Apple Juice and walking shoes.

I want to start by saying that I really wish North Carolina made it easier for people to walk around. Even if there are sidewalks in the downtown areas, people don't usually yield to pedestrians/bikes which is dangerous..and it gets worse as you get further away from downtown. I enjoy being able to walk to a coffee shop/grocery store/bookstore, whatever. That's probably my favorite thing about Boulder..that and the stunning mountains here at the Flatirons. If only they made sweet tea... We did have Beau Jo's pizza last night, and I must admit that Colorado style pizza might be my favorite. I mean, the pizza is great (and served by slice or pounds..haha!) but then you get a honey-bear to put honey on the crust as a built in dessert. I was hooked.

Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love North Carolina. I just wish I could mesh them together and have some of both. If we ever settled here I would miss grits and collards, eastern NC barbecue, and being at the beach any weekend we want. Plus, we have family o close, and a church that continues to push me to treasure Christ more, and my sin less.

Its days like today that I want to make a "fresh start" and do things differently. But then I get overwhelmed and end up like before. So I think the best thing to do is see what need change and work on what I can..dedicate myself to one or two things at a time. Number one being prayer and quiet time. After that, my heart will be better able to take hold of other changes. The grace of God is powerful and I don't ever want to take it for granted. He gave me new mercies this morning to face this day and be obedient. I want to follow His Words and love more. I want to put aside the selfish tendencies in my heart and allow His fullness to guide me. My heart is still sick and hurting. I will never be out of need for Grace nor exhaust it.

Hos 14:9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.

Home!

It feels good to say that we are home. Right now i'm hearing the sounds of Matt cleaning up and arranging his office, mixed with the sounds of Mira attacking the squeaker in her toy. It feels great. Having a puppy makes things more difficult, yet entertaining. She loves to cuddle and snuggle close to you, and she also goes a little crazy and does laps around the apartment which is a lot of fun to observe.

My husband has been a huge help during the move and all the transitioning. He's been really encouraging and willing to rummage through boxes for me.. its really great to hear him say, "How can you have another box of kitchen stuff?". Oh, I need 2 kitchens for all the wonderful things I was blessed with at our wedding, and the "small" things I collected along the way.

He only complains when packing and unpacking, not when I cook with it all.

My prayer for the coming weeks is that Matt and I grow in both obedience and patience. I would love to see both of us working towards progress in these areas and fully seeking more surrender. It will take some time and a lot of grace with one another, but Christ is far more valuable than my comfort or my own time. Even in knowing Christ I use my time in such selfish ways when I'm not broken and seeking to fight sin more.

Fight well, and love like Christ.

Shannon

Rain, Shine, rain, shine

I decided to go with a new look... I will probably change it as often as I do my desktop..which is like, weekly. I wanted to express some random things, like the fact that I really love coffee shops. I love just sitting with a coffee and my computer listening to really weird music. And the baristas are usually really nice people. I actually end up having more random conversations with people in coffee shops than other places. It just feels comfortable and happy, but its probably just the coffee talking. :)

I've been in Greenville for the week while Matt was in New Mexico. I had lots of time to run around with my sister and friend Leslie. I also had a lot of emotional things go on with the family. I've had a lot of time to think, and I want to do a little personal study on worship. I wrote down lots of questions or points I'd like to look into Biblically, to see what God told us about worship and not what we made up ourselves. What does He enjoy in worship and what does He desire from us in worship. I've heard things before, but I've never studied it for myself. I want to have lots of references and things put together in one place where I can go back when I need a reminder. The attitude and environment for corporate worship has had a lot of ups and downs for me, and I'd like to get my mind in the right place for what it involves and what God expects of me. Any thoughts or links would be appreciated. :)

I called this post "Rain, Shine, rain, shine, " because that's what its doing outside right now. It rains for like a minute, then stops. Then rains again. Which I have always thought was cool. I like the rain. Its so weird when you think about it...water falling from the sky.

One of the things I have been learning lately are the lies that emotions often tell. I had quite the up and down earlier this week with some family stuff, and it really did just completely wreck me for like an hour or so..then I got distracted in a bookstore and I was fine. Thankfully, God allowed me to remain level headed when it all came up and I could help my mom without the emotion..it all just flooded in later. It clouds everything, but it passes just as easily..but only when I am praying for peace and for Christ to teach me how to handle whats going on. He's so quick to rescue me when I cry out.

So, thank you to my wonderful friends who have helped me learn more about Christ along the way. You have been a great tool for the Creator in shaping my view of Him and the Church. Thank you for your obedience.

Settled..kind of.

Well, here we are in Tennessee. For the last couple of months living in Colorado, we were waiting for these days to come. One step in life closer to being settled in for longer than a few months. I have to say, it will be nice to have a place where we can really unpack, and not dread re-packing soon after.

On a different note, I really actually like Oak Ridge. We thought it was going to be a really small town with nothing more than the government labs and some houses and a grocery store, but its definitely better than that. Its not a big town, but it does have some decent restaurants and stores. There's one Food City grocery store, which is closest to us, but the produce section is lacking. There is also a Kroger, but its a little further away..but totally worth it. I usually bike or walk everyday to get where I want to go. My day usually involves washing dishes, shower, the gym, some internet time at Starbucks, then back home for laundry and meal prep. I'm enjoying it.

I'm really glad I have the gym. We don't have a TV in our apartment, because it was just too much to pack. We also don't have internet just yet, and we may not get it at all. Any TV we want to see, we catch on Hulu.com or the show website while sitting at Starbucks or Panera Bread. It has been great during the week because we spend much less time with TV type stuff, but on the weekends, there's nothing to do around here after like 6-7..so it would be nice to be able to catch a show or 2. However, we have Netflix and things like that so its been pretty easy so far.

We visited Cornerstone Church of Knoxville this past week. Its a Sovereign Grace church that was recommended to us by our pastor at TCC and turned out to be a good place for us this summer. We really enjoyed the worship environment and the serious nature of Communion. The sermon was a little different than we are used to but was encouraging for me. Its definitely bigger than I thought it would be, but as long as we can get into a small group, I think we'll be OK. We have learned that small/community groups are where a lot of real accountability and fellowship happen, and that environment is really important to us.

So, I get to be in Greenville this week, which I am greatly looking forward to. Matt will be in Santa Fe from Sunday-Friday morning, so I'll have those days to myself. I plan on spending a decent amount of time with my sister/family, and I'll try to get to Community Group Wednesday night. Hopefully, I can find a way to keep up my workout so things don't fall behind. Its always weird not having him there though. So I need plenty to do to keep me busy. :)

I guess, anyone who might read this, could be praying for me to use my time wisely. I have some school things I need to be working on and the gym which I want to be faithful in attending. I would love to find some people at church or Matt's coworkers that we can spend some time with, so we aren't totally isolated from fellowship. I ask for prayer when difficulty comes, that I know His peace and trust Him instead of letting my emotions take over. Please, call or e-mail me letting me know how I can be praying for you.

The Countdown

Well, we have about 18 real days left in Colorado, and many of those will be spent packing. I plan to take some mornings to do a little more photography, I don't want to let that slip past me. I'll try to do the same in Tennessee, to take the time to reboot my system and take in whats there. Matt and I have truly enjoyed our time here, and the people will be unforgettable.

Lately I have felt a real drawing to get back into reading my Bible more, it used to be the first thing I did with my free time, and lately its taken the back seat. This probably explains a lot of my difficulties with mood and attitude. I've started reading Ephesians, so I'll continue in that...but I want to read for the sake of reading and hearing from Christ, rather than always reading like a "study". Ultimately, I want to find my refuge, strength, and my drive to further pursue Christ in that time.

Matt and I will be updating the blog (www.bouldernating.blogspot.com) soon with a lot of our pictures that ended up on facebook, but never our blog. The trip home will certainly have lots of pictures. In case anyone is interested, we will be taking a more southern route home than we took up here, going through Wichita, KS; Norman,OK; Memphis and Knoxville, TN.

We plan on stopping for pictures in Norman, OK and Toad Suck, AR. We will probably be able to stop in and see Jonathan Smith when we go through TN.

Much love everyone.

Just Happy.

There is really no point to this post other than I'm awake, and Matt is asleep, and I want to be constructive. The past few months here have been a whirlwind. It seemed for the longest time that we have forever to be in Colorado. Not a bad thing, it was just moving a bit slow. Then it got to be close to the holidays, and now we are halfway through February. We leave in a little over a month. Its craziness.

I have been encouraged lately with lots of people. We have been hanging out with people and having some great conversations which is always a great help. I really never thought I would desire to settle down, I've always wanted to float around and travel constantly. I guess I was always running from responsibility and wanting to be free to move, but now I have great reasons to settle in and built relationships. I know that most of the people we know right now would never have recognized me as I was in college. I thank God for the grace He showed me in flipping my life around. Its been an incredibly hard but mightily rewarding process.

On the practical side of things, I'm a little scared of all the packing we have to do. We ordered a very large bag for the roof of our car, so we can take more stuff with us. We still have to space-bag everything so all our jackets and blankets don't take up the whole car. A wonderful invention I must say. We pack up here, move home, repack what we need for Tennessee, and then we head out again. Three months of craziness there, and we are finally home. I have no idea what Tennessee will be like. Matt will be working fuller days, so I'll be focusing on getting schoolwork done, and taking/editing more pictures. If I don't need to work of course. We are certainly taking our bikes with us, hopefully be close enough to a coffee shop or library to be able to bike there and cut down on gas usage.

Coming home will be different. Living near friends, and with a friend. Settling back in to what we remember from first being married. Having friends who have kids..kids who are much older than we remember. Seeing family regularly again. Lots of changes, lots of differences, but we are still us. The family of God is still around us. God Himself is still with us.

I do ask for prayer, in deciding some things about a job when I get back. I have some options to look into, and pray about. If you would like to know more or want to share with me, please e-mail me. I'd really love that.

Shannon

5-5-5

I got tagged, so here we go...  5th picture folder, 5th picture:

Its from our trip to Black Canyon in Gunnison, CO.  

The pictures can never show how huge this was.

I don't even know 5 people who might see this at all except my husband.  So I tag him.  He just might end up posting the same picture...  :)