Merry Christmas! We are celebrating the birth of Christ, an event that changed the world forever. I just felt the need to say that. It's so easy to forget why we celebrate Christmas.

As difficult and trying as the past few days have been, I'm really grateful for the opportunity to be home again. My little cousin, William, got baptized yesterday. Praise God!! It was really exciting! He used all these big words like "ephemeral," "pompous," and "entrenched." He's 16 and studying for the SATs. After the baptism, my family and my cousins' family went out with my grandmother to lunch. This is the first time that we've all gone out to eat since my uncle and grandfather passed away. It was really nice to just be together. We all made fun of William for his use of big words. I also took my sister out for her 2nd driving lesson today. It was a great bonding experience. She's a pretty good driver (well, she only hit 35 mph max).

On an unrelated note, I really admire people who are long-suffering. It's such a virtue. People who are willing to stand tall and strong in the face of adversity. It's one thing to be bold one time when confronted with opposition. It's a completely separate quality to face difficulty with strength and courage over and over again. I see long-suffering (noun) as the convergence of courage, strength, and perseverence. I know people who have been faced with rejection and citicism yet continue to hold fast to ideas, passions, and goals that might make them unpopular.

I don't think I'm very long-suffering. I think I can be pretty bold. Janet says that I really like to say "bring it" to God when He starts throwing curve balls. But, after the initial courageousness fades, I'm a wuss. I'd rather run away. My ex used to tell me how good I was at deluding myself. Denial. Yeah, that's real healthy. Haha. I tend to more of a visionary. I'm really drawn to opportunities to create new programs or meet needs in a fresh, innovative way. I tend to run on the excitement for a while. But, once that excitement fades, I tend to run out of steam.

I've been learning to pray earnestly. In doing so, God has showed me not to be so reactionary. Rather than immediately responding to an idea, the challenge is for me to pray through it patiently. I like praying. It's neat to see God change me through prayer. It's so cool to see God answer prayers not in my plans but in His perfect plan. I miss praying with friends, though. Ok, this is a mess...

Merry Christmas!!