GOOD MORNING!

What a refreshing day! And it's not even 8:00am yet! Okay well barely by the time I finish this. I took my first morning run this morning and it was awesome. We decided that in order for me and Jerod to be able to run on busy days like today, I needed to run in the morning and that way he could run at night. He really doesn't like me running at night or real early in the morning but we compromised that if the sun was up, it was okay. So 7am came, and off I went. It is a cool morning with very little wind which was an answered prayer for me. I ran the 3 miles that we have measured out and was back home within 40 minutes. Not bad right? I can't run the whole 3 miles without stopping so don't begin to think too high of me. Jerod can though so feel free to think of him as a superhuman...I'm beginning too. : ) No, I ran for one song, and then walked until I caught my breath and then ran again. I know I probably didn't run as much as I am suppose to right now, but after being off the schedule for a month, this is just what I need. Robin and I have thrown the schedule out the window and decided that we are just going to run 3 miles a day until our official training starts. That gives us 2 weeks to strengthen our bodies and push ourselves a little harder every day. With my injury and with her being sick, we've both missed a lot of our "pre-training" schedule and so this works really well for us. Then our official training schedule starts and we run 3 miles a day for the first 2 weeks except for our "big" runs on the weekend so I think it will work out well. We are still in there trying and doing the best we can for us right now. I truly believe that is all God wants from us...our best. And as we push ourselves a little more every time we run, our best will get better. We are still 4 months away from our 26.2 goal...I know we can do it. That is a lot of training days. Will they all be easy? Absolutely not, but as long as we do our best, then we are succeeding. God Bless You on this wonderful day!

Take two advil and call me in the morning....

I am not completely healed. That is frustrating! Jerod and I went to run our 5min 1 min X 5 schedule last night and I made my first run pretty well but during my second run I started feeling a very familiar pain in my ankle. And this is with my brace on. So half way through my 3rd run, I had to quit because of the pain. AHHH! I grabbed my water bottle and started walking determined that I was going to finish even if I had to walk the rest of the way. After walking two laps I thought I could handle one more run. So I ran one more 5 minute section and then stopped completely deflated and sad. I decided to walk one more lap just to cool down and cry it out on the track. I figured that would be better than showing my husband my failure. Well, that plan didn't work. He saw me crying and told me that I am NOT a failure. He reassured me that for someone who was running just a month after spraining both ankles, I was doing really well. And he also reminded me that we haven't even started our "official" training yet. He convinced me that ANY thing I could do was successful. Wow...God really knew what He was doing when He gave me Jerod. Talk about saying the exact right things at the exact right moment. And knowing that I would take it better from him than anyone else...well, I just have to say, he's awesome. So I know that I'm not a failure and I am doing the best I can and that's all that counts right now. At least I'm doing it. But one thing has occurred to me more than anything...Advil is going to be one of my best friends! : )

A New Revelation

Okay most of you are going to think this is really gross but I have to share in my latest revelation...real women SWEAT! I think I lost 5 pounds yesterday during my run just from the sweat that was pouring out from my body. But the sad thing is when Jerod runs and is that sweaty, it is totally disguisting and wrong and when I'm sweating that bad, it's awesome! It makes me feel like I've accomplished something fantastic! It reminds me that I'm not sitting at home doing nothing physical anymore and I'm out there improving my mind and body. Some might call me selfish, but I love the time I take to be active and my kids do benefit from it. I once thought that if I did anything for myself after having kids that I was neglecting them in some way. Well...my thoughts have changed. I am a firm believer that if you take time out of your day to help better yourself, you are doing them a favor! I'm happier, more energetic, and all around better to be around. I think God expects that from us too. He wants us to take care of our temple and not neglect ourselves. And, it's a huge example for them to understand how important it is to exercise and how there is more to life than T.V. and video games. I understand there are video games out there that are promoting exercise, but let's face it...there is still more that only require a good seat and a "zone out" mode for their brains. Exercise is very important to their developing bodies and it's up to me to show them that! So to everyone out there who says, "I don't have time to put that in my daily schedule"...YES YOU DO! That's what I thought 6 months ago and I was wrong! It's just like anything, if you make it a priority, then it can happen. And it's very much worth it. Oh, and if you're worried about that 5 pounds I lost...don't worry, I replaced it with a brownie last night! : )

confessions of a un-superwoman

Confession time...I am SORE this morning! My legs are very sore but my ankles are more tight than sore...thank goodness! I am soaking them right now and then will stretch them and then ice them down. A regular PT treatment at home! I'm so glad that all we have left in school is reading history because I think I'll be sitting with my legs propped for awhile! : ) So that's all I wanted to write...is how I am NOT superwoman and I am sore. Darn! I sure thought I was....

I did it! Okay, technically, WE did it.

Today has loomed over my head for about a week now. Our team was scheduled to run our first 5K Saturday but with conflicting schedules and rain, we had to postpone. I was a little disappointed because I have hit my two week mark of staying off my feet and not running, and I have been anxious to get back out there. But I was also a little relieved. I have found myself nervous about my first time back out there and this gave me at least one more day of rest. Now granted, I haven't been taking it completely easy. I did swim for a week, rode a stationary bike, and Friday, I finally got back on my elliptical, but nothing compares to getting outside and running. So we rescheduled to run today but unfortunately, Robin woke up sick and we knew we weren't going to be able to run as a team this week. That really stinks because I was very ready to see my teammates and run with them. But, alas, not meant for today. So Jerod and I decided to go run just the two of us at a local high school track. On the way, I couldn't believe that I actually had butterflies in my tummy just like I did before a competitive run in middle school. It just was still so clear to me how bad it hurt last time I ran outside on the payment. But I was prepared with my brace on and my ipod, so there was no backing out. Let's just get this straight...my expectations for myself were WAY too high. I knew that I probably wouldn't make the whole 3 miles without stopping but I did expect to make it at least a few laps before I had to walk. Well....I did make it 2 laps without stopping but realized very quickly how not running for these few weeks was going to affect my progress. My ankles were not hurting and the first two times Jerod lapped me didn't bother me but I was having trouble getting into a rhythm trying to keep up with him. So after about half way through, I knew keeping up with him had to go out the window and I just had to do the best I could do. I got into the rhythm where I ran about 3/4 of the way around and then walked the straight away that was against the wind. Jerod lapped me one more time and finished when I had 3 more laps to go. I almost caved then and quit 3 laps short but he came and started running with me. THAT is why I love team runs. If I had tried to do this all by myself, I would have talked myself into quitting a lot sooner but when I had my teammate next to me cheering me on, it gave me the extra boost I needed. It was in those last 3 laps that I quit thinking about how many laps I had left and how hard it was and I started thinking about the people I was doing this for. I thought about those African people who would benefit, and I thought about my dear friend, Joni, who physically can't run. Oh how she would love to be with us, but right now, a fierce disease has made many physical things incapable for her. But she tells me all the time how she believes in me and hearing her voice in my head was all I needed to keep going. Then God blessed me. I was one lap away from finishing and my all time favorite song came on my ipod. "I Am Free" by Newsboys. For those who don't know the song, the chorus goes a little like this, "I am free to run, I am free to dance, I am free to live for you, I am free!" As it played the last lap, ringing in my ears, I was reminded how wonderful it is to be able to be free. Truly free. Not held down by sin or the world, but truly free to live this life for my Savior. And then I finished. All 12 laps...3 miles. And I had conquered it. I can say that I did it. I didn't let fear win, and I allowed God to show himself to me in a way that I would have missed had I not been out there.

I am beginning to get the feeling that this training experience will really grow me in ways I never thought possible. Physically, yes (well, maybe not...Jerod did buy me a surprise Reese's peanut butter cup as a congratulations...glad my goal isn't to lose weight) but spiritually as well. As long as I get out there and allow Him to speak to me. My friend Karen, an experienced marathoner, had told us that this marathon was very mental as well as physical and I think she definitely knows what she's talking about. But if it's going to be game that's in my head, I'm so glad I have God in there with me. : )

Orange is definitely your color...

I'm so loving watching my husband leave to go run with his Team World Vision shirt on. It is bright orange and you can see it from a mile off. Can't miss it. I LOVE IT! I hope my enthusiasm is that bright and clear when people ask me about our purpose or want to listen to me talk about it. I am so honored to be able to do this to help children half way around the world. I love that this organization is not only sending money over, but that it is being used for such an awesome cause. I don't think I've explained this very clearly to many people, but the money we raise is not just to feed people. It is to buy supplies and give to people that are caregivers. These caregivers are native to this land just like those suffering but they are in a position where they can help those who are sick and hungry. Our money helps them have the resources they need, the supplies they need, and the education they need to help others. They are our hands and feet of this ministry. So this is why I run. (Or swim or ride a bike as I did today.) God is so good and I'm so blessed. Not only because I have everything I need and more, but because I felt the tug. I felt God's hand upon my heart telling me that this is His will. And I am blessed because I get to do this for them. For our Saumu and for Samuel and all the others who are in no condition to help themselves. And I'm blessed because God has taught me a love that reaches over the oceans and across the miles to children and people that I've never met and will never meet. A love that knows no boundaries, no color, no circumstance. HIS kind of love and I am blessed to experience just a little of it. Yes, I think orange is DEFINITELY our color.

If you would like to give to our cause please go to http://www.firstgiving.com/aprilreep or http://www.firstgiving.com/jerodreep

No, this is NOT all in your head...

So I bet you are wondering, if this woman is a self-proclaimed busy mother of two, how does she have the time to write all of this? Well, I don't blame you for wondering but there is a very reasonable explanation. Once Satan realized that negativity from others was not deterring us away from this, he started attacking our bodies. As of right now, there is not one person on our team that isn't physically hurt right now. We have everything wrong from asthma to sore knees but my reason is my own fault. About 3 weeks ago, my kids and I went to my family's ranch for a homeschool ranch day. I insisted that I run there so I didn't get behind on my training. Well, I didn't have many options. It was either a highway that didn't have any room on the sides or on the ranch itself on the smoothest road possible. So I choose the latter and went on my 2.5 run with my dad on his 4-wheeler behind me. It was a great run. The sun was going down, the cattle ran along with me at times and I truly enjoyed being away from the city. But it was very uneven terrain and it wasn't until 2 days later when I was back at home running with my husband that I realized that my ankles were hurting...REALLY hurting. I couldn't run the whole thing and by the time I went to bed that night, I could barely walk. Just ignore it and run on the elliptical and it will get better soon. That was my mindset. Not to be a baby and quit but just run through the pain and get on with my life. It wasn't until about a week later that I watched my husband leave to run without me that I realized I couldn't truly train on an elliptical. I had to go to the doctor and see what was wrong with me. My ankles were about the size of grapefruits and I literally couldn't walk across my house in less than 5 minutes. Like an 80 year old woman is how I was described. So I caved and went to the doctor and found out that I severely sprained both ankles. Wear this brace, stay off your feet and don't run for 2 weeks. What!? I'm training for a marathon and I can't be on my feet! This isn't good. Here I wasn't wanting to miss one day of training and now I'm missing 2 weeks! AGH! Well through this time, I start to learn that one team member has asthma real bad, one hurt her knee and can't run, Robin's knees started hurting pretty severely, Jerod's knee was hurting, etc. Can you see a pattern here?

So here I was, "grounded" as I call it and not able to train. And it was getting to me. I missed the pounding of my heart and the exercise. I was getting depressed and needed to do something. I knew I was still going to run the marathon but I was very afraid that I would fall too far behind to do these kids that I'm running for justice. Thankfully, Jerod's employer has a gym that spouses can use for free that has a pool. Yeah! I talked him into letting me go and the first time I finished, I left that pool with my spirits lifted. With God's help, this was going to get me through til I can train again. So I'm trying to swim at least 3 days a week and do my abs and arm strengthening in between. But the good news is that I can see my ankle bones, I can walk without much pain and I'm actually feeling better. Still grounded but better. And hence the blog. So here I sit on the couch with my feet elevated, computer in lap, rambling about my body. Sorry. But God is good and will see me and the others through because we can do this THROUGH him. I'm including an email I sent Robin after watching "The Biggest Loser" run their marathon that inspired me to the core.

Oh how God is good. Satan is attacking but God is helping us fight back. After I talked to you tonight, I realized how you helped me when I was down and now I had a good day, and I'm able to try my best to help you. I love how we as a team can lean on each other and love each other, support each other and push each other through each temptation. And I guess that's what has hit me watching these people do their marathon was that each hurt, each day of busyness, each frustration is temptation. Tempting us to quit, tempting us to give in or quit trying so hard. BUT...no one ever said it wouldn't hurt, no one ever said that it would be easy, but a whole lot of people have said we can't do it, we are crazy. I KNOW that this is such an awesome opportunity and we are lucky to be able to do it. I just watched a 48 yr old woman who 4 months ago weighed 100 lbs heavier run a marathon (ran the whole thing) in just under 6 hours. I watched a 50-something man walk a marathon with a cane, a cyst on his knee and while it took him a while, he did it. I watched a kid who trained to run it but injured his hip and couldn't run it, walk the entire thing in the same time limit that we have. WE CAN DO THIS!!! Even if we walk the whole way, or 1/2 way, we are going to do this! And we don't have just a few supporters like they did, we have 1.2 million people who are going to give up sleep on a Sunday morning to come out and cheer us on. I guess I'm just saying, keep your head up, keep on going.


Don't worry, not every entry will be this long so please keep checking back for updates and I hope God blesses you as you read this, inspiring you to conquer your "Chicago."

Words from our leader

I copying some words from our team leader, Robin, as she shared with us right after we became "Team Amarillo South". We choose Philippians 4:13 to own as our motto and that will lead to other things for my husband and I later...Here's from Robin:


I shared with Michelle last night that many will think we have lost our minds... we have! But remember, most folks run this for themselves and their own athleticism. We will be doing it for a much greater cause... Jesus and those precious hurting people in Africa. I have chosen the very simple, but profound scripture of Phil 4:13 as our claimed running club motto. "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me." Paige said to me earlier today, "that is a LOT of miles... a lot of prayer miles." I loved that last part... PRAYER miles. You can bet God will be listening as we sacrificially give of our time, energies, and bodies to His greater calling in ministry to the least of these. I simply cannot wait to see what He does in each of us through this journey. I have to say, though it is a slow, slow process, already my body is starting to accept that I am once again asking it to run. My mind and body are partnering back up and starting to re-ignite that old love of the run and slowly... very slowly... improving how much of it we can accomplish at a time. My body is older and needs a little more... or a lot more... tlc along the way, but I can't tell you how exciting it is to me each time I finish my run for the day to feel those endorphins flowing. I may be gasping for air along the way, but my body is saying in the end... "this is good." I have wasted several years not caring for my body. I have let stress and the busy schedules be my excuse to neglect the temple of God. How wonderful it feels to slowly begin to reclaim health, while looking forward to the finish line.. not for myself but for those precious kids in Africa.

How I thank God for giving me the motivation to begin again. It is the most exhilarating feeling every step I take to know that I am sacrificing my efforts, my prayers, and my focus to make a difference in the lives of those so deeply hurting. People I will never probably meet on this earth, my efforts may bring hope to. I was thinking today, how great it will be in heaven to have a beautiful brother or sister walk up to me and say, "because you ran, I was touched.... and then I was saved." So wherever you are in this journey... whether running or partnering with us in praying for those of us that are... that is what we are doing for the Kingdom. We ARE going to make a difference. Every prayer, every step, and every dime will not go unnoticed by our Father and He will take it all and use it to changes lives for eternity! WHOO HOO HOO!


Do you see why I love her? Her wisdom and connection with God is something I pray one day I can be a glimpse of. Thanks for reading and I'll write more as our journey goes from, "I know God is listening but I didn't realize how closely the enemy was following us too!"

Why Blog?

Okay, I'm going to be honest. I have been fighting the urge to start a blog for months now because I just didn't feel like my life had anything worth sharing with the World Wide Web. Now don't get me wrong, my kids and family are my life but that's just it, they are MY life and I just wasn't sure I wanted to share them with everyone else on the planet. So, why am I blogging now? Well, let me tell you my story:

Back in March, I attended a children's ministry conference in Chicago with a dear friend that God has so graciously blessed me with. While we were there, we were challenged to consider running a marathon or half-marathon on behalf of children in Africa. Well that's is wonderful! For someone else! I already have two children from Africa that my family supports and that is good enough, right? Besides, I ran in school but SHORT distances. And, I had just discovered that I have 3 bulging discs in my lower back that has been causing me pain for months. I homeschool my children which means I am NEVER without them and I can't train for something like this with them. These people challenging us were very obviously NOT talking to me.

Well, my friend, Robin, decided that they were talking to her. And she asked if I would go to the informational meeting with her later that day to find out more. Sure, it was a free meal, and I never miss an opportunity to hang out with this woman. Well, even though the meeting was very motivational and exciting, I still was not feeling the tug on my heart to do this. But Robin was. Do you see where this is going? We watched a mother of 2 stand in front of us telling her story of how she ran the 26.2 mile marathon. 26.2 miles?! You people are nuts! But, she is a mother of 2 little ones...how did she do that? Well I asked her and it was really simple. Get a babysitter. Well okay but...Well we left the meeting and Robin informed me that I was doing this and we were going to do the 26.2 marathon. Well I understood her reasoning on that. Why go all the way back to Chicago if you aren't going to go all out? I texted my husband, Jerod, on the way out and said, "Me and Robin are going to come back in October to run a marathon for children in Africa. Wanna join us?" He's one of those crazy people that ran cross country in school so he might be interested. Well his reply was, "have fun." Okay so he's not in, and I'm not totally, but I'm now beginning to feel this small pull at my heart. "This is an opportunity of a lifetime April. And it will get you in shape! You need more energy and you'll be running for kids who need help!" It was the kids part that kept getting me. I know how bad their situation is and if I could raise money for them while getting in shape...

Well fast forward a few days. We came home pumped up about this telling everyone in the church about it that weekend. Well let's just say, we didn't get the BEST response ever. But something good was happening...while I was excitedly telling people (and partly still convincing myself) about this opportunity and how they needed to join us on this journey, my husband was watching me carefully. We did get 4 people to agree to join us that weekend but that number would not stay...

Monday morning I get an email from my husband, "I've decided that if you are really going to do this, I think it would be great for us if I joined you." WHAT? Did he just agree to join me in this journey? I couldn't even respond because I really thought he might be kidding. But he wasn't. He came home, we discussed it and decided that it was important for us as a couple and individuals to put ourselves back on the priority list and do this together. All knowing that while there was talk about "us" it was for "them" and ultimately for "Him."

Well, once we committed, Satan started his attack. I can't tell you how many people told us, "People die running marathons." " You are crazy!" Even our own families weren't entirely on board with us. The original 5 we had gotten to agree to join us quickly became 2. For different reasons that are there own, but we were losing team members instead of gaining them. Well we continued on our journey. Our official "pre-training" hadn't started yet so those of us who were "in" started doing a little this and that on our own. I went to the doctor to make sure it was okay...just start on the elliptical he said. It will strengthen my back and knees and with my pain pill, I should be fine.

So here we go...Team Amarillo South...against all odds as first time runners and Satan following us every step of the way...training for "run." That's what we call it now, our "run" or as my kids like to say, "Chicago." And as we start, there are things that happen that are a little mind-blowing and frustrating. And that's why I'm blogging. To tell you the story of Jerod, April, Robin, Amy, Kyla, and a few more that I haven't meet yet and how we will do this. For those precious children in Africa but ultimately for our Lord who will give us the strength we need and because through Him, we can do anything! Future posts to come...