to families in need around our area. turns out that we do not have a shelter in Irving, so the local churches supply a week each month to house the families in need. I am so excited to spend the evening with theses families!

 This was priceless! Even Barbie is a K-State Fan! OH MAN! GO CATS #7 Way to Be!!

Finally we are still praying for Ryan's Transfer Down here. The right thing will come along but we are hoping it is sooner than later. In a few weeks we will be going to my Girlfriend Erin's Wedding in Kansas City, so we will be seeing each other after one month of being apart. I can't wait to see him!

Home to Texas

Home to Texas!!

Another journey has been placed before me.  This week I will be finally moving into my new home in Los Colinas, Texas! There are so many things that are happening in my life these days. Getting used to the Texas heat is just one of the many adjustments! I'll be a texan in no time!!

Well since I have moved to the Dallas/Fortworth Area I have been a little spoiled! I have been able to live in the hotel to get to know the team and the hotel!

My berry lemondes have probably been my guilty pleasure ..definitely something I will start making at home. The berries down here are so fresh!

When I run upstairs you have a  beautiful view. What you are seeing is the Hyatt Regency DFW. I can't wait to visit some old friends from Hyatt!

Dallas came with a few surprises! Some of my college girlfriends are in the area. On Saturday I went to my first K-State Catbacker Watch Party! It was great to be surrounded by my fellow wildcats! Way to Go Cats!!

This week I am moving into my beautiful little apartment! I am so excited to get all of my things put together! I can't believe I am on my second home! It is a true blessing to be able to have a wonderful job and a roof over my head. We will definitely have a home warming party! I may wait till Ryan gets here... oh who is ryan???

Ryan and I met in Columbus Ohio, my first adventure following college. Well Ryan and I will be together again soon. He is on his way down here to live in the Dallas area too! To say the least I love him very much! I am so thankful for finding my best friend in life... i love you ry!

Today I am going to be heading to Irving Bible Church. Excited to find my church family. Hopefully this will be the place. We shall See!! I will probably post more later today!

Love

Today has been filled with so many blessings. Often I find myself thinking about the past or looking towards the tomorrow's. Where will I be moving to next? Who will I meet next? Where am I going to run my next mile. But today I was filled with the joy of today. I sat for the last two hours of work with an incredible team filled with so many personalities, people that inspire me to work hard, to find my passions. There are men and women on the team that seek and encourage me daily...not many have that at work!
 
On my way home, I talked with Sara, a very special friend that I promise daily we were meant to find each other...love her dearly! Ending the hour long conversation of life,god, boys, and everything else in between i thought to myself .... how blessed..... In four months of being here I have met so many people I could start listing them all..  but these women in my life have changed me. It is as tho they were placed here and now to be apart of every emotion and experience i would have with my time here in columbus.

The lord really does provide when we are earnest to seek and ask. It has not been an easy journey, and some of these ladies are the only ones that saw the true transparent me....during it. But what I hope they have come to see is a woman willing to grasp life, make mistakes, stumble, feel the pain, but grasp to the truth that there is a plan...there is a love beyond measure. I am SO happy today... with where I am and where he is taking me.

" Do all Things with Love" - Unknown

Life continues to mirror this new adventure I am on.  I know what it takes to reach the finish line of 26.2!  Everyday is a choice to complete the steps...to move forward! In the same way our life is given instruction on how to live a life he calls us all to ... What we were created for!! So moving forward with that promise...we complete the race..we win the race..why wouldn't you run to it!!

Today: Its another 3 mile run... the blisters are healing from yesterdays run! I guess i needed better socks on! Note to self! It will be a late night... so it will definitely be a mental battle to complete this run following a late night at work!

I hope you take the time for you today, to give your body the exercise, nutrients, and rest it deserves!!

My shipment comes in today!! Its christmas in a box!! ADVOCARE!!!! Again these are the products I use that give me every foundation I need to complete this training by preparing my body for the intense limits!!

LOVE!

End of Day 1:

Well I completed a 3 mile run and a simple lifting plan! Feels good to accomplish today's goal! I am completely sore, but i take Night Time Recovery to restore my muscles.

I am not sure i had enough water today, I need to do better tracking!! Any fun ideas for flavoring my water throughout the day?!? I love lemons.. but thats as far as i have gotten!

My energy was up today! Definitely a response to a good nights sleep and the metabolic nutrition system.

I know i promised to get those details up! I will..just ready for bed!

For all those that made it to the gym today! SO PROUD!!

Its a lifestyle...there is NO FINISH LINE!! :)

Week 1 of Training has begun! Over the past few weeks I have been working to find a plan that would cover all the basis of creating the best fitness for me! Working with Erin to create a lifting program and planning out runs that would possibly prepare me for the Full Marathon in October. 

Currently I am 5 ' 6" and weigh 128 lbs (way to be honest on the web) My body fat percentage is 19% My goal.... well lower to about 16% body fat, but ultimately find myself in a maximum level of challenging all my limits!

I currently workout at URBAN ACTIVE. The gym in dublin focuses on cross fittness and the urban active grandview offers my indoor running and trx training! More posts to come along this week about what my exact workout plans are.


Setting Myself up for Success:

 It is vital to supply your body with the correct CORE nutrients! This is where Advocare comes into play! Currently I start my day with SPARK!!

Protein - Starting the day with a pure protein provides a great foundation for ultimate performance and energy!

Metabolic Nutrition System  (more to come)

Water - DRINK TONS OF WATER!! 1/2 your weight in Ounces! So I have atleast 65 ounces a day! You will see a huge change!!

Food List (post tonight)



This first week is pretty focused on listing. Erin pushes me to not do cardio this week but because a marathon is around the week I find it may be necessary to customize my 12 week live fit program with her! 

Too short

Today I read this quote:
" Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets....so love the people that treat you right and forget the ones that don't. And believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. Nobody said it would be easy..they just promised it would be worth it"

Many days I go by wishing for something that is apart of tomorrow, instead of identifying what was here today and missing yesterday. There are always checklists of things to get done, deadlines in the future.. etc. The list can go on for pages. Choose to live for this day...

I think the word I am searching for the state of being I am desiring is "Contentment" Understanding I am who I am, I am where I am, and I am going where God has planned for me to go. Simple. Right?

The Lord's Patience = Salvation

2 Peter 3:15-18

¹⁵ and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. ¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, ¹⁸ but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.


“He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,” 2 Timothy 1:9
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds," James 1:2

'

I think she says it all... make me smile from the inside out...you have my heart.

Wait Patiently

If you know me the word wait and definitely patiently doesn't always coexist. I am one that strives and seeks after every dream and ambition I posses. Which makes me come to realize God's complete plan in helping me identify and strengthen this area. Okay so its seriously not so fun. BUT I am confident in him, no so much my ability but his.

For about a week and a half I find myself with awful sleep patterns. Growing up people around me would state that they couldn't sleep, they would wake up etc... I couldn't grasp that... I have the comfy bed, one that lying down for a few minutes only allows me to fall into deep sleep :)... Not so much the case anymore. 

I guess you could say my mind races. I have a lack of confidence in not being in complete control of my future. So i sit and put together pieces that possibly could equal an outcome. Which leads to this complete stress... aka I believe the reason I am not sleeping..and I keep hearing."WAIT PATIENTLY"

Some motivation for myself....

"Before you ACT,  Listen. Before you REACT, think. Before you SPEND, earn. Before you CRITICIZE, wait. Before you PRAY, forgive. Before you quit, Try." - Ernest Hemingway.

" The Longer you wait for something the more you appreciate it when you get it, Because anything worth having is definitely something worth waiting.

  while I wait...

Love

Bre

Getting Pumped for the Challenge!

Who is someone you know who inspires beauty?

I did not expect to be this far apart from my previous post. But you know I think that it comes at the perfect timing. I just moved to Columbus, and truly understanding the reality of leaning on the Lord. You don't always see or understand what is going on as you walk towards his plan for you, but you Trust.

Well this is Day 3, the question is Who inspires beauty.

There are many women in my life, and many women I hope to meet in my life that continue to inspire beauty. But I have to say, My Mom, Lori Ann is truly my example of beauty in all ways.

Not many girls have a best friend in their mom. But I do! We have been a team for a long time. She is a woman who keeps her eye on the Lord. In all of her life moments she has found the beauty and purpose.  It is one thing she instilled in me. At every point in my journey, she taught me to see the beauty.  She works hard every day for her family. She is a beautiful mother and wife. She serves her family in everything she does. I hope I am half the mother and wife she is. I love you mom. Thanks for inspiring beauty in me.

Me and Mommy