Meanwhile.....

I've been avoiding posting anything on here lately. I've been fighting for inspiration, but it hasn't been easy to find. So instead of thinking of anything new to say, I'll just post an entry from my journal that I wrote last weekend while on a retreat with a college group at a local church. The weekend was a much needed stop of regular life- so often I get caught up in the routine of the day that I forget the significance each moment holds. The retreat helped me slow down and remember:

October 22, 2011
I'm nestled away in the mountains of Estes Park, just me and Jesus. It's a much needed break from the rush of college life and the still of the morning reminds me that usually God is louder in the silence than in the earthquake, wind or fire of daily life.

"And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great, strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. And after the wind and earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper...and behold there came a voice that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" ~ I Kings 19:11-13

This passage came into my head as I sat outside, drinking in the silence. I could hear an airplane off in the distance and the sound was like a deep cello adding a bass line to the low hum of the wind. I felt like August Rush for a moment, but realized that if you listen, there truly is music all around. That's how powerful music is. It's a language even airplanes and breezes can speak.
I think when it is silent enough to hear that kind of music, God will speak the loudest.

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 My "indie" coffee shot

 Fun in beautiful Estes Park

 

We clearly have a very extensive vocabulary.......

Born for the Sunrise

It's 8:00 AM, and given the choice, I would probably still be asleep. I don't have class until one, so sleeping the day away isn't an uncommon pastime. However, I've recently discovered the beauty of jumping out of bed at 5:30 to quiet my vibrating alarm clock, drinking a cup of coffee and reading a chapter or two of Spurgeon's Morning devotional to wake up my heart too, all before the rest of campus is even awake. It's silent, which is a sound that is rarely (if ever) heard on a college campus, and I'm learning to soak it in every chance I get.
Taylor (one of my new favourite people) and I have started a weekly ritual of trekking up to Horsetooth reservoir every Monday morning to watch the sunrise. Last week I brought my guitar and we had a early morning worship session overlooking the city. Today we just chatted and drank tea, watching the pink sun push its way over the horizon.
There is something about forcing myself to start the day earlier that motivates me to excel at everything else I have to do. Maybe its just because I have more time to do it, or maybe its because seeing the day begin reminds me that the God who painted the sunrise is in control of my little life and there's nothing I can do to change that.

"What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind, if they do not enter into our daily lives?" ~EM Forester  

"There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope. "~ Bern Williams