#Valentine'sDay

I'm sitting here in Barnes & Noble and it's everywhere...the color red screams it out so loud that you start seeing red...and those little pink hearts don't make matters any better with their just oh so right placements on store displays...you guessed it: Valentine's Day is coming. Or "Singles Awareness Day" as some like to call it. When I was in the fourth grade our teacher told us if we got more than one Valentine from someone that meant that they really liked you. Oh this made me even more excited to look through my bag because I was hoping beyond hope that Reggie, my HUGE crush, would give me two Valentine's. He had no idea that my deep love for him was pretty much for the reason that he and I shared the same last name and I thought it'd be amazing if we got married someday because it'd just be so easy! Oh, the aspirations of a fourth grader haha

You may be reading this having just gotten out of a relationship, starting a new relationship or you just don't care and your main consensus is "ain't nobody got time for that!" Well whatever you believe, it's still going to come (it's less than a month away) and for me, I like to be prepared for it.  For someone that's always had a cheerful heart towards Valentine's Day no matter what my relationship status was, I wasn't too thrilled last year. That was because exactly one month before February 14th I had ended a relationship that I was in. But I have an awesome family, my sister had two dozen tulips delivered to my apartment and my mom came and took me out to my favorite restaurant just so I wouldn't feel alone. My heart breaks for those that don't have a family or friendships to support them in times like that...

When my family did those amazing acts of love for me last year it got me thinking. Isn't that what love is all about? Isn't that why God put us on the earth...so that He could show us love and that we could share it with others? No, I don't have a Valentine this year...and I could just not do anything and hope that the day just passes by and that I don't get shot by the cupid of "Singles Awareness Day" but instead I've decided to pass on love and what better way the what the below picture states?

 

Just think about it...wouldn't it be great to send a card or go to a nursing home and pass out Valentine's? Even if you're in a relationship, don't let that stop you from thinking of others. The main stream media wants us all to think so much on our significant other that we run the risk of becoming selfish. We think like I did in the fourth grade, "oh, is Reggie going to give me two Valentine's??" that sometimes we forget that giving can be so much more fulfilling. My favorite part of giving to someone is when the recipient least expects it. It's going out of your way to show someone that they're not alone and that you care.

So this year I have challenged myself to send/hand out Valentine's to elderly people. This is something that I truly believe that God has put on my heart and I am so excited to do it! If you're interested in joining me, please let me know. I don't have much of a game plan yet so any input on that would be welcome, too!

-A <3

Oh and by the way, I got two Valentine's from Reggie that day in the fourth grade ;-)

It was a White (lies) Christmas

Phew! The Christmas season is over...well, I have yet to take down the Christmas tree, but we're getting there! I can honestly say this was one of the best Christmases I've ever had...and "honesty" didn't always play a huge factor this holiday. Let me explain...

As many of you know, my older sister, Amber, got married about two years ago. Early on in their marriage they agreed to alternate their time between his family and hers for Christmas. Last year we got to have them at our house for Christmas so that meant this year Amber and Steve wouldn't be with us for Christmas...that was until Amber called me a few weeks before Christmas...

Reveal of Lie #1: I called my mom to outright lie to her... "Mom...I'm expecting a package to show up today around noon that you have to sign for. It's a Christmas gift for dad." Mom bought it hook, line and sinker. She had no idea that my sister and I had been planning for over a week Amber's surprise visit. I love my sister, but I have to admit, I was a little apprehensive of her doing this. I mean, come on...driving 6 hours just to spend one night with your family the day before Christmas Eve?! Well, she did it! We were able to keep the secret and mom never suspected a thing...not even when the "package" showed up with a Buffalo Bills license plate...when my mom saw my sister appear the realization finally hit in that my sister was the "package" she had been waiting for! Tears started flowing and hugs were the only signature that was required for this special delivery! Amber and I had pulled off the lie of the year! Until I had to confess up to something else I had been lying about since early November...

Reveal of Lie #2: My mom loves Sarah Palin...just LOVES her! And it just so happens that Sarah Palin was coming to my town for a book signing (her new book, Good Tidings and Great Joy explains how America is trying to omit the name of Christ from Christmas and that it's our job to keep Christmas well)! Mom, being that she lives two hours away from here, begged me to go. This is how that conversation went down: Mom: "Alex...Sarah Palin is coming to your town!" Me: "...um, that's great, mom..." Mom: "You don't sound very excited! You should go...you could meet a cute Republican guy, even!" Me: "Seriously? You're trying to tempt me to go just in case there might be a single, cute, Republican guy there?? haha"
I love my mother and she knows that I'm not that into politics like the way she and my sister are. So a week leading up to the book signing event, poor mom tried again..."Alex, you should really go to meet Sarah...if not for yourself, but because you love your mother!" Me: "....I'd rather eat dirt..." THAT ended that conversation real quick! Bingo! Perfect set up to my second biggest lie of the year because I did go to the book signing. In all actuality I did not want to go and once inside I had to fight the urge to turn around and run back to my car! But because I love my mom and thought it'd be a great Christmas gift, I went. And yes the thought did cross my mind that I might end up meeting a cute, single, Republican guy...but that didn't happen lol. What did happen was pretty much life changing. Yes, I met Sarah, who is a quiet and beautiful woman with a firm handshake, and we exchanged pleasantries as a photo was snapped of us. Then it was over...or so I thought. I had planned on just wrapping up the book with the photo of Sarah and I in a nice frame and giving it to my mom that way. However, I had just finished reading The Single Woman by Mandy Hale and didn't have anything to read...so I picked up Sarah's book and started it. Whoa...yes, you read that right...me, who doesn't really like politics and thought that I wouldn't really have anything in common with Sarah, read her book. You know what I found out? Sarah Palin and I have a TON in common especially the very core of who we are and that is that we stand for Jesus Christ.
2013 really gave me some life changing experiences that have proven to me that if we as individuals don't stand for anything or have one foot in one type of lifestyle and the other in a separate, then we truly will fall for anything. I was challenged this year to really make decisions for myself as to who and what it is that I stand for and Sarah's book helped confirm and support those decisions. It does matter who we vote for and that we vote. It does matter if that person voted into office holds firm to our shared values and beliefs. What matters most is that we find out what and who we believe in and to not let anyone decide for us.
The day Amber came home we decided to open family gifts and we made sure mom opened my gift last. She opened it and the first thing she saw was a letter that I wrote explaining the outrageous lie that I had to tell her back in November. My mom gasped and started crying as the truth sank in that her daughter, the girl who doesn't like politics, not only went to meet Sarah Palin, but read the book and realized that she and Sarah do have something in common after all...keeping Christmas well.

I ran into my friend Nicole (left) and we kept each other company as we waited to meet Sarah

Miracle on Waltan Street!

Merry Christmas! May it be one of the best one's yet!
Next week I'll tell you all of our family's Christmas Miracle!

-A

Don't Look Back

This year my sister and brother-in-law aren't able to come to our home for Christmas. Because of this, my parents came to my neck of the woods this past weekend to visit and begin some new Christmas traditions. Weeks prior to their visit I asked around my office to see what kind of holiday events people tend to make their annual tradition during the Christmas season over on this side of the state. I was told of places such as, where we could go to see Christmas traditions from around the world on display at a local museum, that the Sound of Music was being put on Broadway, we could pet a live reindeer at a local flower sh, and a tour of thousands of Christmas lite displays at a local ballpark. 

As you can see, we chose the Christmas Lite tour! This shot shows Santa on a helicopter 

We really enjoyed the lite tour and even though I didn't get a photo of it, my favorite one was of a silly dragon that looked as if he was swooshing in and out of the snow. Reminded me of my favorite childhood movie, Puff the Magic Dragon. We probably won't make this lite tour our new Christmas tradition, but I could definitely see why this would be a tradition for families with young children. Finding a new tradition wasn't the only reason that my parents and I went on this adventure, we went to make new memories, and new ones sure were made! One of my favorites was when my mom and I were slowly driving through a snow storm and not really caring because we were too busy singing a Christmas duet along with the radio. Or the one where my dad made it his priority to find me the best new tires for my truck. I soon won't forget when the three of us exited a movie theater laughing hysterically because Tyler Perry just has that power over his audience. As is the case with most families during the Christmas season there were times where our attitudes weren't so pretty or things were forgotten thus causing one of us to be a bit irritated with one another...

When my mom and I get together the thing we love most to do together is talk! One of the many conversations that my mom and I had over the weekend dealt with the story of Sodom & Gomorrah (not exactly a Christmas story, but hear me out :o). We were discussing how God saved Lot, his wife and their two daughters from that sinful city because of Lot letting the two angel's of the Lord spend the night in his house, thus they spared his and his family's lives. What we remembered most, and maybe you do, too, is that Lot's wife looked back as they were fleeing and she was turned into a pillar of salt. 

Mom and I were quite confused as to why God would turn her into a pillar of salt just for looking back. I mean, that was her home. That was where all her good and bad memories were made with her family and friends. Even though she was being an obedient wife and fleeing the city, I'm sure she felt the grief and uncertainty of her future crumbling away and she wanted one final glance.

Thankfully I don't think God is into turning people into pillars of salt when we fail to do His will and instinctively look back...I can see the similarities of Lot's wife and the memories that were made with my family this weekend and during other Christmas adventures. It's tempting to focus on the things that went wrong (like when I lost my cool when our short shopping trip turned into a long two hour shopping spree) when my family is doing activities. But I believe that God doesn't want us to look back on memories that irritate or make us sad. He wants us to remember the good times and focus on those types of memories. I know that the Christmas season can be hard for a lot of people because of the stress that is associated with it and the bad memories that are there. I challenge you to use this season to focus on the fun and on His Son's birth - the greatest memory of all.  

What are some of your favorite Christmas memories or traditions that you do with family and/or friends?

-A

Life Is Messy

Last night I was really frustrated because my Christmas shopping hasn't gone all that well this year. I want so much to find that perfect gift for each person in my life so that it shows how much I care about them. I was still stressing out today because I didn't know when I was going to get time to actually finish and ship the gifts to certain places. Then when I came home today to find my Christmas tree laying on the floor, I stopped and started to get that sinking feeling that one can only understand if they've gone through the same experience...I was devastated.
For two years now my cat, Poh, has done a very good job of not messing with my Christmas tree, which for a mischievous cat, is pretty impressive. Before I checked over any of the damage, my first concern was making sure he was ok and that there was no glass from the broken ornaments in his paws. Once I checked him over and saw that there was no harm done, I then took inventory of the damage. I was sadden at the loss of two of my favorite ornaments. One being of our family dog that passed away a few years ago and the other of a really pretty flower.

Sighing, I started to clean up. All the while Poh "innocently" watched me pick up the pieces and put the Christmas tree back together again... Growing up I would like to help my mom dust the house and countless times I would accidentally break something that was special to her. Each time I feared for my life when I had to tell her what happened...but each time, her reaction was the same. She would always tell me that I was more important to her than (enter broken item here). After she would tell me that I would feel so loved and amazed that she wasn't going to ground me for life! But my mom knew that life is messy and things break. My Christmas tree falling over (I wonder if it made a sound) made me realize that it's our reaction to those messy breaks (or break ups) that matter most. And my mom was a great example on how to handle those situations. I could have freaked out over the tree and just left it laying there, broken glass and all, but instead I picked it up and cleaned up the mess and started over again. It was hard. It was sad. But that's life.

Christmas is less than 2 weeks away (don't panic!) and yes, I lost two special ornaments that I'll never get back, but this event stopped me from stressing over the little things that I had yet to do and pressed me to find my Christmas spirit again. It's our actions that show the Christmas spirit not our gifts. So I challenge you to be proactive in your actions this Christmas season and reach out and take a moment or two out of the Christmas hustle and bustle and try to find a creative way to show your loved ones how much you care.

-A

Single? Huston, we have a problem

A few weeks ago I went to a Selah concert at a local church with a group of friends. The band, if you're not familiar with them, consists of three individuals, Todd Smith, Allan Hall, and Amy Perry. Amy is the lead singer and has an incredible voice. Between songs she shared her testimony with the audience. Amy struggles with weight loss. She decided to state the obvious to us because she had the courage to do so. She shared the story of how she struggled her whole life and even more so after having her first child to lose weight. One day a very close friend of hers committed to helping Amy lose the weight that was weighing her down emotionally and physically. She lost a substantial amount of weight and also became more spiritually healthy, too. People applauded her efforts there at the concert and you could see that she had continual support from her band-mates as well. Another example of weight loss being supported in a church setting was in an article I read about Rick Warren, author of the Purpose Driven Life and Pastor of Saddlebrook church. He discussed when he was baptizing congregants at his church he realized how overweight he and most of his members were. That next Sunday he confessed to his church about his gluttony and wanted to challenge his congregants to go on a diet with him. They all supported each other and lost a substantial amount of weight as a congregation. Please feel free to read the full article here.

There are many burdens that we all face in life. Some have weight issues, some have financial issues, marital issues, etc. But a topic that I hear rarely supported and confronted in Christian circles, churches and self-help books is the burden and struggle that some individuals have as single adults.

Christena Cleveland stated it best in her article when she said that the single life is complex and hard for some individuals to live out especially with little to no support from the Church. We are encouraged by the Church to "embrace" this time in our lives but not really taught how. There are individuals that say things such as, "don't worry, you'll be married soon, let me hook you up with my husband's best friend's daughters ex-boyfriends cousin-in-law who is single!" What if marriage isn't the prescription that we as singles need right away? What if we really do want to learn how to embrace our single moments and truly live them out the best we can? That's where my new favorite author, Mandy Hale, comes in.

For the first time I have come across a book that has taught me how to embrace my current relationship status. Ms. Hale wrote the book, The Single Woman, because she too got frustrated with there being a multitude of books on how to have a better marriage or on how to get married. She realized that there was a lack of motivational books on how to be great at being single and decided to write one herself! I get excited about a lot of things in my life, but this book has given me a soul deep excitement! Ms. Hale has helped me realize that this time in my life can be amazing - if I let it. Do I still want to get married and have kids one day? You better believe it! But that's not the only purpose that God has made me for in this life. Ms. Hale has encouraged me to "embrace" my single life by chasing my dreams and her book is full of encouragement on how to do just that.

After reading this book I again realized how desperately singles need to be encouraged and supported in the church just as much as their married counterparts or any other battle that people face. I found it refreshing and somewhat relieving that both Ms. Hale and Ms. Cleveland were bold enough to speak out in support of the single person and I agree with them. Both of these ladies have encouraged me to not only be the best I can be right now just as I am, but to look at ways that I can help people in my same situation at my own church and surrounding circles. You may be reading this and may be a married person or you may be in the same boat that I am in and I'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions on this topic. Friends, if Amy's weight loss struggle can be accepted and supported amongst the congregation and Pastor Warren can have his congregants do the same, why can't we lift up the singles in the church?

-A

Hump Day & Thanksgiving

For me, I feel like my excitement this year for Thanksgiving matches the excitement this camel has for his favorite day:

I love Thanksgiving! One of the reasons could be because my family lets me take home leftovers and I don't have to go grocery shopping for a few days haha...but I love looking back at the year and reflecting on all the fun, crazy and sometimes bad things that God has brought me through. I want this post to highlight some of those memorable events that occurred to me this year. It's crazy to think that the holidays are already upon us, but I'm ready for them this year. I already started decorating my apartment for Christmas!

I can honestly say that 2013 has been one of the best years of my life! No year has ever had so many ups and downs. The beginning of the year started off with me getting out of a toxic relationship which was a relief to me and my family. The spring held the joy of celebrating another birthday in my 20s... then a month after my birthday, I squealed and cried with delight at the Taylor Swift concert that my sister gifted me with! Then my spectacular summer started. Yes, ladies and gents, this was the summer that I tried out for AMERICAN IDOL!!! Oh. My. Word. That was one of the most exhilarating and exhausting weekends of my LIFE! Major props to my mom for waiting in line for two days to watch me sing for 10 SECONDS in front of the judges. Hey, at least we got to see Ryan Seacrest! The next weekend we went to watch two of my favorite baseball teams live (Go Rangers! Go Tigers!) and eat hot dogs and enjoy the atmosphere.

This was also the first summer that I had a summer romance. And it literally lasted just for the summer haha! And no, it did not end with us singing a powerful duet and me being in a tight leather suit like the movie Grease, but it did end bittersweet and led me to some major life changes. That's what I love most about relationships - that they have the power to inspire you to be a better person or help you discover something about yourself. This can happen whether you stay in that relationship or not. One of those inspirations was to start this blog. I absolutely love this blog. I like to think that there is someone out there going through the same type of journey that I am and when they read this, it gives them encouragement that they're not alone.

There is so much to be thankful for and it reminds me of my favorite bible verse, "I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." Psalm 27:13. I love this verse because it challenges me to be more aware of the little and big events of my life that show the goodness of the Lord and how much He loves us.

So, I'm wishing you all a very happy Thanksgiving and hope that you get to spend it with family and loved ones.

What are you thankful for this year?

-A