Best yard sale purchase...EVER!!

Ok, so Bill and I have recently become AVID yardsalers...we're obsessed with them. We scope out the advertised sales on Craigslist and plan our Saturdays accordingly. Our favorites are the neighborhood yard sales.. those are the ones that we tend to have the best luck with.

Well Saturday was another yard sale day... and this one was a biggie. It was in an old Louisville neighborhood that is well established. So Bill and I get up and going... the goal is to be at said yard sale by 8 AM.. this is a tip that all pros know :) You see, if it's a really good sale and you're not there early, you usually miss all the good stuff. So we're up and going and off to find the best deal we can.

We drive through street after street scoping out each little group and we're not really finding much. The weather has started to deteriorate and we're fading fast. So we come upon one last house that looks promising.

And low and behold we find just what we've been looking for..... and we got it for a STEAL!

Here's our best yard sale purchase EVER!!




You see, we'd been talking for a while about the possibility of getting a larger vehicle. We had looked in to minivans and hadn't really found anything we liked that was affordable. We knew we wanted to go for used, but we figured we would have to really search for the right deal.

And praise the Lord, He had the perfect deal all ready for us. ....and at a yard sale no less. That is, by far, my favorite part.

The marathon of life...

As many of you have heard, my husband is gearing up to run in the Chicago Marathon this October. Which, incidentally, is just about a month after we are due to have our first sweet baby blessing.

Well as Bill has been training, it has taught us both some amazing spiritual lessons. You see, running a marathon is not only a test of ones physical strength, it is a test of your spiritual strength as well. And watching my sweet husband train and grow closer to our Lord as he does so, that has been a blessing to watch.

Bill gets up each day at 3 AM to run his daily miles. These miles range anywhere from 6 to 14... depending on the day. And as the marathon grows closer, his mileage will continue to increase. And bless his heart, he's not a natural runner. This is all VERY new to him. But he keeps plugging away, keeps his eyes on the prize so to speak. You see, he prays his way through his daily miles. Because he knows that without God's help, he's not going to get through this race. And, Lord willing, come October 11th, he'll have his reward as he crosses that finish line.

Watching this training process unfold, it's such a parallel for what our spiritual walk is like. It has its ups and downs and some stints are easy little 2 mile jaunts, while yet others are those long 18 mile runs where you're chest gets tight and your legs feel like they can't go another mile. But through it all God is there. He's holding us up and carrying us through so that we can one day cross that eternal finish line. And this race is not one that we run alone, we have to depend on others to help get us through.. to hold us up when we cannot support our own weight.

Several years ago I was actually at the Chicago marathon observing. It was my first race and I was just soo excited to be there cheering on all those who were running. The race had begun to wind down and we were standing at the finish line watching as everyone began to cross. It was an amazing site to see. You could watch as these runners would turn a corner... just before they saw the finish line their faces were tired, their stances were downtrodden. Many of them looked as if they wouldn't make it to the finish. But every last one of them, when they saw that banner that said, "finish line", they each picked up their pace and seemed to fill with renewed energy.

Well one lone man was not so lucky. This gentleman was struggling openly and his poor legs looked as if they would buckle. And buckle they did, just about 200 yards from the finish. There was an audible gasp from the crowd as this poor man went down to his knees and continued to struggle, trying to stand. But his legs would simply not carry him. They were done, and it looked as if he would be done.. just 200 yards from the end. You could see the panic in the spectators, as we all began looking at one another and several started to jump over the barriers to help this man and carry him across. But there was no need, two of his fellow runners simply scooped him up and half carried, half dragged him that last 200 yards and helped him cross the line.

A cheer went up from the crowd and, looking around, there wasn't a dry eye to be found. At that moment, I had an epiphany. This is what Christianity is all about. This! Helping one another when we cannot help ourselves, allowing yourself to become vulnerable. Admitting that we can't do it on our own. We're all running this race and we are doing so TOGETHER. It's not about who can run the fastest race, it's about crossing that finish line. And whether we do so under our own power or with others carrying us, the important part is that we cross it.

I'm so glad to be reminded of that story. To be reminded that I'm not alone in this marathon that we call life. And I'm so proud to watch my husband as he prays his way through training and continues to give God the glory each and every day as he grows closer to the race. I know that he'll cross that finish line, and he'll do so by depending on the Lord to get him through it.

"My flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalms 73:26 NIV