Happy New Year!

It's been a week since my last (and first) blog post, so I'm doing another! I think it's funny that my first two posts have both been on Wednesdays! OH! And I just realized that the first two posts have first been on some holiday eve! How sweet it that?? :)

Today is new years eve, which means goodbye 2008, and hello 2009! I usually like to sit down on new years eve and really think about what I'd like to accomplish over the next 365 days, but so far, I've only come up with two resolutions for myself:

1) Keep my room clean - It's crazy that I can help clean the living room, the kitchen, etc. etc. but my room is constantly a disaster area!

2) Quit drinking soda - I don't drink a lot of soda (or pop, depending on which term you prefer) but I've wanted to quit drinking it for a long time. That was actually a resolution of mine last year, and I went almost 7 months without even a sip! But sadly, that streak came to an abrupt end while I was volunteering at a conference. It was really hot, I was thirsty, and soda was the only thing to drink. So I drank it, kept drinking it, and have been drinking it regularly ever since then. But hey, it could be a lot worse!

I've always thought of doing some God resolution, and I've even tried one, and that was to read the entire Bible in a year. I tried in 06, I tried in 07, I tried in 08, and I failed miserably every time. I thought about doing it again, but then something else came to mind: Is it spiritually unhealthy to make up resolutions that involve God?

Every time I tried to read the Bible in a year, I would start out strong, but I wouldn't get anything out of what I was reading because I was doing it just to do it. I was reading the Bible just so that I could feel accomplished and say that I read it in a year, which is a really bad mindset to be in.

Imagine a kid for a moment. If the kid likes piano, but is forced to take lessons and ends up losing the will to play the instrument because it's something she has to do, where does that leave her? But if she learns to play on her own, driven simply by love for the instrument, will that help her become a better pianist in the long run?

Of course, a lot of kids take lessons and love the instrument, but that's not the point I'm trying to make. I think if we force ourselves to do some spiritual things, we forget the entire purpose, which is supposed to be to get closer to the Lord, and grow in our relationship with Him. But if we pray, or fast, or read the Bible, or worship, or sit alone quietly with the Lord because we love Him and because we have a pure desire to be closer with Him, I think the end result would be much better.

What are your thoughts on this?


So yeah, I'm super excited for the new year! I've been sneaking around trying to break into the sparkling grape juice, but my attempts have been in vain ... Either Mom is good at hiding things or I'm terrible at looking. Would it be against my resolution to drink sparkling juice?

Comment and tell me about your resolutions!

Thanks for reading! Until next time ...
See you next year!
(Okay, I'm finished with the lame new year puns)

Christmas Eve Outreaches are AMAZING!!!!!!

Today was Christmas Eve! Bethany picked me up at around 2 and we went to VCC to help set up for the 8th annual donut outreach. This was my first ever, and it's been a night that I will never, ever forget.

For me, the experience really took off when we were all in the auditorium. The lights were turned down, almost off, and we all lit candles. It was amazing to see how just a couple of candles lit up the room, but when they all were good and lit it was just incredible. It made me think that each person in that room would take some of Christ's across town and by the end of the outreach, the city would be shining bright just like the auditorium was. Does that make sense?

So Bethany, Jenn, Logan, and I went to an apartment complex for adults with special needs and we got to see some truly incredible people. God really opened up my eyes tonight. The first man we met was in awe of what we were there to do which to us seemed simple enough - just give away some free donuts and talk with the residents there. But to them it was like something they had never seen before. Just the surprised looks in their eyes made me feel for them ... That perhaps they've been forgotten, and sort of left out of society.

Bethany (who planned the trip) told us that the holidays can be pretty rough on the residents, especially the ones who don't get to go see whatever family they have left, so I know for a fact that Jesus sent us there for a reason.

Everyone there was so nice, and it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside just to be around them! When we were just about finished we met a woman in the hallway named Linda, and she asked us to sing with her. We sang "Silent Night" and she nearly bubbled over with sheer joy! As if that wasn't sweet enough, she then told us that her husband sent her down to ask us if we would sing with him. Who could resist?? We went back upstairs and sang "Silent Night" again with Linda and her husband (perhaps the cutest couple in the world) and they both were so happy.

I really, really would love to go back to that complex sometime soon to see our new friends again. It would be so great to go and do arts and crafts with them, or maybe we'll bring our guitars and sing for them. Whatever we do, I hope we do it soon! I really miss our friends there ...

We still had about 9 or so boxes of donuts left, so Bethany, Jenn, and I set out to deliver more of God's love! We went to a drive-thru and gave a box to the man working in there, and he seemed really surprised! We also went to Kenwood mall and gave a box to the security guards. The guard who took them from us seemed taken aback and a little skeptical, but Bethany cleared things up ...

"We're not terrorists ..." She said.

So after that, the guard smiled and took the donuts, leaving us with only one box which we gave away to some sort of candle store. They were all so excited, which was really cool to see because they're just donuts! You know? It's so cool to see how something like a box of donuts like the ones you can buy for $5 can bring so much joy. Not just happiness ... Joy and excitement!

Anyway ... Tonight was wonderful! Before the outreach I was feeling a little low on Christmas spirit, but God showed me that this is what the holiday is supposed to be about - showing His love just like He did when He sent His only Son to be born here on Earth.

Merry Christmas, friends! I love you, and I hope you all have a wonderful holiday!