Winter in Vienna has been cold and I’m so excited that spring is coming. The weather is getting warmer and I’m actually enjoying my runs so much more than when I had to dress like a ninja in order to stay warm. Yes, I was in all black and you really could only see my eyes. hee hee!

Right now I’m training for the Vienna Half Marathon on April 15. I had to take a three-week break from running because I was sick with a terrible cough and cold. But now I’m back at it again! I don’t have a goal for how fast I want to finish this race. I simply want to finish it. The last time I completed a half was in April 2009 in Nashville, TN and it was a HOT one! Here’s a pic from 2009:

I’m hoping we won’t have some type of August heat wave in Vienna that weekend. I wanted to complete this race last year, but wasn’t ready to take on the challenge after moving my life across the ocean. This year . . . bring it on!

This race is very significant for me because I’m so blessed that I’m healthy enough to run after my Follicular Lymphoma diagnosis and that I’m running in Vienna which is exactly where God wants me right now.

Do you ever ask yourself that question? There are three things on my calendar that are rather significant between now and the next Monday:

In March I hope to meet with a tutor for German language learning, but will be taking the month off from an intensive course. It’s almost time to renew my visa, so I’ll be working on gathering everything for that as well!

I really appreciate your prayers through this week. I’m praying that there will be a lot to celebrate next week!! Thankful Jesus will be holding my hand through it all.

Right now, if I were asked, “What do you miss the most?” I’d probably say, “Hugs!!” I’m so thankful when I get to hang out with my teammates or even other Americans and can snatch a hug. The greetings here are different, but very meaningful. However there is something about an embrace that warms my heart. It’s like someone is saying, “I’m here for you! I understand! I care about you so much!”

Jesus knows how much I miss hugs, and He was reminding me of that just this weekend. I came across this verse in my devotional. This passage is directed to the tribe of Benjamin, but I can’t help but embrace it as coming from my Abba’s (Daddy’s) heart:

“Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders” (Deuteronomy 33:12)

Think about that picture. Resting secure, being shielded, resting between HIS shoulders. It’s a constant hug! An embrace that is so powerful that it impacts our entire security, daily living, demeanor. I want to live in that embrace . . . HIS embrace.

But what about wanting hugs? Well, I still miss hugs, but Jesus knows that and I have to watch how He provides those every day. They don’t always come in the package I expect. Sometimes His hugs come as spontaneous phonecalls with family/friends, laughing really hard, unexpected good news, a song that meets me in a moment, seeing someone I know at a random place in the city, or even special moments here in Vienna when I receive/give a great big ol’ hug!