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Saturday Morning #CoffeeTalk

Good morning, friends! It’s been such a beautiful week here in Philly. I can’t believe it’s August. The weather has been absolute perfection — warm but not hot, sunny, low humidity. It’s awesome.

This is a picture I captured sitting on my front porch one evening this week while my husband and daughter were throwing a frisbee. I mean. Look at that sky!

pink sky at night

So I’m back to running. I cannot EVEN believe I’m saying that. I really thought I was going to have to give it up for good, and I had actually reached the point where I was finally okay with that. I credit my new doctor. He pretty much ordered me to get back out there.

There are no words that adequately describe the joy I get from running, and I’m so grateful for another chance. I hope this isn’t some cruel tease, but I really do feel like I might be able to sustain it if I’m careful. I’ve been following a recovery training plan, and I’m still going to PT a couple times a week. I swear, I feel like PT is a permanent part of my life. (Of course, it has been for the past 2 years!) This new physical therapist does a lot of manipulation and hands-on therapy, and he’s working hard on increasing my joint mobility along with hip and core strength, which he says is key if I want to keep running. I feel like we’re definitely getting somewhere.

I’m up to running 7 minutes and walking 2. I alternate that 3 times, with a 5-minute walk on either end. It feels AMAZING! I’m also using my FitBit again and trying to get 10,000 steps in every day. I’m not quite there yet, but close, and I haven’t had any significant set-backs this time, so I’m feeling cautiously optimistic that I’ll make a full recovery. I will probably have to baby my feet as long as I insist on running, but that’s okay. Most runners have to baby something, I suppose.

I know that I may not be able to keep it up forever, but as long as I can, I will. I’m content with not running super long distances. I just want to be able to get out there 4 or 5 times a week and run 3 to 5 miles at a time. Six miles is probably tops for me. Anything over that got pretty tough, and I didn’t really enjoy those long runs anyway. I don’t care if I never run another half marathon. It was rewarding, and I’m glad I did it, but I think it’s a one and done.

I DO want to get back to the 5K community races, though. I loved the energy and camaraderie, and I’ve missed them. As soon as I can run 3 miles without walking, I’m going to sign up for one. Maybe a Turkey Trot? I love a good Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning. LOL!!!

Okay, enough on that. But can you tell that I’m excited!?!

In other news, our school district starts back on Monday. I always have such mixed feelings about that. The kids are bored, and I’m stressed that they’re watching too much TV and YouTube, so I’ll be glad to get back to a routine and have them learning and doing rather than watching and consuming.

But summer…

I do love summer, and I’m not ready for it to end. So yeah. I’m mixed.

Let’s see, what else?

I’ve been enjoying the devotionals from She Reads Truth. They’re studying Daniel, which so far is fantastic. This one really spoke to me. If you have time, click over and read it.

She Reads Truth Daniel

The world seems so volatile right now. Those two reporters who were slaughtered this week were from my hometown. I didn’t know them, but I have friends who did. It’s all so senseless, and I know that there are far worse things going on in the world. These are frightening times. But then again, there have been frightening times all throughout history, and life goes on, doesn’t it? I try to remember that it doesn’t help to fret and worry.

This line from the devotional on Daniel pretty much sums it up for me.

God doesn’t promise to save us from the flames. But He has promised to be with us as we walk through the fire.

For believers, that is the promise that we must cling to, and Daniel’s faithful response is the right response when we find ourselves facing a fiery furnace.

O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

But if not…

My friend Shelly wrote a beautiful blog post this week, When You’re Trying to Remember Who God Is, citing this same passage. I actually wrote to her and asked if she gets the She Reads Truth emails, thinking they might have inspired her post, but she doesn’t. What a crazy coincidence! I hope God isn’t trying to prepare me for some impending tragedy. (This is how my mind works. I know. I really should not be such a Debbie Downer.) But seriously. We must all be prepared for whatever life may hold because few of us will live a life free of suffering.

Our comfort, as Shelly states so perfectly, is that God will never take us through that suffering alone. That is my comfort and my hope, and I hope it’s yours too.

So yeah, this post took a turn, didn’t it!? I didn’t mean to get all philosophical on you, but if you are a believer, or even if you’re not, but maybe you’re curious, the She Reads Truth devotionals are awesome. They arrive in my inbox early in the morning, so when I’m checking my email at the start of each day, I am reminded to take a few minutes to reflect and ponder on eternal matters. It’s easy to dive right into the business of the day, and these have helped me reboot and start my days off right.

Speaking of starting the day off right, I’ve been waking up super early again. I got out of the habit when I wasn’t running, but for some reason, my body clock has reset and I’m waking as early as 5am some mornings, raring to go. I love sneaking in an extra hour or two before anyone else is up.

I’ve also started to feel recharged about my blog. I was feeling burned out there for a bit, but I’m better now. I’ve started turning down some of the opportunities that were stressing me out, and I think that’s helped.

I’m looking forward to my 26 Days of Fall Fashion, and I hope you are too! It starts on Tuesday, and Cyndi and I have set up a private Facebook Group where we can share photos and discuss fall fashion, so stay tuned for more info on that!

26 Days of Fall Fashion

I will likely be focusing more on fashion content this fall and winter, but I’m not ditching the other topics, which I was actually considering there for a while. I think I’d get bored if I pigeon-holed myself. But I do hope to do more posts on how to wear different trends, and I plan to get out to the mall more often and try things so I can report back. I think that will be fun, and hopefully useful to you as well as me!

Well, I’ve rattled on long enough. While I’ve been busy pecking away at this keyboard, the sun has come up! It was dark when I started writing. It looks like another beautiful day, and I can’t wait to get out there! My husband and I are planning a bike ride this morning, then later on I have an appointment at Lens Crafters to pick up my bifocals. I cannot believe I just typed that. It sounds like something my Grannie would say.

What have you got going on today?

Join The Conversation

15 Responses

  1. The passage from Daniel is very comforting after this horrendous week. Your blog is always so “real”. Enjoy your weekend!

  2. Thanks so much for your encouragement this morning. I had downloaded the She Reads Truth app but it seems like it costs a little something for the devotionals on there, so I uninstalled it. I didn’t realize that you could get the devotionals via email for free, so I’m excited to start getting them. I am SO bad about doing daily devotions, so this will hopefully get me started in developing that discipline. Since I’ll be getting back into the teaching routine on Monday, now is a good time to establish good habits!

    1. True confessions: it is a habit I’ve never managed to get to stick. I know spending time in the Word and prayer is important, and I know I make time for other things like running, and there is no excuse, but I finally decided to let it go. I talk to God throughout the day, I talk to him when I run, I pray with my children, and I get good bible teaching at church every week. I love getting these devotions because they remind me of the truths of scripture and help me start the day thinking of more meaningful things than my next blog post. 🙂

  3. I am glad you are feeling recharged on your blog. I’m a new subscriber and am really enjoying it! I have purchased a new razor and passed up a pair of boots that did not fit the fall fashion prediction!! Girl, you have influence! LOL!!
    Thanks for the tip on She Speaks Truth. I’ll definitely check out the devos.
    If I knew you in person, we’d be good friends!

  4. Greetings! I’ve been following you for a while now and feel like we are friends 😉 but have never posted. This post spoke to me – bifocals and all. Was actually at Lens Crafters yesterday.. You inspire me and I just wanted to encourage you. You are super relatable and women need women. So keep up with all the inspiration you are blessed with – you are blessing others!! I’m a homeschool mom to a freshman, his twin in private school and have a junior in college many states away. Blessings to you, your running (yay!) and your family!!

  5. So glad that you can back into running. I know how much you love it, and how much it is good for your soul! I need to start some kind of exercise program, as we are planning for a trip to Disney next August. I know that you are very knowledgeable about walking and sneakers, so do you have some good recommendations?

    1. Ooooh, Disney, FUN! Walking is so good for you. Better than running, really. I’ve been doing more walking, trying to get my 10,000 steps in every day, and I am starting to enjoy it more. As far as shoes, it really depends on your feet. A good running store can tell you what kind of shoes are best for you. Running shoes are perfect for walking too. Depending on your foot and your arch and how you pronate, they will steer you towards a “neutral” shoe or a “stability” shoe. Then it’s a matter of trying on a few brands and seeing which feels best. Some run narrower, some have a wider toe box, some have more cushion, etc. On the other hand, if you don’t have any foot issues and don’t want to shell out $100 for shoes, just go to Kohl’s and try on a bunch till you find something comfortable. 🙂 I personally like Saucony and Nike.

  6. Good morning Jo-Lynne!

    You said, ” I hope God isn’t trying to prepare me for some impending tragedy. (This is how my mind works. I know. I really should not be such a Debbie Downer.)”

    I do this too, and I have a feeling it’s a “Mom” or a “woman” thing, and I think it varies in degrees in each person, but I thought I’d tell you what I do to keep it in check…

    The other day I was out for my walk and enjoyed a gorgeous sunrise and I was thanking God because everything is pretty good in life right now, not perfect of course, but no one is sick and overall we’re feeling really blessed. So then those thoughts came in (“how do people survive such and such?” and “what if we had to go through that?!”), I’m used to myself by now and quickly turned it to a prayer, “Lord, be with and guide us no matter what life brings, and help me to be a good witness for You throughout so I can walk the talk when life gets tough.” Then I let it go. I knew He wouldn’t want me to spoil a beautiful moment with worry. 🙂

    Have you heard the song, “Even When”? I love it. It’s about praising Him in the good and bad times, and it’s a great song in your ears while you run, too. 🙂 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4lzGZsSeow

    Love, Kel

    1. Hey Kelly. Thanks for your sweet comment, and that is excellent advise. I pray a similar prayer when worry starts to get the best of me. I will check out that song. I’m always looking for new tunes to add to my playlist. 🙂

  7. Beautiful sky. 🙂 I’m always sad to see the summer end, but I love the fall, too. I just wish I could stretch out the summer a little longer.

  8. Hi, I’m new in your blog , Thankyou for this gorgeous photo of your view. Y ou are so lucky ! I’m Mexican and we have beautiful places too, but I live in Mexico City and don’t have that view ????, never mind, sorry for my grammatic , I really like your blog and finally I found someone like me who can help me to dress the way I like. I send you blessings to your family. I have two teenager boy and girl and a lovely husband (to me of course) not perfect but I love him so much and I love my family as you do. See you here! and congratulations these is a real blog for moms over 40.

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