I’ve said this before…Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday! I love giving presents, I love Christmas lights, I love the whole tree thing, I love it all!!!
I love that my office looks like this due to our Angel Tree Servant Event for St. Matt Student Ministry (SM2)!
And this…
As you can see, I’ve managed to make a little present trail from my office door to my desk. Haha!
Sadly, my desk always looks like this…
I like to think that the higher the piles on my desk get, the better Ministry is! Haha!!
My list isn’t long this year of the things I want/need/would like to have. Instead, I’m completely content with being with my family & getting 5 days off! I’m still thinking about my New Year’s Resolutions, though…normally I don’t do them, but for 2010, I feel a change coming on. Until I do…
Sitting on the banks of the Danube River in Budapest with the CUI Mission Team, 2008
I’m a supremo Facebook stalker. I admit it. I love looking at pictures of friends from college & see what people are up to nowadays.
One of the things I noticed lately is all the crazy pictures I have of people from CUI & how many adventures we had in college! I mean, I went backpacking in Europe, built houses in Mexico, served in Biloxi 4 months after Hurricane Katrina. I trespassed on private beach property to look at stars on a regular basis! (I was a rebel!) I was caught stealing change from one of the fountains at Fashion Island in Newport at 1am. I’d stay out late, wake up early & still had time for classes & friends. Holy crap, was I nuts!!
Now I look at my life and all I see is routine. Wake up, go to work or sleep in, clean the house. Hang out with the same friends, eat the same things, go to the same places. No random weekend trips to Utah to hike the Eagles Nest trail at Zion. Can’t. Have to work on Sundays. No more 3am trips to the beach or take a hike up French Hill on campus. Can’t. I like to sleep & the beach is 3 hours away.
Am I really living a life that’s mundane?
Routine?
BORING?!!
If you know me at all, you know that I’m not the kind of person who’s boring. It’s not in my nature to bore.
So, why do I feel like I’m living a boring life? Is it just a phase that will eventually pass? Is it a Season of Life, alongside my singleness? How long will I feel like I’m stuck in a rut?
Here’s my question for all to answer: When one enters a state of Life Boring-ness, what are their options for getting out? How can I free myself from this adventure-less life?!
A friend of mine posted this on his Facebook page & I wanted to share my thoughts & comments. Normally I don’t like to post things about political issues or gruesome images, but I couldn’t let this one go. There’s no need to watch the video below to understand my comments. In all honesty, I advise against it, however I wouldn’t have been so passionate as I was without seeing it…
***For those of you with weak stomachs, please be advised.***
This video is of an Iranian girl who was slain. Neda Soltani, who was standing aside with her father watching the protests in Iran, was shot by a Baseej member hiding on the rooftop of a civilian house. He had a clear shot at the girl and could not miss her, however, he aimed straight at her heart. The impact of the gunshot was so fierce that the bullet blasted inside her chest and she died in less than 2 minutes.
This video hit a few heartstrings, so be prepared for my “soap box” below…
I just saw this video for the first time & it is quite disturbing. Unfortunately, we live in a sinful world where the Enemy steals & destroys. As Christians, we are called to live as examples, reflecting the Light of Christ.
Yes, the rights of women need to be addressed, however, I don’t think we understand, as citizens, the depth of the issues that are happening in Iran/Iraq. We all remember Obama’s promise to end the War in Iraq before his election. After he took office, that promise dissipated. Obviously, something is going on in the Middle East that cannot be divulged to the public.
Unfortunately, when the President of the United States releases information to us, he’s also informing the entire world, including Iranian/Iraqi terrorists. If you were him, would you watch your tongue a bit? I’m pretty sure George W. did the same thing.
I’m quite positive that Obama has, in fact, rejected the unethical treatment of the Iranian people, especially women, but there’s a lot that he cannot say as well. And…don’t we all lust for power? Wealth? Popularity? It’s easy to see the sin of others or place blame.
As citizens & as Christians, we need to respect the leadership that we have given Obama & other politicians. We may not agree that what they’re doing, or not doing, is right, moral or just, but there’s a lot more that doesn’t meet the eye.
Instead, we need to be supporting whoever is in office, Republican or Democrat. The entire world is watching Obama to see what he’ll do next. Instead of placing blame, we should love & encourage. We might get more of our ideals across if we do.
We can do something. We can stand as a free people to an unjust world. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick. Stop hate. This is what we’re called to do. Write letters to your senator or congressman. Heck! Write letters to the President of Iran! Spread the word of the unethical treatment of women & the innocent through videos like this one (maybe not as graphic), start campaigns, march in Washington. These are all realistic things we can NOW!
If we don’t like what we’re seeing, why don’t we do something about it?
Write Congressman Tom McClintock (Roseville’s Rep.)
508 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515
OR
4230 Douglas Blvd. Suite 200
Granite Bay, CA 95746
You can even call him!
(916) 786-5560 or (202) 225-2511
Yesterday, my roommate, Nicole, & I put up our Christmas lights. Let me tell you, it was quite a trip. “Christmas Vacation” wasn’t too far from the truth…
Nicole started putting up our lights around 10am on Saturday when I left for a youth event. When I came back 4 hours later, the rain was falling pretty hard, but everything was almost done! Nicole even decorated our cute white picket fence! I started to help by putting up lights on our front tree (as seen in the picture above) & helped her with the highest part of the eave on our house.
Fast forward an hour when we try to plug everything in.
We blow a fuse.
Yep, that’s right…Nothing happened. So, we check things out & it turns out we have to literally switch the entire right half of our yard around so the plugs are facing the right direction… & it’s raining. We actually managed to switch everything around in only about 45 minutes, so it wasn’t that big of a deal.
There I am back on the ladder, making some finishing touches & Nicole starts talking to me about something. So, there I am, just hanging out, talking to her from the top of this 6 ft. ladder…in the rain…I knew the ladder was already on uneven ground, but I really didn’t think I’d be up there too long. All of sudden, I feel the ladder start to fall & my life started to flash before my eyes. I’m talking real slow-motion stuff! I try to slow myself down by grabbing onto the side of our house, but that doesn’t do very much because…well…it’s a flat wall. I’m sure that if I was an avid rock climber (or Spider Man) I would’ve been able to climb down easy, but like the rest of us without super powers, I started to fall.
Maybe it’s all those Snowboarding lessons in high school or my amazing perceptiveness, but for some reason, all I could think about was “tuck & roll, tuck & roll…Don’t catch yourself or you’ll break a wrist!” So, what did I do? I tucked & rolled! Before I knew it, I found myself on the ground, somewhat unharmed, laying in a huge pile of mud…in the rain. My roommate is standing over me, laughing & asking me if I was alright. I was & it really was hilarious. Apparently, my fall was pretty slow, but not slow enough for her to run over & save me. Now I know who not to recruit when I need a spotter for anything Eventually, I collected myself & got up off the ground, only to be shot in the face with the garden hose I was laying on.
Thanks, God…kick me while I’m down.
All was well. No broken bones, only a somewhat bruised ego.
Enter electrocution.
Nicole & I were putting up the last bit of our lights. We plugged in all our lights just to make sure they were working properly & started to wrap them around our front porch banister when Nicole starts to complain about her thumb going numb. She was like, “My thumb feels so weird! It’s not all the time, it’s just when I start wrapping the lights around…it must be from all the hooks I put up.” We thought nothing of it, so we kept on wrapping the lights around. All of a sudden, we both felt this HUGE shock of electricity pulse through our bodies & start screaming! Yep, we got electrocuted! One of the lights on the strand was broken & was spewing electricity everywhere. Apparently you’re not supposed to put up lights when they’re on? Hmmm…
With all the disasters of the day, we FINALLY managed to put up these darn lights without a man. That’s right! No boyfriends, no guy friends, no dads. Just us!
Who says we need a man?!
Putting up Christmas Lights All By Myself (well, with a little help from my amazing roommate)… Check!
I decided that this song is pretty much amazing. Beautiful & inspiring…Check it out
“Marry Me” by Train
Forever can never be long enough for me
Feel like I’ve had long enough with you
Forget the world now we won’t let them see
But there’s one thing left to do
Now that the weight has lifted
Love has surely shifted my way
Marry Me
Today and every day
Marry Me
If I ever get the nerve to say
Hello in this cafe
Say you will
Mm-hmm
Say you will
Mm-hmm
Together can never be close enough for me
Feel like I am close enough to you
You wear white and I’ll wear out the words I love you
And you’re beautiful
Now that the wait is over
And love and has finally shown her my way
Marry me
Today and every day
Marry me
If I ever get the nerve to say hello in this cafe
Say you will
Mm-hmm
Say you will
Mm-hmm
Promise me
You’ll always be
Happy by my side
I promise to
Sing to you
When all the music dies
And marry me
Today and everyday
Marry me
If I ever get the nerve to say hello in this cafe
Say you will
Mm-hmm
Say you will
Marry me
Mm-hmm
