Be Still

As I walked down to the end of the dock tonight and sat down on the bench I was suddenly gripped with an overwhelming sense of silence and peace. In one moment, my mind went from the usual state of random questioning of God's ability to make my life complete and worth something to utter humility and trust that He alone is God. And that really the point is not that my life is worth anything but that I add to His story of redemption. Every question that I ask God, like will Justin and I both be around to grow old together? or why is it so difficult to watch your parents get old? is my mind's futile attempt at trying to control what happens in my life. Like if I anticipate it, maybe it won't hurt so much. God literally quieted my down tonight to whisper in my ear, "Be still and know... that I am God." Which really means to me that it's ok, I don't have to worry about all these things because he has it under control. When it is time for me to go through certain things in this life, he will be there and I will get through it.
Steadily, the clouds, sun and water were moving in the rhythms God set for them and frantically the bugs were flying around in front of me. I had one choice, to focus on the bugs in front of me (the things that worry me) or to focus on the majestic beauty happening behind those bugs in this beautiful sunset (the beauty and grace of God). I wish you could've beent here to experience this overwhelming sense of peace -in our world of constant movement it's hard to come by. I feel like He's reminded me of this before, but I always appreciate a refresher.

fall is here and so is all of 318!

fall in texas is interesting. you really, really hope for the cool, crisp weather that fall is known for. you dress in the mornings for a cool 55 degree day, light scarf, boots, and hot coffee. then by noon, you're windows are down while you're sipping an iced chai. that's ok. here's why- january, february, march and april. a wintery white december would be nice, but when the 4 months following Christmas come along and you're not scraping windows or blowing snow or freezing your butt off, it's totally worth it. besides, winter is what colorado is for. you just go once a year and drudge along in knee-deep snow with 20 degree weather and then you go back home.
if you do need a healthy dose of fall, you just go over to andrea and justin's where she has decorated the house with fall foliage and the scent of cinnamon and pumpkin waft from the kitchen as she's baking fresh pumpkin coffee cake. besides, texas is the place to be right now. welcome new 318 texans---[jake.carrie.annika]

you can't see annika, but her toys and boppy in the picture proves her presence.
happy fall to all!

it's official...

after 5 years working for the gat, i have taken a position at the church working soley for the cup. we open the second location at red oak next wednesday and then 2 more locations in mesquite and cedar hill this next year. my last day with the gat is the last day of the camping trip. it's crazy because i thought this day would never come. not like i wanted it to, but i just never thought this would happen. it was a much more difficult decision that i thought it would be too. the major decision here was life in business or life in ministry? i had been working towards business since i changed my major for the last time in college. and when i took the job working for the gathering 4 and 1/2 years ago, i thought i would be the admin that just took care of business. but over the last 5 years, i found that i really loved working with people too. i loved the people in the gat and the staff. i worked through my weaknesses as an admin, being that i'm not wired to be super organized or really be told what to do. lathro and paul both gave me so much respect and allowed me to lead in my strengths. they let me be an exec, if only just in our little world. i have gotten to work with some of the most amazing and interesting people. ultimately, this is a career opportunity that i can't pass up. but, dang it hurts. i will miss a million things about my job. but looking forward, i'm excited to develop my skills in business management. my dream is to one day open a restaurant that is all desserts, coffees and teas. it'll be in boulder and the entire patio will be giant stone fireplaces with comfy patio furntiture and warm hearths to sit on. you'll go there after dinner and hang out with friends for a couple hours, sip coffee and eat a yummy dessert. you'll all be invited for the grand opening. so i'm one step closer to my little dream.
i guess that means we're texas awhile longer too. which is great because it seems dear friends are moving here faster than i could ever hope. curt, dawn and jackson are moving to austin beginning of october. i'm excited for this because i love hanging out with them so much and they're going to live in a great city that i have a reason to visit more often now. carrie, jake and annika just moved here from california for a job and are living with us til they find a place. which i hope that takes a while because i had so much fun coming home last night to carrie and annika. we have a full house and i love it! add in bryson, our roommate, and that makes 6 people and 1 hyper puppy. to make our family almost complete down here, alishia's mom moved down last week. there's nothing more comforting than having a mom around, i wish mine could be here though. what is it about being married that just makes you want to be around family more? our 1 year anniversary is coming up quick and we're planning a trip to minnesota in november. i can't wait to see the fam and our friends and get some much needed down time. life has been crazy. gotta love it that way though.
justin and i are running a half marathon in december and training started this week. pray that i don't die.

easter

welcome to the world of the kee's. today we had a yummy easter meal with the white's. tim makes some mad potatoes! we have a lot to catch up on with wedding pictures, new house, new puppy... thanks for reading. much love!