Rabbits. Lighthouses. Fall.

South Beach Discovery Park this morning provided time for chasing rabbits, walking along the beach with the seaweed and rocks to a lighthouse, eating animal crackers, watching sea otters from far away, playing happy puppy, skipping through the raining forest, and collecting a plethora of beautiful fall-colored leaves.

All I'm trying to get at is:

THURSDAY HIKING MORNINGS HAVE COMMENCED.

And I have the privilege of adventuring with Miss Alicia Holsapple and Miss Courtney Pyle.

Thanks, ladies, for an awesome, rainy, enjoyable fall morning :)

I feel like I'm 7...

As strange as it is that I haven't had much homework the past couple weeks, I've been able to enjoy the extra time in jumping back about 13 years...to my seven-year-old self.

It's the hello kitty footie pajamas that I go to bed in after showering.

It's the french braid from a friend.

It's the container of bubbles sitting on my dorm room desk waiting to be played with.

It's the box of crayons that I cracked open today to color over a leaf.

It's the harmonica patiently waiting to be played with.

It's the pressing of the coolest looking leaf that I found on the sidewalk the other day.

It's the afternoon snacks of cheese and wheat thins.

It's the screaming in excitement for life.

It's the colored penciled letter I wrote the other day.

It's the ribbons in my hair.

What I've found in jumping back to this "childhood state" is that as we grow up in life, I think we forget to find joy in the simplicities that used to make us jump for joy. It's healthy to rediscover the joy that has been forgotten.

So, in the next week, I challenge you to keep your head up while you're walking out and about and open your eyes to not only what the Lord has for you, but what simplicities in your life you can stumble upon and find deep joy in.

matthew 18.20

“For where two or three

come together in my name,

there I am with them.”

-- Matthew 18.20

In just the past couple days, I've seen this verse come so alive.

: In the jam sessions in my room filled with singing and worshiping, or

: In the conversations I've had in the afternoons on the lounge couch or late at night on cement steps or on morning runs to Kerry Park, or

: In the floor bonding walking and talking downtown Seattle soaking in all the people watching -- all of these instances I have discovered the perfect presence of God.

I've recently been reminded how important it is to have people to be challenged by in a way that in listening to their struggles, that you not only have an opportunity to pray for them in what their dealing with, but also test your own faith by giving them advice or encouraging them from a different perspective.

[That might've well been a very nicely constructed run-on sentence.]

I'm excited to continue these relationships and deepen them even more, especially over the next couple months. It's encouraging to be immersed in the Word to start off the day, and then see that become more applicable to your life. I just started reading Romans as a part of my morning routine. By God's grace, it was a part of a conversation I had earlier today and it became alive in my life, which is a cool way that the Lord speaks to us. The scripture, indeed, is relevant and profound and applicable to our lives every step of the way whether we acknowledge it or not.

I'm thankful for the friendships that challenge me and test my faith.

I'm thankful for the unfathomable love of Christ.

Amen.