hood to coast

the largest running relay in the world~2 days~1000 international teams~12,000 runners~36 legs of a 197 mile race~crowded, painted vans~one hour of sleep in a field, a van, or on a high school gym floor~headlamps~reflective vests and blinking lights~cool mountain air~finishing a run at 11:40pm~the smell of the salt on the beach~eating breakfast at 2am~group cheers~no time to stretch~total exhaustion~steep hills~layers and changes of sweaty clothes~running shoes everywhere~cow bells out the van windows~cheers from strangers~falling asleep 10 minutes before running a hill~learning the real meaning of roadkill~




it's such a crazy adventure they're making a documentary about it! check out this clip:
www.hoodtocoastdocumentary.com/teaser

rafts and canoes

yesterday we floated down the deschutes river all afternoon, and canoed sparks lake at night! juice and i only got in minor trouble from our canoe guide, but i think it may have made our night all the more fun.... ;)
i love central oregon!

thankful today

flannel sheets~ sleeping in till 7:40~ cool, salty air~ fog~ 8am run in the woods along the ocean~ coffee with vanilla soy milk~ music~ phone calls~ the gray and white of the ocean waves~ candles~ friends~ blueberries~ things to look forward to~ the Word of God~ journaling~ almond butter and bananas

“What can I give back to God for all the blessings He’s poured out on me?
psalm 116, the message

change the world

"Never deny the power of a small group of committed individuals to change the world. Indeed that is the only thing that ever has." ~Margaret Mead
Juicy~ thanks~ and thanks for being one of those people... :)

thoughts I needed today

Thoughts on prayer from Henri Nouwen; taken from “Letting Go of All Things.”

“...we realize that the closer we come to God, the stronger will be God’s demand to let go of the many “safe” structures we have built around ourselves. Prayer is such a radical act because it requires us to criticize our whole way of being in the world, to lay down our old selves and accept our new self, which is Christ...In the act of prayer, we undermine the illusion of control by divesting ourselves of all false belongings and by directing ourselves totally to the God who is the only one to whom we belong. Prayer therefore is the act of dying to all that we consider to be our own and of being born to a new existence which is not of this world. Prayer is indeed a death to the world so that we can live for God.”

dinner part 2

oh, sisi... i couldn' resist!

mmm...

sisi.. want to come over and have dinner with me?

carols at 5 am

My job is a riot. This morning I went to visit a nurse on another unit I worked on last week. Somehow, we both ended up in his patient’s room, where his patient proceeded to ask me my favorite christmas carol, and before I could answer, he was standing up; his arms raised and eyes closed, and belting out “Amazing Grace” and “Silent Night” so loudly that the other nurses asked what was going on when we finally left the room 20 minutes later. Never mind that it was 5 am. I laughed so hard I cried. We clapped when he finished and told him how beautiful his voice was. I told him I had better get back to my patients upstairs, but thanked him for his entertainment. “What a shame...” he said, sadly. I thought so too. That was the highlight of my night. ;)

today

"He it is Who spreads out the northern skies over emptiness and hangs the earth upon nothing. He holds the waters bound in His clouds [which otherwise would spill on earth all at once], and the cloud is not rent under them. He covers the face of His throne and spreads over it His cloud. He has placed an enclosing limit upon the waters at the boundary between light and darkness. The pillars of the heavens tremble and are astonished at His rebuke. He stills or stirs up the sea by His power, and by His understanding He smites proud Rahab. By His breath the heavens are garnished; His hand pierced the swiftly fleeing serpent. Yet these are but a small part of His doings, the outskirts of His ways, the mere fringes of His force, the faintest whisper of His voice! Who dares contemplate or who can understand the thunders of His full, magnificent power?" Job 26:7-14