This was an email sent on October 26th 2011 while living at Corrigan's house in Denver.
"Because we can." This is the phrase that has reverberated through each location we lived these last 7 weeks. William Wallace had his battle cry of "Freedom." We have our battle cry of "Because We Can." It has been a fun reminder that this season for us is about rest, relaxation, doing things we wouldn't normally be able to do, meeting people we wouldn't normally get to meet, and not dwelling on the unknown future. Let me give you an example of how our battle cry plays into everyday life.
Jeff: Well, the movie just ended. What do you want to do now?
Jen: Lets watch another movie!
Jeff: Why would we do that?
Jen: Because we can.
I can't believe it has been over a month since we sent our last email. Time really does fly when you're not doing much. :) Thank you for your emails, thoughts, prayers and support. We have felt so loved and cared for by so many since we began this process. It really is a comforting thing knowing we are not on this journey alone. We do value each one of you and have been so excited to bring you along for the ride.
Our time in Breckenridge during the month of September was amazing. We tried to focus on resting and relaxing as much as possible. Besides daily watching the leaves go from green to gold to red, our month consisted of watching movies, celebrating family member's birthdays, biking, climbing, hiking, fishing, Starbucks, lots of Starbucks and more movies. By the end of the month we finally began to feel like our wheels weren't spinning anymore... we felt rested (even though feeling rested in itself has been a daily process altogether). The Lord knew a month in Breck was just what we needed to start our sabbatical. Thank you again, Mom and SD, for giving us the gift of staying there during that month.
To bring you up to speed, we are currently "living" in Denver. We've been house sitting for one of our friends since October 7th. It has been so good to reconnect with some of the great friends and family we have here. We will be resting and playing in Denver through the first week of November, at which time we will very slowly start making our way West.
Here are a few highlights from the last month:
The Coldest Most Beautiful Wedding Ceremony in History: Jen's step-sister, Lauren, married Jen's sister-in-law's brother (try to figure that one out) at a beautiful mountain ranch 45 minutes outside of Vail, CO. Jeff had the honor to officiate the wedding and we spent 3 days in Vail celebrating with family and friends. The ceremony itself was cold (the temp coincidentally fell into the 30s during the outdoor ceremony). It was breathtaking. Everyone had to huddle together family-style which made the ceremony feel very intimate. Such a celebration of love between Ben and his gorgeous bride, Lauren! Immediately following the ceremony, the rain stopped which allowed the sun to peek through and warm everything up. The photographers were able to capture some of the most beautiful wedding photos ever. Incredible day.
The Scariest Bike Ride of My Life: While staying in Breckenridge we took an entire day and rode bikes all the way from Breckenridge to Vail, which is about 36 miles and takes you up and over Vail Pass. To help paint the picture, try and imagine yourself riding a bike over a mountain pass at an elevation of 10,600 ft. The oxygen gets a bit thin up there. Thankfully, we were distracted by the scenery around us since the leaves had started to turn at this point and the mountains looked like they were on fire. At the top of Vail Pass we embarked on a crazy 15 mile downhill ride into Vail. This was not a gradual downhill. We were flying for 15 straight miles. It was too painful to try and brake the whole way down so we just kind of let it go. I (Jeff) had to ride in front of Jen because I was so worried that she was going to fall (and I would have to witness the wreckage). There were pieces of the downhill where we were probably going 40 miles per hour. It was so much fun and stressful at the same time. Luckily Jen's mom was gracious and picked us up in Vail so we didn't have to ride back up that monster pass. Instead, we went to one of those posh high class movie theaters and ate delicious food in comfy chairs while we watched Moneyball (great movie). That day was definitely a highlight for us.
Mr. Denver: I (Jeff) had the privilege of competing in one of the most prestigious, well-respected competitions in all of Colorado. A competition so fierce that the champion earns the right to be called, "Mr. Denver". This years competition featured 10 well trained professional athletes performing at the top of their game. The competition started Friday night, October 7th, with a 2 hour beating at a place called Xtreme Challenge. Basically, a former contestant on the old American Gladiator TV show purchased their equipment and now lets groups come in and beat each other silly while pretending they're competing in American Gladiator. Which was a great reminder to each of us that we are getting old. The next morning (early) we drug our beat up, sore bodies out of bed and engaged in the most difficult of the events: running the stairs at Red Rocks. What made it even more interesting this year was the fact that we woke up with a few inches of snow on the ground. My thin California blood almost drove me out of the competition that morning. Red Rock is a famous outdoor amphitheater with long cement stairs. The race is to the top of the stairs and back down. It sounds easy but this event is feared by each of the Mr. Denver participants every year. I have never done something that has the effect of making me believe my lungs might literally explode. The whole group was wheezing and coughing for an hour after the run. Painful. I finished 5th out of 9 places on the run. Then we move to a field goal kick challenge, bowling, trivia, the urban obstacle course (which is how it sounds - jump fences, weave around poles, do a car push etc...) and finally the competition ends with the boot-n-bike. This is a 100 yard dash in ski boots (yes, ski boots), followed by a half mile bike ride around a track (still in ski boots), then off the bike to throw a ski pole through a football upright from 25 yards out (in ski boots). If you miss the throw, you have to run (in ski boots), retrieve the pole, and try again. It is brutally funny (unless it is your turn, then it is just brutal). After all was said and done, I finished 2nd in the competition and can point back to bowling as the event that really destroyed my chances for victory. It was an amazing day nonetheless and I can't wait for next year's Mr. Denver. For those of you in San Diego, I would like to bring this event West and start "Señor San Diego". Any takers???
One of the fears we have had throughout this process is that we would waste this time. We were given an unbelievable opportunity-- a "timeout" on life so to speak-- to rest and focus on areas of our life that we think are really important. But we don't know what this time is supposed to look like. There's no book on "Sabbaticals for Dummies". We don't know how it is going to play out and certainly have no idea how it is going to end. We have to hold true to the belief that in the stillness and quiet of this season God is working in our hearts and lives even if we can't tangibly see much change right now. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus often left people who were in real need to retreat into the mountains to be alone. He modeled this kind of behavior. Almost 2 months into this Sabbatical we are still learning what it means to take a step back and allow God to direct our paths. And up to this point we honestly have nothing figured out. But...we know that God is moving and working. We can slowly see our hearts melting and aligning more closely with Him and each other. Would you continue to pray for us in this? We're absolutely ecstatic to look back some day and see all that God did during this special season, but today, would you join us in praying that we would be totally present to the work he is doing in our hearts right now.
Here are a couple prayers that we listed in the last email:
Jeff: Well, the movie just ended. What do you want to do now?
Jen: Lets watch another movie!
Jeff: Why would we do that?
Jen: Because we can.
I can't believe it has been over a month since we sent our last email. Time really does fly when you're not doing much. :) Thank you for your emails, thoughts, prayers and support. We have felt so loved and cared for by so many since we began this process. It really is a comforting thing knowing we are not on this journey alone. We do value each one of you and have been so excited to bring you along for the ride.
Our time in Breckenridge during the month of September was amazing. We tried to focus on resting and relaxing as much as possible. Besides daily watching the leaves go from green to gold to red, our month consisted of watching movies, celebrating family member's birthdays, biking, climbing, hiking, fishing, Starbucks, lots of Starbucks and more movies. By the end of the month we finally began to feel like our wheels weren't spinning anymore... we felt rested (even though feeling rested in itself has been a daily process altogether). The Lord knew a month in Breck was just what we needed to start our sabbatical. Thank you again, Mom and SD, for giving us the gift of staying there during that month.
To bring you up to speed, we are currently "living" in Denver. We've been house sitting for one of our friends since October 7th. It has been so good to reconnect with some of the great friends and family we have here. We will be resting and playing in Denver through the first week of November, at which time we will very slowly start making our way West.
Here are a few highlights from the last month:
The Coldest Most Beautiful Wedding Ceremony in History: Jen's step-sister, Lauren, married Jen's sister-in-law's brother (try to figure that one out) at a beautiful mountain ranch 45 minutes outside of Vail, CO. Jeff had the honor to officiate the wedding and we spent 3 days in Vail celebrating with family and friends. The ceremony itself was cold (the temp coincidentally fell into the 30s during the outdoor ceremony). It was breathtaking. Everyone had to huddle together family-style which made the ceremony feel very intimate. Such a celebration of love between Ben and his gorgeous bride, Lauren! Immediately following the ceremony, the rain stopped which allowed the sun to peek through and warm everything up. The photographers were able to capture some of the most beautiful wedding photos ever. Incredible day.
The Scariest Bike Ride of My Life: While staying in Breckenridge we took an entire day and rode bikes all the way from Breckenridge to Vail, which is about 36 miles and takes you up and over Vail Pass. To help paint the picture, try and imagine yourself riding a bike over a mountain pass at an elevation of 10,600 ft. The oxygen gets a bit thin up there. Thankfully, we were distracted by the scenery around us since the leaves had started to turn at this point and the mountains looked like they were on fire. At the top of Vail Pass we embarked on a crazy 15 mile downhill ride into Vail. This was not a gradual downhill. We were flying for 15 straight miles. It was too painful to try and brake the whole way down so we just kind of let it go. I (Jeff) had to ride in front of Jen because I was so worried that she was going to fall (and I would have to witness the wreckage). There were pieces of the downhill where we were probably going 40 miles per hour. It was so much fun and stressful at the same time. Luckily Jen's mom was gracious and picked us up in Vail so we didn't have to ride back up that monster pass. Instead, we went to one of those posh high class movie theaters and ate delicious food in comfy chairs while we watched Moneyball (great movie). That day was definitely a highlight for us.
Mr. Denver: I (Jeff) had the privilege of competing in one of the most prestigious, well-respected competitions in all of Colorado. A competition so fierce that the champion earns the right to be called, "Mr. Denver". This years competition featured 10 well trained professional athletes performing at the top of their game. The competition started Friday night, October 7th, with a 2 hour beating at a place called Xtreme Challenge. Basically, a former contestant on the old American Gladiator TV show purchased their equipment and now lets groups come in and beat each other silly while pretending they're competing in American Gladiator. Which was a great reminder to each of us that we are getting old. The next morning (early) we drug our beat up, sore bodies out of bed and engaged in the most difficult of the events: running the stairs at Red Rocks. What made it even more interesting this year was the fact that we woke up with a few inches of snow on the ground. My thin California blood almost drove me out of the competition that morning. Red Rock is a famous outdoor amphitheater with long cement stairs. The race is to the top of the stairs and back down. It sounds easy but this event is feared by each of the Mr. Denver participants every year. I have never done something that has the effect of making me believe my lungs might literally explode. The whole group was wheezing and coughing for an hour after the run. Painful. I finished 5th out of 9 places on the run. Then we move to a field goal kick challenge, bowling, trivia, the urban obstacle course (which is how it sounds - jump fences, weave around poles, do a car push etc...) and finally the competition ends with the boot-n-bike. This is a 100 yard dash in ski boots (yes, ski boots), followed by a half mile bike ride around a track (still in ski boots), then off the bike to throw a ski pole through a football upright from 25 yards out (in ski boots). If you miss the throw, you have to run (in ski boots), retrieve the pole, and try again. It is brutally funny (unless it is your turn, then it is just brutal). After all was said and done, I finished 2nd in the competition and can point back to bowling as the event that really destroyed my chances for victory. It was an amazing day nonetheless and I can't wait for next year's Mr. Denver. For those of you in San Diego, I would like to bring this event West and start "Señor San Diego". Any takers???
One of the fears we have had throughout this process is that we would waste this time. We were given an unbelievable opportunity-- a "timeout" on life so to speak-- to rest and focus on areas of our life that we think are really important. But we don't know what this time is supposed to look like. There's no book on "Sabbaticals for Dummies". We don't know how it is going to play out and certainly have no idea how it is going to end. We have to hold true to the belief that in the stillness and quiet of this season God is working in our hearts and lives even if we can't tangibly see much change right now. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus often left people who were in real need to retreat into the mountains to be alone. He modeled this kind of behavior. Almost 2 months into this Sabbatical we are still learning what it means to take a step back and allow God to direct our paths. And up to this point we honestly have nothing figured out. But...we know that God is moving and working. We can slowly see our hearts melting and aligning more closely with Him and each other. Would you continue to pray for us in this? We're absolutely ecstatic to look back some day and see all that God did during this special season, but today, would you join us in praying that we would be totally present to the work he is doing in our hearts right now.
Here are a couple prayers that we listed in the last email:
- That we would seek the Lord each and every day and be still before Him,
- That our marriage would be strengthened and taken to new levels through this season of rest, and
- That we would fight the desire right now to figure everything out and plan for the future. I (Jeff), as the provider, have a hard time letting go of the future and being fully present.
These are still the most important lessons that God is teaching us right now. Thank you for faithfully joining with us in this fight.
Here are a couple verses from Mark that were especially meaningful to me recently. May those of us who fervently seek God live in the power that we have in God through prayer.
"And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." -Mark 11:22-24
Lastly, a little business. As of now we do not have any solidified plans for December but would like to continue our sabbatical throughout that month. Will you let us know if you have any ideas on a place we could go during that month? Ex: House sitting somewhere? Thanks.
Because we can,
Here are a couple verses from Mark that were especially meaningful to me recently. May those of us who fervently seek God live in the power that we have in God through prayer.
"And Jesus answered them, "Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." -Mark 11:22-24
Lastly, a little business. As of now we do not have any solidified plans for December but would like to continue our sabbatical throughout that month. Will you let us know if you have any ideas on a place we could go during that month? Ex: House sitting somewhere? Thanks.
Because we can,
Jeff and Jen
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