the mystery of love.

i feel this current season of my life can be defined in one word: LOVE. perfect love. the love that God bestows on His children freely, consistently, and abundantly. i have been reading "the ragamuffin gospel" by brennan manning and want to share some of the wisdom and truth have have taken away from this read, regarding God's love and His gospel of grace:

"you are accepted. never confuse your perception of yourself with the mystery that you really are accepted."

"my deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply LOVED by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn or deserve it."

"But trust in the God who loves consistently and faithfully nurtures confident, free disciples. A loving God fosters a loving people."

"There we are- the multitude who so wanted to be faithful, who at times got defeated, soiled by life, and bested by trials, wearing the bloodied garments of life's tribulations, but through it all clung to the faith."

[my prayer is that i will choose to live out of the realization, the truth, that i am accepted and loved and this will NEVER change. i can only love others well if i can see my own self the way that Christ does and view others in the same light. ]

and then one day it's spring.

so it's april. my inclination is to believe that green grass will begin to grow, flowers will appear (especially yellow daffodils), and i'll be able to start wearing my chacos and t-shirts without the need for a jacket. well...colorado must be different. last friday i woke up to this:



yes, it was absolutely beautiful. but after a season of cold temperatures and the temptation of spring, i was a little bit disappointed. only 2 weeks before i had been comfortable in my t-shirt and the river was beginning to rise because of the snowmelt. this winter has seemed a bit abnormal this year so i guess i can't be too suprised! but we were all thankful for the warmer temperatures on sunday that melted the snow from the ground. i am currently wearing a t-shirt and enjoying the sunshine and blue sky! oh, a promise of spring!

GOD IS GOOD...

throughout the last 48 hours, these are the only words that seem to make sense. i would like to share with you a story of colorado winters, but moreso about God's grace and his goodness to me.

a friend of mine, melody, had come to visit us here at redcloud and the 3 of us (being amy carr, melody, and i) left before the sun on sunday morning to take her to denver. at about 9 AM we began our trek up monarch pass, which we had been warned could be a bit icy/snowy from the recent weather. well, we didn't make it very far. at the base of the pass i hit a patch of ice, causing the car to slide across the road, into the other lane of traffic. the only thing that made sense at the time was putting the brakes on and bracing myself for what i was pretty sure would happen. well, it happened. we went down over the bank, spun and rolled onto the roof of the car. it all seemed to happen in slow motion until the 3 of us called out for each other, hoping to hear that we were all right. this is the point in time when all i could say was "praise jesus." we released ourselves from our seatbelts (which proved to be quite a lifesaver) and were able to walk up onto the road, where we were met by a generous couple in an RV.

at the end of the day, we were all walking with no injury. just sore backs and 3 very, very tired girls. over and over again we just kept saying, "GOD IS GOOD, GOD IS GOOD." i really can't think of any other reason that we were kept from harm. so, to God be the glory! amy and i were praying that night before we finally got into our beds and our prayer is that somehow the firefighters, EMT's, the nice couple in the RV all saw that God deserved the glory and He is a good and gracious God. so, although i don't think i'll be fond of winter driving for quite some time (or really ever) i think i'm thankful for this reminder of God's sovereignty over my life and that His purpose is always good.

i leave you with this picture.

and then one day it's spring.

currently in lake city we are experiencing spring. when we have record temperatures of -20 this time of year, spring seems a little bit out of the ordinary. our broomball court that we built on the pond now has 2-3 of standing water on top of it so we are resorting to, what we like to call, "mudball". gross. unlike the staff, the kids LOVE the mud and we're here to please, so play ball kids! the other result of melting snow and ice is lots of falling, or what i call dancing :) it's kind of comical to watch people out of the window shuffle over the crusty snow and ice and flail their arms above their head and throw one, or both, of the feet into the air. there hasn't been any broken bones, but countless lovely bruises. spring in colorado doesn't seem to be the norm :)

until next time,
love from the rockies.

P.S. this new post was for you, jill :)

please pass the salt.

i love community. i will forever be blessed to be a part of the one that i am in now. but i have had thoughts, as of late, that i might be hiding in this community; scared to pick up my feet and take that first step into a world that is different. i was always somewhat self-conscious in high school and college when someone would ask me to think about one of my non-christian friends that i could be praying for or investing in. well, what if i don't have any? am i sheltering myself inside of like-minded community and avoiding the discomfort or pain that i might face in the "real" world?

Jesus says we are the salt and light of the world. so how am i bringing light to dark places or offering flavor to conversations with those that don't know Christ? i know, without a doubt, that redcloud is where the Lord has chosen to use me at this time and i don't, and won't, discount the blessing that is living in encouraging, admonishing Christian community. i have been challenged to grow in my knowledge and relationship with Christ, as well as in my role of ministry. but i want to be courageous enough to step away from this from time to time and be the salt and light that, as a follower of Christ, i am called to be.

traveling shoes.

"you pass through places, places pass through you but you carry 'em with you on the sole of your travelin' shoes."

on thursday i will put on my pair of traveling shoes to begin my move to lake city, colorado! i am so thankful that some of the places we pass through we get to return to. i am anxious as i anticipate my job at Redcloud and beginning my life there. i have had to remind myself that i am not returning for a short 3-month period, but instead i will be living there indefinitely! a prayer answered :) i arrive in lake city on saturday, will spend a day skiing with my brother on sunday and be ready for work on monday morning!

my best friend, courtney, got married yesterday. courtney and i met as 10 year olds, suffered through those painful middle school days together, were inseperable through high school, and supported each other across the miles in college. courtney has been a faithful and encouraging friend that challenges me to seek God in greater ways, and in all areas of life (which is possibly the greatest quality a friend can have). all this to say...i couldn't be happier for courtney and jason richter as they begin their marriage and journey through life!

as my friends get married, i can't help but notice that we are all getting OLDER. i know, 23 is NOT old. but we are graduates of college, homeowners, husbands and wives, working men and women. what happened to carpools and friday nights at the movies? or living only 5 minutes away from one another, not 1000 miles away. oh how the times change...

i will say one thing: weddings make for the BEST parties and the sweetest reunions!

ready.

i have now been away from redcloud for 2 1/2 months and i am more than ready to be back. i feel as if my life is in limbo right now and i am just anxious to begin my life in lake city.

but i also don't want to live as if my life here in houston is without purpose. i have been thankful for this time in texas to reconnect with great friends and spend more time with my sister. this time is precious and i'm sure that when i'm miles away in the mountains i'll want a trip to texas every now and then.

but...i CAN'T WAIT to be back in the mountains, being a part of full-time ministry. learning. serving.