Michaela ::: Class of 2013 :::

 

I had the extreme pleasure of shooting my dear Michaela. I can't believe she is graduating in May.  I have seen her grow up from the crazy 8 year old who would never stop moving to a high school senior chasing her dream of playing college soccer at the Division 1 level. She is still crazy, but has one of the most driven spirits I know.  I couldn't be more proud of her accomplishments but more proud of the amazing person she is growing into.  I kind of want to be like her when I grow up. Proud of you girl!  

Rising from the ashes

Colorado has had a rough summer.  Numerous wild fires caused havoc in the state. Destroying people's homes and livelihoods.  I spent this summer doing plenty of traveling. Even in Atlanta, GA, when people found out I was from Colorado, they immediately asked about the fires.
This week, pure evil showed up in the form of a man, walking into a theater and opening fire on innocent people in Aurora.  12 people lost their lives, over 50 more people were wounded.   It was a senseless act of violence.  No one ever could have anticipated that when they stood in line for their midnight premier at that theater, they were also buying a ticket in a real life nightmare.

Aurora is 30 ish mins away from where I live.  I didn't know anyone in the theater. I am not directly impacted by this tragedy. But from across town, my heart breaks.  I can't wrap my brain around the entire event.  I can't stop watching news updates and press conferences.  Hearing about the lives that were taken far to soon brings tears to my eyes.

I will be honest, that there are quite a few things that frustrate me in light of this tragedy.

1. In no way is this tragedy funny.  Have some respect for the victims and families who lost loved ones in this event. It is not necessary to make jokes about attending the Batman movie armed or in full body armor.  We are not laughing. The 70+ people affected by this tragedy are not laughing.  Grow up....show some respect.

2. I am sick of hearing the debate about gun control in conjunction with this tragedy.  I have read it all via Facebook and other media.  "If people in the theater were carrying concealed weapons, it wouldn't have been such a high death toll" or "if I would have been in that theater, it wouldn't have happened" etc. Seriously??  Just because you have the constitutional right to bear arms and carry a concealed weapon doesn't mean you are QUALIFIED to be the protector of the human race.

3.  Some people are now saying that this even was a government conspiracy.  It has been 72 hours. Families have not even been able to bury the loved ones they lost, people continue to fight for their lives in the hospital.  How dare you disrespect the families involved in this tragedy and the numerous police men, fire departments and other law enforcement agencies involved.

This tragedy has brought the city to it's knees.  There is evil in this world. It is alive and well. When we choose to believe that there is evil in the world, we must also believe that there is good.  Within 72 hours, the amount of love, support and compassion that has been poured into the community is crazy.  God is good, and continues to be good through the trials.  It is when the world seems crazy, beat up and in ashes... THAT is when we can hear God the loudest and feel his presence the strongest.

In the words of one of my athlete's who was directly impacted by the wild fires in Colorado Springs; Fires burn homes, but doesn't burn community.  Hug your family today.  Tell your friends how precious they are. Enjoy every moment. Life is short, and it is unfortunate that a tragedy is the only way that we can jolted out of our day to day life and makes us stand up and realize that life is a blessing and we are truly blessed.

So I will end by saying that we...a collective we for the state of Colorado, victims, families and every day folk who grieve and ache for the victims of this tragedy...... we will rise from the ashes.  One horrifying act does not define Aurora, Colorado or a generation.

Whatever trial you are facing right now.....dust yourself off and stand up.  Face the world and tell them WHO your GOD is.

And that is a wrap......

Can't really complain when my days ends with all the lights shut off in my half packed apartment, windows open listening to the rain, thunder and lightening.   It is May 12th, which officially marks the end of the CCU 2011-2012 school year.  All my kids are packing up and moving home for the summer. My graduate are celebrating 4 years of hard work tonight.  This was my first 4 year class.  We came into CCU together...... they were freshman and a I was a new graduate assistant athletic trainer not quite knowing what to expect.  I had the extreme blessing and honor to watch those kids grow in the last four years. Watching them fall down, struggle and get beat up (metaphorically speaking of course) and picking themselves up and fighting back.  They are now confident, Godly men and women who have restored my hope in the future generation.  Now I can confidently call them my friends.

I have loved being a part of their journey these past four years...... how lucky am I to be able to live life with them for four short years.  The lessons I have learned from this group of kids!!!  I could write a novel.
Coffee and Chocolate really do solve almost everything!
You are never too old to jam out to a ridiculous song.
People are crazy, the world is crazy, BUT GOD IS STILL GOOD!
Laughter is the best medicine.
It is easy to walk away from things, but to stay and fight is the real challenge.
Some days you have to grin, nod and give a hand a good squeeze just to survive.

I have incredibly fond memories with these kids! And I can't help but reflect on how I have grown because of them.  To my senior class 2012, you hold a special place in my heart!


So it is officially summer. Not quite sure when that happened.  My calendar is already filling up. With work, moving, volunteering at Sonlight, some very important weddings that I am going to, traveling with PGC and a little bit of everything else.

So, I guess that is it. This school year is officially done.  What a ride it has been.

fall often, fall forward and keep getting up

Read this blog this morning and found it so incredibly encouraging. So much so I had to share it with some people who needed a little encouragement.  

"My son, the two-year old Emperor who claims to be Supreme Ruler of our household, has taken up sprinting parking blocks.

I could stop him by mumbling something about the dangers of concrete. But who knows? Maybe this quirky sport is going to take off like planking? Who am I to squelch such genius?

Here’s how it works. The Emperor teeters on one edge of the bright yellow concrete beam. He does not even stretch out his arms for balance. With hands slicked down to his side, he is inarguably better positioned for being shot out of a cannon than walking a narrow beam.

The Emperor then charges ahead as if he believes he can run across the whole beam at full-throttle. Then he tumbles off, awkwardly smacking into the ground with so little awareness that he doesn’t even raise his hands to break his fall.

This is where I make jokes about how he takes after his father. And think about whether I should make him be the weird kid at the park whose Mom forces him to wear a safety helmet.

For the Emperor’s second attempt, he does not even consider reducing his speed. He manages an only slightly more gracious half-roll as he collides with the ground. Two strides. Grass stain. Then four. Skinned knees. And so it goes.

To spare you a recount of attempts five through fifty, here’s the cliff notes: As a young toddler, parking block sprinting is a full contact sport rarely marked with success. What progress there is looks less like achieving balance and more like figuring out better ways of falling.

So much so that after a while, I literally begin to applaud the particularly good falls. I indulge in parental pride over what a good little tuck-and-roller he becomes.

I know it’s a little cliché to draw meaning from the antics of your two year old, but I can’t help but be a little jealous that my son is so undeterred by falling.

He doesn’t stop to look around and see who is watching.

He doesn’t analyze how whether people will judge him if he falls too many times.

Falling, to him, is nothing more than the moment that lies between his attempts at greatness.

And this makes me think that my son instinctively knows something that most of us spend a good chunk of adulthood trying to re-learn.

I’m hinting at a Theology of Falling Well, of course.

If I were writing my fictional doctoral dissertation on the subject, somewhere in Volume 1, I would include this idea: If you can’t remember the last time you fell, that may mean you’re not taking on any new challenges. And in that case, after a while, perfection becomes a fraudulent trophy, don’t you think?

Another piece of advice that has occurred to me while lying on the ground goes like this:

It’s okay.

We should run hard when we can, for as long as we can.

But when we can’t run, we should walk.

If there comes a time when we can’t walk, go ahead. Fall.

In general, when possible, it’s better to fall forward than backward.

When we get up enough energy, we might only be able to manage a crawl. And if we’re too exhausted to move, then all we might be able to manage is to lay on the ground and reach in the right direction.

But as soon as we can, it makes sense to get up. Many people finally succeed after getting up one more time than they fall.

We tend to platform faithfulness that comes in the form of heroic Biblical figures slaying lions, falling giants and becoming Pharaoh’s right hand man. But in the Old Testament world and in ours, I’m pretty sure the greatest act of faithfulness is getting back up and putting one foot in front of the other again.

What if Daniel would’ve let captivity break him?

What if David would’ve wallowed in his dad’s failure to recognize his potential?

What if Joseph would’ve stopped at being sold into slavery?

I submit to you that there would be no moment of triumph had it not been for the moment that they got back up. 

:: What is beauty? ::

I read a quote the other day on my new obsession......Pintrest. The quote was the following "THE MORE YOU WORK OUT, THE WEAKER HIS KNEES GET!"  and underneath was the tag.... #thinspiration.
Okay, I am going to call BS on this one.
It is amazing how distorted the world has made beauty. What is beautiful? Who is beautiful? How do you act beautiful?  Since when has society and the young women of this society lost the true meaning of beauty?  Being provocative is not beautiful.  Acting dumb to impress a guy, is not beautiful.  Having a "look at me, look at me" attitude is not beautiful.

Ladies....seriously! Take a second and define beauty.  It might surprise you.
Beauty is not how much make up you wear, it is the smile that you wear on your face every day that is a direct reflection of your heart.

Beauty is not what kind of clothes you wear, but how you carry yourself.

Beauty is not how you portray yourself to a guy, but who you are when no one is looking.

Beauty is being transparent and breaking down from time to time.

Beauty is not being perfect, but making mistakes, falling down and dusting yourself off.

Being beautiful means standing for something.

Intelligence is beautiful.

Laughing at yourself is beautiful.

Thin is not beautiful, BEING HEALTHY IS!

Being confident in who you are is beautiful.

Being so in love with Christ is beautiful.

Beauty is being humble.

It is beautiful to find and wear your passion.

To love others is beautiful.

To grow into the women, wife, friend, mother that God has created you to be...... is the definition of beauty.

And to all you guys out there..........  
Your car, your job and your bank account aren't attractive......your heart is.

How you treat waiters, retail folk, random strangers in the store.......tells us a lot about who you are.

Opening doors and being a gentleman is very attractive.

Being courageous, having the hard conversations and being honest is attractive.

Being a MAN is attractive....being a little boy dressed up in men's clothing is one of the most unattractive things ever.

Being strong enough to admit that you are nothing without Christ is attractive.

Be a leader.

Mean what you say and say what you mean......that is attractive.

Love God and Love others.

Making a girl laugh will win over her heart quick than anything you can buy her.

Having a sense of humor about yourself and situations that you can't control is incredibly attractive.

Diamonds may be a girl's best friend.....but ultimately she wants a man who respects who she is and doesn't want to change a thing about her.  A man who is steady, confident and God fearing.

Ambition is attractive.


So ladies and gentleman........ how you carry yourself is a direct reflection of your heart.  So Shine and be a light into a world that sees beauty at face value and a world who only wants to look skin deep.   Return to the true meaning of beauty and find value in being a child of the Lord most high.  Find freedom in knowing that you are Christ's poetry.  You are perfect, and valued, and loved.  There are no conditions, no pressures, no strings or fine print. The contract has been signed in HIS blood when he took our sin on HIS shoulders.  In Him, through Him and because of HIM we have the freedom and ability to live a life pleasing to him.  That is the purest form of love and a love that we might not ever understand.

Be Beautiful!

Winter finally decided to show up......

It is the first few days of February and in the last 24 hours, Denver has gotten more snow then we have all winter.  I think our total is getting close to 20 + inches.  Enough to shut down the city and granting the wish of students, college students and adults alike......SNOW DAY!   It is amazing how quiet the city gets when it snows.  It forces everyone to take a deep breath and slow down for a bit.  Can't say that I mind really.

What a week it has been.  My sister gave birth to her first baby on Monday, about 4 weeks early.  It was quite the surprise to everyone, including the new Mom and Dad.  Baby and mom are perfectly healthy.   If this boy's dramatic entrance into the world is any indication of the little boy he is going to grow up into, I love this kid already!

I can't really explain how amazing the experience was.  I witnessed my sister become a mother, and watched her fall in love with her son.  I saw my brother  in-law gazing at his new son anxiously, touching his little head ever so gently as if to not hurt him.  I watched as they became a family.  I witnessed a miracle, after 8 months, a child entered the world with 10 fingers and 10 toes. Perfect little hands and feet with finger nails and toe nails.  Fine little eyelashes.  Everything that this little boy does is adorable.  When he has hiccups.....it is so adorable, it is crazy.  God is good.  Watching this entire thing brings a whole new meaning to Psalms 139 (The Message), especially the below passage:



^13-16 Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
      you formed me in my mother's womb.
   I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking!
      Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
      I worship in adoration—what a creation!
   You know me inside and out,
      you know every bone in my body;
   You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
      how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
   Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
      all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
   The days of my life all prepared
      before I'd even lived one day. 


It is amazing really. That the same God who created the universe in seven days shaped each of us. He knew exactly who we were, who we are and who we become.  The same God that loves us enough to let us struggle, watch us grow, pick us up after we hit rock bottom.  We are all truly "sculpted from nothing into something".    I am thankful for my God. I am grateful for a brand new nephew who is absolute beautiful. I am madly in love with this little man.  I am thrilled for my sister and her husband as they start this new journey in their life, as they start their family.  And someday, they can report back to me, and help me when I embark on that same journey some day. 

Ringing in the new year.........

I rung in the new year somewhere between Las Vegas, NM and Denver, CO......stranded on a bus with a flat tire with my men's basketball team.   We rumbled down the interstate at a whopping 35 mph until we found an exit and partially empty parking lot of a Holiday Inn.  What a glamorous life I lead!

Well 2011 didn't disappoint. Have to admit it was kind of a blur.  It was a year of firsts, lasts, challenges, victories, and growth.
 2011 was a year of:


- Hard work and persistence paying off.
- Taking risks........sometimes the risks paid off, and others times I fell flat on my face.
- Travel from coast to coast and every where in between: California, Florida, North Carolina, Texas....twice, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, Virginia, Washington D.C., Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Indiana..... I'm sure I am missing a few.
- Moving
- Making mistakes and learning from them.

- Reconnecting with old friends and making new friends.
- A constant reminder of what an amazing family I have.
- Waiting for my new nephew to join the world in a few months.....I haven't met him, but I am already madly in love with that little man.
- Doubt and reassurance.
- Divine encouragement
- Being beat down and broken....but dusting myself off and standing back up
- Learning that I am nothing without my Jesus.  Every thread of who I am is part of a bigger masterpiece that I may not be able to see yet,  but will someday understand.
- Returning home to Durango and Sonlight.....even if it was only for a week or two.
- Moments where I was able to laugh at myself.
- Of being loved.......and loving in return.  Learning to not let heart break make me bitter.....but to make me better.
- Learning to be real and genuine.
- Pouring in to others and letting others pour into me.
- Being surrounded by people who make me laugh, cry and help me maintain my sanity.  I don't know what I would do without those people.
- Not letting anyone steal my joy.
- Creating.
- Experiencing the magic of Disneyland for the first time....at age 27.
- Watching my athlete's grow and in turn growing a little myself.
- Watching my athletes make hard decisions and close chapters of their life as they move on and explore their new journeys.
- Adventures......challenges....taking wrong turns..... struggles...... laughter.....
- Hope
- leaning on unwavering faith.
- Being thankful and learning to live in a state of wonder and awe. That I have a Savior who was born in the most ordinary and regular way. Lived a life loving people who didn't deserve it, performing miracles and dying on a cross for man's sins, so that I and WE may live a life of freedom, hope and love.

It is hard to sum up a year like this in words.  Starting the year in a bus full of college basketball players with a busted tire seemed slightly appropriate.  I'm sure that this won't be the only "flat tire" in my next year. I do hope that I can handle the situation the same as a bus full of basketball players: with laughter, humor and making it a moment that they will be talking about for months to come.

Farewell 2011.......  what a year you have been.  I start this year looking forward of the future possibilities, learning from the past but refusing to look back. Valuing the moments I have in the present and taking advantage of those moments.