Sojies 2009

2009 Sojies

To be honest I wasn't really keen on doing this this year, but I'm a sucker for tradition and this is year four.

HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR?
I'm not sure I can pin a specific moment. Not in a debbie downer way, but I'm not sure. I took a couple of personal days to just go out and spend time outdoors, which was wonderful and provided me a lot of clarity and re-centering.

LOW POINT OF THE YEAR?
My church firing the preacher I loved and the ensuing (and ongoing) consequences.

LESSON LEARNED THIS YEAR?
Perseverance is hard.

BEST HOLIDAY?
Thanksgiving

SONG FOR 2009?
"Still" by Zoe Group has meant a lot to me.

BEST MOVIE OF 2009?
I don't know. Um... Benjamin Button or Up. I'm not sure if Benjamin Button came out this year, but I saw it this year.

BEST BOOK OF 2009?
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller really impacted me.

BEST TV SHOW OF 2009?
30 Rock is hilarious to me. I'm compare myself to Liz Lemon too often. I also finally caught up on Lost, which was fantastic.

ANY REGRETS?
There were times I should have kept my mouth shut.

BEST DECISION MADE THIS YEAR?
Several times I had to purposefully decide to do nothing and wait. I'm terrible at that, but it was the best decision.

BIGGEST CHANGE OF THE YEAR?
Church has changed a lot. Work has changed a lot.

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR NEXT YEAR?
Keep on keeping on.

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR NEXT YEAR?
To do better. To balance work and relaxation. To abide.

Joy to the World

I am a serious Christmas elf. Post-Thanksgiving I totally get into the holiday spirit.

I've been thinking about why that is, and I think it's because this is the time for hope. It feels magical- like anything can happen.

And maybe it feels like that because of the stories, the decorations, the traditions... but to me it's because 2000 years ago God fulfilled a promise that came in the most unlikely, unsuspected turns of human history. And if God can bring the greatest joy to the world and live and dwell among us in that way, then I can be hopeful that he will fulfill good things in my life that I can't even begin to anticipate.

Joy to the world, indeed. :)



I shot this video last week and it's been stuck in my head since then. Can't say that I have minded, though. :)