Global Running Day

Happy Global Running Day!! I'm super excited to share in the celebration with some of my fellow Sweat Pink sisters. Jonesin' For a Run has been celebrating with a fun peek inside her running for 3 years and this year I joined in on the action. 

Now do I consider myself a hardcore runner? Absolutely not. Unfortunately, my running has been extremely limited by my lupus, but when I'm able to run it's the best feeling. Nothing beats the sunshine on your back, a light breeze, and some good running tunes! So here's a little peak into my running:

Why do you run?

I run because I genuinely love it. I've always been super competitive, but I love how with running my biggest competition is myself. Sure I may race against others in races, but for me it's about trying to improve- be stronger, faster, and beat my previous times.

How do you plan to celebrate Global Running Day?

By going for a run of course! I plan on enjoying every second of my last run in Cali before I have to head home. 

How many miles have you run so far this year? Do you have a mileage goal for the year?

Honestly, I really don't know how many miles I've run so far this year because I don't track every run. I don't have a mileage goal for the year, other than to enjoy every mile. 

What big events do you have on the race calendar so far this year?

I haven't picked any races yet because I never know how my lupus is going to act with running, but one of my big goals for the year is to run a half marathon 

Before I leave for a run I must have:

A drink of water! I hate carrying a water bottle while running so I always take a drink before I leave and when I come back. I know when I start building up my mileage again I'll have to take one with me (UGH).

Do you track your runs? If so, what do you use?

I don't track all my runs, but when I do track I use the Nike running app and I have a tracking watch- I'm hoping to eventually get a Garmin watch.

Who is your favorite running partner?

I know this sounds terrible, but I cannot stand to run with anyone. I like to be alone with my thoughts while I run and focus on pushing myself. I'm sure this will eventually change, heck I used to HATE lifting with other people now it feels weird when my lifting buddy isn't there. 

What races have you run so far this year?

Sadly, no races so far this year- I was planning on doing a 10k, but my lupus flared while I was training and I had to stop. I'm eyeing a few races in the summer and maybe a fall half (fingers crossed).

If you had to give someone one piece of advice about running, what would it be?

Just get out and run, even if you've never run before or if you've run too many marathons to count. You'll get to explore more places by running than you would be able to in a car, you'll learn so much about yourself, and nothing beats a post-run high :) 

Describe your relationship with running in one word:

Growth. There's always more to learn and ways to improve as a runner and as a person!

How are you celebrating National Running Day?

By running of course! I've loved running in SoCal because the scenery is gorgeous and the temps are just warm enough that I don't have to layer. Today is my last full day in SoCal and I don't want to leave, my runs at home will never be the same!

Guest Post: Beauty In Christ

Happy Memorial Day! I hope you're enjoying a long and relaxing weekend and hopefully the weather is nice for all the outdoor festivities! If you're looking for some last minute healthy BBQ inspiration, I rounded up 20 recipes. There is something for EVERYONE- meat eaters, vegetarians, vegans, food allergy sufferers, you name it there's something in the roundup for them! Check out the round up here.

I'm excited to be continuing the guest post series and today's post comes from Emily blogs at Beauty in Christ. I've been blessed to get to know Emily some over the past number of weeks and the first thing I noticed is how genuinely kind she is. She has such a kind spirit and her love for Jesus is evident in everything she does. I'm super excited that Emily offered to share a post because she opens up about the struggles of living with an eating disorder and how she overcame it through her faith. I know so many people who struggle withe eating disorders so my hope and prayer is that Emily's post can be a blessing. 

Here's Emily:

First of all, HI everyone! I met Rachael via the blog world, and she did a blogger baking exchange with me. Well, this girl went WAY beyond the call of duty and made this HUGE box of granola, peanut butter, and cookies. It was amazing and I'm so honored that she gave me the opportunity to share a guest post for her blog. 

What do I blog about? Well, for about 7 years I struggled intensely with idolizing my body and food, before the power of God truly saved me from it, and my blog is that story. My blog is about freedom from bondage, freedom in Christ, freedom to enjoy good food, and freedom to live and love in God's awesome world and walk in communion with Him. I share the 'ugly, the happy, and the victory' because Jesus Christ has overcome all the power of Satan, the death, and sin, and He is my captain.

So I'm titling this post, 'Freed from Bondage,' because it is something that I feel so passionate about, and I hope it is a huge blessing to anyone struggling with bondage, as I know that the struggle is REAL. But God is greater!

Life is scary sometimes, isn't it? It's rocky. If you think that you are alone, it's even scarier. The Bondage (torment) of fear is a powerful human emotion that came into the world, when sin came into the world. Sometimes you look out in front of you, and you can barely see. Sometimes, you have chains to heave, chains of bondage, that almost have you laid flat on the ground. The way looks rocky, and the bondage of fear just grips you. You're afraid. You don't know what comes next. That's what an eating disorder, an idol, does. It taught me that there is bondage, but it also taught me that there is ultimate, freedom from that bondage, when you come to realize the truth, the truth about who you are and why you were made, WHO made you, and WHO saves you. 

This is my favorite thought that has been going through my mind this week, and I wanted to share that there is FREEDOM. There is not just life-long bondage. There is freedom.

An ED taught me that self-confidence didn't work, in a really powerful way. I couldn't save myself. 

ED want you to fear. The devil wants you to be in bondage, and he doesn't want you to see the way, the truth, and the life. He wants you to always keep trying, striving after the perfect body, the perfect diet, the culture's definition of 'perfect' instead of looking to the only One who is perfect. He wants to keep you in torment without hope.

The devil is the father of lies and his lies produced torment in my heart. They clouded my eyes for MANY year to the truth. I wasn't running to the truth. I was wallowing in the bondage that I believe had the power to overcome me, because all I could see was myself. 

What were these lies?

'You have to be a certain size to be loved.' I didn't remember that God's love is unconditional.

1 John 4:10-11 'Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and send his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.' 

'You have to spend your whole life consumed in exercise, because that means you are disciplined.' I didn't realize that the burden that God gives is easy and light. I was burdening myself, when Jesus had already set me free from the law of sin and death and idolatry. I wasn't realizing the beauty of the gospel, that the gospel truly does set us free from that fear that has torment. 

Those were just a few of the lies, but I am so grateful to say that today, I am much less fearful than I was even a year ago. 

It would be a lie, though, to say that I don't still struggle with feelings of bondage. So what do I do when I struggle with that bondage?

Well I tell myself truth, truth that God tells us in His Word. 

1. I still experience periods of bondage, but that's not necessarily bad. This means that God is still working in me. When God is working in me, He is showing me where I need the gospel in every area of my life, including that area of bondage. The times I fall into sin and idolatry, it points me right back to 1 John 2:1-2

'My little children, these things I write unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.'

He is showing me where I need the truth of Jesus Christ and His atonement for my sin to POUR into my life and cleanse me. 

2. I need to remember that even when I sin, I am no longer separated from God. I am his child. I can RUN back to the throne, confess my sin like a child running to their daddy, repent, and leave that burden there. Nothing can separate me from His love, and even when I sin, the gospel STILL cleanses me because it's God's power, not mine (Romans 5:1-2). 

The truth of you being a daughter or son of God never changes. That adoption was completed by the work of Jesus Christ at the cross. You were justified, adopted into God's family, and you will be with Him in glory. It's not because of you. It's because of God's power, God's plan that you are His child.

You don't work you way to heaven or into His love. He loved you before you loved Him.

Galatians 4:4-8 'But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath send forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; if if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.'

3. I was a slave to the law, but I'm not anymore. I'm in Christ Jesus. I'm not under the law's condemning tyranny, because Jesus fulfilled that on the cross, so I can't be in terror of the condemnation of the law. Now it is my delight to keep, to honor, to love God's love, but it is no longer a condemning power in my life.

Romans 6:14-15 'For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.'

This realization is truth. Speak truth to yourself. Speak the truth that Jesus Christ has overcome your sin, overcome your idols, overcome the lies, and the devil. And you will fly...because CHRIST is within you.

If you struggle with fear, dear sister or brother, ask yourself, 'What does God say about me? Who am I?' Don't look at what you're doing, but ask who you are, and your belief about who you are IN CHRIST will drive what you do. It's out of the heart that these things come. What is your heart believing? Are you believing that:

You are reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:21)

He counts the hairs on your head (Luke 12:7)

He knows you and ordains everything that happens to you (Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 138)

He will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19)

His gift to you through his Son Jesus is eternal life, and that was a gift, not earned. All you must do is believe (John 3:16, Romans 6:23)

Nothing can separate you from his love (Romans 8)

Last but not least, if your heart is thirsty, God fills the thirsty heart. Jesus came to bring SPRINGS of living water, and he will fill you. 

PICTURE- freedom from bondage

Psalm 42:11 'Why art thou cast down, P my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.'

Do you struggle with your identity? 

What are the truths that you repeat to yourself about your identity?

Where have you found freedom from bondage? 

Guest Post: Adventures with FitNyx

Happy Friday! I hope you've been enjoying the guest posts as much as I have- I'm definitely thinking I should have guest posts more often (thoughts?). 

Today's guest post is from Amanda who blogs at Adventures with FitNyx. Amanda asked wanted to share a post she did awhile on her blog and I readily agreed because I really, really liked the post. You know how we are often our own worst critic when it comes to body image and what we think we look like vs. how others look at us? That's what this post is all about and I think y'all are really going to like it!

Here's Amanda:

Last week I posted a review of some KEEPTIGHT clothing items, including a fitted tank top that I haven't found very wearable. My problem with the tank top was that it was a little too fitted, and I found my reflection incredibly unflattering. In my review, I briefly mentioned that my body shape is not what I'd like it to be, and that being able to wear the tank top with confidence is my new "weight loss" goal. I was proud of myself for having a weight goal that wasn't focused on some elusive number, and thought I was doing the right thing by making my weight issues more about comfort, feel, and appearance than about meeting an meaningless quantity measure.

I also posted a photo of myself wearing the apparel with the caption, "You can really see how clingy the tank top is here. Please ignore the belly rolls..."

A good friend of mine messaged me later that day and asked if I had time to talk- not just for one or two words, but to really talk. I was a little worried, we are both pretty bust and it's only for serious issues that we ever ask to "really talk." Had something happened to her? I made some time for a longer conversation and was surprised when she started to talk about my review. Specifically about my photo's caption. 

I've never been anywhere close to having a body type that could be considered "fat" -in fact for most of my life, I've been skinny past the point of healthy. This was largely due to the fact that I was a year-round athlete, playing soccer and lacrosse for up to five teams at a time, usually devoting every spare moment that wasn't needed for school (and sometimes moments that were) to practice or games. I was "living the dream," eating all the junk food I wanted and never gaining any weight. I lost the so-called "freshman 15." I quickly got used to having a pretty rocking bod. 

Then I hit grad school and sports were no longer an every day focus. I still found places to play, and usually spent my entire weekend on a soccer field, but I definitely wasn't playing at the same level. I started to gain weight. Not tons, just enough that my pants actually stayed up most of the time. I was staying active enough that I could mitigate some of the weight gain, and I even got very sick for a while which helped me shed all the excess weight (and then some). But then, life hit me hard, and after a series of even that I will share when the time is right, I ended up struggling to manage my weight.

Despite finally putting on enough pounds to be out of my personal comfort zone, I was never at any point "fat," but I started to feel very negative about my body image. My stomach was not longer concave, and in fact was starting to poke out and make my waistband uncomfortable. Rolls became a frightening reality. Dresses no longer struck me as sleek and sexy when I looked in a mirror. Sure, I had my husband and best friend who assured me that I still had a good body, but I couldn't see it. The old saying is so true: we truly are our own worst critics. 

Finally I hit my turning point a little over a year ago. Clothes weren't fitting mere weeks after purchase, and I suffered a serious breakdown. I lost out on a job opportunity because I couldn't stop crying over the clothes that didn't fit to dig for something a little loose and make it to the meeting on time. I returned everything I had recently purchased, and started sobbing uncontrollably when the cashier asked me the reason for the returns. I was miserable- but the picture above from my first trail run last year shows me at about the biggest I've ever been. To anyone else, I look like I'm in pretty good shape. But to me, I see only the tummy bulge and the shapeless arms. 

I couldn't bear it anymore, I had to do something. Over the course of the year, I really turned up my dedication to fitness and started to make some diet changes to help me get healthier, fitter and (hopefully) back to my old body. So far, I can tell progress has been made, but I am still a long way from my admittedly high expectations. I still have zero confidence in any of my old dresses, and half of my wardrobe is untouched because I can't stop focusing on my tummy bulge.

Why did I tell you all of this? Because my best friend was upset that I let my overly critical opinions of my body seep into a review that didn't need my self judgement. While I may not be drawing thousands of pageviews every day, I do still have quite a few readers who consider me to be fitness inspirational and readers who consider me to be a good example of a healthy body type. When these people, who are looking to fitness bloggers for advice, confidence boosts, inspiration, motivation, whatever- come to a blog and see the author body-shaming themself, despite being in pretty good shape....Well, what are they going to think about themselves? What example am I setting for readers who are still struggling with their own body-image or weight issues?

Truth be told, none of this ever occurred to me. I'm so used to looking in the mirror, getting discouraged, making some commentary to myself, and moving along. Yes, I'm working on increasing my dedication to fitness, and I'm still trying to make the right changes in my diet, but I'm still hyper conscious of those parts of my body that have grown over the past few years, because I see it every day. My body-image issues have become so routine that OF COURSE I'm going to make that commentary while I'm writing about the way clothes fit me.

My friend pointed out to me that the offending caption could easily have been written differently while still getting the point across about the shirts clinginess: I could have pointed out the way the capri waistline was well-defined by the fabric cling, without ever mentioning my "rolls." According to my friend/critic, the caption referencing my love handles drew her attention to something she hadn't even noticed in the photo because otherwise, she would have only looked at the clothes without passing any kind of judgement on the outfit's model.

There's so much going around these days about "fat shaming," and theres also a movement against "skinny shaming," but the reality is that most of us fall somewhere in between. I'm neither overweight or underweight, but that doesn't mean I am immune to body-image or weight issues. And I'm setting a very poor example by "middle shaming: on this blog. We are all working toward the same general goals in the fitness world: to manage out weight and body shape while having as much fun as possible. With this in mind, i am going to be making a more conscious effort to focus on positives and successes, rather than lingering on my negative perceptions. I want to set the right example, but I also know that I hinger my own success by holding myself back with negatives.

And I'd like all of you, my faithful audience, to keep me honest! This blog should have a positive impact on readers. If you see me getting stuck in a shaming rut, call me out! Comment sections are there for a reason- healthy debate fosters improvement. I have an open mind and (despite what my mother and husband believe) can handle some criticism, especially if it's spot on. Don't be shy about giving me feedback!

You can start right now- what are YOUR thoughts on "middle shaming?" Are those of us in the average body range setting the right kind of example? What can you change in your own approach to the body image discussion that would help make a dialogue a more positive experience all around? 

*Original posted on January 17, 2015. 
Link to original post: http://fitnyx.blogspot.com/2015/01/body-image-and-fitnyx.html