Stuff.

Well, it's late, and here I sit recovering from my first dorm meeting of the New Year. You know, one full of little "motherly reminders" (do wear this, don't wear that, stop putting your trash in the hall, don't be smooching the boys off campus - or on campus for that matter, etc.). But the really cool thing is that I could also tell my girls how incredibly proud I am of them, how I wouldn't trade this job for anything in the world, how I wouldn't trade them for any other girls, how I love them so much that it hurts sometimes, and that I could absolutely mean every word of it. I know that I've ratcheted on in the past about how wonderful it is to love what you do, how great God is to put us in jobs that will fulfill us, and on and on and on. But every once in a while, it hits me again, and I just have to repeat myself. (Thanks for your longsuffering.)

School is back in full swing. We are now in our opening revival, and God is blessing us with solid truth that is easily applied right where our students are living. What a blessing! I count myself utterly blessed every time we make it through a revival and I don't feel like I need to do damage control with my girls because of what was preached. Fortunately, that doesn't happen often, but when it does...oh my. Anyway, I won't get stuck there. I'm sure we all have our own horror stories we could tell. :)

I shall now do a wild change of subject. There, it's done. I was reading Luke 12 the other day, and for the first time in my life I saw the beautiful flow of the chapter. It's a familiar chapter, the concepts of which I have heard all my life. I could quote the verses to you, but somehow I never put them all together. I'm speaking particularly of verses 13-34. I'll give them to you in a nutshell. (My quotes are from the NASB. You can read them for yourself later.) It starts off with the story of the rich man who says to himself "I will tear down my barns and build larger." You know the story. Later God says to him, "You fool! This very night your soul is required of you..." Vs. 21 says, "So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." Then in v. 22 Jesus says, "For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life..." And He goes on to talk about the birds of the air and the lilies of the field and how we shouldn't worry about eating and drinking and other important stuff. Vv. 30-31, "...but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you." In vv. 33-34 he tells them to sell their possessions and give them to charity, "...make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

The rich man missed it because his heart was with his treasure, and his treasure was all here. In light of that cautionary tale, Jesus tells us not to get hung up with the things of this world. I know that a lot of our stuff is important, but I pray that I will never forget that it's just that..."stuff". I know that I don't make a huge salary (yes, I have noticed that from time to time), and compared to some people I may not have that much. But I also know that compared to the vast majority of the world I live like a queen. And I ask myself, where is my treasure? Where is my heart? Do I have too much stuff? How tightly do I grasp the things I own right now? How would I react if they were all taken away? I don't know that I have it all figured out yet, but I do know that I want my treasure to be in the right place. I don't want to wake up one day and realize that I'm living for "stuff", things that can be taken as quickly as they were given. Things that, in the end, really don't mean that much.

Well, that's what I've been thinking in my little thinker lately. Oh, by the way, I thought that maybe someone out there needed a smile. So, I decided to post this little clip to remind you of the days when simply eating cereal was an adventure.



Watch out for that last bite. It's a doozy!

Yes, Mother. ;-)

"Sonja," she said. "You should write another blog," she said. So, here I sit. Even at thirty ____ years of age, one should still listen to one's mother. (To all of you mother's out there, you're welcome. Feel free to point your children to this site. You know, if it's on the internet, it has to be true.)

Well, they came, and they left. The Christmas festivities, that is. Can't say as much for those Christmas cookies, candies, pieces of fudge, handfulls of snack mix, cheeseball and crackers, etc. Those seem to still be around. They've simply shifted forms. Oh well, let the disciplined life resume. I must say, it is lovely from time to time to just stop worrying about what one puts in one's mouth. But, like everything else in life, it has its consequences. And I've also found out that I really wouldn't want to live that way. Seems that God knew what He was doing when He called us to bring our physical appetites into subjection. Hmmmm. Go figure.

Our family really did have a very nice Christmas. We kicked off the festivities on Friday evening with our annual Soup and Carols night. I believe there were nine different kinds of soup. (I sampled at least 4 or 5. Small bowls, of course.) After feasting, we all gathered in the living room to sing our favorite Christmas songs. It's always a really special time with friends.

Like I said, a good time was had by all.

Our own Christmas seemed especially nice this year. So many happy things: being together, the joy of giving, the blessing of receiving, the awareness of the Greatest Gift, taking nothing for granted. Aaaaahhhhh.

Brent received a cello. Long story, and not quite as random as it may seem. Anyway, he believes that he will have it mastered shortly.


I'm not so sure.



Anyway, I pray that your holidays were special times marked by the presence of our Savior. I would like to go on here, but I feel quite sure that it has all been said already a thousand times by people much more qualified. I will simply say this. As I read Luke 1 this morning, the thing that struck me forcibly was the fact that several key people were READY for God to use them. I saw no kicking and screaming, no running about to tie up loose ends, no sweeping things under the rug. I saw people that were living lives that pleased God every day, so that when God needed them they were ready. Simple as that. I pray that I will live a life marked not by holiday experiences - in which I remember God at all the high points and celebrations - but by daily service, pleasing Him in the mundane. One day He may need me for something (though often I find He has used me quietly, almost without my knowledge), and I want to be ready.

After the Feasting.

Well, the eating and the talking and the eating and the laughing and the eating and the game playing and the eating and the dish washing and the eating...are finally completed. I bask in the warm glow of the memories and the few extra pounds tenaciously clinging to my thighs. I was so blessed to be able to spend Thanksgiving with my dad's family in Alabama. We had close to 40 people there on the main feast day, but of course the celebration spread over 3 days. You can't get everything said in just one day. :) I was reminded of the blessing of a family steeped in love and dedication to our Heavenly Father. Sure we have our faults. Who doesn't?! But knowing each other as well as we do, we choose to drive or fly hundreds of miles to celebrate connections and laugh at each other's idiosyncrasies. So, before I get more sentimental, I'll give you a pictorial journey through my Thanksgiving.

The table was laid.

The stockings hung on the ladder with care.


And the fun began. It seems like at least a few guys are looking at a map at one point or another. I'm sure Phil is giving Brent good advice. :)


A classic pose of some uncles (James & Philip).


My sweet mother and dear Aunt Carole.


The newly married among us (Phil & Dana).


The soon to be married (Josh & Faith).


A classic shot where the background shots are even better than the foreground.


And a few other random shots of the hilarity on the night we opened presents.















And then, finally, we got a few cousins and spouses together for a group picture. Due to poor planning, not everyone was still there. Oh, well. We do the best we can. Oddly enough, we seem to be standing on an incline. In actuality, the house was on a level surface.


Central to our celebration is my precious grandmother. I want to be like her when I grow up!!


Saturday was the big ol' catfish fry. In case you don't know... Greensboro, AL is the catfish capitol of...hmmm...something. Anyway, they raise catfish there, and it is amazing. Some friends with big fryers came to do the honors.


Like manna from heaven.


Well, there are many more pictures I could inflict upon you. Like the guys watching the sky for the return of our Lord. (Actually, David was flying his remote control helicopter. Really cool!)


Or my dear brother wowing the young ones.


Or pics of my wonderful parents.




I could do that. But I think I'll stop now.

Let the basking continue!

In the Quiet.

I sit here in my "chair of power" in the Dean of Women's office, and for one brief, shining moment everything is still. No talking, laughing, running in the halls (grrr). It is quiet all around me. This is a bit unusual for a Thursday morning, but all is calm and (oddly enough) all is fairly bright as well. (Hmmmm, where have I heard that before?) Needless to say, I'm enjoying it immensely. I think the thing that makes this moment so special is its rarity. Something that is uncommon often becomes precious to us, and these minutes are no exception. My life has been full lately - full of kids in crisis (sickness, family problems, major spiritual issues) but also full of joy as I am reminded over and over again just why I'm here; why I have a job where my phone can ring at any hour because someone "needs" me.

I am also reminded that in the fullness of our lives, we can always have a "quiet place" where our ears are tuned to hear the still small voice of our Father. A song comes to mind that has become a favorite of mine in the last few years.

Mid all the traffic of the ways,

Turmoils without, within,

Make in my heart a quiet place,

And come and dwell therein.

A little shrine of quietness,

All sacred to Thyself,

Where Thou shalt all my soul possess,

And I may find myself.

A little shelter from life's stress,

Where I may lay me prone,

And bare my soul in loneliness,

And know as I am known.

A little place of mystic grace,

Of self and sin swept bare,

Where I may look upon Thy face,

And talk with Thee in prayer.

- John Oxenham, 1917

Well, in the process of writing this post, the quiet has been shattered. My little charge who was sleeping next door has awakened, and the room is now filled with his baby gibberish (another wonderful sound). People have come and gone from my window, but the stillness of soul, the quiet place, remains.

May all of us take time this day to "be still (even for a moment) and know that [He] is God".

Aaaaaaand We're Rolling...

Well, lest any of you dear folks out there begin to think that I leave posts up for an inordinate amount of time just to see how many comments I can get and if anyone will notice I'm missing, I decided to actually give you another offering. To be honest, the last month is a bit of a blur due to the amount of activity and lack of prolonged time to actually stop, rest, and reflect. I've worked three of the last five weekends and the weekends in between when I didn't work had major activities associated with them (Homecoming & Youth Challenge/my cousin's wedding). So, as you can imagine, I feel a bit blurry around the edges myself. But time off is coming if I can just hold on a bit longer. (Hallelujah.)

It was really great to meet up with old friends for at least a few brief moments at Youth Challenge. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of all of you, but the fellowship was sweet (though abbreviated). You know who you are! What a beautiful thing to be blessed with people who know you well and "knew you when" and love you anyway! Wow! What a precious gift. I know some YC pics have already made their way onto other blogs, but I'll post a few anyway.

Like I said, what a blessing!

This picture pretty much sums it up with these young ladies! (I'm actually under strict orders not to post this - which made me want to do it all the more. Sorry, Lauren, it's just too good!)


And what great kids! I won't name them all, but they are pretty cool! (And they know who they are anyway.)








After being Challenged along with the Youth, Brent and I left for Missouri and my cousin Phil's wedding around midnight Friday night. We made it to El Dorado Springs just before 9am, did a quick clean up and change of clothing and were at the church by just after 10:30am. We set up, took pictures, did some last minute practicing, and were in place looking our best when the prelude began at 12:30pm. The Lord was merciful upon our tired voices, and the music seemed to go pretty well. The couple was married without difficulty, and another single cousin bit the dust. As my Aunt so kindly reminded my cousin, Paul, "Well, it's just you, Sonja, and Brent now." Thank you, dear Aunt.

Here is the happy couple (Phil & Dana) with the wedding party - the whole kit & caboodle.


And then there's the Vernon family - not nearly the whole kit & caboodle.


And then you have Brent & I (looking slightly fuzzy around the edges) with the happy couple.


Anyway, there you have it. By 3:30pm I was back in the car headed toward Cincinnati with my Uncle Mike & Aunt Ruthie. Fortunately, we decided to stop for the night, so I actually got some good sleep. (Yay!)

This week has been full of the Leadership Conference & the Inner City Summit held here on the Hilltop. Dr. H.B. London, from Focus on the Family, was here as the special speaker for the Leadership Conference, and he was incredible. What a great man - and really fun to listen to as well! I was truly blessed by his ministry.

Oh, yes, Halloween was this week as well, and my best buddy had a costume. Please indulge me a few moments of unadulterated gushing.




Cool, huh?

Well, that about wraps it up. "Well, it's about time," you say. "Maybe you should post more often," you say. "Perhaps then you wouldn't have to do these monster blogs that we must wade through in the vain hope that you will amuse us," you say. Sigh. You are right. *hangs head in shame* I'll try to do better. ...But I probably won't, so Jesus is just going to have to help you endure...or you could always just quit reading. But you know you don't want to do that. What if, maybe...just maybe, I actually entertain you at some point? Are you sure you want to risk it?

Something to think about this week.

Blessings!