Live your love.

I have always made a pretty conscious effort to set boundaries for myself with work and non-work because I know burn-out will happen if I don't do this. This week was interesting because although my hours at being work didn't change too much, my mind and heart were consumed by it. I was not consumed with the act of doing work or feeling stress about work that needs to be done, I was consumed by the pain and hardships some of my students and their families go through on a daily basis. I often talk with other educators about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs (a psychologist's theory).. Meaning that we can't get anywhere with kids when their basic needs aren't even being met. I had a student this week who lost her mother suddenly. This student has pretty severe Autism, and is nonverbal. Her mother was all she had. There is no other family around and no Dad in the picture. And because of that, she is going to have to go into foster care or a facility that can meet her nee...

Day 3 of skiing on some fresh powder! I am still in awe at the views from the slopes. It's unreal all the beauty! Blue skies are my favorite and I feel lucky when I get to spend them outside with my friends! Erin looks so small in comparison to HOW BIG the mountains are around us! I will never get sick of them! This to me is church.. spiritual practices of spending time in creation and being still. Breathing in the fresh air and feeling the wind on your face. This is the real deal!

I've been really struggling for the past year about what church should look like. I've read all sorts of books and have gotten fired up by great conversations with people about it.... and I've come to this point of frustration. Mostly because I have the vision of what I think it should be, but I'm not sure our American Culture allows it to happen. Church in the traditional sense has gotten very mundane to me. I don't get much out of liturgy or reading prayers. Although, I do think spiritual practices are important- but maybe I'm not in the right mindset. I've been apart of a house church for over a year. We focus on social justice issues, living simply, and community. We have an alternative church service where dialogue and discussion is welcome. We sit at a table. But we can't have great dialogue and discussion if there isn't community built among us! We spent a year building community with people who have since moved away or became too busy- and no...