Big News (Sort Of)

Guess who's back?!

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I actually have some news: I will not be blogging here anymore. I created this blog to be a supplement for the Miles & Miles Project, but now the project is over and I am going to branch out a little. I feel a little confined on material because of the nature in which I designed this blog, and so I am about to publish a new one that will be more of a miscellaneous kind.

It will be a faith-based blog. I will be posting about anything from biblical things to everyday stuff. There will be reviews on things like books, movies, TV shows, etc. Maybe someday I'll channel my inner cook and post some recipes or something. I also want to work on some photography skills so I might have random photo posts. Sometimes I'll just ramble about some interesting thing that happened that day. But the content is not going to be centralized as much as it was here.

My posting schedule will be a little more constant over there than it has been here. I have decided to set aside certain days when I can write and be a little more focused on content.

As for this website, it will stay up. I am going to have a tab on my new blog that links directly back to here, that way if anyone wants to look back over the project they can do that. I also still want people to donate to OneLife if they want. And please note: I encourage you to donate! But your donation will not  be featured in the total here on this site because I am no longer receiving updates from the organization. Our final total that we raised as a result of the project is $1,320. (And thank you guys SO MUCH for that, I'm so blessed for you all's amazing support.)

Oh and another thing about this website staying up: Sometime in the next five or six months or so, the site will revert back to a .blogspot domain. I don't really see the point in paying yearly to renew a .com domain for a site that I don't blog on anymore. So just be aware of that.

The new blog is not up yet; it is still in the works. I do have the name chosen and I'll release that sometime in the next few weeks. :) I plan on the blog being up by New Year's or earlier. When I am ready to release it I will post on here one last time with a link. So keep your eyes peeled for those upcoming announcements.

Thank you once again for your support and Happy late Thanksgiving! :)
~Haley

Friday Favorites

Hey there!

Hope everyone had a great week! Here are some things for you to check out this weekend:

If you are a girl, you need to check out Duck Dynasty's Sadie Robertson and Preachers Daughters' Kolby Koloff on Monday nights for their video devotional. Their channel is here.

My favorite song right now is Sea of Faces by Kutless. I heard it on the radio and it brought back some memories. I really listened to the lyrics and its really a song I sympathize with right now.

I found this cool prayer app the other day. I highly recommend it if you have a smartphone.

Okay, I'm not sure many others besides me can really fully appreciate this, but awhile back Adam Young (if you know you me, you know I am a HUGE HUGE HUGE Owl City fan) released a cover of an old song on his blog. This song just so happens to be 99 Red Balloons, which just so happens to be my favorite oldies song. So this cover is just perfection and I almost cried when I heard it. Unfortunately, it's not the whole song-just a few verses-but I am willing to overlook that. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a full length cover that I can buy!! Listen here.

And last but not least, my most favorite verse at the moment!

I'd love to give photo credit, but I have no idea whose this is...

Have a great weekend! And donations are still being taken!

~Haley

Quick Slow Slow

 

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, (James 1:19 NIV)

Quick to listen

Slow to speak. 

Slow to become angry.

I'd like to run away from all of those, please. I don't think I have ever come across a verse so convicting to me personally. It's these small things that trip me up. I absolutely love to talk. I would assume most bloggers do, blogging is our way to get our whole point across without being interrupted cnstantly.

But I could talk for hours, filling the air with meaningless words. 

And listening? I guess I listen when I need to, but I don't listen. I'm merely staying quiet thinking of what I have to say next. I mean, I hear what they have to say and give my attention, but I am SO far away from good listening skills. Don't even get me started on anger-I have a horrible temper. When I get mad I just want to rant and rage and I don't particularly feel like calming down. It's so hard for me to just let it go. 

These are the things I have to work on. My goal is to start being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. I would encourage you to do the same. Write it everywhere, and always have it in the back of your head. Pray about it. Don't merely listen to the Word, act on it!

~Haley

P.S. Sorry I haven't posted in over a month! I didn't even realize that until a few days ago! School has been kind of busy lately but I'm settling into it so I'm going to try to go back to my usual blogging schedule. Thanks for your patience :)

Good News!

Well I have some exciting news! I got an email today with an update on the total. And guess what?

We have raised $1,320 :)

I'm seriously so excited about this. We hit the $1,000 mark, and went over! Thank you guys so so much.

I know the running part is over, but you can still donate! I'm still going to blog from time to time. So I encourage you to keep telling others about the cause, etc.

Random verse so this post has a picture:

Image Credit: Air 1 Radio 

~Haley

5 Things I Learned in July

Well one of the blogs I read every so often has a thing where she encourages everyone to share what they learned the previous month, and she links back to our blogs where we wrote about it. I decided to jump in, and I'm posting early this morning since its only open a few more hours and I am gone all day. Haha. Her site is www.chattingatthesky.com. Emily P. Freeman authors it, and she happens to be the author of one of my favorite books: "Graceful for young women: Letting Go of Your Try Hard Life." Every girl needs to read it.

Basically I'm just supposed to share any random things I learned, meaningful or nor, so here goes!

1.  Gungor is becoming my new favorite Christian band

Beautiful Things is so...beautiful. There's no other way to describe it. The band is unique and full of so much praise. It is quietly infectious. My favorite song is a 3 way tie between that one, Crags and Clay, and This is Not The End. I listen to Crags and Clay to help me fall asleep at night, it's like a lullaby. And This Is Not The End is just so encouraging and happy. Lisa Gungor's vocals are incredible.

"All praises to the One who made it all and finds it beautiful"

Made with recitethis.com

2. Blessings can come in the weirdest ways.

Namely, a miserable cold and a cancelled camp. As some of you know, I went through a period during my summer where I was gone nonstop for almost a month. I went to camp, a mission trip, my grandparent's house...and they were all fun but I was so worn out. I was really excited for a volleyball camp that my team was going to, but my the time I had returned from everything else I didn't feel like I even had the energy to participate. But when I got back from church camp, our coach called us in and informed us that she had accidentally messed up the dates. It was a huge relief. Next thing you know, I'm in bed with a miserable chest cold. But it gave me an excuse to lay around and catch up on sleep and turned out to be a huge blessing in itself.

3. I realized why specifically I always felt a little uneasy about today's swimsuit trends:

http://www.liesyoungwomenbelieve.com/index.php?id=2059

 (Everyone watch the video, girls specifically!!)

4. Community is important, breathing room is too.

That whole 3-4 weeks that I was barely home, I was with people. All the time. 24/7. And it was nice, of course, to actually be doing something. Especially with the mission trip, where we were reaching out to people. But we also need to be able to take a step back and evaluate our lives and just spend some deep one-on-one time with God. We can only spend so much time trying to teach others before we need to come back and ensure everything we teach is biblically based. It's like coming back to home base to check in and make sure you're on track. 

5. I've learned to come to terms with the natural state of my hair.

I can't say I really did all that much with my hair this summer, excluding church related activities. So I sort if jut let my hair do whatever it wanted. I went shopping and all sorts of places, never straightening my hair. And doing that so much I realized its not so bad that I can't go in public like that occasionally. It actually sort of straightens itself out..

So there you have it, my top 5! Feel free to share anything random you learned in the comments! And make sure to check out Emily's blog!

Donations are still being taken! The running may be over, but the projects is far from it.

~Haley

Day 75

(Day 75 in Hindi, the official language of India)

Before and After

 

Me eating pie to celebrate! :)

My time: 41:36

262.5 miles.

I can't believe I made it.

Looking back, this has been one amazing summer. I ran through lightning. I ran through rain. I ran through ridiculous heat. I ran up and down a mountain. Twice. I ran in Colorado, including one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. I ran at my grandparent's. I ran in a 5K plus a little extra, and I ran at camp. I ran by myself and with friends, sometimes more than one. 

But this wasn't ever about me. 

It's about them.

It's about all those beautiful faces that deserve so much better than what they have. It's about showing them the Truth and the Way through what we give them. It's about being an example and doing something to help something bigger than yourself. It's about sacrifice-whether it be time or money or resources. 

The Bible tells us to love one another, and that there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for a friend. While we understand that can mean dying for someone else as Jesus did for us, you can lay down your life in the small things too. Laying down your life can be something as simple as giving up a couple hours to go volunteer somewhere. Or it can be giving up something for a time and using the extra money to go toward a good cause. It's sacrifices, both little and huge.

I would like to say thank you now for all the support I've gotten. My family, friends, church, teachers, teammates-you've all been so encouraging. If you hadn't pushed me, I don't know that I would've made it. Thank you to all of you whom I don't know, whether you read the blog or donated. But my biggest thank you today goes to Jesus Christ, for without him I'd still be enslaved and dead in my sins. He has given me the strength and drive and motivation. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your donations. 

I'm still taking donations, and I intend to for quite awhile. Please consider giving today. The donate button is right at the top.

~Haley

Day 74

Before and After

My time: 41:45

I have ONE DAY LEFT. That's 3.5 more miles to run and then I'm done. Tomorrow I'm going to get up early and go so I can be completely finished and not have to worry about it in the evening!

I highly encourage you to donate today or tomorrow if you haven't yet. I know I've gotten some more since my last update but I don't know any exact amount! Please give me a nice surprise tomorrow! Think of those who need it. It won't kill you to give up your Netflix subscription, or coffee or a month, why not give those up? Or instead of going out for a fancy dinner, just give here! 

~Haley

Day 73

My time: 44:06

Only 2 days left. 7 miles. 7 more miles and I will have made my goal. I absolutely cannot believe I'm about to be finished. I pray that God will take what we have raised and use it to benefit more people than we ever imagined, and I know He can fulfill that. 

The children, the adults, they all need clean water. They need to be able to drink something that won't potentially make them sick. Remember $555 buys a new well. And for smaller amount we can repair parts of other wells. Help them, please, and donate now.

~Haley

Day 72

My time:44:38

Still sore. Still slow. Oh well.

I can't believe there are only 3 days left. I'm so happy I did this. This project has been such a great experience for me. Even though we haven't raised a gajillion dollars, we raised something and every little bit helps. The money raising is far from over though! I encourage you to keep spreading the word and donating and asking others to do the same! 

~Haley

Day 71

My time: 48:48

I think that's my worst time yet...

I have never been so sore in my entire life. I had to get up this morning and do everything all over again. It took a lot of willpower to drag myself out of bed this evening and run. (I slept on and off pretty much all day after practice). If I wasn't doing this for something I care about so much I would've given this up weeks and weeks ago. But seeing how much they need it and how much we've helped, it's completely worth it.

All of this reminded me of a verse. I included the whole little section, especially since it includes the theme verse:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NIV) (Italics my own)

I kind of feel like I'm taking this in the literal sense. But it's supposed to be a comparison. We should be slaves to the Word of God but in doing so we are freed. We are not bound by sin. So we need to study in and delve into it trying to learn as much as we can so when we share the Gospel we will not have neglected our own faith and relationship with God. Run with a purpose. 

4 days left! Please donate! Even the littlest bit helps!

~Haley

Day 70

Before and After

My time: 44:46

I know it's an awful time. But it doesn't really bother me today, for several reasons. 

Volleyball practice started today. And the first thing we had to do was run a mile on the track in under 10 minutes, which isn't that bad. I actually ended up having the best time I've had in a long time and it was SO easy because that distance feels so short to me now! Haha. I ran a 7:41, and I don't even run that fast until halfway through track season usually..

THEN we practiced, which wasn't bad but afterwards we had to do a ton of conditioning. A ton of sprints and then these things called flip flops, where you do controlled crunches and push-ups in sync with everyone else. In other words, I was pretty tired and sore already by the time I ran tonight, so I decided to just jog. 

Gee, I can't wait to get up early and do it all again tomorrow...oh well.

5 DAYS. I can't believe we're this close! I've gotten more donations but I KNOW we can hit 1K!!

Donate please! Think of all those thirsty people that you can help.

~Haley

Day 69

My time: 37:14

So, interesting story, I had this really weird dream last night that I don't remember at all, and when I woke up I was convinced I had forgotten to blog last night. In a blind moment of panic I pulled up this website within seconds of waking up. Needless to say, I was very relieved to find that was not the case.

6 days left!! We're so close to the end, now is the time to donate!!

~Haley

Day 68

I wrote in reverse :)

Before and After

My time: 43:50

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians 6:9, 10 NIV)

Donate today! 7 more days!

~Haley

Day 67

My time: 42:08

I have been so extremely blessed in my life. I've never suffered anything extremely tragic. I have a great home. Plenty to eat and drink. A wonderful church. A loving family. The most stress in my life is from school, but I have a great one. Good friends, a supportive youth group, a great Sunday School class. Pets. A comfortable bed. A nice neighborhood. A full closet. 

Other people don't have those things. It breaks my heart to see people all over the world suffering, whether it be from hunger, slavery, dehydration, sickness, abuse. And that doesn't even cover it. I may not be able to give to every cause I find, but I can do what I can for this one. I'm trying to raise awareness so people will see the need and help.

There are 8 days left. I'm still going to take donations after this ends but I KNOW we can reach that $1,000 mark by Tuesday when the running ends. I'm counting on you guys, and I'm not the only one-just look at the need! You can help do something about it. Just click the donate button right now.

~Haley

Day 66

My time: 35:22

9 days.

And LOOK AT MY TIME!!! That's the fastest I've gone in a long time!! It was nice and cool this evening and I was feeling a lot more relaxed and prepared. 

 9 days left. And I'll bet you know at least 9 people who you haven't told about this project. Send them and email or a text! And ask them to donate! I know we can reach $1K!

~Haley

Day 65

My time: 39:31

It's the final countdown. 10 days. I'm so amazed I actually made it this far.

 Well my time is somewhat improved. I was really hoping that I would see amazing results in that my times would get a lot better, but really, I've stayed within the same range of times all summer. And a lot of that is because I'm not running with anyone. I always forget how hard it is to run by myself until I actually do it.

10 days. Come on. Please donate if you haven't yet! And tell as many people as you possibly can, I want to end this project on a good note. If we get a lot of people to donate, maybe we can reach $1,000. That would just make it even more worth it. Not that it isn't already. 

~Haley

Day 64

My time: 43:52

I miss running in the evenings. When it's cooler. And not muggy. Or the mornings are nice too but that's kind of my fault for not wanting to wake up. I had to run early today because we were supposed to go to the city and this post is late because we just got back.

...I'm going to attribute my slowness to the weather.

Why don't you guys motivate me and donate?

~Haley

Day 63

 

My time: 42:28

A couple of interesting things have happened to me today.

First of all, you'll noticed ran significantly earlier today. This morning I mysteriously moved from my bed to the couch, and I'm not quite sure how. Then I was visited in a dream soon after by a man who told me it would probably storm later and I needed to run early. (You know, this could've been my dad telling me this as I was half awake. But still.) Not wanting to take chances, I decided to go ahead and run before 8:30 P.M. 

Unfortunately though, I didn't actually wake up until past noon, almost one, and I didn't start running until 2:30. So although it was overcast, it was still hopelessly muggy and hot. 

THEN something else happened. 7 laps around my neighborhood is 3.5 miles, and I run that route about 98% of the time. This time, somewhere around the 5th lap, an older man that was getting his mail asked me how far I was going and I told him and he nodded. Then my last lap I was so hot and tired and going really slow and he came out with a cold water bottle and gave it to me to drink. So I paused my workout for a second and drank it. He asked me what I was running for and I told him and he was just very encouraging and thoughtful because I was so thirsty and hot and I really needed that water. So thank you and God bless you. That was the nicest thing that's happened to me in awhile.

Will you give someone something to drink today? It only takes a few minutes to donate.

~Haley

Day 62

Before and After

 

My time: 38:53

Slowly my times are going back down...thank goodness.

Yesterday while doing my nightly bible study/devo (I use the Devotional to End All Devotionals-I highly recommend it.) I came across a little section in my bible that I'm going to share because I really liked the ideas. (I use the NIV Quest Study Bible For Teens, published by Zondervan)

It was titled: "I'm in a prayer rut. How can I pray in new ways?"

"Here are six suggestions:

1. Journal your prayers. Like the psalm writers, write out questions, heartaches and struggles-not just your requests. Don't forget to journal praises too. And let your creativity show by writing poems or song lyrics or a letter to God.

2. Take a prayer walk. Walk around your neighborhood and pray for the family in each home you pass. Or take a prayer walk on the sidewalk around your school.

3. Pray over your calendar and schedule. Got a test coming up? Pray for peace of mind. Pray for the players (both sides) in Friday night's game, Ask God to bring Christians to your winter youth retreat.

4. Pray over the news. When you read or hear about a troubling or tragic event pray for the people involved. 

5. Personalize the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). Take each sentence or phrase from this well-known prayer and write it in a way that directly applies to your life.

6. Be quiet. If prayer is a conversation (which it is!), then you also need to listen in silence. As you listen expect God to tug at your heart, stir your conscience or help you realize something you need to do or change."

I do some of those, but some of them were new to me. I have some other prayer suggestions of my own. I learned this one from the camp I went to recently: pray the cross in every class. Pray for the person in front of you, behind you, and on each side of you. You could apply that almost anywhere you go, not just in school. Something I personally do is subscribe to a prayer newsletter. Every week I am sent a list of prayer requests that I take about 5 minutes to pray for. The one that I use is NAMB's Prayer Connect Newsletter. (And if you visit their website, check out these other prayer resources) Another idea I got from camp is to get a yearbook and pray for a row a week-or daily-for each person individually. Something else you could do is just find a list. I know radio stations like KLove and Air1 have prayer requests on their websites. You can submit one or find people to pray for.

I know another great idea is to pray for this project! Pray that God will touch the lives of the people it serves and pray for those at the organization. And pray that He will bless it to raise even more money to help more people. And if He leads you to donate, please do!

~Haley

Day 61

My time: 40:42

For some reason my times slowly got worse and now I can't seem to get under 40 minutes. That means I have about 14 days to improve them if I want a personal record on my last day. Which is kind of my goal. 

Here is a verse for you today! This came from Air 1's (the radio station) verse of the the day.

The words of this verse are just beautiful to me. "Pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap". The more you give, the more you get back. You can almost apply that to anything thing in life-take sports for example. The more you train, the better you become. 

Would you like to give today? There's a huge opportunity to do that right here. Even if the blessing promised in this verse doesn't appear right away, you will have the satisfaction of knowing someone was helped because of your gift. 

~Haley

P.s. I wish I could say I was creative enough to invent that tribal pattern on the sign myself, but I actually took inspiration from this: