#seejulesrun = A Regret I'll Never Take Back

Jules doesn't run. Unless there's a clown chasing her. With a knife. But even then, it's questionable. 

I'm the girl that reposts humorous e-cards on Pinterest that say things like, "I just ran my first marathon this morning! Just kidding, I'm on my third cupcake." And, "I exercised once. But I found I  was allergic to it. My skin flushed and my heart raced. I got sweaty and short of breath. Very dangerous." 

That's me. I'm that girl. 

So why, oh why, would that girl, commit her out of shape, 7 months postpartum, booty to running a 5K (which is 3.1 miles by the way), in less than 2 months? 

Good question. I'll show you.

These girls.

And these girls. 

You see, the amount of passion I have against running and sweating and messing up my teased ponytail, is easily surpassed by the love and hope I have for the next generation of world changers. 

I left my home town shortly after high school graduation, and began to discover the world wasn't quite as black and white as I had once thought it was. The grey areas started to expand and my dogmatic, Christian girl world views were challenged at their core. 

There was so much hatred in the world I had never really seen and so much brokenness I hadn't yet experienced. Is this okay? I remember asking myself on a very specific May evening. Is this just how people do things these days? But instead of fighting through that vein of challenge, I succumbed to the desire to be accepted. Besides, it was fun. For now. 

Peer pressure. Value shift. Identity crisis. Whatever you want to call it, I was in it and it wasn't very pretty. 

However, the crazy part about that short season in my life, is that while all those things are virtually unavoidable for most of the population, there are tools my parents, somehow, had the foresight to equip me with. 

Critical thinking. Decision making. Wisdom seeking. And love. Lots and lots of love. 

I think every girl should have access to those same tools. Which is why, Becoming Girls Conference exists and why we partner with other young women who hold that same perspective with equal, if not greater, zeal, like My Refuge House. 

I believe this upcoming generation will restore our world even better than the one before it. I believe there is freedom raining in like a flood. I believe there is passion leaking out into their bones. I believe there is power running through their souls, revving up for an awakening and I want to do whatever I can to cheer them on.

Even if that means running and regretting it every step of the way. I wouldn't take it back in a million years. 

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I'll be blogging my running journey until March 15 both for your amusement and inspiration to participate. My conference girls and I have a goal to raise $3,000 before the race. In one weekend, we knocked out $2,100 of that! #theyknowwhatsup 

Wanna help? Give here.

Wanna watch? Follow #seejulesrun on Instagram. ;)

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*Becoming Girls Conference photo by the lovely Jenna Peterson Photography. Hire her. 

Beckoning Challenge Brings Triumph

The teens of today are searching, frantically, feverishly, for substance. They want something great. They want their value to supersede their existence. (Tweet that!) 

When I set out to start Becoming Girls Conferences, I had no idea how deep the well I was dipping into. I knew it was full, ready to be drawn from, but that's about it. I didn't know how it was going to happen. I didn't know who was going to help me. 

I was both terrified and electrified. Have you ever felt that? Like you know you're supposed to do something but actually doing it feels like you're falling, head first, into a rushing river of emotion and doubt and fear and possibility. 

That's what I'm experiencing right this very minute. I do every year, the last three weeks leading up to our conference. 

But if there's one thing I've learned in the last year, with church planting and mothering and worship leading, it is that if God calls, He will equip. (Tweet that!)

Let me say that again, a little more confidently:

If God calls you (me), He will equip you (me). 

He promised. Moses, Abraham, Sarah, Mary, Joseph, Samuel, Saul

So I will smile at whatever comes these next couple weeks, beckoning the great challenge. For I know, with great challenge comes great strength. And with great strength comes even greater triumph.

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So what is it that you've been called to? What both terrifies and electrifies you?