All Who Have Breathe Can Sing.

I have noticed a positive pattern when I am falling into a funk of my depression or deeper into a funk than I would prefer. I listen to Josh Garrels. His music is filled with sorrowful joy. His voice bring comfort in the acceptance of somber rest through grief and hope in continuing forward at times. I have met and spoken with him on a couple of occasions after his shows and there is so much peace and love from the Lord that overflows out of him. It is absolutely beautiful.

Truth be told this is the first real funk I've fallen into while being married and something that I have noticed the most is that I feel like I would rather not speak at all and dwell with in this feeling rather than try to explain how I'm feeling to my husband. But through this struggle I am finding strength through the forcing myself to open up and stretch out instead of curling up in to the fetal position waiting for it to pass. "I really don't feel like talking about this at all right now".  But when would I ever feel like talking about it? Better now than never, right?


I stumbled upon a gem today while updating people on the life God has called me to in ministry.
The Children's Song

Beautiful things are resilient. As I sat in the wilderness by myself I observed a butterfly. The wind was whipping and howling while the sun shinned. This butterfly that was so determined to pollinate the flower that it was upon gripped for dear life and endured the wrath of Gods breathe as it help on to continue what it was ultimately called to do, spread life and beauty. Perhaps it doesn't even know that's what it's been created to do...

This is what God was speaking to me. "I have made you far stronger and more capable than this butterfly clinging to my creation. Let this represent what you too are colonizing while you're right where I need you to be. Above all else know that I am providing these harsh winds of trial but I will soon make things calm. Persevere."

Thank you Jesus...






-Keep Adventuring. (Even when you feel like you don't want to.)

Wonderful Distraction.UW MBA

Last weekend was my first weekend back full time in Laradise after a packed summer of backpacking, hiking, climbing and loving many while being loved unconditionally. After church Austin and I met up with our pastor and his wife and little baby boy to toss the Frisbee around and spend some time catching up from inconsistent summer weekends out and about.

We just recently got a new pastor at our church they are from Colorado and it all seemed to have happened rather quickly. But since May, I have found myself very thankful for the transitions that are currently happening in our church. God is faithful and in the sea that is Laramie Wyoming I continually feel this wave of change and contentment in Gods moving hands in our growing community. Nate, our new pastor, and his wife Brielle have been a huge answer to prayer. Their little boy Hudson is just presh and it has been a huge honor to be apart of Gods plan for our church.

We met up with Nate, Brielle and Hudson at the park on Sunday and as we lost momentum in throwing the Frisbee we moved closer to the playground where Hudson was so intrigued by his bike his ball and another groups ball. We were chatting and Hudson was wandering around the playground and Brielle had mentioned that Hudson was beginning to explore more and was becoming more comfortable with not being right next to his parents but instead stepping further away. We watched him for a bit and then I went over to him and as we both looked at the huge slide, I looked at him and asked, "Hudson, do you want to go on the slide with me"? His eyes got huge and in a little growl he answered, "YES!" He began to run towards the slide but not even 8 feet into his little sprint he tripped and fell on all fours in some sand under a tree. In this transitional trip his eyes were directed towards the ground where his hands felt the sand and the dirt. Completely forgetting about the slide he was mesmerized with the sand.

This struck me as absolutely beautiful. He is a child and a child of God at that. He is enjoying all that is around him and overwhelmed with interest and exploration to the point where the seemingly most important most exciting thing that is in his view is trumped and delayed by a passion and pleasure to explore what has been revealed to him.

I see the relations to this in my own life and how our plans are not Gods at times but in the midst of our plan break downs Gods plan comes through in unexpected ways creating room for discovery and a new angel of what it looks like to take the journey as apposed to just reaching the destination.

After a lovely session of digging and feeling the sandy ground we then remembered that there was a slide calling to us and we climbed and ventured to the top and slid down exiting with static filled bed heads, laughing and loving the simple fulfillment of the joy that followed.

What a lovely reminder that came at the perfect time as I transitioned back into off season work from our very busy summer. It was truly and incredible summer with so many incredible faces, hearts and spirits crying out and dancing for the Lord! and I am very much looking forward to continually processing and reflecting on all the places God used my feet to trek to this summer alongside so many.

With the end of that thought I give you some summer highlights! Enjoy!

-Keep adventuring.

UW MBA Students in the Wind River Mountain Range

Fellow Otters in Leigh Lake in Grand Teton National Park

Our brother Avritt  getting baptized in Klondike Lake in the Snowy Range Mountains

Our 10/10 Adult team Posing in front of the Snowies

Our fellow Otters beginning our hike to Inspiration Point in Grand Teton NP

Sledding in July in the Snowies, who wouldn't?!

UW MBA Team Killing the game on the top of Warrior Peak in the Wind River Range

All about the Snickers at the Summit.

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Stepping Out: Grand Teton & Freedom Challenge

There is something about stepping off something man made into something God made. There is truth that shines through perspectives when we step away from distraction, duty and obligation. These perspectives can be many things. They can be beautiful epiphany, they can be subtle acceptance, they can be delightful rejoicing and they can be hard to comprehend or difficult to accept. Either way he speaks tenderly out of love to us in his wilderness.

"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities- his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."- Romans 1:20

It is simply lovely to enjoy and be enjoyed by creation through all that is encountered and pursued in and through us by Abba God.  My brother has told me on occasion that carrying 80+lbs on my back into the middle of nowhere is kind of crazy. At times I agree. He has mentioned to me that his preferable camping spot is a 5star hotel with heated towels. I love him for it and know that among our comforts and differences that I too enjoy hotel status... However my idea of a hotel is the billion star hotel with natural air conditioning and a warm sleeping bag instead of towels.

Otter Love!

I had the honor and pleasure of spending a week in creation with almost 200 women who are passionate, driven and stunning daughters of the most high. This week I have gained an entirely new perspective and what it truly means to build the kingdom together as SROM merged with Operation Mobilization/ Freedom Challenge. SROM staff was asked to come along side these 11 groups of women to help guide their days spiritually while on the trail so that God could nurture each of them through our SROM staff in a completely new way that Operation Mobilization/Freedom Challenge had never experienced. Challenging them with in the "why" of what they were striving to accomplish through these fundraising efforts.

Ginger my beloved inspiring sister!

 I have often seen  the unspoken tension of competition in ministry work. This sometimes desperate feeling of gaining and loosing supporters to and from other ministries. Hearts called to certain ministries or causes. There is a much bigger picture that, perhaps, many have chosen not to let the color bleed in and saturate what is meant to be true unconsolidated beauty and freedom in various architectures of Kingdom building through Unifying the body and bring the many different talents from various ministries to bring strength to the body through serving many as well as each other.

It is simply not about how many people are in various parts of the body, it's about helping the entire body to function well. And through this naturally and organically the body of Christ is and will continue to grow. First and foremost exemplifying Jesus in the ways that we love, pursue and challenge to do all of the above more deeply and passionately than we have ever done so before.

The women of Operation Mobilization came together and raised over $700,000 to specifically help to fight slavery and rescue thousands of women and children from enslaved places all over the world. The funds are going directly towards the rescue efforts and continual rehabilitation of Women and children everywhere.  Each women committed and pursued raising thousands of dollars each and trained for months so that they come team up and climb the Tetons in Grand Teton National Park physically sacrifice their time and efforts to help others they may never meet.

Our 2012 Across America Tour Seattle to New York City!

Clearly this Organization and their efforts struck deeply within me because physical sacrifice is something I am very passionate about. God gave us temples to worship and praise him and he has given us so many different bodies and these too integrate temporarily with one another as we spend our short time colonizing to bring Heaven to earth. Riding with Venture Expeditions was a main way in which God pursued me to follow him through the hard riding and doing hard things while riding my bike across the country to also help set people free.

Team Otter!

And even with in our physical sacrifice, there is more than just taking steps vertically or horizontally it is within our circumstances that God truly prepares and strengthens us to do his work and see the cultivation of his work within us. No matter the previous injury or mental struggle or past abuse. I can safely say that the lives of these women I had the privileged of spending time with on the trail, I am so grateful and thankful for their obedience to be vessels and owning their stories while giving their lives entirely to Jesus.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"- 2Corinthians 5:17

Back country cooking Apple Crisp

The incredible Freedom Challenge Backpackers!

Thank you Jesus!

-Keep Adventuring.













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First Hand Planned Inexperiences.

I can tell you first hand that this summer isn't at all what I had anticipated or predicted several months ago. My joy oozes through the exhaustion that is our peak season here at Solid Rock Outdoor Ministries. Whether it is young new life or old weathered life you can learn and anticipate that you simply can't anticipate anything at all. you can simply hope for the best and try to plan for the worst.

7Since no one knows the future,

who can tell someone else what is to come?

8As no one has power over the wind to contain it,

so no one has power over the time of their death.

As no one is discharged in time of war,

so wickedness will not release those who practice it."

-Ecclesiastes 8:7-8 

No need to be alarmed, no one has died. However I can safely say that in the first 2 months of marriage thus far my groom and I have never been more consistently sick. We are both not the kinds of people who have struggling immune systems or injure easily so needless to say this current season and the recent seasons leading up to now have been very trying and mixed with feelings of defeat. 

After returning from my 10 days in the wilderness working for Solid Rock Outdoor Ministries, I came home to find a very sick puppy. He had gone to urgent care and been given an anti-biotic and was told it could be a lot of things and that didn't rule out the possibility of lymphoma... However the antibiotics weren't helping and he still had a fever. We later went to the ER and had blood tests done that showed his white blood cell count was slightly below normal but nothing of concern. His liver count was a bit high and so was the pain behind his eyes. They ruled out Meningitis but when his fever spiked again a few days later we returned to have more blood taken and an ultra sound scheduled because he was having swelling in the liver and spleen areas on top of the lymph nodes in his neck. We have been told that it is most likely a viral infection. Regular pain medication, rest and hydration will be the best remedy. However we are still keeping tabs on his Liver count because it is still high.

Rarely have I ever gone to the ER. The majority of the times I've gone I've been too young to remember. So to be taking my new spouse, my other half into the uncertainty of what we will find out, I was really nervous. But this is where I left it. When we walked out of the second ER visit, I left that burden in the room. God has this and there is clear reason for this... However as wise as that may seem or not seem, I know that there is no way I will comprehend the backside of this tapestry to provide clear answers currently. Fever broke, and as I type this he is cat napping in all parts of the apartment. 

For many might read this and feel thankful, bitter or grief in various other outcomes that may have happened in personal experiences. And perhaps still working through those emotions and broken heart syndrome of loosing loved ones. I will say it again, "As wise as that may seem or not seem, I know that there is no way I will comprehend the backside of this tapestry to provide clear answers currently in anyone's life circumstances. 

"There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless."- Ecclesiastes 8:14

Fever broke, and as I type this he is cat napping in all parts of the apartment. 

In conversation last night at bible study we had spoken of how God really does have a sense of humor. We also spoke of the incredible opportunity and freedom that we have to seek Gods perspective and ask his desires into our hearts. We talked about how we can often bring our own expectations and then blame God for not answering prayers based on our personal expectation of how we want Him to answer our prayers when truth be told he answers all prayers in his own way whether that it hardening a heart to prevent hurt, softening a heart to show truth and light or working His timing. His timeline not our own.

"Who is like the wise?

Who Knows the explanation of things?

A person's wisdom brightens their face and changes its hard appearance.

2Obey the King's command, I say, because you took an oath before God.

3Do not be in a hurry to leave the King's presence. Do not stand up for a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. 4Since a king's word is supreme, who can say to him, "what are you doing?"

5Who ever obeys his command will come to no harm,

and the wise heart will know the proper time and procedure.

6For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter,

though a person may be weighed down by misery.

7Since no one knows the future,

who can tell someone else what is to come?

8As no one has power over the wind to contain it,

so no one has power over the time of their death.

As no one is discharged in time of war,

so wickedness will not release those who practice it."

-Ecclesiastes 8:1-6

Go ahead and pause and red the entirety of chapter 8 and chapter 9 while you're there. Let it sink in and let that weight roll off your back a little bit in know that Solomon is indeed a wise, wise man.

I particularly like verses 14-15 : "There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. 15 I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun that to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun."

Truth be told I am exhausted... What else is new? So perhaps in the midst of hardship and changing of seasons, I will simply be and eat, drink and be glad. Enjoy the views and enjoy the company as God continues to set my feet into each of these days under the sun.

My most recent 10/10 Adult course!

My Love.

-Keep Adventuring.








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These Giants.

"There we saw the giants."- Numbers 13:33

"The reason so many people fail to experience this divine principle is that they expect to receive it all without a struggle. When conflict comes and the battle rages on, they become discouraged and surrender. God has nothing worth having that is easily gained, for there are no cheap goods on the heavenly market. The cost of our redemption was everything God had to give, and anything worth having is expensive. Difficult times and places are our schools of faith and character. If we are ever to rise above mere human strength, and experience the power of the life of Christ in our mortal bodies, it will be through the process of conflict that could very well be called the "labor pains" of the new life...

Dear child of God, you may be suffering, but you cannot fail if you will only dare to believe, stand firm, and refuse to be  overcome."- June 29th, Streams in the Desert.

Humility, I am finding continually in this season of my life I have often been confused in thinking of it as defeat. Just as consuming certain things into our bodies can physically effect us  in negative way, so can our perspectives and thought processes.

God hasn't, doesn't and never will fall of of His throne...


King of My Heart

Let the King of my heart be
The mountain where I run
The fountain I drink from; Oh
He is my song

Let the King of my heart be
The shadow where I hide
The ransom for my life; Oh
He is my song

You are good good, Oh
You are good, good Oh



-Keep Adventuring.








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Go Forward.

Tunnel Vision. Ever have it? What has been at the end of the tunnel that you're looking down?

-Projects?
-Email?
-Emotion?
-Work?
-Finances?
-School?
-Health?
-Relationships?
-Worry?
-Denial?
-Depression?
-Seeking?

Could it be that the things in which we are most anxious and focused upon were originally meant to be a passing thought that should be stewarded well?

I've begun to study the book of Ecclesiastes. And a question that we discuessed last night and pondered on is Salomon's riches. In Deuteronomy 17:17 "He Must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold."

Yet if these things were not acceptable, why did God give Salomon so much wealth?

I for one gain tunnel vision on finances. Especially since getting married. It's actually hindered my heart more than I realize. I think about dollars and the seemingly hard situation we are in with pinching pennies. How nice it would be to not need to worry about money. If my husband and I were living comfortably and we didn't need to choose which bill would be inevitably late this month. Worrying about how no matter what when things get tight, things just get tighter with unforseen car problems or taxes.

I know the turth deep down and it is something I'm not all that proud of but I am thankful none the less to know myself and know the truths about my comfort seeking heart. My heart more often than not seeks comfort in things rather than in God. And that truth that I know deep down is that if God did give me wealth in my life currently I feel I would quickly become like Salomon. Drifting away from the Lord and walking deeper and deeper down that tunnel of searching for satisfaction through wealth.

I often think about how nice it would be to just be comfortable financially. But when I think further into that thought I am reminded of myself and many people who I know who have said things like,  "If I could just step away from all of this I could become closer to God". Or "If I could just make a little bit more money it would make life so much easier". Or "If I move to this place, I will be able to focus and do what God wants me to do".

The truth is that God has us right where He needs us to be. We put words in Gods mouth continually as we think we know what will be best for us and pursue those things. When really God wants us to act now! Not when it fits into our timeline. Truthfully, The things that I have heard people say above are nothing more than scape goats. We all release them, every single one of us. It doesn't mean we are terrible or ill natured people. It simply means we are learning continually to look Jesus in the eye and step out onto the water like Peter had.

With such focus seeing our Lord and Savior... He is called Savior for a reason. What type of hero saves people when they have gotten out of the danger themselves. What kind of God would make you deal with the hardships and confusion by yourself and meet up with you after the fact.

He wants us to seek Him now! Not later when we have "free time" that is bound to be taken up by social media. Not later when we move to different places thinking it will move us away from our problems and hardships.

He wants His strength in us and our eyes completely on Him. After all, man does not deserve glory but God be enthroned in highest praises and worthy of it all.


-Keep Adventuring.






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And We Dance.

When one is conquring ones self while stumbling I picture gladeators battling lions and one another. I picture athletes attempting to use their own momentum to chunk heavy things rather then allowing the the nature of the circumstance to be overcome using it's own momentum to propell it's self further like a dance. Like a Shot Put thrower. or a Crossfitter Kipping.

Life is a dance and a climb and a messy fall and a dark cold hole and a bright warm, just out of the dryer bliss fest. And all of these things are OK. Why? Because it's life and through EVRY circumstance, God is working in and through us to reveal Himself to us and to those who surround us. 

There is a quote that I have been thinking and rethinking in my head over this last week. As I have been getting back into the groove of the summer schedule here at SROM, I keep thinking about this quote and the deep truths that it holds.

"Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learn. The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices and the acceptance of love back into our hearts. Love is the essential reality and out purpose on earth. To be consciously aware of it, to experience love in ourselves and others, is the meaning of life. Meaning does not lie in things. Meaning lies in us."- Marianne Williamson

Just some thought for you.

Happenings:

-Apartment moving and life combining continues as the Husband and I settle into the new love nest.

Goodbye Apt. 22, you were swell!

building a versatile bed frame. Ask me about the funny story behind it all.

-Summer is officially here and we are all getting hyped for the SROM Swag that is coming in for students to purchase and take with them EVERYWHERE! Retro Tanks are in and the XL's can substitute as dresses for your more formal backpacking occasions! 

-Summer here also means summer staff arrivals, climbing weather and late sunsets to climb after work!...Needless to say it's going to be a GREAT summer!

Rule number 1, look good.

She said yes!

 -I got some ah-MAZING new climbing pants for $7 in Fort Collins. (you can see said pants in the team climbing shot)

-Austin and I were invited to be a cover story of hiking and catching up after our wedding to hike with our two friends while the real plan all along was to present a proposal! It was so fun and extremely overwhelming for me simply to know how it felt to be asked such a wonderful question from your best friend!

-My friend Q ran 44 miles on Saturday. 4 out and back legs of 11 miles each. I biked leg 2 with her and I ran the last leg with her. Frick... She inspires me mucho to go harder and love deeper. She's awesome.

Photo Cred: Emily Hall

Up & Coming:

-This weekend we are taking a quick break from unpacking our lives and packing the car! We are headed up to Jackson Hole (affectionately known as "J-Hole") to spend the weekend camping with friends and running a half marathon! Between my back injury and getting over being sick (yes I got sick while on the Honeymoon) I am truly running this race with the strength of God and not my own. Please pray for my body and for the focus to not be on the aches but on the creation in which we are running and those who are presently around us. It's going to be a party!

Love Him, Duh.

-My friend Craig is coming out in just 2 weeks to head out on his 40/40 with SROM this summer and I am SO EXCITED for him to hit the trail and be rocked by God!

Throwback. Circ 2010

-Keep Adventuring.

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