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Rocky Mountain High

June 28-July 7


The Red Devil is done!!- defeated, praise the Lord, by the resilience of the good cells & defeating, prayerfully, the rouge rapidly dividing ones! Now it’s time to rejuvenate my heart & soul while my body prepares for the next battle! No better way to do that then with magnificent mountains, water and fun activities to enjoy them with my favorite peeps! And that’s exactly what we did! My mom from the north in Michigan, my older sister & nieces from the East in Atlanta and my boys & I from the west all headed to meet up in the middle in Colorado where my younger sister and her family live. They live on a 5-acre horse ranch south of Denver and have a get-away house on a lake in the mountains! Right up my alley (or trail, 14-er hiking trail in my case!!)! Spending time in Gods amazing creation & spending that time playing in & enjoying it with family is the BEST!! My sisters are & always will be my bestest friends & favorite playmates😊. We all love the same stuff at the same pace & the same intensity! We appreciate our unique differences & relish our many similarities. We may be distant locationally but so close relationally!! I thank God for the precious gift of them constantly- blessed biologically to be Biel Girls (the “BGs” as we were known growing up) & spiritually sisters in Christ forever! 

And then to see our kids all loving being together is the icing on the cake!!

We had the such an amazing week together camping, hiking, rock-climbing, cliff-jumping, white-water rafting, horseback riding, kayaking, playing games, etc, etc! We had an epic 4th of July with a horse parade through their neighborhood complete with red, white & blue decorated horses, flag-flying John Deer tractors, old-fashioned cars, and a red ‘74 Bronco that we got to ride in the back of cowboy boots & all! A classic patriotic day! 

...until our Capture the Flag game at dusk. I thought for a millisecond “maybe I should sit this one out & rest”. That thought was quickly replaced with “Heck no, I’m not going to miss out on this fun with my kids & cousins!” And off I went!

...until God made me sit it out & rest after I was attempting to outrun my 15 year old, 6’1” son to free my niece from jail and stepped full-spring onto a baseball-sized rock, falling into a bed of smaller one, leaving me with a black&blue swollen sprained ankle & cut-up, bruised-up whole side of my body. I think God is softly knocking on the door of my heart gently whispering & inviting me to rest in Him!!

So much for the 14-er (Colorado’s famous 14,000+ feet peaks) we were planning to do! Instead I soaked my ailing ankle in an ice bath (aka a snow-melt mountain lake) as my sister paddled me around on the front of her kayak😄


“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11:28-29‬ ‭


And I have to give a big shout out of gratitude to my sweet boy & breadwinner who let us all go play while he stayed home & slaved away, too busy to get away!! With mortgage rates at all-time lows, he’s helping as many people as he possibly can take advantage of these reductions to their monthly payments, giving them a “Nordstrom experience at a Costco price!” Beyond grateful for his integrity, hard work, care & excellence!💞


(You can see pictures of our adventures on my StrengthenedbyJOY instagram page)




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