Moving, Yet Again...

Michael and I are moving!! I'm so excited about it! We're moving about 15 minutes east of where we are now to an apartment complex. We've been living in a basement apartment. It gets a bit awkward because the landlord is the neighborhood pastor of our church... who is also Michael's boss. So tensions either about where we live or about his job have that added awkwardness of living underneath his boss/landlord. But we've enjoyed where we've lived but the time has come to move on. We couldn't have afforded anywhere else (besides my parents basement) when we first got married, so the apartment has definitely been a blessing. But we're both working now and can easily afford somewhere a bit bigger and a bit nicer. I think it's amazing that they have the opportunity to help people out by having apartments in their basement that they charge very little rent for (especially compared to what the apartments are worth in that neighborhood). I hope to do the same, some day down the road when we own our own house.
But as older posts have stated: I HATE MOVING! The thought of boxes and tape and labels and wrapping crap in newspaper and bubble-wrap makes my stomach churn and I feel nauseous. It helps that this moving experience isn't moving home to my parents, but to a new place that is nicer and symbolizing a new phase in our lives.
We move on Valentines Day, which I couldn't care less about moving on that "holiday" because I hate Valentines Day (don't get me started about why...). It's a great coincidence that we move in that day because I have a 3-day weekend because of Presidents Day that following Monday.
So we're starting to sort through our things and throw/give things away. The boxes have yet to come out from under the bed, because I just might have a full-blown panic attack at the sight of them... just kidding... no I'm not... I dread packing and moving, but hopefully this will be a positive experience that will overshadow past, traumatic experiences... hopefully...
And let's hope we like this place well enough that we will stay longer than a year and don't have to pack up and move all over again. It's my hope that the next time we move, we'll be moving into a house that we bought. But that's just my hope. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

"I Think Shouting Hate Words at People Will Convert Them..."

Why is it when there is going to be a lot of people around, the "Christian protesters" come out in force? They're not doing anyone any good, and they're definitely not portraying a positive view of Christ and other Christ-followers. I saw a pack of them on 16th Street Mall with giant signs telling people they are going to hell, that homosexuals are going to hell, and that unless you follow the 10 commandments, you're going to hell too! All I could do is walk by and shake my head. No wonder people tend to keep the fact that they are a Christian/Christ-follower a secret-- look at who our representation is! I do not associate myself with those people, but if people hear I'm a Christian, they will more than likely place me in their group--ick! They have "stupid" cooties! Okay, that wasn't very nice...
Why do these people feel compelled to come out here and act/talk like they do? Has their method proven to be effective? Do they have anyone fall on their face in repentance? I would guess that that has never ever happened! So what motivates them to come out to the mall and throw fire and brimstone at people walking by? Just because Jesus said to "go and make disciples of all nations," he didn't mean to go out and make an idiot out of yourself. Telling people that they're going to hell is not a message of love. Telling homosexuals that their sin has condemned them to hell is not a message of acceptance.
Where is the sign that says "Jesus loves you for who you are, no matter what you've done"? I did see one guy holding a sign that said "Jesus is the message of hope." That at least was a positive message, but still, it begs the question: how effective is that? Are these people afraid to get close to anyone who may be at all different than them? Is that why they passively hold the sign and shout hate at the people passing by? To be missional the way Jesus was-- getting down and dirty with those who surrounded him-- makes people extremely vulnerable and also shows everyone else that they are not all high and mighty and holy; I'd venture a guess that showing their humanity is what they are trying to avoid doing.
It's no wonder why people don't like "Christians."

Why Oh Why Did the DNC Have to be Here?

I'm already sick and tired of the Democratic National Convention (DNC). I wouldn't mind at all if I didn't
1) work downtown
2) live right off of Speer Blvd.
3) people didn't treat the DNC and the protesters like the end of the world (ie riots, teargas, people throwing mailboxes into cars [no joke, they removed all drop-boxes from the street because of the fear that people would pick them up and throw them... come on, people!])
It's already crazy! Michael and I missed church yesterday because of traffic issues caused by the streets closing down! We sat at the same light for 15 minutes watching cars drive into the middle of the intersection (even though they could see traffic wasn't going anywhere), and people making U-turns to go south on Speer... Oh, and did I mention the next light was broken and not turning green? Oh yeah, that was loads of fun. And all the roads being turned into one lane? That was fun too! By the time we would have made it though both intersections, we would have gotten to church halfway through the sermon! Michael was yelling at all the people on the sidewalk and the other cars "GO HOME!" I feel the exact same way!
It was Sunday, nothing was even really going on, and people are already acting like idiots and there were people already arrested last night... ugh! And I have to be downtown to work. We have the option to go home at noon and work from home, but I have the issue of the fact that my whole job is to be AT WORK! I can't answer the phones from home! I can't transfer calls from my cell phone! I'm stuck here till my boss says I can go home (that is, if everyone else goes home... please! everyone go home so I can too!!!) That didn't sound too desperate, did it? Well, it'll give me a lot of time to... uh... read/write blogs and mess around doing nothing... hopefully someone finds something for me to do-- not likely, but possible!
Be thankful if you are not in Denver, Colorado this week! Watch the coverage from your living room, away from the chaos and overreactions! This madness needs to end!
[Oh, and I have to just state my feelings about the protesters-- they're really dumb! No one even knows why they're here or what they're protesting for! I do know that there is a group protesting for peace, even though Democrats tend to be anti-war... I just don't get some people...]

Happy Belated Independence Day!

Happy (belated) 4th of July! This year was fun-- especially when you have smoked ribs, delicious potatoes, and fresh berry trifle to top off your night! We went to the Glendale fireworks, as is tradition, and they were as great as ever. I had invited friends to come along and had raved about how amazingly awesome these fireworks are... so I was a bit nervous that they would let me down... alas, they did not! We were literally right underneath them and they lasted for about 30 minutes! Thirty minutes of pure, mind-blowing, fire-power! And the end/finale, as my wonderful husband said, was like being inside a kaleidoscope! It was awesome! I love fireworks! I love friends, and family, and everything that goes into the 4th of July. But fireworks definitely make it even more worth while!
P.S. I also need to give a belated "shout-out" to my Marine boys. Some are getting out of the Marines for good in about a month, others are in Afghanistan, and others are just beginning! Thanks, guys, for everything you do! I love you all!

Walking to Work

It's rain/snowing here (so I guess you could say it's snaining...) and being inside is great! However, I would much rather be at home in bed, watching a movie than being at work when it's this kind of weather. I walk to work every morning which is wonderful (not only for the exercise and the sights, but it saves a bundle on gas)! This morning, however, was a bit on the dreary, unmotivating side.
When I walk to work, I walk over what is called "The Pedestrian Bridge." A clever name since that is exacly what it is. It's a bridge over highway I-25 that makes it super-easy to walk to downtown. The path eventually crosses over a river, which is absolutely gorgeous! The plants around it this morning, being so wet and green, were breathtaking! Unfortunately, because of the cold and the rain, there weren't as many people to gawk at... and since it's still gonna be cold at lunch time, I won't be able to eat my sandwich and people watch during my lunch break either. And let me tell you, people-watching on 16th Street Mall is probably my new favorite past-time! There are so many different and unique people who walk around out there! So besides being able to sit outside to eat when it's nice out, I also get to answer the question, "who will I see today?"

Homosexual Hamburgers

It was my mom's birthday this weekend and to celebrate, my family went out to lunch after church on Sunday. Jill drove down from Fort Collins and we met up in Denver to eat. The restaurant we wanted to go to had a 45 minute wait (and it was already 1:00pm!) So we wandered down a few blocks and found a restaurant called Hamburger Mary's. As we walked past, we could see the burgers on people's plates which looked delicious, so we went in. Instantly we realized where we were-- a restaurant that caters to the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender) community. There were peace flags on the wall, the names of the burgers were some sort of homosexual slang, terminology, etc. For example, instead of a BLT, it was a GLBT (guac, lettuce, bacon, tomato); there was also a Flamin' J Burger... That kind of thing. Needless to say, for some people, it would have been uncomfortable to be there. My family, however, thought it was awesome! We had a great time! Oh, and the food was absolutely amazing! (I'd actually recommend it for anyone wanting a burger in Denver... and isn't biased against homosexuality) On the table, there was an advertisement for "Slut Bingo"-- the picture was of 4 or 5 men dressed in drag and full makeup with bingo cards in their hands. It looked like so much fun! I love Denver!
The culture and variety around here is more than I have ever been around in my entire life! I've lived in the southern suburbs of Denver where there were maybe 10 kids in my high school class who weren't Caucasian. Then I went to Fort Collins where I think it was even less! I've barely seen 10 people who are Caucasian in my neighborhood in Denver! It's so exciting. Life is so different and there are so many different people, different cultures, and different views for everything. Way different than anything I have ever experienced. Michael and I are still determined to be missional in everything we do, so we have been trying to scope out where we will buy our groceries, get our liquor (there are a gazillion liquor stores within 5 blocks of where we live!), go out to eat, go to the park, get coffee, etc. Life is just beginning for us, and we have so much potential to reach out to the people around us. There is a family who lives just a couple of houses down, and I'm sure when summer hits, we'll be seeing a lot of them... who knows what will happen!

The Happenings of Thanksgiving Week

I just got back to school from a week-long Thanksgiving break. It was wonderful, even with the few family drama issues! At the beginning, me, my sister, her roommate who stayed with us all week, and Michael went to the Denver Film Festival. My dad prints their programs so we got ticket vouchers to go see a movie. We had a blast (after we wandered around trying to find the theater)! We went out to dinner and then went to the movie, all dressed up and feeling hott! The movie was about a grandma who finds a job working at a sex-shop to earn money to pay for her grandson's much-needed medical treatment. It was awkward at times (as you can imagine), but really well done! We all enjoyed it-- you can't go wrong with a great character-development movie ;-) (My sister and I are in the middle... her roommate is on the left, and Michael (obviously) is on the right)
I then spent the week hanging out with my parents and my sister and her roommate. We chatted, watched movies, helped cook, went grocery shopping... the time flew!
Thanksgiving came and we had some long-time family friends over for dinner. We had delicious turkey (and that's a lot for me to say since I'm not a big fan of turkey-- I'd rather have ham any day) and all the "usual" side dishes. But when it's "usual" it means my mom found an even better recipe that melts in your mouth! We then spent the evening playing card games which actually ended up being evenly scored (GO me and Brittany!)! (In the picture-- (left to right: me, Michael, Ali, Taryn, Brittany, and Jill)
It's a lifelong tradition of our family to trek out like the Griswolds and cut down our Christmas tree. Thankfully we have always remembered our saw ;-) This year, however, my sister and I managed to lose our parents in the forest. While we were picking up pine cones and putting them in each other's hood (while laughing uncontrollably!) we thought we were following our parents' tree-dragging trail. Well, when we got to the car and my parents were not there, we realized we'd followed the wrong tree line (except that we ended up by our car... weird). Our parents finally walked up--even after we went searching for them in the forest and still ended up at the car again-- thankful that their dread of my sister and I sitting in the snow crying and hungry, being nibbled on by a bear was not true. We (being my dad) tied up the tree to the top of the car and we drove to the volunteer fire station that we go to every year to get some hot chocolate. While we were there, Mrs. Claus dragged our whole family over to Santa Claus' lap to take a picture! (I have a confession-- that was the first time I've ever sat on Santa's lap in my entire life! I've always been terrified of Santa so my sister and I never went near him!) As we were waiting for our picture to develop we read an article about this particular Santa and how he is the real deal. Thirteen years ago, he heard about families who were not going to have a real Christmas because they didn't have enough money. So, on Christmas morning, he dressed up in a Santa suit and went and took presents to the families. He paid for it out of his own pocket and continues to do it every year! What an awesome example of what one man can do to impact other people's lives!!
So other than that, I just relaxed and spent some quality time with my family. Oh, and we finally found a wedding venue location!!! YAY! We're all super-excited about it! Anyway, I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! I thought I'd end this with a brief list of what I'm thankful for this year:
- Loyal friends
- Love of friends and family
- My sister (and the fact that she's up at CSU with me)
- Michael
- Making a real difference
- God working in my life
- TV shows... my guilty pleasure ;-)
- Movies... another guilty pleasure...
- Ice cream... my absolute guilty pleasure!
- The blessing my aunt gives my sister and I every month
- The safety of my Marine boys
- Change, even though it's really hard
- The endless possibilities for my future
- Sunsets
- And the everyday blessings God gives me!

HAPPY BELATED THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!!!

Denver Here I Come!

I have written quite a few blogs about moving to London... well, that's not gonna happen for a while. God finally placed a peace on my heart about not going right away. I still have the desire to go, so after Michael and I are married for a couple years (and he finishes school), we'll re-evaluate our situation. In the meantime, I have made the decision to move down to Denver, CO. It's about an hour and a half south of Fort Collins, where I currently reside. I will graduate on December 15th and move home with my parents. I love my parents, so it hopefully wont be too bad! Also, Michael is already in Denver at least 3 days out of the week, and there are a LOT more work opportunities for me down there!

We have had to make the difficult decision to leave Fort Collins, our friends, and our church. But God is taking us on a journey that requires sacrifice and obedience-- and we want to be as aligned with God's will as we possibly can. We have already been talking about how we will take the ideals and callings that we have learned about and heard from God to our new surroundings. We want to continue to be missional to those around us, to live in a community where we can connect with as many people as possible, and to find a church that will continue to help us grow and connect. We also want a church that encourages their attendees to go out and reach their communities.

Well, for Easter this last year, Michael and I went with my dad (it was snowing really hard so my mom decided to stay home and sit by the fire) to the church they attend. We absolutely loved it! So we have started attending that church and have begun to get connected there. We joined the young marrieds group at the church, because once we're married we're no longer single (so we can't join that group) and we wont be in college (can't join that group either). There are a lot of groups, but we see it as an opportunity to get to know even more people! The young marrieds group has actually been a real blessing to us. We read this book called "Why Marriages Succeed or Fail" by John Gottman. I would highly recommend it for anyone, no matter how long or short they've been together. It has amazing insight and helps couples realize parts of themselves and their marriage, and most importantly how they fight, and helps couples fix those problems. The group and the book have been very good for us as we are trying to learn and grow as much as possible before we tie the knot. Hearing couples talk about the struggles they have, what they fight about, how they deal with difficult issues, and being real with one another has been more beneficial than we could have ever imagined. We have also found other Christian friends. Both Michael and I have struggled with having friends, so having a place where we can connect with others who are in a similar situation in life is very exciting! We're by far the youngest people there and the only engaged couple ;-) Thankfully the leaders of the group were more than willing to let us join the group as an engaged couple!
We are excited to start the next phase of our lives and see where God takes us and see who He sends along in our lives. There will be more updates as moving actually happens (I'm trying to pack and take stuff home early so I don't have a recreation of what happened this summer!) and when the wedding gets closer! So now I gotta go find a job... what fun!

Heroes of the Titanic

As I've mentioned in other blogs, I work at a residential treatment center for teens. I am officially a fill-in counselor so I have had the opportunity to work at the girls' house as well as the school and the boys' house. This last week I spent 3 days in a row helping at the boys house during the day. They were on their "summer break" where they don't go to school but still have to do something educational and/or recreational. On Wednesday, I had the honor of driving one of the minivans down to Denver to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. We went to see an IMAX film that was about an expedition to the Titanic. The boys, of course, were bored stiff, but I thought it was pretty interesting. They not only talked about the ship, but the stories of the people on the ship-- the good and the bad. There was a man who will forever be remembered as the guy who didn't put enough lifeboats on the ship-- how's that for a legacy? But they also talked about the people who are considered heroic-- the telegraph operator, the musicians who played to keep people calm until the ship went down, the men who got as many people as they could on the lifeboats. The guy who was narrating (and on the expedition) said something pretty remarkable. He was talking about heroism and the people who were heroes vs. the people who took the fight or flight response and refused to go back to get more people on the lifeboats. He said "people as a whole are not heroic, it's the unique few who make heroes." (okay, that isn't a direct quote cuz I can't remember it exactly). But the point of it all was that in the last few hours/minutes of these people's lives, they were heroes-- and will be remembered forever as being such. What an awesome legacy to leave behind. The narrator said about one man, "2/3 of the people who survived have ____ [I can't remember his name] to thank for it." WHOA! That is awesome! What kind of legacy will you leave behind? What will people remember you for? Being stingy and a penny pincher that inevitably caused the unnecessary death of thousands? Or being the one who used his last few minutes of life to continually call for help and play music to help others stay calm?