Watch this video...

OK, so I have no idea who this guy is, but I found this video shared on my friend's Facebook profile.

This guy has a lot of incredible things to say. Just give it a listen. Please.

I wish I had the courage to say what he does. He wrote this for an open mic night at Pacific University, then obviously recorded it on a busy street in the not-so-good part of town with everyday people walking by... and yet I can't say anything to my close friends, classmates, and lab partners...



(discretion advised, he talks pretty openly)

Christmas-y... or not...

So, I'm scrolling through my Facebook feed (a.k.a. the "stalker feed" to some of my friends), just a few minutes ago and I came across this status update from TWLOHA... I was online to post pictures on a prank profile a group of my friends made, I was thinking about "Santa" coming to visit, calculating how late I could stay up tonight and not be zonked on Christmas morning, but this status made me stop for a second.

For some of us, it's hard to imagine a Christmas without family, without presents, without spending time with those we love, without a warm home and good food. We're used to coming home from college to be with family, traveling to visit grandparents, throwing down a few more air mattresses for the 2nd and 3rd cousins, or even spending a quiet Christmas at home... it's familiar. It's Christmas...

...but if all of that were to change would it still feel like Christmas? Would it still even be Christmas?

Well what if you feel like crap this Christmas? What if you're lonely this Christmas? What if a loved one isn't there around the fire--whether they passed away, estranged themselves, or simply can't make it home for this Christmas? What if you feel haunted by memories that won't let go? What if the presents under the tree aren't as big or as numerous this Christmas? What if you just wish you could feel some sort of joy this Christmas?

Is it still Christmas?

We hear about the little Baby Jesus, the sweet virgin Mary, the beautiful angel Gabriel, and the faithful Joseph...

What about the newborn Baby that's finds Himself laid in a feed trough with work animals all around? What about the maiden who's probably been shunned, turned out, hated, misunderstood, and just underwent the weirdest 38 weeks of her entire life? What about the Messenger who got to give the strangest news to the most unnoticed girl in all of Israel... and got to deal with her first reaction? What about the fiancée who must have felt cheated on, shaken, shocked, and then got told it would all be OK and to just go ahead with plans?

Do you think their Christmas was all warm fuzzies? Or was it the hardest days of their lives? That Christmas day marked the start of all history changing... and I think it might have been worth going through some crap, some loneliness, some hurt, some painful memories, and some sleepless nights in order to welcome the King.

Ok, so that was 2000+ years ago. You say, what does that have to do with me now, with the pain I feel now, the memories I can't erase, the way things are broken now, and the abandonment I'm going through now?


When you look at Christmas in light of family, friends, food, fun, and freebies (a.k.a gifts), then you're right... that has nothing to do with what you're feeling now.

And I could just tell you to stop looking at yourself and to go find someone else less fortunate and to focus on what you do have... but that doesn't help for long.

But what about stripping December 25th down to a Baby in a manger... who didn't stay a baby and became the Savior?

If "Christmas" is too hard this year for whatever reason--and that reason doesn't have to seem legitimate to anyone else--then don't strive to feel happy/grateful, to "get over it," or go through with the traditional jam-packed schedule.

If being at home is hard, that's why coffeeshops are open Christmas Eve.

If you're out of good books, check out Google Books.

If you need something to keep yourself busy, check out some of these events.

I think if we stopped commercializing Christmas, stopped making it the biggest day of the year (with the huge letdown on the 26th), and stripped out the extra fluff, Christmas might actually be a lot more enjoyable... for all of us. Even those who don't feel particularly Christmas-y.

The "Hand of Hope"

Have ya'll ever seen a picture that made your heart just melt? I did last week. But, before that... a little background information...

I just started volunteering at a pregnancy center here in town. I found out about it at a girls' conference this past February. As part of the Masterpiece conference, they had an evening coffeehouse setup with booths and information tables from different ministries where we could get involved. As I walked by one table I overheard an older lady talking to a couple other college girls about her ministry's need for homemade quilts and baby items. My ears perked up and I stopped to listen in. :)

The more I found out about Hope Pregnancy Center, the more I got excited about possibly volunteering with them. My summer in Africa taught me that I really do like the behind-the-scenes service; I do enough front-lines stuff and I need a break and I need to serve those who I will probably never see again and cannot do anything to repay me.

My research into VVF and women's health issues in Africa as well as the book "Half the Sky" (EXCELLENT READ!) showed me the huge needs women facing crisis pregnancies are going through. And I'm realizing that crisis pregnancies are more than girls that were stupid/got themselves into trouble. And the more I talk to people who are Pro-Life, the more I get frustrated by the fact that most people only care about the baby and overlook the intense needs the mother has!

So, as soon as I got back into town and realized that lovely bus 26 drops off right by Hope, I went to see how I could volunteer. I left with a dauntingly thick application that requested 2 recommendation letters, my salvation testimony, and an interview scheduled with the volunteer coordinator.

Then I went through a weekend with 14.5 hours of training. And then a 3-hour video on "abortion apologetics." And now I'm in weeks upon weeks of training and shadowing counselors before I will be able to counsel clients. But it's all good.

Some people have asked me why I volunteer at Hope. That's a really long conversation, but here are the top reasons:

• if I was facing a crisis pregnancy--whether because of pre-marital sex, just having moved to a new country (there are a lot of international graduate students/families here in College Station), needed some financial assistance, or just needed a Christian woman to talk with--I would want to have somewhere like Hope
• I'm accumulating tools for my "toolbox." More people skills, more counseling training, more knowledge about controversial topics, and more opportunities to pour into people.
• there's nothing like being able to offer an expectant mother a handmade baby blanket
• it's one little life at a time
• it's meeting someone at probably their greatest need so far and introducing them to Someone who will truly never leave them, will truly forgive them, and will truly provide for them
• it gets me off campus and out of my bubble of college life and into the community

So anyway... about the picture. During training we were discussing under what circumstances/if ever abortion was acceptable and how the marvels of modern medicine were making many of those pre-natal complications irrelevant reasons for abortion. Then we heard the story of Samuel who was diagnosed with spina bifida and in 1999 underwent pre-natal corrective surgery. 

And if you ever doubt that the little one inside is an independent and viable life, let this picture speak for itself... and see if it melts your heart.

The Hand of Hope

(photo copyright Michael Clancy 1999, http://michaelclancy.com/wordpress/)