{"id":374,"date":"2009-08-03T07:00:03","date_gmt":"2009-08-03T11:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/faithfilledmom.com\/?p=374"},"modified":"2009-10-11T12:21:22","modified_gmt":"2009-10-11T16:21:22","slug":"chapter-5-i-started-running-and-talking-to-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faithfilledmom.com\/chapter-5-i-started-running-and-talking-to-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 5 I started running and talking to God…"},"content":{"rendered":"

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.\u00a0 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.\u00a0 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Matthew:\u00a0 6<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Running

Aaron, Myself, Ethan, Anna & Spencer about to go running<\/p><\/div>\n

Dear God, Hey it’s me Lori,<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank you for my breath, my legs, heart, lungs and the motivation to run.\u00a0 And my Dad for babysitting so I can actually do it.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I started running and talking to God…<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Anna was 2 years old along came Spencer my third baby and second boy.\u00a0 He was the easiest of all four babies he was content, rarely cried and took to breastfeeding like it was second nature to him.\u00a0 This is the time that I started running.\u00a0 I have always been a physically active person.\u00a0 When I had Ethan I was a fast walker and when I had Anna I started walking even faster pushing a double stroller for at least a mile 4 days a week.\u00a0 After Spencer was born I would have my dad come over to watch the older kids and I would run pushing Spencer until I started to train for the Kentucky Derby Mini Marathon race.\u00a0 It was then that I started to run alone.\u00a0 Alone without a child was not something I was very use to.\u00a0 I remember in the beginning of running 1 mile thinking; \u00a0I know where the next slope of hill will be and when I make it up it where exactly I will come down.\u00a0 When I got over that part I started to pray.\u00a0 I would start my prayer\u00a0with thank\u00a0 you God for my breath, my legs, heart and lungs, motivation to run and my Dad for babysitting so I can actually do it.\u00a0 Then I would pray for at least 5 minutes each run.\u00a0 It got to the point that I was running 3 to 5 times weekly and my prayers became conversations with God.\u00a0 When you run 6-8 miles you have lots of reflection time, I did not run with music. I loved these times I was one with nature and with God.\u00a0 To this day I still run and take that time to talk with God it is my most precious prayer time.<\/p>\n

To be able to find a physical activity you can do and reflect on your life is priceless.\u00a0 So many people go to the gym and mindlessly watch a movie or listen to music while they work out so the time goes by faster, I can understand this because they just want to get it done.\u00a0 But if you have the opportunity to, try to go for a walk alone outside try it, just talk to God you don’t have to use formal prayers or rosaries.\u00a0 Just say Hi!\u00a0 Try talking to God like you would to a friend.\u00a0 He is our God “Abba” which translated is closer to Daddy than Father.\u00a0 Let him know your thoughts and feelings.\u00a0 Don’t just give him your grocery list of wants and desires, try instead sharing your life with him, what’s happening and how you feel about it.\u00a0 It takes time to get to the point where one feels comfortable doing this out loud and maybe you never will out loud.\u00a0 Then try it in silence, talk to God like he is your best friend and you will begin a relationship with God that is a two way street.\u00a0 These days I start most of my prayers with “Hey God it’s me Lori.\u00a0 How are you doing?\u00a0 I can’t even imagine how You differentiate the billions of voices you hear, much less how you answer them all.\u00a0 Hope you’re doing\u00a0OK.\u00a0 Is\u00a0there anything I can do\u00a0for you today?”<\/p>\n

In my research for this book I actually found a book about\u00a0this subject called “Prayer Walk” by Janet McHenry.\u00a0 She has an entire book on how to walk and pray at the same time.\u00a0 She talks about how God guides her in her prayers with the sites she encounters.\u00a0 She can do it alone or pray out loud with her spouse or a friend.\u00a0 It said that she was depressed and overweight she began to\u00a0walk and talk to God, she lost weight but\u00a0gained God.<\/p>\n

Another thing I do when running that is part of my prayer life is to reflect on my mantra “a sacred formula used as an incantation or prayer” – American Heritage Dictionary.\u00a0 It is something I say repeatedly in my head through out\u00a0my day.\u00a0 It is “Let other’s see Christ in my eyes”.\u00a0 You may have a mantra that you are not even aware of yet.\u00a0 Think about it when something happens during the day to challenge you, something that makes you want to explode or something that urges you to be nice what do you think to yourself?\u00a0 “What would Jesus Do?”\u00a0 “I guess I should do the\u00a0right thing”?\u00a0 Take a few minutes to really reflect\u00a0look\u00a0away from the monitor close your eyes, yes right now and think to yourself, do I say any one thing to\u00a0myself\u00a0often?\u00a0 Is it positive or negative?\u00a0 You can change many aspects of yourself\u00a0by what you are saying in your head.\u00a0 It can lead you to be bitter and resentful or caring\u00a0and selfless.<\/p>\n

Now that you have thought about it for a while is that what you want to say to yourself?\u00a0 Is that the effect you want to have on your children and the people who surround you?\u00a0 If it is not positive and kind think of a mantra that suits\u00a0who you are.\u00a0 What do you want to convey to others and start thinking about it.\u00a0 It only takes 30 days to start a habit.\u00a0 Think of a good mantra today and start using it.\u00a0 Then notice how your attitude towards life will start to change.<\/p>\n

So today with your new mantra in your head try to find a quiet spot somewhere for a few minutes, be alone.\u00a0 Think about your mantra and then say hey to God.\u00a0 Even if all you do today is to say “hey God I am here and I am acknowledging that you are too”, then you have made a big step today.\u00a0 It may not be a runners sprint but a step in the direction of reconnecting your\u00a0relationship\u00a0with God.\u00a0 A step towards a prayer life in whatever form that takes.\u00a0 Kneeling by your bed at night\u00a0to say a prayer.\u00a0 \u00a0Saying a prayer of thanksgiving when you check your children at night and you give them that gentle kiss on his\/her forehead.\u00a0 Or perhaps even running and exercising and thanking God for having\u00a0the ability and\u00a0motivation to attempt it.\u00a0 God doesn’t care where or when you choose to talk to\u00a0Him he just wants to hear your voice…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.\u00a0 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.\u00a0 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Matthew:\u00a0 6 Dear God, Hey it’s me Lori, Thank you for my breath, my legs, heart, lungs and the motivation to run.\u00a0 And my Dad for babysitting so I <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[61],"tags":[24,22,105,43,38,27,106],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithfilledmom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithfilledmom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithfilledmom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithfilledmom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithfilledmom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/faithfilledmom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithfilledmom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithfilledmom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithfilledmom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithfilledmom.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}