My 29th Birthday Adventure!

A Birthday Sunset

Everyone dies, but not everyone truly lives, or at least so said William Wallace.  Three different times, in the days leading up to my birthday, or on my birthday itself, I’ve almost died.  On the day I was born the doctors weren’t sure if I would make it.  I was premature and my lungs weren’t completely developed and so I spent the next 13 days in an incubator.

26 years later, on my 26th birthday I was walking home from the gym and got hit by a car.  I walked away without a scratch.

And then this year.  Three days before my birthday, on Valentine’s Day I hit a patch of ice and totaled my car.  Again, I walked away without a scratch.

Have I really lived?  My 29th birthday felt like a blessing and the best thing to do with a blessing is to give it away.  I invited all the people that have made my life special over for a Hobbit inspired party.  Hobbits celebrate their birthdays differently, instead of receiving gifts they give gifts on their birthdays.

Tacos Al Pastor

I decided to give the gift of fellowship and thanks on my birthday.  For my party I grilled up a delicious pork taco and a Cuban rice dish.  Tacos Al Pastor (the pork tacos) has become one of my favorite dishes, but the Cuban rice dish was a new addition.  Both were hits.  I really enjoyed spending the day in the kitchen so that I could prepare a meal for my friends and family.

The Dish

If really living means telling my friends that you’re thankful for the part they play in my life, then I want to do that more often.

Telling friends how much they mean to you is a true adventure.  It is so much easier to stay quiet.  What if you open your hear to them, and then they hurt you?  Risks always a part of an adventure.

It doesn’t matter if my friends liked the food I cooked (I think they did, because hardly any was left at the end of the night), what matters is that I got to share a part of me with them.

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I’m thankful that I have friends to spend my life with.  The dinner was a blast, but my celebration didn’t stop there.  I spent the rest of my birthday with friends in the mountains.  I spent some time with an amazing couple and then played board games with some friends from high school.

Larry and Linda!

Then my parents took me up to Vail to go snowshoeing.  I hadn’t hiked East Lake Creek in five years and I think the three of us really had an amazing time traipsing through the fresh powder.

East Lake Creek

East Lake Snow Shoe

Turning 29 was an adventure, but it’s not over yet.  I’m excited to see what God has in store for me as I close out my 20’s this year.  I hope I truly live this year.

Thank you to everyone who  made this Birthday a great one!!

Snow On The Mountain

Not The Valentine Adventure I Wanted

My Car

Every year for Lent, season before Easter where I get to prepare myself for Christ’s sacrifice, I either give something up or add something to my life that is meant to bring my closer to my best friend (ie. Jesus).  This Lent I decided to read the  Jesus Calling Devotional by Sarah Young.  I typically do all of my reading and journal writing at night, but I figured Lent could be a little different.  So here is what I read on the 14th of February:

“Give yourself fully to the adventure of today.  Walk boldly along the path of Life, relying on your ever-present Companion.  You have every reason to be confident, because My Presence accompanies you all the days of your life-and onward into eternity.

“Do not give in to fear or worry, those robbers of abundant living.  Trust Me enough to face problems as they come, rather than trying to anticipate them.  Fix your eyes on Me, the Author and Perfecter of your Faith, and many difficulties on the road ahead will vanish before you reach them.  Whenever you start to feel afraid, remember that I am holding you by your right hand.  Nothing can separate you from My Presence.”

Hebrews 12:2; Isaiah 41:13

After a long afternoon of classes I was on my way home when the most unexpected thing happened.  My car spun out and I ended up off the road, in a parking lot, facing the other direction.  Snow had just started to drift down to the ground, and my path home was very icy.

My Car on Ice

I walked away without a scratch.  I wasn’t planning on this being my adventure for the day, but I know God’s hand was on me.  I felt very blessed by all of the people who responded to the wreck very quickly.

The true purpose of Lent is to remember that God must be first in our lives.  Well, if this wasn’t a reminder, then I don’t know what is.

I don’t believe that God makes bad things happen to us, as I was just reading in James, He’s the giver of perfect gifts.  He has a plan for all of this and I guess the true adventure will happen next.

I’m excited to see what happens!

A New Hope

Little Doomsday Preppers

Hope is a funny thing, it turns up when least expected and yet most needed.

I’ve been in and out of special education facilities over the last three weeks, for my class on the Exceptional Child in the Regular Classroom, and I was surprised by hope.

I’m learning about different ways to teach all my students, especially those kids who struggle with various types of disabilities.

I had a powerful learning experience at The Joshua School, which was founded by several Denver Public School teachers to help educate kids with autism.  Visiting the school was emotionally draining, but also uplifting at the same time.

Typically I feel very comfortable in a classroom, but when I toured the school I felt pushed, uncomfortable.  At one point a young boy started screaming and I didn’t know what to do.  The incredible staff didn’t lose a beat, they helped him, as they do all of their students, and soon everyone was back to learning.  Most of the kids were learning one on one with a teacher, using iPads and other cool gadgets.  It’s the goal of the school to find out what motivates each student, so that all of the kids, with their varying difficulties due to autism, are able to learn.

One of the school’s main goals is to help the kids learn how to socialize.  It is a struggle for most of the families to take their kids out to movies or dinner, but The Joshua School believes that learning is almost useless if the kid cannot enjoy life with his or her parents.  The kids struggled with the simplest of tasks, but they also all were so human, so like me, with wants and needs.

Hope is when you see someone hurting and you stop at nothing to help.

Havern, a private school for kids with learning disabilities, and the next school I visited, made me realize how broken we all are.  None of the kids looked different from the students I taught in Guatemala, as they looked like normal kids, but the students at Havern find it difficult to verbalize their needs.  They need extra help learning how to read and write due to learning disabilities, but because of this school many are able to reenter regular schools by the start of high school.

This got me thinking (a miracle, I know).  We are all broken, aren’t we?  We all have our struggles, just like the kids at Havern or The Joshua School, some of us might not have the best social skills or know know how to spell (just read most of my past blogs).  Yes I know, not everyone has difficulty learning, or needs a special school, but we’ve all had our problems in life.  We’re all broken or have been broken in some way or another.

Hope helps you see the spectacular in the normal, the beauty in the broken.

On Tuesday January 22 I drove to the Children’s Hospital to hear about brokenness.  The Kempe Children Center used to house a day care for physically, emotionally, and sexually abused children.  The stories the presenters told were extremely difficult to listen to.  The two speakers told stories of how these kids had been broken.

At the end of my time at the Kempe Children Center I was asked to do more than listen.  I was asked to give my students hope.

Hope allows someone who has been broken to stop being helpless and realize he or she can survive, but more than that, thrive.

Giving hope to my students wasn’t a new idea, but it seemed strange to come in such an unexpected place.  The people who work at the Kempe Children Center hear so many horrible stories, I would assume they would feel a little hopeless, but they told me that they have to live with hope or they could not go to work each day.  They deal with such heavy burdens, but they also have the hope that they can help that broken child learn to live again and maybe even thrive.

Where can hope be found?

I find my hope for each day in Christ.  This is a cruel world we live in.  We seem to love to hurt each other.  We’re born with imperfections, in need of someone to come along side us and show us how to live and love.  We are a failed people who need fixed.  Yet, when we were our most broken, Christ loved us.  Like the teachers I observed at the schools I visited, He will go to great lengths to meet our needs.  Even death.  That is because He sees the humanity in us all, and loves us still.

Why I’m Still Celebrating Christmas

Christmas Morning

I know that it is January 9th and that my parents have taken down all of the Christmas decorations in the house.  They’ve piled up all the boxes in the basement and now the house looks drab, well as ordinary as a house looks after the most festive season.  But I am still celebrating Christmas.

Deliciousness

Christmas day is a special day in my house.  We wake up early, open our gifts, eat a spectacular breakfast that the woman of the house prepare and then enjoy each other’s presence.   Christmas in my house is a day for true joy and I love it so much that Christmas is no longer going to be a one day celebration in my life.

It’s not even just a 12 day celebration.  Did you know that traditionally the twelve days of Christmas actually mean something more than just whatever that silly song suggests?

All I know is we passed through each day of the twelve days of Christmas.  We’ve already celebrated day 6 of Christmas, where we received six geese a laying, which means we are to remember to give thanks to God because he is the creator and caretaker of our world.

I know that the Epiphany already happened.  The magi have already given their gifts to baby Jesus, and that even the most Orthodox Christians are already putting Christmas behind them.

But I am not done celebrating!

No, this does not mean that I am still listing to Christmas music.  I am not one of those people (Although my sister and her oldest kid are both as Christmas Crazy as it gets)!

Joy of Christmas

I’m still celebrating Christmas because it’s the only way I can make sense of the world.

2012 was a hard year for many people.  I have many friends who spent the year struggling with health issues.  Two of my friends had a year from hell.  They moved to Denver in early 2012 only to find out that their new apartment was infested with bedbugs.  Then the wife found that that she was allergic to the bug spray, so they had to move out, breaking their lease.  Their year got worse, and yet they weren’t alone.

Here in Denver, on July 20th, a madman entered a screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” and killed 12 people.  That day, going to the movies lost their innocence.  Later that year things would get worse.  I remember going to bed on December 13th praying that God would keep all the people safe who were at the premier for the Hobbit, only to wake up to find out that another mad man had forced his way into a school in Newtown, Connecticut, killing innocent little kids and heroic teachers.

I’m still celebrating Christmas because Christ gives me hope.  I cannot make sense of why these tragic events took place this last year.  I do not know why my friends had such a hard year.  I do not know why people would want to kill, especially innocent little first graders.  All I know is that I can set out to be different.  To love the people around me and treat everyone with respect.

Not everyone tries to treat people with love and respect.  There seems to be plenty of hate in our world.  We might never know why those two tragedies occurred, but I think what may have been wrong with the killers is a microcosm of what is wrong with the world.  It’s a loss of love and hope.  Instead of loving our neighbors, we’ve decided to live selfishly.

We have become a me first society and so when people need help, they are more often than not, pushed away, which makes for a sad and lonely world.  I do not know why my friends had a year from hell, but I do know they experienced Christ’s love and provision throughout all of their struggles.  They weren’t alone.

See, I’m still celebrating Christmas because I have decided to live differently.  I don’t want my friends to feel alone.  I’m going to live in hope and I’m going to try to share that hope with my friends.

I can have hope because God is my provider.  He gave me, and the rest of this broken world, Jesus.  So even when everything seems to be crumbling around me, I can have hope because Jesus “heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.  He counts the stars and calls them all by name.  How great is our Lord!  His power is absolute!  His understanding is beyond comprehension.”

Christmas is not over because Christ is working in our lives.  So even when things get rough this year, remember that God is our provider and that Jesus has come to heal your broken heart.

Today the Christmas tree has been tossed out into the back yard, waiting to be mulched, the boxes of Christmas decorations are piled up in the basement, but those seasonal reminders of Christs grace and God’s provision, do not have to fade away.

What if we all lived a little differently and celebrated Christ year round?  Would we then start to see all that Christ is doing in our lives.  Would we see Christ’s love during the joyful times as well as the sorrowful times?

Let’s find out together!

Join me this year in living differently, living completely engaged in all that God has for us.  Living Spiritually.

Gravestones and God

10 Things I Will Do In 2013

2012 was a banner year for me.  I did some things I said I wouldn’t do (Against my will I used American Airlines), but I also did a lot of things I wanted to do.  In August I kick started my masters program at Regis University. I’m now well on my way to holding a masters degree in teaching.  While restarting school made my year feel busy, I was able to have a lot of fun in 2012.  So much so, that I have a few adventures that I want to repeat.

The Ride To Pine

1. I will Bike to Pine, Colorado! On October 12, 2012, I rode my bike mountain bike up the Colorado trail from Waterton Canyon to Pine Colorado.  After months of training the ride was almost ruined by a violent flat tire, which exploded on me, bending my wheel and shooting me like a cannon ball into the air.  With a new wheel and better tires I pedaled my way through the rain to end of the trek, just in time to see a bull elk boss around his harem.  Interested in doing this ride?  Join me this summer and we can make the trek together.

Bull Elk

2.  I will visit Guatemala! Last March I spent a week in Guatemala helping lead the Spiritual Emphasis retreat for my old school.  Sharing Christ’s love with my former students was the highlight of my year.  I don’t know when I’ll fly back down to my second favorite country, but there are several people who want me to be there for their graduation.

3.  I will continue to live my life like a Hobbit!  Okay, I’ll wear shoes, but Hobbits tend to live with a unique sense of excitement and hope ; they never give up.   I don’t know what is in store for me this year, but I want to be like the Hobbit, Sam, who doesn’t lose hope when he is facing mount doom and sure death!  You’re right, if you guessed that I’m already excited for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug to come out later this year, but I want to live with excitement and hope in all things in my life.

4.  I will run another half-marathon!  I plan on running the Pikes Peak  Half Marathon this year with a couple guys from my small group.  Running halves has taught me a lot about life.  To run a half you need to know how to be committed.  Training takes months and once you start the race, if you want to finish, you’ve got to know how to keep the feet moving.  I know that running up to the top of Pikes Peak will be hard, but it will make a great adventure.

The Cook Book

5.  I will continue to learn how to cook!  On New Years Eve I baked my first cake, an oatmeal brown sugar cake that turned out very sweet.  I also learned how to make the marinade for my family’s Christmas dinner.  We had Tacos al Pastor.  The pork meat turned out so tender my sister thought it was Chicken!  I want to try to cook a meal for my family at least once a month, so send me some recipes.

6.  I will finish my short story!  I have been working on this particular story for a little over a year and a half.  I want to submit it for publishing by next September.  Keep me accountable, so that I keep writing.

7.  I will finish my masters in teaching!  The masters in teaching program at Regis Jesuit University has really been a great challenge.  I’ve been learning a lot, and even though I’d rather be teaching the information, than writing papers on it, I’m excited to complete my education.  This time next year I’ll be looking for jobs!

The Colorado Trail

8.  I will continue to study Spanish!  Acquiring a second language has slowed down over the last two years, especially since I started back to school.  I’ve been listening to Spanish music and trying to start up conversations in Spanish (This is the hardest part).  This means I need to actively look for people to speak Spanish with, let me know if you know anyone.

9.  I will spend more than a month without sugar!  Last year I spent July and a little bit of August without sugar.  I was amazed by how much better I felt when I subtracted sugar from my life.  I was going to live 2013 without sugar, but I still have leftover cake and so I’ll have to eat that first.

10.  I will continue to live spiritually! In 2012 I challenged myself and all the people in my life to look for God in all aspects of our lives.  My goal, to engage with life and God every day, meant I continued to read my bible each day.  Daily, I started looking for things I was thankful for, things I found joy in, and blessings I felt God let me be a part of.  Last year was a true adventure and I am looking forward to engaging with all that God has for me this year.

A Storms Coming

What To Do On The Last Day Of The World

Little Doomsday Preppers

If you haven’t heard, then let me tell you, December 21, 2012, was prophesied to be the day the world ends.  Of course if you haven’t heard about the end of the world, and you’re sitting around reading blogs, then well, you are the perfect audience for this message!

The people who have stockpiled their attics or basements with food, bought five generators, filled their bathtubs with water, sharpened their Katanas, and have been watching reruns of Doomsday Preppers on the National Geographic Chanel already know they have plenty to do today (whatever day this happens to be as the end of the world always seems to be coming).

Tikal

The Mayan calendar ends on the 21 of 2012, which is today, or if by chance the world doesn’t end, yesterday, or depending on when you get around to reading this, last year.

Two years ago on the winter’s solstice I was hiking around the ruins of Tikal, which was once one of the wealthiest Mayan kingdoms.  Sadly, their violent culture ended centuries ago.

We’re all going to end up like the Mayans!  If not today, or tomorrow, it will happen someday.  So, what do we do about this horrible news?

Good news!  I’ve got a few ideas.  However, this blog might not be the best for the people who have already hunkered down in their Zombie proof shelters.

First: Show your Neighbor some Love!  It’s the end of the world and I think now might be the time to knock on their door and invite them over for dinner.  This could be a great time to start a new friendship, everyone needs a friend at the end of the world.  But heck, if the night’s real bad just remember you wont have to see them tomorrow!

Second: Go play in the snow with some little kids, or puppies, or anything that brings you Joy.  Kids seem to be able to find an enormous amount of joy in the smallest things.  I can’t think of a better way to spend the last day of the world than hearing the laughter of a little kid.

Zombies!!

Third: Find a time during the day to relax.  I’ll go on a hike up through the mountains.  I know I can’t bring about world peace, but if I find a little peace for myself, maybe I’ll be able to find love and joy a little easier.  Besides nothing says Peace to me like the aspens that grow in the Colorado Rockies.

Aspens

Fourth: When the Zombies are pounding down your door and you’re at your whits end, be Patient.  You’ll be fine, their lack of fine motor skills will protect you, but you might need to wait a little for them to stumble out of your house.  You really will need patience when hanging out with the little kids (they ask millions of questions and wont hesitate to point out any of your flaws, like the gap you have in your teeth).

Fifth: Go to Walmart and look for the person with the shopping cart that screams “It’s the end of the world and I’m hoarding all of the supplies“, and and surprise them by paying for their stuff.  Don’t smirk or laugh at them either.  Be Kind, who knows they could share some of their Twinkies with you, oh wait . . . I guess the world is ending.

Sixth: When your neighbors come over for dinner and insist on showing you all of their Amway stuff, find real interest.  Show interest in them because that’s what Good people do.  Even take the next step and buy a little bit of what they are selling.  What could it hurt, the world is ending anyway.

Seventh: You know that friend who you think about every day, don’t give up on them, give them a call.  Yes, it’s the end of the world, but that’s the best time to tell someone you still love them.  Plus, you might be able to invite them in on some great Amway products.  In all honesty, be Faithful to your friends.  Tell them you’re thankful for them, even if they haven’t called in ages and sometimes you wish the Zombies would get them first.

Eighth: When you’re scared out of your mind because the Zombies have now broken down your front door and you’re wishing you’d watched Doomsday Preppers, remember that those Zombies have already lost their minds, so be Gentle with them.  In their thirst for brains, their wanton hunger has driven out their ability to love.  Yes, they want to eat your brain, but just maybe they really need is someone to gently hold their hand and show them compassion.

Ninth and Last: When all of the world has thrown itself into chaos, with looting and killing, drunkenness, partying with no sense of real joy, but of lust and carnal desire, and jealous hatred drives all their actions, show some Self-control.  As the world goes to hell, hold back and don’t go with them.  Continue to live life differently.  It will be worth it in the end.

Because when our world ends or just seems to be falling apart, into evilness, with senseless shootings, there can never be enough people who practice love and joyfulness, find peace, act patiently, show kindness, goodness and gentleness to others, and lastly act with self-control.

The Good LIfe

Christmas Music: 12 Days of Horrible Christmas Music

Joy of Christmas

What’s the worst Christmas song? The one you dread hearing every Christmas season?

Well, On the first day of Christmas my true love . . .

I don’t think I need to say any more. Maybe it’s cause I’ve never had a true love or maybe it’s because most Christmas music is just so old and over done, I’ve always hated Christmas music. I’m the complete opposite of my sisters, who could start listening to the stuff on December 26th. I just find it repetitive and, well, a little cheesy.

I do love Christmas, so don’t judge me a Grinch!

Typically I spend Christmas season as far away from the radio as possible. When I shop (something I’m not big on either) I try to rush in and out, just to avoid the bad music and the crowds. I know I’m not alone.

But, please don’t call me Scrooge just yet!

Christmas music typically grinds on my ear drums because it seems so sappy. Christmas is about so much more than Santa and Rudolf. It’s not about finding love under the mistletoe. (Who wants to kiss under a parasitic plant?)

Christmas is about giving love, being patient, and spending time with the family. Christmas is a joyful time. It’s about Jesus. How he came to live with us. He is a reason for hope and joy. So, it bugs me when the real reason for the season is trivialized.

Which seems to happen every December. All of a sudden the radios start playing Bing Crosby, and asking me to buy the right gift so I will feel happy. And before I know it, a season meant for joy has gotten me down. Johnny Marks and Bing Crosby’s songs just don’t speak to me. One’s too somber and the just rubs me the wrong way.

However, as hypocritical as it may sound, I love Christmas movies. Maybe it’s because they aren’t all up in your ears all the time, being super obnoxious. Singing things like “Have a Holly, Jolly, Christmas,” or “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.”

Don’t get me wrong, I love Rudolph, and one of my favorite Christmas memories is singing “Run, run, Rudolph” into the long telephone cord (it was my makeshift microphone), but Christmas isn’t a time to be somber, no matter what’s hapend during the year. It’s a time for real joy and so most Christmas music has always got me irked.

So, I typically get into the Christmas spirit by watching classic Christmas movies or drinking gallons of eggnog.

Until this year.

Just as Scrooge changed. Just as the Grinch’s heart grew. I underwent a transformation.

On December 4th I started liking . . . no, loving . . . Christmas Music. I’m not sure what happened, but I’ve been listening to it non-stop for over a week.

Maybe, like Scrooge and the Grinch my heart just needed a little push to grow.

My push was bluegrass Christmas Music. I’ll be honest, I still can’t take the Bing Crosby stuff, but the Pandora bluegrass Christmas station has really set me in a joyful mood for Christmas.

No, that does not mean love and romance, but peace and giving. Spending time with my family. Not worrying about how much I spend on presents, but who I am spending my presence with.

The bluegrass music I’ve been listening to isn’t shy about Christ being the reason for our celebrations. Maybe that’s the difference. Each song seems to bring the sounds of true joy, and I’ve needed that.

Here are a few of the Christmas Albums I’ve fallen in love with over the last week, enjoy:

WindHam HIll: Holliday Guitar Collection

Windham Hill

Christmas Grass: A Celebration of Christmas, Bluegrass Style

Christmas Grass

Christmas Grass 2

Christmas Grass 2

Winter’s Solstice III

Winter's Solstice III

Christmas by Mannheim Steamroller

Christmas

Christmas In The Smoky Mountains

Smoky Mountain Christmas

David Grisman’s Acoustic Christmas

Acoustic Christmas

Putumayo Presents – A Jazz & Blues Christmas

A Jazz & Blues Christmas

And so as the standard bluegrass Christmas song says, “Christmas Time’s A Comin'” and I am loving every moment of it, including the joyous sounds!

http://youtu.be/4hn01O73L-8

Thankfulness!

photo-4Ok, ok, yes I know that Thanksgiving was last week.  I wanted to write something up, but I was having too much fun playing with my niece and nephew.  I spent my Thanksgiving in Tulsa with my family.  I’ve had a busy couple of months.  Grad school is taking up more time than I thought it would (I’m not sure what that means).  I’ve been writing papers instead of blogs, and I don’t like that.  I’ve miss my blogging community.

I’m very thankful that I got to spend last week with my family, away from all my school work.  School has been hard, but I know it isn’t really that bad.  People are still struggling because of Hurricane Sandy.  Imagine coming upon Christmas and still having to worry about where aid is going to come from.  I don’t know anyone who was directly put out due to Sandy, but I have family members fighting cancer.

Life is hard.

And it is during these difficult times is when it is important to count what we are thankful for.

If you remember to the start of this year when I challenged myself, and all of my readers, to Live Spiritually, I started writing down what I was thankful for each day.  It has helped me keep a healthy perspective on my world.  Even on the bad days I’ve ended up writing at least one thing I am thankful for.

Addi's note

So, as we go toward the Christmas season I challenge you all to continue to look for things to be thankful for.  Write them down, share them with a friend, but most of all do not let a day go by without looking for something to be thankful for.

Addi and Me

I’m thankful that I have a family who loves me and that Addi and Linc (my niece and nephew) are growing up to be creative kids who believe their uncle is fun to be around.

What are you thankful for?

Linc and Me

The First Snow

I spent the last two weeks pounding away on my computer.  It’s getting a little old and the delete key isn’t working all the time, but for now, it is helping me get through grad school.  Funny enough, two weeks ago, when I was celebrating Hobbit Day, I did something very stupid.

Acting on little, to no sleep, I decided to go check out the new iPhone 5, it had just been released that day.  As I had expected, the Apple store was packed with people trying to upgrade their phones.  I didn’t really want a new phone, just wanted to look at it.

The iPhone 5 is sleek and remarkably light weight.  It was very compelling, but what really caught my eye was the new Macbook Pro.  My old Macbook only has 80 gigs and the battery has a life of about 30 minutes, though it still works.

Now, let me explain myself a little bit.  On Friday September 21st, I was still feeling the after-effects of completing my first masters level class the day before.  I’d been up since 5:30, already hard to work on the reading for my next class.

Still, NEVER go shopping when you are super tired.  Or you might walk out with a 2,000 dollar computer that you can’t afford.  That’s just what I did.

Fortunately Apple has a gracious return policy, which is what I took advantage of after I went to the gym and thought things over.

Now back to the present.

I spent all day yesterday typing away on my old computer, being very careful not to make any mistakes, as the delete key is being very tricky.  Kind of funny that I was able to delete my big mistake when I bought a new computer, but my old computer wont let me delete the wrong words I type.  Anyway, around 4:00 pm yesterday, I turned in my second big paper, which interestingly enough focused on the importance of sleep and how it correlates to learning.

I should have talked about sleep and how it can stop you from buying expensive Apple products.  But that wouldn’t have been scholarly, just realistic.

If you can’t tell I’ve learned I need more sleep!  So I decided to take this morning off, which was very nice.  When I woke up around 9 am, I was surprised.  A fresh coat of snow on the ground.

I love snow, especially the kind that only sticks on the grass.  So in celebration of the first snow I am going to share the pictures of my yard with a fresh dusting on it.

I think it’s awesome that it snowed today.  It reminded me that sometimes we make mistakes, but we can’t do anything bad enough that God will not take it back.  He covers over our sin and makes our lives as white as the fresh snow on my lawn this morning.

I hope you enjoy the pictures of the first snow in Denver. And remember, it’s not bad to sleep in every once and a while.