God's sense of humor

Did I mention that we found a church? One that we love and are ready to commit to? It really is a miracle. And the irony of it all is that its a mega-church. I cringe just writing that word. The last two churches we've been a part of have been house churches. Meaning a casual group of somewhere between 6 and 20 people. Not even close to the 4,000 that meet each weekend at our new church MISSION. Mega-churches just seem to go against everything we believe in about life and God. We desire depth, intimacy with others, authentic community, and a stripping away of programs, showy-ness, and rules. But here is this huge church that embodies what we think God designed the church to be about. In an enormous auditorium filled with thousands of people we don't know, we feel at home. Worship is truly an incredible experience. Somehow the talented band and fancy graphics don't make me feel like I'm at a concert--instead I feel moved to tears as I humbly sing to my Creator. The message each Sunday comes from a pastor who exudes depth, intelligence, and a passion for loving God by serving others. And the people we interact with each week don't always look or act perfect. We don't get any sense that this church is a place to put on your best face or make everyone feel entertained.
Like I said, it's a miracle. I feel like God is almost laughing at me, in a gentle "I told you so" kind of way. Because my spiritual journey has been a windy one, full of anger, rebellion, and judgment. I walked away from the church (organized religion) years ago and found freedom in accepting all the secular people of the world who used to be "the others" I was supposed to save. But in accepting the secular world I had inadvertently switched my judgment to the Christian world. And now God has opened my heart to accept the Christian world via a mega-church. Ironic, isn't it? God truly does work in mysterious ways. And I am so, so thankful for it.

Thanksgiving on the farm

After living in Arizona for 3 months and enduring some pretty brutal heat--that didn't end until late October--it was quite the reprieve to go home for Thanksgiving. We finally got to feel cold and experience beautiful fall colors! Soren also had a blast living the farm life for a whole weekend. He got to go on daily tractor rides with Papai and Bran, play basketball, guitar, and piano with Uncle Scotty, and pick fruit to put in the old wagon Mamae dug up! And it was so cute watching Soren play with his second-cousin Addie. I think his vocab grew a ton hanging out with her!
It was so wonderful for Bran and I to relax in the comforts of laying by the fireplace, surrounded by the people who know and love us so well. After spending the last few months adjusting to a new state, a new lifestyle, and new people, it was just so nice to come home, in every sense of the word.

Just breathe.

Here is my journal entry this morning. I have been stressing about a paper I need to write today, and then God's words to me came through...

Breathe. This day is good. You have powerful words to write, life-giving words to write, freedom to experience in your reflections. These words are for no one but yourself. So fly. Be moved, be joyful, be at peace. God is doing a mighty work in you...and you know that. Be thankful for his abundant grace, his attention to detail, his perseverance in each day with your soul. God is so good. What He has made is good. What you will make is good. Just breathe.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14

Stop striving. Let go. Be you.

It's getting to that time of year again when we start thinking about New Year's resolutions, and I have finally finished my project for last year's resolution/theme! My theme for 2010 meant so much to me that I wanted to make an artistic rendition of it and then hang it in my room to be reminded of it each day. It took almost the entire year, but here it is! Key words for my soul: Stop striving. Let go. Be you.
I'm thinking I might continue with this theme at least until my 30th birthday (agghh!!) in April. I decided on my birthday this last year that my goal for 30 was to become so much more comfortable in my own skin. I've always heard that your 30s are so much better than your 20s because you finally know who you are and can enjoy life so much more because of it. It will probably be a life-long lesson, but I'm hoping for a fresh start at 30. Not a defining moment, but a place where I can look back and be satisfied with my 30 years of growth, maturation, and development of my unique identity. I need a plateau in the climbing so that I can embrace my new-found freedom and gaze at the exciting terrain in front of me...
Here's to stopping the race, letting go, and loving being me at 30!

New family photos!

Our first friends to brave the heat and make a visit out here were the Kemps. It was the end of September but still over 100 degrees all day. Well, we made the best of it, and were so thankful that Kevin even did a family photo shoot for us. Brandon's campus has some beautiful desert landscaping so we decided to embrace our new surroundings and the local cacti:-) Kevin got some great shots to add to his new photography blog so please go check it out! And click here to see our favorites...

This one's for my dad

Not only is Soren making my dad (Papai) proud by being obsessed with tractors AND dressing up as a farmer for Halloween...now he's getting into golf! His first golf experience was a few weeks ago in Palm Springs with Grandma Jojo.

My parents got Soren a play golf set for Christmas last year, but since he wasn't even crawling then we put it way up high in his closet. Well, yesterday we decided to finally take it down and see what Soren was made of. He definitely loves swinging his golf club around!

Get ready for some competition in a few years, Dad...

Soren's first medical lesson

Today my heart almost burst with pride for my little guy. Soren happened to pick up my stethoscope and immediately started saying "ears!" while trying to put it in his ears! I helped him put it on the right way and then let him listen to my heart. I gave him a little lesson about how the heart goes "boom-boom" and then he started running around the house with the stethoscope around his neck yelling "boom-boom! boom-boom!". So awesome that at 18 months my little boy is getting excited about medical stuff! But I promise we won't be pressuring him into the healthcare field or anything...