And this is the confidence we have towards Him.

I got to begin my regular prayer meetings with my friend Lacey yesterday, and it was so so so refreshing! There we were, coming before God, sitting by a tree in the Grove, fellowshiping with our Creator.

A couple of verses that have really stuck with me are from 1 John 5, verses 14 and 15:

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

I have never had so much confidence before the throne of God before. He is so good to us. He hears everything I tell him.

Lacey and I mentioned how we have seen fruit from every single one of our prayers, and how amazing it is to see prayer be so evidently effective. I think the Lord is taking our hearts and the more we fall in love with him, the more our will aligns with His. So that every thing we desire is in his will, and our powerful and mighty God is faithful to fulfill his goals and promises.

I can already see some of the things the Lord is gonna do here at school, and I cannot wait to join my Jesus in his efforts to heal the brokenhearted, bring hope to the hopeless, and to be glorified for His name's sake.

Summer in a Nutshell

Wow. This summer... was the best summer of my life.

I can't even begin to talk about all I've learned. I've spent two months of my summer in beautiful southern France living the dream life, traveling alone, working everyday on vineyards, exploring, experiencing God in the most powerful way.

As I quoted in my frentures blog,

I have had the best summer of my entire life. The Lord has been so faithful to teach me. I have loved every minute of bonding with Frenchies, being with those vines alone for hours on end, working harder than I’ve ever worked, eating more than I’ve ever eaten, praying more than I’ve ever prayed, singing with strangers, laughing with strangers, learning to love animals again, frolicking, independence, crazy chaotic travel days alone, train rides ruled by pondering and itunes and the prettiest views ever, hiking on those bluffs on the rocky coast, the Mediterranean, joy, sunburns, learning about other cultures, learning about my own culture, learning what I love, seeing how beautiful our God is, how He never leaves me, how He wants me to have the best life ever, and how that is exactly what I have.

I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

I spent so much time working alone and in prayer. God taught me so much about myself from spending so much time alone, and taught me an incredible amount about my heart within a short period of time. I have never seen God work so much through prayer, even answering prayers overseas within a day. He really instilled in my heart the truth that He is always listening. That time in France was indescribable. What a God.

Then I spent a week with a few of my best friends in northern Italy. Best friends. Beautiful views. Adventures. Shopping. Amazing food. Giggles. Best way to end my stay in Europe.

I came home and went straight to a ten day camp meeting, where the Lord was faithful to meet me there and be so real with me. I clung to Psalm 34 and could not stop reading or meditating on it. He encouraged me through lots of older people who reached out to me. He showed me that He would never leave me as my best friend and lover of my soul. That time was so real.

Then I got to come home and spend almost three weeks just being at home, which was really needed. My time was mostly taken up by catching up with old friends, cleaning (or trying to clean), running errands, babysitting, resting (a... lot), and eating yummy food.

Andrea came to visit me too :).

I don't think I could have asked for a better summer. Wow.

2012, you have a lot to live up to.

But hey, maybe my school year will be even better :)

Packing up.

Well. I'm packing.

It's moving pretty slowly. Today was supposed to be devoted to putting all my stuff in boxes to head over to school, but it has been more dominated with singing/ performing/ dancing to the jazz music playing over the house speakers, having a 2 hour lunch break, thrift store shopping, lying on the couch with my mom, looking at Kate's pictures of us in Italy, Etsy, and eating lots of yummy food. We had a feast tonight. Around late afternoon the couch was calling me and my mom's name, so we had a good few Food Network sessions. I popped some popcorn over the stove with olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt, making it the best popcorn ever. We brought out the fresh strawberries, and the goat cheese we bought on Thursday at the farmer's market. We toasted tonight to some Drappier as my last night being home, and my dad had some creme de mures for me to add, just the way I'm used to at the Swiss family's house in France :). We even opened up some chocolate from a chocolatier they visited in San Fran.

Some of my favorites of Kate's photos:

after shopping in Milan in front of the cathedral :)

Anna's friends pool that we went to in Italy... in the middle of vineyards.

Me and A on the train :)

being models in Venice

The new brand of chocolate I tried tonight:

So.. I never really got around to packing. But I guess that's what tonight is for.

But it was a good last day at home.

Last night I went and visited my friends Davis Ann and Brad :). We went to a really fun show together in downtown Birmingham, with Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken. We sat on floor pillows and they sang folky hymn-y songs and talked about how they met. I love cute marriage love stories :).

Being with Davis Ann was as encouraging as ever. It was a good way to spend part of my last weekend in Bama.

So.. off to college tomorrow? Still have so much to do. Not too concerned about it though.

1/5 life crisis.

So, I've basically realized this summer that I have no idea what I'm going to do with my life.

I have so many passions, and I like so many things, and they all sound great. I don't know which one I would be best at, which career I can help the most people with, or what God wants to do with me. Right now I'm thinking med school. Because I know I can work hard enough, and if I can achieve that, then I need to go for it. But I must say, other less challenging career paths are definitely tempting.

I know what I want to do in the long run. I want to be like Jesus. I want to serve people. I want to start a children's home or a children's clinic or tell the elderly and the widows about Jesus. I want to take care of people. But what is the means of getting there? That's what I'm wondering right now.

A few ways I've been encouraged through my career crisis:

-I don't know where this illustration came from, but once somebody told me of a man standing underneath a fruit tree, and he was looking at all the beautiful fruit that he could pick. But he had such a hard time deciding which delicious fruit to pick from the others, because they were all so good-looking. So he just stood there and couldn't decide, until all the fruit were rotten, and he ran out of time to pick a good fruit.

So basically, I just need to pick a fruit. Because they're all good.

-Leading onto my next word of encouragement...

I told my friend Maddie about my qualms about my future. And she reminded me that a career does not define our servanthood in Christ. I asked her, "well, don't you think we each have a calling on our lives?" She wisely responded, "Was Jesus' calling to be a carpenter?" And from that, we can ask, was Paul's calling to be a tentmaker, was Luke's calling to be a doctor?

No, Jesus' calling was to love. Paul and Luke's callings were to share the gospel. It did not interfere or depend on their jobs.

My calling is to love. My calling is to be a servant. My calling is to be like Jesus. I can do that whenever and wherever I am.

- I have had some of the most incredible opportunities for ministry and pouring into other people this summer. And I didn't have to be in any career position to do it. I do my very best to give myself to the Lord's work each and every day. And that is enough for Him to work!

-When I pray about what study path I need to go on, what kind of graduate school I need to attend, what career I need to end up adopting, I receive peace. I have a big peace in my heart that God is going to reveal that to me at the right time, and I am going to look back and think, "Wow, he is so faithful."

A really great poem by George Tersteegen, that I wrote about a year ago on my wall in my bed-closet:

Let Him lead thee blindfold onwards,
Love needs not to know;
Children whom the Father leadeth
Ask not where they go.
Though the path be all unknown
Over moors and mountains lone.

My Father's leading me. I don't need to feel the pressure of knowing where exactly I'm going. He'll tell me when I need to know.

I miss my brother.

I haven't seen Ed in two months... he's been studying in Jordan. This week he's in Jerusalem, seeing the sights.

We get to skype him every now and then. I especially miss him now, because I'm back at home and he's not. His good friend Phillip has been over and has been hanging out with us, and I think when my family and Phillip are together, we really start to miss him. Andrea, Phillip, Ed and I, when we're all in town, usually go to TCBY and get the daily $2.29 specials. Every single day. So, lately, it's just been the three of us. Poor Phillip has been out-gendered.

So, he's missed. Good thing we go to the same school!

Here's a picture of Ed joining us for Sunday lunch. We decided that the four of us kids are going to go on a trip to Europe together next year. Now all we have to do is pick a time and a country :).

If you're interested in seeing what he's up to in the Middle East, click here.

Sweets sweets sweets.

My sweet neighbor Anna helping us sprinkle cupcakes. I was the icing girl and she was the sprinkles girl! We had too much fun making a mess.

So, let's name the homemade sweets that have been in our house for the past week:

1. Peach ice cream

2. Peach tart

3. Coffee ice cream

4. Brownies

5. Tres leches cake

6. Turtle cheese cake

7. Pound cake made with duck eggs

8. Mini white cupcakes

... And there are three of us. And my parents are twigs.

It's been crazy. We're just now starting to make our way to the end (with some of my friends' help :) )

I made the tres leches cake as a belated birthday cake for my mom. It was so fun! I'm so proud of how it turned out.

First, I made a coconut chiffon cake, which was fun. Then, I split that into layers for the filling of the "three milks". I soaked the layers in a coconut syrup that I made, and in between the layers was a pastry cream. And guess what? This was the first pastry cream that I cooked that I didn't ruin during the first trial... since like 5 years ago! I was so excited. The third milk would be the whipped cream on top. Oh, and I added some caramel in between the layers :)

There's my caramel!

After assembly

After assembly and refrigeration, without the whipped topping

Finished with the whipped topping (It says "I heart JJ", referring to ma mere)

My dad making his peach tart

My mom sprinkling her cupcakes in the foreground, and my dad making his peach tart in the background. I swear..

Peach tart! Yummm

After my cake is happily received!

So in conclusion, I think I'm gonna start running tomorrow.

Caprese Salad.

So, the other day, I wanted to make a Caprese salad. We had delicious fresh tomatoes and mozzerella. All I was missing was some good basil, and I knew it was growing somewhere in my backyard. I don't know if I was too sleepy or if I was just plain ign'ant, but I couldn't recall what basil looked like. So I decided that it would be a good idea to tear off leaves of candidate plants and put them in my mouth to taste them. I guess my smelling technique wasn't going very far. Anyway, so there I was, for about five minutes, tearing off leaves of plants growing in my garden and chewing them and spitting them out.

I forgot that the tornado came. And knocked down our fence. And our trees. And all forms of keeping privacy. So when I looked up, I saw a man in a truck over in the street by our yard... just staring, bewildered at my backyard mosying and munching.

I guess it didn't help I was in my boxers when it was 2 pm.

Anyway, I finally found the basil, and my salad was delish.

Camp meeting.

the 'main tabernacle' service

The Lord is so faithful. Camp meeting was exactly what I needed after being away for a couple of months.

I go to a holiness camp meeting in Georgia every summer for ten days. I've been going for about six years now. It's where I was baptized, it's where my relationship with the Lord took a turning point, and it's where some of my best friends have stemmed. Talk about a place to soak in encouragement.

Some highlights this year:

Even after sermon after sermon and after corporate worship, the Lord never fails to teach me when it's just me and him.

What God taught me this year was sweet and encouraging. And as simple as His messages were, they struck my heart with a reality that has never sunk in before.

Thursday when camp started, before arriving I decided to go to the state park next to the campground to hang out in my eno and spend time in the Word, preparing my heart before I dove into it all.

There, I read these verses and couldn't leave them:

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.

(John 10:28-30)

God had already kind of been teaching me this, but this verse broke my spirit. He really has us! He really isn't leaving us! This whole summer, I saw the Lord's faithfulness like I had never seen in my life before. I had been overwhelmed with a joy of his promises fulfilled like never before. And now He was telling me... that I'm never leaving His hand.

I pondered this, wept over this, loved on this truth for the rest of camp meeting.

Every time I'd go into the Word, I couldn't help but start out with Psalm 34. I could go on and on about what God's been teaching me through this Psalm, but a couple of verses that I spent a lot of time on, verses 4 and 5:

I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be covered with shame.

Outside of my time in the Word, God showed up in so many ways at camp. I saw so many prayers answered in friends' lives, people released from bondage, sweet sweet worship, and so many sermons that made me want to live like Jesus. Now I just want to be like Jesus more than ever.

Sometimes I'd go to the early morning prayer meetings, where it's usually me and 80-year-olds and then a couple of middle-aged people, and every time I went I was so encouraged by these prayer warriors. The first morning I went, I met a couple of people before we got started, and during the prayer meeting these men and women of God decided to pray for me. For me. I was so humbled and amazed by their genuine love of God and for his children.

Here are a couple of other pictures from the week:

This is my best friend Meredith. We pretty much had the cabin to ourselves this year, and we had a blast cooking, blasting music and dancing, being girls, watching movies, snuggling, and having people over. This night in particular, we decided to skip a main service and come back and get in our pajamas and watch Ratatouille and eat cookie dough. Amazing decision.

late night card games on the Padgett Porch

This is our friend James. He came to hang out for a couple of days and we had so much fun with him! What an encouraging brother in the Lord. I think this is when we cooked some pasta for lunch one day.

Sunset.

So, after camp, a big group of us decided to go to Six Flags before leaving. This was our little clique for the day, and we got drenched by thunderstorms in the park. So we ran out to our car, grabbed food, and made a pb & j sandwich bar at the only shelter we could find, which was the ticket office. We had so much fun. These guys rock.

Things to do Today

1. Go to the farmer's market at 7 am.

2. Make a yummy chiffon cake.

3. Make yummy things to turn that chiffon cake into a pastel de tres leches.

4. Send off some packages to people I love.

5. Memorize a song on the piano.

6. Write a couple of letters to France.

7. Leave Andrea lots of text messages so that when she turns on her phone for the first time in 3 weeks after coming back into the US she'll feel really really loved.

Things I want to do today but I probably won't:

1. Respond to a couple of phone calls.

2. Start unpacking from France and camp meeting and start cleaning my room.

3. Read my book.

Parents.

I. love. my. parents.

I've only been home probably for a total of eight days this summer, but when I've returned home every time, they are the one thing that makes me feel at home more than anything else. First to my couch, which is saying a lot.

A few things that have made me appreciate them in the past week:

1. Their food. The first day I came home, I was welcomed to eggplant parmesan and peach ice cream. My dad even made an apple tart for dessert that night. Plus, we have a surplus of tomatoes and eggplants and peaches, which will soon not be a surplus :)

2. They are so cute. They told me all about their trip to San Francisco they recently took. They're like little kids again... they visited wineries, took bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge, went to Chinatown and made their own fortunes inside of fortune cookies, visited chocolate shops, went whale watching... they are so adventurous and precious.

3. We're the best movie-watching, couch-dwelling team ever.

4. My mom and I were driving home from Mississippi yesterday, and for three hours we had girl talk and ate trail mix.

5. I can say... anything in front of them and they understand me.

6. I wish I could quote some of the things my dad has been saying this past week. He doesn't realize it, but he's quite the character when it comes to talking about France and wine and food. We've discussed wine epiphanies, the best Kir Royales, parchment paper, French (of course), and duck eggs in pastries. I. Love. Him.

7. I think my dad and I might have exchanged a total of 12 cannibal-themed jokes back-to-back in passing one time in the living room.

8. They never pry, never nag, they just let me live my life. And they love love love it when I share it with them.

9. Basically, I have two bffs at home.

The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

It was a typical humid summer camp meeting night in Flovilla, Georgia. The speaker at the tabernacle had just preached on serving the poor. My friend Chaslee and I were convicted as fourteen-year-olds, and decided to take necessary steps to live out the Gospel as best we could, being young'in's in high school. We had happily chosen to support a child through Compassion International. Representatives were present at the camp meeting, and displayed on tables hundreds of packets of children's profiles from ages four to fourteen from all nationalities.. their faces just calling your name and asking you to "sponsor me". Chaslee and I chose a nine-year-old pretty girl from Indonesia. The packet appropriately told us she was a good student, she lived with her mother, and it included some of her hobbies as well. We decided we could combine baby-sitting money and make this actually happen. So, we asked our parents, they consented, and we were ready to have a new friend.

Later that night, we were walking back down to where the table displays were, and every packet had been taken. What a miracle! All those children were about to be given education, medicine, food, and most importantly, the Gospel!

And then... a man walked up to me. He had a packet in his hands. This was the only packet that had not been selected. He was trying to find anyone and everyone to sponsor this little black Colombian boy. I read his information. His name was Jose, he wasn't doing too well in school, he was six years old... that means I'd have to support him for a long while... his picture almost looked like he was pouting... I declined the invitation to sponsor. But this man pleaded with me. He took a look at my purse and asked me how much it costed, and then told me that instead of buying a purse I could support a child for a month. I mean, this man was being on the verge of bothersome. But, having no backbone, I took the packet, sighed, and tried to think how I could pay for a second child.

I wish I could find that man now and thank him for annoying the heck out of me. It didn't take long for me to realize that Jose was one of the biggest blessings for me in my life.

He was mine. He was my child. I would write him during class in the ninth grade, I would draw him pictures, and he would draw pictures back. It didn't take me long to realize he was one of the prettiest children I had ever seen. I loved nothing more than when Compassion would send me a photo update, and I could see how much he had grown. He always had the same expression on his face, his bottom lip pouting a little bit, lips closed, big bright eyes. I'm assuming he was missing some teeth, and that's always why he pouted. He always stood up straight like a tall, proud, man. He knew who he was. He told me about when he would visit his grandmother in the neighboring village, what he was learning about Jesus, his favorite Bible verses, always thanking me and telling me he loved me and was praying for me.

I started to pray for him everyday. Letters are one of those things that make me happy, but when he sent me letters, it made my week. We would write about every other month to each other.

His most recent letters included phrases like:

"You are very special to me"

"Please pray hard for me"

"I love you very much-- receive hugs and kisses!"

"God is good to me, and I thank him, I have everything I need"

"I thank God because I am growing"

"I look forward to your letters"

"I miss you"

"I would really like for you to visit"

Can I just say, this little child knows where to push my emotional buttons? I can't think of a sweeter, more genuine child. His most recent letters brought me to tears.

His last request, for me to come visit, was something that had been on my heart for the past year. There is a sponsor trip going in October, and I was trying to find every way to save up my money and go see my boy.

Nine days ago, I received a phone call.

Jose's family has moved him to another village where there is no Compassion sponsor site. Compassion communicated to them that Jose could no longer be sponsored if they moved away. The family took this under consideration when they made the decision to move locations.

I was a wreck. I couldn't stop crying all weekend. That was my child. I was going to see him. He loved me. He was the one child I cared more about than any other. I prayed for him everyday, had his picture in my wallet. And now it's all over?

Communication with Jose was cut off. It was his birthday a couple of weeks ago. That was probably the last package he got from me.. if it got there on time. He just turned twelve years old... Wow. He's so big. He was only two years younger than I was when I started to sponsor him.

Through this past week, though, as upset as I've been for letting go of my favorite boy, the Lord's peace has reigned in my heart. He has spoken to me through this situation.

"Sarah, if you love this child this much, can you even imagine how much I love you?"

Through my concern about where Jose has gone, if he'll be okay, my disappointment in the fact that I can't talk to him, the Lord has shown me his feelings for his children-- How much he wants to talk to us, how he doesn't want anybody to move us away or block communication, how we are His.

The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. What an amazing blessing that this pouting, unchosen, beautiful Colombian boy turned out to be. We both have experienced the Lord's blessings through this relationship. Through my sponsorship with Jose, God has reaffirmed in me his calling for me to care for the unchosen, picked-through children of the earth. He was given me the confidence to see that no other field of work will be as satisfying as making relationships with children who need the Lord Jesus.

Thank you, Lord. Through it all, thank you.

artsy.

I found a gem today.

On the side of the Lyric on the Square in Oxford, is a little store called Amelia Presents. Can I just say, this place is a dream come true. It's a craft store, which has collected the works of random artists in big cities and has brought them to one place--- notebooks, wallets, cupcake supplies, notecards, postcards, journals, paintings, pictures... and it's all adorable. Today I bought cute little recipe cards for a friend, and the lady that owns the store was so kind to hold a wallet I'm keeping my eye on for next week. (Eek!) I've told myself I'm only allowed to buy one thing each time I go there.

But, anyway, I love pretty things and this place is a gold mine of them.

More pretty pictures and info here.

fractured.

What I had originally believed to be a cramp in my right food had developed into too much of a perpetual pain to rest as a simple muscle ache. I tried to ignore the pain that had begun Tuesday afternoon, but by Wednesday it was as easy to ignore as a kid pulling at your sweater. So, becoming a little concerned, and with the help of my father, I had an appointment scheduled with a doctor at a local orthopedics clinic. As I was sitting on the clinical bed with my naked right foot lumped up on the end, I read the doctor's face as he plopped down in a chair in front of me. Uh oh.

"It seems to me that you have a stress fracture. No more half-marathons, no more running. You can swim and bike, but I'm making you wear a boot for everyday use. Oh, and I'm writing you a parking permit."

Um. Excuse me? I had already decided I didn't have a stress fracture. It couldn't be. It was going to be tendonitis.

No. Running?

Sunday was going to be a big day. A 5k. And I was going to make my best time yet. I run every day. I can't just stop. I have another half marathon in two weeks. I can't just quit.

Well, yes I can.

I can quit, kicking and screaming if I have to. My bummed feelings and tears shed today caught me off guard. If you told me 2 months ago I wasn't allowed to run anymore, I would deem you as my best friend.

Well, times have changed. Running is an acquired taste; it takes time to become friends with it. And I had become friends with it, alright.

I'm worried now, I'm worried I'll have a lot of built-up stress and energy, and I won't be able to get it out. I'll try swimming this next week, but I have a feeling I won't be satisfied.

I'm learning from this. Kicking with my bootie on and screaming, I'm learning. It's probably a good thing I'm taking a break for a while. I'm wondering if I was starting to put too much dependence on de-stressing with the running method. I think most of my self-confidence was coming from running. So maybe it's good to take a healthy break.

So, I thank you, God, for every circumstance you turn into your glory. In this little trying season of mine, I'll learn what it's like to really put you as the solution of my every need. When I have a stressful day, I won't turn to running first, but I'll give my day to you in prayer first. When I feel bad about myself, I won't go and try to burn calories, but I'll remind myself of how beautiful I am in your eyes, and how I'm truly your Beloved one, whose body is blessed by the mere fact that you chose your Spirit to dwell in it.

As much as I am bummed about my new anatomical dilemma, I am thankful to be reminded that nothing satisfying will continue to last except for One. And it's the only One I need.

"Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner,

but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed."

-Isaiah 51:6

God, take away my low spirits and replace them with an irreplaceable joy that no worldly achievement could measure up to.

13.1

Before dawn we begin our race. There are thousands surrounding me, most over the age of 30. No one is in a sour mood. My corral's ribbon is broken, I cross the starting line, and we're off. I quickly lose Katie and Sarah, but I decide to continue nevertheless. The dark aura in the Gotham City of downtown Atlanta is lit up by the exhilirated runners, and the fans cheering on the side of the street. Only on such a day would the families dare to hang out next to the alleyways of crime-ridden downtown. The regular loiterers also take part in the spectating. My shins are sore.

I pass couple by couple, middle-ridden downtown, middle-aged man by middle-aged woman. Am I going too fast? I don't feel like it.

Mile two arrives. I've only gone two miles? And thus, I pass the first Gatorade station. And only then do I realize the bliss of a swig of the energy drink. I grab a cup from a volunteer as I run past, my hand bumping along with every stride I take, the gatorade swishing over the rim as I bring it to my parched lips. About half of the liquid makes it in. I throw aside the cup dramatically, among the hundreds of other paper cups on the street, as I push forward.

The first four miles were probably the slowest. Gotham City before dawn gets old real fast. Downtown soon evolves to neighborhoods, however, and night becomes day. I now look forward to every Gatorade station. My shins have lost feeling. So have the blisters on the insides of my feet. We pass an MLK monument, a Publix, and the Carter Center.

At the Publix, the spectators were hilarious. There were naked cowboys, men with lettuce on their heads, all running with us and yelling for a little while.

Families on balconies and on their front porches reclined, smiled, and waved, petting their dogs or attending to their toddlers, holding up signs or sipping on a beer.

A runner in his 20's pushes his friend jokingly aside, which in turn causes his friend to face plant into a street sign, collapsing to the ground. The other runners respond in grimaces and in "Ooh"'s and "Ah"'s. The guy gets up and begins to chase after his friend with an angry "Hey man, come here!", but then halts after a few steps and laughs. Everyone, relieved that the young man was only kidding, laughs along with him. A bit of entertainment during the fifth mile.

There is a huge hill as we approach the prettier parts of Atlanta, upon which I pass many middle-aged women in teams, encouraging each other with comments like, "Gwenyth, I'm feelin' good" and "We got this, Sue". When passing good ol' Ponce de Leon, I spot my favorite Urban Outfitters store. Memories rush into my mind of past Atlanta shopping adventures, and this gives me enough of a delightful kick to push on.

I survive from Gatorade station to Gatorade station, now picking up a cup of Gatorade and a cup of water, both sloshing in rhythm with my strides in each hand.

The miles go by faster.

Now I'm on mile 12. One. More. Mile. I skip the last Gatorade station to focus on my speed, but the faster I go, the longer this mile seems to last. There is hill after hill. Before each one, the spectators dishonestly assure us, "It's all downhill after this one". Jerks.

The track does seem to level out, but the running area also becomes more narrow. At this point, I'm at a sprint. I pass person after person. It's crowded. I've developed a weaving technique to get past every one. I spot the finish line coming up. I sprint.

It's over? Wow.

I reluctantly halt my sprinting and transfer into walking. I'm in shock. I receive my epic aluminum blanket cape and I am dressed with my Publix medal. We are shuffled into a line, handed a plastic bag, and then encouraged to fill our bags with a half mile line of goodies handed to us by the volunteers. Bottles of chocolate milks, bananas, yogurts, trail mix, pretzels... it's all heaven. I've already chugged a bottle of water and a chocolate milk.

My shins are still numb. I am victorious.