Christmas 2009

I got a laptop for Christmas! This has inspired me to resurrect my blog. I find myself in Denton, TX on this day, December 25th, 2009. I left Denver on the 23rd in a blizzard of snow. I waved goodbye knowing that I'd have to leave my white Christmas behind. As fate would have it, it snowed last night....in Denton, TX!! Oh it was beautiful! I got a white Christmas after all! I've really enjoyed spending time with Patrick's family and getting to know everyone better. It's always fun to see what other traditions families have on Christmas. Last night, we had a huge dinner with lots of family. We played games until 2am and woke up early to get ready for the festivities. We exchanged gifts, had brunch, and enjoyed the rest of the day. It was a wonderful day!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

Updates

Just a few things I've been up to....

I suppose I'll start with my Birthday. I had a wonderful Birthday this year! It started with dinner with my grandparents. They surprised me with a HUGE strawberry cheesecake ice cream cake. Oh it was as sinful as it sounds. Yum! Patrick got everyone together on my birthday and we all went out for drinks and appetizers at the Corner Office. We had so much fun. So many people came and I felt so loved. Patrick brought little star candles for my birthday treat...provided by The Corner Office. It was yummy and so sweet of Patrick to remember every little detail. The girls and I had a good time exploring the bathroom, which was fully equipped with a disco ball and plenty of Post-It's to express ourselves. Such a hoot! That weekend, I was joined by Patrick, Jerad, and Lauren for a fun birthday weekend. We went out in Boulder, stayed the night in a cute hotel and got up early Saturday to hit the slopes. A bit discouraged, I realized all the years I've been snowboarding, I've been doing it all wrong. That's right. I had to start all over! Needless to say, I spent most of the day on my butt and my face. Patrick was a good teacher and so patient with my frustration. By the end of the day, I was able to make it down the mountain doing turns...the right way! Yay! Then, a few days later, I received a huge package in the mail from my parents. Boy was I spoiled this year! I would have to say, this was one of the best, most memorable birthday's I've had. I feel truly blessed to have such great friends and family.

On February 29th, I had the basil cell removed from my nose. The beginning was a little rough, as the sedative didn't kick in until the first round was over. Once I was able to fall asleep, it went really well! I woke up and they were stitching my nose up. It took about 4 days for me to get back on my feet. Super Bowl Sunday was that Sunday and I decided to venture out and watch it with some friends. I ran up the stairs in an effort to make sure I didn't miss the next commercial break and "SMACK"! I slammed my head right into the low-clearance ceiling. I blacked out for a moment and sat down to gather myself. After about 10 minutes I felt ok. As the next two days progressed, I started feeling really fatigued and out of it. I had headaches and couldn't focus. BACK to the hospital I went, just a week later from my last visit. I ended up with a minor concussion. After taking a few more days off to recover from that, my nose was looking much better and I felt normal again. The next week, I came home from work and Bella had gotten out of her kennel. She had gotten sick ALL OVER the house. There was blood and mess everywhere. It was aweful. So...BACK to the hospital...the doggie hospital this time. Bella was fine. They sent us home with some medicine and she's been fine ever since. What a crazy three weeks!

Then came Valentine's Day. I had such a wonderful time. We went to breakfast, the butterfly pavilion, and then I made dinner and pie. It was yummy. Patrick got me the most beautiful flowers. We enjoyed our day together.

Other than that, work's been going well. We are showing the Wizard of Oz at the Assisted Living Communities and I get to dress up as Dorothy about twice a week for the occasion.

The Blender

"Watch your step when you enter God's house. Enter to learn. That's far better than mindlessly offering a sacrifice, Doing more harm than good. Don't shoot off your mouth, or speak before you think. Don't be too quick to tell God what you think he wants to hear. God's in charge, not you—the less you speak, the better. Overwork makes for restless sleep. Overtalk shows you up as a fool. When you tell God you'll do something, do it—now. God takes no pleasure in foolish gabble. Vow it, then do it. Far better not to vow in the first place than to vow and not pay up. Don't let your mouth make a total sinner of you. When called to account, you won't get by with "Sorry, I didn't mean it." Why risk provoking God to angry retaliation? But against all illusion and fantasy and empty talk. There's always this rock foundation: Fear God!"

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

How often do we find ourselves backtracking, trying to cover up things we've said? How many times do we appologize for speaking without thinking. Personally, I catch myself doing this more often than not. A few months ago, I was praying and got an image of a blender. At first, I was reminded of Obie's story about the spatula and I thought to myself, "No. No. Don't give me the spatula!" Then I saw the blender had no top on it. It turned on and everything in the blender went all over the counter, the floor, the cupboards...it was a mess. A gross, disgusting mess. Then it rewound and the top was on. The blender started mixing, and made a yummy shake. At first, I thought this was a bit odd, (still thinking I had the "spatula"-type image that would make sense to someone but was so random to me at the moment). Then, as I shared this, I realized it was for me. It was an image of my anxiety and fear of not being seen or heard. I speak without thinking. I voice oppinions when they come into my head out of fear that if I don't, I'll miss the opportunity to be heard. Something happens. It's as if the thoughts start on the "mix" setting and they start circling around my head. Then it's turned up to the "chop" setting, which seems to be the point when I think what I have to say is important. At this point it quickly goes from "blend" to "puree" and I feel the words pouring out of my mouth. This is much like turning on a blender with the top off. It ends up making a gross, disgusting mess. I stop speaking and realize the messiness of my words. The point that what I had to say really wasn't that important. Then I crack a joke or try to make excuses why I opened my mouth. If I had just been patient, put the lid on my words and waited on the Lord, the words that eventually came out would have been purposefull and good. This has been a humbling realization for me. Nothing I have to say is more important than what God is doing in any moment. I realize I need to put a lid on my mouth to make my words fruitfull. I'm not sure how many of you have been in this place, but it's not an easy thing to do. It's a lot of dying to myself and dying to my pride and realizing that, in the grand scheme of things, I'm really nothing compared to what God is doing in this world.

Change and Simplicity

A new blog for the new year!
I've decided to start a new blog in an effort to keep in touch and keep you updated on the happenings in my life.

2009 is going to be an exciting year
and I can't wait to see what God does!

A look back:

2008 was an incredible year of change, growth, and healing. I feel as if the Lord has done 10 years worth of work in me in just one year! Amazing! Thank you all for your loving support.

Looking ahead:

This year, I'm looking into going back to school to my degree in teaching. Right now, I'm hoping to start school this spring (March). There are also several ministry opportunies on the horizon that I'm praying about and I'll keep you all posted on what comes of these.

Please pray for continued guidance and wisdom for these exciting opportunities.

The theme for this year seems to be "simplicity". The Lord has been stretching me in all kinds of ways to simplify all aspects of my life. I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions, because they are too easy to break, so I'm making a commitment to simplify my life this year. In simplifying life and getting rid of the "dust" and "clutter", we make more room for God to move.

I hope the new year finds you well and I wish you the best in 2009!

...Check back every now and again. I'll try to write often as appropriate...