Hello, October.

It's been awhile.

What rocks:
-The mountains. I am in awe every day. Hiked a 14er last weekend. Went on a drive to see the aspens today. Every time I go up I feel like I leave more of my heart there.
-School. I feel so KNOWN as I read my textbooks. It's gonna be a process, but I feel like I've been wired to do this.
-People. Building community has been challenging, yet so rewarding. Excited for the ways God will use us to sharpen each other.
-Music. With 4-5 hours of reading a day, I can't read for relaxation anymore. Music has never been such a sweet release.
-Church. This is SO huge. I thought that my eclectic blend of passions and spiritual heritage would make it impossible to find somewhere I could call home. Welp. God proved me wrong.
-Weather. It's been cloudy all of...two days.
-Coffee. I drink it. a lot. And it's pumpkin spice season. (If you care about such things, ordering a nonfat pumpkin spice misto is the way to get delicious-ness without the insane amount of calories.)
-Cooking. I've been loving the challenge of cooking delicious, healthy things. It's a great outlet from studying, too.
-My apartment. Super cute. Homey. IKEA-ed. Peaceful.
-Bike trails. So many places to go. So many people out. So life-giving.
-Old friends. I still feel so loved and supported by my BG/past life friends. What a sweet gift.
-God. He's challenging me, teaching me, romancing me, making me cry, making me laugh, and making me new all at once.


What's hard:
-The mountains. I have to longingly gaze at them all the time, wishing I could be there. So close yet so far.
-School. It's a full-time job. It's exhausting sometimes. I have to work on my attention span in 3-hr classes.
-Ohio is over 1000 miles away. I wish I could share all these great things with my dearest friends and family.
-Finding my feet again. It's strange being here for school. Just school. I'm craving to move outward and serve and yet I know this time of life is going to be different than any other.
-Love. Being loved by God and loving others. I'm not so great at the first, and consequently struggle to do the second. I'm in progress.


So, there ya have it. Life in a nutshell. Hope your fall is full of crunchy colorful leaves, apple cider, football, and the joy of a God who stays the same through it all.


(oh yea, this is where we camped last weekend.)