I love oxygen.

Last night as I drove into downtown Denver, I got a little choked up. It hit me...oh crap, I'm moving to Denver! Just like any other Friday night, I was driving through downtown to a swing dance, only this time it was Denver and not Nashville. As I walked in to the Turnverein, I realized that in all my years of dancing I have never gone to a dance where I knew NO ONE.

I put on my brave face, found a spot to observe, and tried to tell my face to look friendly. Lucky for me, I spotted a guy who looked like he knew what he was doing and subtly stalked him until he was finally free for a dance. That dance happened to be the dance before the "birthday/out-of-towners" jam. He offered to start me off in the jam which was good because otherwise I probably wouldn't have had the nerve to just jump in. An out-of-towners jam...what a great idea! I was able to dance with probably 10 different leads which really helped get the night started.

As I was huffing and puffing, trying to bust out my best following skills, and trying to look friendly, I was thinking, "Dang, you're out of dance shape!" And then I remembered my body just wanted oxygen this Mile High City couldn't offer. Erin says it takes 3 months for your body to adjust. What! All I'm saying is, watch out Nashville, cause next time you dance with me, I'll be drunk on oxygen.  :)

Here we go again...

Wow, it's been nearly a year since I've blogged! Oops!

Well, I'll take this opportunity to announce: I'm moving to Denver, CO!

For those of you who know me well, this should seem funny to you since Erin has asked me to move there literally every time she sees me, and every time I've emphatically said NO. And it should also seem funny for those of you who know how I dislike adventure.

But the Spirit moves and things shift, and here I am, 100% ready to move to Denver.

As with China, as with school, as with quitting my job...I make big life decisions quickly. When you know, you know, right? In a lesson at Ethos last month, they talked about how if your father is powerful, that changes the way you live. You can take risks knowing that even if something messes up, he's going to protect you, provide for you, and get you back on track. Maybe he has connections that you know you can rely on.  It gives you a confidence to step out and do something new instead of just holding on to what is comfortable. Well, my Father is powerful and connected, and once again, He is enabling me to step out of what is entirely wonderful and comfortable...Nashville.

It may seem quick and sudden, and in some ways it is, others not. I have learned over the years that the Spirit always gives a prep or two or three before asking me to step out and do something or before a big changes comes. Looking back, I can see the prep beginning earlier this year, first with the idea that this year would be about reconstruction. I knew things would be changing. Then with the prompting to quit my full-time job and lean on Him more fully, then with roommate changes, then with all my classes being available online...and now with this really definite feeling of "uprootedness." I have also learned that when the Spirit prompts you to sacrifice something it is not always the sacrifice that matters so much as the willingness to lay it down. Sometimes He purifies it and gives it back in a more beautiful way, sometimes He removes you to grow you, sometimes He just has something better in mind. Whichever it is, Nashville has been the last thing I was willing to lay down. After China, I craved to be rooted somewhere - to not feel that disconnected transient feeling, and though it took a while, I dug my roots in deep.

But God is gentle, and whether I dug in too deeply, or whether He just wants me in different soil, He has made everything ready. I don't know exactly what is in Denver (other than Jason, Erin, and Lucy) or why exactly I need to be there, but I do know that there has been a great deal of movement to get me there. Things are falling into place on every side in ways that would be shocking if I hadn't seen Him work like this before.