Monday in the Springs

This week for Sabbath Kevin and I sat down after another busy morning at Cool River and started to plan the next 24 hours. Kevin asked me, "where do you connect with God the best?" And as we thought and enjoyed our conversation, together we came up with a list of 4 main places. . .

1. Around a cozy fire with a cup of coffee, my Bible and a journal with no other distractions (Amy)
2. In nature (Kevin)
3. Church/worship (both)
4. Watching our kids having fun and laughing (Amy)

After coming up with the list, we decided that these would be the pieces we would try to plan our next 24 hour Sabbath around. And here is how it played out. . .

Church/Worship
Kevin has a good friend named Ramin who is a church planter in Boulder. Origins Community is a church like none other that I have personally ever known. Some people will understand what I mean when I say it is a very BOULDER church. The music and atmosphere is refreshing and authentic. . .a bit uncomfortable for this suburban girl at times, but uncomfortable in a way the I have come to enjoy and appreciate. Ramin is deep and real and unique and challenging. And in the uncomfortableness that I sometimes feel simply because I am an outsider to the Boulder culture that Origins is immersed in, I seem to find God there every time in a fresh and interesting way. So, we went to church Sunday night, sat back and enjoyed.

Fireplace
After church we then went on a quest to find the best fireplace around. The criteria. . .warm, cozy and hot chocolate available. We ended up at the Renaissance Hotel in Broomfield just a mile or so from our house. We ordered up some hot chocolate and decaf from the bar and just hung out together, lounging on the couches and watching the Olympics.









Watching Kids Have Fun
Monday morning we slept until 9:30. That was awesome! Kevin made breakfast and we piled into the van and headed for Colorado Springs (1.5 hours). We made a stop at Focus on the Family to purchase the next radio broadcast cd of The Chronicles of Narnia, The Horse and His Boy. We have been listening to the entire series together as a family. The girls got to play a bit inside the play area there and take Kevin on a secret adventure via a wardrobe that served as a door into a room they have created there to look like Narnia.





In Nature
We had a little lunch at Qdoba and then decided to take a look around the Air Force Academy, hoping that we would discover a trail to hike. It was really cold once again, but we did find a short trail to explore. . .





And the trail ended here. . .







We played a little and then quickly retreated to warmth once again. . .



Finally, to end the day we stopped at the Park Meadows Mall in an attempt to miss Denver rush hour traffic, found some yummy food and another great fireplace.





I loved this day because it was filled with lots of little snippets of great "God conversation" all throughout. I spent much of the ride to the Springs talking to Kevin about my summer in Colorado as a college student which ultimately brought us to Colorado years later - recalling all that God did and the lessons I learned even when I had no idea I was learning. And the day was topped off by conversation with the girls about what they love most about how God created each person in our family. Their answers were cute and funny and heartwarming. They love each other. They fight and fuss and complain. We all make each other crazy at times. But we love each other. And everyone knows it and feels it. It's good.