Happy Christmas!

It won't be long and I'll be back in The South for the rest of the year. I've got mostly fun events between now and Sunday when I leave to go home. Here's the run down:

-Tonight my friend Jason and I are going to see "American Gangster". Also, I had dinner at a Hibachi grill with my practicum office staff.

-Tomorrow I have coffee with my friend Laura, lunch with my friend Peyton, and the Staff Council Banquet tomorrow night. In between I've got several AEW follow-up meetings and various other closing responsibilities.

-Friday evening I have two desert and wine socials. During the day I need to do some closing reports, start packing and doing laundry. (I just can't drive my dirty laundry 16+hours. Seems immoral.) Also, at some point I have to turn in my portfolio from this semester's practicum.

-Saturday will be spent doing my RA's closing walk-throughs, finishing my laundry/packing and my closing to do list.

-Sunday will be church, collecting my RA keys, finishing any closing things I didn't do Friday/Saturday. Sunday afternoon I check out with my supervisor. Then it's on the road.

In case your interested in what my driving route will look like here's a map, courtesy of Google:


View Larger Map
View Larger Map

A.- Is the starting location here in BCS. I'll drive through Waco to Dallas and on to Texarkana. I'm hoping to stop in Dallas and visit my friend Becky for a bit. That's still TBA. Requests for stops in Waco could also be accommodated.

B.- Is Texarkana, where I'll stop and spend the night at my usual hotel. My dad and I stopped at that particular hotel on our move to Texas. They had GREAT breakfast, which is why I always stop there. The last time I stopped by myself, it was so-so. Hopefully Monday A.M. it will be back to great condition.

C.- Is my favorite chicken place- McDougals in Hillsboro Village in Nashville. I will stop here and have chicken and beer with my friend Kristine. Hopefully I will also have coffee or ice cream with Holly. Then it's back on the road for three more hours.

D. Is my parent's home in Shelbyville. Sadly this will be the last time I'll be "home" until after I have graduated. Which, means that part of my three-ish weeks at home will be spent packing up my room. Who knows where I'm moving to in May. It may be easier for Mom and Dad to bring my stuff from KY here when they come for graduation for me to move to wherever. Therefore, it needs to be ready for them. Just in case.

Over the break I plan to:
-Read. A lot.
-Knit and/or crochet a lot
-Visit family and friends. Particularly some of my older neighbors
-Pack
-Prepare my presentations for RA training, SWACUHO and my poster presentation for SWACUHO
-Do some post Christmas shopping. Maybe in Nashville out the outlets?
-Sleep. In my bed. A lot.
-Watch football and basketball games with my dad and my grandpa. Probably eat frozen pizza with them at the same time.
-Hopefully see my nieces and nephews at Christmas
-Take my Mac to the shop to see why the battery doesn't like to stay charged.
-Make a paper-chain countdown of class days left. For my enjoyment and my cohort members.
-Go to the dentist.
-Finish my parent's Christmas shopping- more likely than not on the 22-24th. (By this I mean my mom will give me cash and/or her debit card and a shopping list of the left over needs for my cousins, nieces, nephew, and probably my brother's girlfriend this year. Dad will hand me some cash and/or his debit card with his list for my Mom's Christmas list. He will do this in front of her, but she will not notice. Mom's like that. (Kinda like me.) I will then drive all over Louisville trying to find what they needs. What they need will no doubt have been readily available up until the 21st, at which point they all vanish overnight. I will get laughed at by the sales people often. I will be told, "If you want something like that you really should shop earlier". Case in point- The Wii they got for my brother (AKA he got an envelope with the cash to buy it when they reappeared on the store shelves). . . and Dad's gift to mom- an electric picture frame. Which, he found in the first store he walked in on 12/24 last year, after I drove to every single electronics store, Target and Wal-Mart in Jefferson and Shelby counties. Seriously, every single one.) Really. I'm not bitter. I drink my Starbucks No-Fat, No-Whip Peppermint Mocha, listen to my ipod in the car, and am cheerful to the mean people at the stores. I accept it as my role as the middle child, only daughter, missionary, and saint. It's fun.

Wow, hope you enjoyed that tangent as much as I did. Ha ha.

That's all I can think of. :) It's been a good week, and I am so excited to see how life changes in the first half of next year. There is so much excitement and potential! :)

By the way- Keep praying for Ukraine. Still on the fence.

.peace and love.

----------------
Now playing: *NSYNC - Home for Christmas
via FoxyTunes

Christmas Season

I went shopping a few days ago for Christmas decorations and Christmas cards. I love sending Christmas cards to family members and friends. I prefer to send cards that wish a "Merry Christmas" and have a Christmas-related Bible verse inside. It took me a considerable amount of time to such "religious Christmas cards" in the Christmas section at Wal-mart. When I did find them, they were in a small section labeled "Religious Christmas Cards" and removed from the rest of the card selection by several aisles. Even within that small display, it still took me a while to find a plain, Christmas card that actually referred to the birth of Christ.

I cannot explain how frustrated that made me! I understand that Christmas is not the only holiday, religious or otherwise, celebrated during December. I am also fully aware that not everyone who celebrates Christmas is a Christian or even religious at all. However, it seems to me that every year Christmas is becoming more and more commercialized.

I believe that everyone who celebrates a holiday during this season should be able to find decorations or cards that are appropriate for the holiday they are celebrating. However, I hate that we have become so politically correct that we lose sight of the meaning behind the largest holiday in this time. Let us remember that the other holidays are either, a. not major holidays for that particular religion, or b. are non-religious based holidays that are not exclusive (but often inclusive) of Christmas.

I am sad that in our country we have lost a sense of the meaning of Christmas between the holiday-neutral cards and the fear of upsetting someone by celebrating a holiday that should be near to our hearts. I am not promoting that we don't allow the sales of non-religious Christmas cards (although, that seems a bit oxymoronic to me). I am saying though, that at the root of it all, Christmas is about Christ- His birth and what it means for each of us. It doesn't mean a time for us to get whatever we want from Target, but rather, it means true life, redemption, and koinonia. I hope that we never completely lose sight of that.

Red Cup Season

The red cups at Starbucks mark the beginning of the holiday season in my mind. Today, I stopped on the way home from running errands at the local drive through Starbucks. I was delighted to find advertisement on the menu for the traditional holiday flair. I gave into the marketing and ordered a holiday drink. After completing the sale, I was greeted with my venti non-fat, no whip peppermint mocha in a bright red cup!

It amazes me how big a difference the color of my coffee cup makes in my attitude for the rest of the day. I love red cup season, I really do. Perhaps it's because I love the Christmas holiday season and all that it means. I love the emphasis on faith, on family and friends. Even though it is typically colder, and grayer physically, everything seems to be right with the world. It reminds me that even though the world and my life often seem crazy and hectic, there truly is a peace that reigns true through it all.

It's really easy for me to forget that peace in life, and even in the midst of the Christmas season. For that reason, here are some things I am thankful and/or hopeful about. I hope this will remind me and you when life gets hectic that joy and peace can be found within it all.

* Faith and redemption
* My rockstar RA staff
* Being within 180 days of graduating
* Being able to get my Masters degree
* Having more clarity about the possibility of a Ph.D in the future
* Finally being halfway good at scrabble
* Using technology to keep in touch with my friends far away
* Rekindling friendships with people who mean a lot to me
* The simplistic yet profound music of Dave Barnes, Matt Wertz, Andy Davis, Steven Clawson and Rob Blackledge
* Having a job that I enjoy
* The promise that I will always have a job that I enjoy
* Amazing friends! (Even when they all live outside of CS and sometimes the US)
* Time to read my favorite authors (Donald Miller and Elisabeth Elliot)
* Calling and passion
* Great family
* Dallas, the Reunion Tower, and the conversations had therein
* Enjoying a professional conference and feeling as though I actually fit there
* Encouragement
* Mentoring students and young women
* Loving and being loved
* Promise of a future and hope (Jer. 29:11)
* Learning to trust in hope (Romans 5:3-5)
* Small details and dreams falling into place (aka- a DOG!)
* My brother's health making changes in family relationships
* That my brother is ok
* Friends weddings
* Excitement, anticipation about this season and what God is going to do in the next few months!

This is a growing, evolving list that will always be missing something. I pray I would be made more aware of what I should be thankful for.

----------------
Now playing: Rob Blackledge - One Step Away
via FoxyTunes