Christmas. Just another day?

Christmas is celebrated in different ways and variations almost everywhere in the entire world. For some it is about giving gifts, some about getting gifts, some about the birth of a Savior. Families get together for huge celebrations filled with food and games. Children looked forward to Santa coming to deliver gifts. Families come up with their own traditions and practice traditions that have been around for years. Everyone loves to say, "Jesus is the reason for the season," but shouldn't he be the reason for life every single day? I have been reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan and although I'm a little behind in jumping on the bandwagon, it has absolutely changed my life and the way I see the world around me. We are commanded to love God more than ANYTHING else, even all of the nice watches and clothes we receive on Christmas morning. We say that Christmas Day is a day to celebrate the birth of a savior, but that's what he gave us life for. Our ONLY job here on Earth is to spread love and the knowledge of the savior. Our jobs don't matter, what we wear doesn't matter, what we eat doesn't matter. All that matters is how we serve our God day in and day out. While Christmas is one of my favorite days of the year, this year it has meant something different. None of the gifts excited me as much as being with my family or seeing my paralyzed grandpa move his shoulder. I owed all of the things that happened today to the Lord and I hope to treat every day like it's Christmas day and I encourage you to do the same. We should wish Jesus a Happy Birthday every morning that we wake up to a new day and a clean slate.

Thank God

"Thank God" is a phrase tossed around a million times a day by a million different people. Most people probably don't even think about what it means when they say it. It might be sincere thankfulness in some cases while it might not mean anything in others. You find out you made an A on your final-- "Thank God." A shirt comes in your size-- "Thank God." The girl you don't like won't be at the gathering you are going to-- "Thank God." See, we toss the phrase around like it's nothing. Don't you think that offends God just a little that you're using his name for a silly phrase instead of true worship and thankfulness? On the other hand, a woman in an intensive care unit finding out her husband will make it through the night cries, "Thank God!" and absolutely means it. Next time you find yourself in a situation that requires you to thank God, even if it is minor, be sure to say it and mean it. When addressing the Father of the Universe, we all could be a little more respectful. Think about who you're talking to when you start to pray, He's a pretty big deal.

Time

Time is such a simple thing that has more complexity than anything else in the world. The same amount of time can move quickly or slowly. It seems that it never does what we want it to--time has the ultimate control and can act as it wishes. There are moments when we want time to stand still and moments that we wish time would fly. Something I recently experienced that is so odd to me is an instance where time stops for you while everyone else's time is going on as usual. When my grandpa was being taken by the ambulance after his stroke, my time stopped. The family walking down the road gathering pinecones passed by and smiled with the biggest pinecones I've ever seen in their arms. After they passed, we were only a family that tragedy had struck and their lives were only affected for that moment, but the image of that family is forever burned in my memory. I stared at them as time was moving slower than it ever had, envying their carefree Thanksgving. I had to snap back to reality and understand that being jealous of their happiness didn't make my sorrow any better.  At that point in time, time drug along slowly for me and passed the pinecone family by quickly.   Times has been such an odd friend to me-- it has taught me so much. Whether it has been break ups, victories, special moments, laughs, or tragedy, time has been there waiting to use its power to teach me something. I've begged time to fly so many times trough difficult trials, but if it would have flown, I wouldn't have experienced some of the special moments that are significant in my life. Likewise, I have asked time to slow down when things were full of bliss, but if it had then I wouldn't appreciate those perfect moments. Time is constant yet never the same for any person. The only person unaffected by the test of time is God Himself. That's why I find myself calling out to Him to help time be good to me.

Life is a Beach

So, I'm shopping at Target with my mom on Sunday afternoon, just trying on clothes and living life. We are at the very back of the dressing room in rooms across from one another. My mom asks me to open the door and look at the bathing suit she tried on. She catches me mid-change, so I'm in my skiviez--a sports bra and panties. I prop open the door to take a peak, and as I do, a man starts to enter my dressing room. The three of us let out a startled yelp of embarrassment and I immediately shut the door. He apologizes about ten times and I just laugh nervously. Let me backtrack and mention that he had been shop-stalking me earlier. Shop-stalking is when that random guy keeps following you down every aisle you go down and smiling creepily. Did I mention he was wearing a wedding ring? (Bless her heart). Anyhow, as I exit the dressing room, he does too, of course. He aplogizes three more times and I assure him that it is OK. He then proceeds to say, "Nothing you wouldn't see at the beach right?" I, again, awkwardly giggle and escape from his creepiness. I guess life is a beach and he is just playing in the sand.

The Little Things

There are so many different aspects that make up one's personality and so many things in this world affect a person's attitude and feelings. Friends, family, food and fun are of importance in life (just to name a few...apologies for the alliteration). A person's words and actions can make or break your day, and a lot of that can be determined by the way you let them affect you. Food and fun tend to always have a positive affect to begin with, which is also known as instant gratification. However, instant gratification does not supply one with longterm happiness--keep that in mind. I say all of that to say this: It's the little things in life that make us truly happy. God designed us to reach contentment through Him and I believe that there are things in life that he created to make us happy while we are on Earth. If you really pay attention to the world of Twitter and other social media worlds, the tweets and posts about things that make people happy are pretty consistent among all users. Sunday morning church with family members, the happiness of young children, a phone call from a loved one or homemade ice cream on a hot day--generally speaking, all of these things make most people very happy. A long walk on the beach can soothe a worrie soul, Mama's cookin' warms anyone's heart and good music can brighten even the worst of days. Fireworks on the Fourth of July bring about different reactions as you grow older. When you are young, they amaze you, as you grow older and spend the holiday with a love interest, they bring about a romantic feeling and when you get even older, you reminisce about how fireworks once made you feel when you were young. All in all, those fireworks set off something in us all that brings a smile to our hearts. Maybe if we start remembering how much we appreciate the little things instead of focusing on the places we go and the purchases we make, we will find true happiness. Forget all the clothes you bought when you went shopping today, what about the laughs you had with your mom while you shopped? Thank your dad for the car he bought you, but think about how hard he worked to buy it. Always be kind to everyone you come in contact with--it might just make the difference in his day. After all, it's the little things in life that make us appreciate all that God gave us when we didn't deserve it.

Ruined Guacamole

So tonight I actually got in bed at a decent hour. I came home with a fever and a headache and felt awful. I had a bowl of cereal and continued to eat--I was craving guacamole, which I recently purchased. I dipped the chip into the green gunk and when I tasted it, it tasted a bit funny. I proceeded to wonder if guacamole needed to be refrigerated. I asked my friends and they told me that it needed to be kept cold, of course. I ate two more scoops and then placed it in the fridge (it had been sitting out for two days at this point). My stomach hurts. The guacamole is now in the fridge.

Insomnia

It's almost 2 AM and I am still awake. I have cleaned my room, packed my backpack, written a letter to my family and I stil have the desire to clean my bathroom and paint my fingernails. Is this what insomnia feels like? I mean, I could literally go for a 5 mile swim right now, and I hate swimming. I feel that if I had to go conquer the world, I could not do it in the afternoon; it would definitely have to be midnight or later. If ever I have a job where I have to wake up early, I will just sleep all day and wake up at midnight to begin my day. I mean, I'm blogging this right now and I coul be asleep. I'm really weird.