I Survived... (Promised Post About Our Tough Mudder Adventures)

As promised, I am posting about our...*Drumroll* *Confetti* *Mud* *And all of the above*... Tough Mudder adventure! 

About mid-September, me, my mom, sisters, cousins, Auntie, and my older sisters boyfriend and his mom all decided to be a team in a Tough Mudder. Overall, It was a bunch of fun, and I can't with to tell y'all about it! 

Without knowing it, I have kind of made a blog series out of my "I Survive" posts. So, from now on, if I do any crazy, epic, muddy, triathlon, 5k-ish things, I will add to this series! Page coming soon with them all listed. Also, on a side note: Pages coming soon for a Health page and a My Beliefs page, so stay tuned and bare with me. Because they are coming! :)

Read about my first "I Survived" post HERE. 
And the second "I Survived" post HERE.

Lets begin, shall we...

You ask, what exactly is a Tough Mudder? Well, let me tell you, a Tough Mudder is very similar to the Mud Gauntlet, in that it is obstacles in the MUD and it's as long as a 5k. But, instead of the 35 smaller obstacles like the other mud gauntlet we did, this had 10 bigger and more challenging obstacles!!! Throughout the course, some of the obstacles were so hard that their was no choice, you had to work together as a team. Even if that required you to trust some stranger while you dangled into mid-air! 

We decided to make a weekend trip out of it, and drove down the day before. It took us most of the day to get to our hotel, and when we did, we went swimming! 

After sundown, we drove into Nashville and walked up and down broadway! All I can say is WOW and another wow! It was so cool to walk the streets that famous country singers walked, especially when first starting out! There was one girl who played the fiddle and tap danced in her cowboy boots, she was really good! 

And yet, on the other hand, it was sad. I have never seen such a crowded city! Shoulder to shoulder, and stuck in the middle of a sea of people. Lots and lots of people. Homeless people, drunk people, all kinds of people. I felt sorry for them, and wondered if they were happy with where they were at. I just don't understand it. I especially felt bad for the homeless people with dogs.

I hope someday, those people will find that God can fill the holes and emptiness a whole lot better than when they try to fill them with worldly things. (Romans 12:2) (John 16:33) 

The next morning, we got up bright and early. For breakfast, I ate half of a waffle at the hotel. We got to the place where they had the Tough Mudder, and parked in a big field. Once we got "checked in" we wrote our number on our arms with a sharpie. Our team name was "The young and the rest of us!" Our start time was at 9:30!

We stood in the start line, crowded with participants. They did the National Anthem then they revved the crowd up. We started out at a slow jog. We went through this big field until finally rounding the corner to a MUD PIT! :) Following that first mud pit, there were hay bales to climb, a obstacle called that was 0.2 miles of smaller mud pits in a row, a 300 yard hero carry, a slanted wall (maybe 6'), "Everest 2.0" Which is a very tall sloped wall you run up and grab people at the top to pull you up, and lots more! (Note: everything was super slippery!)

The one at the end was, by far, the hardest obstacle.

It was called "happy ending," and was a steep, slightly slanted, slippery wall. You had two choices to conquer this last test of strength, you could just use the provided rope, or make a "rope" out of your team. And can you guess what we chose to do?? 

Yes, our team, with the help of three others, chose the hard way! How you made a "rope" was basically we stood onto of each other to make a tower of bodies up the wall, so that others could crawl up. 

Auntie was on the bottom, and for some reason, I got up next (at that time, I really could not comprehend what my job would entail!) So, I stood on my Auntie's shoulders and leaned up against the wall. My younger cousin went next, standing on my shoulders. Then, my older cousins crawled up us to the top, and helped those who climbed up next.

There was a point when my knees were buckling. The weight on my shoulders from people climbing up was so heavy, that "very heavy" was a understatement. I wanted to give up, to give in. And I felt so sorry for my Auntie, who had to carry more weight than I! I don't know how we did it, but our whole team finally made it to the very top! What an accomplishment! We were so happy to have made it. And at the top, we slid down a slide into muddy water! 

Guys, it took a lot of self-talk and and encouragement to make it through that last obstacle. 

Mud runs aren't the only places we experience obstacles in our paths. Every day, we encounter obstacles that tower over us. They are intimidating and scary. And sometimes, we just can't overcome those obstacles on our own, we need encouragement from those around us. We also need to realize that we need Someone bigger to help us through. God is that Someone, and He already knows the paths you will take and the obstacles you will overcome! Let Him be your steady hand when you feel yourself falling. 

After we crossed the finish line, we picked up our t-shirts and showered off! Overall it was a blast! It was challenging, but it was so so so fun! 

The drive home was filled with LOTS of country music singing! Hours and hours! Our overall favorite to sing together was Champion by Carrie Underwood! :)

10 things we all can learn from a Tough Mudder:
1. Teamwork is a must!
2. Go for it! Commit and just do it!
3. Cheer each other on.
4. Give it all you got, and do the best you can!
5. Stay positive.
6. It is ok to need help.
7. The muddier the better!
8. When you feel like caving, don't.
9. YOU can do it! 
10. God will bring you through! 

Here's some pictures...!

Before the fun began!

Starting off! Look at all those people!

 After floating in the mud under that fence! 

Best friends forever! 

 After showering off...

Standing on a mound of mud! 

End of "Happy ending!"

Yay! The finish line!

Have you ever done anything like this? Are you a good team player? What are some way's that we can encourage each other through the obstacles they face in their day to day lives? I hope y'all have a awesome October!!! 

Lets talk in the comments below!

I Survived... Again!

Instead of posing a poem or devotional like I normally would, I thought I would share with ya'll something that was TOTALLY FUN we did on Monday... *Shoots off fireworks* *Throws confetti* *And mud in this case, or whatever else you throw when your excited*... We did a mud gauntlet! 

If you are thinking to yourself that this introduction sounded very familiar, your right! This post is going to be very similar to my triathlon post... if you are new around Showers of Blessings, then feel free to go check out my first "I Survived" post HERE!!!

So, I survived... again! Well, it was more EPIC fun than a survival, but I can still say that I have successfully completed a mud gauntlet! 

What is a mud gauntlet? It's a super fun obstacle course in the MUD! It was as long as a 5k with over 35 obstacles to work together as a team.

On September 3rd (funny how the triathlon was on June 3rd too) my family and I woke up super duper duper early (5am) and after our animal chores were done, we drove out. It took us a VERY long time to get there but we listened to music and ate/drank our breakfast, which was FROZEN HOT CHOCOLATE DRINKS! (<-- I had no idea I liked them so much, but I think by now, the whole blogosphere knows how much I like them!)

And guess what, my stomach hurt! Advil was only making me dizzy, but you know, the moment we started, I felt completely fine! God made it possible for me to do this mud gauntlet, and I am so glad He did, because I made some great memories with my family! 

Before pictures...

When we arrived, we waited for awhile and collected our packets. During this time, my cousin drew on us with a sharpie maker our team name "Dirty Dozen." 

Fireworks burst in the air as we crossed the starting line. The first obstacle was to climb over a "mountain" of stacked canoes. Very fun, but slippery. We jumped round bales and and 4' walls. We slipped and slid into mud pits, and crawled through tunnels. We jogged part of it, but mostly just had fun with it. There was a hiking stretch that was mostly up hill with rope to climb up the steeper hills. Our team was very encouraging throughout! Lots of "Dirty! Dozen!" shouting, "Dig! Deeper!" calling, and counting to 12. We helped each other over walls and the rope swing (only a few people actually made it over, I was one of the ones to land in the muddy water below...) 

We crossed the creek twice, and then there was more obstacles!

We all agreed that our favorite obstacle was the water/mud slide in the woods. Two black culverts cut in half to make the "Slide" and a water/mud pit at the end! Super fun! (Although the muddy water did not taste very good... just take my word for it!)

Towards the end, we got tired, but kept going. Mud was EVERYWHERE! Well, I guess we did kind of help each other get just a little bit more muddy! ;P

After we crossed the finish line, they had hoses to wash off and food (food was just ok, since I couldn't eat most of it because it was meat) and music. 

10 things we all can learn from a mud gauntlet:

1. Its ok to get messy, that's the point!

2. Have fun with it! 

3. HELP EACH OTHER! Work as a team!

4. Bring shoes to change into. (Unfortunately we learned this the hard way...)

5. Be encouraging. People need encouragement.

6. Stay hydrated!

7. Keep moving forward!

8. Try the obstacles even if they are intimidating...

9. It's OK to need help with it.

10. God will bring you through!

Here's some more pictures...!

After Picture! You might not be able to tell, but we are covered in mud!

My Dad and I!

My Mom and I!

Yum! 

 The weather was perfect!

Little Petey is not so little anymore! 

Poor baby was scared of the fireworks!

Feeling accomplished on the way home and ready for a nap! 

Actually, later that day we were driving and saw a rainbow. Rainbows are so comforting to me because it's like a refresher on God's promises. And I'm just now realizing that the day of the triathlon we saw a rainbow too! Isn't God amazing how He places His sign for us to see at just the right times?? 

Has anyone ever done a mud gauntlet before? Do you like getting muddy? Did you like hearing about how it went? Ya'll, It's September! What are you up to this month? Have you started school? How's your WIP's going? Any thing exciting happening this September? Lets talk about it! 

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Why, God?

Why, God?

Written by Brooklyne 

"Why, God?"

"Why aren't you trusting Me?"

Two questions 

One of pain and "Why's"

Full of confusion

The other a hard solution

Full of hope 

***

Everyone's "Why's" are different 

But God's answering question is the same

***

If you are so worried 

If you are still hurting 

If you don't understand 

Even if you never will

Why aren't you trusting? 

God wants us to trust Him even if we don't understand the "Why's." Our unanswered questions are answered, just with a question for us. Why aren't we trusting? This is a real struggle for me, but I am learning that in order to really find peace that surpasses all understanding throughout this turmoil, I need to really ask, seek and knock. 

A few weeks ago, I was asking for peace. I would pray and pray but never felt peaceful in what I was going through. I thought I didn't know the right way to pray for peace, maybe I was doing it all wrong? No, I wasn't doing it all wrong, but I was missing something, though. 

I would pray and then expect this peace to wash over me like I had heard in stories. But I was frustrated when I wasn't feeling peace. 

I took a walk in the woods and sat by the creek, I told myself that I wasn't leaving until I had figured something out. I contemplated, "What is Peace?" To me, it is staying calm and feeling God's presence in all of the craziness of life. 

While I was in the woods, I was listening to the sounds of nature. The creek, birds, trees in the breeze, etc. One sound interrupted the quietness of the woods, it was a woodpecker. The noise of him pecking on a tree was like knocking on a door. Instantly a bible verse came to me, and at that time, I had no idea how that bible verse would help me find the peace that I was looking for.

 It was Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you."

As a kid, I learned this verse as a song, and after hearing that bird, this song was stuck in my head. Now that day, I didn't quite figure much out, but a few day's later, I read a post on Sarah Keatts blog, One Name. Go here to read her post. The last few paragraphs really hit home and made me realize that what I was missing was the seeking Jesus part. I was asking, but not seeking. Now it makes since for me to have had that song stuck in my head.

I was putting all of my effort into asking and was disappointed, but now, I'm learning to ask AND seek Jesus in all of this. Because, Jesus is the Prince of Peace! 

The last part of Matthew 7:7 is to knock, I see this as moving forward. I want to be able to take a step of faith and knock, even when I don't know if that door will open or close.

Instead of asking "Why?" I want to learn to be trusting in Him.

Do you catch yourself asking "Why?" a lot? Have you ever wondered how to really find peace that surpasses? What does Matthew 7:7 mean to you?? How can we stop worrying and start trusting? 

Happy first of August! I hope that your summer has been a blast so far! It is still NOT over yet! *desperately holds on to summer for as long as possible* 

July Camp Nano was awesome! And I made it to my 10,000 word count goal!!! Im so excited to see where this story takes me! :D Did you do Camp Nano? Have you read any awesome books lately? 

Lets talk about it! Comment below! 

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God's Way, Not Ours

A few months ago, late at night, my Dad decided to put together a bike he had bought for me that day. I had needed a new bike because my old one was to small and we were getting ready for our triathlon. Go HERE to read about the triathlon! 

Anyways, I like putting things together, so I decided to help him. The bike came in a big box and was already halfway assembled. Unwrapping the protective bubblewrap, styrofoam, cardboard, plastic and zip ties that covered the actual bike took quite awhile.

Once it was all laid out, the handle bars, seat, and the front tire were the parts that needed to be attached to the main frame. This bike came with instructions on how to put it together and a few tools. Laying on the floor, the bike didn't look much like a bike to me. It’s pieces were scattered about in various piles and looked more like a mess than a bike. 

The directions went something like this. It showed a diagram of the bike. Named bike parts using the alphabet, Part A and Part B etc. Then over the next few pages, it gave us the steps and order to accomplish these said steps. It even had pictures. Going to be easy, right?

This was our first time to assemble a bike, in the past, we had always just bought the bike already put together. Since this was a first time thing, we had to keep close attention to the instructions. It told us to attach the handle bars first, so we took the bolt cap off and slid the handle bars down into the frame. There was a line on the handle bars that said how far to push it down. That went fairly well, moving us along the list of steps in the instruction booklet. 

Next up was the front tire. This proved to be more difficult. All we had to do was put the frame over the tire and where the spokes met, tighten and secure it to the bike. The problem was our bike frame was too wide to correctly fit over the wheel. I wondered if we had the wrong part, maybe the manufacturers gave us the wrong size tire or frame? 

My Dad tried to force the frame together to make it smaller, but it still was too loose fitting over the tire. We tried different methods of securing it, but nothing was working. Stumped, I went back to the instructions. I carefully reread over the steps and realized that we had overlooked one small, teeny tiny step. Our problem was we needed to put this certain part on the tire BEFORE putting the frame over it to attach it. We were trying to put it on AFTER. Once we realized how to put it together the right way and in the right order, we finally finished the bike!  

Then, after we put on the seat, it was time to test out our bike assembly skills. I looked over the bike and knew all the bolts were tight, I knew everything was locked into place, I knew it was ready to be tested out, but something gave me hesitation. What if we put it together wrong? What if when I sit down, it all crumbles back into a bunch of pieces again? The visual of me lying in a mess of broken bike parts did not sound appealing! Pushing my doubt aside, I climbed up on the bike anyway. I was choosing to trust that it would hold.

 And it did! I now had a brand new bike! 

So you might ask, what is the reason for this post? How can I apply how you put a bike together to my life?

Well... 

Have you ever felt like you live under a protective layer of bubblewrap, styrofoam, cardboard, plastic and zip ties? Ok, not literally. You know what I mean. 

Have you ever felt like you hide your mess of disassembled pieces under that layer? 

Have you ever felt like you just want to lay the real you out all across the floor and see the scattered piles and pieces? Your worries, your fears, your wants, your hopes, your thoughts, all the jumbled mess. Even if it doesn’t look much like how it is supposed to look. 

Where is our life going? 

Do we get a book of instructions to know what happens next?

Have you ever felt like you overlooked or skipped a seemingly small step, but it turns out a 

important one? 

Have you ever tried to put the blame on someone other than yourself?

Have you ever felt like you tried to force it to work?

Have you ever went back to the instructions and realized your mistake?

And then, have you ever felt like you now know, the right way and in the right order?

Have you ever had to push aside doubt? 

Have you ever had to choose to trust?

These are questions that we all have to ponder ourselves. But I will say, we couldn't have put the bike together without taking all the bubblewrap off. Only after we saw everything laid out and unwrapped, could we move forward and build the bike. We can't move on and live the life that we were meant to live without letting go of our outer mask. Our so called protective layer of bubblewrap.

God sees through the bubblewrap. God know’s everything from our smallest worry to our biggest fear. He know’s the dreams that we have and the plans that we make. He sees all of this! He sees the good and the bad and loves us just the same. He loves us because we are His children. We are His chosen people (1 Peter 2:9)  And He has a plan for each of us. A unique and beautiful plan. One that turns our messy and scattered piles into someone that we were meant to become. God can make us whole. 

We need to realize that not all of our plans are His plans. His way is the right way. We might think we have it figured out. We might think we can just skim read through the instructions and be good. But we will miss the important steps to building our characters and the life that we long to live. We need to read and follow our instructions very closely. 

~The Bible is our Instructions and our Directions. It tells us steps and shows us how to live. 

John 14:21 

“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

~The Bible is our Guideline. It give us a perfect example. 

John 13:15 

“For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.”

1 Peter 2:21 

“For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us and example, that you should follow His steps:”

~The Bible is our Map. It tells us where we are going if we follow in Jesus footsteps.

John 14:1-3 

“Let not you heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

~The Bible is our Recipe. It gives us the ingredients for how to live.

John 15:12 

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”

Lastly, we have to choose to trust. God’s got us. Don’t let our doubts creep in and tell us otherwise. God has a plan and is in control. Take each day one step at a time. Lets strive to read through our instructions God has given us. Lets open up and let Him come in and create in us a new heart. Lets ask him to give us peace and help us trust in Him. God is not finished with us. Lets choose God’s way, not ours!

Proverbs 3:5,6 

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct they paths.”

➳✩➳✩➳This was really deep, wasn’t it? Have you ever put together a bike before? 

What are your thoughts on God’s Way, Not Ours? Can you relate to anything I said? Have you ever felt like you don't know how to trust? 

Have you ever felt like you don't know how to find the peace that surpasses?
 If you have read through this whole post, 
I want to say thank you and your amazing! This was a very long post and if you have persevered, then I give you a two thumbs up! 
Lets talk in the comments! And, ya'll, this is my 20th post!!! ➳✩➳✩➳

I Survived!

Instead of posting a poem like I usually would, I thought I would share with ya'll something very exciting that we did last weekend... *Drumroll* *Trumpet sounds* *And whatever other musical instruments they use for awaited news!* ...We did a triathlon!

I survived!!! I can now say I'm a triathlete, right?! 

On June 3rd my family and I woke up super duper early and after doing the animal chores, we drove out. It took us awhile to get there, and I was really nervous! Like, I won't lie, I was really nervous! I had never done anything like this before, although we did practice the course and that was AWFUL!  Since our practice didn't go very well, I was double nervous! 

My nervousness didn't go away until after we started, but as we were in the car almost there, I looked out my window, and guess what God gave me? He gave me a rainbow! Wow! That was exactly what I needed. To be reminded of His promise! What perfect timing too! God is so good! 

I will share some pictures! This was my breakfast in the car, a biscuit with veggie meat and apple sauce... 

When we finally arrived, we unloaded our bikes, dropping them off at the designated place. Then we walked down "Killer Hill" (what we would later run/walk up) to where we started with canoeing. Our start time was 8:22AM. We canoed non stop for 6 miles! We each had our canoeing "team." I was in the back of the canoe, and my younger sister was in the front. This means I got to tell or more like yell at her what to do! I'm not used to being in the back, so sometimes I would tell her to paddle on the wrong side, but for the most part we did good. We paddled hard and fast! By the time we were almost done, our shoulders were burning, but we kept on going to the finish! 

This is us starting off...

After we finished our canoeing, our mom's were waiting for us at the end with towels, water, our socks, and tennis shoes for the running part. They had everything ready for us. We couldn't have done it with our crew!

We started out for the 5.5 mile run. My dad was ahead of us at this point. His team was called the "Orange Crush Team." My cousins were a team and they were behind us for the canoeing part, but they passed us about two miles into the jogging. My younger sister and I, and My older sister and her boyfriend were teams. We decided that us four would stick together. 

We drained the gatorade and water pretty fast! We would jog, "To that telephone pole that the man in the yellow shirt was at." Then walk up a hill and, "Jog to that white mailbox." 

You get the picture! Anyway, we ate our energy gummies half way into the run. The last half mile was a strait uphill hike, aka "Killer Hill." I was breathing so hard but seriously I was going a snails pace! Even though I was going so slow, taking it one small step at a time, I didn't give up! I'm pretty proud of all of the teams! No matter what pace we were going, we still pushed through the pain and made it to the top! 

The last leg of this triathlon journey was the 18 mile bike ride! Wow! What a lot of peddling! Muscles were burning! And speaking of burning, I realized that at the end that I got a pretty good SUNBURN! We drank lots and I kept looking down at my hands for encouragement. Just so that doesn't sound weird, let me explain. Late the night before, I had sloppily painted my nails half asleep. Each nail got at letter I-C-A-N-D-O-T-H-I-S! 

There were lots of rolling hills which was a blessing and a curse, you see, going down them was great, but going up? That was a whole other story! Little kids were along the way at water stations. They'd say, "Drink or be splashed." It was really cute and we had to stop at basically all the stations, not only because of the water! One little kid even got us with a water gun! :D

This was hard! Canoeing was hard! Running was Hard! Biking was hard! But it was fun! I know, that might not make sense, but it was fun and hard! 

Half way through the biking, we were passed by a man with no legs. I seriously got goosebumps! This man, had not given up when things were challenging, he used the limbs that he had and pushed through! His arms were so muscular, I was so encouraged by watching him do this triathlon! How amazing, like, this was hard for me to do and I have legs. He passed us! What an amazing testimony that he has. Odds are against him, things are tough, but he persevered and exceeded! I think we can all apply this to wherever we are at in life. We may be going through a hard time right now, but lets not give up. Lets make the best of what we do have and succeed!

You know? As physically challenging as this was, I found myself smiling. We were doing a triathlon! And no, we knew we weren't going to win anything for speed, but we did have the feeling of accomplishment! (And we got a shirt!!! And a cooly bag thing!!!)

The last two miles were the hardest! I mentally has to tell my legs to move and keep peddling! But as we came to the finish, my whole family was screaming and so excited! We crossed the finish line! 

This is us running across the finish line...

Our time was 4 hours and 3 minutes! Dad came in at 3 hours and 17 minutes ! And my cousins came in at 3 hours and 24 minutes! Everyone did amazing!

After we all finished, they provided food and there was a band playing music on a hay wagon. 

Heres my lunch. Salad, Mac n' cheese, potato salad, veggie burger, sugar cookie, and sprite...

10 things we all can learn from a triathlon:

1. Never give up! 

2. Persevere through it, 'nuff said!

3. God keeps his promises. 

4. Get encouragement and give encouragement! 

5. If it is important to you, don't let the odds stop you from doing it! 

6. Stay hydrated!

7. Never stop! Even if you are going a snails pace!

8. Smile even if things are hard!

9. Take a step forward, even if it is a baby one!

10. God will bring you through! 

Here's more pictures...!

This picture might be too blurry to make out what my nail polish says. 

I CAN DO THIS!

Selfie with little sis'!

Selfie with big sis'!

Weather was perfect! Breezy and not too hot!

Little Petey was wiped out! 

Group picture after we finished!

Group picture before we started!

Feeling accomplished on the way home and ready for a nap!

Has anyone ever done a triathlon? Do you like canoeing, running, or biking better? Did you like reading this post? Didn't May fly by super fast? How is your June going? What are you excited about this June? Lets talk in the comments below!