2009, A Best Of

From my iTunes, song play count, here are my top 5 most listened to songs:

1. Oh My Sweet Carolina-- Ryan Adams-- Play Count: 50
2. In Your Atmosphere-- John Mayer-- Play Count: 49
3. Desert Song-- Hillsong-- Play Count: 39
4. Stronger-- Hillsong-- Play Count: 38
5. Blood Bank-- Bon Iver-- Play Count: 36

From the books I've read this year, here are my top 3 favorite:

1. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
2. There's No Me With You by Melissa Faye Green
3. The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs

From the pictures I've taken this year, here is my favorite:

From the movies I've seen this year, here are my four favorite: (not necessarily new releases)

1. Inglorious Basterds
2. Slumdog Millionaire
3. Amelie
4. Gran Torino

This verse has really categorized my year with the Lord:

"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This is not a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your little boy asks for a serving of fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? If your little girl asks for an egg, do you trick her with a spider? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing—you're at least decent to your own children. And don't you think the Father who conceived you in love will give the Holy Spirit when you ask him?" Luke 11:10-13, The Message

2009, you started off pretty rough (especially with the freakish ice storm) but your ending has been smooth and sweet.

2010, you've got some big shoes to fill.

Merry Christmas!

Everyone had a great time this year, except for one furry little friend:

Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica

This is an extremely random blog post, but my cousin-in-law's profile picture on Facebook is probably the most epic thing I've seen in a while.

Behold:

Yep, he shot it dead.

Lessons from Simeon

This past Sunday Dusty and I lit the second Advent candle at church, the peace candle. This got me contemplating a lot, because I think "peace" is so often marginalized into an abstract concept or lofty goal that in this day and age is all too unattainable.

It all really reminds me a lot of Simeon, because Simeon found his life's peace with the advent of Jesus the kid. In Luke 2 you'll find Simeon, a man full of the Holy Spirit and living in the promise that he wouldn't die until he saw the Messiah in the flesh.

The Spirit leads him to the temple the very day that Mary and Joseph were there to present Jesus for circumcision. And Simeon, upon seeing that kid, exclaims, "I've seen it all Lord! I can die in peace! You did what you said you would do!"

I long to have that kind of certainty about the Lord! I'm supposed to have it all together because I've been a follower of Christ for 14 years, and because my husband is a youth minister, but I cannot count the times throughout the year, the week, the day, that I find my innermost self saying, "Lord, I do not believe you."

There are some things that I definitely feel like the Lord has promised me. Until the time comes that I see those things into fruition, I find mostly that what I want is enough peace to wait in patient expectation, just like Simeon.

Here are some things that I've learned about peace in the past year:

1.) Peace is almost always preceded by expectation. Maybe it's the expectation of something that makes you anxious, or maybe like me and my friend Simeon, the fulfillment of promises.

2.) Peace and adversity often, and strangely enough, stand side by side. I think it's because in adverse times the absence of peace is exaggerated, until we realize that it's what has been missing all along.

3.) True peace, I mean lifelong lasting peace, is only found in Jesus. He carried it with him in his birth long ago, it's available to us through the Holy Spirit today, and we are anxiously awaiting the time when that peace will be the ruling standard in our world.

It's Heeeeeere!

It's a little scary.

I definitely need a DSLR for Dummies book.

Anyone use one of these bad boys and have any words of wisdom?

Advent Season

I don't ever remember celebrating Advent when I was growing up. I think we did in a round about way, but we never called it advent. A few years ago I read this great book called Girl Meets God. The author converted to Christianity from Judaism, and her observations on the Advent season are quite delightful:

"It is Advent, the weeks before Christmas, which means we are waiting for Jesus. It is the season of expectation, of being primed and pumped, the season during which you are supposed to cultivate longing for Him, the type of longing you feel when you beloved has been out of town for three weeks but you know he is coming home tonight." (p. 34)

In the years to follow my understanding and insight into the Advent season has increased. Last year the Lord really spoke to me that our lives should be kept in a constant state of advent, because by doing so we acknowledge every day that He's going to do what he said He's going to do: come back! This year I already realize that I'm being given a tangible way to experience advent.

My family is coming for Christmas. This is a really big deal in many ways, not the least of which is that this is the first time any family will have come to stay with Dusty and me as a married couple. I have literally been putting thought and planning into this for a few months because I'm just so excited. And today I really feel like the Lord spoke to me and said that this year for Advent he's giving me a physical, experiential way to celebrate. Because any preparation or expectation that occurs in me as I'm awaiting the arrival of my family can directly correlate to the preparation and expectation that our lives take on as we wait to celebrate Christmas, and ultimately as we wait to meet Jesus face to face.

A Dream Two Years In The Making...

...finally came true today:

To be more precise this dream comes true on Monday after work. Which, in turn, will give me something to look forward to as I drudge through my workday.

Oh Nikon D3000... I can't wait to learn how to use you.