Christmas time is here...

Is Christmas really 4 days away? I'm afraid i haven't been feeling too much holiday spirit. Perhaps it's cause the family is kinda crazy these days... everyone has something to do, and though the tree is up, there's no christmas CDs going, and though there's presents under the tree, two of the brothers have birthdays: Austin turned 6 yesterday, and Luke... well, he'll be 11 on... Christmas day itself. And i have to admit, it's hard to feel all Christmasy when one can wear a short sleeve shirt outside. 22 C today. Gosh. Guess it's a northern hemisphere thing...we want Christmas cold! And snow! But alas, i live in one of the warmest parts of the US of A. It's never really cold. I've never seen a white Christmas (which may shock those of you in the north and upper midwest), but this is Georgia for ya.
But this is silliness... why complain? As we all know, Christ was born in Israel, though probably not on December 25. And it's only a little colder there. And they certainly won't be seeing snow. In fact, most of the world won't be seeing snow this Christmas. (insert global warming joke here?) It seem's i've bought in to our dreamy, fantastical version of Christmas. Blame it on Hollywood. Christmases are always white, magical, and an amazing time of family and when the world is perfect again. But it's not.... life's not like that. And though Christmas is an amazing time for family, it takes effort to keep it that way. So make time for those Christmas CDs. And Merry Christmas to all.

100th post!

This is my 100th post... 'tis a milestone for me. So i surmise that i should write on something worthy of such an occasion.
Maybe not. Brain's blank..
But what have i been up to now that school's out? Well, catching up on sleep for one thing. Studying for the MCAT for another. And daydreaming. It's been awhile since i've done that, allowed myself to be spirited away by thoughts, just laying out in the grass, thinking, imagining, dreaming. It's very refreshing. We all need times like that every now and agian... and these next few weeks should do it for me. A chance to do what i want (well, and even some things i really don't want to do). I've been so overwhelmed with my academics that it's been difficult to slow down, to really care about things that matter. Not that academic excellence doesn't matter, of course it does. But there really is more to life. There's bike riding 8 miles at the beach with my dad on a Tuesday afternoon. There's chilling with my bro and his girlfriend home from university.
There's taking Christmas pics of my family... and getting candid shots when they're least expecting it...
There's going to church in jeans with my best friend and being looked at like we're rebels. There's reading Jane Austen outside on an autumn day. There's chatting with folks far away into the late hours of the night. There's time to just stop by a friend's workplace to say, "how are you?". There's time to drink a cup of tea. Time to enjoy it all.
Why did i not MAKE time for all this earlier?
Take a deep breath. Take the time. And keep me accountable and remind me of this once i get all stressed out again.

Dreams make life...

So, i have more or less recovered from finals and become my usual self. As i was driving through town today, i noticed a sign outside a business: "Dreams make life tolerable." WHAT!? This was supposed to be a good day? Man, how discouraging. A life that is merely tolerable... i don't know if i could deal with that, day in, day out. Each day. Tolerable.

I can just imagine:
Bob: "Hey Jim, how are you doing today?"
Jim: "Well, ya know, i'm tolerating."
Bob: "Yeah, me too, these dreams of mine make it tolerable. See you tomorrow."

But as cynical as i am towards this, perhaps there is a bit of truth. Yeah, maybe dreams make life "tolerable". But (as someone mentioned the other day)...Christ said... "I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). I am so blessed to know Him, and the mercy and grace he gives in my life make it so much more than tolerable, even when it really stinks sometimes. It is an abundant life, walking with Him, knowing Him, living out His will for my life. With Christ, i can smile. Even when it's raining. Even when i fail. Even when i have no dreams left. HE gives me life. Life more abundantly.

F-finals are o-over...

Whoa.. am i really done?!? is the semester and the dreaded O. Chem final really over? Wow, i think it is. But my brain is a total mush. Give me a few hours to recoop. Then i think i'll have a thing or two to write about. What's the best way to recover from the complete brain-drain of finals?

Gee, i hope i pass this class.

I never thought i'd say that. But i will be DONE with O.Chem 2 in 12 hours. Pray hard people. So until then... more studying.

Savannah's livelier side

So sometimes Savannah's not all that boring. Some friends and I found this guy performing on River Street a couple of weeks back. (if ya can't see, he's playing guitar, harmonica, and drums all at once...) 10 cool points if you can guess the song.

A tribute to the child..

Remember my bro Austin? i've blogged about this little man before... he's 6 and SO cute.

We went to the beach today to ride bikes. Then to Zaxby's for dinner (woohoot for chicken!). Anyhow, a group of "urban african-american" folks walked in front of our car, talking, laughing, and carrying on like kids do. Austin said, "you know, there really are people that talk like that. Some people get mad. I think it's funny. They say "yo" a lot. That's all." Then he was completely quiet. I just laughed. It was too cute. I've mentioned before that kids might just know better. At least they know how to see the beauty in differences. And make us laugh.