Reflections on Our First Christmas

Tonight I'm wrapped up in a blanket with some hot apple cider. Nate is playing the Wii and our washing machine is working on our post-trip laundry. Nate and I are only three-fourths through our Christmas Travel Blitzkrieg (Once we're home for good, I'll write a nice, long post about our December!), but I can't help but feel a little reflective tonight.

For those of you who may not know, I am nostalgic and somewhat sentimental. I love taking trips down memory lane, especially when it comes to Nate. I remember the first time I saw Nate, the way the snow fell on the night he asked me to be his girlfriend, and the words he spoke to me on the night he asked me to be his wife. I love firsts and even more so, I love remembering firsts. My downfall, however, comes when I put undue pressure on particular experiences, experiences such as our first Christmas.

Due to certain situations, I knew this would not be an ideal Christmas, but in my mind I did picture us having a few more ornaments on our tree. I knew we would be busy, but I did think we would be able to get enough sleep to be rested during our traveling. I knew I was being exposed to a few more germs than usual due to working with hundreds of kids, but I was hopeful we'd stay healthy through the holidays.

But here we are with exactly two ornaments adorning our tree, slightly exhausted, and fighting off colds. An ideal first Christmas? Maybe not. But as I opened my eyes on Christmas morning, I rolled over and put my arm around my husband. And in that moment God reminded me of His goodness. He is good. I am blessed. And I'll choose to reflect on that for a while.

New Directions

(Yes, that is a Glee reference.)

I've always had a very wide variety of interests which has proved to be both a blessing and a challenge. I love learning about different topics and using a multitude of avenues to connect with others, but I've had a difficult time finding a career direction. In college I often compared it to when I was young and spun in circles with my arms out. (Please tell me I'm not the only one who did that! :-) I loved feeling the centripetal force and seeing my surroundings blur. I even liked the dizziness that came after I stopped. However, in the past few years I've felt like I've been stuck spinning when I'd rather be walking forward. I finally feel like God has brought me to stillness by putting His hands on my shoulders and pointing me in a new direction.

My temporary job as an administrative assistant began at the end of September and was slated to last three to four weeks. Two and a half months later, this position officially ended last Friday. The people I worked with were phenomenal, and I was blessed to have a temp job to fill my time of unemployment. But I can now happily say I am employed!

I applied for a youth development position through AmeriCorps a couple of months ago. I didn't hear anything for quite some time, so I thought that was another dead end. However, in a whirlwind that only God could orchestrate, I received a phone call at 5 p.m. on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving; I interviewed with the organization the day after and was offered the position at the end of the interview. My first day is tomorrow! I am still not exactly sure what I'll be doing on a day-to-day basis, but I'll get to work with the youth on academics, athletics, and overall relationship skills. It will be a challenging learning experience that I'm very excited about.

While I still have a long way to go in figuring out what God has in store for my life, I'm looking forward to taking a step in His direction.

25. Grace

The plan was to post this on Thanksgiving Day, but due to the busyness of being with family and lack of internet access, I didn't get it done. Hopefully you will show me grace in my tardiness (and in the cleverness of that pun. ;-)

It's difficult to express just how thankful we are for grace, as it shapes who we are and why live in the manner we do. As an act of love from God the Father, Jesus died on the cross in order to save us from punishment we deserve due to our daily wrongdoings. Jesus rose from the dead so that we may experience overwhelming, consuming, sweet grace. Though we cannot earn our salvation, we are able to freely receive God's perfect gift. I love how Titus 3:5-7 explains God's forgiveness.

[H]e saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Grace has taken a deeper meaning since Nate and I married. Though it's only been a few months, I've had to not only show a little more grace but also receive it from Nate much more often than usual. I'm so thankful the Holy Spirit gives us the power to show the love and forgiveness He first showed us. Check out Colossians 3:13 for what God has to say about that.

My name, Anne, means One of Grace. When I was young, I did everything I could to be graceful--as in being as elegant and non-clumsy as possible. In the last few years, however, the Lord showed me a different goal concerning my name. Instead of being concerned with my external appearance, I now strive to be a person who shows grace, even when the world says it's not needed. While I often fail, I would love to leave a legacy of prayer and forgiveness. I pray you have experienced this grace and that it is continually changing who you are and how you are living today.

Since it's now officially Christmas season, here is one of my

favorite Christmas songs that also happens to tie in nicely. :-)

24. Family

All 9 members of my family gathered in one place for the first time tonight--thus the reason this post is 10 minutes past midnight. It was so beautiful to celebrate my brother Andrew's new engagement to Lisa, to see Andrew and Lisa meet Lydia for the first time, and to join these people we love so much in conversation. We get to do the same thing on the Summers side on Friday! We will celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, but we remember the blessing of being together with family tonight.

23. Unexpected Beauty

Today was a long day due to some discouraging monotony at work, but God opened my eyes to a few sights that made me stop and smile.

Due to the winter-esque temperatures, I walked indoors as long as possible today. The skywalks take a little longer, but the warmth is completely worth it. While I was flying through the hallways in my effort to make it to my desk on time, I noticed a man sitting halfway-hidden in a corner. To be honest, I initially thought he looked a little suspicious, so I took another look. To my great delight I saw an open Bible on his lap and his head bowed in prayer. I smiled as I wondered what he was studying this morning and I couldn't help but think of man who prayed away from the crowd in Luke 18:9-14. Oh, and I did get to work on time. :-)

Unfortunately I had gotten bogged down again by the end of the day, but God grabbed my attention in one of my favorite ways. I work in an window-walled office building, but typically I see the east side of the building. However, I was walking to the west side when I was greeted by a burning red sunset. It was beautiful. And again I remembered God's majesty and sovereignty.

I'm so thankful our Lord offers these unexpected examples of beauty as a way to remind us that He is here; He is in control; He is good.

Yes, I know this is Chicago, but it's the thought

that counts, right? Thanks, Google Images!

22. Water

I was drinking a glass of water the other day when I realized how blessed I am to be holding this glass of clean, clear, treated and filtered drinking water. I'm fortunate enough to live in a community where water is only a few steps and twist of a knob away from hitting my lips almost anywhere I go, and I'm guessing since you're reading this, you probably are, too.

I did a few minutes of research and found according to thewaterproject.org, about one billion people on the planet don't have the convenience of clean, safe drinking water. This lacking necessity causes many problems such as fatal health complications and violent actions over the scarce water supply. Poverty-stricken areas around the globe cope with this daily, yet I've noticed it can be such an afterthought for me.

So eat your turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Really, do! We know that every good and perfect gift is from above, and we should enjoy what we're given by God. But when you take a drink of that glass of water (milk, lemonade, cider, etc.) take a moment to reflect about what you've been given, and how that affects the way you live.

For more information on clean water organizations and ways you can get involved, check out The Water Project or Living Water International.

21. Memory

I remember getting a glass bottle of Mountain Dew with Grandpa E when I was four years old. I remember the day I got my braces on (July 18...quite a traumatic day for this almost 13-year-old). I remember my dad telling me that my Grandpa H had passed away. I remember getting the Explorer stuck in the snow for the first time. I remember the excitement of moving to college melting into fear the moment I saw the orange water tower and realized what I was doing. I remember seeing Nate for the first time (while dating someone else ;-). I remember when he asked me to be his girlfriend. I remember when he asked me to be his wife and the day that promise became true commitment.

Memory absolutely fascinates me. Can you imagine meeting someone only to not remember him or her the next day? Or repeatedly attempting an ineffective solution because you couldn't remember that it didn't work last time? I'm so thankful that God allows our minds to store memories of people, experiences, and lessons learned. While we all have memories we wish we could forget, I'm thankful we're able to learn from remembering our former mistakes or the mistakes of others. I'm thankful for remembering the people I love and why I love them. And I'm thankful for remembering the word of the Lord and the ways He has always been faithful.

Related? Not at all. But this song has been in my head while I've been writing this post. :-)