'tis the season to be... materialistic?

I was thinking about Christmas today and all that there is to do and see during the holidays. For some reason when I was little I enjoyed the madness starting around Thanksgiving, but now days it's more a hassle than enjoyable. Maybe it comes from working retail and food service on too many black Fridays. Maybe it comes from the lack of money and time to shop for things. Maybe it's because I hate Christmas music.

It's hard sometimes to not feel like a scrooge this time of year. It's because every time "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" comes on the radio I cringe. It's because I am disgusted by the amount of money, time, and energy spent on gift giving. Don't get me wrong, I love  present as much as the next poor college student, but I guess when I see the madness, the traffic, the general lack of concern for the meaning behind the holiday itself, I loose interest at the very least.

When people fight over parking spaces at the mall just to buy the next doodad or thingamajig or nearly cause an accident because everyone is in such a big rush, it irks me. Not just during the holidays, but everyday. I guess I notice it more now because I just expect people to be kinder, more considerate, and a little more forgiving this time of year. It doesn't really happen that way.

So here I sit feeling like the anti-Christmas scrooge while I just spent the whole night baking cookies and wondering why I care at all. I think I like the idea of Christmas spirit, but in a more meaningful way. I like to bake because I can share what I make with the people I love. I like to give gifts, material or not, because it shows the people I care for that I am thinking of them and I love them and they so important in my life.

Whether you buy into the spiritual side of Christmas or not, there is so much more than crazy malls and eating food that lead to a resolution to shed the resultant pounds come New Year's. I am realizing that and I hope you do too. I have found that without this notion of the deeper side of Christmas, you miss out on some really great moments.

The place I used to call home...and man do I miss it!

Let me start off by saying three things: 1) I loved my time at Taylor University 2) I miss it everyday 3) (and this is most important) I do not regret one single thing that has happened since I left. I know that my time there and my time away from there was all part of God's plan for my life. In the time since I left Taylor, I have found myself, the man I supposed to spend the rest of my life with, peace and happiness--things I ran to Upland looking for, and a family that I never dreamed of having when I ran away from home nearly four years ago.

But man do I miss Taylor. I made some of the best friends and family while I was there. So much has happened since leaving. Friends have gotten married and engaged, graduated, and found love and success in so many ways.

Tonight I saw a video that reminded me of the good days and all the happy moments there. CBS sports did a special on TU and our little world in the middle of Indiana. I know I am not part of the TU community anymore but a part of me still feels like it's a part of me. Like when you grow up somewhere and then move away in high school. That old home is always still a home, but now I have a new home and new love, and a new life.

I will love Taylor forever, but I am a new person, happy, healthy, and alive and I am so greatful that is the case. I will always love this place and the memories I have, but tonight, I am finally letting go of the loss I had with leaving Taylor and embracing everything I do have. I am thanking God for all those amazing memories, but I thank Him for all of the ones that are still yet to be made.

Check out this video on CBSsports for more about my little school in the middle of the cornfields.