Heather did it! Her first 5K run

Heather Denney, first 5k run

Do you have a goal you really want to accomplish, a dream in your heart? You can do it!  At the beginning of this year, our oldest daughter Heather was determined to lose weight and to run a 5K race. Today she did it! 

Using the book, The Belly Fat Cure (a diet which eliminates white sugar and reduces carbs) and joining and teaching a zumba aerobics class, she has lost weight in 9 months, going from a size 14 to now a size 8!  And today she ran her first 5K run!  I am SO proud of her!

The 5K run/walk today was at the Kansas City Royals stadium and raised awareness for autism. About 1400 people participated: little 5-year-old kids, teens, men, women, senior citizens, handicapped, all backgrounds and races. The enthusiasm was contagious. I was touched by how many people came out so early in the morning for this cause.  There are many runs and walks each month for great causes that you can be a part of, either through running, walking, volunteering, or giving financial support.

The runners were supported all the way to the finish line, which was inside the stadium at third base.  Yes, I “mom” was there, cheering Heather on to the finish line, shouting, “Go, Heather!”    A team of friends from her church was there, running too.

At one point during the run, Heather wanted to quit. She thought that she was almost to the end of the race, and then realized coming around a bend that she still had a ways to go. But she pushed herself, and ran the entire race, not stopping once. She even beat her own fastest time in training by 4 minutes!

Heather had a big smile on her face after the run from her accomplishment. It hasn’t been easy this year for her to get to this point, but  hurray, she did it!

It’s on my bucket list to do a 5K run WITH Heather before the end of this year!  I pray I can do it, losing weight too, with God’s help and my family’s support and encouragement. I need prayers for consistency and self-discipline, so please pray for me!  

After the run as Heather and I got into the car to go home, we both had a great laugh over a postcard advertisement placed on her car window, which had a picture of a pig on it and the words, “Run your pork butt off!”  It is the Royal Rib 5K Run on October 2, at the American Royal.  I have put it on my fridge for humorous motivation!

What goal have you set that you want to do this year?

What’s your stopping point?  What obstacles are hindering you from reaching your goals and dreams in your heart?  Remember, you can do it with God’s help and determination!

“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, ² looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12: 1-2, NKJV)

Here are videos of today’s run.

Vlog of Heather’s first 5K

Vlog of military band playing national anthem

Vlog of Heather & friends lining up for the run

Vlog of the runners starting the 5K run/walk

Vlog of Heather going toward finish line

Vlog of Heather right after her run

Vlog of food and water for runners

Fountains at Kansas City Royals Stadium

Our daughter’s Mission trip for Nashville Flood Relief

Heather Denney

Our oldest daughter Heather is about to do a  missions trip at the end of this month in Nashville, TN.

From Eagle Creek Church’s website:

In May of 2010, middle and western Tennessee experienced the worst flooding in it’s history. There were 33 people who were killed in Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee due to the flooding, and nearly $2 Billion in damage was done. It was Tennessee’s worst disaster since the civil war. The national average for media coverage during this disaster was 15 minutes, so people outside of the affected areas have little idea as to the scope of this disaster.

From January to May of 2010, Nashville had 18 inches of rains in a 36 hour period.  Beginning May 1, they received 18.4 inches. Many people lost everything and few had insurance to cover the loss. In what’s being called the “Katrina of the Midwest,” the disaster will take months and even years to clean up before life returns to “normal” for many of the people there who have been devastated by this disaster.

Eagle Creek Church in Lee’s Summit, MO, is partnering with Anchor Christian Fellowship Response to reach out in support of and minister to people affected by the flood. There are two ways that Anchor Response works with flood victims:

1. Takes teams into houses that have flood damage and works at ripping out all affected materials (drywall, carpet, etc). These teams are strictly demo and don’t do any construction, so there isn’t a need for volunteers to have construction experience.

2. Anchor Response has a warehouse that collects and distributes goods to families that have need. The warehouse literally distributes everything from toys to toothbrushes. Workers help organize and distribute goods that are donated.

So whether you can  go or not, you can definitely be a part of helping those that are in desperate need of help. Here is the website for more information. 

From Beth:  Please keep our daughter Heather in prayer as she leaves July 29-31 with a team from her church, Eagle Creek Church, to help in Nashville. I will be helping to babysit her two girls, Annabelle and Violet – and praying a lot!   There will likely be mold and mildew in these houses, so please pray protection over the health of Heather and the team (they will be wearing masks, gloves, and heavy work boots as they are ripping out materials of drywall, carpet, etc.), as well as for traveling mercies .

Thank you so much for your prayers.  Below is a brief video that was on Eagle Creek’s site to give you an idea of some of the damage in Nashville.

Nashville Flood Relief from Mike LaBerge on Vimeo.

Being kind to your body

Recently I needed to go shopping to buy a long, formal gown for the Dance With Me princess ladies’ retreat in Springfield, MO. I haven’t worn a floor-length, formal dress in years, have put on a LOT of winter weight since last year, plus I am very picky when it comes to buying clothes. These things made the shopping an all-day event before I finally found a dress (on sale)! 

Although it felt great to dress up and look pretty, and I had a BLAST, after I looked at the pictures of the retreat I realized that I couldn’t tell myself that it was just that “the camera adds ten pounds.”  The camera doesn’t add THIS much weight. Yes, I seriously need to do something to get into shape!

My life/business coach Cindy Rushton and our daughter Heather Denney have both been inspiring me to lose weight this year through changing their eating habits and exercising, and I am now reading what I can on the subject and applying what fits (pardon the pun!). 

Cindy hired a fitness coach, changed her diet, and has now advanced from walking and working out in the gym to being in 5K races!  Heather started using The Belly Fat Cure diet (book by Jorge Cruise) and progressed from taking a zumba aerobics class to teaching one. Both women have lost an incredible amount of weight , physically and emotionally feel better, and look GREAT!

Over the past several weeks, I’ve been adjusting my diet to include more salads, less fats, and less sugar – and smaller portions!   

This past week when the sun began breaking through the rain clouds again, I began walking in the morning and in the evening, listening to my Ipod filled with good worship and podcasts. I dragged the mini-trampoline out of the closet that I haven’t seen since last year (the trampoline idea was taken two years ago from Donna Partow’s book Becoming The Woman God Wants Me To Be: A 90-Day Guide to Living the Proverbs 31 Life).  Doesn’t it sound fun to bounce your way to fitness? 

I am also conciously drinking more water and trying to eat more nutritious meals at home. It’s really all about being kind to your body, taking care of yourself physically so that you can do the things God has called you to do and to be.  We can’t fulfill our destiny in Christ to its greatest potential if we are out of shape or get sick – or even die prematurely.  I desperately want to reach my potential in Christ, doing and being all He has destined me to be, for His glory.

And of course I can’t do this – or anything else in life – without God’s help.  So I am praying each day for God to help me, offering my body, my lifestyle of eating, my exercising habits, my physical fitness to Him in prayer.  He will help you, too.  He made each and every one of us, and He wants us as healthy as possible, both for our own personal comfort and well-being’s sake and for His kingdom’s.

Drop me a line sometimes to ask how I’m doing to keep me accountable, okay?  What are you doing to get into shape this year?  I’d love to hear your ideas, and any comments or suggestions about physical fitness.  Be sure to read the article below by contributing writer and life coach Susan Liddy.

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, NLT)

Here is a GREAT, encouraging article on taking care of yourself by Life Coach Susan Liddy, 3 Tips To Getting Super-Charged!