Hello friends, and Happy Monday. I hope you have had a wonderful weekend. Life has felt so good lately. That seems to happen when I decide to focus on all of the little blessings around me. The Lord has surely blessed us!

While I have been jogging regularly for well over a year now, my workouts have been extra exciting lately. There is a 5k in a nearby town on October 1st that I thought about participating in a while back. Then I decided not to. You see, this is my birthday, and I thought why in the world would I want to get up early to run on my birthday?

Then some time went by. I realized that getting up early to run would actually be a really good way to spend my time. I would probably be done by around 8:30 am. Afterwards, I could indulge in my favorite dessert (Tiramisu) guilt free.

Also, if I wanted to do this on my birthday, could I possibly talk my husband into it? As it turned out, yes I could.

So I’ve signed both of us up for the race, and I’m really looking forward to it. I can tell that I am more motivated to increase my workouts now, too. During the humid summer I usually jog pretty slowly. But now, I’m trying to increase my cadence even though it is still warm. I’m also jogging up more hills than usual.

I jogged my first 5k last year, and finished at 36:30. I’m hoping this time I will finish in under 35 minutes. But only time will tell.

My husband is jogging more often, which is wonderful. He has gotten into pretty good shape. The best shape of his life! It seems like a lot of the time our weight and fitness levels go hand and hand. When I’m pregnant or breastfeeding, he isn’t as motivated to be fit. But when we are both motivated, we encourage each other.

Regular exercise is so important for heart and lung health. Exercise does amazing things for our blood vessels, making them elastic and more youthful.

My hope and prayer is that I exercise regularly from now on. It is so important! It makes me so happy to know that I am taking good care of the body God has given me. I want to be a good steward of each blessing He has entrusted to me.

When I am in good shape, I am better able to serve Him and my family. I have the energy to do the tasks He has put in front of me well.

This is a blessing!

Tomorrow morning I am planning to jog, and I’m really looking forward to it. I will try to keep you posted after the 5k is over. I hope it goes well!

I’d like to encourage you to take a few minutes to exercise today. Even a ten minute walk can do your body good!

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog. May God bless you!