Dear Family & Friends… It has been 2/3 of a year since Jud passed away. This is SUCH a difficult journey. Our wound can feel like it is scabbing up a little bit, but then gets quickly nicked, causing us to wince in pain as it bleeds profusely. In those moments, it feels as raw

  Drake and I have spent the last week at a ranch in Colorado.  It was a time set aside to rest and rejuvenate; we enjoyed afternoon naps, floating in the hot springs, and relaxing massages. We also had the chance to do some things we’ve never done or have only done once or twice

  Living in highly populated urban Orange County, I often forget the glorious countryside that exists throughout our nation. My senses are currently overflowing with the unadulterated beauty of Colorado.  Mountains, rivers, wildlife, lakes, hills, ponds, streams, waterfalls, flowers, foliage, plains, rock formations, billowing clouds, all screaming of a majestic Creator. How can his handiwork

I’ve quickly discovered in Colorado that the weather can shift on a dime. We went hiking on a gorgeous, sunny morning and as we sat by a lake eating our picnic lunch, the shadow of a cloud rapidly covered us, dumping buckets of rain and chasing us from our serene spot to find cover. We

  Jud loved dandelions. He would regularly point out the dandelions along our walks and after he or Jessie picked them, we would blow the seeds together, watching them delicately float through the air. Colorado has huge dandelions in fields that stretch as far as the eye can see, and while walking in the mountains

      Sitting alone on the Navajo River in Colorado, I couldn’t help but remember a childhood song we used to sing at church…   I’ve got a River of Life flowing out of me! Makes the lame to walk, and the blind to see. Opens prison doors, sets the captives free! I’ve got

I have been encouraged by several people to read “90 Minutes in Heaven” about a pastor’s experience in paradise after he was pronounced dead but then began to breathe again 90 minutes later. What surprised me was the deep sadness I experienced upon the author’s description of his “welcoming committee.”  He shared about all the

One the many difficulties in grief is that all the usual day-to-day challenges of life don’t cease just because you’ve experienced significant loss.  Computers still crash, interpersonal challenges continue to arise, injuries still occur, children still disobey, work stresses continue, and so on and so forth. The difference is that you have little to no