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it's been awhile.

this month i've joined some roommates & friends in unplug & cuddle. no facebook, less wasted time, more real life interaction!

i've been enjoying spending time with people in real life, learning to not be so reliant on computer interaction & even doing crazy things like picking up my telephone to call people.

i'm enjoying the Christmas holiday, preparing my heart for the season as to not let the meaning of this holiday pass me by. i'm trying to get into advent, to really understand that the Son of God came to be born into this world to live & to die for us. i'm trying to not get caught up in all the commercialism & presents & cookies & whatever. i'm trying to spend this time loving others & worshiping the Lord & diving into deep & rich relationships (new & old).

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a friend asked me recently what thing in my life right now brings me the most joy. i said jesus. he said that didn't count, because jesus should always bring me the most joy. so i said friendships & relationships.

looking back on this year, it's been up & down (isn't it always, though? i guess it's just been a new kind of up & down). it was a rough transition back into life in america: living with new roommates, finding a new small group, being completely and totally done with the college phase of my life, working in the corporate world, starting VLI, meeting tons of new people, figuring out what my friendships with my college friends looked like as our environment and life situations changed, wondering what the heck i'm doing with my life, so on & so forth. it was overwhelming to say the least.

but by the grace of God, we're kind of getting some of it figured out (the relationship part of this, anyways. i still have no idea what i'm doing with my life, and i'm okay with that.).

my family, my closest friends, my (then new) roommates & my coworkers had so much grace with me as i transitioned from one extreme (living in a mud hut in rural africa with orphans & former child soldiers, all that stuff) to the other (living in a huge house in the first-world, working in corporate america, blah blah blah). they have continued to have grace with me as i keep figuring things out, as my emotions go up & down & up & down. they have pushed me, encouraged me, loved me unconditionally.

new friends have come into my life recently; i feel so blessed to suddenly have these deep & beautiful & rich friendships with people that a few short months ago were strangers. they are friends that have spoken so much truth & love into my life, people that have been teaching me & challenging me & encouraging me in fresh ways, ways that are different than the ways my long-time friends do these same things.

God has been using these people in my life so much. He knows who i need & when, how their unique gifts will be manifested in our relationships, how they will challenge me & teach me.

& i think that's really cool.

"as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

i guess what i'm trying to say is that these people have been sharpening me in the places & ways where i most need it. for that, i am so so grateful.

so, to my friends who have sharpened me, THANKYOU.