I’m looking forward to facilitating a new group at the Center for Recovery and Wellness starting May 1st. It’s called Nourish. Come check it out!
nour·ish
[nur-ish, nuhr-] Show IPA
verb (used with object)
In honor of living here two years
I bought something I’ve wanted since my first day in Lynchburg.
Here it is:
In full bloom it will look like this:
Firewalkers
I’m going to submit a story to Firewalkers. Firewalkers is “a field guide to radically rethinking mental health, Firewalkers redefines mental illness as a journey of altered states, emotional turbulence, ecstatic visions, crazy blessings, and mad gifts.”
It’s free and I would keep the rights to the story. I’m limited to 20 pages so I will have to do some heavy editing to what I’ve already written. I want to explore my first manic episode — running from police, being in love with the Antichrist, speeding down interstates recklessly — the story really has it all.
First time in Florida and dipping my toes in the Gulf of Mexico. Old people and white sand as far as the eye can see. My favorite sound – waves crashing on the shore – will lull me to sleep tonight.
Glory Part 1
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
On March 14, 2011 I woke up in a way I never had before: a specific phrase was on my mind and it clearly didn’t come from me. He dreamed of me in glory on the day He died for my sins. Cool, right? Ever since then I’ve been doing a study on the word glory, trying to figure out what my dream could mean and why God pressed this message on my heart. It turns out that glory is one of the most used words in Scriptures, so this project could take awhile. But for starters, I know that my only hope of glory is through Christ. (Colossians 1:27) And rather than seeing my body in the light of the world’s absurd standards, I’m learning to see it as a gift meant to give God glory and to serve others.
1 Corinthians 10:31-33
So eat your meals heartily, not worrying about what others say about you—you’re eating to God’s glory, after all, not to please them. As a matter of fact, do everything that way, heartily and freely to God’s glory. At the same time, don’t be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly stepping on the toes of those who aren’t as free as you are. I try my best to be considerate of everyone’s feelings in all these matters; I hope you will be, too.
I am reading this book (and doing the program) called Thin Within and I was overwhelmed by this particular passage from the book: “The dwelling places He chose for His glory were extravagant in every detail. Likewise our bodies are very special to God because he is the master architect, the landlord, and He has chosen to join us in tenancy. God doesn’t dwell in the mediocre. He chooses only the most splendid structures in which to live.
God created us for His glory. He wants our lives to reflect His joy, love, grace, and compassion so that people will recognize Him in our countenance. The Bible calls this “glorifying God.” You might say that we become advertisements for how wonderful God is when our lives display His majesty and wonder to the world.”
Most of the time I am a horrible advertisement of God’s glory. But He can take something I find utterly hopeless and use it for His glory. And that dream I had last March! He dreamed of me in glory on the day He died for my sins. How much I am loved! That Jesus would dream of me in glory with Him on the day He died for my sins. Incredible. And I’m not the only one Jesus dreamed of – you were on His mind as well.
Grace is but glory begun, and glory is but grace perfected.
Jonathan Edwards
This morning I woke up with terrible pain in my left hip. I could hardly move at first. But it loosened up after about an hour so I decided to go ahead with my schedule and do Day 2 of Couch-to-5k. It felt great, in a painful kind of way. I think I will repeat Week 1 for awhile until I feel more confident. I am in this for the long haul. Once I get C25k under my belt I plan to start looking for 5ks to run in Virginia. Then a 10k, half marathon, and maybe even a full marathon one day!?! Hopefully I will get someone to join me. Julie? Kendra? Makaela? 
My latest obsession has been with shoes. Brooks Running shoes, to be exact. After diagnosing me with Plantar Fasciitis in my left foot, my doctor recommended that I go to Riverside Runners (which I love now) and get a decent pair of running shoes. After a thorough fitting we decided on a pair of Ariels. They fit great and I rarely have issues with my Plantar Fasciitis now. You really do get what you pay for, and I will never go back to cheap shoes.
