My hip doesn't lie...it just hurts

          I'm sorry for the absence. Here's the deal, my hip is a little messed up, and I am trying to rest and make sure it's fully healed so that it doesn't slow me down any after this. The roads I run on are higher in the middle than the side (for water drainage), and I think that really strained my left hip and leg. I have not run since Friday, which feels SO weird. But I will try to run later on this week.
         Please pray for me. But pray for the people of Haiti more. I know that they are currently the "popular" cause. But please be careful with where you send your money. Larger agencies make no promises of distributing the millions of dollars they receive directly to the Haitians. The money is merely deposited into their general fund. I am not saying they are hoarding the money, but my advice is to give to missionaries in Haiti. If you want to give to an organization, I recommend World Vision or Compassion.
         If you desire to sponsor me, please email me the amount you are pledging. When my race is completed, I will send the information on how to donate the money to Real Hope for Haiti. Yes, they need the money NOW. But my heart is to raise some funds for them later as well, after all the media excitement has died down. Let us not forget. Thank you all for your support, and I would appreciate comments so that I know you're reading. May the Lord be with you. love, Audrey Ann

The Two Joes

     The past few days the story of Joseph has been playing over in my mind. Actually, both Josephs in the Bible and their stories have come to the front of my mind, dancing around and giving me hope that maybe I'm not so crazy.

     Of all the thousands of sermons I have heard in my life, the one that stands out the most is the one I heard at Port au Prince Fellowship about Joseph of the Old Testament. I learned that sometimes we try to kick open a door that God is closing, and sometimes we focus on David and Goliath, but forget about Stephen and the fact that God was with him, too. Isolated circumstances of our lives...of my life...don't seem to make sense sometimes, but I just need to remember that it probably didn't make sense to Joseph when his brothers threw him in a pit to die, or sold him, or when he was thrown in jail, only to be forgotten even after he correctly interpreted.

     And about the other Joseph...here is a man who trusted God despite what his culture told him, despite the societal dishonor with which it crowned him. He walked past all of it into the grand role of being the Savior's earthly father.

     Sometimes I just do. not. get. it. Sometimes things don't "make sense."
But HE alone is God, and I am not.
I rest and walk and run in full confidence that His plan is perfect and far better than mine.

     Please continue to pray for everyone in Haiti...and if you could remember my hip in prayer, I would appreciate it.

The adventures of AA and an overzealous black lab

Today's Findings.
--Another mutilated mouse. yick.

The most interesting findings today were discovered by my running buddy, John Deere, the black dog who follows me. He found...

--A poopy diaper thoughtfully placed in a ziplock bag--JD pranced up to me, so proud of his treasure, but instead of feeling pride in return, I replied, "Oh my goodness, get that thing away from me!"

--A big, golden, dead chicken. no joke. Towards the end of my run I was slowing down, and I looked behind me because JD usually stays ahead of me, but I had not seen him for a bit. He was carrying something quite large and brown...like a giant piece of wood. But no, it was a hen. I don't think he killed it, but you never know. As I was turning right onto another road, JD kept going straight, stopped in the dead center of the road, and gently set down the chicken...and he left it there! Ahahahaha! Oh, that dog is a gift from God. : ) Thank you, Lord. Perhaps someone will find the chicken and make some soup. Hey, you never know.

Please continue to pray for Haiti. There are so many wounded, dead, and missing. We have no idea what they are going through.

His Hands are Huge

Today I wondered what to write. My left hip has been giving me sharp and jabbing pain during my runs, but I thought to myself, "Why should I even mention this to anyone? Think about the excruciating pain so many are feeling in Haiti." But my hope is that with a strong body I can raise money for them, so I try to console myself that I'm not being so selfish.


Oh my. Do you ever feel like you are in a battle against yourself?

So much guessing. So much wondering. And then the Lord gently reminds me, "I am here. Come unto me." He's got the whole world in His hands, remember? Haiti. Me. You. Your crazy neighbor next door. All of us.



So, in order to spice up these posts, I have decided to add a section about the things I find on runs that go ashamedly unnoticed when you are in the car blissfully listening to Josh Groban on the way to Walmart. Here it goes:



Today's Findings:



1. Dirt slushy mountains. Like a thousand. Okay, so maybe you notice that in the car, but you don't feel it in your shoes when you are in the car.



2. A dead, mutilated little mouse, thawing in the sun. Yum.



3. Three very black dogs fighting on the road, trying to get me involved. They kept running up, bumping into me as if to say, "Hey this is fun, come on, join us!" I yelled, "No! Back! Go home!" I should've yelled, "I am not a dog, sorry to disappoint you all! Just because I have black pants on does not involve me in this."



4. Sticks I think are snakes for a second...this happens a lot. : )

Thank you all for your support. I intend to give information soon about how to technically sponsor me. May the Lord be with you! He is all we need. Pray for the people in Haiti--for healing, comfort, food, water, the saving power of Jesus Christ, and the comfort and power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. And remember that His hands hold it all. He will not forsake His children.

Visit

http://www.haitirescuecenter.wordpress.com/ and

http://www.livesayhaiti.blogspot.com/ to learn more about how they are coping.

The Earthquake

PLEASE PRAY.

        Thank the Lord that the Zacharys, the Moises, and Betors (the missionaries at RHFH) are safe. Their walls are cracked, and some of their nannies have lost their homes. But in Port au Prince it is a different story, as you can read about, or even see on television. I have missionary friends there who are safe, but need the Lord's divine touch to get through what is ahead of them, and even to process what is behind them. This is my prayer:

Dear Jesus,

     You know the "whys" even when I do not. You see all the cries, screams, blood, and chaos in Haiti. Shower that land and its people with your presence. Be strongly with the missionaries. Please provide abundant food and water, especially now that the main grocery store is gone. This I pray. Hush the fears of the little ones. Comfort them, please. Oh God, please take this country, and don't let satan touch it. We know you are holy and perfect. And even though I don't understand why you allowed this to happen, I know you love those people so much. Please build Haiti back up as a strong nation that follows you. Help we who are not in Haiti to know what to do during this time. I love you, Jesus. Please help me to rest in knowing that You are God, and I am not. Silence my heart. But I DO cry out for these people! Be with them, Father! Please!

My Friend, Running

A few days ago, I trudged home, and noticed my mother creeping behind me in the van. She pulled up in front of me and I felt slightly like a celebrity as she shot some photos. This was near the end of my run, and I tried my best to look presentable, but sometimes you just have to go with what you have, haha! : )

It's so fun to run! Okay, not all the time...but it is rewarding. Just put some good tunes in and go. Thanks to all of you who read and are supporting me. May the Lord be with you strongly!

Life's not fair...how wonderful!

I feel inept to write anything super inspirational today. Let me just share what I've been learning.

The magnitude of my unworthiness overwhelms me. It is a burden on my back I ignored for a long time. The blessing about running is that it brings me to the end of myself--physically, yes, but also emotionally and mentally at times, and I am able to cry out to God. What baffles me is that the Lord is completely aware that I am unworthy, and still smiles and asks me to come to Him. And then I realize that it's not about the burden of being unworthy; it's about the blessing of grace that is amazingly--somehow--by His power greater than all my sin. Praise His name.

Never Run Alone

Running is so much easier when you have a friend beside you. Whether it's the friendly black lab, my dad, or Mrs. R down the road who helps coach the high school ladies' cross country, the wind and frigid weather turn out not so bad after all. I think that's the way the Lord made us. Many times I strain towards a goal by myself--but find that it's always easier to get up in the morning if you know a face you love will soon be there to greet you.
Sometimes, however, I know the Lord does lead us through tunnels of loneliness and across bridges in our lives that shake us and push us to grip the side of the bridge and yell, "HELP, GOD! I can't do this anymore." But He is there. When I'm running with or without a running buddy, He is there. I am sure. Sometimes when I run, I just want to flop onto the ground and curl up in a ball--just quit. But He urges me on--and sometimes I can feel Him in pace right next to me. Neighbors probably think I'm crazy--but I open my arms wide, throw back my head as the theme song from "Chariots of Fire" plays in my head. Okay, so maybe I am a little crazy. But of this I am sure--He's with me. : )

A fresh start...

Happy new year! Today my family and I opened our time capsule we made ten years ago. It was full of trinkets that represented who we were at the time--a plastic horse, a piano recital program, and a dramatic letter into the future were a few of mine. Time is a funny companion through life, isn't it?
So, do any of you have New Year resolutions? I have a bucket list I wrote in my journal. Hopefully  I can complete them. January can be such a dull month--but I want to grow and learn new skills and live life to the hilt. Winter does not have to ruin us. The flowers are coming quicker than we realize. : )