I wish I could come up with some clever way to say, "I'm a fair-weather blogger and I'm sorry. Please still read me? :) "

As it is, here's an update and some thoughts on life in Denver.

1) Fall is here. It is GLORIOUS. We woke up two Saturdays ago (the last before I started my job) and discovered it was only going to hit 70 degrees and there was a delicious, fall-like bite in the air. The day before, we had laid in the sunshine and played in the river in the mountains and enjoyed the end of summer. That Saturday (the 3rd of September) ushered in a new season - literally and figuratively.

2) The Tuesday after Labor Day I started my new job at Ashford University. It was exactly four years to the day that I had started at Southeastern in 2007. Although I was excited to start back to work (let's be real: to start getting paychecks again!) I was sad to see the summer go. From the end of June to the beginning of September, we had a fantastic summer. We moved out of our first home in Raleigh, spent time in my hometown, did a cross-country road-trip, found a new home in Denver, spent some time in A's hometown, hosted both of his parents and my mom (all separately) in the span of three weeks, and explored and got to know our new city. And then: work. Hello mornings, computers, offices and bosses. It had been a while. Although the transition is/was rough, it's been good and a good growing experience for me. I think the Lord is using my job to teach me self-discipline in new ways, as well as to teach me to rely on His strength and not my own.

3) Friday was the last day of training with Ashford, and although I was glad to see "real-life" start - you could not have told that by my face! I cried for a while as soon as training was over and I was on my own at my desk....I blame it on being overwhelmed and on having slept poorly most of the week. I think I freaked my new boss, my trainer and most of my teammates out. Good thing I had brought homemade brownies to bribe them into thinking I'm actually cool.

4) Sleep is becoming more and more important to me. I walk to and from the office, about 2 1/2 miles round trip, and while there, I'm being mentally challenged and stimulated. Not to mention, I get to eat lunch with A most days, as I work in the heart of downtown (where food is expensive) where he spends his mornings studying. That means lunch is no longer watching TV shows but studying with him and going over what he learned that morning.

5) I've been able to meet some fun people already through work - something I'm super-excited about. We went out for drinks after work Friday, although I did not partake. A) Vodka shots. Yuck. B) Dill pickle vodka shots. Quadruple yuck. I was not interested in that! A couple of my new coworkers came to the VanderHouse for dinner, drinks and football last night. Good times :) I'm looking forward to getting to know them and my new teammates more!

6) We have also started volunteering with a Bhutanese refugee family. As our City Group's intentional, missional project, we are mentoring this family for their first 6 months in the States. So...after work/non-drinks Friday night, A and I went to their house to help them create a budget, learn to use/fix some kitchen appliances and start them on the journey to learn English. It's also mentally tough, but exhilarating. I'm thankful the Lord has paired us with this family, and thankful for the friendships we're developing with them!

I think that's about all I have to say for now. It's been a hard, but good, few weeks. I am learning more and more about my identity in Christ, his love and grace and my response to the generosity He has shown. I'm exhausted, but thankful for how He is stretching me and deepening my faith. What's going on your world? We only have internet via my phone/tether to the computer, so I'm not as free to read blogs as I used to be!