throw your hands in the a-yer :: the roadtrip.

It is absolutely goofy how much i enjoyed driving across the country, from Colorado to Wyoming, then back to Colorado and from there, all the way to Nashville (and next week, North Carolina). I had the best roadtrip partner you could possibly imagine-- I mean, 5 full days of driving and neither of us slept a single second on the road. We sang louder than I thought possible to "Some Nights" and took in the ridiculousness of the scenery outside our windows. We read "Love Does" outloud and discussed every chapter. We talked about faith and love and fear and processed this summer's lessons. When we weren't heading in any one direction, we were taking pictures with our hands in the air (too excited to keep them down, i guess). We were pulling off on the side of road for even more random pictures. We were hiking miles and miles through wildflower meadows to find turquoise lakes. We were driving to Idaho with slushies in hand, just to say we did. We were making coffee stops every two hours. We were avoiding looking for places to stay (we'll call it responsible irresponsibility) and hanging up our hammocks in random places in Wyoming bear country after dark. We were "freshening up" in gas station bathrooms after camping. We saw some great friends, and met some fun people along the way, including the dear policeman who gave me my first ever speeding ticket in Wyoming. It was truly a week of adventure and intention and spontaneity and whimsical living. It was reinforced as many times as we blasted the song "Wide Open Spaces" that i don't ever want to bore myself by living a life of doing things that don't matter. I always want to be dependent and obedient. I want to choose something adventurous every morning that I wake up, and I can. I never want to settle for anything less than the full life to which Jesus has called me.

And now, after all of that, tomorrow I'm turning a whopping TWENTY-TWO years old {weird!}, and spending my birthday at home. If you really know me, you know that I couldn't be more pumped to turn twenty-six one day... only four years to go :), but for now I'll enjoy year 22 and the adventure it holds.