Psalm 1:1-3 NIV — Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose lead does not wither — whatever they do prospers. 

This week I have been discussing “active worship,” which means getting your body moving while worshiping God. After all, our bodies are His Temples. I am including a song that has touched me on my running journey. 

Since I use both running and walking as a form of worship, with each step, I am running on His word. With every mile, I am like His tree planted, growing, and being nurtured to flourish, bearing fruit so I may prosper in the season that I am in. Running is just me and the strength of my God on the path to perfect peace. I encourage you to list five worship songs and intentionally find time to worship God throughout your day. Then take it one step fartherand worship through intentional movement, such as walking or running.

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for allowing me to participate in active worship this week. I pray that through worship and movement I can bring You glory and honor in all that I do. I desire to take care of my Temple physically, spiritually, and mentally. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen. 

I would love for my running journey to inspire others to find joy and strength amid their adversities. A song that continues to help me through my Jericho’s is Do It Again by Elevation Worship. The lyrics sing, “Walking around these walls, I thought by now they’d fall but you have never failed me yet. Waiting for change to come, knowing the battle’s won. For you have never failed me yet. Your promise still stands, great is your faithfulness! I’m still in your hands, THIS IS MY CONFIDENCE! You’ve never failed me yet. I know the night won’t last; your word will come to pass. My heart will sing your praise again. Jesus, you’re still enough, keep me within your love, my heart will sing your praise again. I’ve seen you move; you move the mountains. And I believe I’ll see you do it again. You made a way where there was no way. And I believe I’ll see you do it again.”

1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV — Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?

This week I will discuss “active worship,” which means getting your body moving while worshiping God. After all, our bodies are His Temples. I will also include a song each day that has touched me on my running journey. 

The excuse that you don’t have a walker or runner’s body might be tucked in the back of your mind and you don’t even realize it. The next time you give out the excuse, remember there is no such thing as a walker or runners body type. Maybe you like another form of movement. What  excuses are holding you back from moving your body? I understand that some might be confined due to health limitations. You can still practice movement by sitting in God’s presence and taking deep inhales and exhales as you meditate. After you have really examined your excuses, I encourage you to take those excuses and write “I Can” statements. Changing your words to “I can” instead of “I can’t” is the first step toward movement.

What are your “I can” statements? I encourage you to share them with a family, friend, or mentor so that they can help hold you accountable. It is easy to slip back into “I can’t” mode when life gets in the way. Be reminded in Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV — He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for my body, mind, and spirit. I commit to good health and taking care of myself so that I can flourish in all the plans You have for me. Guard my heart and mind against the sin that entangles me. I pray I can remain steadfast with my exercise, my thoughts, and my devotion. Give me the strength to fulfill Your perfect will for me. My body is a temple for Your Holy Spirit and I want to honor it. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

I remember the first time I ran a 5K all the way through like it was yesterday. It was April 6, 2019, at East Bay Park. I had intentions of running 4.75K but then a song I love started to play called Forever Reign by Hillsong. Some of the lyrics sing, “I’m running to your arms, I’m running to your love, the riches of your love will always be enough.” I was so focused on the song that before I knew it, I had reached 5K. The best part, my dad called me moments after I finished. I was able to share with my dad the Joy of completing my first 5K. Running a 5K was just the beginning.

Joshua 1:9 NIV —  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. 

This week I will discuss “active worship,” which means getting your body moving while worshiping God. After all, our bodies are His Temples. I will also include a song each day that has touched me on my running journey. 

Just like Peter walking on water, I too strive to be a player and a water walker versus a spectator in a boat. I am in it for the long run. Just as a business takes inventory of its stock, we must take inventory of our posture. Are you a water walker or a spectator? Maybe you have just gotten started with getting your body moving through exercise. Maybe you currently don’t exercise. Maybe you have had a lot of unexpected interruptions. Or maybe you have just let those minor interruptions become excuses. It can be hard to get started again. Laziness can easily creep in. There is a chance for a fresh start and to begin again. What happened yesterday is in the past. Either way, don’t let minor details like this hold you back from beginning again. Getting started is half the battle! When you run or walk for God, you are on His battleground.

Let me remind you that God doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called. What is something you keep putting off and haven’t started yet? Is fear holding you back? Often it helps us to look back at what God has already done in our lives so that we can gain confidence for tomorrow. We can do this by remembering goals and dreams that we have already accomplished. We can connect the dots and see how far we have come. Getting started may look like one goal instead of five. It is OK to not have a plan. There should always be room for change. 

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for giving me courage to dream and make goals. I desire to be like Peter and walk on water. Help me not to give in to excuses. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen. Another song, Not Today by Hillsong. Some of the lyrics sing, “I’ll sing the night into the morning. I’ll sing the fear into your praise. I’ll sing my soul into your presence, whenever I say your name; JESUS, let the devil know not today.” It’s like every day we must intentionally give Satan an eviction notice otherwise we would not be free.

1 Chronicles 4:10 NIV — Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” 

This week I will discuss “active worship,” which means getting your body moving while worshiping God. After all, our bodies are His Temples. I will also include a song each day that has touched me on my running journey. 

I started running in 2019 after my Dad was diagnosed with terminal stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer in 2018. Not long into my running journey it started to become an idol. God reminded me it was time to start Upward Running, formally known as Run for God at my church. I will tell you that it is easy to let a good thing become an idol. Satan is a prowling lion and would like nothing more than to interfere with God receiving the glory. This gift was given to me, and it was my job to pass the gift of running along to family, friends, and my community. I say community because this program and my journey have brought so many new friends into my life. Once I set the date and time of our first meeting, we had a bigger group than I could have ever imagined. As people signed up, I heard the excuse “I can’t run.” My response would always be don’t ever say, “I can’t” because you never know what you are capable of until you go out, run, and keep trying. Spoiler alert, the last person to join the group – she waited because she was skeptical of the program – placed first in her age group at our local Georgetown’s Bridge to Bridge race after 12 short weeks. 

For years now I have felt the nudge from God to enlarge my territory. Could my Dad’s cancer journey and my running journey be a way for me to reach others? Looking back over the last six years it truly has been a way to reach others through my transparency. How does today’s verse speak to you?

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for Your word that is living and active. Open my heart and mind for what enlarging my territory means to me. Direct my steps according to your word and perfect will. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.

A song that puts my passion into place is Set a Fire by Jesus Culture. Some of the lyrics sing, “Set a fire down in my soul that I can’t contain, that I can’t control. I want more of you God.” As my faith and running parallel, so does my passion for God and running.

This week I will discuss “active worship,” which means getting your body moving while worshiping God. After all, our bodies are His Temples. I will also include a song each day that has touched me on my running journey. 

Today let’s take time to meditate on this week’s scripture. 

1 Chronicles 4:10 NIV — Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” 

Joshua 1:9 NIV —  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV — He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV — Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?

Psalm 1:1-3 NIV — Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose lead does not wither — whatever they do prospers. 

Another favorite song I like to run to is, At the Table by Chris Tomlin. The lyrics sing: “There is peace at the table of the Lord, I won’t worry anymore at His table. There is healing at the table of the Lord, I won’t suffer anymore, at His table. Come all you wary, come and find, His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He is able, He will restore at the table of the Lord.” This is probably an uncommon song to run to but as active worship it is a time for me to let go of my burdens. 

Running is just me and the strength of my God on the path to perfect peace.

I find it hard to run or walk without listening to either music or a motivational speaker. I love using my time of running or walking as an act of worship. I feel as though running is my sacrifice. In the Old Testament, people sacrificed as a demonstration of their faith. We are blessed that we live on this side of the cross and have Jesus as our ultimate sacrifice. There is still something sacred about sacrificing as an act of worship. As for me, I accomplish this through my pain and endurance when I run. I turn my music up, pray, and sing. I will share with you some of the songs that have touched my soul many times over and over. One day on the treadmill otherwise known as the “dreadmill,” the song Come Alive by Red Rock Worship played. The lyrics sing, “Come all ye weary, broken inside. Lay down your burdens, lay down your life. Come and lift your voice at the throne of Grace, we come alive.” It made me recall the scripture from Matthew 11:28 NIV —  Come to me, all of you who are weary burdened, and I will give you rest. 

There are so many fighting a disease, whether it is cancer, mental illness, food addiction, finances, and many more. You may be thinking, how is this a good song to run to. It is a time I can give God my burdens. 

This week I will discuss “active worship,” which means getting your body moving while worshiping God. After all, our bodies are His Temples. I will also include a song each day that has touched me on my running journey. 

Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬ — Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

See You Saturday in real time! The snow is melting and secondary roads are being cleared. Unfortunately we don’t have a snowman for you but we hope you enjoyed our snow video posted earlier today. We hope you are encouraged to Walk on Water as you say yes to God!