Birthdays are weird.

It's my birthday...and I'm 23...weird. I'm not supposed to be the one growing up. I'm the baby and the one who sees everyone else get older...anyway I was thinking over this last year and how many things have changed and how crazy it has been. I've gotten to know myself better and learned what it's like to transition from one major point in your life to another. So I stole this idea partly from Becca's blog but 22 things I've learned about myself and things that have happened in my 22nd year of life...
1. I started an internship with Harvest Hands and didn't know what to expect!

2. I started the busiest time of my life to date while recovering from pneumonia and my little heart episode...looking back not sure how I managed but thankful for all I experienced in that time and it for sure taught me boundaries and balance.

3. I realized just how much of a people pleaser I am and decided I need to work on that...

4. Traveled a little bit...the Florida Keys, Michigan, Costa Rica, Michigan, Chicago, Seattle, back to Michigan...

5. I gained a sister...not just any sister but someone who I've looked up to a large majority of my life and was so excited for her to become a part of our family

6. I learned that you may think you have your life figured out, but God has other plans.

7. Oh yeah...I graduated from college.

8. Offered the job to lead Harvest Hands summer camp and was terrified I would fail...had a great summer and worked with great people I can now call friends...I don't think I failed.

9. Realized how true the phrase "You can't get something clean without it being dirty first" is

10. Embraced the fact I'm a hopeless romantic

11. Was transformed into someone who knew nothing about children and was scared to death of them to realizing my love for them and I actually like working with them each day.

12. Blessed with a full time job doing exactly what I wanted but thought would take 10 or so years to get to and laughed at God's humor in leading me to a stay in a city that I thought I would leave as soon as I could.

13. Realized how much Baby Girls transformed my life and was instrumental in where I am and who I am today...and crying on some Wednesdays because I can't be with them anymore

14. Went through a small state of depression trying to transition from college life to the real world

15. Realized I am who I am and all I can do is embrace it.

16. Found genuine community and a Nashville family with Harvest Hands

17. Watched too many episodes of Criminal Minds for my own good...not ashamed to admit I would be completely okay with marrying someone just like Agent Morgan.

18. Wrestled with and thought about tough issues like what it looks like to live out God's Kingdom here on earth and what true reconciliation looks like

19. Built on relationships with old friends and made new ones

20. Realized how much I really do hate odd numbers...weird I know.

21. Got my nose pierced which wouldn't be a big deal to some but in a weird way was very symbolic of actually doing something I wanted to do instead of considering everyone else's opinion.

22.  Learned and continuing to learn you can't grow without putting yourself out there and taking a risk even if it does mean you might fail

Not sure my 23rd year is going to be quite as exciting but we'll see what happens... :)

Wait...Christmas isn't just about Santa Claus?

Now...I know most of you would say of course Christmas isn't just about Santa Claus and presents and the commercialization that it's become but it's about Jesus' "birthday" and Him coming to Earth as a baby to dwell among us, which is so true, but have we really thought about what this means? I don't know if it's just that I'm getting older and starting to think into things more or what but I can't stop thinking about this. My favorite translation that talks about Jesus' incarnation is The Message in John 1:14:

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.

The Savior and King of the Universe decided to move into his Creation. He didn't come with all the bells and whistles or an entrance worthy of royalty like he should have, but he had a lowly birth that wasn't even noticed by most of the world. 

Do people truly understand how backwards and counter-cultural Jesus was and is? His birth was just the beginning of that and it's something I'm remembering today. Christ left his place next to The Father and came to a place he could live among the people and teach them. It's something I would like to emulate in my life. So this Christmas season I'm thankful for a God who decided we were worth it and not a lost cause and decided to move into our neighborhood. And seeing as we're Christ followers we should strive to do the same thing...so I remember this passage from Mathew also from The Message and I challenge you also:

Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge: "Don't begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don't try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.

Don't Miss Out.

I feel like people are missing out. People that believe the only reason they are on earth and the only reason they choose to believe in Jesus is for what's to come and to go to heaven. Don't get me wrong...there is something to look forward to but you're missing one of the most important parts of the story if all your beliefs revolve around getting to heaven.

We do have God's kingdom and a new city to look forward to but what about that part that says your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth? We are here to be a part of God's story and God's kingdom here on earth NOW. We can bring glimpses of that here. The book Compassion says it well:

"In the new city, God will live among us, but each time two or three gather in the name of Jesus he is already in our midst. In the new city, all tears will be wiped away, but each time people eat bread and drink wine in his memory, smiles appear on strained faces. In the new city, the whole creation will be made new, but each time prison walls are broken down, poverty is dispelled, and wounds are carefully attended, the old earth is already giving way to the new. Through compassionate action, the old is not just old anymore and pain not just pain any longer. Although we are still waiting in expectation, the first signs of the new earth and the new heaven, which have been promised to us and for which we hope, are already visible in the community of faith where the compassionate God is revealed to us." 

 "This is the foundation of our faith, the basis of our hope, and the source of our love."

Why don't we realize we have the opportunity now to be a part of bringing God's kingdom here and giving glimpses of this new city to those around us. Let's not forget the God we serve and that we are a part of a bigger story. We can't just sit around thinking this world is just going to hell and there's nothing we can do and just wait for heaven to come around, but realize the future has already begun and "its revealed each time strangers are welcomed, the naked are clothed, the sick and prisoners are visited, and oppression is overcome."

I sorta made an impulsive decision.

So...in Seattle last week Leah said "Hey Ab you should get your nose pierced." So I did. I've always wanted to but never thought I would. I know the picture is sideways but I think you can still see it okay. Jake, Em, Abe, and Leah were all in the room when I got it pierced...like my dad always says, "The family that pierces together stays together." Right Mom? :)

I like not being afraid.

I've been reading Romans 8 almost every day for the last month or so. The church I've been going to has been studying it for the last few weeks and I'm loving it. It's amazing to me that you can read one chapter of a book and get so much out of it every time. One part that sticks out to me each time is where it says:

"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, 

but you received the Spirit of sonship."

It says so many times in Scripture, "Do not be afraid" or "Fear not" (I tried to look up how many times it says it, but I can't find an answer...) how come we don't listen? I am so fearful of so many things...but that's not how Christ has meant for us to live. If we truly realized that we are sons and daugthers of a King and how powerful we are because of Christ living inside of us how would our lives be different? How would our prayers be different? How would our conversations be different?

I'm learning not to be afraid and it's freeing. I'm learning how much power there is in the Holy Spirit. I'm learning how confident I can be in Christ because he tells me not to be afraid. It's a process, but I'm learning and believe me life is better when you're not afraid!