On Friday I spent most of the evening running some errands and then took a walk around Old Colorado City (my old hood) with Tilla. It was pretty cold, but we had a good time.
Saturday morning we got up early and headed out into the ice and freezing rain stuff. I didn't realize how bad the weather was at first, even though scraping off my car for about 10 minutes should have given me a glimpse of what was to come. By the time we made it to UCCS, 5 minutes down the road, I had to stop to scrape off the windshield again. We got on the freeway and exited at Academy (after passing only one exit so far) to scrape off the windshield again.
We then made it to Larkspur without problems, but there was a bad accident, rumored to be a 30 car pile up, and we were sent off the freeway for a little adventure. Dirt roads, unknown areas, icy windshield, horses, cows, not knowing which way to go, potty break for Tilla, more dirt roads, etc. It was lovely.
During that part of the trip, as I was trying to get directions to where Tilla would be spending the day... she reminded me yet again that she hates me talking on the phone while driving. It's terrible. She barks and barks and barks. Promptly after I hung up, she laid down in the back like a little angel. Ugh.
Anyway, we made it to Karyn and Andy's so Tilla could spend the day with her friend Abby, and so I didn't have to make her sit in the car while I visited with friends. It was so great!
I made my way to Greeley and arrived after 4 hours, even though it was an expected 2 hour and 15 minute trip. Whew! My time with Jessica, Mark and baby Isaac Wicks was great, hearing about their move back to Colorado, their ministry at UNC with Campus Crusade for Christ, etc.
The next stop was Erie, where the Wicks and I spent time with the Joneses. Their two boys are hilarious and quite fun to hang out with, even when my head was eaten by a dinosaur (aka... their arms smashing together like an alligator).
We all parted ways there, and I headed down to Lakewood for some time with the Ortegas and Raffy. We ate some great pasta and such, chatted for a while about Compassion and life in general, and checked out the Ortega's new home that they're fixing up.
Even though I LOVED spending time with all those folks and am so thankful for the refreshing and encouraging conversations with each of them... the time in the car was also incredibly needed and amazing. I listened to a series of audio sessions called Breaking Intimidation by John Bevere. I had listened to them before, but I've been feeling the need for a repeat of it... and let me tell you... it was so much better this time. I was thinking that I'd only make it through part of the sessions, but due to the huge amount of driving done by yours truly yesterday, I finished the last session on the very last leg of the trip (and that was even with some Toby Mac and such thrown in at times to keep it lively).
I'm so not going to do the content enough justice, but I HIGHLY recommend it and believe that it changes lives more than expected, including mine. I didn't really consider myself to be easily intimidated, but as I listened and took it in, I realized that more of it was true than I'd like to admit. I was letting myself be consumed in certain areas with a spirit of intimidation and fear that was unhealthy and I was not allowing God to use me in ways that I believe He wants. I could see symptoms at work, at church, and just in general in my life. Recently I've even been told by multiple people that I don't give myself enough credit. My self esteem had lowered to the point that I was relying on others to do things I should be doing. I couldn't see myself as confident or bold or strong enough to do certain things, but they could see that in me. (I'm so, so thankful for people who know me well!) Yes, I had my moments of confidence, but they were becoming fewer and fewer as the months went by. I see more of it for myself now, and even though I don't plan to venture on over to the other extreme, I do plan to rely more on God and less on me. I can allow Him to use me even in the midst of still growing and learning and becoming more like Him! I'm ready for whatever He has next for me. Bring it!
So that was all the first 24 hours or so of the weekend. Today was great, too. I had a nice, cold walk to church, an encouraging conversation with some middle school girls who want to serve people in CA in any way they can (wow... way to step up, girls! Their prayer requests are for adults to support their idea and to raise enough money for the trip! Maybe that'll be something I can be a big part of!), and a wonderful time at the Vanguard quarterly baptism. My favorite part was laughing myself silly with the Williams kids!
That's it. I'm crazy tired and heading to bed now. I realize that it's only 9pm, but I'm done. The end.
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