The Adventures of Kinky Reggae: A Vagabond for Beauty

When I was younger, my understanding of Easter revolved around Jesus dying on the cross to save us from our sins. I didn't think about it much, but really, it was about not going to hell. The older I get, the less concerned I am with hell. My focus is on what God is doing here and now. This Easter, as I contemplate Jesus's death and resurrection, it takes on a new meaning. God is love. Jesus came to Earth and lived a life of perfect love. No matter how hard people tried to stop him, he prevailed. They did their very worst by killing him in a humiliating, painful way, and on that very first Easter morning, we learned that Love triumphs. So this year, I am celebrating that Love is the way of the universe, and Love will always win.

...I made these mint brownies for Soup Group. They disappeared so fast I didn't even get to try one or take a picture. This recipe was SO easy and apparently delicious! (Recipe can be found here: http://tatertotsandjello.com/2014/03/double-mint-layered-brownies.html) I am starting to love Monday nights. A couple from church hosts dinner for people in the neighborhood. There are about 20 people who come regularly, and it is loud and chaotic and at first it was a social anxiety nightmare. But now I'm getting to know people and am loving this new community. ...I tried brussel sprouts AND LIKED THEM. Friends, that is big news. I'm just a little bit picky. Thank you, Hannah, for cooking a delicious dinner and giving backpacking advice! ... I watched my students struggle through the AIMS test. ... I dyed Easter Eggs with my small group. ...I had a bad day. After seven hours of hanging out with Jason (and a few beers and prank phone calls), I felt better. ...I spent an

A few weeks ago, I got to go through the Jug for the first time. This is a classic Arizona canyon, descended by both experts and novices. There is only one rappel that can be skipped if you choose to jump off a cliff. (No thank you!) I went as part of a canyoneering event, so our group was mixed with locals and out-of-towners. I was super excited to meet Lisa, another beautiful badass who is lucky enough to vagabond full time. She chronicles her adventures on her blog, and you can read her account of the Jug here: http://www.vanvagabond.com/arizona-scubaneering-waterslides-and-snakes/ Besides Jason’s scubaneering, my other favorite part of this canyon was laughing with Sia. She referred to us as the Laurel and Hardy act, because we were just completely ridiculous that day. Highlights include her getting stuck on her back and doing an impression of an overturned turtle, and me being unable to load my rappel device because of my bulky PFD. Jason’s friend Bret nobly insisted on bein

Last night, Amanda and I went to see the documentary “ God Loves Uganda ” at the Human Rights Film Festival at ASU. It is about the new law in Uganda that allows homosexuals to be executed. The film showed how this all unfolded, and it is mainly due to the American missionaries’ influence. I went in with a negative attitude towards the evangelicals, and this attitude was not undeserved. But this film helped me think about the issue from a different perspective.   One of the main characters (and I use the word “character” intentionally) was Jim Engle, director of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City. Amanda immediately recognized him from the equally disturbing documentary, “Jesus Camp.” Although Engle is terrifying, the film showed a team of missionaries from the church preparing for their trip to Uganda. It was clear that their intentions were good. They wanted to help orphans and the poor. Most missionaries have good intentions, and they have helped enormously in bu

I just realized I never blogged about one of the best weekends ever. Me, Kristin, and Jason have the best dynamic. For some reason, when we travel together, it just works. I think we balance each other out. We hadn’t had a chance to travel together since our summer trip over a year before, so we were super excited to spend a weekend at Lake Mead last October. The plan was to leave super early Saturday morning. Jason woke up, then fell back asleep and was a few hours late. I was pissed. When he finally showed up, we went to load the car and realized my keys were locked inside it. I had lost my moral high ground. After a visit from AAA, we were off. Since our hiking time was shortened, we had to modify our plans. Kristin found us a nice little slot called Spooky right off the highway. It was surprisingly pretty, and the perfect place to stop and play for a little while. We were so excited to be exploring together again, and my heart just overflowed with l

We did Motorcycle Canyon the next day. It was a pretty laid back day. The canyon was scenic, but mostly we were just happy to be together in a canyon. Jason was spotting me on a downclimb, and I totally just fell on top of him. “Aw, you just wanted a hug,” he said. And we hugged it out. We stopped in this hallway so Kristin and Jason could meditate. I munched on Cheezits and watched a tarantula amble down the canyon and thanked God for this moment and these friends. We arrived at the end of the canyon just before dark. It drains into a larger canyon that is a popular hike because of the hot springs. We’d carried beer through the canyon all day in anticipation of the hot springs, so there was no way we were going to miss them. We had headlamps, so no worries about a late night exit. And actually, our timing was great since most people were leaving at that time of day. We settled into the spring (which was basically like sitting in a hot tub) a

The next day was pure ridiculousness. We drove around sight-seeing. Jason examined his topo and said, “Hey, I found something that looks like a slot canyon! And you can drive right up to it!” As we pulled up, Kristin and I burst out laughing. It was the Anniversary Narrows ! We were happy to be back and enjoyed reminiscing about our first time there. This time, we hiked through in flip flops, drinking Coors Light. (We were less-than-classy all day… Looking back, I’m a little embarrassed.) Next, we visited some warm springs, where we drank a lot more beer and giggled a lot. There were fish nibbling on our toes… Kristin and Jason enjoyed the exfoliation, but I couldn’t handle it. At one point, I announced that I had to pee and started to get out of the water. “Where are you going?” Jason asked. “Just pee here.” “But you guys are right next to me. That would be rude,” I explained. “I was peeing the whole time we were in those springs yesterday,” J

We spent the last two days of vacation in Phoenix. On Thursday, Dad and Dave headed over to Mesa to check out the new Cubs stadium while Mom and I shopped at SAS fabric by the pound and enjoyed lunch at LGO . On our way there, one of her students texted her and said, "If you're in Phoenix, you should go to LGO!" Perfect timing. That night we went to Denise and Brian's for dinner and were joined by Amanda and Bella. I was so excited and a little nervous for my parents to meet my Phoenix family. Everyone got along great. But of course they did; they are all my favorite people for a reason. :) Friday was Ikea day! My apartment needed some minor improvements, and my dad loves to fix stuff. So we made a trip to Ikea, and it was just like being in college again. I threw a bunch of stuff in the cart, and when I went to separate my stuff from what my dad said he'd buy, he said, "Don't worry about it." I love dads. I figured they'd need a drink a

The next day was the day I was most excited about. We had to drive from Bryce to Page, and I asked my dad if he trust me to plan the day. I agonized over which dirt road to take- Skutumpah or Cottonwood Canyon? I finally decided that Cottonwood had more to offer. We began at Kodachrome Basin State Park, which is basically a valley of dildos. The rock formations are actually obscene. This place is just begging for dirty jokes, but I hadn’t anticipated how awkward that would be around my parents… We stopped to see Grosvenor Arch and then continued on to the trailhead for the Cottonwood Narrows.   This was by far the most fun part of the trip. I got to show my parents a slot canyon! Mom and Dave were SO excited, and even Dad seemed impressed. It was different hiking with them because Mom and Dave stopped to notice every little detail. They know a lot about geology, which meant they knew what they were looking at and how it had formed. They were collecting roc