Preparing for Spring and Getting Our Last Tastes of Winter

This week, Sabbath was a day of saying "hello" to spring and with any luck, "goodbye," to the snow of winter for a while. The melt is coming slowly but surely in the mountains. Green is peeking her head through the earth and even though I have loved the snowy winter, I am more than thrilled to feel the sunshine on my face yet again. Monday's in shorts and flip flops will be welcomed by all of the Colon girls who have braved the snow with boots and coats for 3 months now as we have entered into Creation and all that Colorado has to offer.




This week we started our day in Boulder once again. I believe we may have just found the absolute best breakfast place on the planet!! The Original Pancake House


Next we went across the street to McGuckin Hardware where we stocked up on baskets and buckets that we plan to use next week for planting flowers and our mini garden.


Then we loaded up again and set off for Mud Lake. A fifteen minute drive through the canyon and we were there. I continue to be amazed at how blessed we are to have such beauty and opportunity to experience it all around us. We ended up hiking for a while and then taking a break to sit back and pray together. There is something so cool about talking to God while in the quietness of nature. And then you add your family and it becomes a moment you don't ever want to end.
















Throughout the day we spent a lot of time talking about good attitudes and peace...2 things that seem to always be at the forefront of conversation in our home. At breakfast Claire discovered this written on a board near the entrance of the restaurant. It's quickly becoming out family motto. . .

ATTITUDE
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company. . .a church. . . a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. . . I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so is with you. . .we are in charge of our attitudes.

Charles Swindoll

Easter 2010

Quick Lesson on Sabbath for Ya #1

(Note: These are actually Cliff notes for Kevin, but I have a feeling you might enjoy learning as well. I hope it challenges you like it has me)

So this book seemed quite appropriate to be reading this year. Thanks a lot, Pete, for the recommendation. I'm only about halfway through it, but already I've gained a huge amount of perspective and affirmation about what we are doing this year as a family by faithfully observing the commandment of Sabbath. Here are some of my favorite thoughts so far.

*Sabbath rest is entered when we refuse to be bound by complexity or drowned by despair. We enter delight only as we gaze equally and simultaneously at creation and redemption, in spite of the darkness that surround us and constantly clamors to be truer than God.

*Sabbath rest is not an option; it's a commandment.

*Sabbath is a holy time where we feast, dance, play, have sex, sing, pray, laugh, tell stories, read, paint, walk, and watch creation in its fullness. Few people are willing to enter the Sabbath and sanctify it , to make it holy, because a full day of delight and joy is more than most people can bear in a lifetime, let alone a week.

*Sabbath is not about time off or a break in routine. It is not a minivacation to give us a respite so we are better prepared to go back to work. The Sabbath is far more than a diversion; it is meant to be an encounter with God's delight.

*We often fail to create a day of delight because to do so compels us to stand against the division, destitution, and despair that often holds us captive the other six days of the week.

*We would rather settle for distraction than open our hearts to what seems beyond out wildest dreams.

*We are driven because work brings us power and pride that dulls our deeper desire for delight.

*The core of delight is out capacity to worship, to create and enter beauty as a reminder and anticipation of God's goodness.

*Worship is knowing that transforms us because we can barely take in the beauty, let alone speak to the Creator and hope to be heard. To say, "thank you, thank you for including me in this moment," and then to hear the Creator say in return, "no, thank you for joining me in this glory, for celebrating with me my glory" is the truest essence of Sabbath.

*The only parameter that is to guide our Sabbath is delight.

*Delight requires the courage to be attentive, intentional and diligent. It will not happen without planning and preparation.

Is that plenty to think about for now? That was only the first 2 chapters! More to come.

Three Kings Day 2010

In the Caribbean, Three Kings Day (also known as Epiphany) is an imported tradition that originated with the Spanish settlers. For centuries, the children have celebrated the holiday in the same manner as their ancestors before them. Traditionally, January 6 is celebrated as the day in which the Magi arrived bearing gifts for baby Jesus and it is the day when the island children receive their gifts. It is a tradition older than Santa Claus.

Since Kevin and his side of the family is from Puerto Rico, this is a fun tradition that our family has always celebrated. And it has become quite meaningful over the years to our girls. The bigness of the Christmas season has passed and yet they get to carry on the celebration just a bit longer with one special night of gathering grass for the camels and leaving it outside at the front door for them to eat, only to wake up to a very special gift that the wise men leave symbolizing the gifts they gave to Jesus in return.

This year's celebration was lots of fun as usual. The girls made letters for the wise men, left food for the camels (look closely at the pictures. This year the camels got to eat caramels and peppermint) and the gift the received was pretty cool if I do say so myself.








And just last week we got to go as a family to enjoy the gift in Denver. . . Mary Poppins the Musical




It was SUPERcalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Family is so just so great!

And if you are a Mary Poppins lover like us, you've gotta watch this clip from the musical. . .my favorite scene. BEWARE - You'll be singing it all day long!
(FYI - you can skip the very first part where the man is talking - go straight to the good stuff at 0:56)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VNGIQ51aiw

Scenes From Sabbath (Catching Up)

My blogging skills have failed me the last few weeks. We have been having some great, great days, but I have not been so disciplined in sharing them with you. So, heres' a little Sabbath Day catch up for you. . .

We have spent the last 2 weeks outside. I'm so happy that spring is slowly but surely coming to my Colorado. The first pictures below are from Estes Park. On this day we started our journey and decided to make stops all along the way and discover God at each stop. Stop one was at an overlook off of Highway 36 as we drove into Boulder. Stop 2 was at the Humane Society and stop 3 was in Estes Park where we grabbed a Starbucks, followed by fishing Claire's retainer out of the Starbucks trash can :-) , and taking a long walk along the creek, ending at the library(of course).







This is by far my favorite picture from the day. Claire quickly fell in love with this dog at the Humane Society. I have to admit, he was big and beautiful and I think he took to Claire as quickly as she did to him. It was one of those moments where I found myself wishing for 100 acres of fenced in land in the foothills. He would probably be sleeping on our front porch right at this very moment. When asked later in the day how she experienced God at the Humane Society, Claire quickly answered that she "felt the way God cared for the animals who didn't have homes because he made her really care about and love Tucker." I absolutely LOVE the heart that God has given to my Claire. It is big and expressive and full.

Last week, once again we had a big breakfast and packed up for another adventure. But first we sat around the table with the girls and read from Romans 12. Everyone took turns reading verses and Kevin taught the girls along the way. In case you haven't read it lately, Romans 12 is Paul talking about being Living Sacrifices and how to live as believers in Christ with verse 18 being one of the big teachings of the day. . ."If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." Very appropriate for 3 sisters, don't you think? Mom and Dad, too. But by far, this was the girls favorite. . . verse 20 "If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head. 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." And all day long they quoted it this way. . . "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. AND IF HE HAS A KNIFE - RUN!!!" Quite smart, don't you think??

Anyway, after Bible time we piled into the van and the road took us to a yet hike just outside of Boulder on a trail called Bald Mountain Scenic Area.





The girls requested a short hike this time, so Kevin found a one miler with a beautiful lookout at the top where we had lunch. Little did we know there would be such treasure to be found! Take a look!!











Can you guess what tiny part of God's creation these might be???



Newly hatched lady bugs!!!!! They were everywhere!! I have never seen anything like it. There were millions at the top of the lookout - everywhere you looked. Amazing!




We ended this day in pajamas. . .well, at least the kids. Emma, Claire and Olivia each got to invite a friend to Chickfila Pajama night. Free food! Lots of little girl giggles. So much fun!









Blessed.

A Zoo and Museum Day in Denver

This week for Sabbath we decided to take advantage of some of the fun that Denver has to offer. Even though it's only 20 minutes away, it's not very often that we go in that direction. I am definitely a suburban girl. But, Monday we decided to really take it slow, have some yummy breakfast together, read the Bible, and then enjoy the cool early Spring weather with the animals and with each other in the city.

The best thing about having a zoo pass is that you can go any time you want and stay for as long or as little as you want without feeling guilty. It was chilly, but the animals were enjoying it. We took in about 1/3 of the sights and then retreated to the van. By far my favorite animal this time was the sea lion who had been wounded and was just being re-introduced to the other sea lions. He was saved on Laguna Beach in CA and was without back flippers. Watching him reminded me so much of how unbelievable God's creation is. He had been beaten up and yet he was still a fighter, swimming hard and fast as if nothing made him the least bit different from all of his other sea lion friends. Strange to say that I was inspired by a sea lion, but I think that's what it was. . .inspiration. I think he had heart and crazy energy and an excitement about a new lease on life. I wanna be more like that. . .living life to the fullest no matter what gets thrown my way.



After hanging out with the animals it was time for lunch. . .a true Amy prepared lunch of peanut butter and jelly, chips, strawberries and chocolate. Nothing but the best for my family!! :) Lucky for me, everything tastes better on a picnic. And picnic is exactly what we did. . .in the back of the van! We lowered the back seat and climbed in. It was most definitely the best meal I have had in a really long time!


I have said it over and over again as I have blogged Sabbath, but I don't think I will ever cease to be amazed at how fantastic family time and conversation can be if you really focus. It must be ridiculous how much we miss on the other 6 days of the week due to computers, iPhones, tv's and so many other distractions.

We ended the day at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Emma is always begging us to take her there. I reminded her that all of her asking finally payed off. It's a cool place. I'm not quite as appreciative of the sciences as my kids seem to be, but watching them makes it fun no matter what. Here are a few pictures from our time there.


Kevin and Emma, the scientists










Claire the walnut???? She's an antioxidant, of course.












Olivia was just all smiles

And me, well. . .I try to hide behind the camera as much as possible. :)

Another fun day!

And one more thing worth noting. . .as we continue to move into this journey with our family I am really starting to notice how the girls are getting much better attitudes and outlooks on what the day is all about. We are having less fussiness, and to be honest, they are the ones keeping Kevin and I in check now. "Remember, no electronics, Dad! Put your phone away, please!" I think we may have created monsters!

Talk about Getting in the Mood for Sabbath! (3/1/10)

Last Sunday we woke to a really sweet surprise. Months ago Olivia made the decision to follow Jesus. For all that she knew and understood in her little heart she had asked Jesus to come into her heart and be with her forever. She had made her first tiny steps of faith. But we hadn't pushed the baptism thing. She didn't seem ready yet. She seemed nervous and still not too sure about the whole thing, so we were happy to just let her go at her own pace and figure a little more out on her own. But Saturday evening, to our surprise, she bounded down the stairs (after hearing that Baptism was planned for the Confluence gathering at Cool River the next day) and announced, "Guess what I'm doing tomorrow?! It starts with 'B'!". . .and so she did! To our surprise and God's delight she went for it - Boldly AND Coldly. . . No, the hot tub was only mildly warm to say the least, but she didn't care.

Olivia's Baptism 2/28/10 from amy colon on Vimeo.

Now wouldn't that get your heart in the mood to rejoice and spend some good quality time with family and the Father? So. . .soon after church ended and the evening began, we once again unplugged, relaxed and celebrated.

Sunday evening we drove into Boulder and attended a worship night with Highway Community Church. Then all day Monday we just took it slow, enjoyed the sunshine around our neighborhood, ate good food, listened more to The Chronicles of Narnia, The Horse and His Boy, while cuddled up on Mom and Dad's bed and just enjoyed each other. It keeps on amazing how slowness prompts Peace and Peace prompts moments and conversation that might otherwise pass unnoticed and unsavored.