New Balance and Solid Footing

Did you enjoy the whirl wind tour of my laundry room showcasing my weakness?! How many people do you know enjoy blogging about their dirty laundry! HA!

My hubby came home that day and kissed me on the cheek while I was cooking dinner and asked, "Still crying over the laundry?" I have to admit, I was somewhat confused...I am not crying over the laundry, I'm making dinner...pork tenderloin even, what is he talking about?! He smiled coy and said, "Don't think I don't read your blog!" Well, Romeo, what do you think of this, ?! Love you and your support...this blog is with you in mind!

This week, as I waited to pick up our preschooler, I noticed my husband's favorite FREE magazine, Blue Ridge Outdoors, was in the car. Hmmmm... guess it is my turn to read something of his!

First, let me say, outdoor adventure is another "not one of my strengths!" My husband is quite at home in the woods (for days!), but I on the other hand, enjoy more complex comforts! The picture on the front of the magazine looked just like the recent "Happy Birthday Hubby Hike" I survived to this waterfall, so it caught my attention.

I started fanning through the magazine (back to front, ever do that?). Then, this article drew me in, "Is Barefoot Better?" Wow! Seriously?! An article just for me in an outdoor magazine! I quickly read on! As I read the debate to run barefoot or not, I was fascinated. Some like shoes, others don't. Some think too much shoe causes injuries, others say not enough does. Some think less is better, others want more and then some. So, take a look at these that prefer being barefoot:

The Tarahumara runners wear thin rubber soles and run multiple marathon distances into their late 80s in Mexico's canyons.
Then, there are several versions of these running shoes marketed to barefoot runners who compete in ultra marathons. You mean there is something more intense than just...let's say...a regular marathon?!
And then, there is just plain barefoot running. I love the barefoot part, not the running! :)
I wear a pink New Balance and blog about being barefoot, so needless to say all this got me thinking. I try to live a barefoot life: vulnerable before God, free from the enemy lasing lies, and hopefully leaving a print as I follow my Master's footsteps even if in my pink tennis shoes. I even blog about it. But, do I run barefoot?! Do I live or run?! They are different, right?!

Paul spoke about running a lot in his letters to the early churches. You know, the guy who was inspired to write over HALF of the New Testament! Probably should lend an ear, don't cha think?! Think he was a runner? He compared living for Christ as a race several times. I love all these verses that I share with our cross country girls in Bible Study:

• Hebrews 12:1 "let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
• Phil. 2:16 "as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing"
• Gal. 5 :17 "You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?
• 1 Cor. 9:26 "Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air."

Such encouragement! Let not just live, but run! Let us not just endure, but run! Let our hearts not just worship, but raise our arms and run to Him! Let our hands not just serve, but follow through with our feet and run to others! Don't worry about how you are going to do it, JUST DO IT! (That make even me laugh out loud!)

Much of the article's advocate emphasized the importance of how the foot (us) connects with the solid ground (God). Running barefoot (vulnerable infront of God) improves comfort, speed, endurance, strain, and more technical factors than I even understand. "The more cushion, the less you feel the ground," he explained in his argument. Is there some deeper merit to this?!

Check out a friend's recent devotional about her "run" and let's think about this and talk about running blessed and better barefoot soon!

Father God, thank you for different races.
Thank you for giving me my own unique course!
Thank you for your streams of living water to refresh me along the way.
Lately, I have seen how you have quenched the parched!
Thank you for cheering friends who call out our names from sidelines of prayer.
Thank you for the freedom to choose how we run,
but always ready to provide the direction of our paths.
Thank you for the promise of crowns when we cross the finish line.
May I leave only Your Footprint behind me.
Amen!