The Little Things

I've heard a number of times from 2 time Olympian (and on his way to 3!) Meb Keflezighi that it is all about the little things that makes him a world champion at the age of 41. I've reflected on this and realize it truly is the little things that keep you healthy in order to compete at an elite level. Whether it is icing, stretching, strength training, foam rolling, or eating at specific times, all of these are essential to keep up with the training.

One of my little things has to do with keeping my feet in top shape. As you can imagine, my feet take quite the beating with 50, 60, 70, 80+ miles racking up each week. During races it goes to a whole other level.  I remember coming home to my parents house last summer after the San Diego Rock and Roll Half Marathon and letting my brother exact his Paramedic expertise on my feet by placing lidocaine soaked strips over 3 inch long blisters on the balls of my feet before patching them up so I could even walk around.  I sat at the finish line that day for 30 minutes with giant ice bags under my toes just to cool my feet off.

What I've learned over the last year is that there are little things that I can do every day to avoid the excruciating pain I experienced that last June, and it doesn't cost much.  My secret: Vaseline and a foot pumice stone.

Yep, I use Vaseline like a child is given unrestricted access to Nutella.  Morning and night, before and after every training run and race, I'm constantly greasing up my feet to keep them soft so blisters don't develop.  Along with that, every time I'm in the shower, I'm scrubbing down my feet to keep from any build up of callouses that would eventually result in really deep blisters on my feet on race day and long runs (what happened in June).

It is amazing how such a little thing of applying Vasaline and using a foot pumice stone can eliminate so much pain from your life.  It is so simple that early on in my discovery of its effectiveness, I slacked in my disciplined usage doubting if it was really necessary all of the time.  Well, every time I don't stick to the routine, the blisterous pain returns.  So now I use it religiously.

It is funny how in life there are so many little things that can make our lives less painful, that we know about and have even experienced their benefits, but still slack in disciplining ourselves to stick to it for our own well being.  Yes, there is grace, heaps of it, so we can always start over.  But let's do something good for ourselves and choose with discipline those little (and best) things.

Take Care,
Janet

P.S. I'd love to hear one of your "little things" that help you to experience an abundant life.  Share it in a comment below.

Support Janet's Running Career

As many of you know, I have a dream to qualify for the Olympic Trials!  You've been following me on social media these last 2 years and seen the incredible transformation that has taken place in my life and the resurrection of my passion for running.  I hope you have been inspired along the way!

Up until now I have been creating training plans all on my own, which has been an incredible learning experience in becoming an elite athlete.  However, I am now at a point in my running career that the next step in taking my running to another level is to invest in a coach to help me strategize and train at the elite level so I can make it to the Olympic Trials.  In order to do this, I need some help from friends and family.

With every race and accomplishment I am grateful for all of the encouragement and support I've received.  It means so much to me to have hundreds of people cheering me on both at the finish line and in the digital world.  As I continue to train towards my dream, know that I know I can't do it without you.

To get the kind of coaching I need, it will cost me $250/month.  This works out to be 50 people donating $5/month, 25 people donating $10/month, 10 people donating $25/month, or one generous donor at $250/month.  Would you consider helping me to take my running to the next level?

If so, fill out the PayPal link below.  Any amount helps!

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Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  With your support, I will be sure to keep you updated on all of my running endeavors.  You're truly helping to make my dreams come true!

Sincerely,
Janet

Help Me Get to Jordan!

Hi Friends!

I want to tell you about an incredible adventure I'm going on this summer and ask for your support in making a dream come true!

Ever since high school I have had a fascination with the Arab world. I'll give a shout out to my best high school friend Manal for being a part of this dream being planted in my heart. She is from Lebanon and in her home she spoke Arabic growing up. Whenever I went over to her house, I loved hearing them speak and also observe the unique cultural differences they had from mine. The hookah was always out, goat skins were on the floor, Arab soap operas were on TV, generosity and hospitality were their profession, and her mom often taught little kids Arabic in the garage. I always enjoyed spending time with her family.

When I started getting involved with restorative justice, community development, and reconciliation work, I quickly became attentive to my heart for the Middle East. I have never been to the Middle East, but I’ve always dreamt of spending time serving throughout the Arab world and Middle East. News articles about Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Morocco and many more consistently catch my attention. A significant motivation in completing my Masters in International Relations and Conflict Resolution was rooted in my interest in the Middle East.  I've had many friends who have spent time throughout the Arab world and I am always fascinated by the beautiful images and stories they bring home with them. It is nothing like the news portrays. I also have a grace and hope in my heart to see peace and reconciliation touch the hearts, communities, and nations in the Middle East. I know that God is absolutely in love with every man, woman, and child that lives in this area of the world and I feel He has placed a piece of His heart into mine for these people, their culture, and their language.

Well, this dream of mine to go to the Middle East is coming true this summer and I need your help to get there!  I have the opportunity to travel to Amman, Jordan to help host a gathering for many surrounding Arab nations, sharing the good news of God’s love demonstrated through Jesus to visitors from Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and beyond.  Our team will also provide hands-on outreach to the poorest of the poor from war-torn Syria, as we visit refugee camps where more than 2 million people have been displaced by the ongoing civil war in that nation.  There we will feed the poor, pray for the sick, and host daily relief outreaches.  I am so excited to be the floodgate of God’s love to these people and to experience the beauty and treasures of their culture and hospitality.

Will you help me get there?  I fly out early June to spend 6 days on the ground in Jordan.  The ground costs are $1800 and my flight will cost close to $1500, totaling $3300.  If 33 people give $100 I’m good to go, and I’ve already received my first $100 bill!  Let me know if you have any questions about the trip and I’d love to connect with you and catch up on life.  I’m so thankful for you!

The best way to send support is through Paypal, click the "Donate" button on the left of your screen, or send it to coachmold@yahoo.com.  Of course, I’ll always receive cash or checks as well.

Thank you so much for all of your encouragement and support!

Expressing God's Heart in Politics

Imagine a world without fear and lack.  Where governments make decisions based on love and abundance rather than fear and lack of resources.  Where people in communities embrace that they are their brother's keeper and they don't have to fear that there will not be enough to go around.  Imagine a world where perceptions do not dictate government actions, but wisdom and compassion guide their every decision.  What if all relationships, between individuals, communities, states, and governments, were defined by compassion, honor, and believing the best in one another?   Recklessly idealistic, I know, but I truly believe this is God's heart for humanity.
The dream that has been on my heart lately is to create a blog that expresses God's heart in politics and to explore the possibility of the world described above.  Christians have a pretty bad reputation of being dishonoring when it comes to addressing alternative political views.  I would like to create a space where people can come to learn and discuss political issues from a perspective that honors God and one another.  I want a place where those who have encountered the lavish love of God can explore how to engage with a world that has not fully realized that the Kingdom of Heaven is in its midst. 

Ultimately I will begin with the following premises:

About God:

1. God is all-powerful, lacks nothing, and is for the good of all mankind.
2. God loves every person on the planet infinitely and unconditionally, and is in a good mood.
3. Jesus is the ultimate demonstration of God's love for humanity.  His death and resurrection declares all of mankind "not guilty"; it is now the choice of each person whether they want to be in relationship with God or not for all of eternity.
4. God is in the business of convincing the world that He loves them; not coercively, but romantically.  It is this love that is the heartbeat of the Kingdom of Heaven.

About Christians:

1. The "job" of those who believe in and accept His love is to enjoy, demonstrate, and share that love with those who don't know about it yet.

About Government:

1. The United States of America and ultimately the World is a pluralistic society with persons of many opinions, beliefs, and moral codes.
2. The intended purpose of the US government is:

   “The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness. Government exists for the interests of the governed, not for the governors.”
   - Thomas Jefferson

For the purposes of the site, the premises are not to be argued with. They are the starting point for the rest of the conversation. There are many other websites that discuss the legitimacy of these premises, but this site is something different.  I hope to present issues in such a way that it communicates what I am for rather than what I am against.  I'm hoping people will post comments and feedback, however, they will be filtered to keep the conversation constructive and focused.  I look forward to seeing people respond to one another in such a way that engages the heart and mind. 

In some ways I feel completely inadequate in facilitating this sort of discussion, but God keeps reminding me that what I bring to the conversation is His heart.  He has told me that I will learn a lot.  I don't have all of the answers, but He does.  As we engage with the issues facing this world that are in contrast to His Kingdom (His love), He will provide us with the wisdom in how to move forward.

I'm excited to see where this goes.  It is just the beginning of a new journey and I have no idea where it will take me.  Check out the site at: http://HeavenAndPolitics.blogspot.com.

Thanks for reading.

Janet

Create a Network of Justice Workers

Number five on my dream list is to create a network of justice workers.

People that know me today would be surprised to know that it wasn't until I was 23 that I really cared about what was going on in the world. It all began in my Discipleship Training School (DTS) with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). When deciding on what focus to take, I was torn between the Impact Pacific DTS or the Compassion DTS. The Impact Pacific School would be sending teams to the many small tropical islands in the Pacific, like Fiji and Samoa; nothing like ministering to people on the beach in the middle of the tropics. The Compassion DTS was a school focused on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa and would be sending teams to Africa. My decision to choose the Compassion DTS was completely based on what I felt the Lord leading rather than on a desire in my heart to exercise compassion. I remember through the school asking God to show me what compassion was and to fill my heart with it. It was so foreign to me at the time. I would see other students react to injustice with grief or anger, but I was somewhat numb to it. I was so disconnected at that time from the realities of injustice around the world.

One day, one of our school leaders showed us a video documenting an American woman's story of how she ended up homeless and eventually had to give her daughter away to a family that had the financial means to take care of her. When the film ended I sat stuck in my chair with the relentless feeling that something like this should not happen. I never really witnessed an injustice that could have totally been prevented. It was as though the Lord showed it to me and asked me, "So what are you going to do about it?" I didn't really know the answer. I waited for the right opportunity and approached my school leader and asked him. His response was that now that I was aware of the injustice I needed to ask the Lord what my responsibility is to respond. I walked down the stairs that night pondering what was happening in my heart and how I should respond.

My eyes had been opened to injustice in the world and I began discussing with the Lord the emotions that were filling my heart as I was exposed more and more to the brokenness that filled so many lives. I kept asking Him to fill my heart with compassion, to soften my heart so that I could see people the way that He sees people. Over the course of two months, my heart was set aflame and I knew that I could not rest until I saw justice fill the earth.

After my time in Rwanda, I had made the decision to staff a Justice focused DTS. The Lord resoundingly kept saying "Justice, Justice, Justice" like a gong ringing in my spirit and I knew I needed to move forward so that I might respond to His calling. Throughout the Justice DTS I was exposed to more and more justice issues around the world; human trafficking, blood diamonds, war, homelessness, child abuse, and infanticide to name a few.

Much of our response to injustice often involves punishment of perpetrators. I would say, more often than not, punishment is what comes to mind when people think of executing justice. By the end of the lecture phase of this school, however, the Lord had completely redefined my definition of justice. He showed me that His justice is all about restoring relationships. When someone does something to violate another person, it is the Lord's heart that both the victim and the perpetrator be restored and reconciled. This is ultimately why Jesus came and died on the cross; He took the punishment of our sins so that we could be restored and reconciled in our relationship with Him and with others. That is the ultimate goal of God's justice, and with this revelation I was sent out to lead a team of students to Belfast, Northern Ireland and Jos, Nigeria. Talk about huge opportunities to apply what the Lord was teaching me.

A few months after the Justice DTS finished, I had the opportunity to go to South Africa for a leadership training course. During my time there, Xenophobia riots broke out and I was able to help at a refugee camp for foreign Africans that were being violently run out of the townships they were living in because people were jealous and looking for a scapegoat for their poverty. My time in South Africa was also a time in which I began my masters in international relations. I knew I wanted to get involved in changing foreign policy so restorative justice would become a goal of U.S. international engagement.

One of the instructors for the leadership training course led us through an exercise that helped us explore our "destiny by design", by examining our dreams, past experiences, interests, personalities, gifts, passions, and network of people that the Lord had orchestrated in our lives. By the end of the course, I realized I have a passion to see people's dreams come true and to network individuals in such a way that those dreams can be fulfilled.

Fast forward 2 years to January 2010. When I heard about the earthquake in Haiti, it was as though the Lord had dropped a bomb on my heart to intercede(pray) for the people in this country. I remember walking around my house telling my roommates that we should all just drop everything and go. After a night or two of staying up all night, I found myself on the third night praying that God would have mercy on Haiti, over and over. I stopped for a moment to listen to the Lord and He said to me, "How much is one life worth?" As I pondered this question, thoughts of how there are so many of us who want to go to Haiti to help, but don’t have the money or the time. It struck me when God asked the question again, that even just one life would be worth going down to Haiti for a week where I would have to take the next year to pay it off on my credit card. One life would be worth not showering for a week. One life would be worth missing school for a week. One life would be worth missing a little sleep. One life would be worth taking the criticism of people saying this was crazy. One life would still be worth it. So I asked the Lord if I could go, and He said, "Go." The next day I had purchased my ticket and the following day I was on a plane to the Dominican Republic. I spent ten days in Haiti and I haven't been the same since.

In my times of intercession for Haiti, the Lord also planted another seed; it was to create a network of justice workers entitled One Life Worth. It is an exhaustive network focused on building relationships to see justice fill the earth in every sphere, every nation, and every community. My heart for justice and my desire to network people so their dreams come true, had collided. I know that one day the One Life Worth Justice Network will be a reality and the Lord's heart for restorative justice will fill the earth as people with His heart work together to see this world transformed.

So far, I have begun this journey by creating a website and a Facebook group to begin connecting others. The vision for this organization is grand and it can only be fulfilled with the Lord's help and provision. I'm excited to see where the Lord takes it and the impact it will have in bringing Heaven to Earth.

You can check out the website HERE. Thanks for taking the time to read!

In Christ,
Janet

Own A Sailboat

The next dream on my list is to own a sailboat.

I have loved being in the ocean my entire life. Growing up in San Diego and going to the beach weekly as a child deposited in me a deep respect and awe for the ocean. I remember at my dad's end of week work picnics at the beach I would go out into the surf, with no board what-so-ever, and try and ride the waves while dodging or being dodged by surfers. In high school when I needed time to think I would go to a small beach covered in rocks and watch the sun set behind the silhouette of the surf. During the summer between my junior and senior year I went through a program to become a certified beach lifeguard, and what a thrill it was to jump off the Mission Bay Pier!

I left for college at 17 and moved to San Luis Obispo. While the water temperature was noticeably colder, I was still within a few miles of the ocean where I could retreat for a run or find peace reading a book. When I moved to Redding, my biggest hesitation was that the closest distance to the ocean was four hours away. I was comforted by the fact that the city is surrounded by mountains, lakes, and rivers; adequate substitutes for the ocean when all three are present.

When I was 21, I had the opportunity to go with a group of young adults to Hawaii and help to build and establish adventure programs for a retreat camp. Basically we harvested coconuts, dug toilet latrines, set up heavy duty tents, and then went on adventures all over the island. One of these adventures included sailing on a sailboat down the Big Island coastline. In return for the owner's generosity, we cleaned the barnacles off of his boat. I can't remember if I had been on a sailboat up to that point. I remember hearing stories my dad told me about a catamaran he had when he was younger, but I don't recollect ever being on a boat with sails. I didn't really know what to expect. I had been in tiny aluminum boats and large fishing boats growing up, but those don't compare to sailing.

The day we went on our excursion, we drove down the coastal highway and pulled off the road in an unmarked location. There was a small bay about 200 yards from the road with no buildings in sight. The water was crystal clear and the sky was cloudless; a perfect summer day on the Big Island. About 100 feet from shore sat a little sailboat anchored in the bay. Our group made our way out of the back of the truck we were riding in and across the lava rock lining the shore. We adorned our snorkel gear and jumped in. There were all kinds of colorful fish swimming beneath us as we made our way over to the boat. The captain lowered a ladder for us to climb aboard. The boat itself was not very big, it held about seven of us at one time. We sprawled ourselves out over the boat and prepared for the ride.

It's hard to describe the emotions I felt as we sailed across the ocean. I was gazing at the endless blue sky, the sun was shining down and the wind was blowing over me in a perfect collaboration to moderate my body temperature, and a slight mist covered the surface of my skin each time the boat sailed over a swell. With ease, I was able to find peace in an instant and lean into in the presence of God. It was a drunken feeling encountering the fullness of goodness, peace and joy, and to top it all off, I was able to share the experience with some of my favorite people. We sailed in serene silence as we drank in the depth of His lavish love for us.

It was this experience that produced a longing in my heart to sail ever since, and why I dream to have a sailboat of my own. In the mean time, I'm perfectly content to go along with friends on their sailboats until my dream is fulfilled. Call me any time friends, call me any time...

With Love,
Janet

The little Hawaiian sailboat that planted a seed

Learn Arabic Fluently & Go to the Middle East

The next two dreams on my list are to learn Arabic fluently and go to the Middle East.

Ever since high school I have had a fascination with the Arab world. I'll give a shout out to my good friend Manal for being a part of this dream being planted in my heart. She is from Lebanon and in her home she spoke Arabic growing up. Whenever I went over to her house, I loved hearing them speak and also observe the unique cultural differences they had from mine. The hookah was always out, goat skins were on the floor, Arab soap operas were on TV, generosity and hospitality were their profession, and her mom often taught little kids Arabic in the garage. I always enjoyed spending time with her family.

When I started getting involved with restorative justice, community development, and reconciliation work, I quickly became attentive to how these skills could be useful in the Middle East. I have never been to the Middle East, but I know with certainty that I will spend extended periods of time throughout the Arab world and Middle East. News articles about Iran, Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Morocco and many more consistently catch my attention. I've had many friends who have spent short periods of time throughout the Middle East and I am always fascinated by the beautiful images and stories they bring home with them. It is nothing like the news portrays. I also have a grace and hope in my heart to see peace and reconciliation touch the hearts, communities, and nations in the Middle East. I know that the Lord is absolutely in love with every man, woman, and child that lives in this area of the world and I feel He has placed a piece of His heart into mine for these people, their culture, and their language.

That said, I also found in my travels that people are honored when you, as a visitor, come and can speak their language. As I finish my Masters degree in International Relations with a focus on Conflict resolution, I have begun studying Arabic so as to honor the very people I hope to be working with one day to find peace and hope in every area of their society. I can already tell that I have quite the challenge ahead of me, but the more you invest in something, the more valuable it becomes when you receive it. I can't wait for the days that I find myself traveling and working throughout the Middle East speaking their language and sharing life with those that Jesus loves so dearly.

Hope Always,
Janet