Church, Turbo, & the Dominican Republic

Good morning!

Summer is such an exciting time. I love waking up and being able to sit outside in near perfect temperatures  as I enjoy a bowl of oatmeal and a good book. As most of you know,  I am not much of a reader, but in the past few weeks God has been doing some amazing things in me. I have hit a point in our transition where even the smallest endeavors of dealing with emotions, stress, or responsibilities leaves me exhausted. My capacity has been dropping, but I am learning rest in the process.  I have begun to found refuge in sitting and reading. Although I am asking the Lord to allow me to deal with those walls & the exhaustion it brings, I am basking in the beauty of a week where I can enjoy a good book or go for a walk in our colorful city.

There have been few places in my life where I truly experience God with ease among people like I have this past week. Park Church has quickly become home to us here in Denver, and I will give you 3 of the many reasons why.

Some of our small group from Park, camping in Lost Creek.

1. Everything I have seen and experienced is saturated in the Gospel of Christ. The gospel is not an addition, or a launching off point for other great lessons, programs, or reasons for gathering. It is the entirety of why & how our body exists. I have been so humbled and blown away with the power of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection as it is proclaimed every time I am around these people.

2. We drink beer sometimes. I know, it's a crazy thing, and some of you from the South will think we have abandoned our love for God to follow heathen ways. And that is okay, for alcohol doesn't define the life of a group of people- but I will say this: having the freedom to love one another in a setting closer to that of the rest of the world is a freeing and beautiful thing. It has nothing to do with beer, but it sure is a refreshing way of doing church & life together, celebrating the Lord's faithfulness.

3. Death for those who love Jesus is celebratory and not awkward. We gathered yesterday evening at our pastors house to celebrate the life of his mother, a Jesus-lover in all forms and faithful to her family and faith until her last breath. It seems this woman was incredible. We brought food & flowers, some of us brought stories of her life, but most of all Jesus was there. And we loved on him through hanging out. It was so easy to be around people I don't know very well, because Jesus was there and abiding.

We are so very thankful to Park Church, but mostly to God for planting it 3 years ago. (happy birthday, park!)


I mentioned Turbo in the title...it's been a big part of my life this summer. TurboKick, that is. A high paced, cardio kickboxing class at the gym that I am not obsessed with. I just needed to vent about how much I love working out in Denver, and how everyone does it. That's all.

We leave for the Dominican Republic on tuesday. We are so looking forward to spending 4 weeks with students, sharing Jesus and being changed in the process. Please be praying for us as we go. We are going to be writing up a list of prayer requests by this weekend for you to be praying over while we are gone.

We also hope to give updates through the blog while there, as often as we can.

Stay tuned! We love you all.

Austin & our cousin, Tucker, at Mt. Evans, elevation over 14,000 feet.

Tucker and I at the top of the flatirons in Boulder, CO. We had such a good time with him while he was here!