Psalm 40

I waited patiently for the LORD;

   he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
   out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
   making my steps secure.
 He put a new song in my mouth,
   a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
   and put their trust in the LORD.

Blessed is the man who makes
   the LORD his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
   to those who go astray after a lie!
You have multiplied, O LORD my God,
   your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
   none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
   yet they are more than can be told.

In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
   but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
   you have not required.
Then I said, "Behold, I have come;
   in the scroll of the book it is written of me:

I delight to do your will, O my God;
   your law is within my heart."

I have told the glad news of deliverance
   in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
   as you know, O LORD.
I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
   I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
   from the great congregation.

 As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain
   your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
   ever preserve me!
For evils have encompassed me
   beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
   and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
   my heart fails me.

Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me!
   O LORD, make haste to help me!
Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
   who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
   who delight in my hurt!
Let those be appalled because of their shame
   who say to me, "Aha, Aha!"

But may all who seek you
   rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
   say continually, "Great is the LORD!"
As for me, I am poor and needy,
   but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
   do not delay, O my God!

-Psalm 40, emphasis mine

Run for Africa

I am pleased to announce that I will be participating in a Run for Africa 5K in July! I am stoked! I love to run, but it's so much more fun when the proceeds go toward something a little more valuable than the local rotary club. ;)

I've always wanted to visit Africa, and I have a connection with Africa through my Compassion daughter, Ester, who lives in Rwanda. We keep in touch via snail mail, and I love receiving her letters! (Check out the link above. Compassion International is an awesome organization!)

My friends, Allie and Jeremy, have a strong connection with the country of Rwanda. They are in the process of adopting a little girl from Rwanda. I am so excited for them and can't wait to meet their daughter. I know they're waiting even more expectantly, and this process seems to be taking forever! Yes, God's timing is perfect, but I know they long to see the face of their daughter and hold her in their arms.

I have decided to run this race in honor of their daughter and my "daughter," both of whom still live on Rwandan soil and breathe Rwandan air.

My goal for the July 5K is 23 minutes.

Somehow, in my mind, running this race faster means Allie and Jeremy's daughter will arrive sooner. Now I know that's not necessarily the case but, nonetheless, it is my prayer that she will be home soon.

I'll be proudly wearing my Rwanda Hope Bracelet the day of the race.

If you'll be around, feel free to come cheer me on. (Just ask me for details!) Wherever you are today or will be race day, please pray for Allie, Jeremy, and their daughter. Please pray for Ester and the many children in Africa who may be orphaned or in desperate situations. May God's Light give them Hope, and may our kindness be a reflection of His Grace.

Two.

Today is an important day.

It marks two years of
learning
growing
pursuing God in new ways
seeking to understand Love the way God describes it
talking
listening
understanding viewpoints
expressing opinions
grappling with Grace
relying on God's direction
trusting God's sovereignty
discovering new things about people and the world
appreciating differences
revealing my true self
gaining a true and loyal friend
being blown away daily by His Grace that he extends.

So many memories and conversations are wrapped up in this day.
I am blessed.

Tyler, thank you for sharing all of this with me.

Hot, Hot, HOT!

Last night I made the Pioneer Woman's Tequila Lime Chicken. I made the marinade the night before and let the chicken soak in all the yummy flavors all night and all day long. It was delicious!
I topped it with her recipe of pico de gallo. That's where the trouble came in.

This girl loves Mexican food. Even more so of late.
BUT, she has not cooked all that much herself.

All that to say, when the recipe called for THREE jalapeno peppers, she did not know that was a little outrageous. (Yes, her mom warned her. But this girl wanted to follow the recipe!)

I actually loved it, though it was insanely spicy. I wish I could have tasted more of the chicken and less of the spicy. Mom, Julia, and Carissa struggled breathing all through dinner. (Carissa was very gracious and did so in silence. I was in tears laughing because of Mom's and Julia's reactions.)

My tongue handled the meal well, but my hands did not fare as well. I also was unaware that handling hot peppers can burn your hands. Mine have been burning since last night! Know any good remedies? I've tried the lemon juice one, and I think I'm going to try olive oil next.

Race (Weekend) Recap

I tried to just pull out the "best of the best" of the many, many photos that were taken this weekend.
Grand total for the blog: 68

Okay, so it's no secret that I love photographs. I'm all into documenting memories for posterity. I feel like I say this every time I post pictures, but this post contains a lot of images. I'm sorry if your computer takes forever to load.
I'd like to be a good blogger and post all these photos over the next month in different posts, but I'm just too impatient and too busy to do so. All that to say, you get one long race weekend recap loaded with pictures.

At least admire me for uploading them all. ;)

Gas station stop before we hit the road.

Cool, huh?

Mom, Dad, and Julia are in the van ahead of us.

We look tough and happy, but really we were just trying to distract ourselves from the 3-hour afternoon drive without A/C.

Finally, we arrived at my great-uncle's house! This proves that beach homes are not always tacky.

Friday evening we headed over to the race site to pick up our registration packets. We drove past this statue. And smiled.

My family graciously endured the evening events.

Our shirts are quick-dry!

Here's a look at the transition area - before all the bikes were brought in.

Our swim caps were colored according to our waves. All the women 35 and under wore yellow caps. Tali accidentally grabbed a gold one Friday night, and we teased her about being in the men's wave. ;) Thankfully, they let her switch Saturday morning.

We got yummy ice cream at a local shop and then hit the beach for the sunset.

It was beautiful there!

Awwww! It's almost my parents' 33rd anniversary!

Love these two!

Sisters! :)

Besties!

I decided Mommy needed to join in the fun. :)

M ladies. :)

Alrighty, now. On to race day pictures!

Here is the transition area at 6AM race day.

Getting body marked.

(Don't worry, Jenna! It all came off in the shower before my beach day!)

Pre-race and feeling nervous.

We headed over to the swim start, which turned out to be quite a trek from the transition area. I'll bet it was at least a 1/4 mile from the swim finish to my bike.

We were a later wave, so we rookies were able to watch some other waves go before us. I think it might have just made me more nervous, though. I've read stories and talked with friends who have done triathlons, and they've all said your first swim is really scary. You rush in the water with a bunch of other  people kicking and splashing around you. I was prepared for that, but I was not prepared for swimming in the ocean. It seemed that a wave dumped a gallon of water into my lungs each time I came up for breath. Not only that, but I had such difficulty staying oriented in the water. The orange buoys and yellow caps helped, but I'm definitely investing in anti-fog goggles for next time.

Not to mention this is the ocean. I'm really not a fan.

This is our wave starting out.

Here's Tali coming out. You can see me in the back there.

I was so happy to be out of the water. I'm not certain of my exact time, but I know it was significantly longer than my training time in a pool. I thought at first I would lose my breakfast, but after walking a short distance, I picked up the pace and ran to the transition area. Once there, I rinsed and dried my sand-covered feet, threw my socks and shoes on, grabbed my helmet, and then took off with my bike.

Here I am exiting the transition area. You have to walk your bike to a certain point.

In this photo I'm running with my bike back to my transition spot. All I had to do on this transition was mount my bike, take my helmet off (if you do this before mounting your bike, you can be disqualified), and grab my race belt which already had my number attached to it. I was so speedy that I almost forgot the race belt! Haha! Thankfully I remembered before I exited the transition area.

Running to the run start. Sounds redundant, but it's the truth.

Dad couldn't find Tali during the bike transition and figured he'd missed her. Unfortunately, he didn't see her because she had trouble with her bike gears. She was stuck in the lowest (number) gear, spinning the whole 13 miles. :( But she kept it up and headed to the run.

The 3 miles took place on the beach. Definitely a work-out! Hey, look! I'm heading toward the finish line!

I felt great! I'd saved some energy early in the run, because I was afraid I'd burn out too soon. Turns out I should've used it up earlier!

Everyone's age is visible on their right calf, so it was easy to keep track of your competition. For instance, whenever I saw girls in my age group (20-24), I worked harder to pass them or keep them behind me.

Finished and sitting! I still didn't know my exact time, because the finish line time was clocked from the start of the first wave. My wave didn't start until much later.

I had seen Tali during the swim, but I didn't see her again until I was headed back from the run. I waved a hello, and she told me her tragic bike news. I wanted to cheer her on, so after I finished the run I headed back to the beach to watch for her. I was getting impatient, so I ran down the beach a little. When she was within sight, I helped her cut a few seconds off her time. ;)

So here we both are coming 'round the bend.

Woohoo, Tali!

Performing beautifully. :)

I think she was happy to be sitting. But she looks good!

Sharing race experiences. I like this shot.

It turns out that my overall time was just over 1:31, and I placed 2nd (out of 8 finishers) in my age category. I was really pleased with these results for my first tri!

Tali got a 5th place medal! With a working bike, she'll do even better next time!

Triathlete BFFs. ;)

Have I mentioned that I love my bike?

Tali was not so fond her hers.

But we were both happy to have completed our first triathlon!

I am so glad we were able to compete together! It would have been much scarier without Tali out there on the course! Would I do it again? I'd do it again next weekend if I could! I'm trying to find balance, because piano is my priority right now. It's just more difficult to remember that in the summer. :) I definitely plan on doing more races in the future, whether near or distant.

Things I would change?

1. I mentioned anti-fog goggles. Those are a must.

2. Swim better. Train for longer distances.

3. Cycling shoes. I want more bank for my buck...errr, more distance for my rotation? They make for a longer transition time, but I think it'd be worth it.

4. Have a bike computer to track my speed and distance. It was so hard to pace myself without one.

5. Push myself harder on the run. I love running, and I want to cut time there.

I think that's it. Really, I had a wonderful race experience! I feel like I learned so much just by doing. Experience is invaluable, and I think I'd be better next time just because I have an idea what to expect.

After the race (and verrrrrry looooonnnnnnngggg awards ceremony), we headed to the beach!

We had trouble with the beach umbrella yet again! (See, Allie, I told you! ;)

The Wests drove over for a beach day with us and brought over a canopy, which made our beach experience incredibly better! My brother came over, too! (Sadly, Amanda was working.)

Who would have thought these two beach girls had participated in a triathlon just hours before?

Oh, wait. Tali's number is still on her. ;)

After our fill of the beach, we headed back to my Uncle Irv and Eloise's and enjoyed an early dinner with them. They are so much fun! Have I mentioned that this is where Tsukasa moved? She loves living with them! (She's in Japan now.)

Wonderful, wonderful weekend! Now I have a piano lesson in 30 minutes. =/ Errr. Let's just say I did not get much practice in this week. I wish I could get my back to my practice regime tomorrow, but I have jury duty this week. Another new experience!