They finally accepted the offer on my townhouse. I move in April! 

My future living room 

Colorado is beautiful but COLD atop Mount Quandary at 14,262 feet! 

The still small voice

We talked about silence in small group tonight. Once again, I am amazed at God's timing. If I could describe my life in three words at the moment, it would be, "out of control." Somehow I managed to go from not having any friends here in Boulder, to being over-involved in my community, in approximately 3.5 seconds flat. Or at least it feels that way. I remember sitting on my balcony on a warm Saturday afternoon this past fall, reading a book and watching the world pass by, wondering why I used to think the weekends went by too fast. I had all the time in the world.

These days, it feels like my waking hours spent at home consist of 30 minute intervals where I'm changing clothes, grabbing dinner, and heading out the door to my next activity. I'm trying to buy a townhouse (if only the seller would SIGN THE CONTRACT), leading small groups on Tues and Thurs nights, training for a triathlon with Team in Training, and trying to keep up with my friends as we trek through the snowy mountains.

And I'm having a blast. But I can't help but wonder if I'm not missing out on something. In my attempt to fill the void of loneliness this past fall, I think I have tipped the scales a bit too far in the other direction. And I wonder what my week would look like if I took a bit more time to myself. If I sought out some intentional solitude. If I spent some time (gasp) in silence.

I intentionally didn't turn on the radio as I drove home from church tonight. And I didn't turn it on when I got home, either. I turned off my cell phone. I read a book. And even though I know I should get some sleep, I can't help but want to sit on this couch alittle longer and soak up this delicious silence. God may have created us to be relational beings, but I also believe that he created stillness, and that he speaks to us in that "still small voice of calm." I just wish I spent more time listening.

Community - it just feels right

The pastor at the church start-up I've been going to asked me to share a bit about my transition to Colorado at church tonight. I wrote up what turned out to be a short essay on the importance of community, and thought I might as well share it. Enjoy!

During college, I spent 6 months studying abroad in Australia. I learned a lot that semester – not only about the world outside of the States, but also about myself and the things that are important to me. I spent a week traveling through the center of Australia during spring break. I remember standing out at Ayer’s Rock one evening, watching the sunset paint the rock a brilliant red. The evening was quiet and calm, the surroundings were beautiful, but I distinctly felt like something was missing. More than anything in the world, I was wishing I could share that moment with someone else.

One of my mottos, which grew from experiences similar to that one, is “experiences are the key to life, and people are the key to experiences.” God created us to be relational people. I believe that we not only serve God more completely in community, but that we can also SEE God more completely in community. Victor Hugo said, “To love another person is to see the face of God.” God reveals himself not only through the Bible, but through our interactions with each other.

So you can imagine that when I moved to Colorado this past summer from the Bay area, I was longing for community in a big way. What drew me to the Boulder Project was the concept of intentional community that they were creating. I felt like their desire to bring people together in all different types of settings is a great model for how God intends us to live.

I had a pretty tough time transitioning into Boulder this fall. I missed the life that I left behind, and I longed to understand God’s plan for me here. To tell the truth, I spent most of my time questioning that God even had a plan. I just didn’t feel like myself when I wasn’t surrounded by the people I loved.

This move has taken me outside my comfort zone in a lot of ways. It often takes leaving a place to gain some perspective on what you left. I realized finding community means not only getting to know people, but being known by people. It was being known that I missed so much.

But moving here has also allowed me to witness some amazing things. I have been impressed by those who have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome – inviting me to social gatherings and out for coffee – despite the fact that they barely know me. I don’t know that I really did that when I was living in Berkeley, but I quickly realized how important it is that people did that for me here.

It is abundantly clear to me that God is present even when I feel completely alone. I have no doubt that his love for me is quite independent of whether or not I am “in community.” But I do believe that I am more myself as part of this community than I am without it. The Boulder Project doesn’t necessarily define who I am, but it certainly does affect who I am. And I believe that as a community, we can affect Boulder in a more profound way than we ever could by ourselves.

I spent part of this past week back in California for work. Several people asked me how I was liking Colorado, and I found myself, for the first time, enthusiastically saying, “I really love it there.” That response has nothing to do with the beautiful mountain views and the great hiking. It has everything to do with finally feeling like I am part of a community.