shouts of joy

Sharing is a thing I don't do we'll. Too often I figure I'm just far t oo selfish to want to share with other people, but maybe my heart needs some healing. Maybe I'm selfish, but maybe I'm afraid of slipping from the place where we've been planted, from the safe strongholds that have brought so much healing. I understand that sharing a bowl of curry isn't going to hurt me, and somedays I really don't want to share my curry. And I know that sharing a skirt that has no sentimental value is going to be just fine. I get that. I share living space pretty well these days, and dirty dishes in the sink don't bother me like they used to. In fact I prefer to share some things. I prefer sharing a tent when camping, or a pot of coffee, a good book with lots of underlining, or a ride to the beach or mountains. However there are some things I'm having difficulty sharing lately.  Yesterday I was on Hayden Lake. The glorious jewel of a lake that has been my sum...

I forget things. Some things I wish I could forget, but can't. Then there are the things I wish I could always remember, like dreams and answers to prayer. Lately I've been remembering the pain that comes from loving and losing. I've forgotten how my prayers have been answered and that my dreams are coming true. I've forgotten about the times I've vowed to risk it all for whatever the case: adventure, service, passions, devotion and even love. I've forgotten how I've loved and been hurt, loved and been hurt, loved and been hurt and healed every time. I've forgotten how the impossibles become possible. I've forgotten the ones I admire and their stories of heartache, loss, rejection, brokenness and failures that lead them to their love, commitment, perseverance, strength and successes. Wow, how I've forgotten. Today I spent several hours over lunch with my friends Troy and Nick, good buddies from high school. We caught up at a small Lebanese jo...

I appreciate the act of acceptance. Just makes you feel bigger than before, brighter than before, like you have something to give. When you encounter a funny tattoo on a girls leg, and soon enough her smile relates to yours and the tattoo is part of a unique story that becomes your own and acceptance happens. When the truth of his story is revealed and before you can say another word you know by the depth in his eyes that his past is another life which he hardly recognizes and acceptance happens. When you sit down and focus on the eccentric young woman across from you and learn that her heart is more eccentric than her funky dress and layers of jewelry and that she speaks 4 languages to teach mothers in Africa about health and survival and somehow acceptance happens. Somehow the stories behind the frames can mold our perspectives. So often I feel that our outward appearances are overlooked and sadly what is stirring in our hearts is masked by the makeup, jewelry, colorful dresses, shap...

Here we are at #teachersummercamp. Two of my teacher friends, Sonya and Chelsea, also took summer classes this summer. Sonya is a teaching principal at a small school in Oakhurst, CA and Chelsea is a teacher/chaplain at a school in Sacramento, CA. They are some of the best teachers I know with huge hearts and a passion for teaching about Jesus. I have enjoyed our #teachersummercamp adventures even though Sonya was at another campus several hours away, we've kept in touch. And every Monday we share/exchange articles, YouTube videos, or stories that we found entertaining or intriguing. These two women have been lifesavers over the past year. We started #teachersummercamp 6 weeks ago and have finally finished. They will start school again in just a couple of weeks. I'm glad that they are allowing me to stay a member in the teaching club even though I will be taking classes this year and substituting instead of teaching full-time. They bring sunshine to a cloudy day. Bes...

Since my move to the south I have been very blessed with my living situation. As I've mentioned before I'm living with a couple of girl friends from high school. We stuck together through college and even into our post college lives we've made efforts to catch up and visit each other. Now we share the same roof and it has been a blessing. My roommate, Sasha, is an ER nurse and comes home with the craziest stories, often times too sad, but sometimes funny and sometimes scary. She's a good story teller, leaving out no detail. She loves listening to stories too and makes sure to get each detail. The other day on a drive to the beach for a roommate date with Sasha my story of knee surgery came up and she sucked the details dry. As I rehashed the nitty gritty of my trampoline injury I noticed that life had turned out better than I had imagined even with a broken femur and a couple of torn ligaments. Sometimes we sense our lives are heading down a slippery slope to doomdo...

When it gets really hot here, the sun beats down through the layer of smog and just like that we have a green house, when that happens I lose my appetite. I lose the motivation to walk outside to take the trash across the drive way. I lose the will to drive from one part of town to the other. And when I think about it, all I want is a seat in front of a fan and a big gulp of iced tea. Up until now I'm not sure I've really questioned that. Sometimes I get so stuck in my right way of thinking that I keep the windows and doors closed so to not let the heat enter through the cracks. When in actuality the morning air is cooler and crisper than the multi-circulated air blowing through the vents. Until I walk out the door, I believe I'm sitting in the best place for me. Because experience has taught me otherwise. Experience has taught me to stay here because this is good. This is great, actually. So I've locked myself inside thinking I'm playing the game against mother nat...

Since moving to the south, I've been happy. Every day is beautiful. I feel safe, loved, appreciated, known - like a cool rainstorm to the wilderness in drought. There are many moments in a single day when I assess the past, present and future. My current assessment is that the present couldn't get much better. I've been taking my classes. Learning a lot. Rocked my final in EDAD 579 School Finance last Thursday. Now onto a new class: Organizational Leadership. My friend Em has been in town and we've been having unplanned adventures that have taken us all over this ridiculous state. I'm going home to north Idaho in a few weeks to see family and watch Em marry her fiancé. After the wedding I'll be flying out to Cambodia for a couple of weeks to find out how I can help RAWimpact with their schools. When I get back I start fall quarter classes. There's a lot going on. I'm excited. With each new day I'm excited. But as I start thinking, thinking too mu...