Goodbye '09...

Here's a cool video recap of last year's biggest headlines...it makes me want Google Wave.

John 1:14

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

The haps

This little blog has gotten awfully quiet lately. I just have nothing to report because my break has consisted of watching movies, sleep in(ish), a little baking, a lot of eating, and generally just resting. I also got all my Christmas shopping done last week, so I'm avoiding all malls and shopping centers like the plague.

I'm loving doing absolutely nothing. About once a day I have a panic attack and try to think of what I should be working on, but then I remember there's absolutely nothing. I'm definitely not used to this.

I can't believe Christmas is just a few days away. After spending Christmas Eve with my Grandpa, my parents and I are leaving on Christmas Day to drive to good ole Dalhart to see Heather and Daniel for a few days. Then I'll head back up to Austin after that. Only a few days left at home, so I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. I'll be documenting the holidays, so hopefully I'll have some photos to share. I know I'll have some stories from adventures in West Texas.

I hope each of you has a wonderful Christmas with lots of family time and good food. And some time to reflect on what this holiday represents.

"But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.' So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir." [Galatians 4:4-7]

I wish I could give each of you a great big hug, but I'll settle for a giant cyber hug right...now. I hope you feel the love!

Merry Christmas from the Frawleys!

A little Christmas cheer

Dave Barnes is great. I love his music, songwriting, everything. But he is also hilarious. His live shows are like stand-up comedy. This is his (very silly) annual Christmas video. Random, but great. Enjoy it, and check out his music if you don't know him already.

Also, you should all make these cookies. They're Christmas Snowballs, and I made them the other day to give as a little gift to my mom's girlfriends at happy hour. They are so good, but definitely a holiday indulgence. Yum.

I promise no you tube video posts for a while. I just don't have a lot going on right now (and loving it!)

So you think you can dance, dance, dance, dance.

In honor of the finale tonight, some of my favorites from the season. The last three are ridiculous. Actually, they're all ridiculous. Good gracious, I love this show.

Love it. Can't wait for tonight's show.

Roadside Assistance

Alternate Title: How God is funny, very intentional, and will do whatever it takes to get one's attention.

[somewhat creepy and only slightly related to this post from google images]

I have said before that I know nothing about cars, and I stand by that. I haven't ever had car problems, so I've never felt the need to learn. Just bear that in mind as you read on.

On Saturday I loaded up my stuff to head home to Houston. I've been looking forward to this for weeks, so I was excited. Right around Elgin, I noticed something going on in my rear view. It was either smoke or water coming up from the roads. Since it had been raining off and on and my engine gauge was normal (that's about all I know), I just figured it was water. Then a little further down the road, I start feeling paranoid and wonder if it's something else. A few miles more, I hear a terrible, gut-wrenching knocking sound. Suspicions confirmed, I start looking for a place to pull over. My speed starts going down, down, down, and finally, there's some paved shoulder. Right as I steer off the road, my car completely locks up and the hood starts smoking. I may or may not have thought it was about to explode, so I grabbed my purse and jumped out. Of course, the first thing I do is call my dad.

This is where I start to see God's hand. Just as I hang up, I see a woman who pulled over walking towards me to see if I need help. I turn around and see three more men getting out of a truck, one of them had a police badge. I had only been pulled over for a minute or two tops. I'm sure I looked pretty distressed. While I was trying to get a hold of emergency services, the guys push my car further off the road. They help me figure out what county we're in. The off-duty officer even got on the phone with the county police.

Then they waited with me while a county deputy (who never showed) was supposed to be coming. Mind you, it's about 50 degrees and misty. All of them, the guys and the other lady (she was my age) waited about an hour and a half until a tow truck came from Giddings. Meanwhile my dad was hauling from Houston to get there. From the time I initially called him to the second time (maybe 10 minutes), he was already in the car on his way.

The guys followed me and the tow truck into Giddings and made sure I got there safely. My dad was there by that time. They were all just awesome and made waiting on the side of the road so much better. Their kindness was overwhelming. I've driven past hundreds of stranded drivers, but they took time to stop.

That's pretty convicting for me, the girl who is so selfish with her time. I always have a schedule and things to do, and I get pretty frustrated if that gets messed up. This entire semester is a perfect example of that. I don't sacrifice my time for other people. Even if I am able to help, I often don't. God showed me first through protecting my life and then through these people, that He is full of grace and that He is sovereign over everything. My time is not my own, and my life certainly is not.

I'm beyond grateful to the four people who came to my aid (Toby, Bill, Chris, and Shannon), and I'm seriously glad my car broke down because I got to meet them. And thankful for my dad, who immediately hopped in his car to come get me before we even knew what was going on. God used them to humble me and get my attention. And He did it in a way that I can laugh about. Grace upon grace.

The coming

I'm home again! Still in my pajamas, watching football. Beautiful. But only after some serious on-the-road drama that I will describe in full soon, because it definitely need its own post. It's part of a process that God has been taking me through in the past couple weeks of showing clearly His grace upon my life.

Advent means "coming", and it's a time to prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ to humanity. This has been lost on me this year, as I've been consumed with so many lesser things. Example: church, which has always been a crucial part of my week for encouragement and focus, has been set aside because I selfishly wanted to do other things with that time. I hate that, but it's the truth. I feel drained and unfocused, because I've been putting everything else before Jesus, and that is not how I desire to live my life. So before I get to my car story, here's what I'm remembering about the purpose of this season (stolen off a few other blogs):

Without the birth, there could be no death.

Without the death, there could be no life.

Without life, there could be no hope.

and

"The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.

You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as men rejoice
when dividing the plunder.

For as in the day of Midian's defeat,
you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.

Every warrior's boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
will be fuel for the fire.

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

[Isaiah 9:2-6]

Amen.

Dear Future Husband {1}

Please make it a habit to wear bow ties. Even if it is not the most fashion forward article of clothing, it is the opinion of your future wife that it is classy and timeless. And you want to make your future wife happy, don't you? I will give you bonus points for blazers with elbow pads, fedoras, and pocket watches.

With love,

Future Wife

P.S. : I sincerely hope that there is not a 60-year gap between our ages.

For reference:

Favorite things about today {2}

1. Seeing a man who looked just like what I imagine Sigmund Freud looked like (fedora, sports coat, bushy beard) on my way to take a test about a wide array of things including Freudian theory. I took it as a good sign.

2. That the double whammy final is over and done with.

3. The Dove chocolate I just ate in celebration of finishing that exams and those two classes. (Three down, two to go!)

4. A few really great routines on So You Think You Can Dance tonight.

5. Discovering Radio Paradise on ITunes radio. Such a strange mix of artists but right up my alley.

6. Getting educated by NPR on my drive home from school.

7. The thick fog tonight that made me feel like I was in Harry Potter. Don't judge me.

8. Getting $112 for selling back three textbooks! Considering what I paid for books this semester, I'll take what I can get. I'm being a good future social worker and keeping books I can use for reference down the road.

Have a happy Wednesday!

Favorite things about today {1}

I'm taking a break between paper writing and finals studying to highlight some of the positives from my day.

1) Finding cookies and a note in my lunch box thanks to my sweet roommate. Thanks BDA! [I ate them both and didn't even consider sharing.]

2) Finishing my last field meeting of the semester...so glad that's over!

3) Discovering a giant staff lounge complete with snack machine at work today...it's only been three months since I started.

4) That I remembered I left my umbrella in a bathroom stall at school and it was still there when I went back for it.

5) Being almost finished with two of the four major assignments for the week.

6) Lastly,Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince comes out on DVD today (please, Santa baby?!?) so in honor I leave you with this. It has yet to nor will it ever get old.

Huh-larious.

*Note: The idea for this post was inspired by Lauren from the little things we do (whose brother-in-law I hope to meet one day :) Check out her cute blog!*

Note to self.

This week, don't forget to:

AND [this is key]

If you do these two things, you just might make it to Thursday, aka your last day of school obligations for the semester aka the most wonderful day in the world that you've been looking forward to since September.

You can do this. Finish it. Like Hunter Lawrence did last night. And then prepare to celebrate like you never have before.

A wedding by the sea

Not that I'll be planning a wedding any time soon, but I love the simplicity of the wedding in these pictures. And I absolutely love everything about her dress. Throw in that groom, and we just may have ourselves a deal.

{Photos from here-Once Wed}

World AIDS Day

I know I said I probably wouldn’t post again for a few days, but that was before I remembered that today is World AIDS Day. This day has more significance for me now, in light of actually spending time and falling in love with South Africans who live with the daily burden of AIDS.

So today especially I’m thinking about those names and faces and lives, and I’m praying that they would be able to get the medicine and care that they need. I’m praising God that many of the children at the Hope Center have been officially declared HIV negative and praying that a cure would be found for the millions of Africans (and people around the world) who are facing this disease. Please join me in prayer today!

I also have a specific request. You might remember Gail, the director of Tabitha Ministries and amazing follower of Christ. I just found out that she is battling breast cancer. She’s had surgery to remove the large tumor and is on her second round of chemo. If you think about it, please pray for Gail’s health and wellbeing, as the chemo has really taken a toll on her body. Tabitha is still running, but there’s no one visiting patients in the community. There are many in Sweetwaters who rely on the medical care they receive from Tabitha, so please pray that others would step in to care for them.

Sometimes, I forget that this is real. I go about my comfortable life, stress out about minor details, and forget that people are dying from AIDS and other diseases needlessly. So keep praying and go HERE for more info on the AIDS epidemic and ways to get involved.