Poetry.

I've never really liked poetry... never been stirred or moved by it.

Until this:

http://thebeautifuldue.wordpress.com/

Staying put.

I have been thinking a lot about staying put lately... Because that's what we're doing. We've been here in this city for almost 6 years (longer than anywhere else I've lived except the place I was born), and God is giving us more. And this isn't the dream I dreamed all those years, but I'm realizing that this life of staying put is better than I imagined. Our dream was always to go and I'm desperately feeling the itch now. But it sure seems like God is calling us to stay. This blog post captured some of my thoughts and I thought it worthy to share:

http://sarahbessey.com/in-which-i-radically-stay-put/

Not that I really think what we're doing is "radical", but it is hard and it is beautiful. And I'm coming to terms with this dream that I never dreamed, this dream of community and breaking bread together and the hard conversations and the transformations and the coming and leaving of others and the beauty of babies being born and children growing up around us. The dream of the change of seasons, again, and the knowing of the streets around this home we've lived in for two years now (longer than I've lived in one house since my parents') and the pain and the beauty. I'm learning more about myself every day. I'm learning to trust God in new and different ways every day.

[I was just reminded that this blog is called "Life in the City" and my old blog was something like "Elise - Viaje" (trip/travel). Interesting]

And now we're off all day to learn and talk more about investing in our community and growing this little group we call a house church. And one of my coworkers expressed how she was sorry I had an all day "meeting" for church today... And I realized how much I was looking forward to it, even though it's a meeting. Our community is beautiful and things are happening and it's so exciting, and so even though I see these people two or three or four times a week, I love it and I love them.

So we'll stay put as God is leading us. And I'll cry when I miss the friends/family that are scattered across the country and the world and my heart will jump every time there's an update about the work they're doing. I'll live vicariously through them and try even harder to love those around me.

Summer is over.

I failed at posting this summer (and most of the time). But here's something of how I feel.

http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/im-sick-of-summer/

And there is one more day of this longest (and hardest?) summer yet, and I'm so happy.

Fall usually inspires me to blog more, so here's hoping.

Paris.

I've learned 100 words in French now, and I'm longing for France. I have no idea why, but I'm longing for the cool fog of a fall morning camping in Southern France, microwaved lasagna and peach tea for Thanksgiving dinner, wandering the streets of Paris, lost, at 2am... The chance to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower, petit dejeuner, le fromage (lactose intolerant, unfortunately), l'amuse bouche (I love to say it but I still don't know what a canape is)... I'm feeling a lot of wanderlust right now. France, maybe one day I'll see you again. And if I do, I'm for sure visiting Donostia too!

Learning.

Life is a never-ending learning experience. Just when you think you know everything (right in the middle of and right after college, of course), God shows you a different way. A better plan. Sometimes I get tired of learning... A lot of the learning I do comes through my job, and it's difficult. So good, but difficult.

We're learning things in our lives, too. Learning that we don't know what the future holds and sometimes the plans we were sure would come to fruition just aren't meant to be - at least this year. So at this 2.5 year mark we reevaluate - what do we want out of life? What is God calling us to do? And sometimes our long-held dreams need to be put aside for a while to make room for the dreams God is giving us now.

I can't wait to look back 2.5 years from now, at the 5 year mark. I can't wait to see where God takes us - what is around the bend.

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It sure isn't fair how much some children see in their short lifetimes. How much hurt and pain they carry around in their little hearts and minds. I want desperately to be able to help them, and I fall short every day. Only by the grace of God.

Lord have mercy.

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Even though Colorado feels like it's on fire, I'm so thankful to live in this beautiful state. To take a short drive and escape all that pains me in the city. To have a view like this with the one that I love.

Life on Colfax.

Here begins my "Life on Colfax" series. There's too much that happens that's too good not to share.

Gay pride parade - every Father's Day at 7am the music starts from the lesbian / whiskey bar down the street. This year we could even hear the announcers from our breakfast table!



Next week - the homeless Native Americans that shower (with their dog) in the spigot right outside our window? We'll see!

Living summer in a day.

I'm still not quite grown, not quite ready to admit that summer doesn't mean freedom and popsicles and chlorine-green hair. I'm so lucky to work with children - I get to experience some of those things through them. But it sure is different to be the one supervising, instead of the one blissfully enjoying. So I'm trying to live my summer in a day (or two) every week.


Blueberries and mangoes mean summer for me, especially if eaten on a blanket in the grass. When it's 99 degrees out.



Camelbak means summer for me, now. This handy pack is the best way for me to enjoy summer as I once did, but as the responsible adult instead. Got to stay hydrated and carry the bandaids!



I am so thankful for my Covenant Bible College education that taught me how to just be. The best way I know to relax now is to lay in the grass and look at the trees. I'm so thankful that we live so close to a park. It's not big enough so that I can pretend that I don't live in the city, but I do love seeing the tops of skyscrapers, usually with a backdrop of storm clouds. I love that.



Fruit and books. All I need (besides a tree to look up at) for summer. I'm searching for the best strawberries in the state (I'm spoiled, being from California), but I've definitely found the best peaches and that was a great apricot!

I think this might be a good summer. I'm already trying to be so intentional - blocking out time on the calendar for hiking and camping with my love. And lazy river rides, sleepovers, an hour here and there in the park, pool time with house church, and City Park fountain time with the kids... It's going to be good.

Favorite.

One of my most favorite things in the whole world is riding bikes with my husband. We both had really old ("vintage"), rickety bikes up until a month ago. That's when we decided that we were real adults, and we both commute to work, and we had some money in the bank... We wanted new bikes. So we searched and searched, and we found two beauties. They're beautiful on their own, but together I'm pretty sure we stand out from the crowd.

Spring.

I love spring... The leaves on the trees outside our windows turn lime green and it feels like we're in a tree house again. The flowers bloom and hope springs forth from the ground. I know it's cliche, but I truly do feel more hopeful in the spring. This year spring brings new life. Babies are being born all around me and I couldn't be happier. I love this time of year.

Red Ruby.

Today I said goodbye to a beloved companion of five years.

Red Ruby, thank you for carrying me for work and for play. Uphill through snow, and uphill through sweltering summer days. Honestly, it never felt like I was riding you downhill because of your (much lamented) single speed. There were many sore-derriere-days until I replaced your original (vintage) seat with a much better (modern) one. Your brakes were squeaky and unreliable, your wheels detested my back-alley-riding, and sometimes you were pretty wobbly.

All that aside, Red Ruby, you served me well. You helped develop (along with my father) my great love for bicycle riding. I will find a new companion, trusty steed, and ride off (comfortably and easily) into the sunset. And your legacy will carry on forever.

Bloom.

http://plainsongfarm.com/bloom-church-actual-innovation/

This total stranger heard of our Bloom somehow, and wrote this incredibly encouraging blog post about it. I'm so excited about where we've come from and where we're going.

Light.

I'm thankful for the long light that lasts into the evening, even on a cold and windy night like tonight. I'm thankful for the flickering glow of a simple candle in my home and a wide array of them on the stage of a show that blessed me so deeply. I'm thankful for the light of friends from all my "lives" this weekend, and for the fact that the weekend was soaked through with worship.

Redemption.

Last week was a redeeming week. Something really hard happened at work around Thanksgiving but things have come full circle and there is a new start. It's so refreshing and encouraging and perfect for the beginning of spring.

David and I are talking a lot about the future and what our dreams might look like. We've been talking about how much we love our life right now, and how much it seems like we've been placed here for a reason. I don't know what the next years will hold, but I'm thrilled to see and walk through them with him!

Friends.

I am so thankful. I was reminded of my great thankfulness this weekend. I am thankful for my husband, who is my best friend and greatest confidante and encourager and gives me unending grace and love that goes above and beyond anything I could have imagined. I am thankful for my friends. The friends that have known me for years now; friends that knew me before I changed my name and walked through the last five years with me. Friends that let me be completely myself and love me for it - that I am so thankful for. For laughter and tears and honest conversations and hard conversations and dreams and memories and sleepovers. I love how we've all grown together and know each other better than before. I love reminiscing about the past, but I love even more the thought of knowing and loving each other for five, ten, sixty more years.

I don't know what life holds. I don't even know what this next year holds. But I am so thankful that, near or far, I will walk through life with these friends. I am so excited for the adventures that we will have, together and separately.

2012.

There is a lot of learning in this season. A lot of growing. 2012 is a busy, busy year. I think I've already learned more about human interactions, relationships, commitment, family, and myself this year than I ever would have expected. This is good, and this is hard. Life is full and good right now, and I'm so excited (and sometimes overwhelmed) to see where this year and the next five years and the next ten years take us. I believe that we will look back on these years with fondness and remember how exciting it was to be a part of these things. I believe that we will look back and see how much we learned and grew - individually, as a couple, and with our community. Love it.


 I also love delicious breakfasts on lazy mornings with my husband. We need these times to rest from our crazy weeks. I'm thankful that we still have the time and space to relax and be lazy.