Today, I ran my first half marathon. I have been training (painstakingly) for it for 3 month, and to be able to run it after training so hard for it felt amazing (especially when I overtook big guys haha). Timing was ok only la, but I was able to run all the way if you don't count in my stops at the "hydration stations". There were 7 stations through out the run, I must have stopped at 5, and each time I would drink 1 cup of water and 1 cup of powerade.
What I really loved was that people would get up at 7am just to cheer us 10,000 half marathoners on - we had people clapping and cheering for us as we ran, and even dogs wagging their tails as we passed them.
Tried to pray as I ran, mind kept getting distracted - but when I could focus, it was just so fun and special talking to God as I enjoyed the crisp cool morning air and breathtaking views of the sea and city.
It felt AH-MA-ZING to cross the finish line. Very sore as well, no doubt. Need to eat lots of protein today and drink water because I have a massive headache.
But what was even more amazing and satisfying (can't find the right word) than finishing the half marathon was my friend's baptism service later in the afternoon. I am so thankful I could attend it!
There, I heard testimonies that were just huge testaments of God's grace. An 88-year-old man who had recently become a Christian spoke. You are never to old to come to know and serve Jesus, eh? :) His testimony just reminded me of the parable of the vineyard workers that Jesus told in Matthew 20 where the vineyard owner gave the same wage to every worker regardless of whether they were hired early in the morning and worked in the scorching sun for the whole day, or hired later and worked for only an hour. And in that church pew, I just marvelled at the great grace of God.
I also heard a testimony by this guy who had been suffering from long term depression and had a lot of difficulty sleeping. He started attending church and shared his problems with sleep with his pastor. They both prayed together for good sleep, and he continued to ask God for good sleep night after night. In a month, he began to sleep soundlier than ever! He continued to pray for other things (can't remember) and God answered. All these prayers really caught his attention, and he realised God must be real afterall. A sermon that really challenged him was on living out Jesus. He mentioned that the pastor said, "To live out Jesus entails forgetting the past and straining on towards the future. To live out Jesus, we need to come out from yesterday's plight and face today's responsibility. Only then can we embrace hope." I love his childlike faith and prayers.
Another testimony by this girl really moved me. To her, Jesus was equated with 3 days of Easter and 3 days of Christmas holidays, and she had always wished she could get more holidays. She's been told that her existence in this world was an accident, and she's harboured a lot of anger and resentment towards the people that have hurt her. When God put a new heart in her, she shared that she was able to pray for them and is learning to love them. When her eyes were opened to how wide, long, high and deep God's love is, in the middle of a terrifying illness that had struck her, she was able to smile at the storm because she knew that no matter how bad the situation was, she knew God would always be there for her (and it was a rainbow that reminded her of God's faithful promises).
She also shared a story (which I loved!) that had really touched her heart before she decided to follow Christ. The story was about a mother who brought her child to see the dentist. The child was telling his mother that it was really painful to have his tooth pulled out. The child asked, "Mummy, why do you need to pull out my tooth? Don't you know it is painful? Why do you have to make me go through all this pain?" The message of this story was: There are times when you think things have been taken away from you and this has caused you to be in a lot of pain. However, God knows it all and understands your suffering. There are times when God needs to take things out of your life because they are not good for you. He is only doing it to prepare you for a better future.
Last testimony I really loved was by this girl who had lost her dog. She did everything possible: put up flyers, online advertising, combed the streets for him, and she prayed and prayed and prayed. Her phone would ring, but it would turn out to be someone else's dog. She never stopped praying, but did have her doubts as time went on. Five months after her dog went missing, she received a phone call.. someone had found her dog! She shared that she really grew in her faith during this time, and felt that she had just witnessed a miracle. When she thought God wasn't listening to her, she learnt that He was listening the whole time.
Have a splitting headache (think I'm really dehydrated). Finally going to take a nap.. been up since 4am today. Thank You, Daddy for such a lovely Sunday :)
What I really loved was that people would get up at 7am just to cheer us 10,000 half marathoners on - we had people clapping and cheering for us as we ran, and even dogs wagging their tails as we passed them.
Tried to pray as I ran, mind kept getting distracted - but when I could focus, it was just so fun and special talking to God as I enjoyed the crisp cool morning air and breathtaking views of the sea and city.
It felt AH-MA-ZING to cross the finish line. Very sore as well, no doubt. Need to eat lots of protein today and drink water because I have a massive headache.
But what was even more amazing and satisfying (can't find the right word) than finishing the half marathon was my friend's baptism service later in the afternoon. I am so thankful I could attend it!
There, I heard testimonies that were just huge testaments of God's grace. An 88-year-old man who had recently become a Christian spoke. You are never to old to come to know and serve Jesus, eh? :) His testimony just reminded me of the parable of the vineyard workers that Jesus told in Matthew 20 where the vineyard owner gave the same wage to every worker regardless of whether they were hired early in the morning and worked in the scorching sun for the whole day, or hired later and worked for only an hour. And in that church pew, I just marvelled at the great grace of God.
I also heard a testimony by this guy who had been suffering from long term depression and had a lot of difficulty sleeping. He started attending church and shared his problems with sleep with his pastor. They both prayed together for good sleep, and he continued to ask God for good sleep night after night. In a month, he began to sleep soundlier than ever! He continued to pray for other things (can't remember) and God answered. All these prayers really caught his attention, and he realised God must be real afterall. A sermon that really challenged him was on living out Jesus. He mentioned that the pastor said, "To live out Jesus entails forgetting the past and straining on towards the future. To live out Jesus, we need to come out from yesterday's plight and face today's responsibility. Only then can we embrace hope." I love his childlike faith and prayers.
Another testimony by this girl really moved me. To her, Jesus was equated with 3 days of Easter and 3 days of Christmas holidays, and she had always wished she could get more holidays. She's been told that her existence in this world was an accident, and she's harboured a lot of anger and resentment towards the people that have hurt her. When God put a new heart in her, she shared that she was able to pray for them and is learning to love them. When her eyes were opened to how wide, long, high and deep God's love is, in the middle of a terrifying illness that had struck her, she was able to smile at the storm because she knew that no matter how bad the situation was, she knew God would always be there for her (and it was a rainbow that reminded her of God's faithful promises).
She also shared a story (which I loved!) that had really touched her heart before she decided to follow Christ. The story was about a mother who brought her child to see the dentist. The child was telling his mother that it was really painful to have his tooth pulled out. The child asked, "Mummy, why do you need to pull out my tooth? Don't you know it is painful? Why do you have to make me go through all this pain?" The message of this story was: There are times when you think things have been taken away from you and this has caused you to be in a lot of pain. However, God knows it all and understands your suffering. There are times when God needs to take things out of your life because they are not good for you. He is only doing it to prepare you for a better future.
Last testimony I really loved was by this girl who had lost her dog. She did everything possible: put up flyers, online advertising, combed the streets for him, and she prayed and prayed and prayed. Her phone would ring, but it would turn out to be someone else's dog. She never stopped praying, but did have her doubts as time went on. Five months after her dog went missing, she received a phone call.. someone had found her dog! She shared that she really grew in her faith during this time, and felt that she had just witnessed a miracle. When she thought God wasn't listening to her, she learnt that He was listening the whole time.
Have a splitting headache (think I'm really dehydrated). Finally going to take a nap.. been up since 4am today. Thank You, Daddy for such a lovely Sunday :)
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