Wowzers

It's been almost a month since I last blogged. And I don't even have the excuse of tax season. Oh well.

Let's see what we've missed...

1. I had some Canadian friends, Amy & Dana, come visit me.

2. I flew to San Francisco for a work conference.

3. Bridal showers.

4. The season finale of Bones -sniff, sniff!

5. A weekend at BEAUTIFUL Harbor Island in San Diego.

6. Earl participated in, but won't move on to Districts, in the Guitar Center King of the Blues competition.

7. We moved to a new office suite and I got my own office.

8. We started up the second round of Hope's Heroes running club at the Village of Hope. We have about 20 runners gearing up for the Long Beach Half Marathon!

9. Today is Beachside Summer Fest (watch online here: http://beachsidesummerfest.com/)

10. My mom's chemo was delayed due to shingles, but we are praying for healing in time for the newly scheduled chemo date. And June 28th is the day of her post-treatment scan. And we are praying this will show that there is nothing left! 

I just got home from run number three with the new group. I'm hitting the shower so we can head out to Huntington Beach. The AVP Pro Tour is happening as well, so it's going to be a busy day at the beach!!

Up and Running Again

Here are some of the interviews I took after the half marathon.  This was a more rewarding experience than I imagined it would be. Please also head over to the new foundation related to our running group: Up and Running Again.  You can see more of our clips at my YouTube account: http://www.youtube.com/3505mnm.

Article in the OC Register

Go to this link: http://www.ocregister.com/news/running-232576-tierney-run.html.

Read it.

Look at the pictures.

And if you live in the OC, come out on Sunday and support us as we run 13.1 miles!!

And now for the surprise...

This morning I drove to the OC Rescue Mission to see my running friends off on their 11 mile run.  This is the last weekend before the race.  We have our matching shirts, hats and enough injuries between us all to cover the entire body. 

The Orange County Register has decided to write a story about Hope's Heros running club.  They all are getting their picture taken before they head out on the run.  I did not have time to hop in the picture, so I'll have to cut and paste my face in there for my copy! 

It's been a great experience starting from day 1 with 20 or so participants and watch the numbers whittle down to the 11 who show up (sometimes sporadically) and run. Many weeks later we are entering the final week. I am really looking forward to crossing the finish line with my new friends!

Running Setback

Last week we ran a total of 19 miles. It was great!! I had been having some nagging pains in my leg muscles, but once I started running they were fine. After our eight mile run on Saturday my legs were pretty sore and the pain got worse.  Come Monday morning's three mile run I was gritting my teeth the whole way just trying to finish.  I finished, but this morning I ran less than three miles and walked about two miles of the whole five miles we were supposed to do.  Tonight I am going to get a new pair of running shoes and I'll be icing my legs throughout the day.  Hopefully they will start to get better.  We are less than four weeks away from the half marathon and I would hate to have to stop now.  I was so disappointed today that I couldn't run more than I did.  I could frankly barely walk what I walked because of the pain.

Despite the pain, it was a BEAUTIFUL morning. I have seen the sunrise four mornings a week for the last 12 weeks. Today's was something extra special. The sky was various shades of pink, blue, purple, orange. Soft golden rays through the clouds. Absolutely magnificant! I wish I had my camera with me, but at least I have a mental memory!

Random Thoughts

This Friday my brain is feeling a bit random.  Lots to do, lots of thoughts, not a lot of time.

Work is starting to get busier. While we aren't officially in TAX SEASON, we are only about two weeks out. It's so strange to know that in two weeks I will start staying late, working weekends, coming in early, and cutting my lunch short. And it's normal. And I expect it. And strangely, I don't hate it. *shivers*

Tomorrow we are running eight miles with the OC Rescue Mission running club. At 6:30 am. Last week we did seven miles but we started at 7:30.  This week the residents/students decided it would be better to start at 6:30 and since only two of the four volunteers prefer the extra weekend hour of sleep, we got moved to 6:30am. Which means I am waking up at 5:30 tomorrow morning.

Earl and I are starting to think about how we want to celebrate our five year wedding anniversary. It's two months away (although we might not celebrate until after April 15th, but we may squeeze it in in February) and we have a few ideas floating around. Some of our thoughts were a Mexican cruise, staying at a B&B in Napa and see the Redwood forest, and a trip to Seattle. Feel free to leave some suggestions for a four day celebration.

My mom just finished up her first week of chemo. I'm waiting to hear how today went. They are going to be making their way back to Thunder Bay by way of a short stopover in Dryden. Praying for those drugs to bring about healing and kill all those cancer cells!!

Strengthened

Today I woke up shortly before 7am and headed out to the Saturday run with the OC Rescue Mission group.  We have officially named ourselves "Hope's Heroes: Gunnar's Runners."  Today we were finishing up week two, which consisted of ten minutes running, five minutes walking, and repeat. I started out with Linda and we got a fast pace going. We both pushed each other and were strengthened by each other's presence to run faster than we had been going. I have been strengthened by the prayers of those who have come alongside our family and been holding up our arms.

What a difference between Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and yesterday and today. I feel so strong and full of hope. When we first found out that something was seriously wrong, I couldn't even bring myself to tell Katherine that I thought it was going to be okay, so I said "Earl says she'll be fine." Which he did say and still believes, but I was so scared that I couldn't put those words together for myself. Today, I say she is going to be fine and it's going to be okay.

Yesterday I decided I wanted to read Jeremiah 31. I had read a verse somewhere else from the chapter that encouraged me, but I hadn't read the whole chapter, so I opened up my Bible and read.

Thus says the Lord:

"The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness-Israel, when I went to give him rest."

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, o virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, and shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice. You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food."

For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, streaming to the goodness of the Lord-for wheat and new wine and oil, for the young of the flock and the herd; their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, and they shall sorrow no more at all.

And on and on. The whole chapter is so incredible. The Lord is faithful! Today I read Lamentations 3-5 - when I saw this on my reading plan, I was like "Great, Lamentations. Doom and gloom!" but I was so blessed.

Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassion fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" For the Lord will not cast off forever. Though He causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies.

Lamentations 3:22-24, 31-32

Temporary Home - Edited

This morning was day 2 of the OC Rescue Mission Running Club.  We may have settled on a name: Gunner's Runners.  One of the volunteers, Beth, brought her Weimaraner, Gunner, along for the runs. He is seven years old and in need of some exercise. A sweet dog we are all starting to fall in love with. Everyone was excited to be back out running this morning. It was cool and foggy this morning - pretty neat running weather. Everyone is already improving in their abilities. It was very neat to hear from various people that they have never done this before: "I can't believe I ran all three sets of 5 minute running this morning" and "We went 2 miles today!" There was a lot of excitement this morning!

Carrie Underwood's third album just came out today. I eagerly downloaded it this morning after the run and synced it to my iPhone and left for work. Exept, I forgot my headphones at home so I can't listen to it. But one of the main reasons I was so excited for this album is her song: Temporary Home. Temporary Home is a song about more than just foster kids, single mothers and dying grandfathers. It is about how this world is our temporary home and we are passing through to eternity. As much as I was excitedly waiting for her album to drop today, I am anticipating heaven so much more!

Tomorrow we are going to a luncheon at Olive Crest. My boss, Paul, is on the board of directors for Olive Crest. I am excited for this luncheon and so glad that our firm partners with such a great organization. Paul and his family serve as respite foster parents and have had numerous children through their home. Go to their website and check them out. Pray for them as they continue to serve those in need and pray for homes for all these children.

Running With A Mission

At the beginning of 2009, we revamped our work mission statement at the firm I work for. One arm of the firm we created was a charitable service committee. We meet once a month and have established multiple projects for the firm to take part in: food drive for the OC Rescue Mission, Buddy Walk for DSAOC, supplying Bibles for James 1:27 Ministries, and a running class with the OC Rescue Mission. We will have our own booth and play games at the Buddy Walk next Sunday. This should be a lot of fun, although contributions were down by 2/3 of last year's amount last I heard. These contributions fund the staff's salaries and are going towards building a pediatric clinic in the OC area. In case you feel so inclined, you can donate here.

Now, tomorrow morning, bright and early, I will be driving to the OC Rescue Mission and meeting up with 2 coworkers, a client of ours, and 18 to 20 "students" of the OC Rescue Mission Village of Hope. The Village of Hope is a one- to two-year program for individuals, families, and single parents who are currently homeless. They go through job training, education, counseling, and work at the VOH. One of the partners at my firm, Steve, thought it would be valuable to basically train 20 or so individuals to run a half-marathon. Tomorrow is our first day of training.

We will be spending four mornings a week for the next fourteen weeks working together as a team to prepare to run the Huntington Beach Half Marathon in February 2010. There are a number of ways we feel this will be so beneficial. First of all, the weekly encouragement of going farther and doing something you have never done before. Secondly, on the day of the race, everyone at the starting line is equal. We all put in the effort to train; we all are there with our shirts, shorts and shoes. There is no indicators of class or status. 15,000 people will be running this race. Finally, there is something for saying "I have run a half-marathon, 13.1 miles. What else can I do?" We are hoping to reinforce discipline and teamwork in each student. The director at VOH - Nathan Bates - said that this is the first time any group of volunteers has ever spent such a concentrated and long time with their students. He is thrilled at the idea of what type of ministry could take place.

So, at 6:20 tomorrow morning we begin. We will be taking video footage and pictures to update everyone along the way. Stay tuned!