Check this out!

My friend Terry made me this cool word spindle by taking all my blogs and loading them in a software program called "Word Cloud".  Basically she took all my the blog posts and the software created a word picture based on the posts' themes.  THANK YOU, TERRY!

So looking at my themes, I find that I write the most about:  running, God, marathon, Glenn, training, time and race. 

Since this is a running blog about my journey of training for the New York City marathon, I am not surprised to see the themes of running, marathon and training dominate the word picture.

I am glad that God is also a dominating factor but I need to be honest-  as I have spent time training for this race, I have found that my "quiet time" with God has taken a back seat at times.  Though God comes along with me on my runs, I need to be aware of the importance of daily quiet time with Him.  I have made one adjustment to my schedule this week- I am making my boys' lunches at night so that I have some extra time in the morning.  Just spending a few extra minutes with God helps to set the tone for my day and align myself with His agenda. 

I am surprised but glad that Glenn's name is as large as it is.  He is my training partner for this race and this life- might sound corny but it's true.

The last theme I'd like to comment on is TIME.  Time is such a crucial element when training for a marathon- the training programs are structured to get you to your race time goal.  Time is also something I wish I had more of at different times in my day...  more time with God, more time with my boys, more time without my boys, more time to run, more time to sleep, more time with Glenn... and on and on.  But none of us can add time to our day by wishing we had more- instead we need to be content with the place we are, the people around us, and the life stage we are in. 

I love the way Paul says it in Philippians 4:11-12 (He is in prison when he writes this letter)- "Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.  I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little."  My hope and prayer is to learn to be content with whatever I have and to make time to do what is important.

If a friend did a word spindle of your life right now, what words would be "big and bold"?  What words do you want to stand out in your word picture?

Jenny