Christmas Wedding

Tim and Sara Nichols got married on a December weekend back in Iowa.  Cut a rug on the dance floor and had lots of friend time!

A Christmas Party!

Lots of friends and fun in Madison!

Mistletoe!

Garland and a Reindeer

A Christmas tree and Present

Snow and Hot Chocolate.  Can't have snow without the Swiss Miss!

An hilarious Santa

A wreath, elf and snow ;)

Thank you professional development money from work!

I've got some reading to do!

Skating Videos

Christmas at the Bagnall's

What a fun Christmas weekend!  Christmas in MN, a few in IA and a birthday dinner to boot.  Lots of licks and laughs!  The licks were from the dogs ;)

Celebrating my dad's birthday!

Family

This year was the year of the dogs!

Ice Skating in St. Paul on Christmas Eve.
Beautiful snow and Christmas music in the outdoor rink.

Never just a stroll... there's always a race to be had!

I got the camera I wanted!  Completely unexpected.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

This month has been flying by, but thankfully I've been able to enjoy it!

Last weekend was so delightful!  A friend of mine had a Christmas themed party last weekend meaning that everyone needed to come dressed up as something Christmasy.  We ended up with a Christmas tree, garland, santa, presents, an elf, mistletoe, snow, and I dressed up as Swiss Miss- Hot Chocolate!  I wore all brown with the swiss miss logo and a white beanie hat as the marshmallow.  The night was a blast, and we all did our fair share of dancing ;)  Saturday was spent enjoying the new snow and the beautiful views. It also included a movie with friends and a birthday dinner for Angie!  That night I met up with some other friends for a Cloud Cult concert downtown at the Majestic, a beautiful venue.  Cloud Cult has artists on stage that paint pictures during the concert.  So cool!  Church was cancelled on Sunday due to the snowfall so I took the morning to get things done at my apartment, and then I headed out for some errands.  And plenty of quality time at Barnes and Noble.  Theres something fantastic about just sitting in a book store and reading a book with a cup of coffee.  That night A few of us met up and had chili while watching Elf.  I can't say enough about the brilliance of this weekend. 

Entertaining at my apartment was the name of the game this week.  We had our lifegroup Christmas party on Monday night.  Everyone brought an ingredient for chili and we made dinner together.  A night filled with lots of laughs and scrumptuous food!

Tuesday night I went downtown to finish up my Christmas shopping.  I have to say that now that I'm back living in a city that has more stores than you can fathom, it makes shopping much more difficult.  Finding that "perfect" gift can be an exhaustive task because there just might be something better out there.... It's a good thing I love to shop... and find great deals!

Wednesday night I flew to Mt Horeb for some errands (the quintessential small town at Christmas!) and then met up with my high school life group girls for dinner. 

Thursday I made dinner for a couple of friends whom I adore.  I tried all new recipes and one was an epic fail but hey, at least I tried!  We then went to a Christmas carol worship night at our church.  Lots of friends and lots of Christmas cheer!

Today I'm headed to Iowa for a friends wedding tomorrow.  Excited to spend time with friends and family! 

The Sing Off

Well the weather outside is frightful... actually it's deliciously beautiful!  But either way, it's cold out and just the time to find a new fabulous tv show.  The Sing Off is a contest between numerous (I think they're down to 6) A Cappella groups that compete to be number one.  The contestants are so talented and come from all walks of life.  Seriously, this is a show not to miss!  (although because I have meetings every time it's on, I watch it on Hulu!)  These groups give me the chills!  (and it's not because I need to turn my heat up!)  My favorites?  Committed and The Backbeats.

Mondays/ Wednesdays at 7 central
NBC
http://www.nbc.com/sing-off/

25 Christmas Songs in 2 minutes

“Twenty-Five” by Shauna Niequist

Here are a few thoughts on being twenty-five-ish, some that I knew, because smart older people gave me good advice, and some that I really wish I had known, that those smart older people probably did tell me, and that I lost track of along the way.
I know that age is, of course, one of the most arbitrary ways of measuring a person. I have friends in their sixties who continually teach me about discovery and possibility, and friends in their young twenties who are as crotchety and set in their ways as Archie Bunker. Age, like numbers on a scale and letters on a report card, tells us very little of who we are. You decide every year exactly how young and how old you want to be.

When you’re twenty-five-ish, you’re old enough to know what kind of music you love, regardless of what your last boyfriend or roommate always used to play. You know how to walk in heels, how to tie a necktie, how to give a good toast at a wedding, and how to make something for dinner. You don’t have to think much about skin care, home ownership, or your retirement plan.

Your life can look a lot of different ways when you’re twenty-five: single, dating, engaged, married. You are working in dream jobs, pay-the-bills jobs, and downright horrible jobs. You are young enough to believe that anything is possible, and you are old enough to make that belief a reality.

Now is the time to figure out what kind of work you love to do. What are you good at? What makes you feel alive? What do you dream about? You can go back to school now, switch directions entirely. You can work for almost nothing, or live in another country, or volunteer long hours for something that moves you. There will be a time when finances and schedules make this a little trickier, so do it now. Try it, apply for it, get up and do it.

When I was twenty-five, I was in my third job in as many years—all in the same area at a church, but the responsibilities were different each time. I was frustrated at the end of the third year, because I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do next. I didn’t feel like I’d found my place yet. I met with my boss, who was in his fifties. I told him how anxious I was about finding the one perfect job for me, and quick. He asked me how old I was, and when I told him I was twenty-five, he told me that I couldn’t complain to him about finding the right job until I was thirty-two. In his opinion, it takes about ten years after college to find the right fit, and anyone who finds it earlier than that is just plain lucky.

So use every bit of your ten years: try things, take classes, start over. One of my oldest friends, Jenny, got a degree in child psychology from Harvard, and has worked for years at a bunch of fancy companies as a client account manager. A few years ago, she finally realized that what she’s always loved is helping to heal people through massage. Now after work and on weekends, she’s the world’s best-educated massage therapist, building up her clientele with every passing month, and happier than she’s ever been.

My dear friend Rachel has been a makeup artist since she was eighteen, and after ten years, she decided that what she really wants to be is a therapist. So she’s doing it now, getting her bachelor’s degree, making plans for her master’s, doing makeup all the while to pay for school. That’s what this time is for, to figure those things out.

Now is also the time to get serious about relationships. And “serious” might mean walking away from the ones that don’t give you everything you need. Some of the most life-shaping decisions you make in this season will be about walking away from good-enough, in search of can’t-live-without. One of the only truly devastating mistakes you can make in this season is staying with the wrong person even though you know he or she is the wrong person. It’s not fair to that person, and it’s not fair to you.

My friend Chrissie and her boyfriend were together for ten years, since college. He’s a great guy, but throughout their relationship, several people had told Chrissie that they observed a fundamental mismatch. They didn’t fit together like puzzle pieces. They didn’t fit together at all. But she stayed, out of love and hope and commitment, and then he proposed. And they just couldn’t get the wedding planned. They couldn’t agree on where or when or how many people, so they stopped planning for a while. In the meantime, she went to South Africa with a group from our church to work with AIDS orphans, and while she was there, she felt alive and full of purpose for the first time in years. When she returned, her fiancé wasn’t all that interested in hearing about it.

All the things her friends had been saying for years clicked into place, and a few weeks later, she gave back the ring. She’s literally like a new person these days, full of bright energy, hope, clarity. And those things are worth a whole lot more than a diamond from the wrong man, even if he’s a really good man, like this one was.

Twenty-five is also a great time to start counseling, if you haven’t already, and it might be a good round two of counseling if it’s been awhile. You might have just enough space from your parents to start digging around your childhood a little bit. Unravel the knots that keep you from living a healthy whole life, and do it now, before any more time passes.

Twenty-five is the perfect time to get involved in a church that you love, no matter how different it is from the one you were a part of growing up. Be patient and prayerful, and decide that you’re going to be a person who grows, who seeks your own faith, who lives with intention. Set your alarm on Sunday mornings, no matter how late you were out on Saturday night. It will be dreadful at first, and then after a few weeks, you’ll find that you like it, that the pattern of it fills up something inside you.

Try different kinds of communities, different sizes and denominations and traditions. My friend Monica grew up in a community church in Northern California, and now she’s an elder at a Lutheran church in Reno because she appreciates the history and structure of this new context. Our friends Kelly and Amy grew up in nondenominational churches, and now have spent a number of years as passionate volunteers at the Presbyterian church in their neighborhood.

I know that most people need a season of space, a time to take a step back and evaluate the spiritual context of their youth. I didn’t go to church for a long season in college, and that space and freedom was so important for me. It gave me the perspective I needed to find my own faith. But it’s very easy for a season of space to turn into several years without any kind of spiritual groundedness. It’s easy to wake up several years from now and find yourself unable to locate that precious, faith-filled part of your heart and history, because it slowly disintegrated over months and years. Don’t do that. Do whatever you have to do to connect with God in a way that feels authentic and truthful to you. Do it now, so that you don’t regret the person you become, little by little, over time, without it.

This is the thing: when you start to hit twenty-eight or thirty, everything starts to divide, and you can see very clearly two kinds of people: on one side, people who have used their twenties to learn and grow, to find God and themselves and their deep dreams, people who know what works and what doesn’t, who have pushed through to become real live adults.

And then there’s the other kind, who are hanging on to college, or high school even, with all their might. They’ve stayed in jobs they hate because they’re too scared to get another one. They’ve stayed with men or women who are good but not great because they don’t want to be lonely. They mean to find a church, they mean to develop honest, intimate friendships, they mean to stop drinking like life is one big frat party. But they don’t do those things, so they live in kind of an extended adolescence, no closer to adulthood than they were when they graduated college.

Don’t be like that. Don’t get stuck. Move, travel, take a class, take a risk. Walk away, try something new. There is a season for wildness and a season for settledness, and this is neither. This season is about becoming. Don’t lose yourself at happy hour, but don’t lose yourself on the corporate ladder either.

Stop every once in a while and go out to coffee or climb in bed with your journal. Ask yourself some good questions like, Am I proud of the life I’m living? What have I tried this month? What have I learned about God this year? What parts of my childhood faith am I leaving behind, and what parts am I choosing to keep with me for this leg of the journey? Do the people I’m spending time with give me life, or make me feel small? Is there any brokenness in my life that’s keeping me from moving forward?

These years will pass much more quickly than you think they will. You will go to lots of weddings, and my advice, of course, is to dance your pants off at every single one. I hope you go to very few funerals. You’ll watch TV and run on the treadmill and go on dates, some of them great and some of them terrible. Time will pass, and all of a sudden, things will begin to feel a little more serious. You won’t be old, of course. But you will want to have some things figured out, and the most important things only get figured out if you dive into them now.

For a while in my early twenties I felt like I woke up a different person every day, and was constantly confused about which one, if any, was the real me. I feel more and more like myself with each passing year, for better and for worse, and you’ll find that, too. Every year, you will trade a little of your perfect skin and your ability to look great without exercising for wisdom and peace and groundedness, and every year the trade will be worth it. I promise.

Now is your time. Become, believe, try. Walk closely with people you love, and with other people who believe that God is very good and life is a grand adventure. Don’t spend time with people who make you feel like less than you are. Don’t get stuck in the past, and don’t try to fast-forward yourself into a future you haven’t yet earned. Give today all the love and intensity and courage you can, and keep traveling honestly along life’s path.

Taken from Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist Copyright © 2010.

Love Affair

A Glimpse of Christmas...

The reason for the season.

My Christmas collection is eclectic, but I found it around the globe so I love it to pieces!

I switched out some of my picture frames with pics that were taken on some of my Christmas trips.
Mixes things up a bit!

I like adding in unexpected colors during the holiday.

Vintage Christmas.  My mom made this when I was a baby.

Humility

At church and lifegroup this week we discussed Philippians 2 and Christ's humility.  I've come to realize that changing actions is easy compared to changing attitude and your motivation behind what you're doing.  All I can say is the more I let Christ fill voids in my life the better.  Easier said than done.

Bliss

I had an amazing weekend.  Numerous glimpses of confirmation that I'm where I'm supposed to be. A gorgeous snowfall, time to breathe, a Christmas concert, time with amazing people and an impromptu dance party, gym and pool time, Christmas music and lights, baking with a few high school girls, sushi with a friend whom I love spending time and I could go on and on...

But despite the fantastic weekend, a few flops appeared to make things interesting...

1.  I woke up on Saturday morning and was using the bathroom when all of a sudden a mouse runs out next to me and into the laundry room.  I screamed.  loud.  I keep my apartment so stinking clean, but it was looking for a roommate to share a warm home and thought I would be a good candidate.  So... I blocked the doors to the laundry area with Harry Potter books (I knew those would come in handy!) and towels.  Called our apartment manager and then called my dad and cried to him on the phone.  This is completely hilarious to me now that I think back on it and the fact that he was laughing while I was crying tells me that it didn't take him as long to find the funniness of the situation!!  I ended up buying an expensive trap that catches and kills the mouse in a cage so I didn't have to see it.  I built up some courage after it was caught and got some pliers out of my tool box (knew that would come in handy some day too!) to pick up the trap and take it down to the big garbage bin.  As well as being completely jumpy- I'm still disgusted, and I dreamt about it last night!  Ah- the joys of being a single girl living on my own.  A man is coming sometime today to block any area that it may have gotten in, and I still have a trap set just in case.  Brought back some memories of my Hollister home in college where we paid next to nothing for 7 girls living in a house (some in large closets!)  We decided to poison our house mouse and one night while we were all in the living room a doped up mouse came stumbling in while we were screaming.  The death scene was that of a very poorly executed shakespeare play.  The things you remember...

2. This week we're having a cookie exchange with our lifegroup and then I'm going to a friends hot chocolate and cookies party (I surround myself with creative people!) on Tuesday therefore baking was on the agenda.  I tend to like to try new things when it comes to the kitchen which is something I would not suggest when it's for other people.  I will never learn.  So I found a new recipe that ended up turning out terrible, and I had to scrap the whole thing and start over. What a waste! Even worse?  The recipe was for 6 dozen cookies! Luckily some dear high school girls came over, and we succeeded together!  Did I say I love baking?  So why doesn't it love me back!!

Where will I be tonight?

At the How Many Kings Christmas Tour in Madison!  

 



Breathe

 Sometimes you need to stop.  Take time to absorb the beauty before you.  Figure out where you're going.  Learn from where you've been.  Get lost in the wonders of God's precious world. Love where you are. Breathe.

These pictures were taken on the side of the highway on my way back from Thanksgiving.  It would have been a disgrace to miss it.

It's my birthday!

and I'm excited!

I'll be posting much more later in the week as I'm totally unmotivated to sit in front of my computer right now!

I find this couple enchanting...

Question

A topic was discussed in our community group that I've confronted in the past, and now I'm pondering...

Background... Jesus spent a lot of his time with people making sinful decisions without ever compromising his values, and he was also able to build relationships and trust within those circles.  A perfect example.

As a Christ follower, you find yourself in situations in which people are doing things or saying things that you choose not to partake in.  This is the point that the tables are turned.  You're labeled the goody goody, the person that doesn't understand, too good for the group.  Without making any judgements towards anyone else, you're the one being judged.  How is this avoidable?  I'm not sure it always is, but there is something to be said for loving words and non offensive body language.  When trust and relationships are developed this isn't normally an issue but unfortunately sometimes it is.  No one said it was easy to do the right thing.

Updates...

1.  I had a fantasitcally wonderful weekend.  (Because this is my blog, I can make up words as I wish!)  Blair, Disa and Kylee, all friends from Iowa, came to visit me in Madison. Although I've hardly seen a day without sun since I've moved here, the weekend was a bleary drizzle.  It didn't matter, it was lovely to spend time with friends that understand me and my quirks!  Blessed.

2.  Gophers won both games!  They'll be moving forward to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen this weekend and even more than that, it's being held in Minnesota!  I'm doing everything in my power to make it to the game on Saturday ;)

3.  I turn 30 next week.  I'm writing this because there is a need inside me to come to terms with this before it happens!  I've actually been excited for it until this week.  A few conversations have caused me to dread it.  Trying to change that.

4.  I had a lovely friend invite me over for dinner tonight.  She made an amazing meal and in the midst of a horrendously stressful day, busy week and sluggish mood, I was able to enjoy the presence of an organic relationship that I thoroughly enjoy.  There's something about sharing a home cooked meal together that is intimate.  Thankful.

Go Gophers!

The University of Minnesota women's soccer made the NCAA tournament this year!  I'm so proud of my sister for many reasons but mostly because she sets such a good example for her teammates and the little girls that look up to her.  She's stronger than peer pressure and it almost sounds cliche to say she's a hard worker with great determination, but I can honestly say she far exceeds peoples expectations.  

I love my sister! Good luck this weekend Gophers!

At first I thought it was so funny that all these people wanted her autograph.  Lets be honest- it's not because she has great penmanship!  haha. But I want these girls to look up to her and know that there is value in integrity. 

Block your eyes!

So I had a really fabulous weekend!  It included loving friendships, beautiful weather, the last farmers market of the season, painting a friends room, Trader Joes, deep conversations, church at the Majestic in downtown Madison and the NYC reunion!  It sounds like a lot, but I had Saturday night open and protected it for some "me" time.  Which is really lovely if I do say so myself ;)  So I got a text message from some of my small group girls back in Iowa, and they asked if I could skype in with them.  I was so excited so I logged on right away and almost instantaneously I got a chat message that popped up.  I didn't have a clue which of the girls it was so I said hello and asked.  Before I got an answer, the same person that chatted was calling for video.  I turned it on smiling from ear to ear anxious to catch up.  As I was expecting to see 10 of my girls sitting there, it threw me off not to see them and it took me a minute to figure out what I was looking at. All of a sudden I realized that it was a guy that I do not know trying to show me parts of himself that he must be really proud of.  As soon as I realized what was going on I dove to the floor so I wouldn't be on video and I was pounding at my computer trying to hang up with this nasty man!  As soon as I did he kept trying to call back.  I couldn't help but fall on the floor laughing and call my sister to tell her what happened.  I think she said it best.  "Megan!  How does this stuff always happen to you?!"  We laughed a lot that night.  So as disturbing as it was, I keep picturing myself taking an instant dive to the floor to duck out of the camera.  Lesson learned- never answer a skype call if you don't know who it is!!

At the Table

By Tim Mackie

“Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are,” says Anthelme Savrin, a renowned French chef. He’s more right than he knows. What and how we eat, and who we eat with, express not only what we think about food, but how we see our relationships to other people. Meals are a way of showing who we care about, who we choose to include in our lives.

Jesus knew this and challenged His followers to foster a different approach to meals (Luke 14:1-14). He envisioned mealtimes as an opportunity to embody the good news of the kingdom, an invitation to those who are not on the VIP list. Inviting someone into your home and sharing what you have is a picture of God’s own generosity and His gift of grace.

The early Christians were known for their distinct eating practices. In Acts 2:42-47, we’re told that the first Jesus communities in Jerusalem began growing rapidly by a ministry of meals. People without resources were invited to the homes of Jesus’ followers, and were included in the sharing of money, food and goods. This, as Luke tells us, was their way of celebrating the story of the Gospel - not only with words, but by living out the story in the making and sharing of meals.

Having someone over for a meal is a tangible way of inviting him or her into our lives. The slurping, the wiping of mouths and pouring of drinks fosters an atmosphere of commonality and openness that is hard to create anywhere else. The act and experience communicate much more than words can say.

As part of our Love Where You Live theme at Blackhawk this year, we want to recapture this early Christian ministry of meals with a challenge to our whole church. This month,think of someone in your day-to-day world of work or neighborhood whom you wouldn’t normally have in your home and invite them over for a meal.

Think of it as an expression of grace, a giving of your food and time that the other person would never have expected, with no strings attached. That’s agape, an action done for someone else regardless of their response. It may result in a new friendship, or it may not. But, if the gospel teaches us anything, it’s that intentional acts of agape and grace are like seeds thrown into a field. You never know what will spring up as result.

Letters from Juvie

I receive letters from Juvie fairly often from a student for whom I have a soft spot in my heart.  He's made bad choices.  He's well aware.  We've sat in meetings with correction officers, ditched gang members, shared personal stories, fought hard and laughed harder.  This student grew up in a home devoid of love, honesty and discipline.  Maybe "home" isn't the right word.  Although his bad choices need to be owned by him, his childhood circumstances were out of his control and provided him with a sense of reality that made success difficult.  His heart longs to do good and every poor choice digs him deeper into a hole that makes it harder to escape.  I pray that this season in his life will be temporary.  I'll continue to cherish every letter I receive.  It makes my heart especially happy when he tries to hold me accountable for my personal time with God.  In this case, I will always hope for happily ever after.

hmmm...

There are times that I struggle with purpose.  Wanting to spend more time making a difference in our world.

I've never been out on a tour and felt ready to come home.  It doesn't matter where I'm at or the people I'm with.  I love the adventure of being somewhere new.  It's crazy constant adrenaline and pure joy when I'm traveling.

There are days that I'm so drained after work that I come home and do nothing, knowing full well that I would gain energy from being active and getting things done.

I love to read and don't do enough of it.

Knowing that I can get caught up in reality tv, I purposely refuse to buy extended cable.

I don't bake as much as I would like to because I live on my own.

I'm terrible at directions.

Occasional rainy days are dreamy.

In the Heights

A picture of Courtney and I after the show!

IN THE HEIGHTS

"In The Heights" performed by Corbin Bleu

In The Heights - "Breathe" featuring Jordin Sparks

In The Heights

I love broadway.  It totally sucks me in, and as I sit in my seat I become immersed in the show.  Part of the performance.  In the Heights was no exception, and it quickly became one of my favorites!  A story of relationships, overcoming adversity, perfectly placed humor and music that had you dancing in your seat!  Courtney was brilliant... she always is!  Jordin Sparks was one of the leads so that was fun for everyone as well.  I will see this show again and whether or not you're a broadway lover, this show is a must see!

Jordin Sparks and I

New York City

It's taken me awhile to post because I'm looking for the words to do it justice.  This trip went beyond my expectations.  Our group of 13 included the most lovely, deep, gut laughingly funny girls that kept me on my toes in the most wonderful way.  I went on this trip not to see New York (what a fun benefit!) but because I knew a trip like this would allow me to a part of inside jokes, deeper conversations and serve as the perfect opportunity to build trust which is integral to lay a foundation.   I look forward to being a part of these girls lives for awhile if they'll have me ;)  In addition, the fact that I took a few days of unpaid vacation (We have to wait 6 months to take our vacation) to spend two nights on a bus and hang out with 180 high schoolers raised some questions in the office.  What a perfect opportunity to share my story!  Be a blessing, leave a legacy.

This is the most accurate pic of our group that we could get ;)

PDA in the all girls group haha! (I come up with the worst ideas sometimes!)
At least we thought we were hilarious! 

United we stand.