In the Christmas Spirit!

I realize it is still before Thanksgiving and a lot of people are against Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving. Don't get me wrong, I am in NO WAY trying to skip over Thanksgiving - I love Thanksgiving! And I can't wait to get to North Carolina to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. However, I absolutely LOVE Christmas. It is by far my favorite holiday. I love everything about Christmas. I love the decorations, I love shopping for and wrapping gifts, I love the music, I love the feeling of excitement that comes as each day passes and Christmas day gets closer and closer. Most importantly, I love what Christmas means. No, not Santa Claus coming to town. God coming to Earth in human form as Jesus Christ - the Savior of the world. The most high king. Emmanuel - God with us. The fact that God made so many miracles happen over the course of a year - from the conception of John the Baptist in Elizabeth's womb - an older woman who believed she would never become pregnant and whose husband sought other ways to have a child. This man, John the Baptist would lead the way for Jesus' earthly ministry. An angel appearing before Mary, a young virgin who was honorable in the eyes of God, given the task to give birth and mother the Savior - God in the flesh. That same angel also appearing before Joseph, the man Mary was betrothed to. He, too, was honorable in God's eyes and was honorable enough not to divorce Mary despite her surprise pregnancy that Joseph was in no way responsible for. All leading up to the unlikely day that Jesus was born - in a "barn" which was more like a cold, damp cave where the animals were kept. The Savior King was born in a barn, raised as any normal child was at the time, and eventually DIED so that we would all have the chance to be saved from the filth of our sin. God sacrificed His son - His one and only son, so that I don't have to spend eternity paying for the awful, wretched things I have done. Praise be to God!

Did I mention that I love Christmas?!  Again, one of my favorite things about the Christmas season is the music. One of my favorite "newer" or rather re-vamped Christmas songs was done by 33 Miles about 2 years ago. It is a mixture of "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "Sing To the King" which is one of my favorite praise songs. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!  I have a feeling I will be sharing a LOT more of my favorite Christmas tunes over the next month or two  :)

In Every Season

It seems that with every trial I face in life, the Lord always provides me with a song of comfort. The following is one that I clung to after a very up-and-down couple of years - moving away from Athens and the dear friends I had there, the death of my brother and my uncle within a week of each other, completing my Child Life internship and graduating from UGA, the start of a new relationship and eventually the demise of that relationship. Through it all, God is still God - He is still on the throne. He is sovereign. Therefore, as the song's bridge says, "All of my life, in every season, You are still God. I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship."

 "Desert Song" by Hillsong

This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

And this is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on it's way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've recieved I will sow

Artist Statement

It's pretty safe to say that I have a ton of clothes. So many that I cannot fit them all into the closet that is in my room. Now to my defense, my room was designed to be a bonus room; therefore, the closet in my room was not designed to hold my entire wardrobe - specifically not anything that might hang longer than 3 feet (such as every dress that I own). How does this tie into an Artist Statement? Well, you see, the closet where the majority of my dresses and coats hang is in a spare bedroom in my house - a bedroom that is often referred to as "Mike's room" simply because it is the third upstairs bedroom and the one that has the furniture that came out of Mike's room in our old house. Mike never once slept in this particular room, but the other two rooms of the upstairs are my room and Rod's room. Rod and I have both spent time living in this particular house, so we have a pretty large claim on our rooms. Mike never once lived here. Never even spent the night here (at least not to my knowledge). Regardless, most of his "stuff" from high school and several of the mementos that we kept after his death are in "Mike's Room." One such thing is his name plate and artist statement from his Senior Art Show...back in 2003 when he was a senior at good ole' Greenbrier High. I happened to be in "Mike's Room" getting something out of my other closet when it caught my eye - his nameplate made up of scrap pieces of pottery hot-glued to two wooden boards with his artist statement attached to the left side. Despite Mike's "artistic" lack of grammar and punctuation (which drives me somewhat crazy), I love his artist statement. My brother was a creative genius. He had such a brilliant and creative mind. I wish so much that I had appreciated his creativity more during his life. Here is his artist statement, with punctuation and correct grammar included.

In the world, there are three kinds of people: those who just coast along living from day to day for no other reason than that is what they have always done. These people make up most of the population. Then, there are the kind of people who at least attempt to make changes in the world. These are your doctors, lawyers, and politicians. They live their lives to try to make a difference for what they believe is the best way. Then, there is a third group of people: those who create. These are the people who really shape your world. They are the ones that put all of the eccentricities and quirks that add all the interesting and fun spins to our world. They funk up the world for the better - adding life, color, and a little bit of originality. I have found a place to shape a little bit of earth myself in the actual shaping of earth. Pulling clay out of the earth and then forming it to my own will is the most natural form of creating that I can think of and makes for good use as functional art. Art that can be used for day to day purposes seems to be an even greater use of creativity. I have found clay to satisfy my creative needs and helps me to form my world with a little fun and a bag of funk.

From the wild world of Mike Wallace.

The functional clay pieces he referred to are a variety of plates, pots, bowls, vases and pitchers that can be seen all around our house. Given the late hour of this post, I don't have any pictures, but I'll try to remember to post some later on.

Mikey, I definitely miss your creativity - even if it drove me a little nuts back in high school.

A Much-Needed Reminder

The following is something that a very precious mentor gave to me way back in 7th grade. I've held onto this tattered piece of pink paper ever since. Unfortunately, I don't read it now as often as I did back in middle school, but the truth in it is still very valuable. In fact, this is something that I need to be reminded of much more now as a 25 year old whose friends are nearly all married and starting their own families... This was a precious reminder that I definitely needed tonight and wanted to share it.

On His Plans for Your Mate

Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone-

To have a deep soul relationship with another,

To be loved thoroughly and exclusively.

But God, to a Christian says, "No, not until you are satisfied and fulfilled and content with living with Me alone.

I love you, my child, and until you discover that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found, you will not be capable of the perfect human relationships that I have planned for you. You will never be united with another until you are united with Me - exclusive of anyone or anything else; exclusive of any other desires or longings.

I want you to stop planning, stop wishing, and allow Me to bring it to you - just keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things - keep experiencing that satisfaction, knowing that I Am.

Keep learning and listening to the things I tell you... you must wait.

Don't be anxious. Don't worry. Don't look around at the things others have gotten or that I've given them. Don't look at the things you want. 

You just keep looking off and up to Me or you'll miss what I want to show you.

And then, when you're ready, I'll surprise you with a love more wonderful than you would ever dream. You see, until you are ready, and until the one I have for you is ready, I am working even this very minute to have both of you ready at the same time.

Until you are both satisfied exclusively with Me and the life I have prepared for you, you won't be able to experience the love that exemplifies your relationship with Me, and this is perfect love. And dear one, I want you to have this wonderful love. I want you to see, in the flesh, a picture of your relationship with Me and to enjoy materially and concretely the everlasting union of beauty and perfection and love that I offer you with Myself.

Know that I love you utterly.

I am God Almighty. Believe and be satisfied."

Here's the tattered pink paper from 2001..sorry it's backwards

How deep the Father's Love for us

How deep the Father's love for us,

How vast beyond all measure

That He should give His only Son

To make a wretch His treasure.

How great the pain of searing loss,

The Father turns His face away

As wounds which mar the chosen One

bring many sons to glory!

Behold the Man upon the cross,

My sin upon His shoulders.

Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice

Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there

Until it was accomplished.

His dying breath has brought me life;

I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything-

No gifts, no power, no wisdom.

But I will boast in Jesus Christ

His death and resurrection!

Why should I gain from His reward?

I cannot give an answer.

But this I know with all my heart:

His wounds have paid my ransom.

Advice To My Teenage Self

I apologize profusely for the major time lapse in blogging. However, I am doubtful that too many people actually read this blog, so I guess it's not that big of a deal.

I've had a lot of interesting thoughts swirl through my head over the past few weeks about good things to blog about, but the past few weeks have also been insanely busy...and I hope to write about those events soon. One of the first blog ideas I had a couple of weeks ago was advice that I would give to my teenage self.

I've always been considered somewhat of a goodie-two-shoes. I was picked on a good bit in high school because I was in gifted and AP classes. I was also a major band nerd...I spent the majority of my school day and after-school hours in the band room or at band/dance team practice. If I wasn't at school or doing something related to school (such as band, homework, Beta Club and National Honor Society volunteer hours), I was at church.

Anyway....the following is a list of things that I would warn my teenage self against.

#1. Don't waste your time with dating. There is little to no point in dating in high school. I had way too many other things to worry about in high school, and I devoted WAY too much time to crushing on or spending time with boys in high school. Very, very few people actually end up spending the rest of their lives with their "high school sweetheart." And I had absolutely no business dating the guys that I dated in high school. As a born-again Christian, I knew better than to date the guys I dated as they were "unequally yoked" to me. However, I was of the mindset that I could save them. I now refer to this as "Missionary Dating." Unfortunately, they did a much better job of bringing me down than I did of pulling them up into a significant relationship with the Lord. I also wasn't spiritually mature enough to handle the relationships that I was in at the time. I didn't have my relationship with Christ as my primary focus as it should have been.

#2. Spend more time in relationship with God. Really, this should be the #1 piece of advice to give to my teenage self. In fact, I still need to give this piece of advice to myself. I played the Christian game really, really well in high school. I had everybody convinced that I was this perfect little Christian girl that was so sold out for Christ....I knew all the right church answers in Sunday school, I went to all the youth events, I was on leadership in my youth group, I went on several really incredible mission trips, a member of the FCA (even though I wasn't really an athlete), part of a weekly Bible study at my school, etc. Don't get me wrong, I knew full well that I had a relationship with the Lord, and my desire to serve and glorify Him was sincere. I just didn't always make Him my #1 priority. I still don't the way I should, but I have grown leaps and bounds since high school. If Christ had really been my main focus and top priority in high school, I never would have dated the guys I dated in high school. I never would have been involved in all the drama that seemed to surround me in high school. I would probably be able to look back on my high school years with many more fond memories.

#3. Focus more on academics. I was definitely considered one of the "smart kids" in school. But I was one of the world's finest procrastinators. I would advise myself to be more passionate about my school work - to put more energy into it. High school is where God called me to be at that time in my life, and I should have worked harder to legitimately do my best. I definitely didn't put my best effort forward in high school, as God called me to do. I did just enough to keep my grades high. Sure, I made higher than average grades, but I honestly don't remember much of anything that I learned in high school.

#4. Appreciate my family more. There is absolutely no way in the world that I could have predicted the things my family would go through in my post-high school days. However, I really wish that I had made my family more of a priority in high school. My brother, Mike, and I fought like cats and dogs throughout my middle school and 9th grade years. He hated the fact that he had to drive me to school, and I wanted so desperately to be on time if not early. He didn't want to be at school period, and because he had to drive me, he had to get up and actually go. I resented the fact that we came so close to being late on a daily basis because of him (and the insane amounts of traffic going into the Greenbrier schools each day). I wish that instead of resenting him, I would have shown more patience and love to him. Then again, he was my annoying big brother, and how was I to know that he would be taken from this earth at such a young age? I wish that I had kept up with Rod's life a little more while he was in Athens. I feel like his years in Athens while I was still at home in middle and high school are a big mystery to me. I also wish that I had been more open and honest with my parents. Not that I really kept a whole lot of information from them, but perhaps if I had been even more open about the boys I liked or the issues I faced with friends, I could have soaked up a bit more of their wisdom and advice.

#5. Practice the flute more. I somehow managed to be in the Wind Ensemble I during my junior and senior years of high school (that was our top concert band - the best of the best). However, I never made it higher than 5th chair. I never had the confidence to play solos. I never made it to District Honor Band or All-State Band. I never memorized any of the marching band pieces. I don't really play that much any more. God gave me the gift of a passion for music. Nothing thrilled me more in high school than being part of our incredible band program - getting to play beautiful pieces of music and being part of the life and energy the band brought to football Friday nights. Unfortunately, I did not utilize my passion for music to its fullest potential.

#6. Don't be so judgmental. Good grief, I was SO judgmental in high school. Don't get me wrong - I had "friends" in a lot of different types of groups in high school. But I was still very judgmental of everyone in high school. There were certain types of people that I didn't want to be associated with because of the way they talked, the music they listened to, the clothes they wore, the people they hung out with, the churches they went to (or didn't go to), etc. I've only really kept in touch with (and stayed good friends with) three people that I considered to be close friends in high school. Sure, there are some people that I still talk to occasionally, and there are some people that I went to high school with that weren't really my friends then but are now. Isn't that so sad?! God is the only real judge. God calls us as Christians to love the unloved. Jesus didn't spend all of his time just associating with Christians and people just like him. He spent time with the people that were looked down upon by society. If I had been a "good Christian"...a real example of Christ, I would have spent more time loving the people that I was so harshly judging.

Now I realize (especially with my educational background in child development) that my high school years were a nearly perfect example of adolescent psychosocial development where peer groups mean everything and I found my identity in being the smarty-pants/band geek/goody-goody. And the things that I have learned and realized about myself since then only come with life experience, formal operational development, and psychosocial identity development. I also realize that very few teenagers ever take the advice they're given because they have to learn for themselves. I don't necessarily regret the things I did in high school, because I certainly would not be who I am today without those experiences. However, life would have been a WHOLE lot easier and less complicated had I taken the advice that I've just given to my teenage self...

Prom, Junior Year - The most controversial group of people ever...

2006 Warren Mission Trip to Guadalajara, Mexico

Wind Ensemble I Flutes

Totally Quotable Tuesday

I've come across a lot of really great quotes lately, so I thought I'd share...

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." -Corrie ten Boom

"You get the best effort from others not by lighting a fire beneath them, but my building a fire within." -Bob Nelson

"If the source of your life is not God, you're living on inadequte resources." -Dr. David McKinley

"Man finds it hard to get what he wants because he does not want the best; God finds it hard to give because He would give the best, and man will not take it." -George MacDonald

"Don't be afraid to smile and to love music that makes you feel good." -Zac Hanson

"If God answers your prayer, He is increasing your faith. If He delays, He is increasing your patience. If He doesn't answer [the way you desire], He has something better for you." -unknown