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HAPPY NEW YEAR (almost)!!!!!!
I am excited about a new year, although I haven't really prepared myself for it yet--good thing I have about 11 hours to do so ;-)
So I haven't posted in a while, but SO MUCH has been going on, so I feel that it is necessary for an update.

First: Way back on December 16th I celebrated my 19th birthday with a few of my friends and my parents. We went to a place called Feed My Starving Children where we package up meals that will be sent to third-world countries. I thought it was a great thing to do with friends and family--and everyone had a great time, so it was fab! It was also great to see two of my friends from college--Chels and Mary! Then on the 18th (the actual date of my birthday) My family had free tix to the Celine Dion concert, and they were really good seats! I had a great time--she is a great vocalist. AND, I got the only gift that I asked for: a CD that both Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson sing on. It's beautiful and I loved it. So overall, my birthday was like 500 blessings rolled into one, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Second: CHRISTMAS! Ah, the most wonderful time of the year. It was a great few days with family, and celebrating with God. I was so excited to go to church on Christmas eve, and the service was great. From there we went to my aunts house, which was kind of weird. We never really go there for holidays, we lost my G-ma earlier this fall, and a few members on that side of the family considers themselves agnostic, so it was a bit discouraging knowing that they weren't carrying true Christmas spirit with them. I thought I would be kind of down in the dumps while we were over there, but I'm coming to learn more and more how to not let outward factors affect my happiness or contentment with God, so I was just fine, and it was a pretty good time. Christmas day was even better! We celebrated traditionally with my immediate family in the morning, and then we went to my cousin's house in Minneapolis, and I got to see family that I don't get to see very often. It was very fun, especially since I got to see my four-year-old cousin, Ricky. He is so fun, and adorable of course, especially when he insisted on calling me his darling. Ah, I can hear it now, "want to play monster trucks with me, dawling?" (he can't quite say his "r's" perfectly, which just makes him all the cuter!) It was a nice time, playing games and celebrating the true meaning of Christmas.

Third: And that kinda brings us up to date. I have just been relaxing a lot, and working. It's been nice to earn a little money while I'm home, but being a cashier is BORING. Oh, well. I have also been changing in a lot of ways lately, and I will explain how. The first is that I have been reading the book, "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris. It is an amazing book by a Christian Author that explains the many defective patterns that almost everyone (including myself) exhibits in the way they choose to date today. I like the book because it doesn't say "dating is bad, and you shouldn't do it" but instead it points out that if we are consistently searching for someone to give our hearts too, we are becoming very distracted from serving God. It points out that singleness is actually a gift from God; a season in which we have time to serve and build our identity in Christ. Joshua also points out that when we date short-term we are giving our hearts away to many different people, and when it comes time to give our hearts to the one we marry, it's kind of like saying, "here's what's left of my heart, and that is for you." Also, short-term dating doesn't give us an example of a long-term, committed relationship, but instead gives us a template for a marriage headed for divorce. It has many good points, and I struggle ANY Christian who is struggling with the single life to read it. In fact, I joked the other day that it should be a pre-req to dating: you must read this book first! Haha.
The next thing is that I have been discovering a lot of new Christian music that is very soul-touching. Thanks to my friend's sister, I got a beautiful CD called "Paper Heart" by Francesca Battistelli--a wonderful Christian artist. Some of her lyrics really make me examine my relationship with God.
I have also been getting into my bible again lately. All I'm going to say is read Romans Chapter 12. I enjoy and value its message.

Lastly: I just wanted to point out PROJECT 2009. It's a vision that God placed on my heart, and I have been contemplating the idea a lot lately. You will hear more about it through this blog, facebook, and through me. I am actually going to approach me about it, and to consider it after we chat about it =)

I hope all of you have a very blessed New Year celebration! May it be everyone's goal to spread more L-O-V-E around in 2009!

Kayla <3 Love