Just Pray

So I'm praying about doing a mission trip in Columbus, Ohio. It would be with my local church and only a week, but I still am relying on praying-which for me is bizarrely new. I find that I feel like I'm praying constantly for things so temporary and small that when it comes to anything big or kingdom geared work that I try to take control. 

Why is it that we put God in such a tiny box of our lives?? At least I feel like I'm guilty of that. I'll ask Him for things that seem attainable, but if it comes to anything that would be radically outside of what I consider possible I question what is possible for Him. Instead of the focus on what we think is possible, we should remember that this is the very same God who moved mountains and parted seas. If that's not radically incredible I don't know what is. We should pray to God in faith of what we know He can do, instead of questions of what we think is achievable. In the bible it says to 'pray without ceasing' (1 Thes 5:16-18), I have been the person that reminds my friends of that very concept. Yet, when it comes to me on a personal level I sometimes think more than I thank and get so caught up in wanting to be a perfect picture of a child of God that I forget to let Him love me and uplift me. 

So simply enough I'm praying through it all. 

Please, if by the grace of God you are reading this then please, pray for us as a team going into a setting that is so unknown and pray that we keep strength, patience and understanding.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18

An Iron Lift

I'll be transparent here, I'm a very silently competitive person. I don't boast constantly about how hard I'm planning on crushing the spirits of those who come against me. I don't obnoxiously shout about how hard you're going down. I do however, turn the sense of competition back on myself. Everyday in my box we post scores on the whiteboard at the front of the class. Everyday I see who hit the highest on a WOD (minding the fact that there's a blended smoothie of RX, RX plus and scaled). 

All I know is outwardly, I compete with myself and inwardly I want to be seen as one of the greatest. Yet, I find it humbling. 

Yesterday I began my WOD pushing through a mini warm up with sprints, pull-ups, pushups and squats, ending on grabbing a barbell and hitting my clean/jerk combos. I wasn't paying attention to surroundings all to well. This woman, who mind you I see periodically, wanted to set up her bar nearest mine. 

I'm standing there stretching, in my own world assuring myself I can do this for me. I've been sore all week but I can do this. 

"You're my inspiration."

I heard her before I saw her watching me lift. That's the thing about crossfit, or really anything that stretches your willpower to new heights-people notice. They see the you gasping for air, but still running strong. They see you pulling and pushing weight heavier than you mentally think you can do.

I remember when I started, and even still, I'm that girl that will tell you if you inspire me and how I hope that I can one day be as great or lift as heavy as you. I'm still a work in progress and I know it. I probably always will be.

I do crossfit for me. One life changing epiphany though, I do crossfire for others too. It's a weird concept in itself, but to have one person see me try as hard as I can and that make them try harder is exactly why I do it. 

God gave me one body to use, to make healthy and to try my hardest with. I never knew in giving me a love for a sport that He would be preparing it as a ministry. 

I only run, lift, swim, or do what He allows me to. My strengths not my own, but fully His. So when someone says I inspire them, well I instantly get emotional because oh my gosh it's me, but I thank God He gave me the strength that He has.

Beauty is what you see it to be

So crossfit.

I'm sure everyone has heard of this crazy phenominon of an excercise group that some regard as cult like. For those that haven't its basically high intensity varied cross training. I like to think of it as a home away from home-an escape so to speak. Regardless of judgements I train at Crossfit  Comence here in Fayetteville on pretty much a six day a week basis. The rigors of my exercise routine has lead to me loosing approximately 31 Ibs. and seven dress sizes. I say this fact not to brag though, but rather to tell of the progress I make while going there.

Recently, I've been getting so much grief about going through such extreme training routines such as:

"So, you want to look like a man?"
"Of course you must be crazy-I mean you're not doing this 'working out' thing right."
"Why don't you just go run on a treadmill or something?"

And then of course, there's the seemingly favorite crowd response of: 

"All of these women are ugly. No curves. No life. And all they do is cross fit. Something's wrong with that."

So in order to be passionate about a trend that has evolved into a legitimate sport, you have to inveritably be crazy? I don't think that's fair of women to expect everyone to stay within the box of feminine exercise habits. When I look at women crossfit athletes who have become icons for the sport I see so much more than someone simply in-shape. I see strength and power, determination and perseverance, hope, love for a sport that can be insain at times, countless hours of working for what they want, but most of all I see beauty.

Who says being strong isn't beautiful? That breaking out of the norm and striving to be the best that you can be isn't a new found version of grace.

For myself, crossfit has become more than a workout routine and more than that step I'm taking to loose weight and get healthy. Crossfit gives me a chance to serve for God in a way I never once thought would be possible. Those daily encouragements that people give as slight remarks on how well you're doing in form, effort, or progress has become a ministry tool. Two seconds of noticing another human being, going through the same routines as you-that's all it takes to show Christ's love.

Then I see people on social media outlets of all types coming together in encouragement and competitions making it hard to not admit how great a once hobby has turned into major portions of peoples lives. 

I will admit I have lost weight. I have gotten stronger. I might have days where I'm a little too dedicated to hitting the perfect form on a lift. But, if I admit that I've gotta say that it's more worth it than I think anyone else can imagine. Going through the realization that you're workout and life changes aren't from peer pressure or for anybody else except you and how much you love the body and who God created you to be. When you move past the idea of changing yourself because of embarrassment or to impress someone else, crossfit becomes more than a hobby.  It becomes beauty.

The blessings in life come when you realize that God is the real reason for it all. 


Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.

Psalm 115:1

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31