THANK YOU!

Dear friends and family,

As I close my blog I wanted to say THANK YOU! Thank you to everyone who encouraged me, prayed for me, prayed for the Refuge for Women, and prayed for the ministry in Lexington that reaches out to the employees of the adult entertainment industry.

THANK YOU to everyone who supported financially. Your generosity helped raise 2,000 dollars for the Refuge for Women. To stay in the loop with all that God is doing to restore value to the women at the Refuge continue to check out their website www.refugeforwomen.org or find them on Face Book.

Sincerely,



Angie Purvis


Let's go for a run!

The race

This picture was taken at mile 1, fairly obvious by the smile on my face. Ha! It was an honor to run for the Refuge for Women. I'll be eternally grateful for the experience. I learned a lot throughout my training and during the race. This was only my second full marathon but I agree with Runner's World that the Towpath is the most beautiful. This next picture was around mile 14.






The fall leaves were breathtaking the weather was awesome. God is so sweet. He gives us things like trees with leaves that change colors to remind us that He's ALIVE. He is alive and He is the one who changes the leaves from green to yellow to orange to red to brown. I can't do that; so the fact that He can is pretty fascinating to me.





I'm looking forward to the Refuge for Women banquet tonight. It's their second annual event and I didn't get to go last year so I'm really excited to join tonight.

Everyone keeps asking so here it is....4:32 and the clock doesn't lie.... I didn't beat my time from my first full marathon but I did my very best. 4:32 is just a number like 26.2 neither of them define me. My Maker alone defines me.





Let's go for a run!..... You go for a run.... I'm going to sit down for a while. Who wants the baton? Sara, you want the baton? Shannon you want the baton? Jennifer you want the baton? Neile? Andrea? Sharon you want the baton? Who's it going to be?

At the Race (Guest Blogger)

This is Derrick, the beloved husband of our favorite runner, Angie. So don't expect anything too insightful here.







Ang is probably on mile 7 or so right now. Things have been pretty crazy getting here. The dear little Subaru frowned upon our choice to drive it here yesterday. In retaliation it overheated on the way up. (prayers are appreciated for our journey home :) ) After the long journey, we had missed the cutoff for picking up Angie's packet. That's fairly important. It gives you your timing chip, bib number and goodies. After lots of drama and phone calls, we were able to get an answer. We could pick up the bib and chip in this morning. Whew!

Not until the numbers were pinned on her chest did we really believe it was going to happen. But, alas, she is on the path. So, obviously, it worked out.

This morning was cold, but we found warmth in a closed down ski lodge. The lines at the bathroom were amazing. I was sure there had to be something more than a toilet at the end. Were people seeing Sinatra in there? I can't think of another reason to wait in a line like that... other than seeing a dead crooner, of course.

Anyway, I digress. Ang has done great this morning. Her excitement is matched by her passion behind this race. As she runs, she prays for the Refuge. Each step is in dedication to those women who need Jesus.

Three-ish more hours to go. Let's get behind her in prayer.

TOMORROW!!!

Sooooo..... the race is tomorrow. I'm really excited. It's kind if hard to believe I'm really going to do this. We're on the way to Cleveland OH. right now. The weather is supposed to be beautiful! in the mid 50's tomorrow morning and low 70's in the afternoon. I've been taking my friend's advice drinking a lot of water. The only bad thing about downing the water is that we're just a little north of Cincinnati and Iv'e made Der stop 3 times already so that I could use the rest room. My head is kind of spinning... I'm hoping that I didn't forget anything, that I don't cramp up or deal with knee pain and praying I don't sleep late like Jean-Paul Jean-Paul. It would be great if I could sleep tonight but not counting on it. I've run 2 mini's and 1 full and didn't sleep a wink the night before. I'm like a little kid on Christmas eve.

I've made my list of 26+++ friends to remember in prayer while I run. Some of them are at the Refuge for Women right now, many of my friends I'm running for are still in the strip clubs. I'll also be praising God for the consistently increasing number of FORMER club employees. I know I'll be thanking God for the inspiring woman who started the ministry in Lexington. We are so grateful for you and your story. Running to restore value..... what an honor.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
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 a man running aimlessly; I do not FIGHT like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.


Let's go for a run!

Stinky

Yesterday I spent over 2 hours steam cleaning our carpet and rugs. Before you get impressed and think I keep a clean home you need to know it's ONLY because we're having some friends over. We are the dirty family. I've learned to accept that fact. If we were the clean family with three kids I would probably need to be locked up for neglect or child slave labor. I guess some of you with three kids maintain a healthy family unit AND keep a clean home but I just don't know how. Maybe you could give me some pointers. I really want to be a clean freak. A few months ago I had this really impressive streak of like 4 days IN A ROW that I intentionally tried to keep the house and even the van clean. The fourth day the whole family was riding along in the almost clean Astro van. I was so proud of myself I asked Der, "I know we have three kids and that may change your answer to this question but; do you think I'm a neat person or messy person?". He busted out laughing before he could even say one word; like it was a joke or something.... Dangit!!! Or as my daughter would say Bingit! It's kind of like wishing I could be a really stunning brunette and after dying my hair thinking, "it's just not me...but I wish it was.... I'm not an organized clean person.

Back to the carpet cleaning; as I was steaming one of our rugs the SMELL almost knock me down. It was the stinch of dirty wet dog, by the way we don't have a dog...../ urine/ vomit/ smorgasbord of rotten kids snacks/ ??????. I couldn't believe how disgusting it was. The most shocking thing was that to look at the rug it didn't even appear to be dirty. It didn't stink when I vacuumed it... As I was dumping the black water out of the bladder of the steam cleaner I considered just throwing the rug away. I filled it with clean water and began to go back over the rug one more time when I heard my Alter-Ego say,

"That rug and that black water is like your sin,"

'Not now, please leave me alone.', I thought to myself.

Out of curiosity I humbled myself enough to ponder the statement. The more I cleaned the rug the more I realized how filthy it was to begin with. Thank you Jesus for making us clean.


Let's go for a run!

We'll call her Samantha

I haven't been visiting my friends at the strip clubs along with the "church ladies". I just had too much going on towards the end of the marathon training. I'll be taking some time to regroup after the marathon is over and hopefully get my house clean as well. I really miss my friends and hope they are doing well. One of my friends who is a "church lady" said that this ministry is the clearest reflection of the Acts church that she has ever experienced. I agree. As far as the phrase "church ladies", some of the club employees started calling us the church ladies a few years ago and it stuck. We think it's funny and endearing.
Although I won't be going to the clubs for a while; names, faces, stories and prayer requests will be heavy on my heart until I rejoin the church ladies.

I will forever be haunted by the story of an exotic dancer I met a few years ago. We will call her Samantha. Samantha is a spunky outgoing and hilarious girl. Covered with tattoos and piercings somehow Samantha made any hair color beautiful. I don't have a problem with tattoos and piercings. I had piercings in the past. My husband is tattooed and already has our 3 year old son asking for one like Daddy's. I told him if he wants to get a tattoo with a heart that says "I love my Momma", I'll take him today. Ha! Even though outward appearance is meaningless to me I will be the first to say I was a bit intimidated when I initially met Samantha. You could just sense that she had a STORY, and she did.

After a bit of small talk over a home cooked meal in the dressing room of a local strip club Samantha unloads her story with me and a few other church ladies.....

"I went to church when I was a little kid. The church was WEIRD!!! One Sunday I had to go to big church with the grown ups. The preacher brought out a box full if snakes and let them out onto the floor. He said that those who were really "saved" and had faith would not be afraid of the snakes. I was only 5 years old and I started to cry I tried not to but when one of the snakes got close to my foot I screamed and jumped up into my chair. The preacher said anyone without faith was going to hell. I've never seen the point in trying since then. If you have to go to church to get to heaven I guess I'm going to hell. I would rather go to hell than go to church again. One of my friends was sexually abused by a leader in her church, WHAT is up with that? She hates church too."...

After shedding some tears and an appropriate moment of silence I said,

'I'm so sorry Samantha',

and gave her a hug. The other church ladies chimed in and said,

'we are SO SORRY'

and embraced her. She stood up to leave the room with angry tears streaming down. Before she walked out of the room I said,

'Samantha, I hope you know that's not what we believe.'

She shrugged her shoulders and walked out of the room. She never brought it up again.

How will Samantha know that we don't believe the same things she learned about the church because of her experience? Samantha will know what a person believes by their ACTIONS.

I've been asked, "Why aren't you guys more evangelistic in this ministry? You may only have one opportunity to talk to some of these girls shouldn't your number one goal be to tell them about Jesus and invite them to church? Why is your number one priority to love them and befriend them?"

Let me ask a question.....

If I had invited Samantha to church the first time I met her do you think she would have ever talked to me again?

Let me ask you another question.... Considering Samantha's life story and the fact that this absurd experience was her only view of church do you blame her for not wanting to go?

As the church we have a reputation and a name to reclaim. We are going to have to take responsibility for situations like Samantha's. We are going to have to earn back the trust of many people who have been hurt by the church whether or not we inflicted the pain. Most people who want nothing to do with the church have good reasons for that decision. We need to accept the fact that there are valid reasons people might not want to be friends with a Christian and earn back their trust by living TRUE lives. We need to learn more stories like Samantha's by breaking out of the walls of our churches.

I have a five year old daughter. She is so sweet. She is very sensitive and tender hearted. We have to be really careful with what she sees even with children's cartoons. If she gets frightened she will have nightmares for weeks. I can't imagine how traumatized my little girl would be if she saw 1 snake. I think about Samantha as a little girl and realize what a terrible scar was left on her heart by the church. She grew up believing she was going to hell.... Samantha had heard the biblical story of Jesus in Sunday school. She even knew some the bible, but with her experience she is going to have to SEE some people who claim Jesus start acting like Jesus.

The number one priority is to love. Love does not condone. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. Sometimes the truth hurts. Samantha's truth hurts. Love takes the time to get to know a person. Love is patient. Love tries to understand where a person is coming from. There are times that God ordains conversations about Jesus and about church. The majority of the times that I met a dancer for the first time they asked what church I was from. I told them and often felt lead to invite them to go with me.

You have to BE Jesus before you talk Jesus. The church ladies are subject to the direction of the Holy Spirit. It would be impossible if they weren't. There was one occasion where God ordained a conversation and all in about an hour one of the church ladies met a dancer for the first time, the dancer told her life story to the church lady. As God had planned, it just so happened that the church lady's past was very similar to the issues the dancer was dealing with. The church lady shared her life story and got to tell the dancer about her relationship with Jesus inside the strip club. She was in a desperate situation looking for answers. After that night the church lady never saw her again in the club.

I witnessed one of the church ladies courageously going into the club for the first time and by the end of the night she had invited a several of the girls to church got a great response from it. I've heard the story of one of the older church ladies who was asked to pray for a dancer in the dressing room of the club. She knelt down to pray like she always did and when she opened her eyes there was a room full of dancers kneeling in prayer. If we can just BE Jesus by dying to ourselves; He will do the talking when and where it needs to take place.
4 days..... And counting....

Let's go for a run!

Countdown!!

I guess a 10 day count down would have made more sense than a 5 day count down. I'm a procrastinator so it only seems fitting to start the count down today. Better late than never right? Let's just hope I get to the starting line on time race day. I still need to get MOVING on some last minute details but from perspective of a pitiful procrastinator things are coming together.

I've been coming up with a list of 26 things to pray for during the marathon. Taryn who started Running for the Refuge last year gave me that tip. She said she wrote down names places & specific prayer requests having to do with the Refuge for Women as well as the ministry in Lexington that reaches out to the employee's of several local strip clubs. The day of the Taryn's race she wrote 26 prayer requests on her arm and had something to pray about each mile. What an awesome girl! not to mention a great idea!

Im getting excited and I 'm SO thankful for all of the donations that have been coming in for the Refuge for Women. The generosity of friends and family and even acquaintances has blown me away! There are several people I've only met once who sent a check, a well as friends I haven't talked to in years. Those of you who contributed to the Refuge for Women will be in my thoughts and prayers as well, you have added motivation and conviction to do my very best. Although finishing is all that matters I really wish I could beat my PR. Seriously, doesn't everyone wish they could beat their PR if possible? I'm loving my training schedule this week. It's 99% covered in yellow high lighter. Tonight I have a 4 mile run, tomorrow 2...... then the race... BUTTERFLIES!!!!!

5 DAYS.... and counting......


Let's go for a run!

Read it and weep.

This entry has nothing to do with running. I just thought I would share something on my heart. I wanted to talk about a verse that has been so helpful in times when I find myself asking God, "Where are you?"...... I made up this story in an effort to wrap my head around a verse that made me very aware of God's presence and blew my mind.

A military Dad is separated from his wife and twin sons while at war over seas. He is a great Dad and is devastated that he has to miss out on so much of his boy's lives. He writes letters to them each day and is so proud that they are learning how to read. Before the boys could read he colored pictures for them. Colorful drawings of places he had traveled friends he had made. He wanted to be known by his sons. Each time he came home it made it that much harder to leave. Against all odds this wonderful military Father maintained a healthy long distance relationship with his wife and sons. Every day he poured out his heart writing letters to his sons telling them all about himself and how much he loved them. Years passed and the Father realized his sons had grown into men, he did everything in he could to make quality time to invest in his relationships with his sons while he was home.

During one of his breaks he noticed one of his sons was distant and uninterested in hanging out. The Father found out his son that was distant had thrown away all of his letters and stopped reading them several years ago. This grieved the Father because the letters were straight from his heart and even though his son couldn't see him face to face each day the words were who the Father is. He thought about getting made fun of by fellow soldiers for coloring pictures for his sons before they could read and still he didn't care because it was worth it. He thought about how he had written things specifically for each son as an individual and not as twin. He was the most sad that his son had rejected an opportunity to get to know him. He was vulnerable, honest all of his words were true and full of love for his sons.

One of the boys cherished the letters although he wished he could hear his Dad audibly and touch his skin he made the best of the situation. At times it was as if he really heard His Dad's laugh, saw his smile or felt his hug. This son not only accepted the letters but clung to each word and used the letters to build a relationship with his Dad and understand his Father's heart.

The other son focused on his Dad's physical absence and rejected the letters. In that decision he also rejected a chance to get to know his Dad in the only way possible for the time being.

Revelation 19:13 says-He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

Phrases like "read me like a book" make me feel uncomfortable. It's my pride, I don't mind being read to a certain extent but we all have those chapters and words we would like to ignore or erase all together. At least I do. What if I choose to be an open book and my readers don't like the book. What if my readers throw up or fall asleep. What if my readers exchange the book or throw it away. All of my days are written in His book- Psalm 139:16. The Word has made Himself an open book to me through the bible. Jesus in the form of the written Word (the bible) came alive to me like never before as I tried to wrap my head around His NAME being called The Word of God. Does that also imply that His identity his very being is the Word of God the bible?

Revelation 19:13-He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and his Name is The Word of God.

The One wearing a robe dipped in blood who is named The Word of God is Jesus. Jesus is the Word and the bible is our letters from our Father. The Way to build a relationship with Jesus our Father. The Way to hear from God the Way to know God.

John 14:6- Jesus is the Way the truth and the life and nobody comes to the Father but through Him.

The Message John 1:1-2-The Word was first, the Word was present to God, God was present to the Word. The Word was God, in readiness for God from day one.

Hebrews 10:7 "I'm here to do it your way, O God, the way it's described in your Book. -Book is capitalized to communicate that it is a name, a PERSON the person speaking... Jesus...

Hebrews 4:12-For the Word of God is living and active.
EVERY DAY OF MY LIFE WAS RECORDED IN YOUR BOOK.
Let's go for a run!

Marathons and Childbirth

A few days ago Der asked me,

"What's harder marathon or natural childbirth?"

My second baby was an emergency c-section. His heart rate dropped to 40, an average heart rate for a boy is around 160. It was scary to say the least. Nevertheless God protected him and after he was born he soon turned from blue to a rosy skin tone. I'm so thankful to live in a day and age where doctors can save baby's lives by doing emergency c-sections. After our miracle baby was born I chose joy and decided to dwell on the fact that he was healthy. I also focused on all of the blessings God granted through the experience but it was still hard and I was slightly traumatized by the whole labor and delivery.

All of that to say with the third pregnancy I was adamant to attempt a natural VBAC. With the help and support of Derrick, family, friends, an amazingly gifted doula and ultimately the Great Physician my third baby was born a natural VBAC. We faced much opposition and discouragement with our decision to go with a natural birthing experience.

The biggest challenge was an ultra sound showing only one kidney. I remember meeting Derrick in the waiting room of the OB and repeating the information I had just received. I told Derrick,

"Even if he only has one kidney God can make another one."

Words like high risk pregnancy, bed rest, scheduled c-section were just a few that left Derrick and I searching for answers. We continued to pray asking our Creator to knit our son another kidney. It wasn't a terrible situation by any means and we were told many babies are born with one kidney and live a perfectly healthy life. We still hoped to avoid the possible complications we were told may come along with having a baby with one kidney.

I had three ultrasounds within 2 weeks the first two ultrasounds showing only one kidney. After much prayer the third ultrasound revealed 2 kidneys, one smaller than the other but nevertheless TWO kidneys. Just days before only one was found. I was scheduled to have a fourth ultrasound soon after at a high risk OB office to make 100% sure baby was okay. The equipment at the high risk doctors office is much more efficient and would show every detail of baby's organs.

When the ultrasound was over and done with the high risk OB was perplexed as to why I was even there. I had to repeat several times that the previous ultrasounds were only showing one kidney. I saw with my own two eyes the kidneyS equal in size and functioning perfectly! Wow what an answer to prayer. God really showed me that He cares about every detail. I had such confidence that baby would be healthy and that no matter what God would be with me through the labor and delivery.

We had one more small scare between 38 an 39 weeks when baby's heart rate slowed down and we were strongly encouraged to induce labor. We knew God was in charge and our gut told us to wait. After several hours of being hooked to all sorts of wires, needles and machines, a second doctor came in and said " Baby is probably just sleeping I think you are fine to go home."

About a week later I went into labor. The pain made me wondering I was abducted, forced on a spaceship and taken to a planet called torture. It's like a completely different world. To answer Der's question..... In my opinion, natural childbirth BY FAR is much harder than running a marathon.

I would even say that childbirth with an epidural and c- section is still harder than a marathon. I've done it all 3 ways. As far as the epidural goes, it's great, BUT.... the THANG wears off and let's just put it nicely and say.... You can feel the damage that was done afterwards no matter how the baby came out.

A sweet friend of mine recently said,
"I don't know how you do it!", she was referring to the training. It didn't make sense to me because she is a Mom. If you are a mom you can run a marathon! There was a time in my life that I couldn't imagine giving birth, functioning through sleep deprivation and the many other challenges that go along with motherhood. You do it because you are forced to push yourself beyond your present capabilities. That's how you get there. Do yourself a favor today; believe that you can surpass your present capabilities and challenge yourself. Afterwards you will be proud of yourself and gain confidence to keep pushing yourself forward.


Let's go for a run!