My God is Greater!

Recently I have been going through a bit of a difficult time in my life. Things have been brought to my attention and I have had to make some very difficult decisions. Decisions that I never thought I would have to make and never wanted to make. It seems to be the beginning of a difficult chapter of my life as I begin to address certain areas of my life and begin a process of healing. I am having to separate myself from certain people in my life and it's hard because I know that it is something that has to be done, however, that doesn't make it any easier. It's difficult to describe what all I'm experiencing because there are so many thoughts and emotions that are swirling around my mind. About a week or so ago a lady at my office was sharing with me a devotional book that she is going through, the name of which I don't remember. She told me how much she loved it and how much it was speaking to her. She let me borrow it and told me that she loved the devotional on July 2 and that I had to read it. As I read over the passage I could not help but praise the Lord! That passage spoke to my heart and brought me peace in the midst of this phase of my life. I made a copy of that passage and put it up on my desk because I knew that this portion of my life was one that was not going to be over with in a week. Today was another day that I needed to read those words. This is what it says.

"Let me show you My way for you this day. I guide you continually, so you can relax and enjoy My Presence in the present. Living will is both a discipline and an art. Concentrate on staying close to Me, the divine Artist. Discipline your thoughts to trust Me as I work My ways in your life. Pray about everything; then, leave outcomes up to Me. Do not fear My will, for through it I accomplish what is best for you. Take a deep breath and dive into the depths of absolute trust in Me. Underneath are the everlasting arms." The verses that went along with it are Psalm 5:2-3 and Deuteronomy 33:27

I love this because it is a continual reminder that God is in control and I am simply to follow Him and submit to His leading in my life and He will take care of the rest. Even in the most trying times He is with me and only wants what is best for me. In this time that is both comforting and difficult for me to grasp because of all that is going on. However, I choose to believe it and choose to cling to it because with it there is hope and apart from it there is no hope. My God is greater than my circumstances and I know that He is for me and that there will be a day when, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Rev. 21:4

Sacramento Trip

Jordan and I just got back from Sacramento, CA where we were visiting my dad. We went for a quick three day weekend and had a wonderful time. The beginning of our trip, however, did not start out so wonderful. Our flight out of Denver was supposed to leave at 8:00 PM but was delayed and hour and a half due to the hail and thunderstorms in Denver. They actually weren't going on while we were there but took place earlier and threw tons of flights off so they were playing catch up. So an hour and a half wasn't that bad but then we got delayed again. When it was all said and done we ended up leaving Denver sometime after 11:00 PM. We didn't get to my dad's house until sometime after 2:00 AM and when we did we had a quick tour and went straight to sleep.

The next day we just took it easy and slept in a bit. That afternoon we went to the wonderful Farmers Market/flee market.



They had so much yummy produce and then a whole bunch of random things, most of it being a whole bunch of crap to be quite honest. Anyway, I loved all the fruits and veggies they had for cheap! That's the great thing about California; the weather is so nice that just about anything grows well there. After that we went to the K-Love headquarters and got to see where my dad works and the rest of the station. That night my dad made some yummy enchiladas and homemade strawberry ice cream which is one of my favs! We went for a walk around his community which was a lot of fun too. On our walk my dad showed us this tree that he always hears an owl. He then proceeded to make owl noises so that the creature could respond back. He succeeded. He then told us how he wishes he could see him one of these days which spurred us all on and we began to hunt for this owl in the tree. Low and behold it was my amazing hubby that found the great owl! It was really cool. He was at the top of the tree and all you could see was his silhouette before he quickly flew off. We finished our walk by taking some lovely pictures on the golf course that goes around my dad's community.

The sunset was beautiful!


I was in a funny mood and had a strong desire to take a dip picture!


Then it was back to the house for homemade ice cream and Avatar. I finally saw this movie. My brother-in-law Ethan has been telling me how much I need to see so I did. I thought the graphics were definitely amazing but that was pretty much it for me. I thought the story was just ok and pretty typical. Anyways, a fun movie!


The second day was by far the best day in my opinion. We woke up early in the morning and headed west for Napa Valley! Oh, my, that place is gorgeous! We went to the Robert Mondavi Winery and had a tour and wine tasting. So much fun and highly recommend it to anyone visiting the Napa area.



At the entry to the winery.





The pretty vineyards.


Our tour took us in the vineyards and we got to look at the grapes when they are just getting started.


They had a couple of these gazebos by the vineyards. So pretty.


All the barrels they make the wine in.


They were huge!


Wine that was in the first stage of the aging process.


Getting ready for our tasting!


It was so much fun to see how they make the wine and learnd all about the process. The wine tasting wasn't bad either! :)

After our tour and tasting we went to DEAN AND DELUCA!!>

You can see my excitement in this picture! I have always wanted to go to one of these and was not disappointed. It was fantastic!

This was the dessert I got from there called "Cupa, Cupa". It's kind of like a tiramisu in a chocolate cup, amazing!


So, I got my first kick of it and now have an itching desire to go to the main one in NY, but that's another trip. After I said my goodbyes to Dean and Deluca we went to this great restaurant called Tra Vigne. The food was amazing!

Outside the restaurant.


Hall winery. We were pretty proud!


Then we headed to a little coastal town near San Francisco called Sausalito. This was such a great little town! We walked around for a while and took in the beautiful bay scenery.



I love all the sail boats in CA.


There was this guy in Sausalito who makes a living displaying the different ways he can balance these rocks. It was pretty interesting.


Pic with San Francisco in the background. I love that city!


Great town to visit if you’re in the Bay area. Then we headed back to dad's, had dinner, more wine, and relaxed for the rest of the night.

Our last day there we went to Old Town Sacramento and had lunch at this restaurant called Fat City. The restaurant has been around for a long time and is so much fun. Then we headed off to the airport and made our way back home. It was a great weekend to finally see where my dad works and lives. Now back its to the old bump and grind.

Caving

Since my husband is in school finishing his masters in counseling he has to do a ton of internship hours to complete his degree. One type of counseling, which is actually the one he wants to do for his career, is experiential counseling. This is where the counselor will take people on various activities and counsel them through experiences. It's actually really pretty awesome the more I have come to learn about. Anyway, this past weekend we had the opportunity to go caving with some dear friends, Charlie and Shelby, to experience this type of counseling. The couple that we went with are also pursuing counseling careers so this was a great way to have some fun while the three of them got in some great hours. I have to say that I was a little apprehensive about the caving thing because I really had no idea what to expect. I tend to make things a bigger deal/worse in my head than they really are. I just pictured myself trapped in a tiny hole unable to get out and stressing making the whole thing worse and so on and so on. Well, Praise the Lord for reality!! The experience was nothing like that. I actually really enjoyed it and in a weird way found it to be pretty relaxing and peaceful. When your in the cave it was totally silent and I loved that because I don't have many moments when it is COMPLETELY silent and you can't hear a thing. Literally. So I really liked that part of it. Also, I really like it when I can test my body in what I think I am capable of. It was fun to see a tiny hole, then go through it and see what you are capable to do. I just think that's great! It was also really interesting to see how this type of activity can be used as therapy/counseling. Doing something like this allows people to face issues they may or may not even be aware of and doing something like this allows them to exercise practical ways to overcome different things. Anyway, here are some pictures from this adventure.

This is the picture of all of us at the beginning of our caving adventure all nice and clean.


Me coming out of the "door" at the end of the caving. At the beginning this hole looked so small to me and at the end it looked a lot bigger.


My hubby coming out.


All of us outside of the cave and much dirtier than when we went in.


Me and Jordan all dirty.


Me and Shelby showing off our dirty clothes. Very fashionable.


Our studly men doing a little bit of modeling.


Another group picture.


It was a great experience!

Warmer Days and Marathon Training

Yay, it is finally starting to warm up here in the state of Colorado!! It's about time is all I have to say. Of course, the thing about CO is that you can never really tell if it is going to stay this way. People who have lived here for most of their lives have said that it can sometimes snow in June and even July. Rare as it may be, it can still happen. For now I am just enjoying every moment of it and drinking in the warmth.

With the warmer weather comes a certain activity that I am venturing into for the first time this year, marathons. We had to cancel our gym memberships because the price was going up so my husband had the great idea to train for marathons this summer. Granted he will be the one doing the full, but I have agreed to train for a half with him. Since it is finally bearable to be outside, we are starting our training today. I have to say that I am a little apprehensive about this. I have many friends that have done them and say that anyone can do a half, but the most I have ever run before is 5 or 6 miles. 13 miles is a little scary for me but I am determined to conquer every single one of them. I don't know about you all but I love the Biggest Loser and find that show so inspiring. I just keep thinking of the final contests on the show and how they have them run a FULL marathon, and some of them are still pretty heavy. I know that if they can run 26 miles I can surely run 13. So let the training begin! :)

Summer, Where Are You?

So, it is May 11 today but you would not be able to know that by the weather we are having in the beautiful state of Colorado. Right now it is 46 degrees out but it says it feels like 39 degrees. This is the one thing about Colorado that I don't think I'll ever get used to. This past weekend we were in NM for Mother's Day weekend and the weather was beautiful! It was in the low 80's and I was wearing dresses every day. I mean, I don't mind cold weather in general but only when it is appropriate. December, January, fine. May, not so much. I'm hoping that this wonderful state of mine will very soon get the memo that it is now summer time and decide to join in on the warmth. I'm ready to go out and play!! :)

A Facebook Thought

Today I was on Facebook and a thought came to me. As I was looking at pictures of people, in a non stalking way, I began to think about how this journey called "life" is such a funny thing. It's interesting to look at some of these people and remember the time in life when I knew them so well, but now only know things about them based off of what their status says. And how much more distant would we be and what all would I not know about them, if there was no Facebook. This thought has entered my mind a couple of times when I log into this Internet connection world. How did I go from being actively involved in their lives to just a spectator who gets glimpses of it from pictures and status's. Every time I've had this thought, my heart breaks a little. I so wish that I could be where they are, wrap them in my arms, and be close to them like I used to be. What was it in life that causes us to drift apart. I know that their have been moves that have caused physical distances, but what has caused the emotional distance? Was it something I said or did to make these people feel like they could not trust me anymore or can that physical distance be really all it is? To me it feels deeper than just physical distance. I know that God brings people to us at different stages of life, but what I do not understand is how you can be so close to certain people in those stages and then hardly know them in the next one. This is particularly hard for me to grasp when there wasn't anything major that would have caused this gap such as a fight or a specific event that caused this drift.

Of course with some of these people there is still the occasional catch up of our lives, but the depth we once shared doesn't seem to be there anymore. As I sit here and think about a question comes to my mind? Is this just the cycle that relationships go through? Even in my relationship with the Lord I see times where I have been so close and vulnerable to Him, and other times where I am just "catching" up with Him. I know that if this part of life pains me, how much more so it pains Him. After all, I am just a human desiring human friendships and He is our Heavenly Father desiring a relationship with His children whom He has created to be intimate with. Do friends not come or talk to me anymore because they are afraid I will judge them just like how we sometimes don't go to the Father and talk to Him because we are afraid He will judge us. And yet, because we do not trust Him or because of the stage of life we are in, we loose the depth and intimacy with Him we once had. Even if it's just for a season, we miss out in that season.

Anyways, I didn't know this post was going to come out like this, but this is just something that I'm thinking about on this Wednesday morning. I just cherish all my friendships, both past and present, and have a heart to really connect deeply with each one of them because I love them so much and desire a friendship with them that is so much more than what is on the surface. That's all. Wow, who knew Facebook could cause such deep and thought provoking ideas! :)

Mud Pie and Tea Time

This past Friday we had some of our dear friends, Griff and Michelle, over for dinner. It was kind of a last minute decision so as I was thinking of what to do for dessert I got really excited because this gave me the opportunity to make one of favorite desserts, mud pie. I came up with this recipe about two months ago based off of the mud pie that my family always got from Baskin-Robbins. This recipe is so simple and quick but oh so good! Here's what you do, although you'll have to bare with me because I didn't really "measure" the ingredients out.

You take about half a bag of Oreo cookies and put them into a food processor until they are just crumbs. Then you melt about 4 Tbsp. of butter and mix that in with the Oreo crumbs. Again my measurements are not accurate, but you will want the mixture to be a good consistency for your crust. Then you just put the mixture into a pie pan and spread it evenly along the bottom and sides of the pan. Make sure that there are no holes anywhere and that the pie pan is completely covered. Then pop that in the freezer for about 15 minutes or until it is hard. In the mean time, set out a container of Breyers coffee ice cream and let that get really soft. When the crust has hardened, scoop out the ice cream and spread it evenly over the crust. You won't use all the ice cream but the majority of it. Then place it back in the freezer for about another 10-15 minutes until the ice cream is frozen again. While that is in the freezer place about 2 cups or so of whole almonds on a cookie sheet and toast them at 350 degrees for about 5-7 minutes or until you can smell them. Place them on a cooling sheet and chop them once they've cooled. Once the ice cream has set, take a can of fudge topping and pour it all over the top of the ice cream. I recommend being very generous with it because it will only make the pie that much better. Then put it back in the freezer till that has set. Once it is set, take a can of whip cream and make little mounds all around and in the middle of the pie, sprinkle with almonds and put back in the freezer till your ready to serve it. The end result looks a little something like this.





It is so yummy!!! I could seriously eat the entire thing by myself!

That same weekend my sister, Hope, and Seth took me to the Wisdom Tea House in Monument for a belated birthday present. If you live in the Colorado Springs/Monument area and have not been there you must plan a trip soon. This is my new favorite place! It is this adorable tea house and you go order your tea, pick out your tea cup and saucer, and then they bring you your tea. You can also order food and scones to go with your tea. I absolutely love it! I got the peach vanilla tea and it was heaven in a cup! It beats Starbucks any day of the week in my opinion. Stop by and see what I mean. Here is a picture of Hope and I with our tea cups. Well, actually she is holding the cream cup. She seemed to like that better than her actually tea cup! :)