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