{fresh motivation}: Uganda love

Today is the first day in my new little series,
Fresh Motivation.

- - - - - - - - - - -

motivating me today?
Friends who follow the Lord's leading, no matter the cost.
and believe Him along the way for all that is needed.

My precious friend, Jami, who blogs at Call Me Blessed,
 is a real life friend now after our incredible girls trip together last year,
and is someone I talk to pretty much daily with all "my girls".
I've gotten to know her heart pretty well over the last year.
Her heart for doing whatever God leads for her family is awesome, inspiring and motivating.
Motivating to go when He says go, and to trust all the details to Him.

I want you to know her heart too.
and PS.
there's a pretty stinking awesome giveaway
and way for you to help spread some love to little ones in Uganda.
read on, friends. :)
(love you Jami!)

- - - - - - - - - -

today is the day! the day you get to see all the goodies up for grabs.
aaaand, i'm nervous. there i said it. i feel better already.

if you read my post from last week you know that hubby is part of a mission team going to uganda this summer.

we are thrilled to be able to participate and can not wait to see what the Lord does.

the team will be traveling with children of the nations spending time teaching and loving on children in group homes. they will also be visiting refugee camps, building a laundry facility and planting fruit trees.

the children they will be spending time with have been displaced by AIDS and war.

just the thought of it is heartbreaking to me. so many children with no parents and without a home. i long to look into their little faces. to tell them Jesus loves them. to tell them i love them.

for the time being, however,  i feel called to send my hubby off with as much support and prayer as possible.

will you pray for him and the entire team?
pray that everyone they come in contact with will see and feel the love they have come to bring.

we are also in need of financial support.
some wonderful friends have rallied behind me to make this fun giveaway possible.
i am beyond grateful for and humbled by their support.

please give what you can. a little. a lot.
every dollar is appreciated.

here are all the entry details:

*all of these items were donated by the shops and persons listed. this giveaway is open to US residents only. anyone of course, is free to give, however the gift sets will be shipped to US winners only. everyone can enter this giveaway once by leaving a comment with your name here and telling me that you shared this giveaway via twitter/facebook/instagram.

after that? $10 per comment/entry. click the "donate" button at the bottom of this post to donate through paypal. donate $20 leave 2 comments. donate $100 leave 10 comments. easy peasy right?

**please leave your email address with at least one of your donation comments so i can contact you if you win. the winners will be chosen using random.org and announced on monday, may 20th.

CLICK HERE to go enter the giveaway and donate!!

ok! let's get to the good good stuff.

there are 2 sets of prizes. so 2 winners! holla!

set #1

set #1 includes:
- color pop necklace, feather necklace & aqua vintage inspired earrings from happy days
- gray and white polka dot infinity scarf form lovelylittlewhimsy
- 1 necklace from heathers happys, winner's choice
- 2 prints from blossom&vine, winner's choice
- 10" teal wreath with fabric flowers from small town joy
- $20 target gift card


set #2

set #2 includes:

-2 necklaces & 1 needlepoint from hope homemade, winner's choice 

- 1 print from blossom&vine, winner's choice

-1 7" twig & flower wreath from florero

-1 necklace from heathers happys, winner's choice

-1 print from katygirl designs, winner's choice
- key necklace from salvage517

-$20 target gift card

bonus set
ok, a little bonus for you. because we are so grateful for everyone's support there will also be a winner of these fabulous items!

-a custom designed blog header from danielle burkleo worth $35.


  - a custom made clutch from jenni carlisle{@ragamuffinbeauties on instagram}

one more thing...

my dear friend carina has come up with another way you can support us.
for every arrow necklace purchased from her shop she will donate $10 to our uganda fund.
you can't really beat that.

well there you have it!

please visit all of these shops. these are some truly wonderful women.

and will you spread the word? tweet, facebook, instagram, blog about it? we would be super grateful.
thanks friends!


again, GO HERE to Jami's blog to donate and enter!

- - - - - - - - - -

fresh motivation (a new series coming)

It may just simply be the tougher season I have been in the last few months,
 or the big (and good!) things that are coming ahead
(like moving to a new house, and working through some business ideas with a friend)...
but lately I haven't been feeling much motivation for the things I usually do.

Mainly including blogging.
(in case you havent noticed. lol)

But not limited to or excluding folding laundry or cleaning my house.
ahem. cue a maid. ASAP.
and a cook.
please.

The one exception is that I have been working out and trying to get fit again. 
I am training for my third Triathlon...June 1st is go day...yikes!  
But a good friend is doing it with me, so that helps. (Thanks Kel! We're gonna rock it!)

- - - - - - - - - -

Because I think it's a good thing for everyone to do sometimes...

I'm gonna find some fresh motivation.
seek it out, encourage myself in new ways.

Because as much as I want to sit here and say that I can just talk myself into being motivated,
or that I can "pray enough" to get motivated,
or that I can just "look within", or look to the Lord,
sometimes we need to find some encouragement other than our normal ways.
(don't get all legalistic on me, folks.
I'm not saying look away from the Lord for motivation.
I just believe He can provide encouragement for us in new ways,
if we are willing to let Him move IN us!)

While the actual physical motivation hasn't been there,
the desire to be MOVED is stronger than ever.
So, here I am,
ready and willing to be motivated and moved and encouraged and stirred.

- - - - - - - - - -

So.

here's what I've decided to do.

Starting tomorrow... each day for the next week or two,

I am going to share something here

that is motivating or moving to me.
Consider it kindof like a motivation "series".
It might be a video, another blogger, a picture, a verse, anything.

It could be powerful, y'all.

And I invite you to share anything that is motivating you right now too.
(just leave it in the comments!)

It could be another blog post, a friend's adventures, an article, a you tube video, a song, a scripture, a fresh revelation from the Lord, or a conversation with a friend.

Just find it and be encouraged in a fresh way.

Find some motivation.

Fuel yourself.

Influence your thinking.

Move your body.

Stretch your brain.

Stir your heart.
Freshen your spirit.

they made me Mama

they made me Mama.

and i couldn't be prouder.

I really don't even have words.

just pure joy.

I pray all you Mamas will be filled with joy today too.

and please, whatever you read today...go read this post.

(you may grab some kleenex too)

Happy Mother's Day!

be blessed today.

and remember He made you their Mama for a special purpose.

take joy in that today.

Happy YOU day.

a reintroduction of sorts.

hey y'all.
So happy to welcome some new readers lately...and it's been on my heart to do kind of a
"reintroduction" of myself anyways, just for those who haven't been around as long.
And if you've known me forever, just bear with me!
so here ya go. :)

I'm Sarah, (in case you didn't know that already),
Parker is the hubbs...we celebrate 10 years of marriage this August!
Abigail is almost 3 1/2, and our sweet Bethany is 16 months.

I stay at home with my girls,
but am always working on ideas and concepts for businesses
with my very entrepreneurial-minded husband. we have fun. :)
(and we love watching Sharktank bc of that! haha)

Before I was a mama, I worked as a Child Life Specialist, helping kids cope with illnesses,
mostly serious, life-changing and life-threatening illnesses and injuries.
I would love to be back in the hospital setting someday -
I feel like I thrive there and love the atmosphere.

But right now, I try to soak up every chance I get with my little ones, while they are still so little.
They keep me on my toes, but they also keep my heart FULL.

so, why the name of this blog?
I named this blog Racing Towards Joy, because at the time I started it, I was training for a triathlon
(I am about to do my third Tri, in 3 weeks!),
and had planned to do many more races in the years to come.
thus, the "racing" part.

I have stuck to that, maneuvering around pregnancies and newborn stages,
trying to do several races a year
(I know it's not much, but just doing little 5k's get me so excited)
I actually just set a PR for myself in a 5k last weekend! :)
And the weekend before that, my hubbs ran a long leg of the relay in the OKC Memorial Marathon!
(We are in a new commitment with each other and with the Lord to gain good health and wellness,
and will both be training for some pretty major races in the near future! stay tuned!)

the other part of the name:
it comes from the scripture Hebrews12:1.
(its over there on my sidebar),
which encourages us to run with endurance the RACE set before us:
"...we do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
because of the JOY awaiting him, he endured the cross..."

So in this race of life, I want to always keep my eyes on the champion who has gone before me, knowing that the cloud of witnesses is cheering me on.
and that there is JOY at the end of the race.
(ok I think I need to do a whole blog post about this...i'm all fired up now, haha!)

My goal here is to be real.
To be honest and open and share as the Lord leads. 
about anything He leads.
To create community and encouragement in this little space.
I don't have a niche. My "niche" is just life.
so thankful for blogging...
It has added to my own life so much that I hardly have words to explain it.
Such a blessing.

I'd love for you to follow me here,
through Bloglovin (  ),
through email subscription,
through social media...whatever you wish.
(there are links over there! --->)

Let's do life together.

There are also tabs over there of the things i write about, which is a good way to get to know me.
Especially in the "Popular Posts" section.
That's a good place to start if you are new or just want to catch up!

SO thankful for yall who read,
whether I know you in "real life" or just through blog land.

God has blessed me in this race towards joy.
(i know i know, that was a little cheesy.)
:)
but really.

blessings today, friends!

taking a little break.

Lots on my heart to write about. 

lots.

coming up:

-more details about my miscarriage, and how I am doing now.

-breaking the paci habit with my oldest daughter

(including a big thank you to the Paci Fairy) :)

-3 months out of the loss of my Dad, and what it feels like now.

-things I am learning from mothering a three year old. (yikes)

-getting back into eating healthier and taking care of myself after this season of grief 

kindof wiped me out.

-some race training I am doing now, as well as the serious race training 

my husband has been up to.

-some favs from Pinterest as we are close to moving to a new house.

-and just whatever the Lord leads me to write.

But for now,

I am taking a little break.
it may be for a few days or a few weeks...i dunno. 

(if youve read my blog for a while, you know I do this every few months)

I find it really helps me to revamp, refocus, recharge...

and reconnect with what He wants from me in this season!

I won't be gone long, but I'll miss ya!

See y'all soon...