Scripture brings wisdom.

When King Solomon was granted any request he could think of, he wisely asked for wisdom. We all need wisdom in every area of our lives, and the world has lots of wisdom to offer. But in most cases, we’ll find that the wisdom that comes from the logic, reasoning, and values of this world doesn’t line up with God’s wisdom. Every time we pick up the Bible to read it, we can take just a moment and ask God for wisdom.

Ask Him to speak clearly to you through His Word, showing you how it applies to your relationships and circumstances. In the same way as you would search for a valuable treasure, search the Scriptures for the wisdom you need. When you have a big decision to make, or feel stuck in some area of life, don’t move until you find the wisdom you need from God.

Many times, God speaks wisdom into our lives through prayer or through other believers in our lives. But there’s often no substitute for the confidence that comes from seeing God’s direction right there in black and white. Although the book of Proverbs is specifically about practical wisdom, it can still be found all through the Bible — through the example of someone’s story, through prophecies that speak beyond their time, through the teachings of Jesus, or through the letters of an apostle.

Talk to God: Dear God, You alone have the wisdom that I so desperately need. Thank You for sending me the wisdom I need to live the life You’ve called me to. I don’t want to take any steps in life without Your wisdom. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures. Then you will understand what it means to fear the LORD, and you will gain knowledge of God. For the LORD grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭2:2-6‬ ‭NLT‬‬
http://bible.com/116/pro.2.2-6.nlt

It's been a while since my last update. Life is busy and I will be graduating in six short months from my cardiac echo and vascular ultrasound program. Living with Rheumatoid Arthritis is a vicious cycle. My joints have taken a beating for so many years with running and training, yet God is so good. In the past six months I have had a great decrease in my mileage and ability to strength train as often because of the pain associated with this. After seeing my doctor this afternoon, I have been taken off of running and strength training until further notice. I will be undergoing a treatment with Methotrexate and steroids to attempt to control this. I can testify to God's goodness in my life and His strength that runs throughout my body. It's that amazing and relentless strength that gets me through every hardship and allows me to testify to His greatness. My days in running may be numbered, but my years ahead to fight this fight for His glory are plentiful. I will continue to bike and swim, as well as yoga for the time being. Please keep me in your prayers and as always...Keep Moving Forward! 

Good morning! First things first, I apologize for not blogging lately. There has been a tremendous amount going on, so it's been really busy in many ways. 

Training for me has been extremely different in several ways. I'm learning to let go and accept the new, which is really hard given my usual training methods. This past year has been so difficult in so many ways and also so blessed. My health has taken a dramatic turn and that has been the number one reason for the different training methods. The Rheumatoid has limited me in many ways, but God has given me new-found strength to do things differently. Recently, out of the blue, I began having serious issues with hypoglycemia. For no reason at all, I have very low blood sugar for most of the day. I have changed so many things about my diet and intake, but that didn't affect it in the least. I began the blood work journey last week and now I'm being referred to an Endocrinologist. So, it's been crazy. I have never in my running history had so much trouble glycogen-wise running a simple 5k until now. With all of this, I'm in school full time, take care of my parent's property, etc. It's never a dull moment! 

If anything that my journey has taught me, I would say strength. God has given me His strength to not only make it through these hard times, but overcome them like Michael Jordan slam dunks. It's not me, it's all Jesus. It's crazy how much running parallels life and the trials that we face daily. I've had so many people ask me why I put my body through this and all I can think to answer is, "It's never enough for what Jesus Christ has done and will do for me." It never fails...every few months there's a new difficulty. By difficulty I mean serious road block. You know what? God made every road and He has a plan before we even get to that road block. Through my toughest of times I have leaned on Psalms 91. "Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. (‭Psalms‬ ‭91‬:‭7‬ NLT)." That's what Jesus does for me every second of the day! No, that doesn't mean that my life is easy. It doesn't mean that I don't suffer heart ache. It doesn't mean that my health is perfect. What that means is that Jesus Christ is by my side for eternity, fighting my battles for me, with me, and that He is victorious over every situation. Praise God! Yes, it's frustrating and most days with tears in my eyes looking Heavenly I just simply ask, "What does this mean?" I can promise you that He answers me and comforts me every time. Though I don't understand this or things to come, He gives me His strength. 

Marathons are out for me for a while. I'm working on training for halfs and shorter distances until my health gets to a stable point. I am trasitioning back into the pool and working on my tri training, but the bike is the most difficult with my hip. The RA has overcome my hands, which has made it hard to drive, much less hold weights in my hands. It's attacked the bursa in my joints, mostly my hips and knees. Yoga has become a must for me in some sort of way daily. I'm strong because He made me strong and I will overcome this by the power of Jesus Christ! 

I'm looking for races to sign up for and looking forward to what God has for me. He never said it was going to be easy, but He did promise to never leave my side. Prayers are always appreciated and coveted. Please know that I'm praying for all of you as well. I'm so thankful for this ministry and for every one of you. Yor lives, testimonies, journeys, and victories inspire me more than you know. So if I'm quiet, please know that I'm here struggling to get through this. When you see a post of my training, know that there is literally blood, sweat, and tears that are a result. I'm so blessed and thankful for every moment. 

God bless all of you and Keep Moving Forward---Tiffany

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. (‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭1-4‬ NLT)

Training has definitely changed in my life and God is teaching me throughout this season. When I think about how I was training 5 months ago verses now, it's mind blowing. Still, God gives me His strength to endure each day. The Rheumatoid is extremely painful, leaves me feeling very weak most days, and then the ever present fever. BUT GOD! My hands and back have been the biggest issue with this, which makes it very hard with day to day tasks. Sarge and I have noticed my fingers changing faster than we expected and two heating pads in my bed are a must for every night now. Still, when I think about my life and how every single step has never been easy, I have nothing but praise. Every difficult step has made me who I am in Christ today. My strength isn't from me! Jesus Christ alone is WHO you see in me. I fight for every mile, every rep, every move, every pace, every breath while I'm out there doing this in the hopes that someone's life will be changed. Hard year? HA! That doesn't even describe it! I've lost my precious dad and my son, which has left a gaping hole in my heart and gut. Still, Jesus Christ is my joy. I feel Him healing me daily and I thank Him for being that "triple braided cord" in my marriage. (Ecclesiastes 4:12) I have learned this year again through this hard season that not everyone will stick around and support you, but that's ok. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Hebrews 13:8. All in all, I'm so thankful for every hardship. I've never in my life been a quitter and I choose joy. I pray throughout this crazy journey that at least one life is changed from watching God move through my life. I pray that someone sees my transparancy and relates with their own struggles in their life, yet sees the victory that only Christ brings. No, not victory as in winning a marathon. Victory to me is driving my dad's truck daily without crying. Standing up beside the bed in terrible pain, but hammering out a 5 mile run. Passing my son's room and not feeling empty or filled with anger. Victory to me is when the doctor's tell me that I should quit what I'm doing because of what it's doing to my body, yet the hands of Christ immediately are on my back reassuring me that He's in control. So, I pray daily for you. I praise God for every one of you that stay and choose to follow my journey. I thank God for allowing me to be a small part of yours as well and all I ask is to be used. Keep Moving Forward......