HOME- more than a four letter word

WOW. 2009 already. Good news, my GPA is still good enough to sustain my scholarship so I probably won't be retaking O-CHEM! Talk about a tender mercy of the Lord! Being home, everyone you have ever had any sort of contact with feels compelled to ask you about your major. Lame. If you are going to ask me what my major is, please stop criticizing me when I tell you. Thank you. But really, I was so tempted to tell everyone who asked me something different. Besides, it's not like they ACTUALLY CARE what you choose to major in, they just don't know what else to make conversation about. Anyways, needless to say the ol' "International Relations" answer did not go over very well. So Christmas did not really seem too much like Christmas this year. People these days are too caught up in the STUFF, ya know. This random guy who works next to my dad brought the shop a present for Christmas. Thoughtful. Then he assumes my dad doesn't celebrate Christmas because he did not return the favor. I thought my dad gave an excellent response: There are two parts to Christmas,
1.) The celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (the man replies, "AMEN!", like any good southern baptist would)
2.) The Santa Claus aspect. Anyways, I just don't like the commercialization associated with Christmas. I just watched the movie Horton Hears a Who- TERRIFIC movie, two thumbs up! If it were ever relevant, I would probably use it as an example in a Sacrament Meeting talk someday. I'm sure I wouldn't be the first. Speaking of church, I think it is hilarious how everyone in the home ward tries to set you up when you come home. I also have never been given the guilt trip about writing missionaries as much as this past Sunday. Although there are EIGHT missionaries serving from our ward right now! Wake Forest really cranks em' out, go team! Kayla is getting married. Married, like for real, as in time and all eternity! Whoa! I met Derek, he's nice & pretty good at the drums in rock band. He reminds me of Colton sometimes, so he should fit into the Keith family nicely :) I have never seen Kayla so happy, the two of them even pray together every night. I feel bad that everyone gives her so much crap for being so young. She was the one who always said she would be graduated from college before she got married, she jinxed herself! Cailey & I attended the New Year's Eve singles dance...it was fun- we made masks, smoldered, danced and celebrated! Oh, and got asked to dance by the most awkward people in attendance, did I mention that? Haha. Awkward situations make great stories later, so I suppose I am grateful for them too. So since this is a new year, I've thought about resolutions. I typically never keep mine, so I almost didn't bother making one. However, this year is going to be different, I can already tell. I often wonder why I am so blessed-why I live in America, why I have never gone hungry, naked, cold, etc. why I am afforded the opportunity to attend school, why I am blessed to have the restored gospel in my life. My biggest trials have been, what? trying to get "good grades" in school? And in the eternal perspective, that doesn't even matter. Recently, my perspective has shifted some, wondering what is expected of ME? With all that I have been given, What can I do. I had a seminary teacher who would ask us every morning, "What are you going to do today to make someone's day better?" Anyways, I think it's good for people, especially me, to think about that kind of thing every now and then.

“...You know something? The Lord really does live. He isn't somebody you just read about in the Bible, He isn’t just a character in a Book of Mormon. He is a perfect being with a perfect body. Do you know what he did for you? Do you know how much it must have hurt for him to have blood as drops of sweat dripping down, because of the pain and suffering he faced in the Garden of Gethsemane? Do you know who he was thinking about has he was nailed to a cross? He was thinking about you. He cried out to Heavenly Father to forgive those who did it to him, but I think He was pleading on our behalf too. “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Even us. I love the Lord. I try to show how my love with my thoughts, actions and words, but sometimes I mess up. He knows we will mess up, but we just need to do our best. He will help us. “ –Elder Nelson.