eat up, fill up!

"Then the angel of the LORD came again and touched him and said, 

'Get up and eat some more, 

or the journey ahead will be too much for you.' "

- 1 Kings 19:7

I was reading in first Kings the other night and that scripture really stood out to me.  

God wants us to get up and eat.  To eat that spiritual food that fills your soul.

Get up, fill up, and you'll be able to get through the journey that's ahead. 

That could mean reading your Bible, it could mean resting with God, or simply spending more time in prayer.  

I don't know.  It could be different for each person's needs.

But errbody needs to fill up!

If you feel like you're runnin' on empty, let the Spirit lead you, convict you, move you, and fill you.

Dad finished up his last radiation treatment this week (!!).  It for sure hasn't been the easiest journey but we got through.  He no longer has hair, still feels super sick some days, has foggy thinking, and his left leg/arm are still not functioning right.  They haven't done a CAT scan to see if the tumor has shrunk but I'm not sure dad wants to do it anyways.  Regardless of the results, the doctors said they would have nothing else to do (you can only radiate someone so much).  And dad says he, "Hates getting in that tube!"  So, for now he is taking some supplements that have been said to cure cancer and trying to recover from the radiation.

I hiked four 14,000 foot mountains in two weekends!  So crazy!  Two each Saturday.  

Talk about amaaaaaazing!

I love me muh Colorado mountains.

To see da peeksures, you can look on my photography blogdiggity:

CLICK HERE!

Speaking of Colorado, please, please, PLEAAASE keep those beautiful mountains and all the people being affected by the fires in your prayers.  

We desperately need rain and NO wind!

Also, can I just say...this song is truly amazing?!

It just hits my spot...

Here is my main man and I on Father's Day:

I AM

"Therefore, behold, I will allure her,

and bring her into the wilderness, 

and speak tenderly to her."

(Hosea 2:14)

And that's exactly what God did this weekend.

He pulled me away to the mountains and spoke words of love over me.  

I went up with some friends and their family.  We...

-camped

-hiked

-slept under the stars

-fished

-shot guns

-played games around the campfire

-laughed (I mostly snorted) 

-swam in the river

-skipped rocks

-sang country songs

-played some football

-and held a snake (I was shaking/freaking out the whole time...but I held it! haha)

As I sat on a warm rock, listening to the river play its melody, felt the sun on my face, and slowly reeled in my fishing line, everything seemed right in the world.  Have you ever had one of those moments?  You take a deep breath, soak it all in.  Savor the moment.  And thank God that he, "Leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul" (Psalm 23:3).

Not only so, but I had a few moments like that this weekend.  Resting on the top of a mountain, listening to the wind, feeling the sun warm my skin.  Cocooned in my sleeping bag, cool wind on my face, silence all around, and a sky filled with bright stars. 

The LORD of the universe, the great I AM, allures us.  He takes us by the hand, leads us to the place where our heart is content, and speaks words of peace and love over us.

What more could we ask for?

What more could we be thankful for?

We have a God that loves us.  A God that is living and active. I was reminded on Sunday that our God lives in the present.  Yahweh, the I AM.  He didn't say he is the "I WAS" or "I WILL BE."  He is the I AM.  The here and now.  Working through us, in us, around us at all times.

This song embodies that.  We sang it at church. So incredible.

I love that even in the midst of screwing up or in the middle of chaos, God is still working in our hearts.  Preparing us for what he has in the future.  Making us more like Him.  Couldn't be more thankful.

Dad's first week of brain radiation was a little discouraging.  We haven't seen improvement with his left arm or leg.  He has been very sick and tired all week.  He said it feels like he just had chemo.  We're praying this week, that will change!  

I truly can't thank all of you enough for all the prayers & encouragement.  It is one of the biggest blessings to be surrounded by you all.  I think you deserve an award ;)  So awesome!  But yeah, please continue to pray over dad: for his strength mentally, physically & spiritually. 

Did that just happen?

This weekend has been full of some crazy/unexpected happenings.  None of which were particularly good.  I found myself repeating the verse:


"Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character; and character hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." - Romans 5:3-5


Progressively, each day dad's left arm and leg were losing function.  On Thursday he went for an MRI of his brain and the next morning we got the news back.  They found that he has a tumor in his brain with a few other spots that they did not identify (but that were abnormal).  Along with that, they found that he has 3 bulging disks in his back.  Needless to say, this news hit everyone in the family like a ton of bricks.  The doctors said he needed to start treatment ASAP.  Today, he got his first full-brain radiation done.  Thankfully, the treatments are short and he only has 10 to do.  He'll be doing one treatment a day (not including the weekends).  The doctors said the ramifications of the treatment could vary but that he should play word games in order to keep his brain working.  Only time will tell how he will react to the radiation.  We are praying that he keeps full function of all parts of his brain, his arm and leg function return and the tumor will not only stop growing, but will go away completely! Thank you SO much for all your continued encouragement & prayers!


I was at a grad party the other night in the middle of a huge storm.  With whipping wind, rain, and crazy thunder and lighting, the party was literally getting blown away.  There was a few tents set up that were soon to be gone with the wind so I was helping to take them down.  I grabbed the final pole to tear it down when lightning struck near us.  The lightning went up the pole and shot up my arm.  All I could do was scream and think, "Did that really just happen!?!"  Yep.  I got struck by lighting.  My arm felt SO weird after that.  For about 15 min or so my arm was really tingly and numb feeling.  As the day progressed, my arm got more and more sore.  My shoulder felt pretty messed up for a few days but other than that, I was okay!  Praise GOD!  I'm so thankful it was not worse than that.  But I mean, seriously...who the heck gets struck by lightning!?  Oh yeah, I DO! haha I would love for that to never happen again.


And so, to top off one of the weirdest weekends of my life:
I was driving to the mountains one day and needed to turn right.  A cyclist was in road in front of me so I went around him then stopped my car so I could try to merge into the on-coming traffic.  Next thing I know, the cyclist came up to my passenger side window and pounded on it with his fist.  BANG BANG BANG!  He repeatedly slammed my window as I saw his lips moving in silent screams.  I sat there in shock trying to say, "What the heck did I do!?!" With my window closed I could not hear what he was yelling but it was evident that he was livid.  He then tried to open my car door and once again slammed my window.  At this point, the car behind me started honking their horn and so, like a kid running from a burning building, a sped down the street.  Thankfully, I got away from the psycho before he could get into my car or damage it.  Down the road, the guy that was behind me during this whole incident pulled up next to me.  He motioned for me to roll down my window.  I had no idea what to do, I thought for sure he was just going to yell at me and tell me I almost killed a guy on a bike.  However, he told me he saw the whole thing, I didn't do anything wrong, the guy was an a** hole, and that he told the guy off!  He told me not to worry about it nor let it ruin my day!  *sigh*  There are good people still in the world!  But, for real!?  I get attacked by a psycho cyclist!?  Apparently he did not like that I passed him in my car.  But thank JESUS my window was up and my door was locked!  I don't even want to think of what would have happened if either of those were open.  Praise God for His protection and for random people standing up for me!


So there ya have it.  That was my emotionally traumatizing weekend for you ;)