One of my friends and I went for a hike last week. I was really excited for multiple reasons. The first was that we took the bus out to the mountains.. I know I often get giddy about public transportation, but really.. in how many places are the mountains accessible by bus? We did have to take a short "urban hike" as the Stuk family calls it in order to get to the trailhead, but all the less very close to the city. Secondly, the snow was perfect for hiking. Crunchy and secure under my boots. We hiked up for a distance to a flatter area, where I got a chance to sit and look out over the city and reflect on the last few weeks here.

Here are some unrelated thoughts I have been mulling over for the past few weeks..

There is a hard between not doing things that don't bring your joy and are exhausting.. and losing your lives for others and the sake of the gospel.

Sometimes when you walk into the fiery furnace, you might get burned. I am reminded that that was kind of the point.

I know part of this blog title is "acting justly", but I think sometimes I need to think less about acting justly, and just live and love.

Even though my thoughts are usually running a million miles a minute, I feel that my time in this beautiful city has helped me to gain perspective and find joy in solitude. I sat on this mountain with contentment in Mother Teresas suggestions that we are only able to do small things with great love.