7 Evidences of The Upside Down

You'll have to wait till sometime next year before getting more of The Upside Down, which Netflix introduced to us back in 2016. However, as we gear up for Easter here in a few days I've been thinking about The Upside Down that the world was introduced to back in around the year 30.

As we celebrate Easter we remember Christ's death, His torture and crucifixion as a sacrifice to pay the price for our egregious errors, and His resurrection, which secured our faith. These events  ushered in one of the greatest Upside Downs in history. Here is what happened.

What Could Happen if the Tide Where to Rise in the Albuquerque Desert

This past weekend millions of people around the world gathered together to march, to speak, to protest, to demand, to fight, to mourn, to remember, to look ahead, to hope. Children, teens, adults, celebrities, household names, anonymous and unknown individuals all gathered with a common goal, to do something, to change something, to say "enough is enough" and to state and ensure #neveragain. It was a huge movement, and to see the photos of the gatherings and marches around the world was impressive, and made you think that this very well be the start to something happening, to something changing. What is even more impressive is that this huge gathering of people around the world, estimated in the millions, with around 800,000 in Washington D.C. alone, represents, probably, less than 2% of the US population (official world-wide attendance numbers are not solid and vary greatly), that's it, but that very well may be enough, only time will tell. This 2% (0.25% if you just look at the main event in DC) was/is passionate, and devoted and determined to make a change and to do whatever they need to to see that what they believe in comes to fruition. It seems that the tide may be changing, that a tidal wave may be growing.

Here in Albuquerque there were around 10,000 individuals that participated in the local event. That also represents a little less than 2% of the Albuquerque population. What I see in this is that people believe they can make a difference. Even if they represent a massively small percentage of the group they are trying to change (because even if many more support you, silence doesn't enact change, action does, those who mobilize and act are the ones who have the potential to change things) they believe it's possible and are willing to fight to see that change.

Carlsbad Caverns & Surface Level Faith

This past weekend we made the trip down to Carlsbad Caverns. I had been there before, when I was a little kid, but it was a totally different experience going now, as an adult. The Caverns are AMAZING! They are truly mesmerizing, breathtaking, and whatever other incredible description you can think of.

We went in the Natural Entrance, which is a giant hole going down into the ground, with a path zig-zagging down as far as your eye can see. As you hike down that path it's truly indescribable the feeling of standing in this massive cavern, understanding you are beneath the earth, looking up to see the hole you entered through, the only source of natural light, slowly getting smaller and smaller above/behind you and countless miles of caverns beneath/ahead of you.

10 Things To Love About Fall

 

It's the first day of Fall! This is perhaps the greatest season. It has a good back-and-forth with Winter for my favorite season, but I think, at least for the time being, Fall has taken the lead. There are so many fantastic things about this season.

• Cooler weather: It's time to wear jackets, hats, scarves, etc..., but it's still warm enough to go outside and enjoy the weather.
• Changing leaves: All the absolutely gorgeous colors that fill the world during this season are breathtaking and leave you in amazement and awe of the beauty of God's creation. It also means that there will soon be large piles of leaves to play in with my kids. (Of course who's kidding, I like playing in big piles of leaves too :) )

Rain for Rain (The Small Gifts)

Yesterday we got to, once again, celebrate the official addition of Rain into our family, only this time it was with a big shindig, lots of food, and close to 100 people. It was so much fun! Now, we were sort of expecting that number of people, we invited them after all, but it was still just awesome to see everyone there, gathered together, celebrating with us. The love and support that our family has is truly amazing. From family, friends, church, we are surrounded by people who care about us, and those at the party were not all of our family, friends, church and people who love and care about us by any means. It was just a really neat experience to see everyone together, to see people smiling and laughing, to see the kids playing. It was great.

So, we expected people, but we didn't expect all the gifts and cards. It was amazing, the pile of gifts and cards that we received. People were coming up and asking me where to put gifts, and I had to just make something up because I wasn't planning on that at all. We got lots of awesome gifts for all 3 of the kids: Play-Doh, Towels, Learning Games, Flashlight Friends, and lots more, but there was one gift that really stood out for me, and it was one that I didn't recognize at first.