God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called

I had an amazing conversation with a friend today about living in faith and believing God has a plan for each of us.  She has an idea of something big she can invent that will be beneficial for her workplace.  I’m sorry to say that I don’t even know what this “thing” is because really, that wasn’t the important part of the conversation.  What we discussed is how easy it is to have a great idea, be all passionate about it and excited to take it on as a huge goal, but then the next minute doubt that we’re capable.  The same thing has happened to me.  Most recently, it’s about writing a book.  God put that desire in my heart a long time ago and has recently given me a renewed sense that now is the time.  But all along this path, I have fought messages of my ability.  Am I good enough to write a book?  Will anyone read it?  Is there a need?  Why me?

My friend is asking herself similar questions about the idea swimming around in her head.  Is she qualified?  Is she good enough?  Can she do it?

What is it about us that when we’re faced with huge opportunities, we oftentimes question whether we’re the right one for the job? 

I have long acknowledged that I am riding God’s wave of purpose in my life right now.  Knowing where I have come from and the person I was even five years ago, why would I doubt that God will continue crafting me and molding me into a person capable of reaching another goal?  Do I think that maybe this is the time that He’s really missed the mark and he’s got the wrong person?

The good news is that one very definite thing I have learned on this journey is that anything is possible.  God has greater plans for us than we have for ourselves and no matter where He takes us, He will teach us.  We are all created so differently with different talents, interests and desires.  If something burns in your heart, go for it!  You are uniquely wired to do it!  Start taking small steps that will set you in the direction of your totally far off goal.  Begin to dream about what God might have for you.  Allow yourself to believe that you will change, learn and grow to become the person capable of reaching the goal that is the passion of your heart.

One of my favorite quotes is “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called.”  Once we start believing that and putting our faith in it, there are no boundaries.  The only limit to what is possible is what we choose to believe.

Today is my birthday

Today is my birthday.  I’m not really a big birthday person.  I like it when friends and family call and say, “Happy Birthday”, but other than that, it’s another day and doesn’t cause too much of a ruckus. 

Today I am 32 but what I am celebrating is that there are not many ways I feel 32.  I think and focus like I’m 42, searching for wisdom and guidance, thinking long-term instead of short-term.  My body feels 22.  I’m in the best shape of my life.  I’m right in the middle of triathlon training, I feel strong, confident and healthy.  My spirit feels 12, full of joy, excitement and anticipation of what’s next.

So while I do remember that today is my birthday and I might order a latte instead of a drip, a birth day and another year is just a number.  We can’t let that number define us, there is so much more to us than just a number.

Triathlon Fun- top 7%

Seattle Danskin, August 17, 2008

The triathlon was this weekend and it was AMAZING! 

My final time was 1 hour, 27 minutes which was a full minute faster than last year AND the course was longer.  So in all, it works out to be a great improvement and I’m very pleased with the results.  Out of 3710 women, I came in 256th.  That’s the top 7%!!

Here are all the details…

My best event was the bike.  I was in the top 5% coming in 196th and my average speed was 20.7 MPH.

The swim was the hardest.  Last year they had to take off 1/4mile of the swim route because of time constraints and the city of Seattle needing to reopen the express lanes where the bike route was.  This year, it was the full 1/2 mile and I was pretty intimidated.  As I started, there were about 150 other women in the same wave.  Having that many people in a small area, I got kicked, hit, pushed and prodded.  Even before getting to the first buoy, I kind of panicked.  After having swallowed lots of lake water and getting all tired out just trying to keep afloat with everyone else around, I had to just stop there in the middle of the lake and give myself a little talking to.  I can’t remember what I said exactly but the gist of it was “this is ridiculous.  Pull yourself together!!”  So I did.  I decided to change my panicky attitude to one of relaxation.  I calmed down and realized that my focus had to change from not worrying about how fast I went, but rather, to just make it through. 

I wonder if other gals were feeling similar things because all around me, people were gasping and struggling, holding on to the “swim angels” (volunteers with floatations) and needing to be calmed.  In the end, I only went over my time from last year by 1 minute 30 seconds.  Considering I had to swim 1/4 mile farther this year, that was fine by me.  As for everyone else, I heard reports that one swimmer had a real emergency and had to be rushed to the hospital.  I hope she’s doing ok.

The next part was the bike and it was simply awesome!  I ended up riding the whole time in the left-hand passing lane because I was constantly passing someone.  During the whole 12 mile ride, no one passed me.  That was an incredible feeling. 

Fortunately, it was pretty uneventful except for when we came off the freeway, there was a HUGE jam of people coming down the corkscrew back to Lake Washington Blvd.  There were just too many people in the same area and some of them were getting off their bikes (??? it was a downhill???).  At one point, we just had to stop and wait for everyone to funnel through.  I estimate it took about 60 seconds for all that mess so my time could have even been a bit faster.  But that’s just part of the race.

The run was also pretty uneventful.  It was a beautiful day and I finally had a chance to appreciate the sunshine and the lake that we ran next to.  Running is when I do lots of thinking so it was great to just kind of reflect on the morning.  There’s still a part of me that can’t believe I’m able to compete in a race like this and I kind of got emotional when I recognized what I was in the middle of.  I feel so pleased that I have changed my life so completely (see the About Me section) and I love the person I’ve become.  Having said that, while I love to run, I’m not the best competitive runner so I came in 532nd.  Still good enough for the top 14% which I was certainly pleased about.

After it was done, I met up with my family who was so excited.  It was the first time the kids have seen me in a triathlon and they were full of questions and excitement.  It was a beautiful day, beautiful race and one more triathlon that I can check off as done.

Although I didn’t reach my goal of 1 hour, 20 minutes, I improved my time from last year and that’s what is most important.  I still have several races to come where I can shoot for that goal time.  This just goes to show that you don’t have to reach your goal every time you try.  As long as you feel good about what happens, you keep moving forward and keep your goal in your sites, you’ve succeeded.  I feel good about this weekend and will be looking forward to the next time I can push myself and take another step toward 1:20.

Triathlon this weekend

My first triathlon of the season is this Sunday.  Even though I have been training for this for months, it has kind of snuck up on me.  I wish I had a few more weeks to get in a swim practice or a long bike ride.  When I think about being out of time and that it’s almost time to actually do it, I kind of get that anxious, butterfly, throw up feeling.  I’m a little excited too!

So this Sunday, some time around 6:45am, I’ll be doing it.  It’s a 1/2 mile swim, 12 mile bike ride and 3.2 mile run.  Last year I did it in 1 hour, 28 minutes (and 15 seconds!!) and this year I’m shooting for 1 hour 20 minutes.  Considering that I came in the top 10% last year, shaving 8 minutes off that time is a pretty huge goal.  But that’s me.  I love a challenge, even if it’s ridiculous!

Mr. Rogers

A friend of mine sent me this link:  http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/07/28/mf.mrrogers.neighbor/index.html

It’s called “15 reasons why Mr. Rogers was the best neighbor ever”.  And really, it’s totally worth the time it takes to read it.

It reminds me that when it comes down to it, we’re put here on this earth to love each other.  God wants us to love, bring joy and encourage each other.  That’s so different from the messages we’re inundated with on a normal basis.

Who loved their neighbor greater than Mr. Rogers did?  Maybe only Jesus himself.

James Taylor

The CD player in my car is broken.  So is the tape player.  I don’t even remember what happened, they just don’t work anymore and haven’t for awhile.  Come to think of it, the CD player doesn’t work in the minivan anymore either.  But I happen to know that’s because it got doused with root beer…

I’ve been driving for so many years without a CD that it kind of took me by surprise when yesterday I had a deep, deep craving for James Taylor.  He is one of my absolute favorites and I haven’t heard him in so long!  I just had an intense desire for some “Sweet Baby James” or “You’ve Got a Friend”.  I’ve been made fun of because I like him so much; he’s more my parent’s era than mine, but I just love his songs, his voice, everything.  He ROCKS!!

What do you like even though maybe it’s not cool?

I choose to be positive

Have you ever noticed that much of our world is negative? 

The best example is to listen to the news; story after story of negative.  But also, listen to people talk on their cell phones, chat in the office break room, or at a restaurant.  The majority of this talk is negative. 

I think as humans, it is our default to go negative.  Unless we make a conscious decision to be positive and have an optimistic outlook, our tendency is to focus on what’s wrong, who did what bad, and everything that’s not right.  Why is that?  Have we just been hurt too many times?  Have too many people let us down?  Are we living in a time where it’s “every man for himself” and we’re not real confident in the man representing us? 

Being surrounded by so much outward negativity, especially some we’re so conditioned to that don’t even notice, what do you think is happening on our inside?  What messages are we also sending to ourselves? 

Think about one thing you want to change in your life, one goal you have.  What are the messages you’re sending to yourself about that thing.  Do you think you’re capable of reaching that goal?  Do you think that change is possible?  What messages go along with your desire to make that change?  Honestly think about what you say to yourself about that goal.  Write your thoughts down.

I just did this exercise this morning and I was amazed that even though I am a positive person and make a conscious choice to think well of things, a surprising amount of my thoughts were limiting the possibility of reaching my goal.  It’s scary to think of what the outcome of this exercise would have been if I weren’t a person committed to be positive.

I encourage you to pay attention to what you say to yourself.  I beat myself up for years for so many things: being overweight, failing so many diets, not achieving anything worthwhile.  It wasn’t until I took a look at the messages I sent to myself and attacked them and got rid of them that I was able to start feeling more confident, in control and healthy. 

These days, I choose to be positive.  I choose to be mindful of what I say to myself and believe that I can achieve my goals.  With the right attitude, I can do anything I desire.  The only limit to what is possible is what I choose to belive.

Even if I’m not the person today who can achieve my goal, I will change, learn and grow to become the person who can reach it tomorrow.

What will you allow yourself to be?

I’m going to be on TV!

This morning I recorded a segment for Northwest Afternoon which is a local TV show in Seattle.  We talked about my weight loss story and how I’ve become a weight loss life coach.  Now, I’m able to help other people travel a similar road to experience healing and freedom from weight burdens!

It was a tremendously fun experience and I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be.

There was a portion of the segment where they got my husband, Vic, on the phone and he said a little piece.  He said he was terribly nervous about even doing that much.  He’s so funny!

It will air on Monday, July 21st, at 3pm on KOMO 4.

Dating Anniversary!

Remember when you were younger and started dating someone and you made a note of your Monthiversary?  Like if you started dating on the 3rd, every 3rd of the month you would notice.  If you were really into it, you’d even celebrate.  A nice dinner, dessert, whatever. 

My husband and I did that too.  On June 26, 1993, we started dating.  For the first year or so, as each 26th of the month went by, I would add another month to how long we’d been together.  As the years started going by, I stopped counting those.  Then, we got married and I started counting those years instead.

As yesterday came and went, I realized it was our dating anniversary.  It’s kind of neat to think that it was 15 years ago that we started on this path.  I think back to those years and how each of us has changed pretty dramatically.  If we’d had known where we’d be 15 years from then, it would have blown our minds.

So here we are, all those years later and I can say that although we don’t count the months like we used to, we’re still celebrating.  With three kids, full time jobs and the daily practices of life, we don’t have as much time to “date”.  What we do instead is stay in tune with each other, laugh with each other and enjoy the other’s company just as much, if not even more now than we did then.  I am so blessed to have such a gracious, compassionate, dedicated husband. 

It’s true that there’s someone perfect for everyone and I’m so glad I found mine 15 years ago.

Happy Dating Anniversary, M.H.B.S.P.H.M.B!

Patience

You know those times when you feel like you’re on the right path to something new and you’re excited and just ready to arrive?  Why does it always take longer than we want?  We’re so focused on the goal and where we want to end up that we’re often ready to forgo the planning and learning that needs to happen to make us successful when we get there.

I read a really great thing this morning about boxers. “Champions do not become champions in the ring.  They are merely recognized in the ring.  Their becoming happens in their daily routine.”

God has a plan and what’s better, He even has the path that will lead to that plan.  Today, I’m comfortable with that path.  I’m glad things are in His timing and not my own.