It's Not Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

First of all, I apologize for maybe being the worst blogger to begin a site.  I'm so sorry to my dear friends and family who have been wondering what I'm up to.  It's funny that I choose to update my blog during finals...I should probably go analyze what that that says about me. :)

Well like the title says, it feels/looks like anything but Christmas here in Pasadena.  I was

 anticipating Thanksgiving to be a sad day without my family.  I missed them dearly but had

 lots of fun with friends.  In the morning, we went and served at a huge homeless meal that takes place in Pasadena.  Though we spent more time in line with all the volunteers than we did serving, it was still an awesome experience.  And someone saw Will from Will and Grace...but he didn't tell any of us!!!!  bummer.  That evening, I hosted my first Thanksgiving.  Seven us gathered for dinner and games...it was a great evening.  Here is a picture of us after dinner.

food coma

Besides Thanksgiving and school, I have been filling my life with as many Christmas trees as

 possible.  Here are a few:

first stop is the Grove: an outdoor shopping/dining area in LA with a really awesome farmer's market.  We went for the tree lighting only to find we were barricaded out.

But a little patience and a dash of persistence got us in just in time to see the tree light up!!!!

The event included life-size ginger bread houses, fireworks, and fake snow.  We were standing beside this high schooler who said, "Oh my gosh....this is like....real STUFF!" in reference to the snow.  I miss high schoolers.

this is how our success made us feel...HAPPY!

Look what was right beside the Christmas tree.  Praise Jesus I found Nordstrom.

   

Mike came down to visit for Thanksgiving!  Next stop is a Christmas tree in Pasadena, including a creepy Santa.  You can't really see the tree but I assure you it looks like all other lit trees.  

Last stop on my search for Christmas spirit was a light show in LA.  Not nearly as good as Tanglewood but fun none the less.

The most interesting lights we saw were those that illuminated Fuel Cell on the side of a building.  silly.

Betch you can't tell what the weather was like outside based on this couple.

Finally, we brought the Christmas spirit home.  Here is our Christmas tree and our stockings hung with care.  Mine's the green one.  

Hope you enjoyed my search for Christmas in sunny California.  I'm flying home to Atlanta on December 12th!  I can't wait to see all of you!

my apt...socal style

It's 12:05 am and I feel light-headed from an afternoon/evening of reading.  I don't have much to say right now, but I wanted to post some pics before I go to bed.  So here it is.....my apt!!

my bedroom!  yes, that's a glider and it's awesome.

bathroom

living room/dining area that's in serious need of some more color.  The amazing quilt on the wall was made by my grandma, Mommom.  And, no, your eyes aren't deceiving you.  There are two stained glass windows behind our couch.

kitchen

The Blogging begins

So far I've been all talk about blogging, but I've hunkered down and surrendered to a working blog.  Life in California has been amazing!!!  I'm all moved in, class has started, and I'm making lots of friends.  And did I mention I live in SoCal?!  

To your left is a picture of me on my first day of school.  My smile was inspired by my brother Garrison, master of the artificial school picture smile.  I've been to one week of school so far and it was awesome (minus the inhuman amount of reading there is to do).  It's so great to be in classes that are legitimately interesting.  It makes a really big difference to be in school when it's an actual choice and you've waited for two years for this to come about.  I've been blown away by the idea that I don't just need this information for a test...I need it for life!  This quarter (I'll save my beef with the quarter system for another blog).  I'm taking Clinical Foundations, Legal and Ethical Issues, Family Systems, and Development.  We're also meeting in small groups weekly to practice our counseling skills on each other before we actually start seeing clients.  SCARY!!!!!!  The professors are incredible here though.  I feel cared for not just as a student but as a person.  It was so awesome during orientation week to share meals with our professors.  I would listen to them talk about what they've done and was overwhelmed by the fact that these people are a big deal in marriage and family therapy and they're having lunch with me!!!!  Everything so far has been so reaffirming that I'm at the perfect school for me.

Probably my favorite thing at Fuller is the people.  It's so great to be around people that are so real about their faith.  In the south, most people give lip service to being a Christian and who knows for real if they are.  What I love out here is that if someone says they're a Christian, they're a Christian.  People at Fuller are so attune to being called to go, serve, and follow Jesus in bold ways.  Not to say that everyone has their calling figured out but they're expectant and preparing for it.  It is such a blessing to be around people who are living in this tension as I have since the start of my time in Cincinnati.  That was the first time that I stepped into a very uncomfortable calling.  I grew to love being so uncomfortable because of what it did for my faith and dependence in the Lord.  All this reminds me of one of my new favorite parables in Matthew 25:

"It's also like a man going off on an extended trip.  He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities.  To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities.  Then he left.  Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master's investment.  The second did the same.  But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master's money.  After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them.  The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment.  His master commended him: 'Good work!  You did you job well.  From now on be my partner.'  The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master's investment.  His master commended him: 'Good work!  You did your job well.  From now on be my partner.'  The servant given on thousand said, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error.  I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money.  Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.'  The master was furious.  'That's a terrible way to live!  It's criminal to live cautiously like that!  If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least?  The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.  Take the thousand and give it to the one risked the most.  And get rid of this "play-it-safe" who won't go out on a limb.  Throw him out into utter darkness.'" 

God is undoubtedly going to call me into more risks.  He loves us too much not to.  The question is will I continue to be bold with the opportunities?  Will I continue to take risks and fight the "play-it-safe" mentality?  Tonight, walking around in downtown Pasadena, we saw these wishing trees.  They have been set up all over the world by Yoko Ono as an art project that will eventually be displayed in Iceland.  There are 21 trees in Pasadena covered with tags containing written wishes.  Anyone can add their wish to the art display.  We were reading through some of the thousands when I saw one that said, "I wish to have a comfortable life."  I could empathize with that temptation and felt so sorry for her at the same time.  My prayer and wish is the exact opposite.  I hope life continues to be uncomfortable.

ok that's all for now.  I'll post more pics and fun stuff i've been doing soon!