The Miracle of Friendship

There's a miracle caled friendship

That dwells within the heart,

And you don't know how it happens

Or how it gets its start...

But the happiness it brings you

Always give a special lift

And you realize that friendship

Is God's most precious gift!

~Author Unknown

Christmas!

Well, I kept thinking I needed to do a Christmas post. But I kept putting it off, figuring that something exciting might happen that I could write about. And it happened! I was enjoying the day... had finished opening presents, and was visiting my brother and sister-in-law. We were playing games, eating good food, etc. Suddenly, someone (I don't remember who... maybe me? Probably not though.) looked out the window to exclaim "It's snowing outside!!" Needless to say I was very excited, and ecstatically happy!! I've never experienced a white Christmas! Everyone laughed at me, saying it was only a white Christmas if the snow stuck, which it wasn't. I argued vehemently against that, saying that since there was snow, and it was Christmas, it was obviously a white Christmas. I didn't have to argue too long, though, because soon enough it began to stick. So being the amazingly (in)sane person I am, I grabbed a camera, put on my very thin shoes and sweatshirt, and headed out to document this momentous occasion. You can enjoy the fruits of my labor. =)

Snow and Christmas lights! YAY!



I was kind of trying for a Narnia-ish affect. I think I kind of succeeded!



Learning...

I've been learning quite a few things lately. First, and probably most important, true forgiveness is extremely difficult. Well, maybe not the forgiveness part. But the forgetting about an offense after forgiving it is hard. I have seen so many examples in my life (especially recently!) where I've forgiven, but continued to remember and think about the problem. So I'm beginning to wonder if things make a lasting impression, or scar, when they happen. If you forgive, the scar can heal properly. That's not to say it'll definitely disappear completely. Some may, but others may not. However, if you refuse to forgive, it gets infected and festers painfully. I don't know... just a challenging thought.

The second thing I've learned recently is that I really, really can't stand it when one of "my" kids (a.k.a. my nieces or nephews) is in pain. I was at my sister's house last night, and my niece had a pretty nasty cold. Around ten in the evening, she woke up sobbing her eyes out. The fact that she wouldn't stop crying made my heart genuinely hurt. I extremely dislike not being able to make things "all better" for the people I care about that are in trouble or hurting. Which I guess can be a good thing. But sometimes the pain it causes me is quite annoying.

One last bonus thing I learned! I found that for me, nine-tenths of the joy of Christmas is in finding the perfect presents for my family and friends. I absolutely love the satisfaction of finding the "perfect" present and anticipating the joy it'll bring the receiver. For me, that's definitely the best part of the gift-giving aspect of Christmas. How about you?

There's always a little truth behind every "JUST KIDDING"

A little knowledge behind every "I DON'T KNOW"

A little emotion behind every "I DON'T CARE"

And a little pain behind every "IT'S OKAY"

Pretty much sums up how I'm feeling right now. Prayers would be appreciated!

Last night I got scared. We're not talking someone jumped out at me and startled me. I'm talking a weird feeling in the pit of your stomach, and shaking you're scared so bad. I was in the car with my brother-in-law, heading to my sister's house. We were stopped at a traffic light that's at the bottom of a hill. There were quite a few cars stopped because of rush hour, and we were at the back, near the top of the hill. A car came speeding over the hill, not expecting any cars to be in front of him. He saw Ray's car and tried to swerve, but still hit us pretty hard. Thankfully, my brother-in-law is quite collected in the middle of a crises, so he let off the brake and coasted into the turn lane next to us, to absorb some of the shock. But I hadn't seen it coming at all, so I was only aware of a very loud noise, and a big jolt. Yes. I was scared.

I guess the good thing about it was that nobody got hurt. There are so many ways that it could've ended worse. I spent the entire time that they were filling out an accident report thanking God that He is gracious. So that was my excitement for a while. I really wouldn't mind if I never feel that scared again!

I was at AWANA tonight (if you haven't heard of it, look it up!), teaching my very small class of two-year-olds. One of them is new, having come for the first time last week. He made me laugh, though! He was very sad and wanting to see "Mama". At one point we went outside to run around. In order to get outside we had to walk through the lobby where his mom was sitting. As we were walking, he was very inquisitively asking "Mama?" over and over. I was a little worried that if he saw his mom, he would run to her, then throw a fit when we tried to take him away. However, he walked right past her (we're talking two feet away with her to the left and front of him!) without even noticing her!! Like I said, it made me laugh.

But then a thought struck me. Aren't we a bit like that? We're so busy "looking" for our goal that often times we charge right past it. What if we just slowed down and enjoyed what was happening, while it was happening? Maybe we'd even run into our goal, or realize that we were focused on the wrong goal. So I would challenge you to slow down and enjoy what's going on. (Unless you're trying to get a two-year-old past his mama!) Take time to occasionally reevaluate what your goal is. Is it something like money or just getting done with school? Or is it something more worthwhile: a personal relationship with God, fun with family, or impacting the lives of those around you? I know I tend to aim for the wrong goal, and in the process miss so much going on around me. Don't be like that!

Today was amazing! =) There's nothing that quite beats a good two hours of hard work followed by a bowl of peppermint ice cream! My dad, brother, and I spent the morning/early afternoon trimming the bushes all around the house. While it doesn't sound like a big deal, the job was rather extensive. It's been quite a while since we did any hedge trimming! This was followed by the aforementioned ice cream. Then we got the fun of hanging Christmas lights.... Thankfully this year we had a minimum of burned-out bulbs. ;)

All afternoon as we were working, I kept being amazed by my brother. Something he's always struggled with has been sticking to a job until it's done. Especially when it might not be the most pleasant job in the world (like moving poky holly branches!). But he's been attending ALERT for the last year, and it has definitely made a change in his work ethic. Today I got to see him tackle the task before him with vigor and enthusiasm. It was definitely fun to witness!

Oh, here's a random extra you get today. I was playing volleyball last night, and a sudden and disturbing thought struck me. When playing volleyball, you don't actually score. The other team makes all your points, and you make all theirs. Think about it... it's when YOU mess up that the other team gets a point. Yes, their good playing may have helped, but still. This revelation totally caught me off guard, and made me laugh the rest of the night. (And today!) I know that you are now a much better person for having learned that, so please try not to laugh too hard! =)