Make new friends, but keep the old....

For one of the many Christmas parties of the season, I got together with a group of friends for a Christmas cookie exchange last night. These were all girls I grew up with in Nederland, and one adoptee friend (Lori) that we have claimed as an honorary "Nederland Girl"over the past year. :)

Most of us girls have known each other since kindergarden or 1st grade, with some of our groups merging through middle school and high school - which means that there are several of us who have lived about 23-24 years of life together so far, but all of us have known each other for at least 15 years. There are 6 of us living in Houston who were there last night (Toni, Kari, Lyndsay, Stacey, Lori, and myself), Leslie, who is also living in Houston, Reeni and Patricia living in the New York area, and Kathleen living in Hawaii.

The husbands and friends who have witnessed these get-togethers over the years always comment on how unique it is to have had a group of friends for so long. For us, it is hard to imagine what life would be like without it. When you've known someone for that long, there is a sense of history that is established, at some point your friendships turn to family, and the lines blur. We all knew each other's families growing up, and still ask about them when we get together. They are an extension of our own, and have witnessed all the major milestones in our lives over the years - graduations, weddings, deaths, illnesses, etc.

Over the years, as life has happened, the times we have been able to reconnect have been sporadic. During our college years, we all took different paths and developed our own groups of friends and explored new experiences so we saw each other less. Now that several of us are living in Houston, we've been blessed with the opportunity to get together more often, and we definitely have fun reliving moments and telling stories on each other - there are quite a few!!

But when it comes down to it, these girls are ones I know I can call at anytime, night or day, and they will be there no matter how long it has been since I've seen them last. We pick up again just like we used to when we would ride our bikes to school through the neighborhood, picking each other up along the way. I am blessed to have friends like these, friends more like sisters, friends that are unconditional. Our shared memories, in a way, make our lives real, and experiencing life with others helps to remind us of who we are and who we are becoming. It has been a blessing growing up with you ladies!!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

I think every family probably has at least one or two pictures like these in their albums... Scared of Santa

On a related note, my roommate and I were just talking about this the other night. As Christians, do we allow our kids to believe in Santa Claus? And if so, to what extent?

Personally, I can't really ever remember a time when I thought that Santa was actually real, but I enjoyed him as a fairy-tale and fun tradition in my family growing up. I remember writing notes to Santa when I was really little, but since our "Santa Bags" filled with gifts always had my mom's handwriting on them, I guess I put two and two together pretty early on and realized who would actually be reading my "Dear Santa" letters. :)

My family also practiced Advent every year as well and read family devotionals as each candle was lit in the weeks leading up to Christmas. So growing up, I always knew that Christmas was a celebration of Jesus' birth, even if some years I was more excited about the pink bike or CD player on my wish-list.

Don't get me wrong, I think that Santa Claus is something that families can have a lot of fun with when their children are younger - milk & cookies, wish lists and letters to Santa, and all of the imagination that goes along with the tradition.

But the real question, is how far do we take it? At what point does Santa Claus and the potential lesson/focus on materialism overshadow the true meaning of "Christ"mas. If we let our children really believe that Santa is real or perpetuate the illusion, are we essentially lying to our children and teaching them that dishonesty is ok? What are the implications for when they realize the truth? What is the right balance?

A friend of mine grew up with her mom throwing a birthday party for Jesus every Christmas season, where every child in the neighborhood was invited and the story of Christ's birth and the gospel was shared. This is a tradition she plans to continue now that she has her own family. What a great opportunity for evangelism for both the children and parents that attend!

Since children aren't in the near future for me, I have some time to mull these things over, but I am curious what others have experienced in their families and what they think they will decide to continue as traditions or decide to start on their own someday.

London Calling...

London is definitely one of my favorite cities. It is so full of life and around every corner there is such a unique mix of past & present. I was able to explore quite a bit again while I was there this past week, and of course being Christmas time, I had to hit some of my favorites to check out the decorations - Portobello Road, Covent Gardens, Trafalgar Square, Bond Street, Oxford Street, Harrod's, and an evensong at St. Paul's Cathedral.

Some of my other favorite things:

• The Underground & Minding the Gap
• Pret a Manger sandwiches - on every corner and very yummy
• The Red Phone Booths
• The diversity of cultures and languages
• British accents
• The crazy fashion culture
• Coffee shops all around
• The Black Cabs & VERY knowledgeable drivers - I hear they spend years in training to know all of the streets in London.

The highlight this trip for me was that I was able to visit the British Library and the British Museum for the first time. The British Library has an amazing collection of old bibles, other religious writings, literature classics, and historical documents. At the British Museum, there is a massive domed reading room and multiple floors containing endless treasures from throughout time and across the world. They say it takes the security guards two years to get to know the extent of the museum collection. I ended up running into the tail end of a bible tour being led through biblically-significant museum artifacts. I only caught the end, but then also ran across this really interesting book in the bookshop later, The Bible in the British Museum, which details out the archeological evidence found in the British Museum for events in scripture. Fascinating...

I visited both the British Library and the British Museum in the same day, and the whole experience was such a humbling reminder of the great story God has authored through time and across the cultures of the world. Our part in the story might fill only a page, or maybe even just a paragraph; but even still, He chose each of us to play a part. Through His sovereign grace, the ending is clear! And best of all, He has already read us the last page! I can't wait to see how the story unfolds along the way! :)

Jet Lag... I'm a believer!

So, I've always heard friends and coworkers talk about "jet lag", but I will have to admit that I never quite could relate. I've traveled quite a bit, but never really experienced it. I always chalked it up to my erratic sleeping schedule, figuring that since my body never really had any idea when it would be getting sleep next, it was just grateful when I didn't have a couple of cups of coffee in me and actually put myself to bed at a decent hour. It wasn't about to try to be difficult just because we were in a different time zone! :)

That is, until now - I'm a believer... I've been in London for about 4 full days now and will be heading back to the States in another 5 days. According to NASA estimates, you need one day for every one-hour time zone crossed to regain normal rhythm and energy levels. So the 6-hour time difference means that I will require six days to get back to normal! It sounds like if I hang in there, things should get better in a couple days, just enough time so that I can experience this whole process again state-side! :)

All in all, I do have to say, despite the VERY painful meetings I am struggling to stay awake in during the day, this "jet lag" experience has been quite beneficial... So far, during the twilight hours over here, I've finished reading Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller, which definitely gave me a different perspective on a few things. I have taught myself how to knit, with a very cute pink scarf now in the works. And I have finally gotten this blog up and running with my first official post!

Any suggestions on how I should spend my last couple of nights of "jet lag" productivity? Who knows what could be next! :)