Candid

Today's sermon was on "God's Will".  While it was a good message, it was frustrating at the same time. The conclusion my pastor made was that there probably will not be an audible voice nor will we always get a conclusive answer on "where God wants us to be".  Instead, he claimed that as long as we follow God and remain in him, he will always be with us.

Like I said, it was a good message and it was also reassuring that as long as we are walking with God we are in his will but for people like me, at this stage in life, I WANT/NEED to hear an audible voice.  I need guidance of where he wants me because I feel unsettled at where I am at.  I thought by doing this 30 months before 30, I would learn more about myself and be satisfied with who I am and where I am....but I'm not.  And maybe it's just because I am going through a phase and it will pas but every day I long to be somewhere else.  Maybe once I finally move out of my parents house I will feel better but right now my mind is on Italy, Vietnam and even Arizona.  Italy because it was such a fun place to visit and it seems like a place that would be easy to settle into.  Plus, you have to admit, Italian is a beautiful language nor are the men bad lookin!  Vietnam is always on my heart because I don't just have friends over there but I have a family and I miss them on a daily basis.  Arizona is a new thought but my roommate from Vietnam lives there and she is one of the greatest people I know!  I loved every day I got to spend with her and our other roommate and I would be just fine moving out there with her.

I am not saying this to hurt feelings because honestly, I have amazing friends and a family that I love dearly but I am restless.  I feel like I need more out of my life right now and I keep waiting for God to show me where he wants me but I guess that's not going to happen.  Guess I need to start making some decisions!

First Long Run

Yes, I am slacking in my training.  I ran my first "long run" today.  Throughout the week, training has you running 3 or 4 miles but on Saturdays...or in my case, Fridays, you are supposed to do a longer run.  Today I was supposed to do 5 miles but when I got to the 2.5 mile mark, indicating I should turn around, I kept running.  I was running along the coast, listening to my Korean boy bands and watching the surfers sitting out in the water, not able to catch a wave since there were none!  I was lovin it!  I ended up running 6 miles today and while I took a few breaks, I did not feel exhausted when I got back to my car.  I don't know what a typical pace is but I ran at a 9 minute 39 pace and that felt good for me! Today I feel good!

It helped too that it was cool and stormy.  I didn't get overheated...even though my face afterward was cherry tomato red...again!

Photography, Boys and Their Dogs, and Korean Boy Bands!

So I have to be honest in saying that I have failed this month at taking pictures.  I mean, I have taken pictures from my iPhone but that doesn’t count.  I will say this though, that even though I haven’t practiced my photography, the pictures I have taken this month are some of my favorite because they are full of people that I love!  The following is a picture of my friend Lily.  She lives in AZ so we decided to meet in the middle.  The picture on the right is one I took on my drive....look at that sky!

                                             Taken at a backwards bowling party for kickball.  Love them!

As far as my Vietnamese goes...I am rockin it!  Okay, so I haven’t advanced past the 4^th lesson but I am pushing myself the extra mile and actually reviewing and learning how to write in Vietnamese (accent marks and all)!  It hurts my head but I am having so much fun learning it!  There are a few pictures and phrases that keep me entertained throughout.  For example, Rosetta Stone feels it is absolutely necessary to know “một em trai và một con chó” or that there is a boy and dog in  the picture.  Usually, a picture comes up once in a lesson but this picture, for some reason, comes up two or three times!

   

                        Little boy-man.  I laugh every time!          My new buddy and his dog

Running is going well too!  I am running 4 miles consistently and today ran it under 40 minutes.  I was pretty stoked!  Today I felt like I could run even longer which is funny since I am usually a little slower the second day in a row.  My theory on why I had more energy....I have switched my Pandora station form country or Pitch Perfect to...drum roll please..............Big Bang (a Korean boy band).  Their music is so full of energy and it keeps me at a good pace.  I have no shame!

Practicing My Photography!

I want to start this post by saying, “thank you” to the people who actually read my blog!  And then I would like to follow that with a, “sorry” since I only seem to write once a month.  I will try to be better about that!

This month I chose a challenge that I felt I could actually achieve because I will WANT to practice it!  I have loved taking photos for as long as I can remember so this month, I am choosing to put time and effort into taking great photos.

Taking pictures of people freaks me out because I feel like I am going to miss that “moment” and since my 30 months before 30 is to do things that push me out of my comfort zone, that is exactly what I am going to practice!  If anyone wants to help out, I will need subjects! 

These are photos I took today.  No people I know but I just wanted to get out there again and take pictures of something!  I love these leaves by my house and lifeguard towers are always fun!

I have found a substitute when I don't have any live beings....http://veryhilarious.com/so-beautiful/

I just about died seeing these pictures!

Running update:  I wore out my shoes and let that be my excuse for why I couldn’t go out for a run.  I finally dragged my butt out to the mall and bought new shoes to get back to my training.  It felt good to get out there!  I get more and more excited for my race as I train.  I hope I can keep my motivation!