colorado rocky mountain high

just busting out a little john denver, one of the greats. well i am in the be-a-utiful state of Colorado right now enjoying the fresh mountain air and amazing aspen trees. we are up skiing for a few days, but the roads were closed today because of strong wind so we couldnt. Visiting Dad and Elizabeth, always an experience thats for sure.
But, alas we shall return on the 4th.

waiting in line at breck to hop on the lift a hat i found in REI, thought it provoked this weird face? andrew enjoying the snow storm when we first got to denver

anyway, i hope everybody has a teriffic New Years, catch ya'll on the flip side

the way i see it #284

got this on my starbucks cup up here in Denver and i absolutely LOVE IT-

"You can't lead the people, if you don't love the people. You can't save the people, if you don't serve the people."- Cornel West (a professor from Princeton)

speak the truth Cornel, that is the way I see it as well

Newman

apparently nobody understood the Brittney Spears picture from my last post, but the reasoning was the fact that it said she had a NEWMAN.

see, Newman is my middle name and i thought thats what i read when i first saw the magazine.

yes, thats a random middle name.
yes, im aware its a guy in seinfeld. indeed.
but its a family name [great grandmother's maiden] and i love it. nobody else has it.

so, there you go all you poor tortured friends who were tormented by that. i didnt post that picture because of shiny teeth or pointy elf ears (?) but simply because of her new man

so if it is december, why does it feel like july?

yes, it IS December. i know that there has been debate due to the terribly humid and stuffy weather. but, yes welcome to a Louisiana winter. anyhow, here are some pictures from recent happenings in my world. . .

that is definitely the sports section of the newspaper and alyssa in pointing to an article about a chess tourney. i had NO idea that chess was a sport, but hey thats great news for andrew.
you may be thinking, "leah, why in the world do you have a random magazine with Britney Spears on the cover?!" well, no i do not really care for our dear friend here, but if you can tell me what is significant about this cover. . . ill get you a venti ice water from Starbucks.
This is Matt. Matt is a hard worker. last wednesday he helped with Just for Jesus all day then came to Refuge that night. take a close look at his shoes. . .that is correct, they are two different shoes. poor hombre was so pooped he didnt even realize it.
So what had happened was. . . our lovely youth pastors Jason and Jennifer came over to watch the LSU-Tenn game. Jenn and I decided it would be a splendid idea to go roll Jason's car. so we did. His payback was the trashbags on my car. . . then Andrew, Shana, and Alyssa rolled mine
some of my FAVORITE people came over and we decorated for Christmas. lacey and Shana are ah-may-zing.
setting up for TWISTED last night at the annex. Kristin and Josh have both done an INCREDIBLE job planning and working on this event. and you cant tell but Kristin is definitely on top of the coke machine, wahhh
talk about service. i walked into Starbucks with Tori yesterday and sat down at my table and one of the baristas just walked over and handed me a venti ice water. Thats pretty much the drink i always get because its free and i like aqua, so its pretty great i dont even have to ask for it.

FINALly. . . (pun intended) this is my perspective right now. FINALS. this was right before my history final. they are almost over. one more tomorrow and essays due friday, then im FIN.
thats what been haddnenin

broken

" i earnestly long for more of you in my life. Im getting to a place to be broken before you, honestly i dont think im quite there yet- but its where im headed and i think it is where you want me to be. you need to break me more. That is how i would like my entire life to be- broken- uncapable of doing it on my own, but trusting entirely in you for everythig. Im pretty aware this may be painful and tough at times, but the joy and peace you will provide will be more glorious, and the intimacy it produces with you would be greater than any hardship i could endure. Break me of myself. i want to be an unardorned clay vessel filled with the light that shines through."

thats something i wrote in my journal this past wednesday, and you know what the crazy thing is? He continues to break me. He began to break me that day, and it has truely blown my mind that He listened that quickly. i know when i wrote that i believed He would, but at the same time it always catches me by surprise.
its so funny because different things have happened and i get so uncomfortable, frustrated, or upset and then i just keep flipping back to that page and its as if He is saying, "see! its right here boo! im just doing what you asked, dont you get upset with me." and i just break down and am so overwhelmed with his love. He has truely been breaking me of comforts that i did not want to have to deal with. But while at the same time its weird or uncomfortable, i feel His intimate peace overwhelm me and I am beginning to see Him in a different way.

He is just amazing. im loving it.