Sunsets

There is nothing like beauty so obvious that you have no choice but to stop and marvel at it... Drink it in and choose to say No to whatever pressing item is on your mind. In achieving one of my New Year's resolutions - watch more sunsets - I have become addicted to watching the colors of the sky transform and organizing my evening schedule around this natural bookend to the day... the closure to the sun and invitation to the moon creates a stillness and deep rest in life I didn't know possible. This rhythm has become so much a part of me, I'm not sure what I did without it.

From the Cristo mountain in Baja this weekend :)

Mexico is underrated

When it came down to making the choice to move here from Chicago, I tossed around the question of what inspires me... and found that my answer is God's Creation. Living in a city of snow, where it is the norm to be indoors half the year, I came to understand that I lived most of my days fighting the cold shivered to the bone and uninspired by my surroundings. It is both a gift and privilege to make a choice to live differently... to fight comfort and routine and step out west into the unknown. 

Sunset Cliffs yesterday with Betsy

Although the initial change feels euphoric, what follows is simply life- laundry and groceries and cleaning and finances and questions about the future. It's true - no matter where you are, life picks up and You are still You. Even when the sunset beckons across the bay, there are lists to be completed, meals to be made, and errands to run. Creating new habits from old routines is not easy, no matter where you are. But I have found that stopping to watch the sunset brings a certain peace into my life that makes everything else doable. It brings to mind these words I read years ago "beauty can be crushing at times, can't it??" (Rob Bell).