Happy Birthday Hannie!!!

Today is the 24th Birthday and my wonderful friend Hannah Miller! As she hates birthdays I'm inclined to terrorize her with jokes about being one year from a quarter of a century old, about how only she would require Jamie and I to actually slice a cheesecake that we were simply going to devour anyway so that we don't share any germs, how she has managed her head high and how I think that she should go spurlge today and buy at least 6 cats today and make sure that they can procreate so that by the time she's 30 she will have reached the desired level of "Old Maidness."

All that being said, Hannie, it's time for affirmations!

What I like about my friend Hannie~

1. She is always considerate of other people and their feelings... even when she really wants to rip off their heads!

2. She's always honest with the people she cares about, even if they don't want to hear the truth!

3. She always has very sophisticated clothes and looks down right gorgeous!

4. She is always good for good advice and a whole lotta awesome sarcasm! And I love sarcasm, and I'm not even being sarcastic!

5. It doesn't matter what has happened in the past Hannie is always there to forgive and to be a true friend!

6. If you ever have the honor of writing something with her, do! She has got so many wonderful ideas in that head of her's! I can't wait to watch her blossom in her writing and see her materials published by Group or Youth Specialties!

7. If you ever need to bounce an idea off of her, she's there and ready! And most of the time she simply helps make it better!

8. If you get her laughing, it doesn't stop, you'll be laughing with her for months afterward!

9. She'll hold you accountable for your actions without being smug about it, but with true care and concern for you.

10. But, My favorite thing about Hannie, is that even though I call her names like sweetie, hun, etc. she still talks to me, because those names drive her INSANE!

So Happy Almost a Quarter of a Century Old Hannie! I can't wait to see what you've got up your sleeve for the Almost a Half a Century Birthday!

Love~ ME

Affirmations

Last night I met with my senior youth. We have been wanting to paint the youth house so that they can have some ownership in the house, and make it a more pleasant place to be. The mass majority are really excited about painting the room really fun colors, while one youth is very adament about the room being like "home." She has been trying to convince the youth that they should paint the room beige or another equally neutral color. Needless to say that this didn't go over very well on either end. The group is seeing her as manipulative and pushy, while she is seeing them as trying to overlook the past. Let me tell you... if she's not Lutheran, I don't know who is. :)

Anyway, last night I had the "decision makers" from the group present minus one or two, PLUS a couple of kids who only come on Sunday mornings! They were there wanting to paint and get things going. Instead they showed up for a Bible study and games focusing on affirmations and building each other up. It was awesome. We taped balloons to our feet and then tried to stomp on each other's balloons and then talked about how we feel when people put us down. Then we each got another balloon and put our names on them. Now, since I was feeling flighty last night I forgot markers so that we could write affirmations on each of the balloons for each person. So instead we randomly passed them around and then went around the circle and said an affirmation about whoever's balloon we had. This went really well and the youth wanted to do it several times which was awesome.

Afterwards we picked out two main colors for the walls... a blue color and a green color... and then we'll do handprints of each youth in various colors. The handprints will also become the initiation into Sr. Youth. Now, because there were some key kids missing... and the girl who is the most upset missing... we won't make the final decision until Sunday during Sunday School.

We then went around the room and did "Tales of Woe" and "Tidings of Joy" where each kids gets to talk about the downs and ups of their weeks. It was originally started years ago as a way to break down cliques in the group and is still great for getting them to share with each other as a group instead of just with their close friends. Praise God for small victories! Please keep my group in your prayers as we try and head forward!

My favorite part happened as we were getting ready to pray and depart. One of the guys asked if we could pray for each other since we'd been doing affirmations last night. What a GREAT idea! So each person said a special prayer for the person to their right. It was one of the greatest things because they are starting to bond as a group instead of simply being there. It was awesome to hear them say positive things about each other.

A Christmas Gift...

I can't believe that it is already half way through January! That means that we are almost 1/12th of the way through 2006! Holy cow! And it has been a month of mixed happiness and sadness.

On Epiphany, Jan. 6, 2006 God called a beautiful 14 month old girl home to His kingdom. The funeral was on the 8th, and it was the first that I've attended since my mother died in April 1997. There have been many that I should have gone to, I lost several friends in high school, and last year on my internship some amazing and beloved members of the conrgegation died, but there was no way I could go to the funerals.

However, my feelings were different. I couldn't NOT go to this funeral! I wanted to be there to celebrate this child's life. This may seem morbid, but the service was beautiful and almost joyful. Natalie was the oldest of twins. Her name means "to be born at Christmas." It was so special though because the girls had been born 2 months early. If you averaged out when they were born and when they were to be born... it was Christmas! Pastor Speckhard talked about this and the fact that she had simply lit up all the way through the Christmas season! She was always less healthy then her sister... but Christmas she simply sparkled! Then at the end of Christmas... as if she knew it was time to go home and that her season was over, God called Natalie home. It seems sad... and I can't imagine the pain that her family faces, but we know that God's plan for her was beautiful and that now heaven is even more beautiful because we know that she is with her Savior!

I have more to write... and I'll do more later... but I simply want to dedicate this to the beautiful life that I saw in Natalie and the life moving forward in her twin Liza. God bless their family and all who love them.