happy december! i'm a few days late, but it's the first sunday of the month and the first time i've really remembered it's already here. december houses so many different exciting {and sometimes bittersweet} happenings: the end of the semester is flying toward me, christmas is creeping up, finals are looming, two of my sisters are coming up so soon, and i have so many presents to give away and little surprises and treats for people that i'm practically bursting at the seams! the evening of the first sunday of december usually finds me curled up on the couch watching the annual LDS christmas devotional, but not tonight. annalisa, my sweet roommate from summertime had four tickets to attend the devotional in salt lake city today! i was thrilled when annalisa invited sabrina, natalie and i to shuttle up north with her to see the devotional in person!
this is the second year in a row i've been to the devotional, and just like last year, it took my breath away. temple square is even more beautiful in the december fog and christmas lights. the conference center was a spectacular sight. as always, the devotional moved me almost to tears. the girls and i sang christmas songs, laughed about the ridiculous christmas music on the radio, and took a million pictures!
being at the devotional again and walking the temple grounds afterward made me extremely contemplative, and. . . reflective, mostly. i attended the devotional last year in much different life circumstances. it's a memory i still treasure - an important period of my life that caused so many significant changes, shaped me and steered my path in life, strengthened my faith in my Savior. i'm different now. much different than i was back then, a year ago. it's interesting how much a year can change a person. it's been one of the most changing years of my life. one of the most unexpected, one of the more challenging.
i'm putting a lot of thought into my goals for this coming year, that's for sure. it was almost a disconcerting experience to look back and realize that i've changed in so many ways i didn't ever expect to. i'm different now in ways i didn't expect to ever be different in. next year when i look back, i'd like to have anticipated a few of those changes, if even just for intentionality's sake.
thankful:
1. i'm thankful for wonderful x-roommates. the little excursion tonight was exactly what i needed to set my focus on christmas instead of all my little problems {not to mention finals}. annalisa, sabrina and natalie are three of the people that make me smile the most, i think. i love being around happy people, and they are certainly happy people!
2. i'm thankful for christmas lights, christmas trees, christmas songs, and christmas spirit. i love seeing people be a little more kind, a little more thoughtful and giving. it makes me want to do the same. believe me, this year i have plans for just that.
3. i'm thankful for genni - we have such wonderful heart-to-hearts. so telling. inspiring enough to let me see myself and others more clearly. and that clarity is always a large relief to me.
4. i'm thankful for hot chocolate, hot ginger tea, hot water with lemon juice and cayenne pepper. . . and all the things that makes them hot! after being outside tonight, i needed a good warm-up to stop the shivering!
5. i'm thankful for the encouraging words and beautiful music tonight. it lifted my focus to where it should be, gave me the strength i'll need for the coming week, and set my heart as ease during this crazy time. it helped me to slow down and ponder more. to appreciate the simple things and be thankful for everything i've been given.
ps. i know things with heat are becoming a repetitive theme - this will probably continue through february or march at least, at which point i'll be eternally thankful for spring.
pps. merry christmas!!
so... you included me among your ex roommates. i don't know how i feel about this.
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