It was the perfect day, the perfect setting, to run a half marathon.

The sun was out. The sky was blue. The air was dry. The breeze was cool. The bands were…loud. And the crowd enthusiastically cheered us on, right to the finish line.

And we did it. All 14 of us. We finished our race.

I don’t cling to my life for my own sake. The only value I place on my life is that I may finish my race, that I may fulfill the ministry that Jesus, our King, has given me, that I may gladly tell the good news of God’s Grace.

Acts 20:24 (The Voice)

Congratulations Jennifer, Tim, Marijke, Milyn, LV, Chad, Sarah, Cassidy, Christine, Jessica, Melissa, Lauren, and Scott! I loved finishing this race with you.

And a big “thank you” to everyone here who supported us with prayers, words of encouragement, and donations. We couldn’t have done it without your love and support.

What did you get into this weekend?

So far we have raised over $8,450 dollars. $8,450 to free children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Yeah, I know that we are still way short of our original big hairy audacious goal of $20,000. But I also know that we still have time. Okay, we have 5 days. And I believe we can do it. Or we can get close. Or the very least, we can get closer.

So I thought I’d introduce you to the team and make one more plea for your help. This is Team San Diego. Go meet everyone, say hi, and give them some money and/or encouragement.

Jennifer Bryant

My name is Jennifer Bryant. I’m twenty-five years old and I just moved back to my hometown of Ada, Oklahoma. I worked as a tax accountant in Dallas for the past two years. I never thought I would be running a 5k, let alone a half marathon. But Compassion is such a great organization that truly changes lives. I’m thankful I’m getting a chance to support them!

Tim Farmer

My name is Tim Farmer and I heard about Team San Diego through Jessica and Melissa Sesma. I was born and raised in San Diego and I work for the City of Chula Vista running adult sports leagues. My brother tried to convince me to run the full marathon but when I labored through every step of my first training session of 1.7 miles, I decided the half would work just fine. I just began sponsoring a child through Compassion and thought it would be great to help raise money for a great organization. I’m looking forward to running next week!

Marijke Groat

My name is Marijke Groat. It’s pronounced Ma-rye-ka.    I currently live in Southern California, but moved here from Minnesota, Texas, and Alaska (in that order).  I sponsor two children through Compassion: Céline from Burkina Faso, and Hana from Ethiopia. I love music and songwriting, and I’m surprised at how much I’ve enjoyed training for this half marathon! Can’t wait for race day and I’m looking forward to meeting everybody.

Milyn Groat

My name is Milyn Groat. I live in San Clemente and just went back to work after 10 years as a stay home mom. I am currently working as a project coordinator.

LV Hanson

My name really is LV, with no periods. It¹s not an abbreviation - My name is LV, and I have a brother named DR. I have lived and traveled all over the world and has spent the last 4 years traveling extensively throughout the United States serving as the national ambassador for Catalyst, a movement of next generation leaders in the church.  In 2008 I made the move from Atlanta, GA to Orange County, CA to help launch Catalyst West Coast and quickly added the role of directing Catalyst Connect – a relational initiative focusing on smaller, more strategic learning environments for influencers who want to continue their leadership development journey. I am in the process of transitioning from Catalyst to join the staff team at Mariners Church as Pastor of Care and Recovery and am thankful to call southern California home.  A University of Colorado Alum, I played professional volleyball in Slovenia where I learned my 6’5″ frame was average in the land of Eastern European Giants.

Chad Markley

My name is Chad Markley and I’m married to Sarah. To pay the bills I own a IT consulting company, but my real passion is music and worship leading. Sarah and I and our two girls attend Newsong Church in Irvine where we’ve all been blessed to become a part of the community there over the past year. I walk our golden retriever, Flower, every morning and make it home for dinner (most of the time) every evening. I’m happy to be a part of the Compassion team and I am looking forward to the race on Sunday.

Sarah Markley

I’m Sarah Markley and I’ve had the privilege of co-captaining this team with Lindsey. I haven’t been able to train this spring as much as I would like but even so, I’m looking forward to Sunday. I’m a stay at home mother who spends most of her free time writing in some way or another either for my own blog or for other collaborative blogs around the web. I’m married to Chad, who will also be running on Sunday, and we have two daughters ages 9 and 5. When I’m not writing I love to hike in the canyons near my house in Orange County or take my girls to the park or beach.

Be sure to go meet the rest of team Team over on Sarah’s blog!

And if you’d still like to give toward my personal fundraising goal, click here.

A BIG THANK YOU to those of you who have already supported us. We appreciate every prayer and every dollar.

I have realized something about myself. I don’t do well when I get behind. To be more accurate, if I am not leading or running with the pack, I seem to lose interest, fall further back…and quit.

Whether its something important like working through a Bible reading plan or something meaningless like playing a Words with Friends game, the urge is always the same. When the gap between where I am and where I should be gets too sizable, I have this haunting inclination to walk away.

Most recently I have noticed this with my half-marathon training and fundraising. (Did you remember I am supposed to run a half marathon with Team Compassion in San Diego on June 5? If you did, it’s not because you have heard me talk about it.) My training, well, it’s been pathetic. While I have been exercising, I have not done one long run. And my fundraising is not going any better. As I write this post, I have only raised $5. I know, I said it first, pa-the-tic.

Every fiber in my being is wanting to find a good excuse of why I can’t be in San Diego that weekend. Every fiber in my being is wanting to quit.

But I won’t let myself. I will stay the course and finish the race. Because sometimes it is not all about how you cross the finish line but that you cross the finish line.

Do you struggle with this? How do you keep yourself motivated to stay the course?

Would you consider donating to Team Compassion on my behalf? It is an incredible cause. And they deserve more than the measly $5 I have raised

I ran (for lack of a better verb) with the Powered by Hope Team to raise scholarship money for kids to attend New Hope Academy. I can personally attest that this is a great cause. New Hope Academy is an incredible school with an audacious vision, to transform culture by creating a new generation of Christ-like leaders. I raised $670 dollars, of my $1,000 goal, and money is still trickling in. (You can donate here, by the way.)

Although I would have liked to have run faster and raised more, finishing 13.1 miles in the 75+ degree heat with the Nashville sun beating down on you and collecting over $500 is an accomplishment any way you slice it. But for some reason, I did not properly celebrate.

From the moment I crossed the finish line, even as I was running the race, I was thinking about how I was going to do it better next time. I was strategizing about my training. I was scheming about my fund raising. Last night, I realized that I truly never celebrated my completion. So today, I am taking a moment, to say “Yay Lindsey, you finished the race, a job well done.”

So tell me…how about you, do you take time to celebrate your achievements? Or do you find yourself always moving straight ahead to what is next?

Candidly there have been times when I resented those that exuded discipline. Yes, I said it – early risers, Weight Watchers success stories, check book balancers, and Iron Men – I have resented you for having motivation and follow-through that I could not muster.

Lindsey, Whitney, and Joe - 2008 Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville, TN

In January, I began training for the Country Music Half Marathon. I participated in the race last year, but my training was pitiful. This year I am training with  Powered by Hope and the Galloway Group. Our training runs are at 7 AM every Saturday morning, rain or shine. And get this, I actually look forward to it! Once I embraced this discipline, I felt happier and more accomplished.

I am hoping my discipline streak continues…we’ll see.

How do you really feel about discipline?

By the way, as I run the half marathon I am raising money for New Hope Academy. Visit here if you’d like to donate. It is a great cause!