Most Important Person in the Universe

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the YEAR! Seriously, this is my favorite time of the year for so many reasons. I love all the Christmas carols, specifically the Home Alone soundtrack, Glee Christmas, and Nat King Cole's version of the Christmas song. I obviously love Home Alone 1 & 2 not 3 because Kevin isn't in it. Miracle on 34th Street, and Elf of course! I've always loved Nativity scenes since I was a tot. I have had a mild obsession with ceramic baby Jesus' since I can't remember when. So tonight when I was looking lovingly at a lit Nativity scene, I started to really think about that baby laying in the manger.

Please for just one second think about how important that tiny baby is. That baby represents everlasting life for the entire world. That baby represents freedom from sin. That baby represents everything in the world that is pure, noble, and right. It's so easy sometimes to forget what Christmas is really about. I've heard that phrase so many times, to remember the reason for the season. I try to put myself in Mary's shoes but I can't even begin to understand the weight on her shoulders knowing that she is about to give birth/raise the Messiah. And Joseph, he has this scandalous virgin birth and also the weight of raising the Messiah. The couple probably couldn't even begin to fathom what their son would go on to do for this world. The birth of Christ as well as the crucifixion and resurrection are still so relevant today and that is the insane part to me. The Christmas we celebrate today happened forever ago, yet it's still the most celebrated holiday in our culture. I am so glad we celebrate the Messiah's birth, this year I am trying to remember that I am celebrating the birth of the most important person in the universe not just a month off of school, presents, good movies and music!

Chronicles of chi-o pt 3

So quick post about life at the 820. We are all trying oh so hard to avoid studying. We've done just about everything you can do to avoid it. We've watched Miracle on 34th Street twice, We've sat in the 3fl for hours, we've gone and gotten food, we've gone to the mall. Yesterday I thought, oh em gee I'm going to have to study. But, my sisters never fail me. I get home and Kara, Au naturale Kara, had gotten a sassy new haircut with side swept bangs. If one major change wasn't enough, we decide she needs straight across bangs, so Emily cuts them and does a fabulous job. Kara has virgin hair that has never been colored, so we go to Wal-Mart and get hair color, which leads to this amazing new do' she's rocking, and a successful afternoon of no studying!Oh, and later Emily got jealous of Kara's amazing new bangs and decided to cut herself some, so we all have bangs except for Lauren, which she will be getting tonight in her sleep! Sweet Dreams Roomie!

THEN, because Lauren and I love Christmas so much we went to a little tacky Christmas party. Rockin' our way cool oversize T's and eating tons of candy and cookies, we are well on our way to an awesome holiday season! Now it is officially studying time and writing this quick and almost pointless post was my last attempt at procrastination. I am officially done with classes my first semester of junior year! SO SCARY! Peace, Love, and CHRISTmas

Nicaragua

Last year at this time if anyone had told me I was going to go on a mission trip period. ever. I would have probably been like you do not know me at all, I hate being away from home, and extended periods of less than excellent hygiene are not on my top ten favorites list. But, things change, and people change and now going to Nicaragua on Spring Break this year will be my second trip. Last January when I got back from Christmas break, I had this newfound sense of wanting to do all kinds of things I had never done before. So nonchalantly I said to Amanda, "We should go on a mission trip someday." This was totally hypothetical, but at the same time I wanted to, just not like right then. Well of course the Lord had a different plan and a door opened. The next day Amanda calls me and tells me that when she was working childcare at Journey she told one of her friends that we were talking about going on a mission trip. It just happened to be that the LA mission trip had two spots open and they specifically wanted girls! WOW what an opportunity and how strange (or divine) was it that right after I said I wanted to go, two spots opened? Needless to say I jumped on the bandwagon and signed up to go.

Picking up trash in a bomb.com park!

Leading up to the trip I didn't really have expectations. I didn't know anyone else going to LA except for Amanda. We were supposed to be staying at the Dream Center in LA and the way it works is that they put us to work doing whatever they need when we get there. So I really had no idea what we would be doing. In reality, the night before we left Amanda and I were slightly dreading it. We were ready for summertime at the lake, and this trip had so many question marks in it. The trip ended up being amazing. The community of people we went with was amazing, the Lord moved in so many ways, and it really opened my eyes to so many things. One of the many things I felt LA did was set my mind up for future mission trips. I usually like to go to bed early, in LA we stayed up late and got up early but God provided energy. I could only shower once a day, and I was dirty a lot, but God provided a good attitude.  I usually am a really picky eater, God provided me with an open mind. The fact that God provided so many things for us during that trip made me realize that God really can do anything, even trivial things within us. When it came time to sign up for mission trips this year I knew Nicaragua was one of my top choices because in the description of the trip it specifically said we would be "roughing it." I am so excited and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for the team, and the people of Nicaragua!