Faith-filled Friday: Spills

Good morning, Crushers,

This week has been full of spills. I'm not just talking about how I forgot to screw the top back on the juice bottle before Steve shook it up. Whoops. I actually injured myself by stepping off of a stair in a goofy way and rolled my ankle really bad. I thought I heard a snap, but that might have been the gravel I was walking on and not a bone. So, despite a lot of pain, there has been barely any swelling, no bruising and no trips to the ER. WHOO!

If you know me in person, you would say, "Jen, this is SO you." like my friend Courtney did after I posted this message on Facebook:

In the past year, I've seen bears in Yosemite and hiked up Half Dome, made it down my first black diamond hill skiing, got a new personal best running a half marathon, saw a shark and snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef and never got more than a bruise or scratch, but I trip and roll my ankle walking to my car after playing horseshoes. Go figure. At least I have a new high average!

Seriously?!

Anyway, this is one of the many reasons that I have the Bible passage Isaiah 40:31 inscribed on my Road ID.

"but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

I know that no matter what crazy stuff I do or what troubles I have or how many times I sprain something, I have God there by my side. It's a simple as that. Fortunately, I can share God, my constant, with others because he is there for everyone. For instance, remember Beth and Brandon that I wrote about in my last post? Beth is continually praising God for every positive step that Brandon is making and leaning on Him when Brandon's health has a setback. It's amazing. She knows that no matter what they're going through, God is there. He will always be there. I love that and I hope you do too.

I'm also loving the fact that despite being accident prone, I've learned to listen to my body and let it heal. I did not play softball on Wednesday night because I know that we have packed weekend. (Plus, I took a really awful spill while running to first base back in 2010 because of a broken shoe, which resulted in a sprained wrist, scarred knees/legs and a lot of bruises).

I'm going to make this salad for when we go on the boat tomorrow with Hannah and Lee.

Also, if you ever come to Milwaukee on the last full weekend of July, please go to Germanfest. Milwaukee is filled with rich German heritage (as well as Italian, Polish, Jewish, Irish, Greek, Norwegian, Native American, and more!), so of course, we all stand up and sing "Ein Prosit" together while drinking a beer. We also dance and listen to "ooh pa pa" bands. Got to love the music, the food (hello, potato pancakes!) and the camaraderie.

Please note that we did not spill our beer or potato pancakes while dancing and singing.
Also, I will admit that I saw the guy playing the matter horn and said, "Look, it's a German didgeridoo!" Fail.