Condition-less.

"If I could speak all the languages of the earth
and of angels, but didn't love others, I
would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and I understood
all of God's secret plans and possessed all
knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could
move mountains, but didn't love others, I would
be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the
poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast
about it; but if I didn't love others, I would have
gained nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous
or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand
it's own way. It is not irritable and it keeps
no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice
about injustices but rejoices when the truth
wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never looses faith,
is always hopeful, and endures through every
circumstance."-1 Corinthians 13:1-7

Love. Is. Unconditional.

Ever since I could remember I wanted to move west. Even before I knew my true calling, I knew I wanted to love on people and hear their lives and their paths. I've had the incredible opportunity to explore people and really hear them with in the travels I have  pursued.

God is good. All the time.
All the time. God is good.

This past week I have been very much enjoying getting to know new people and spending quality time with some of them to learn them more and see some of the unique connections surface. While searching for a church to call home, I have met a lot of different people and just like being on bike tour, I have encountered many different parts of Christs body. It's been blowing my mind. It's incredible how at home we can feel some places but other destinations feel completely foreign. This perhaps is because we aren't truly meant to plug in there. Perhaps it is because God has the perfect place for each of us and the discomfort of trying to fit in is not meant to be forced.

I have noticed through the search of where God wants me to be I have felt different degrees of vulnerability from others. Different degrees of commitment and service. Intentional community and the definitions that come from that can be expressed and pursued in many different ways. There are different degrees of culture with in the church body and in waves of community. And ultimately "love culture" is striving for the kingdom.

I can be completely honest in saying that many times I don't understand or comprehend certain areas of community or peoples perspective on it, but I want to continue to try my hardest to seek out my flawed thoughts and put them to death to allow love to conquer and pursue those who God has placed in my life. To challenge myself and others to love Unconditionally. 

Last week as I mentioned we began to get a lot of snow. By Sunday we had a little over 3 feet of snow. Conditions were perfect to invite and partake in doing something I haven't done in years, making a snowman.

This wasn't just any snowman though. In fact it turned into something even better, a joy. While we struggled to take parts of a vandalized snowman that had been knocked down the day before, a woman by the name of  Marilyn walked over and asked us if we had built the big snowman yesterday and we replied with no. However we were going to make one that was bigger. She chuckled and approved. She lives just across the street and she had mentioned how she loved watching the building process. She saw people having so much fun creating, she was able to watch from her window. After we introduced ourselves, she made her way back over to her home and we continued to work. The snow was perfect for building but we quickly realized this would take much longer because of our lack of shoveling ability. *IDEA! I'll go ask Marilyn if she has any shovels we could borrow. She did indeed and when she handed them to me she told me, "I expect great things". I guaranteed it!

We spent 4 hours creating something. Not just for the enjoyment of just doing it but for the joy of bringing joy to others. So we named it Marilyn. She couldn't believe it. Her and her neighbor took pictures and we spent some time talking. Originally I had invited anyone who wanted to come be apart of it. I even posted it on facebook on a local Laramie page and though no one came out, people requested photos and everyone loved it. It's the little things even if they are temporary like snow fall in April. There is still impact in all that we do.

I went to my first Roller Derby. Super rad and rather brutal.

Though my life has dramatically changed with in the last 4 months in climate, location, responsibility and role. God is constant. Thank you Jesus!

-Keep Adventuring.


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"For the Crazies"

I find it really interesting and intricately amazing while purely simple at the same time to see how our dependence upon God can be lost in the fog of life at times. Then within that foggy state I have greatly thirsted something and have not known what it could possibly feel like to have it quenced ever. But the more I seek the more I find myself falling back the the Lords feet and seeking His wisdom, not mine.

1"My son, if you accept my words 

and store up my commands within you,

2 turning your ear to wisdom

and applying your heart to understanding-

3 indeed, if you call out for insight 

and cry aloud for understanding,

4 and if you look for it as for silver

and search for it as a hidden treasure,

5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord

and find the knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord gives wisdom;

from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He holds success in store for the upright,

he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,

8 for he guards the course of the just

and protects the way of his faithful ones."-Proverbs 2:1-8

I can't express enough the richness that has come from living alone. It has been a huge progression forward on the intimacy that I have been longing for in quality time with the Lord. And I have been extremely thankful. Scripture isn't seasonal. it is constant. A constant guide of Gods wisdom in our lives. He is our dependence. He is our inheritance. His will now our will be done.

Living in Laramie and the continual settling in has been radically inspirational and humbling. Continued reminders that people fail us constantly but God isn't asleep when He puts people, places, trials and blessings in our lives. I am flawed can very honestly say that I seek out comfort when Gods continual call on my life is uncomfortable and narrow. These comfort zones and understandings are tested daily and for that I am thankful that I am reminded each moment and each turn that seeking Him is not seasonal. It is a constant. 

For that I am so, so thankful.

Some of you may know that I have a passion for cycling and Mountain biking. Though I don't always think I'm really good at either, it's still fun to dream and share with in a community of bicycling crazies when ever I get the chance.

I was blessed with an opportunity to go down to Golden Colorado last weekend with some really good company and see a film premiere of "Inspired to Ride"

Mike Dion the director of "Ride the Divide" made this film to document what endurance athletes and the life style of endurance's races are like and the adventure of racing across the U.S. via the Trans American route from Oregon to Virginia.

The gathering was amazing and extremely inspiring. That's the cycling community in a nutshell. I had the opportunity to meet some incredible riders who  connect and continually pursue their lives with these races and the cycling community bringing light to what our bodies can really endure. My love for physical sacrifice and body pushing was first discovered in Ecuador on Cotopaxi back in 2010 and since then God has brought the opportunity continually to test the limits of the tent He has blessed me with. Helping me to strip continually the borders I have built around it in culture and life style. It is always really inspiring and refreshing to connect with those who have that same passion and pushing of the limits and creating new ones.

I was able to meet up and chat with Juliana Buhring and Mike Hall. Both of which who raced the Trans American route and have a list of other outstanding accomplishments that you can read about. Juliana holds the world record for the fastest woman to circumnavigate the world by bike. I'm serious. This day was amazing!

I also had some time to chat with Tracy Petervary who raced the Tour Divide on a tandem bicycle with her Husband J.P. and currently/continually competes in the Iditarod Trail Invitational on fat tire bikes! RAD! I may or may not have made a commitment to her to ride the divide, and soon. I'm sold. It was an absolute pleasure! and I hope to meet up with her again at some point in lifes path!

Not to mention I got to see Ryan again! We have seen each other more in the last 2 weeks than we have in the last 2 years. Always a true blessing!

Other happenings this week I received my Josh Garrels new CD, "Home" in the mail and I have been listening to it... A lot. The best part is I didn't even need to load it to my computer because my friend Janet knows me and purchased the digital copy for my on iTunes! Ugh, she's amazing! Thanks Friend! "The Arrow" is my song of repeat choice this week. Check it!
My expression in the photo above pretty much sums up a lot of my feelings from this past week.

Life in Laradise: 70 degrees on Tuesday and a foot of snow with 8 more inches to follow on Wednesday. 

National Sibling Day                                                                                                                      

In case you didn't know last week was national Sibling day... And my brother proudly chose this amazing photo to help explain to the world just how awesome we were and still are as siblings. We may live in completely different worlds broseph, but I still love you so, so much and am continually thankful for and proud of you! Monday was also his birthday and he suffered tremendously while sitting on a beach in  Puerto Rico. 

Though we're apart... Trekkies at heart.  

-Keep Adventuring.

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Seasonal Progression.

"People are like grass;

their beauty is like a flower in the field.

The grass withers and the flower fades.

But the word of the Lord remains forever.

And that word is the Good News that was preached to you."

-1 Peter 24-25

I am so thankful for the creation of seasons. I am thankful for the changes that come with them, the beauty, the harshness, the warmth and the dieing. The changes that come in each season make way for transition into a relateable thought process in the continual changing seasons in our lives.

I feel that seasons are a great God given example of how we can best be optimists with in our relationships with each other. Though there are certain seasons that are colder, harsher and less lit because of the the storms that are taking place, no doubt if we seek the teachings and the process through it we will find far more than just what is hard. Often times we will discover something beautiful.

Have you ever wondered why Deciduous trees loose leaves and why Evergreen trees never loose their leaves? I had a friend explain it beautifully once.

See the incredible beauty of fall foliage is actually death taking place. The leaves that turn colors are actually in the midst of dieing, they are becoming waste. When they fall off of the tree in late Fall, it is the tree that is pruning itself of the dead things. It is stripping off waste so that it may prepare for new growth and new life.

Evergreen trees dispose of their waste inward. The waste products actually move towards the core of them and creates strength to allow them to be able to withstand the continual seasons around it. When the proper season comes, new growth also comes from those seasons of death and harshness. 

Divine.

All this being said, I had a delightful opportunity this weekend to meet up with a dear friend of mine, Ryan. We met half way between Laramie, WY and Del Norte, CO  which was Breckenridge, CO. We haven't seen each other for well over a year. I was excited to see her, nervous to see her and so, so thankful for the opportunity. As soon as we saw each other things were perfect. I literally could not have asked for a better day of quality time with good friends.

While painting the town red, and getting amazing photos with attractions in Breck we sat, ate, drank and caught up on the lives God has blessed us with. In the midst of all of this we calculated that we have officially been friends for 10 years. WHOA! Praise God! Looking back on those 10 years I can safely say that there have been some really rough seasons. But through all of it as I mentioned above there is reasoning for every season and the degrees of elements that are brought to each of them. Through these seasons we have seen the best in each other and the worst in each other and the fact that we are able to sit down and celebrate each others lives and the dreams and desires we are living out is one of the most joyful blessings I could ever witness. The cultivation that has gone into everything we have experienced has made us both Deciduous and evergreen trees. A sub species that is unlike any other. We are Gods most prized creation which is the reasoning for such dynamic. Ryan and I have indeed been able to strip away some majorly toxic things that have negatively effected out lives in certain seasons and through that stripping experience seeking still takes place. Just like those seasons we also have brought deep within us to seek out how and where these trials and seasons are making us stronger and able to withstand the elements that will no doubt continue to come as seasons continue to cycle.

Yes it is truly said in 1 Peter:24-25 that we can and will fail each other. Ryan and I have failed each other many times because we are flawed to begin with. However when the grass dies and the flowers fade, the truth and the word of the Lord hold steadfast forever. And that understanding in trusting Him and the seasons that He bring, there is also continual seasons and new life to be born from past seasons, trials and celebration.

Cheers to 10 years and counting Ry. I love you friend and am continually thankful for you in my life and the lives of many others.

Other happenings this week:

Easter Sunday: Per usual was one of the best Easter I have ever spent. For the first time in 3 years I wasn't in the middle of nowhere with a back pack trapped to me stepping through deep creation but I did get to spend it celebrating with some really amazing people at church and then eating rib-eye and then watching a beautiful sunset with conversation and some rather intentional talks. How incredible it is to know that I am alive because Jesus lives in me and He reminds me of that on the daily. 

Silent Auction: SROM hosted a silent auction on Wednesday evening here in Laramie as a local fundraiser! We had some really amazing items that people were in some awesome (positive) bid battles for. The night was a success and we were able to mingle and get the word out about SROM and who we are! Praise God!

Music:

 Josh Garrels: New album dropped on the 7th and it is AMAZING! Listen to "Home" . Amazing artist and the way that he does ministry is really rad! He gives his music away fo' free. You can get it fo' free on Noise Trade OR you can purchase the CD and support him on his website. Album art is amazing as always and the music and lyrical flow.

Wingman: My buddy Con Davison and his colab partner Dan Stewart have just released their first single for their band: Wingman. Listen to it! It's really rad!

Oh and I'm drinking chai again, like a boss. 

-Keep Adventuring.



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Cups, On Cups, On Cups.

Lent

Mind set: Can't wait until Sunday morning so that I can finally drink a Chai...

Counter mind set: What was my reasoning for giving Chai up for lent again in the first place?

"You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with Oil;
my cup over flows"- Psalm 23:5

Answer in process: The temptation and craving for this particular drink is a major comfort for me. And with in this lack of comfort I can honestly say that some days have been harder than others to seek that comfort in the Lord. But yet when I am in the first mindset it instantly triggers the counter mindset and for that I am very thankful. To loose myself and gain more of Jesus through sacrifice. Learning dependance and contentment in finding true comfort VS temporary comfort that disappears when the cup empties. Instead my cup has continued to fill up and even overflow in this season of lent.

I have known people who have participated in the Lent season and have given up various things that include:
-Wardrobe (wearing the same thing every day)
-Cheese
-Processed sugar
-Chai
-Coffee
-Baked goods
-Solid food (juice fasting for the entirety)
-Music
-Facebook
-Instagram
-Soda
-Social Media

Thinking back on these subjects of focus and reasoning behind them in a sacrificing sense, it brings me back to the state of mind that God continually makes us uncomfortable. With in this discomfort we seek comfort in Him and not with in these things that we may find ourselves becoming rather dependent on. This being said I have found in the last few years that I really have become somewhat of a seeker of discomfort in those new and random ways. Not seeing these situations in a light that can be reflected in process from hard of uncomfortable to stretching, learning and growing.

I have described Gods work in my life a long with many others that I have witnessed continually as "Bending, Breaking and Mending". I know that for myself I could never see myself as being comfortable for the remainder of my life. Not after seeing how the trials that He has willed have brought such tremendous fruit and cultivation. I know that from my point of view I wouldn't last a day in comfort because of how forgetful I am.

In this entire thought process, I am content. I have contentment with in my past current and future situations because though I am in discomfort my comfort and help comes from the Lord. He gave all of Himself fully in that sacrifice to give us that comfort and opportunity of saving grace. The LEAST I can do is give up a hot Bev for a couple of weeks.
Thank you Jesus!

Recaps of happenings include:

 

I got to spend some time in some really good company this past weekend at Vedauwoo being exposed to crack climbing. It was extremely humbling. The technique is rather foreign for the body to move the way that it needs to in order to make your way up the crack of a rock. My lack of experience and expertise indeed made me rather uncomfortable and self conscious BUT! this is something that I very much want to explore and work on to become MORE comfortable with through that stretching experience... Figuratively and physically.


I've been getting ripped doing a hang board work out 3 times a week with my friend Emily. It's amazing because we both get so pumped and stoked for each other with the areas we witness growth. It's also terrible because it's making me use muscles that I didn't even know I had and it's really hard and uncomfortable... I'll let you process the learning through this for yourself. Let that reality in His goodness soak you to the bone.

 I've been accumulating a list of songs that I would like to purchase over the next couple of months. That's one of my favorite things about Pandora. You search a playlist and you end up discovering new artists that can be mind blowing or hilariously bazaar.

Here is the compilation of the list so far:
Hillsong United- Relentless
Hillsong United- Love is War
Hillsong United- Heart Beat
Hillsong United- Mountain
Bethel Music- Wonder (Spontaneous)
Shakey Graves- Dearly Departed
George Ezra- Budapest
Skeelo- I Wish
Ben Howard- Time is Dancing
Lupe Fiasco- Superstar
Bethal Music &Amanda Cook- You Know me.
Stephany Gretzinger- Tips of my toes/ I Have Found my Joy
Kari Jobe- Forever
Steffany Gretzinger- Be still
Volunteer- The World Will Begin Again
Chet Faker -No Digity
Chet Faker- Gold
Hozier- Jackie and Wilson
Chet Faker- Love and Feeling

Josh Garrels -Born Again (I've already purchased this one but Wanted to share the love with you anyway!)

This weekend is Easter! The celebration of my Lord Jesus rising! The plan is to be out in creation celebrating. Not entirely sure how that will look yet but I am very excited to see faces and spend some time in celebration, praise and worship! Maybe even bust out the Nose Flute! (Do it, you wont!)


-Keep Adventuring




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