Happy Intern Day. This is where the magic happens, people.

I've been meaning to introduce my co-workers for a while now.

Pictured below is the lovely face of LeAnn, whom I work with,

and the fingers of our fellow Matt who works at another school in Chicago.

Once each week, the three of us meet together for an office day with our supervisor. It's crazy to think how much is entrusted to us. We're helping grow spiritual movements in two city colleges. Us. Isn't that crazy?

Of course, there are plenty of additional (more experienced) staff at other universities. Thank goodness for that! But I spend most of my time with LeAnn and Matt.

So now you've met. And now I can see by this picture how much more I am looking like my father these days!

I hope you love stories. I come with more stories. I love stories. 

My mind is really occupied with work, so stories are much easier to share than thoughts.

(My mind is also occupied with 2 Corinthians 12 ... what's up with that?)

Friday night story: 

Incarnation -- an art ministry network of InterVarsity -- invited Ken Heffner from Calvin College to speak. It was an incredibly inspiration night. Here's a blurry picture of beautiful Dawn at the event:

Saturday morning story:

Rob and Dylan came to town and took me to the aquarium! What gentlemen. Here's a picture of them buying our tickets, and me kissing my favorite fish in the whole place.

Saturday night story:

Karen had a house warming party. I think you can what a good time we had by the way this table morphed from a beautiful display of party food to a mash of empty plates.

I love it when the evening hits late morning and people are just relaxed enough to start dancing spontaneously. And maybe I should ask permission before uploading this online, but look at how alluring this salsa is, my friends are talented, oh my:

Scenes from the Renegade Craft Fair, which graced our streets a couple of weeks ago.

PS: Jake and I first hung out three years ago today. We met at a cafe on Dearborn, he had a smoothie and I had an Americano. I enticed him into talking the entire time with plenty of questions and I wore the same red shoes as I am in that header photo. Fall begins lots of celebrations in our history of love. Today is a good day, indeed!

We had another splendid weekend. I went overboard with the green. My bestest friend Olivia came to town. We went overboard with the free Starbucks. And there was definitely more time with babies.

I am no longer allowed to buy ... try on ... even look at a striped piece of clothing, when shopping with Jake.

Operative words being "when shopping with Jake."

Though he really is just about the only person I like to shop with.

Two nights ago, while brushing my teeth,

I had this moment when everything felt

different, good, new.

We had just found out some great news

about both of our jobs, not to mention

we were both home together that evening,

a rare occurrence these days.

This past year was crazy. When I look back

on it, I see senior years in college, marriage,

a full-time job, graduation, a summer of

patchwork despair, creation, success, joy,

job interviews, travel. And now things open.

A new current is stirring in our little life

and I can definitely get comfortable here.

It feels wonderful.

It was a weekend of babes.

Friday night, Six and Three:

Sunday night, One and a half, and Three Months:

Another revelation to continue on my previous post about what makes marriage hard: our own demons.

Because it's just amazing sometimes how we humans interpret what people are saying and doing.

Because I am one of those people who has very rigid standards and expectations.

It's constantly a practice for me to extend grace to those who don't "reach" my standards or operate as I would have them.

But mostly, because the person I have the hardest time forgiving is me.

Sometimes, on a late night train, when you're standing for 30 minutes, supporting a 50-pound bag on your back while that stranger occupies a seat with his grocery bag ... a husband uses gentle and encouraging words to inspire the wife to keep working hard and all the wife can hear is "I'm disappointed in you."

Sometimes it doesn't matter what people are actually telling me, all I can hear is "You could have done better. I'm disappointed."

And that gets very frustrating for my loved ones.

It is, in fact, a breach of communication. Sacred communication.

So I've found that sometimes it's our own demons that hijack the voices of our loved ones--our teammates--and make marriage hard.

In those cases, when Jake and I are just not understanding each other, we huff around the studio sighing "marriage is soooo hard."

And then we smile, because we've come to the truth together and we recognize we're both trying so very hard.

Lord, keep the demons at bay, so that we may clearly see and hear our love's sweetness.

No, no, no. I take it back. I cannot continue pursuing summer in 50-degree weather.

I was wearing a skirt and tee-shirt, headed down to Chinatown with a bunch of new students, when things got ugly. I'm talking windy, grey, and no trees to admire. I could feel seasonal affective disorder creeping at my door.

If this is how September is going to be, then I am busting out all of my survival tools for the winter. Now.

Come on Fall, you can pull through.

Ooooh, it's a good thing for pumpkin and candles and St. John's Wort. And that I live near plenty of therapeutic trees!

(One of my autumn dreams already came true, sleeping chilly with the windows open and a crisp down comforter.)

Nothing pairs better with kayaks than family.

I really love this picture from our family camping trip a few weeks ago.

My auntie, Jake, my momma and I had a super fun time together, just us:

Now, unfortunately, do you see those pasty sticks-for-legs I've got myself?:

They (nor any part of me) were not properly protected from the sun on this expedition--something I'm embarrassed to admit because I'm normally Mrs. SunSafety.

Two hours floating on reflective water has done this red no good!

Now, weeks later, I am peeling like an orange over here. I feel like I've shed an entire layer of skin on my arms and shoulders and I find myself hoping nobody has to sit too close to me on the train.

Oooh, summer, you honestly have been great!

I've been trying to think lately about what it is that makes marriage so difficult sometimes.

And conversely, what it is in those shimmering moments that can make you utterly and completely forget how difficult it can be.

(The caveat here being that I've only been a married woman for almost 10 months.)

We are recklessly in love. Of that, I have no doubt. We genuinely want what is best for the other. We have a Lord who extends infinite grace upon us, which makes it even more possible to have grace and forgiveness toward one another. We have a lot going for us.

But if I had to name the arch-enemy of love, it would be selfishness.

Is that perhaps because love is the most offensive opposition of selfishness?

Imagine all of the manifestations of selfishness that are possible in a human being.

Our only weapon against them, is love.