Goodbye, 2010

2010 has been an interesting year! It was filled to the brim with laughter, change, hopefulness, challenges, and blessings. Some of the little highlights for me were:

1. Getting through Algebra 1 with a high B, and ending this semester with an A in geometery (math isn't my strong point, so that's an accomplishment for me!)
2. Having the privilege of leading a T&T girls Awana group every week
3. Going to music camp up at DU for two weeks, and learning how to be a true musician
4. Discovering an inexpensive shampoo that smells like coconut (kind of silly, I know, but I really like the smell of coconut!)
5. Being part of a new Awana group, and having the privilege of leading worship for it
6. Getting my own room, and having my sister over for sleepovers in it :)
7. Seeing my 11 year old little brother develop his own personality (he's such a ham!)
8. Learning how to drive (while scaring my parents to death...hehe)
9. Making a movie with some of my closest friends, and then putting on the annual Thanksgiving play with them!
10. Writing and recieving letters from my pen pal in MI
11. Becoming a better, more disciplined pianist
12. Having adventures at gas stations with my dad (weird things always happen when we're at gas stations together...)
13. Having my cousin out for a whole month in the summer
14. Making new friends, and getting to know my old ones better
15. Starting a Bach prelude and fugue
16. Going up to Glenwood Springs with the whole family and the grandparents
17. High-lighting my hair for the first time (again, kinda silly to be a highlight of the year *no pun intended*, but it was fun!)
18. Getting to hold my new baby cousin!
19. Going on a camping trip with my family and my best friend's family, and also earning my FPP! (don't ask...)
20. And last, but definitely not least, the best part of my year was growing deeper in my relationship with Jesus!

Well 2010, you were great, but I'm excited to see what 2011 will bring! And with that, I bid you adieu! Goodbye 2010, hellooooo 2011!!!

Christmas!

Deep, glittering snow...the aroma of a real Christmas tree wafting through the air...a beautiful log cabin filled with memories and the friendly faces of loving family members...these are some of the things my family was surrounded by as we spent Christmas up at my grandparents cabin in the mountains! We took advantage of some much needed R&R, played in the 3-4 feet of snow that had fallen, went sledding, and also went snow-shoeing! It was wonderful.
As Christmas day drew nearer and the anticipation built, though we were excited for the material presents, the real gift this Christmas was simply being together, and knowing that Jesus gave all that He had for us. So, as you polish off the left-over ham and the rest of that delicous fudge, remember that no matter how small or how large your Christmas celebration was, if you've given your life to Jesus, you've recieved the very best gift of all!

Keeping The Right Focus

Sometimes I feel so dense. I learn a lesson, then I kind of forget it and make the same mistake again! Have you ever done that? It's so frusterating. And usually, when you're making the same old mistake again, you don't even realize it until it's too late. For me, this mistake is letting my focus veer off of the straight and narrow. The glitz, glamour, and pull of the world is so strong, and I often find myself keeping my eyes on the sparkle of it, the people in it, and the problems that it creates more often than I catch myself turning my eyes upon God.

It's so easy to get caught up in the every-day, minute problems of this world, and lose focus on the Lord and His promises. But really, at the end of our lives, the only thing that matters is God! Though it's hard to fathom, everything about this world will fade as we look upon the face of sweet Jesus, and nothing about this world will matter except for our relationship with Him, and how well we served Him. That  is where the focus of our lives should be!
So, I'm re-focusing my eyes on the only One who matters the most, who loves us the most, who knows everything about us, and who desires our love and attention the very most. 

This is the chorus from one of my favorite hymns, that speaks directly to the heart of this issue:

♫ Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace!♫

To Make A Difference

Last Friday, my sister and I went to our youth group Christmas party. It was filled with fun and laughter, though the highlight of the night was going Christmas-caroling at a local nursing home!
My great-grandma lived and died in our home, and she had also briefly lived in a retirement home that we visited every week. But neither my sister nor I had every been in a nursing home, and we quickly realized that it is much different than a retirement home. In a retirement home, each person has their own nice apartment and they usually live independently.

In sharp contrast, a nursing home is made up of hospital-style rooms that have two to three people inhabiting each one, their quarters being separated by a hospital curtain. Some of them have to stay in bed most of the time because they are too sick to get up and around. Now think about this: the life of many elderly people spent basically sleeping, being aided with personal hygiene, eating, and watching TV. What if we had to  live like that? Pretty miserable existence, huh? Now, add to the equation that a lot of them don't have any family or friends that ever come to visit them....they're virtually all alone. They must feel so hopeless, so alone...so meaningless. The sad thing is, we as a society tend to cast them off as too old, dumb, clueless, deaf, etc. to be worried or cared about. We almost treat them like old horses that can no longer work and benefit society.

 But what we fail to realize is that they are people. They have so many stories and bits of wisdom to share, so many funny little sayings, and so much love to give if only we'd be there to listen, to receive the wisdom that they collected over so many years, to care about them. There will be so many elderly people spending Christmas all alone this year, with no one to know or even care. A lot of them may not even have the hope that the birth of Jesus gives.

Dear reader, the elderly are so precious! They have emotions, opinions, thoughts, likes, and dislikes that we take for granted every day. Imagine if each one of us just took one day a month-just one day, or part of a day- to go to a nursing home or retirement home to read a book to those who can no longer see well enough to read, or to play our instruments, or to just sit and listen to their stories. Imagine how much wiser we'd be, and what kind of effect we could have on those feeling useless, alone, and hopeless! No one should have to live the last days of their life alone, thinking that not a soul in the world cares. We have the opportunity to be there for someone who may have no one, and to make a difference in the simplest way!

So, next time you have the opportunity to go caroling at a nursing home or volunteer with the elderly, take it. You never know what kind of impact you could make, and what wisdom could be imparted to you! 

Finding The Silver Lining

Today was just one of those days. Nothing huge went wrong, but for some reason the view from where I stood looked rather gray. The fact that I forgot one of my chores that was supposed to be done this morning, and that math class may as well have been in Greek probably didn't help much! As I was making dinner and realizing that I had forgotten my chore, my little brother and I got in a small fight over something meaningless. At this point, I was wondering if anything was going to go right.

A few minutes later I walked outside to complete my forgotten chore and looked up at the sky, glittering with stars and a silvery moon. It was so breathtaking! As I walked back to the house, I realized that I had been looking at my day from the totally wrong view point!  Instead of looking at all of the good things about today, I was focusing on the bad things.
But really, there are so many good things about every day! If you're having a bad day too, you might be thinking "Good things? Really? I dont' think so."  If, dear reader, this statement describes your mood, there really are so many great things about today! First of all, you're reading this aren't you? So that means that you woke up, you're breathing, and healthy enough to get onto the internet. Second, you have the electricity and technology to actually get onto the internet. Third, you can read. That means you're educated, and that you have the ability to go on adventures of all different kinds. I could go on, but hopefully you get the picture.

Anyway, my point is that when having a rotten day, look for the silver lining! Today, mine was literally silver-the silvery moon! Sometimes the silver lining is difficult to find, but if it seems impossible, make the fact that you're alive today your silver lining. Don't waste one second more being ungrateful and grumpy-get out there and find that silver lining, even if you have to dump all of your emotions to a friend first! No day is perfect, but never forget to distinguish the silver sparkle of joy from the dull gray of life's problems.

Reason for the Season

December is such a magical month! The Christmas lights warmly glowing, the snow softly falling, the festive sweaters, the romantic music, and most importantly our Savior who was born! Though our culture has completely commercialized Christmas, as you madly race around looking for that perfect gift, or take a moonlit walk through the snow, or simply sit at home and bake goodies, don't get caught up in the commercialism. Instead, remember the real reason for the season: the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes oh so many years ago: Jesus Christ! 

The Great Christmas "IT"

So today my mom and I were out shopping, and saw IT. Yup, that's right. Every Christmas season most stores hold a vast stock of IT s (probably the leftover ones that didn't sell last year). What exactly, dear reader, is IT? That detestable, heavy, capable-of -lasting-for-20-years cake peppered with nearly un-edible candied fruit that some have the nerve to call dessert (also known as...*gulp* fruitcake).

The great Christmas IT  has been respected and feared (but mostly feared) by kids and grownups of all ages ever since well-meaning grandparents started sending IT in the mail for a special treat (and boy oh boy, it sure is "special"!). Just the fact that this cake can be sent in the mail and look exactly the same when it arrives at its destination after all of the rough handling and cajoling it gets going through the mailing system should tell you something.

Afterall, with all of the preservatives that make IT  into, well, IT, I wouldn't be surprised if  IT had the ability to come alive and walk around when everyone was asleep! And those companies that produce the great IT are so sly, dear reader! First, they package IT in a fancy little cardboard box to make IT look edible (though we all know the truth!).After that, they smack a cute Christmas label on it along with the warm word "Tradition" to make it appeal to all of the mothers and grandmothers who are going insane trying to bake for all of the Christmas parties, finally feeling desperate enough to buy IT. 

 After this, they serve it to their guests, though not without a pang of shame surging through their consciences. For they remember only too well the urging of their own parents to eat a large slice of IT out of politeness,  then finally having to go through the torturous process of chewing and swallowing IT (that is, if vomiting didn't occur first).

Ah yes...we must take a moment of silence for the all of the poor guests, friends, family members, kids, dogs, and other unknowing and/or desperate victims that IT has lured into its candied-fruit clutches!

You would think that such a shameful "dessert" would be banned from all culinary institutions and every grandmother's recipe book, but alas, that day is still yet to come. But until then, those of us who know the ugly, preservative-filled truth still have the chance to save many a soul and taste-bud from the Great Christmas IT!

Five Minutes, Gas Tanks, and God

You know how people are usually "night owls" or "early birds"? I am one of the many people who fall into the  "night owl" category, thus, this is the most practical time for me to spend time in God's word! Now some nights I find it easy to spend lots of time pouring over His Word, letting its richness feed my soul. Other nights, I read a chapter and go to sleep.

As I was reading tonight though, a thought that had been lingering in the back of my mind hit me: The more time you spend in God's word, the deeper it will sink into your heart, soul, and mind, and the closer to Him you'll become! In other words, you can't just read one measly chapter and expect your spiritual "gas tank", if you will, to be filled all the time! No, you must delve into the glory of His words, commit scripture to memory, look things up, etc.
Now some days it may only take five minutes or one chapter to fill your "gas tank"-God knows exactly what you need!  But think about it this way:  If you spend five minutes talking to your boyfriend, girlfriend, or best friend everyday, do you think you'll ever get to know them very well? Maybe after years and years, but why spend only five minutes with them when you have the opportunity to give them hours of your time? 

Well, the same thing can be said about our relationship with God! If we only spend five minutes talking with Him or reading His Word everyday, we'll get to know Him pretty well after years and years, but wouldn't you rather know Him well now, instead of five years down the road?

Please don't get me wrong-spending five minutes with Him is better than spending no time at all, and some days are so crazy that we can only sit down for five minutes and study His word. But, dear reader, when you have the opportunity to spend extra time in His Word, take it. He may be trying to show you something, but He's just been waiting for you to give Him the time.

"Book Writing" and other Quirks

Writing is so enjoyable, whether it be with a pencil or a keyboard! I inherited my passion for writing from my Dad, who loves writing humorous stories about our family, and uses it for his job. Unfortunately though, when it comes to writing a short poem, short birthday message, or short anything, I cannot do it. Family and friends tease me about writing messages as long as books in birthday cards and emails, but the thing is-I just can't help it! Words seem to flow so easily onto paper, it's hard to put a stop to them! Thus, after viewing some blogs from friends of mine, I decided to start one of my own! Not that I expect anyone to read it really, but what better place to put down your thoughts!
With that said, my dear reader, I embark on this new journey of blogging, in hopes that maybe, just maybe, my "book writing" will be put to good use!
So, here's to blogging, and the art of "book writing"!