Mish Mash

Hey everyone!  Not a whole lot going on around here (surprise, surprise) so this post is going to be pretty random.

I'm starting to get really pumped for the holiday season (who am I???).  Normally, I dread this time of year because of all the stress, but I'm trying this new thing in my life where I'm making peace a priority.  I pray A LOT for God's guidance in my life because, at this age, I've learned (sometimes, the hard way) that His plans are so much better than my own.  Really, deep down, the only way I want to live is His way.  The problem is, I have difficulty recognizing His guidance at times.

Sooo, I've started praying for the ability to recognize his guidance, and He started showing me that I really need to strive for peace in my life.  My mind is always going, going, going.  And I let myself get stressed for no reason, often.  All this "noise" in my mind has the tendency to drown out whatever guidance God is trying to provide for me.  I've been reading a couple of different Joyce Meyer devotionals in addition to my Bible and I keep seeing this theme of peace and how vital it is to our spiritual lives and our walk with Christ.  So, I'm trying to really make it a priority, and you know what??  After just a few days, I'm already feeling less crazy :-)  Good times.


I mentioned in my last post that my marathon training has started.  I'm running 3 days a week and I'm supposed to be cross-training at least 2 days a week.  Normally, when I cross-train, I either do my P90X videos or the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred or some free weights.  I'm kind of sick of the same-old, same-old though, so I wanted to do try something different. At first, I considered doing Crossfit on my non-running days because it seems like a very efficient full-body workout and I've heard nothing but great things about it.  I know it's pretty intense though, and since this is my first marathon and my body is already taking a beating from my running workouts, I wanted something a little less "high-impact"....for now.  So, I decided on pilates.  I've taken a few pilates classes at different times in my life and it is low impact....but also a great workout.  Very challenging.  I like that it both strengthens and improves flexibility.  It's a nice break from pounding the pavement.
I'm going to a pilates studio that has all the fancy equipment.  I've only taken mat classes in the past, so the equipment is new for me.  I'm doing a few private sessions and then moving on to semi-private when I feel comfortable with the equipment.  I had my first session today and it was great.  My instructor is awesome and hilarious.  I think every muscle in my body was quivering by the time I was done....yet I felt completely and totally relaxed.  Sign of a great workout!!!


Oh, I did something I've never done before the other day.  My friend, Tara, is a writer.  She writes children's books and is also a talented writer in the "spoken word" genre.  She invited me to come to a reading with her and I was like "heck, yes".  I've always wanted to go to something like this.  However, I am clearly not a writer (apart from this oh-so-riveting blog) so I felt weird about just going and listening to strangers reading their personal stuff when I had nothing to contribute.  So, when Tara invited me, I was so excited...both to hear her work and just for the experience in general.  It was so interesting.  There were only about 7 or 8 of us there, but it was a very eclectic group.  Each person's contribution was so unique.  I was blown away by the talent of these folks.  Very inspiring.

Well, that's all I have right now.

Until next time,
Brooke