Graupel in Yoder

I was hoping for a snow day today. Unfortunately, I chose to work in the school district that hasn't closed once in the last two years. Fantastic! My time spent watching the news in anticipation of our winter weather closure was not completely in vain, however. I learned a new word. It seems that this late spring snow isn't just any run of the mill precipitation. What we are experiencing here is "graupel". Graupel is a wet snow. I usually refer to it as slush, but I'm from the south. What do I know?

After a treacherous drive through the graupel this morning, I arrived to work armed with my new word and my bad attitude. I should, after all, have been curled up on my sofa watching the gentle graupel-fall out my living room window. Instead, I was forced to educate the handful of students who braved the weather and showed up at school. I probably could have accepted our graupel day fate if it hadn't been for the fact that even Yoder had a two hour delay.

Disclaimer: I honestly don't know much about Yoder except that it is on the plains halfway to Kansas and that the mere mention of its name somehow takes me to my happy place among the Amish.

Quite frankly, I had a hard time understanding how a commute through Yoder could justify a delay while I was expected to forge ahead through snow pellets and other threatening weather conditions. My only traffic advantage was the fact that the rest of the city was shut down leaving all of the District Two employees to navigate the roads alone...much like rush hour traffic in Yoder. Despite the circumstances, I arrived to school safely and determined to put my new vocabulary word to use. Unfortunately, it became evident throughout the day that "graupel" is a term known only to weathermen. And perhaps the Amish.

I'm Dreaming of a White Easter

I am cuddled up in front of a fire looking out my window at a snow covered hill as I write this entry. It doesn't feel much like Easter, but I sure am enjoying these last few days of wintry weather. This was the scene outside my door this morning...


Before church, my small group went to brunch at a friend's house in Monument. This is the view from the back porch...



**Note to self - Don't take the Corolla to Monument on a snowy morning. It could be a tough ride. By the way, I would like to give a shout out here to every guy who pushed my car up a hill today. High fives all around.


To be honest, I haven't always celebrated the Easter season with the passion that it deserves. It seems to be the holiday that slips past me before I really take the time to appreciate its meaning and purpose. Somehow, this year was different though. Last weekend, I had the opportunity to go to my church's production of The Thorn (www.thethorn.net). The Thorn is a wonderful portrayal of the fall of man and the redemption of our sins through the death and resurrection of Christ. I have seen the show in years past, but something resonated with me this year as if I was seeing if for the very first time.

One of the scenes depicts the story told in John 8 where the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery before Christ. As the character portraying Jesus reached out to rescue the woman from the grip of those who were ready to stone her, something broke inside of me. I recognize that my sin sent Jesus to the cross just like the sin of an adulterer or a murderer or anyone else. And while that is a profound truth, it isn't what affected me so deeply.

What I saw in that woman was a picture of discouragement and guilt and hopelessness. And what I saw in Christ was an image of the One who came to rescue us and to bring hope and life and confidence. I so desperately needed to be reminded of that.

I have loved living in Colorado Springs, and I have absolutely no doubt that the Lord brought me here for this season of my life. But to be honest, I have fought against a spirit of discouragement since my arrival. It has come from every conceivable place, and I am ashamed to say that it has gotten the best of me over the past few months. I have been discouraged, and what better way for the enemy to cripple us than to discourage us?

Last night, I was thinking of how the followers of Christ must have felt in the days before the resurrection. Several words came to mind...hopeless, confused, anxious, desperate, afraid, angry, unsure...and discouraged. Then I realized, all of these things can only exist when our focus is on the grave...when we don't live in the power of the resurrection.

I am so thankful that Sunday came, and that with it came hope and fulfillment. I am thankful that the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is the same Spirit that lives inside of me. I serve an Overcomer, and I am grateful that I don't have to live in discouragement or defeat. Because of Sunday, I can live in the victory of knowing that "greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world." Because of Sunday, I am encouraged.

Camera Download

It would be impossible to sum up the crazy adventures I have experienced over the past few weeks, so I'll let my camera do the talking...

These pictures are really from January, but I neglected to download them until now. A few people from my small group took an overnight retreat to a cabin called Praise Mountain just outside of Divide, Colorado....





A couple of weeks later, I celebrated Black Saturday (aka Valentine's Day) at Winter Park with a few friends from church. I wore a red hat in honor of this most festive occasion. Not really, I actually just noticed it while looking at this picture.




Then, my good friend Laurie came for a weekend visit. We spent one day in Vail and the rest of the weekend enjoying Colorado Springs. Laurie tore her meniscus on a mogul run, and being the compassionate friend that I am...I made her continue to ski. Perhaps this is why my red hat and I spent Black Saturday with my single friends.



*BONUS* - My good First Baptist friend, Todd, just happened to have a trip planned to Vail on the same day. So, he spent the day skiing with us too.


Just to make sure Laurie wasn't faking the injury, I made her hold up rocks while I took pictures at Garden of the Gods. She was such a trooper.



THEN, I went home for Spring Break and spent some time with three of my favorite guys (and my VERY favorite niece who isn't pictured here)...





I ended my Spring Break suffering in the mountains of Colorado. My small group spent the weekend at Young Life's Crooked Creek Ranch where we did a little skiing and relaxing.








This little guy was outside our door one morning, so we stared at him for a long time and took pictures...and then took a different route to breakfast.




The next weekend, my friends from Houston's First Baptist came in town for their ski trip. So, I joined them....






On the first run of the day, I attempted to demonstrate my skills by gracefully flailing down the mountain and jamming my boot (or pole...not sure which) into my inner thigh. While I tend to neglect the injuries of others, I enjoy a little attention for my own aches and pains. Since it is still cold here, these legs won't see the light of day for at least a few more weeks. So, I feel the need to post my injury on the internet for all the world to see.



Kari, Brian (the photographer), and I thought it would be a good idea to sit outside in a blizzard for an hour and a half beginning at 7:30am on a Saturday morning to wait in line for the REI Garage Sale. We're smiling in this picture, but it isn't because we were enjoying ourselves. It was COLD! Oh, and I came home with nothing. I'm bitter....and I'm not going to pretend that I'm not.



To top off my weeks of fun, a friend from college came in town yesterday. So, another college friend used her visit as an excuse to have a mini sorority reunion. There are seven of us here in the Denver/Colorado Spring area. We had such a blast reconnecting!