Christ has risen indeed!

My house is a wreck, my husband is gone, and the dogs are quiet. My TV is playing a Rockies vs. Pirates game and I've spent the past couple days reflecting on this Easter season. It's hard to believe that last year at this time Mike and I went to the Easter Sunrise service at Red Rocks. It was a little too cold and I had the flu this year so we skipped out, but the evening service was plenty uplifting. There was a great crowd for the baptisms (including Kevin Durant - NBA player for the OKC Thunder) and the evening service!  Lots of new faces and a very joyful atmosphere. Pastor Brian chose scripture which hit so close to my heart that I had to share. I suppose you're used to reading about my rambling thoughts related to Christianity, so just chalk this one up in that category.


Let's start here: 

"2Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied." 

2 Corinthians 15: 12-19


As you fumble your way through the first part of this passage, it may seem a little wordy - But, don't you think Paul is trying to prove a point? I mean, if Christ has not raised from the dead, then YOU/I are dead. We are still living in our sins. We are misrepresenting God. Those are huge implications!  Paul is addressing those of us like "Doubting Thomas", extinguishing any idea that God's movement in our earthly lives is nonexistent. But, Christ WAS raised from the dead (yay!)....read here:


²⁰But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For as by a man came death,  by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ²²For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. ²⁴Then comes the end, when he delivers^(AG) the kingdom to God the Father after destroying  every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 

1 Corinthias 15: 20-26

Christ HAS risen and he WILL destroy death, the ultimate enemy! And if He has not been raised from the dead, then Christianity itself is a bust. A dud. NOTHING. I often think about how as a child I believed in Christ because it was something everyone else was doing. I never faltered in my faith and almost, eek, assumed everyone else felt the same way. I mean, why would you not believe in Jesus? At that time, there was nothing that would cause me to doubt. However, as life moves along and trials come along, I understand how Satan can take hold in your heart and cause a person to truly doubt if this whole Jesus thing is true. And more importantly, how and why does it affect me? 


So, thank heavens for Easter. A time when we are reminded that without this resurrection there would be no Christianity -  life itself would be meaningless. Vain. 


C.S. Lewis puts it so clear in his book Mere Christianity:

“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.’  That is the one thing we must not say.  A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said, would not be a great moral teacher.  He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell.  You must make your choice.  Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.  You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.  But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher.  He has not left that open to us.  He did not intend to.”  (p. 52)

Our God is Lord. And may you fall at His feet. And may you take the time to search your heart and try to understand what the implications of the resurrection means to YOU. And may you know that everyone is different - open your heart and allow Christ to change your mind, soul, and emotions. 


I had an incredible experience today at work. There are two women in a room. They both have Aphasia. They both love the Lord. And they both have a spirit from God that seeps through every pore of their being.  Even though their language center prevents them from truly saying what they mean (Apraxic, too), the hymns are still there. Christ still lives in their heart and the 23rd Psalm is still memorized. The families were so thankful to have a believer working with their loved ones and I was equally happy to encourage the families that there is life beyond a stroke. May the Lord work through you in your workplace, you never know who needs a little encouraging! 

Love Wins! 

Windows are rolled down.

It's fun, you know, to look at your past and say, "Now I know why that happened! " It's not so fun, though, when you're in the middle of not knowing, wandering aimlessly for what feels like forever, trying to figure out what's next. I was on the brink of quitting my job in Aurora with SunHealthcare Group all together because between the drive and the population I was serving there was miserable. I felt like I was wandering aimlessly just trying to make it through another week, wondering what was next (there HAD to be something better). Then, another speech therapist at Bear Creek put in her 2 weeks, and viola! An opportunity to move back to where I first began my life as an SLP, almost a year and a half later - and I jumped on that chance. So, as the plan stands right now, I'm back at Bear Creek (about a 9 min drive from my front door) until something better comes along. I don't quite know what purpose I served driving to Aurora everyday, but I do hope that I can discover an "ah ha!" moment in the near future so that my time there doesn't seem in vain (which I feel like right now). 

So, the title of this post is a song that I posted a few weeks (months, maybe?) back and it has gathered some meaning in my life right at this moment. I do feel like the proverbial windows are rolled down in my life, and for the first time in a while I feel fresh air. A new chance, a new chapter in our lives here in Denver. Or maybe Golden....?  Mike is driving to Golden everyday and then taking the bus up to Boulder. It's free. It's easy, but it is time consuming. Yes, the Golden, CO that the massive Coors Brewery resides. But beyond that, Golden is quite charming, has a great downtown, is in a good location for our jobs, and has some affordable housing. We are having quite the marital debate of rent/buy but the area we both agree on, SCORE one for meeting in the middle. We thought we'd be moved out of our house by summer camp, but that may not happen, which is fine. We are certainly not going to move for the sake of moving......we'd be crazy. 


So, as for now I am awaiting my dream job - a hospital position (inpt or outpt, at this point I'd do either). There are certainly plenty of hospitals in Denver metro, but finding one on the west side of town that will hire a fairly new SLP is different. I've discovered here that SLPs in the hospitals are pretty experienced and FAITHFUL. They don't leave, therefore those jobs don't open up, and when they do the competition is pretty fierce. My gameplan is to work for Bear and try to get a PRN weekend position in a hospital close and then work my way in the system with that hospital. I've had several contacts with hospitals and filled out a couple applications, but nothing has worked out. I'm waiting to hear back from a potential PRN next week. My point is, I'm content where I am now and even if I have to work there through the summer.....I'm not spending 1 1/2 hrs on the road commuting.  YAY! You don't realize what a burden driving is until you don't have to do it much. Plus, I'm considering really buying a bike this time because there is a path that goes to downtown Morrison without getting on a major highway. Mike needs a bike, too. We do live in Colorado, I'm pretty sure everyone has a bike but us.

I will conclude with a pretty funny video of Josh and Beth Graham's dog named Monty. We love them and were happy they came to visit. Next up on our list? A trip HOME! We are going home for a wedding Derby Weekend and a quick visit with the family. Then Mike gets sucked into summer camp and we'll see ya in August. His schedule is actually not that bad this year 10 days on and 5 days off..... I'll take it!



I love you, Love Wins!

Picture Post Sunday

It's picture post time! I haven't posted in a while and don't have much time tonight, but I really wanted to catch up on life so far this early spring. Plus, I want to have at least 4 blogs this month, so I better start early. 

 Mike and I spent 3 days in Avon and skied Vail/Beaver Creek. It was beautiful, one day was sunny and we forgot the sunscreen (bet you can guess what happened to our faces, and imagine that awesome ski goggle line), and the other 2 days consisted of snowy bliss. Awesome.

 Robert Randolph and the Family Band just happened to be playing at this stage in Vail that was ON the ski slope. We love this band - and it was free!

 These pictures are of our friends Rick and Suzi at the UK Basketball game. This bar in Denver was the UK Alumni Association of Colorado, and it was aahhh-mazing. We're holding up a Fayette Co license plate, thankful UK made it to the Final 4.

 Mike and I went to opening day and bought a ticket off a lady who just wanted to "party". It worked out well for us, and another suntan happened.

Our friends from Louisville, Josh and Beth Graham, came to visit us for a week! We are so blessed to have such amazing friends......it is nice being in a place where people want to visit. We went to the dog park, got snowed out of a Rockies game, went to church, ate ice cream, and visited several breweries. It has been a great several weeks with lots of fun things to come in the future. We're visiting My Old Kentucky Home in 4 weeks and have started planning our summer concert schedule. More to come, soon!  Love you!