HOPEful girl

I'm so excited to have completed my second marathon,  the Honolulu marathon.   Many preparations and training   went into  that day.  One way I prepared myself was to run some of the actual course.  That way, I would become familiar with the terrain and know what to expect on race day.  I think this created a sense of confidence and calmness as I was faced with the difficult challenge of that day. As the miles progressed  I knew it would only be so long on this straight away before I would turn the corner.   I knew when to prepare myself, change my pace before that treacherous hill.  Knowing that the finish line was just over that hill, made me run a little faster as I came to the top of it.   Of course, there were many variables that were beyond my control such as the weather (thank God this stayed beautiful even though rain was expected) or a muscle cramp, or that person who stopped suddenly in front of me at the wa...

   I've read somewhere that less than 1% of the U.S. population has run a marathon.   I'm proud to say I am part of that 1% and yet will be running my a marathon again in a couple of weeks.  I'm  winding down to the last days of training for the Honolulu Marathon. Although I love to run, the training is no easy task.  It takes a lot of time and preparation.  There are many early mornings I just want to fall back into the comfort of my bed but I get up sleepily and head out for a run anyway because I know my day will just not be complete if I don't.  During my long runs, it's tempting to fall back into a slower more comfortable pace or cut my miles short, but I press on because I know it builds endurance.  Training can be lonely and hard, but the reward of the accomplishment, the pure enjoyment, and knowing I'm doing something healthy for my body makes it all worth it.  Not a lot of people enter this gate.  The path...

It seems like the older I get, the more I love the Halloween season.  What is it? New pumpkin everything recipes? My birthday month?  The candy? Pumpkin patches? Enjoying watching my kids dress up in costumes? Or is it that it marks of the start of the whole holiday season and the promise of even better things to come? Our 5 year old son, Micah is deathly afraid of Halloween stores.  He gets freaked out by the scary masks and faces.  As a matter of fact,he can't even go down the costume aisle at Wal-Mart without clinging to my or my husband's side.  I feel for him but at the same time love it when he finds comfort in the protection of our arms. I cherish that closeness. Those times I can't help but think of ourselves clinging to our abba Father during our own times of fear and uncertainty and how those dark times bring us to a new closeness with our God that we never knew before.  We may have our own ghosts and monsters in our own life. There are tim...

It's taken me awhile to get this issue out  because I've felt like I've been attacked this month.    I attribute part of it to being sick which caused me to be out of work for  almost a week.   When I was sick I just did not feel motivated to do anything, much less put out this blog.  This also has set me back in my training.  Honestly, who runs 2 marathons in a year?   Sickos!  I'm starting to think with this and the fundraising that maybe I bit more off more than I can chew. Lots of doubts starting to sink in.  This week ,as  I finally felt like I was getting my endurance back up, I then sprained my calf which was frustrating to say the least.  However, September is here and school is back in session.  And I believe there is always something to be learned from everything.  So what have I learned?  Well, I recently had the opportunity to go back to school so to speak.  I attended a leadership...

The first Hawaiian missionaries arrived to the islands in 1820s.   They sailed from New England in the ship, Thaddeuss, around the tip of South America onto the vast Pacific and after 164 days, they finally reached reached their destination.  Wow! And I complain about the 5 hour plane ride back and forth from LA.  Just imagine it, you're young, in your early 20s,  just starting your life, inspired by the religious revivals of your community at the time, about to go on a mission miles away. You say goodbye to friends and relatives you know you'll never see again only to travel miles of treacherous oceanfront to a mysterious unknown land all in the name of God. If you didn't fear being killed by wild natives or falling  to diseases, you still had to face an isolated life on an island who's culture you knew nothing about.  When I think of these early missionaries I can't help but marvel at what faith they had.   They were willing to give up everythi...

A pearl is one of the ocean's little treasures that lies hidden within a living organism.  One would not think of  the process it takes for this jewel to come to be the adornment  that it is you see displayed in department stores.  When this living organism or oyster gets injured or attacked by foreign, noxious debris, it responds in defense by trapping it between its two shells. The oyster secretes a substance around this intruder through a process which overtime finally produces a mature pearl. Today marks my one year sobriety birthday, one year since I decided to turn my life around and finally give up alcohol for the better.  And even though I've completely rid myself of this toxic substance, it's left behind some debris that I've had to deal with. But this past year in the process, I've come away with some pearls, pearls of wisdom or even blessings I might say.   Here are some pearl...

    Ahh.. summer is here. As I shared before, there really are no seasons here in Hawaii.  It's always summer! But at least we get to experience it with the rest of the world for a little while. One of my favorite memories of summer  when I was growing up is going to the library (big surprise) and  getting wrapped up in stories about adventures and living other lives by reading books that would take me to another time and place.  Ok, I still do that. My favorite genres included science fiction, mystery and adventure.   Summer was also for going to the movies and  I especially loved super hero comic movies! Today, being the mom of three boys I can't escape those avengers and guardians of the galaxy.  And who'd want to?  Ok, even if I wasn't a mom of three boys, I'd still do that too.   The one thing I've noticed that these movies and epic adventures have in common is that they all include some hero or heroine as the main cha...

I've been putting off writing this next blog. Sure I can blame it on the business of life but the truth is I've been waiting for something great or profound to be revealed to me, something great to say.  It hasn't come yet.  I may have reached a  point that is not uncommon for those in recovery.   This is the point where the  excitement of a new transformed life has dwindled a bit.  The momentum has slowed down.  The great revelations and 'aha' moments do not come freely , are few and get watered down by life.   Regardless,  I must stay true and accountable to my audience and for the three of you I am truly grateful.  It is your support that keeps me going! I think I will just share what God is doing in my life and that should be enough anyway. I recently have had a couple of victories. First, I managed to take care of myself and my two sons for three weeks alone while my husband was away without sneaking a drink.  The ...

      Hawaii is the only state with its own time zone. It does not observe daylight savings time.  It also doesn't have any seasons. For me, this took some getting used to. Not that California had any real seasons to begin with,  but at least there was a little change.  Sure there's a summer and winter here, but they both kind of blend into one another.  It makes for  mild weather and a laid back atmosphere that contributes to the unique beauty of the islands.  It's as if this part of the world has stayed still while the rest of it is changing and trying to make up for time.   And speaking of time, I've  been 9 months sober. Congratulations! It's a girl! A HOPEful girl! What has kept me going? Well for one thing, this blog, because it allows  me to be honest with myself and others.  That's right, my name is Janette Brunken and I'm an alcoholic= I'm broken= I'm a work in progress=I'm loved anyway.  My family...

    It's been about 8 months since I've had my last alcoholic drink.  Almost a full term pregnancy! And like a woman's body goes through many changes during pregnancy, so does the mind when it hasn't had a drink in awhile.  I mentioned in a previous post, I can already feel new neurons in my brain forming.  Well, allow me to expand on that a moment. But first, won't you join me for  a little science lesson. The human brain is made up of neurons communicating with each other by these chemical substances called neurotransmitters. The place where these neurons meet are called synapses  and that is where the communication takes place.  So think of the neurons as roads or highways  and these neurotransmitters as the vehicles transporting information along these pathways or neurons. And your brain, well an expanse mass of land.  Whenever we learn or experience something new,  connections amongst the neurons ar...

  The very first marathon ever ran is marked by the run of the soldier Pheidippides from the battlefiled at the site of the town of Marathon, Greece to Athens in 490 BC.  He ran for this distance of 40,000 meters (24.85 miles).  Legend has it that at the end of the run, and after delivering the momentous message of victory, 'Niki!',   Pheidippides   collapsed and then died.   In two weeks, I will be running this distance and then some in the Los Angeles marathon.   This story is not  a very encouraging story for a first time marathoner like me. By the way,  thanks to the Brits, this distance was changed to 26.2 miles establishing the present day distance at the 1908 Olympic games in London in order to cover the ground from Windsor castle to White city stadium so that the race can finish in front of the royal family.  God save the queen! And me too those last 2 miles!      Since then, the marathon or  pop...