APRIL

i can't believe that april is just a few days away. time sure flies! i'm super excited for april this year! spring has for sure sprung here in grand junction (so many blossoming trees!) and my birthday is just a few weeks away. here's a desktop calendar for you! (minus the flower on the 19th, unless that's your birthday too!)

COMMUNITY + JOY

today is a day to rejoice and be glad. today is a day to be full of joy and praise the Lord. how often we are burdened by this life and all we feel is required of it. our tendency is to have a cynical heart and downcast spirit. but that is not what God calls us to! He calls us to a life of celebration. i mean, HE is the one who rejoices, sings, and dances over US! how much more should we celebrate Him. this video has reminded me of what joy in Christ is and what that looks like. i'm also reminded that joy in Christ is to be shared with community. praise the Lord for how He has blessed aaron and i with a new church and new friends. i almost forgot how important fellowship is. but can i tell ya? it sure does a soul good.

oh, and i'll just leave this right here. i love this man of mine. from our date night in fruita on friday night.

WE MADE IT

it's been a while, but we made it to grand junction, colorado! we moved in on march 5th and have had a great time getting to know the city and the people who call it home. we drove 10.5 hours (more like 12 with my dad's car issues and a pup who needs to walk around), but we made it. my dad stayed for a few days, helped us make a few big purchases (hellllooo new washer and dryer and bed!!), and before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye. i never thought i would be one who would cry because we'll see everyone in just a couple of months. but man, was i a big crybaby! my mom flew in and stayed for 5 days, and was a major help! can i just say that 2 months of "moving out of state" on the brain burns you out big time? no time for creativity, connecting, living life. at least, that's the way i made it. i was done with everything moving, so having my mom here to help kick my butt into gear helped tremendously.

so now, everyone is gone, and it's just aaron, charlie, and me. and can i just say how dang lonely it is not knowing anybody? (don't get me wrong, aaron is seriously my rock, and he is most certainly enough for me, but this is all new for both of us). we're praying for a church and for new friends, while praying that we stay connected with all those we love at home. here's to a new season of life and all the joys and trials that will come with it!

TIMING ISN'T EVERYTHING

today is the day the movers come to pack our whole lives into a semi truck. the day when we say goodbye to what has been normal and real and life. or is it? i woke up this morning, excited (okay...you got me, anxious), ready to start the day with the movers. then, i get an email from the moving company. "call us ASAP" it reads. okay...what could possibly go wrong? oh, you mean that the job the driver did before us was 5,000 pounds overweight so he can't pick us up today? so here i am, lying in the midst of furniture and boxes, freaking out. (oh, and as i type this, i still don't know when they're coming). but you know what? in the midst of my chaotic, anxiety-ridden brain, i hear, "i am with you. you need not be afraid". well let me tell ya, i know that for sure ain't me talking. how awesome is our God that while we sit and cry and complain and stress and freak out, He is looking down on us with reassuring love that speaks, "i am with you". yes, yes He is. so i today i resolve to not freak out, to let God's timing rule and to not throw a fit when a curveball is thrown at me.

     oh, and this is my apartment right now:       

don't freak out, just breathe.