Holly’s Blog

            So, about a month ago I got an email from a girl in our class about the end of the semester party (although this would actually be the end-of-all-things party :D) It gave directions, time and date, said there would be a bonfire, spacewalk, volleyball, and food. It also ended with BYOB (which actually until a few years ago I was blissfully naïve about what that even stood for until Jamie gave me the “duh, you sheltered homeschooler” explanation :D)

            So, as has happened before, I weighed whether I should go, or even wanted to go. There’s always the dilemma of being in this world and not of it. Fleeing the appearance of evil and being a witness. How to hang with friends who aren’t saved. (there should be a book on this… if not a Christian bookstore bestseller, than certainly somewhere between Romans and the Corinthians I think :D) We are not called to be monks who live in monasteries as Christians, living in isolation to the world, but to reach the lost where they are literally as well as figuratively. We cannot live in motionless horror of how the lost live. They reject God as well as his commands … duh, how do we expect them to act?!

            I know when I first started college I was uncomfortable around the lost… their speech, their actions, their outlooks on life shocked and isolated me from them. I didn’t have a clue how or the desire to mingle with them. While this may appear how we are suppose to be as Christians, I was missing something. I was too “holy” in the all wrong ways. I certainly didn’t do any of this on purpose and had a great desire to talk to people about God and be a witness. A BURNING desire, I really did. I prayed earnestly to be able to speak to people about God… but felt I could never make the connection to people.

            Live and learn, and get LUVs as the motto says. Or perhaps it is Live and learn and get the Love of God :D. I dunno what to even write to sum this up, only God knows what we need to go through to learn and be broken, melted and formed into an image, that if the sun hits it just right, and you squint your eyes a little… it almost looks like Christ. Sometimes it seems that no time at all has passed in my life and I can’t see that anything has really changed; and sometimes… I find it hard to believe I am the same person I was just a few years ago.

            It just struck me to listen to the prophecy that was taped, oh, almost 5 years ago. With graduation and entering a new phase of life, these last few months have been such a reflective time for me. Soul searching, redirection, and rededication to God. Was it only a year ago that I was in the “pit of despair”? Oh, how God has kept me safe and guarded me so closely through all of my years! He is like no earthly father, they are but pale imitations of how GOOD he really is.

            One of my favorite verses for years has been Ephesians 3:19 [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]! To really KNOW for an absolute, not just know theoretically. That verse wrenches something deep inside of me every time, it never grows old. That is my goal.

So I spent last night with some old and dear nursing school friends. It’s like the Band of Brothers, you really bond in the torture of the training. I enjoyed talking with everyone for one last time… most of them I will never see again. It was so odd… dear friends who really aren’t dear friends. Without Christ in the midst there is a gap that cannot be bridged, a friendship that cannot truly be forged, no true commonality  incommon. I’ve sort of bonded with some of these people… I’ve seen them for years… sometimes more often than my own family at times it seems. And yet… they are not my real family and friends like those I have in Christ. My heart breaks that this is true… if only it weren’t so… if only ….

And so it seems another chapter ends… The next to pick up a little further along in the journey of life…

So, as most of you know, our home church’s and the Allen’s met last night for a white elephant gift exchange. Mix that group of people with some of those crazy gifts and it’s sure to be hilarious. some of the highlights were:

JONES SODAS: which came in a delightful medley of flavors just for this time of year. Such as Turkey and Gravy, Sweet Potato, Pea, Dinner Roll, and Antacid.

DANCING HAMPSTERS: singing, dancing, and swinging nunchucks to “Kong Fu Fighting”; SInging, dancing, and holding an umbrella with water drops which said ‘men’ to “It’s Raining Men”; and singing, dancing in a construciton outfit, complete with facial and chest hair to “Macho Man”

“DANNY ALLEN’S BELLY BUTTON LINT”: wrapped in a small package (those are always the dangerous ones) there was a small piece of dryer lint. Ms. Sara proclaimed it as the lint dug from Danny’s belly button over the last few weeks. (She laughed so hard she was crying)

TUB OF LARD: what more needs to be said? (actually, this was the white elephant from me one year that Darrin got stuck with)

A BOB SHIRT: who knew these were out there? who knew Bob would be the one to open it?! Hehe

A SPORK: I have had an appreciation for sporks since “The Lord of the Beans” This is the gift I ended up with. Actually it came in a cool box, which was a motivating factor in my stealing it. Also, little did I know, this is the gift Bj was talking about that he mad a card to go with… BJ you need to post that… it’s a white elephant within itself.

$20 ACADEMY GIFT CARD: The people who brought this thought this was a NORMAL gift exchange… bummer

Wes sent me this this morning…

1. Digital watch alarms going off. Hannah and Dave have Multiple alarms on Multiple watches which seem to go off at irregular intervals, never a day goes by without someone’s something going off. Highly annoying. In fact, me and the kids were watching a movie a few weeks ago and an alarm started going off. After a few seconds I stopped the movie and said, “somebody needs to go turn that alarm off.” They both exclaimed, “it’s the movie!”, which, in fact, it was . But you can see my heightened sensitivity to alarms . Ah, perfect timing, one is going off in the backgroud right now…
2. The previous tone set on my phone alarm that wakens me in the morning. It sounded like the old telephones, or an electronic bell… BAD way to wake up. I finally decided, ‘duh, why don’t I switch it?’ and now waken much happier in the mornings to Tomlin’s acoustics.
3. David playing the piano every time he walks by, until someone begs him to STOP!
4. The “wet” nasal snot snort (when you KNOW someone’s stomach will be filled to capacity in the near future with “you know what” [snot ] )
5. This no longer happens, but I thought it worthy of mention because it used to be #1 for me. When we lived in the trailer: the sound of the washing machine switching from ‘fill’ to ‘agitate’. Ok, so the rationale for this seemingly harmless noise was when the washing machine made the switch it really did ‘agitate’, causing the entire floor to shake, building in intensity until MY floor (which was near by) and the bed to also shake along with it. NOT a pleasant way to wake up. And this is how I woke up every day that I was not already up really early for school. It was Mom’s routine to start the wash soon after she got up (which was early of course), and there was no way I could sleep through that… so I usually woke up ‘agitated’ on those two days a week. (can anyone tell form all this that I’m not a ‘morning person’ by nature? )
6. David playing his sax indoors (his range is loud to eardrum splitting). This is usually immediately followed by outcries from everyone inside for him to go to the garage, patio, or close the door to his room.
7. “Mouth breathers” which, due to my cold, I am officially one of the club.
8. Smacking has to make the list.
9. I must agree with Bekah, a skipping CD is torture.
10. Obnoxiously loud bass from a car stopped near you that shakes you and your car.
    
11. The Windows start up melody, because our speakers are generally turned up very high, creating a moment of inner panic when it plays at that volume.
12. (I’m putting this one in on Dave’s behalf) The song ‘Jesus Take the Wheel’ by Carrie what’s her name. Mom bought it off of itunes just to play for fun some mornings to wake Dave up. He can’t stand that song! (My family can be very entertaining at times)
13. Actually one of the most annoying and common sounds in my house is Dave and Hannah arguing about something or another.
    
14. The phone ringing. Period. Mom has the answering machine set to answer on the 4th ring. Not nearly enough time, which causes someone to always have to RUN for the phone. One day we had phone call after phone call, eventually I just stopped anwering it. As I later vented my frustration when Mom got home she decided to get a phone to put in my room. Smart choice :). Now the phone no longer ‘angers’ me :D.
    
15. Last, but not least, umm… ok, I can’t think of any more. How about we do the Friday Fourteen? Ooo, I know one. I haven’t heard this one in a long time, but Knightly’s whine to go outside when it is subzero weather and he just went out 45 minutes ago :D.
    

I couldn’t resist posting the hannah stickers

Hannah Banana

As Kandi calls it :D. Known to normal people as losing your voice, or laryngitis. So, I’ve been sick since Monday (in bed Mon and Tue). Feeling better now, though not well yet. So, anyway the “christmas miracle” occurred yesterday, extending it’s appearance again today. I cracked myself up yesterday. Yesterday morning when “talking” only odd noises came out. And yes, I had to run errands, which required the occassional sentence. You quickly realize in times like these how wonderful it is to communicate with language. People were so funny :D. Apparently when people realize you have lost your voice some strange caring and compassionate side of people emerges. Even men seem to be especially considerate; it was really odd. So, while driving around town I discovered a new way to entertain myself… Singing. Lemme just tell you, it is Hilarious!!! When your voice cracks and fails like that… you’ve just gotta try it. :D  As Dave so poignantly says, “When life gives you lemons… Throw them back and say “I want chocolates!” So, anyway, that was my day.

Okay, so there have been more than a few gliches in the road… (such as Dave lowering our network security setting to play a wifi game, [which automatically makes my computer unable to connect to the network] and is now unable to restore the settings. And me being unable to access my ftp page, etc… But hopefully they will soon be remedied, and happiness and peace will return to blogland.

And so will be mine…