Peace and Justice Studies Association Conference 2014

Thomas, a volunteer photographer, summed it up perfectly in our conversation when he said, "You just seem to blunder into these things don't you?" I thought back to how this trip and many adventures before had come about....and simply nodded. The Peace and Justice Studies Association Conference for 2014 was held at the University of San Diego, a gorgeous campus of stucco buildings and mosaic tile fountains. The Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice hosted the event, appropriately themed, "A Courageous Presence; Shifting Stories and Practices of Peace."  Attendees came from all around the world to talk about difficult topics ranging from current wars to environmental issues and everything in between.

The conference kicked off Thursday night with an opening plenary of many introductions, a "grounding" exercise (imagine your feet as roots anyone?) and a tad bit rambling speaker, who spoke with passion, but also mixed many, many messages into a short time that involved many calls for shouting and the occasional standing up to hug your neighbor.......

I went into the conference knowing that I would likely feel a bit out of my element, this being my first "academic conference", but as we made friends and had real, engaging conversations with other attenders, I settled in to knowing that this was an opportunity to share my heart and what God has done and is doing.

And as I quickly learned, at a conference where there are 18 options to choose in the breakout sessions, the average workshop boasts only a handful of people. But intimate crowds are what I love, and before my time  came, we pushed all the boardroom tables to the outside of the room, pulled the chairs in close, and had ourselves a house concert.

And friends, we had church. In a semi likely place, at a quite unlikely time. A few people who decided they had had enough of the "head stuff" and came seeking a time of hope and encouragement. As one attender, Jack said to me afterwards, "Thank you for being courageous enough to share Christ in a place that doesn't always include Him.".....well, he said it in a much more "academic way". :o)

THE PACIFIC OCEAN!!

Stand in the Pacific Ocean. Bucket List Check. After a day of driving through Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California last week, Darci and I made our way down to the beach in the dark to stand in the chilly sand so I could dip my toes in the same water that touches Hawaii. Spending the night in Santa Barbara gave us the opportunity to stroll the wharf and enjoy fish and chips oceanside, with other tourists mulling around, seagulls begging for food, and a lovely sea lion swimming by.

We drove from Santa Barbara to an old high school friend (Hi Mesa!) in Lake Forest, south of LA. We took PCH- Pacific Coastal Highway, to take advantage of the ocean views for as long as possible. The trip involved some beautiful overlooks, a major freak out when I thought we were going to get hit by a landing plane, and then lots of LA traffic as we got into the city.

Most surprising to my East Coast eyes, is how close the mountains are to the ocean. I dearly love views like this:

Also, due to the high number of palm trees, I may have thought we were in Florida on one or two occasions.

Every Night a Different Home

We drove all day yesterday through Utah, Arizona, Nevada and on to the coast of California before arriving at a house tucked off of a neighborhood street in Santa Barbara. As we pulled into the driveway, our hosts were waiting to greet us with hugs and introductions as we unloaded our bags and had a tour of the house before sitting down to a dinner of salad, pasta, and garlic bread. After dinner came ice cream and chocolate chip cookies.... so much love in such a short span of time!

Olivia and Brian are the sweet parents of a girl I met at a songwriting retreat a month ago. They didn't know why we were in California, only that we needed a place to stay. We spent dinner asking each other questions and sharing a bit of our stories.

It was well after ice cream that the conversation turned to our upcoming time in Arizona. What has led us to seek and bear witness to the border, immigration, and anything else we have yet to know. We talked about the diversity of this part of California, our immigrant stories, and about our own held stereotypes and pre-conceived beliefs. These are the most beautiful moments of this trip, when we share with one another beyond the surface, when we allow the Spirit to lead and we open our hearts to hear from those we have only just met.

I am continually humbled by the hospitality of a welcoming home. To you it may be a simple bed, couch, or flat surface to sleep, but to me it is a safe place to rest, to recharge, to just....be. Each place is a home away from home, a new stepping stone in this vagabond's travel. I think of Susan in Kansas City, who fed me blue bell ice cream as we sat in her cozy kitchen, of the Falconers in Garden City whose little ratty dog I cuddled with on the floor while we talked late into the night. These new friends don't know how their words of faith and love and challenging questions give me encouragement to press on.

And I think to the houses I am the most comfortable in, the ones where doors are left unlocked and kids are anxiously waiting.... my friends in the midwest who bolstered my confidence before I ever set off for land unknown. Life done with others is rich, beautiful and just....so right.

Wyoming to Utah

It rained all the way up to the Colorado State line. And then it sopped. Wyoming welcomed us with sunny, windy arms and we joyfully ran around a large visitor center decked out with hands on explorations of outlaws, territorial prisons from which those outlaws escaped, and the skeletal remains of a woolly mammoth. 

But just as quickly, the sun turned to rain, which turned to snow. The temperature dropped 15 degrees in a matter of minutes and right about the time Darci remarked, “is that a snow plow up ahead?” I realized that I should not be the one driving the remaining few miles of the day’s trip….so we pulled off an exit and Darci took the wheel.

We spent the night in Laramie with our dear friend and School of Worship Alum, Ryan and his wife Bobbie. We laughed and shared stories and ate homemade pumpkin bread, brownies, and some sort of concoction involving turkey and zuccini…so good!  Ryan and Bobbie live in a house divided into apartments, which allowed us the unique opportunity to stay in the guest room downstairs next to the laundry area where an antelope had been carefully deconstructed earlier in the day…..when in Wyoming!

Yesterday was sunny and “see your breath” chilly as we headed west toward Utah.  The views were absolutely gorgeous and the day warmed up as we passed snow capped mountains and fields of antelope.  This is the land of cowboys and nomadic souls. I am in love.

Utah brought red rocked, cavernous landscapes broken up by valleys and dotted with small towns. We stopped in the canyon where the Pony Express, California, and Mormon Trails passed through...all those people in search of better lives, full of hopes and dreams.

Sunset over the Utah mountains was swoon worthy.  I am thankful for Darci, for being adventurous and willing to drive....so I can dreamily stare at the passing views, soaking in what God has made and praying for what is to come. Today we head for California... my first visit to the Pacific Ocean!

Colorado

In my mind it was going to be an epic return into Colorado Springs where I spent 10 months at the New Life School of Worship a few years back.  The sun would be shining, and the mountains would slowly appear on the horizon, always there, always beckoning. I would be awestruck and in wonder how God creates such beauty..... Instead it rained all day. And as I turned north of Pueblo, it POURED. Drive slow, hope not to hydroplane pour. And the clouds were so low, not a single mountain could be seen even after I arrived in the Springs. I might as well have still been driving through Kansas.

Despite the awful weather, which did turn BEAUTIFUL on Saturday, it has been amazing to catch up with friends, drive around the old haunts and eat at the Heart of Jerusalem Cafe in Manitou Springs.... I dream about this plate of hummus, pita bread, and dolmas.....SO GOOD!

And last night, my time here in the Springs finished out with an intimate, cozy house concert hosted by my "Colorado mom", Mary. Mary and Doug hosted me during the school of worship and their house has a gorgeous, open, acoustic great room in which I look forward to playing in again. :) It felt all the more important tonight to share the promptings of this trip, of what we seek, to hear the words as I speak that my heart may remember this is not something I made up in the vast regions of an overactive imagination. That God is leading this journey forward. We follow as bravely as possible.

The mountains were again covered in clouds as I drove to Mary's. It drove me crazy. I knew they were there and that my time before leaving was growing short. I felt the parallels to this trip.... I know there are things that God has put into place, things that He is stirring around and in and through, but it's a bit foggy right now. I was reassured when I peeked out the back window later that evening...... to a beautiful, unabashed sunset. I will taste and I will see.....

Driving the Countryside (IL to KS)

t was eerily quiet under the Kansas sun as I stood next to a row of graves on a grassy knoll outside of Fort Larned, a preserved Indian War Era Fort somewhere off of highway 156.  The wind rustled the leaves of nearby trees and caused the American flag raised high above the buildings to whip and unfurl.  It was about that moment that I looked around to realize that I was completely. alone. In the middle of Kansas. And to this girl raised in the Northern Virginia suburbs of the DC metro area..... that means an ounce of rebellious freedom and a mountain of irrational fears.

I love a place where the echoes of the past can be seen and heard and felt. Where you can imagine General Custer riding up, the scouts keeping an eye on the horizon. The possibility of warriors slinking through the trees.  There is also the evidence of the darkness that still lingers, the chains attached to the floor of the brick building set apart from the dining halls and lodges.  This was not entirely a place where soldiers merely played card games to pass the long evenings between riding the countryside.

Finishing up the house concert leg of the trip left me a couple of days to meander the middle of America, between host homes in Kansas City, MO and Garden City, KS before arriving in Colorado Springs last night. I made a quick stop in Des Moines, Iowa to catch up with fellow School of Worship Alum, Kim, who is having a marvelous time leading worship at Hope Church. We picnicked with soup and salads from panera in their large lobby before she gave me a quick tour and ran off to a meeting.

Later that day found me out in Richmond, MO to epically sing "Bob Ford" on the legend's grave...I hope to do a later post on that experience.....

I stayed the night south of Kansas City with the lovely Susan, a new friend I hope to visit again soon! And then Missouri blended into the long, open roads of Kansas..... when I got to my friend Uzzi, another School of Worship Alum, he remarked, "you know, Garden City isn't really on the way to Colorado Springs, right?" ..... I have learned that the direct route is not the way this trip will go..... it is the journey my friends, not the destination. :)

And after a beautiful night of worship, applebees, and making new friends with some Kansans....it was a rainy drive to Colorado and in the Springs. The next few days are catching up and seeing old friends, sparking some conversations, and sharing a bit of music before heading North and further west.... oh the faces and voices I have missed. Phone calls and facebook messages can never do justice to the living, breathing friend right in front of you. Lovely.

The House Concert Leg (VA to IN to IL)

This morning I find myself with three kids sitting quietly at a table with ninjago legos strewn about....no one is quite awake yet. There's a dog- one part border collie and one part fox who is pacing the room, still unsure if I am a friend or foe.

Last night wrapped up the five consecutive days of events/house concerts. Fairfax, VA- Fort Wayne, IN- South Bend, IN- Noblesville, IN- Valpo, IN- Rock Island, IL.  There has been a multitude of bonfires, smores, cookouts, laughter, and new friendships...I'm in love.These are the days where there are moments, of connection, of the Spirit, of shared music and worship. I'm always amazed that an evening in someone's living room is the perfect space to share the antics of Bob Ford AND the adventure of going to the Border and following God's call. Madison came for a couple of days!!! I wanted to give the cello a try in the house concert setting and it added such dimension....maybe she needs to get finished up with college and come out on the road more often??

I hope the pictures share the variety and craziness of the last week.  The long drives always ended in catching up with friends with quickly led into late nights of visiting, early mornings of coffees and showers before jumping in the car again. Things will be a little slower this week and I make my way over the next few days across Missouri and Kansas to arrive in Colorado Springs on Thursday. There I'll have a house concert Saturday and then my good friend Darci and I will be on our roundabout way to CA through Wyoming and Utah.

Thank you friends for the beds, the living rooms, the conversations.  Can't wait to come back with the stories.

And So It Begins

I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I am going is what inspires me to travel it. - Rosalia de Castro

My car is packed. The guitar, ukulele, clothes, merch, and coffee pot have all been nestled in the back of New Guy to allow for passengers picked up and dropped off. My itinerary is printed out, addresses of friends and friends of friends highlighted. My gps stands at the ready, willing for day after day of newly discovered places.

And so I go. From this little river town on the East Coast to the corn fields of the midwest, to the sand covered in Pacific ocean tides and to finally stand beneath the sun in the desert.... There is a stirring in my bones of things unseen and yet to be known. God has been sifting perceptions held tight in my heart....it is a good sort of brokenness... One that opens the eyes and softens the heart.

If you are curious as to what the next month looks like...well, I do love to share. :) Here's the basic outline:

Tonight I share with the students of Arise Campus Ministry at George Mason University, a group that is becoming dear and familiar. Tomorrow after a fabulous haircut, I head west....six days of house shows and events in the midwest start on Thursday....Then I head to Colorado by way of Des Moines, IA, Kansas City, MO and Garden City, KS.

October 12, I'll be leaving Colorado Springs with my friend Darci in tow, and we'll head to San Diego by way of Laramie, WY and then over through Utah, Nevada, and landing in Santa Barbara so that I can take in all the Pacific Ocean goodness.  We'll make our way down to San Diego by the 16th as that is the conference that set all these plans into motion!!

Monday the 20th will find us in Arizona, the week that is the most open to the Spirit. We have only a desire to see, listen, and encourage. My friend Candace will be flying in to join Darci and I and well..... I'll share more about it as it happens!

My dad is flying out the next weekend to see some old friends of his. He'll meet up with me in Phoenix as Darci and Candace fly back to Colorado and Indiana respectively. Roadtrip home with Dad will take us by the GRAND CANYON and hopefully a few other roadside treasures. He has declared we will be home by Halloween evening to trick or treat with the family.... I'm sure by then I'll be ready for a familiar bed with a cuddly kitty.

I hope you will come along for the journey....through house concerts, instagram photos, staying updated here on the blog...who knows, there may even be some vlogs in the mix! Things are about to get interesting.