Welcome!

Thank you so much for stopping by. I pray that you find this to be a place of encouragement and blessing. I am new to the world of blogging so since you are new to this blog, we can grow together. If there is one thing I know for sure I am no expert in anything. I just simply have a heart to encourage you today!  I want to start off by sharing with you some of my more recent history so you have a better idea of where I am coming from, and possibly why I post some of the things I post.  

In April of 2012 I ran a 16 mile mountain race. This is something I had been training for and because of my long history with running this was nothing new to me.  This race was to be the first of hopefully many mountain marathon type races. However, this goal came to a screeching halt for me. Six days after my race I began to have head and neck pain. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. One thing led to another and after 13 days of doctors writing me off and telling me it was only a migraine, I was admitted to the hospital for a 10 day stay because they had discovered I had had a stroke. Yes, apparently a 31 year old can can have a stroke, much to the surprise of the emergency room doctors who had obviously been caught off guard with the final diagnose themselves. During the course of my 13 day "undiagnosed whirlwind," I went through periods of times when I lost the ability to walk, talk, my vision was greatly impaired and I was in the worst pain I had ever experienced in my life. I have given birth to three children naturally so I know what pain was, and childbirth was nothing compared to the type of pain I experienced.

After my stroke, I basically had to learn how to do everything all over again. The only way I can explain the healing process is in this way, any task you can do without thinking, I could not do without thinking through every little painstaking detail. I basically lost my automatic button.

It has been almost three years since this all happened and most of the stroke deficits have been made up, there are still a few things I struggle with from time to time. I am just so thankful for a second chance at life because mine could have so easily slipped away from me.  I continue to remind myself of what God's word says in Jeremiah 29:11.

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

These words gave me so much comfort over the last three years. I pray that they will give some of you the same kind comfort. This is the background from which my blog stems from. I look forward to sharing more with you as our relationship develops in this journey in the world of blogging.