Greetings from Colorado

Hey y’all, I’m writing this blog from my hotel room in Aurora, CO. I’m halfway through my 8-day trip for Tim and Tiff’s wedding, which takes place on Friday. The temperature’s been consistently in the high 80s/low 90s and the weather’s been consistently sunny. Anyhow, in the few days I’ve been here, I’ve:

• visited Scum of the Earth church in downtown Denver with Tiff;
• gone to see a Rockies/Devil Rays game at Coors Field with four of the six Barker kids;

• walked around downtown Denver—well, up and down 16th Street;
• chilled out to a couple of rented movies over the weekend;
• driven around lots, running errands—technically, this should be “been driven around lots by Tiff, while she has errands to run”, but whatever.

2007 has indeed been the toughest year of my life so far, as I sensed God saying at the end of last year. It’s also been, somehow simultaneously, the best year of my life so far. It’s been very different, very good; but very tough.

But I think a turnaround is in the works. Something about being here, out of the routine grind of Pasadena life, without work or class responsibilities, being with an old friend, just being able to enjoy life, being able to pray with Tiff, going to church, helping out at Sunday School, going to church again; something in me is ready for a return to full relationship with my God and King.

Being at Scum was invigorating—it was the kind of church I think I would want to be a part of: church that is honest, where the music is not over-produced but still polished, where the sermons are coming together to address real life, not simply talking in abstracts. It made me realize how much I really did miss regular communion with a community of faith—I’m still visiting churches in CA and will continue to do so until some time towards the end of the summer—just as spending time with Tiff and Tim made me realize how much I missed the comfort and companionship of old friendships.


I know that when I go back to California, things won’t be the same: my friends from London will have gone back to their lives in London and I’ll go back to work and class. But this downtime (well, as much as pre-wedding time can be downtime) feels like a kickstart. A much-needed kickstart.

Right … back to editing this best man speech of mine.