We're Moving to Colorado

At the beginning of our senior year of college people always asked us what we were going to do after graduation. Truth be told, we had no clue. We had some faint ideas, thoughts, and wishes, but nothing was set in stone.

That has now changed.

In October, we were approached by Mark and Lauren Shepherd and Nate and Julie Lamb with the opportunity to join them in planting a church in Denver, Colorado. It was a lot to think about at a busy time in our lives. We committed to praying about it and tried to put it on the back burner of our minds.

...that didn’t happen

It was at the forefront of our conversations as a couple. We loved the idea of moving somewhere for something more than a job. Moving to Denver means moving somewhere with purpose, with a mission.

After 4 months of prayer, conversation, thought, and more prayer, we know that God has confirmed our desires and directed our steps to Denver. We will be joining the launch team of Front Range Church in August of this year.

Please visit Front Range Church’s website to learn more about our mission and vision for what God is and is going to do in Denver.

Now, when people ask us what our plans are after graduation, the answer is simple…

We’re planting a church in Denver, Colorado.

Mission: To be a "Rooted and Reaching" movement of local churches in Denver and the Front Range through which our communities are reached, disciples become deeply rooted, and culture is redeemed through the truth and power of the Gospel." 

http://www.frontrangechurch.com/ 

[oh, college]

Life is crazy right now. And when I say crazy, I mean crazy busy. Not only is it my final semester of college, but I am also taking 17 credit hours and working almost 20 hours a week at McConn. And I am not just taking 17 normal-college-whatever-class credit hours, I am taking my senior capstone AND my senior project, which are both extremely time consuming and ultimately lead to stress, self-doubt, and anxiety.

The most difficult part about this semester is time. I never have time to sit and share a meal with someone. I don't get home until 10:00pm. I barely have a social life. There isn't a minute in my day that isn't scheduled.

Like I said, life is crazy right now.

Yes, it's crazy, but I also have to remember that it is worth it. I have reached the point where I am tempted to slack off and give up on this school stuff. I want to spend all of my time with the people who I will soon be separated from when we all graduate. The emotional sentimentalism has set in, and it's only going to get worse. My conversations with friends lately never fail to end in reminiscing about these past four years of college. Everyone is feeling it. We are close to the end and we don't want to forget these moments of life together.

And then we realize it midway through our storytelling. We are hit with the reality that we will never again experience anything like college. It really is a once in a lifetime thing.

So I am challenged with making every interaction, conversation, and hour count. I don't want to take it for granted. Someday, I will look back on my college years and laugh at how beautifully odd it all was. I will ask myself, "How can it be that we lived in a world where our classes, jobs, meals, entertainment, and friendships all took place on one little campus?" We worship together, learn together, grow up together, and live together. It's pretty cool actually.

Today, tomorrow, and everyday until April 28, I will do my best to intentionally make memories that will keep my heart full forever. Oh gosh, I am beyond excited for these final two months :)

To sum it up in photos... 

A Whole New World

I have been staying busy here, and already I have experienced things that still seem like a dream. I really cannot believe I am actually in Ireland! It hits me in a new way every time I wake up.

It helps me to process the things that happen here by taking photos, writing things down on paper, talking with the people here, and obviously, blogging. With this I am able to grasp the deeper meaning that I am usually not searching for in my day to day routine in the states.

One practice I have been disciplined enough to do is journaling daily. If not daily, then often. I save my receipts, newspaper clippings, plane stubs, and anything else that falls into my fingertips. I paste these things in my journal, and then I write. At this point it seems silly and forgettable, but ten years from now I will cherish those small pieces of paper and words in a notebook from one of the most memorable times of my life.

This week has been constant with new experiences to write about.


I have visited Dublin. It was nothing like what I expected. It's very compact, yet big and busy. I loved it.



I have been to the famous Temple Bar!



I have started some great relationships, and I have experienced community in a whole new way.



I have been hit with differences in culture, like pureed soups, which is the most common in Ireland. This right here is vegetable soup, but it is definitely not the kind of vegetable soup I was expecting. Very delicious though.

I have received the largest collection of textbooks in one semester that I have ever had. The difference is, I would probably thoroughly enjoy reading all of these.

I have studied Irish History, realizing that the places I was reading about would be places I will be visiting in a few weeks.

I have visited several Cafes in the neighboring towns of Greystones


I have experienced the Dart Train, learning how to do public transportation in a different country.


I have ordered tea, surprised to find that the standard is actually to get your own cute little pot which holds three servings of tea.

Oh yeah, and I visited Bono's house, (actually, the gate in front of his house). The neighborhood is one of the more beautiful places I have been to yet.