It doesn't seem real that it's 2010 already.

Well, a lot has happened since the last time I posted. Christmas came and went, a giant snowstorm attacked, I went to a great conference, I went hooding for the first time, and all of a sudden it's 2010!

Christmas was strange this year. The giant snowstorm attacked at this time, dumping about 10 inches on my hometown. As a result, we didn't go to church services or to either grandparents' house. My brother #2 and his wife couldn't get to our house for the traditional fondue, and so we video-called them in. Technology is indeed miraculous.

The presents were different; this year my parents gave each couple a gas card and a gift card to a restaurant and we are expected to go out with a different couple in the family to use these gifts. I like this idea but unfortunately it has not yet been implemented in my case. We will see what happens.

The giant snowstorm can only be described as giant. There is over 2 feet of snow on the ground (some from the previous storm), with drifts up to 4 feet deep, just around the house. I've read in the paper reports of 17 foot deep drifts. Scary. And under all this snow is a layer of ice. Since the storm, the temperatures have been in the single digits. Even down to -17 without windchill! It is positively Arctic here.

All this snow has been great for a little thing called hooding. Take a car hood and go sledding with it. That's hooding. We did this on a hill that is famous in town for being fast. At the bottom there's playground equipment. I whacked my head pretty hard when I flew off my sled, but the headache went away on New Year's Day afternoon when I got sick... Anyway. It was a lot of fun until it started to hurt from falling off the sled or from being bumped up and down. We did this on New Year's Eve, before the clock struck midnight. What a great way to end the year, screaming bloody murder and flying down a hill! :)

The conference I was talking about is called Faithwalkers (By the Great Commission Churches- www.gccweb.org). It exposed to me a lot of things that I need to change, and I think I will continue to process and grow. My heart was, at last, freed from certain things that snared it. It was three days of tears, pain, and great joy. I heard a lot of great music, great teachings, and great love-filled talks. You can hear some of it here and I encourage you to take the time to listen: http://www.gccweb.org/conferences/faithwalkers/west/2009_teachings Truly a life-changing conference, and I pray that I will continue to change as a result of it.

It's 2010 now, and it really doesn't seem all that different. It has been challenging so far, back and forth between the good (people I love) and the bad (being sick). I just remember that God's got a reason for it all and I'm grateful just to be able to enjoy my life with the people I love.

In about 7 months I will be 20 years old. That is scary and exciting at the same time. I won't be a teen anymore. It's a challenge, a challenge that says, "Step up and grow up!" Whether this year is "good" or "bad", it will make me grow up, and for that I am excited and afraid. Yet I am more excited than afraid.

This year I plan to read my Bible through again. I did in 2009, so I know I can do it. :) I also plan to memorize Scripture. I have not done well with that, but I think with a plan and some discipline I will do better. I have the capacity to memorize, but I have not been using it well. I can quote half of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", but I can't quote much of the Bible beyond John 3:16 and Jeremiah 29:11? Clearly my priorities are in the wrong spot. However, the Lord is good and has revealed this to me via Faithwalkers, and I am determined to change my priorities.

God is so good, friends. So very good. He breaks your heart only to make it anew, full of joy and peace. He gives Life and Truth. He saves! He loves you! He actually LIKES you! Jesus wants to be your best Friend, your Lover, your Savior. Let Him, and your life will NEVER be the same! Oh, there's no way to explain the love, peace, and security He gives despite the storms of life! I love Him so very much.