Quiet

To my local running friends and my Atlanta running friends: It's time to sign up for the big races of the year! Go Commando in Clarksville, TN and The Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta.
If you aren't a runner, sign up to volunteer. There is nothing like cheering on runners and getting caught up in the excitement of race day!

Go Commando is a Half Marathon and 5K on October 21, 2017. There is also a shadow run where soldiers in Afghanistan will run a course at the same time as the one in Clarksville. Sign up now for the best prices!

The Peachtree Road Race is a 10K held on July 4, 2017 with 60,000 runners through downtown Atlanta. The lottery to enter is held March 15th-22nd. Don't forget to sign up!

My personal running journey is going very slowly right now. I have signed up for The Girls on the Run 5K, May 6, 2017 in Nashville. I'm confident I will get to the point where I can run 3.1 miles (hopefully by May), but right now it is a struggle to run. Since my body seems to want to take it slow, I'm allowing some space and time to walk, sit, and take in everything around me. I don't mind pushing myself, but right now I'm trying to listen to my body and let it tell me what it needs. On that note, let me tell you a little more about myself...

I have a quiet, reserved personality. I don't react quickly. I enjoy being alone.

Clarksville Greenway

I haven't always been this way. When I was a child I would make friends at the grocery store and convince them to come walk around with me. My mom would have to return children back to their parents. My mom always told me that I sang before I learned to talk. My first words were singing, "Jesus Loves Me." Once I started singing, I didn't stop. I wanted my life to be a musical where it could be perfectly natural to break into song at any given point. My brothers gave me the nickname "walkie, talkie" and we had a rule at our house of, "no singing at the dinner table." I was the only one who had trouble following this rule.

Dunbar Cave

Somewhere along my childhood I became an introvert. I didn't even realize this about myself until a friend in high school pointed out that I was a quiet person. I was completely offended and decided I would make an effort to be more outgoing. I viewed quiet as weakness. I encountered others who did as well. Usually these were complete strangers who took me off guard in actually commenting on how quiet I was. "Watch out for this one, she's quiet.", "You really don't say much, do you?", "Why are you so quiet?" Let me just stop here for a moment and point out how insulting it would be to walk up to a complete stranger and say the reverse, "I was sitting here watching you and noticed that you are an incredibly loud person that never shuts up! Why are you so loud?"

Or maybe someone would take that as a compliment???

Clarksville Marina

Our culture admires having something to say. We don't like silence. I've found myself in a conversation barely listening to the other person because I'm worried about my turn. Especially in a group: "Everyone has said something. You haven't said anything. Think of something to say!"

Why am I worried about talking when I don't have something to say?

Rotary Park

Fortunately, I've learned to embrace my quiet. I don't have a lot to say, but when I do say something I've usually given it some thought. I'm better at listening than talking and that helps me observe the world around me. This is helpful as a Behavior Analyst. It's also a blessing to be slow to react. It takes a lot to work me up or bother me. I have infinite amounts of patience for everyone...except my husband. Sorry Luke!

If you aren't sure if you are an introvert or extrovert you can take this quiz from the Quiet Revolution.

I came across the Quiet Revolution after reading a book by Susan Cain called Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking. This book is an excellent explanation of introversion and focuses on the strengths of this personality type. It was encouraging for me to read about the experiences many introverts face such as going out of our way to avoid social situations that terrify us (speaking in groups, making small talk, entering a room full of strangers).

Kirkwood

Running fits in nicely with being an introvert. I love being out on the road or trail, alone with my thoughts. I think things over, plan things out, reflect, listen, and sometimes try not to think about anything at all.

Clarksville Marina

It's not easy to carve out time to slow down and listen to what is going on around us. I've been convinced lately that God wants me to intentionally listen quietly to Him. I want to hear what he has to say to me, not just from his Word, because I do believe he speaks to us that way, but also in a still, small voice that comes from sitting and reflecting. Many times what I hear from God in these moments are things that he has been telling me for days, weeks, or even months and I've been pushing his words aside or trying to avoid them. When I take the time to truly stop and listen, I can't ignore what he has to say any longer.

Liberty Park

A quiet moment of reflection could happen anywhere, but the pictures I've included here are my favorite places in Clarksville to sit for a moment. Take a nice long walk or run and spend time speaking to God, then stop, be still, and listen. 

Stay if you Say So

I've always had the desire to be around people who are different from me. I grew up in Clarkston, Georgia, a small suburb just east of Atlanta that is known as the most diverse square mile in America. The community has had a large refugee population since the early 1980's and consists of a variety of different ethnic groups. Growing up as a minority gave me a perspective I will always be grateful for. I love to learn about other cultures and participate in the unique traditions and stories others have to share.

8th grade fun in Clarkston, GA

There is a lot going on right now involving immigrants and how they are viewed and treated in our country. When something is being threatened, it can shine a light on what is important and what we stand for. What I want to stand for is loving my neighbor. My neighbor doesn't just live next door, they live in another city, another state, and even in another country.

Georgia Welcome Center

When we first moved to Tennessee, I looked around and did not see a lot of diversity where I lived, worked, and went to church. At least, that's what I thought...

I've come to realize there are many ways to look at culture and diversity. We live in a military town where we are surrounded by Army culture. We live in a small town where we are surrounded by Southern culture. We've met a lot of people who home-school their children, which is a culture of its own. There are several homeless ministries in our community, with people who lead a different kind of lifestyle from mine. We may not have the kind of diversity you would find in a big city, but if I look around and step outside my comfortable circle, there are people of races, ethnicity, values, religions, and cultures that are different from my own.

We have each been called to "go" somewhere and spread the word of Christ. For some, that means to go abroad as missionaries, but most of us are called to "go" into our own community where we already live. Our neighbors, co-workers, and friends are in as much need of the good news of Christ as anyone else in the world.

My mission field is right next door where my sweet older neighbors long to have us come over and chat with them. It is at my job where a mom is in tears as she struggles to deal with her child with special needs, give her other children the attention they need, and keep their family functioning while dad is deployed. It's at my church where marriages are struggling, people are dealing with grief and loss, and someone just wants to find a friend. It's in my own home where our foster daughter longs to be loved, but fights against us.

That's why I love this song, Go Where you Send Me, by my sweet friend and local singer/songwriter, Lydia Walker Athey. The most powerful words in the song, to me, are "I will stay if you say so." I don't think it's always easy to stay. Especially when things get too complacent or perhaps too difficult and we want to move on. Things look better somewhere new, where we can start over. Perhaps we forget to look around for the opportunities right here where we are, where God can use us to fulfill his purpose.

I thought this was funny and very true

Sometimes I want to leave, but I've been called to stay. Where I am is not where I thought I would be. I never thought I would live in Tennessee or in such a small town. I thought I would live in a place where I would be surrounded by more diversity and rich culture, where I could make friends with people who weren't exactly like me, where I would be surrounded by mountains and beautiful vistas.

I'm starting to see that diversity is about more than just skin color, everyone has a different culture of their own, my friends have experiences and viewpoints that differ greatly from mine, and even in Middle Tennessee I am surrounded by nature's beauty:

Dunbar Cave Park

Clarksville Greenway

I'm using this post as a catalyst to brainstorm, research, and compile a list of how I can serve my local community, my country, and throughout the world. Below is what I've found so far. Please share other ministries that inspire you!

Middle TN:
The Well: A ministry for the homeless and working poor. 
Hope Pregnancy Center: Provides services for women and couples facing unexpected pregnancy.
Manna Cafe: Serves people in need by providing food and resources. 
Buddy Ball: Special needs athletic leagues.
Retrieving Independence: Provides service dogs for individuals with disabilities. Allows prison inmates to provide initial training to dogs.
Autism Tennessee: Advocates and educates the community through orientations and workshops.

National:
Girls on the Run: Inspiring young girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident.
Embrace: Guides refugee mothers throughout pregnancy and birth in Clarkston, GA. 
Friends of Refugees: Provides tutoring, job training, community garden, and more to refugees in Clarkston, GA.
Make A Wish: Grants a wish for children with life threatening medical conditions.
Mira Foundation: Provides guide dogs to individuals with disabilities for free.
Youth Villages: Helps children and families successfully navigate foster care.

Global:
Care of Creation: Mobilizes the church to care for the world. Supports missionaries throughout the world.
Africa Inland Mission: Supports missionaries in Africa.
Go Be Love International: Sends teams on mission trips throughout the world.
Compassion International: Sponsor children living in poverty throughout the world.
Ukraine Missions: Missionary Bill Wharton leads mission trips to areas in Ukraine and Russia, provides support to widows, school children, and those who are in need.
Contact by phone: 352-372-9202 or email: wlwmail@yahoo.com.