More than CONQUERORS CHALLENGE

Today marks the beginning of a new challenge!

Elizabeth (and her daddy) are heading up a month-long fundraiser for an organization that we dearly love - Minnesota Adult and Teen Challenge, Rochester.  They've been spending the last week or so bringing awareness and building support.  We've been blessed to team-up with Paula Ellefson as well (Recovery Chaplain from the Rochester Women's Center) and I just wanna say that her enthusiasm for this challenge is priceless.

These are tough times for fundraising, and the battle against addiction rages on.  While most fundraisers involve limited sacrifice, Elizabeth and Mike dreamed up something a little bigger.  Rather than a single walk/run event, this challenge requires a month-long commitment from its participants.  Which is fitting, right??  Because recovery is a commitment.  It's a journey in which you must wake up and put on your spiritual armor every. single. day.  

Admittedly, I've watched as team members revealed their lofty personal goals, and I was feeling more than a little inadequate.  Recently, I've been fighting my way out of a personal low point in my health - stepping away from social media to give priority to my own journey of healing and restoration.  But as I prayed about and considered my own goals, it struck me that for many people - when they enter treatment - they're starting from one of the lowest points of their lives.  They're feeling crushed and defeated beneath the weight of their addiction...and that is the starting point from which they step out in faith and pray that God can do far more than they ever imagined.

So, it is with these realities in mind that I declare my personal goals for this CHALLENGE month:

1.)  Walk at least ONE MILE EVERY SINGLE DAY outdoors (regardless of heat, humidity, storms, or personal health challenges).  This might not seem like much...but for me?  This alone is a test of faith.  Coming out of a bad colitis flare earlier this year, I know that I can have setbacks at any time.  But I also know that recovery is all about consistency.  You can't afford days off.  And so, it's my goal to get that mile in every day.

2.)  On days when I feel good, I wanna walk my heart out...  But my second commitment is to PACE MYSELF.  I have a history of tendinitis in my feet, and every time I set out to walk for fitness, I end up injuring myself.  ;-) So, I can see my husband's face in my mind's eye as I remind myself to "find a pace I can maintain".  Mine is a challenge of faithfulness each day - not individual mileage achievements.

3.)  I want to partner with our Teen Challenge family not just through the miles that I walk, but by carrying them in my heart each day with a mindset of worship, prayer, fasting and intentional living that models TRUE FREEDOM in Christ. 

We are so excited to see what God does in this month of July!  Let's DO this!!! ♥

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